With our bags packed and a heavy, unconscious Xiver slung over our shoulders, Annia, Fenris, and I snuck out of the camp, heading back into the forest. Fenris and Annia carried him while I forged ahead, making liberal use of the sleeping spell Fenris had taught me on the few guards who were on night watch. I’d knocked out Xiver’s roommate the same way – since we weren’t planning on coming back until after we’d rescued Iannis, there was no longer any point in trying to hide my magic.
We trekked several miles into the forest before we decided we were far enough away that we could interrogate Xiver without interruption. My nose detected no scouting parties in the area, so we tied Xiver to a tree, and I delivered a good, hard slap across his face to wake him up. After the way he’d manhandled me, it felt good.
“Oww!” Xiver’s eyes popped open, and he jerked, likely wanting to clap his hand across his stinging cheek. When he realized his arms weren’t moving, he looked down at himself, and his eyes bulged as he realized he was strapped to a tree. “What the fuck is going on here?”
“Aww, does little Xiver not like being tied up?” I crooned. “I bet the delegates down in that mineshaft feel the same way.”
His eyes narrowed. “So Captain Milios was right! You three are traitors.”
“You’re the traitor,” Fenris growled, taking a step forward. “You and the band of renegades you run around with, terrorizing good, innocent people in the name of justice.”
“Those filthy mages we’ve got down in the mines aren’t good or innocent,” Xiver sneered. “They’re part of the institution that oppresses us. What the fuck did they bribe you three with to get you on their side? You’re all shifters and humans, the same as us. You should be helping us, not them.”
“Thanks for the speech, but we’re not interested,” Annia interjected. “We brought you out here because you seem to be the only one who knows what happened to the Chief Mage, and I intend to drag his ass back to Solantha so I can cash in on the big pile of gold the government’s put up as a reward. Now would be a good time to tell us what you know, before we disfigure something of yours.” She pulled a knife from the sheath at her side and tested the point with her thumb.
“Like I’d help a gold-digging whore like you.” Xiver spat at her feet, narrowly missing Annia’s boots.
I cracked my palm across Xiver’s face again, and his head snapped to the side. “You might want to use better manners on my friend. She’s pretty good with that knife.”
“I’m not scared of a little pain,” Xiver snarled. The fear gleaming in his eyes told a different story, but I had to admire him a little for his refusal to give in. “You bitches probably don’t even know how to use a blade outside the kitchen anyway.”
The knife in Annia’s hand landed with a thunk to the right of Xiver’s head, slicing off a lock of his inky hair as it buried itself into the tree trunk. Xiver’s face paled, and I snickered.
“I’ve got more of these,” Annia warned, pulling another knife from her boot. As she straightened, the blade gleaming in her right hand, she pretended to yawn. “It’s kinda late though, and I’m getting pretty tired, so my aim might not be the best—”
“Like chopping off my dick with that knife of yours is going to help you?” Xiver sneered. “You’re not collecting that bounty no matter what you do, so go ahead and waste your time carving me up like a turkey.”
Annia paused, and Fenris’s face turned icy. “What do you mean by that, exactly?” I asked cautiously.
“I mean that your precious Chief Mage is dead!” Xiver laughed as he curled his lip at us. “I killed him myself, so you might as well tuck your tails between your legs and run on home!”
“How do you know he’s dead?” I asked, resisting the urge to check the serapha charms resting against my chest. I’d last checked them only an hour ago, and Iannis had still been alive and well.
“Because I threw the bastard out the door, that’s how!” Xiver boasted. “The plan was to put everyone to sleep with a special gas, but your precious Chief Mage wouldn’t stay down, and he tried to kill me. So I lost my temper and threw him out the door, and then I landed the dirigible north of our camp, safe and sound. Things might not have gone exactly as planned, but I did my fucking job. Not many humans can say they faced down a Chief Mage and lived to tell the tale.” His chest puffed up with pride.