Page 8 of The Study of Poisons
“You mean work as a spy?”
“Yes.”
“What about Janco?”
“He’s good, but not ready for my corps.”
Ari’s gaze slid to his friend. Janco was gesticulating wildly as he talked to another soldier.
“No, thank you,” Ari said.
Ah, they were a package deal. Valek waited. Would Ari offer an explanation?
Ari grinned. “I’m going to train harder and challenge you again. Next time, I’ll become your second, sir.”
“And Janco?”
“Will be your third.”
Valek laughed. “Good luck with that.”
He considered the possibility as the big man joined his friend. If Ari and Janco teamed up to fight Valek together, they had a good chance of winning. The combination of Ari’s strength and Janco’s speed would be very difficult to counter. They’d be a powerful opponent.
They reminded him of his older twin brothers, Victor and Viliam. When they were together there was no stopping them. Ari and Janco might not be brothers, but they had a deep connection. They were power twins. Valek chuckled. Liking the idea of them challenging him together, he decided to aid in their training and assign them to a better unit. Perhaps Parffet’s. The captain might have a temper, but the man knew how to train his soldiers.
* * *
After he cooled down,Valek continued his rounds, looping around the west side of the castle. Since it was close to the beginning of the hot season, the sun set much later. At this time, it hung low, staining the sky pink.
A few horses grazed in the pasture located in the northwest corner of the complex. Their stable was along part of the western wall. The Commander’s kennel was also along the wall but further south. The dogs ran out to greet him and he spent a few minutes petting them. They had been very effective in hunting down fugitives and Valek appreciated their help.
When a familiar, yet invisible, sensation brushed his arm, all the dogs raced back to the kennel. Valek met the kennel master’s gaze. Did Porter not know Valek could sense when magic was in use? Porter looked away and tended to his charges. Perhaps the kennel master was unaware he was using magic while working with the dogs.
Valek had been on the fence about what to do with the man, who had also worked for the King. Technically he was a magician and, according to the Commander’s strict Code of Behavior, he should be executed. Valek kept a close eye on him, but, so far, there was no evidence that he was anything other than a loyal and hardworking man.
A scraping noise cut through the evening air. Valek turned in time to see a set of shutters in the castle open wide. Curious, he stepped into the shadows of the kennel and watched. The window was along the building’s rectangular base.
Yelena blocked the sunlight from her eyes as she gazed outside. Valek waited. Typical of Margg to give her a room on the ground floor. She probably hoped Yelena would jump down and run away.
And if she did? Valek would intercept her. She wasn’t getting away until she revealed her secrets. When she disappeared inside and closed the shutters, a slight pang of disappointment echoed in his chest, surprising him. Had he been looking forward to the chase? Or to chasingher?
CHAPTER3
Valek was awake well before dawn. He needed to clear a space in his office. A task he could have assigned to Margg, but there was a system to his seemingly disheveled piles of files. One that allowed him to find information quickly. Also, one that confused others.
He relocated the various items on his conference table to make an area where he could train Yelena. Right before the sun came up, he went to taste the Commander’s breakfast, fetched the supplies he needed for the day’s lesson, and returned to his office.
The door opened as he was arranging the food, and he gestured for Yelena to take a seat. Plucking a piece of bacon, he turned his attention to her.
“I hope you’re…” Valek’s heart squeezed hard—one painful contraction. While bruises and the circles under her eyes remained, the grime and grease had been washed from her face and hair. She was beautiful. Unflinching, she stared back.
“It’s amazing what a difference a bath and a uniform can make.” Valek feigned disinterest as he chewed the bacon. “I’ll have to remember that. It might be useful in the future.” He placed two ham omelets in front of her. “Let’s get started.”
“I’d rather start with the antidote,” she said. Her words rushed together as if she couldn’t get them out fast enough.
He considered the timing of her last dose. “You shouldn’t be feeling any symptoms. They won’t arrive until later this afternoon.” Still, the mind had a way of overruling the body and she appeared to be worried. He shrugged and unlocked his cabinet of poisons to extract a pipette full of White Fright.
Yelena watched him closely, so after locking the cabinet, he used a slight-of-hand trick he learned to make the key disappear. Valek gave the pipette to her before he settled on the opposite side of the table.
