Prologue

Loki walked in the streets, happy in the fact that no one knew of his secret identity yet again. He smiled at people, passing by and they never thought it odd. Loki always did this. He was the friendly man in Kalimanth where the usual were cutthroats and unsmiling faces staring back at you. But he, he was considered a wealthy enough person and a man of long standing in the community so that no one thought it odd for him to be smiling at anyone in the streets.

He stole for fun.

That was all that could be said for him. He stole things that people told him to steal and he in turn, would get paid for it. And sometimes, he would steal for the poor. Taking money from the really wealthy and subtly handing it off to people he knew needed it. Which was a lot. He had an unspoken pack with them. He handed the poor money, and they in turn would keep their mouths closed about who was the Lightning Thief.

Loki went into the Wolf's Head tavern and sat on stool beside the fire. The bar maid was instantly beside his elbow, waiting for his order.

"Will you be wanting our special today?" she asked with a thick mountain accent.

"I think I'll have that," Loki said, "And mead today. I don't feel like to turn into a fool today."

She smiled and said, "I'll be back soon then."

And of course, the most catching thing about Loki being the Lightning Thief was that he was only seventeen summers old, unmarried and still living with his parents in the Ridel mansion located in the east of the city. No one knew.

Today's commission from Loki's new prospective customer was going to be at the Wolf's Head tavern. The contact would let Loki know what he was supposed to steal and the amount of money the man was willing to pay for the item. But in the end, Loki would be the one with the final say because he was the one stealing it.

Someone sat beside his stool. Loki's gaze sharpened on him. The man was apparently a household servant of some kind, with the livery he wore. A butler maybe, or the man's valet. Loki waited for the man to speak.

"My Lord wants you to take this man's pouch," the liveried man spoke, handing Loki a good rendering of a man done in charcoal.

Loki took it and looked at the man's face. He had fleeting thought that the man was particularly handsome. He looked up and raised an eyebrow.

"Where does the man frequent often? And does he carry the pouch everywhere with him all the time?" Loki asked.

"He goes to the market often. In fact, you'll catch him there today in the evening. He always buys something whenever he goes. At least that's what milord says," the servant told him.

"And the pouch?" Loki asked again.

"With him," the man told him, "By his right hip on the belt."

Loki threw the picture into the fire, having seen it enough that he would remember the man. He sat there and thought for a while as his meal and drank came presently.

Finally, he looked at the servant and said, "The Lightning Thief will do it."

"Here's 500 peros in advance then," the servant said, holding out a pouch of money.

Loki waved it away and smiled. "Not just yet. He'll want to see what's in that pouch. He might keep it."

The servant only nodded and left.

Part 1

Loki watched and waited for several days. He waited patiently for the best opportunity to make his move. The day finally came when there was a very good sized crowd in the market and he spotted the man there. Loki grinned. This way, he could pick the man's pouch and disappear into the crowd without the man the wiser.

At the moment, the man was examining a ware at Jacouza's stall. She sold rare Jems of the finest make and the man looked like he had more than enough money to spend at her stall. He came up behind the man and let several people bump him into his target. As the confusion occurred, Loki stole the man's pouch as per agreement.

"Sorry, Sir," Loki the man. "There's a big crowd here today and everyone's bumping into each other."

"That's all right," the man told him, giving him an even look, already turning back to Jacouza's wares.

Loki hastily made his exit, moving towards a nearby alley to disappear with. Once inside the alley and within the shelter of the shadows, he made the ground sprout vines and he climbed up to step on the top of the buildings. Secure at the top, he ordered the vines to retreat back into the ground. Loki proceeded to run on the rooftops for a short while, just as a precaution to shake off whoever was following, if any.
An hour later, he was home and in his set of bedchambers. He was an only child and the Ridel mansion was a very big piece of property. Although it was constantly filled with guests, Loki did not see most of them at all on their stay on the Ridel property.

Sitting in a couch, Loki finally took out the pouch to have a look and see what was inside the pouch that was so important to Lord Korinchi that he would want to steal it. He opened it and upturned the pouch.

Several big Jasketan Jems dropped out of the small pouch. Loki's face lost what color it had. Lord Korinchi was going to pay for this. The man did not tell Loki that the man he was going to steal from was a mage. And judging from the amount of Jasketan Jems he had in his hand, the mage was a very wealthy and dangerous mage as well.

