by Joe Jackson
Aeligos nodded but offered nothing else yet, glancing to the regent for her thoughts.
“The odds of successfully invading or even infiltrating Agivak are heavily against you,” she said matter-of-factly. “Your odds of success in Dauchin-Rache are much better, but still not what I would call promising. Granted, you must consider that I know little of your group as a whole; perhaps you are stronger and more intelligent than I give you credit for. But the odds overall are against you in this, our aid notwithstanding.”
“You let me worry about the odds,” Kris said with a smirk, but then quickly amended it with, “Your Ladyship.”
Lady Irrasitus snorted, showing a bit of a smile for the first time. “If your prowess is as considerable as your bravado – which I have been told is true – then I have little doubt you will emerge victorious.” The humor dropped away from her expression in an instant. “Not all of you, though.”
The Silver Blades began looking around at each other, but Kris made a sharp, dismissive gesture. “Don’t start second-guessing yourselves,” he said. “We all knew the risks coming into this. We’re going to rescue Erik, we’re going to humiliate Arku, and if he’s stupid enough to be in Dauchin-Rache, God willing, we’re going to kill Curlamanx. Keep your minds on that and forget the odds.”
“Well said,” Serenjols agreed.
“Is there anything else you know of my son’s abduction, Your Ladyship?” Corbanis asked before anyone else could get sidetracked by doubts.
“Only that the one you call Taesenus was involved,” she replied. “He has become the champion of Lord Abaddon, as far as I am aware. Why he and the Black Reaver would work together is a mystery, but I suspect you will not encounter him in Si’Dorra. They may be working together, but allowing Lord Abaddon’s champion to walk the lands of Si’Dorra would be a massive mistake on Lord Arku’s part.”
Kris walked over and took one of the glasses of dark liquor the attendant had left for the guests. When he returned to the map table, he took a short sip and placed the glass on the table’s edge before he met Lady Irrasitus’ stare evenly. “Then if you’d be so kind, Your Ladyship, how exactly are you able to help us?”
“The best things – from our standpoint, anyway – about Lord Arku’s army are that they are neither particularly loyal nor populous. They are currently watching the borders of Sorelizar and Tess’Vorg most closely with the unrest between those two realms. Fortunately, this means the bulk of the army is not available to watch our border or those of our neighbors to the east to try to detect your approach.”
“So, we sneak across the border from somewhere at the east end of Pataria?” Liria asked, but then she blushed and shrunk into herself when Kris and Aeligos both shook their heads.
“That’s what they expect,” Kris said, trying not to sound condescending.
“We’re going to sneak across in the last place they’ll expect,” Aeligos added.
Lady Irrasitus swept the map far to the west with a dramatic wave of her hand, and pointed to a particular spot near the border. “Sorelizar.”
“Sonja, you can mask our movements, right?” Kris asked, and the scarlet-haired woman answered affirmatively. “Lady Irrasitus, can you provide a diversion out to the east in several days’ time to make it look as though you’re providing cover for us?”
“I can and will,” she agreed. “We will set a specific date several days from now, to be certain your opportunity is not wasted.”
“You devious bastard,” Sharyn muttered, and Kris turned and smirked at the werewolf.
The Warlord let the smile drop from his features. “I doubt I really need to say this, but I’m going to anyway. This is your last chance to avoid what’s coming and stay somewhere safe. I’m not going to be upset if any of you choose not to go. You know what’s waiting for us in Sorelizar, and across that border in Si’Dorra. I don’t believe in odds any more than I believe in luck, but there’s a method to Lady Irrasitus’ calculations, and the threat of any or all of us getting killed is very real. I want to leave today, start making our way across Tess’Vorg as soon as we can, and cross from Sorelizar. We won’t have to go far into Sekassus’ realm, but it’s a bit of trip to get there anyway.”
“Jol,” Sonja said, drawing her eldest brother’s attention. “Stay here.”
