Alain sighed. "You're right. I'll help."
A real investigation might reveal the truth, but the reality was that there would be no investigation. If someone like Jergen made a statement about how his only son had died, no one would question it; at least not to his face, and not to any kind of authority.
"Can I do anything to help?" I asked Jergen.
Jergen looked over at me as if he'd forgotten I was there. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a small purse, and threw it at me. "You can leave! That's the rest of your payment, as agreed. It should be enough for you to keep your mouth shut, and if it isn't, I know about your past Captain Forester, and I can make sure you never find work in this area again."
I caught the thrown purse just before it hit my chest, and I stood gaping at him as he issued his threat. My shock quickly turned to anger and I nearly threw the purse back at him. But I had earned the fee and venting my feelings wasn't worth the loss of three gold crowns.
Instead, I tucked the purse away and said evenly, "There's no need for threats, Mister Overland."
"Just get out of my sight. Now!" he roared, taking a step toward me, bloody dagger still in hand.
My hand went to my own dagger automatically, and I might have drawn it, except that I saw tears streaming down Jergen Overland's cheeks into his beard as he shouted. I knew then that his anger wasn't really directed at me, but that I made a convenient target.
Alain looked up from where he kneeled next to Tam and added his own plea. "Please, Mister Forester. Just go, and let us take care of Tam now."
I nodded to both of them and walked over to Patches. Patches was jittery from Tam's attack on Jergen and the subsequent shouting, and he was milling at the edge of the clearing with the other horses. I patted his neck and spoke soothingly to calm him before I stepped up into the saddle. As we left the clearing, I looked back over my shoulder to see that Jergen Overland was kneeling next to his son, holding the boy's head and shoulders in his lap and weeping silently.
I didn't like the idea of obscuring the truth of what had happened, but I couldn't argue with Jergen's conclusion. The truth would only cause trouble. There would be enough anger and grief over Tam's death as it was. Admitting sorcery was involved would only complicate matters for the Overlands and for Alain. And I knew that Jergen had not intentionally murdered his son. It was all a horribly tragic accident.
But I had reasons of my own to hold back the truth, and nausea churned in my stomach as I considered them. I had heard of lycanthropy potions. I knew almost nothing about them or how they worked because I had carefully avoided anything to do with sorcery my whole life. If I had known anything about potions, I might have realized the implications of the half-full bottle I'd held in my hand only moments before. I might have been able to save Tam the first time I found him. Or at least I could have prevented the disaster I had just witnessed.
In a way, my ignorance of sorcery may very well have cost young Tam his life.
Chapter 13
My journey back to Northshore went by in a blur. As I rode, my mind argued in circles, trying to figure out what went wrong and second-guessing what I could have done to stop it. Finally, I would chastise myself for fretting over something that was over and done, and then the same useless mental cycle would start over.
The clink of five gold crowns in my purse would normally be cheering, but today it was no consolation. I had satisfied the Overland contract, but not in a satisfying way. I had found Tam, uncovered the mystery of why he hadn't come home, and reunited him with his family, in a manner of speaking. But just the same, Jergen's final payment felt like a payoff to keep me quiet.
The sun was high in the sky overhead when the walls of Northshore came into view. I was relieved to be nearly home, but I wasn't sure what I was going to tell Borlan when I reported to him.
I waited outside the east gate for a moment while a large wagon rumbled through and rolled away toward Delta, and then I urged Patches through the opening into town. The streets were busy with townspeople. Many of the folks moved with a half-smile on their face, enjoying the unusually nice spring afternoon. I was like a dark cloud crossing their blue sky.
I dismounted in front of the Snow Creek Inn's stable. I wondered how Meldon was coming along with the repairs as I walked Patches through the open stable door. No sounds of hammering or sawing greeted me, so perhaps he'd made better time than expected.
My eyes adjusted quickly to the shadowed barn, and I was surprised to see Meldon sitting next to Dela on a bench. A mostly eaten meat pie rested on a small cloth that was spread between them. Meldon looked up quickly when I came in. "Hi Jaylan," he said, much louder than necessary. I could swear a blush rose to his cheeks.
