Not too long after he finished his conversation with Oasis, Mr. Mischief’s castle of gemstones received a visit from Lady Bracelets herself. It was hard to tell for sure, but he thought he noticed a new addition to the bracelet collection displayed on her arms. It was an odd choice for an assassin, as the bracelets would often touch as she moved and cause a soft chime, clack, or jingle.

“I’ve finished your task,” she told him with a smile, “As I am now my own master, I would like to make a request of you as Kiera.”

“Kiera?” Mr. Mischief asked. That must be the new name she chose for herself. She likely only reported it to him as some sort of excuse to ask for this request of hers. “I will listen, but I make no promises.”

Kiera seemed slightly disappointed, but was not discouraged by any means. “My request is quite simple. I am sure you will agree to it.” When he did not respond, she continued. “You may think it a little odd, but I have a family, a husband and a son. Currently my husband is holding my son captive. I would like you to rescue him.”

“How do I know you aren’t lying to me?” Mr. Mischief asked.

“A month or so ago someone just like you was caught and sold by Gero. What was his name? Ah yes, Soral.”

Was this some form of blackmail? Mr. Mischief had no need to fear that sort of thing. It wasn’t as if it mattered if people found out Soral was his cousin. He only needed to maintain distance himself for safety’s sake.

“And?”

“Gero is my husband,” she answered, “I thought you would be pleased at the chance to get back at him.”

The pieces clicked together in that moment as he realized what her words meant. She was telling the truth, or at least part of the truth. “So Janon is your son,” he commented.

“You already know him? Perfect. That should make your rescue mission much easier.”

Normally, this was where Mr. Mischief would remind her he had agreed to nothing and send her on her way. This time, it was a bit different. He had agreed to something, or Soral had, just not to her.

“I could be convinced to rescue Janon, but if I fail, you must know his situation will become worse.”

“You won’t fail,” Kiera replied with complete confidence.

While it was true he was far stronger than he had… than Soral had been when he was captured, the idea of going into the trade without a foolproof plan was uncomfortable, to say the least.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

“Do you happen to have some sort of plan that makes you so confident?”

“No. I have you, the one who defeated Storm.”

So her plan was him. Or perhaps it involved him using Storm. Either way seemed to be a bit of a pain, but now that he had remembered Janon, he could no longer ignore his plight. Still, this wasn’t a decision Mr. Mischief could make.

“I will consider your request,” he told her. Luckily, Kiera was satisfied with this. Mr. Mischief stopped her before she could leave. “I have a request of my own for you.”

“Oh? Do tell?”

He explained about the clothing shop and his need for an enchanter for his seamstress or tailor. Kiera listened closely, but was frowning by the end.

“Are you planning to sell to knights and warriors?” she checked.

“No,” he replied, a bit confused about why she brought that up.

“Then why are you enchanting the clothing? Enchantments aren’t very useful in everyday life, and no one would be able to afford the high cost if they were.”

So it was a cost issue. Mr. Mischief wasn’t discouraged, though. Especially when he took in Kiera’s shocked expression when he explained what the enchantments Soral had created were. “Do you happen to know someone who could help me?”

“I am an enchanter,” Kiera admitted, “and I would love to learn these enchantments of yours, but I refuse to do so unless you accept my request.”

“Then I am afraid we are at an impasse.”

==========

The next morning, Soral has a lot to think about. He definitely felt like he couldn’t put off rescuing Janon any longer. There was no question in his mind over whether or not he should, just when and how. The when was certainly looking to be sooner seeing he would secure himself an enchanter as soon as he rescued him.

Before he could do anything, he needed a plan. When it came to plans there were two people who immediately came to mind. Ruena and Rosalie. It took a while to explain the situation to them, especially with the confusion with his cousins, the fact he had yet to mention Mr. Mischief had conquered a nation of assassins, and their question of why he wanted to rescue Janon in the first place. A lot of history had to be explained.

“I’m still a bit confused,” Rosalie admitted, “You are dead set on us raiding the very slave trade that captured you to rescue the owner’s son? How do you know this assassin who claims to be his mother isn’t just setting up some kind of trap to make her husband money?”

“Mr. Mischief is confident she is telling the truth,” Soral replied.

Ruena pursed her lips. “I don’t like how every time you mention your cousins they seem more and more like completely different people.”

“We have to be.”

“Right. I think your initial idea was right. Get Storm to help us. We are going to need all the help we can get, and part of that help is going to be finding a way in. And no, getting captured is not an option.”

Soral winced, his idea shot down before he could even mention it. “You think Storm will know a way in?”

“I think he is rich enough to buy a ticket, or even better, a pass,” Ruena replied, “This isn’t something Belleas will be willing to back you on, and Densooth never uses money for us.”

These were all true, but Soral didn’t like it much. It was even more annoying that he couldn’t do anything about it until his next day as Mr. Mischief. It was incredible how quickly living three lives at once became annoying, especially when he couldn’t interfere with any of the others. Rather than wasting what time they had today, Soral pressed on the plan issue.

“What about after we are inside? Storm won’t carry us through everything.”

“We may have to rely on Janon a bit,” Rosalie suggested, “The main problem will be finding him. Once we find him, he should be able to take us to a safe place you can open a portal.”

That sounded good. “In that case, I can try my hand at tracking magic. It would be useful for our future, too.”

“It would,” Ruena agreed, “Do you have any idea how it works?”

“No,” Soral admitted, “but I am sure I can figure it out. I have figured everything else out.”

“I can help you,” Rosalie offered, “We can go to someplace with many places to hide, and you can practice your magic to find me.”

Soral smiled. “That sounds fun, actually. Maybe Jazz can play too.”