by H. M. Clarke
“Is he really that bad?”
“As I said. He’s an Ass. Thinks he’s better than everyone because he is the youngest son of the Earl of Welton. He’s an insufferable Ass.”
“You must either like the word ‘Ass’ or we really need to expand your vocabulary.”
Ryn shot Dagan a sour look but dropped it when she saw the grin on his face. “There are much more descriptive words you could use. Such as ‘fool, idiot, imbecile, simpleton,’ or my favorite ‘half-witted camel gnat,’ Just to name a few. Drop some of those in conversation with him next time and see where that takes you.”
“Thanks… I think.”
“You’re very welcome.”
Ryn did not know what to think of this man. He was a bit of an oddity. Serious one minute, jovial the next. But it didn’t matter. She was Paired and Paired with a mage that at least knew what they were doing in combat.
“Come, let us join the others. Then once all the fuss here is over, we go back to Brookhaven and get ready for graduation and be presented with our uniforms as full constables of the Blackwatch.”
CHAPTER FIVE
“Kimba, what in Bellus name is going on?” Dagan rounded on the Knight Sergeant as soon as the trio was alone in the office back at Brookhaven Keep. He did his best to keep a lid on his barely contained fury, but it was hard. Being in the Blackwatch was not what he wanted. He could feel the magical bars and chains slowly forming around him, solidifying and strengthening the permanent link he would have forever with his new Pair. Some slip of a girl that still had not had all the polish worn off her lofty ideals. He is a free agent. He will not be constrained to a leash.
“I don’t know what you mean Drake.” Kimba’s calm reply gave nothing away.
“You know exactly what I mean!” Dagan leaned forward as he spoke, his nose an inch from Kimba’s face. A faint glow of blue flared around his fingers.
“Look here Dagan! Back off.” Kuma moved between the two, his left hand hooked around the hilt of his dagger.
Dagan glared at him and then took a step backward, his hands raised to show he meant no harm. “I received word from the Tribunal that I was to meet up with a contact in that spot of the swamp. The orders were in that packet you passed to me three days ago Kimba when I passed through Brookhaven Town.”
It was not well known but Knight Sergeant Kimba was the local Aequitas Tribunal agent in Brookhaven. But she volunteered to join the Blackwatch with clearances from both organizations to do so. The benefits of the exchange of information was wanted by both agencies.
Kimba grunted and nodded to herself. “That explains a lot then,” she said. “When I first saw you I thought you might be here to look into rumors of unregistered magi hiding here in Brookhaven Town which would explain you receiving your orders through me. The next day I received a packet commanding me to relax the wards in that area of the Proving Grounds to allow a mage to enter. The orders did not say who it was or why. Someone in the Tribunal must really want you joining us Drake.”
“Want me for what? What good can I do them in the Blackwatch?”
“Maybe they wanted to snare your contact, but you ended getting caught instead?” Kuma relaxed his stance as Kimba sunk her chin to her chest in thought.
“It’s a possibility I suppose,” Dagan replied as he leaned back against the window sill. “But that’s risky. I can’t see the Tribunal doing that. I CAN see them doing this to inconvenience me though. Peistal would love to have me at his beck and call.”
“No, Lord Peistal would like to have your power at his beck and call. You, he could do without.”
Dagan grimaced, but Kimba had a point. Peistal was always nagging him to enlist full time into the Tribunal instead of freelancing and Dagan was under no illusions that the Lord Tribune wanted him because of his magical ability and not for his ‘sparkling conversation.’
“Peistal would not have organized this. He wants me to join, but of my own free will. No. Something else is going on here and I plan to find out what.”
Kuma moved to lean against the windowsill beside Dagan and rested on his elbows to gaze across the central courtyard to the town clustered beyond Brookhaven’s walls.
“The orders came from the Tribunal for both of you. That means someone with access and the authority to use the courier system,” he said.
Dagan adjusted his stance to lean on the sill next to Kuma. There was a lot of activity in the Courtyard below as servants and cadets rushed between the kitchens and the Great Hall getting everything ready for the ceremony tonight to welcome the new Blackwatch Constables. “But why the Blackwatch? Why would anyone want me here?”
