“Thank you,” I whispered them softly and he seemed to accept that.
As I left, I asked Auwei:Maverick said that seemed easy.Did that seem easy to you? She almost had me at the start there. I was terrified and… the others were hurt and…and yet, we had caught a mistweaver, some of the nastiest known villains in history. Perhaps…
I… too am worried,Auwei said, hesitantly.This isn’t over, I can feel it. But… we did capture her, so that’s something. Just remember, others out there might be coming for you.
Right, yeah, thanks.Some Nobles of my own nation were trying to kill me.
Not the most encouraging thought.
Chapter 23
It was laterthat same day, that Raven a member of the Royal House, arrived with a message and a mission.
The woman, wearing a black cloak, with blue-black hair to match her name, was taken to see Maverick directly. After she left, flying away as her avatar, several of us were called up to the Dome.
“I don’t like this,” Maverick started. He shook his head and crumpled a piece of parchment. “This is all wrong, but… we have a mission, and I can’t think of any way to avoid a direct order from the queen.”
“The queen?” I said, at the same time Amber and Ant did.
Maverick nodded. “Yeah. They couldn’t even trust it to a courier or a pigeon.” He kept shaking his head. “This feels wrong,” he repeated, but then sighed. “Sit and listen.”
We did. In the room, aside from myself, were Silence, Ant, Amber, Foggy, and Sparrow.
Maverick paced. I’d never seen him this agitated. He’d been a rock last night waiting for the mistweaver, but now…
Finally, he stopped and looked at each of us. “This mission is dangerous, far more dangerous than stopping pirates or anything else we’ve ever done, other than fight a mistweaver. I know why they’ve given it to me, but I don’t like it at all.” A sigh. “You are going to infiltrate the royal palace of Vauphan, and acquire intelligence on their war effort.” He breathed out a heavy breath.
We all sat, a little stunned.
“War?” Sparrow said, confused. We all were. As far as I knew — as far as we all knew — Elista had a good relationship with its eastern neighbor. We didn’t even share that much of a border. There was a bit of hilly forest in the north, not that far from Miraline actually, where the two nations met. Other than that, the nations were separated by Dyrens Bay.
“That was my thought as well,” Maverick said. “This is the first I’d heard of it, but Raven was insistent that Vauphan has been threatening the border recently. So far, the attacks have been minor and mostly kept quiet by the queen. But she needs to know what they’re up to, hence this mission. She feels they will attack in earnest soon, and needs to know when and how they plan to come at us. Their navy is far stronger than ours and if they cross the bay in force…” He sighed and ran his hand through that thick hair of his. “Like I said, this feels all wrong.” He sat and put his head in his hands for a moment. We all waited for him to continue.
“I’ll summon Fin,” Maverick said. “You six are the best at stealth, your avatars good at getting into small places. This is a spy mission, keep quiet and keep low. Get in, get the info, and get out.” He swallowed hard. “And don’t get caught.” His jaw twitched. “Because if you are, we’ll disavow that you went with our consent. We’ll say you’re rebels and leave you to their justice.” He ground his teeth for a long moment. “I don’t like it, but that’s how it has to be.” He turned away. “It’s why they picked us. We have the best crew to do it and…” I could hear the distaste in his voice. “My crew is the most expendable, the least favored. We’re perfect.”
I could tell he was upset, even if only because the room was getting unbearably warm. Maverick’s skin was a bright red, near to glowing with heat. His clothes were smoking. He seemed to get himself under control a moment later, and the color faded, and with it the room suddenly felt far too cold.
“So, I won’t make any of you go. I’ll take volunteers only.”
I had to speak up. “Should I be going?” I asked. I’d been locked down for weeks now.
Maverick gave a harsh laugh. “If anything, you’re safer in Vauphan than you are in Elista.”
I nodded; that was… confusingly true.
“And we have the mistweaver in custody. We’ll be questioning her while you’re gone, trying to find out what we can, but I think you’re… mostly safe now. And you’ve been cooped up for a while, so if you want to volunteer…?” He shrugged.
“I’m in,” I said. I was terrified, but I was also desperate to get out. This mission, as much as it was dangerous, sounded like it was made for me. With my ability to be a spider and hear through walls and doors, I could easily overhear the right conversation.
“I’m in,” Silence said, with far more confidence than I would have suspected. Then he winked at me. “Someone has to keep an eye on you.”
Ant and Amber spoke over each other. “I’m in.”
Foggy laughed. “You’re all crazy, I’m out, thanks.” Coming from Foggy, that was an indictment indeed.
That left Sparrow. She looked terrified, but then looked at me and seemed to surprise herself when she said: “I’ll go.”
I had to smile. It would be good to have her along as a scout.
