Freelance Heroics (44 page)

Gavi recognized the bright streaks on the animals’ scales and fur, and the protrusions beneath their skin. Knowing that she was outnumbered and likely outpowered, and that Caspian was currently occupied, she didn’t bother to think up a plan. She just did the first thing that came to mind—she attacked.

She swept her sword in a low arc, aiming to catch both the familiars and their taller masters. But the riders both barked something in an unfamiliar language, and as the humans fell back to avoid Gavi’s attack, their familiars surged past her in a burst of green light.

Caspian cried out as the badger’s claws raked across the back of his legs, followed by the snake’s strike. By the sound of it, neither had penetrated this MPB, but Gavi doubted that would last long, especially with Trafaul grappling with him. Five versus two wasn’t good odds.

Gavi swatted at the familiars as she took in the situation. With the riders hanging back and the others on Caspian, she could probably get away, but Caspian wouldn’t be able to, and she didn’t see anything she could use to help change the tide.
But just because I can’t see it
, she realized, glancing at the cliff face and remembering where they had been headed,
doesn’t mean it’s not there
.

She swung her blade in a wide arc to keep everyone at bay. Then she stepped back, took a deep breath, and started screaming bloody murder.

“
Help, help, someone help, we’re under attack, it’s the Noble Hunt, help, we’re—!
”

“Shut her up!” snapped Trafaul.

The two riders were on the same page. Both of them lunged, but Gavi was already falling back, dragging her sword across the badger’s back before swinging it into a window behind her, which shattered loudly. While the glass rained down and the badger turned to snap at her, Gavi backpedaled past Caspian and lunged at Trafaul, forcing him to let go or be impaled.

Suddenly, Caspian was free, save for the mutated snake constricting his leg. He snatched the long knife from his belt and began swinging as he tried to hobble away.

Gavi’s plan was simple: she knew they were close to General Ordwinn’s house, so the Nijāst guarding him would probably come running if they heard an attack. All she needed to do was make sure she and Caspian were alive when they arrived.

The riders were both speaking in that language again. Gavi watched as the two creatures glowed, the snake continually striking at Caspian’s knee, the badger facing her. She feinted to one side and then swung at the badger’s face, then ducked—and barely made it out of the way in time to avoid a face full of green mana. It went sizzling past her shoulder, singing her hair, and burned a hole in the building behind her.

The riders were advancing now, their swords drawn. Caspian was still facing off against Trafaul, mana crackling between them, and the mutated snake was still latched onto his leg. At a barked order, the badger lept at her.

That’s when Gavi remembered what Caspian had said when they were discussing magick the day before. She grunted as she barely dodged the badger’s claws, then reversed her grip on her blade and tried to bury it in the creature’s skull. While the familiar snarled and backed away, she grabbed Caspian’s shoulders and drove a thick boot into the snake’s face. “Force magick, now! Push them back!”

Biting back a yell as Gavi clung to his shoulders and the snake squeezed, Caspian threw his head back and shouted, “
Balance Break!
”

Red winds whipped around him, nearly hurling Gavi away. They did make her lose her sword, and temporarily stopped the snake from biting her boot. Trafaul tried to hold onto Caspian’s shirt, but he lost his balance as his feet were whipped out from under him, depositing him on his hands and knees. The badger and two riders were pushed back.

Before the winds had died down, Gavi was moving. She wrenched Caspian toward herself, almost tumbling as she did so, which pulled them away from the badger and Trafaul. Then she all but threw the young Nijāst toward the back of the buildings. Stooping to retrieve her sword, which had rolled up to the rightmost building—away from the action, fortunately—Gavi covered their retreat as Caspian, who was still trying to dislodge the snake, limped away.

That’s when the first Nijāst guards rounded the corner nearest the cliff face. “What the hell?”

“Explanations later, help now,” gasped Caspian.

One of the riders barked a command, and the snake detached itself and slithered away. Gavi tried to stab it, but it moved with frightening speed. As the two Nijāst advanced alongside Gavi, Trafaul—now with his hood drawn—exchanged a look with the two riders. “Scatter.”

Gavi knew she couldn’t move quickly enough to stop them, so she didn’t try. They sprinted to the other side of the alley and scattered. Shouts followed them.

Only now that the action was over did Gavi allow herself to tremble. As others took off in pursuit, Caspian collapsed to the ground. Gavi, her own legs suddenly weak, knelt beside him.

