by D. L. Kramer
"Any chance you could talk some sense into them?" he asked, not really hoping for a positive answer.
"I don't know," Mallin responded. "I never knew this Thorvald, so I couldn't tell you how likely his men are to be loyal to him." He paused for a moment, a considering look on his face. "Although from the sounds of things, they're more loyal to the money they make off the slave trade than to him directly. He has their loyalty now because he provides them with a way to continue making the money they've grown accustomed to. Perhaps if they were offered alternatives, their loyalty wouldn't be so strong."
Nahtan sighed. "I don't suppose they'd be willing to trade their lives for it?" he asked.
Mallin shrugged. "If you're considering offering them the 'stop and I'll let you live', I honestly couldn't tell you. But if you were to offer to return them home to their families and help them get established again in another trade, they might be more willing to listen." He paused for a moment. "Then again, earning their money by legal means might not be enough for some of them anymore. Those are the ones you'll have to worry about."
"Thanks," Nahtan said. Mallin had an uncanny insight into the structure of the church guard ranks and what drove them, and even though he sometimes told Nahtan things he'd rather not hear, his input was invaluable.
As he saw it now, he'd have to find a way to weed out the guards who would be willing to desert their post with the promise of returning home from those who he would be forced to hunt down and kill. Walking back to his tent, his mind jumped from idea to idea, discarding some because there weren't enough people with him and others because of the risk. By the time he reached the tent, he had narrowed his choices down to the one he thought would endanger the fewest people and hopefully achieve the greatest results. He wondered what his father would think of him now as he settled on Garren and Gaurel to carry out his idea.
The next morning, Nahtan watched as the two young men walked easily along the dirt roadway leading into town. He had gone over his idea with Rial, Mo'ani and Adie to make sure there wasn't anything he was missing, then had sat with Garren and Gaurel and explained to them what he wanted them to do. Rial was able to coach them in their behavior and speech while Nahtan finished his explanation.
Garren's clothing was fine, and it only took a few changes to make Gaurel's match the clothes worn by the citizens in one particular village.
"Watch them, Halona," Nahtan whispered, hoping he had made the right decision. He watched both boys disappear around a curve in the road and behind a grove of trees.
"The barracks are on the southeast side," Gaurel said, kicking a rock out of the way. "There should be the most church guards there."
Garren nodded in agreement. "Any idea how we're supposed to spot those that might leave on their own?" he asked.
Gaurel thought about it for a moment. "Just like with the falcon," he answered. "Watch their body language; how they interact with each other and their superiors." He had willingly agreed to go along with Nahtan's plan, but had secretly questioned why Nahtan was sending his own brother with him. Garren was eager to learn, and equally eager to please, but hadn't left his father's home until coming with Nahtan and the others. Gaurel knew he could protect himself, he'd been doing that for as long as he could remember, but Garren didn't have his abilities or knowledge. Gaurel did know one thing, however, as long as Garren didn't leave his side, he would not die. If that was the only thing he could accomplish here for Nahtan, then it would have to be enough for the young king, even if Nahtan didn't realize it.
The town of Edgewind was crudely protected by a wall made of lashed together logs and sealed with tar. Gaurel realized the mistake immediately, but figured the citizens here hadn't known much better. Any soldier worth his sword, however, would recognize the incredible flammability of the wall. Outside the walls, small homesteads and farms spread out for hundreds of acres. The gate into the town was guarded by two bored looking church guards. Their armor was rusted in several places and their cloaks barely wearable from the holes and unraveled seams in the wool. One wore a dented helmet, and neither smelled like they'd bathed anytime in the recent past.
"What's your business?" the helmeted guard demanded, standing from his seat on a barrel to block their path. Gaurel could see bits of food and wood chips buried in his beard and couldn't help but wonder how the latter had gotten there.
"We're here from Tirza to see if the king's here yet," Gaurel answered with a slight accent, his voice eager. The village name had been carefully chosen at Rial's suggestion as the citizens of Tirza were notorious even among the other villages for their gullible nature. "The minstrels all said he was comin' here--one even said he was going to move his castle and court here." Gaurel found he had no problem with the speech inflections of the uneducated and almost shuddered at the ease with which he picked it up.
"There's no king here," the guard sneered. "You all know the Cap'n takes care of his business from somewhere else."
"The minstrel was sure it was a king's caravan he saw," Garren insisted. "Maybe it was someone else's who's just as high."
The guard turned to look at his partner. "Is the Cap'n here this week?" he asked.
His partner didn't even bother opening his eyes from where he leaned against a pole, half dozing.
"Nah," he answered. "He won't be here until next week." He scratched absently at his stomach and shifted his weight.
Gaurel was careful not to let any reaction show on his face at this news. "Well, can we come in and look around?" he asked. "We've never been here before, and it looks like a fine town."
The guard eyed him for a moment, then Garren. "You can come in for two tasks each," he answered finally, turning to spit to the side of the gate.
The two boys looked at each other, then leaned their heads together and whispered for a moment. Both made a show of digging through their pockets before turning back to the guard. Gaurel held out his hand with five copper task coins in his palm.
