Night Study (7 page)

“And the Commander?”

Valek glanced at Onora. Curled up on her side, she appeared to be asleep. “The Commander’s lying is a more...recent event.”

“But he didn’t tell you about Owen.”

“Oh, he’s kept things from me before, but he’s never looked me in the eye and lied.”

“What changed?” she asked.

What indeed? “I suspect a few things.”

“Such as?”

“Not here, love. Janco’s far more interested in our conversation than his dreams.”

“Am not,” Janco said, not in the least embarrassed he’d been caught eavesdropping. “Besides, I don’t have dreams, I have nightmares.”

Before Janco could launch into a detailed description, Valek said, “Then we’ll let you get back to them.” He stood to allow Yelena to take his place under the blankets.

She untied his short cape and handed it to him. They’d have to buy her a new cloak to use during their trip to Ixia. Once there, she could reclaim her own cloak and give the new one to Reema. Too bad she didn’t have it with her before. The special resistant fabric of her garment would have stopped many of the smaller shards of glass.

Valek added a few logs to the dying fire. The air had grown quite cold. Then he moved away from the light, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness. He did a sweep of the surroundings and, when he was satisfied no one lurked nearby, Valek found a spot to watch over the camp until dawn.

When the sun rose, he woke the others. Janco grumbled. Onora said nothing as usual. Yelena sat up and winced, pressing a hand to her side. Valek insisted she drink a cup of Leif’s wet-dog tea. He checked her bandages. With a bit of sleight of hand, he rubbed a couple drops of the watered-down Curare along her injuries before applying fresh bandages.

“I saw that,” she said.

“No, you didn’t.” When she opened her mouth to protest, he said, “We have a long day ahead of us.”

They packed up and headed northeast, returning to follow the Sunworth River. At the first decent-sized town, Valek sent a message to Leif, warning him of the booby trap inside the glass houses while Yelena informed the local security forces about the dead gardener.

As they continued east, Janco asked him, “Are we going to keep searching for more of those hothouses?”

“No. Owen’s probably cleaned them all out. We’ll let Leif and Devlen hunt for the rest of them. We need to rendezvous with my team and locate that other tunnel into Ixia.” His team had expected him days ago, and he’d have to eventually report his detour to the Commander. At least they had collapsed the hidden tunnel located near Lapeer. Owen had been making a tidy profit by allowing smugglers to use his tunnels for a fee. Valek loved it when criminals turned greedy. It made his job of catching them so much easier.

“Then we should cross to the north side of the river,” Janco suggested. “The other tunnel was on that side near the Ixian border.”

“Ari said they traced the smugglers to the foothills of the Soul Mountains. We can travel faster on the road than in the forest.” Valek considered. The intel from Ari and his corps had only pinpointed one location. Janco had discovered the Lapeer tunnel by accident. It might be possible there were more. “Actually, you—”

“Don’t say it,” Yelena said.

Affronted, Janco asked her, “Would it kill you to give a guy a bit of praise?”

“If that guy is you, then yes. Humility is not one of your personality traits.”

“You’re just mad because now we’re going to travel through the woods, which means sleeping on the ground and not in an inn.”

“I can handle it better than you. Your joints crack and pop every time you stand up, old man.”

“Old man! I’m only seven years older than you.”

“Are you sure it’s not seven
dog
years? You have a lot of gray in your muzzle,” Yelena quipped, referring to Janco’s salt-and-pepper goatee.

“Every single one of these gray hairs is directly linked back to saving you or being involved in one of your schemes.”

“Oh no, you don’t. I distinctly remember the time...”

Valek ignored the rest of their bickering. Usually Yelena avoided verbally sparring with Janco, but, by the glint in her eyes, she enjoyed needling their friend.

Instead, Valek concentrated on the terrain along the northern bank of the Sunworth River. Not far from their location, the waterway turned southeast and became the actual border between Ixia and Sitia near the Soul Mountains. There wouldn’t be any bridges along that segment. Plus, the forest had been cut down for a hundred feet past the bank, so anyone attempting to cross the border at that point would be seen by the Ixian patrolmen. Which was why the tunnels worked so well.