Dela turned and saw me, and then leaped up from where she was sitting. "Jaylan! You're home!" She ran over to me with a big smile on her face and gave me a hug. I hugged her back with my one free arm. "I was just bringing Meldon some lunch," she explained.
Meldon stood and wiped some crumbs from his shirt and then sidled over to take Patches reins from my hand. "Here, let me take him for you." He led Patches over to the stall I had repaired before I left and started to unsaddle the horse.
Dela looked around the interior of the stable. "So, what do you think?" she asked me.
I surveyed the progress Meldon had made while I was gone. Four of the five stalls were done now. The rotten boards had been replaced and the gates had been repaired. "Nice job, Meldon. You're as good as your word. I see you had to get some more lumber after all."
Meldon poked his head from around Patches to answer. "Yes, sir. I'll probably finish up the job today. Thanks for giving me the work."
"I'm glad I did. Thanks for taking care of this for me."
Dela looked up at me hopefully. "So, are you done with that contract now? Will you be able to stay home for a while?"
I took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. "Yes, I'm quite done."
Dela's voice grew serious. "Weren't you able to find the boy? Did they pay you?"
"I found the boy and I got paid. But the boy was dead. It was an ugly situation."
Dela hugged me again. "I'm sorry. Come inside and I'll give you something to eat. You'll feel better once you put it behind you."
"I'm sure you're right. Thanks," I said. She released me and left the stable with a quick wave at Meldon.
I walked over to retrieve my saddle bags from where Meldon had laid them. Meldon was brushing out Patches, who had found a bit of hay to chew on. "Keep up the good work. I may have more for you to do in the future," I told him.
Meldon interrupted his brushing for a moment to smile over at me. "Thanks, Jaylan. I'd appreciate that."
I angled my head toward the remains of his lunch over on the bench. "You didn't finish your meat pie. Didn't you enjoy Dela's cooking?"
He glanced over at the bench and went back to brushing Patches. "Oh, yes, she's a very good cook. I just wasn't all that hungry, I guess."
I suppressed a smile. "Uh, huh. She can be distracting."
Meldon froze and looked over at me. I chuckled at his reaction and he blushed again, realizing that I was teasing him. "Thanks again for taking care of Patches for me," I said. I hitched the saddle bags up on my shoulder and left the stable.
I went back to the inn and sat down to a nice meal with Dela. She kept her tone upbeat but gentle during our repast, distracting me from my dark thoughts with talk of our current guests at the inn and the latest town gossip. Her calming voice gradually redirected my thoughts to familiar subjects and helped me slowly let go of the tension that had gripped me since the incident on the Delta Peninsula.
While Dela chattered about the inn's preparations for Planting Day, the upcoming mid-spring celebration, I thought back to what I'd seen in the stable. Meldon seemed to have an interest in Dela, even if she hadn't noticed yet. The lad was reliable and skilled, and much closer to her in age than I was. He didn't really seem to fit in over at Raven Company. I wondered what he
thought about the idea of becoming an innkeeper.
***
After my late lunch with Dela, I walked over to Raven Company to close out the Overland contract with Borlan. On my way there, I ruminated on how often I had been running into sorcery lately.
I could count on my two hands the number of times I had been exposed to sorcery in my entire life. And most of those events had happened in the past three days. Since my fateful meeting with the young thief Raleb, I had not only encountered sorcery in multiple forms, but I'd unwittingly performed it. Every one of those encounters had reminded me of when I first started learning swordsmanship. The first time I picked up a sword, I knew nothing about how to properly defend myself or press an attack. I looked forward to things settling down and returning to normal.
Borlan wasn't at his desk when I entered the front office, but the muted clang of sparring came from the basement. I opened the basement door and the clash of swords became louder. Borlan's familiar voice shouted curses at his sparring partner.
