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ADALLIA AND I HURRIEDLY made our way back upstairs, whispering furiously.
“I don’t know, it seems too risky,” Adallia said.
“I agree, but it doesn’t seem like we have any other options,” I said. “Well, any other good options.”
We had reached the top of the stairs and were about to head down the hallway, toward the kitchen, when someone exited a room just a few paces in front of us, his back to us. He was wearing an extremely gaudy outfit of green and gold, with a matching oversized green fedora atop his head. There was a gold feather sticking out from the ostentatious hat.
Beneath the hat the man sported long blond hair, tied back with a green ribbon.
I put my arm out, stopping Adallia from moving forward while I walked toward the newcomer. The man’s stocky frame and somewhat familiar tied-back blond hair made me think of ...
“Lord Olivera?”
The man turned around at my exclamation. It was, indeed, Lord Olivera. But I thought he was dead!
Yet here he was, standing in front of me. Very much alive.
When Lord Olivera saw me, he snarled. “Kaernan Asthore! What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the very same thing,” I said in shock.
“You’re looking for a lost love, aren’t you?” He stepped toward me, brandishing a fist. “Well, you can’t have her! This is one commission you will fail.” His lips pulled back in an ugly grimace. “Or maybe I should say, this is the second commission you will fail.”
“Her? Who are you talking about?”
“You think you can collect double, don’t you?” Lord Olivera wasn’t even registering my confusion. “Get your commission, and collect the reward money? Clear out of here, or I’ll make sure there’s trouble for you, both in Rothschan and back in Orchwell.”
Reward money? He must think I was there for Delphine! He was right, but not for the reasons he presumed.
“Are you here for the reward money?”
Lord Olivera laughed nastily. “I don’t need some stupid reward money, not when I hired the best bounty hunters in all of the Gifted Lands to get who I wanted. No, I’m here for the girl, and I will have her.”
He stepped even closer to me, so close his hot breath washed over my face. “And no one will stand in my way.”
Behind us there was a rustle of fabric and a whoosh of air as the bottom of a heavy wooden tray clipped the side of Lord Olivera’s head. Dirty spoons and bowls went flying around the hall.
The nobleman’s eyes widened comically before he slumped to the floor. I knelt down to examine him; he was still breathing, but definitely unconscious.
“Nice hit,” I said to Adallia, who was standing above us, breathing heavily and staring daggers at the man she had just knocked out.
“Thank you,” she said, getting her breathing back under control. “I’ve always wanted to do that. That was extremely satisfying.”
I smiled. “I’ve had my own encounters with the man, and I’m rather jealous of you right now.”
Adallia knelt down and started picking up the scattered dishes. “What are we going to do with him, though?”
I looked down at the green-and-gold heap on the floor that was Lord Olivera. “I have an idea. Help me take his clothes off.”
Adallia wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Ew. No, thank you.”
I laughed, even as my hands worked rapidly to undo the buttons on Lord Olivera’s flashy coat. “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I’m thinking this is a perfect opportunity to help Delphine. I’ll pretend to be Lord Olivera and ‘collect’ Delphine after the Ceremony. You and the rest of the team can follow me afterward.”
“Oh!” Adallia put the full tray of dirty dishes aside and started removing Lord Olivera’s shoes. Soon the man was lying on the floor in just his undergarments, with his brightly colored clothes in a pile beside him.
I quickly donned the nobleman’s clothes over my own. His much larger size meant that his clothes hung loosely on my slender frame, but the added bulk of my servant’s garb helped fill out his ill-fitting outfit. Adallia eyed his gaudy shoes. “Do you want these as well?”
I looked at the shoes, two frothy bright green creations each boasting an ornate gold buckle. “No, his feet are bigger than mine; I couldn’t wear those.” The relief in my voice was evident.
Adallia picked up the belt Lord Olivera had been wearing and bound his hands. “It’s not much, but hopefully it will hold him for a bit.”
I briefly debated hauling Lord Olivera back into the room we had seen him leaving, but I also couldn’t be sure that had been his private room. I didn’t want to get into a bigger mess if I opened an unknown door and found several other people on the other side of it.
But that hall closet where we had stashed the brooms and buckets was nearby ....
“Here, Adallia, can you grab his legs?” She complied, while I lifted the loathsome man under his arms. Together we hauled Lord Olivera to the cleaning supply closet. I opened the door and we shoved him in. Even unconscious the man was annoying; he was heavy and unwieldy to lift, and his dead weight made it nearly impossible to put him inside the closet. As I pushed Lord Olivera in one final time, I heard a splash, and remembered belatedly how Farrah had stashed one bucket full of water in the closet.
Adallia grabbed Lord Olivera’s shoes and threw them in after the man. We heard another splash before I hurriedly shut the door.
