by Peter Wacht
The boy was smart. He had pieced together the puzzle very well, and he didn’t even have all the pieces. What surprised Rynlin, though, was the way Thomas explained it. There was no fear in his voice, as there should have been. At least Rynlin thought so. If you told a battle-scarred veteran of a dozen wars that a Nightstalker was after him, he’d wet his pants in fear. But Thomas wasn’t afraid, he just wanted to know the truth.
“Yes, the Nightstalker was most likely after you.”
“Why?”
“For the same reason that you can’t return to the Highlands yet. If you ran into the wrong people, you would be killed on sight.”
“Killeran?”
“Yes, probably Killeran, since he’s in league with the High King. Rodric most likely arranged the attack on the Crag and your murder, but I’m sure you’ve already thought of that possibility. If you had died like they wanted, Rodric would now rule the Highlands and probably a few other Kingdoms as well. Because your death has not been confirmed, he must wait, at least a few more years, before he can put into motion whatever plans he might have.”
“Why don’t the other rulers do something to stop him?”
“That would be the logical solution, wouldn’t it?” said Rynlin, shaking his head sadly. “But some Kingdoms don’t care because their rulers lack any political acuity, some might be in league with Rodric and too blind to see that he will stab them in the back as soon as he can, and some probably have already guessed at what Rodric wants to do, but until there’s actual proof, there’s nothing they can do.”
“If Rodric is behind all this, how could he have the power to control a Nightstalker? He’s just a man.”
“He doesn’t,” said Rynlin.
“So he has another ally, a hidden ally,” said Thomas. “One who has the power to control a Nightstalker.”
“Very good, Thomas. You’ve done better than most of the people who consider themselves experts in political maneuvering.”
“That leaves only one possible ally.”
Rynlin nodded.
“But why would he want me dead?”
Rynlin shrugged. He thought he knew the answer, he just didn’t want to tell Thomas. Not yet, anyway. Not until he was sure. His grandson had enough to worry about for now. But soon he’d have to know. And then the hard decisions would have to be made, decisions that would affect not only Thomas, but everyone around him as well. It was really a frightening thought, which was why Rynlin didn’t burden him with it.
“I won’t run from him,” said Thomas, his voice filled with cold determination. “I won’t.”