When the Commander closed the border after the takeover, he cleared the land from the Sunset Ocean in the west all the way to the mountains in the east. Valek doubted Owen would build a tunnel in the open area between the countries or under the river. Which meant that the only logical place for a tunnel would be in the foothills of the Soul Mountains.

“We’ll keep to the road,” Valek said, interrupting one of Janco’s rants. “Speed is vital at this point.”

“And beds,” Janco added.

Valek gave him a flat stare.

“Nothing wrong with that.” Janco thumped his stomach. “Better sleep means a better response to danger. We’ve no idea what nasties are lurking in that tunnel.”

“Hate to say this, but Janco has a point.” Yelena grimaced as he puffed his chest out. “Owen knows you’re searching for the tunnels. He booby-trapped the glass house, so it makes sense that he’d rig the tunnel, as well.” She gestured to Janco. “We can send him in first since he’s the Master Illusion Detector.”

Air hissed as Janco’s chest deflated. “Me?”

“Yes, you. Weren’t you just boasting that—”

Valek spurred Onyx into a gallop. If Yelena had the energy to tease Janco, then she’d be okay for another couple of hours and they could reach the next town by nightfall.

* * *

They rendezvoused with Valek’s team two days later in a mining camp located in the foothills just a mile inside Ixia. The small unit had spent the extra time searching for signs of the tunnel without success.

“Have you heard from Bravo team?” Valek asked Ivon, Alpha team’s leader.

The wiry man snapped to attention. “Yes, sir. Qamra sent a message four days ago. Her team located two warehouses used by the smugglers in MD-5 and burned them to the ground as ordered.”

Interesting. Ari had found only one. “And her assessment?”

“At the time of the missive, she was unable to confirm if General Ute had any knowledge or involvement in the operation. Her plans were to continue the investigation.”

“Very good.”

Ivon’s steel-gray gaze never wavered from Valek’s face. Very little slipped past the man’s notice. “I’m sorry we were unable to be as effective, sir.”

“No need to apologize. Show me where the trail ended.”

“Yes, sir.” Ivon unrolled a map marked with the place Ari had identified and handed it to Valek.

The spot was about a mile east. The map also indicated the locations Ivon’s team had checked. Valek planned to leave Yelena in the camp with Onora nearby, protecting her. Smudges of exhaustion darkened the area under Yelena’s green eyes. The fast pace hadn’t been conducive to healing.

However, in order for Yelena to agree to his plan, he’d have to choose his words with the utmost care. “No need for all of us to go traipsing around. Janco and I will home in on any magical illusions that might be hiding wagon tracks or the entrance and we’ll return once we find it so we can go over options.”

“I’m pretty sure there’ll only be two,” Janco said. “Enter or cover the entrance with a bunch of rocks. Frankly, I’d vote for just blocking the damn thing. No reason to go inside.”

“Unless that’s where Owen is hiding,” Yelena said.

“Even more reason to collapse it.”

“Why would he hide inside when he knows we’re searching for it?” Onora asked.

Valek met Yelena’s gaze. Was she remembering the time they had hidden inside a dungeon? She smiled. That would be a yes.

“Sometimes the best places to hide are the most obvious,” she said. “Owen’s smart. He knows Valek has orders to put the tunnel out of commission and blocking the entrance is the easiest way. Why look inside? And don’t forget Tyen can move those boulders with his magic.”

“Lovely.” Janco scratched the scar where the bottom half of his right ear used to be. “And what happens if they are hiding there? Let’s face it. Between Owen’s ability to trap Valek, Rika confusing us with her illusions and Tyen tossing boulders at us, we’re fu...er...outmatched.”

Valek agreed. Head-to-head,
outmatched
didn’t even begin to describe it. However... “The trick is to avoid detection.”

“And how exactly do we do that?” Janco asked.

“Carefully. Come on, it’s getting late. I want to cover as much ground as possible before the sun sets.” Valek consulted the map.

“How can my team aid you, sir?” Ivon asked.

“Talk to the locals and the miners. See if anyone noticed or heard anything that might point us in the right direction.”

“Yes, sir.” Ivon called to his men.

“What about us?” Onora asked.

“Find a place in the camp where we can set up and make sure the horses have a comfortable spot.”

“Busywork,” Yelena said. “I know what you’re doing.”

“You do?”