I turned away, grinning wickedly. Hauling those blasted buckets of water had been worth it after all.
* * *
RHYSS ITCHED THE BACK of his neck, shifting his weight uncomfortably. He tugged at his ill-fitting blue jacket, trying to tweak it into place.
“Stop fidgeting,” Farrah hissed at him. She’d been able to find a jacket that fit her frame, along with Adallia. After our encounter with Lord Olivera, Adallia had returned to the kitchen while I changed into Lord Olivera’s outfit. Adallia had given Cook some excuse about me being needed back at the great hall; Cook had barely cared as she directed Adallia and my other friends to a storage room just off the kitchen. I joined them in the storage room, which had several wardrobes filled with the formal dark blue coats I had seen other servants wearing. Seeing the stuffed wardrobes, I had tried not to think too hard about what may have happened to the servants before us who had been similarly outfitted.
As Rhyss, Farrah, and Adallia picked out coats to wear, Adallia and I had told Rhyss and Farrah about finding Delphine and meeting Jondan on the prison level, and about our chance meeting with Lord Olivera. We quickly outlined our plan to steal away with Delphine after the Ceremony transferred her bonds to me as Lord Olivera.
Both Rhyss and Farrah had been skeptical. “Too risky,” were Farrah’s thoughts on the plan. “But what about Baxley?” was Rhyss’s objection.
They were both right. It was an incredibly risky plan, and we still had no idea where Baxley was. But at least we’d be able to recover two of the three people we’d come to find. I hoped.
I didn’t even want to entertain the idea of what would happen if we failed. If we didn’t make it out of here, I knew it was unlikely my family would ever know what happened to me. My father might not care, but my twin sister would definitely be bereft.
Or worse, if they knew who I was and learned of my family connections, they might try to ransom me for money or Seeker services ....
I had put the idea firmly out of my head. No sense in borrowing trouble.
“I can’t help it,” Rhyss now said in a low tone. He scratched his elbow, then reached around to scratch his back. Watching him made me feel itchy. “I hate waiting. I’d rather we’d just get things going, already. Besides, these jackets are uncomfortable.”
“I told you to take the other one. The Ceremony will be starting soon enough, your fidgeting won’t make the time go any faster.”
“Feels like it’s been going on for ages, with all the work we’ve had to —”
“Shh!” Adallia interrupted Rhyss. “Keep alert; they’re coming in.”
Sure enough, the door to the great hall was opening. We were about to get our first glimpse of the Hauster clan. Or, as those in their employ called them, the Family.
Rhyss and Farrah stopped their whispered argument and stood up a bit straighter, eyes watchful and wary. I stepped away from my friends, trying to appear like I had just wandered to the great hall early. Around the room, the other blue-jacketed servants who were in attendance also stopped their tasks and looked toward the doors, now fully open.
Entering first were a handful of guards, Jondan included. The prisoners from the floor below were in their midst, shackled and shuffling forward dispiritedly. Beside me, Adallia stiffened and bit her lip, trying not to cry out at the sight of her daughter.
As the guards brought their prisoners to the front of the room, I counted the people entering. Four prisoners, including Delphine — two men, two women. Five guards, not including Jondan. Even if we freed all of the prisoners and they were willing to help us fight our way out of here, none of them looked in any condition to actually fight. They were healthy, but their time spent languishing in prison would mean they weren’t in peak physical form.
So that really left any fighting to Rhyss, Farrah, Jondan, and me. Possibly Adallia could help, but I wasn’t sure if she had any training or how skilled she was. She could be more of a liability than a help. So that was four of us against five guards ... somewhat decent odds. But we also had to contend with —
The Family, now entering the room.
A young woman, perhaps in her twenties, assisted an elderly couple to some seats on the far side of the room and then stood beside their chairs. A handsome middle-aged woman strode in behind them. From their similarly lean figures and intense dark eyes, it was easy to see they were related.
Surreptitiously, I caught Jondan’s eye. Was this the infamous Hauster family?
Jondan nodded back, ever-so-slightly. My brows furrowed as my eyes flicked toward the elderly couple. Surely one of those was the Hauduare. Jondan shook his head in barely imperceptible movement. My eyes flitted back and forth between the two standing women and Jondan. Any of these, then? But, no. None of them was the Hauduare.
I frowned, hastily smoothing my face into a neutral expression.
The young woman waved at me. “Lord Olivera, there you are! I’m glad you found your way here. We wondered where you were when we didn’t find you in the guest antechamber with the others.”
I nodded back at her, worried that if I responded, my voice would give me away. Luckily, my acknowledgement seemed to satisfy the young woman, as she turned away to talk to the other members of her family.
