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“Steel. Another powerful name.”
“That’s not a name.”
“Storm?”
“Valek.” She’d had enough.
He considered. “How about Vincent? After my brother.” Grief bloomed in his chest for a moment. Valek and Vincent had gotten into a lot of trouble as boys.
Yelena squeezed his hand. “It’s perfect.”
“But we both know the baby’s a girl,” he said.
“We do?”
“Yes, we do. What should we name her? Sweetie Pie?”
She elbowed him. “How about Daddy’s Little Girl?”
“I like that.”
“Figures.”
He chuckled, but then thought of their future daughter. She’d be beautiful and strong and smart and stubborn, just like her mother. No doubt about that. “How about Liana?” It was Yelena’s middle name, but it also meant vine. “She’s already wrapped around both our hearts.”
“That’s lovely.”
* * *
Morning arrived far too soon. The garrison teams prepared to leave, and the Citadel team gave them a hand with packing. After saying goodbye and good luck to everyone, Valek kissed Yelena.
He refused to say goodbye to his wife. Instead he said, “I will see you in a few weeks.”
“You’d better.”
Swooping in for another kiss, he cupped her cheek. “Yes, sir.”
Valek mounted Onyx. They headed northwest. The Commander’s castle was about a three-day ride north, but Valek planned to approach it from the west. He found a stable for Onyx a few miles south of the Ixian border. The horse would draw too much attention and be hard to hide from the Ixian patrols. Realizing that the vial of his blood would likely be safer here than with him in Ixia, Valek hid it in Onyx’s saddle. He then packed a small bag and slung it over his shoulders.
When he reached the border, he expected an increase in the number of patrols guarding the edge of the Snake Forest. What he didn’t expect was the sheer number of soldiers in the forest. He suspected the Commander—or rather, Owen—planned to have the army in position well before the fire festival. But did that mean they would strike sooner? He hoped not, or all their plans would be ruined.
With so many bodies to avoid, Valek needed to use his magic to enter Ixia undetected and to steal a patrolman uniform. He arrived in Castletown late on the fourth night. Ghosting along the quiet streets, he kept to the shadows. When he neared the safe house on Pennwood Street, he slowed. The place appeared empty, but he extended his magic to search the rooms, just in case. The good news—no ambush waited for him. The bad news—no one else was inside.
Valek waited until late, hoping his agents would return. When it was obvious they weren’t coming back, he debated his next move. His agents might have left a message for him, explaining their whereabouts. Or there could be a magical alarm set to go off if he entered the building. Not willing to take any chances, Valek searched for another place to lie low.
He found an empty house that had seen better days. Wedged between two others, the narrow three-story building was one strong windstorm away from collapse. Cracks scarred the stone foundation, and the wooden beams sagged. The smell of mold permeated every empty room, and a hole in the roof allowed entrance to a variety of birds that nested on the top floor. Valek set up his bedroll in the only dry corner on the ground floor.
The next day, Valek poked around the town, hoping to get a sense of what had been going on in his absence. He noticed the population of the town had dwindled, and the mood was glum, despite the warm sunshine. Also, it was the first day of the hot season, which meant the fire festival was only a month away. There were only two festivals celebrated in Ixia, and both were always highly anticipated.
Valek widened his explorations and discovered the source of their...discomfort. Soldiers filled the festival field outside Castletown. Instead of brightly colored tents, rows of camouflaged military bivouacs lined the ground. He worried that this meant they planned to march sooner. Valek needed a way to confirm their intentions. Perhaps he could mingle with the soldiers in the mess tent? Too risky. What else?
He almost groaned aloud. He could target an officer and read the person’s thoughts. Valek wondered when using his magic would become second nature.
He watched the activity from a hidden location for the rest of the day. A few people looked promising, but Valek didn’t want to rush it, nor did he wish to rip the information from someone’s mind. He’d rather coax it out, so the person would have no idea Valek was ever there. But he doubted he had that light a touch. After a couple days of observation, he found a potential mark—a male captain. The man wasn’t ranked high enough to be making decisions but should be aware of the details of the attack.
A few hours after the captain retired to bed, Valek crept to the man’s tent—which was rather easy, since no one had bothered to station guards around the encampment. He crouched behind the shelter. Since he wasn’t sure of his magical range with this many people around, he preferred to err on the side of caution. Valek hoped the captain would explain Valek’s presence in his mind as strange dreams.