“To get you out of the way.”
Dagan quirked an eyebrow and looked over his shoulder at Kimba. “I’m a freelancer, remember? If someone wanted me out of the way, they just have to revoke my contract.”
“To revoke your contract, they would need to hold more power than the Lord Tribune,” Kimba coolly replied.
“Which they don’t, otherwise they would have done that.” Dagan flipped around and leaned back against the window sill, his eyes staring hard into Kimba’s.
“Maybe they are not after you at all? Maybe they are after the Lord Tribune?” she said. “Your orders came from him. Maybe whatever mission he has you working on is going to stamp on someone else’s toes.”
Dagan rubbed a hand across his lips as his mind began to churn in furious thought. “I am a freelancer investigating treason…”
“So why isn’t a sworn member of the Tribunal investigating it?” Kimba’s expression hardened as the implications of what she was suggesting began to sink in to those around her.
“Because Peistal believes that someone in the Tribunal may be involved and wants an independent investigation to hopefully prove him wrong.”
“Speaking hypothetically here. Let’s say, a plot against the kingdom was discovered, the instigator was identified, but some of this person’s connections lead to members of the Tribunal. If I was the Lord Tribune, I would find someone I could trust that was impartial with no political ties, or connections to anyone else in the Tribunal to investigate.”
It was the most Dagan had ever heard Kimba speak in one breath. But the words hit home, because they were the most plausible explanation he had heard.
“Someone in the Tribunal found out about my mission and tried to put me out of the way. Hypothetically speaking that is.”
Kimba nodded.
“The Knights Commander are loyal to the kingdom,” Kuma turned his weather-worn face from the window to look at Dagan as he spoke. “I am sure that if you submit a respectful request to them, they will give you leave to finish your mission.”
Dagan nodded and then gave Kuma a wry grin. “But after that is done, I’m still Blackwatch. With a Pair.” As he spoke, Dagan could feel Ryn through the Link and her presence was becoming slowly stronger in his mind.
“Yes. You will still be Blackwatch, but being part of the Blackwatch is not such a bad thing Dagan. You’ll see.” Kuma gave Dagan a companionable slap on the shoulder and moved away from the window. “Ryn is a good cadet, though a little headstrong, but nothing you can’t handle. Having an experienced mage as a Pair will be good for her.”
“If you say so Kuma.”
Kuma chuckled at Dagan’s dejected tone and then quickly sobered. “Come, we need to be quick to catch the Commanders before they get caught up in tonight’s festivities. Get them now, while they’re pressed for time and they’ll agree to anything to get rid of us.”
Kimba grimaced but moved aside as Dagan followed Kuma out of the office.
CHAPTER SIX
“Aren’t you a little old to be a cadet?”
Dagan’s voice prodded at her as she finished the last bite of the roast beef from her plate. They were seated for the evening meal in the main hall at Brookhaven Keep. It is a large stone hall with an ornate oak hammer beam roof and was large enough to house the entire population of Brookhaven for meal
times. Colorful stain glass filled the large windows with images of past glories of the Blackwatch or of memorials to fallen heroes. The evening sun streamed through them, dappling color on the mass of humanity below them. Ryn was trying to savor this moment. This was her first meal seated at the Constable tables and Dagan was slowly ruining it by making her feel like a raw recruit again. He had asked her age, and she told him. Twenty two. She was starting to get a little tired of his questions.
“Aren’t you a little old to be a know it all?”
Ryn didn’t know how old he was, and really didn’t care, but he certainly looked older than her.
“True enough,” he said digging a fork into the pile of peas and gravy on his plate. “I was just curious as to why.”
“Donal is twenty two as well. He arrived a month after me. And Ashe here has only just turned nineteen. And anyway, we are no longer cadets.”
“No, you certainly are not,” Dagan said reaching across the table to grab the wine pitcher and filled his cup. He then filled the cups of Ryn, Donal and Ashe. “Time for a salute then.”