He was in for it now.

Carefully, he put the Jems back into the pouch and looked for a place to put it where the servants would not find it. He opened his hiding place behind his vanity mirror and opened the compartment behind it. Putting the pouch in, he closed it and placed a palm onto the door. Green magic shone from his hand before it faded a way. The door was fused together and would not come apart for anyone but him now. Loki then replaced the mirror in front of the secret compartment.

Loki sighed.

The mage would figure it out sooner rather than later and he would find Loki. He knew that the stones were fused with the mage's power and that the man would be able to find them wherever they were. The mage must use those Jems a lot. The possibility of having to deal with a war mage then. He barely suppressed a shudder.

Now all he had to do was wait.

Loki only hoped that the man wouldn't kill him for this.

He was going to kill Lord Korinchi.

Part 2

The mage didn't come for the next week, making Loki a living and breathing, nervous wreck. Loki's worry was that the man would be so enraged that he would level the whole mansion out with a wave of his hand. By this point, he just wanted to give the mage back his Jems.

Loki was getting sick of waiting and finally decided to take the Jems with him to the market to see if the mage would be there. His hope was that he would see the mage and quietly give it back to the man. But chances were, the man would be able to sense his Jems nearby, now that he knew it was missing. Still. He took his chances.

So there he was, in disguise instead of his wealthy nobleman's like he usually wore. He sat on rooftop and gazed down into the market below him. He could see everyone there. Loki watched for the man he wanted. He was not averse to waiting. He had the patience. However did he plan and steal all those valuable artifacts then?

It was two hours after he sat down that he knew he was in deep trouble.

Loki knew instantly who was behind him the second he felt it. It was a presence that screamed power and simple self-assurance in themselves.

"You have finally come out from your hidey hole you've been hiding in," the male voice he had heard not so long ago in the market that day he had stolen the Jems. "I knew where you were, but I decided to wait and see if you were foolish enough to take my Jems and sell them away."

"Looks like you're not that foolish after all," the mage finished in a cool voice.

Loki took out the pouch and stood up, turning to face the man.

The mage looked like the same man he saw at the market. But he saw in the man's eyes that he was furious with Loki.

"If I had been told beforehand of whom you were," Loki said in a neutral tone, "I would have refused."

"Is that so?" the man said casually, steel blue eyes glinting dangerously under the midday sun.

In answer, Loki held out the pouch of Jems to the mage. "A mage with five Jasketan Jems? I'm tempted to kill the man who told me to steal these. You're a war mage at least, to own so much. Even I'm not that foolish."

The war mage's hand came up casually and took his Jems back, gently holding them to him as if they were his babies.

All the while this exchange took place; the mage's eyes had not left Loki's once.

"You're the Lightning Thief," the mage said abruptly.

"Yes," Loki answered simply. "One of the reasons why I would not have stole your Jems."

"I don't steal potential mage items," Loki said. "That's probably why the man's servant neglected to tell me who I was stealing from."

Loki couldn't believe that he was having this conversation with the mage. Under normal circumstances, he would not have been standing here and talking to the mage as calm as can be. Instead, he would have just ran and disappeared in the streets. But the man was a war mage and he didn't want the man to be too angry with him.

"Caro," the mage said over his shoulder.

Loki suddenly realized that they weren't alone. They had never been. Loki looked behind the man and saw an – if possible – even more forbidding man than the mage. Caro, seeing that Loki was staring at him, glared at the thief.

"This is my cue to go," Loki said smoothly, stepping back and dropping from the roof.

Both men cried out in surprise when he did. They hurried to the edge and looked over it.

But Loki had already changed his appearance and they couldn't possibly know who he was in the guise he was wearing because he himself had never worn it before until now. Turning around a corner, he changed himself again. He did that several times before he felt it safe.

He never felt the charge of magic that hit him. All he saw was darkness.

Part 3

"He's waking up," a distant voice said.

Loki groaned and put a hand to his head. It hurt as if a god had struck lightning on him. Why did his head hurt? He knew that he never ever drank anything vaguely alcoholic. So why did he have this huge, aching headache? Just where did it come from?

He opened his eyes and closed them quickly again. The room was too bright. Dimly, he felt the place he was in darken at his reaction. He was confused. Loki knew that he was not in his bedchambers back in the Ridel mansion. Yet another mystery to find out about.