The basement sparring room was a bit dank, but its underground placement kept it cool even on the hottest summer days. Weapons racks along the walls held a number of practice weapons and a few battle-ready pieces of equipment. I stopped part-way down the stairs to watch the action without disturbing the competitors, but Borlan saw me standing there.
After a final clang, Borlan stepped back and saluted his opponent. Returning the salute was Captain Rakerus Pollard of the Imperial Guard. Borlan and Rakerus had known each other for years, so it was no surprise to see the captain here. In fact, their friendship was what had originally inspired Rakerus to suggest that I speak with Borlan about getting work at Raven Company after my expulsion from the guard.
Borlan grinned over at me as he placed the dulled practice sword he was using back on the rack. "Back so soon, Jaylan? I expected it to take a while to find the boy. That was a quick five crowns." His grin disappeared when he noticed the troubled look on my face. "What happened?"
"The boy was dead, Borlan." I handed him one of the gold crowns. "It was the least satisfying fee I've ever earned."
"How about the Overlands. How did they take it?"
I hesitated before answering. Borlan was a good friend and I wanted to share the whole story with him. I would probably even trust Rakerus with the truth, but it would put the man in a bad position, since he would technically be expected to follow up, and he might have to go to Delta and investigate the circumstances of the boy's death. I decided to keep it simple.
"Jergen Overland was with me when we found the boy's body. He was upset, but I'm sure his wife will be devastated."
Rakerus had placed his practice sword up on the rack and was buckling on his regular weapon. "That's a shame," he said somberly. "Jergen can be an overbearing ass, but Greta always seemed like a nice woman."
I just nodded, trying to keep my face from revealing anything more than I had already said.
Borlan looked down at the coin I'd placed in his hand and pocketed it. "Sorry to hear about that, Jaylan. I'm almost surprised he paid the entire fee, although I guess you did complete the contract. Just not with the ending they were hoping for."
Borlan gripped my shoulder and steered me toward the "meeting room," which was really just a table in one corner of the basement with a cask of ale strategically placed on a nearby cubby. "Let me buy you an ale. How about you, Rakerus?"
Rakerus shook his head. "No thanks. I need to get back to the office. I'm supposed to meet with Caslin Stone about paroling that young thief."
I turned to Rakerus. "Are you talking about Raleb, the thief those Archives agents captured?"
"Yes. Caslin has offered to give him a labor parole for some reason. I didn't even know such a provision existed until yesterday. Seems risky to me. Caslin has to take responsibility for the young man for the duration of his sentence or lose the parole money he puts forth."
"That is odd. Caslin has never struck me as being particularly charitable," I said.
In fact, Caslin struck me as being a bit of a crook. To my knowledge, he had never engaged in illegal activity, but it was well known that his shop carried more than just tonics and tonic ingredients. According to rumor, magical potions were hidden from sight, but available to any customer willing to ask for them and willing to pay the high price.
I thought it likely that Caslin's shop was the source of Tam's lycanthropy potion. The Overland contract was done, but part of me wanted to go over to Caslin's shop and wrest the truth from him. If he had indeed supplied the lycanthropy potion, he shared a measure of culpability for Tam's death.
"He must be busy if he's willing to parole a thief to get help," I concluded, wondering to myself what the real reason for his generosity might be.
Rakerus nodded. "He does seem to be getting a lot of business lately." Then he gave me a sly grin. "Young ladies are always in need of more love potions, and from what I hear, you may need to start watching what you drink yourself."
I laughed. "Very funny. Dela doesn't need any love potions; she's got force of personality on her side."
Rakerus and Borlan chuckled with me. "Well, I'd better get going. Talk to you both later," Rakerus said, and he headed up the stairs to leave. Borlan and I walked over to the table. I sat down while he poured ale for us.
"It's a bit early in the day, but a five-crown fee is worthy of a toast." He sat my mug down in front of me and took a seat. We raised our mugs and tapped them together. The frothy ale was cool and rich, and we each took a big swig. Borlan tapped his chest with his fist a couple of times and we belched in unison.
"I have something else I want to run by you," he said.
