by John Booth
“There isn’t a place far enough away in Jalon to protect you once Jalia gets angry. Please go and tell someone in authority that Daniel al’Degar and Jalia al’Dare seek an audience with the Lady Sorn. If someone else says no, she won’t be angry at you.”
That sounded eminently sensible to Dure. The names he had just been given sounded familiar to him. He couldn’t remember why, but he felt it was important enough to tell Captain Rann. Rann was officer of the watch.
“I’ll just go and have a word.”
Captain Keni Rann recognized the names immediately and after a quick glance to see what they looked like he went in search of the Lord Protector. He knew the Lord Protector had left orders that he didn’t want to be disturbed, but Keni knew this was important.
While Daniel and Jalia waited for the guard to return to the gate, Daniel spoke urgently.
“We need to use our trading skills with this Sorn woman. I have reason to believe she will not be easy to deal with and will become suspicious as soon as we ask for the ring and dagger, unless you wish us to fight our way out of the palace?”
Jalia put on the particularly feral grin she reserved for such occasions. It had been known to make strong men shiver with fear.
“Which of us is the better trader?” she asked Daniel innocently.
“You are.”
“Which of us grew up among the sons and daughters of kings and the children of the powerful?” she continued remorselessly.
“You did,” Daniel said through gritted teeth. He had a feeling about what this was leading up to and he wasn’t happy about it.
“Exactly. Therefore, I shall take charge of the negotiations. If they are very lucky, I shall let them keep the palace.”
“I’ll prepare for battle to break out at any instant then.”
“Pffft. You have so little confidence in me.”
At that moment, Dure returned with Captain Rann. Daniel noted the three other guards waiting in the shadows behind Dure. Unlike Dure, these looked like sharp soldiers who had just been shouted at. They had their sword drawn and were holding them in front of their faces as if on parade. Daniel wasn’t fooled for a second; these men were there for him and Jalia. The only question was, would they attack without warning, or were they there to protect Gally Sorn.
“I have been asked to convey the warm greetings of our Lord Protector and Lady Sorn,” Keni Rann said as if addressing royalty. “The Lord Protector and the Lady Sorn, will see you in the state room presently. If you will stand back, I will get my men to raise the portcullis.”
Daniel and Jalia stood back as the massive wrought iron gate was inched upwards by a creaking windlass hidden high in the walls above them. When it was above their heads, Jalia and Daniel stepped briskly over the threshold. Both had considered the possibility that someone might try and drop it on them as they stepped beneath it.
Keni took the lead. The three honor guards dropped their swords from the vertical position in front of their noses, but Daniel noted that none of them put their swords away. Again, Daniel and Jalia had the same thought and they moved level with Keni, so as to cause the men behind them a problem if they decided to attack.
“Well, put the stupid thing back down again,” Dure shouted up to the guards above the gate. He peered up at the portcullis as he shouted. The speed at which it crashed into the ground, dropping inches from Dure’s feet suggested that they might have taken a little umbrage.
The captain kept up a brisk pace, forcing Jalia into something close to a run to keep up. Jalia and Daniel saw little of the palace as a result of his haste. Its magnificent opulence reduced to little more than an impression as they hurried along.
They were taken up two flights of a wide marble staircase and then along a corridor draped with tapestries to reach the State Room. The doors were closed and the captain knocked twice politely, before sliding the doors open and stepping into the room.
“The Lady Jalia al’Dare and her companion Daniel al’Degar to see you Lord Protector,” he intoned solemnly. The guards behind Jalia and Daniel followed them in, shuffling against the wall in a vain attempt to appear unobtrusive.
Daniel took in the panoramic window behind the Lord Protector and Lady Sorn and tried not to gape like a country yokel. Even after seeing Ranwin with its massive glass spires there was something spectacular about a window that looked like a missing wall. If Jalia had noticed the window, she gave no sign of it.