"I believe you will be able to open your eyes now," a lowered voice said to him from his left.

Loki opened his eyes in slits before he ventured to open them fully. The room only held the dim glow of a lamp now. Where was he? He looked around and froze when he saw that it was who it was in the room with him.

It looks like he was caught after all.

It was the mage and his right hand man. They both returned his stares with even and cool features. They said nothing else, merely letting him process the information in his head that he was now well and truly caught and he had nowhere to go right now.

Somewhere in a little, distant corner of his mind, he knew that he was now sitting on a bed and that the rooms were themed in blue and silver.

"What do you want?" Loki said hoarsely, his throat dry.

"The question is," the mage told him, "Do you want me to keep your identity a secret?"

"Why haven't you told someone already?" Loki asked, still cradling his head. Would they venture to give him some type of pain killer?

"Because I could use someone of your skills," the mage told him.

"What would you have me do for you?" Loki asked with a furrowed brow. "Steal for you?"

"That," the mage told him while inspecting his nails for imaginary specks of dirt, "and spying for me."

"After all," he told Loki, looking up at the thief once more, "You lead a double life. Who better to be my spy than you, the Lightning Thief? Also known as, the young Lord Loki Ridel."

Loki sighed. So they really knew who he was.

"I won't rob someone who's in need of money for you," Loki told them. "Or a mage."

The war mage inclined his head at Loki in acknowledgement. "I understand that."

"I have my principles," Loki said.

The mage smiled, amused. "You are after all the Lightning Thief. No one knows but us."

"So how will this work?" Loki asked.

"You can be my apprentice," the mage told him. "That would lessen the speculation of why you're always seen with me."

"Wouldn't people know then that I'll be spying for you?" Loki asked, frowning.

"No," the mage smiled at him. "I have other people for that too. Although you would be ideal. No one would be the wiser. I haven't taken an apprentice in who knows how long…if ever. I'm still young yet."

"You know my name," Loki ventured to say. "May I have yours? Since we'll be spending time with each other."

"War mage Josef Doe'Elessian," the man told him in his smooth baritone voice.

Loki was in shock. THE war mage? No wonder he got caught anyway. No one who crossed the mage in a battlefield ever left it alive. Loki was lucky that he was still alive. But then, this was not the battle field. He would think the mage would be more lenient here then there.

"Wow," Loki could only say. "I will definitely be having words with Lord Korinchi."

"No. I will," Josef told him, his eyes giving off a dangerous glint.

"Be my guest," Loki said smiling gleefully, anticipating the show. Josef smiled.

"Another thing," Loki said, remembering something. "What about my parents? What will you tell them? I still live under their roof and they are my parents."

"You have talent in mage craft," Josef told him, "Even if it is greenway magic, I can teach you things that most people will never know about their magic."

"Hence the apprenticeship," Caro finally spoke. Loki nodded.

"Do I get to stay wherever you stay then?" Loki asked. "Unless I'm not mistaken, this is the Red Wine Inn, not a manor of some sort."

Josef smiled in satisfaction. He held up a hand to his right hand man. "Come now, pay up," he told Caro. "I told you he was an observant one."

Caro merely sighed in long suffering and gave Josef two gold Peros. "Next time, I won't bet. It's bad luck for me whenever I bet against you."

Loki stayed silent and waited to see if they would remember about him. Josef did, turning his dark haired head to him. "Yes," the war mage told Loki. "I will talk to your parents and you can pack your things and come with us."

Josef and Caro both got up from their chairs and moved towards the door. It was a silent command for Loki to get out of bed as well.

"Uh…" Loki started to say.

They both turned to him, eyebrows raised. Loki looked sheepish and he was still cradling his head.

"Do you have something to get rid of this horrid headache you gave me," Loki asked, "I don't think I can manage walking in a straight line if it's not cured."

Josef walked to him and held his hand an inch above Loki's head. His palm shone green and Loki's headache miraculously disappeared.

"There," Josef told him, letting his hand fall to his side, already turning away from Loki. "It's done. Come away from the bed. We still have some errands to run before you can go back to dreamland."

Loki scowled at him as he got out of bed. "Contrary to popular belief and stereotypes of us young nobles, I do not sleep my day away, thank you very much!"

