Vade confirmed his understanding, thanked him, then made for the front door. He had just closed his fingers around the knob when Blu called out, “Fae.”
He had never given him his name, and the wizard had never asked. One of the many things Vade liked about him. The man didn’t pry. He knew Blu had secrets of his own and that the wizard’s name was likely just a reflection of his eyes, his robes, and his choice in guild marker color.
A muscle in Blu’s jaw ticked. “Make him pay.”
Vade nodded curtly, slipped out the door, and disappeared into the fog.
Vade had easily avoided the guards’ attention at the Merngal Estate, as most were barely able to hold their eyes open, seeming to be at the end of their rotation. He’d scaled the eastern wall and found Ivan sleeping alone in the second room.
A careful pour of powder from Aradonis’s sorcerer into a vial of water had the concoction instantly bubbling. Vade held the open container under Ivan’s nose and let the sleeping shithead breathe in the concoction until his head lolled to the side.
He hefted Ivan’s limp body over his shoulder, then climbed out the window and descended the iron trellis on the side of the house. The fog was still thick enough to hide his departure from the estate, and the batalins were too busy chatting as they changed shifts to notice their ward being kidnapped.
At a mark past sunrise, the streets were a bit livelier, but still early enough to pretend he was a drunk carrying his even drunker friend home. Vade swayed as he walked, occasionally slurring words so that anyone passing by would assume he had just stumbled out of a tavern.
No one batted an eye as Vade pretended his way back to Blu’s. He entered the alley and used the brass key to unlock a door that blended in with the wood siding, making sure no one was watching before entering. Vade descended into the darkness via the narrowstaircase, blindly feeling along the bumpy stones, counting twelve steps before arriving at the landing.
He dropped Ivan on the ground with a thump. The elixir would be enough to keep him asleep, though the man let out a soft groan.
Vade ran a hand across the stone wall and felt around for the hatch. When he found it, he used the same key to open the lock on the handle and peered into the black tunnel beyond the door. He remembered enough to know there were trulights somewhere inside, and when his fingers found round glass, he tapped the orb twice, doing the same to the one next to it.
The smell of mint and something he couldn’t place assaulted his nostrils. The floor leading to the empty elevator waiting at the end of the tunnel sparkled, and Vade guessed the astringent smell must have been a cleaner of some kind.
He glanced up the stairwell to make sure no one had followed him, seeing only slivers of light shining through the slats in the camouflaged door. Vade smiled at the light, knowing he was about to dive into the darkest parts of himself. A part he welcomed.
He slipped his arms under Ivan’s and dragged him into the tunnel, securing the hatch from the inside. He left the key in the lock as he’d done the other times he’d been here, per the wizard’s instructions.
Once they were in the middle of the elevator, Vade tapped the trulight sitting next to the crank. He rotated the handle three times and stopped when he heard aclick. With a groan, the elevator descended into the bowels of the earth, the single orb guiding him tothe place where Blu’sotherservices were offered. Services far different than tailoring and styling.
The elevator stopped in front of a wide hall with three rooms on one side, each with their doors open. He wasn’t sure how the orbs lighting the path were already lit, but he got his answer when his gaze landed on the second door. Blood trailed in a thick, smeared line from the threshold down to another hall, and the pungent smell of sewer water hung in the air.
Vade lugged Ivan into the first room and laid him on the floor before bringing the four orbs to life in each corner. It didn’t take long, as the room was small, square, and barren of furniture except for a stone chair in the middle equipped with restraints.
With ease, Vade placed Ivan in the seat and secured his wrists to each arm of the chair. He reached into the stone legs and pulled out the chains, attaching the cuffs around Ivan’s ankles, tugging to make sure they held. Ivan’s bare feet barely touched the floor, and Vade imagined pulling off a toenail to wake him up, then decided against it.
Too unimaginative.
He wrapped a leather strap low around Ivan’s waist and fastened the buckle behind the back of the chair. A feeble sound slipped out of his mouth, letting Vade know he was coming to.
The fae shut the door, slid the lock into place, and turned to face the man he’d be spending the next few marks with. His fingers twitched, anxious to get started.
Ivan lifted his head and slowly looked around the room, blinking until his gaze landed on Vade. “Who in the hells are you?” he asked in a voice thick with sleep.
Vade twisted his neck from side to side. Cracked his knuckles. Stretched out his arms. He locked his onyx eyes onto Ivan’s hazel ones. “I’m your worst fucking nightmare.”
Ivan tried to get up, failing instantly. He realized he was restrained and yanked at his bindings. “What the fuck is this? Where am I? Who are you?”
Vade strolled past him and pulled on the handle protruding from the wall, opening the storage compartment. He stepped out of the way so Ivan could get a clear view.
Ivan squirmed violently. “Let me out of these chains right fucking now!” The restraints rattled against the stone, a sweet sound to Vade’s ears, though the human’s screams were sure to be far sweeter.
Vade studied the tools hanging neatly in rows, full of every object one could imagine using to make someone talk. Or to shut them up. For good.
Even in the cool room deep underground, Ivan had started sweating. His white tunic turned gray near his neck, and though his brown trousers were clean, looking expensive and new, Vade knew he’d soil them soon.
They all did.
“What do you want? Money? I have plenty of it. Whatever this is, I swear I wasn’t involved.”