“It is a pleasure to meet you,” the Lord Protector said, holding out his hand to Jalia. Gal Sorn was smitten by Jalia the moment he saw her and wondered how he might contrive to bed her. If Gally was the epitome of refinement encasing pure venom, Jalia was the warrior princess out of a story-book with long legs and the most amazing eyes.
Some might have taken Jalia’s slim form for boyishness. Gal liked his women young, or at the least to look young. He took Jalia to be no more than eighteen years old, which was an accurate guess.
Jalia held up her hand in a ladylike manner and allowed Gal to kiss it as if it was her due. Gal lingered over the gesture of greeting far too long, but Jalia appeared not to notice. The sudden flash of jealousy in Gally’s eyes spoke volumes to her, though she didn’t see any immediate gain to that particular information.
Gally decided not to be outdone and offered her hand to Daniel. Daniel took it and shook it politely, much to Gally’s disappointment.
“You must be Daniel al’Degar,” Gally said, breaking the slightly awkward silence that developed as her uncle made no attempt to relinquish Jalia’s hand. “I had heard you were younger.”
“Traveling with Jalia has been known to age a man more than his years.”
“Forgive our intrusion,” Jalia said quickly. Mainly in an attempt to stop Daniel saying something he shouldn’t. Gally breasts were not that much larger than her own, but she was an attractive woman and that always made Daniel act stupid. “We have reason to believe that the Lady Sorn might have in her possession some small trinkets of ours.”
“I very much doubt that,” Gally said with a laugh. “We have never met before, of that I am sure.”
“You were recently in Sweetwater, my lady,” Jalia said casually, as if mentioning that the weather had been poor that day. “We had been robbed on that day by a man called Adon Taldon, who sold some of our property in the Lord’s House.”
Gal broke into the conversation in a voice expressing astonishment. “You were robbed by a local peasant? I had heard you two were more than capable of looking after yourselves.”
“Adon Taldon got lucky that morning. His luck ran out before the fall of night,” Daniel replied grimly. His tone caused the conversation to fall into a lull.
“Two trinkets of little value, except sentimental, were taken from us,” Jalia said, breaking the silence. “We understand that one of them you bought and the other was given to you.”
Gally realized they had come to take the ring and the dagger. She had no intention of giving either of them back, but saying so was not the way the rich and powerful played such games.
“This ring, perhaps?” Gally said waving Jalia’s magic ring in her face, “And an amazingly sharp dagger?” Gally wore a broad smile so false it might have been painted onto her face. “You are right though, they have little intrinsic value.”
Jalia’s smile looked genuine, though Gally saw through it instantly. “They are keepsakes of our poor dead parents. The ring was the dying gift of my mother and the blade was Daniel’s father’s last bequest to him. It would be an honorable deed if you were to return them.”
“Yes, it would,” Gally replied, as if she were actually considering the proposition. “However, the ring is to be a gift to my mother on my return and I would look like a very churlish child if I failed to take her one. The dagger also has sentimental value, given to me by a fine young guard going by the name of Gralt.”
“Grilt, my lady,” Jalia corrected. She was having some difficulty not grinding her teeth, but somehow managed
to keep the smile on her face.
“Whatever,” Gally responded without concern at her mistake. “I shall never forget how the warmth of his eyes gave me comfort when we braved the nights out in the Northern Forest. Never knowing when we might be attacked.”
“He is in Boathaven this very day,” Daniel told her. “Perhaps the Lady Gally would like to come into the town with us and renew her acquaintance?”
“That is such a kind thought,” Gally said.
Daniel thought she might be about to pat him on the head like a clever little dog. “However, I am sailing on the Steam Dragon tonight and have yet to pack for the journey.”
“What an amazing coincidence,” Jalia exclaimed in false delight. “So are we. Perhaps we might discuss this matter further when we are on the river?”
“What a shame,” Gal broke in. “I was hoping that you would be spending time in Boathaven and we could become better acquainted. There are stories about the two of you that I would like to hear told from your own lips and now I am to be denied them.”