Both men in front of him laughed in amusement. Loki glared at them.

Part 4 "I would have speech with Lord Ridel," the war mage told the butler at the door.

Jymes, the butler, glanced at Loki with a raised eyebrow as if to say, "What mischief have you gotten into now?" To Josef, he gave a bow and said, "I will find my Lord and tell him you seek him out. My Lords can wait in the parlor."

Jymes directed them into said parlor to wait for Loki's father. Both older men looked wary. Loki raised an eyebrow.

"Are you afraid of something?" Loki asked.

"There are several spy holes in this room," Josef said absent-mindedly. "Several of them are occupied at the moment."

Loki smirked. "Yes. Father and Mother couldn't resist them. Here."

He went to a lamp sconce in the far right hand corner and proceeded to pull at it.

A secret doorway opened up. Behind the doorway were the people that Josef had told them were spying on them.

"Get out of here," Loki told them. "I don't want to see hide or hair of you today. This is going to be a private talk between Father and these two men. Your hungry little ears can find gossip elsewhere."

The spies left.

"How did you find out about the spies?" Josef asked him when they were all sitting down.

"It was simple really," Loki said. "Father always knew when I was up to something, no matter where I talked to my friends in secret. So I knew that there had to be something in the mansion that allowed him to spy on any and everyone in this place. I know practically where every single spy hole is in this place."

"Very good," Josef said. "We shall see if you are able to find every single one in my mansion when you get there."

Loki was happy. In fact, he was downright gleeful. Here was something to keep him occupied. Finding the exact location and number of people who were behind those spy holes.

The door to the parlor opened and his father came in.

Lord Simeon Ridel was an imposing person, even to his family. He was the patriarch of the Ridel family and he did not let a single mischief pass him by. He therefore also knew that Loki was the infamous thief that everyone called the Lightning Thief. But his son need not know that. As long as Loki conducted himself with pride and respect and stayed out of the way of the provost's men, Lord Ridel was content. Loki kept himself occupied and out of his father's way, unlike some of the youngsters that Simeon had come in contact with. Compared to them, Loki was a saint for a son.

"War Mage Josef and Mage Caro," Lord Ridel said smoothly, gracefully sitting on a couch directly opposite to them. "To what do I owe this pleasure of your audience?"

"I've come to talk about your son," the war mage told him without ado.

"Oh really?" Lord Ridel said, glancing at Loki. "I do apologize for whatever mischief my son has been in."

"Father!" Loki said indignantly "Have I ever given you a reason to be disappointed in me?"

Lord Ridel only raised an eyebrow.

"Your son has done nothing wrong," Josef said, cutting into the father and son's little mock argument.

"Other than falling for Lord Korinchi's ruse to steal from you," Loki muttered too softly for his father to hear.

"I've decided to take him in as my apprentice," the war mage told Lord Ridel.

Lord Ridel was certainly surprised. He stared from Loki back to the war mage in consternation.

"Am I hearing this right?" he asked. "You want my son as your apprentice?"

"Yes," Josef told him. "He shows a lot of aptitude for his mage craft. If I can show him the right way to do it, he would be the better for it."

Lord Ridel looked at his son critically before glancing back to Josef once again. "If you'll excuse us for a few moments, I'd like to see what my son has to say about this."

"But of course," Josef said, waving his hand towards the parlor doors.

Both Lord Ridel and Loki got up to find a private set of rooms to talk in. The left Josef and Caro in the parlor room to wait.

Once inside the adjoining room, Lord Ridel turned to his son, a stern expression on his face.

"Have you done aught to anger him?" Lord Ridel asked his son. "Truly?"

Loki was confused by his father's question. "What do you mean? War mage Josef's not mad at me, if that's what you mean. We are on pretty good terms with each other. Why?"

"I do not wish to see my only son and heir dead," Lord Ridel told him. "I know of who you are and what you do. I fear for your life sometimes."

Loki lost what color he had on his face.

"I'm surprised you haven't thrown me out yet," Loki whispered.

"You're a good son," Lord Ridel told him, ignoring the look of disbelief on Loki's face. "I've seen some of the other boys. Like Lord Xeptor's. His hounds him for money all the time and goes to the brothel every single night he can."

