34. Chapter 34
Elessan
“Are you sure the mages will have Whisperers?” Elessan asked Zadé as they approached the farmhouse they’d been using to attempt to deactivate said weapons. At least, until Brooks had massacred them and stolen their supply.
Zadé tilted her head and studied him. “Didja ever figure out how many Brooks stole?”
He furrowed his brows. “No, we assumed he took them all.” It’s what he would’ve done, if he’d been in the Inquisitor’s place.
“Well, ya think we outta ask the magic users if’n they got any left over?”
He shrugged. “Sure, why not?” It was probably a moot point, but so much had happened in the last day he hadn’t had time to follow up with the survivors. Best to confirm his facts rather than base any plans on erroneous assumptions.
Zadé snorted. “Thought so,” she muttered as she pushed the door to the workroom open.
A red light blasted overhead, and the building rocked with a resounding boom.
Elessan tackled her, pushing them both through the door as a bucket of crimson liquid splashed onto the ground with a wicked-sounding hiss.
They slammed into the dirt face-first. The air exploded from his lungs as he rolled over, gasping.
“What in the Holy Houses was that?” Zadé shoved to her knees as she scanned the room.
Three mages stood around a table, their chairs upended behind them. A familiar gnome blinked at them over the wire frames of his glasses.
Jalius.
Elessan still wasn’t certain if he liked the leader of the Mage Underground for helping to save Aliya’s life the first time they’d met, or if he hated him for forcing her into an Irrevocable Vow to kill King Malkov.
“Elessan. General.” Jalius raised an eyebrow at them. “Next time, you would be wise to knock, don’t you think? Not to mention, it’s only polite.”
Elessan shoved himself to his feet, sweeping the dirt from his thighs and tunic. “What in Abaddon’s name is going on?”
“A magical trap, of course. In case the Arcane Inquisitor decides to revisit us.”
“Don’t think yeh have ta worry about him comin’ here anytime soon,” Zadé said, brushing her hands off on each other. “With him being busy occupyin’ the castle, ‘n all.”
Jalius and the other two mages blinked at her, as though she’d prophesied the secret of eternal life.
“No one told you, I take it?” Elessan tried to keep the dryness from his tone, but failed.
Jalius shrugged. “We’re supposed to be undercover.
If we are under attack, I’m certain Queen Aliya has more important things to do than send a runner to inform us, and thus also risk our exposure.
” He fixed them with a pointed stare. “I assume you were professional enough to make sure you weren’t followed? ”
Elessan fought back an eye roll. It was hate. He definitely hated this annoying little gnome. “As if I would hazard a repeat of what happened.” Aliya couldn’t afford to lose any more of her mages, or her Whisperers.
Something in his gut twisted at the thought of her name.
He’d botched everything… with Aliya, with Tsara.
It would also likely fall to him to report Tsara’s death, and the circumstances thereof, to her father.
A bitter taste crawled up the back of his mouth, burning his tongue.
He coughed, though that brought little relief.
Jalius tilted his head to the other two magic users, who righted their chairs and sat. “What do you need?”
Elessan turned his attention to the silver canister sitting on the table. “Have you been able to discover anything about the Whisperers? How to deactivate them, or…” He let his voice trail off.
Jalius cleared his throat as Zadé crept forward, her eyes narrowed on the metallic tube in suspicion. “Or how to weaponize them?” The gnome’s words dripped with disapproval.
Elessan nodded. “Hopefully in a more selective, less ‘murder every living being within range’ way.”
Jalius snorted. “While I suspect with several weeks or months they could be adjusted to target a specific race, we do not have the time to get so precise.” His eyes danced from Elessan to Zadé.
“Especially if the Arcane Inquisitor has invaded the castle. However…” His voice drifted off as he turned, grabbing a metal tool that resembled a cross between a cherry pitter and a wrench.
With a grunt, he grabbed one end of the cylinder with the device and twisted.
Something clicked inside the canister as a teal light flashed over the runes inscribed along the borders.
“I think we can tweak them to reduce their output, so to speak. Enough to knock everyone out instead of killing them.”
“Interesting.” Elessan leaned forward, studying the unfamiliar inscriptions covering the tube.
An unconscious Brooks would allow him to be imprisoned, to await trial and sentencing.
And, for fun, he could pry that Abaddon-cursed magestone from the inquisitor’s forehead.
Separated from his source of magic, the man would be a much less formidable opponent.
“How many ‘o these do yeh have?” Zadé asked. “‘N how many can be made this way, quick-like?”
