by Dawn Peers
"Can I see them?" Quinn asked quietly. Both Ross and Eden looked horrified at first, but they both quickly understood why she wanted to view the corpses.
"You want to see if these are men Sammah asked you to see? You think he's killing them all?"
Quinn nodded. "Sammah's strongest hand at hiding me lies in everyone thinking I'm a man. I never used to speak to them, but as I got older Sammah had me asking the questions myself. I don't think he ever thought this—this investigation—would happen before my naming day, before he had full ownership of me."
"Why wouldn't these men have simply spoken before? Told their friends? Their colleagues?"
"Two reasons," Ross suggested. "One; they were petrified. They'd just had their minds read, as far as they were concerned, by a monster from their childhood stories. And sheer masculinity. They wouldn't admit to being made that fearful by a woman. Not in Everfell. Women aren't power players, here. Even the queen’s power is only in name. Without Vance, she would be nothing. Therefore, admitting to being blindsided by a woman would be a thing of great shame."
"But not in Sha'sek?" Quinn asked.
"No, not in Sha'sek." Ross answered plainly. Quinn crossed her arms with a huff.
"Then I'm leaving for Sha'sek."
Eden looked petrified. "No, you can't."
"Why by all the spirits not?"
"Considering my little speech just then about the powerlessness of ladies in Everfell, and how she’s reacted, I'd be very careful about how you answer the lady, Eden."
"Because I love you, and I couldn't bear to see you leave."
Ross rolled his eyes in mock disgust. Quinn looked Eden in the eye. "I'm not going to test the truth of those words, Eden. I know that you love me, in your heart. But you hid information from me. You wasted time questioning the guilds when you could have come straight to me. I might know these men just by looking at them. I could have told you exactly why they had been killed. So please, don't ignore me, don't leave me out again, just for the fear of distressing my womanly heart."
Eden gulped, reprimanded, and feeling foolish that he hadn’t thought to come to her sooner. "I promise."
36
"I recognise all of them."
Quinn jumped up and down, hugging herself to keep warm. It was always cold in here; the direct opposite of the bathing rooms. Healers had long ago found that the bodies would decompose slower in the cold. Sometimes bodies needed to be kept almost through an entire moon cycle before they could be given their rites and burned under the full moon.
"Where from?"
"I have questioned all of them. Most recently, that one there." She pointed at a blond man whose throat had been slit. His eyes were wide, still showing the shock of his final moments amongst the living. "He is from Sevenspells. One of your father's men."
Eden frowned, scrutinising the face. "I don't recognise him. Why was he here?"
"He is a spy. That's what he admitted to. I don't know what he was finding out. That's all Sammah had asked me to identify. Do you think your father would recognise him?"
"Even if he did, he wouldn't admit to it. Not if he was here under false pretences. What about the others?"
Quinn cast her eyes over the bodies, six in all. She remembered seeing them all. Some of them she had seen in the last few months; others she had not seen for over two summers. They had all heard her voice though. Quinn closed her eyes, a tear trickling down her cheek. These men would not be dead, if it weren't for her. She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"It's not your fault, Quinn."
"How can it not be? They're only dead because they heard the sound of my voice.”
"They're dead because Sammah is a bloodthirsty maniac after power. They were in his way. Any of us could easily replace one of these. If he had the balls to murder Broc, I don't think he'd let anyone stop him, if he thought they were a threat."
"I'm a threat."
"But you're also still very useful to him. So he will keep you alive for the time being, until that runs its course. In the meantime, we have to keep you safe. No matter what the cost."
"Why are you doing this for me? Sammah could be a powerful man one day, if we don't manage to stop him. You could just hand me in; make the story you need, then be his right-hand man."
"I don't even know where to begin answering that, Quinn. I can't hand you in; I couldn't do that to you. You mean too much to me. Sammah doesn't want you handed in, either. He still wants to use you. If you're outed as the Satori then you’ll be put on trial, and you’ll lose. You're no use to him in jail, or dead. For all I know, handing you in would be like signing my own death writ. I have no desire to end up on a stone slab, and ashes in the soil, not yet."
