“Let’s not forget that the advantage we provide them funds this government and the military we require to defend ourselves,” Waterdown said.
“That is immaterial, Minister,” Silverleaf said. “Funding can be obtained from multiple sources, and there is no reason trade could not continue after a withdrawal.”
“Precisely,” Lumendrake said. “No one in this government has said we will no longer trade with Urland following their withdrawal. We only insist they leave before further trade can continue.”
“That position is not universally held by this government, Minister,” Spellbinder said.
“Correct,” Waterdown added. “Some of us recognize that we must treat these issues concurrently.”
“And some of us,” Lumendrake shot back, “recognize that unless the Urlanders are given any impetus to leave, they will never depart!”
“Then maybe,” Blackstone roared, “you should give us some motivation to go, Minister! Maybe you should show that your security forces can do more than make you a quick province of Jifan!”
“How dare you!” Silverleaf shouted.
He was on his feet immediately, bristling with anger. Honeyflower, too, had stood at the insult. Her jaw clenched, but she said nothing.
“Blood and bones,” Wolf said quietly.
“What?” Spellbinder said.
“Hmm?” Wolf said. He hadn’t meant to speak loudly enough to be heard. “Oh, it was nothing.”
“If it was nothing, why did you say anything at all?” Lumendrake said.
“We haven’t heard your views yet, Ambassador,” Spellbinder said. “Perhaps a fresh opinion would help matters.”
“Oh, yes, Ambassador,” Silverleaf sneered. “Please enlighten us with your view of the situation.”
Wolf and he exchanged a glare. Before he could think better of it, Wolf stood up and put his hands on the table. Silverleaf and Honeyflower both sat back down. Wolf felt his exhaustion and frustration rising in his heart, and he couldn’t stop it from coming out.
“I think you’re all pompous idiots,” he said. There was a collective gasp at the table. “Every single one of you knows you’ve got an intractable situation, and not one of you wants to sit down and try to find a real solution to it. Each of you is only interested in shouting your opinion without listening to anyone else’s.
“General Blackstone, the only way this is going to get solved is to put together some sort of plan to withdraw our soldiers. We all know very well there are security issues involved. It won’t be easy. But your boorish comments and poor treatment of Alfari officials does nothing to solve the problem. It only escalates issues. You’re dismissed. There is no need for you to attend any more of these negotiations.”
There was another gasp at the table. Blackstone gurgled.
“What?” he whispered.
“You heard me,” Wolf said. “You’re a liability to these negotiations, and you’re a jackass. Get out.”
“You can’t—”
“Oh, yes I can, General,” Wolf said. “I am the ambassador to Alfar. That means I am Her Majesty’s voice over here. You are done with the negotiations. When I need a military opinion, I’ll seek you out. Otherwise, stop screwing things up for me.”
“You won’t get away with this,” Blackstone said after a shocked pause.
“General, if you threaten me again, I will alert the Royal Command and see you reassigned to an outpost in upper Norvelsk. Now get out.”
There was a stiff silence as the two men stared at each other. Wolf was too angry to think about the consequences. He bored his gaze into Blackstone until the other man turned and left the room with as much dignity as he could muster. Silence followed. Wolf turned back to the table.
“Minister Lumendrake,” he continued, “your position is just as ridiculous as General Blackstone’s. There is no way Her Majesty can accept a complete withdrawal of our military under the circumstances. Only a fool would claim the Alfari military is in a position to defend its borders or that the Elite Guard has internal security under control. I think if I were to ask Minister Goldenfawn and Captain Honeyflower they would agree with that assessment. Therefore, constantly calling for a complete withdrawal before you’ll consider any other negotiations is not only stupid, it’s deliberately undermining the talks. I don’t have the authority to have you dismissed from these negotiations, but, unless you’re willing to actually sit down and talk about a real solution, I will ask the president to have you removed as well.”
Lumendrake’s eyes opened wide. He whipped his head in Spellbinder’s direction. She was smiling.
“Now as for the rest of you,” Wolf said, “there are several major issues that need discussion. The first is a withdrawal of forces from Alfari soil. Urland has simply got to find a way to make this happen. However, it has to be coordinated with your own forces, so that chaos does not rush into the vacuum created by our absence.
“Secondly, our trade with Alfar creates a strategic advantage over our enemies in Phrygia. Her Majesty will never consent to a scenario where we would or could lose that position. Thus, these talks have to include guarantees of continued trade and reasonable assurances that Alfar can protect itself from Jifani insurgencies that could jeopardize our position.
“None of this will happen if we continue to sit around and insult each other. That will only maintain the completely unsatisfactory status quo. So, Minster Lumendrake, Minister Goldenfawn, if you like where things stand please continue to remain rigid in your insistence of a full withdrawal. Minister Waterdown, if you enjoy keeping the conservative faction staunchly opposed to your initiatives, please continue to insult them and insist on things you know they cannot accept. And President Spellbinder, if you enjoy meetings and negotiations that go nowhere and present an image of you as weak and ineffective, then continue to let these loudmouths scream their obscenities across the table during state dinners.
“But if any of you actually want to figure out how to get what you want, then how about we all shut up and start listening to each other?”
