Page 166 of Scales ’N’ Spells: Volume Two

Nikki adored Dimitri. They wanted to hug the stuffing out of the man. “Then let’s find them quickly.”

Dimitri grinned. “You and I are going to get along like fur on a cat, I can see it right now. Alright, let’s start with basics. Give me a good idea of their patterns. If they move, how many move at a time? What do they take, how quickly do they go? Do they normally hop short distances, just changing towns, or do they go as far as to change countries?”

The difference between someone who knew how to follow a trail and a tracker became obvious in that second. No one else had asked Nikki these questions. And Dimitri practically radiated competence in the way he laid those questions out, as if this was the very baseline of what he needed to know.

Nikki really had a good feeling about this man.

“Right, basics. The Jaeggi are about two thousand in number.” Nikki paused, waffling a hand back and forth. “I think a little under that, but it’s not like anyone’s told me a number. I’m going off of what I’ve seen.”

“Ballpark numbers work,” Dimitri assured them as he pulled out his phone and typed in notes.

“They tend to keep the main body together with every move, and that’s about fifteen hundredish? It’s hard to keep track of an exact number, to be honest. Their routine is to move every three to six months. They have some sort of schedule they follow, although I could never figure out where the schedule was. But people referred to it all the time. When it was time to move, they’d call everyone in.”

Dimitri held up a finger. “Explain that. You said ‘main body’ before, so are there outlying cells?”

“Not like you mean. They always had scouts out, trying to find mages like me. The scouts worked in groups of six, and there was usually a baker’s dozen of scout groups at any given time. You also had the people in charge of gathering up all the elements. They tended to live outside the main clan for three months at a time, rotating in and out with others. All of those people would be called in when it was time to move, to help with the move.”

“Makes sense,” Gunter muttered thoughtfully. “The scouts and gatherers are still husbands, brothers, wives, children—they need to help pack their family up to move them.”

“Right,” Nikki agreed. “They’d stay for about two weeks after a move, getting people settled in a little, and then they’d go out again. I saw this cycle repeat many, many times.”

Dimitri nodded but didn’t look up from his notes. “How much do they move?”

“Every family was regulated to one moving van. Businesses, too. They really didn’t keep much in the way of belongings or memorabilia. We kidnapped mages had even less than that, usually just two suitcases. They’re used to packing up things quickly and moving out. They normally took four weeks to pack up, move, and unpack again. But honestly, they’re so practiced at it, I think they could pack up and be gone in three days.”

“Nomads, that’s what I’m looking for.” Dimitri gave a grunt.

“Basically, yes. You asked if they go long distances. They do country hop a lot. I think the short window is because they can only get short-term visas in most countries. That said, it’s not like they’re going huge distances. They tend to stay around the Germany-Austria-Sweden area. I think they’re most comfortable here.” Nikki’s smile turned a touch bitter. “They stayed in German-speaking countries; made all of us learn and use it, too. I barely remember anything of my mother tongue.”

Gunter’s expression was sympathetic and understanding. “But at least it gave you the means to communicate with your new allies.”

“There’s that.” And Nikki was glad of that. Sneaking in to the cell to speak with Ravi was one of the best decisions they’d ever made. Ravi had led them directly to Gunter, freedom, and magic.

“So, they like to stay within a large, general area. Hmmm. I assume you went looking at all the places Nikki knows?”

Gunter gave him a terse nod. “Fly-bys, for the most part. We picked up no hint of them.”

“It’s not really a surprise,” Nikki said with a shrug. “They don’t repeat places. They’re too paranoid for that. I don’t remember revisiting a town even once.”

“Could be that after the war they were afraid the dragons would find them and enact revenge.” Dimitri’s eyes narrowed in thought. “And now it’s just habit. Or maybe they’re still afraid we’ll visit and rain fire down on them.”

“I’m personally of the opinion that the only good Jaeggi is a dead one,” Gunter said flatly.

“I’m with you on that.” Dimitri’s smile spoke of lye and iron maidens. “Which is why I’m so keen on finding the bastards. Nikki, I understand that when you went in to scout their last known location, you ran into a boobytrap? Is that something they do every town?”

“Every single town,” Nikki confirmed with an adamant nod of the head. “So be very, very careful while you’re hunting them. Anything that leads to a vehicle, storehouse of elements, or their operation center is sure to be boobytrapped. And it’s not always obvious from the outside that the building has those things in it.”

“Because it’s all makeshift, none of these buildings are made for that purpose.” Dimitri didn’t seem at all deterred by this. In fact, the grin on his face was delighted. “Sounds like a challenge.”

Gunter didn’t seem to like Dimitri’s take on this. “Hunting our sworn enemy while avoiding magical boobytraps sounds like fun to you?”

“Best fun I’ve had in ages. And it’s not even my birthday.” Dimitri rubbed his hands together, nearly bouncing with anticipation. “Seriously, I cannot wait to get started. When do you want to go?”

Nikki wasn’t at all sure on that. They weren’t in charge of this circus, after all. They gave Gunter a glance askance.

“I’m not sure what our timeline is, but I would think in the next day or so.” Gunter frowned as he reached for his phone. “I’ll confer with Hoheit and get back to you. I believe we were only waiting on your arrival.”

“I’d like to rest today, as it was a long flight yesterday, but I say let’s pick up the trail again tomorrow, if we can. We’re not doing ourselves any favors by letting it go colder.”