Dawn Study (Soulfinders #3)(93)

“Holy snow cats! That’s...” Janco couldn’t find the proper words for just how awesome it was.

“I couldn’t carry more than two, but Kade and Zethan have filled lots of extras. They’re storing them at The Cliffs. Just make sure you’re a safe distance away before you use them. Maybe they’ll come in handy for the big counterattack.” She grinned.

“Sweetheart, there’s no maybe about it.”





22





YELENA


I paused halfway up the steps to the Council Hall. Leaning slightly forward, I pretended to huff from the effort of the climb, resting a hand on my huge fake belly. My five “children” bounced up the stairs. Then, when they realized “mom” wasn’t keeping up, they hopped back down. The two oldest supported me as I waddled up to the landing.

“Thanks, ducklings.” I patted my “sons” on their shoulders.

The guards at the entrance watched us with amusement. I kept my thoughts on the task at hand, suppressing the doubts and million worries about what could go wrong deep into my subconscious. Free Fisk first. Then I’d fret over the next task.

There were a few other people entering the building, and I followed them with my children in tow. “Sir, can you direct me to where I obtain permission to leave the Citadel?” I asked one of them.

“Second floor. Can’t miss it. There’s a line.”

“Thank you.” Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the magician turning her attention to me. I signaled my children. They started bickering and it escalated into fighting. Then they knocked into the magician as they wrestled. I swooped in and scolded them, apologized and made them say they were sorry before we all trundled off.

As I waddled, I kept expecting her to call after me or sound the alarm, but nothing happened. The stairs to the upper floors were visible from the open lobby. According to Onora, the queue for the permits stayed long all day, and it trailed down the steps. I joined the line with a sigh, rubbing my lower back. My ducklings pretended to get bored and wandered off. The magician at the entrance scanned the people exiting and didn’t appear to be interested in me.

Onora had left the safe house earlier this afternoon. I assumed she’d entered without trouble. Now it was just a matter of waiting for the signal. I rubbed my back with a little groan.

“Maybe you should sit down, dear,” the lady next to me said.

“It’s worse when I sit. This duck is just being difficult.” I patted my stomach.

She nodded knowingly. “I had one like that. Are you due soon?”

“Not for a week, at least.”

“Not a good time to travel.”

“Oh, no, I’m not leaving yet. Once the new duck is born, I’m going to visit my mother. Let her wrangle the others while I rest.”

“That’s a good idea.”

We stood in companionable silence as the line inched along. I scanned the flow of people crossing the lobby and using the other set of stairs. Valek’s theory about Bruns’s plans to target all the magicians tried to sabotage my thoughts. We needed to stop that battle and find a way to protect them. How we would accomplish this monumental task had so far failed to materialize.

Instead of worrying about it, I switched my concern to Valek. His part of the plan was just as dangerous as ours, but he’d downplayed it with his usual bravado. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Onora on the far end of the lobby. She nodded at me—our agreed-upon signal—before disappearing.

“Oh, my!” I clutched my bulging stomach.

“Is it the baby, dear?” the lady asked, her voice shrill with alarm.

“It’s just a cramp—oooohhh! I’d better...” I waddled down the stairs. “Ducks, come on, we’re—aaaahhh!”

The kids joined me in the middle of the lobby, which had grown quiet. Everyone stared at the pregnant lady making noises. Good. I took a few steps toward the exit. “We need to get ho—oooohhh, no!” I gasped, stopping and bending over as if in extreme pain. “The baby is coming!” Squeezing my stomach, I ruptured the seal on the water skin that was hidden under my tunic. Except it wasn’t water that splashed onto the floor.

The people closest to me jumped back, but the guards at the door stepped forward to render aid. However, it was the guards streaming up from the cells under the building that scared me.

“Now!” I covered my nose and mouth with a cloth just as my ducklings threw small glass spheres onto the liquid. They shattered on impact.

An angry fog hissed and spread. My kids swarmed out of the way of its gray tentacles, making a beeline for the exit. Breathing shallowly through the fabric, I remained in place as the people around me stumbled to the ground. Then I, too, bolted for the door.

Outside, the kids had already disappeared. Kiki waited at the bottom of the steps. I mounted, and she took off for the Citadel’s gate, weaving through the government quarter. Once we were safe, she slowed so I could remove the deflated water skin and allow the others to catch up.

Time for part two. We rendezvoused with Onyx and the guild members a couple blocks away from the gate. Valek’s horse was saddled and ready.

“Is everyone here?” I asked. We would leave no one behind.

“Yeah, except for Master Fisk,” Phelan said with a worried frown.