"Which of those is the most important?"
"I'm not going to even entertain answering that."
"I mean it, Eden," she turned to him, placing her hand over his heart. She kept her abilities to herself, though he did visibly gulp at the implication. They maintained eye contact.
"I'm scared Sammah will kill me. You wanted the truth. Are you angry?"
Quinn shook her head. "How can I be angry when it's what I asked for? I didn't expect any less. We hardly know each other Eden, really. I can't expect you to sacrifice yourself for a common-born woman that you barely know."
"I want to know more about you, Quinn. I need to know more. We will, one day. We will beat this. I know what you expect of me; very little. I want to very much exceed those expectations.”
* * *
Outside the caverns, Sammah smiled coldly to himself. Better than he had hoped, he could possibly have both Eden and Quinn right where he wanted them.
37
"I've heard you've been spending quite a lot of time with Sammah's household."
Eden was bored. His father had requested that Eden attend to him for the morning, and so far Shiver had done nothing but brag about the women he had bedded, and the deals he'd been able to negotiate before Broc's muder had brought proceedings to a premature finish. Eden had even caught himself wishing Rowan or River were there; a rare desire for him to desire his brothers’ company. Shiver never asked Eden about his own life, so being questioned now caught him unawares.
"I have to, father. Sammah's household is a massive part of the search for the Satori. His consort was murdered."
"Surely you should have finished those questions by now, though. You've already been through the guilds. Well, your men have. By all accounts, you've been inseparable from one of his maids. I remember seeing her in his apartments. Awkward little creature. Pleasant on the eye, though. You wouldn't need to blow the candles out for that one."
Eden kept his calm. Shiver wasn't interested in what his son was doing, with the investigation or otherwise. Shiver was bored, too, so he was trying to get a rise out of his youngest-born blood. Eden realised then, he would never be able to please Shiver. Eden was not in a position to become a man of power in Sevenspells, and he would always be under the shadow of his brothers. Shiver brought him along to be a plaything, and by volunteering to hunt for the Satori, he had placed himself in his father's palms.
"She is a pretty little thing," Eden attempted to respond blandly. "a bit empty between the ears, though. She amuses me."
"Ah, so you are a man after my own blood. I was beginning to worry that you were a bit like Lord Broc."
"Dead, you mean?" Eden answered sharply. Not even Shiver responded to that, not wanting to desecrate the memory of a man who would have very soon been his equal.
"Well, Sammah tells me that your work is going very well. Despite your attentions being diverted elsewhere."
"Like I said, I've been investigating Sammah's household. I'm glad the baron is pleased with my efforts. I don't want him to think I'm being slack in my work. It’s the reputation of Sevenspells on the line, after all."
"Oh no, he doesn't think that at all." Shiver started chewing on his moustache. "But he does think that your allegiances are being disrupted. Remember your
home, Eden, and your blood. Your loyalties always lay with Sevenspells, and your fealty is to me. Don't forget that, when the time comes."
Eden twisted in his seat to actually face his father for the first time that day. Shiver was lounging on a recliner, his upper body naked, his body covered in dried juices, probably from the discarded meat bones that lay on the floor. Shiver's age was starting to tell. His nakedness emphasised this. Shiver still tried to portray himself as a man of physical prowess. The naked truth was that; Shiver was getting old, and fat, and slow. And complacent?
"How long have you been in Sammah's pockets, father?"
Shiver spluttered. "I don't know what you mean!"
"Oh please, it's obvious. Well, it is now. I never really looked before. But seeing you in the court that day, you didn't really accuse Sammah of any ill-doing, when almost every other lord did. You always speak to the Sha'sek, and you're close to Ross. Ross is Sammah's closest ally in court. It's an odd triangle, but it's there. What does Sammah want from Sevenspells? What am I waiting for, for my fealty to matter, father? What time is going to come?"
