Balancer (Advent Mage Cycle) (6 page)

I didn’t quite pout at him, but it was close. “Why?”

“Because you have one quality that Shad doesn’t. Discretion.”

A very good point, unfortunately.

Chapter
Four: Darlington

Shad had no problem with going to a Dom’s manor house to bash heads together. All of those weeks of planning, and training, and research paid off at moments like this, when he got to knock evil down and stomp on it a few times.

He’d just prefer not to have a prince in tow while doing it.

All of the legal reasons why Audax had to be there for the search had been explained to him. Several times, in fact. “Legal” had become his new swear word because of those lectures. The Doms had rights governing how they operated their own province, fine. Even though he had been deputized with the power to enter a Dom’s house, he would still have problems doing the job because they likely wouldn’t recognize his authority. Having the prince along—one of the few people that could overrule a Dom without question—would circumvent a lot of trouble later. Shad understood that.

But did he really want to be held responsible for Audax’s safety? Not at all.

Tyvendor set them to earth a little roughly on the front lawn of the Darlington Manor. The fifteen passengers he’d transported looked very grateful to have their feet firmly planted again. The unorthodox travelling method hadn’t really bothered Shad. Garth had done crazier stunts than Tyvendor had. At least with this method, he could actually
see
where he was going.

The manor had the grandiose scale that most manor houses did, although this one had been constructed of a pale grey brick that must have cost a pretty penny to haul in. The landscaping around it had that overly pruned look that most Chahirans favored. The place had more security problems and breach points than a beggar’s shoes. If it did come down to a fight, Shad had plenty of options to send people through.

Since someone in that house had undoubtedly spotted their rather flamboyant arrival, Shad had perhaps only a few moments before he needed to focus. Grabbing Audax by the arm, he hauled him close.

“Prince, I don’t want you any farther from me than this the entire night, understand?”

The prince’s face drew together in displeased frown. “I can see to myself.”

“Not with renegade Priests, you can’t,” Shad disagreed instantly. “Listen to me. I’ve fought these men before. Even seasoned veterans will have a hard time against them, and you aren’t one.
Your
safety is
my
responsibility. You will keep your arse right here within arm’s reach of me. Clear?”

One of the Special Forces, acting as Audax’s bodyguard, stirred at the implied insult of Shad’s manner. He opened his mouth to say something, outrage painted across his face, only to be cut off before he could issue a word by Audax. The prince simply raised a hand, gesturing him to stand down, his steel grey eyes locked with Shad’s blue ones. When he didn’t stand down or flinch, Audax gave him a slow, approving nod. “Very well, Captain. I won’t venture from your side tonight.”

“Good!” Shad gave him a sunny smile, bouncing a little on his toes in anticipation. “Let’s go beat people up.”

“You mean capture and detain people,” Audax corrected drolly.

“That’s what I said.” Shad started for the main doors of the manor with a quick stride, calling to his team as he went. “Alright, people, do just as we planned. Bornemeier, is that triangle thing of yours working?”

Wizard Bornemeier, a lanky, sandy-haired youth with an infectious smile, held up the crystal triangle with a grin. “Works just fine, Shad. I’m picking up people already.”

“Good.” Shad smiled as everyone fell into position as they should. The Special Forces on the outer edges acting as a vanguard for the magicians, the Remnant on the interior. Wizards and Witches could be formidable opponents, heaven knew, but Shad had been around them often enough to know that if they were distracted by some magical problem, a building could fall on top of them without their noticing. The Special Forces were there for a first line of defense just in case.

Despite all of the legal paperwork, Shad didn’t expect to have the Dom agree to a search of the premises. Even with the Crown Prince in tow. Bornemeier’s task was to use the crystal to magically search and detect where and how many Priests lurked in the area. Another Wizard, Clason, stood by with a copy of Chatta’s crystal so that they could positively identify Priests as they went. Xiaolang wanted to know exactly who was captured so that he could keep a head count of how many were missing.

The other four Witches and Wizard were on standby until they were needed to strip the Priests of magic.

