Many of the soldiers took a step back, but Bruns said, “She’s bluffing. She wouldn’t kill herself or her baby. This is truly pathetic, Yelena. What do you hope to accomplish?”
“Aww, shucks, Bruns, you saw right though me. You’re right. I’m not going to kill us all. I just wanted to distract you.” I tossed the orb at the staircase and grinned when they all flinched.
It shattered and released a thick white fog. The smoke swirled without direction for a second, but then raced up and down the steps with enough force to knock people down as they tried to flee. Heli stood near the door. She focused on controlling the air while Fisk and his helpers entered.
“The gas won’t last long,” I said over the roar of the wind. “Prick them with the Curare. It should work.”
The kids moved like scavengers over the bodies. But there were two missing—Bruns and Cilly.
They hadn’t come down, so they must have gone up to one of the upper floors.
“Bavol, stay here with Shaba. When the reinforcements arrive, you need to convince them you’re in charge,” I said. “Heli and Fisk, come with me.”
Fisk pulled his knives, and I loaded my blowpipe. We sprinted up the steps, being careful not to step on anyone.
“How do you want to do this?” he asked. “Room by room?”
“Is there another exit?” Heli asked.
“The Masters’ entrance,” I said.
“This way!” Fisk cut down an empty hallway.
Why was I surprised Fisk knew about it? Little scamp enjoyed ferreting out little-known facts like that. At the end of the hall was a stairway to the ground floor. I paused a moment to listen. Not a sound. Not even the pounding of boots. Good or bad?
“Are you sure they went this way?” Heli asked me.
“No. But they can’t escape, so if they didn’t, they’re still in the building.”
We descended two stories. The stairwell ended in a large room where the Masters changed into their formal robes before attending Council meetings. The expensive silk material swayed in the breeze blowing in from the open door.
Fisk cursed and crossed the room at a run with Heli on his heels. Magic brushed my thoughts.
“I see them!” Fisk pointed outside.
“There they are,” Heli said.
Before I could stop them, they raced into the empty street. The door slammed shut behind them, plunging the room into darkness.
I yanked my switchblade but wasn’t quick enough. A knife poked my stomach with its sharp tip. I froze.
“Drop it,” Bruns said on my left.
Could he see in the dark? I released my blowpipe. It clattered to the floor.
“And the knife.”
Damn. I let go of that as well.
“I’d love to gut you right now, but I need you. Later,” he promised. “Cilly, search her for weapons.”
The woman was quite thorough. Too bad she didn’t prick her finger on one of my darts. Once she’d collected most of them, Bruns instructed her to lead the way.
He grabbed my upper arm, but his knife remained in place. “Move.” He pushed me up the stairs.
“But I thought—”
“You thought wrong,” Bruns interrupted me. “My men will wake as soon as that gas wears off. Did you really think I wouldn’t protect them against all your potions? Just because I didn’t need Theobroma to convince them doesn’t mean they don’t consume it. And I was smart enough to stockpile it, just in case.”
He dragged me to the lobby’s staircase. Below, Bavol and Shaba waited for the reinforcements, but it didn’t take them long to notice us.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” Bruns said to them. “Or I’ll kill your Liaison. Cilly, take care of them.”
They remained in place as the magician descended. She held a couple of my darts. She jabbed one into Bavol’s arm and pricked Shaba with another. They both stiffened and toppled to the ground.
Feeling sick to my stomach over the turn of events, I stumbled a bit as Bruns led me to his office. Cilly lit a lantern as he pushed me into a chair. His weapon remained pressed against my skin.
“Secure her,” he ordered.
Cilly picked up a pair of manacles and yanked my wrists through the wooden slats of the chair’s back. The metal cuffs bit into my flesh. I could probably still stand, but my seat would come with me. When Bruns finally moved the blade away from the baby, I took my first deep breath since he’d jumped me.
“Go downstairs and wait for the others to wake,” Bruns ordered Cilly. “Then take the Councilors down to the cells before returning.”
She nodded and left. Bruns pointed to a glass super messenger on his desk. “I received word from Owen that he captured Valek. The Commander is going to execute him for treason at the opening of the fire festival.”
I tried to keep my expression blank, but tears filled my eyes as grief crashed into me. Unable to stop them, they ran down my cheeks and dripped off my jaw.