Page 91 of Tell No Tales
"Yes."Hugo handed the knife back to Vadim.
"Tell me what you're going to do."
"I'll tell my guards I want to see General Coryn, and then I'll ask her to meet me in the throne room."
"When?"
"Tomorrow afternoon, when the bells chime at five."
"Perfect. Here."Vadim ghosted his fingers over Hugo's wound, sealing it closed. Then, he removed the tourniquet and wiped off the remaining blood with the cloth, leaving a smear of red on his otherwise unblemished arm.
"Thank you," Hugo mouthed.
Vadim nodded. Then, he turned and stepped back into the tunnel. Nola shut the panel behind them.
As much as Klaus wanted to run all the way back to the dorm and bury himself under the blankets, he could feel another tunnel hidden beneath the palace. It branched off from the one they'd used. When they got to the section of wall, he motioned for Nola to illuminate it with her water globe. On the wall, he saw the symbol for water.
"I see it," Nola said. "Any idea what's up here?"
"It could be anything," Vadim said, but the trepidation Klaus felt through their link screamed they were walking into a trap.
"What aren't you saying?" Nola asked.
"Coryn's chambers are near the courtyard."
"The one with the fountain," Yvette said. "Emperor Hinero built it for his mistress, Sandrine, a water weaver."
"This could be how they met secretly," Klaus said.
Klaus had heard the story from another pleasure worker, one who had dreamed of one day being rescued by the royal family and whisked off to the palace. Klaus had refrained from reminding her she wasn't a water weaver, and they were unfortunate enough to be stuck in Landale. No royals would stop in their backwater pleasure house and whisk them away to the capital. It didn't happen.
"Didn't they attempt to murder the empress in her sleep?" Klaus asked, remembering the story's tragic end.
"Tried to drown her," Nola said. "She set herself and the palace on fire and turned the water to steam."
"We won't get too close," Nola said. "Just enough for Klaus to scout who she's got with her."
Klaus knew it made sense, but that didn't stop his heart from pounding in his chest with each step they took in the new tunnel. It was much steeper than the one to Hugo's chamber, which meant they had to sneak closer to the door before he could sense the weavers on the other side.
He shared his findings with Vadim through their link, and together, they counted seven weavers in the room. Coryn paced back and forth a few yards from the tunnel entrance. A death weaver and a water weaver stood guard at the door, from their distance from each other and from Coryn. A weak spectral weaver lay on a couch or divan against the far wall, and the others, air, lightning, and fire, were all weaker than Coryn's usual retinue.
Vadim led them back to the main tunnel and Nola closed the door behind them before Vadim was ready to speak.
"They're all too weak. This must be her back-up crew for the night."
"Or she's sent them all to Stony Eel Island in an attempt to beat us," Nola countered.
"We aren't that lucky," Vadim said. "She'll have stronger weavers around her tomorrow. We'll need every advantage our stealth can give us."
"She's got a spectral weaver," Klaus said. "What does that mean for Coryn?"
"It will make it easier for her to do complex spells, like storm-calling and projectiles, if she's pulling from a single source." Nola shrugged. "Coryn's never been a spellcaster. She's used the elements much like a hammer, without finesse. A spectral weaver could teach her how to spell cast."
"I couldn't tell the spectral weaver's age," Vadim said.
"I don't know," Klaus said.
"I doubt they know many spells," Vadim said, sharing his musings aloud. "Beatrice didn't come to the academy for training because there was none to be had. I doubt anything has changed in the last century on that front."