"What's that?"
"Something's wrong with that escort contract I told you about."
My stomach tighted and I sat up in my chair. "Now that you mention it, that's something I wanted to ask you about too."
He glanced at me curiously, but went on. "Either Kefer or Peltor was supposed to check in with me when the shipment came past Northshore, but neither of them did. They should have come through here yesterday at the latest, but I haven't seen either one of them. What do you know about it?"
"I saw Kefer and Peltor at Buckwoods, that little fishing village on the Delta Peninsula. They were acting strangely and claimed that the driver wanted to stop off at the village," I told him.
Borlan's heavy eyebrows drew together. "The client from Plains End didn't mention anything about a stopover, and the driver should know better than to take care of personal business on a run like this. Going to Buckwoods wasn't part of the plan or the fee. You saw them there yesterday?"
I nodded. "They drew their blades and blocked me when I entered the village. They told me the driver wanted to stop there, and they wouldn't let me ask around about the missing boy. They claimed they'd been there since the previous evening, and that no one had seen the boy."
Borlan squinted at me. "They've been there since night before last? What do you mean they wouldn't let you talk to the villagers?"
"It was like they didn't want me to come into the village for some reason. I didn't have time to argue with them about it, so I left. But they kept their blades bare the entire time, and they waited for me to leave."
Borlan's look of confusion turned into a glare. "What are those two playing at? They've got some explaining to do when they get back," he said, slamming his mug to the table. He leaned forward and pointed his finger at me. "I want you to go back down there and find out what's going on. I'm cutting you in on a full share of their fee, and if the whole deal goes bad because of those two, I'll cover it myself."
I looked at Borlan and considered his request. I hadn't told him about the sound I'd heard while at the village and the sorcery that the noise might represent. I didn't plan to tell him either. I didn't know Borlan's feelings on the subject of sorcery, and I didn't want to try explaining how I knew it might be involved. Instead, I focused on concerns he would understand.
"I'm not sure I can ta
ke on both of them if they decide to fight me," I said.
Borlan leaned back in his chair, letting his hand drop to the table in surprise. "Why do you think they'd fight you?"
"The whole time I spoke with them, the treated me like I was some kind of threat. If I got forceful with them, I think they'd react badly."
Borlan shook his head. "That doesn't make any sense. They're supposed to guard that shipment, but the point is to get it safely to Plains End. Look, I'd go with you, but I'm needed here." He thought for a moment. "How about taking Meldon with you? I'd hate to put the kid into a fight with Kefer or Peltor, but if you've got some backup, maybe there won't be a fight."
I thought about that. Having sparred with Meldon myself, I knew that he was a fair hand with a sword, but he didn't have the experience of older company members like Kefer and Peltor. Like Borlan, I had difficulty believing there'd be a fight in the first place, but I still got gooseflesh when I thought about my encounter with the men yesterday. I also wasn't too keen on the idea of subjecting Meldon to whatever sorcery might be involved--or subjecting myself to it for that matter. Realistically, there wasn't much choice. Borlan had no one else to turn to right now.
"I suppose you're right. Meldon could use the experience and I could use the backup, as you say."
"Good," Borlan said, slapping his hand on the table. "Just get them back on task. You don't have to accompany them all the way to Plains End, but make sure they understand that they aren't to go on any more side trips."
We both finished our ale and stood up. "I'll see what I can do," I said with a tone of confidence in my voice that I didn't feel.
Chapter 14
Agent Sulana Delano paced back and forth in the antechamber to the Archives Council Hall. This morning she had stood before the councilors with Talon at her side. She gave them the facts of her journey with professional detachment, and delivered her conclusions and recommendations with conviction. The stodgy panel of five senior sorcerers who made up the Council interrupted her only a few times with questions. They asked Talon for his impressions on a couple of occasions as well. When Sulana was dismissed, she left with the distinct feeling that the Council wasn't taking the situation seriously enough.
The Vaetra Chronicles: Book 01 - Vaetra Unveiled Page 13
