Page 120 of The Study of Poisons
“We discovered Mogkan’s extra power source,” Yelena told Irys.
“What is it?”
Yelena described finding the mindless magicians chained to the floor in a wagon wheel design. Irys’s calm exterior cracked for a moment as she stared at Yelena in horror. Even the two hardened soldiers looked sick to their stomachs.
“What’s this all about?” Ari finally asked.
“I’ll explain it later. Right now—” Yelena stopped. “I want you to protect Irys with everything you have. It’s very important.”
“Yes, sir,” Ari and Janco said.
Yelena stared at her friends in shock. No doubt surprised by their acknowledging her as their leader.
Her tone had been confident and commanding. Valek met her gaze. “You have a strategy?”
“Yes.”
“Tell us.”
* * *
Valek and Yelenanavigated the silent halls of Brazell’s manor house, heading for the Commander’s guest suite. No guards stood by his door. Normally, Valek would have been outraged to find the Commander unprotected. However, in this case, it worked in their favor. They waited a few minutes longer, letting Ari, Janco, and the magician get into position. Valek had approved of Yelena’s strategy. Her quick thinking was an asset to their team. And even though she trembled with fear and was on the edge of hyperventilating, she hadn’t run away. Not from him. Not from the danger.
Once enough time had passed, he picked the lock and they entered. After securing the door behind them, he found a lantern and lit it. Half expecting the Commander to ambush him or yell at him for disturbing his sleep, Valek crossed to the oversized four-poster bed. Strong magic surrounded it like a giant bubble.
His heart squeezed painfully in his chest. The most powerful man in Ixia lay atop the bed still in his uniform. Wide-eyed, the Commander stared vacantly at the ceiling. The intelligence and keen cunning that had blazed from his gaze since Valek ambushed him in that dark alley was gone.
Yelena sat on the edge of the bed and took the Commander’s hand. That was Valek’s cue to prepare for unwelcome guests. According to Irys, Mogkan would sense Yelena’s touch and come running. Valek stood against the wall next to the entrance with his sword in hand.
As expected, the rasp of a metal key unlocked the door. A pause. Then it flew open as four armed guards rushed into the suite. Valek pounced on the closest man, stabbing him in the back. The other three turned and attacked him.
He blocked one blade, dodged another, parried a third. Sidestepping, ducking, and swinging his sword, Valek fought with an intense focus. Yet he was vaguely aware of Mogkan entering the room and heading directly to Yelena. She planned to protect the Commander’s mind from Mogkan with a mental shield. Since magic was still brand new to her, Valek didn’t have much time to dispatch his opponents and kill Mogkan.
“A brick igloo,” Mogkan said. “How nice. Come on, Yelena, give me some credit. A stone fortress or a steel wall would have been more of a challenge.”
Valek increased the pace of his attack. He’d claimed he could handle four, but the fact he hadn’t eaten in over twenty-four hours became apparent as the fight lengthened.
“Nice trick,” Mogkan said. “Friends of yours? They’re in Reyad’s hallway, but unless they can fight their way through ten men, they won’t make it to my children.”
Oh no. If Ari, Janco, and Irys couldn’t reach Mogkan’s power source, then it was up to Valek and Yelena to kill the magician.
Valek poured every bit of energy into a flurry of strikes. He cut the femoral artery of one man and stabbed another in the stomach.
Just as he killed the last man, Mogkan shouted, “Stop or she dies.”
Yelena had dropped the Commander’s hand and stood next to the bed. Valek froze even though three more guards appeared with Brazell right behind them. Valek cursed under his breath as they disarmed him and forced him to his knees. They ordered him to put his hands on his head. Smart. That would make it harder for him to get to his darts.
“Go ahead, General. Kill her,” Mogkan said, stepping back to let Brazell pass. “I should have let you slit her throat the first day she arrived.”
Valek wouldnotwatch that sadistic old goat harm Yelena. He’d die first.
“Why listen to Mogkan?” Yelena asked Brazell. “He’s not to be trusted.”
“What do you mean?” Brazell demanded. He gripped his sword as he glanced between them.
Mogkan laughed. “She’s only trying to delay the inevitable.”
“Like when you tried to delay the Sitian treaty negotiations by poisoning the cognac? Or were you aiming to stop the delegation altogether?” she asked Mogkan.
