Lisa Shearin - Armed & Magical

“Could you stand him up for me?” I asked Tanik’s first mate. “I need to get a look at all of him. Tied up and on the floor doesn’t get it. Plus I need to see how tall he is.”

“Ask and receive,” he said brightly. “Boys, you heard the lady. Stand our guest up.”

They stood him up and held him up. I walked around him twice, and went through the same process that I had with Phaelan. When I looked in the mirror on the salon’s wall, I saw two Captain Baran Ratharils.

I straightened my/his tunic. “Wish me luck, gentlemen.” My new voice was a baritone, commanding and authoritative. I detected a hint of arrogant jerk. Wonderful. Ratharil was probably an asshole, hated by one and all.

Phaelan stepped up and hugged me, man body be damned. “Good hunting, cousin.”

I wore a large cloak until I’d cleared the harbor area, and once I got within a half mile of the embassy, I ditched it and walked briskly the rest of the way. I didn’t go too fast, but Captain Ratharil didn’t seem to be the type to tolerate dawdling, either in himself or anyone else. I combined Mychael’s confident stride with a touch of Phaelan’s swagger. Somehow it felt right for Ratharil.

Something didn’t feel right for me. That something was what put the pride in Phaelan’s stride. There were entirely too many things crowding the front of my trousers. I had to resist the urge to adjust myself every few steps. Whenever I’d seen a man do that before, I thought it was rather disgusting; now I found it absolutely necessary. I ducked down a side street, reached down, and did what a man’s gotta do.

Whoa.

When I came out of that side street, I felt justified putting a little more swagger in Ratharil’s step.

True to his word, Tanik didn’t just tell me about the embassy basements, he had an actual floor plan of the whole building. While I had waited for his boys to bring me a guard to copy, I memorized the plans—especially the fastest ways out of there. If it involved survival, it was amazing what I could memorize. Lucky for me, there were several likely routes.

I was two blocks from the embassy when I saw the Guardians.

They were armed and armored for patrol. I wasn’t sure if Guardians routinely patrolled the city, but that’s what it looked like they were doing now. Even if Mychael knew where Piaras was being held, there wasn’t a damned thing he could do about it. The elven embassy was elven soil, and even though Mychael was an elf, he was also paladin of the Conclave Guardians. He couldn’t enter the embassy in an official capacity, let alone search the place. Taltek Balmorlan, Giles Keril, and the entire embassy staff including the guards, had diplomatic immunity and any crime they committed had to go through the elven legal system.

Mychael had to be looking everywhere for me and Piaras—that is if he’d been able to leave Justinius’s bedside— if the archmagus was still alive. I hoped he was, and not just for Mid’s sake. I liked the old guy. The Guardians coming toward me could also be patrolling the streets looking for me on Acting Archmagus Carnades’s orders.

I wanted to duck into the shadows, but I had to remind myself that I wasn’t me, at least not to these four Guardians. I didn’t know any of them, which was good. I also didn’t know what the relationship was between Guardians and elven embassy guards, and I wasn’t keen to find out. Being a captain—but mostly being male—I decided that direct eye contact was called for. Not confrontational, but not evasive, either. The Guardians went with a give-us-an-excuse-to-beat-the-crap-out-of-you look.

So much for Guardian/embassy guard relations.

As we approached each other on the narrow sidewalk, the Guardians didn’t make room for me to pass. I knew what was coming, so when we passed each other and one of the Guardian’s shoulders rammed into mine, my shoulder met him halfway and just as hard. He grunted with the impact. I didn’t. I also didn’t get a dagger between the shoulder blades once I was past them. I guess according to man rules that meant I’d won.

It was just after midnight, but the elven embassy still looked like it was expecting a full-scale attack at any moment. Taltek Balmorlan must be feeling a little insecure this evening. He had Piaras. No one had me. That had to make the inquisitor just a tad bit nervous. He knew what I was capable of, and he knew how I felt about Piaras. The guards patrolling the battlements looked ready to shoot the first thing that moved wrong. I made sure I was moving as much like Captain Baran Ratharil as I knew how when I crossed the street and approached the embassy gates.

There were a major and two lieutenants on duty in the small guardhouse next to the warded gate. I saluted the major and ignored the lieutenants. It felt like what Ratharil would do. The major responded with a sharp salute, as did the lieutenants after they’d snapped to attention. A disciplined and alert group of guys. Just what I didn’t need.

While I waited for the ward to open to admit me, I tried to clear my mind of me, Piaras, and the desire to strangle Taltek Balmorlan and kick Giles Keril’s bony butt from here to the harbor. I was Captain Baran Ratharil, it had been a long day, it was after midnight, and I was tired.

The ward parted just enough to let me in.

“Ratharil!” It was the major.

Damn. I stopped midstride.

“Ambassador Keril has been asking for you for the past hour.” The major grinned and chuckled. “I think he’s lost his reading spectacles again. You’re to go straight to his office.”

I saluted again, this time with less enthusiasm. “Yes, sir.”

I went through the wards and they closed behind me with a sizzle. Forget Keril—I was going to kick Tanik’s crew’s butts from here to the harbor. Thanks to them, I was now Captain Baran Ratharil—the ambassador’s lackey.

Logic, Raine. Just use logic.

I was inside the embassy in an overly ornate, marble-floored reception hall, and I had absolutely no idea where Keril’s office was. Not that I had any intention of going there, but since I was trying to avoid Keril, it’d be good to know where the little weasel was.

Continuing to stand there looking confused would attract attention I didn’t need. I’d been inside one or two government offices before. This was basically the same thing, I told myself; it was just a little fancier than I was used to. In my limited experience, the first floor was for reception and underlings’ offices. The important people worked upstairs—or in Keril’s case, the self-important people.

Piaras was upstairs.

I took a deep breath, adjusted myself, and started up the stairs.

At the top the first flight was a wide corridor, and the walls down both sides were covered floor to ceiling in massive mirrored panels. No doors, just mirrors. Crap.

Naturally, the stairs to the next floor were at the other end. I started walking, and tried to keep my mind off who or what could be lurking on the other side of any mirrored panel. I took a casual glance at my reflection. Yep, still the captain.

“Baran, where have you been?”

I nearly jumped out of my borrowed skin. I recognized the voice, which was the only reason my dagger was still in my hand instead of embedded in the elven ambassador. For all I knew, Ratharil may have wanted to kill his boss, but I didn’t think now was a good time to do it, as much as I’d like to.

Giles Keril stood just inside an open panel. The mirrors concealed the doors to offices.

That was just wrong.

I smoothly sheathed my dagger. “Forgive me, Your Excellency. You startled me.”

Keril’s eyes were a little wide. “When did you start carrying throwing knives?”

“Since this evening, sir. I felt it was prudent considering the circumstances.”