Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Froley hadn’t tipped off the Avenor Guard contingent that something was amiss: the Coalition had done it themselves. Not directly, but upping and vanishing, leaving the office on the main street a mess, didn’t scream of subtlety.
Calya had dealt with the Coalition enough to know that when they wished, they could be inconspicuous, using a delicate touch instead of a deliberate blow.
Abandoning their main base in town and doing nothing to mask their departure had been a choice.
Less obvious to her was their motivation.
Did they simply not care, thinking themselves untouchable…
or were they running as surely as Eren had?
Calya scarfed down a quick breakfast of buttered toast as she went to meet Lowe on the inn’s front porch.
He glanced at her as she approached, mouth working as if he might say something, but then he closed it.
She pretended not to have noticed his momentary indecision.
It was better this way, for the both of them.
No opportunity for the wrong thing to be said, and they wouldn’t have to slog through the tedium of undoing any harm done later.
Things were already fucked between them.
Time to put her walls back in place after she’d foolishly let them down.
Thorns out, and no allowing herself to think about the disappointment that tried to well up.
She gave a small, disgusted shake of her head that some part of herself still entertained such feelings. No sentimentality, for or from either of them.
The Avenor Guard men spilled out from the stable’s small courtyard. Roughly half already had their mounts, while several more trickled in and out of the mages’ office building. A small huddle formed around Orren where he stood in front of the office’s front door.
“Notice anyone missing?” Calya asked, stopping beside Lowe.
He scanned the group. “No Avenor.”
Calya hummed in agreement. “Where are we searching?”
“Somewhere west of the other site. Toward the mountains.”
Another groom emerged from the stables, three already tacked-up horses in tow. Ollas and Zhenya emerged from the mages’ office building, both carrying sturdy saddlebags.
“We’re going back to the village.”
Calya startled as Eunny’s voice came from over her shoulder.
“Sorry.” A grin briefly lit Eunny’s still-wan face. “Zhen told you?”
“I’ve gotten the short notes,” Calya said, jerking her thumb at Lowe. “We’re going after Brint. We’ll stop him, and whatever this is. Any word on Anadae?”
“No, and the storm last night didn’t help things.”
“I’m sure she—”
Eunny gripped Calya’s arm. “The Coalition wanted to make a wellspring. That’s what my mother’s deal with the Eyllics was supposed to be.
The poison for a wellspring.” She released Calya, nodding grimly to both her and Lowe.
“Be careful. Bioon said it never got that far. That it was always for Graelynd, but intentions don’t mean shit. ”
“You be careful,” Calya said. “We’re not the ones putting our hands on poison.” She hoped. And the villagers weren’t poisoned, not in the same way. Or, at least, that was what she’d been told.
With a final nod, Eunny went to mount up.
As Calya watched her friends ride off, a soft hiss from behind caught both her and Lowe’s attention.
Froley indicated over their shoulder to a table at the back of the room.
The young research assistant, Lily, who had given Lowe the hand-drawn map on the first day sat alone, looking pale and worried.
“Found her hiding in the root cellar this morning. Gently now,” Froley murmured as they went to join the young woman. “The kid’s scared, and none of this is her fault.”
Lowe went first, pulling out a chair next to the young woman while Calya sat across. “Lily,” he said softly. “Do you remember Miss Helm? I mentioned that we came over together to look into the project you’re working on.”
Lily gave Calya a suspicious look before turning to Lowe. “She’s not from the Valley. She’s with Avenor Guard. I won’t—”
“I’ve worked with the Guard,” Calya said, tone firm but even and polite, “and I’ve done business with Sylveren University. I’m here at the behest of my sister, Anadae Helm, and Prince Ezzyn Sor’vahl.”
It wasn’t exactly a lie, just a massaging of the truth.
Name dropping, but names that signaled the morality of her cause.
The particulars didn’t really matter except to make clear, “As far as I’m concerned, my main objective is opposing whatever the Coalition is doing here, regardless of who my previous business partners have been. ”
The girl glanced at Lowe for confirmation, and when he gave an infinitesimal nod, she relaxed with a shaky exhale. “I already told Froley I didn’t know it was going to happen. They just came in the middle of the night and ordered everyone out. Took some papers and things, but they left in a hurry.”
“Who’s they?” Lowe asked.
“Treen and Aylton. They’re not from Sylveren.
