Bonus Chapter #2
Blu closed the book and looked at Vade with eyes as sharp as his high cheekbones. “Your business is your own, but you’ve never come to me unless it’s been job-related.”
The implied question hung between them, and though Vade was normally secretive, he found the words slipping out. “A woman came into your shop yesterday.”
Blu arched a brow and smirked. “We get many women in here daily. You’ll have to be more specific.”
“Deep auburn hair and green eyes. You sold her a yellow-green dress.” Gods, she had looked incredible. He’d wanted to lay her on the bed and worship her all night, forgoing the card game.
The wizard’s face lit up. “Yes, I remember her. Lovely thing, and sweet as can be. Did you like the dress?”
Vade recoiled. “What?”
“She told me she hoped the person she was buying it for would like it.”
His heart swelled hearing Orelia had even considered his opinion. He didn’t deserve her thoughtfulness. He didn’t deserve any part of her, really.
Blu gestured toward him. “I assume that’s you. Or was it for Ivan?”
Vade couldn’t stop his power from churning inside him at the mention of the asshole’s name. His skin heated, hands balling into fists.
The wizard tensed. Not in fear, but in preparation. He made no attempt to move, just let his calculated gaze sweep over Vade. A predator assessing another.
A strange response Vade didn’t often receive. A similar heaviness he’d grown accustomed to over the course of his life swept over him ever so gently, poking and prodding at his power, testing it.
Odd.
Vade relaxed his posture, and Blu was quick to follow. They stared at one another, and an unspoken understanding passed between them, cemented in the quirk of both of their lips.
He didn’t care what Blu was; he only cared that he could help him. “The woman that came in here is traveling with me and Ivan almost beat her to death. So I’ll need a room if you have an opening.”
Blu’s face turned grim. He reached into an interior pocket in his robe, pulled out a brass key, and handed it to Vade. “How long is the stay?” Blu asked.
“Until expiration. Approximately five days.”
Cunning, almond-shaped eyes watched him with interest.
He had only ever needed a room for a day, but he had new plans that had come to him while waiting outside. “How much?” Vade asked, pulling out his purse.
Blu smoothed his hair back. “Four-hundred gold.”
Vade pulled out a gold piece slightly larger than the common currency he’d won from the card game and slid it across the counter. “Keep the change.”
A nod of appreciation was given in response. “You remember what to do?”
Vade confirmed his understanding, thanked him, then made for the front door. He had just closed his fingers around the knob when Blu called out, “Fae.”
He had never given him his name, and the wizard had never asked. One of the many things Vade liked about him. The man didn’t pry. He knew Blu had secrets of his own and that the wizard’s name was likely just a reflection of his eyes, his robes, and his choice in guild marker color.
A muscle in Blu’s jaw ticked. “Make him pay.”
Vade nodded curtly, slipped out the door, and disappeared into the fog.
Vade had easily avoided the guards’ attention at the Merngal Estate, as most were barely able to hold their eyes open, seeming to be at the end of their rotation. He’d scaled the eastern wall and found Ivan sleeping alone in the second room.
A careful pour of powder from Aradonis’s sorcerer into a vial of water had the concoction instantly bubbling. Vade held the open container under Ivan’s nose and let the sleeping shithead breathe in the concoction until his head lolled to the side.
He hefted Ivan’s limp body over his shoulder, then climbed out the window and descended the iron trellis on the side of the house.
The fog was still thick enough to hide his departure from the estate, and the batalins were too busy chatting as they changed shifts to notice their ward being kidnapped.
At a mark past sunrise, the streets were a bit livelier, but still early enough to pretend he was a drunk carrying his even drunker friend home. Vade swayed as he walked, occasionally slurring words so that anyone passing by would assume he had just stumbled out of a tavern.
No one batted an eye as Vade pretended his way back to Blu’s.
He entered the alley and used the brass key to unlock a door that blended in with the wood siding, making sure no one was watching before entering.
Vade descended into the darkness via the narrow staircase, blindly feeling along the bumpy stones, counting twelve steps before arriving at the landing.
He dropped Ivan on the ground with a thump. The elixir would be enough to keep him asleep, though the man let out a soft groan.
Vade ran a hand across the stone wall and felt around for the hatch.
When he found it, he used the same key to open the lock on the handle and peered into the black tunnel beyond the door.
