Page 81 of The Study of Magic
* * *
That night in the Commander’s suite, Valek updated him on the fourteen-day mission.
“Star has no idea you were following her?” Ambrose asked.
“I’m pretty sure she didn’t know.”
“That’s wonderful. Are you going to tell her?”
“No. It will be quite a shock if she escapes again and discovers her entire organization has been destroyed.”
“Where is she now?”
“In the holding cells, where she will remain when not required to taste your meals.”
“But you’ll relent at some point.”
“Of course. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be any fun.”
Ambrose just shook his head.
“I’m waiting for a few more agents to return from the field before we raid her places,” Valek said.
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll send my troops,” Ambrose said. “This is a city-wide problem and a squad of fifty soldiers makes more of a point than a small attack unit.”
True. “Too bad you can’t invade Robin’s Nest.”
“It’s off limits to me. But your corps?—”
“Can create some difficulty crossing the border.”
“Exactly.” Ambrose sipped his drink. “Do you want in on the action in Crooked Nook and Sectown?”
“No. Just make sure I get all the information they collect.”
“I will. What’s next on your to-do list?”
“I’m going to run some training exercises in the Snake Forest.”
“Sounds like fun.”
“Oh, it will be.”
* * *
A gentle breeze shook the leaves of the Snake Forest, sweeping away the humidity for a little while. It carried the sweet scent of living green and bird song. Early morning sunlight flickered through the trees. It was only the third day of the cooling season, but the afternoon promised to be warm.
Valek scanned the faces of the two teams assembled around him. The old pro team of Ari, Janco, Maren, and Kimette—another soldier who recently joined Valek’s corps. And the young buck team of Trevar, Adrik, Wilma, and Yegor.
“This is a simple exercise,” Valek said. He pointed to a tent in a small clearing. “I will act as the Commander and be inside that tent. Your goal is to either kidnap me or protect me. If I’m kidnapped, the protection team turns into a rescue team. The exercise ends at dawn. If I’m still kidnapped, the protection team loses. If I’m in the tent at dawn the protection team wins. Then you’ll switch sides, and we’ll do this again. I’ve marked the boundary of the exercise zone with yellow ribbons. Neither team is allowed outside the zone. Questions?”
“What can we expect from you? How active will you be?” Ari asked.
“I’ll stay in the tent so I don’t give anything away. I will resist if possible and call for help. If there’s a chance for me to escape, I’ll take it.”
“Will you be armed?” Trevar asked.
“Not for this drill. And you can’t use weapons against each other. No knocking anyone unconscious, either. This is more of a mental exercise.”