Despite his words, Daniel would have bet money that Gal was actually delighted they were leaving Boathaven. Daniel hated the world inhabited by the rich and the powerful, where every word spoken was invariably a lie.
“You must have traveled here with my good friend Hadon Mallow?” Gally enthused. “What a small world this is turning out to be. How is he, he and all his lovely trader friends?”
Daniel knew he should keep his mouth shut, but he wanted to say something that would annoy this arrogant woman and he knew just enough about her business to say the one thing that he was sure would do just that.
“Sadly two of them are dead my lady, killed by robbers just before Pegars Ford. They would have all been killed if Jalia and I had not intervened and killed the robbers. With our help, Hadon and the remainder have made their way here, with all their trade goods intact.”
It was a stupid thing to say, but Daniel got a great deal of satisfaction from the momentary tightening of Gally Sorn’s lips. He knew he had scored a significant point.
“Such heroes,” Gally said while smiling, wine glass held in her hand. The glass smashed as her hand convulsed upon it.
“The glass must have been flawed,” Gal exclaimed. He rushed over to Gally and carefully dried her hand with a silk handkerchief, brushing off the pieces of glass he could see. “Perhaps you will excuse us while Lady Sorn attends to her hand. Our business was concluded, was it not?”
“Of course, my lord and lady.” Jalia wore a smile on her face. She turned and Daniel followed her from the room, the guards having to hurry to catch up with them.
When they were away from the Palace, Jalia turned to Daniel and put her hands on his shoulders. She buried her face in his chest and appeared to burst into tears, her whole body heaving.
“I’m sorry, Jalia. I know I shouldn’t have said that to Lady Sorn, but the arrogant bitch was driving me crazy.”
Jalia lifted her head and Daniel saw she had been laughing.
“I was just about to throw a dagger into her throat and damn the consequences when you said that. She deliberately got Grilt’s name wrong, just to rub our noses in it. I’m not sure she ever had a mother. Did you see the way she looked at her uncle? They are surely bedding one another.”
“Really?” Daniel had missed those undertones in the conversation. “That would explain how she got the Lord Protector to issue the new law about transporting swords to Slarn.”
“I wish there was some way we could really hurt her and knock the arrogance out of her at the same time.”
“As it happens, I know a way to do just that,” Daniel replied. “We have to find Grilt and Tel though, as we will need their help.”
Back in the Palace, the Lord Protector carefully picked pieces of glass out of his niece’s hand using a pair of tweezers and a magnifying glass. Gally held her hand out as still as she could, despite the pain as each sliver was pulled free.
“I will see those two dead,” she told her uncle, “Just you see if I don’t.”
“I think their views about you are similar,” the Lord Protector said thoughtfully. “Perhaps you should delay your trip home. Wait for the next boat; it’s only ten days away.”
“I must deliver the swords personally, Gal; you know that. I will be safe enough on the boat. I have allies onboard you know nothing about.”
“If you say so,” Gal said dubiously. “However, I will instruct an extra five guards with crossbows to take up a position where they can guard the warehouse. Just in case Hadon Mallow decides to try and take his swords back. I shall give the guards orders to kill anybody who tries. You never know, you may end up not having to pay Mallow after all.”
Gally smiled at her uncle as he wiped her hand and looked again through the magnifying glass.
“It is all gone,” he said with some satisfaction and started to get up from where he had been kneeling in front of her.
“Not yet, Uncle,” Gally said putting a hand on his shoulder and pushing him down to his knees. “I have an itch between my legs that you must look at urgently.”
22. Disaster
Daniel explained his plan to recover the swords and move them to the Steam Dragon as they walked through the town. It would need the help of Grilt and Tel, not to mention Hadon, his son and the other traders to carry it out.
“Carrying the bags across the open dock is the riskiest part. It would take the two of us all night. If we use everybody, we can do it in a couple of journeys,” Daniel explained.