Audax lengthened his stride to match Shad’s as they walked across the manicured lawn. “Captain Riicshaden, are you a betting man?”

Surprised by the question, Shad shot him a questioning look. “I’ve been known to make a side bet a time or two. Why do you ask, Princeling?”

“In my experience,” Audax explained with a mock serious expression, “when a guilty man is cornered, he responds in one of three ways: he either tries to bluster his way out of it, fights head on, or he tries to destroy his enemy by laying some sort of trap for him. You’ve read just as many intelligence reports on this man as I have. Which way do you think he’ll jump?”

For a split second, Shad just stared at him in surprise. Then he recognized that mischievous glint in the prince’s eyes—Nolan had obviously inherited that look. So. The prince had a sense of humor, eh? There might be hope for him yet. “Well…” Shad drawled, buying a moment to think, “…he doesn’t strike me as the sort who will fight head-on, so I bet traps.”

“Really? I think bluster.” Audax shot him a look from the corner of his eyes. “Of course, if I’m right, you have to train me with the Special Forces so you can’t treat me as a liability next mission.”

“If
I
win,” Shad countered, “you have to get me a dragoo.”

The subdued glint morphed into an outright grin. “Done.”

Shad had just put his foot on the bottom step, heading for the main doors at the top of the curving staircase, when the doors abruptly flew open. A rather short man with a thinning hairline, rotund build, and flushed skin stepped out. Judging from the fine silk suit he wore, this had to be Dom Herlevien. He barely rounded the door before he started talking, an indignant and outraged expression plastered on his face. “Prince Audax! What is the meaning of this?! I have done nothing to warrant such an incursion.”

Audax shot Shad a significant look, which the captain interpreted without difficulty. He owed the man training sessions. Not to mention coming up with some explanation for Saroya as to why he’d let the Prince run around as he’d wished. Coming up with a convincing argument that didn’t start with “Well, I lost a bet…” would take a miracle.

They made it to the Dom without another challenge. With a smooth motion, Audax handed a thick roll of papers to the quivering Dom, a polished smile on his face. “I believe you’ll find our paperwork in order.”

The Dom accepted it automatically but didn’t even bother to do more than glance at it. “This is an outrage, Your Highness! I have done nothing to warrant such a visit. I strongly request that you return home! I have always been a strong supporter for the crown and I am
shocked
, simply
shocked
that you are coming here in such a fashion! Really! And in such company—” he cast a derisive glance to the magicians and soldiers behind the prince “—well, it’s just unbecoming of a prince. I’ve known your mother for several years, and while her standpoint on politics did not meet with your father’s approval, she is still a fine woman. I can’t imagine what she would think if she saw you here like this. This whole situation is simply untoward.”

Audax didn’t blink an eye, just responded in a mild tone, “So you are not harboring any Star Order Priests or their affiliates?”

The Dom drew himself up straight, shoulders back, chest out, chin squared, and strongly declared, “I am not.”

Despite the posturing, his eyes darted from person to person, giving away his nerves.

Shad had no patience with bluster and simply turned to look at Bornemeier, who was standing directly behind him. “What’s the count, kid?”

“Thirteen,” Bornemeier responded without looking up from his crystal. “Ten are in the basement of the house, but three are in some kind of outbuilding around back.”

All of the blood just drained from the Dom’s face, leaving him pasty white. His mouth moved, but no articulate sound came out, and he started to take shaky steps back into the house.

With a feral smile Shad ordered, “Bohme, Sloves, Rossi and Janae—go deal with the ones in the back. The rest of you with me.” The four named peeled off and headed for the back of the house at a quick jog.

Audax waved to the soldiers standing beside him. “Take the Dom into custody.”

“Your Highness!” the Dom wailed, eyes wild with panic. “You must believe that I did not know about any of this!”

“Your guilt or innocence will be established later,” Audax responded coldly.

Judging from the smoldering anger on Audax’s face, Shad bet that the Dom would have to pull in some pretty hefty proof to “establish” innocence. Every person that harbored Priests like this, every effort they expended to protect the Order, delayed Nolan coming home. For a father, the continual delays must’ve been torturous.

