He held up his hands in mock surrender, but didn’t back away, looming bastard. I turned back to the raven, carefully prying its beak open wider. Inside, nestled against the artificial tongue, was a small black stone, no larger than a pebble, with a crimson symbol etched into its surface.
A favor token, just as Foster had said.
Plucking out of the beak, I held it in my palm. It was warm, unnaturally so, and held a faint pulse within, like a tiny heartbeat.
“That’s it,” he confirmed, peering over my shoulder.
“Whose soul did she trade for it?” I closed my fingers around the token, feeling its warmth spread up my arm.
“Lord Mordecai Wince. One of King Lucian’s top men. Arabesque had him trapped in a soul gem. Demon was very happy with the payment.”
Typical Mother. Always thinking ahead, always collecting debts to be paid when most useful.
“So you break into Evermere, find your sister, and get out,” he continued, following me as I pocketed the token and stepped away from the raven. “Simple.”
“Nothing about the Cimmerians is simple.” I laughed, the sound hollow in the quiet office. “Unlike El, I know what they are: Three vicious, elite hunters who could tear me apart without breaking a sweat.”
“So use the demon as a distraction. Have it attack one part of the property while you sneak in another part.”
I paused, considering. That wasn’t a terrible idea, but Foster’s continuous stream of suggestions was grating on my already frayed nerves. I needed time to think, to plan. Whatever I did next would have to be calculated to maximize success while minimizing the consequences from Mother.
My priorities were clear.
First, find and free Eluned if possible. If she was beyond saving, either dead or too deeply ensnared by the Cimmerians, I would have to neutralize her to prevent her from revealing anything important about our plans.
Second, if an opportunity presented itself, injure, or even better kill, one of Serafina’s husbands. Eliminating a Cimmerian would go a long way toward appeasing Mother’s wrath over lost resources.
If neither of those was possible, at the very least I needed to leave a message, a reminder that we hadn’t forgotten them, that their days of peaceful happiness were numbered.
“C’mon, Amabel,” he insisted, still following me like an oversized shadow. “Before they can interrogate Eluned.”
“They can’t have captured her already. Ondine hadjustsent her through the lake when I called.”
“You think the Cimmerians haven’t found a trespasser on their property by now?” he scoffed.
“She’s stupid, but she isn’t a pushover, and her ridiculous luck never seems to run out.” I straightened my shoulders. “Besides, I will not act before tomorrow morning at the earliest. Rushing in without a plan would be folly, and I refuse to make the same mistake as my sister.”
The fury building inside me finally bubbled to the surface.
“Do you understand the position she’s put me in? I have barelythirty-five hoursto plan a rescue or a termination and return here in time to explain to Mother that this disaster isnot my fault. I will not compound the problem by acting rashly.”
“If you wait too long, they’ll figure out how she got there and block the lake.”
“As you suggested, I can use this,” I held up the token before tucking it away again. “Have the demon destroy a perimeter runestone and interrupt their ward network. Create a diversion while I slip in.”
I wasn’t actually going to waste the demon favor on something so trivial, but he didn’t need to know that. The token was my ace in the hole, to be used only if absolutely necessary.
“Go do your job with the rogues,” I said, dismissing him with a wave. “I need to think.”
He lingered, blocking the doorway.
“She’s your sister,” he said at last. “Your twin. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”
“It means I’m the one who always has to clean up her messes!” I snarled.
“Just saying, if you wait too long, the Devil gets his due.”
With a hiss of frustration, I pushed him out of the room. As his footsteps faded down the hallway, I headed for my bedroom, the demon token burning in my pocket, a reminder of what was at stake.
