“The king and I have great respect for Colonel Borowski,” stated the queen. “If we didn’t think he could handle himself well, he wouldn’t be in charge of the army. What were your orders regarding Sergeant Skyler?”
“We were to bring him here for the healers to mend before taking him to the dungeon. Two of us are to stay with him at all times.”
The queen nodded silently as she moved around the bed to examine the patient. The bloodstains were coming from a single deep gash on the sergeant’s forearm. Tanya suspected that it was the sergeant’s knife hand and that the colonel had slashed out to force the attacker to drop his knife. Apparently it had worked.
“Get his tunic off,” ordered the queen, “and for goodness sakes, remove his boots. We have other patients needing these beds, and we can’t be changing the linens after each one. Try not to splatter his blood around, either. I will be right back.”
The queen quickly completed her round and returned to the new patient. Two of the guards had disappeared, and the other two were talking to a neighboring patient. The queen first healed the knife wound and then turned her attention to the plague. Without knowing the precise nature of the plague, all she could do was to call forth a generic healing spell. That spell appeared to be working wonders with the other patients, but the queen was not entirely sure why, and that bothered her. She wished that Zalaharic would hurry his return to Tagaret.
A soft voice interrupted the queen’s thoughts. “You asked to be notified when your mother woke. She just ordered a morning meal sent to her quarters.”
Tanya turned and nodded to the young woman and then returned to her patient. By the time she finished treating the sergeant, she was weary. She had been in the infirmary all day, and she knew it must be close to dusk, if not even later. She sighed wearily and left the infirmary. She met Jenneva on the way to the king’s chambers.
“You look as tired as I felt earlier today,” Jenneva said sympathetically. You should get some rest.”
“I will,” promised the queen. “Mother, what spells are you using on the sick?”
“Just a generic healing spell,” answered Jenneva. “Why do you ask?”
“I do not like treating something that I do not understand. Do your patients recover quickly?”
“I truly do not know,” answered Jenneva. “There are so many people infected that I just treat them and move on to the next. I can see an improvement between when I start and when I leave, so I know the spell is doing some good, but there hasn’t been time to go back and see if their health remains strong. Have you had different experiences?”
“I have been working strictly in the infirmary,” replied the queen, “so I get to watch the patients over a period of time. I get the same feeling as you do that the healing spell brings an acceptable level of health back to the patients, but I sense more than that is happening.”
“What do you mean?”
“The patients continue to improve far beyond what I would expect,” stated Tanya. “It is as if I am offering some miraculous cure, but I am only using a generic healing spell. It makes no sense.”
“Perhaps that spell just happens to be appropriate for this particular plague,” suggested Jenneva.
“No.” Tanya shook her head. “I have released men that were perfectly fit to return to duty, only to have them show up again at the infirmary several hours later. Besides, if the spell was accomplishing all of the healing, the greatest benefit should occur during the treatment, but I see patients improving greatly from one round to the next with no treatment in between.”
“That does not sound right,” frowned Jenneva. “You make me want to visit the patients that I saw last night to see what condition they are in now, but I do not have the luxury of a lot of time. There are so many sick that I cannot ignore the ill to check up on those who have already been healed. We need more healers.”
“I sent out fairies this morning to summon more mages to Tagaret,” stated the queen, “but they are not all healers. I also sent out fairies to find Zalaharic and Balamor.”
“Zalaharic has not reported back yet?” Jenneva asked with concern. “Isn’t Podil with him?”
“They are supposed to be together somewhere in Sordoa, but Thrip has not returned with a report.”
“What about Twerp?” asked Jenneva. “Isn’t he still assigned to Wylan? He should be there with Zalaharic.”
The queen sighed and shook her head. “Oh, goodness. The fairy that reported the loss of Wylan and Sheri was on duty watching one of the Doors. Twerp took her place, but no one thought to send a fairy to relieve Twerp. He is probably still monitoring the inn in Caldar. I must have Prince Midge send someone out to relieve him.”
The two women stopped outside the door to the king’s chambers. Jenneva looked at her daughter with concern.
“You are taking too much of the burden of this war on yourself, Tanya. You can’t be everything to everyone. Leave the fairies to Prince Midge and the spying to Prince Oscar. There can’t be many Snakes left in Alcea at this point.”
“We have found hundreds of them,” replied Queen Tanya, “but I am sure that others still exist. They are out there waiting for the right time to strike. I cannot allow them that opportunity. Besides, Prince Oscar is already spending a great deal of time with General Gregor working out the logistics of our defense, and he also works constantly with Prince Midge on the fairy network. All of them have worked tremendously over the past few months. We are just spread too thin, Mother.”
“Alex and I will help ease that burden,” promised Jenneva.
The queen glanced at the two guards standing outside the door, and decided to cease talking in front of them. She stepped forward and opened the door. Both women walked through the door and Tanya closed it.
“You and Father could be a great help,” Tanya said softly, “but I worry about this latest episode in the library. As much as I want you both here in the Royal Palace, it might be wise for the two of you to be elsewhere until the war is over. We will get through this current crisis, but we cannot afford to have another.”
“Let’s get through this one first,” suggested Jenneva. “Then we can talk about the future.”
