“Good.”
He parted the tent flap aside, letting in the brisk wind. Geon’s ruddy face stood out in the dark, his black uniform blending within the night. The lad saluted and handed Von a folded note along with two wooden cylindrical cases. He dismissed Geon then returned to the dining table to set the cases down and unfolded the note.
Tarn arched an eyebrow. “Well?”
“After a thorough questioning, Bouvier concluded the broker knew nothing of your presence in Azure,” Von said as he read it. “The man deals in antiquities and had a couple of Sacred Scrolls, which Bouvier took the liberty of relieving him.”
“Hmm.” Tarn removed the lid from one of the wooden cases and slid out a brittle piece of rolled-up parchment. He carefully unfurled it and took out the second Scroll. Both were ancient and filled with faded script.
“The broker admitted he was to purchase another Scroll from Beryl Coast,” Von added. “It’s a city on the northeastern coast of Azure. The temple ruins there are under excavation.”
“Send word that Bouvier is to go to Beryl Coast and investigate further. Call the slave woman back here to work on these.”
The Forewarning Crystal announced more company before he could answer.
“I have returned,” Elon called out.
It was about bloody time.
Two shadows slipped in through the tent’s entrance. Elon and Novo were indistinguishable beneath their black cloaks, both wearing masks that hid the bottom halves of their faces.
Von waited for a smaller form to enter behind them, but the amethyst had stopped spinning. “Where’s Len?”
Novo’s dark eyes flitting to his captain.
Elon lowered his mask. “I assigned her to stay behind. She knows to stay out of sight.”
Von frowned. Why leave the girl behind when Novo would have been better suited?
If it bothered Tarn, it wasn’t obvious. He inadvertently raised Len, training her himself before she became one of his spies. The girl was hardly seventeen, but she was his best after Von and Elon. And fiercely loyal.
In a way, the Raiders thought of her as Tarn’s adoptive daughter. They were careful around her in case they should anger him. Elon had no such aversions. He implemented her as he would anyone under his command.
Tarn flicked a hand. “Report.”
Elon went on to describe the journal where the map to Mount Ida was kept. Even from a distance, he could confirm it was enchanted, and it seemed only the Maiden could reveal it.
The news invited an interminable pause. So, it wouldn’t be enough to steal the map. They had to take Dyna too. Von suspected as much, but he had wished to spare her. How did she come about a magic map?
“What of her company?” he asked.
“She is accompanied by two young men,” Elon said. “They are the first Guardians mentioned in the divination.”
Von frowned. “We assumed her cousin was the dweller of the moon, but you’re telling me the other is the Guardian of divine blood?”
Elon nodded. “He’s a Celestial.”
Von’s thoughts stalled for a moment, failing to comprehend.
“You heard right,” the second spy spoke up. Novo pulled down his mask and hood. He bore a grin on his face donning a mustache, his long brown curls tied at the nape of his neck. “The bloke has himself a pair of black wings. He uses some sort of magic cloak to hide them.”
It took a moment for Von to sort through his astonishment. “Is that how they got so far ahead of us?”
Elon nodded. “He flew her away from Landcaster.”
“They are much more than they appear to be, Commander. Especially the other one.”
“What do you mean? Something happened with the werewolf?”