A few more people entered the great hall. Of different heights and coloring, their looks were so varied, I surmised they must be the “honored guests” Jondan had spoken of, the ones who had commissioned the Hausters directly instead of going through more direct, lawful means.
As the guests took seats around the room, blue-jacketed servants appeared instantly at their sides, offering them cups of wine to drink or small tidbits of food to nibble on. I slowly sank onto a bench, near where my friends-disguised-as-servants were arranging food on a table. Across the room, the young woman and the lady I presumed was her mother also sat. Their immediate duties completed, the servants returned to their original positions by the back wall, near the entry. The anticipation in the air was palpable.
I looked around, wondering what we were waiting for, when the faerie lights set in the walls of the great hall went out. The room was plunged into darkness, and several voices cried out in confusion.
And then the lights suddenly returned, concentrating on a single hooded figure standing at the front of the room in a dark blue robe, similar in shade to the formal coats the servants wore.
The hooded person chuckled. “Please forgive the theatrics, but it always gives me great pleasure to indulge in them.”
In a more dignified manner, the decidedly masculine voice continued, “Welcome, honored guests, to the sanctuary of the Hauster family. I am the Haudaure, and it is my great honor and privilege to present to you those you have tasked us to hunt.”
He waved a hand, and Jondan and another guard brought forth the four prisoners. Two of them looked completely confused or unaware of what was about to befall them. One of them, a man shackled next to Delphine, had a terrified expression on his face. Delphine squinted against the light, looking into the darkened room. A casual observer would have thought she was just resigning herself to her fate, but I knew she was trying to ascertain where her mother and her friends were in the room. Unfortunately, we hadn’t had a way to let Delphine know the details of our plan to rescue her. I hoped she wouldn’t fight me when it was time for ‘Lord Olivera’ to take her away.
“It is customary, and necessary, for us to magically bind our quarry to the Hauster estate for safekeeping,” the Hauduare said. “As such, when our esteemed patrons have gathered here, we can then release that binding and turn them over to you. The magical binding will link a patron to their intended prisoner, allowing you to remove them from our stronghold, and will expire the moment you leave the hill and step aboveground. Dear honored guests, I hope you came prepared.”
There was a slight chuckle from the seated Hauster patrons.
“Now then, we shall begin.”
The hooded man turned to Delphine, the first prisoner in the line. “Delphine Pahame, commissioned by Lord Olivera for us to find. Lord Olivera, if you would approach, please?”
My breath caught as my heart pounded. But what else could I do? I had to get Delphine’s binding transferred to me. I stood up, a bit shakily, and carefully made my way to where Delphine was standing with the mysterious hooded man in the pool of faerie light.
Meanwhile, Jondan unlocked the shackles that bound Delphine to the other prisoners. Delphine made a slight movement, as if she was going to run. Her eyes widened when she realized she couldn’t move from the spot where she stood.
“You are Lord Olivera?” the Hauduare asked me when I reached them.
I nodded, that silly gold feather keeping time with my bobbing head. I briefly lifted my chin higher and looked squarely at Delphine.
Our eyes locked. Her mouth opened slightly as she recognized me under the ridiculous green hat.
Please don’t say anything! Please don’t give me away!
She composed herself quickly and looked down, but not before I saw a slight smirk creeping over the corners of her mouth.
“Lord Olivera, the final payment, please.” An expectant hand reached out from the dark blue robe towards me, palm up.
“Mmmm ...” I started, not sure what to say or do.
The hand withdrew. “My goodness, I nearly forgot. You already paid us, last night. And with an extremely generous bonus. Thank you for that.”
“Mmmm ...” I said again, putting a haughty confidence behind the sound. It seemed the safest thing I could say.
“Well, then,” the Hauduare said. He took Delphine’s hand in one of his, ignoring her shrinking away from him. Reaching out toward me again, he placed his other hand on my shoulder.
“Delphine Pahame,” he intoned, “your binding to the Hauster family and our land is no longer. You will be bound to this man until the moment you both leave our holdings. Should you find a way to circumvent this magical binding, your life will immediately be forfeit. Fiat.”
Where the Hauduare’s hand enveloped Delphine’s, a blue light pulsed. It traveled through the man’s arm, into his body, and ran down his other arm to where his hand touched my shoulder. The blue light grew stronger and brighter, then suddenly winked out. When the man released my shoulder, I touched the area where his hand had been, feeling the slight tingle of magic in my muscle.
The Hauduare released Delphine’s hand and turned to me. “Thank you, Lord Olivera. You may sit down. Our next person is —”
A commotion in the back of the room caught our attention. The door to the great hall slammed open, and an angry man’s voice called out, “That’s not Lord Olivera. I am.”