Powers of the Six (18 page)

Nolan noticed the lute leaning against the wall, and an idea formed. “You’re musicians?”

Flann raised a questioning eyebrow. “Yes. Megan and I are.”

“Then I’ll get you inside easily.”

Chapter Fifteen

NOLAN STRAIGHTENED HIS BLUE JACKET, probably for the tenth time. For the sake of blending in, he’d dressed for dinner. With the nobles in their fancy clothes and the Rol’dan strutting in spotless uniforms, this ridiculous jacket was the only way to disappear.

A large part of him still wanted to change his mind. He could give the key to Flann, and nobody would know better. But he’d already started the wheel turning. He’d written the summons that would bring Megan and Flann inside the manor. His treachery would return to him, one way or another. No. Nolan couldn’t turn back now.

A quiet knock sounded at the door.

“Come in.”

The door opened. Flann and Megan entered quickly and shut the door behind them.

“You got my summons?” Nolan flinched. Of course they’d gotten it. Nolan had written it at the inn and handed it to Flann himself.

Flann did his best to hold back a grin. “Yes. It worked perfectly.”

“No problems?”

Flann’s grin fell. “There was one guard who I’d like to throttle. I read his filthy thoughts when he was—”

“No problems,” Megan said.

“It went as smoothly as could be expected,” Flann said reluctantly.

Grabbing a parchment off the desk, Nolan handed it to Flann. Flann took it and unrolled it to reveal a map of the manor.

“Wait until the banquet begins and the corridors have emptied,” Nolan said. “We’ll meet here.” He pointed to a small “X” on the map.

Megan peered over Flann’s shoulder. Her eyebrows rose. “You drew this?”

Nolan opened his mouth to answer, but paused.
She doesn’t like the map?
Their gazes met, and she gawked with wide-eyed awe.
No. She likes it
.

“I’m supposed to attend the banquet,” Nolan said, his voice cracking. “I’ll return as fast as I can.” He smiled at them nervously. Then, after a stiff bow, he walked from the room and shut the door behind him.

As he made his way through the colorful corridors on his way to the Great Hall, he couldn’t get Megan out of his mind.
Do I look okay? She was staring at me.
He straightened his jacket.
Does she think I’m an idiot? Probably. I couldn’t even talk without sounding like a dying crow.
He exhaled sharply.
He
was
an idiot. Obsessing over this girl wouldn’t help their escape.
Refocus, Nolan. Don’t get everyone killed
.

Inside the Great Hall, evening light filtered through the high-domed ceiling, accenting the room’s splendor. Polished metal lanterns hung from every pillar and pole, and six long tables were spaced evenly in places of honor. To complete the pageantry, each table was draped in different shimmering, colored fabrics to represent the power sects of the Shay Rol’dan.

Alec—who sat amongst the Speed Rol’dan—looked as comfortable as Duke Ragnall would be in one of his wife’s gowns. Alec had scooted away from a drunken Speed captain, doing his best to avoid conversation.

A bellow of laughter erupted from the group. The laughing Rol’dan leered at Alec, as if he were the butt of the joke—which might be likely. Nolan stepped toward them, uncertain what he’d do when he got there.

An Empathy Shay passed over Nolan on the way. It was faint, nothing like Emery’s. He was grateful most Empathy users only read emotions, not sense powers. Still, he’d have to be careful. His tension might be noticed. More than likely, it was only a casual glance.

As Nolan approached the table, Kael swung his hands, elaborately telling one of his absurd stories. His fellow soldiers leaned in, hanging on his words.

“My last time in Renfrew,” Kael said, “there was this bar wench—a pretty little thing. She was in the Talon’s Pub, if you’re ever there. Now she was one who was more than willing to please.”

Stian, the thick-necked—and thick-headed—captain next to Alec, bellowed with laughter so loudly that several people at the next table turned.

A blond serving girl flitted throughout the room, pouring spiced wine. She leaned between the captain and Alec, looking at Alec like no proper girl should.