"Is this enough, sir?" he asked hopefully.
The guard took the coins and examined them for a moment, then looked back at them. "You're short," he said.
"That's all we have," Garren answered. "If you let us in, we might be able to work for someone to earn the rest."
The guard looked first from Gaurel then to Garren, then to his partner.
"What do you think, Kov?" He spit to the side of the gate again.
Kov opened one eye to look at the coins in his partner's hand.
"Let 'em in," he said. "Maybe they'll find the king and he'll lend 'em the rest."
"You heard him," the helmeted guard said, stepping aside to let them in through the gate.
"Thank you, sir," Gaurel said, nodding his head in what he thought was a foolish gesture, but the guard seemed to buy as gratitude. With Garren at his side again, they walked through the gate into Edgewind.
Nineteen - "What lies within you?"
Halona walked unnoticed through Nahtan's camp, her mind touching each of theirs, then leaving, unnoticed. All but two. She could not touch Nahtan's mind, and since the universe no longer acknowledged Rial d'Valin's existence, she would not touch his.
Mo'ani d'Herridon's mind was exactly as it had been when she first touched him at his grandfather's funeral. Clear, strong, dedicated, and just mischievous enough to make him intriguing. Adiella d'Herridon's was so much like Mo'ani's, Halona had to look to their fates to tell them apart.
Sewati d'Mowik was following his fate without any variance. The road ahead of him was so easily outlined, there was no way he could deviate. Halona smiled to herself as she glimpsed his future. Some confusion, a test of allegiance, and an altercation, but nothing that would steer him from Nahtan's side.
Valry d'Herridon was much the same. Her loyalty to and love for her father was absolute. Halona's brow creased for a moment. There were forces at work against the girl, but nothing directed specifically at her. Zakris had sealed the pact with his brother that would protect her life and soul. That
didn't, however, mean Zared could not influence others to take positions against her. She touched Tion d'Ioan's mind and impelled him to protect Valry more.
"Watch them, Halona."
Nahtan's words drifted to her and she moved to his side. Ahead, his brother and the one named Gaurel walked along the road away from the camp. There would be no danger there, she saw. Both would return unharmed. There was no need for her to watch them. His brother's fate would keep him at Nahtan's side for some time yet.
She turned to study this strange soul who she thought of as a nephew. It was out of her fierce love for her sister that she had taken the steps she had, writing his fate that would so perfectly hide him until he had been old enough and strong enough to confront Zared. Now, however, he seemed to go out of his way to drift from that course. Yet still she loved him as though Jensina had borne him herself.
"You and your young Lord d'Valin are the difficult ones, aren't you?" she asked him, knowing he could not hear her while she was not manifested in their world. "What lies within you?" she wondered aloud. "What burns in the bottom of your soul and threatens to rip our world apart?" And is it strong enough to destroy a fallen god forever? She wondered to herself. You destroyed a world once, Daghr'il, can you stop yourself from destroying it again? When her father had called the Wardsman to help, he had told Zakris who Nahtan was and of the incredible power he had held in his hands at the point their world died. Power enough to destroy a god. Could the power be released again, then harnessed before it destroyed their world now?
She turned back to the road where Garren and Gaurel were no longer visible. Perhaps it was time to bring in another of her servants. No doubt Areli would find the coming months a challenge to keep up with everything on his own. There were things that would befall members of Nahtan's group, events that would challenge the best of them and test many loyalties. Halona saw no reason to delay those tests any longer.
Twenty - "One of us will be dead"
Gaurel and Garren returned late that night from Edgewind. The falcon heard them before anyone else and started shifting from one end of his perch to another and chirping quietly. Nahtan looked at the giant bird at the first noise, then turned and walked towards the road when he realized what the bird was doing. After a moment, he could hear the two boys' voices, then their shadows came into view as they neared the camp. With a sigh of relief, Nahtan walked up to meet them.
"I was starting to wonder if we were going to have to storm the village," he said.
"Don't bother," Gaurel said.
"You can get in no matter what you look like if you bribe them with enough," Garren responded.
"And one person could destroy the town center with some flint and tinder," Gaurel added.
"So did you find anything?" Nahtan asked, falling into step with them as they walked back to the camp. Ahead, Valry and Bear were walking up to meet them at the road.
"If the church guards are making any money off the slave trade," Gaurel answered. "They aren't using it to better themselves. I don't think we saw a single guard with new clothes, nice weapons or even combed hair."
Garren picked up Valry when she ran up to him. After hugging him, she dropped back to the ground and came to take her father's hand.
"And there's lots of complaining," Garren said. "Whoever this 'cap'n' of theirs is, they don't care for him much."
"Cap'n?" Nahtan asked, raising an eyebrow. When they reached the camp, the others looked up from what they were doing to hear the news.
"That would be Thorvald," Rial answered, stepping forward from the shadows at the edge of the camp. "His rank before Nahtan destroyed the Archbishop was of similar level to Sewati's. His underlings still refer to him by it. Probably since none of them are intelligent enough to see a difference between his old rank and his new one."
