Page 45 of The Prince and His Stolen Throne

“Lacertian.”

The orc nodded sharply and corrected himself. “The lacertian’s right. We’d need at least fifty hands to accomplish your desired level of defense. I count twenty-four.”

Brutus did not appreciate being ganged up on by his own minions. “Well—I—” he sputtered, looking back and forth between his two new captains. He couldn’t admit to not having the funds available for additional guards or they would worry about his ability to pay them.

“Prioritize patrolling the grounds, then guard the most obvious entrances,” a voice said behind him.

Brutus cursed and whirled around to face his apprentice. “When did you get here?”

“A few minutes ago.” The black hood of his cloak was raised again, hiding his face.

“This is no time to be mysterious,” Brutus scolded. “Lower the hood and show yourself to the new guards so that they don’t stab you on sight.” He narrowed his eyes at the room full of orcs and lacertians. “Not that any of you reacted to his presence.”

The orc captain shrugged. “We aren’t on duty yet.”

“Will there be a lot of people teleporting in and out of the lair?” asked the lacertian captain.

“No, my apprentice is a special case.” After a short pause, Brutus straightened and added, “Ican also teleport anywhere I want in the lair, and I will use this ability to keep an eye on all of you.” He pointed to his eyes, to the guards, then back to his eyes.

Message relayed, he turned back to Wilde and ordered, “Lower your hood.”

Wilde never disobeyed a direct order. He flipped the hood back with a casualness that suggested he didn’t mind either way.

“You are not to wear the hood inside the lair until all champions are captured and dealt with. We don’t want any of them impersonating you.”

“Yes, Master,” Wilde replied obediently.

Brutus opened his mouth to address the captain’s concerns when a question interrupted him.

“All of them?”

“What?”

Wilde stared at Brutus placidly, his face a pale, blank canvas. “You said ‘all champions.’ Are youincluding—”

“Yes, all of them!” Brutus widened his eyes and tilted his head while making a not-so-subtle cutting-motion with his hand. Everything he could think of to tell his apprentice toshut up.

Wilde bowed his head and stopped interrupting.

“As I wassaying—” WhathadBrutus been saying? He straightened and looked down his nose at the minions. “It is your job to guard this lair, and you must do it with the resources at your disposal. If you are incapable of such a task, leave.”

The captains exchanged a glance, then the orc stood.

Oh gods, were they actually leaving? Sweat dripped down Brutus’ brow but he told himself tohold firm. He could hire other minions. Earning their respect if he embarrassed himself now would be almost impossible.

“We will see your commands done, Your Grimness,” the orc announced. He gestured to his people, and they filed out of the room.

“It will be an interesting challenge,” the lacertian agreed as they followed the orcs.

Once the room cleared out, Brutus turned to Wilde and demanded, “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be monitoring the quest.”

“I came to give my report.”

“In person? Just use the mirror!”

“You didn’t respond to my summons.”

Brutus opened his mouth to continue arguing, then slowly closed it. He had a fuzzy memory of the mirror alerting him to a message yesterday while he’d been napping. Groggy and irritated, he’d silenced the mirror and must have forgotten to remove the spell later. Pretending ignorance, he straightened and declared, “I’ve been busy preparing for our royal guests. Give me your report now.”