Fortunately, a brief exchange over Sky’s magic mirror assured Drake that Lydia, Anna, and Samuel had simply had a lovely day exploring the city. They did not get attacked by assassins, nor were they ambushed by a horde of fish people. They simply had a nice time walking, seeing the sights, and enjoying some snacks.
There was one minor incident where Anna almost choked on a pastry she tried to eat far too fast, but Samuel was there to help her recover. Even in this world they had the Heimlich maneuver... though obviously, they didn’t call it that.
After he’d given Lydia and his people the all clear to return to his chambers, Drake spoke with Sky and Viktoria long enough to form a game plan for their immediate future. They both agreed Lord Redbow had summoned the fish people to stop the inquisition before he could be forced to speak about it. Since no one could leave the capital until the Judge proved that (or found another culprit) they would continue to meet once a night and compare notes.
Viktoria assured them both the Judge couldn’t detain them forever. Pressure would grow from all quarters if the investigation continued with no leads or progress, and she suspected, perhaps within a week, that the manor lords would be free to return to their manors if no one had been implicated. The delay wasn’t great, but at least Drake could go home.
He once again pondered Emily’s suggestion for ambushing Lord Redbow on the way home and just straight up murdering the old fucker. It wasn’t exactly noble or legal, but it could get him some breathing room between all the assassination attempts... if he could pull it off without getting censured. The biggest problem was Lord Redbow’s cadre of assassins, who were at least as deadly as Drake’s battle maids. And they had numbers.
He already knew one: Kuzo, the thrall who could grab your heart and crush it if you took a step. Redbow no doubt had many others like him, and as much as Drake wanted the man dead, he didn’t want to lose his people in a straight up battle. Hiring a Gilded Blade would be too expensive (they really did cost an absurd amount of coin) and even if they could afford it, the rumors remained that the Gilded Blades were secretly associated with Redbow Manor.
Any Gilded Blade he hired might warn Lord Redbow or even refuse the contract. If that happened, Redbow would go on even higher alert. So Drake needed another, better plan. And fortunately, he had a few days to come up with one. He did not, however, mention his thoughts or plan to Sky or Viktoria.
Plausible deniability. That was how you handled your business as a manor lord. If not for the damned blood pact and Lord Redbow’s use of it, Drake could have hired one of Redbow’s people to turn against him and seize the manor. He’d find another way.
Drake returned to his chambers and didn’t sleep until Lydia, Samuel, and Anna all safely returned home. Seeing them back unharmed was a massive relief, and Anna immediately started chattering about the amazing time she’d had today. Even Lydia looked flushed and satisfied by the day’s activities, and only Samuel looked as dour as he usually did.
Lydia and Anna were also a bit reddened from the sun, though Samuel looked the same as always. His regeneration rarity, most likely. Once everyone was settled down, Drake decided it was finally time to get some sleep himself. He didn’t have anything big to do tomorrow, but it was dark, his people were all asleep or working, and he had finished a busy day.
He had almost drifted off when there was a sharp rapping at his chamber door.
“Lord Gloomwood?” Lydia called. “Lark has returned. We have a problem.”
Drake sighed heavily, pushed up in his bed, and reached for his boots. “Here we fucking go again.” He got dressed just enough to be respectable and emerged from his chamber expecting to find his battle maids and Samuel assembled.
They were all there, and as Lydia had said, Lark was with them. She also had one hell of a black eye... not to mention her split lip, bruised cheek, and some once nice clothes that looked like they’d been torn on a fence line. They’d even been stained with blood.
As Lark saw him emerge, her eyes widened in what looked like relief. “Lord Gloomwood. Thank you for seeing me.”
It was all he could do not to rush to her. He walked at a hurried pace instead. There was only one question on his mind as she looked around the room. “What happened?”
“It’s Darion,” Lark said. “My brother.” She took a breath. “Lord Redbow’s people abducted him this evening. I believe they intend to force him to take the Redbow blood pact.”
Drake glowered. “Like hell they will.”
So with the cabal now at a close, Lord Redbow was moving on to other matters in the city. Lark had mentioned Redbow was interested in Darion and his flesh-mending rarity, but Drake had assumed that since Darion had promised to join his blood pact instead, he wouldn’t need to protect the man so soon. He should have known better.
