“No,” said Hanam. “Jakan knows only that he took over an army in the middle of a war of conquest and destruction. That is as much his nature as anything else. He eats one of his own every night to keep up his power, and his men think they still go to the arms of the Emerald Queen.
“I suspect his ambition is to devour this world and eventually return to challenge Maarg. But if he should find this Lifestone he may attempt to seize it, thinking it a great prize. Who knows what may happen then?”
Macros sighed. “We are decided. Tomas, you must take our taloned friend here and convince his former student to listen.”
“There is one other thing,” said the Loremaster in demon form.
“What?”
“You must destroy me as soon as Jatuk is convinced. For this body and mind are a struggle to control, and I do not know how much longer I can maintain my dominance of them. It was long in gaining, but it may be over quickly.”
“Wonderful,” said Miranda, as she stood.
Macros said, “We will first find the rift into Shila, then we will cross over into that world and find the entrance in the city of Ahsart. And close that.”
“Unfortunately,” said Hanam, “there is one thing you’re overlooking.”
“What is that?”
“Maarg may already be on the world of Shila; if so, to close the entrance to the demon realm, you will first have to kill the Demon King.”
Macros looked at his daughter, and neither could think of anything to say.
14
Betrayal
Roo frowned.
Jason continued to run down their losses which had resulted from the huge burden of debt they assumed to lend gold to the Crown. “And now he wants more,” said Roo.
Jason said, “I don’t know how we can raise more gold to lend the Duke. We would have to sell off some of our more profitable concerns, and that would increase our problems with cash flow.” He shook his head. “Can you find someone else to lend the gold to the Duke?”
Roo laughed. “Well, perhaps I can convince Jacob Esterbrook to join me.” He knew it was futile. The few times he had dined with Jacob he had been carefully deflected from any discussion of Jacob’s aiding the Kingdom in the coming battle. Still, there were others, and Roo set about to see what he could do. “I’m going to be out for the rest of the day,” he told Jason. “Would you send a message to my wife saying I may be in the city a few more days.”
Jason jotted down a note.
“Then see what Duncan is up to and have him meet me here at five of the clock. And I’d like Luis here, too.”
“Where will you be until then?”
Roo smiled. “Getting the Duke some money. I’ll be at Barret’s by three of the clock, and afterward I’ll return here. Until then I’m out and about.”
Roo took a cloak, a light one for fashion, as the day was hot, and wore a broad-brimmed hat with a stylish yellow plume and a very rich pair of riding boots. He carried his old sword at his belt.
He stepped into the busy streets of Krondor and turned to admire Avery and Son. He often paused to regard the huge warehouse he had converted to his business headquarters. He had purchased the land around the warehouse and had built office buildings attached to the warehouse, and now his wagons filled the great yard.
He turned and headed out to make his first call, on a banker who, while not a friend, at least owed him a favor.
“I need the gold,” said Duke James.
“I know, m’lord,” answered Roo, “but there’s no more gold to be had.”
“There’s always more,” said Duke James. Roo noticed he looked fatigued, with heavy circles under his eyes, as if he hadn’t been sleeping much lately. The tension in the city was mounting and rumors of war were circulating. The word of a great sea battle at Banapis off the Straits of Darkness had been carried into the city the day before, and now ships were overdue from the Free Cities and Far Coast.
Roo said, “If you raise taxes, perhaps you can squeeze a bit more from the tradesmen and farmers, but the business community is very nervous now. Much of the gold you’re talking about has been bleeding to the East for the last few months.”
“No small part of it yours!” said the Duke, slamming his hand on the table.
Roo’s eyes widened. “I’ve done nothing any man in my situation wouldn’t have done, m’lord!” Roo’s words were hot and for an instant he almost forgot who he was talking to, but he held his anger in check, if barely. “I have given you every copper piece it is prudent for me to give. If I give you more, you’ll kill the cow for the milk.”
James looked at the small man. “Then we kill the cow. I need another month’s worth of stores and arms, and I need them yesterday.”
Roo sighed. “I’m going to dine with Jacob Esterbrook tonight, and I’ll see what I can squeeze out of him.”
James looked at Roo for a long, silent minute. “He’ll better you at this point.”
“How do you mean?”
“He’ll know you need to raise gold quickly, and he’ll want something you don’t want to sell him.”
Roo considered that for a moment. “If this army isn’t defeated, nothing I have will be of importance. If I have to take a loss now, what does it matter?” He stood up. “If I have your leave, I need to be back at Barret’s by three of the clock, and I still have two other stops to make. I must set a few things up.”
As Roo bowed and turned to the door, James said, “Rupert?”