"And what would his new one be?" Nahtan asked, wondering why Rial hadn't told them this before.
Rial turned to face him, his eyes glinting and a faint smile on his lips. Nahtan realized he was selectively giving out his information as he deemed it necessary. He could see they were going to have to have a long talk about this, preferably when the children were asleep or otherwise not around.
"Why, King, of course," Rial answered evenly. "Did I neglect to mention that you aren't the only god-ordained ruler in the land?"
"Papa," Valry twisted her hand free from his. "Don't squeeze so hard, that hurts."
Nahtan didn't bother apologizing to his daughter, but pushed her over to Bear, his eyes intent on Rial as he took a step towards him. Rial didn't back down.
"Is there anything else you'd like to share with me?" he asked, trying to control his tone, though he suspected he was failing miserably. He barely noticed Gaurel and Garren move quickly away from him, as did the others near them.
"I think that's all for now," Rial said, his tone still even. Nahtan caught the look in his eye and realized Rial was enjoying his manipulation of Nahtan's anger. Even though he knew he should force his anger down and walk away, Nahtan couldn't. Brijade's nickname for him of swamprat seemed all too fitting right now. Without any warning, Nahtan lashed out, landing a heavy blow to the young lord's chin. It was the same place he had hit Bear in their fight so many years before, and if it had shut his friend up for a couple of weeks, it would certainly silence Rial for at least a month.
Rial rolled with the hit, coming up a short distance away with one of his daggers drawn. His eyes glinted angrily in the firelight as he dusted off his back then rubbed his chin with his palm.
"You would do well not to hit me again," he advised Nahtan. Nahtan felt Renato's mind tug at him, sensing his master's anger. He told the young Dwellers' horse to stay where he was. Nahtan walked to within striking range of Rial again, his eyes still intent on him.
"No," he said, his voice low. "We are going to straighten this out here and now." He feinted with his right, then landed a sharp slap to Rial's other cheek with his left hand. The archer's brace both held his wrist and protected his palm, saving him from the sting of the hit.
Rial once again moved with the hit, his reflexes easily as fast as Brijade's, if not more so. Rather than wait for Nahtan to get within hitting range again, Rial pulled out a second dagger, holding it by the blade. He threw it low, aiming for Nahtan's legs. Nahtan already knew to watch Rial for such a move, though, and barely dodged the dagger. The blade hit the ground several yards behind him, sinking into the dirt up to the hilt.
"I am the king," Nahtan said, advancing on Rial again. "I will be the king until the day I die." Rial took a step backwards, keeping out of Nahtan's reach. Nahtan saw him slip something else from inside his cloak, but couldn't tell what it was. He watched that hand out of the corner of his eye as he took another step towards him. Those members of his group who they were nearing quickly moved out of the way. Not even Mo'ani said anything to try stopping him. Nahtan saw Tosia silently draw her Kora sword and hold it ready, but not move into the confrontation. Nahtan realized her vow to come to protect him instead of Valry was secondary to the obvious power struggle.
Of all his companions, Tosia seemed to understand that the only way for Nahtan to retain control over Rial was for these conflicts to play themselves through. He also realized that if Rial ever gained the upper hand when she was near, she would attack the young lord with her full fury once Nahtan was no longer able. "When I ask you for information, you will give me all of it that you have, do you understand?" He took another step forward as Rial took another step back.
He caught the movement of Rial's off hand, but not knowing what the young lord was throwing this time, he could not know how quickly or which direction to dodge. A small, silver, star-shaped piece of metal sank deeply into Nahtan's shoulder. Nahtan reached up with his other hand and pulled it out without looking at it, throwing it onto the ground. He deliberately took another step forward. He was only vaguely aware of the stinging pain that ran the length of his upper arm and chest and the blood that now stained his tunic. From somew
here behind him, he heard Valry scream for him and start to cry. He was barely aware of the angry murmurs around them, quieted by Mo'ani's commanding voice.
"Do you understand me?" Nahtan repeated.
Rial stopped his slow retreat, holding his dagger ready for any lunge forward Nahtan might make.
"I have told you what you need to know," he responded. "I am not some soldier who will follow you blindly like a dog," he continued. "I will question your leadership until the day we both are dead." He paused for a moment, then seemed to relax a little. "One day, one of us will be dead by the other's hand," he predicted. "But will it be an act of treason, or of loyalty to the ideals of the crown?" He lowered his dagger and deliberately held it out to Nahtan, hilt first. "I will not pursue that matter now, Majesty," he said. "For the sake of your daughter."
Nahtan looked from the dagger to Rial. "You'd better keep it," he advised. "I may decide to just cut you in half one day and I wouldn't want anyone to say you weren't armed." Although he still seethed with anger towards the young lord, he deliberately turned his back on him and walked away.
"You shouldn't let him get you so upset," Yenene advised, carefully tying off her third stitch in his shoulder. The wound had been deep and Nahtan had bit back curses several times while she cleaned it and stitched it closed. Mo'ani leaned on the side of the wagon where Yenene had finally made him sit so she could tend to him by the light of a single lamp.