He remembered enough to know there were trulights somewhere inside, and when his fingers found round glass, he tapped the orb twice, doing the same to the one next to it.
The smell of mint and something he couldn’t place assaulted his nostrils. The floor leading to the empty elevator waiting at the end of the tunnel sparkled, and Vade guessed the astringent smell must have been a cleaner of some kind.
He glanced up the stairwell to make sure no one had followed him, seeing only slivers of light shining through the slats in the camouflaged door. Vade smiled at the light, knowing he was about to dive into the darkest parts of himself. A part he welcomed.
He slipped his arms under Ivan’s and dragged him into the tunnel, securing the hatch from the inside. He left the key in the lock as he’d done the other times he’d been here, per the wizard’s instructions.
Once they were in the middle of the elevator, Vade tapped the trulight sitting next to the crank.
He rotated the handle three times and stopped when he heard a click.
With a groan, the elevator descended into the bowels of the earth, the single orb guiding him to the place where Blu’s other services were offered.
Services far different than tailoring and styling.
The elevator stopped in front of a wide hall with three rooms on one side, each with their doors open.
He wasn’t sure how the orbs lighting the path were already lit, but he got his answer when his gaze landed on the second door.
Blood trailed in a thick, smeared line from the threshold down to another hall, and the pungent smell of sewer water hung in the air.
Vade lugged Ivan into the first room and laid him on the floor before bringing the four orbs to life in each corner. It didn’t take long, as the room was small, square, and barren of furniture except for a stone chair in the middle equipped with restraints.
With ease, Vade placed Ivan in the seat and secured his wrists to each arm of the chair.
He reached into the stone legs and pulled out the chains, attaching the cuffs around Ivan’s ankles, tugging to make sure they held.
Ivan’s bare feet barely touched the floor, and Vade imagined pulling off a toenail to wake him up, then decided against it.
Too unimaginative.
He wrapped a leather strap low around Ivan’s waist and fastened the buckle behind the back of the chair. A feeble sound slipped out of his mouth, letting Vade know he was coming to.
The fae shut the door, slid the lock into place, and turned to face the man he’d be spending the next few marks with. His fingers twitched, anxious to get started.
Ivan lifted his head and slowly looked around the room, blinking until his gaze landed on Vade. “Who in the hells are you?” he asked in a voice thick with sleep.
Vade twisted his neck from side to side. Cracked his knuckles. Stretched out his arms. He locked his onyx eyes onto Ivan’s hazel ones. “I’m your worst fucking nightmare.”
Ivan tried to get up, failing instantly. He realized he was restrained and yanked at his bindings. “What the fuck is this? Where am I? Who are you?”
Vade strolled past him and pulled on the handle protruding from the wall, opening the storage compartment. He stepped out of the way so Ivan could get a clear view.
Ivan squirmed violently. “Let me out of these chains right fucking now!” The restraints rattled against the stone, a sweet sound to Vade’s ears, though the human’s screams were sure to be far sweeter.
Vade studied the tools hanging neatly in rows, full of every object one could imagine using to make someone talk. Or to shut them up. For good.
Even in the cool room deep underground, Ivan had started sweating. His white tunic turned gray near his neck, and though his brown trousers were clean, looking expensive and new, Vade knew he’d soil them soon.
They all did.
“What do you want? Money? I have plenty of it. Whatever this is, I swear I wasn’t involved.”
Vade leaned against the wall next to a thoughtfully designed battle axe edged with teeth as sharp as a sea dragon’s. Though he appeared calm and collected, inner turmoil raged as he thought about the reason they were both in this room. Orelia. The sweetest, most kind-hearted soul he’d ever known.
“You know why you’re here,” Vade practically growled.
“I swear, whatever it is, I can pay. O-or my father can pay. He’s the Lord of—”
“I know who the fuck he is. And I don’t care.” Vade took slow, controlled steps, enjoying the sight of Ivan uselessly trying to move away from him. “There’s nowhere to go, Ivan.”
“How do you know my name?” He cowered as Vade approached, eyes blowing wide. “Wait. You were at the tavern last night.”
Vade ignored the human’s stale, ale-coated breath and got directly in his face.
Ivan swallowed. “This is about the girl.”
“Yeah,” Vade said roughly. “It’s about the girl.”
Ivan blinked excessively. “I uhh . . .I’m trying to remember everything that happened, but you have to understand, I was drunk out of my mind, and—”