Chapter 54
Reagan
Reagan stared at the splintered piece of bark, its edges still rough where it had broken.
A thin crimson line cut across his palm, the one he had not bothered to mend after driving his fist into the worn wooden baluster.
He had torn the carved mark free before he forced himself back into the Hall. His chest held scarcely a breath.
The symbol had been carved into the staircase, subtle enough to be missed by anyone without a trained eye.
Finnegan had spotted it first. An oval eye with tongues of flame swirling inside, the fire shifting in a simple animation charm that revealed nothing.
Reagan had no idea who had left it beyond the certainty that it belonged to a Scion and that they had stood in the last place Jane had been.
“Brother?” Gwinifer’s voice travelled from two seats away at the table, faintly doubtful, as though she had been speaking for some time and had decided he was no longer listening.
He’d stopped listening once she informed him there were no news from any of the squads searching for Jane since yesterday.
He should have waited to announce her bond. Should have assigned a patroller to escort her. Should have enchanted another relic after Banfgaard.
But he had to be an imbecile, let his own bitterness against Varian distract him.
Now there were so many dangers to her life, so many ways they could hurt her. It was a battle to focus on anything else.
Three hours ago, a lizard familiar had sent a warning about the same location her blood had led them to, then vanished with an apology. The family who owned the Wandering Cup had portalled out of the country. Reagan now knew she had gone to rescue their child.
His temples throbbed from lack of sleep.
“Message Heil again,” he said, even though he knew the captain would have sent word if any of the searches had found something. The patrols he’d joined in the last day hadn’t uncovered so much as a trace.
“Did you hear what Finnegan said?” Gwin asked.
Reagan lifted his gaze to the figures gathered around the dining table.
Finn leaned forward, braced on his forearms, eyes intent on him. All of them wore the battle mage uniform designed to shield from the elements and deflect harmful charms, ready to depart the moment Heil’s mountain lion arrived.
But the sun had climbed high already, and there was no familiar in sight.
“What did you say?” Reagan asked.
Finn pointed to a human town on the map over the table. “We should place patrollers here to warn us if they catch sight of Madden.”
“Why would he go there?” Reagan pressed.
The silence that followed along made him realise he’d missed something.
“Did you hear anything that I just said?” Finn asked.
He hadn’t.
“One of my uncle’s spies sent word about the last place Madden was seen. Apparently, he showed up in this human town a week ago, before Jane was taken. It’s called Vallern, on the border with Erisea. He’s been there more than once.”
That pierced through his exhaustion, and Reagan set the marked bark on the table. “Has he been seen there again since yesterday?”
Reagan had contacted Erisea, Banfgaard and Vaelon to search for her. He’d asked for all the hidden lodgings the Elven Lords knew about. The Barrows had sent a familiar confirming they would dispatch battle mages to search their estate.
In his desperation, they had sent several messages to the Order’s address in Ashenagth, who had reported their leader was away. To Ravenna and Balthazar too, though he expected little from Ashenagth’s rulers. His dealings with the McAllisters were strained.
“Not that we know of,” Finn replied. “But if we wait there, maybe he will show up again. Or a Scion will show up and we can follow them to their hideout.”
It was all they had, precarious though it was, and still counted as an opportunity. His pulse jumped at the possibilities.
“If Madden goes there, I want him seized,” Reagan said.
“He will never admit anything to you,” Cerridwen added, her gaze dropping. “Even if he has her.”
He knew what his Second was thinking but didn’t let himself go there.
With his head pounding, Reagan rose to his feet, restless but fuelled by a sudden thread of hope. “You’re forgetting I have leverage over him. I only need to convince him to make a trade.”
The proof of the time weaver meddling with Reagan’s curse was still waiting to be used. He would give it up to have her back. He would swear on it.
“His leverage is better than yours,” Gwin warned.
“Not to him,” Reagan said, speaking aloud so that his staff could challenge him if he strayed.
“Madden cannot risk being implicated in the tampering with the curse. If he is found guilty, he is finished. His influence, his business, his petitions, everything he is building towards would be affected. He has to appear immaculate to pursue his agenda.”
“As if magisters are oblivious to the Order,” Gwin retorted. “Of course they know, and they still let him.”
“No. Reagan is right. That is why Madden surrounds himself with cronies,” Finn said grimly. “Why he left three of them with Varian. His so-called associates will do whatever he tells them and incriminate themselves so Madden can continue untouched.”
“Do you think there is a chance she will be there? In Vallern?” Joy asked.
Reagan had forgotten she was there; she had insisted on being involved to find her sister.
Fingers picking at her nails, she reminded him of Jane in more ways than one. When Joy noticed he was looking, she hid the hands beneath the table.
“We’ll look,” he said. “Tell Heil to send squads to take post in Vallern and do the same with the other locations on Eldar’s list.”
“That sounds good,” Gwin said, “but I don’t see why Madden would bring her there. Our best chance is to tail a Scion that shows up there and see where it leads us.”
“I want to search for her too,” Joy said, pulling Reagan’s focus back to her. Reminding him she’d already come to Mountheim looking for her sister once.
“Too dangerous,” Reagan replied steadily for her benefit. “And Jane would never be fine with that.”
The hollow of Joy’s throat shifted beneath the round collar of her sweater, yet her voice rose a shade when she said, “I need to help her. And I can help you too.”
Finn’s white shirt rustled as he leaned back, gaze flicking between them. He lifted a brow, cocking his head as if to say that the idea held some merit.
“No,” Reagan said again, his tone brooking no room for argument.
The least he could do was keep Jane’s sister safe. Finn nodded, reaching for Joy to murmur something Reagan didn’t care to hear.
He gathered the tempest racing through his veins into a single focus, turning to Cerridwen and Gwin.
“Inform Barracus and Heil to prepare,” Reagan ordered. “Have squads sent to these locations and keep the vigils active. I want every patroller invisible to human eyes. The moment the scum shows himself, I’ll deal with him. Then I’m getting her back.”