The queen nodded and led Jenneva to the king’s sleeping chamber. She opened the door and entered quietly. Prince Midge looked up with excitement on his face.
“This has been a most boring task,” chirped Prince Midge. “Next time I will want to assign it to someone else. Can I awaken him now?”
Tanya nodded as Jenneva entered the room and shut the door. Prince Midge dropped the sleep spell, but the king did not immediately waken. Tanya reached out and took the king’s hand. Gently she pulled on it, and the king’s eyes opened. He smiled dreamily at the queen, and then his eyes saw Jenneva. He sat up in bed with a start as his mind started to fill with memories of the library.
“Where is Alex?” the king asked in alarm. “Is he all right?”
“You tell us,” Jenneva replied with a stern expression. “He is currently in the dungeon for attacking the king. Do you plan to have him executed?”
The king’s brow knitted with concern even as his face reddened with embarrassment. “He is in the dungeon?” The king turned to Tanya. “Why didn’t you free him?”
“By law, I cannot,” answered the queen. “Back in the days of the Contest of Power, the laws were changed to protect the king. Only you can have Alex released from the dungeon. Will you do so?”
King Arik returned his gaze to Jenneva. “I will do so immediately. Might I have some privacy to get dressed?”
Jenneva nodded and left the room. To assure her mother that nothing secret was going on in her absence, the queen also left the room. A few minutes later, King Arik entered the room and immediately called for a guard. He scribbled out a release for Alex and handed it to the guard. The Red Sword saluted and left the room. Arik opened his mouth to speak, but Jenneva shook her head.
“Let us wait until Alex is with us,” suggested
Jenneva. “I think we all need to discuss what happened this morning. Shall I order some food for you while we wait?”
The king nodded and Jenneva went out the door and spoke to the remaining guard. She then returned to the king’s chambers and sat down. An awkward silence filled the room. Eventually, the door opened and Alexander Tork entered the room. He closed the door and sat next to Jenneva.
“How are you feeling, Arik?” asked Alex.
“I am confused,” admitted the king. “I have a vague recollection of the events in the library this morning, but I do not understand them. Why did you attack me?”
“You were killing Alan Markel,” answered Alex. “I do not think you intended to do so, but that is what you were doing. I could not let you do that. Not only would I never forgive myself, you would never forgive yourself, either.”
“I just tried to stop him from walking out on me,” frowned the king.
“You were not yourself this morning,” Alex retorted. “And I think you often forget your strength. In any event, I acted because I had to. I would do so again. If I am to pay a price for my actions, I will accept your punishment, but I am worried about you, Arik. I have known you for a long time now, and I think I can say that I have known you as few others have, but what I saw this morning scared me. You were neither Arik Clava nor Arik Dalek, and I think both of your fathers would agree with me. What is going on?”
“I don’t know, Alex,” sighed the king. “If my memories of this morning are correct, I was indeed a very ugly king. I cannot imagine what my advisors must think of me now.”
“I am not concerned with the feelings of your advisors,” stated Alex. “I am only concerned with you. Has Zalaharic returned yet?”
Jenneva looked queerly at her husband. “He has not returned yet, but a fairy has been sent for him as well as Balamor. Why are you asking about Zalaharic?”
“Because the king was not the king this morning,” answered Alex. “Look, we all know Arik very well, and I do not think any here would question the fact that the king was not the Arik we know and love. That leads me to believe that the enemy has found a way to influence Arik without his knowledge. Zalaharic has an interesting ability to sense such things.”
“The irritability that is sweeping the city?” asked Jenneva.
“Yes,” replied Alex.
“But Theos has been maintaining a shield over Arik all day, every day,” stated the queen. “If the enemy even has a spell that can induce such irritability, its delivery would be impossible unless they can cast through our shields.” Alex nodded affirmatively and the queen frowned deeply. “You do realize that you are suggesting that the enemy has a way of getting through our shields? If that is the case, we are all in great danger.”
“Theos is not shielding him now,” Jenneva pointed out.
“Not while he is in his chambers,” frowned the queen. “There should be no need for that.”
“There is one Claw of Alutar left unaccounted for,” interjected the king, “and the Mage indicated that each would be more dangerous than the one before it. Do you think those demonkin might have such powers?”
“We can’t answer that,” Jenneva replied. “K’san certainly had powers that we were unprepared for, and I think the Claws of Alutar are far more powerful than the priests. Certainly Fakir Aziz thought so, and I would never disregard his thoughts.”
“The irritability that has swept this city is certainly not something that we expect to see from the citizens of Tagaret,” mused the queen. “I am willing to entertain the thought that someone could be using spells to accomplish this, but to what end?”
“Chaos,” answered Alex. “It is bad enough that this plague has forced us to confront General Bledsoe with only four-thousand men instead of ten-thousand, but to have the entire city in turmoil cripples us. Without proper armies to go against Bledsoe and then Fortella, we will have forty-thousand enemy soldiers sieging Tagaret. When that happens, we will need every able-bodied citizen helping us to defend the city.”
“It is a clever plan,” conceded the king. “Do you suppose the irritability and the plague are coming from the same source?”
