Something in me unhinged because I saw a bundle of pink blankets at his feet. He had her with him.
I screamed, and my flames burst out. I had no desire to faint this time, so I stamped them back while I snatched my gun from its holster.
Stopping myself just in time, I didn't fire. If I did, the noise would burst the baby's eardrums, and I didn't have a witch to quickly heal them, meaning she would suffer.
Also, I couldn't risk any possible ricochet hurting the baby. Without my gun or my fire, I was helpless unless I could get close. “Anthony,” I whispered. “I don't know what to do.”
“Make him think you're going to shoot him. Take your time aiming,” he said.
I didn't know what his plan was, but I did as he said.
“Freeze!” I commanded. “I've got a hell of an aim, but I'd rather not shoot this gun in here. Walk forward slowly and you'll get out of this with your life.”
Dumadi looked down at the baby at his feet. “I think not,” he said.
As soon as he looked down, Anthony zipped forward.
He grabbed Dumadi so fast, the man didn't have time to process what was happening. One second, he was standing beside my baby, the next he was held up by his throat in front of me.
He gargled, trying to talk. “Let him speak, please,” I said. “There is more information I want from him.”
Anthony sat him on his feet and loosened his grip on his neck marginally, but before he could speak, I cut him off. “Anthony,” I said. “Will you keep him here for just a moment?”
“Of course, Coya.”
“Mind his hands. They have spikes.”
Anthony twisted Dumadi around, so his hands were behind his back. It looked painful.
I rushed over to the pink bundle on the floor and snatched it up. It was a pillow swaddled into several blankets. “You sneaky bastard!” I screamed. “Where is she?”
I ran back to him, throwing the pillow at him. “Where is she?”
He coughed around Anthony's grip. When he'd turned him, he'd put his arm around his neck. Anthony loosened it so he could speak. “She's safe, I told you. But no matter what you do to me, you won't get her back.”
“Why not?” I snarled.
“Because I convinced my people that she was our salvation, our way to a new home.” His eyes glinted. He was completely mad. “She'll save us and take us to a place where we can thrive.”
“Not by force.”
“If we raise her properly, she'll never know she wasn't born to loving and doting parents that raised her to be the next Queen.”
“That's enough. Can you knock him out for now?” Anthony nodded and squeezed Dumadi's neck until he slumped forward in a faint.
“Do you think he's lying?” I asked.
“Yes. If he had the support of the entire race of Leyak, he wouldn't be hiding in this cave. I think he blackmailed Kára and paid the warlock. Where's the rest of his devoted people?”
I contemplated his words and our options. “We gotta get out of here. Can you carry him?”
“Of course.”
I jogged to the other end of the cave, where Dumadi had been hidden. Quickly scouring the perimeter, I stopped when I felt a breeze.
Running my hands along the wall, I found a seam. This wasn't magic, it was just a carefully concealed door. There had to be a latch or something somewhere. I ran my fingers all over the seam, looking for any indentation. The light from the fire had faded, and it was getting really dark. I focused on my internal flames and allowed one hand to ignite so I could see.
Feeding the flame to make it brighter, I moved my arm up and down until I saw a tiny crack perpendicular to the door. Applying pressure to it made it sink inward with a scrape, and the door moved, at a snail's pace, of its own volition. As soon as the opening was wide enough for me to squeeze through, I went, praying to come across something, anything that would help me find my daughter.
