Page 58 of I Ran Away to Evil 3
“Thisside of the palace wall?” Julian’s voice was stone cold.
“Yes.”
His fists were clenched at his side as he thought. Turning to his friend, he asked John, “What would you do?”
John shrugged. “I would interrogate your prisoners, discover they are simple hired hands who know nothing of importance, maybe learn where they were headed, their schedule, and any useful passwords … but nothing much else.”
Julian cursed.
“Then,” John added, “considering the fact that the mercenary and assassin guilds have played a major part in this operation, I would send over a ruthless auditor to make me feel better”—that had Julian fighting a small smile—“andthenprepare for the worst tomorrow,” he concluded.
Julian sighed. “How?” There wasn’t anyone more qualified to ask than his own rogue.
John was silent for a moment, deep in thought. Finally, he said, “A game.”
That was not at all what Julian thought he was going to say. “A game?”
“Yes.” John, his otherwise stalwart and emotionless shadow, suddenly gave Julian a vicious smile. His teeth flashed white in a rare show of amusement. “A game. You have almost every high-level elite on the continent attending this wedding?”
“Almost two hundred guests,” he confirmed. An outrageous amount. Julian couldn’t imagine more than twenty at his own ceremony. Not that he planned to get married any time soon.
“Well,” John reasoned, “thanks to Madame Potts, the entire continent knows that Blackfog spies are going to be stirring up trouble during the festival. Why not start the day off with an invitation to the entire wedding guest list that whoever catches a Blackfog spy will get a prize. Maybe the person who assists the most can have one of your esteemed mother’s inventions.”
“John.” Julian lifted a hand and placed it firmly on his rogue’s shoulder. “You’re a genius.”
“True.”
It was Julian’s turn to smile at his friend. “Let’s finish up and go tell my mother.”
“Duke Julian has arrived,” the attendant informed everyone before he could burst into the same parlor unannounced twice in one day.
His mother was standing with Their Royal Highness. She knew instantly that John was attached to his shadow and acknowledged the rogue with a simple nod at Julian’s feet before addressing her son. “Welcome back.”
“We’ve finished our investigation,” Julian said. “The caravan leader, Greyson, admitted to knowing about Julia’s kidnapping and will be brought before the council.”
“I can’t believe they managed to get me all the way to the city gate,” his sister said, frowning. Seeing her here, safe, was a welcome relief.
“I can’t believe I almost lost you,” said the tiny blonde woman sitting on Julia’s lap, arms wrapped around her neck.
“I’m fine, love,” Julia reassured Chloe, patting the necromancer’s back. Chloe’s eyes were still puffy from her earlier upset.
“I’ve also learned that the Void mage is named Alice,” Julian continued.
“Do you know why they kidnapped Julia in the first place?” his mother asked. She looked better than could be expected from having most of her mana drained by a legendary-grade enchanted device.
“We’ll have to ask Alice when we catch her,” Julian said.
Chloe huffed. “You had a chance to catch her, and you let her escape!”
“I wasa frog, what’syourexcuse?” Julian shot back. It sounded defensive even to his own ears, and he took a deep breath to calm himself. Chloe was a pricklebush sometimes, but she loved his sister, and that was what mattered. He continued, “Still, wedidcapture everyone else, and there’s more.”
“More?” his mother prompted.
“Barry, the swordsman spy, found a warehouse down by the docks and released six more people who’d been captured.”
“Six?” Grand Duchess Calisto said sharply.
“Who?” Their Highness Rowen inquired. The fox was still in their guise from the wedding rehearsal, and stroked their beard, curious.
