The Shielded Past (The Dragon Rogues Book 3), page 15
What was Erica doing?
Chapter Fifteen
Jonathan tapped on the enchantment, and as he had done ever since he had acquired the strange ring, he continued to try to probe into it, wondering if there was any sort of power that he might be able to detect within the ring that would help him understand its purpose. The strange shop owner had felt this ring would be beneficial, but so far, Jonathan hadn’t found anything about it that had proven beneficial to him. Then again, he hadn’t been charged anything for the ring, so he figured it was a dud.
“Are you still worrying about that?” Elizabeth asked, taking a seat next to Jonathan and grabbing for the ring. Jonathan didn’t even fight her for it. “It seems like it reacts when I hold it, but anytime I try to feel anything with it, it starts to slip away.” She looked up at him. “I realize that doesn’t make any sense.”
“Actually, it makes about as much sense as anything else that I have figured out from it.”
“Have you asked anybody else what they think?”
“Only you, Matthew, Leland, and… well, I guess that’s it.”
“What about some of your other sources within the city?”
“None.”
“And you are sure it is an enchantment?”
“I’m sure it’s some sort of enchantment, but the problem is I don’t know what kind of enchantment it is, and more than that, I don’t know if that would even make a difference.”
“It’s really strange,” she said.
“Exactly.”
“No. The way that shop owner does business. That’s strange. I’ve not come across anybody like that.”
Jonathan took the ring back from her and turned it over in his hand as he focused on which aspect of it might react to him, but none of them did. “You know, I’ve discovered that many of the shop owners have a little strangeness to them, especially when it comes to enchantments. In this case, we are dealing with an actual enchanter, and considering the way they have struggled over the years, I guess I’m not terribly surprised that she would operate a bit differently.”
Elizabeth leaned back. “It’s still strange.”
“Is that all you came down here to tell me?”
“Well, not really. I know you have Matthew out scouting for plans for the prison, and Leland is practicing, so I figured I could help you.”
“I’m waiting for an appointment.”
She arched a brow at him. “You have an appointment?”
“I do,” Jonathan said.
“Who do you have coming here?” She quickly covered her mouth. “Oh. Is it a woman? You know, we’ve been worried about you, Jonathan. You seem so lonely, after all, and after being in prison for as long as you were, no one would fault you for needing to have a dalliance.”
He found himself laughing while looking over at Elizabeth. “A dalliance? Are you old enough to even be talking to me about a dalliance?”
“Well, I figured I’d put it in terms that a man your age might understand. This younger generation tends to talk about it in different terms. But it’s not like I haven’t had my share of boys. Now I’m just looking around to find the right one.”
“I think you should wait for the right man and pass on any of the boys. It’s the same advice that I gave Jayna years ago, but maybe you listen better than she does. She never really had time for my advice.” Jonathan laughed to himself. “Of course, I didn’t always have time to provide her with the advice she needed, so I suppose it goes both ways.”
“And what advice would you give her?”
“You have to find somebody who treats you like an equal. Start there, and you can work out almost anything else. Well, you can’t work it out if you don’t have a mutual attraction, but you do need to find somebody that you respect, and who respects you, and who doesn’t necessarily want to change who and what you are.”
“So I need to find a thief,” she said.
“I didn’t say that.”
“Only thieves are going to care for other thieves,” she said.
“I don’t know. There are plenty of people who are open-minded.”
“Well, I hope that I can meet them one day.” She looked at the ring Jonathan was holding, then glanced up at him. “What did your sister say when you gave her that advice?”
“She didn’t like to listen to my advice. She was always stubborn. And to be honest, I was always stubborn with her, so I think it was probably warranted.”
“Why?”
“I suppose, if you were to ask Jayna, I tried to push her into being a part of my team and never took into account the possibility that she would not have any interest in it.” He looked over at Elizabeth. “Part of that is why I’m so careful with you, Leland, and to a certain extent, Matthew, to make sure that you are doing what you want to be doing and that you don’t feel like you have been coerced into anything that you may not want to be a part of.”
“Sometimes you tend to be a bit too protective, Jonathan.”
“Do I, now?”
“Hey,” Elizabeth said. “I thought we were having a moment here.”
“Oh, I’m pretty sure that we were.”
“Were?”
He laughed. “Fine. I’m pretty sure that we are. So you want me not to be so protective?”
“Well, you have to know that we’ve all made our choices, and all of us are adults, and all of us can make those choices. Even me.”
“I know,” Jonathan said.
“Well, sometimes you look at me like I’m a child.”
“I didn’t think I was doing that anymore.”
“Anymore?” She arched a brow. “And here I didn’t think I would get you to acknowledge anything.”
“Well, I’m not going to deny that I thought you young when we first started working with you. And I was worried that you might be too young.”
“And now?”
“Now I’m afraid of how much trouble I’m going to get you into, and I’m getting concerned about how much trouble you’re going to get me into.”