“Who did this to you?” Drake demanded. “Was it Redbow’s thugs?”
“Local mercenaries, lord,” Lark said. “They abducted Darion and me at the same time and placed me in protective custody.”
“Doesn’t look like they were that protective.”
“Their orders were to hold me until Darion took the blood pact and the matter was concluded,” Lark said. “However, I managed to escape.”
“How?”
“I would prefer not to discuss the details.”
Drake wanted to leave it there, but he’d encountered too much doublespeak and barely avoided falling into too many traps. “I’m sorry, but that’s simply not acceptable right now.”
She wilted a little under his hard gaze. “How do you mean?”
“I’ve been played too many times.” Drake considered carefully. “I need you to answer all my questions before I agree to help you. First, do you serve Lord Redbow in any capacity?”
“No,” Lark said firmly.
“Have you served him in the past?”
“Once, for the services I generally provide.”
Drake hated that he had to ask this question. “You mean sex.”
She took a breath. “Yes.”
“And only sex?”
“Yes.”
Moving on, then. “Are you under any sort of duress?”
“No.”
“Is anyone forcing you to be here or to ask me to rescue your brother?”
“No.”
“And is there anything else about this abduction or your reasons for being here tonight that you aren’t telling me?”
“No, lord,” Lark said again, so quietly and pitifully it made his heart ache.
Still, this wasn’t enough. “Do you have any plans to betray me in any manner? Or betray anyone who works for me? Or do anything other than ask me to go get your brother?”
“I have no plans to betray you or anyone in your manor, lord,” Lark said quietly. “I have no association with Lord Redbow. My only purpose in coming here tonight was to beg you to rescue my brother from the mercenaries who took him so they could force him to join Lord Redbow’s blood pact.”
Drake glanced at Samuel. “Anything I missed?”
Samuel brushed his chin beard. “Nothing that cannot wait.”
Good enough. He felt like he’d just kicked a puppy. “Lydia?”
“I sense no deception, lord.”
“Good.” Drake looked to his people. “Here’s what’s going to happen next. We’re going to get a crew together, and then we’re going to find the mercenaries who gave Lark a black eye and who took her brother away. Then, if they don’t give Darion back to us, we are going to fuck them beyond recognition... and bring him home.”
Lark bowed her head. “Thank you, lord.”
“This isn’t benevolence,” he sternly reminded everyone in the room. “It’s business. Darion has a healer’s rarity, and it sounds like a powerful one. He’s already said he wanted to serve me, not Lord Redbow. I want his rarity in my manor. I’m not letting Redbow steal him.”
“Agreed,” Samuel said. “Still, we must approach this matter cautiously.”
Drake resisted the urge to say “Duh”. He looked to Lark instead. “Do you know where they’re holding your brother?”
“On the docks,” Lark said firmly. “I managed to get that much out of one of the men who was tasked with holding me. The mercenaries make their home in a heavily-armored skiff that moors often in the harbor. It has cells inside. That must be where they have Darion.”
“And you’re sure Lord Redbow hasn’t forced him to take the blood pact yet?”
Lark grimaced. “I... cannot be certain of that, lord.”
“But you still came to me. You still think we have a chance to free him. Why?”
“The mercenaries who took me had enough supplies in the building where they took me to last many days. This suggested they did not intend to go out again. Also, because they had orders to imprison me for three days, that suggests Lord Redbow cannot immediately meet with Darion and force him to take the blood pact. He needed me contained.”
Lark continued to impress him with her judgment, smarts, and capabilities. She might not have a rarity, but it looked increasingly like she might not need one. Drake was already starting to think she might make an excellent spy, but that was a question for later.
“The Judge is watching all of us closely,” Samuel said thoughtfully. “All the manors.”
Drake nodded. “Which means Lord Redbow might not want her to see him traipsing down to the dock to pick up a guy his mercenaries just illegally abducted so he can torture him into joining a blood pact.” He glanced at Valentia. “You once told me that it’s illegal for manor lords to snatch people off the streets and hurt them in Korhaurbauten. That’s still the case?”
Valentia simply nodded.
“So Lord Redbow might need some time to arrange a way to meet Darion in private. That means we have time to rescue him before he can force Darion to submit.” He considered Lark’s story. “What about the men who held you captive? Will they warn the others?”
