Embers (Scales 'N' Spells 4)

Nikki swallowed back a sigh. Right, back to the task at hand. They really did need to pay attention to what they were doing. The Jaeggi compound was no place for romance.

“If we’re all feeling better now,” Dimitri said in a dry, teasing tone.

Gunter glared, looking as if he wanted to barbeque the dragon, but he didn’t say as much. Instead, he lifted his chin and replied, “Right as rain. Let’s begin our investigation.”

Dimitri’s lips twisted like he was trying not to laugh. He looked over at Nikki, his expression turning serious again. “I know everyone wants to know more about how the Jaeggi magic works and what their plans are, but our one and only priority on this trip is to get a lead on where they were headed.”

Gunter huffed. “The garage probably would have been the best bet, but that went up in flames on our last trip.”

Dimitri grunted. “True. What about offices?” He looked at Nikki, his pale blue eyes narrowing. “Do you know if the Jaeggi had any offices their leaders might have worked out of? Or maybe some planning rooms?”

With due caution, Nikki moved into the center of the main square. The compound was largely a single square with a variety of buildings ringing the greenspace on three sides. Pointing toward the north at the broken shell of a couple towers, they said, “Those buildings there were like dormitories and apartments. Most of the Jaeggi Clan stayed there. That hole in the ground was the main opening to the underground rooms and a smaller garage. That’s where the new prisoners were kept.”

“That’s where you found Ravi, right?” Gunter asked.

Nikki nodded. “Some mages were kept there as well. I stopped being kept with the rest of the prisoners after my first year with the Jaeggi. The kids don’t stay long in the cells because they think we can be brainwashed into believing the Jaeggi are good people.” Their expression crumpled a little at the memories of those early days. Nikki had only known then that their parents were gone, and these people had assumed the role of guardians. In retrospect, their heart ached at the naiveté and needless trauma they’d endured.

“Were you kept in the dorms then?” Dimitri prodded.

Nikki gave a nod. “Yes, but even then they kept a close watch on me and others like me.”

“What else? What about that building?” Dimitri pointed to a square two-story structure that was missing half of its rooms.

“Mess hall, general storage, and some spell elements storage, but only the easy-to-find stuff.” Nikki turned and pointed toward a long, single-story structure that looked largely untouched by the battle. “The really good and rare stuff was kept there. It’s also where Thomas Jaeggi and some of the high-ranking Jaeggi stayed when they were with the main clan. If the leaders were holding meetings and planning stuff, it would probably be there. It’s the only building I wasn’t allowed in and couldn’t sneak through.”

Dimitri and Gunter sighed heavily in unison.

“Making that the most heavily guarded location in all of the compound,” Gunter muttered.

“And the most likely place to find the answers we’re looking for,” Dimitri added. He lifted his gaze to Gunter. “Do we try for it? It’s a big risk being just the three of us. We could call in more mages to take the defensive spells apart.”

With all the hopeful-mages still coming to Burkhard to be tested, and the exploration of the other places Nikki had listed, they were short on manpower. Even their original plan to come with a larger party of people had been whittled down to three because of it. Nikki did not feel good about yanking someone else from an important task.

“True, but that means more time for the Jaeggi to burrow in and hide from us. More time for them to strengthen their defenses. We’ve lost nearly three weeks as it is since the last battle. We need something or they will simply elude us again.”

“It won’t do us any good to go in unprepared and get blown up.”

“What if we see how close we can get? Just check out what kind of spells they have on the building. It might not be as bad as we’re fearing,” Nikki suggested. They couldn’t walk away empty-handed. There had to be something to give them a clue as to where the Jaeggi had gone. And calling someone else in was still a possibility, it would just take time.

“Alright, we’ll creep closer, but we go slowly and you both stay behind me. If things look bad, we leave. No argument.”

Nikki looked up at Gunter, who nodded grimly. It was the smart decision. They couldn’t take stupid risks. There would be no stopping the Jaeggi if they were all dead.

With the ice dragon in the lead, they cut across the greenspace, their eyes darting around, wary of traps. The grass glittered with broken glass and crunched underfoot with bits of concrete and burnt wood. Nikki tried to ignore the yawning black windows lost in the shadows cast by the angle of the sun. It felt like eyes were watching their progress, but they told themself the Jaeggi had abandoned this place.