Dragon emperor 16, p.10
Dragon Emperor 16, page 10
“It’s in the works,” I announced as we walked into the meeting room. “It takes some time. Thieves don’t usually surrender if they think they can get away with their goods. What’s with the impatience?”
Several of the council members looked to each other with grim expressions, and Morgan rolled her eyes and cleared her throat as she gestured to the Nepin guard who lowered into a bow at our entrance before he slid to stand next to the door.
“What no one wants to tell you is there is apparently still a thief in our midst,” she declared. “We don’t know who he was or where he came from, but an attempt was made to break into the vault. The attempt was unsuccessful.”
“Okay, so let me talk to him,” I demanded. “I need to figure out where his partner is.”
“Partner?” Morgan lifted her eyebrows in surprise. “There was only one man who tried to get in, and he slipped away from the guards without reaching his goal.”
“I can attest to only seeing one thief,” the guard said with a firm nod. “I was guarding the hall above the vault, and he ran away before anyone could stop him.”
“Odalis definitely said two sons,” Miraya whispered into my ear. “Something doesn’t feel right.”
“I agree,” I murmured before I turned back to the shocked council. “Did you inventory the vault after the thief got away?”
“Ah, no,” the Nepin councilwoman admitted. “Even if we did, there’s no guarantee we would know if something was missing. We don’t keep a running list of everything put inside.”
“That seems… less than smart,” Laika said with an annoyed twitch of her bushy gray tail. “Especially in a situation such as this.”
“We’ve never had an issue like this,” Morgan insisted. “No one has ever tried to take something from the vault. They bring us things, we store them, and city hall is kept under watch of the guards. That’s it.”
“Something must be done about your system,” the wolf Demi-Human snapped. “It’s incredibly underwhelming.”
“We just try not to get involved in everyone’s business,” Lucien interjected as he rubbed his jaw. “We have enough work to get done, and the people have always been allowed to keep their valuables in the vault if they so choose. We’ve never had to prepare for bandits!”
“This is insane,” Ravi muttered.
“It is,” I agreed. “You’re putting the most valuable things your people own at risk because you’re too busy. That ends now. First, you’re going to double the guards around the city hall and at the vault.”
“You can’t just--” Nolan sputtered.
“I can,” I cut him off with a fiery glare. “I want at least two guards posted at the vault entrance and every entrance to this building.”
“Of course,” Morgan said as she motioned to the guard who stood just inside the doorway. “Make it happen.”
He dipped his head and rushed past us to meet my demands.
“Now, we already know who’s leading the charge to steal things from your people,” I continued. “It’s Odalis.”
“Odalis! It can’t be!” The council members gasped and whispered among themselves before I raised my hand.
“Yes, I saw him for myself,” I confirmed. “He’s currently trapped at his hideout on the beach north of the city, where he will stay until we find his last two accomplices. It seems he recruited his sons for his biggest heist.”
“Oh, those poor boys,” Morgan sighed.
“Poor boys, my ass,” one of the men grumbled. “They were just as slimy as he was when they all lived here. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’d tried to sleep with my wife, too.”
Ah, it seemed I’d finally found Simon.
“They’re so young and impressionable,” Morgan insisted. “They shouldn’t have followed Odalis out of Yrosa. They could have stayed with Winnie and been just fine.”
“How young are we talking about here?” Nike cut in. “We need to know if we’re going to try to capture a couple of kids.”
“They aren’t children,” Simon scoffed. “Arsenio is around twenty-five, and Andres is only a year or two younger than his brother. They’re perfectly capable of making their own decisions.”
“I see,” I murmured. “Well, we know what they’re after. Do any of you know about the Noble Sword?”
I watched six faces twist with confusion, while one drained of color.
The other councilwoman looked like she’d seen a ghost, and she sat down in her chair as though she might pass out. She hadn’t spoken much since we’d arrived, and I realized I didn’t even know her name, but she certainly knew something about the sword.
“I don’t know anything about it,” Morgan said as I watched her fellow Nepin shake with fear.
“She does.” I pointed to the other woman and took a few steps closer to the table. “What do you know about the sword?”
The woman stared up at me with tears in her blue eyes, and her hands trembled against the wood. Her mouth opened and closed, and she looked like a fish underwater as she tried to think of a response.
“Well, come on, Carmen,” Morgan pushed her. “Tell Lord Evan what you know.”
“I-It was my husband’s,” Carmen finally answered.
“Was?” I raised an eyebrow for her to continue.
“Y-Yes,” she confirmed and cleared her throat. “He, um, died… in the wars of his home city.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Alyona said gently and walked over to place a hand on the woman’s shoulder. “What happened to the sword after that?”
“I… I put it in the vault for safekeeping when I returned to Yrosa,” Carmen explained as she finally looked up, and a tear slid down her sapphire skin. “It’s been there for over fifteen years.”
Chapter 7
Finally, we were getting somewhere.
“Who was your husband?” I asked.
“Duke Renfrew,” Carmen answered and looked down at her quivering hands. “He, um, wasn’t from here.”
“Not from Yrosa?” I wondered.