“No,” Lark said. “I was forced to kill them during my escape.”
Holy shit! Lark really could handle herself. His respect for this woman, which had already been at a decent level, spiked by a considerable degree.
He looked to Nicole. “Find Sachi. Find this boat. Scout it out and tell me everything you can about it. I want to know how many guards they have and if anyone’s hidden on the docks.”
Nicole frowned at him. “You mean right now?”
He stared at her in stone-faced silence.
“Right,” she agreed. “Off I go!” She hurried off to find Sachi.
“The capital guard also patrols the docks of Korhaurbauten,” Samuel said. “Thus far, we have only Lark’s testimony against the two who abducted her. They are now deceased. We have nothing tying the mercenaries on the boat to Darion’s abduction.”
Drake eyed him in annoyance. “Other than he’s literally sitting in a cell in their boat?”
“We can’t know for certain they are still holding Darion in their boat,” Samuel reminded him... which was a good point. “They could have him hidden elsewhere. They could even murder him the moment we attack, then destroy his body before witnesses arrive.”
The way Lark paled at Samuel’s words made it obvious how much they pained her, but Drake didn’t have time to worry about her feelings right now. Samuel was right. Lord Redbow could have given his mercs orders to kill Darion if it seemed like he might escape... and if they had someone who could destroy bodies, they could also destroy the evidence.
“So what you’re saying, Samuel, is we can’t just roll up and beat the shit out of them. Not until we know they actually have Darion, and that we can get him out of there alive.”
Samuel nodded. “Regardless of whatever legal resolution eventually emerged, attacking those who have violated no laws on the docks would violate local laws. So if we start a conflict on the docks in front of the capital guards, we would be held liable by the noble court.”
Drake considered. “Is there any way we could tie Lord Redbow to this? Capture the mercenary leader, maybe, and make her testify?”
“It is possible, but arranging a trial and testimony could take days or even weeks. As harsh as it may sound, this is a minor matter in the court’s eyes. I doubt the Judge will spare time to resolve this minor dispute. Her inquisitors remain focused on today’s other matter.”
Everything Samuel had just said made Drake’s decision all the easier. “So we’ll handle it ourselves. Just like I planned.”
“And how,” Samuel asked cautiously, “will we be handling it? Need I remind you of the question raised in today’s inquisition?”
Right. There was a thrall out there who could alter what people saw. So was it possible Lark had seen Redbow’s mercs abduct Darion when it hadn’t happened? That this was all some sort of elaborate trap to make Drake commit a crime?
It was possible, but so were a lot of other things. Drake couldn’t let his fears about misdirection paralyze him. He had to take action, for better or worse, and he would only do whatever he did once he was certain he wasn’t being played.
“We won’t attack anyone until we know what we’re dealing with. Once Nicole and Sachi get back with the details, we’ll all brainstorm a plan to rescue Darion, one that won’t get us in trouble with the capital guards or censured by the noble court if we start a fight. I don’t know what that plan will be, but if we all put our heads together, we can find one.”
Drake looked around for arguments or suggestions. No one said anything. That worried him. “Anyone disagree?” he asked finally.
No one shook their heads. Lydia spoke up. “This seems like a fine course of action, lord.”
Really? Maybe he was finally getting the hang of this manor lord thing. “Good. Samuel, while we’re waiting for intel, go talk to your spies and see if any of them witnessed Darion and Lark’s abduction. We need independent verification. Witness testimony.”
Samuel nodded and strode off.
“Everyone who’s not doing something I already said, I want in a team meeting in ten minutes. I want to hear all ideas for rescuing Darion, no matter how odd.” He glanced at Emily. “Go haul the JV team out of bed. I want them in on this too.”
Emily smiled at him. “Does everyone include the zarovians, lord?”
Drake considered a moment. There wasn’t enough room for all his zarovians, so their leader would be enough. “We could use Cresh. He can speak for the zarovians and whatever they might offer to this right.” Also, the dude was massive. If he wanted someone to intimidate some mercenaries, Cresh seemed like the right... lizard guy... for the job.
He glanced at Valentia. “You mind heading down to the temporary barracks and bringing Cresh back up here?” The zarovians were bunked with other soldiers below.
