Page 99 of Wanted: Rogues and Bards

When he finally got Maxie detached from around his throat and he could breathe, Fenric said, “The first option is sneaking in and sneaking out with Aria. Done. Dusted. We leave and everyone lives. However, sneaking is rife with ways for things to go wrong. If things go wrong, my thinking is, since we made the trip, we might as well make a big mess, steal some slaves from Count Pierre—which will seriously raise our villain rating—and naturally, set them free afterward because that’s just a hassle we don’t need.”

“I believe I comprehend what you are envisioning,” Belstrom said slowly, a smile growing on his lips. “Diversion and distraction to foment chaos among the masses is its own form of protection.”

“Exactly. But I stress that this is the backup plan. For said backup plan, let’s really give them lots of things to be distracted by. Puppy, how about you brew up some death coffee?”

Maxie’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Oh yes, let’s kill all the guards and the empty sacks!” he crowed, throwing in a bit of thieves’ cant.

“First, splendid memory. Empty sacks mean entitled people with too much money. If they’re willing to take part in this evil, then they can suffer the same consequences. But here’s where I hesitate. Is it wise to send Puppy inside? He doesn’t know how to properly defend himself, and…” Fenric licked his lips as he glanced over at Maxie. “No offense, but you look pretty enough to pass for one of the sex workers. I don’t want you to be put in a situation you can’t get out of.”

“Honestly, it makes sense for him to be there,” Lirion said. “Pretty servants are to be expected. If this place is as exclusive and fancy as it sounds, all the servants are pretty enough to be sex workers. He would blend right in.”

“But how is he going to protect himself?” Fenric played devil’s advocate. He hated this part of his idea. He didn’t want Maxie anywhere near that place. It was too soon and he was still too green.

“I can give him some pointers for dealing with handsy customers,” Lirion reassured him. “But for the most part, he doesn’t need to spend any time in the main client areas. He just has to look like he came from the kitchens. The guards won’t give him any problems. After they drop dead and Hapi takes over, Puppy can leave.”

“Don’t worry, Fenric. I won’t mess this up. I can do this.”

Fenric frowned at the young man. It wasn’t so much that he feared Maxie screwing up his relatively simple task. He was afraid of something happening and putting Maxie in danger he couldn’t escape from.

“You need to let him try. You can’t protect him forever,” Lirion said gently.

Fenric lifted his head to glare at Lirion, but he caught sight of Belstrom nodding in agreement. Fenric was coddling Maxie. He knew it. If anyone else had joined E.V.I.L., Fenric would have been happy to toss them into the fray, but Maxie seemed too sweet and helpless.

“Fine!” he groaned loudly. “But I’ll be watching closely from a perch, ready to swoop in if anything goes wrong. If we’re going to introduce poisoned food to the party, we’ll have to do this carefully. We don’t want the people enslaved there to be poisoned accidentally too⁠—”

“No need to worry—” Hapi and Lirion started at the same time, only to stop and then look at each other.

“Please, go ahead,” Lirion invited.

Hapi inclined his head in thanks before continuing. “I can always raise them if they do drink it accidentally.”

“A safeguard we’ll likely not need,” Lirion said. “The entertainment doesn’t get to eat or drink until after the customers are satisfied and passed out. Unless offered a sip from a customer’s cup, they won’t have contact with it.”

See, hearing something like that pissed Fenric off even more. So people didn’t get to even drink water while entertaining their guests? They just stayed hungry and thirsty until midnight? Wow. But then, Count Pierres also had to make sure his wares were good enough to account for the high price he undoubtedly charged. Starved and dying products were a waste of money and didn’t give him a good return on his investment.

Maybe Fenric should burn the place to the ground after all as part of Plan A.

Maxie was still eager. “I’ll make up lots of coffee.”

“If we time this right, we can use the dead guards to our advantage,” Hapi murmured. He leaned his shoulder against the wall and stared at the ceiling, a habit of his when he was thinking hard. It normally prefaced something brilliant. “Say, offer two guards coffee, wait for them to die, then I can raise them as zombies.”

“From inside the villa?” Lirion inquired.

Hapi shook his head. “I’m thinking guards outside at the side servant gate. A freshly zombified corpse looks much like a normal person. Only someone with necrotic magic could tell the difference.”

Lirion pushed, a glimmer of excitement moving through his words. “Will I have control over them?”

“I can designate it as such, yes.”

“Then I’d have two bodyguards with me and an easy way in. Oh, Hapi, I like this idea very much.”

Hapi shot him a small smile. “Happy to serve.”

Honestly, this idea eased some of Fenric’s fears. He still didn’t like sending Lirion in alone. It provided too many openings for trouble. “I have my own way in, so we don’t need to worry about me.”

Malfas snorted. “And which way are you going in? Pussycat or birdie?”

“I think bird.”