“Feigning innocence doesn’t work on me.” She waved a hand. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to insist on accompanying you. You’re right. I’d be useless for this mission.”

“That’s not the reason.” He tried to explain, but she strode away.

Onora remained. “I’ll keep a close watch on her.”

“Good.”

She hurried after Yelena.

Janco watched her. “You’re trusting her?”

For now. “Why do you ask?”

“That hit on Ben Moon and the others.”

Valek waited.

“You’re gonna make me say it, aren’t you?”

“Yep.”

Janco scrunched up his face as if in pain. “The Commander ordered you to shut Owen’s entire operation down. It makes sense he ordered his shiny new assassin to do the same thing. It’d be dead easy for Onora to make it appear as if The Mosquito was the culprit. And you already know all this, don’t you?”

Valek kept his expression neutral, but he was impressed. “I thought Ari was supposed to be the smart one.”

“Yeah, well, he isn’t here, so I gotta do all the thinking. And I’m not happy about, either. It makes my head hurt.”

* * *

Valek and Janco spent the rest of the day hunting for the familiar sticky feel of magic in the foothills. They returned late and left early the next morning to resume the search. Another two full days passed before Janco stopped Beach Bunny.

He pressed his hand to his right ear. “Son of a snow cat!”

“You’re not thinking again, are you?” Valek drew next to Janco, halting Onyx.

“Not funny. It’s gotta be a superstrong illusion.”

Valek dismounted. “Which direction?”

Janco pointed to the right. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary. The bare branches of the trees dipped and swayed in a cold northern breeze that smelled of snow, despite it being a couple weeks into the warming season. High, thin clouds filtered the sunlight.

Valek pulled his sword. Janco slid off Beach Bunny and yanked his weapon from its sheath. The rattle and tumble of dried leaves filled the air. This patch of forest grew in a dip in the rolling terrain near the base of the Soul Mountains. To the east, the jagged snowcapped peaks stretched high, like a row of gigantic corn plants reaching for the sun.

The mountain range earned its name from old legends. Folklore claimed the peaks snagged souls as they ascended toward the sky. These trapped souls haunted the frozen heights and sucked the life from anyone who dared climb past the tree line. Valek believed it to be just a story to explain why no one who tried to reach the summit ever returned. The lack of breathable air was the more likely explanation. Although some also asserted that mysterious people who supposedly lived on the other side of the mountains patrolled the upper regions to prevent anyone from crossing into their homeland, keeping their existence a secret.

Pure nonsense. Valek returned his attention to the task at hand. He hadn’t expected Owen’s tunnel to be this high in the foothills, but the isolated location was ideal.

Janco aimed for an ordinary group of trees and hissed in pain as he disappeared from sight. Increasing his pace, Valek hurried after him and encountered magic. The invisible force pressed against his skin. Pushing through felt like swimming in mud. He found Janco rubbing his temple on the other side. Valek scanned the area for possible threats. Nothing so far.

A mass of oversize boulders was piled next to a hill. At first glance, it resembled a natural rock slide from the mountains, but upon closer inspection the heap was too neatly stacked. It must be blocking the tunnel.

“Looks like someone beat us to it,” Valek said.

“No.” Janco’s voice strained with effort. “Move closer.”

He did. The air thickened. Another illusion. “Clever.” It would stop the smugglers from using it, but it kept the tunnel open in case Owen needed it again in the future.

“Could be a trap.”

“Indeed.” Valek tightened his grip on his sword and drew a knife with his free hand. “I’m just going to confirm there’s a tunnel behind it.”

Janco straightened. “Then I’ll come confirming with you, just in case.”

The pressure on his body increased with each step. Janco paled when they reached the authentic-looking rocks. Even knowing it wasn’t real, Valek braced for impact as he strode right into the pile. He muscled through the magic.

No one ambushed them. The tunnel’s entrance was empty. Valek crept inside a few feet and listened for any noises that would indicate people were farther inside. No sounds bubbled up from the solid darkness.

Wagon wheel ruts warped the ground just past the opening. Janco drew in a deep breath. Relief smoothed his features and he crouched down to inspect the marks, running his fingers along the smooth grooves.

“How old?” Valek asked.

“Eight to ten days.”