“Isn’t Hadon a bit too law abiding to go along with all this?” Jalia asked. Daniel had explained to her how much money Gally Sorn would lose if the swords were to get onboard the ship and Jalia enthusiastically approved his plan.
Daniel’s face fell. “You’re right; he may reject the idea out of hand.”
“She has already tried to kill Hadon, which may persuade him of the justice of it.”
“Did I miss something?” Daniel asked with a puzzled look on his face. “When did she try to kill Hadon?”
“You are very slow on the uptake sometimes.” Jalia gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder. “The way Gally Sorn reacted to your comment about the robbers proves she must have been involved. You don’t crush a glass in your hand simply because you lost an opportunity to make some money.”
“She had the chance to set it up when she rode ahead of the group. But it would be extraordinary good luck to run into thieves you could buy on the way,” Daniel mused. “She must have set the whole thing up months before.”
“She looks as if she’s ruthless enough to do it to me.”
“That would mean that she must have known the Swallow couldn’t carry the whole cargo.” Daniel made a snap decision. “Let’s go to the docks first, Jalia. There’s someone we must speak to.”
Boatmaster Pund of the sailing ship Swallow was feeling pleased. He looked at the twenty pieces of gold he had been paid by Hadon Mallow. He added it to the ten pieces he was paid in advance. He followed those with the twenty pieces Lady Sorn had paid him to make sure Hadon had to travel by land. This had been his most profitable job ever. After he paid the crew, he would still have earned enough money to retire. ‘Who says that crime doesn’t pay’, he thought with amusement.
Pund was a rotund man who was so overweight it was surprising that he could move around at all. If he had a given name, his crew and acquaintances had no idea what it was. He always insisted on being called Boatmaster, the traditional title for a man who captained his own vessel on Lake Telmar.
He piled his coins up in the center of the table in his cabin. Pund reached to sweep them towards him, only to be stopped in his tracks as a knife embedded itself into the oak, inches from his chest.
Sweat started to form on his pudgy face as he stared at the quivering knife. He looked up to see Daniel and Jalia in his cabin. Jalia held an identical knife in her hand, ready to throw. One look in her eyes caused the sweat on Pund’s face to roll down his j
owls and drip onto the table.
“You would be the Captain of the Swallow?” Daniel asked as he dropped into a chair opposite Pund.
“Boatmaster,” Pund corrected automatically. His piggy little eyes shot from Daniel to Jalia and back again. “Are you here to rob me?”
“Is stealing from a thief actually theft?” Jalia queried. “This is a lot of money for one journey. Shall I bring Hadon Mallow here to ask how much he paid you?”
“It’s my savings. All I have in the world. If you take it, I will become a pauper.”
“You’d still have your boat…, and if you were lucky, your life,” Daniel pointed out. This statement didn’t comfort Pund at all.
“Come on,” Jalia instructed Pund, “You have to go and confess to Mallow as to what you did.”
“Confession is good for the soul, they tell me,” Daniel said cheerfully.
“He’ll kill me!” Pund was in mortal terror of the idea.
“And we’ll kill you if you don’t,” Jalia explained. “The money is pretty much like a written confession of guilt anyway. Daniel, if the Boatmaster causes us any problems, I vote we kill him here and now.”
“That sounds reasonable to me. Or if he lies to Mallow when we get there.”
“Get up then, fat man,” Jalia said in Pund’s ear. He stumbled to his feet and collected his money in a bag as Jalia retrieved her knife from the table. Daniel drew his sword and kept it close to Pund’s back as they marched him up to the deck and onto the dock.
“I’m sorry, have your money back,” Pund sobbed as Hadon tried to suppress his rage.
“I will kill Gally Sorn,” Hadon told his fellow traders.
Daniel and Jalia found the travelers eating together in a large dining room in the Storm Dragon. Hala was there with Cara and Don. They had pushed a reluctant Boatmaster Pund into the room and made him recite his crime in front of everyone. His coin purse had fallen to the deck as he spoke, sending gold coins scattering around him. Nobody doubted his words.
