My stomach swirled with soupy bile. I had hoped to talk him out of a shut down, but now, with the speed of his transformation, his chances of survival without being turned off were low.
I bit my lip as I considered every angle. We had few options.
Thirty minutes later, I had my list of measurements and Buster lay still as death on the bed.
“Do you feel as bad as I do about this?” I asked as I hitched my bag farther up on my shoulder.
Oss shrugged. “It had to be done.”
Ever the pragmatist. I don’t know why I was expecting otherwise.
“Where’s Thorne?” For the first time, I noticed the lack of the guard’s presence.
“He was called into work. There was an emergency with the dirigibles. Two docked too close together and they needed added security.”
“Do you think we’ll have problems getting through the gate?”
“We shouldn’t. The guards all know me.”
I didn’t remind him that we’d planned to bring Thorne to avoid trouble. I nudged his shoulder with my own. “Is that going to help or hurt us?”
“Funny.” Oss’s face showed a decided lack of humor. “Let’s get going. I’ve already packed Amalia and the map.”
For Oss, that was as good as packing for every contingency.
We made good time to the Tower until we were stopped in the hall leading directly to the City of Magic.
“Only authorized visitors are allowed,” an officious guard announced, his face set in a sour expression and several knives strapped to his body. Behind him stood five additional men outfitted the same. They weren’t city guards.
“We are authorized,” Oss replied.
“By whose orders?” the guard asked.
“Duke Lear’s.” Oss didn’t hesitate to throw Justin’s name around, even though he had no idea we had come here.
“Papers?” The guard held out his hand.
What kind of papers were they expecting? It wasn’t like we were entering an airship to be checked out by guards.
Oss scowled. “We don’t need papers. I’m the new king of the City of Magic.”
The guard sneered. “King? You’re just an uppity guttersnipe who should’ve been drowned at birth.”
I grabbed Oss before he could lunge at the man. Bloodshed might get his point across, but it would get us both killed.
“What’s your name?” I asked. I planned to lodge a complaint. He would find himself guarding the prison when I was done. I might have broken up with Justin, but he was still a Lock Lord and he wanted back into my good graces. I wasn’t above using my connections, limited as they might be.
The other guards behind him moved restlessly as if they weren’t certain if they should interfere.
“That doesn’t matter,” the guard snapped. “Unless you have papers, I’m not supposed to let you through.”
“What sort of papers are you expecting?” Oss’s narrow-eyed gaze had the guard gripping the handle of the sword at his hip. Smart man.
“Written permission from one of the Lock Lords.”
“Oss, let’s just go. We can get Justin to sign off and come back.” I tried to inject some confidence in my statement, but I didn’t know what else to say. I added in an undertone. “He’s one of the magistrate’s men. He isn’t going to let us through if he can make things difficult.” These weren’t the usual guards who would recognize Oss and let us pass. It had taken me a few minutes, but I recognized the idiot before us. A power grab must have happened when everyone was distracted.
Oss hissed like an angry teakettle before turning back to the guard. “I hope you don’t plan on staying employed.”
