Valek waited until late, hoping his agents would return. When it was obvious they weren’t coming back, he debated his next move. His agents might have left a message for him, explaining their whereabouts. Or there could be a magical alarm set to go off if he entered the building. Not willing to take any chances, Valek searched for another place to lie low.

He found an empty house that had seen better days. Wedged between two others, the narrow three-story building was one strong windstorm away from collapse. Cracks scarred the stone foundation, and the wooden beams sagged. The smell of mold permeated every empty room, and a hole in the roof allowed entrance to a variety of birds that nested on the top floor. Valek set up his bedroll in the only dry corner on the ground floor.

The next day, Valek poked around the town, hoping to get a sense of what had been going on in his absence. He noticed the population of the town had dwindled, and the mood was glum, despite the warm sunshine. Also, it was the first day of the hot season, which meant the fire festival was only a month away. There were only two festivals celebrated in Ixia, and both were always highly anticipated.

Valek widened his explorations and discovered the source of their...discomfort. Soldiers filled the festival field outside Castletown. Instead of brightly colored tents, rows of camouflaged military bivouacs lined the ground. He worried that this meant they planned to march sooner. Valek needed a way to confirm their intentions. Perhaps he could mingle with the soldiers in the mess tent? Too risky. What else?

He almost groaned aloud. He could target an officer and read the person’s thoughts. Valek wondered when using his magic would become second nature.

He watched the activity from a hidden location for the rest of the day. A few people looked promising, but Valek didn’t want to rush it, nor did he wish to rip the information from someone’s mind. He’d rather coax it out, so the person would have no idea Valek was ever there. But he doubted he had that light a touch. After a couple days of observation, he found a potential mark—a male captain. The man wasn’t ranked high enough to be making decisions but should be aware of the details of the attack.

A few hours after the captain retired to bed, Valek crept to the man’s tent—which was rather easy, since no one had bothered to station guards around the encampment. He crouched behind the shelter. Since he wasn’t sure of his magical range with this many people around, he preferred to err on the side of caution. Valek hoped the captain would explain Valek’s presence in his mind as strange dreams.

Lowering his shield, Valek extended his awareness. The captain was alone. And awake. Damn. Valek floated on the very surface of the man’s thoughts. Captain Campbell reviewed all the tasks he needed to do on the morrow. The list was quite long—probably why Campbell couldn’t sleep. Most of the items could be taken care of by a lower-ranking officer in the captain’s unit, but this man liked to be in control and refused to delegate. Good for Valek, because he sensed the man housed a deep well of information.

Valek used his magic to encourage the man to fall asleep. Once Campbell drifted into a deeper slumber, Valek nudged the captain toward considering the future. Campbell longed for the festival, especially the pit beef and cream cakes.

No sweets once it’s over, Valek thought.

No, but something important. Images of soldiers fighting with swords flashed in Campbell’s mind. So much training...better pay off.

Valek picked up on the man’s worry. Sitia’ll be ready for us.

Yeah. Columns of soldiers formed. They marched right into rows of Sitian ranks. Sadness darkened Campbell’s thoughts over the imagined battle. Casualties can’t be avoided in the initial attack.

Picking up on the word initial, Valek gently prodded.

Second attack from the rear. Surprise, surprise, Sitia.

An icy chill ripped through him, but he kept his emotions in check. How?

Slow leak over the last couple of seasons. Use the tunnel.

Valek stifled a curse. Owen had been using the smugglers’ route under the border to sneak soldiers into Sitia. While the Sitian army fought off the Ixians, another Ixian force would move in behind them. The Sitians would be trapped between the two and forced to surrender. At least the Commander wasn’t planning a slaughter.

Hard to hide so many, Valek thought.

Best of the best. Kept out of sight. Assassins in first, to target the leaders.

Even the Cartel?

All leaders.

No surprise Owen planned to double-cross Bruns. Good riddance. It was the others that concerned Valek. Without any leaders, Sitia would be easy pickings.

When?

After the Sitian army leaves the garrisons.

That made sense. They’d no longer be protected. Valek needed to warn them, just in case his mission failed.

Before breaking his connection with Campbell, Valek pulled on a bunch of random thoughts so the captain wouldn’t suspect he’d been interrogated. The man might, regardless. It was hard to tell. A few sessions with Teegan hadn’t given Valek enough experience. He suspected it would take years to fine-tune his skills.

Tired from the exertion needed to read Campbell’s mind, Valek returned to his hideout. He lay on his bedroll and pondered the information. At least the timing of the attack remained the same. However, he wasn’t sure how to get a message to the resistance. Perhaps he could reach Irys. The Featherstone garrison was the closest to Castletown. But would his fumbling efforts do more harm than good? Another magician could pick up on his attempt, exposing Irys or bringing unwanted attention to his whereabouts.