Page 65 of Zel
Ulrich kept hold of Zel’s shoulder and coaxed him forward. When they were but a step from the entrance, a force like a great wind pushing him launched Zel past the opening so swiftly that he nearly gasped. They paused on the other side of the door, but no sounds came from inside to indicate anyone had spotted them. Those within were too busy chasing the cat.
It was comforting to have Ulrich’s hand remain as they continued. A phantom cat would not keep the guild members occupied forever, and Zel did not know how long it would stay formed, but they only needed to make it a few more turns.
He kept his ears craned for any signs of someone approaching, but though he would have sworn no one was around the next corner, he was proven wrong when he nearly collided with an ample chest. The buxom woman must also have been an assassin to have moved so silently, but when her faint yelp of surprise turned from confused eyes on Zel, whom she must haverecognized even with his face covered, to suspicious ones on Ulrich, Zel punched the hilt-end of his dagger into her windpipe.
As the woman choked and stumbled backward, Ulrich swept in front of Zel and touched his left hand to her forehead. Zel cringed when she went limp, but he could see her breaths and the pulse in her neck, proving she was only unconscious. Ulrich tucked her body into a nearby alcove, prompting them to move more swiftly onward before anyone could discover her.
At last, the next turn would take them to the chamber outside Lothar’s sanctum. Ulrich halted Zel again, gesturing past the doorway to a mirror on the opposite wall. With a wave of his fingers, the mirror tilted at an angle that reflected the room.
Two guards, which Zel had expected.
Since there was no one else around, Ulrich cast another spell. They had discussed this one beforehand, but Zel was always in awe of Ulrich’s magic, so much greater than any he had seen before his time at the tower.
Similar to the mist that had formed the phantom cat, wisps unleashed from Ulrich’s fingers, but rather than become violet or mold into any shape, it vanished as it moved toward the door. After a few moments, two distinct thuds were heard.
They hurried on, thankful that neither of the now sleeping guards had fallen across the entrance’s threshold. Most Thieves Guild entrances were open archways, but this one had a door. Zel could not hear anything within, as the walls and door were thick. Inside should be two more guards, Lothar, and possibly others if he was in audience with anyone, such as for a mission debrief or torturing information out of a target.
Zel and Ulrich shared a nod, then Zel threw the door open for Ulrich to rush in first.
The room was dark when Zel dashed in after him and soon became pitch-black when the door closed in his wake.
“There is no one here,” Ulrich said.
“How can you tell? I can’t see anything.”
“See as I do.” Ulrich covered Zel’s eyes with his cursed hand, and when it moved away, Zel’s vision could pierce the dark.
The only thing in the room was Lothar’s empty throne.
Zel lowered his mask. “But why post guards when he isn’t even here? It doesn’t make sense.”
“Are there other entrances?” Ulrich lowered his mask as well and drew back his hood, moving toward Lothar’s chair.
“None. Where could he be?” Zel spun in place, admittedly panicking. They had contingencies for facing more enemies than planned, but everything had hinged on Lothar following his routine and being here.
“There is a piece of parchment on that chair,” Ulrich said as he neared it.
Zel squinted after him. While he could see, the room was still dim to his senses. There did appear to be something on Lothar’s chair, like a waiting note. “What does it say?”
Ulrich picked it up and read aloud, “Not so powerful now, are you?”
“Ul—!”
But Zel’s warning cry came too late. Whatever trap had been set sprang into action with Ulrich lifting the note, causing half of a metal cage to spring up from the floor, just as its second half fell from the ceiling. The two halves met so swiftly, Ulrich merely clanged against the bars when he reacted and tried to move.
“Can’t you—” Zel vaulted toward him, but Ulrich had clearly been thinking the same thing, for though he seemed to attempt to become shadow and slip through the bars, all that happened was a brief aura of shadow erupting from him that immediately snuffed out.
Ulrich grabbed the bars but lurched his hands back a moment later when they started to sizzle. “Iron. Enchanted specifically to nullify magic.”
Zel reached toward the bars too but hesitated to touch them.
“Don’t,” Ulrich confirmed. “They will hurt you too.”
“But how do I get you out?”
“You don’t.”
The voice sent a biting chill through Zel’s chest. He turned to see the door opening behind them, permitting Lothar to enter—flanked by Zel’s parents carrying torches. Sophie and Gregor stared blankly, their actions stilted and strange as if not moving their own bodies.