Lowering his shield, Valek extended his awareness. The captain was alone. And awake. Damn. Valek floated on the very surface of the man’s thoughts. Captain Campbell reviewed all the tasks he needed to do on the morrow. The list was quite long—probably why Campbell couldn’t sleep. Most of the items could be taken care of by a lower-ranking officer in the captain’s unit, but this man liked to be in control and refused to delegate. Good for Valek, because he sensed the man housed a deep well of information.
Valek used his magic to encourage the man to fall asleep. Once Campbell drifted into a deeper slumber, Valek nudged the captain toward considering the future. Campbell longed for the festival, especially the pit beef and cream cakes.
No sweets once it’s over, Valek thought.
No, but something important. Images of soldiers fighting with swords flashed in Campbell’s mind. So much training...better pay off.
Valek picked up on the man’s worry. Sitia’ll be ready for us.
Yeah. Columns of soldiers formed. They marched right into rows of Sitian ranks. Sadness darkened Campbell’s thoughts over the imagined battle. Casualties can’t be avoided in the initial attack.
Picking up on the word initial, Valek gently prodded.
Second attack from the rear. Surprise, surprise, Sitia.
An icy chill ripped through him, but he kept his emotions in check. How?
Slow leak over the last couple of seasons. Use the tunnel.
Valek stifled a curse. Owen had been using the smugglers’ route under the border to sneak soldiers into Sitia. While the Sitian army fought off the Ixians, another Ixian force would move in behind them. The Sitians would be trapped between the two and forced to surrender. At least the Commander wasn’t planning a slaughter.
Hard to hide so many, Valek thought.
Best of the best. Kept out of sight. Assassins in first, to target the leaders.
Even the Cartel?
All leaders.
No surprise Owen planned to double-cross Bruns. Good riddance. It was the others that concerned Valek. Without any leaders, Sitia would be easy pickings.
When?
After the Sitian army leaves the garrisons.
That made sense. They’d no longer be protected. Valek needed to warn them, just in case his mission failed.
Before breaking his connection with Campbell, Valek pulled on a bunch of random thoughts so the captain wouldn’t suspect he’d been interrogated. The man might, regardless. It was hard to tell. A few sessions with Teegan hadn’t given Valek enough experience. He suspected it would take years to fine-tune his skills.
Tired from the exertion needed to read Campbell’s mind, Valek returned to his hideout. He lay on his bedroll and pondered the information. At least the timing of the attack remained the same. However, he wasn’t sure how to get a message to the resistance. Perhaps he could reach Irys. The Featherstone garrison was the closest to Castletown. But would his fumbling efforts do more harm than good? Another magician could pick up on his attempt, exposing Irys or bringing unwanted attention to his whereabouts.
He decided to wait. If his mission appeared to be headed toward failure, he would endeavor to warn Irys and the others.
Once he’d rested, Valek spent the next three days monitoring the traffic through the castle’s gate. The security personnel just about tripped over each other in the narrow opening. And he counted at least three magicians—they stood out due to their lack of visible weapons. Plus Valek recognized Tyen, Owen’s chief minion, who spent most of the day glaring at everyone. Probably upset about being assigned to guard duty.
Not a single person touched the compound’s walls, which meant the magical alarm remained. And without his agents to help, Valek’s chances of getting inside undetected dwindled to zero. If he had a storm orb, he’d be able to breach the castle without any trouble, but that would certainly alert them.
There was only one way to get inside—as a prisoner. But he had to do it right. If he was spotted in Castletown or caught trying to sneak through the gate, Owen would suspect Valek had done it on purpose. Basically he needed Owen to believe he’d outsmarted Valek. That line of thought led to the safe house. It had to be rigged with a magical alarm. Owen would know exactly when Valek entered.
Valek spent the rest of the day and evening preparing for his capture. After midnight, he packed up his things and headed to the safe house. No one lurked inside. Before unlocking the door, he paused. Once he touched the knob, there would be no turning back. If Yelena knew what he was about to do, she’d be very upset. But she’d understand. No one was safe until this was done.
The door swung open without a sound. The dark interior appeared the same. Valek closed the heavy black curtains and then lit a small lantern. He lowered his mental shield but didn’t sense any magic. If he’d triggered an alarm, it was beyond his ability to detect. He checked all the rooms and found nothing of note, except for a faint layer of dust. Back in the main living area, he scanned the table. Files had been left behind, and he wondered what Adrik and Pasha had been working on.
