My heart jumped. “You know where he is?”
“I wish. They headed west, but the road’s surface is too hard packed and well traveled to distinguish their tracks from all the others.”
“The good news,” Ari prompted.
“There’s no blood.”
“That makes sense if he was taken by the Cartel. They wouldn’t want to harm him until he refused to join them.” And my stubborn brother would probably never agree to work for them. Which meant we had a limited amount of time to find and rescue him before The Mosquito bit.
“Another thing about the setup is they knew Leif would be on this road at a particular time,” Janco said. “Who else knew his location, other than Master Irys?”
“Bain and the Councilors, who might have informed their aides,” I said. Plus all the people who bribed the aides for intel. In other words, too many.
“Janco said they continued west. We didn’t pass them on the road, or else Rusalka would have smelled Leif. Is there another road that branches off this one?” Ari asked.
I considered. “There’s a shortcut about a day west of here that leads to the main southern road. That route follows the western edge of the Avibian Plains, but they could have veered off into Stormdance or Greenblade lands. And they have a three-day head start.” Frustration welled.
“That’s also the way to the Jewelrose lands,” Ari said.
“If Bruns Jewelrose is dumb enough to amass his magician army in his own backyard,” Janco added. “I doubt he’s that stupid.”
“What’s our next move?” Ari asked.
Guessing would get us nowhere; we needed reliable information. I stifled a groan. My earlier mistake—the one that had led to us sitting in a cell wasting time for five days—returned for another kick of recriminations. “Fisk.”
“But if he knows where Leif and the others are, why doesn’t he tell the Council?” Ari asked.
“For the same reason we don’t trust the Council,” Janco said.
“And the reason is?”
“They’re ineffective idiots!”
“He probably doesn’t have any proof,” I said. “These are wealthy businesspeople who have a great deal of influence and power. Fisk has probably cobbled together bits of information from his sources and determined what’s going on.” At least I fervently hoped so. “We need to talk to him. Let’s go.” I stepped toward Kiki, who grazed nearby.
Ari grabbed my shoulder, halting me. “No.”
“But time—”
“We haven’t slept in over a day.”
“We’ve been resting for five days.”
“A few hours is all we need.”
“Leif—”
“Leif’s clever. He’ll play along, knowing we’ll come rescue him. But you won’t be able to help your brother if you’re exhausted.”
I peered at him. He’d gone from using we to you, meaning me. “Let me guess. Valek—”
“Doesn’t have to order us to protect you. You are family. That goes beyond orders.”
*
When we reached the Citadel two days later, we split up, just in case the guards at the gate had been ordered to look for groups of three. Janco circled around to the southern gate with Rusalka, while Ari and I headed for the eastern entrance. We merged with the early-morning traffic and sidled behind a large caravan of wagons. The guards didn’t even glance at us as we passed through.
While the benefit of having busy streets helped us enter unnoticed, the crowded roads slowed our pace. It’d been six days since Leif had been taken, and the desire to scream at all these obstructions clawed at my throat. Then the need to ensure no one followed us to Fisk’s headquarters delayed us further as we snaked through the streets.
Fisk’s building resided in one of the outer factory loops southwest of the market. By the time we rendezvoused with Janco near the narrow alley that led to the door, all of my pent-up frustration and worry pressed on my skin from the inside. If Fisk couldn’t help, I’d explode. His Helper’s Guild members would be cleaning Yelena bits off their ceiling, walls and floor for days.
“Any trouble?” Ari asked his partner.
“None.” Janco scrunched up his nose.
“Then what’s wrong?” I asked.
“Yet another stinkin’ alley. The smell is bad enough, but the place is also reeking with magic. I thought Fisk was a regular kid.”
“He is.” Although I wouldn’t call a seventeen-year-old a kid. “He probably hired a magician to hide the guild’s entrance with an illusion.”
“Why?” Ari asked.
“Problems with the criminal element. Their cheap labor force, also known as the homeless children and the desperate, have been too busy working and earning money by being a part of Fisk’s guild, so the crime bosses have been making it difficult for the helpers. Leif offered to help, but Fisk insisted he’d handle it on his own. The young man’s a bit stubborn.”