“That’s the kind of compliment a woman likes to hear.” She flicked her gaze to the door. “Do you need time on your own for your appointment, or do you mind if I sit in?”
“That’s a bit more maturity than I’m ready for,” he said.
“Not like that,” she said.
“You can sit in,” Jonathan said, laughing.
A knock came at the door, and Jonathan got up, with Elizabeth following him. He pulled the door open, and the young sorcerer Char stood on the other side, regarding Jonathan.
“I wasn’t expecting you to answer so quickly,” Char said.
“I knew you were coming.”
Char looked at Elizabeth, and he smiled, which made Jonathan chuckle. Elizabeth elbowed him, and Char frowned. “Am I interrupting anything?”
“With Elizabeth? Not really. She’s as annoying as my sister.”
Char watched Jonathan for a moment before shaking his head slowly. “You should remember that I am friends with your sister.”
“And you should remember that she’s still my sister. Now, do you have what I asked for?”
“I’m uncomfortable with the terms of this arrangement,” Char said.
“I didn’t ask you to be comfortable with it,” Jonathan said. “I just asked for you to make sure it was done. We’ll talk to Heziah, get the information we need, and go after Jayna. That’s what you want, after all.”
“It is. She’s remained silent.”
“And you would have heard by now?”
Jonathan wasn’t sure what communication Char had with Jayna or how quickly it would work. Jonathan had undoubtedly been around different enchantments that allowed rapid communication, but he didn’t have the sense that an enchantment was what Char implied. He wasn’t sure what it was, though.
“I would’ve heard from her by now. And I’m worried about her. I’m not too proud to acknowledge that.”
“What’s the deal between the two of you?” Jonathan asked.
“Are you concerned because you don’t approve of me?”
“I don’t know that I can make any claim to that,” Jonathan said. “She’s my sister, and I was away for a long time, and I can’t say that I know everything or everyone who is a part of her life.”
“We met early on in the Academy,” Char said. “We became friends. I thought that she might be interested in more,” he went on, and he flushed slightly, “but I don’t think she ever really was. I’m not really her type.”
The talk with Elizabeth about boys and men had Jonathan curious about what kind of person might be his sister’s type, though he wasn’t sure that talking to Char would provide that answer.
“So you’re just friends.”
“Just friends. You wouldn’t do whatever it took to help a friend?”
“I would. And I have.”
Char looked at him for a long moment, and finally he nodded. “Anyway, here you go.” He handed a satchel to Jonathan. “I brought as many as I could, and I’ve labeled them for you to have them sorted and organized, and they can provide different precautions. Several different enchantments should neutralize Heziah if he were to get free, though that’s not likely, and I don’t think you’ll need them.”
“I just want to be safe,” Jonathan said.
That was his one request, though he had asked for other precautions that might help. He hadn’t known how much Char would provide, and he had to acknowledge that Char had come through better than expected. If the enchantments were as he claimed, and if they provided a measure of true sorcery, they might be even more useful than almost any others that Jonathan had. He had bought enchantments plenty of times, but he had never gotten anything from somebody high up in the Society House.
Even when he had been working with Heziah, the enchantments that Heziah had made for him had been somewhat minimal, likely because he wanted to conceal his true potential and power.
“Well, as I said, I don’t think you’re going to have to be too concerned about him breaking out on you, and I believe that you will be protected with what I’ve provided, but if something were to happen, you have a few precautions here, and you don’t have to be overly concerned at this point.”
“Thank you,” Jonathan said.
“When are you going to do it?” Char asked.
“Do you really want to know?”
“Well, I don’t know if I do or not, but I just want to be aware of your timeline so if the Society gets word that somebody is trying to attack the prison and break Heziah out, we are forewarned. More than that, I just want to make sure that if there is any sort of attack, I can caution the council that you aren’t trying to free him.”
“I anticipate that we will be moving in the next day or so.”
“So soon?”
Soon? Jonathan didn’t think that was soon. It felt late. If it had been up to him, he would have gone immediately to the island, to the prison, and broken in to ask Heziah questions that only he might be able to answer. As it stood, the only reasons he was taking the time that he was were the hope that they would be better prepared for anything they might encounter on the way and the need for Matthew to find sources that would provide them with the most accessible route into the prison. Jonathan may have spent time in the prison, but that didn’t mean that he knew the layout as well as he should for a job like this.
“Well, breaking into a prison requires planning, but it isn’t as hard as breaking out of prison. I’m hopeful that all we end up doing is going in and out.”
“I see,” Char said. “I will warn the council.”
“I would much rather you didn’t,” Jonathan said.
“And why is that?”
“The fewer the people who know, the less likely anybody will betray us. Now, I’m sure that you don’t have any reason to believe that anybody on your council is untrustworthy, but given that I don’t know them and that I’m naturally suspicious, I would rather keep our circle somewhat contained.”
