show? What if Owen had made a deal with the Cartel? The Commander’s distrust and hatred of magicians ran deep, but what if Owen and Bruns conspired to demonstrate to the Commander that they could control the magicians, make them obey and show that they no longer had any free will?
But they wouldn’t be content to rule Sitia. Once they’d earned the Commander’s trust, or used magic to hijack him, it’d be just a matter of time before they removed him from power. Then Owen would rule Ixia, and Bruns’s Cartel would be in charge of Sitia.
His stomach churned, pushing bile up his throat. Valek tried to dismiss his speculation as nothing but that—an exercise in logic. However, the inner intuitive sense that hadn’t ever let him down agreed with his conclusions.
A wave of despair washed through him. He paused in a shadow, leaning against a wall. He didn’t have the people or the resources to stop it. Plus, his life had been turned completely upside down. His protection from magic was gone, and he had no idea how to use the power. But Valek knew if Owen and the Cartel won, there’d be no family for him. Yelena, the baby, all the people he cared for would be eliminated, including him. Basic strategy.
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