198 Bonfire (2/2)

”There's a trick to it… as long as you've got something encased in Leprechaun gold you can bring it along with you into the Fayne,” he said, as he poured himself another glass from the bottle in his other hand. ”Smell that?”

”Smells like gas actually…” I noted. ”With a hint of wood and something smoked.”

”You've got a good nose,” he chuckled. ”Here I thought you were just good with your eyes.”

”Not as good as you, though,” I tapped my nose.

”Touché,” He laughed out loud. ”So what happened after your baby bro killed the general.”

”It was probably a stroke of pure genius on my part, but I yelled it out as loud as I could,” I raised a fist into the air, ”Luca Dapper of the Foolhardies has slain General Amon, Shield of Rah!”

I hadn't intended for my voice to carry down into the men below our sand dune, but those who heard my voice responded with a new war cry, ”Luca! Luca! Luca!”

”Smart,” my companion agreed. ”That did two things I imagine. Spread Luca's name across the Fayne and get the enemy army to lose their morale really quickly…”

”They buckled once they'd heard their general was lost, but I think Redbull rallying his troops and destroying two of the magnifiers had a part to play in or victory too,” I explained.

”No doubt,” my companion sent me a curious glance, ”but what did you do with the other two… magnifiers, was it?”

”Redbull destroyed the one but as a prize for the success of my plan, he's allowing Zarz to inspect the last one before they break it,” I answered.

”Yeah, Redbull's smart not to give it you outright,” my companion mused. ”I imagine a chosen one with a magnifier weapon would be something like a nuke.”

With that interesting image in both our heads, we toasted each other's good health.

”Okay, now will you tell me why you're out here?” I asked. ”Surely, it isn't just so you could hear about our earlier victory…”

”I was on my way to the Undercroft to liberate some slaves but you were close by so I took a detour to say hi,” he answered.

”Only you would cross so casually through a warzone without a care in the world,” I laughed.

”Yeah, well, you should be happy that I dropped by,” he said conspiratorially, ”Because I caught the scent of a few things on my way here you might find interesting…”

I raised an eyebrow at him. ”What will this intel cost me?”

”Don't worry, kid, you already paid it with good company and this ridiculously good barbecue here,” he said just as he bit into the skewered meat he picked up from the plate between us. ”Who cooked this? And how can I steal them from you?”

”That's a specialty of our unit's cook, Alfie Monroe,” I said proudly. ”He was Mudgardian chef who got roped into becoming a visere by a pretty face.”

I recalled the face of the elf commander I slew on my very first outing with Luca, the one who'd held Alfie's contract. Looking back on it now made me realize that it's been over a year since Luca vanished into the Fayne. Man, it's been a tough year.

”So he owes you, huh?” my companion confirmed. ”Guess he'll be too loyal to get whisked away by me and mine.”

”Don't even think about it,” I said, pointing the tip of a barbecue stick at him. ”So, what did you sniff out?”

”What was his name? That guy whose butt I kicked along with Lord Rah?” my companion asked.

”Ardeen Spellweaver… why?” I asked.

”I never forget a scent once I've come across it,” he said while tapping on the bridge of his nose. ”It just so happens… while I went to pay my respects to your great general, I caught a whiff of that fairy's scent on grumpy old Garm… and it was a strong scent meaning it had been recent. No less than a day.”

”Seriously?” I asked, my brow furrowing. ”That doesn't really prove anything…”

”I know… which is why I sent my gals to check up on a hunch… Dean,” as he mentioned my name, my companion's voice turned serious for the first time that night, ”I think you're about to get company, one you don't want to be in…”

”Are you sure about this?” my brow furrowing even more. ”A hundred percent sure?”

”Trust the nose, kiddo,” he said, tapping on the tip of his nose this time. ”I'm the Lord of Stars, and I can sense the stench of a badly cooked plot a mile away… so watch your back.”