Freelance Heroics (49 page)

Gavi started to respond, but when she saw the smile he gave her, which was equal measures fiercely loyal and murderously bright . . . she couldn’t decide if it chilled her to the bone or set her blood on fire, or both. She was glad for his faith in her, if nothing else.

“I’m coming too.” Caspian slotted an arrow onto his bow.

Twenty-seven stepped closer to Mazik and leaned against his leg.

“Me too,” said Hyra. Gavi turned, preparing to object, but Hyra’s eyes blazed. She jabbed a finger at Gavi’s chest. “You can’t stop me! I have to be there or he’ll know we’re not going to bargain with him. I—” She stopped. “Are we? If I need to go with them, I will. I won’t let—”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” said Mazik. Gavi’s eyes snapped to him, and he glared back. “What do you want me to say? I don’t want these bastards to have anything other than a slow death and a shallow grave, but we’re in trouble without Rae, and I won’t tell his parents and sister that I got him killed.”

“You should have thought of that before you brought your friends along to play adventurer,” said Gavi.

“That is becoming abundantly clear!” snapped Mazik. “Now, are we going or not?”

“He’ll kill us if we sacrifice someone else to save him.” Gavi cut Mazik off before he could respond. “Yes, we’re going. I’ll think of a plan on the way.”

Mazik let out a long breath, then tried to smile. “Badass, in-charge Gavi. Another of my favorites.” He let out another breath, then winked at her. “Sorry about that. You’re the best, Gavs. Don’t worry, we’ve got this.”

Gavi snorted to hide her embarrassment. “Shut up and clear the way.”

As Hyra whistled and began calling spellhounds from all over the battlefield, Gavi watched as Mazik turned to the advancing riders. The smile he wore was not kind. “With
pleasure
,” he purred.

Mazik tore through the Noble Hunt like a tornado through a campsite. He didn’t know if the riders were letting them through or if they were truly taken aback, but the area of road Mazik filled with light and sound was quickly vacated, the riders slipping away with their evasion spells while their familiars howled in pain. Mazik sprinted through the gap, the others close behind. He fired at a few enemies as they passed, and took obscene pleasure at their shouts and curses.

He flew ahead of the others as if on wings of magick. Gavi, Hyra, and the cloud of spellhounds followed as best they could, while Caspian, whose leg was still injured, had already disappeared from view.

Only one of their group managed to keep up. As Mazik plunged into the forest, Twenty-seven followed closely. Even without alteration to aid his running, the hound was fast enough with enhancement and muscle-power alone.
Goldilocks!
Mazik felt a smile tug at his face.

Deep in his chest, Mazik could feel anger and excitement warring—his fear for Raedren clashing with the pure, adrenaline-soaked love of the fight. As always, he knew he could choose which emotion drove him, and he chose excitement. Mazik let the laughter bubble forth, short and terse, and grinned despite the frightful pounding of his heart. “Good! Keep up, Goldie! It’s time for us to kick some ass.”

The two of them caught up to Boern as he and the aku were coming to a stop in a small clearing. Though the trees flourished all around it, the glade was barren of anything but dirt and leaves, with the moon overhead bathing it in pale light. There were signs of recent clearings—this area was kept clean on purpose. At the back of the clearing was a rocky ridge which overlooked a shallow slope, if the meager dip in the trees beyond was to be believed. On top of the ridge was what looked like a weathered shrine.

Mazik took all of this in in an instant as he hurtled toward Boern, mana swirling around his clawed fist.

“
Mazik Steal!
” Blue winds wrenched at Boern. The chieftain was spun around, but he clung to his hostage with both hands. That prevented him from defending himself from Mazik’s follow-up spell, which exploded in his face.

As Boern reeled, the aku stepped in between them, cutting off Mazik’s spell. Mazik could hear Boern cough and snarl. “One more stunt like that and I’ll slit his throat.”

Mazik froze, holding out a hand to stop Twenty-seven. Gavi, Hyra, and the other spellhounds caught up shortly. Once they had all stopped, the aku stepped away, revealing Boern. He was holding a knife to Raedren’s neck.

“So. Here we are again,” said Mazik.

“I thought I said only the three of you were allowed,” snapped Boern.

Hyra shrugged. “I only said that these two would be coming with me. I didn’t say anything about anyone else.” Her expression clouded over. “And before you argue, I think we all know your monster can beat these little ones without much trouble, and that we just gave you seven more chances to capture the spellhounds you wanted. You shouldn’t be complaining.”

