CHAPTER ELEVEN #2
Thom huffed out a laugh and looked over at Deckard. “Do you have to be the best at everything?” he asked, attempting to lighten the mood.
A small smile lifted Deckard’s lips, and Evylin caught on, nudging Thom. “He isn’t the best at everything,” she said proudly. “I can still beat him in a sword fight.”
Thom blew a raspberry. “Everyone can beat Jonn in a sword fight.”
Deckard sent them both an annoyed, though grateful, glare.
“Thank you for that,” he muttered amusedly, then turned back to the group at large.
“This discovery changes nothing about my commitment to protecting our group and completing our mission. Lord Obel granted me what texts he had for my study of this unexpected power, and I am ready to submit myself to further tutelage to ensure complete control.” He clasped his hands together as if to conclude the subject before continuing, “And with our announcements out of the way, we can move on to planning. Firstly, I’d like to welcome our new members to the team.
Mr. Calder, Highlady Freye, and Lieutenant Lohen, we’re happy to have you with us. ”
The trio gave him appreciative nods, and he went on, “Given the Alliance’s report on Blount and the fact that we have two more Relics to recover, we will leave first thing in the morning. As the Calders have been our navigators, I’ll allow Auden to explain our route.”
Auden drew his shoulders back under their sudden attention.
“Well, our journey is rather simple,” he said.
“Our first stop is the Terrae Keep in Estshire. As speed is paramount, we’ll return to Verlund Reach at the top of Wauld and cross over to Norhels through the Night and Day Keeps, cutting off days of travel. ”
“Damn it,” Thom grumbled. “Do we really have to go back through that hellhole?”
Rafferty pointed toward Thom. “I’m with him! Can’t we just cross the border? Surely, it won’t take that much longer.”
“We don’t have time for that,” Auden insisted. “Blount is already a day ahead of us. The gate from Night into Day cuts two days off our journey. If we leave in the morning, we’ll only just beat him to Olbury.”
“There’s got to be another way,” Thom said desperately.
“What’s got you so riled, mi’caro?” Brea asked with a smirk.
“Breata,” Isla said in a warning tone.
In reply, Brea rattled something in Schonese that sounded something like “Es bromé,” then turned back to Thom in expectation.
“Uh . . .” Thom stared between her and Isla for an extended moment before replying. “It’s black as pitch inside,” he explained. “Neither Raff nor I could see a damn thing.”
Brea pressed her lips together around a smile, but Vayden didn’t look amused. “Just you two?” he asked.
“Us non-magical folk, yeah,” Rafferty confirmed.
Vayden nodded slowly. “So I’ll be blind in there too.”
“Something to learn, mate,” Rafferty said, tipping his white-blond brows up.
“Being non-magical makes this journey a whole lot more difficult. This lot may appear more impressive on the surface,” he brushed his hand toward the majority of the group, then slapped it to his chest, “but we’re the ones who survive without a lick of magic helping us along. ”
“Fantastic,” Vayden replied sourly.
Brea’s amusement grew. “So we go through the Night Keep, pass through the gate into Day, and then we’re in Ephria. Which, I suppose, puts you back at the helm, Colonel.”
“I suppose it does,” Deckard said, setting his half-empty wine glass on the counter.
“The journey from Norhels to Olbury will take roughly nine days. Since we’ll be in Ephria and we have King Ephren’s authority, we’ll have the freedom to enter and stay in settlements, which will also aid our speed. ”
Evylin looked forward to the return to Ephria for numerous reasons, their ability to join civilization once more chief among them.
“After we’ve obtained the Terrae Relic,” Deckard continued, “we’ll travel back up through the countryside and onto Ephria City.
There, in Loclight, we’ll retrieve the Space Relic.
That should take us about thirteen days .
. .” He paused, glancing at Evylin. “The length due in part to the detour we need to make in order for me to release Hewitt.”
Pulling in a sharp breath, Evylin’s heart constricted. Though she knew it was the right thing, allowing Hewitt the chance to move on to the afterlife with his wife and son, she didn’t want to let him go. She’d just gotten him back.
“This Hewitt—” Brea said. “He’s your ghost?”
Deckard nodded, then explained Obel’s instructions on how to free his spirit.
“If we’re on such a short timeline,” Rafferty said, “shouldn’t we take care of Hewitt after we’ve got the Relics and Allund’s all set?”
“It has to be done as soon as possible,” Deckard insisted.
