“Is this the prisoner you seek?” the warden asked.
“Yes, sir,” the guard on the left said.
“You’re certainly a bold one,” the warden said to me.
“I just did what you wanted, Grogan.”
He glowered, and I suppressed the urge to sink under the
desk.
“Explain,” he ordered.
“You issued me a challenge to find anything wrong with
your officers or prison. I sneaked in disguised as a prisoner
and escaped. I’d say that qualifies as something wrong.”
“You didn’t fully escape,” he said.
“Doesn’t matter. You said anything.” I leaned back in his
chair, exaggerating the motion. “Besides, if I wanted to leave, I could have ambushed you when you entered your office and
used you to escape.”
He laughed. “Wouldn’t work. We all know our lives are
forfeit if we’re taken hostage.”
I shrugged. “I still managed to get into the SMU before
coming up here. And I found other problems.”
As I talked, color rushed into his face. “Get Finn. Now,”
he ordered the COs.
They
bolted.
Not good. I swallowed. “Finn isn’t reliable. He’s been tor-
turing the SMU prisoners.”
“He’s my right-hand man. I’m sure he can explain your
allegations.”
I stood. “They’re not allegations. They’re facts.”
We glared at each other until one of the COs burst into the
room, panting.
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“He’s…gone, sir.” The guard motioned to me with his
hand. “She was…in the wing…knocked every…one out.”
Lamar and Carrl entered behind the guards. The gas in the
glass ball didn’t last near as long as the sleeping juice.
Grogan aimed his anger at them. Carrl blanched, but
Lamar…Janco kept his face neutral. Although a spark of humor
f lashed in his eyes when he met my gaze.
“Where is Finn?” the warden asked them.
“She must have done something to him,” Carrl said.
“I’m impressed that you think I’m strong enough to move
an unconscious man.”
“When we woke, sir. Finn was not among us,” Janco said.
“I believe he was working here under false pretenses.”
And then it hit me. Finn had overheard Ulrick and knew
where to find my blood. I caught Janco’s attention. He un-
derstood my sudden need to leave.
“Why wasn’t I informed?” Grogan bellowed.
“Truthfully, sir. Finn is scarier than you,” Janco said.
Carrl nodded in agreement, but he still appeared nervous.
“Do you think he’s gone for good?”
“If not, he will be,” Grogan promised.
I edged toward the door.
“Should I escort our…guest out?” Janco asked.
“Not until you get details on how she managed this…” He
swung his arm wide, indicating me and the room. “I want a
full report on my desk in one hour.”
“Yes, sir,” Janco snapped.
He held my arm and we left. The warden’s loud orders to
Carrl followed us until the door closed.
Janco and I raced down the stairs.
“Think you’ll have time for that report?” I asked.
“Doubtful. Too bad, I live to write reports.”
Unfortunately, we were stopped a few times by COs. Janco
informed them the prisoner had been captured and to return
to their regular duties. Even though I wore a CO uniform,
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a few squinted at me with suspicion, but Janco was a hotshot
and therefore outranked them. Handy.
We reached the street and ran to the nearest stables.
“How long?” I asked.
“Finn has about an hour head start.”
Damn. We arrived at the stables and roused the owner, rent-
ing his two fastest horses. The man would have an interesting
tale to tell.
As the horses chewed up the miles to Hubal, the sun rose.
We didn’t slow when we reached the downtown. People scat-
tered and cursed at us. The trip to Ulrick’s glass factory located in the woods passed in a blur. We rushed around the back of
the building and dismounted. The sandpile had been removed,
but evidence of where it had been remained along with more
recent activity.
My world tilted and I sank to my knees. Dirt piled next to
a fresh hole in the ground. My blood was gone.
Janco crouched near the hole. He scooped a handful of
dirt and sniffed it. Scenting the wind as if he were a dog, he
scanned the area. He put a finger to his lips and drew a dagger from his boot.
I jumped to my feet and followed him toward the aban-
doned factory. The back door was locked. Janco pointed and
I popped the lock in a few seconds with my picks. Impressed,
he raised his eyebrows. My speed had improved while work-
ing with Valek.
Turning the knob, I eased open the door. Janco rushed
in without making a sound. I stayed right behind him. We
stopped in the main area. Finn stood in the middle of the
empty room with a sword in his right hand and a large glass
bottle filled with a bright red liquid in his left. They had
drained more blood than I thought. From the color, I knew
the blood had been preserved by magic.
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“Lamar, how very unexpected,” Finn said with a disap-
proving tone.
Magic brushed us. Janco f linched, but held steady.
“Even now I can’t sense your deception. No matter. We’ve
already proven you’re no match for me.”