Wolf fell silent. Every face at the table stared in shock at him. He knew he would regret this later. He’d been so badly impolitic it would likely have severe repercussions on both the negotiations and him personally. But right now he didn’t care. Someone needed to say it. Someone had needed to say it for a long time.
Silverleaf broke the silence by clapping. He chuckled sarcastically and stood up.
“Oh, bravo, Ambassador,” he said, his voice full of bile. “Most ambassadors attempt to use their words carefully and avoid offending anyone. Not you, though. No, you prefer to insult everyone. That’s grand.”
“Indeed, it is,” Spellbinder said.
“Excuse me?” Silverleaf said, turning towards her.
“It is grand, Ambassador Silverleaf,” she said. “Ambassador Dasher is absolutely right on nearly every count. I said we might benefit from a fresh voice, and I believe we have. The time for talking about philosophy and religion has passed. Our country needs action, and we are its appointed representatives. It is time for us do the work for which we were chosen.
“Tomorrow, we will begin these talks anew. Overnight, each of us will find ways we can compromise. At the negotiations, anyone who insults another representative will be thrown out for the remainder of the day. By tomorrow night, I want the beginnings of a deal. I do not expect all these issues can be resolved in a single day. I expect they will take weeks. But I want us on the path tomorrow. Alfar needs us. Good night.”
She rose. The rest of the table stood with her. Then she turned and left the room without another word, although she favored Wolf with a smile as she went by.
As soon as she was gone, the room descended into chaos. Everyone started yelling at everyone else. Silverleaf stormed from the room immediately.
Wolf knew he really should have stayed and tried to calm everyone down – smooth over the hurt feelings. But he reminded himself he was not here to solve the crisis be
tween Alfar and Urland. He was here to find out what Silverleaf was doing and put a stop to it.
He turned and left the room. As soon as he located a shadow, he dived into it and disappeared.
Chapter 24: Are You a Patriot?
(Twenty-one Hours, Thirteen Minutes before Revelation Day)
May Honeyflower thought her world was turning upside down. When she first met the Urlish ambassador, he’d acted like a babbling idiot. Like most humans, he was completely ensorcelled by her beauty, but he’d acted even more ridiculously than most of them. She had little hopes for him as a diplomat.
Then he’d been almost completely silent during the argument that ensued over dinner. She’d watched him, and he spent a great deal of time rubbing his temples and acting irritated. She’d never seen such behavior from a politician, and, the rude General Blackstone aside, she’d never seen a human official not approach the government without a certain level of deference.
Dasher, though, acted as though he’d rather be anywhere else. He ate his food, contributed nothing to the conversation, and looked miserable.
Then, without warning, he’d exploded with the most impolitic outburst she’d ever heard, dismissed General Blackstone from the negotiations, threatened to have the same done to Minister Lumendrake, and upbraided the entire cabinet for their behavior. And, amazingly, it worked. He so stunned everyone that the president called for new negotiations tomorrow, and everyone was absolutely confused.
Well, not everyone. Lumendrake scowled and protested his treatment, and Silverleaf left immediately.
May had not recovered from her shock, when Dasher did something else that stunned her. He left without saying anything. That was more than she could stand. All of this was just too unusual. She had to know more. So she pursued him.
Dashing out before Goldenfawn could ask her opinion on matters, she found nothing but the guards in the hall.
“Which way did Ambassador Dasher go?” she said.
“He went left,” one of them replied. “It looked like he was following Ambassador Silverleaf.”
May didn’t stay long enough to thank the guard. Some instinct was driving her. She had to know what this was all about.
She went down the hall and turned left at the first junction. She came out into a grand hall with numerous columns. Ahead in the distance, Silverleaf was stalking away, his footfalls echoing up into the high ceiling. Dasher was nowhere to be seen.
May stopped cold. If he’d come left, he couldn’t have escaped her notice. There was nowhere for him to go. Had the guard been wrong? How could he have been?
Just then, she saw something that startled her. Dasher appeared as if from thin air. It was as though he had simply materialized. He ran forward and to his left, clearly in pursuit of Silverleaf. Then he ducked towards a column and into its shadow ... and vanished again! He wasn’t just obscured in darkness. He just disappeared.
May started moving in his direction. Some instinct told her to be cautious. She stayed out of what she hoped was his view but hurried so as not to lose him.
She’d covered half the distance when he suddenly reappeared. Following her instincts, she ducked out of sight behind a column. Dasher moved swiftly down the hall. Silverleaf turned to his left down a different corridor. Dasher increased his speed, practically bolting for the corner. Then he found another shadow, moved into it, and vanished.
May couldn’t believe what she was seeing. This was some sort of magic! But she’d never heard of humans possessing innate magical powers. That left only one possible explanation: Wolf Dasher was a Shadow. And if he was a Shadow, then he doubtlessly was a member of Her Majesty’s Shadow Service. And if that was the case, he was no ambassador.
That explained a lot of his behavior. No trained diplomat would have acted as bored or spoken as frankly as he had.
What it didn’t explain was what he was doing here. It seemed obvious he had some business with Silverleaf, but what?
