At first, Lucas thought it was a gimmick and remained on his guard, ready to cast at a moment’s notice. But the longer Gordon remained on the ground, the harder it was for him to maintain his tension. It was the shouts of the hiding lord, questioning the silence, that got him moving. Still, he didn’t approach. Instead, he used the same spell as before, targeting Gordon. Despite that, he still didn’t hear a heartbeat or intake of breath.
It seemed he was dead.
Lucas was confused by the strange and sudden turn of events but now wasn’t the time to contemplate such things. He had a mission and a time limit. The unknowing sacrifice of the hunters used as bait to secure their advantage couldn’t be wasted.
His expression grim, Lucas stabbed Gordon in the chest. His victim didn’t twitch. Despite the appearance of death, Lucas wasn’t taking chances. The best hunters weren’t the strongest, the fastest, or the most durable. They were the trickiest. The ones who had spells that had never been documented or had special effects. He wouldn’t have been at all surprised to know there was a spell across multiple affinities to simulate death. It was just smart to make sure.
He pulled his blade free and cleaned it before sheathing it. Then he bent over and opened the cellar doors.
Four hands came up to shield four pairs of eyes as the brighter kitchen illuminated the gloom. Lucas was relieved to recognize all four members of the Teppin family reported to have been in the estate, in good health. “The situation is secure, Lord Teppin. Please come out.”
The family wasted no time coming up, each with a different reaction. Lord Teppin glared at Lucas until he looked away from the noble’s unusual dress. His wife sighed with relief as she cleared the ladder but remained cautious. The oldest daughter was grumpy, muttering to herself and the youngest was skittish, flinching away from the corpse in the kitchen.
“What’s the situation?” the lord demanded.
“Where’s that purple-eyed bitch?” his daughter demanded with him.
“Please.” Lucas held up a hand to forestall any more questions. “First, do you know of anyone else in the house?”
“No,” the lord responded. “I believe they evacuated when they knew you were coming. Now, who are you? What’s going on?”
“I can explain as we move. Time is of the essence.”
“We’re running?” the oldest daughter shouted, voice filled with indignation. “I thought you were here to handle that crazy woman.”
“We are, but before that, we need to ensure your safety. I will explain more later.” Lucas walked away from them and headed for the estate’s side entrance. The family grumbled but they followed, as expected. They’d been thrust into a confusing and dangerous situation. He proposed to lead them out of it. Given he’d found them cowering in the dark, he figured they weren’t brave enough to cause a fuss if he forced their hand.
He was surprised to find his comrades waiting for them. More surprising was that there was no sign of the thrall. “What happened?”
Tanner scoffed. “The creature disappeared. Something like a null spell ripped the creature away. We didn’t dare try to stop it.”
Lucas nodded. It was common sense not to recklessly intervene with an unknown spell. “I think I have an explanation. There was a man inside that suddenly killed himself.”
“The summoner,” Korn grumbled, voice rough. “If they are killed, their elemental is banished from the world.”
“He killed himself to keep us from interrogating them. Almost admirable.”
Admirable? Lucas disagreed, both with the sentiment and their analysis of the circumstances. What he had witnessed wasn’t valiant self-sacrifice. The man, Gordon, had been scared. Manic. He died with eyes full of fear and tears. It wasn’t the picture of a man willing to throw himself on his sword. It almost looked as if he was forced to do what he did, but that made no sense.
Lucas didn’t have time for sense. “Every member of the Teppin family has been recovered safely.”
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“So I can see.” Tanner smirked at the lord until he looked away. “Anyone else in the house?”
“No. The thrall must have sensed us approaching the estate. She ordered everyone else in the house to evacuate.”
“Who?” he asked while looking toward the Teppins.
After noticing her father was unable to raise his head in the presence of the other men in his embarrassing state, the oldest daughter answered. “There was a woman who walked around with her eyes closed, a pretty woman, a boy they called a steward, a younger girl who I think was his sister, and the pretty woman’s brat. And a bunch of strong looking women.”
“That’s the servants, Umphrieltalia, Yulia James, her son, and the knights spotted at the gate the other day.” Tanner scoffed. “It would have been best if we captured both of the James daughters.”
