“Fate does work in mysterious ways, doesn’t he?” Slaid Darkeye murmured, looking over the note he’d received.

“Sir? What was that?” Umar Sharptongue looked up from honing his sword, blinking in confusion.

The group of bandits and rebels was in the small town of Ireford, near the Serpentspine Mountains. They wintered there every year, so they took care not to draw trouble down on the small village. In a couple of weeks they’d start up to the northwest regions of Kelvanis to continue their raids on the kingdom’s supply caravans.

“Oh, I just got a letter from Eileen,” Slaid replied, looking up and smiling thinly at the other rebel leader.

“Eileen? Who’s that again?” Umar asked, frowning. “The name sounds familiar, but…”

“She was part of Henry’s group before he left. They went to the dungeon up near Sifaren,” the one-eyed leader explained. “When they left, they promised to let us know if they found out anything useful. They’re the ones who told us about the death of Adjudicator Falgrave last fall.”

“Oh, her! That explains it, I’d almost forgotten about Henry’s lot, after his death.” Umar nodded in recognition. “What’d they have to say?”

“It’s information on the dungeon. Apparently it can screw up the slave brands to not work for Kelvanis.” Slaid paused a moment, then smiled as he added, “It also transformed the entire mountain into a fortress city before kicking out Kelvanis and crowning an elf queen. She sent out an open call for immigrants, and that they would immediately go to war with Kelvanis.”

“The dungeon did what?” Umar exclaimed, almost losing his grip on the sword. “What… how could it do that? Any of it!”

“I have no idea. Her letter wasn’t exactly all that detailed. However, the city is named Beacon, and it’s accepting immigrants.” Slaid looked at the letter and considered for a long minute, tapping his finger on the desk slowly. Eventually he continued, his voice slow and thoughtful. “I wonder… maybe, considering the situation with Sifaren, we should look at this city and see whether we might have an ally or not.”

“Are you sure, boss? We’ve been trying not to bring Kelvanis down on us for a while. Ever since most of our backers in Kelvanath died…” Umar’s voice trailed off as he swallowed, shaking his head slowly.

“I know. It’s a risk, but we haven’t been fighting the Archon for this long to give up now. I’m not saying we will join them, just that we should go see if we have a potential ally. Things are coming to a head, Umar,” Slaid replied soberly. “If things continue as they have been, Sifaren may fall, and Yisara will be next. At that point we’ll lose all our support from outside the country, and I think our hopes will utterly vanish.”

“You could be right,” his second in command admitted, frowning. “Shit, you probably are right. Isn’t that a cheery thought. So when we leave, we go to take a look at this new city?”

“Actually, I think we should leave early. Kelvanis won’t let this stand any longer than they have to. If we want to get there without interference, we have to get there relatively quickly,” Slaid disagreed, shaking his head firmly. “Do you think we could be ready in, say, two days?”

“Let me think.” Umar frowned, considering the timing for a moment before nodding slowly. “I don’t think we could be ready in two days, but three we could manage. Some of the guys are out hunting, and we’d want to give them time to prepare when they get back.”

“Fair point. You take care of that, and I’ll go talk to our escaped slaves, to see if they want to join us,” Slaid replied, tossing the parchment into the fire and watching it burn for a moment. “They might be tempted by the chance to be freed, if what we were told is true.”

“Right. I’ll get to it, boss.” Umar laughed, sheathing his sword and putting away his maintenance gear.

Slaid smiled slightly and stood himself, dusting off his pants as his gaze hardened. After Umar left, Slaid murmured softly. “You’ll get what’s coming to you, Sorvos. You should’ve been more thorough about killing off my family.”

* * *

Deep in the heart of Kelvanis, Wenris considered the tasks she was working on in worry. In nearly three millennia of service, she’d proven herself a devoted and capable servant of Irethiel, which had managed to mask her disobedience this last year, at least so far. The problem was that there was only so long that could last, and she had to wonder why her true lady had asked her to betray Irethiel now.

Throwing away a highly placed spy after three thousand years wasn’t something that her lady was known for. She was a methodical, careful planner, and not given to sacrificing her servants, so Wenris had forced herself trust her lady. Irethiel didn’t have any idea that Wenris had sabotaged one of her greatest conquests, or that the succubus had an escape route even from the demon lord herself.

Shaking off her idle thoughts, Wenris smiled as she considered Maria and Meredith. The two attractive humans were the servants of the former queen of Yisara and her daughter, Diane and Jaine. She’d been given permission to take control of their brands directly, chaining them to Irethiel via Wenris herself, which simply made the succubus giggle to herself. While Ulvian might think it was more secure than other choices, the succubus knew the truth.

