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CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
THORSTEN
Men in all black swat gear patrolled the halls above, they were Felman’s private security force, and they were most likely searching for me. I had only one true card to play if that card was still alive.
Hiding like some rat was not how I envisioned this confrontation, but I brought this on myself. I could have amassed my own security force to rival Felman’s, but I was so paranoid about keeping the secrets of the portal under the castle, that I opted to remain as covert as possible, and that meant working with a skeleton staff. I reached the holo room and observatory. Usually, this place was empty yet one dwarven man, a servant with a neatly trimmed black beard and powerful physique was there waiting for me.
“I’m not with them and neither is my Madam.” He spoke, his voice as light as a woman’s.
“I see your mission was not a success.” The Madam approached from the top floor, her black hooded cloak bellowing with each step. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t kill you?” She removed her cloak, exposing her beaten face. Her swollen eye and puffy lips. “You brought hell to my household. Half of my servants are dead and I had to hide like a rat in this hellhole of a castle, and now every noble who wanted to go with me are being hunted down like dogs. They are cleaning house because yours was too dirty. Everyone knows about your sexual relationship with that human and are calling for your exile or death. And now your heir has taken your House and your wealth as lawful possessions. Most likely because he kissed Felman’s ring.”
There was nothing I could say. She was right. I’ve made too many mistakes and now I’m paying the price for them, and unfortunately everyone associated with me are paying as well. I pulled out the case with the rune inside. Her eyes widened in awe. “The mission was both a failure and a success, Madam.”
“Fate is a cruel mother.” She whispered. “My portal is only half built.”
“And Gio knows the location of the one I had constructed, it is probably compromised.”
“Damn them all to Helheim!”
“All may not be lost. The schematics of the portal are in my house and there may be a safe place for our kind to run to. A place not destroyed by our arrival. It’s called Africa, in the desert there is a city called Sahara where it seems our outcasts had run off to. If I can retrieve the schematics, we can rebuild the portal there.”
She nodded. “You should know by now that attempting to go to your apartment is suicide.”
“I know. But I have to, and Felman is the worst. I know he won’t stop pursuing us all, he needs to die. Can you help me?”
“What do you need?”
“Access to the upper apartments and to Felman’s home.”
“I have several of my own spies in Felman’s home. You will have your access. My men carry a brand.” She looked to the dwarf servant by her side. He raised his shirt, displaying a circle with an eye inside. “One of them should let you inside. However, make sure the schematics fall into Barras’s hands if not mine. He will remain within the castle and watch you.”
I nodded.
She closed her eyes as if struggling with whether she should say more. “I’ve spared more than enough nobles who will owe me. They are desperate to return home like I am. I hope the rest make it out alive. We don’t belong here, even with all our power. I would hate to see a member of the royal family lose their life to an ambitious fool. So, don’t die. I’d hate to have to break the news to your mother.”
“I made a promise and I will fight with everything I have to keep it.”
“To your lover, no doubt.” She sighed. “I wish you both well. After all, they are not so different from us, just a smaller version of ourselves. They can even be our fated ones, and once the sickness passes, they can even live just as long as our hearts continue to beat. Isn’t that right, Barras?” She smiled at the dwarven servant who returned her smile.
“I was there at your arrival.” Barras laughed. “What a beauty she was when I first laid eyes on her.”
“Well, I’m no beauty now thanks to those bastards.” She groaned and hooked her arm with the man who I now knew was no servant.
I think my mouth was ajar at the revelation while my brain tried to keep up with what I had just heard. If this human was at our arrival, then he was hundreds of years old!
“I already have a man inside who will let you in through the east entrance.” Madam directed me back to the task at hand. “Kill Felman, kill them both.”
Shots fired in the distance like a war had begun. The hacker had done her job, apparently.
“There is a dwarven resistance here to take the castle. They are no friends to our kind.”
After warning her, we parted ways, and I used the distraction to head to the east entrance of Felman’s apartment. Not even Gio had full access to my tech room, the schematics was safe, and I wanted to deal with him later. However, it wasn’t the Madam’s servant who waited for me but Freda herself. The servant was dead on the floor.
“So, it is true. You’re here to murder my father just as he said you would.” Her red lips trembled.
“Freda, your father is obsessed with controlling us. We will never return home so long as he lives.”
“There’s no need to go home! We rule and this is our kingdom!”