Boern didn’t respond. He pressed the knife to Raedren’s neck, the tattered remnants of Raedren’s MPB sparking feebly. “Let me remind you that I still hold the cards here. I can kill your friend and take my chances at capturing you myself. Don’t test me.”

Mazik grit his teeth, his earlier elation ebbing in favor of resurgent anger.
I’m going to enjoy boiling this sonofabitch alive.

The two groups stared at each other, neither one apparently eager to move. Finally, Hyra said, “Well? How do we do this?”

Boern glanced off to his left. “Hold on. One more needs to join us before we can begin.”

Mazik could feel the others stiffen, but the person who climbed up the slope behind Boern wasn’t who they were expecting.
Though
, Mazik thought as she came into view,
perhaps we should have
.

She was middle-aged, probably a decade or two younger than Boern. She was tall, or at least she looked tall, her back ramrod straight and her lips puckered into a frown. Her entire face was severe, and her expression one of leathery contempt. Her hair, which was large, curly, and reached to the middle of her back, was collected in a tail at her nape, thought that didn’t stop it from ballooning out below the hair tie. Its volume helped to give her a commanding presence.

“Rhea,” said Hyra, her breath a whisper.

Mazik cocked his head to the side, examining the woman. From everything he’d heard, Rhea had sounded like a total hardass—someone prone to explosions of anger or disappointment, and who didn’t much like anyone. He could see how that could be, though she seemed awfully relaxed right now. He watched as she stopped beside Boern, her arms folded with calm assurance. Rhea was wearing full Noble Hunt regalia, all coarse fabrics in greens, browns, and dull reds, with leather gloves that stretched to her elbows and thick riding boots. She wasn’t wearing any visible weapons, which was consistent with what they had heard—she was supposed to be a finger-wiggler, the type to stand back and cast spells. Mazik assumed that included Noble Hunt spells now.

The two traitors gave no sign of their suspected affair, though perhaps they were standing a touch too close for mere coconspirators. Mazik couldn’t decide. After several seconds of taking in the situation, Rhea turned to Boern. “It’s not what we were hoping for, but we can work with this. What made you start the attack early?”

“We found out about your affair, and what you were planning to do,” interrupted Mazik. He grinned, and it was all teeth. “Glad to hear we rushed your plans along.”

Rhea arched an eyebrow at Boern. He nodded. “Found them digging around my house. Couldn’t risk being taken.”

The head breeder nodded, appearing to accept this. The aku stepped closer and nuzzled her neck. She swatted it on the nose. “Control yourself.”

“Thank you for lending me this one, by the way.” Boern stroked the aku’s flank. He looked around and frowned. “It’s just you?”

Rhea’s relaxed countenance slipped for a second as worry deepened the wrinkles around her eyes. “Yes. The rest are making sure our former neighbors don’t interrupt us. It sounds like your mercenaries aren’t working out as well as we hoped.”

It was Boern’s turn to look sour. “Aye. Some were barely fighting, and others were unwilling to kill. I guess you can’t trust mercenaries after all.”

“In their defense,” said Mazik, “that’s the reason most of them are still alive. And the
adventurers
, thank you very much, on our side have been doing quite well. Maybe if you weren’t trying to get them to backstab your—”

“Oh, shut up.” Rhea refolded her arms, spearing Mazik with an expression of haughty disgust.

Mazik was stunned for half a second, and then he grinned. “Good. I like older ladies who don’t put up with my bullshit. We’ve got one of those back in Houk, she’s a real trip. Shall we deal?”

“Perhaps you should be quiet and leave this to the woman who will be coming with us,” said Rhea.

Mazik tossed his head back and let out a deep laugh. Then he lowered himself into a fighting stance, his eyes narrowed. “Oh man, I’m going to
enjoy
killing you.”

Rhea turned away, dismissing him. Mazik bristled, but didn’t let himself move. Not while that knife was so close to Raedren’s neck.

“So this is her boyfriend, is it?” Rhea was looking at Raedren. She didn’t seem impressed. Then she startled, and raised an eyebrow. “Ah. He’s powerful.”

“A thorn in our side turned into a bargaining chip. I thought it was a nice trick,” said Boern.

