Legacy of the Devil Queen (Eve of Redemption Book 4)

by Joe Jackson

  Kari found her two missing friends in the conference room, seated amongst a dozen officers of the Order and scribes. They were apparently debriefing the Order on everything they’d learned on the trip to Mehr’Durillia, and Kari realized Aeligos, Sonja, and Danilynn would know more than everyone else. Her two friends smiled at her arrival but didn’t stop with their debriefings, so Kari took a minute to look around the room. She had to remind herself that no matter how unlikely it was, it was certainly possible that one of the officers or even scribes could be the very mole they were looking for.

  “When you reach a good stopping point, I need to speak with my friends in private,” Kari said. The hunters and scribes began to rise from their seats to leave, but Kari held her hand up. “I’ll want to speak with them back home, so if you need some more time, that’s fine.”

  “We are at a suitable stopping point, ma’am,” one of the officers said, and he and the others began to file out of the room.

  Kari quickly greeted her friends and began to lead them back to the house. Danilynn and Eli filled Kari in on the basics of what they were telling the officers and scribes. Kari was glad some of the information was being recorded for the Order to use, but Danilynn assured her that the things they had learned from Uldriana would remain a secret until Kari decided who to tell and when. Kari was glad for that; if word got out that Uldriana had completely betrayed the Overking and the other kings, it might lead to the slaughter of the entire village of Moskarre, or worse. Once back at the house, Kari and her friends made some tea and an early lunch and sat around the large dining table.

  “As I already told you, we’re going to be trying to expose and catch a mole in the Order,” she said between bites of a sandwich. “I want you to escort Se’sasha to the city of Gnarr – or, better yet, one of the other syrinthian women pretending to be Se’sasha. But the Council doesn’t think the two of you will be enough to fight off a possible ambush if we go through with this. They want us to ask Tor if he’d be willing to help.”

  “I don’t like the sound of that,” Danilynn said. “You know what’s going to happen if we do something that gets Tor killed.”

  Kari nodded. “I do, but there wasn’t any reasonable excuse I could give the Council. As long as we’re trying to keep his parentage a secret, it’s going to be hard to come up with a reason why he can’t help us,” she said. Tor was only half-gnoll; his other half was mallasti, his mother none other than Emma, slave to the Overking and Kari’s part-time helper, part-time nemesis. He represented a very delicate variable in Kari’s planning.

  “Well, hopefully he says no, or his commander does,” Danilynn said.

  “Tor, say no? You kidding?” Eli said with a chuckle. “He’ll jump at this. And Emma can’t really expect he’s going to live in a monastery for the rest of his life.”

  “No, but if we get him killed, that’s going to look really bad,” Danilynn retorted.

  “I’m not planning on getting anyone killed,” Kari said. “I may ask Eryn if she’s willing to help, too. The three of you with cover from a half-brys archer should be more than a match for anything less than a full unit. The bad part is…you all will just be bait, really.”

  “How do you mean?” Eli asked.

  “The mole and the agent of Sekassus aren’t likely to get directly involved,” Kari said. “But if you slaughter any ambushers, I think Sekassus will suspect his agents were discovered and have them killed. That’s the end we’re going for, anyway. If not, we may at least be able to narrow down who knew of our ‘plan’ and capture them. Does that sound all right with you two? I know it’s asking a lot.”

  “We seem to get that from the Order pretty often,” Eli quipped.

  “I’m agreeable to it,” Danilynn said. “Figure out who else you want to use, and we’ll go talk to Tor. The two of us going to visit him will be less suspicious than you or yours going, and we can tell him to keep it quiet, too. When are you planning to do this?”

  “Not for a few days yet,” Kari answered. “You two go see Tor; I have a few things I need to take care of.”

  “All right, we’ll see you for supper,” Danilynn said.

  Kari finished her lunch and made her way back toward the temple of Tigron. The weight of what she was asking her friends to do – not to mention Emma’s son – clouded her thoughts for much of the way, but the more she considered her friends’ bravery, the better she felt about it. After everything they’d been through for Jason Bosimar, dealing with a band of highwaymen or other ambushers seemed a paltry task to ask of them. Still, asking anyone who wasn’t under her command – and those who were, for that matter – to risk their lives never sat well with Kari.