“I know the one,” Stian said. “Bright red hair and full lips.” Stian held his hands in front of his chest, pretending he had breasts—large ones, too. “She has a generous amount of ‘quality,’ that one.”

Kael downed another mug and pointed at the servant to refill. “What was her name, anyway?”

“Does it matter?” Stian said, his words slurring.

Kael laughed and motioned toward Alec. “True, but if our new friend here wants to pay her a visit, it might help him to know her name. That is, if he knows what to do with a woman.”

Stian exploded into laughter.

“Well, Mr. Deverell?” the general asked, leaning forward.

Alec glared and looked away.

“Ah, I see,” Kael said. “The young stallion has not yet saddled a mare.”

Nolan cleared his throat, and the entire table turned to face him. Nolan bowed for effect. “If you’d excuse me, General, sir. I need to borrow Alec Deverell for a moment.”

“Why in the Darkness do you need him?” Kael said.

“I need his signature in the Book of Records,” Nolan improvised. “A new policy.”

Kael snorted and grinned. “I need to relieve myself. When you are done, you can record me wiping my backside. Or are you already booked with Duke Ragnall?”

The table erupted in laughter once again, enough that Captain Stian almost slid backward off the bench. The banquet hadn’t even started, and the idiots were already drunk. Nolan smiled; it would help in their escape if something went wrong.

Using his Speed, Alec appeared next to Nolan, apparently quite eager to be away from his fellow Rol’dan. They strode to the far side of the room where the Book of Records sat on a table.

“You have no idea how much I owe you,” Alec whispered.

“Shh,” Nolan said. “Don’t thank me too much. You’ll have to go back, for a little while at least.”

Alec groaned. “Do I have to?”

“Yes,” Nolan hissed. “And please, watch your thoughts. There are far too many Empathy Rol’dan here.”

Nolan wrote the title, Rol’dan Initiates, on a blank page and pointed to a place for Alec to sign. He leaned over and whispered as Alec dipped the quill, “When the second course starts, meet me in the west wing under the portrait of the previous Duke of Alton.”

Alec’s eyes jerked up. “Tonight?”

Nolan nodded once.

Alec grinned. “About time.”

The buzz of the room faded as the duke took the platform with Mikayla on his arm.

“Can you tell Taryn?” Nolan asked.

Alec nodded. “I talked to her already, but I didn’t realize it would happen so soon. Why the change?”

“It’s … complicated.” Nolan swallowed, his throat dry.
Crows, I hope this works.
Not that their original plan had much merit—run in, grab Emery, and run back out. At least this plan had stealth.

Alec cocked his brow but didn’t ask.

Nolan then noticed the eyes of Kael and his men on them. He nudged Alec’s arm. “You need to get back.”

“Until the second course,” Alec said, pointing at Nolan matter-of-factly. He forced a nervous smile and returned to his seat as Duke Ragnall raised his hands to make his annual announcement.

“My lords and ladies,” Duke Ragnall said. “Welcome! It gives me great pleasure to introduce to you this evening the newest members of the Shay Rol’dan.”

The applause from the nobles, along with the pounding of the goblets from the Rol’dan soldiers, made quite a spectacle. Whether they wanted to or not, all seven initiates rose to their feet to acknowledge the praise, and only after they were seated again did the banquet officially begin.

Chapter Sixteen

NOLAN CREPT DOWN THE RED HALL as it transitioned into gray stone. It was strange having so many lives in his hands. He glanced over his shoulder, meeting five pairs of eyes. Megan, Flann, Alec, Taryn … and Rylan, the boy who had given him the sling, all waited for his direction.

Nolan still wasn’t sure who’d been more surprised when Rylan first showed up—Alec or himself. Taryn had been the one to invite him. Nolan was happy, of course. He’d liked Rylan. Alec, however, didn’t seem as glad.

After making it across the manor undetected, they positioned themselves near the West Tower. Nolan peered around the corner, and thankfully, only a pair of guards dozed in their chairs against the wall.

