Dawn Study (Soulfinders #3)(50)

Janco slid off The Madam’s saddle. “Allow me.”

“I’ll go, too,” Onora said.

He crinkled his nose but kept quiet. They melted into the tall grass. I stayed on Horse, straining to track their progress toward the hothouse. The grasses dipped and swayed with the breeze. Time slowed while my impatience increased.

A faint rustle alerted me to Janco’s reappearance.

“Well?” I demanded.

“It’s full of plants like the ones I’ve seen in the Greenblade compound. And someone is taking care of them,” he said.

Esau leaned forward. “Did you see who?”

“Yes.”

“And?” I asked.

“You’re not going to like it,” he said.

“Tell me.”

“It’s your cousin, Nutty.”





14





VALEK


Yelena’s scent lingered on his clothes. Remaining in the middle of the road, Valek watched until she disappeared around a bend. An emptiness ached inside him. Each time they parted, it was harder for him. Instead of giving in to the temptation to chase her, Valek swung up onto Onyx’s back. Clicking his tongue, he urged his horse southeast to Fulgor to find Leif.

Four days later, he arrived in the capital of the Moon Clan’s lands. Unfortunately, he hadn’t encountered Leif, or any sign of him or his horse, during the journey. The afternoon sun warmed his back, reminding him that the heating season would begin in eleven more days.

Valek avoided the busy downtown district. Instead, he rented a small room in a dumpy little inn called Sweet’s. After settling Onyx in the dilapidated shed that aspired to be a stable, Valek changed into nondescript clothing and used putty and a bit of makeup to alter his appearance.

His agents stationed in Fulgor had been discovered and sent back to Ixia last season, so Valek spent the rest of the day visiting the places Leif would most likely stay. As the sun crossed the sky, Valek’s hopes for quickly finding his brother-in-law faded. Fear stirred in his chest when he spotted guards watching Opal’s building. He easily bypassed them and entered. The place was cold and quiet—something he’d never thought he’d equate with the hot glass factory. It was also empty of people. A bad sign.

When he finished checking the obvious locations, he tried to think like Leif. The man was smart and had to know the Fulgor security forces would be keeping an eye out for him. But what about Leif’s horse? Valek visited every stable in town, seeking Rusalka. Hours after the sun set, he’d exhausted all his ideas and was starving. Valek entered the Pig Pen for a meal—and to see if Leif was stupid enough to be having supper at his favorite eatery in Fulgor.

The Pig Pen was crowded like usual; however, an undercurrent of tension buzzed through the place. Valek spotted the source of the apprehension. Four soldiers sat at the bar. The stools of Opal’s soldier friends, Nic and Eve, were empty, just like their apartments had been. Valek found a table away from the bar and ordered the beef stew and an ale from a server. Despite the name, the tavern was clean. The regulars kept giving Valek the once-over, but he ignored them.

When the server returned with his order, she slipped a note into his hand. Valek glanced up and met Ian’s gaze for a brief moment before Nic’s twin brother returned to tending the bar.

With a sick tightness ruining his appetite, Valek unfolded the parchment. The note informed him that Leif, Devlen and Reema had been captured and were in the garrison’s stockade. And that Nic, Eve and Opal were away on a mission.

Ah, hell.

Since he’d promised to rescue Leif, Valek considered his meager options. Fisk’s people had been recalled, and Valek hadn’t replaced his own agents. A few of Nic and Eve’s colleagues in the security forces might help him, but he doubted they would without Nic and Eve around to vouch for him. Guess it would a one-man operation for now.

Valek spent the next three days watching the garrison and learning the delivery schedule. Each night, handfuls of soldiers headed to town for a few hours before stumbling back. On the fourth night, Valek donned a stolen uniform and joined the group returning from the taverns. The guards at the gate waved them all through, and the magician stationed there barely scanned their thoughts before returning to sleep.

Since this was a reconnaissance mission, Valek stayed in the shadows and poked around, getting a feel for the place. In the morning, he entered the dining hall. He munched on apples to avoid the foods laced with Theobroma while he listened to the conversations around him. Scanning faces for Devlen or Leif, Valek wondered if they’d been here long enough to have been assimilated, or if they remained in the stockade.

Valek left with a small group of guys, but when they headed to the training yard, he peeled off and made a loop around the stockade. An impressive number of guards watched the single-story building, which meant someone important was inside.

He’d bet a dozen gold coins it was Leif, and that the Cartel planned to use him as bait to lure Yelena and Valek into attempting a rescue. Would they expect one so soon? Valek considered. Getting into the base wouldn’t be difficult. It would be leaving with Leif and Devlen, who might be brainwashed and reluctant to go, that would be almost impossible. Valek needed time to think and plan. He searched for a spot to hide for the rest of the day.

While checking out the stables for possible locations to wait, one of the kids running errands paused next to him.