“It’s Trafaul, of the Adāst,” Caspian was saying to one of the guards. Whistles and shouts were echoing from all over the village now. “He’s cooperating with them. I think they were trying to silence us for asking too many questions.”

Gavi’s mind was sputtering, her heart drubbing at speed, as she absorbed what Caspian had said. She supposed he was right. She numbly looked down at the boot she had thrust in the snake’s face. Its fangs had penetrated the leather multiple times. She wiggled her toe. It didn’t feel like her MPB had broken, fortunately. She would have bruises, though.

She took several deep breaths, and then stood. “I think this means we’re on the right track. We need to meet up with Mazik.
Now
.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to capture Trafaul first?” Caspian winced as he tried to stand, and collapsed on his injured leg. The last guard who had come to their rescue left to join the pursuit.

“That would be nice, but I don’t think it’s necessary.” Gavi sheathed her sword and extended a hand. “If a member of the Adāst is helping them, that explains how Rhea was able to coordinate with the Noble Hunt. She had her allies do it while they were out of town. But he was a junior member, right? And around your age? How often did Rhea talk to him?”

“Never, as far as I know,” growled Caspian. He took her hand, and she pulled him to his feet.

“I thought so. He could have been the one she was sleeping with, but I wouldn’t be surprised if more than one Adāst is helping her out. Perhaps someone more senior.”

Caspian started sputtering curses.

By the time Gavi got Caspian to the kennel, his knee was already swelling. Mazik, Raedren, and Hyra were waiting for them outside. They rushed over as soon as Gavi and the hobbling Nijāst cleared the stone fence.

Mazik puckered his lips. “That doesn’t look pleasant.” He took Caspian’s free arm and slung it over his shoulders, taking some of his weight from Gavi.

“No, it does not,” hissed Caspian through clenched teeth.

“Hold on, let me look at that,” said Hyra. The three of them stopped, and she kneeled to inspect his injury. She probed it several times, eliciting complaints. Then she grabbed his kneecap and, without warning, wrenched it to the side. Caspian bit back a scream, his MPB sparking as Hyra’s hands were forced away.

When Hyra pulled back, Caspian’s kneecap—was back in the right place, Gavi realized. It had been dislocated, and she hadn’t noticed.

Once they had settled Caspian on the front steps of the kennel, and Raedren had used his divine magick, Dull Pain, to do exactly that, Gavi told them what happened and what she suspected. When she got to her suspicion about the Adāst, Mazik shot to his feet.

“Dammit. We even thought of that, but we couldn’t do anything until they moved.” He ran a hand through his hair, his expression frustrated. Then he squared his shoulders. “We need to talk to that Knapp guy,
now
. Where’s his office?”

“Would he even be at his office?” Gavi glanced around the village. It was in an uproar, with people scrambling every which way trying to capture the latest traitor.

“If not, someone should be. They have a building where they congregate between trips. I can take you there.” Hyra spoke the necessary incantations and unlocked the kennel. “Let’s get Caspian inside. We have bandages there. Then we’ll go.”

“Let’s make it happen.” Mazik hooked an arm under Caspian’s armpits and helped him inside, and though he was careful with the injured man, Gavi could tell that Mazik was practically vibrating with energy. If she knew Mazik—and she was sure she did—he would be itching to act, preferably
now
, with that trademark blend of determination, excitement, and righteous anger he wore so well.

Gavi could feel it herself. It was time to fight back.

Mazik shouldered the door open, and was gratified when a slumbering man tumbled from the couch, landing face first. But Mazik didn’t stop there. He slammed his glowing fist into the door, shattering it off its hinges. “Bring me your leader
right now!
” he bellowed amid a cloud of splinters and unnecessary property damage.

The Adāst headquarters was on the edge of town, on the less frequently targeted northern approach. The bottom level was a warehouse. It was the second level Mazik had barged into, which was divided into a large common room with two smaller rooms in the back.

The startled Adāst went for his sword, but Mazik just snarled, holding his ground. A dark green barrier hummed around him, and Gavi, Raedren, and Hyra peeked out from around his shoulders.

Knapp rushed out of the leftmost room, followed by two other people. He rounded the snooker table and ducked the darts still stuck in the dartboard. He waved his arms, trying to calm everyone. “Hold on, please! What’s going on here?”