Nolan held up two fingers, and Alec silently unsheathed his sword. But before he had removed it entirely, Flann put a hand on Alec’s arm, whispered in his ear, and handed Alec a coiled rope. Alec nodded, and the golden-yellow light of Speed flared in his eyes.

He vanished, and the sound of scrambling and thrashing bumped in the hall. After the commotion subsided, Alec stood triumphantly over two wide-eyed guards bound and gagged on the floor.

“Well done,” Flann said. He turned to Nolan. “Where’s the key?”

Nolan leafed through his leather pouch—pushing rocks, Hakan’s colored stones, quills, and ink bottles aside. He withdrew the key. Flann took it and stepped over the struggling guards, motioned for Megan, and the pair disappeared up the stairs.

The wait for Flann and Megan was agonizing. Every breath the bound soldiers took, or any scuff of their feet upon the stone floor, sounded louder than normal. After a few more minutes of struggling, the guards stilled and watched them with frightened eyes. Nolan averted his gaze. He doubted the guards would escape punishment from the Rol’dan.

“What’s taking him so long?” Taryn asked, breaking the silence.

“There are quite a few stairs,” Nolan assured her.

She looked at the door, wringing her hands and biting her lower lip. But her fidgeting ceased when a faint, steady beat sounded nearby.

“What’s that?” she whispered.

The noise turned into echoing foot strikes. Someone was approaching at a run.

Alec grabbed his sword as a lone figure rushed around the corner. Daren was dressed in his Perception uniform, red-faced and heaving for breath as if he’d sprinted all the way from the Great Hall.

“You all have to leave now,” Daren said between pants. “They’re coming.”

Before they could react, Kael appeared with his Speed, his cape swinging as he slowed. With a shrug, his golden cape fell in a shimmering heap onto the floor. His eyes still flared with golden-yellow light, hiding the red-tinged edges from his drinking. He glared murderously and opened and closed his fist.

“A new life of crime, Nolan?” Kael said. “I realize your job is dull, but aren’t you taking this a bit too far?”

“Get back!” Alec pointed his sword at Kael.

Kael raised one eyebrow. “Mr. Deverell? I’m not surprised you’re involved, though I believe King Alcandor will be quite disappointed.”

The door to the prison tower swung open. Flann and Megan emerged with Emery. Emery looked surprisingly better than when Nolan had seen him last, as if the injuries were nothing but a memory.

Kael grinned and drew his sword. “You have children and simpletons helping you to escape, Mr. Cadogan.”

“Not that you would know, Mr. Trividar, but friendship inspires bravery at times,” Emery said.

Kael’s lip curled. “You’re mistaking bravery for stupidity.”

“I don’t think so.” Alec pushed Kael’s sword away with his own.

Kael threw his head back and laughed. “So now that you’re a powerful Shay Rol’dan, you believe you can beat me?”

Both Kael’s and Alec’s eyes flared with Speed. They would fight. This time, one would die.

Nolan yanked out his sling, reached into his bag, and grabbed the first thing his shaking hand closed over. “Kael!”

Kael froze. His sneer fell, and his mouth dropped open as Nolan’s Shay light shone.

Using the brief moment of shock, Nolan sent a jar of ink flying, smashing it against Kael’s forehead. Kael staggered backward, hitting the floor with a hard crack of his head. Both blood and black ooze striped his face, mingling in his hair and dripping around his motionless body.

Nolan’s heart thundered. He had used his light of Accuracy to surprise him, to distract him and Alec from killing each other. But it had come at a price. Kael now knew Nolan’s secret—that is, if Kael lived to remember.

“Well done!” Alec sheathed his sword and knelt next to Kael.

Kael wasn’t moving, and crows, there was so much blood. Nolan’s stomach tightened.
Oh, Kael.

Alec grunted. “You didn’t hit him hard enough. He’s still alive.”

Nolan released a breath.
He’s alive!

Alec touched the black ooze and rubbed it between his fingers. “What’d you use anyway? Ink?”