Valentia briefly inclined her head and strode off. His advisors were decreasing by the moment, but no one seemed to mind. Meanwhile, Emily darted off to route Robin, Gaby, and Carl out of bed, likely through some traumatizing method he’d prefer not to know about.
He looked around at who was left. What did he still need? Time was of the essence now.
“And me, lord?” Lark asked. “How can I aid you?”
Lark really was impossibly brave given all she’d been through, but she’d also had a hell of a night. “You can go see my shaman, who’s going to look at those cuts, wounds, and bruises and make sure there’s no other injuries. I’d ask my battle maids to heal you, but they’ll need their blood for whatever happens next.” He spotted Tamara watching from the edge of the room and snapped his fingers at her. “Tamara? Show Lark to Raylan.”
“Yes, lord.” Tamara touched Lark’s arm. “This way, please. I’ll make you some tea.”
As the two of them strode off together, Lark glanced back at him with wide eyes. “Thank you, lord! If you need anything else, you need only ask!”
Drake looked to at rest of his people, most of whom he now knew by name. “The rest of you, get everything together we’ll need to pull this off. Weapons, medical supplies, whatever. When we figure out our plan and decide to move, I want to move right then. Now get to it.”
Everyone walked off in all directions with determined expressions, bound to follow his orders and willing to do so. It was odd that he hadn’t expected that. Maybe it was about time he should. As he headed to his bedroom again, Lydia fell into step at his side.
As he opened the door, he glanced at her. “Keeping an eye on me?”
“Always,” she said firmly.
Once he closed the door behind them, Lydia took up position beside it. As he rummaged through his belongings by the bed, Lydia spoke again.
“Regeneration may still be the best rarity for you, lord. Especially if we’re going to go up against others with rarities.”
“It’s the best defensive rarity, but these mercenaries sound dangerous. They’ll probably be wearing silverweave or ferrocite. If we get in a fight, I need to be ready to take them out.”
Lydia gasped quietly. “So... it’s time for that vial?”
“I think so.” Drake pulled out a vial of blood he’d drained from a man he’d strapped to a chair and shot through the chest. “Time to find out how much I can suck.”
Fortunately, a brief exchange over Sky’s magic mirror assured Drake that Lydia, Anna, and Samuel had simply had a lovely day exploring the city. They did not get attacked by assassins, nor were they ambushed by a horde of fish people. They simply had a nice time walking, seeing the sights, and enjoying some snacks.
There was one minor incident where Anna almost choked on a pastry she tried to eat far too fast, but Samuel was there to help her recover. Even in this world they had the Heimlich maneuver... though obviously, they didn’t call it that.
After he’d given Lydia and his people the all clear to return to his chambers, Drake spoke with Sky and Viktoria long enough to form a game plan for their immediate future. They both agreed Lord Redbow had summoned the fish people to stop the inquisition before he could be forced to speak about it. Since no one could leave the capital until the Judge proved that (or found another culprit) they would continue to meet once a night and compare notes.
Viktoria assured them both the Judge couldn’t detain them forever. Pressure would grow from all quarters if the investigation continued with no leads or progress, and she suspected, perhaps within a week, that the manor lords would be free to return to their manors if no one had been implicated. The delay wasn’t great, but at least Drake could go home.
He once again pondered Emily’s suggestion for ambushing Lord Redbow on the way home and just straight up murdering the old fucker. It wasn’t exactly noble or legal, but it could get him some breathing room between all the assassination attempts... if he could pull it off without getting censured. The biggest problem was Lord Redbow’s cadre of assassins, who were at least as deadly as Drake’s battle maids. And they had numbers.
He already knew one: Kuzo, the thrall who could grab your heart and crush it if you took a step. Redbow no doubt had many others like him, and as much as Drake wanted the man dead, he didn’t want to lose his people in a straight up battle. Hiring a Gilded Blade would be too expensive (they really did cost an absurd amount of coin) and even if they could afford it, the rumors remained that the Gilded Blades were secretly associated with Redbow Manor.
Any Gilded Blade he hired might warn Lord Redbow or even refuse the contract. If that happened, Redbow would go on even higher alert. So Drake needed another, better plan. And fortunately, he had a few days to come up with one. He did not, however, mention his thoughts or plan to Sky or Viktoria.