Elessan pulled his thoughts away from his glorious plans of revenge and back to the present. “And do we have any idea what their reach will be once adjusted?”
Jalius stepped back, hands up as though he was being held at sword-point. “Hang on, hang on. One question at a time.” Turning his attention to Zadé, he said, “We only have the one you see here, and it’s already been done.”
Holding it to the light so she could examine it, Zadé nodded. “And since yeh only had the one…”
“There’s been no opportunity to test its range,” Jalius finished.
Valek. Well, it was more than Elessan had hoped for, at least. “We’ll just have to get it as close as we can before we activate it.
” And hope Aliya had been able to distribute ear plugs to the captives, though if the Whisperer only knocked them out instead of killing them, it wouldn’t be the end of the world.
They could deal with a dozen comatose hostages.
“Any idea how long they’ll be unconscious?”
Jalius shook his head. “If we’d had more Whisperers, we could’ve tested—”
Waving his hand, Elessan squeezed the bridge of his nose. If only…
“Well,” Zadé said, tucking the remaining cylinder into her satchel, “let’s go rescue Princess, shall we?”
Jalius glanced back and forth between them. “Oh, has the Arcane Inquisitor taken one of the royals hostage?”
The edges of Elessan’s lips pinched. “Not just anyone—he has Aliya.”
Jalius’ skin paled. “I—I see.”
“Excellent work.” Elessan met the gnome’s eyes.
“I thank you for your service to the crown. So does the queen.” Not like he had any authority to speak on her behalf.
Not since he’d married into the sun elf royal family and broken off his relationship with her.
Something inside him twisted, sending a sharp pang beneath his ribs that hurt as much as any blade. How had he let things go so wrong?
All he could do was rescue Aliya and hope she found it in her heart to allow him to explain and, perhaps one day, forgive him.
Catching Zadé’s eye, he spun on his heel and headed for the door, Zadé hot on his heels. Another set of footsteps followed and Elessan paused, peeking over his shoulder.
Jalius was shrugging into a lightweight cloak.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Elessan asked.
Jalius jerked his head back, giving him an incredulous glare. “Why, with you, of course. I’m going to help Her Majesty.”
Elessan narrowed his eyes. What he wouldn’t give for the ability to read the gnome’s mind right now.
“She can’t very well allocate me the land we want for the new Mage College if she’s dead or captured, now, can she?”
Growling in the back of his throat, Elessan twisted the doorknob harder than necessary.
A light hand landed on his shoulder as Zadé leaned close. “Let ‘im come,” she whispered in Elven. “At least he’s motivated. Might be we need all the help we can get.”
Flaring his nostrils and taking a deep breath, Elessan nodded. “Fine,” he said to the gnome. “But we’ll be traveling fast. You’ll have to keep up.”
The castle was unnervingly silent when they returned. Roland must have pulled his soldiers back to the Council Chamber or wherever he’d decided to stage his base of operations. No doubt he’d chosen a location well outside whatever he felt the range of Brooks’ Whisperers were.
Another thought occurred to Elessan, making his blood chill. What if Brooks had set one off while he and Zadé had been distracted with Tsara?
He’d intended to march straight to the library but that thought brought him up short. They needed an update on anything that may have happened, and the best place to get it would be the sun elf king.
Bracing himself for what was sure to be a battle, he switched direction.
Jalius’ footsteps scrambled behind him.
“Hey, where’re we goin’?” Zadé asked, tight on his heels as ever.
“We need to figure out the current situation with the hostages.” And to find out if Roland is still alive.
“Hmm.” Zadé tapped her finger to her lips, her face scrunched in thought. “Are yeh gunna tell ‘im ‘bout Tsara?”
Elessan chewed on the inside of his cheek for several steps. “Not right away, I don’t think.” He had no idea how Roland would react to the news on top of the fact that Elessan was free, but whatever happened, it would slow down their timeline for Aliya’s rescue.
Zadé nodded. “Princess needs ta be freed a’fore Brooks realizes who she is.”
At least the general was on his side. He gave her a grim smile. “And then we can take all the time we need to explain the situation to Roland. And Aliya.”
“She’ll forgive yeh, ya know,” Zadé said, her voice dropped to a conspiratorial tone. “She’s got a good heart.”
Elessan snorted, but held back his retort. The gods weren’t often so generous, but… “We can only hope.”
The doors loomed before him, larger than life. No guards were posted outside, which didn’t bode well. Usually, Roland was more insightful than that.
Reaching for the doorknob, Elessan turned the handle. It stuck, like the latch had been jammed.