Chapter 20 A Dagger to the Heart
A Dagger to the Heart
Two days later, I’m thrust into a waking nightmare.
The mirror in my pocket warms, and I glance into it, hoping to see Nico.
Instead, I see Emilio’s pale, stricken face.
“Come to the Medina city house immediately.” Before I can say anything, the glass goes dark and the mirror returns to a dormant state.
I stare at it, my usually steady hand trembling.
The Medina city house. Immediately. In broad daylight.
Dread washes over me. It can’t be an issue with Stefano.
Nico would have contacted me, not Emilio.
In spite of the warm weather, I throw on my cloak, pull up the hood and cast Cloaking.
With my focus on Nico, I’m not sure how well my actions will keep me unnoticed.
I’ll definitely need the extra protection the magic provides.
I move through the city as if the Shabah are on my heels, the worst scenarios playing out in my mind.
If anything has happened to Nico—. By the time I reach the estate, I want to vault up the front steps, throwing open the large wooden doors, and bellow for Nico.
Instead, I force myself to stop and investigate my surroundings.
I don’t detect any negative magic or traps, and I don’t see anyone else in the vicinity.
Carefully, I unlock the gate and slip into the grounds, making a full circuit of the house before I’m confident I’m not walking into a trap.
Finally I give in to some of the panic and launch myself up the front stairs to the door.
Placing my sigil against the heavy wood, I cast Detect Traps.
There aren’t any and the only spells I do detect are the usual wards.
Throwing open the door, I stride into the middle of the entryway. “Emilio!”
He emerges from a room to my left and hurries toward me. “Master Zayd. They have kidnapped him. They believe Stefano is behind the murders. They think he has finally decided to exact retribution for Sofia’s death.”
Does he mean House Vitorio or House Medina?
Not that it matters. They’ll all die. My hands shake, and I dig my fingernails into my palms, using the pain to focus.
“What proof do you have that they actually have him?” Emilio pulls a folded silk handkerchief from his pocket and hands it to me.
With dread squeezing my guts, I control my expression and carefully open the cloth, barely managing not to show my relief when I don’t find a finger or an ear. Or worse.
A ruby stud earring gleams starkly against the white, blood-flecked silk fabric.
I stare at the very earring that Nico wore in the market the day I first saw him.
I clench my fist, pressing the post of the earring into my palm, once again using the pain as a focus.
Closing my eyes, I take a moment to center myself before proceeding. “What do we know?”
“The earring arrived maybe half an hour ago. As soon as we received it, I contacted you. This accompanied it.” Emilio hands me a folded paper.
I carefully open it and read the note, scrawled in messy script.
You should have kept your word. Your son will now follow your wife.
No ransom. No demands. “I’m assuming you’ve already sent Protectors out. What have we learned?”
His brows draw down with worry. “Nothing yet. They only just scattered through the city.”
There are six targets left on my list. Six relatively intelligent people who might have pieced together what I’m doing.
They might not know it’s me taking them out, but they’re likely aware they’re being hunted, and any or all of them might be involved in Nico’s kidnapping.
Lorenzo isn’t currently in Panah, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t give the order.
And if he’s away, he probably wouldn’t condone his properties being used.
Which eliminates several prime locations from the list. But even taking him out of consideration, I’m still left with too many possible culprits.
And I don’t have time to check all of them myself.
We have no idea how long Nico has left. And I refuse to consider that it’s already too late.
“I need runners to track the recent movements of six people.”
Emilio glances at the study. “Stefano is in there with Elanil and a few of the remaining Protectors. Are you comfortable with revealing yourself to them? I can vouch for the Protectors. They are loyal to House Durov and now to you. And I do not believe Stefano would talk. Not with Nico’s life on the line. ”
My options are limited. But without a doubt, I will risk everything, including my anonymity, my mission, and my life, for Nico.
I nod once, and Emilio motions for me to follow him.
We enter a room furnished in dark mahogany, with bookshelves lining the walls.