Mazik stood with his arms crossed, his expression as fiery as a burning building. “We have some questions for you.”

Knapp’s brow wrinkled. “Yes, of course. Would you like to sit down? I’ll get you something to drink—”

Mazik swiped a hand, cutting the Adāst leader off. “You were sleeping with Rhea, weren’t you?”

Knapp blinked. “Huh? Who was?”

Mazik pointed at Knapp. “You.”

Knapp pointed at himself. “Me?”

Mazik nodded.

“Oh, no no no.” Knapp patted the shoulder of one of the people who had emerged from the other room with him, a woman about his age. “This is my wife. I’m happily married.”

“That didn’t stop General Ordwinn from cheating on his wife, and vice versa.”

“Maz,” said Raedren.

“General Ordwinn was having an affair?” asked Hyra, surprised.

Mazik glanced back at Raedren and snapped, “What? It’s going to come out eventually. I’d have let him take his time if he hadn’t held back potentially important information.”

Raedren didn’t look pleased, but he didn’t argue.

“I never would have thought general would have cheated,” Hyra was saying. She tapped her lip. “Explains a lot, though.”

Mazik stalked forward, and the four Adāst stiffened. “Sir, are you aware that your subordinate Trafaul just tried to kill Caspian and my friend Gavi?”

“What?” Once again, Knapp looked genuinely shocked. “What happened?”

Mazik stopped two steps away from Knapp. The other Adāst, including Knapp’s wife, had their hands on their weapons, but Mazik ignored them. He leaned forward and pitched his voice into a growl. “What happened doesn’t matter. What’s important is that he had two Riders of the Noble Hunt with him. Now you’re going to need to convince me that you’re not involved in the attempt on my teammate’s life, or I’m going to get rather cross with you.” Mazik raised his voice without looking away. “And none of the rest of you better move. You’re all under suspicion.”

Knapp chewed on his lip, then glanced at his people. “Stand down, everyone. We need to cooperate.” He turned back to Mazik. “I had nothing to do with this attack. I’ll do what I can to convince you. But may I contact Captain Sie to confirm what you’ve told me first? And could you tell me if Caspian is all right?”

“Caspian’s fine. Call her quickly. And no whispering—if you call someone else, I want to hear every word you say.” Mazik stepped back and crossed his arms. He looked around. “Also, are there any other of your people in the building right now?”

It turned out there were two more on the first floor. Once they were collected, everyone waited for Knapp to finish his call with Captain Sie. It didn’t take long.

He was grimacing as he ended the spell. Knapp turned to his people, who were sitting on the couches and chairs scattered around the room, their visible weapons collected near the door. “All of us have been ordered to stay in the building. The captain has our names, as you heard. If any of us leave, it’s likely we’ll be treated as traitors.” He bowed to Mazik, his face heavy with regret. “Please, ask any questions you have.”

Mazik ran a hand through his hair. He had been hoping the sudden accusations would shake something loose. He turned to Gavi. “What’ve you got?”

Gavi gave him a look, which seemed to say
really?
and
I knew this was coming
. It was a complex look. Luckily, she had apparently given it some thought.

“One of your subordinates was in league with the Noble Hunt,” began Gavi. “This potentially explains how Rhea was able to coordinate with the Noble Hunt—she had her Adāst ally do it for her when he was away from the village. But I’d be surprised if she rested her entire plan on one junior member no one seems to remember her ever talking to. What can you tell us that would make us believe that the rest of you weren’t involved?”

Knapp settled down into an overstuffed chair, and reached out and for his wife’s hand. She squeezed it. It was a moment before Knapp answered.

“Well, if we were all working with the Noble Hunt, we wouldn’t have done it like this. It’s too risky. They stole several spellhounds in their initial attack, correct? If we were working with them, we would have just given them the spellhounds over time instead of selling them like we’re supposed to. Then, along with Rhea, all they would’ve needed was one of our trainers, and they could have gone straight to Mis Effami’s house instead of attacking the heavily guarded kennel.” He nodded at Hyra, and smiled tightly, as if to apologize for even suggesting such a thing. “Plus, Mis Effami has left the village with us several times. If this hypothetical cooperation went far enough back, we could have orchestrated it so everything took place outside of the village, instead of requiring a risky siege.”