  *****

  The mid-afternoon sun was strong as it streamed through the window of Typhonix’ little dormitory in Tigron’s temple. Kari was watching Ty comb through a thick ledger that she had picked up from the Duke’s court. She knew it was a record of the harvests and sales since the death of the DeSales family, but just looking at all of it made her vision swim. She’d brought it with her to see Ty, along with the new ledger and writing materials she’d purchased. Within minutes, Ty had become engrossed in the accounting ledger.

  After going through the Duke’s ledger, Ty looked up at Kari. “You realize you’re going to be filthy rich before long, right?” he asked.

  Kari was shocked, but then she shrugged. “Not if I do things the way you told me,” she said. “I know that estate was big, but is it really that profitable?”

  Ty nodded and pointed out a few lines in the ledger, but they were all gibberish to Kari. She wasn’t overly proficient with numbers or math; she recognized large sums, which was what it looked like Ty was pointing to, but how the ledger arrived at those numbers was a mystery, even all laid out before her. Her brother-in-law pointed first to many red numbers, then to a collection of black ones. Ty began transcribing them into the first column of the fresh, new ledger, careful not to spill the ink on the clean sheets of his bed.

  “What’s all this mean?” Kari asked.

  “The red numbers are expenses, black are income,” he explained simply. “I’ll be putting the expenses in parentheses like this in your new ledger. You have to budget out your money, because in the beginning of the year, it’s all expenses. You have to pay to clear out the winter wastes, fix any irrigation issues, plant any new growth for the spring, and all kinds of other things that your employees will be better suited to tell you about. So the trick is to make sure you keep aside enough in the late autumn and early winter to cover that. From the looks of what the Duke gave you, it’s fairly predictable, though you may want to give your workers a raise. With all due respect to the Duke, he seems like a stingy old prick.”

  Kari barked a laugh and covered it up poorly with a cough. “So you can figure out how much to keep aside after every harvest?” she asked, and he nodded. “This is going to sound funny, but do you have any idea how much it costs to run a household? I…I’ve always felt a little bad living off of your mother, even though I give her my earnings from the Order. I have no idea how much it costs for her to house and feed all of us.”

  Ty chuckled. “A drop in the bucket compared to what you’re looking at making from this land,” he said. “I’ve got a list of current workers on the estate, and how much they’re paid. Between that, the money you need to set aside for the winter, the taxes the Duke is going to end up charging you, and setting a little aside for unexpected problems, you’re still looking at being very rich. So I have some ideas, but I’ll need to get out there and take a look at the land. Think you can get a wagon to take us out there tomorrow?”

  “I don’t see why not,” Kari said. “I have some things to take care of with Danilynn and Eli, but I should have plenty of time to go out there with you. Maybe in the morning?”

  “Sounds good,” he answered. “What’s going on with Eli and Danilynn, are they taking care of something for you?”

  “Something I have to keep quiet,” Ka
ri confirmed.

  “Oh, I see. I’m not a hunter anymore so you can’t tell me,” Ty grumbled. Kari shook her head and started to stammer a reply, but her blonde brother-in-law laughed. “Just kidding. Tell you what: you still remember the names of the merchants your friend Lawrence told you about, right? So write them down for me, and while you’re busy working, I’ll get in touch with some of them and see if any are willing to loan you money to fix up your house. If I can work a good deal for you, you might be able to repay it in product and coin, so it’s a little less, well, taxing on your first couple of years running the farm.”

  “Are you sure you’ve never done this before?” Kari asked.

  Ty shrugged. “Like I said, I don’t read economics books because they’re exciting. Even I had ideas about what I wanted to do when I got bored of working for the Order. Find a nice girl, settle some profitable land, and live somewhere quiet with my family.”

  “You, with a wife and kids? I’d never have guessed,” Kari teased, but Ty just smiled. “Do you want to wait until we get you back home before I start giving you names to contact or sending people to see you?”

