“Something no one haseversaid of you, Valek.”
He flashed her his cocky grin. Then he hurried to clean off his makeup and change into his soldier’s uniform. Grabbing his pack, he removed all evidence that he shared the quarters with Ilom. The Ambassador’s soldiers had been housed in one of the lower levels of the Council Hall. It was nicer than the barracks at the castle. A wing of bedrooms and a large common area had been earmarked for visiting guests not important enough for the nicer suites. There should be an empty room for him. He needed to create a new disguise. Perhaps a pair of glasses and a different nose.
As he crossed though the common area, Ari and Janco spotted him. They followed and practically manhandled him into their bedroom.
“Spill,” Janco demanded.
“Are you crazy?” Ari asked. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“It’s a good thing I am,” Valek replied.
“What’s going on?” Janco asked.
“I’m not sure what Goel was all about. He was one of Cahil’s men and it sounded like he had a grudge against Yelena, but he’s dead and no longer a concern.”
“Did you kill him?” Ari asked.
“I planned to, but Cahil had the honor.”
“What’s that guy’s deal?” Janco asked.
Valek had subtly asked the councilors at dinner last night about Cahil. “He’s claiming to be the King of Ixia’s nephew. He has a unit of special forces with him; they’re soldiers from Ixia. Cahil wants to free us from the Commander’s rule and become King, so he’s been petitioning the Sitian Council to provide him with an army. They have no interest is starting a war with us. Also he accused Yelena of being an Ixian spy.”
“That explains some of his behavior. We were sparring with Yelena, and he accused her of using magic to win bouts.” Ari sounded offended on her behalf.
“He doesn’t know how to handle that sword,” Janco said. “It doesn’t take magic to beat him. I did it in three moves with a bo staff.”
“Do you think his unit lied to him so they could assassinate the Commander and set Cahil up as a puppet king?” Ari asked.
“It’s possible. But we have a bigger problem than the Wannabe King.”
“We do?” Janco’s gaze lit up. “Do tell.”
“There’s a killer after Yelena.” He explained about Ferde and the ritual he’d been performing. “Yelena would be the last soul he needs to gain a great deal of power. I’m going to need backup on this one.”
Janco’s glee faded into horror. “Wait. She’s taking on this psycho magician on her own?”
“We’ll be there,” Valek said.
“He’s as strong as a master magician and may have magician minions. I think having more than us as backup would be prudent,” Janco said. “There are fourmastermagicians in town. Don’t you thinktheyshould handle this problem?”
“They can’t hide who they are. Ferde has been dodging them this entire time. He’ll sense when they’re near and kill Opal.”
“That explains why everyone was so frantic when Yelena went missing,” Ari said. “They thought Ferde had her and would complete this Efe ritual.”
“Have I said, ‘magic sucks’ recently?” Janco asked. “Because it does. Suck. Really bad.”
“What do you need us to do?” Ari asked.
“I’m going to be at the meeting site. He won’t sense me, but you’ll need to follow at a distance. If we don’t return by a certain time, you go get help.”
“The same help that can’t really help?” Janco asked. “That help?”
“It’s not a good plan,” Ari said.
“It’s all I’ve got.”
“It sucks.” Janco certainly wasn’t one to sugar coat anything.