Char paused a moment to consider. “Fine. If you get into any trouble, I want you to communicate with me. There’s a marker in the satchel that you can use. Send word, and I will make sure that the Society does not prosecute. At least, I will do whatever I can, whatever is within my power to do. Is that acceptable to you?”
“I appreciate it.”
“And get Jayna back.”
“I told you that I will do anything to do so.”
Char watched Jonathan and looked as if he wanted to say something more.
Elizabeth slipped forward, grabbed Char by the arm, and guided him away. “Let me see you out. Now, is your name really Char?”
Char looked back at Jonathan, watching him for a moment, before he turned away. Jonathan ignored him and waited in the doorway until Elizabeth had returned.
“You seem bothered. I would have thought that you’d be thrilled. You have the Society on your side now, and you have enchantments that—”
“I don’t worry about needing to pay for enchantments. We have enough money for that,” Jonathan said. “And I’ll be honest, I would much rather not have to deal with the Society at all, but I suppose it is better that we have the Society behind us rather than against us. It’s just that all of this has me uncomfortable, and when I’m uncomfortable, I lash out.”
“I know,” she said. “So let’s get you out of here and maybe walk the streets. I can hide us in a facade, and you can regale me with stories of what you used to do when you were a young thief.”
“I’m not so sure you want to hear those.” He nodded toward the door. “Did he say anything more?”
“About you? No. Then again, I didn’t ask him.”
“What did you ask him?”
“For a drink, of course.”
Jonathan snorted. “I am going to have to be careful with you.”
“Why?”
“Because I think you are going to get somebody in trouble. The problem is that I don’t know who.”
“Well, there’s a start.” She had started toward the door when Matthew came bursting in.
His hand immediately went to the hilt of his sword, and then he froze, looking at the two of them. “Where were you going?” Matthew asked.
“Out,” Elizabeth said. “Now, if you’d like to join us, you’d be more than welcome to. Jonathan just had an appointment, and he’s a little uptight, so I thought that I would get him out of the house and into the city, where he could have a chance to relax a little bit.”
“We have to move quicker than we thought.”
“Why?”
“Well, because I’m starting to hear rumors.”
Jonathan glanced down at the satchel. “Rumors? What kind of rumors?”
“Generally, the kind of rumors that indicate something of power is starting to move. And worse, there are rumors about Heziah.”
“I don’t know that rumors about Heziah are that much of a problem,” Elizabeth said, glancing from Matthew to Jonathan. “It’s not as if he was necessarily quiet with his activity in the city. And him going silent, getting captured, and all of that really benefits us, more than anything else.”
“The rumors are a warning,” Matthew said. “Something like that usually means there will be a play to break him out.”
“How long?” Jonathan said.
“I don’t know. And there may not be any meat to these rumors, but even hearing them is enough to convince me that we need to move. Unquestionably tomorrow.”
“What if Heziah is behind them?” Elizabeth asked.
It was an interesting thought, and given what they knew of Heziah and the kinds of things that he had done in the past, Jonathan wouldn’t be terribly surprised to hear that Heziah might have set up rumors for exactly this reason.
“You don’t think he could have planned for this?” Matthew said.
“We know nothing about his network,” Jonathan said. “The only thing we know about Heziah is that he has power, that he likely serves some other power, and that he was active in the city for longer than we realized, and forced us to serve. So I guess the real question is whether he forced anybody else to serve him.”
“And if he did?” Elizabeth asked.
“Well, if he did, then there’s a real possibility that he poses a very different danger to us than we know.”
Matthew watched Jonathan. “Which has been my concern all along. I’ve been worried about what Heziah might try. He’s already upset with us, and he blames us.”
“So?” she asked. “Does it even matter? At this point, we know that Heziah might want to manipulate you and us, but he’s in prison.”
Jonathan looked over at Matthew. He saw the look on Matthew’s face, the resolve in his eyes, but more than that, he saw an expression he had come to know long before. It was an expression that suggested that he shared the same concern that Jonathan had.
Heziah might be in prison, but it still seemed to Jonathan, and probably to Matthew, that he could damage them in ways they might not even be able to see. More than that, he might have a plan in place that they had not yet accounted for. And it would be tied to the shield in some way and perhaps to something else that they did not know.
“Well,” Jonathan said. “I guess we should make a few other preparations in addition to getting ready to get onto the island.”
“Can I help?” Elizabeth asked.
“I’m going to need your help,” Jonathan said. “Because we’re going to need to move silently, to get around the city and spread our own rumors. And I’d like you to go to Bartholomew,” he said to Matthew. “Make sure that he knows that we are active and open for jobs. Regardless of what comes out of our visit with Heziah, we might need to deal with any network he still has in the city.”
“Oh, don’t worry,” Matthew said. “I’ve already done that. If you’re going out, I’m coming with you.”
“Then we had better get Leland,” Jonathan said. “Otherwise, he’s going to feel left out.”
“So we’re all going out?” Elizabeth asked, sounding puzzled. “Can you tell me what we are doing?”