“What, m’lord?” asked the little man, turning to regard the Duke.
“Have you many holdings in Landreth and Shamata?”
“Both, Your Grace.”
James measured his words. “You might do well to move whatever you have of worth to the north side of the Sea of Dreams.”
“Why, my lord?”
“Just a thought,” said the Duke, returning his attention to the papers he had been reviewing when Roo had arrived.
Roo let himself out. In the outer office of James’s secretary hung a large wall map of the Western Realm. Roo glanced at it, at the area around the Sea of Dreams. The Vale of Dreams had been in Kingdom hands for almost a hundred years, but had long been an area of dispute between the Kingdom and Great Kesh. Roo touched the map, at Land’s End. There was the westernmost Kingdom outpost on the shore of the Bitter Sea. To the northeast of it lay a small inlet, called Shandon Bay. A small town, Dacadia, was the only population of size between Land’s End and the Sea of Dreams. He traced his finger along a line of hills that moved eastward from the coast, south of Land’s End, to a point where it met the river that linked the Bitter Sea and the Sea of Dreams. Then Roo looked at the surrounding countryside, from the Great Star Lake and Stardock, back up the river to the Sea of Dreams. To the east of the Great Star Lake, the mountains called the Grey Range rose up. Suddenly Roo’s eyes opened. “He wouldn’t!”
James’s personal secretary said, “What, sir?”
Roo laughed. “Never mind.”
As he left the office of the Duke of Krondor, Roo said, “By damn, I bet he did!”
With what was close to a dance step, Roo hurried down the stairs leading from the palace to the courtyard where a lackey was holding his horse. He took the reins, and as he turned his mount to the gate of the palace, he glanced around at the very busy marshalling yard and wondered where Erik was. He hadn’t seen him since Banapis, and he was starting to worry about his friend.
Then his mood darkened as he considered that it was only a few more weeks before this city was in the grip of war. Putting heels to his mount, Roo moved toward the gate and threw a lazy salute to the lieutenant who commanded there. The young soldier returned it, for Roo Avery was a common sight at the palace and was known to be a friend of the Duke. Which, along with his vast wealth, made him one of Krondor’s most important men.
Jacob Esterbrook said, “Have you given any thought to my offer?”
Roo smiled. “Considerable.” He decided the best tack to take with his
business rival was to tell him what he already knew, as if being frank. “I have lent considerable gold to the crown, for this coming war, and as a result I find myself somewhat cash-poor.”
Sylvia smiled at Roo, as if everything he said was of vital importance. He returned her smile. “I’m not in a position to negotiate on behalf of the Bitter Sea Company without consulting my partners, but I think whatever I might agree to here would be agreeable to them after I explain the way things are.” He paused to finish his last bite of dinner and dabbed at the corner of his mouth. “But I can certainly divest myself of any assets of Avery and Son, and there are several that might serve you as well as those we’ve discussed.”
Jacob smiled. “You have a counteroffer?”
“In a word, yes,” Roo said. “Since you seem to have a stranglehold on trade to Kesh, I’m considering abandoning my wagon yards in Shamata and my boat facility in Port Shamata. Both are fine facilities, but neither has realized me a coin of profit since I took them over, as you probably know.” He said the last with a rueful laugh.
“Well, I do keep abreast of business to the south. I have enjoyed a long and profitable relationship with several prominent Keshian business concerns.” Jacob pushed his chair back from the table as a servant hurried over to help him up. “My knees are not doing well. This weather, I think. When the sky is clear and things are hot and dry, they’re almost as painful as when there’s rain coming.”
Roo nodded as he stood. “Would you be interested in those facilities?” he asked.
“I’m always interested, Rupert, in increasing my holdings. It is merely a matter of price.”
Roo smiled. “As it should be.”
Jacob said, “Let us retire to the garden for brandy and then I’ll leave you to my daughter after that; I can’t keep the late hours I used to.”
They moved outside, under a warm and star-filled night. The garden was fragrant with the blooms of summer, and the night birds and crickets sang.
Roo sniffed his brandy. He was beginning to develop a taste for the distilled wine, but he still couldn’t tell one from Kesh from one that was produced in Darkmoor, though he could tell quality like this one from the poor swill Lord Vasarius served. This one was pungent, tasted as much of wood as any he had tried so far, and gave him a pleasantly warm feeling inside, and the subtle taste of grape and wood lingered in his mouth for long minutes after he swallowed.
Sylvia sat next to Roo, absently letting her hand rest upon his leg, while her father said, “Why don’t you prepare a list of particulars and send it over tomorrow?”
