One of the staff passed a bag through the door. Anabella took it and crossed the room, handing the small satchel to Orrin.

“I’ve had two sets of clothing put inside, along with a small amount of gold. You’ll need to buy supplies for school, clothes, and a weapon for Battle Class. I’d suggest a sword or a spear. They are the most common and will help you not stand out,” Anabella explained. “You should keep your buffing magic a secret as long as you can. If rumors get back to my son, you will be too far away for me to help you.”

Orrin opened the bag and peered inside. The ‘small amount of gold’ was three long cylinders of coins with a hundred in each container. She gave me three hundred gold as an afterthought.

Orrin’s mom worked hard. She’d had to after his dad left. She supported Orrin and he’d never needed for anything. That didn’t mean they were rich. He usually had the last-generation video game console, wore off-brand shoes until they fell apart, and brought his lunch to school. When greedy companies started the trend of releasing the newest games only on the most current console, Orrin had to pray his ancient PC would be able to handle the computer version or hope Daniel to get it. He’d tried mowing lawns in the neighborhood for extra money but most of the dads didn’t want someone taking away their favorite weekend chore. The one neighbor he’d convinced, old Ms. Fleebecker, had chased him off her grass when he accidentally rolled over her flowerbed.

Even with the gold that he’d been collecting since arriving in Asmea, Anabella’s present was staggering. Her casual disregard for the value of money bothered Orrin. Not enough to say anything, but he filed away how little she cared for three hundred gold coins.

“Thank you for the supplies and the spending money.” He pulled the strap over his shoulder.

“The money is for the final class you select. If it costs more than three hundred, send a note to me and I’ll have the balance taken care of,” Anabella waited for him to nod before continuing. “There’s also a folder with your new name and family history. Memorize it quickly. Destroy it as soon as you can.”

“Wait, what?”

Pulling her long blonde hair beyond her and tying it into a ponytail, Anabella reached into the bag and withdrew a folder not unlike the ones she’d given him regarding his targets. “Casimir Hale. Your family moved her from Veskar three generations before you. Your great-grandmother was recruited for her skills in array magic but each new generation has worked mostly as clerks, grocers, and couriers. You are an only child, raised by your retired grandmother after a bandit attack on the road took your parents. That is the gist of it. Any questions?”

Orrin reached up to scratch the skin under his collar. “Casimir? Is he… was he a real person?”

Anabella pushed the papers back in his back with a sigh. “It’s all a fiction. The paperwork will hold up to moderate scrutiny but try not to make waves. If anyone tries to find your dear grandmother, they’ll find me waiting.”

“Nobody would believe you’re a grandma,” Orrin muttered, dropping his hand.

“Flirt like that with Maeve,” Anabella placed her hand on Orrin’s shoulder, fixing his shirt under the satchel’s strap. “You’ll have her eating out of your hand in a week.”

“I wasn’t flir—”

“Come along, we have a narrow window of time to drop you off.”

Orrin wondered about that. He’d thought Anabella a prisoner in her home but the more she revealed about her continuing power in Odrana, Orrin was beginning to think of her as a beautiful black widow pulling the threads around her country. All while the fly… her oblivious son… danced to her tune. She isn’t being kept here. She has retreated somewhere safe with plans to strike back when she’s ready.

A chill ran down his spine when she turned and smiled at him. “He’s in the foyer. Be quiet and let me do the talking.”

The man waiting was studying a painting of Anabella on the wall as they rounded the corner. He held his glasses at the tip of his nose as he kept his face close to the portrait.

“Chaminda, welcome back,” Anabella said, smiling and reaching for the man’s hands. Orrin could see his eyes widen in glee as he touched her fingers for a brief moment.

“My Lady, I came as soon as I received your call,” Chaminda replied, his dark hair spilling over his face as he bowed his head. “I am always yours to command.”

“You flatter me, Chaminda. No bowing is required in my home and I’ve told you before to call me Ana.”

Orrin watched the spider pull its prey into the web. [Locationist] was the premier class for teleportation. It wasn’t uncommon for a noble house to have an agreement with one for quick travel but outside of emergencies [Teleport] was expensive. Most people didn’t have Orrin’s ability to regenerate mana daily, having to wait until a full night of sleep to be able to move a group of people around.

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Of course, Orrin could have used [Teleport] to bring himself to the Sanerris School for Spells but Anabella would never trust him that far. Instead, she was playing this sucker along.

“I could never, my Lady,” Chaminda mumbled. His eyes took in Orrin standing behind Lady Sanerris. His dark eyes narrowed. “But where are my manners? Whoever could this handsome man be at your side? Have you taken a new husband since last we met?”

Anabella’s laugh was a little too genuine for Orrin’s liking. “He’s a student, nothing more. You know better than any that my heart died with my dear husband. If I could still love…”

Orrin watched the two adults play out the bad soap opera and did his best to not yawn. Either Chaminda knew Anabella was using him but didn’t care for some nebulous advantage being in her good graces got him… or the man was a monumental idiot.

