Dawn Study (Poison Study 6)

“Are you sure they went this way?” Heli asked me.

“No. But they can’t escape, so if they didn’t, they’re still in the building.”

We descended two stories. The stairwell ended in a large room where the Masters changed into their formal robes before attending Council meetings. The expensive silk material swayed in the breeze blowing in from the open door.

Fisk cursed and crossed the room at a run with Heli on his heels. Magic brushed my thoughts.

“I see them!” Fisk pointed outside.

“There they are,” Heli said.

Before I could stop them, they raced into the empty street. The door slammed shut behind them, plunging the room into darkness.

I yanked my switchblade but wasn’t quick enough. A knife poked my stomach with its sharp tip. I froze.

“Drop it,” Bruns said on my left.

Could he see in the dark? I released my blowpipe. It clattered to the floor.

“And the knife.”

Damn. I let go of that as well.

“I’d love to gut you right now, but I need you. Later,” he promised. “Cilly, search her for weapons.”

The woman was quite thorough. Too bad she didn’t prick her finger on one of my darts. Once she’d collected most of them, Bruns instructed her to lead the way.

He grabbed my upper arm, but his knife remained in place. “Move.” He pushed me up the stairs.

“But I thought—”

“You thought wrong,” Bruns interrupted me. “My men will wake as soon as that gas wears off. Did you really think I wouldn’t protect them against all your potions? Just because I didn’t need Theobroma to convince them doesn’t mean they don’t consume it. And I was smart enough to stockpile it, just in case.”

He dragged me to the lobby’s staircase. Below, Bavol and Shaba waited for the reinforcements, but it didn’t take them long to notice us.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” Bruns said to them. “Or I’ll kill your Liaison. Cilly, take care of them.”

They remained in place as the magician descended. She held a couple of my darts. She jabbed one into Bavol’s arm and pricked Shaba with another. They both stiffened and toppled to the ground.

Feeling sick to my stomach over the turn of events, I stumbled a bit as Bruns led me to his office. Cilly lit a lantern as he pushed me into a chair. His weapon remained pressed against my skin.

“Secure her,” he ordered.

Cilly picked up a pair of manacles and yanked my wrists through the wooden slats of the chair’s back. The metal cuffs bit into my flesh. I could probably still stand, but my seat would come with me. When Bruns finally moved the blade away from the baby, I took my first deep breath since he’d jumped me.

“Go downstairs and wait for the others to wake,” Bruns ordered Cilly. “Then take the Councilors down to the cells before returning.”

She nodded and left. Bruns pointed to a glass super messenger on his desk. “I received word from Owen that he captured Valek. The Commander is going to execute him for treason at the opening of the fire festival.”

I tried to keep my expression blank, but tears filled my eyes as grief crashed into me. Unable to stop them, they ran down my cheeks and dripped off my jaw.

Bruns studied me with a quizzical expression. “You stayed dry-eyed through far worse. Being forced to cooperate with me, seeing Valek after he’d been beaten...you never blinked. How do you even know I’m telling the truth?”

If I wasn’t sobbing, I would have laughed at Bruns’s attempt to console me. He actually appeared...upset. He’d had no trouble threatening a pregnant woman with a knife, but making one cry must have been one of those things his mother taught him was not nice. I took a few shaky breaths, trying to control my emotions. No doubt the baby was responsible for my outburst. Valek might have been caught, but he was a hard man to keep.

Bruns cleared his throat. “And through my magicians, I’m also aware of your attacks on the garrisons. They failed, by the way. And I’ll blame the incidents on the Commander. So thank you for your help.”

A gamut of emotions rolled through me. I bit down on my lip to keep them in check.

Bruns leaned back and tapped a finger on his chin. “In fact, those gaping holes in the walls won’t be easy to defend. Especially with the enemy also on the inside. The Commander’s forces should have no trouble conquering the Sitian army. You should be happy about that. Fewer lives lost.”

“Thrilled,” I said with plenty of sarcasm.

He grunted in amusement, but then turned serious. “There will be casualties, of course. You’re not going to leave this room alive. I’ve learned my lesson and will not take any more chances with you.”

“Then what are you waiting for?” I asked.

“Cilly. I promised her she can enact her revenge for her brother’s death.” Bruns frowned at the door. “How long until the gas wears off?”

Not long. However, the sleeping draft we gave them would keep them asleep for a couple more hours. But Bruns didn’t need to know that we hadn’t used Curare on his men. In fact, there were lots of things Bruns didn’t know.

I shrugged. With my arms pinned behind me, it was harder than expected.

Cilly burst into the room. “They’re...coming.” She panted. “From all...directions.”

Bruns was on his feet in a heartbeat. “Who?”

I answered for her. “The Sitian army.” I savored his confusion. Getting caught wasn’t part of the plan, but at least I had a front-row seat to his downfall.

He rounded on me. Pressing his knife to my throat, he asked, “What did you do?”

“Me? Other than tonight, not much. But my friends attacked the garrisons a few days ago. The Master Magicians were never under your control, Bruns. They’ve convinced your magicians to report the attacks tonight, instead of when they really happened.”

“How? My people are loyal!”

“It’s amazing how quickly the magicians switched sides once they learned about the Harman sap.”

Bruns growled. “Die.”

The blade burned through my skin. Pain ringed my neck. Guilt and grief over the baby dominated my thoughts.

Then a figure slammed into Bruns, knocking him away from me. He recovered and spun, aiming his knife at his attacker, but Onora blocked it with ease. She held a dagger in each hand. Bruns lunged and, while he had a bit of skill with the blade, it wasn’t near enough to counter a well-trained assassin. In one smooth move, she sidestepped the attack and stabbed her knife right into his chest.

Cilly screamed and dove for Onora. The magician should have used her magic. Onora disarmed her in two moves and knocked her unconscious with the hilt of her weapon.

Everything had happened so fast that my heart was slow to catch up, but now it banged in my chest and made it difficult to breathe.

Onora stared at Bruns’s corpse. An angry flush painted her cheeks. “He was going to kill you.”

“Yes, he was.” My throat throbbed, and the top of my tunic was wet with blood. My muscles trembled with shock.

Onora met my gaze. “Not on my watch.”

29

VALEK

Valek’s strength returned in bits and pieces. He’d have a good day, only to relapse the next. They moved his bed into a windowless room with one door. Medic Mommy cared for him, and she informed him he’d been her patient for ten days. The attack on the Citadel would happen in two days’ time, and the Commander would invade in twelve days—unless Valek stopped him.

The next time Medic Mommy checked on him, he asked, “Why bother?”

“Excuse me?” She tucked a short strand of hair behind her ear.

“I’m going to die. Why bother to nurse me back to health?”

“Orders.” Meeting

his gaze, she asked, “Would you rather be tossed into a cell to fend for yourself?”

“Actually, yes.” He grinned. “Better chance to escape.”

She snorted. “Which is why I also have orders not to release you.”

Pity. He tried another tactic. “At least you know the orders are coming from the Commander and not Owen Moon.”

“It’s better, that’s for sure. No one is going to mourn that bastard.”

“I’d hoped the Commander would be more grateful.”

“You know his stance on magicians.”

“But I’m no longer one.” He considered. “Do you know if that’s what happened to Yelena’s magic?”

“I don’t know.” Medic Mommy glanced at the infirmary’s door with a worried frown. “Did Yelena come with you to Ixia?”

“No. She’s in Sitia.”

The woman visibly relaxed. Valek remembered they were close friends. Time to capitalize on that sentiment. “She’s not any safer there. Once the Commander takes over Sitia, she’ll be executed, as well.”