Plausible deniability. That was how you handled your business as a manor lord. If not for the damned blood pact and Lord Redbow’s use of it, Drake could have hired one of Redbow’s people to turn against him and seize the manor. He’d find another way.
Drake returned to his chambers and didn’t sleep until Lydia, Samuel, and Anna all safely returned home. Seeing them back unharmed was a massive relief, and Anna immediately started chattering about the amazing time she’d had today. Even Lydia looked flushed and satisfied by the day’s activities, and only Samuel looked as dour as he usually did.
Lydia and Anna were also a bit reddened from the sun, though Samuel looked the same as always. His regeneration rarity, most likely. Once everyone was settled down, Drake decided it was finally time to get some sleep himself. He didn’t have anything big to do tomorrow, but it was dark, his people were all asleep or working, and he had finished a busy day.
He had almost drifted off when there was a sharp rapping at his chamber door.
“Lord Gloomwood?” Lydia called. “Lark has returned. We have a problem.”
Drake sighed heavily, pushed up in his bed, and reached for his boots. “Here we fucking go again.” He got dressed just enough to be respectable and emerged from his chamber expecting to find his battle maids and Samuel assembled.
They were all there, and as Lydia had said, Lark was with them. She also had one hell of a black eye... not to mention her split lip, bruised cheek, and some once nice clothes that looked like they’d been torn on a fence line. They’d even been stained with blood.
As Lark saw him emerge, her eyes widened in what looked like relief. “Lord Gloomwood. Thank you for seeing me.”
It was all he could do not to rush to her. He walked at a hurried pace instead. There was only one question on his mind as she looked around the room. “What happened?”
“It’s Darion,” Lark said. “My brother.” She took a breath. “Lord Redbow’s people abducted him this evening. I believe they intend to force him to take the Redbow blood pact.”
Drake glowered. “Like hell they will.”
So with the cabal now at a close, Lord Redbow was moving on to other matters in the city. Lark had mentioned Redbow was interested in Darion and his flesh-mending rarity, but Drake had assumed that since Darion had promised to join his blood pact instead, he wouldn’t need to protect the man so soon. He should have known better.
“Who did this to you?” Drake demanded. “Was it Redbow’s thugs?”
“Local mercenaries, lord,” Lark said. “They abducted Darion and me at the same time and placed me in protective custody.”
“Doesn’t look like they were that protective.”
“Their orders were to hold me until Darion took the blood pact and the matter was concluded,” Lark said. “However, I managed to escape.”
“How?”
“I would prefer not to discuss the details.”
Drake wanted to leave it there, but he’d encountered too much doublespeak and barely avoided falling into too many traps. “I’m sorry, but that’s simply not acceptable right now.”
She wilted a little under his hard gaze. “How do you mean?”
“I’ve been played too many times.” Drake considered carefully. “I need you to answer all my questions before I agree to help you. First, do you serve Lord Redbow in any capacity?”
“No,” Lark said firmly.
“Have you served him in the past?”
“Once, for the services I generally provide.”
Drake hated that he had to ask this question. “You mean sex.”
She took a breath. “Yes.”
“And only sex?”
“Yes.”
Moving on, then. “Are you under any sort of duress?”
“No.”
“Is anyone forcing you to be here or to ask me to rescue your brother?”
“No.”
“And is there anything else about this abduction or your reasons for being here tonight that you aren’t telling me?”
“No, lord,” Lark said again, so quietly and pitifully it made his heart ache.
Still, this wasn’t enough. “Do you have any plans to betray me in any manner? Or betray anyone who works for me? Or do anything other than ask me to go get your brother?”
“I have no plans to betray you or anyone in your manor, lord,” Lark said quietly. “I have no association with Lord Redbow. My only purpose in coming here tonight was to beg you to rescue my brother from the mercenaries who took him so they could force him to join Lord Redbow’s blood pact.”
Drake glanced at Samuel. “Anything I missed?”
Samuel brushed his chin beard. “Nothing that cannot wait.”
Good enough. He felt like he’d just kicked a puppy. “Lydia?”
“I sense no deception, lord.”
“Good.” Drake looked to his people. “Here’s what’s going to happen next. We’re going to get a crew together, and then we’re going to find the mercenaries who gave Lark a black eye and who took her brother away. Then, if they don’t give Darion back to us, we are going to fuck them beyond recognition... and bring him home.”
