They couldn’t take on an army. It was just him, Levi, Naavah Ora, and maybe Ash if he could catch up with them before they unleashed hell. Doran’s hand-to-hand combat wasn’t terrible. Naavah Ora was lethal with her magic. Levi killed with such grace and speed he made it look easy. But they were no match for what was to come. He’d seen a spark in Naavah Ora’s eyes, had heard the fire beneath her voice. She had an idea; maybe this secret weapon she’d mentioned. He just hoped it was enough.
Doran spent most of the journey worrying. They stocked up on supplies in the small forest town, but didn’t stay. They only took breaks at night and covered as much distance as they could while it was still light outside. Naavah Ora was determined not to waste any time, and none of them argued. Doran wanted the inevitable over with, and hoped this secret weapon of hers was as special as they needed it to be.
When they finally reached a junction near Alt Võina, their mood was dark. They were tired, and not quite two weeks travel away from Naavah Ora’s people.
“I’ll catch up with you as soon as I can,” Ash said. “I don’t think this’ll take too long.”
Doran couldn’t leave it like that. “Be careful, Ash. Don’t die.”
Ash snorted. “With your unshakable faith in me, I can’t falter.”
Doran punched his arm. “I mean it. Don’t be reckless. We already know that Kult has too much money at his disposal. You might have killed a few bandits, but Kult can buy trained mercenaries without it breaking his bank account.”
“I know what I’m doing, Doran. I’m not going to rush in blind. Besides,” Ash pulled a small flask out of his pack, “I’ve got a little surprise for him.”
Doran didn’t want to know what was inside. Ash had obsessed over plans and schematics for the better part of their journey; this had to be the result.
“Don’t die.”
“No ‘good luck, Ash’?”
“You don’t need luck for this kind of thing. You need to be clever and survive.”
Ash grinned. “Can do.”
“We’ll see you when you get back to us,” Naavah Ora said. “But we should get going. We’re not far now, but it’ll still take us two weeks before we reach my clan.”
Doran nodded. He had to trust that, just this once, Ash had made plans.
Thinking about it twisted his stomach.
“He’ll be fine,” Levi said. “He’s smarter than you give him credit for.”
“You haven’t seen him try to flirt his way out of danger.”
“If Kult has set a trap, Ash will know before he steps into it. He won’t fall for it.”
Levi was right, but Doran couldn’t shake the bad feeling he had. Something was about to go wrong, and there was nothing he could do about it.
But he couldn’t focus on that now. Ash wasn’t a complete idiot, he’d figure something out. He was at his best when he had a clear goal in mind, and Ash knew what he wanted this time. He couldn’t fail.
And neither could they.
“I want to enter the spirit realm tonight,” Naavah Ora said. “I need to see how far the corruption has spread.”
Doran frowned. “That sounds like a bad idea.”
“It’s been a few weeks since the spirits attacked our camp. They won’t still be waiting for me to show up.”
“Why not? They’re dead. What else do they have to do?”
She shot him a dark look. “I’m not saying there’s no danger at all involved. I won’t stay long, I just want to know how bad it is. I’ll place protective spells before opening the portal. You and Levi will stand guard too.”
“And if they wait until we’re asleep like last time, and slit our throats then?”
“If you’re too scared you can go with Ash.”
Why were her few jokes always aimed at him? “I’ll stay, I just want to make sure you know what you’re doing.”
“I do.”
“Then let’s get started,” Doran said.
If only the bad feeling in his gut would go away.
An elven god has her limits, and I’d stretched mine until they were threatening to snap.
Chapter 55
Ash
It was strange to be back in Alt Võina. Were the guards still looking for him? Was Kult looking for him? Merchants as wealthy as Kult were either paranoid beyond belief, or they felt so secure behind their walls of wealth they felt untouchable. Kult had already sent a large group of bandits after him. Ash could guess which category he belonged to.
Ash stuck to the shadows to be safe. He knew how to blend in and move so no one would see him coming. Ash could be in and out of any building before anyone knew he’d been there. He and Doran could have made a great pair of delinquents, if they’d been criminals. But they weren’t, and Ash hated the idea of killing anyone, even when his opponent was as corrupt as Kult. If Ash did nothing, Kult’s paranoia would demand he send more people after Ash until one group took him by surprise or outnumbered his ability. Sooner or later, they would pose odds he couldn’t win against. He had to do something before it came to that.
From his position high up on the roofs of Alt Võina, Ash spotted his merchant. He was alone. No authorities. No personal guards. He’d be easy to kill if Ash had put any effort into archery. One shot would have done it—he was far enough away for no one to know it was him. He’d have been out of Alt Võina again long before the crowd stopped panicking.
But he wasn’t a cold-hearted assassin, and he wouldn’t murder Kult with a shot to the back of his head. Ash wanted Kult to know that he’d made a mistake before his life bled out of him. He also had no talent for archery; he was more likely to impale a lettuce by accident than hit his mark.
Ash followed him and learnt his routine. Kult left his house at ten every morning, wandered the market for an hour, and visited his financial adviser, followed by a brief visit to the bank. To make sure his wealth was still there, Ash assumed. Kult was the paranoid type.
The odd thing was that even Kult’s mansion was unguarded. Kult always had two guards at the front gate, but no new guards had been placed since the incident. No one patrolled the grounds. It didn’t fit his paranoid personality. Why send someone after Ash but not protect his house? Was Kult so confident in his mercenaries’ ability that he didn’t think Ash would make it right up to his doorstep? Or didn’t he think Ash would dare show his face in Alt Võina again?
Ash didn’t like it. People weren’t paranoid as well as overconfident, especially where their finances were concerned. Kult hadn’t amassed a fortune as big as this by being careless. He knew what he was doing.
So, why weren’t there more guards?
Ash searched the area around the Gold Quarter. Dusk was setting; the streets were empty at this time of day. Kult hadn’t set a trap for him, that much was clear. If any concealed guards waited in the shadows, Ash would have spotted them.
But there was nothing.
Perhaps the surviving bandits had collected their money and left. Perhaps Kult really didn’t know that his plan had gone awry. The bandits would have had to lie to Kult since their leader hadn’t returned with them, and Ash couldn’t convince himself that Kult would have believed them.