Carmen took a shuddering breath and seemed to choke back tears, and Alyona rubbed her shoulder to calm her down as we tried to get the information from her.
“She’s embarrassed,” Nolan cut in with a sigh. “She didn’t marry a Nepin. It was a big deal back then, but we all had to get over it when her father died, and she was here to take his place on the council. Just tell them already, Carmen.”
“Yes, that’s true,” she confirmed and looked up with wet eyes. “I came back to Yrosa when my husband died.”
“Alone?” I pressed.
“No, with our daughter.” Carmen cocked her head to the side with confusion. “What does it matter?”
“Did your husband ever tell you about the sword?” I asked.
“Not really,” she answered and shook her head. “He said it was important to him in battle. Why? What’s going on?”
“Your husband was a Noble of the Sword,” Miraya explained in a kind voice as she stepped over to the Nepin woman and sat down next to her. “Have you ever heard that term before?”
“No,” Carmen murmured. “I mean, he was a noble, I knew that when we met, but what does it matter if he was a Noble of the Sword? He’s dead now.”
“But your daughter is not,” the spirit countered. “She is the heir of the sword.”
“My daughter?” the Nepin gasped and pressed a hand to her chest. “No, she doesn’t know anything about swords or fighting! That’s crazy!”
“It’s not,” I insisted. “I had no idea how to wield a sword, either, but I’m a Noble of the Sword, too.”
“This is preposterous,” Simon muttered. “How could a young woman possibly be the wielder of such a weapon?”
“The sword chooses her master, or in this case, mistress,” Miraya shot back with pursed lips. “It doesn’t matter what other people think of it, and it’s certainly not preposterous.”
“I’m sure Simon meant no offense,” Morgan said as she held her hands up. “We’re all just confused about what this means.”
“It means I’ve found the person I came here to find,” I answered. “But I made you a deal, and I’ll still help with the bandits.”
“Well, thank the gods,” the councilwoman sighed. “I just don’t know how we’re going to catch those boys. Do you think they stuck around?”
“Since they didn’t make it into the vault, I’d say so,” I murmured and ran my fingers through my hair. “But that also means they’ll probably try again.”
“We increased the guards, like you suggested,” Nolan said with a note of sarcasm. “What else can we do?”
“Trap them.” I smirked and turned to Nike. “What do you think?”
“I think it’s our best chance,” my fellow noble agreed. “But it shouldn’t be as obvious as decreasing patrols. They know one of them almost got caught, so the guards would be on high alert.”
“Right,” I said with a nod. “Especially if they thought the vault was no longer secure.”
The gears started to turn in my head as my idea formed, and I realized Nike was already on the same page.
“If it wasn’t secure, they’d need a new location,” he mused. “Or at least, that’s what the brothers should believe.”
“Yeah, everything has to be moved to be safe,” I continued. “But the people aren’t normally involved in those decisions.”
“They could have an argument outside after the meeting,” Nike suggested. “A very public argument.”
“It has to be convincing,” I said as I glanced over at the Noble Council. “Do you think they can pull it off?”
“I think they argue pretty well,” Ravi murmured. “We just need to tell them what to say.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do,” I decided before I turned back to the council, who waited anxiously for our plan. “Okay, who is the loudest?”
Everyone turned and looked at Morgan, and her cheeks darkened with a slight blush before she sighed.
“I am,” she said. “Why?”
“We need you to argue with someone else outside city hall,” I answered. “Who would you be most likely to fight with?”
“Nolan,” she replied without hesitation.
“Fair.” He smirked and leaned back in his chair. “Why do we need to argue?”
“We need to make the brothers believe you’re relocating the treasures from the vault,” I explained. “One of you wants to, the other thinks it’s a stupid idea. You’ll finish this meeting, and then you’ll be out in public arguing about it. We want Arsenio and Andres to catch wind of the fight, so the louder, the better.”
“And what purpose will this serve?” Nolan asked with a doubtful expression.
“They’ll go after whatever we’re moving,” Morgan huffed. “It’s quite a brilliant plan, actually.”
“Exactly,” I confirmed. “And when they go for it, we’ll be there to catch them.”
“So, we need to map out every step as though we’re actually going to move things,” Nike added. “It will be more believable if they could plan to attack anywhere along the route. Now, where in town would be the next safest place to store these things?”
The Nepins looked around at each other and shrugged.
“What about your house, Nolan?” Isabella offered. “Everyone knows it’s like a fortress, and you have your own guards on staff as well, so it would make sense to take the valuables there.”
“And put my house at risk?” he scoffed. “I don’t think so.”
“It won’t be at risk.” I rolled my eyes. “We’ll have some of us waiting there and at various intervals between city hall and your house.”
“What if they attack between intervals?” Morgan pointed out.
“I’ll be with the guards and the fake loot,” I answered with a shrug. “They might be sneaky, but they won’t be able to take me on without some serious backup.”
“You can’t blend in with the guards,” Lucien insisted. “You’re an obvious outsider. The brothers will catch on in a heartbeat.”
“Oh, I can blend in,” I chuckled. “Trust me.”
