Page 20 of The Study of Magic
Underneath the pile was a space just big enough to slither through. Valek realized it had once been a house when Ute opened a hidden door in the floor and gestured him inside.
When he hesitated, she said, “No one remembers this place. The avalanche happened before most of them were born.”
Valek dropped into the dark hole and moved aside to give Ute room. She pulled the door and set it back over the opening. The darkness was instant. If they were found in here, there would be no escape.
He explored the space with his hands. The small square room was about five feet wide and had dirt walls. He found nothing but exposed roots. “Storage room?” he whispered to Ute.
“No. A shelter. Every house had one. This area is prone to avalanches and the residents would hide in them until the roaring stopped. Except, the one that destroyed the town came in the middle of the night and killed everyone.” There was a long pause. “I was just out of basic training when my unit was sent to help recover the bodies.”
Tough assignment for a newbie. At least the cold air and snow would have considerably slowed the rate of decomposition.
With nothing to do but wait, Valek sat down and leaned his back against the wall. As his sweat-soaked shirt turned to ice in the damp shelter, Valek wished he’d kept a few items from his pack. He’d given it and his cloak to Ari and Janco, so he could run unencumbered.
It didn’t take long for the muffled shouts to filter through the wood. Valek remained relaxed and considered his options should they be discovered and arrested. Unfortunately, he was well acquainted with the configuration of the jail cells in the generals’ manor houses. He had sewn a hidden set of lock picks into the hem of his shirt. If they were found during a search, then he would have to rely on Janco’s jailbreaking skills. A scary thought. Or Ari and Janco could return to MD-5 and report Valek’s predicament to the Commander. Ambrose would either be amused or angry. Valek would bet money on the Commander being angry at him for not avoiding capture.
The voices died down, but Valek wasn’t about to make the mistake of leaving his hiding place too early. Many times, when his prey had gone to ground, he’d lain in wait for them to become impatient or confident that he’d moved on and he’d nab them. Fun stuff. Despite the cold seeping into his bones, he figured they had a couple hours to kill.
“What exactly happened in MD-5?” Ute asked in a whisper. “I don’t trust the rumors. Usually, they have a kernel of truth, but there’s always more to the story.”
Valek explained about how Brazell and Mogkan had used Criollo to breakdown the Commander’s will so they could use magic to influence him. He detailed the rescue and the fallout.
“This Criollo sounds like a powerful drug. What’s to stop someone else from manufacturing it?”
“The factory and all the Criollo were burned. The few people who know the recipe have been arrested. The main ingredient comes from Sitia and it’s illegal to import. The border patrols will be extra diligent in searching for Criollo’s seed pods. Plus, it smells delicious when manufactured. That was part of its appeal. It tasted good.”
“Did you eat any?”
“Yes. But magic doesn’t work on me.”
“Right.” She was silent for a few minutes. Probably processing all the information Valek had provided. “Just how much of a mess is MD-5?”
“Brazell spent most of his budget building the Criollo factory. Finding money to pay for salaries and supplies and the million other things needed to run a military district before the next year’s stipend arrives is going to be tricky.”
“I suspect I’ll be cursing Brazell’s name many times per day.”
Valek chuckled. “Think of the bright side.”
“There’s a bright side? Do tell!”
“You can blame everything on Brazell.”
Ute laughed. “I think I’ll make a big plaque with the words, ‘It’s all Brazell’s fault,’ embossed on it and hang it in my office.”
“That’s the spirit.”
* * *
Frozen to his core, Valek unfurled. His muscles protested the motion. Hard running followed by a few hours of inactivity wasn’t a good combination for his body. Ute had fared better since she had her heavy general’s jacket to ward off the chill.
The darkness remained the same when Ute lifted the trap door. It took a moment for their eyes to adjust. A thin sliver of moonlight illuminated the narrow opening under the timbers.
“I’ll go first,” Valek whispered. He pulled his knife before lying on his stomach and sliding under the gap. Once clear, he hopped to his feet and braced for an attack. Nothing happened. He waited several minutes more before sounding the all clear.
Ute joined him. She dusted off her uniform.
Valek glanced at the sky. Clouds skittered across the moon, temporarily dimming the light. “We’re in luck.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
