Night Study

He’d find a way to stop it. Or die trying. Giving up was not an option. He pushed the despondency away. Pure determination fueled his steps. He stopped by the safe house and reassigned his agents. They would also aid in the rescue attempt, but for now, he sent them to protect the twins.

Two watchers crouched in the shadows near the Keep. Valek sensed there had to be more. He scanned the buildings opposite the Keep’s entrance, searching for places he’d use for stakeouts. Ah. Three—no, four more observed from windows and roofs.

Unfortunately, the Magician’s Keep was surrounded by a high marble wall. The four towers at each corner that rose above the walls had also been constructed with the slick stone, which made climbing impossible. And with only one entrance, the place was well protected. However, when the Daviian Warpers had invaded and taken control, that protection worked against the magicians. Which was why the Master Magicians decided to build another entrance known only to them, Yelena and Valek. He’d aided them on so many occasions that they’d grown to trust him. And he’d kept the secret from the Commander.

He ghosted along a row of factories and businesses that faced the west side of the Keep, ensuring no one followed him or was watching. Satisfied, he slipped through a narrow alley, unlocked the third door on the left, entered and secured the door. Torches and flint waited on a table nearby. He lit one and revealed a small landing with steps leading down into blackness.

Valek descended. At the bottom was a tunnel that crossed under the Keep’s wall and ended in the basement of Irys’s tower. Valek reached it without incident. He climbed to ground level and extinguished the torch.

Letting his eyes adjust to the darkness, Valek waited a few minutes before leaving the tower. A half-moon lit the sky. He passed the empty stables and cut through the overgrown pasture on his way to the glass workshop, hoping a few of Quinn’s null-shield glass pendants had been left behind.

The quiet campus felt abandoned and...dead. As if the life had been sucked away. Perhaps it was his imagination. When he was immune to magic, he would encounter sticky pockets of random magic whenever he visited the Keep. Janco called it the Creepy Keepy because he, too, sensed the power. This time, the name certainly fit.

The door to the glass workshop hung open—not a good sign. He stepped inside and broken glass crunched under his boots. Even the dim light couldn’t hide the fact that the place had been ransacked. Scattered tools lay next to overturned gaffer benches. Bent pontil irons and crushed coal littered the floor. Valek hoped the damage had been done after everyone had left the Keep, because worry for Mara grew as he inspected her office—it looked as bad as the rest.

If there had been any of Quinn’s pendants left behind, they had been smashed or taken. Valek checked the armory next. All the weapons were gone. No surprise. Inside the administration building, files had been strewn into a chaotic mess. Bain’s and Irys’s offices had also been searched, along with Bain’s tower in the southeast corner.

Disappointed and sick to his stomach over the destruction, Valek headed back to Irys’s tower, cutting through the center of the campus. He stopped at the Fire Memorial. It had been carved from stone to resemble a campfire’s flames. Valek almost lost Yelena during the battle with the Fire Warper. Many people had died in the fight, and their names had been etched onto a plaque on the front side of the memorial. On another side was a list of the names of those who prevented the Warpers from taking control of Sitia. Valek’s name was among them. The one on the back only had two names—Yelena’s and Opal’s. Without them, the Fire Warper would still be a threat.

Valek touched Yelena’s name with a fingertip. Stay strong, love. I’m coming.

When he returned to Irys’s tower, an impulse to visit Yelena’s rooms flared in his chest. Instead of heading down to the tunnel, he climbed up to the third story. And stopped.

A ribbon of yellow light glowed from underneath the door. He pulled a dagger and a small mirror from his pockets. The long, thin handle of the mirror allowed him to peek under the door without tipping off the person or persons inside.

The scent of wood smoke wafted out as he bent to insert the mirror. From this angle, he caught sight of a small fire burning in the hearth and a single pair of boots in front of the couch.

Too curious to leave, Valek straightened, returned the mirror and tested the doorknob. Unlocked. Bracing for an attack, he entered the room. A dark figure stood next to the couch, looking in Valek’s direction, but a wavy translucent shimmer hung between them and made it impossible for Valek to identify the person.

“Uncle Valek?” a young male voice asked. “How did you... Oh!”

The veil dropped.

Teegan rushed to him, throwing his arms around Valek for a quick hug. “I’m so glad to see you!”

“What are you doing here?” Valek asked his not-quite-nephew.

“Waiting for you or Aunt Yelena to show up.”

“Why? And how?”

“Long story.” Teegan raced around and packed up his meager belongings. “Tell you on the way.”

“The way?”

“Yeah. On the way to wherever you’re hiding.”

Valek glanced around, spotting evidence that Teegan had been living here for at least a week. A pile of books teetered near the couch. He couldn’t leave Teegan here, even though it was probably safer than the inn. “Tell me when we get there. We need to keep quiet.”

“Okay.” Teegan poured a bucket of water onto the fire, dousing the flames. Thick smoke boiled up the chimney. Teegan followed Valek’s gaze. “It’s too dark to see it.”