"There's a reason I don't follow them," Loki said, shuddering at the thought of going to a brothel. When he slept with a woman, he wanted it to be for love. Although he doubt that would ever happen. He never found women to be so attractive as to capture his undivided attraction. Now men however…Loki shied away from that thought. He did not want to think about it. The consequences if anyone ever knew about it…

"Do you want to be War Mage Josef's apprentice?" Lord Ridel asked him, staring into his eyes.

"Yes, Father," Loki answered. "It would be something to do. At least if I apprentice with him, things would be exciting."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Lord Ridel asked his son in reassurance.

Loki smiled. "Yes. I want to do this."

"Very well," Lord Ridel said, "Let us return to the parlor room.

Josef and Caro were still there waiting for them. Not that all that much time had passed for them to get that impatient at the two men.

"Well?" Josef asked, glancing from between Loki and Lord Ridel.

"I will consent to this," Lord Ridel said, "on one condition. It is a very simple one however."

Josef smiled. "And what is this condition?"

"Keep my son alive and whole," Lord Ridel answered coolly. "He is my son and heir. I love him and I don't want any harm to come to him, if ever."

"Father," Loki said softly, "No one can keep that promise. Not even I. Life often deals out unexpected things. Anything can happen. I don't want you to die. But something always happens when you least expect it. It comes with being alive and living."

"That was very well said," Josef told his new apprentice, smiling at him before looking at Lord Ridel seriously. "What Loki said was true. However, I will do whatever I can to ensure that he is safe and whole."

"How long will this apprenticeship last?" Lord Ridel asked curiously.

"Indefinitely," Josef told him, "But he may visit whenever he has free time on his hands."

Lord Ridel turned to Loki. "I expect you here visiting your Mother every opportunity that you can get. You know how she is on these things."

"Yes, Father," Loki answered.

"Take care of yourself," Lord Ridel said, standing up to bow at the two older men before leaving the room. "I take my leave."

"Your Father loves you," Caro observed.

Loki smiled, happy. "Yes," he told the man. "Although he may not say it very much, he shows it in the things he does."

He got up. "I'll got get my things packed. Or rather, direct the servants to do it and send it to wherever you stay."

Here, Loki gave a pause to let either men fill that information in.

"It's the Doe'Elessian mansion in the eastside of Kalimanth," Josef told him. "I'll be back in a bit," Loki told them.

Part 5 A week had passed and Loki had indeed learned more about his mage craft. And while he wasn't learning more about mage craft, he was exploring the mansion and all of its hideaways. He took Josef seriously. Loki wanted to find every single one of those spy holes and the people behind it. Although the way he went about it was subtle. No one would know that he was looking for them if one looked properly.

Loki's eyes were sharp though. He spotted all of the spy holes in one of the empty chambers he found, although there was no one behind them. There were plenty more, and by the end of the week, Loki was sure he had found them all.

He was sitting in a couch opposite to Josef's one day. Caro sat on a couch in the middle of them. They were all talking about nothing in particular. It was more Josef and Caro were talking about their work for the King, and Loki sat there listening intently.

When there was a lull in their conversation, Loki butted in, "I've found your spy holes."

Both men stopped talking to turn to look at Loki with eyebrows raised.

"Really?" Josef asked, amused.

Loki nodded.

"Let's see it then," Caro said, standing up and rubbing his hands together as if in preparation of feast, glancing towards Josef with a smug expression. "Looks like I win this time. Who would have guessed that I would guess right this time?"

"Don't get your johns up," Josef told him. "We still have to see if he's got all of them."