Lark bowed her head. “Thank you, lord.”
“This isn’t benevolence,” he sternly reminded everyone in the room. “It’s business. Darion has a healer’s rarity, and it sounds like a powerful one. He’s already said he wanted to serve me, not Lord Redbow. I want his rarity in my manor. I’m not letting Redbow steal him.”
“Agreed,” Samuel said. “Still, we must approach this matter cautiously.”
Drake resisted the urge to say “Duh”. He looked to Lark instead. “Do you know where they’re holding your brother?”
“On the docks,” Lark said firmly. “I managed to get that much out of one of the men who was tasked with holding me. The mercenaries make their home in a heavily-armored skiff that moors often in the harbor. It has cells inside. That must be where they have Darion.”
“And you’re sure Lord Redbow hasn’t forced him to take the blood pact yet?”
Lark grimaced. “I... cannot be certain of that, lord.”
“But you still came to me. You still think we have a chance to free him. Why?”
“The mercenaries who took me had enough supplies in the building where they took me to last many days. This suggested they did not intend to go out again. Also, because they had orders to imprison me for three days, that suggests Lord Redbow cannot immediately meet with Darion and force him to take the blood pact. He needed me contained.”
Lark continued to impress him with her judgment, smarts, and capabilities. She might not have a rarity, but it looked increasingly like she might not need one. Drake was already starting to think she might make an excellent spy, but that was a question for later.
“The Judge is watching all of us closely,” Samuel said thoughtfully. “All the manors.”
Drake nodded. “Which means Lord Redbow might not want her to see him traipsing down to the dock to pick up a guy his mercenaries just illegally abducted so he can torture him into joining a blood pact.” He glanced at Valentia. “You once told me that it’s illegal for manor lords to snatch people off the streets and hurt them in Korhaurbauten. That’s still the case?”
Valentia simply nodded.
“So Lord Redbow might need some time to arrange a way to meet Darion in private. That means we have time to rescue him before he can force Darion to submit.” He considered Lark’s story. “What about the men who held you captive? Will they warn the others?”
“No,” Lark said. “I was forced to kill them during my escape.”
Holy shit! Lark really could handle herself. His respect for this woman, which had already been at a decent level, spiked by a considerable degree.
He looked to Nicole. “Find Sachi. Find this boat. Scout it out and tell me everything you can about it. I want to know how many guards they have and if anyone’s hidden on the docks.”
Nicole frowned at him. “You mean right now?”
He stared at her in stone-faced silence.
“Right,” she agreed. “Off I go!” She hurried off to find Sachi.
“The capital guard also patrols the docks of Korhaurbauten,” Samuel said. “Thus far, we have only Lark’s testimony against the two who abducted her. They are now deceased. We have nothing tying the mercenaries on the boat to Darion’s abduction.”
Drake eyed him in annoyance. “Other than he’s literally sitting in a cell in their boat?”
“We can’t know for certain they are still holding Darion in their boat,” Samuel reminded him... which was a good point. “They could have him hidden elsewhere. They could even murder him the moment we attack, then destroy his body before witnesses arrive.”
The way Lark paled at Samuel’s words made it obvious how much they pained her, but Drake didn’t have time to worry about her feelings right now. Samuel was right. Lord Redbow could have given his mercs orders to kill Darion if it seemed like he might escape... and if they had someone who could destroy bodies, they could also destroy the evidence.
“So what you’re saying, Samuel, is we can’t just roll up and beat the shit out of them. Not until we know they actually have Darion, and that we can get him out of there alive.”
Samuel nodded. “Regardless of whatever legal resolution eventually emerged, attacking those who have violated no laws on the docks would violate local laws. So if we start a conflict on the docks in front of the capital guards, we would be held liable by the noble court.”
Drake considered. “Is there any way we could tie Lord Redbow to this? Capture the mercenary leader, maybe, and make her testify?”
“It is possible, but arranging a trial and testimony could take days or even weeks. As harsh as it may sound, this is a minor matter in the court’s eyes. I doubt the Judge will spare time to resolve this minor dispute. Her inquisitors remain focused on today’s other matter.”
