“She’s been captured by Bruns Jewelrose.”
A wave of icy fear washed through him, followed by a molten fury that promised Bruns would regret the decision to apprehend her. At least she wasn’t dead. Valek focused on that, or else he’d lose the tight control he had on his emotions. “Ari and Janco?”
“Trying to rescue her and Leif. He was captured first and...” Fisk spread his arms.
“Do you know where they are?”
“Yes.”
One bit of good news. He hooked a thumb in the twins’ direction. “I need to take them to the Magician’s Keep, then we can talk to the Master Magicians and devise—”
“You can’t go the the Keep.”
“Why not?”
“There’s no one there.”
27
JANCO
Janco touched his smooth chin for the billionth time. Gah. He’d had his goatee for years. He loved it, but shaving it had been part of his disguise. Janco’s exposed skin tingled as if the entire garrison saw right through him. Plus his head itched from the red dye, and the fake ear made him sweat. One of these days, he’d impersonate a wealthy businessman for a change. He’d wear tailored silk clothing, expensive jewelry, be surrounded by a cloud of sycophants and... Who was he kidding? Grunts blended in; businessmen with minions did not.
Suppressing a sigh, he picked up a practice sword and sparred with a soldier wannabe. Keeping half his attention on the out-of-shape farmer, Janco watched the armory. Yelena and her thugs had disappeared inside not long ago.
One good thing about the training yard—no magic. Most of the outdoor areas were clean, but magic infected the barracks and canteen. He spent his nights sneaking into the various buildings or reporting information to Ari. The big guy remained on the outside to liaise with Fisk and his people.
Bruns strode toward the armory. By his stiff gait and the short swings of his arms, Janco figured he was either agitated or angry. Bruns entered the building and after a few minutes, Bruns and Yelena left, walking arm in arm. They both smiled, but Janco didn’t like it. Not at all. Something wasn’t right.
He let the wannabe disarm him. “Sweet move, puppy dog. You’re just too good for me. I’d better go find someone more my speed.” His ego shuddered with the blow, but showing off his superior skills would be the opposite of blending in.
Janco slipped away from the training yard and followed Yelena and Bruns to the administration building. The two thugs remained outside. A good or bad thing? He wasn’t sure. Finding an inconspicuous spot to wait, Janco kept an eye on the door.
To pass the time, he sized up the thugs and decided he could take them both by himself, if the ruckus didn’t cause every wannabe to come running. The problem with this place was not being able to tell the grunts from the magicians. They all wore the same uniform, which was a sound military tactic. No sense letting your enemy know who to target. But his magic mojo failed to work as well here. The power flooded the buildings and he couldn’t home in on the magicians.
They needed Valek. His ability to feel magic was more sensitive. Janco hoped Fisk would return soon. Kiki had only allowed Fisk to ride her. She had to be the one to go, since Kiki knew the rendezvous location and was smart enough to avoid the border guards.
Bruns poked his head from the door and barked at the thugs. They nodded and took off. Not good. Janco debated between following the thugs or remaining in his position. Footsteps sounded behind him. He spun, grasping the hilt of his knife and stopped.
“You should give a guy a little more warning,” he said to Leif.
“I’m trying to keep a low profile.”
“Aren’t we all.”
“Yeah, well, those two bruisers that just bolted are looking for me.”
Concerned, Janco scanned the area for them. So far, so good. “How do you know?”
“We weren’t as clever as we thought. Bruns caught on that we weren’t eating the Theobroma-laced food. He just tried to use goo-goo juice on Yelena to get her to divulge everything she knows, but when I gave Bruns her darts and told him which ones had Curare, sleeping potion and goo-goo juice, I mixed them up.”
“So Yelena is...?”
“Sleeping.”
“And you know this for sure?”
“Yes. Hale used his magic to listen in on Bruns and Yelena.”
“Then you need to escape. Ari’s—”
“I’m not going anywhere without Yelena.”
“But—”
“Listen. She’ll eventually wake up and then he’ll use the goo-goo juice on her.
“She’ll blow your cover and tell Bruns about Dax and Hale’s involvement. Tonight, the three of you need to leave. This is bigger than we can handle right now. I’ll rescue Yelena and join you outside.”
“Did you see the size of those thugs? No way you’re getting to her without help,” Janco said. “Where is he holding her?”
“In the cells under the administration building.”
“Damn. There’s only one entrance. We’ll have to use the windows. It’s going to be difficult.”
“How about if I let them catch me during a rescue attempt? Bruns might think no one else will try to reach her. Is there a way I can hide lock picks or a weapon where they won’t find them?”
“Brunsie is a smart cookie.” Without thinking, Janco scratched his fake ear and almost peeled it off. Aha! “Actually, there is a way that might work, if he doesn’t kill you once you’re caught.”
“He won’t. Yelena and I are showpieces. Bruns wants us loyal to his cause. If we’re unsuccessful, he’ll probably force-feed us Theobroma and blast us until we’re mindless Bruns groupies.”
“Isn’t there an antidote? Can you use Curare to reverse the effects?”
“No. It doesn’t work that way.” Leif frowned.
“What about something else? Even poisons have antidotes.”
Leif stared at him in shock.
“What did I say?”
“Those plants...in Owen’s glass hothouses. They... We...”
“What? Spit it out, man.”
“We thought the one hybrid plant was Vossen, but it might be an antidote to Theobroma!”
“Too bad you didn’t figure this out sooner.”
“Once we’re free, it’ll be a place to start.”
“Start what?” Janco asked.
“The revolt.”
* * *
Janco returned to the barracks and grabbed a few things from the bag stashed under his bunk. Then he met up with Leif in an abandoned storeroom. He mixed the putty, matching Leif’s skin tone, and set to work. When he finished, Leif had a couple lock picks and a number of darts hidden under patches of fake skin.
“Don’t scratch them.
And don’t touch the areas when you’re being searched,” Janco instructed.
“Got it.”
They reviewed the plan to rescue Yelena.
“Dax will leave the compound during supper and update Ari,” Leif said. “Hale will meet you on the south side of the administration building unless there are guards. In that case, he’ll rendezvous with you outside the magicians’ barracks.”
“Good. You might as well stay here until midnight. Bruns has increased the muscle searching the garrison for you.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to finish my reconnaissance. There are a few places I haven’t checked, and if you think there’ll be a revolt, then we’re gonna need as much intel as possible.”
“Be very careful.”
Janco huffed. “I’m Mr. Careful.”
“Uh-huh. How many times have you been—”
“I don’t count. What’s past is past.” With a wave, Janco left.
Blending in with various groups of soldiers, Janco explored the infirmary and the stables. Without Leif to secure untainted food, Janco ate a few pieces of ancient jerky from his travel pack. He chewed on it forever.
The canteen buzzed with conversation and magic. Janco’s scar tweaked with pain. Despite the power, Janco thought it was a good time to discover where the unmarked door in the back left corner led. It didn’t have a keyhole or other evidence of a lock. The knob turned with ease as Janco, acting as if he used the door all the time, strode through and closed it behind him.
He stood on a small landing. Stairs led down into a tight stairwell, ending in grayness. There must be windows below, letting in the last of the daylight. Janco descended, zigzagging from landing to landing until he reached bottom. As he expected, small windows set near the ceiling ringed the basement.
Glancing around, he spotted a collection of chairs, stacks of wooden crates, barrels, a pile of tablecloths and a mound of potatoes—an obvious storage area for the canteen. Footsteps, the scrape of chairs and voices filtered down to him from above. There was another door at the far end of the room. Janco wove through the mess and considered it a win when he only banged his shin once on a broken leg jutting from a table.