“But it’s been weeks! How can it not be approved yet?”
“The Employer denied the request and said they don’t want a bounty out on Tavrek Holloway,” Ambrose insisted. “But information was sent back, and they want to know why you’re interested in him.” He pulled out a scroll and handed it over. “He was at the Ebora work camp for twelve years and was sold to a wealthy family in Berkway four years ago. They kept their information anonymous, but the rumor was that they intended to free him. He’s fine.”
I took the scroll and read greedily. Sure enough, everything that Ambrose had said was written here. An anonymous wealthy family had bought my father and planned to free him. If that was the case…he could be here in Berkway, looking for me or my sister. Or he might have tried to go back to Ebora to look for my mother, then discovered the same awful truth I had. But no matter what it was, he was alive, or at least he had been four years ago. And if he’d been freed, his odds were even better of surviving.
My heart, which had felt so shriveled after learning of my mother’s death, swelled. My father was alive. “I’m willing to triple the bounty,” I told Ambrose. “I’ll pay three thousand to anyone who can deliver him to me unharmed.”
Ambrose’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. “Three thousand?”
“Three thousand plus travel reimbursement,” I said. I looked at the scroll again. I wouldn’t care if I had to drain my entire account, as long as it meant reuniting the rest of my family. I was so close. I couldn’t give up now.
“The Employer won’t approve it. It was already denied, no matter how much money you’re willing to throw at it. Why do you want him so badly?”
“That’s my business. And there has to be something I could offer in return,” I said desperately, then inspiration hit. “What if I brought in the pixie blood you wanted?”
Ambrose perked up. “You know where the shipment is?”
“I do. Would the Employer be willing to trade some pixie blood for allowing a bounty on Tavrek? I don’t want him harmed, just found.”
He scratched the wart on his wrist.
“Please, Ambrose,” I begged.
“I’d need to see a sample of the pixie blood to know you’re telling the truth, but I think that could be arranged. When can you bring it in?”
I held my breath. “Tonight. I’ll bring in a sample late tonight. If you can convince the Employer, I’ll bring more.”
Ambrose appraised me. “That’s a lot for a boy to promise.”
“I’ve always kept my word.”
“You have.” He leaned forward. “Very well. I’ll see you tonight.”
“Tonight,” I vowed, slipping out of the safehouse and making my way back to Lochlan. I was closer than ever before to finding my family. This was the night that would finally be a pivotal moment. Hope had betrayed me before, but this time…this timefor sure, nothing would go wrong.
CHAPTER 26
Something was very wrong.
I couldn’t quite place it, but something in the air made my chest constrict and I was compelled to hang back. Every sound became amplified and the tiniest movement sent me into high alert, scanning constantly for whatever was different that I couldn’t quite place my finger on. The night air was humid enough to make the back of my neck sticky as I crouched on the slanted roof across from the Syndicate’s safehouse.It would likely rain soon, but that alone wouldn’t have made me nervous.
I had absolutely no reason to hide besides the ridiculous paranoia that kept nudging me in a way I couldn’t explain away. All I needed to do was walk in and hand over the vial, and Ambrose would make sure the bounty on my father was given to all the hunters. I had every confidence that one of them would be able to find him. Yet I couldn’t prevent myself from staying hidden and watching the building as I waited, waited,waited. What was I even waiting for? I was already tired and it was incredibly late. I’d stayed at the market all day, gotten back late, then left after the others went to bed. All I had to do was walk over there, hand over the vial, and get back to the cottage.
So what was holding me back?
From here, the building looked just as it always had. Anyone walking past would see nothing more suspicious than a few crooked windows and a door that stuck in its frame. The ground around the building was a little overgrown with weeds, with more grass and wildflowers the closer to the compost heap one got.
But as much as I wanted to go in and hand over the pixie blood before the heat of my hand started to make it congeal, some unknown force held me back. It was almost as though I could smell something dangerous in the air.
A thin sliver of light cut through the safehouse’s curtains downstairs, painting a strip of gold onto the cobblestones. Everything around me felt too quiet and too still, even though it should’ve felt that way so late at night. Smoke from a nearby chimney curled through the air, and a wind pushed the sour stink of dead fish in from the docks.
The Syndicate door creaked open and one of the bounty hunters stepped out, stretching his arms over his head before strolling down the street. My shoulders tensed momentarily but then relaxed. I recognized that strut; it was only Elvin. I tracked him until he vanished around the corner, then returned my attention to the windows.
From where Elvin had disappeared, I heard his obnoxious whistling start up. At that moment, the night exploded in sound. Boots thundered from the far end of the street, fast and purposeful, and I froze, unable to even breathe.
The Nightsworn were coming.
They poured into the lane, their navy cloaks billowing in the wind and the gold insignias on their chests visible even through the darkness. Swords were drawn as they spread out, cutting off both ends of the street with practiced precision, and a fist slammed against the Syndicate door.
