Chapter 29
The evening air was cool but not unpleasant. Claude had a line of customers in the greenhouse who were getting their first professional haircut, and Shepherd reluctantly acted as his assistant.
The rest of us sat on the long porch, lanterns on the walls brightly lit.
“If you have power downstairs, why don’t you set up some lights out here?” I asked.
Reuben crossed his feet, which were propped on the railing. “Artificial light attracts outsiders. It also attracts bugs.”
Viktor enjoyed a sip of beer, something they’d brought up from their private stash. Reuben said they didn’t like alcohol on the premises, but some of the shepherds kept a few bottles locked up for special occasions.
This qualified.
I passed on the offer, much to Christian’s surprise.
Viktor stood up from the table, his gaze fixed on the dark field behind us. “What is that he has?”
Christian and I turned. Matteo emerged from the darkness, flanked by two men. He looked like a man who had traveled out of time with his fur-lined boots and layers of tattered clothes. He was dragging something large behind him, and as they came into view, I realized it was an unconscious man. His legs left two flat trails in the grass. Matteo had rope looped over his shoulders like a harness, and the other end of each rope was tied to the man’s hands.
Viktor descended the steps to meet up with him, and I followed.
When Matteo reached us, he let go of the rope and panted, out of breath. “Anyone know this Mage?”
Viktor turned a sharp eye toward Christian. “Did you not kill the last one?”
“I don’t think this is one of General’s brothers,” I said, taking note of the man’s Asian features. “Who’s this guy?”
“This is the one who shot the boy with poison arrows.” Matteo nudged the man with his foot. “I spotted him in a sycamore tree with a clear shot of your group. I started to climb the tree, but he escaped.”
Christian strolled up. “Escaped a Chitah? Aren’t you supposed to be excellent climbers?”
Matteo glowered. “He’s a Jumper. Have you ever seen one of them move? He took me on a long chase, and I had to wait until he used up his energy.”
The man’s long braid jostled my memory. This was the archer I fought on a snowy rooftop a few months back when a bunch of goons were attacking Niko.
Matteo heaved a sigh. “I threw a stunner at him, but—”
“It didn’t work,” I said, finishing his sentence. “He’s immune to stunners.”
“How do you know that?” Viktor shifted his stance.
“Because I fought him once. His group is after Niko.” I knelt down and checked the man’s pulse, and it was still ticking away. Maybe he was paralyzed. I looked closely at Matteo’s mouth and chin but didn’t see any blood. “Did you bite him?”
He shook his head. “Never had the chance to. After his last jump, he hit the ground running and then… collapsed.”
“Collapsed?” Christian looked at him with a start. “Are you fecking with me? That’s a Mage. They don’t just pass out like one of those fainting goats.”
“I couldn’t see well from the ground, but it looked as if he had switched on flashlights. I thought he might have more poison on him, so I waited behind a tree.”
Viktor knelt down. “Raven, hand me your blade. Perhaps he is pretending. Let us cut off his manhood and find out.”
With a smile, I handed Viktor my push dagger. This might be fun.
When Viktor pressed it forcefully between the Mage’s legs, every man watching winced and shifted his stance.
The only one who didn’t move was the Mage. His eyes didn’t flutter, and when I checked his pulse, it was steady and slow.
“Maybe he pricked himself with his own poison,” I suggested.