Everything Samuel had just said made Drake’s decision all the easier. “So we’ll handle it ourselves. Just like I planned.”
“And how,” Samuel asked cautiously, “will we be handling it? Need I remind you of the question raised in today’s inquisition?”
Right. There was a thrall out there who could alter what people saw. So was it possible Lark had seen Redbow’s mercs abduct Darion when it hadn’t happened? That this was all some sort of elaborate trap to make Drake commit a crime?
It was possible, but so were a lot of other things. Drake couldn’t let his fears about misdirection paralyze him. He had to take action, for better or worse, and he would only do whatever he did once he was certain he wasn’t being played.
“We won’t attack anyone until we know what we’re dealing with. Once Nicole and Sachi get back with the details, we’ll all brainstorm a plan to rescue Darion, one that won’t get us in trouble with the capital guards or censured by the noble court if we start a fight. I don’t know what that plan will be, but if we all put our heads together, we can find one.”
Drake looked around for arguments or suggestions. No one said anything. That worried him. “Anyone disagree?” he asked finally.
No one shook their heads. Lydia spoke up. “This seems like a fine course of action, lord.”
Really? Maybe he was finally getting the hang of this manor lord thing. “Good. Samuel, while we’re waiting for intel, go talk to your spies and see if any of them witnessed Darion and Lark’s abduction. We need independent verification. Witness testimony.”
Samuel nodded and strode off.
“Everyone who’s not doing something I already said, I want in a team meeting in ten minutes. I want to hear all ideas for rescuing Darion, no matter how odd.” He glanced at Emily. “Go haul the JV team out of bed. I want them in on this too.”
Emily smiled at him. “Does everyone include the zarovians, lord?”
Drake considered a moment. There wasn’t enough room for all his zarovians, so their leader would be enough. “We could use Cresh. He can speak for the zarovians and whatever they might offer to this right.” Also, the dude was massive. If he wanted someone to intimidate some mercenaries, Cresh seemed like the right... lizard guy... for the job.
He glanced at Valentia. “You mind heading down to the temporary barracks and bringing Cresh back up here?” The zarovians were bunked with other soldiers below.
Valentia briefly inclined her head and strode off. His advisors were decreasing by the moment, but no one seemed to mind. Meanwhile, Emily darted off to route Robin, Gaby, and Carl out of bed, likely through some traumatizing method he’d prefer not to know about.
He looked around at who was left. What did he still need? Time was of the essence now.
“And me, lord?” Lark asked. “How can I aid you?”
Lark really was impossibly brave given all she’d been through, but she’d also had a hell of a night. “You can go see my shaman, who’s going to look at those cuts, wounds, and bruises and make sure there’s no other injuries. I’d ask my battle maids to heal you, but they’ll need their blood for whatever happens next.” He spotted Tamara watching from the edge of the room and snapped his fingers at her. “Tamara? Show Lark to Raylan.”
“Yes, lord.” Tamara touched Lark’s arm. “This way, please. I’ll make you some tea.”
As the two of them strode off together, Lark glanced back at him with wide eyes. “Thank you, lord! If you need anything else, you need only ask!”
Drake looked to at rest of his people, most of whom he now knew by name. “The rest of you, get everything together we’ll need to pull this off. Weapons, medical supplies, whatever. When we figure out our plan and decide to move, I want to move right then. Now get to it.”
Everyone walked off in all directions with determined expressions, bound to follow his orders and willing to do so. It was odd that he hadn’t expected that. Maybe it was about time he should. As he headed to his bedroom again, Lydia fell into step at his side.
As he opened the door, he glanced at her. “Keeping an eye on me?”
“Always,” she said firmly.
Once he closed the door behind them, Lydia took up position beside it. As he rummaged through his belongings by the bed, Lydia spoke again.
“Regeneration may still be the best rarity for you, lord. Especially if we’re going to go up against others with rarities.”
“It’s the best defensive rarity, but these mercenaries sound dangerous. They’ll probably be wearing silverweave or ferrocite. If we get in a fight, I need to be ready to take them out.”
Lydia gasped quietly. “So... it’s time for that vial?”
“I think so.” Drake pulled out a vial of blood he’d drained from a man he’d strapped to a chair and shot through the chest. “Time to find out how much I can suck.”
