Page 39 of The Study of Magic
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After the meeting, Valek headed to the jail cells in the underground level of the manor house. Brazell was the only occupant. He’d been incarcerated for approximately sixty days.
When Valek approached the cell, Brazell sat up. He’d been lying on a pallet of straw, which was much cleaner than the bedding Valek had been provided with during his short stay in the same accommodations. In fact, Valek had ensured the man was treated humanely and all his basic needs were met.
Blinking and shielding his eyes from the lantern’s light, Brazell asked in a rough, disused voice, “Who’s there?”
“An upstart, conniving, sneaky thief.”
“Ah, Valek. You don’t forget much, do you?”
“You’re not the first to call me names.”
“Nor the last, I’m sure.” Brazell stood and moved closer to the bars. He wore the plain red gown that was given to all prisoners. The clothing was rumpled, but clean. He had lost some weight, and his gray hair had grown.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“We’ve been going through all your files. You made payments to Mogkan’s Beta Team. Do you know who the members of this team were?”
“I think they worked with the Criollo.”
“The manufacturing team?”
“I don’t know. He handled everything regarding the factory. That team arrived later, though, after the factory was up and running, so they might have been extra security.”
Valek studied his gaunt face for signs of deceit. Finding none, he asked, “Do you know who Alea is?”
“If she worked at the factory, I might have met her during one of my visits, but I don’t remember anyone with that name.”
“Did you know Mogkan was sending Criollo to the other generals?”
Anger creased his forehead. “I told him not to bother. After the brandy meeting, it was clear the generals were on my side.”
Remembering the meeting, Valek doubted it. At least four of them held opposite opinions of Brazell’s. Mogkan had been at that meeting and probably read their thoughts. “You do realize that Mogkan didn’t follow your orders; that he had his own agenda?”
“I knew he wanted to attack Sitia. After I secured Ixia, that was his next move.”
“I found evidence that he wanted both Ixia and Sitia, and you were just going to be a figurehead. Probably until your usefulness wore out; then he’d kill you.”
Brazell scoffed. “No way that would have worked. I didn’t eat any of the Criollo.”
“That helps reduce a person’s resistance to magic, but he didn’t need it for you. You were together most of the time and he was a powerful magician. Using magic over a short distance doesn’t require as much energy.”
“No.I’mthe reason he was powerful, and I could have removed his source at any time.”
Classic denial. Plus, it had been clever of Mogkan to ensure that Brazell believed he was in charge.
“Then why did Mogkan hire seven other magicians? Why did he send the other seven generals three shipments of Criollo?”
It took a few heartbeats for Brazell to absorb his words and make the connections. Then he slammed his hands on the bars. “That bastard! He was going to turn the generals against me!”
A genuine reaction, which answered whether Brazell knew about the Beta Team. He did not.
“You can thank me and Yelena,” Valek said.
“For what?”
“For preventing you from becoming a dead puppet. At least in here, you still have your soul.”