As the council members stared at me with uncertainty, I activated a skill I’d assimilated from the doppelbeasts. In a matter of seconds, my tan skin had turned a dark shade of blue, and my black hair looked silver. I even sprouted a pair of flimsy wings on my back, though they remained tucked under my tunic, and I added a few dots across my chest for good measure.
“How did you…” Morgan gaped along with the rest of her fellow council members.
“Apparently, it wasn’t obvious before, but I’m a dragon,” I answered. “I’ve picked up a few skills along my way.”
“A dragon?” Lucien repeated as he began to quake with fear. “Dragons can change how they look?”
“Not all,” I said and took my own form again. “Like I said, I’ve picked up a few things.”
“I’ll be damned,” Nolan muttered. “A shapeshifting magical dragon came to Yrosa to save us from a group of bandits led by our former friend. Never in my wildest dreams.”
“It’s a lot to take in,” I agreed. “Just focus on one thing at a time. Right now, that thing is your fake argument. So, who’s going to be in support of moving the valuables?”
“I will,” Nolan said. “I can talk about my personal vault, my guards, things like that.”
“Good.” I nodded and looked to Morgan. “So, you hate the idea. Why?”
“Um…” Morgan pursed her lips as she thought about it. “Because the treasures have always been safe in our vault, and it’s more dangerous to move them with thieves in the city. Stupid, even.”
“Great, I think that will do it,” I said as I turned back to Nike. “Sound good to you?”
“Yeah, they know what to talk about,” he confirmed. “And I think we should take a look at the vault entrance for ourselves. Then we can get an idea of every step we need to cover.”
“Right,” I said and looked back at Morgan and Nolan. “Ready to fight?”
“Yes,” Morgan replied, and Nolan nodded his head.
“Okay, you two need to leave like you’re both upset,” I told them. “Start your argument quietly, and as you get closer to somewhere more public, raise your voices like you’re getting angrier just talking about it.”
“We can walk to the market,” Morgan suggested. “It’s always quite busy before dinner, so we should have plenty of witnesses.”
“Good, I like it.” I smiled and gestured for the door. “Everyone needs to leave to make it look like the meeting ended, and I’ll need one of the guards to show us around the building.”
“I can tell them on our way out,” Carmen offered.
“Thank you,” I replied. “And once this is over with, we’ll come see you and your daughter. You can try to prepare her for everything we’ll tell her, but she’ll probably have a ton of questions you can’t answer yet, so I’ll leave it up to you.”
“I’m not sure yet what I’ll do,” she admitted. “I don’t even know how I feel about it all.”
“That’s okay,” Miraya said as she grabbed the Nepin woman’s hand. “It’s no small thing we’re sharing with you and your daughter, but it’s important that she knows all of it.”
“Okay,” Carmen murmured and nodded her head. “We’ll see you later, then.”
She and the rest of the council rose from the table and made their way past us and out the door of the building. Then one of the guards from the door came back inside and leaned into the room.
“Carmen said you needed a tour?” he asked.
“Yeah, we need to know every entrance and how to get to the vault,” I answered.
“Follow me,” the guard said. “You’ve already seen the one entrance into the building.”
He turned on his heels and led us to the door directly across from the double doors to the outside. Then he pulled out a set of keys and unlocked the door before he stepped inside and motioned for us to follow him into the dark hallway. He walked with complete certainty into the darkness, and though I knew I could see just fine, I wondered how the Nepin knew exactly where to go.
The guard stopped about twenty yards into the hall, and a few of my lovers bumped into each other as we waited for him to unlock a second door. As soon as it opened, the flickering lights of lanterns illuminated a tiny room with two more guards inside. Their expressions were grim as they watched us enter, and our guide motioned to a rectangular piece of stone on the floor between them.
“That’s the vault entrance?” I asked as I squatted down to look at it. “This seems like it would be hard to sneak in and out of.”
“It should be,” the guard we’d followed scoffed. “It takes at least two keys to get here from the front of the building.”
“And you’re sure there’s no other way for someone to get in?” Nike asked. “No secret entrances or tunnels or anything?”
“No.” The guard shook his head and glanced at the other guards. “At least one of us is always here, plus the two that guard the front door.”
“Well, how did the thief sneak past them?” Laika narrowed her eyes on the guard. “They walked right by?”
“There was a disturbance in the courtyard,” he explained. “A drunk man was causing a scene with several citizens. By the time our men got there to break it up, he was gone, and the guard in here stopped the thief and chased him out the front doors.”
“Not a bad plan,” Nike remarked with a frown. “One of them distracts the guards, and the other sneaks inside.”
“You think the commotion was a distraction?” the guard asked and clenched his jaw.
“It would make sense,” I agreed. “Then they can see how quickly you respond to various issues. These boys aren’t stupid.”
“But they aren’t as smart as you,” Isabella pointed out. “They’re about to get what’s coming to them.”
“That they are,” I muttered before I turned for the door. “Now, we just need to see if the first step worked.”
The guard locked up behind us and led us back down the dark hallway to the lobby. The sun had started its descent, and the light that poured into the large front windows was dim. We needed to get our plan in motion quickly, so we didn’t miss our chance to grab Odalis’ sons before they made another move on the vault treasures.