Loki proceeded to show both mages all the spy holes he had found in the mansion. By the time he was done explaining where everything was, Josef had lost his bet to Caro. Caro smiled gleefully at him. This time, he was the victor on a bet.
When everyone was once again sitting in their respective couches, both elder mages turned serious. Their faces held nothing of the amusement they had on before. Instead, there were grim. Rather, Caro looked like his normal grim-like visage and Josef looked like he was the cat just waiting for a fight.
Loki stopped smiling. He knew that something was up the instantly they put those faces up. He sat up straighter, waiting for them to say something. If he knew anything at all, he knew that this was the time where he would either steal or spy for Josef for the first time. It would be different from what he usually did. He sat and he waited.
"There's a masque ball tonight at Lord Kinabell's mansion," Josef presently told him.
"What will I be doing there exactly?" Loki said, not bothering to beat around the bush.
"I want to know anything you can possibly find out about what he is hiding in his dungeons," Josef told him in a grim voice. "What he has in there is undoubtedly illegal and it might be gruesome. There is no shame in saying no. If he keeps what he keeps in those dungeons of his, it will be very bloody down there. Can you handle that"
Loki thought about as he took a deep breath in. Did he really want to see what some of the lords kept in their dungeons? He knew that his father did nothing of that sort. But there were others who had not the least bit of moral and did whatever they wanted to people they considered beneath them. Loki hardened his resolve. He would rather know the truth than shy away from it.
"I'll do it," Loki told them, his eye glinting dangerously. "If he has one of my people in there"
And some of the people he had taken in from the streets were considered his. He gave them money so that they could have better lives. So that they could have something better to eat, if only for a little while. And some of them were missing. If he could only find some of them and find out what had happened to them.
"Your people?" Josef asked, frowning.
"I'm the Lightning Thief," Loki told him. "What else associates me with that name besides that I steal from the wealthy"
"You give to the poor," Caro said, light dawning in his eyes, but they held a warning. "Be prepared for the worst"
Loki's fists were clenched. "With them," he told them, "I'm always prepared for the worst. I've seen things some "Let's get you ready," Caro said, standing up.

Loki got up to follow him.

Later, when everyone was dressed and ready, they inspected each other for any imperfections.

"Lord Kinabell's daughter is susceptible to manipulation," Josef told Loki in a low voice. "If you get her to show you where the entrance is, you can go back later when no one knows about it and go down there."

"Good idea," Loki commented, "Since we don't know where the dungeons really are anyway."

"Yes," Caro said. "We are there to keep them off you. Signal us when the time is right so that we can distract everyone."

"Right," Loki said, straightening himself out as he admired himself in front of the mirror.

He was wearing a dark chocolate suit that went with his fair hair. His boots were tan and made of leather. Loki also had several weapons hidden into his ensemble in case anything untoward was to happen. There were daggers on his wrist sheathes, one behind his back and two in each of his boots. For outward appearances, since he was an heir, Loki wore a sword. Not to say that he couldn't use it when he needed to. Loki also decided to put on an earring on his right ear. It was a green Jem that dangled off the hook. And a bracelet of the Jems on his left wrist to match.

The other two men were wearing complementary colors. Josef was in black and grey boots while Caro wore the opposite. They being who they were could wear those colors. But if they weren't, they wouldn't have been able to; only war mages and their people could wear black and grey at the same time.

They all had masks in their hands.

"Is everyone ready?" Josef asked, looking at all of them.

"I'm as ready as I can be," Loki told him, smiling a little.

"Let's hope this goes smoothly," Caro told them. "I hate it when those Lords start up a ruckus. Especially when they get drunk. They can't hold a tune."

Loki and Josef snickered as they left for the ball.

Part 6

Even if it was a masque ball, all everyone ever wore was either suits or gowns. It was not the King's masque ball, therefore there was no need for that kind of extragavance. No one saw the need in that. Not even Lord Kinabell. Dressing up in costumes was solely for the King's amusement. So everyone just wore the masque of their choice. And that was how people distinguished themselves from everybody.

With the masks, no one took any notice of the new addition with War Mage Josef. All everyone saw was that it was likely one of the mage's new assisstants and dismissed the matter. Therefore, Loki had all the opportunity to blend in with everyone in the room.

Josef pointed out which lady was Lord Kinabell's daughter and Loki proceeded to talk to her and flirt with her. She never knew what hit her. He gained her confidence and in their long chat, Loki found out that she liked an inordinate amount of things. From things as simple as a painting, to training the falcons that her father had in the bird house they had specially made for it. She was not as airheaded as he had thought. But, in the course of their talk, Loki did find out where the dungeons were situated. He was shown where the entrance was and told that there were two guards inside. One at the entrance to guard it and one inside, to guard the prisoners.

Here, she gave a shudder and whispered, "The things he does in there, they're gruesome. I only hope that someone finds them and help them."

When Loki asked why she herself didn't try to help them by finding somebody to do it, she answered with a hopeless look, "I tried, I really did. Father caught me. He locked me up in my room for a whole month. No one could get in to talk to me. Only an attendant could come in and give me food. But other than that, there was no outside contact at all. It was horrible. I can't take it again. I'm not that kind of person to be able to handle months of noninteraction without people."

