Vicious Villains (Ruthless Villains Book 4)

With the sound of the bell still ringing in my ears, I shifted my attention to the five muscular men who suddenly strode through the door. Levi Arden had destroyed Malgrave’s Blade of Equilibrium, which meant that the younger generation could no longer be given access to the Great Current. But all of these men looked old enough to have completed the ceremony before the blade was destroyed, so they were either normal magic users or dark mages.

My gaze darted to Callan as the two of us rose from our stools. I wasn’t sure what our move was, but letting someone forcibly escort me out went against every single one of my principles.

As if he could hear my thoughts, Callan slid his gaze to me and gave me a small nod.

Good. My hands drifted closer together. There were five of them, but they didn’t know that I was a poisoner. And they were already well within my range.

Before I could call up my magic, Callan went on, speaking in a voice soft enough that only I could hear. “Use force, but don’t kill anyone.”

“Seriously?” I whispered back while frowning at him. “Since when did you grow a conscience?”

“I didn’t. But we need to stay on Levi’s good side.”

Rolling my eyes, I blew out a sigh. “Fine.”

“This way,” the closest man said while raising his arm to motion towards the door.

While pretending to move in the indicated direction, I waited until the final guard had reached the spot I wanted him in. Then I touched my palms together.

Glittering green mist exploded across the bar.

The bartender sucked in a shocked gasp as the five guards she had called crashed down on their knees. A moment later, my poison forced its way down her throat as well. Choked gurgling came from her mouth as her knees buckled, and she dropped to the floor too.

Glancing behind me, I found Callan watching the scene with an approving smirk on his lips. The bastard did nothing to help, though.

Behind him, the rest of the room had gone dead silent. The players and the dealers all stared at me with wide eyes, but none of them moved a muscle. I shifted my attention back to the poison cloud ahead.

Dull thuds sounded as I increased the strength of the mist around the guards, which knocked them unconscious and sent their bodies toppling sideways to rest on the smooth wooden floorboards. I kept the bartender conscious and started towards her.

“And here we were, having such a civil conversation.” Clicking my tongue, I shook my head at the blond woman. “Why did you have to turn this into such an unpleasant thing?”

Her pale eyes were worried as she looked up at me. But with the poison in her throat, she of course couldn’t reply.

“Now, would you like to amend your previous answer about there being no news?” I asked.

For a few seconds, it looked like she was going to do just that. Then her gaze once more darted towards the other people in the gambling hall, and she vehemently shook her head.

“Really?” I prompted while raising my eyebrows at her. “Last chance.”

She only shook her head again.

Annoyance rippled through me. She clearly knew something, but she was apparently more afraid of Levi Arden than she was of me.

Blowing out an irritated sigh, I let the poison cloud dissipate. “Pity.”

She sucked in a deep breath and coughed while I whirled around and met Callan’s gaze. Disappointment swirled in his eyes as well, but he lifted his broad shoulders in a shrug.

“Let’s go,” I said as I strode towards the door.

The other people in the room watched us warily as we made our way to the door, but none of them said anything or did anything to stop us.

Warm night air that smelled of perfume, fried food, and spilled alcohol hit us as we stepped back onto the busy street. The multi-colored glass domes above us swayed in the breeze, making the shifting hues dance across the stones. Callan placed a gentle hand on my back, steering us towards the other end of the road.

“Well, that went splendidly.” Sarcasm dripped from my lips as I spoke. Glancing up, I arched an eyebrow at the force mage next to me. “And for someone who constantly brags about how skilled you are, you sure were helpful back there.”

His lips curled into a smug smile. “I seem to recall you not wanting my help with anything. And besides, you were doing fine on your own.”

“Yes, I was. But that still doesn’t explain why you were just standing there like some kind of normal person.”

“I, uhm…” A hint of hesitation flickered in his eyes before he slid his gaze back to the road ahead and shrugged. “I have something of a reputation in Malgrave. Let’s just say that it’s best if I don’t draw too much unnecessary attention to myself.”

“Made a lot of enemies, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“What a surprise.”

He snorted. “Like you’re one to talk.”

I chuckled and then shot him a sly look. “At least I don’t leave my enemies in any state where they can come back and kill me later.”

“That right?” He made a show of patting his hands over his chest. “I seem to be in perfect health.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “I thought you just said that we weren’t enemies anymore.”

“Did I? Can’t remember.”

Amusement pulled at his lips, and I huffed out a laugh too. But the truth was that he still hadn’t told me anything about his past in Malgrave or what had gone down between him and Levi Arden. And even though we were supposed to be in this together now, I couldn’t help but feel as though neither one of us was truly comfortable with sharing secrets just yet. Though, given our history, it was understandable. So I didn’t push the matter.

“Alright, let’s try in here,” Callan said, and jerked his chin towards another building.

This one had a yellow door, and as far as I could see through the windows, it looked like some kind of tavern rather than a gambling den. A bell tinkled above the door when Callan pulled it open and started across the threshold. I half expected him to let the door swing shut right onto me, and a flicker of surprise shot through me when he actually held it open for me instead.

Wry amusement blew through my chest. This new partnership of ours really was going to take some getting used to.

“Let’s split up for this one,” Callan said while I let the door click shut behind my back. He glanced over his shoulder at me. “Try to find out anything about what’s going on in the city. But be sneaky.”

