“Then who was Tam’s dad bait for?”
Kesyn gave me a meaningful look. “Who indeed?”
I froze. “Deidre?”
“Or Nath. Or both. Neither have any magic, and both would risk themselves to free Cyran.”
“If so, that means they’re in the temple,” I said. “And from what I could see, they weren’t in that cell with Cyran and the others.” I didn’t exactly feel a spark of hope, more like a damp sputter, but Deidre did strike me as the kind of woman who would finish anything she started. She’d shot one hole in Sarad Nukpana tonight already. Perhaps she and Nath were lurking around here thinking that the second time would be the charm.
I grinned. Oh yeah, that’d be charming as hell. Maybe I could get a better seat for the show this time.
“Regardless of who that hole in the floor was meant for,” Kesyn said, “thanks to you, Cyran Nathrach is out of that hellhole and so are some of our best mages and fighters. Better still, those boys and girls didn’t look happy. And Mychael, Tam, and that scrawny elf cadet of yours are plenty pissed now that you’re down here and they’re up there. I wouldn’t want to be in the first pack of Khrynsani to run into them.” He started running his hands along the walls. “No wards here. They’re probably outside wherever the door to this box is.”
I hoped Mychael and Tam weren’t wasting any time hunting for us. With those prisoners freed, they could get up to the temple altar and get the job done. That was all that mattered. Save yourselves. Destroy the rock.
Then I remembered something.
I frantically patted myself down. When I felt the Scythe of Nen still nestled near my waist, I froze in horror. “I’ve still got it.”
“Got what?”
I scurried over to him and hissed in a whisper, “I have the freaking dagger.”
“What freaking dagger?”
“The freaking dagger.”
“Oh.” Kesyn’s eyes widened as realization sunk in. “Oh. Well, shit.”
“Mychael’s the only one left free to destroy the Saghred,” I said in a strangled whisper. “Now he can’t.”
And I’d asked him to give it to me, insisted actually. Because I wanted to be useful; I wanted to free myself. Great job I was doing of that. I viciously kicked at whatever the damned floor was made of. I couldn’t be any more useless than I was right now. Mychael hadn’t just gotten himself captured by Sarad Nukpana—at least I hoped not. I had. Here I stood, caught, caged, and probably about to have my weapons confiscated. The Scythe of Nen wasn’t big, but it wasn’t small, either. And without it, our mission was history—and so were we.
Kesyn leaned over to whisper in my ear. “Certain ladies in our secret service have often made good use of a hidden pocket in the front of their armor, right about here.” He tapped his fingers over his heart and grinned.
I looked down to where that would be on me. Right over my left breast.
I just looked at him. “And you know this how?”
Kesyn winked at me. “Extensive research and exploration in my younger days.”
I fumbled around in the inside of the quilted leather doublet where Kesyn had indicated, and sure enough, there it was. Hopefully, no lady agents had ever let Sarad Nukpana go exploring in their chest armor. I tucked the dagger in with even a little room to spare. “Well, this lovely turn of events changes our plan,” I muttered bitterly.
“Considerably. However, the best plans can be executed many ways.”
“Could you use something besides ‘executed’? It’s not my favorite word right now.”
“The point is our goal remains the same; the approach has merely changed. Stay flexible, play it by ear, and when you see a chance, jump on it.”
“You mean if I see a chance.”
“I always say what I mean. When you see a chance. If you’re looking close like you’re supposed to, you’ll see it. At least one chance is always there.”
I’d rather jump on Sarad Nukpana with a sharp knife, or the Saghred with the Scythe of Nen. Preferably both. Now it didn’t look like I’d get a chance to do either.
“Are you armed?” I asked him.
Kesyn took another bite of cheese, his eyes glittering in the dim, green light; an old man with a secret. “Don’t worry about me. I’m plenty armed and dangerous. I may have taught Sarad Nukpana a lot of what he knows.” Kesyn’s smile broadened into a devilish grin. “However, I didn’t teach him everything I know.”
“Your magic doesn’t work down here.” I almost added “either,” but swallowed the word in time.
Kesyn’s eyes narrowed. “You’re awfully impressed with hocus-pocus, girl.”
“Not impressed. I just like having my odds more even.”
“No magic is the best magic, Raine.” Kesyn’s expression turned grim and his words came fast and fierce. “You need to get that through your pretty little head right now. You don’t have time to worry about what you don’t have; concentrate on what you do have. What if Sarad was just a man? What would you do?” Kesyn got in my face. “Let’s hear it! What would you do?”
“Kick his ass to the Lower Hells,” I snarled back. I blinked. I hadn’t hesitated. Just a good old-fashioned ass kicking, ending in death, of course. His. “Like that’s going to happen.”
Kesyn didn’t back down. “Why not?”
“Because he—”
“Has more magic than you do?” The old goblin barked a laugh. “From what I hear, until a couple of months ago, damned near everyone had more magic than you. You ever let that stop you before?”
I stopped in sudden realization. I hadn’t. I’d snuck my way into goblin prisons, freed who I’d come to get, then conned and/or fought my way out. As a seeker, I found people and saved lives. Sure, I’d used my seeking skills and magic to locate them, but after that, more often than not, I’d ended up doing everything else with…
No magic.
None. Just me.
Kesyn was smiling. “Have you ever let that stop you before?” he repeated, quietly.
“No. No, I haven’t.”
“Then don’t let it stop you now. Find chances; and when you see them, take them. You need to remember something that I always told Tam—very often a man’s greatest strength is also his biggest weakness. Know when to use both to your advantage.”
A section of the wall creaked open. A red ward crisscrossed in front of the opening, but I could see through it just fine.
So could all of the Khrynsani mages and guards who were waiting just on the other side. Saying that we were outnumbered would be an absurd understatement. At an unspoken command, the Khrynsani deferentially stepped aside to allow someone to pass through.
Carnades Silvanus.
Wearing Khrynsani black mage robes.
Words completely failed me.
“So it is true,” Carnades murmured to me. “Imagine my surprise when I was told that you had dropped into our trap.”
“Our trap?”
“I might have mentioned to Sarad that you and your friends would be paying him a visit, so he was wise and planned accordingly.”
Carnades Silvanus and Sarad Nukpana working together. Hell had officially frozen over, and demons were serving flavored ice.
Kesyn popped the rest of the cheese in his mouth with a flourish. “Remember me?” he asked while chewing.
Carnades looked him up and down with obvious distaste. “Is there a reason why I should?”
The old goblin shrugged. “I guess not. I saw no reason to introduce myself back then. I was on my way out at court during your assignment as Conclave ambassador.” He chuckled darkly. “Justinius Valerian probably gave you the job hoping that mouth of yours would earn you a knife in the back.” Kesyn reached out and patted Carnades twice on the shoulder in consolation. “I’m sure it wasn’t for lack of trying. You must not have been here long enough.” He grinned. “You here to give it another go?”