“A salute?” Ashe asked as he pulled his cup to him.
“A salute Ashe, a toast. You know. Paying respects to one's accomplishments, to one’s perseverance, to one’s stubbornness by taking a drink to express our honor and goodwill.”
“Oh.” Ashe frowned at the cup in front of him. Ryn knew that he was self deprecating to a fault and was probably trying to think of something worthy to toast to.
“I’ll start.” Ryn held her cup out before her. “To our Proving and the fact that we are no longer cadets but full Constables.”
“That I wasn’t Paired with Banar,” Donal rushed out.
“That I Paired up with Donal,” Ashe muttered.
“That I wasn’t killed by Murgots,” Dagan said though his golden eyes watched Ryn.
“To the Proving.” The group raised their cups, and each took a drink.
“How about Banar being Paired with Lily? Those two deserve each other,” Donal said as soon as their cups were back on the table.
“What have you got against Lily?” Ashe asked
“Nothing. I have nothing against Lily.”
“Donal liked Lily for a time, but he was always too chicken to talk to her. He now thinks that the fact that she doesn’t come and talk to him indicates that she wants nothing to do with him.”
“She probably thinks you don’t like her.”
“Don’t like who?” Banar slipped onto the bench next to Ryn, shoving Dagan to one side.
“Banar! By Bellus, watch out for Dagan. He might fry your ass if you’re not careful.”
“There’s that word ass again,” she heard Dagan mutter, but Ryn ignored it.
“So you’re the blow in that helped save Ryn’s bacon,” Banar said turning to Dagan with a smirk while throwing his arm possessively across Ryn’s shoulders.
Ryn saw Dagan’s face harden and his golden eyes narrowed. Across the table Ashe stiffened. Donal first looked surprised and then he pulled a face as if he had eaten something distasteful.
“I didn’t save anyone’s ‘Bacon’, but I did help her deal with a few Murgots.” Dagan’s voice was low, deep. All jovialness in it was gone. Evaporated with Banar’s rude appearance. Banar being the bonehead he is did not notice.
Ryn deftly removed herself out from under Banar’s arm and slid down the bench away from him. “I was fine. And Dagan knows a few useful tricks.”
“You’re lucky the blow in arrived Ryn, otherwise you might not have been Paired and would have to spend another year as a cadet.”
Ryn scowled as Banar kept calling Dagan the ‘blow in’, even after learning his name. “If Dagan hadn’t of showed up, I would have been paired with Lily. Kimba was bringing her to me to pair, she was sent elsewhere once it was found I had paired with Dagan.”
“Lily? They were going to pair you with Lily?” Banar’s faced looked chagrinned. “I paired with Lily.”
“I know, and she is a good match for you.”
Donal’s eyes visibly widened at her response. “Ryn, you do know Banar’s upset because that means you Paired before he did?” Donal said.
“You paired with that whiney girl?” Dagan shook his head and his face relaxed back into what it was before. He pulled his plate closer and took another forkful of peas and gravy.
Banar glared at him but said nothing.
“I’m not upset. Just means that the best Pairing was saved for last is all.”
“Whatever makes you feel better Banar,” Donal quipped. “Where is Lily anyway? Shouldn’t she be with you?”
Banar frowned and screwed up his face. “She wanted to go sit with Geia and that lot to gossip. I couldn’t stand their talk anymore so I came here.”
“Aren’t we just blessed then,” Ashe muttered.
“What are they gossiping about?” Ryn asked, curious as to what was more important to them than being with their Pairings.
“About blow in here,” Banar replied gesturing to Dagan.
“I have a name, use it.”
“Very well. They are talking about Dagan,” Banar said jerking a thumb in Dagan’s direction.
“What are they saying?” Ryn asked curious in spite of herself.
“Stupid stuff really. Ranging from how handsome he is to whether he is a dangerous criminal, or secret service.”
“They think I’m handsome?” Dagan said with a feigned look of surprise.
“Don’t let it go to your head.”
