“No, sorry. I need them.” Did he ever.

Once again she deflated.

“You’ll be leaving in the morning, and you’ll ride horses so you can get home faster,” Valek tried.

“Horses are fun,” Janco said.

“I guess.” She fiddled with a coin.

“How about I let you borrow Beach Bunny? She’s a hoot to ride and she likes to jump.”

“Really?” Reema’s eyes lit up.

“Really,” Janco said. “She’ll jump over logs and streams and stuff.”

Valek kept quiet, even though jumping would be prohibited. The object was to get her home safe, after all.

Lacole arrived and announced it was Reema’s bath time.

“No.” Reema crossed her arms. “I don’t need a bath.”

“You’re grubby. You smell. And your tunic is covered in horsehair,” Ari said. “Now go take your bath or you won’t get the goodbye present Janco and I bought for you.”

“Yes, sir!” She hopped off her chair and pocketed her winnings. “Come on, Lacole.” Reema grabbed the lieutenant’s hand and dragged the woman away.

“Please don’t tell me you bought her a weapon,” Valek said.

Janco pished. “A weapon? Who do you think you’re dealing with? We got her weapons!”

Valek sank into a chair. No need to worry about the Commander ordering his execution. Opal would kill him first.

Ari studied his expression. “Something up?”

Valek glanced around the nearly empty room. Lowering his voice, he said, “Yes. All the orders I gave earlier are void. We will ignore Owen and not do any investigating.”

Janco laughed. “Yeah, right.”

“I’m serious. The Commander made it quite clear that disobeying his orders will be considered treason, punishable by death.”

“Owen must be pulling the Commander’s strings,” Janco said. “Everything about this situation stinks.”

“It’s dangerous, and you two will obey his orders.” Valek’s tone was firm.

“Come on, Valek. It’s us,” Ari said. “We won’t let you do it all on your own.”

They knew him too well. “I can’t ask—”

“You’re not. We’re volunteering.”

“Yeah,” Janco said. “We’ll play the good little soldiers. No one will suspect a thing.”

“You’ve never been the good little soldier,” Ari said. “If you start now, everyone will know something’s up.”

“Yeah, well, you know what I meant.”

“Who else is in on this?” Ari asked. “Maren? Yelena?”

Valek touched his chest. “Yelena, but not Maren. Not until I know where her loyalties lie.”

“Yeah, that whole business with the Curare factory and Owen. She’s holding something back.” Janco rubbed the scar on his right ear. “It’s wonky.”

“Wonky? Are you three years old? What kind of word is wonky?” Ari asked.

“The fact that you don’t know what it means shows your limited vocabulary skills,” Janco countered.

“I’ll assign you regular, Commander-approved tasks,” Valek said before they launched into an argument. “Any extracurricular activities must be done on your own time. Understood?”

“Yes, sir,” they both said.

Valek then explained about the Commander’s directive regarding Yelena.

“Harsh,” Ari said. “But she’s not going to stay as his adviser.”

“She can’t go back to Sitia,” Janco said in alarm. “Not with that Bumblebee assassin after her.”

Valek didn’t bother to correct Janco. “She’ll come with me to the coast when I investigate those thieves. The Commander doesn’t need to know.”

“Risky. Very risky,” Ari said.

He agreed, but there was nothing else he could do.

* * *

Exhausted from the long emotional day and lack of sleep, Valek considered bypassing his office and going to bed. Then he remembered he’d asked Maren to stop by tonight. He changed course.

Valek slowed when he turned down the corridor to his office. Flames glowed from two lanterns. The rest remained dark. An oversight or blown out? A pool of darkness covered the area in front of his door. Uneasy, he yanked his knife from its sheath and pulled a Curare-laced dart from his belt with his other hand, pinching it between his thumb and finger. He paused, sniffing. No strange cologne or perfume tainted the air. Magic didn’t stick to his skin.

He approached the door. Nothing happened. Stopping in front, he waited, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness. He strained to hear anything that might indicate a person lurking in the shadows. Nothing. The three locks appeared to be untouched. Valek put the dart between his teeth and reached for his key.

An invisible force slammed into him from the blackness, knocking him down. He rolled onto his back as the force tightened around his body, dragging him away from his office and deeper into the darkness. He slid to a stop, but was pinned to the floor. Then it contracted again. He lost his grip on his knife. Breathing turned into an alarming effort.

A black form advanced. Then the shadows shifted and Owen emerged. Rika and Tyen stood behind him. The magician had trapped him in a null shield. A helpless rage built inside Valek as he sipped in tiny amounts of air. Not enough. Light-headed, spots swirled in front of his eyes. Death by hug. He would have laughed if he had the breath.