Page 85 of The King of Koraha
“Yeah, well, you gave him the perfect name. Big Brute is stubborn even with the pendant. Either that or it’s working too well on him and you’re the only one he’ll obey.”
“Then I’ll have another chat with him. Have him report to me here.”
“Yes, sir,” Vilma said and strode from the room.
The thought of seeing Big Brute again made Little One happy even though she was tired from converting so many people and exhausted by the constant fluctuations in her emotions.
Xerxes worked with the prince, instructing him on how to conduct business and to pay the taxes to Xerxes and his mercs instead of the King. Little One found a soft oversized cushion and listened to Xerxes. Eventually she could no longer follow the conversation. She curled up and fell asleep.
A familiar deep voice woke her up. And for one brief moment she remembered the man attached to that voice. The desire to run to him pulsed through her muscles. But when she opened her eyes, her gaze was immediately drawn to Xerxes. Big Brute was relaxed and smiling, answering questions about settling in with his new squad, suggesting changes to improve training.
Except he had trouble remembering the recent past and if he had talked to Apanji’s captain of the guard or not. He claimed those details were blurry. But when Xerxes put more force into his questions, Big Brute snapped to attention.
“I warned Captain Mahira, sir,” Big Brute said.
A crease of worry furrowed his brow.
“Don’t fret, Big Brute. That was before you were working for me. Do you know where she might have gone?”
“No, but if it was me…”
“Go on.”
“I’d take my most skilled guards and set up a base of operations in an unknown location in the city.”
“Unknown?”
“All underground cities have places that have been forgotten by almost everyone. Vagrants will squat in those areas, but if the guards are any good at their jobs, they know these locations as well and will sweep them every dozen sun jumps or so.”
“So I need to ask one of the guards where these locations are?”
“That would be the best way to find the captain.”
Little One’s stomach knotted at the thought of Captain Mahira being caught. The goddess’s love tugged at her worry, yet with Big Brute in the room, her resistance lasted a bit longer.
“Excellent,” Xerxes said. “Vilma, bring me a few of the prince’s guards.”
“Yes, sir.” She left.
While she was gone, Xerxes and Big Brute discussed strategy and tactics. They both knew quite a bit and she was content to listen and learn.
Vilma soon returned with two guards who were escorted by four armed mercs. The guards’ expressions switched from angry to scared when they spotted the commander. They refused to answer any of Xerxes’ questions about their captain.
“Little One, can you find this information in their souls?” Xerxes asked.
“Yes, sir.” She met the woman’s gaze first. Reaching for her thoughts, Little One sorted through her memories. She tried to ignore the woman’s emotions as they were…difficult for Little One. “This woman doesn’t know where Captain Mahira is, but she has a couple of guesses.”
“Try the other,” Xerxes ordered.
Little One made eye contact with the man. He jerked back as if she’d punched him. But distance wouldn’t help him. She rifled through his thoughts and emotions. “He knows where they’re hiding. They’re on level twenty-seven in the northwest quadrant. There’s a number of abandoned storage areas that had been used by a textile manufacturer.”
The guard was horrified. He pressed his hands to his mouth as if that would block her from getting the information.
“How many of them?” Xerxes asked her.
“They have forty-four in total, but they’re not all there at one time. They rotate, keeping their shifts so they’ll know when you make your move.”
“Do they know?”