“What?” he balked.
“You’ve got a wife and a new baby,” she continued. “Gods, we should’ve told you to stay home in the first place.”
Serenjols looked upset at the suggestion, but surprisingly, he didn’t argue. He turned to Aeligos and then his father, and when both of them nodded their agreement with Sonja, Jol looked to Kris. “Warlord?” he asked.
Kris dipped his head affirmatively. “You’re excused,” he said. “Everything was so hectic getting everyone ready to come here, I hadn’t really considered any of that. They’re right: You should stay. You can remain here in Ruceria; I wouldn’t suggest going back to Anthraxis while people are actively looking for us.”
Sonja turned to Eli after a moment, and the half-corlyps snorted before a word was said. “Don’t even think about it,” he preempted any suggestions that he, too, return home. “I’m not going anywhere except with you.”
“But…”
“Leave him be,” Kris said, ending the argument before it could start.
Lady Irrasitus looked at the companions and then fixated on Serenjols. “I can grant you a royal escort to Anthraxis to coincide with the council session. Then Lord Chinchala’s daughter can take you home at her convenience.”
Jol looked around at the others, but not one of the Silver Blades looked disappointed or upset. If anything, they were saddened to be losing his sword arm, but despite the weight of all they faced, he was the one with the most to lose. “I will tell Kari what we’ve learned when I get back,” he said. He turned to Lady Irrasitus then and bowed respectfully. “Thank you and your son for all you are doing to help rescue my brother.”
“You are most welcome, young man,” she returned with a polite bow of the head.
“All right, then,” Kris said. He glanced at Lady Irrasitus before his gaze settled on Corbanis. “If there’s nothing else to go over… let’s go rescue your son.”
Chapter VIII – Warning Signs
It was surreal to finally have some quality time away from work with her children. Kari had taken care of the last of the notifications days before, leaving her to spend time with her kids. There was always some work to be done, taking them around the city as she made arrangements with John Schultz’ contracting guild to have her house rebuilt, but she got to sit and watch them play with Sidney and the children at the orphanage quite often. It was as much quality time as Kari had gotten to spend with her children since her bereavement leave after Grakin’s death.
And six months between quality times with her children was far too long.
The days had done wonders for her body, healing at its natural rate for a change rather than at the advanced rate of Sakkrass’ regenerative gift. Kari wanted to be on Mehr’Durillia to help rescue Erik, but part of her understood these circumstances. She was being told by her divine patrons to slow down, to relax as much as she could for a time at least, and remember to trust in those under her command. She was no longer just the highest-ranking demonhunter in the world, she was now a general, and had to get accustomed to letting others do the grunt work when she had more pressing matters.
The strangest part of it all was that she was getting to spend time with all three of her “children,” as she had intermittent visions and dreams of that mallestrem child. The ethereal sound of his voice and particularly his laughter made Kari’s heart flutter. At first, she’d thought it might just be a dream, a remnant of her lovemaking with Morduri. The more she thought on it, though, she began to wonder if she had been pregnant, and changing back to her rir form had caused her to miscarry. It would explain the blood and the pain, but why was she then having dreams of the “lost” child, if that’s indeed what
it was? She had no real explanation, and worse, no one she could speak to about it. The only ones who might be at all knowledgeable about such things were her archmagi friends and acquaintances, and they were still busy sorting through the fallout of Reese’s error and the resulting demonic infestation.
Something was afoot with the Blood Order as well, their members far more noticeable and agitated in the wake of the attack. Kari desperately wanted to speak with Eryn Olgaryn, one of the highest-ranking assassins in the guild. Eryn wouldn’t tell Kari everything, but she could share some secrets, and maybe at least tell Kari whether the Blood Order was considering an overthrow or other mayhem.