"Well, you've certainly grown up. None of your brothers have ever had the balls to ask me that."
"I'm not like my brothers."
"You're certainly not." Shiver pulled at his moustache. "Maybe the wrong son was born last. And maybe not. Maybe this can be to my benefit. It would be hard for River to get involved in any of my workings with Sammah. And Rowan might be my heir, but he is hot-headed. He would act like an ox and get me in to more trouble than it was worth. Have you asked anyone else this, Eden? Questioned my relationship with the baron?"
"No. Not even Sammah himself."
Shiver crossed his arms with a smile. "Sensible lad. Check outside the door. I want to make sure no one is listening in to us."
Eden did as he was bade. When he confirmed to his father the coast was clear, despite Ross standing outside their rooms, Shiver began, in detail, to tell Eden about his father's plans with the emissary from Sha'sek. It made for unpleaant listening. As time wore on, Ross's face grew grimmer. Sammah's plans were darker, and far worse, than he had ever feared.
38
Sammah tried to keep the amused look off his face as Shiver paced around the baron's suite. The lord was like a wild animal, trapped and looking for anywhere to escape. He wouldn't find an easy route out. Not in an alliance with Sammah.
"I don't see what the problem is, Shiver."
"Don't you? Really? My son knows what we're doing, Sammah, and he has all the information to bring me, and you, and all of these intricate plots of yours, to a really quick end."
"There can't be a quick end to this, Shiver. I've told you before, I'm practically untouchable. They wouldn't dare execute me without bringing in another emissary from Sha'sek. Anyone they send would be so closely affiliated with my brother that all they would do is argue my extradition to Sha'sek to face the laws there. And when I did, I'd be set free."
"And what about my involvement in all this?"
"You think your involvement so far has been important enough to warrant your name being mentioned? No, Shiver, you are a bystander in this plan until we can begin moving against Vance. Then, I will need the muscle of Sevenspells. Currently, you are surplus to requirements. You can be replaced, Shiver. Your son seems more than capable."
"You wouldn't dare trade me out for Eden."
"No? Broc became too troublesome, and we both know what happened to him. Your position in society does not make you immune to my justice, Shiver."
"No. A man that considers a king within the reach of his sword is not a man to treat lightly."
"I'm glad you recognise that. It's a shame Vance doesn't. There again, a man with such little political intelligence and awareness does not deserve to hold the throne. How he came out on top instead of you, after the end of the war, is a complete mystery."
Shiver paused at the mocking edge to the baron's voice. Everfell was a seat he had long coveted. Had it been Sammah, after all, keeping him out of it for all this time? Had the Sha'sek baron tricked him so neatly, so easily, and kept him onside for so long when it had been Sammah that had in reality cheated him out of the throne?
"Don't even think about it, Shiver. I'm not an enemy you want to gain. And I'm a hard friend to keep. Venn knows his place. You need to learn it. Just keep doing what you do best. Drink. Sleep with women. Be a war hero. Keep your men well trained, and that idiot Vance distracted. That is all I need you for. Remember your place, and perhaps I'll forget to have you murdered in your sleep."
39
Eden kept fidgeting in his seat. It wasn't that it wasn't comfortable, or that Sammah was not being welcoming. It was just that, on his table, the book Maertn had described to him sat in plain view. That had to be what they were looking for. Those pages could unlock what they needed, why Sammah needed Quinn so badly. Why he had to keep her alive until his work was done.
Sammah's pleasantries, however, didn’t appear to have an ending. Eden knew he wouldn't be able to take the book out of the room from under the baron's nose, but he was hoping to distract him, or even bring the conversation around to the book itself. Several hours now, however, and he had been unable to draw Sammah away from the new treaties to come out the meeting between the Lords of Everfell. Eden didn't care about those treaties; they had no bearing on his immediate future. Not like the contents of that book.