Tanya’s eyebrow rose. “That is a possibility that I had not considered, but it might be worth pursuing. I just came from the infirmary. There are puzzles there that concern me. Jenneva and I have already started discussing the magic portion of that puzzle, but there was a sergeant sent to the infirmary just before I left. He had just come down with the plague, but he also just attacked his superior officer. I now wonder if it might make sense to see how many of the plague patients have also been uncharacteristically irritable. There might be a connection.”
“Two different symptoms from the same spell?” retorted Jenneva. “That is highly unlikely.”
“It might be unlikely,” countered the king, “but I think it is worth investigating. Tanya, why don’t you convene a meeting of the advisors and divvy up this new work among them? I do not think I can face them right now.”
“I think you need to, Arik,” stated Alex. “I know it may be embarrassing, but you need them to know that it was not you speaking this morning. We cannot afford to have dissention in our ranks.”
“He’s right, Arik,” agreed Tanya. “Tell them that you were affected by a spell and that we are looking into it. You need the council firmly behind you at this time.”
“Very well,” sighed King Arik. “I probably also need to address the citizens, too. It is long past time for them to be informed of what is facing us.”
“No,” Alex said curtly. “I do not think that is wise just yet.”
“Why not?” frowned the king.
“I am not sure,” admitted Alex, “but my gut screams every time you mention addressing the people. I tried to tell myself that I was merely concerned that you might act as you did this morning in the library, but I can now see that you have returned to your former self. Yet my gut still screams at the thought of you exposing yourself to danger. I cannot explain it any better than that.”
Arik, Tanya, and Jenneva glanced at one another, but it was the king who spoke. “Your battle instincts are enough to sway my mind, Alex, but we need to inform the people that the Crown is not ignoring their plight. Find a way for me to address them that pleases your gut, and I will hold off on public appearances for now.”
Alex nodded. “Jenneva said that Balamor has been summoned to the palace. As he is a master of illusions, I think he may be the answer. He certainly has an amazing ability for presenting something that is not there, no matter how complex the image might be.”
“That is a good idea,” agreed Jenneva. “He can spend some time with Arik as the king addresses the people in private. Balamor can then recreate that image at any place in the city, and no one will suspect that the king is not there in person.”
“Agreed,” stated the king. “Let’s get the advisors together so we don’t waste any more time than necessary.”
“Tedi’s father might not answer the call,” warned Alex. “He had tried to resign this morning. That is when you attacked him.”
“Then let me put on a pair of slippers,” the king responded. “I will personally go to Alan right now and beg his forgiveness. He deserves as much.”
* * * *
General Somma’s command tent was slightly smaller than General Franz’s tent, but it was still large. Colonel Rotti searched it again, afraid that his superior officer’s body was curled up in one of the corners. The colonel was not anxious to broadcast his concern for the general, but he had run out of options. He stepped outside the tent and addressed the guards stationed there.
“Did you see General Somma leave this tent?” Colonel Rotti asked.
“No, Colonel,” answered one of the guards. “No one has entered or left the tent except you in the last two hours.”
Colonel Rotti nodded and walked away. He knew that the guards had been changed two hours ago, so further questioning would get him no additional information. He was t
empted to wander around the camp again, but the encampment was huge. The general could be almost anywhere, and the colonel would not find him. Rotti was worried. After two days of riding alongside that huge lake, General Somma had appeared ashen, and Rotti was sure that the general was not sleeping well. Although he agreed with most that Somma was not fit to be a general, Rotti liked the man. He was just in over his head. He knew there was a story behind Somma’s ascension, but the colonel did not have the nerve to ask the general about it. Colonel Rotti sighed anxiously and kicked the dirt in frustration. A murmured complaint reached his ears, and the colonel looked and saw that he had kicked dirt at a sleeping soldier. He apologized and decided to move towards the camp’s perimeter.
As he approached the northern perimeter of the camp, one of the colonel’s men called to him. The moon was bright and the colonel recognized the man. He walked towards him.
“Anything going on out there?” asked the colonel.
“Not a thing stirring,” Colonel,” answered the perimeter guard, “but I am a bit concerned about the general.”
Colonel Rotti’s eyes widened. “Why are you concerned about the general?”
“He left the camp,” answered the guard, “and he has been gone for hours. I offered to provide him with a protective detail, but he refused. He should have been back a long time ago.”
“Which direction did he go?” asked the colonel.
“Towards the river,” answered the guard.
“Towards the river?” the colonel echoed with alarm. “Are you sure?”
The guard merely nodded.
“I am going out to look for him,” stated the colonel, “and no, I do not want a detail, either. In fact, do not tell anyone else that either of us is outside the perimeter.”
The guard nodded silently and moved the barricade aside so that the colonel could pass through it. Colonel Rotti walked slowly, not wanting to miss any sign of the general’s path. Thankfully the moon was bright, and visibility was excellent. After just a few minutes of walking, he saw the general sitting on the riverbank. The colonel’s face clouded with confusion as the riverbank was absolutely the last place that Rotti would have looked for the general. He walked silently towards the river and quietly sat down next to General Somma. The general hardly noticed him.
13 Day War Page 28
