“I wanted to make sure you weren’t stepping out on our deal. You got rather far away during the full moon.”
“I had business to attend to.”
“Indeed. Well, I think it’s time this little game of ours came to an end. I can’t keep wasting the resources on keeping track of you. Especially if you’re going to wander so far afield.”
“Pity. Does this mean you’ll kill me?” Erich doubted it. They hadn’t even properly bound his hands or feet as they’d done the first time they’d brought him in. Leonhard didn’t seem like the type for pointless violence.
“No, that wouldn’t serve either of our ends, I’m afraid. But I do have an offer to make you.”
“And what’s that?”
“There’s someone I need to extract. A friend of mine is in the dungeons beneath the Church of Sol. You’ve spent a lot of time within those walls over the last few weeks, and I can think of no one better equipped.”
“That’s why you gave me the token?”
“And to win the favor of a prince. Can never have too many favors.” He winked.
“You’ve got power and influence. The Avatheos brought the avatar to your townhouse. Why involve me at all?” Erich couldn’t help but ask.
Leonhard rubbed his chin. “The Avatheos and I have an arrangement. The hunters are an old order. You could say we were the mold from which the Midnight Guard was formed. But we worship different goddesses. He’s willing to look the other way as long as I’m willing to supply him with test subjects. At times, our arrangement is even mutually beneficial. I keep money and power flowing into his city. And I have what I need to complete my research.” He gestured to the books lining the room.
“That doesn’t explain where I come in.”
“I’ve tried bargaining to get my friend out. I’ve pulled every lever I can to free her. But the Avatheos won’t budge. She was one of his, you see. And he doesn’t like giving up what he thinks belongs to him. So I’ve been forced to subvert my methods a bit to keep the wheel turning.”
“That’s a long way of saying you want me to do your dirty work.”
Leonhard shrugged. “Call it what you want. But we’re working toward the same goal, you and I.” He gestured between the two of them. “The hunters have been restoring things to the way they were for centuries before the corruption. But while the church consolidates magic in its control, we can only make so much progress.”
“Let’s say I knew how to get into the dungeons, which I don’t. How do I enter them? I don’t think your token will work this time.”
“For that, I do have an answer. Go to this location, and your contact will explain the rest.” He handed Erich a card with the name of a butcher and a time.
“Then that’s it? I get this person out for you, and we part ways? What about this brand?”
“Oh, nearly forgot that.” He stood up, strolled around the desk, and grasped Erich by the arm where the brand was burned into his flesh. Up close, he could see the rune marks moving over his skin, sliding up his neck and down to his palm. Leonhard grasped hold of Erich’s shoulder, and Erich felt a slight pinprick as the marks moved from his flesh and back onto Leonhard.
“There you go, a bit of an advanced payment.”
“You’re rather trusting, considering,” Erich remarked as he rubbed the spot where the brand had been.
“I know you’ll want to help because the person I need you to get out of the dungeons is an oracle, and she’s seen that she’ll guide Liane on how to draw the sword from her back.”
Erich felt as if a cold chill had washed over him. What else had the oracle seen? Was all this preordained, and he’d merely been Leonhard’s puppet all along?
“Who are you, really?” Erich asked him.
“Just a man.” Leonhard winked. “It was nice meeting you, Prince Erich. Maybe someday I’ll call in that favor.”
And with that, Erich was dismissed. He exited the town house and onto the empty street—brandless and with a location and name written on a piece of paper. He shoved the paper in his pocket and started walking toward his and Fritz’s new rendezvous. They’d changed inns to escape Leonhard’s attention, but that seemed to have been pointless now.
Everything was coming to a head, and he felt as if his skin were still too tight, like when the dragon was close to the surface. But it wasn’t the dragon who’d receded to the furthest reaches of his mind. It was his fear that set his teeth on edge. He was getting what he wanted. His plan had worked. Why then did he have this feeling of dread looming over him?
Erich reached their new hideout, asked after Fritz, and was directed to a smaller inn room than they’d had before. Fritz stood up as he entered, relief on his face.
“I was worried you wouldn’t come back,” he said.
Erich slammed the door behind him and proceeded to tell Fritz everything that’d transpired since they’d last seen one another as he paced the length of their tiny room.