The Shields didn’t have any hope that the north would give three damns about the ducal daughters being kidnapped. However, their best minds were convinced that the presence of the James women were a negative influence on Lourianne Tome. Their attempt to remove her from the conflict would go much smoother without them whispering radical ideology in her ear. Plus, Alana James was her lover. A far more valuable hostage than a potential in-law.
“Did they flee on foot?”
“Doubt it,” Rey said. “The dames arrived in a carriage pulled by some really hairy mounts.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter. We’ll catch them. In the meantime, Lucas. Take our horses and escort the Teppin family to a safehouse. Don’t—"
“Don’t draw attention and don’t contact anyone until tomorrow afternoon. I know.” He had helped come up with the plan. It grated being ordered about like another underling, but it couldn’t be helped. He had a reputation for competence, but he was only an interim guildmaster. Something that had only happened because no one wanted to stick their next out in the volatile situation. Worse, he wasn’t even a master caster.
He didn’t have the qualifications to demand anything from a named hunter, especially not the one put in charge of their operation.
“What will you do?” The original plan was for them to detain the members of Lou’s household in the estate while their forces converged on the property. It was also unexpected that they also had beasts to pull a carriage. Most mounts were rented. A ridiculous lack of detail that Lucas would normally never accept but it was impossible for them to do proper reconnaissance when anyone who stepped foot on the property was immediately discovered.
“This complicates matters but its fine. Our people are spread wide and a fast-moving carriage is easily noticed. We’ll cover their tracks so our good lady doesn’t have an easy time tracking them. Then we’ll make ourselves. Hurry up, we don’t have much time.”
“Wait!” The lord finally found his voice. “I want to know what’s going on!”
“What’s going on your lordship,” Tanner said snidely, “is that good men and women are risking their lives to do your job. Protect this city. Now, there is nothing you can do to help us so the least you can do is not hinder us. That means shutting up and doing whatever Lucas there says.”
“You—"
Tanner spoke over him. “Korn, you take care of the carriage tracks. I’ll go inside, search for any notes or what not. The longer we keep Lourianne Tome in the dark, the better.”
Lucas grabbed the arm of the lord before he could continue to waste their time, the rest of the family following as he dragged him through the house, ignoring demands to grab this or that. A whistle brought the horses to them as they stepped out the front door. Lucas raided their saddlebags and handed out four dark cloaks before donning a fifth himself. They mounted up, the youngest daughter sharing a mount with her mother while the oldest sat behind Lucas. Then they rode off, galloping away from the estate but slowing to a nondescript trot once they were deeper in the city.
Half an hour later, Lucas made the Teppin family wait in an alley as he stabled the horses at a place with no connection to the guilds, a precaution in case they were tracked, shouldering the saddlebags. From one of them, he grabbed a bag full of spice strong enough to make his nose itch. He led the Teppin family to a crossroads before dumping the heady spices all over.
From the night of guildmaster Emeritus’ death, the guilds knew that Lourianne Tome, or more likely her succubi, had a powerful tracking ability. Spice was a simple trick to confuse hunting dogs. They could only hope it would be enough to stymie their methods.
It took another hour to reach the safehouse, a simple one-story house in one of the poorer neighborhoods. The last place anyone would be expecting a lord to lie low. They got a few looks as they entered but mysterious figures moving about at night wasn’t unusual for the area.
“Make yourselves at home,” Lucas said as he busied himself making things more hospitable, lighting candles and setting out blankets. “There’s only two rooms and no beds so things might get a little cramped, but it’s only for a day.”
“This is disgusting,” the lord growled. “Tell me you have something else for me to wear.”
“There are spare clothes in the other room.” He had been thorough in his preparations, not knowing what condition he would find the family in. “Food too, but only rations. Water as well.”
“Excuse me?”
Lucas stopped as a timid voice spoke up. He turned to the youngest Teppin daughter, who clung tightly to her mother. She looked at him with timid but hopeful eyes. “Is it over?”
His answer should have been yes. Or at least a reassurance that it would be over soon. They had painstakingly went over every scrap of information they had on Lourianne Tome and her family before deciding on their strategy. He wasn’t happy with their dishonorable methods but, before the operation started, he’d been sure it would work.
Yet, when he recalled the desperation of Gordon Mason before the man suddenly killed himself, Lucas couldn’t help but have doubts.