The Magic Trick (The Card Game #2)

Ch 35 - The Betrayer of Cards

CHAPTER XXXV

THE BETRAYER OF CARDS

But Romulus had already swung open the trapdoor and disappeared down the hatch, Evenova in tail. Viktor stared at the black square, at first meaning to follow, yet the weariness in his bones made him plop down in the cool grass instead. He'd had enough conflict to last a lifetime and was in no way eager for more. But while the overgrown hedges sparkled in the sunlight, that didn't change the fact that noise was stirring in the hideout below him. It didn't take long before the sound grew louder and closer.

R.E. Kamdrac's bushy white hair and eyebrows sprouted out of the trapdoor, and he grunted and hooted as he climbed. "Honestly—what's all this all about? Vanishing boy—dares to disturb an old man's peace—and insists on more secrecy."

"Privacy—not secrecy," Romulus snapped as he emerged after the card-maker. "And you should know it's for your own good."

"Humph," Kamdrac said.

Seeing that Feliks was climbing the rungs as well, Viktor scrambled to help the injured man up onto the grass. Romulus then kicked the trapdoor shut.

"Where's Evenova?" said Viktor.

"Oh, she's keeping an eye on a certain someone," Romulus said bitterly, "someone whose mental illness I suspect is little more than a sham."

Viktor groaned and shook his head. "What are you doing?"

"I'm doing what you already should have done. As usual, you're too weak to follow through," said Romulus. "Go on, Viktor, Kamdrac, why don't you let Feliks in on your little secret?"

The King of Diamonds turned toward the card-maker. "What is he talking about, Redé?"

R.E. Kamdrac shook his head. "I do not know."

"Fine, I'll say it if you won't." Romulus turned to Feliks. "Kamdrac's daughter, your lover, the woman you searched after for so long—is the one who betrayed the Cards. She thought you'd died, and she thought more would die, so she gave the three Kings' identities over to the Leopard instead. And how did the Leopard reward her? By killing Cards and children in droves, and then taking her prisoner forevermore."

Kamdrac's wrinkled eyes were wide and fearful, but it was Feliks' manner that caught Viktor off-guard. He'd expected the King of Diamonds to become furiously defensive; instead he simply looked disappointed.

"Who told you this yarn?" Feliks asked.

"It's not a yarn," Romulus replied. "Lady Nutrix was a friend of Florica. And she knew you too."

Feliks nodded. "Yes, and I knew Saga well enough to tell you that Kasta Way's fortune-teller is a batty fool, just like her mother was. I always said that she knew too much of the Cards, but Maksim wouldn't hear it, not with his sympathy for the Gypsy cause. Aye, for all we know, Saga could be wrapped up in the plot."

"It's possible," Kamdrac muttered, wiping his brow. "Indeed ... very poss—"

"What are you talking about?" Viktor snapped, suddenly as angry as Romulus. "I snuck into the dungeons months ago. I saw you, Mister Kamdrac, spoke to you. You said you knew who the Betrayer was, but you couldn't get the name out—because it was your own daughter! Admit that it was Florica!"

The card-maker shook his frail head, his white hair drifting in the wind. "Ho, no, boy, you have grossly mistaken my words. In that dark cell, when I said I knew of the Betrayer, it was only to imply that I knew a betrayer existed. As to their identity, I am lost. It certainly wasn't my daughter. You should be ashamed to assault her after all she has endured."