May felt herself growing angry. How dare the Urlanders not send a real ambassador? She determined to put a stop to whatever Dasher was up to, exposing him if necessary. Setting her jaw, she came out from her hiding place and strode with purpose down the grand hall.
She made no attempt to soften her footfalls. Dasher no doubt first heard and then saw her coming, because he didn’t reappear. He was surely waiting for her to pass.
She reached the turn and went by to the left, pretending to not know he was there. Silverleaf was gone. He was most likely on his way to the chambers in which he stayed while attending to business in the palace. She waited another moment and then turned around.
“All right, Ambassador, show yourself,” she ordered.
She waited for him to comply. Nothing happened. He had to be there. She hadn’t seen him move.
“I mean it, Mr. Dasher,” she said. “I know you’re there. Don’t make me start poking around with my sword to find your exact location.”
Another moment passed. Then the Urlander materialized directly in front of her.
“Captain Honeyflower,” he said. “Fancy meeting you here.”
He smiled amiably at her – as though nothing were out of order. She tried to control her anger.
“An amazing coincidence,” she said without humor. “What are you doing here?”
“I got lost,” he said with an incredibly sincere look of innocence on his face. He was a talented liar. “I was trying to get back to my carriage, but I must have taken a wrong turn.”
May had to steel herself against her anger again. She hated being lied to, and she hated it more when someone insulted her intelligence. She supposed Dasher was in a position where he had to try to lie his way out of the situation, but he was clearly caught. Why couldn’t he just come clean?
“Listen to me, Wolf Dasher, Ambassador from Her Majesty’s Government to Alfar,” she said, trying and mostly succeeding not to sneer. “You were not looking for your carriage. You were surreptitiously following Ambassador Silverleaf back to his quarters, and you were using some form of magic or Shadow ability to remain unseen. You must not have seen me behind you, or you wouldn’t have moved when you did.
“Now either you give me some answers about what you’re doing here, or I’ll arrest you and get my answers via interrogation. Which is it going to be?”
He continued to smile at her. There was a moment when she actually believed he might continue to lie. Then he sighed.
“Well done, Captain,” he said. “And you already have your answers. I was using a Shadow ability to follow Ambassador Silverleaf.”
“Why?”
He flinched a little under her gaze. Good. Her beauty had disarmed him before; maybe it would again.
“I’m not really an ambassador,” he confessed. “I hold the title and the appointment for the moment, but it’s a cover for my mission.”
“Which is?”
“One of our Shadows was murdered outside Al-Adan,” he said.
“Yes, I know. So you’re here to find out who did it and why.”
“Yes,” he replied.
“Then why were you following the ambassador,” she asked.
“Because our agent sent a one-word message to her controller before she was killed: ‘Silverleaf.’”
Was he serious? He was posing as an ambassador to spy on Silverleaf on the basis of a one-word message from a dead Shadow? She supposed he must be, but this was outlandish.
“Captain,” he continued, “our agent was murdered by a Phrygian Shadow named Ravager. He is working for Silverleaf. I have every reason to believe Silverleaf ordered the killing.”
“Why,” she asked.
“Because Ravager tried to kill me on Silverleaf’s orders earlier today, and he teamed with the Sons of Frey to do it.”
“What!”
That was a ludicrous claim. Silverleaf in league with the Sons of Frey? She knew the ambassador well enough to know he would never ally himself with Jifani terrorists.
“Captain, are you
a patriot,” Dasher asked.
“What?” she said again.
“I need to know if you are a servant of Alfar or of regulations,” he explained. “So, I’ll ask again: Are you a patriot?”
The question was disturbing. Her loyalty had never been questioned before. But this human didn’t know her, and, she supposed, that was why he needed to ask. He wanted to know where her loyalties lay.
“Yes,” she answered. “I’m a patriot.”
“Then I suggest you come with me,” he said. “This is a bad place to talk, and I have a lot to tell you.”
“Where then?”
“I’ve a safe house not far from the palace. I’ve already got my controller looking into some of the things I’ve found. She may have more information. In the meantime, I can brief you on the way over.”
She stared at him. Once again, his face was entirely sincere. That wasn’t helpful to her, though, since he’d lied to her with the same innocent look.
“Why should I trust you, Mr. Dasher,” she asked.
“Because I’m on your side,” he replied. “Whatever is going on here, and I’m convinced it’s something pretty large, it isn’t good for Alfar.
“Besides, you’ve got nothing to lose. If, after we’ve talked, you think I’m lying, you can just arrest me and let me rot in one of your dungeons. But if I’m telling the truth ...”
She tried not to listen to him. What he was saying was unthinkable. But he was right, and she knew it. If there was even the barest possibility Silverleaf was involved with the Sons of Frey, she needed to look into it.
“All right,” she said. “Let’s go. But I’m warning you, Dasher, if you make me look like a fool, you will pay dearly for it.”
“Understood,” he said. “And call me, Wolf. Let’s get out of here.”
“Agreed,” she said.
They slipped back down the hall from which they’d come. May felt her whole world continuing to crumble away. Soon, she feared, everything she knew and understood might be gone.
Chapter 25: Briefing
1 State of Grace Page 20