Treen got one of her Adept levels there, but they’re both from Grae U.
Work for the Coalition.” Lily rubbed her eyes, voice bleak.
“They sent most of us working here to the other site the same day you arrived. It was only me and Juni and Wisk left. Aylton came last night and used magic to make them go.”
“How did you escape?”
“Mr. Eren… he tried to save me. In his own way. I saw him leaving. The assistants all live on the floor above the workshop, and I heard him in his office late, so I went to look.” Lily bit back a sob, eyes glistening.
“Followed him to the Pelf. He said I could go with him, but this, this is my home. I said no, and he told me to hide. Said he was sorry.”
“So you hid. Smart,” Calya said. “We wouldn’t know what happened otherwise.”
“I tried to go back for the others, but Treen and Aylton were already there with more people. I didn’t recognize them. I didn’t know what to do, so I came back here. The Coalition don’t fuck with Froley if they don’t have to.”
“Have you told any of this to Lieutenant Orren?” Lowe asked, and got another mulish shrug from Lily in response.
Calya frowned, mind skating back over what the young assistant had said. “You mentioned another site. Where?”
“We have a couple. I’ve only been to—”
“East of the abandoned site we already found, toward the mountains,” Lowe said.
Lily swallowed hard and nodded once.
“Can you tell—”
Calya cut herself off as Lily vigorously shook her head. The younger woman pulled aside the collar of her shirt, exposing a fading tattoo of the Coalition’s crest. “It’ll be gone in a few days if it’s not refreshed. But I can’t— They made sure to gag all of the assistants.”
Lowe’s expression darkened. He pulled Lily’s sketched map from his pocket and set it on the table. “Can you mark where it is?”
With a shaking finger, she traced a line from where the inn was marked with a simple dot to the edge of a grouping of squiggly lines.
The boundary between the Valley of Sylveren and Graelynd; the Valley had unofficially ceded the northeastern coastal tip to Graelynd instead of following the natural line formed by the Grae-Run mountains.
The spot Lily pointed to lay at the northeastern-most edge.
“There’s bigger maps in the workshop, if they didn’t take them,” she mumbled. “Sorry I can’t do better.”
“You did great,” Lowe said. “Thank you.”
Calya nodded her agreement.
Froley came back over, giving Lily a soft tap on the shoulder. “Go on over to the bakery. Roxy is making you something fresh.”
The young woman sagged with relief, hurrying away in case anyone thought of something else to ask of her.
Froley eyed the map still on the table as Lowe dug out a stub of pencil and roughed in the marks Lily had indicated. “There’s an old service road that runs up that way. Most of… part of the way,” they said. “Could save you some time.”
“Take whatever we can get,” Lowe said.
Calya only half-listened, her gaze caught on Orren’s men still hanging around in front of the Pelf. “None of that’s going to matter if we can’t get rid of them,” she said, heading for the door.
Lowe caught up before she was halfway across the road. “Do you have a plan?”
“Working on it.” She went straight past Orren, intent on the workshop.
The lieutenant noticed, breaking off conferring with his men. “Miss Helm.”
She stopped, motioning for Lowe to go on without her. She waited for Orren to approach. “I hope you’re not going to try and insist on leaving me an escort now.” She looked over his men. “I don’t think you have any to spare. Especially considering it looks like you’ve lost one.”
Orren regarded her, his brows drawing together.
“Where’s Brint?”
He ignored the question, simply sighing. “What are you doing?”
“Attending to my company’s business. I presume you’ve already searched in there, but I’ll let you know if I find something you missed.”
“What are you looking for? We could—”
“Where do your loyalties lie, Orren?” Calya gave him a pointed look. “Brint’s gone, and so are the Coalition mages he was so friendly with.”
Orren’s mouth firmed into a thin line.
“He’s an Avenor in name, but he isn’t the Guard,” Calya said. “Man or mission, lieutenant? I think you’re going to have to choose.”
Orren shifted from foot to foot, but he didn’t try to stop Calya when she continued into the mages’ workshop.
It was a mess inside, drawers turned out, paper scattered all over the tables.
Not ransacked, but it was clear the Coalition mages had known they wouldn’t be returning and thus there was no point in retaining orderliness.
Lowe looked up as she came in. “Did you mention Avenor?”
“Yes. Orren gave me nothing. But I daresay Brint is acting on his own.” Calya looked around the office’s main area. “We need to find the map.”