In Audax’s place, Shad would not have been so patient.

Of course, with the prince in this fine mood, if they broke a few things they shouldn’t, well…odds were they’d be forgiven for it. That thought put a smile on Shad’s face. He waved his hand in a casual flick.

“Alright, Bornemeier, show me where they are.”

The Wizard came to stand at Shad’s left elbow and he enthusiastically moved forward at a fast walk. “There are three in this back corner, but most of them are right under our feet.”

The basement, eh? Most basements opened up near the kitchen, at least in Shad’s experience. He didn’t really feel like searching this entire main floor to verify that theory, though. Just this viewpoint made the building look like a museum. Whoever had built the house originally put in smooth, pale oak flooring that appeared white under the massive chandelier lights. The walls were stark white as well, not that you could see much of them with very expensive paintings, tapestries and huge statues taking up every square inch of the wallspace. From here, he could see four different hallway intersections, and not one of them hinted at being a servant’s route.

“Somebody find me one of the staff. We need a tour guide!”

“No need, Captain,” Loewen denied with a predatory smile of satisfaction. Out of all of the Remnant magicians that’d came over for this mission, she was the shortest and in Shad’s opinion, the scariest. He had enough experience in the world to look past her diminutive build, heart-shaped face and feminine look to see the razor sharp intelligence in her eyes. In the day that he’d known her, she had already shown an amazing knowledge of magic, fighting, and tactics. It was no surprise to him when she waved her wand in a small, circular gesture and a glowing blueprint of the house drew itself in light blue lines into the air. “I put a tracer spell on the house as soon as we arrived. This is the main floor and basement area. The tracer is still working on the upper levels.”

“This is fine,” Shad assured her, turning his eyes to the blueprint. “Our entrance is the back left corner of the building. Hmm. Only one staircase to the basement?”

Loewen gave a shrug of the shoulders. “Apparently so.”

“Well, that won’t do.” Shad pointed to the tile floor under his feet. “Loewy, sweetums, make me a new door, won’t you?”

“With pleasure,” she purred between clenched teeth. Raising her wand hand above her head, she gestured sharply down while commanding, “
Break!”

A square opening four feet across abruptly opened in the floor, the cut section falling into the basement with a crack and thud. Several male voices yelped in surprise when the ceiling above them crashed through. So, Bornemeier wasn’t joking when he said that there were people directly below them, eh?

Before anyone below had the chance to grab a weapon or come up with a good tactical plan to fend off invaders, Shad took a giant leap forward, jumping down with a shout of pure happiness. Leaping into an area of known enemies with limited intel and only a sword for backup—ah, it was bliss.

He landed on top of what used to be the floor with a crack of tiles. The basement had only three oil lamps for light, so the area was dingy at best. Like most basements, it had a cool and moist air to it and that slightly earthy smell of being underground. Shad spun low on his heels as soon as he landed, just in case someone took a swing at him, but it turned out to be a useless movement.

There were four young men huddled in one corner, not one of them armed. They looked to be in their early teens. Not one of them had on the gaudy robe of a Star Order Priest, but Shad had no doubt they belonged to that group.

“Captain!” Audax leaned over the opening, a frustrated scowl darkening his face. “What kind of fool stunt was that?!”

Shad ignored the angry prince yelling over his head and gave the Priests his most evil glare. They flinched and tried to press themselves further into the wall. Clearly, no fighting spirit here.

“Loewy, make a staircase so people can come down,” Shad ordered casually. He knew good and well that no one else had followed his leap for the simple fact they were afraid to break a leg in the attempt.

“If you’ll move, I’ll do just that,” she responded with acid sweetness.

Bossy little thing, wasn’t she? Shad smiled as he stepped to the side, keeping a weather eye on the door and another on the huddling cowards.

The ruined sections of the floor flew up and reassembled into a crude and narrow staircase. Almost before the last step was formed, people started to pour down it. Shad left the four he found to Loewen and Bos, choosing to go search the rest of the basement.