“Anyway, we’re getting off the reason I came here.” Banar turned to Ryn. “Spar practice before breakfast tomorrow. Don’t be late.”
“Ryn and I have already made arrangements to practice tomorrow Banar,” Ashe cut in.
“And both of you will be sorely disappointed, as she will be practicing with me. If Kathryn is to be assigned to me, I want to see what she can do,” Dagan cut in.
“Maybe we can practice against each other? Pair to Pair,” Ashe countered.
“Wait? What?” Donal sputtered as he had just taken a sip of his wine and looked wildly at both Ashe and Dagan. “Pair to Pair? But I like to sleep in until breakfast!”
“Wooden sword and shield, and we use the main arena as that has permanent damage retardation spells placed upon it for mage practice.”
“Ashe, maybe not tomorrow. At least give me a day to practice with Dagan before you try to beat me senseless with that shield thing you do. Okay?”
Ashe glared at her but then his face relaxed. “Okay, Ryn.”
“That’s settled? Good-”
The sound of a gong sounded throughout the hall and everyone immediately settled and turned to look up at the head table where the Brookhaven command staff were eating. Knight Commander Roth Doran, warrior in charge of Brookhaven had stood from his chair at the center of the table, beside him sat his Pair Crom Hembrook. Both men looked to be in their mid forties with dark brown hair peppered with grey, though Doran’s nose no longer pointed in the direction nature intended and Hembrook’s face alternated between flushed and pale.
Once the Knight Commander was assured that he had the attention of the hall, he began to speak.
“I know that this has been a very long day for some of you, so I will beg your forbearance as I give announcements and congratulations,” Roth said with a smile. “Never fear, my speech won’t be long so you will all be crawling to your bunks sooner than you think.”
Crom Hembrook raised his cup, “Hear, hear!”
“Congratulations are in order for those who have completed their Proving. Raise a cheer for our new Constables!”
Roth raised his glass and the rest of the hall banged a hand hard onto their tables and shouted “Huzzah!”
“Fifty-nine people from Brookhaven went, and we got thirty pairs in return. We had not one failure which is something that Brookhaven can be proud of. This leads into our next announcement. Postings for the new constables will be placed on the board tomorrow. Be sure to look at it
before you come to dinner, as your officers will be seeking you out.” Roth’s eyes then slowly traveled the room until they reached Ryn’s table, the smile dropped a little from his face.
He raised his glass in their direction, pointing them out to all in the hall. “We also welcome Magister Drake to our ranks. We hope that this will be a partnership beneficial to us all.”
Dagan rose gracefully from his bench and gave the Knight Commander a gracious nod. “I thank you for the welcome and I hope my presence here does not ruffle too many feathers.”
Crom Hembrook quickly stifled his laugh as he signaled the hall to give another cheer. Roth Doran gave the Magister a knowing nod before raising his glass and taking a drink. Dagan sat back down on his bench seat.
Ryn leaned across Banar and tugged at Dagan’s sleeve to get his attention. “What was that all about?” She asked when he turned her way.
“It was nothing. I was just making the other big dogs aware that I have marked my turf.”
“Dogs? What have dogs to do with anything?” Ryn asked in confusion.
“It’s politics. Once you have worked with me for a while you will understand exactly what I’m talking about.”
“I thought it might have something to do with why the dogs here at Brookhaven don’t seem to like you,” Ryn said, her brow furrowed in confusion. “They bark and growl at you whenever you go near them.”
“He’s just warning the others not to interfere in whatever he determines to be his business,” Banar said with a smirk. Dagan turned to him with a look of surprise, which Banar caught. “I’m a third son of an Earl, I was weaned on this stuff.”
“Well third son, I think it’s time you returned back to your Lily. Kathryn is going to be bunking soon as we have an early start tomorrow.” Dagan looked down his long nose at him as he spoke, reminding Ryn of Peck when he was watching something he was unsure of.
“I guess you’re right,” Banar said looking back at the table where Lily and her friends were sitting. “I should ask her what else she can do with her fireballs.” And with that Banar slipped back out of the bench and was off back to Lily’s table.