Janco grinned. “It’s never wise to beat your boss. Good
thing you’re not my boss anymore.”
I stif led a laugh. Not only had he used the word wise, but Janco’s current position in Ixia had been gained by beating a
succession of his superior officers.
“Give Opal her bottle,” Janco said.
“No. Someone is willing to pay an outrageous amount of
gold for this.”
“Who?” I asked.
“Someone who hates you very much.”
Janco glanced at me. “That narrows it down to half of
Sitia.”
“Not funny.” Because if I considered the people who were
upset and inconvenienced due to the loss of my glass messen-
gers, he might be right. “Hand it over, Finn.”
“Seems we’re at an impasse,” Finn said. “If we fight, or if
you use one of your darts or that nifty gas ball, I might drop
the bottle, spilling your blood. You’ll have to decide if you
want to risk it or not.”
“All right. How much?” I asked.
Finn jerked with surprise, but recovered. “You can’t afford
it.”
“Try
me.”
He peered at me as if assessing my net worth. “Did the
Council let you keep the diamonds from here?” He pointed
down.
“Yep. I’m richer than Vasko Cloud Mist.”
Finn f linched at the name. “Doubtful.”
“How much?” I asked again. Would I be willing to give
him all my money for that bottle? Yes.
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He
hesitated.
“Despite his claims, Finn’s not doing this for the money,
Opal,” Janco said.
Janco was right. Better to spill my blood than for it to get
into the wrong hands. “Janco, why don’t you entertain Finn
with one of your rhymes?”
“My pleas—” Janco froze.
I reached and encountered a bubble of magic around
him.
“I’m not in the mood for a fight,” Finn said. He sheathed his
sword and yanked out a blowgun. Loading the pipe without
rushing, he was confident I wouldn’t be a problem.
“Too bad,” I said as I snatched Janco’s dagger.
Finn blocked my first attack with the blowgun. I parried
and my blade hacked chunks from the wooden tube as he used
it to protect himself. He backed up as I advanced, pressing my
advantage.
“Well done, Opal,” he said when the dagger sliced his
blowgun into two.
I stepped closer and he chopped my wrist. He used this
move before to the same effect, stunning my hand with the
edge of his palm and taking the weapon from me. At least this
time, I saw it happening. Didn’t help, but it was progress.
Finn touched the tip of the dagger to my neck. “I’m grow-
ing quite fond of you. My patron paid for your blood, but
I imagine you would bring a higher price. Or perhaps you
would pay me to release you?”
Oh no. Not this again. I leaned back away from the blade
and kicked forward, hitting him in the ribs. Not hard, as I
was unbalanced, but enough to distract him while I shuff led
out of reach. He surrounded me with a thick bubble of magic.
It weighed me down and slowed my movements. Holding a
dart, Finn stalked me.
Frantic, I splayed my hands and without piercing the bubble
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175
of magic I pushed it away from me before Finn could aim. It
moved. I did it again until I was free.
“Unbelievable,” Finn said. The bubble dissolved. “You have
an affinity with magic, but it can’t affect you…I wonder if
your immunity is fueled by magic.”
I rushed him to keep him from making that last logical
connection and slammed into an invisible barrier. Too late. He
figured it out and erected a null shield. Magic couldn’t pierce it. Stunned, I blinked at an ecstatic Finn. He held his hand
out and the barrier forced me back until the shield trapped
me in a corner.
“A null shield,” Finn said in amazement. “I love the irony!
This is going to make my life so much easier.” He threw the
dart.
I couldn’t move my arms to block it. Hitting my shoulder,
the drug worked fast. The room spun into darkness.
“Opal?”
An ungentle nudge. I swatted at the disturbance.
“Wake up, or I’m leaving you here,” Janco grumped.
I groaned. My head ached and the f loor swayed.
“Killer hangover, isn’t it? Finn used the hard stuff.” Janco
pulled on my arm. “Come on. It’s getting dark.”
He helped me to my feet. I glanced around the abandoned
factory and I remembered. “Finn? My blood?” Relief spiked
as I realized he hadn’t taken me.
Janco grimaced. “Gone. After he knocked you out someone
called from outside. He jabbed me and left. When I woke, I
tracked him to the road, but once he reached it, I’ve no idea
which way he went.” He gestured to the windows. “We were
asleep for hours and he stole one of our horses. I had to chase down the other.”
We trudged to the Dolomite Inn, leading the remaining
horse. Even Mister Paul’s delighted welcome couldn’t dispel
the gloom that had settled on us. The thought of oyster soup
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turned my stomach, but Janco enjoyed it while I ate bread and
a few mouthfuls of beef.
My thoughts lingered on my failure. All those months of
training, planning and sacrifice for naught. Nothing for me.