"... and so Daggerdale and Mossvale have reduced fees to the king, whilst Sevenspells, Yender and Achteren appear to be picking up the pieces of the mismangagement of the other lords. How your father can sit by and watch this happen is beyond me. Didn't he argue for your guilds at the meeting?"
Eden shrugged. "I wouldn't know, baron. The trade agreements in the meeting are left between father and sometimes Rowan. I'm a third son; I don't need to be involved."
"Why does he bring you here then?"
Eden waved his hands to indicate he didn't know. "I think he brought me here as captain of the guard. Shiver doesn’t go anywhere without his protection, and I’m now a major part of that."
"And what of marriages? He doesn't appear keen to start making matches for any of you yet. How old is Rowan now? Twenty winters?"
"Twenty two. River is twenty-one. I am nineteen this year."
"All of a marrying age."
"Father has never found us a suitable match."
"And what does he mean by suitable?"
"I don't think he wants to marry us off to an alliance with a lord that is not favoured in the long term. Life has been uncertain since the end of the last war." Eden saw an opportunity and leapt for it. "Vance is seen as being in, dare I say it sir, an unstable position. A marriage made in haste may be regretted in the future."
"A keen eye you have there, lad. Much like your father. Like your father, though, you're going outside your remit, Eden. Your task was to find the Satori. Not to seduce my daughter."
"Baron I'm not...I didn't...I haven't."
"So you're not interested in Quinn?"
"I ah, I..." Eden looked lost. "What do you want from me, baron. Tell me, and I'll make sure I deliver."
Sammah clapped his hands together with glee. "So much more pliable than your father. I like you Eden, you have superb potential. I know you like Quinn. I'm not blind. She may not be my daughter by blood, but I have raised her, and I know her better than she even knows herself. She's told you what she is, hasn't she?"
"I don't know what you mean, sir." Eden stammered by way of a response.
Sammah smiled, looking almost sympathetic. "Eden, please, do me a little justice at least. You spend so much time with us, yet get nowhere. Your desire to find this murderer has...waned somewhat. And that's because you know the Satori is Quinn, and you know full well, knowing Quinn as well as you do now, that she is not behind the killings. So what does that make you think, logically?"
Eden gulped. "That someone close to Quinn is behind them."
"Wonderful. You can't even tell me t
o my face! Are you scared of me, Eden."
"I'm petrified of you, Baron Sammah."
"That is the best answer you could give. You should be petrified, Eden, because I have more power than any man in Everfell could begin to imagine. Would you indulge me for a time? You don't seem to have anything else on your mind for the day?" Eden, cold and nervous because of adrenalin, his palms itchy and sweaty, indicated to Sammah he should continue. He tried not to let his eyes flit to the book. He suspected he was about to be given a long and egotistical speech about aims and worth. He suspected, because Sammah seemed as power-deranged as his father, and it was clear the men were cut from exactly the same cloth. "Excellent. You seem like a bright young man Eden.
“War is coming back to Everfell, and I'd hate for you to be caught on the wrong side. You see, the war didn't end because one particular side won. The war ended, because neither side wanted to lose." Eden was confused, and his frown told Sammah as much. "The wars went on for well over a decade. Many men were killed from Everfell. Sha'sek lost many of its finest men and women. No one wanted to back down, but no one wanted to push forward and win either. We just didn't have the resources. The lords and the council decided that a diplomatic agreement was the only way to end things."
"The retreat?"
"Yes, the retreat. We would both agree to keep our men behind our own borders, with a few exceptions. Each ruler has a noble diplomat from the other. I have been in Everfell since the end of the war. Lord Lynton, Vance’s cousin, has been in Sha'sek, in its biggest state, to sit on matters with the rest of the council."
"But neither of you have any influence in state policy?"
"We have influence, yes, to a certain extent. But we do not have a say in things. For example, Vance could advise that he wishes to establish a noble with men and standings in disputed lands on the border. With these lands kept empty as part of the diplomatic agreement, I could advise Vance against such actions, however I am powerless to stop him going ahead with such things."