“When I summoned Hewitt, I stole his soul from his body. Obel said that if a Mage dies before releasing any ghost that they’ve summoned, those souls are locked in the ethereal plane until another Mage comes along to summon them, which isn’t recommended.
If I die before releasing him, Hewitt could be trapped there forever with no way to find rest.”
Evylin’s breath caught at the thought of Deckard’s death and Hewitt’s perpetual unrest, but she forced her mind to focus on the matter at hand. “Then we have to release him,” she agreed. “Immediately.”
Deckard nodded. “As soon as humanly possible,” he promised.
Turning back to the troop, Deckard raised his chin. “Once we’ve made it to Loclight, we’ll have to meet with King Ephren, I’m sure.”
“Weren’t we supposed to be communicating with the old sot along the way?” Rafferty asked.
“I’ve kept in contact with him via Lord Carlile,” Auden explained. “Our time in Wauld has forestalled our communications, but Carlile’s taking care of it. I planned to send him an update once we’ve arrived in Ephria.”
“That’s good,” Deckard said. “We need to retain his favor. And we’ll have to formulate a story as to why we have so few Relics in our possession when we return. You three won’t be able to join us either,” he said to Vayden, Isla, and Brea. “Your presence will be too difficult to explain.”
“Pity,” Vayden said lightheartedly.
“With luck,” Deckard continued, “we’ll manage to find the Space Keep without any interference from King Ephren.
Once we have the Relic, we will have control of half of them.
From there . . .” He turned to Auden and Ilain.
“I’d imagine our next step will be awaiting Blount’s arrival in the capital.
If we can stay ahead of him, then we can ambush him as he tried to do to us and take back the Relics he stole. ”
Around the room, the team members shared looks, each nodding and taking in the plan. Evylin couldn’t quite fathom the idea of completing their assignment. They’d been traveling for so long that she hardly remembered what it was like to have a home.
“Is it just me,” Brea said, hands folded in her lap, “or does it seem we’re overlooking the glaringly obvious facts?”
Everyone turned to her, expectant and silent.
“Just me, then. Great.” Brea sat up straight.
“Here’s the thing: We have no idea what Blount is going to do.
The Alliance’s intelligence says that he’ll be heading for the Terrae Relic in .
. . Estshire, is it? Reaching it will take him a vastly long time to get there.
However, we don’t truly know what plans he has or what he’s capable of.
“Just the other night, Auden informed the whole of the Alliance that Blount not only ambushed you before the Water Keep, but he followed you into the Day Keep under a shroud and stole the Day Relic out from under your noses.” She scanned them all.
“Then he had the Night Mages waiting for you outside the Night Keep. He couldn’t have known when you’d arrive.
That means he told them to patrol outside the Keep until you came through.
They were waiting for weeks. Same with the Order of the Wind.
And then again with Renaul’s liege officers at the Time Keep. Beyond that, he put out a writ on you.”
Brea took a breath, letting the facts settle in. “Blount is cunning, he’s manipulative, and he’s unpredictable. We can’t risk doing what’s expected because he won’t do what’s expected. And we’ll be putting our mission in danger if we behave exactly as he predicts.”
“What are you suggesting, Lieutenant?” Deckard asked.
She met his gaze. “We have to assume that Blount is going to outsmart us again.”
“We’ll be in Ephria,” Thom returned. “It isn’t like he has a mistress there who can send her lackeys after us.”
Brea raised her brow. “Do you know that for sure, mi’caro? Do you have spies among his men who are telling you of his plans?”
He blinked. “No.”
She smiled dryly. “No. And we can’t make plans based on information we don’t have.”
“How are we to compensate for that lack of knowledge, then?” Deckard prompted.
Brea turned her wry grin on him. “We’re working off assumptions,” she said. “But so is Blount.”
Clarity hit Evylin all at once, and she nodded. “We have the chance to outplay him,” she said. “Blount is notorious for outmaneuvering us and letting us do the work for him. If we want to beat him, we have to do something he won’t expect.”
“Won’t you and Jonn going through the Bonding ceremony already cover that?” Thom asked.
“It’s good,” Evylin said. “But it isn’t enough. Blount knows our goal is to retrieve the Relics. He’ll make his plans according to those facts.”
“And what?” Auden asked. “You want to subvert his expectations by letting him recover them?”
“It isn’t about our plans,” Brea said. “It’s about understanding his.”
“Something you said we can’t do,” Ilain retorted.
Brea didn’t appear offended by her caustic tone. “True. But we can take what we know about him and ask the question: How might he try to subvert us?”
Silence filled the tavern.