Chapter 55

“Tagronoth, I need you to read this bastard's memory.” Sal said. “As you know we can only read what someone is currently thinking. While we were talking, he was thinking about momma. We now know that he has met her and lied about it. I need you to look and see exactly how much he has lied.”

“From what we gathered, he knows where she is.” Manny spoke up. “I wish there was a way to project his thoughts so we can all see it.”

“I can do that.” Emily said.

“Really?” Saggun asked. “How?”

“A mirror.”

“Huh?” All four men said simultaneously.

“I can spell any of the mirrors that we have and link it to Tagronoth. As Tagronoth reads his memory, it will show us everything he sees.”

“Does he need to be awake to do this?” Sal asks her.

“No.”

“Good, because he is currently unconscious.” Manny stated.

Sal grabbed Raumel by one of his feet and dragged him to the sitting room and tied him to a chair as Emily spelled both Tagronoth and the mirror.

Tagronoth walked behind Raumel, placed both his hands on his head and said “Even though we cannot remember things, our brain still has every memory stored. I cannot choose where we start in his memory, or I would start when he first became your spy. It will also skip to what he will consider as ‘important’ events in his life. Obviously we cannot see every second of his life or we would be in this room for several hundred years. However, if we see something that we would consider important, I can pause and rewind the memory so we do not miss any details. With that being said, let us begin.”

It began with him being born, as he was passed from the doctor, to the nurse, then to his mother. They saw as he grew up in the demon realm in what was considered a good family. They saw as he tortured animals as he became a teenager, how his family finally saw his secret after a few animals in their region. Of how they sent him to *Hellions Academy* to curb his appetite for violence. It obviously did not work since they saw him continue his habit but this time behind closed doors.

They saw how he met the twins and how his job as a spy gave him the opportunity to not only kill more but also broaden his horizons as he moved on from animals to demons and humankind. Then they saw as he met their mother, how he tortured her and was given permission to continue with his torture as long as it did not interfere with their other mother, his boss’s own torture session.

“I do not need to see anymore.” Sal spoke, bringing Tagronoth out of his trance.

"Now that we know where your mother is, how do we rescue her?” Emily asked.

“I can take Raumel’s place as her guard.” Saggun spoke up, “I have seen enough to know his mannerisms and can easily fool everyone.”

“Won’t that be suspicious if you do not show up?” Emily asked him.

“I do get days off. Even if I did not, I could always take his place when I leave to go back home. Instead of leaving I would just head to the dungeon.”

“What if he works the same time you do? What will you do then? As much as I want to rescue their mother, I do not want to risk your safety.” Tagronoth said, chiming in.

“My love, you do not need to worry. I can find out when he is working next. If we are supposed to work at the same time, then we will have to come up with a good excuse for me to leave or to be sent somewhere else for a mission.”

“I know I will sound like a terrible son when I say this but, mother is not going anywhere. We know that mum cannot kill her, so we know she will survive until we figure out a plan that will let us rescue her *without* putting Saggun’s life in danger.” Manny said.

“I agree, that does make you sound like a terrible son.” Sal commented, “Unfortunately, I also agree with everything you said.”

“We have not been to the palace in 400 years, and from the memories alone, I can tell there have been some structural changes. Not a lot, but enough to cause concern. So the first thing we will need is an updated map.” Manny said.

“I can get one, I am supposed to meet your mum at the palace tomorrow. I can get one from the construction worker that they have on pay.”

“Why don’t you just set up a portal in the dungeon? I mean, it would take five minutes to set up and make sure no one but us can see or access it. Then when Saggun takes Raumel’s place, all he would have to do is grab your mum and take her through the portal.”

They all looked at her with a dumbfounded expression.

“Why did we not think of this?” Manny spoke up.

“Because it is too simple for your complicated brains and also because you four like doing everything the hard way.”

“I do not know if we should take that as a compliment or not.” Sal stated.

“I feel offended in a way.” Saggun said.

“So now that we got that out of the way, what are we going to do about Raumel?”

“Must I come up with everything?” Emily mumbled to herself.

“Let me guess, you also have a suggestion that our ‘complicated brains’ have been unable to come up with?” Saggun asked sarcastically.

“Yes, as a matter of fact I do.”

“Well, let us hear it then.” Sal said.

“We keep Raumel unconscious until the moment that Saggun brings your mum through the portal. As soon as she is safe, we toss Raumel through to the other side and leave him stranded in the dungeon. He can take the blame for her missing.”