Iron Crowned Page 0,77

Rurik accepted that he would not be accompanying me - they fell in line to pool their knowledge about Katrice's castle. I'd joked earlier to Kiyo about this being like our break-in to Aeson's ... but really, it was true. This time, we had no guide personally to take us in. We had to rely on anecdotal knowledge from those who had been there and could make best guesses at where Jasmine might be held. And that was presuming Katrice was actually keeping her on-hand.

Perhaps the most surprising part of all of this was Kiyo's acquiescence. I'd expected protests about my safety or perhaps a diplomatic solution. But, no. He realized the importance of saving Jasmine. And he too knew this was probably our best shot - at least on such short notice.

"You should know," Rurik told us later, "that you aren't going to be able to bring Volusian." He, Kiyo, Shaya, and I were in my bedroom, which I'd made my makeshift war headquarters.

"Why not?" I asked. That was a surprise. I'd been counting on his muscle, something I had to admit I'd missed while fighting for the crown. What was the point of an undead minion if I couldn't put him to good use? "He can go in with us invisibly."

Rurik shook his head. "Everyone knows about him. Katrice does. She'll have people on-hand who can sense him. She'll also probably have those with the power to banish him. Enough of them united together could."

"You have a lot of faith in her," I noted dryly. Volusian was hard to banish - I couldn't do it - but Rurik had a point. Get enough magic-users together, and they could eventually pull it off.

He gave me a twisted smile. "She's not stupid. And she has advisors. Not as good as yours, of course, but they would have thought everything over before kidnapping Jasmine."

A knock on the door interrupted any response I might have made, and after I called entry, a servant showed Imanuelle in.

"Finally," I said.

She swept in, clad in billowing red silk pants and a matching, midriff-showing top. The assassin arched an eyebrow and gave me an amused look as she put her hands on her hips. "I don't wait around on your every command, Thorn Queen. And last time we spoke, you made it pretty clear, you didn't want me around. Have you finally come to your senses? From what I hear, now's a pretty good time to get rid of Katrice." Imanuelle paused carefully. "Although, getting rid of her before now would have been even better. Would have saved you and your sister a lot of trouble."

I bit off any snide remarks. "We can't have Katrice killed. I'm pretty sure the instant her people found her dead, Jasmine would be next. I need you to sneak in and get Jasmine out of there."

Imanuelle's cocky smile dropped. "That's not what I do. I kill. I don't rescue."

"I'll do the rescuing. You need to get me and Kiyo in. Disguise us with this so-called power you keep bragging about. Or is masking more than one person out of your skill-set?"

"I can do it," she said, narrowing her eyes. "But it'll cost you."

"We can afford it," I said, trying to ignore the pained look crossing Shaya's face as she no doubt added up mental ledgers.

Imanuelle said nothing for several moments as she pondered it all. "Just you two?"

"Yes. And you, of course," I added.

"Do you have any idea where you're going in there?" she asked.

Kiyo and I exchanged looks. "Kind of," I said.

"Kind of." Imanuelle snorted. "Fine. I'll do it. But I'm only there to disguise you. I'm not fighting if you get caught."

"You don't have to," I assured her. "We'll protect you."

This brought another scoff and a haughty curl of her lip. "If they detect us, I can get myself out of there, believe me. You'll be on your own."

Chapter 17

We learned more about the full extent of Imanuelle's ability as Kiyo and I made our way with her on horseback to the Rowan Land. Her illusions were every bit as good as she'd demonstrated the first day, and I watched with grudging awe as she transformed Kiyo into Girard, Shaya, and - ack - Dorian. The illusions were perfect - and dangerous. I began to fully understand why she was such a good assassin. She really could be whomever she wanted, slipping into high security places without anyone knowing. I was a bit shocked when some part