Finn made out well. I scowled.
“Something wrong with your dinner?” Janco asked. He
had removed his disguise, revealing his thin face and scarred
ear.
“The food’s fine. My companion needs to start explaining
why I had to endure the whole prisoner experience when he
was already one of the hotshots?”
“Think about it, Opal. You already know the answer,”
Valek said from behind me. He and Ari joined us.
“Wonderful,” I muttered. “The gang’s all here.” I eyed
Ari’s white-blond hair. He’d also ditched his disguise. “Won’t
Devlen miss his buddy, Pellow?”
Ari shrugged. “He’s made friends with half the COs in the
joint.”
I wanted to savor my foul mood, to let it ferment and turn
into an all-out temper tantrum. But these men didn’t act
without a plan and I should focus on the positive.
“Finn’s truth serum didn’t work, and Janco couldn’t get
Ulrick to talk? So you needed me,” I said.
Valek nodded in encouragement.
“Why didn’t you tell me he was there?” I asked. No one
answered, letting me puzzle it out on my own. I could have
been captured and forced to expose Janco, ruining months of
undercover work. Plus my actions in the prison might have
been different if I knew Janco was there. Working under the
impression I was on my own, I couldn’t relax or be lazy. I
grudgingly agreed with his strategy.
As Ari ordered enough food to feed the whole table, I
reviewed all that I had learned. I should have spotted Janco
when I read through the hotshots’ files. Who else would escape
from Wirral in record time? He even beat a magician.
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After the server left an array of steaming plates, I said, “You had Janco in place before talking to me about my blood back
in Booruby. Why?”
“They used blood magic,” Valek said. “And could again. I
didn’t trust the Sitian Council to deal with them properly or
in a timely manner.”
“You were going to assassinate them?” I gaped at Valek.
“Until you found out about my blood, then decided not to.”
“It is always a good idea to wait and watch. Unless Yelena
is around at the time of death, it’s hard to interrogate someone once he’s dead.”
I looked at Janco. He didn’t strike me as the assassin type.
“Could you…?”
“No,” Valek answered for him. “That’s my job. He was
there to gather information only.”
Which reminded me. “How did he manage to fool Finn?
He’s a powerful magician.”
Janco pulled a necklace from under his shirt. A large round
pendant hung from the chain. He took it off and handed it to
me. The white circle was sticky with magic.
“Ivory?” I asked.
“No. Bone.” Janco looked queasy.
“Animal?”
His grimace answered my question. Not animal. Human.
I set the pendant down carefully. “How?”
“Yelena
found a…volunteer, willing to help disguise Janco’s
real thoughts,” Valek said.
“A soul.” I swallowed. Yelena had channeled a person’s soul
into the bone pendant. It was amazing and creepy at the same
time.
“Lamar Krystal died in the line of duty,” Janco recited as
if from memory. “A prisoner in Compton killed him with
a shank. Yelena found him wandering in the shadow world
unable to find peace.”
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I studied my friend. Janco hated magic and yet he had lived
with a soul near his heart for seasons.
“And the poor guy hasn’t found much peace hanging out
with Janco,” Ari said, breaking the sober mood.
“If he’d been with you, he’d have been bored to death,”
Janco countered.
“That’s impossible. He’s already dead,” Ari said.
“Souls can cease to exist, and therefore die,” Janco said.
Ari laughed. “That’s ridiculous.”
I tuned out their argument over dying souls. My thoughts
returned to Valek’s earlier comment about assassination being
his job. Even though the mission hadn’t gone as planned,
Ulrick had revealed the location of my blood.
Cold fingers of realization touched me. There was no reason
for Valek to wait any longer to go through with his original
strategy to assassinate them.
I met Valek’s f lat gaze. He’d watched me while I had sorted
through the information.
“Wait. Please,” I said to him. My response surprised me.
He didn’t react. “By the time the Council decides to do
the right thing, more damage could be done.”
“But—”
“We’ve shown the prison is easily infiltrated.”
“But—”
“The officers can be compromised.”
“But—”
“We were lucky Finn only desired your blood and didn’t
want to learn how to perform blood magic. We won’t be so
lucky next time.”
“It’s not your decision,” I shouted.
Ari and Janco ceased their bickering.
Unperturbed, Valek said, “I disagree.”
“Besides,” I said into the ensuing silence, “they’ll need to
be incarcerated in glass like the Warpers from before. You’ll
need Yelena.”
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“No they don’t. They have no magic. The Warpers still had
the magic they were born with. If you had discovered your
siphoning powers back then, we wouldn’t have needed those
glass prisons at all.”
I wilted. Valek’s argument made sense when viewed with
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