Loki's was shocked. Lord Kinabell did that to his daughter? How sick could a person get? He wanted to kill the man then and there. How could he do that to his daughter? Or for that matter, torture the people down in the dungeons with no thought or care whatsoever? The man was crazy.

"Help will come," Loki whispered into her ear, glancing around furtively to see if he could spot any spyholes within hearing distance. "Go back to your father and act as there's nothing wrong. If I've learned anything about nobility, it's that we can keep our masks up and act as if there's nothing wrong in the world at all."

She smiled gratefully at him. "Thank you. Those people are in a bad state."

Lord Kinabell's daughter left him alone in the corner of the room. Loki glanced around the room to locate Josef and Caro. He spotted them the same time they spotted him. Loki lifted his hand and made a salute to them with his thumb and index finger touching together. It was the signal to tell them he had found where the dungeons were. They both inclined their heads and touched their fingers to their forehead to signal that they had understood.

Loki waited.

Both elder mages glanced at each other and grinned maliciously. The lifted their hands up from their sides and fireworks errupted in the room, making quite a few people cry out in surprise. Loki immediately took off for the dungeons, taking care to make sure that no one was looking at him when he left.

The entrance to the dungeons were a few hallways away from the ballroom. Lord Kinabell's daughter had told him exactly where it was. It was an insignificant door, blending in with the other doors in the hallway. It was built from mahogany and barred from the outside. Loki unbarred the door and hid the piece of wood behind nearby book case. He opened the doors and was immediately confronted with the guard. The man started in surprise to see him instead of his Lord. Loki gave a delighted grin and punched the daylights out of the man. He would be out cold for quite a while. Loki turned back around and closed the doors, making sure that no attention would be diverted to the door for awhile, if anyone was to pass by it. He walked down the stairs and came to a steel gate that reached ceiling to floor. He saw the guard beyond it. The gate was not locked and the guard hadn't seen him yet. Loki crept silently and opened the gate, hoping that it was kept well oiled. It was. The second guard never knew what had hit him. He never saw Loki who came from behind him to knock him out.

Both guards out, Loki found some ropes to tie them both up with. When they woke up, they would be in an uncomfortable position.

Now, Loki took a good look around the dungeons. It was dark, damp and positively gloomy. There were several doors that led to places that Loki didn't know about. He took the key that he had gotten from the guard and inserted it into the first door he came to. It opened. Behind it was a row of cells and in the cells were people that Lord Kinabell had tortured. Some were beyond recognition, and yet they were still kept alive at the Lord amusement. Loki's face darkened in anger. He had enough evidence here to get Lord Kinabell beheaded.

He opened the other doors and they were all the same. He couldn't believe the man. And these guards did his bidding. Loki was shaking with disgust by the time he was done inspecting the dungeons. He could not wait to tell Josef and Caro about this.

Loki climbed the stairs to leave the dungeons and tell the mages about it. He stopped just in the nick of time from opening the door out as a couple walked by, talking of unconsequential things. Fortunately, they never noticed the unbarred door. When they were gone, Loki opened the door and closed it behind him again. He went back to the ballroom to find Josef and Caro. They were talking to a few other nobles that Loki knew about. The second they saw him, they excused themselves from them, their faces going from pleasant to grim in a second.

"How is it?" Josef asked without preamble.

"Bad," Loki whispered. "I can't see their faces for some of them. Some are just alive but barely just."

Josef gave a grim, bone-chilling smile. "And you know where it is?"

"Yes," Loki said, nodding.

"I have the King's authority to take whatever action I see fit," Josef said grimly "After all, the business that I do is for him. Lord Kinabell will be hanged."

"His daughter had nothing to do with this," Loki told them."I don't know about Lady Kinabell."

"Today," Josef told both of them, "Is the day that I get to put Lord Kinabell away for good."

"He locked his daughter up for a month with no outside contact because she tried to help them," Loki whispered to him.

"Nothing will happen to her," Caro whispered reassuringly. "It's Lord Kinabell that will be punished for this. Stay here so that they won't know it's you that we go the evidence from."

Loki hurriedly told Josef and Caro where the dungeons were and they left to look for Lord Kinabell to do what they did best.

Loki watched.