Page 73 of The Study of Magic
“I need Star alive. At least, until she gives us what we want.”
“Oh, don’t worry, Amensa hasn’t killed anyone, but she’ll scare the crap out of Star, who will quickly learn to keep her ass in bed.”
* * *
Star’s training occupied Valek for the next three weeks. The woman proved to be quick to learn and would play devil’s advocate, finding work arounds to various tasting methods and the five S-steps—scan, sniff, sip, swirl, sample. Hildred reported that Star used her time off to familiarize herself with the castle’s layout. One time, she even tried to pick the lock on Valek’s office door. He had installed three very complex locks and only a few people had the skills to pick them. Yelena was one.
Working with Star was harder than Valek expected. It kept reminding him of Yelena. How her nose would crinkle when she tasted an off flavor, her quick intelligence and flashes of insights. With Yelena, it had been almost a collaborative effort. While with Star, Valek remained on edge as if they sparred.
At the end of each of the poison tasting sessions with Star, Valek’s arms would ache to hold Yelena, wishing he’d told her he loved her sooner. Perhaps having more memories of them together would ease his loneliness. Or would it make it worse?
Star was officially declared the food taster at the end of the warm season. Just in time to be added to the list of people who would travel in the Commander’s entourage. They would be leaving in a few days, and Valek still had a couple things left to do.
He found Ari and Janco in their suite. Janco sat on an armchair juggling three very sharp-looking knives. Ari was cleaning his broadsword.
“How’s the training going?” he asked.
“Boring!” Janco said without looking away from the whirling weapons.
“It goes,” Ari said noncommittally.
“Would you like to go on a mission?”
“Ow!” The daggers clattered to the floor and Janco sucked on his finger. “Geez, warn a guy first will ya.”
“Of course,” Ari answered. “What’s the mission?”
Valek explained about the Commander’s upcoming tour of all the garrisons and manor houses in Ixia. “We’re going to test their defenses. They’ll be informed in advance, making it a bit more challenging.”
“Ho boy!” Janco bounded from his chair and bounced around the room. “Finally, a challenge! This is gonna be fun.”
“How many agents are you bringing?” Ari asked.
“There will be six of us on the testing team. The other three are Maren, Hildred, and Inrick.”
“Maren decided to join your corps?” Ari asked.
“Yes. I’m glad to have her.”
“Good choices. I approve,” Janco said.
“Thanks,” Valek replied dryly. “I may have done this before.”
“Yes, but this time”—Janco spread his arms wide—"This time you have us by your side. Big difference.”
“I’m aware.”
* * *
The Commander’s entourage consisted of fifty soldiers of his elite squad for protection, Valek and his team of five agents, Star, and Adviser Dema. Valek, the Commander, and Dema rode horses, but the others walked. They headed west a few hours after dawn on day two of the heating season. General Rasmussen of MD-7 would be their first stop, and then Dinno in MD-8. They’d loop around mostly clockwise with a jig west to MD-4, then end at MD-5. That would give General Ute plenty of time to prepare.
“Are you sure you don’t want us to scout the route?” Ari asked Valek.
“The new guys in the squad aren’t very good,” Janco added. “Plus, it’s boring to do nothing but walk all day.”
“Don’t worry,” Valek said. “I’ve a special job for you.”
“Ooohhh. You say the sweetest things.”