Not that Orrin could blame him. Anabella might be a lot older than him but she was hot. Sure, Lord Sanerris’s mother was a babe but something about the usually cold and intelligent demeanor she put off was attractive in itself as well.

Orrin had to remind himself that she was probably older than she appeared. Standing by her son, Orrin would have thought they were brother and sister. Lord Sanerris was probably in his thirties, which meant she was… closing in on fifty? Likely older?

She laughed at something Chaminda said, throwing her head back. Orrin had to give her credit. She’d positioned herself under a candelabra perfectly. Her hair reflected the light and even Orrin’s eyes followed the shiny dapple upon her skin down to her—

She’s your enemy’s mom and current jailor. Stop it.

Orrin glanced out the window into the rain. A bolt of lightning briefly illuminated the path down the mountain. Orrin bit his lip and hoped he was wrong.

“Lady Sanerris,” he whispered and tapped her shoulder. Orrin missed the glare Chaminda threw his way. “Am I seeing things or…” He pointed out the window.

Anabella strode across the foyer and peered into the night. Orrin opened his mouth to explain what he’d seen but had his fears confirmed by another flash of light. Except it wasn’t lightning. A small ball of light floated out along the entrance path, showing at least three figures hurrying toward the house.

“Chaminda, bring him to Professor Graem. He’ll be at the Singing Fish Tavern. Payment on delivery and one favor in the future at my discretion. Take him through the kitchen and out the side door. You were never here and saw no one, do you understand?”

“Professor Graem at the Singing Fish Tavern,” Chaminda’s demeanor changed completely as he answered. He stood ready with the stance of a soldier receiving orders. “I’ve been at home reading a book all night.”

Anabella waved her wand toward the back of the house and Orrin heard the sound of armor rattling. The house guards jogged into view a few moments later. She gestured in a fast shorthand sign language and they ran in different directions.

“Orr— Casimir. Do behave at school and try to make some friends,” Anabella said, glancing back out the window. “Find Professor Graem in the next few hours. He’ll help you keep your head,” she paused and caught Orrin’s eye with a smile, “above water you first few days.”

She reached for his arm and pulled him into a tight embrace. Her fingers found the back of his neck and touched the hidden collar. Orrin felt the same tingles run through him as she adjusted something in the slave collar. “Trust only Graem. You have six hours to find him and have him take control of the collar. If anyone else tries to tinker with it, you’ll have a quick and explosive end. Tell him ‘The dragon sleeps while the tigers play.’ He will watch over you.”

“I’ll do my best,” Orrin answered. His face was too close and he was acutely aware of his breath. He’d never noticed the green swirls in Anabella’s eyes until this moment. “They’re here for me, aren’t they?”

Anabella ruffled his collar, playing at fixing his clothing. “I’ll take care of it. Go learn something. Remember our Kala games.”

Chaminda’s eyes twitched in Orrin’s direction but he schooled his face. “Quickly now. Take my hand.”

They passed the kitchen staff pulling knives out of drawers that were too big to be used for cooking. The one who regularly brought Orrin his food pulled a crossbow down from above a cabinet. Everyone nodded at them as Chaminda pushed through the side door into the small garden used for herbs and a few vegetables.

“Have you teleported before?” Chaminda whispered.

Orrin nodded absentmindedly. He was still focused on the three intruders. How had Sanerris found out his first attempt to kill Orrin had failed so quickly? He should stay and help Anabella. He could use his buff spells. That would give everyone the edge. He wasn’t even sure if there were only three. What if more people were coming up the path to the house as well? They could be fleeing a slaughter.

“Try to keep your feet. I’m bringing us into an alley not far from our destination but we don’t want to draw attention. I’ll use [Teleport] on the count of three.”

“I’ll be fine,” Orrin answered. He had [Teleport] and knew how it worked but explaining that right now wasn’t worth the time. Instead, Orrin took a step back toward the house. “I’m just going to tell Anabella one more thing.”

“No, you’ll stay right here. One,” Chaminda grabbed his arm in a vise grip.

“Chaminda, you don’t understand,” Orrin tried to pull away. “I can help. I’ve got [Map]. There could be more of them than what she saw.”

“Two.”

Orrin ripped his arm away and pulled up [Map]. He was fully zoomed out. All the dots were too clumped to make out properly. One grey dot was at the base of the mountain path. That’s probably one of the guards. How did they get by him?

Orrin zoomed in, refocusing on the house. Grey dots set up inside the house at different locations that Orrin could tell were windows and doors. Three dots were reaching the top of the path with no more behind them.

The three dots were also grey.

Enemies and monsters always show up as red. Why would—

“Three.”

Orrin felt the twist of space that meant he was teleporting but the drop in his stomach as they landed had nothing to do with the magic. Thoughts swirling in his head clicked together as he threw up on the cobblestones.

That was Daniel. They were coming to save me. I just ran from my own rescue.