Page 114 of Suffer No Fools
Klaus ran to him, examining him from head to toe before throwing his arms around Vadim's neck and kissing him. "You have a fresh scar."
"I hated that bare patch, anyway."
Klaus laughed and then looked over his shoulder at Hugo. "How far to this tree?"
"Two halls over."
Hugo wanted to lead the way, but Nola and Yvette stepped out in front, followed by Fanidra. She carried the seeking enchantment, though too often, they were wearingamulets Hugo needed to break before she could sense weavers ahead. Stan and Tovey flanked Hugo, and Efren and Niall followed behind, leaving Vadim and Klaus in the rear.
When Fanidra and Klaus got no reading from the people in the hallway, Hugo searched them for enchantments. He broke the clasps with fire, and then he heard swords and shields clatter to the floor. Occasionally, the same would happen behind them. Each time, Niall added new numbers to his tally, for himself, Fanidra, and Vadim. By the time they reached the courtyard, the three numbers totaled 42.
The courtyard was packed with living corpses. That was the only way Hugo's brain could categorize them when he peeked through the doorway. They weren't yet undead, but they had been living a life of torment in the palace dungeon, Hugo was certain. Coryn and her handful of loyalists questioned them, one by one. Any who refused her request to serve were gutted and tossed on the pile of corpses in the corner. The pile was far larger than their body count, at a glance.
Hugo raised his voice over the din, but instead of speaking to Coryn, he spoke to the weavers in the courtyard. He gave them the same speech Stan had given the earth weavers, asking them to declare loyalty to Embertide so he could take them somewhere safe.
Despite being incarcerated in his name, most of the dungeon dwellers answered his call. In the blink of an eye, he took them out of the palace and back to his dad's old dorm room with the earth weavers.
The earth weaver Hugo viewed as their spokesperson assessed the newcomers with a frown. "We'll get these folks cleaned up."
"Thank you." He turned to the prisoners. "Thank you all. You should be safe here." With that, he bounced back to the courtyard. He had to stop Coryn.
#
Stan
Stan was relieved when Hugo and most of the prisoners disappeared, leaving Coryn, a handful of loyalists, a few prisoners, and a pile of bodies on the opposite side of the courtyard.
Stan wished he could go with Hugo, to make sure he was safe, but everyone back at the dormitory had declared their loyalty to Embertide, and to him. Vadim didn't need a signed contract to kill anyone who tried to hurt Hugo, not anymore. They were family.
Hugo returned, standing in the same spot he'd just left and retaking Stan's hand, twining their fingers together. He looked tired, but then his eyes lit up as he gazed at the gigantic willow tree. Coryn stood beneath the drooping canopy, her eyes wide as she waved her arms at her loyalists. "Where the fuck did they all go? Where are my death weavers?"
"Ah-ha!" Fanidra laughed. "I knew she couldn't replace us so easily." She stepped forward and waved at Coryn, as though daring her to attack.
Coryn accepted the challenge. Both Fanidra and Vadim fell to their knees, clawing at their scalps despite the enchantments Allora had made them. Behind them, Niall cried out in anguish.
Stan was too focused on Hugo to help them. He studied Coryn's every move, waiting for the right moment to knock her off balance with an earth weave.
"Leave them alone!" Hugo lobbed a fireball at Coryn. She tossed it aside with an air weave, and it flared harmlessly against the stone wall.
Coryn was now halfway across the empty yard, stalking toward Vadim. "What did you do with my prisoners?"
"He did nothing," Hugo said. "Those were my prisoners, and I set them free."
Coryn opened the satchel she carried and pulled out the white stone carving of a set of scales. It looked exactly as Stan remembered it.
"They've blocked me from their minds," Coryn said, "but it's only a matter of time before I can drain them completely of their power and make it mine."
"You don't need to do this," Hugo said. "You don't need to remove their magic. Our magic."
"I do." She shook her head. "You don't know what he did to me. What they did. Healers." She sneered at Yvette. "You think you're so perfect."
"They need to be regulated," Hugo said, "and punished when they try to play gods. But this? This is unnecessary. You've become worse than they are to prove your point."
"Worse than Martiz?" She took a step closer to Vadim, who lay on the ground, panting. "Never."
"He's dead," Vadim said. "Let it go."
"No." She took another step.
