Chapter 10

"This is a terrible idea," Blaine muttered as the truck braked to a halt in the walled-off forecourt of the city jail. They'd passed three more barricades before reaching the innermost wall of Amari, where Nathaniel's status as a rionetka had barely been enough to get them through the checkpoints.

"I'm not sure pressing forward as we are was a better one," Caris said, her voice coming out with a crackle through the gas mask. She didn't sound like herself or even look it in the gear she wore, which Blaine was thankful for. How long their disguises would last was anyone's guess at this rate, though.

He fiddled with the glove covering the mechanical prosthetic, making sure it fit beneath the sleeve of his uniform. His jacket was a size larger to help accommodate the bulk of his left forearm, and Blaine was keenly aware that his face and predicament had been known by Daijalan debt collectors. It wasn't too far-fetched to think he was still on a kill-or-capture list somewhere.

They climbed out of the truck, those dressed as soldiers gathering around the wardens. Everyone still had on their brass goggles and gas masks, which Blaine was glad to see wasn't considered out of the ordinary amongst the soldiers who peeled away from the gate to come meet them.

"Why aren't you at your duty stations? Who sent you this way?" the captain barked.

Maurus didn't seem bothered by the other man's animosity. "We've orders from the Klovod through a rionetka to bring him these wardens."

Blaine watched how the captain's head turned to peruse the unbuttoned front of Nathaniel's uniform and the scarred skin it revealed. "I wasn't informed of such orders."

"Are you informed of every order that comes into the field?" Maurus retorted, able to push back because his stolen uniform carried the same rank as the other officer's. "I've been following mine."

The captain's gas mask and brass goggles made it impossible to read the man's expression. "The Klovod isn't here. He's with the high command at the palace."

"Then you can provide us clearance through the barricades so we can keep obeying our orders. These wardens have insight on the Ashionens' next possible field maneuvers. High command and the Klovod will want to hear it."

The captain didn't speak for a moment, his hesitance worrisome. "I need to call this in. You lot can wait inside while I do so."

Blaine wasn't sure being trapped inside the jail's administrative building was a wise decision, but Maurus didn't argue for any of them to remain outside. Considering the way other nearby soldiers had their hands resting on their holstered pistols, Blaine wasn't willing to make a scene.

They followed the Daijalan captain up the steps and through the entrance of the jail. It hadn't been converted inside in any way toward the war effort if one ignored how peacekeepers were absent and every available desk was taken over by a Daijalan soldier. They passed cells in a holding area filled with people who looked to be civilians, all of whom were alive, if more than a little bruised and battered.

"Prisoners of war?" Blaine asked.

"Arrested cogs and other dissidents," the Daijalan captain replied curtly. "They're being processed. The wardens won't be held in this area."

"Where will they be held?"

"A proper cell."

"That wasn't what we were promised," Halyna said, speaking up so Soren wouldn't have to reveal himself.

"I won't have traitors running free in here. You will wait in a cell."

Well, that was one way to get inside the jail proper.

They followed the Daijalan captain through a steel door that separated the administrative side of the building from the jail itself. The space that was revealed cut through the length of the building all the way to the rear. The ceiling was three stories above them, revealing three floors of jail cells that looked out into the main area.

Blaine glanced around, taking in what he could see. While almost every cell was full, the jail was eerily quiet of voices, the only sound coming from the footfalls of patrolling guards. He wasn't sure if that was due to magic or fear, but the answer soon presented itself.

They arrived at a cell on the first floor, the ones on either side of it empty, creating an ocean of space that seemed odd. It held two prisoners who huddled on the floor, backs to them. Blaine couldn't say what gave him a feeling of unease when looking at them, but he knew something wasn't right. The wardens realized what was wrong almost immediately, having spent a lifetime training and guarding against the dead.

"You're keeping revenants in here?" Halyna demanded angrily.

The Daijalan captain inserted a key into the lock of one of the empty cells. "You wardens should feel right at home beside them."

He pulled open the cell door, metal hinges creaking, clearly expecting the wardens to walk inside. And perhaps they would have done so to keep up appearances if Caris hadn't broken cover, speaking up for the first time while surrounded by enemies. Her voice came out cracked and horrified through the filter of her gas mask as she lurched toward that cell housing revenants. "Mother?"

If she'd kept quiet, perhaps the veil she wore would have kept her hidden, but there was no muffling grief in a place like this.

Blaine grabbed Caris by the arm, heart pounding as he yanked her back while the Daijalan soldiers all around them reacted to her outcry by aiming every pistol at them. A voice came from above, cold and familiar from a chase through this very city's streets last year. Blaine glanced up, meeting the gaze of a woman who wanted them all dead on behalf of her queen.

"Welcome back, usurper," Terilyn said from the mezzanine.