  He shrugged again and shook his head. “May as well make myself useful now. The less time I have to sulk, the better. But if you could tell Mom I’ll be ready to come home tomorrow, I can just come with you after we go see the estate.”

  Kari put her hand on Ty’s shoulder, and he managed a pretty genuine smile. She leaned her head on his shoulder and kissed him on the side of the snout. “Keep your chin up, Ty. We’ll figure something out. Your mother has the ear of her god, and despite what you said, you’re just injured; Dracon’s Bane is a…genetic defect. That’s not fixable, but I’m sure your back is.”

  “Thanks, Kari,” Ty said, but he sighed. “It just sucks to understand what Grakin goes through every day now…not to mention what you went through. I’ll try to keep positive and stay busy in the meantime.”

  Kari started to leave, but hesitated. “You know, there is another matter involving the Order that you might be able to help me with,” she said, gaining his full attention from the ledger. “I’m trying to find out about something that happened during Turik Jalar’s reign as Avatar, but it’s something I haven’t ever heard about before. Maybe you’d know, since you study a lot more history than me.”

  “What’s it about?” he asked.

  “Something your sister saw while we were on Morikk. She said she saw a vision of what had happened to the seterra-rir when they were attacked,” Kari answered. She walked over and closed the door before returning to his bedside. “She said the vanguard was made of hunters, Ty: members of our Order. I couldn’t believe it myself, especially considering Turik Jalar was the Avatar then. Do you know anything about it?”

  Ty chewed on his lip for minute. “I’ve read plenty on the War of Purity, but I’ve never seen any mention that our Order was involved,” he answered. “I know the consensus at the time was that the seterra-rir were some creation of Seril’s, so I guess it would make sense that the Order was involved, but if it was…there’s no records. No public ones, anyway. Are we sure Sonja is right on this?”

  “She says her…psychic sensitivity doesn’t lie,” Kari said with a shrug. “It may be something I have to ask the Council about directly, but this is a rather sensitive issue to bring up, especially in light of everything else going on.”

  “No doubt about that,” he said, tapping his chin. “And as much as I’d like to help, my condition isn’t going to let me nose around on the campus or in the archives very effectively. Figures Aeligos is away on business when something like this comes up.”

  Kari waved away the thought. “He’d get tossed out on his ear if he went nosing about on the campus, even with his history of helping. No, this is probably going to be something that only the Council has access to, if it’s in the records at all. I just thought I’d run it by you first.”

  “I’ll just concentrate on your estate, then?”

  Kari nodded and gave him a hug. “Just keep this between us for now. It could turn out to be false, and I don’t want to stir up trouble where there isn’t any.”

  Ty agreed and Kari got ready to go. It was hard for her to leave him, but thankfully, she was spared from doing so. Before she rose from the edge of his bed, Kyrie arrived with Grakin and Little Gray. Grakin was carrying a basket with a bottle of wine sticking out of it, and it was clear they had brought a meal to share with Typhonix. They were all happy to see Kari there, and Little Gray came and jumped up into Kari’s embrace. Kari got half-hugs from her mother-in-law and her mate, and she turned so Little Gray could give Typhonix a high-five. That clearly raised Ty’s spirits, as did the prospect of having his family there for dinner.

  A couple more chairs were borrowed from neighboring rooms, and the family had as close to a sit-down dinner as they could manage in a bedroom. Kyrie had made sandwiches, and they spent much of the mealtime discussing Ty’s thoughts on the farmland and how profitable it would turn out to be. Grakin was shocked to find that their family would soon be wealthy, and he was agreeable to Ty’s ideas about investing the excess in their workers and the property itself. Kyrie, too, seemed happy, but Kari could tell the woman was already getting a little ache in her heart thinking about her son and grandson moving out of her house.

  Kari had a surprise to possibly remedy that. “Mom, I wanted to tell you that you’re more than welcome to come live with us once the house is all fixed,” she said, and her mother-in-law’s eyes widened comically. “I think we’ll have room for just about everyone, since I’m pretty sure Jol’s going to be looking for a place of his own with Damansha soon, and I’m not sure if Eli and Danilynn plan to stay in the city. If they do, they’ll likely find a place of their own, too.”