Behind a large ornate desk, Stefano paces.
He’s tall, medium build, with the same curly hair and perfect nose as Nico.
But that’s where the similarities stop. Stefano is blond, has brown eyes, thin lips, and deep frown lines cutting through his handsome features.
He’s right-handed, weaponless, and no threat.
I approach the desk but don’t bow in deference or extend my hand in greeting. “Stefano.”
“You are?”
“Here to help get your son back.” We lock eyes as he tries to will my name from me. Neither of us looks away. “If you’d like to continue wasting time playing games, we can. But I’d rather find Nico.”
He closes his eyes. “I’m worried we are already too late.
” His voice is tight with strain, and when he opens his eyes and looks at me, his gaze reflects my own pain.
Under other circumstances, I might pity him.
Or hate how he abandoned Nico. But I can’t spare the energy for either.
I need to focus on the current situation.
I turn to Emilio, all but dismissing Stefano.
We will get him back. Alive. “I doubt either of the guild masters are involved in this. Kidnapping and murder of Lorenzo Medina’s nephew is too high profile a crime.
And since Leonardo is part of House Keller, he wouldn’t go against Hans on this.
Plus, this reeks of panic. I’m betting this is Aadan Hawa or Simon Brown.
They may be efficient killers, but they don’t always think things through.
Right now we need more eyes in the city. ”
Emilio gestures to a group of men and women in the black leather armor of Protectors.
They’re clustered in the corner with Elanil.
Our gazes meet, and I motion for her to join me.
“I need you and three others who can rapidly and accurately assess situations.” Elanil points at three Protectors and motions for them to join us.
I lay out the situation and give swift orders.
“You and you.” I point to the two on my left.
“Determine if Guild Master Keller and Guild Master Rostova are in town. Do whatever it takes. If they’re here, find out if Nico is being held by them.
” I turn to the third Protector. “You’ll find Leonardo Santorini and determine if he has Nico.
Speed and accuracy are vitally important. Do you all have mirrors?”
They each pull a small leather-wrapped mirror out of their pockets. “Good.”
Elanil pulls a handful of small, deep blue gemstones from her pocket. “Kyanite so I can track each of you. Since we will be cloaked, it will still allow me to know where you are within a certain range.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Like Clear Sight?”
“Close enough to it. It is like an energy field. I will be able to sense you but not see you clearly.” I accept the answer, though I want to know more.
But that can wait until we find Nico. She hands each of us a stone.
“Communication will funnel through me.” She spares me a quick glance.
“If that is alright with you.” I nod, because she seems to have thought this through and has a plan.
“Once you have determined the whereabouts of your target and the possibility of Nico being held by them, you will retreat to a safe location and communicate this information to me as quickly as possible via mirror.”
When she’s done, I pin them each with a glare.
“Do not fail.” I don’t need to mention that if they do, I’ll kill each of them slowly and painfully.
I also don’t wait to see them leave. “Elanil, you and I will have the most likely targets in Simon and Aadan. My gut tells me that Leonardo isn’t our kidnapper.
” He also didn’t sign the contract to kill Kas so has less reason to try to proactively stop the hunt.
“I doubt either will be at the Shabah compound, so we should search for them in other likely places. They’d need somewhere out of the way and currently unused.
I suggest you start in the warehouse district, and I’ll move to the docks.
” She nods and hurries out. I briefly return to Emilio and Stefano.
“If you learn any additional information, send a message directly to Elanil since she’s coordinating communications.
” I hurry out, disappearing like a ghost.
As suspected, each of the guild masters is confirmed to be at home and conducting normal business.
There are no additional guards or unusual visitors, and nothing appears to be out of the ordinary.
Leonardo has spent the day in the Shabah compound and has several witnesses to that fact, so it’s not him either.
Elanil relayed those bits of information not an hour ago, and I haven’t heard from her since.
Which isn’t a good sign. It does reaffirm my belief that Nico was taken by Simon or Aadan—possibly both.