The Heart of Alchemy by James Wisher (i like reading books txt) 📗

A light touch brought Ulf instantly awake, his eyes wide and terrified. “Are they here?”

“Relax, it’s just me.” He calmed at once and actually seemed a bit embarrassed. Corina pretended to notice nothing out of the ordinary. “Where’s Sin? My master has a job for her.”

“I see. Forgive my outburst. She’s made herself up a spot in the tunnels nearby. Though whether she’s there or not I can’t say. One moment.”

He walked to the hatch that gave access to the thieves’ tunnels and yanked on a rope running through a hole in the wood. A faint ring barely reached them.

A few seconds later he yanked twice more.

This time there was some noise and shortly after that the hatch swung open. A rumpled and grumpy Sin poked her head out of the opening. She wore only a red tunic that left most of her legs bare, once again reminding Corina just how much developing she had to do.

Sin looked from Corina to Ulf and back. “What?”

“Lord Shenk has a job for us,” Corina said. “He said you could lead us to the villa of Baron St. Croy.”

“So he decided to move on the baron. Can’t say I’m surprised. I knew there was something strange happening at that place. Let me get dressed and I’ll be right there.”

Ten minutes later, Sin was leading them across the city back toward Gold Ward. As they quick marched down the street, Hans asked, “What sort of defenses are we looking at?”

“None that I’m aware of,” Sin said. “The baron had a handful of servants, his niece, and himself. I’d know if he hired any mercenaries. He might try to run, but a fight seems doubtful.”

“That’s good,” Corina said. “Master wants to question him.”

“If Lord Shenk wants to question him,” Sin said. “I doubt it will be good for the baron.”

No one could argue with that and they made the rest of the walk in silence.

When they reached the villa, the door was wide open.

Hans motioned for everyone to stop before easing up to the door. Corina held her breath while he listened. At last he waved them up.

“Sin, Corina and I will go in the front,” Hans said. “Cord, take the rest of the men and watch the back.”

Cord nodded and the four of them hurried around out of sight. When half a minute had passed Hans said, “Let’s go.”

He lunged through the door. Corina followed right behind, ready to bind anyone that tried anything. Their entrance was certainly anti-climactic.

“Please come in,” a voice said from deep in the villa. “I won’t resist and I’ve sent the servants away.”

“That’s St. Croy,” Sin said.

“Think he’s telling the truth?” Hans asked.

Corina hated being ignored, so she used her magic to send her sight into the living room. An old man she assumed was the baron sat alone in an overstuffed leather chair. No one else was visible and she saw no weapons or traps.

“Looks safe to me,” Corina said. “He’s just sitting there waiting for us.”

Hans and Sin looked at her.

“What? You know he taught me the far sight spell, right?”

Hans shrugged and said to Sin, “Would you let the rest of the men in and search the villa? We’ll check on the baron.”

“Sure.” Sin left for the back door.

Hans and Corina continued on to the living room where the baron sat facing them. He had his hands firmly gripping the arms of his chair. The fine robe he wore was creased and the sleeves dirty. He’d seen better days for sure.

“Don’t move,” Hans said.

“I assure you I have no intention of resisting. Since Jade didn’t return last night, I’ve been expecting someone to come calling. Frankly, I expected Lord Shenk himself. Are you bringing me to him? I have a great deal to say.”

“Lord Shenk will be along to talk to you when he’s ready,” Hans said. “Until then, we’ll be keeping you company.”

“Aren’t you worried about your niece?” Corina asked.

“She’s not my niece. Jade’s an assassin. She used me to meet the emperor.”

Hans shook his head. “This is not how I imagined our mission ending.”

“No,” Corina agreed. “But at least we have a safe and cooperative prisoner. That will please him.”

“There’s that. Do you want to watch him or fix breakfast? I haven’t eaten in hours.”

“Have you tried my cooking?”

“Yep. You watch him.”

Corina couldn’t be insulted. Her cooking stunk and she knew it. With nothing else to do, she sat across from the baron.

“Will your master punish me for my part in the deception?”

Corina considered lying, but couldn’t see much point. “Maybe. But it won’t be as bad if you do whatever he says and don’t lie. Those two things really make him angry.”

The baron paled. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Corina hoped he did. Wittingly or not, the man helped an assassin gain access to the emperor. He’d need all the luck in the world to survive what was coming.

Chapter 18

Otto didn’t know how long he slept, but since he felt alive again, he assumed for a while. It was dark out, so he must have stayed in bed the whole day. A snarl from his stomach confirmed his theory.

How wonderful it would be when he was an Arcane Lord and no longer had to bother about things like sleep and food. Exhaustion would be a distant memory. But that situation lay well in the future. Right now, more pressing matters required his attention.

Abandoning his pleasant musings, Otto rolled out of bed, dressed, and stepped out into the hall. Other than a dull ache through his entire body, he felt back to normal. The ether responded to his call and no lingering effects from his excess magic use remained. He was as ready to face the day as he’d ever be.

He had barely taken a step when a shrill cry grated on his ears. Clearly Abby was fully recovered from her ordeal as well and ready to complain again. He marched toward the stairs, determined to find something to