  “That’s a very generous offer, but…,” Kyrie began.

  “I think your house would make a nice orphanage,” Kari finished as her mother-in-law trailed off. Grakin and his mother both stared at Kari, stunned. Kari waved her hand around and said, “I know money’s been tight since the War. Everyone talks about it, and I know you’ve never been happy keeping such a big house when there’s so many still in need. The Duke of Sutherland was nice enough to gift me a house and a way to make money, so this is the best way I can put it to use and pay you back for living with you for the last few years.”

  Kyrie stuttered for a moment. “I…I don’t know what to say,” she managed finally. “I’ve never had someone try to give away my house before.”

  “Oh,” Kari blurted. “I didn’t mean…I wasn’t trying to say you had to…”

  “No, no, don’t apologize,” Kyrie said. “I don’t think I said that well. You’re absolutely right, that house is too big to be using for clergy. If you two truly wouldn’t mind me living with you, I’d be grateful.”

  “We’ve been living with you for three years,” Kari said. “It’s the least we can do.”

  “You don’t pay back family, Kari,” Ty said.

  “Maybe not, but you return kindnesses,” she returned. She turned back to her mother-in-law. “The house will be farther from the temple, of course, but it’ll save the church a lot of money if they don’t have to pay for you to house and feed all of us.”

  “I’ll talk to my staff and discuss it with them,” Kyrie said. “Another orphanage would certainly be useful after all the casualties of the War.”

  With everyone satisfied, Kari exchanged hugs with Kyrie and Grakin. They finished eating dinner, and then Little Gray asked to sit up with his uncle. Ty was happy to have the boy close, but when Kari looked at them together, she could tell the thought of not being able to play with Little Gray was weighing heavily on Ty. He seemed to shake it off, though, and turned back to Kari. “So everyone else went south to fight some weird demon?” Ty asked.

  “Yes. It might be something your parents once fought years ago,” Kari said. “You said it was called a Tilcimer, Mom?”

  “That’s what it called itself,” Kyrie answere
d. “It’s very dangerous, but I’m sure your siblings will at least gather enough help before they confront it.”

  “They will return home safely, we must have faith in that,” Grakin said.

  “They’d better,” Kyrie returned. “If I have to pick up my hammer and armor again, a lot more than another Tilcimer is going to pay the price.”

  Typhonix laughed. “And I thought you were scary when I swore at the table.”

  Kyrie snorted. “I know you think I’m an old woman, but just remember, boy, that I’m half-guardian, too.”

  “Watch out or Kari will conscript you,” her son teased.

  Kari and Kyrie exchanged glances and laughed. “I think we should get back to the house before it gets too late and Eli and Danilynn wonder where we are,” Kari said. “I want to go and meet with Amastri again after the dinner hour, too.”

  “You and Grakin head home, then,” Kyrie said. “I’m going to stay here for a while.”

  Kari picked up Little Gray, but soon had to put him down to negotiate the stairs. She and Grakin walked home with their child, and did indeed find Eli and Danilynn waiting when they arrived. They were hungry for a meal, so once it was explained that Kari and Grakin had already eaten, Eli and Danilynn decided to go get food at a tavern. They took just enough time at the house to let Kari know that Tor had readily agreed to aid in their plan. He simply had to get his commanding officer’s permission, but Tor was certain he’d be able to get it.

  Kari advised her friends not to go eat at the Silver Chalice; Kari wanted to go speak with Amastri, and she was sure things would go better if her friends weren’t there. Things were very precarious between Kari, Amastri, and King Koursturaux, and the last thing Kari wanted to do was commit another misstep. There was information she wanted from Amastri, and information she wanted to give: the fact that Koursturaux had taken such an interest in her meant, to Kari’s thinking, that the time was ripe to manipulate the demon king for a change. But none of that would be possible with Eli and Danilynn there.