Rhea’s lips pressed into a thin smile. “Agreed.”

While Boern kept the knife trained on Raedren’s neck and the mutant spellhound loomed over the proceedings, Rhea turned back to Mazik’s group and, for the first time, addressed Hyra. “Hyra. How have you been?”

Hyra inclined her head, though she looked like she wanted to vomit. “Rhea. Why did you betray us?”

Rhea chuckled. She looked pleased by the question. “I wanted to be more than I could ever be in that stifling village. Haven’t you ever wanted to do more with your life than train mutts and hide away from the world? I know you must have some ambition. Otherwise you wouldn’t have risen to your present position.”

Mazik thought he saw Hyra’s eyes dart to Raedren, but her voice was clear as she responded. “No. I had my herēst, same as you, and I made my choice. Even if it’s not perfect”—this time Mazik definitely saw her eyes move—“I’m happy and proud to be doing what I’m doing.”

Rhea shook her head. “A slave. You’re as good as a slave. Whereas we will be free to make our mark on the world.”

“What kind of mark is that? Of betrayal?” snapped Hyra.

Rhea’s smile sharpened. “Don’t worry. You’ll find out soon, once you come with us.”

Mazik wasn’t listening anymore. He thought back to something he had said months ago, before he convinced Gavi and Raedren to embark on the path that had led them here.
I don’t want to be treated like a slave in exchange for my wages. I want my freedom back.

He felt light-headed.
These two probably talked about how to break out of their crappy jobs, just like we did. They snuck around after work, just like we did. They—

Mazik’s hand twitched, and he had to stop himself from reaching for his knife.
But our plan didn’t hurt anyone, or at least, not anyone who didn’t deserve it. Unlike these two.
Mana swirled within him, mimicking the roiling in his stomach.

Gavi looked between Mazik and Hyra. Mazik had tensed again. Hyra looked like she was barely holding herself together. The six spellhounds around her looked like they were about to lose it as well, while Twenty-seven was glaring at Rhea with as much vitriol as Mazik. Gavi stood in the middle of the group, her sword low but ready to swing. But she couldn’t act, not with that knife on Raedren’s neck.

“Enough of this,” said Rhea, swiping her arm as if the conversation were crumbs on a dinner table. “Hyra, come with us and help me restart the breeding program. If you do that, we’ll let this man go, and we’ll even let
you
go once we’re finished. You’ll be free to go wherever you want, even if you choose to run back to your masters here.”

“And why should I trust someone who kills her own people?”

Rhea rolled her eyes. “Because we need your cooperation. We need the secrets in your head, not you. Once we have those, and we’ve verified that you weren’t lying, you’re of no use to us. We’ll even leave the others”—she nodded in the direction of the Nijāst village—“alone if you come with us. Unless you try to betray us, that is.” The threat in her voice was clear.

Hyra didn’t respond for several seconds.

Rhea sighed. “If it makes you feel any better, I don’t hate you. I never have. If all of this wasn’t necessary for what comes next, we would have left quietly.”

What comes next . . . ?
Gavi didn’t like the sound of that.

Finally, Hyra’s shoulders relaxed, and she took a deep breath. “Sit. Stay.” The spellhounds looked uneasy, and only half of them obeyed. Hyra barked her orders two more times, until all the dogs save Twenty-seven were sitting in a circle around her.

Hyra stepped out of the circle, holding up her hand to stop the dogs from following her. “I’ll come halfway. She’ll come with me to take him.”

Gavi stepped alongside Hyra, her sword still out. When Rhea and Boern didn’t object, the two women advanced slowly. “Once we’re there, you come meet us and we’ll make the exchange. Is that okay?”

Rhea let out a sigh, full of exasperation. “No, that will never work. Too much opportunity for betrayal, from both sides.”

This coming from them
, thought Gavi,
of all people . . .

Rhea pointed off to Gavi’s left. “You, with the sword. You stop over there, equidistant between our two groups. Hyra, you go to your right, over there.” She pointed again. “I’ll meet you there, and the chief will meet your adventurer friend at the other. Once I take you into custody, he will—”

Gavi let herself smile. She couldn’t have planned it better herself.

Boern’s arms wrenched backward, his knife tumbling to the ground. As Raedren’s limp body fell, Chief Boern turned to find Caspian clinging to his back, both arms threaded through the chieftain’s armpits as he pulled him off balance.