“He’s a professional. And as you can see, I’m quite capable of handling myself.”
“Yes, I know. But I have orders from the Second Magician.”
“What happens when the next assassin doesn’t fail? How would you explain my death to Second Magician?”
Alden sighed. “This is a no-win situation.”
I stood and offered him the seat. “Then tell the Master Magician I escaped. You know I’m safer on my own.”
Alden wilted. He removed his cape and hung it on the rack before sitting down. “Can you answer a few questions first?”
“As long as you’re willing to reciprocate.”
“All right. What happened last night?”
I filled him in on everything except the part where I climbed the bars. No need to give away all my tricks. Besides, there was always a chance I might need it again.
“Do you know who hired him?”
“No, but he called himself The Mosquito.” I lied for a good reason. No sense alerting Bruns that I was onto him. Kynan shouldn’t remember too much from when he was under the influence of the goo-goo juice.
“How long until he wakes?”
“Curare lasts about a day.”
“Okay. Your turn.”
“I need an update on the investigation into Ben Moon’s whereabouts.”
“There’s not much to tell. We scoured Fulgor, searching every factory, warehouse, empty building, and found nothing. They suspected you purposely misled them into believing he was in Fulgor.”
Which explained some of the hostility from Devlen and the others. “Yet they’d found his hideout.”
“Opal walked through every single alley, seeking magic. She discovered an illusion that hid a door. The place appeared to be occupied, so they set an ambush and that’s where you came in.”
Lucky me. “Did anyone go to Red Oak?”
“No. They concentrated their efforts here. None of Ben’s men have returned to the warehouse since our people have found it, but evidence at the scene suggests Ben and his gang are headed west toward Owl’s Hill. The task force left for Owl’s Hill yesterday.”
Too easy. Ben would never leave real clues. He was probably sending them on a wild-Valmur chase. My gut instinct said Ben was in Red Oak or in a town nearby. No logical reason for it, but I’d learned to trust my instincts.
“Task force?”
“A fancy name for Leif, Hale and Opal.”
So they planned to keep me in protective custody until they returned. Anger burned, but I kept my voice even. “Can you return my effects and escort me from the building?”
“I can’t convince you to stay?” He had a hopeful tone.
“No.”
All activity ceased when Alden and I stepped into the bull pen. He glared at his men and ordered them to fetch my cloak and pack. One guard rushed to comply, and in a matter of minutes, I was free.
First stop, a decent meal. I walked to the Second Chance Inn and feasted on sweet cakes. Then I inquired about renting a horse. Red Oak was too far to travel by foot.
“There’s a stable a few miles north of here called the Clever Fox,” the waitress said. “They lease horses, but they require a pretty hefty deposit.”
That wouldn’t be a problem. No, the biggest problem I foresaw was what I would do if I found Ben in Red Oak. And I couldn’t shake the feeling that Ben and his friends were the least of my worries, but when I focused on it, the memory faded. At least I had a couple of days to think about it. I thanked the waitress and left a big tip.
Before visiting the stable, I shopped for supplies. I’d need the standard travel fare—beef jerky, bread, cheese and tea. Not the most appetizing. I laughed. Leif had rubbed off on me. Traveling with him certainly had its perks. Too bad I still wanted to strangle him.
Once I left Fulgor, no one would know my whereabouts. While desirable for avoiding assassins, Ben’s spies and annoying brothers, I thought it best to send a message to Valek just in case I ran into trouble.
* * *
The Clever Fox stables offered a number of horses for loan. The tidy barns, neat tack room and the clean earthy smell all pointed to a well-run, well-cared-for place of business. The owner, a man named Ellard, peered at me as if I was crazy when I inquired about Sandseed horses.
“I wish, missy,” Ellard said. “Sandseeds won’t tolerate multiple riders, but I had one as a boarder here a couple years ago. Ah...she was a thing of beauty she was.” His brown-eyed gaze grew distant. “But I might have a good match for you. She’s a bit older, but smart like those Sandseeds. Come on.”
He led me to a stall in the back of the barn. A gray dappled mare poked her head over the door. Curiosity and intelligence shone in her light gray eyes.
“This here’s The Madam. She’s strong and steady, unflappable in most cases.”
“And what upsets her?”
