I traced the limb’s bark with a finger. No magic hummed under my touch. Sadness filled me. How long should I wait and hope? Would I turn angry and bitter as years passed without any news of Kerrick? Or would I wall off my emotions? Actually, that last one sounded appealing. No grief, no guilt, no fear, and no worries. I hadn’t been without at least one of them since the plague started six years ago. Of course, the wall would block joy, happiness, and love. Not like there was a lot of that going on right now, anyway. And the future...looked bleak to me.

A shout jolted me from my depressing thoughts. More yells and the rasp of metal followed. Clangs, curses, and thuds meant the other team had engaged the enemy.

We waited a little longer before my small team dashed across the open lawn. I reached the door first. Locked. Loren yanked out his lock picks, while Quain and Flea protected our backs.

“Damn, this has seven pins,” Loren muttered.

“Do you need Quain’s lightning juice?” I asked.

“No. This is almost... There.” The tumbler turned. Loren pushed the door open and checked for guards before motioning the all clear.

Once we were inside, Odd and his squad crossed to the manor, and then Saul’s men followed in the third wave. From this point on, we would use hand signals to communicate. Saul and his squad would keep our exit clear as we infiltrated the house. Odd’s squad stayed with me, the monkeys, and Flea. We headed to the second-floor ballroom.

I took them up the back stairs. Cracking the door open, I listened. No sounds echoed off the marble-tiled floors. We eased into the hallway. No one had lit the sconces. Darkness lined the gaps under the doors. The area appeared deserted. And smelled of dust.

We reached the ballroom without trouble. The large double glass doors had been closed, but not locked. In the ballroom, moonlight streamed through the long windows like white gauzy curtains. Motionless bodies littered the ground.

Odd’s squad moved in first in case of an ambush. He opened the doors, pushing them wide before they rushed in. They checked the other doors before signaling the all clear.

Women dressed in gowns and men wearing evening clothes lay in a haphazard pattern on the floor. Large crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, but otherwise the place was empty.

The monkeys and Flea fanned out to check the victims and search for Estrid. The High Priestess had worn a red silk gown with gold brocade when she had pledged loyalty to Tohon before Sepp had trapped her and her staff in magical stases. Flea would save her first.

Odd raised his hand, waving me over. He stood next to a woman in red.

Estrid? I moved closer.

The prone bodies surged to their feet.

Kerrick

KERRICK