I gave him a flat stare. “The irony of you telling me to be sneaky…”

“Just do it.” Before I could walk away, he grabbed my arm and turned me back around so that he could lock eyes with me. “And be careful.”

I patted his hand and flashed him a quick grin. “Careful is for the weak, darling.”

When I only continued looking up at him with that smug smile on my lips, he released my arm and shook his head while stalking away. Even through the noise of the tavern, I could hear him muttering curses about how keeping vicious little poisoners alive in Malgrave was going to be a pain in the ass. I let out a silent chuckle while drifting over to the table I had already picked out.

Three men were sitting at one of the pale wooden tables by the windows. Mugs of what looked like ale littered the tabletop, and a round metal pan with some kind of food took up the space in the middle. I had no idea what it was, but it smelled like spiced meat and herbs.

“Mind if I join?” I said as I strolled up to their table.

Before they could reply, I pulled out the fourth chair and plopped down on it. The three of them exchanged a look that suggested that they did in fact mind. I knew what I looked like. After riding all the way here from Castlebourne, I was exhausted. And since the packs we had brought were all we now had, I didn’t exactly have any beautiful dresses that I could use. So I sat there in my riding clothes, looking very out of place among the three men in their fine dress shirts. Remedying our supply shortage was the second item on our list. But first, we had to figure out what we were dealing with.

“We weren’t really looking for company,” the dark-haired one said gently.

All three of them cast nervous glances towards a table to my left. Three women had been eyeing them from that table, but as soon as I walked up and sat down, they pulled back a little and exchanged confused looks instead. Which was of course exactly why I had done it.

“Ah, got it,” I replied. Placing my palms on the tabletop, I made as if to push myself to my feet. “I’ll make sure to let the other girls know too.”

Panic flashed across their faces.

“Wait!” The gray-eyed man on my right quickly waved me back down in my seat while he shot worried glances towards the ladies that they had been checking out.

I raised my eyebrows in silent question but sank back into the chair again.

“Was… uhm… Was there something you wanted?”

“Me?” I shrugged innocently. “I just got back to Malgrave after a few months in Castlebourne, so I was just looking for news.”

All of them tore their eyes from the women and instead focused on me. Suspicion blew across their faces.

The dark-haired guy cleared his throat. “What kind of news?”

“Anything, really. Any important events happen? Or anything else that I should watch out for?”

They shared a long look.

The third man, who had a well-trimmed beard, leaned back and lifted his shoulders in a shrug that was supposed to look casual. “Nope. Nothing like that.”

“Really? Nothing has happened in the past six months? This is Malgrave. How is that even possible?”

“Mr. Arden is keeping the city completely at peace.”

I furrowed my brows. I recognized that kind of answer. It was the kind that people gave when they thought that they were being tested. But for what?

Another couple of prompts only led to the same vague answers. I considered whether I could get away with torturing these people for information, but I decided that it was too much of a hassle since we were in such a public place. So once it became apparent that they weren’t going to give me what I wanted willingly, I simply pushed to my feet and walked away. And I swore I could hear sighs of relief when I left.

With my brows still furrowed, I scanned the tavern for Callan. He looked to have just finished up a conversation at the bar, and he started towards me when he met my gaze. I moved towards the door.

What was it that all of these people were too scared to talk about? I understood that this Levi Arden was lethal and that no one wanted to get on his bad side, but it was very strange to have people shut down in this way when all we did was to ask if something had happened.

“Any luck?” Callan asked in a low voice as he reached me.

“No. You?”

He shook his head and then motioned for us to step outside.

The small bell plinked merrily as I pushed the door open and walked back out onto the street. The faint chatter and clinking of glasses died as the door swung shut behind us.

For a while, Callan and I only watched each other.

“Let’s try another one,” he said at last.

I nodded.

We made our way to two more taverns, and three more gambling houses, but the results were always the same. As soon as we started asking questions about the current state of affairs, people shut down and refused to share anything. Suspicion and worry shone in their eyes every time. Yet again, I got the feeling that they believed that they were being tested.

“Something is definitely going on,” I said as Callan and I made our way down another street.

His dark brown eyes stayed on the road before us as he replied, “Agreed.”

A sizzling sound came from a food stall on our left where an old man was frying vegetables omelets in a large flat pan. I breathed in the intoxicating scent before returning my attention to Callan. Pink and orange light from the glass domes above cast splashes of color over the slight scowl on his face.

“Maybe we should start by buying some better clothes,” I said while we continued towards the next cross street. “Before we try to interrogate more people.”

He looked down at his dark leather armor. “My clothes are fine.”

“Alright, let me rephrase. I am going to buy some clothes better suited for blending in before I try to interrogate someone else.”

At last, he dragged his gaze to me. Amusement swirled in his eyes. “Fine. But those kinds of shops won’t open until morning.”

I was just about to reply when we rounded the corner.

And came face to face with a mass of people blocking the road.

Slapping my palms together, I called up a cloud of poison. But before I could throw it at the very suspicious-looking group, Callan placed a hand on my arm and pushed it downwards. I flicked a quick glance at him in silent question. He kept his eyes on our ambushers but gave me an almost imperceptible shake of the head.

I let my magic fade out.

For a few seconds, the wall of people only watched us. Then a tall man at the front stepped forward. His brown eyes were fixed on Callan’s face when he at last spoke up.

“The boss would like a word.”