“Picket fences. Not sure why, but I suspect that scar on her chest might be the reason. It’s just a guess, mind you. But if you keep her away from them, you’ll be fine.”
Good to know. “How much?”
We haggled over a price that included a saddle and tack. When we settled on a price, he saddled The Madam. Then I transferred my supplies, filling the saddlebags with my purchases. The Madam watched me instead of grazing on the grass under her hooves.
I thanked Ellard and mounted. “Let’s go,” I said to The Madam.
She didn’t move.
“Are you sure you have riding experience?” Ellard asked.
“Yes.” Just not with a regular horse. I thought back to my riding lessons six years ago.
I tapped my heels against The Madam’s flanks and clicked my tongue. She lurched forward into a walk. Ellard waved goodbye as we exited his stables. Once we reached the northeastern road, I spurred her into a trot.
As we passed farm fields, tiny villages and forests, I altered The Madam’s gait between trotting, cantering and walking so I wouldn’t exhaust her. At least, that was my intention. Kiki always picked her pace and stopped when she was tired.
A few hours after sunset, I searched for a safe place to rest for the night. This route was too remote for travel shelters, and none of the towns had inns. I needed to find a camping site hidden from view.
An hour later, I discovered a small clearing behind a rock pile, which would block us from other travelers. Since we hadn’t encountered anyone so far, I risked lighting a miniature fire to heat water for my tea.
While waiting for the water to boil, I removed The Madam’s saddle, fed her and groomed her. She stretched her neck and leaned into the currycomb, encouraging me to rub harder. Then she moved around, presenting me with various body parts to comb. The behavior seemed odd to me, but when I thought about it, it made sense. After all, she knew the itchy places on her hide and I didn’t.
I returned to the fire and ate a bland supper of jerky and cheese. At least my cinnamon tea tasted spicy. Memories of past campfires swirled—Ari and Janco arguing over the definition of the word suspect, Leif cooking up one of his delicious road stews, Valek’s gaze meeting mine over the flames as a warmth spread through my body that had nothing to do with the campfire and everything to do with Valek.
Ah, the good old days. As long as I ignored the reasons that sent us on the road and all those miserable nights freezing or being drenched by the pouring rain or experiencing both. Selective recall suited me better—especially when I sat by myself, feeling lonely and skittish.
Plus the alternative, contemplating Ben’s reasons for being near the Ixian border, was unpalatable. Except I should develop a plan of action. He might not be in the area now, but he had to have a purpose for going there. Other than leading the posse away from Fulgor.
I decided to snoop around, following the Sunworth river east. If I fo
und him then I’d... What? Deliver a message to Fulgor, reporting Ben’s whereabouts.
Report him to whom? Part of me was tempted to send a message to Valek. If he’d had his way three years ago, Ben would be dead and all these problems wouldn’t be. Of course, there’d be a whole new set of problems. It never ended. Perhaps I should just travel to Ixia and let Alden and the others deal with Ben and this mystery threat. It was tempting. Very tempting.
But Opal’s comment, “Because we can help and it wouldn’t be right not to,” replayed in my mind. And while I might have lost my magic, I hadn’t lost the past eight years of experience in outsmarting the criminal element. At least I could determine Ben’s location and possible schemes and then send the information to Captain Alden.
Now that I had a plan of action, I doused the fire and tried to sleep. Tried being the key word. Every noise jerked me awake despite The Madam snoozing unperturbed nearby. There was a downside to unflappable. I worried she wouldn’t alert me to danger.
Giving up a few hours after midnight, I packed up the camp and woke The Madam. We’d take our time so we’d reach Red Oak after dark.
* * *
It didn’t take long to determine the two main sources of income for Red Oak. Between the floating logs and barges, it was easy to guess. The place had a sawmill that misted the air with the fragrance of freshly cut wood and clouds of sawdust. Stacks of lumber filled the wagons trundling south to make deliveries.
Barges loaded with coal bobbed dockside. Men shoveled the black rocks into wagons, emptying the metal boats and paying the tender. Then the barge was tied to a team of horses and pulled back upstream to the foothills of the Emerald Mountains to be reloaded.
By the amount of inns and taverns, I guessed the town benefited just as much from the influx of tenders and merchants as it did from the goods.