Jen and Marie-Bell dismounted from their conjured horses in the courtyard of the royal castle. They had flown through the night to reach the capital as quickly as possible. Every moment Damien was gone Jen feared what might be happening to him. The castle grounds looked perfectly normal; no additional guards roamed the grounds and no sorcerers flew through the sky overhead. Dad was dead and Damien captured, but the world went on just like normal.

“It’s rather plain, isn’t it?” Marie-Bell seemed a good deal less impressed with the castle than she had been with Public House.

“It was built for defense first. The city just grew up around it over time. While it isn’t pretty, I’m reasonably sure no one inside wants to kill or capture us.”

“That’s certainly a point in its favor. What now?”

“Now we see the king and tell him everything that’s happened.”

Jen walked toward the main entrance with Marie-Bell and was waved through. The throne room doors were open at the end of the hall and a few dozen people filled the space. It looked like Uncle Andy was having court early today. The archmage was beside him on the left and the captain of the guard on the right. That was both convenient and a pain. She knew where everyone was, but now they needed to draw their attention and clear the room. She very much doubted Uncle Andy would want what they were about to say to get out to the public.

They had barely stepped into the crowded room when the archmage spotted them. She’d probably sensed Marie-Bell’s unusual soul force. She leaned over and whispered in Uncle Andy’s ear as he listened to a pair of merchants argue about lumber prices. Jen massaged the bridge of her nose. How the king managed to listen to everyone’s problems and not scream or start swinging his sword was beyond her comprehension. It must have been part of his training.

Uncle Andy stood up and the nattering merchants fell silent. “Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for coming in early this morning, but an urgent matter has come up so I’ll have to ask you to clear the room.”

With considerable grumbling, the assembled petitioners were directed out by the guards flanking the doors. They’d seen Jen visiting enough times to know she was probably the bearer of the urgent news. When the room was free of citizens and guards Uncle Andy waved them up before the throne.

They had barely stopped when the archmage said, “What’s happening and where’s my apprentice?”

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Jen took a breath and told them everything that had happened in the city. When she reached the part about the lord mayor Uncle Andy’s grip tightened on the arm of the throne so much Jen feared he might rip it off. She finished with Damien’s disappearance and their fruitless search.

“Tosh was still processing the cultists when we left, but two things came up consistently. An event called The Harvest and a place called the Kingdom of Alexious.” Jen held her hands out. “Neither means anything to me, but I suspect they are the key to finding Damien.”

The archmage frowned, clearly deep in thought. Uncle Andy’s emotions were far closer to the surface. He slammed his fist on the arm of the throne with enough force to crack it. “I knew something was wrong in that city. How did our people miss something that big?”

The archmage shook her head. “No one knew anything about the hidden tunnels and on the surface the cultists acted perfectly normal. As long as everyone kept their mouths shut the only way our agents would have learned anything was dumb luck. If not for Connor Blackman accelerating their actions we probably still wouldn’t know anything.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” the king asked.

“It’s not about how you feel, it’s about what we can do now to fix things. We’ve lost our ace and the enemy is advancing plans we know nothing about. This isn’t a remotely good position for us. We’ve been behind Connor since the beginning. It’s time to get ahead.”

“How are we going to do that, ma’am?” Jen asked.

The archmage sighed, suddenly looking her age. “I wish I knew.”

“I will return to the fortress and see if the senior paladins know anything that might be of use. I’ll contact you as soon as I learn something.” Marie-Bell held out her hand and Jen shook it. “It’s been a pleasure battling with you.”

“Likewise, and thanks for your help.”

Uncle Andy stepped down from the throne. “Indeed, we all thank you. Would you be kind enough to carry a message to your leaders for me?”

Marie-Bell bobbed a curtsy. “Of course, Majesty. I’m at your service.”

“Excellent.” He turned to the captain of the guard. “Fetch my signet, wax, and a scroll from the desk in my office.”

The captain bowed his head and rushed off at warlord speed. The archmage had barely finished conjuring a desk for the king to write on when the captain returned with the requested items. Uncle Andy sat at the desk and wrote a brief letter before sealing it with wax. When the wax had hardened he handed it to Marie-Bell.

She accepted it with a bow. If the paladin was curious what he’d written she had the good manners not to ask. Marie-Bell turned on her heel and marched out of the throne room. Jen hadn’t known the other woman long, but she couldn’t help feeling she’d lost her last friend.

“You’re right about us needing more information,” the archmage said. “I’d like to send you to The Tower so you can talk to Mariela. The demon scholar is there giving a talk to the students about cults and how they operate. She’ll be your best option for information.”

“It’ll take me a week to travel there by horse.”

“I’ll have a Crimson Legionnaire transport you, then continue on to Port Valcane to retrieve a copy of the cultists’ statements. There might be something in them that the regular investigators missed.”

Jen nodded. “I’m ready.”