Chapter 33 #2
Nikki didn’t discount that. Gunter would absolutely not be okay with this plan.
But Nikki was determined to help. And who else could they send?
The other rescued mages wouldn’t have anything to do with this—Nikki knew that for a fact.
They were far more fragile than Nikki. And asking Lina to do it was just wrong on so many levels. She wasn’t even an adult yet.
It had to be Nikki. And as nerve-wracking as the idea was, Nikki felt excited too. It was a cloak-and-dagger situation, and Nikki liked sneaking around and blowing things up. It might be fun.
“We need to get in, Hoheit. And I’m the only person you can send,” they said confidently. “I promise to hold Gunter back.”
Alric passed a hand over his face. “Shit. I hate decisions like these. Nikki, I’m holding you in reserve for now. Let’s properly sit and plan this out. If we can figure out any other way, we’ll do that before I send you alone into enemy territory.”
That was fair. Nikki gave him a nod. “Okay.”
“Follow me back into the War Room.”
Uh. They had one of those?
Nikki gamely followed him, not really sure how to present themself. This was the first time they were going in offering a solution and not just information. Didn’t that call for presentations or something? All the meetings on TV had projectors and slides.
Although what Nikki would put in a PowerPoint presentation was anyone’s guess. Slide 1: How to make wards go boom.
Alric threw open a door and marched through it, proclaiming as he walked, “We have a possible solution. Cameron, explain it once again for them, please.”
Nikki didn’t really listen as Cameron repeated himself. They were mentally stuck on Slide 2.
Other than that, the War Room wasn’t nearly as impressive as the term made it sound.
There wasn’t a single cannon, no bombs—although quite a few weapons hung on the walls.
Those were cool. There were weapons Nikki couldn’t even put a name to, looking battle scarred and worn, as if they had been wielded in a war at one time.
These weren’t just for display. In the center of the room was a huge, big-ass table, with a map currently stretched out on the top.
Personally speaking, Nikki felt the place could use a few more windows. It was strangely dim in here. Just saying.
Rodrigo spoke up as Cameron finished. “All of the Jaeggi spells? Are we sure on this?”
Cameron turned and gestured to Lina, who lingered near the door as if ready to make a break for it at any second.
“Not all, but their major workings, like wards, are. I’ve just confirmed it with her.
And Nikki. This really gives us an edge.
We have a much better idea of what to guard against and how to overcome anything they throw at us.
It also makes sense of my experience with them.
No wonder they used the same sorts of spells repetitively.
They literally have no leeway for creativity; they’re stuck with simple spells they can manage unless they create a machine for it. ”
“And you’re sure about the ward being a generator?”
“Yes. Well, it functions like one, I should say. It’s a machine that activates and maintains a ward.”
Chalo gave a grunt. “Sounds like a generator to me. Alright, so we need someone registered as a friend to go in and take that thing down. Seems to me like we have very few options.”
Alric gave him a dip of the head. “There’s few I trust in high-stakes situations. And among the ones we rescued, only Nikki seems to have any real skills and backbone. They’ve already volunteered to go in and take it down. I’m…open to other suggestions, if anyone has one?”
Chalo’s wife, Diya, spoke up. “Why not the girl who sought us out? Lina Jaeggi, you can’t do this?”
Lina shook her head so vigorously it was in danger of coming right off. “I don’t know how to work the machine. I can’t begin to shut it off.”
Nikki lifted a hand. “I, on the other hand, have no problem with blowing it to hell. I’ve already done something similar once to get you inside a city.”
Turning, Alric gave them a long, level look. “That’s true, you have prior experience. I’m inclined to think you have the best chance of going in. But Nikki, you have to understand, if something happens to you, I am not explaining it to Gunter.”
“It’ll be fine, Hoheit.” Nikki grinned at him.
And it wasn’t that they didn’t understand the dangers—they did.
But Nikki had been waiting a tree’s age to get revenge on the Jaeggi.
This seemed like the prime time for it. And they wanted closure, the chance to heal, without lye being rubbed into an open wound every time they turned around.
Besides, if Gunter got to go, Nikki got to go as well, dammit. He was not allowed to leave Nikki behind like a fainting damsel in distress or some shit.
Rodrigo wiped his hand over his face, looking to the far wall for a moment. “This sits ill with me, sending them in alone.”
“It doesn’t sit well with me, either,” Alric admitted. “We have no way of reaching Nikki if something goes wrong, no way of coming to the rescue. It’s incredibly risky.”
“I know that, Hoheit,” Nikki assured him, touched the man was so worried. This was a king who worried about his people.
Alric turned and looked them dead in the eye. “Do you?”
“Yes, I do. But I deserve a chance at revenge. And I’m your best shot of getting this done.”
“You’re right, on both accounts.”
Seeing he still didn’t like it, Nikki gave him a wink. “It just means I have to do it right the first time.”
A fist thumped the table, and Roca spoke firmly. “I like their attitude. Let’s get in there. I’m tired of the Jaeggi being a thorn in our collective sides. If we plan this well, we can get Nikki in before the Jaeggi know what has hit them.”
Nikki was all for that.