The thought of overthrow made Kari’s stomach churn. She was due to attend the duke’s court in a few days, and was torn by mixed emotions. On the one hand, she still wanted to slap his head off his shoulders for mocking her destroyed home, but on the other, she had a duty, as one of his baronesses and the head of the Demonhunter Order, to protect him. Duke Bosimar was fast becoming a thorn in Kari’s side, but at the same time, she recognized his authority and rule was better than anything they were going to get under the Blood Order.
“You have no business here!” came a shout from behind, rousing Kari from her musing while she watched the children play.
One of the caretakers was staring down the length of the porch, and at its far end, Kari could see the very woman she was hoping to find. Eryn stared back coldly at the orphan matron, but she made no threats or gestures. It was strange to Kari to think of an orphanage caretaker having the mettle to stand up to a member of the Blood Order, even if Eryn wasn’t quite five feet tall. Then Kari reminded herself that many of the caretakers were also part of Kaelariel’s priesthood. No doubt Eryn knew that as well, and any potential fisticuffs or worse between the two women would be tempered by the danger an open fight between the temple and the assassin’s guild represented.
“It’s all right, Gina,” Kari said quietly. “She’s here to see me.”
The rir woman grimaced but kept her gaze firmly on Eryn. She made no attempt to block Eryn from approaching Kari, but the demonhunter rose and gestured for the assassin to follow her off the grounds anyway. “Gina, watch the children for me? I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
The caretaker agreed, and Kari led Eryn next door to the porch of Eli and Danilynn’s home. That didn’t seem to sit any better with the caretakers, but Kari had to assert her position a bit and make a conscious effort not to worry about it. If Eryn had come to see her in broad daylight with the city in disarray, there had to be an important reason. There was too much going on with the rebuilding and the disorder amongst the assassin’s guild for Eryn to be wasting her time on a social call.
“What is it?” she asked her friend. “I haven’t heard from Aeligos or the others yet.”
The half-brys woman made a dismissive gesture. “I’m not worried about him,” she said. “I’m more worried about the city right now.”
“Your people have seemed on edge since the attack. What’s going on?”
Eryn walked to the railing and glanced both ways down the street. “A rival guild is trying to muscle in on DarkWind, Kari. And these people are dangerous.” She seemed to pick up on Kari’s amusement without even looking back at her, and blew out a snort. “I mean really dangerous. What my guild is all about is no secret, but you know we don’t ply our trade against the common people without a solid reason. A guild that’s strong enough to come in and take over, though? That’s a guild that should worry everyone.”
“What can you tell me about them?”
The half-brys grimaced. “Not a lot. These people are like ghosts. They appear and then disappear like shadows or wind. They blend in with the common people so well that it’s tough to know what we’re dealing with a lot of the time. Sometimes we think we’ve discovered one or more of them, only to find we’ve accosted a citizen. And that’s putting a big strain on relations with the duke, as I’m sure you can imagine.”
“Have you captured or killed any of these rival guild members yet?” Kari asked, moving to the rail beside her companion.
“Not a one,” Eryn answered. “But our people are disappearing, so this isn’t just paranoia. Someone is whittling away at our hold, and Tarek is expecting a full-scale battle on the streets.”
“Oh gods, Eryn…”
“You know that’s not what we want,” the assassin said, meeting Kari’s gaze. “That’s not how we operate. We protect the interests of our clients, Kari, but it’s always been more political than social. None of the common people usually represent any sort of threat to those we work for and protect, and most of the problems can be dealt with by threat of force or through some political machinations. The number of people we actually have to kill is surprisingly small, if you had any real idea. But we have to keep our standing army numerous to prevent the sort of encroachment we’re now seeing.”
Kari nodded. She didn’t understand exactly, but she knew what Eryn was hinting at. She had no real idea just who the guild’s “clients” might be, and that was what interested her the most. Just who needed an assassin’s guild to protect their interests? Could it be the merchant and trade guilds themselves? Lesser nobles? Wealthy folk of a different sort? Or, more likely, a combination of all of them?
