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He curled a fist, but didn’t swing. “The fervor over Ben would have eventually died down.”
“I was referring to you selling Curare to other customers. That’s why the Commander is going to shut you down. You can erase our memories, but eventually, he’ll send Valek and his corps after you.”
Owen grinned, but the humor failed to reach his eyes. “Oh, don’t you worry about me. I’ve discovered something big that will please the Commander, and all will be forgiven.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. “And that is?”
“Nice try, but I’m not stupid.”
True. Overconfidence and greed would trip him up. If it hadn’t already. “The Commander is not the forgiving type.”
“I’m touched you’re so concerned.” Owen straightened. He called to his men. “Take her down with Janco. Secure her in the same manner.” Hopping off the wagon, he disappeared from my view.
A couple of his goons untied me, but kept a firm hold. My stiff leg and arm muscles protested the movement as blood rushed to my hands and feet. I considered fighting the two men, but once I stood upright, I spotted a number of other guards in the building. And Ben leaned against the wall, watching with a satisfied smirk.
The musty smell of hay tickled my nose as they escorted me to a hatch in the wooden floor. The high-vaulted ceiling suggested that this building had once been a barn. I glanced out the window. Weak sunlight shone on the glass—early morning. If Owen’s men didn’t find Onora, we might be here awhile, which was a good thing. More time for... What? Not sure what I could do without my magic.
We walked down a ramp into the semidark dampness below. The root cellar had earthen walls and a hard-packed dirt floor. Two oversize musclemen sat in chairs near the base of the ramp. Daggers hung from their belts. Behind them was Janco.
“Can we gag this idiot?” one of the guards asked my companions. “He won’t shut up and is driving us crazy.”
Good news. If Janco had enough energy to harass his guards, it meant he wasn’t as hurt as I’d feared.
The guy on my left shrugged. “Sure. The Boss shouldn’t mind.” He handed me off to the guard. “This one can join her friend.”
“Yeah?” The guard’s expression brightened as a slow smile spread, exposing broken teeth. “Can we play?”
My breath hitched. Fear bit into my guts.
“No.”
I relaxed.
“Ah, too bad.”
My two escorts left. Broken Teeth tugged me deeper into the cellar. Janco watched us, craning his head up, but he didn’t say a word. His wrists and ankles had been tied with ropes. We stopped next to Janco. Four more metal stakes had been driven into the ground.
“Your room is ready,” Broken Teeth said.
His partner chuckled. Sections of rope hung from his meaty hands. “Lie down,” he ordered.
Broken Teeth pushed on my shoulder. “Come—”
I moved. Spinning and ducking under his arm, I snagged the man’s dagger then stepped back. They wouldn’t tie me down without a fight.
“Oh, she’s feisty. I like that.” Broken Teeth advanced. “Give me back my knife before you get hurt.”
Broken Teeth lunged. I sidestepped and slashed at his stomach. He blocked my swing late and the blade cut across his forearm.
“Hey! We need help here!” the other guard yelled toward the hatch before he dropped the ropes and drew his dagger. He moved to swing in behind me.
Sparring with Broken Teeth, I countered his attacks and tried to avoid being trapped between the two men.
When boots pounded on the ramp, I knew my time was up. I faked a breakaway to the right, but then cut left, tripping over Janco. He grunted in pain when I landed on him.
“Sorry,” I said right before the guards grabbed me.
I struggled, and it took four of them to secure me to the stakes. When they finished, they nursed their bruises while I puffed with the effort, sweating. Broken Teeth found his weapon lying near Janco. Eventually, the extra guards left, leaving the original two. They returned to their seats. At least they hadn’t gagged Janco yet.
“Not bad,” Janco said to me in a low voice. “If the guards had manned up instead of crying for help, you would have had a decent shot.”
“I tried to cut and run, but that didn’t work as planned.”
“Not entirely.”
I glanced at Janco. He shot me a grin. When I had “tripped” over him, I’d slashed at the ropes near his right wrist, but I’d no idea if it was deep enough to cut through. From the gleam in his eyes and his comment, I guessed my attempt had met with some success. I hoped it was enough.
“Do they have you covered with a null shield? Damn thing screws everything up,” Janco said.
The thought of explaining to him how I was even more helpless than he believed while tied spread-eagle to a dirt floor was too depressing. “Yeah. Don’t count on my magic. How are you feeling?”
“Murderous. Just give me one minute with that magician and I’ll show him how it feels to have things ripped from you.”
“And your ribs?”
“Sore. They’ll heal. I’ve cracked my ribs dozens of times. I imagine my bones resemble a messed-up spiderweb by this point.”
“I’d prefer a broken bone than cracked ribs,” I said. “You can’t breathe or laugh or twist or sleep without pain.”
“Yeah, but if you break your leg, then you can’t walk. And a broken arm makes it harder to fight.”
“You can’t fight with cracked ribs.”
“I can.”
“Considering our present situation, I hope you’re not exaggerating.”
Janco didn’t reply right away. “So what’s Owen’s plan?”
I explained about the memory wipe.
“I’d rather be killed.” Janco sounded horrified.
“Oh, I don’t know. I’ve some memories I’d be happy to forget.” I mulled over Owen’s confidence in regaining the Commander’s trust. The Commander already had plenty of Curare. What else could Owen offer him? I mentioned it to Janco.
“Maybe he discovered a new drug from one of his jungle plants.”
“His jungle plants? Is that a euphemism for something else?”
“No. He’s growing the Curare vine in these...hot glass houses.”
“He’s growing it? That’s...” I searched for a word to describe the magnitude of this news.
“Serious trouble for all of us?”
“To put it mildly.”
“Yeah. That’s why they got the drop on me. I was still reeling.” Janc
o described what he’d found inside the hothouse before he was captured. “Do you recognize any of the other vegetation?”
“I’d have to see it.”
“Maybe Owen will give us a tour before he scrambles our brains.”
Trust Janco to put a positive spin on a bad situation. At least he was entertaining. We could be here awhile. “What are the chances of Owen’s people catching Onora?”
“No chance. She’s probably halfway to Ixia by now.”
“Why do you think that?”
“She’s smart. And she has no reason to be loyal to us. Ari would charge in here like a bull seeing a lady bull wearing red.”
“There are no lady bulls.”
“Sure there are. How do you think we get baby bulls?”
It required too much energy to explain about the bulls and the bees to Janco. “Ari would be caught right away.”
“That’s beside the point. Onora’s like Valek—cold and calculating. Well, like him when he’s not with you.”
At least that meant we had some time to figure out a way to escape. I craned my neck. Janco met my gaze and tilted his head toward the guards, then cleared his throat. The guards kept their attention on the hatch, but checked on us from time to time. I nodded my understanding.
When both guards faced forward, Janco pulled his right wrist free. He dug in the waistband of his pants and withdrew a small knife. I watched the guards and signaled with a cough whenever one turned his head our way.
After twenty minutes or so, Janco called, “Hey, boneheads! I’m hungry. Ya got anything to eat?”
I glanced at him. He appeared to be still tied to the stakes. Janco continued to harass the guards. They threatened to gag him, but he increased his taunting until Broken Teeth stood up with a growl.
He approached and pulled a cloth from his pocket. “I’ve got a snotty hankie just for you.” Broken Teeth leaned over.
Janco slashed at his throat with the small knife. The guard yelled, and then Janco grabbed the man’s dagger and stabbed it into his stomach. Broken Teeth’s partner raced up the ramp.
