Circle of Shadows (Circle of Shadows, #1)(48)

But the ship was rocking from side to side.

If there was a false bottom on the drawer, its contents could be pushing up on the panel unevenly, hence the pellet rolling forward. Since there was no obvious release switch, though, maybe this one was pressure-mounted.

Daemon placed his palms flat against the bottom of the drawer and pushed down gently.

It gave a little, then lifted up with a tidy pop.

Cheers to me, he thought.

There was, indeed, a pile of papers tall enough to cause the unevenness in the false bottom of the drawer. Daemon flipped through them. They appeared to be profiles of each ryuu: height, weight, age, and most important, details about their “specialty.”

Tidepool could command the sea.

Insects responded to Beetle.

Firebrand was the orb of flames.

For all that is good and holy . . . Daemon felt ill and had to hold on to the desk for a minute, but it wasn’t from seasickness. Skimming ryuu profile after ryuu profile hammered home the fact that if the Dragon Prince were allowed to build his army even bigger, they would be virtually invincible.

A warrior who could grow ice.

One whose hands became powerful magnets to attract away enemy weapons.

Two who could break bones, just with their minds. Even when the bones were still inside a living person.

How did the taigas stand a chance?

Stay calm, Daemon thought. The Society needs this information, and I’m the only one that can get it to them. He couldn’t steal them right now, though. If Prince Gin checked—which he might, because he would have profiles to add for the new recruits—it would be too obvious if they were all gone.

But Daemon would come back later to get them. Sometime, somehow.

He set the profiles back into the desk and was about to replace the false bottom when his fingers grazed a ribbon on the underside of the panel. Puzzled, he flipped it over.

There was a large map of Kichona. Colored dots marked various points around the kingdom, each connected by a green ribbon, beginning at Isle of the Moon, then Paro Village, Sand Mine, Kaede City, and onward.

Were those Prince Gin’s targets?

He touched the map. Each colored dot had a corresponding number written on it.

Isle of the Moon, 5

Paro Village, 26

Sand Mine, 30

Kaede City, 54

Tiger’s Belly, 200

Striped Coves, 300

Lionshead Pass, 622

Gorudo Hills, 1,100

Red Harbor, 1,810

Toredo, 2,000

They were cities and other landmarks throughout Kichona, but what did the numbers mean? Daemon studied them some more.

He gasped. There had been five councilmembers at Isle of the Moon over Autumn Festival, when the typhoon hit. Twenty-six taigas had come from Paro Village. And he and Sora had seen fifty-some taigas hypnotized at Kaede City.

These must be the number of taigas posted at each target. The number of new ryuu that Prince Gin plans to recruit.

It dawned on Daemon that if the prince had been successful at Isle of the Moon, the rest of this list might have been moot. The Dragon Prince would have captured Glass Lady and the other councilmembers and made them his puppets. They would have been able to command the Society to overthrow Empress Aki, and then Prince Gin could seize the throne.

Daemon felt a wisp of relief.

But that quickly passed, because it only meant that Prince Gin had been forced to a backup plan—all these other targets around Kichona. It looked like he was starting at smaller outposts, which he could easily overwhelm with his existing ryuu. Then, as the ryuu ranks swelled, he would begin to take on bigger targets to grow his army and collection of Hearts even faster.

Other than that, though, the ribbon traced an unpredictable path around the kingdom, such that it would not only take the Society a little while to catch on to what he was doing but also make it impossible for the taigas to know where he would strike next.

Finally, the ribbon ended at the Imperial City. The Citadel and Rose Palace would be the biggest prizes of all.

“Stars. If we don’t stop him soon, he’ll have so much momentum and power, we’ll be as good as dead.” Daemon sank into Prince Gin’s chair. “We have to poison him and every ryuu on this ship. And we have to get the list of targets to the Citadel, just in case Sora and I fail.” Saying the plan out loud somehow made him feel better. It gave him a bit of confidence—however unjustified—in the face of this daunting enemy.

There was a knock on the door.

Daemon jumped out of the chair. Then he hastily stuffed the false bottom of the drawer back in place, closed up the desk, and dove under the futon.

Gods dammit. His lock picks were still on the desk chair.

Whoever it was knocked again a minute later. Maybe this was the ryuu who had actually been sent to inquire of the Dragon Prince’s dinner preferences.

After no response, however, the person left. Daemon exhaled.

Time for me to go too. He’d lingered too long anyway. Prince Gin might come back any second.

Daemon grabbed his lock picks and slipped out the captain’s quarters door. He had just stepped back into the dark corner nearby when he saw legs descending the ladder. Daemon dove behind some boxes and buried himself beneath the coils of rope on the floor.

“Your Highness?” someone above said.

The prince stopped on the ladder. “What is it?”

“I was sent to ask what you would like for dinner.”