“Could it be the Black Dragon Society?” Kari prodded. “From everything I heard when I was working down in Barcon a couple of years ago, they were experts at staying hidden. They didn’t patrol the streets or have an obvious presence like your guild does.”
“I honestly don’t know,” Eryn answered. “There’s something different about them. It’s like they already know who we are, and that worries me. It means they’ve been casing this city for some time, and they’ve done their due diligence in learning who it is they’re up against. It’s the sort of preparation I’d expect out of you or Kris, not a band of thugs. Whoever they are, they’re highly organized and extremely dangerous, and that represents a threat to more than just my guild. That’s why I thought you should know.”
“I appreciate it,” the demonhunter said with a nod. “Let me get in touch with Earl Black, and I’ll see if the Black Dragon Society has been expanding beyond Barcon. You might also want to keep an eye out for Gil. She could probably help you sniff out some of these people so you can at least figure out who you’re dealing with.”
Eryn shook her head. “Tarek said no official contact with outsiders. He’ll probably be mad enough with me for coming to see you. But you have to know what’s going on if this is going to boil over into the streets. Right now Tarek’s battening down the hatches, as they might say down at the docks. He’s afraid we’ve actually been infiltrated, and that the attacks might be coming from within.”
“I know what that’s like,” Kari sighed. “So why doesn’t he want you to see me, aside from the obvious reasons?”
“He doesn’t trust you, especially after the attack last week. He thinks you’re going to bring destruction to the city one way or another. Between you and me, he asked if I thought I could kill you if it came down to that, but not only did I tell him no, but that it’s actually the worst thing he could possibly consider doing. I tried to explain to him that you’re the reason the destruction last week was as light as it was. He sees you as the cause of the trouble; I obviously know you’re the solution.”
Kari wanted to laugh at the rare bit of humor from the half-brys woman, but found she couldn’t. It was enough to be at war with the kings of Mehr’Durillia and to know that Taesenus was still out there somewhere, plotting to kill Kari and her family. Now, though, she had the duke to deal with, and the head of the Blood Order was considering having her murdered. Kari was truly beset on all sides, and she realized her most powerful allies were all on Mehr’Durillia dealing with yet more problems.
She had the briefest amusing thought of building a temple to Sakkrass right on the center square of the campus to draw hundreds or thousands of czarikk to her side. Not to mention the dragon,
Samasurassa. Then she realized, of course, that she already had an army of sorts at her beck and call.
“I’m going to assign more of my hunters to patrolling the city, and tell them to be on the lookout for suspicious characters,” Kari said. “I won’t have to give them much detail, but maybe the increased presence will either stall these rivals or force them to be more direct, which may make it easier for you to root them out.”
Eryn bobbed her head. “I know it might sound strange, Kari, but we really are on the same side. We just use different methods to protect our charges.”
But I protect everyone, not just my “clients,” Kari thought.
“I’d best get going,” the half-brys woman said.
“Like I said, I’ll check in with Earl Black,” Kari said by way of dismissal. “Time to get back to my kids, though.”
Eryn smiled but then walked off with a quickened pace to disappear into traffic.
Kari spent a while longer alongside Danilynn, playing with their children or watching them play with the others. Sidney was adjusting well to being adopted, and even referred to Danilynn as Mama fairly often. It was amusing when he started to say ma’am and then corrected himself mid-word. He seemed a bright and pretty good-looking little boy, and Kari was glad he had chanced upon being adopted by a fellow half-corlyps that could set him a proper example. It only left her with the question of what had happened to the boy’s parents.
As afternoon began to wane, Kari left her kids with Danilynn and Damansha, and then she made her way to the campus and its temple. She made it about halfway up the steps to the front doors before realization came to her, and she furrowed her brow. She looked out over the campus’ central square, taking in the sight of the cadets training without Liria among them for a change, and she spotted someone she wanted to speak with: Darius Red Eagle.
