Unknotted

“Speak of the Duster.” She raised her voice as Kova strode back into the room. “How did it go with your boss?”

Kova glared at his phone. “She’s ticked. There goes the raise I’d been hoping for.”

Peth sneered at him. “Sorry my near-death inconvenienced you.”

He blew out a breath, hard. “Helping you isn’t why I’m upset, and you know it. Whatever business you’re mixed in you need to quit.” He glanced at me. “All of you do.”

I waved off his concern. “I’ll consider it.” I handed him a fresh towel. “You can use the water in the tank below. Unfortunately, we only have cold at the moment.”

Sighing, he accepted the towel and stomped outside, his steps shaking the treehouse.

I followed him out, making sure to keep my distance. By the time I reached the ground, water was dripping off the tips of Kova’s short dark hair and shirtless body. Trolls naturally kept a lean physique through youth and middle age, with the muscles easily defined beneath the skin with little need to work out. Based off Kova’s hulking form, he was one of the trolls who didn’t rely solely on genetics to keep his body in shape.

“I can drop you off at the portal. I’m going to run into town for some supplies for Peth.” The lie came easily, and Kova took in the information without a sign of suspicion. I flipped on the water tanks faucet and washed the blood from my arms and ducked under it to rise her face and hair. Kova stood to the side, wringing out his shirt.

“Thanks again for coming. If you hadn’t—” I choked on the what-if, turning instead to gather my hair into a wet messy bun on the back of my head.

“I mean it when I say you three need to quit.” Kova slid his damp shirt back on. “And not just for Peth’s sake. You’re like a sister to me too.”

I quirked a disbelieving brow.

“Okay, more like a distant cousin that I never wanted. But I love you all the same. Just…stop being stupid.”

I scooped up my clothes and moved toward the concealment of the tree trunk. “No promises.”

***

Kova had been quiet since our talk at the water tank. When I dropped him off a few blocks from the portal station, he didn’t say so much as a goodbye. Whatever. He was never much of a talker anyway. More the be-grumpy-in-silence-and-only-speak-to-tell-others-they’re-being-dumb types. Frankly, his advice never was very helpful.

I drove until the tide rushed in. I pulled into a rest stop on the way into an animal reservation and parked Bruce in the darkest corner. During the week, the reservation had few visitors, so the lot was empty.

I climbed into the backseat, stripped, and slipped into my skin-tight armor. I kept the hood and mask down for now but tugged on the gloves and fastened them to the armor’s bracers. Once locked, only I could remove them. I slung my toolbelt around my hips, locking it in place, and hopped out. Without the keys, I had to lock Bruce from the inside. Where had those keys gone? I would have to fetch an extra set from Helt’s house.

My beasts form exploded from within me. I took to the air. By catching a wind current, I made quick time to the prison camp. Temporary fencing, topped with barbed wire and fastened to giant concrete blocks, squared off the prison’s perimeter. Me having wings meant a fence was hardly a problem, if I had only wanted to enter. I flew high enough overhead that I could be mistaken for a bird if anyone was fancying to birdwatch at the moment.

My falcon eyes zeroed in on the prison’s happenings. Kennels formed neat rows. Each kennel held a handful of hybrids in varying states of mind. Honestly, it wasn’t much different than walking through an animal shelter where some dogs snarled at anything that moved, some cowered, and some slept. Had I been in their place, I would have been climbing the fencing and hanging from the kennel’s ceiling, driven mad from the confinement.

Guards dressed in gray and silver Keadanian armor walked up and down the rows, occasionally shouting a reprimand at their prisoners. More guards milled about in front of a portable office. In total, there had to be at least fifty Keadanians. Far too many to contend with by my lonesome.

I landed out of view from any guards that might be watching from one of the four towers at each corner of the compound and dropped my beasts form. With a little adjusting, my magical armor shifted from glossy black to a mottled green brown to match the colors of the surrounding grass. I crouched low and inched forward until I could see the entrance to the prison camp.

I checked my phone. One hour. Waiting always was the worst part of any mission. Fortunately, I had a trap to set. Heading off in the direction of the drop point, I dug in my toolbelt and pulled out a hand full of roofing tacks.