Neither of the two had been surprised when Wenris had appeared and taken control of their brands. Most of the palace staff knew that the occasional succubus served Ulvian, and they were forbidden from speaking to others about it. Now that she had the two servants under her control, she could—

“Wenris, time is growing short. Before the Summer Solstice, you must be out of Kelvanis,” an ethereal voice, that of Wenris’ true lady, spoke directly into her mind. “My plans are coming to fruition, and I have further tasks for you. As always, be cautious.”

Suppressing the grin that threatened to cross her face, Wenris didn’t acknowledge the message in any way. The direct contact was dangerous enough, but if her suspicions were correct, that wouldn’t matter for much longer.

Wenris did wonder what her lady had in mind for Kelvanis and Irethiel, though. She almost pitied both of them. The question was, what to do with Diane and Jaine?

She’d have to consider that question carefully.

* * *

“Hello, Farren, how are you today?” Arise asked, the svelte tailor holding up a blue dress with a critical eye. The tailor was tall, fit, and had beautiful chocolate-colored skin and eyes that perfectly set off her silver-blue hair. She was quite popular in the city, a fact that wasn’t lost on Farren Galthor and never ceased to frustrate the younger man.

Farren barely managed to suppress a flinch at her familiar tone, his voice frosty as he snapped back. “Don’t be so familiar with me! You’re the one who requested the meeting, and since you couldn’t follow through on your part of the last bargain, this had better be good.”

“Hush, young lordling, someone might misinterpret what you said if they overheard,” Arise replied with a smile and shake of her head, returning the dress to the mannequin. “Not that they would. I made certain that we’d be alone, and that no one would be able to hear inside the shop. It’s hardly my fault that things fell through, though. I’m just a contact, hmm? You’re the one who was supposed to rescue Phynis, not some common soldiers. You’re lucky the General took the blame for the betrayal, you know.”

“So what? I don’t give a damn about all of that,” Farren retorted, glowering at her. “What do you want?”

“The password and location of Galthor’s escape tunnel.” Arise’s amusement vanished as she spoke seriously. “My employers wish for the siege of Galthor to be over as swiftly as possible.”

“What? There’s no way in all the hells I’ll hand that over!” Farren retorted almost instantly, flinching at the request. There would be no doubt of who was responsible if someone found out that he’d handed over the escape route in question, and he shuddered to consider the consequences if he agreed.

“They offer to allow you to become the Adjudicator of Western Kelvanis, including the full region of Sifaren once it falls, as well as offering the hand of the former princess of Yisara, Jaine,” Arise replied as though he hadn’t told her no, and her words made Farren’s refusal waver slightly as she continued. “She’s been undergoing conditioning since she was captured, and it would be easy to make her extremely devoted to you, Farren.”

“That… how do I know they’ll follow through?” Farren paused, licking his lips and frowning. “With Phynis…”

“That was not within their control. They had no control over Sifaren’s actions at the time, and Phynis was too close to the border to fully secure,” Arise replied seriously. “Jaine, by contrast, has been kept in Kelvanath for a full year. There’s virtually no chance of her being rescued at this point. I must stress that His Excellency has stated that this will be the only time this is offered as well. I believe they were somewhat loathe to offer her to you to begin with, so think quickly.”

“One minute. Just give me a minute,” Farren told her hastily, his thoughts racing.

An Adjudicator would be like a duke, but if he was given control of the other lands as well as those of Sifaren, that would be nearly double the size of Sifaren! It was more power than he’d ever hoped for, and the temptation was powerful. The additional offer of Jaine… well, it would give him legitimacy that he craved. Even if she was a former princess, he wanted the power and respect her position at his side would add. It would mean betraying his father, but… well, Galthor was doomed anyway, so why not speed things up and secure a position for himself? It was better than losing his inheritance entirely.

His decision made, Farren nodded at last and told Arise, his eyes glittering. “I agree, on one condition.”

“What might that be?” Arise asked, tilting her head and frowning at him. “I have little ability to negotiate on behalf of my employers, you know that.”

“Oh, you’ll be able to handle this one, Arise,” Farren replied, baring his teeth at her as he grinned and replied. “I want you as well. Branded and everything.”

Arise paused, then flushed with anger. The woman obviously bit back a sharp comment before finally speaking icily. “I will have to think on that.”

“Well, think quickly. This is the only time I’ll make this offer,” Farren retorted, and the beautiful woman glared at him as he used her words against her.

It took a long minute before she scowled and replied shortly. “Fine. I will relay your words to them.”

Farren smiled broadly at that, his voice betraying his happiness. “Excellent!”