Chapter LXIX

  "Kina. The target just entered the inn," one of her assistants—Kan, if she isn’t mistaken—states the obvious.

  She is right there with them, hidden among some bushes, watching as her target and his companion step into the inn. A building with two doors, above which hangs a sign reading JustCraig’s Peek Inn.

  From what she had gathered, this was a popur destination for those who wished to spend a few days admiring the famed peak. A pce favored by the nobility from the surrounding cities. Fortunately, it is the start of the cold season, meaning many of those visitors are now avoiding the area.

  But right now, there is something far more important to focus on—deciding her next move.

  Her earlier decision to follow Figor’s forces until they found Princess Irina, believing that this would quickly lead them to Lady Sorana, had proven correct. Even more than that, she had never expected the capture of the princess to force her target into revealing himself.

  The only problem was that it had also revealed they had underestimated him. His fireballs were already known—though seeing them in person had been truly astonishing. But no one had said anything about his resistance to physical attacks or his invisibility spells. And she had yet to see him use any necromantic magic.

  The only positive thing she could take from this was that it validated the previous reports, that suggested: this Nero had followed the path of Naksu. After all, an invisibility spell was perfect for someone trained as an assassin.

  Now, she faced an important decision—should she approach her target now, or wait?

  In principle, she would prefer to wait and gather more information before interacting with him.

  The problem was her orders. She was to determine whether the target was a threat to the Valley or not. If he was, then he had to be eliminated. What had once seemed like a complex task had now turned into something she suspected was nearly impossible.

  The issue wasn’t his resistance spell or even his invisibility. After all, even the most powerful of mages— even someone who could single-handedly defeat forty-armed men—still needed to eat and sleep.

  No, the real problem was what she strongly suspected, though could not yet confirm, to be the undead mule that the agents who had previously encountered him had mentioned.

  Ever since their target had left the defeated forces’ camp, she and her companions had been following. And on more than one occasion, they had attempted to approach unnoticed.

  Attempts that the necromancer and his assistants had failed to notice.

  But the mule had. Even in the dead of night, it had shown signs of sensing them.

  Which only reinforced the likelihood that it truly was an undead mule. A deeply concerning thought—because maintaining an undead creature for so long would indicate an extremely powerful necromancer.

  If the mule could detect threats, then once it was alerted, they would never have a real chance of attacking by surprise. And as the battle-that-never-happened with Figor forces had already proven, a direct assault—even if not entirely impossible—would cost them so many resources that it could leave the Valley defenseless against other threats.

  So now that the necromancer was here, separated from his mule—which had been left behind at the previous night’s camp along with one of his companions—this was the most vulnerable state she could imagine him in. A situation she had no way of knowing when, or if, it would repeat.

  “I’m going in,” she finally decres, concluding that following him inside is the best course of action. Perhaps she could gather some information without initiating direct contact. And if the opportunity arose, maybe she could even establish contact safely.

  “Are you sure, Kina? Maybe we should…” Kan begins hesitantly, his uncertainty likely stemming from what they had already seen this Nero do.

  But that does not make her hesitate. “I don’t see another option. I’ll try to see what I can learn—we need information.”

  They must not see another alternative either, as they nod in agreement.

  “You two stay here. At least one of us needs to return, to report what we’ve already seen…” Their expressions grow heavier as they listen. “And whatever else we might see.”

  “Maybe one of us should…” Kina hears Kan begin to speak, but knowing what he is about to suggest, she has to cut him off.

  “I am by far the most experienced. Even me going in is already a risk. One of you? That would be suicide.” She hopes that putting it this way softens the blow for them. The truth is, this is her mission. The two of them are only here as support, to ensure she can report back home if needed.

  Without saying anything else, she moves forward, leaving the bushes where her two companions remain, keeping a close watch on the inn to see what unfolds.

  As she reaches the doors leading inside, Kina pces her hand on the hidden pocket behind her back, where she keeps her Ra’tel. Remembering another crucial factor about her target—his reported knowledge of Ra’tel’s.

  Something the Valley is desperate to learn more about.

  Because reports suggest that this necromancer might know things about the Ra’tel that even her own people have long forgotten.

  And so, taking a deep breath, she steps through those doors—coming face to face with this powerful mage.