Page 142 of Tales of a Deadly Devotion
‘Why Montagor is so set on taking Emrys off the board.’ William swallowed loudly, seeming very pale at the thought.
An Old God can only be slain with their blade. Thatwas why Montagor was after one.Of course. It was why the Kysillians had seen Verr as nothing but brutes. They didn’t share the power of their blood.
Thean shooed the creature off the paper with a flick of his bejewelled fingers.
‘It’s our lucky day.’ The voyav shrugged, yet their face remained pensive. ‘It’s in a brothel.’
‘What?! Why on earth would it be in there?’ Alma recoiled.
‘Not in. Under,’ Thean continued their explanation, hands braced on their hips. ‘Lord Barton decimated the fey ruins on his land three centuries ago to build his house.’
‘The Barton lands are lawless. Like the bone markets.’ They continued. ‘The patrons got bored of paying the lord’s prices so strung him up in the street and continued their frivolities.’
‘You seem to know a lot about thisestablishment,’ Alma added a tad too sharply, making a sly smile slip across the voyav’s lips.
‘There was a story about how Lord Barton went mad after he trapped an ancient creature within the walls of his house. Or so the tales say.’
Thean turned their attention to the other mark on the map, set in the middle of a smaller village. ‘It’sveryoccupied and they won’t take kindly to intruders.’
I glanced at the window. ‘It’s barely morning.’
Thean just gave me a bored pointed look that made me flush. Of course. People did have sex in daylight.
‘Hang on, if something is beneath that house—’ William ran his fingers through his curls. ‘Why is it just sitting there?’
‘It will have a very strong spell on it. One created around the same time as the compendiums. One by the same bloodlines,’ Thean offered, folding their arms. Just as old as the book.
A book I could open. I looked down at my bloody palm, so maybe I could break that concealing enchantment too.
‘Then we’ll find out,’ Alma answered, startling me with her sudden determination and change of heart. I noticed she startled Thean too. ‘If we’ve figured this out, Montagor won’t be far behind. He already has a relic and is crazed enough to attack rebel territory. It won’t be long until it guides him here.’
William looked as if he might be sick. So I focused on the voyav instead, who hadn’t offered any objection to the plan.
‘I doubt the clientele are used to Kysillians. Especially one as wanted as our darling Kat.’ Thean’s voice sounded hard with displeasure.
‘I’ll wear a glamour. It should last long enough,’ I shrugged. It wouldn’t be that hard. Nobody would look too closely at a female in a brothel. Or be sober enough to care.
‘I’m sure your dark prince will love this,’ the voyav warned.
‘Surely we should run this by Emrys? Let me get Gideon’s speaking crystal!’ William darted for the drawer of Gideon’s desk. Orin barked as if to hurry him as he rummaged like a desperate thief.
Producing a black speaking crystal wrapped in enchanted parchment and tied with salt-soaked string. The boy frantically tapped the large crystal on the desk’s edge. ‘Come on. Come on.’
But it remained dim, the runes carved into the stone not glowing. Silent.
They couldn’t answer and we couldn’t waste time waiting.
William looked stricken. ‘I think we need to reconsider this plan. I doubt we need Emrys’s wrath chasing us through the streets because Thean made Kat get her breasts out.’
‘My breasts willnotbe out,’ I countered sharply.
‘Don’t speak too soon, darling.’ Thean’s grin became almost feline. The dark fiend hound barked excitedly at his side and I couldn’t help wonder if the bastard was, in fact, leading us to our demise.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Kat
Varin was made from the Old Gods’ anger. Others from their hunger, gluttony and lust. For the Alder Kings were many. Only Serus and Acara were made from their devotion to the creatures they created. They knew no greed or hunger for power. Only protection of that endless night and all who dwelled within it.
