they continued east, Janco asked him, “Are we going to keep searching for more of those hothouses?”
“No. Owen’s probably cleaned them all out. We’ll let Leif and Devlen hunt for the rest of them. We need to rendezvous with my team and locate that other tunnel into Ixia.” His team had expected him days ago, and he’d have to eventually report his detour to the Commander. At least they had collapsed the hidden tunnel located near Lapeer. Owen had been making a tidy profit by allowing smugglers to use his tunnels for a fee. Valek loved it when criminals turned greedy. It made his job of catching them so much easier.
“Then we should cross to the north side of the river,” Janco suggested. “The other tunnel was on that side near the Ixian border.”
“Ari said they traced the smugglers to the foothills of the Soul Mountains. We can travel faster on the road than in the forest.” Valek considered. The intel from Ari and his corps had only pinpointed one location. Janco had discovered the Lapeer tunnel by accident. It might be possible there were more. “Actually, you—”
“Don’t say it,” Yelena said.
Affronted, Janco asked her, “Would it kill you to give a guy a bit of praise?”
“If that guy is you, then yes. Humility is not one of your personality traits.”
“You’re just mad because now we’re going to travel through the woods, which means sleeping on the ground and not in an inn.”
“I can handle it better than you. Your joints crack and pop every time you stand up, old man.”
“Old man! I’m only seven years older than you.”
“Are you sure it’s not seven dog years? You have a lot of gray in your muzzle,” Yelena quipped, referring to Janco’s salt-and-pepper goatee.
“Every single one of these gray hairs is directly linked back to saving you or being involved in one of your schemes.”
“Oh no, you don’t. I distinctly remember the time...”
Valek ignored the rest of their bickering. Usually Yelena avoided verbally sparring with Janco, but, by the glint in her eyes, she enjoyed needling their friend.
Instead, Valek concentrated on the terrain along the northern bank of the Sunworth River. Not far from their location, the waterway turned southeast and became the actual border between Ixia and Sitia near the Soul Mountains. There wouldn’t be any bridges along that segment. Plus, the forest had been cut down for a hundred feet past the bank, so anyone attempting to cross the border at that point would be seen by the Ixian patrolmen. Which was why the tunnels worked so well.
When the Commander closed the border after the takeover, he cleared the land from the Sunset Ocean in the west all the way to the mountains in the east. Valek doubted Owen would build a tunnel in the open area between the countries or under the river. Which meant that the only logical place for a tunnel would be in the foothills of the Soul Mountains.
“We’ll keep to the road,” Valek said, interrupting one of Janco’s rants. “Speed is vital at this point.”
“And beds,” Janco added.
Valek gave him a flat stare.
“Nothing wrong with that.” Janco thumped his stomach. “Better sleep means a better response to danger. We’ve no idea what nasties are lurking in that tunnel.”
“Hate to say this, but Janco has a point.” Yelena grimaced as he puffed his chest out. “Owen knows you’re searching for the tunnels. He booby-trapped the glass house, so it makes sense that he’d rig the tunnel, as well.” She gestured to Janco. “We can send him in first since he’s the Master Illusion Detector.”
Air hissed as Janco’s chest deflated. “Me?”
“Yes, you. Weren’t you just boasting that—”
Valek spurred Onyx into a gallop. If Yelena had the energy to tease Janco, then she’d be okay for another couple of hours and they could reach the next town by nightfall.
* * *
They rendezvoused with Valek’s team two days later in a mining camp located in the foothills just a mile inside Ixia. The small unit had spent the extra time searching for signs of the tunnel without success.
“Have you heard from Bravo team?” Valek asked Ivon, Alpha team’s leader.
The wiry man snapped to attention. “Yes, sir. Qamra sent a message four days ago. Her team located two warehouses used by the smugglers in MD-5 and burned them to the ground as ordered.”
Interesting. Ari had found only one. “And her assessment?”
“At the time of the missive, she was unable to confirm if General Ute had any knowledge or involvement in the operation. Her plans were to continue the investigation.”
“Very good.”
Ivon’s steel-gray gaze never wavered from Valek’s face. Very little slipped past the man’s notice. “I’m sorry we were unable to be as effective, sir.”
“No need to apologize. Show me where the trail ended.”
“Yes, sir.” Ivon unrolled a map marked with the place Ari had identified and handed it to Valek.
The spot was about a mile east. The map also indicated the locations Ivon’s team had checked. Valek planned to leave Yelena in the camp with Onora nearby, protecting her. Smudges of exhaustion darkened the area under Yelena’s green eyes. The fast pace hadn’t been conducive to healing.
However, in order for Yelena to agree to his plan, he’d have to choose his words with the utmost care. “No need for all of us to go traipsing around. Janco and I will home in on any magical illusions that might be hiding wagon tracks or the entrance and we’ll return once we find it so we can go over options.”
“I’m pretty sure there’ll only be two,” Janco said. “Enter or cover the entrance with a bunch of rocks. Frankly, I’d vote for just blocking the damn thing. No reason to go inside.”
“Unless that’s where Owen is hiding,” Yelena said.
“Even more reason to collapse it.”
“Why would he hide inside when he knows we’re searching for it?” Onora asked.
Valek met Yelena’s gaze. Was she remembering the time they had hidden inside a dungeon? She smiled. That would be a yes.
“Sometimes the best places to hide are the most obvious,” she said. “Owen’s smart. He knows Valek has orders to put the tunnel out of commission and blocking the entrance is the easiest way. Why look inside? And don’t forget Tyen can move those boulders with his magic.”
“Lovely.” Janco scratched the scar where the bottom half of his right ear used to be. “And what happens if they are hiding there? Let’s face it. Between Owen’s ability to trap Valek, Rika confusing us with her illusions and Tyen tossing boulders at us, we’re fu...er...outmatched.”
Valek agreed. Head-to-head, outmatched