“I will do that,” said Roo. “And as far as the properties here in Krondor you’ve inquired after, there are a few that I might be willing to part with, for the same reason I’m looking to get rid of those in Shamata.”
“What about Landreth?”
Roo shrugged. “Well, I do manage a little trading from the north shore of the Sea of Dreams to Krondor, so they show a better profit. That, too, would depend on price.”
They talked for an hour about business, and then Jacob rose and said, “I must to bed. If you’d like, stay and have another brandy. Sylvia will entertain you until you leave. Good night, Rupert.”
The old man left the garden, and after they were alone, Sylvia ran her hand up Roo’s leg. “Shall I entertain you?” she asked playfully.
Roo put down his brandy glass and kissed her. After a moment, he said, “Let’s go upstairs.”
“No,” she said, “I want to stay here.”
“In the garden?” he asked.
“Why not?” she said, unfastening her bodice. “It’s warm and I don’t want to wait.”
They made love under the stars, and when they were done, Sylvia lay upon the grass beside Roo, her head on his chest.
“You’ve not been coming around enough, Roo.”
Roo was jolted out of his pleasant half-dream state and said, “Things are getting frantic.”
“I hear there is war coming,” said Sylvia. “A lot of people are saying that.”
“Is it true?”
Roo considered what he should say next. At last he said, “It’s true, I think, though I don’t know if it’s any time soon. But you should consider going East if you hear of trouble in Krondor.”
“Krondor?” she said, playfully nipping his shoulder. “I thought Kesh was moving again.”
“It is,” said Roo, trying to tell her the truth; he loved her and wanted her safe, but he didn’t entirely trust her because of her loyalty to her father. “But this time I don’t think they’re going to move in the Vale.” He considered what that would do to his negotiations with Jacob. He decided it wouldn’t hurt, so he decided to embellish.
“You know Lord Vykor was called from Rillanon to Krondor.”
“Who’s he?” said Sylvia.
Roo wondered if she really didn’t know or just wanted to make him feel important. He ran his hand down her naked hip and decided it didn’t matter. “He’s the King’s Admiral of the Eastern Fleet. He’s lurking down in the Bay of Salts, with a huge flotilla, so that when Kesh sails out of Durbin, he can ambush it. Prince Nicholas took a large squadron to the west, out beyond the Straits, and will sail in behind the Keshians.”
Sylvia started playing with the hair on Roo’s chest. “I heard he was going out to meet a treasure fleet.”
Roo then realized she knew a great deal more than she had ever revealed. Finding his ardor dying, he said, “I must go home, I’m sorry to say.”
“Oh.” She pouted.
“Sorry, but there is the matter of gathering the documents your father wants.”
He dressed while she lay nude upon the grass, looking beautiful in the light of the large moon. When he was finished, she stood and kissed him. “Well, if you must run off, you must. Will I see you tomorrow?”
Roo said, “Impossible, but perhaps the night after.”
“Well, I’m going to bed and I’ll think of you as I lie in my sheets,” she said, running her hand down his stomach.
“You’re making this difficult,” he groaned.
She laughed. “Well, you make my life difficult. How can I think of another man when I have you in my life?” She kissed him and said, “My father wants to know why I don’t marry. He wants grandchildren.”
Roo said, “I know. It’s impossible.”
She said, “Perhaps the gods will be kind and someday we’ll be together.”
Roo said, “I must go.”
He left and she gathered up her gown. Rather than dressing, she carried her clothing through the house, and when she reached her room, she dumped it on the floor.
A soft moan from her bed caused her to smile and she crossed over in the dark, to find two figures entwined on the covers. She slapped the maid hard across her bare buttocks and the girl yelped in surprise.
Duncan Avery looked up at Sylvia in the pale light coming through the window and smiled. “Hello, my darling,” he said with a rakish smile. “We got bored waiting for you.”
Sylvia pushed the maid to one side and told her, “Pick up my clothes and take them to the laundry.”
The girl regarded her mistress with an expressionless mask and slid out of bed. She picked up her own clothes and her mistress’s and hurried out of the room, closing the door behind her.
Sylvia reached down and stroked Duncan, saying, “Well, at least she got you ready.”
“I’m always ready,” he said, kissing her on the neck.
She pushed him back and straddled him, saying, “I need you to do me a service.”
“Anything,” he said as they gazed into each other’s eyes.
“I know,” she cooed as she leaned over and kissed him.
“You smell like grass,” he observed.
“No doubt,” she said. “I was entertaining your cousin on the lawn.”
Duncan laughed. “It would kill him to know you’ve gone from his arms to mine. He takes this sort of business far too seriously.”
Sylvia re
ached down and gripped his face, letting her fingernails dig into his cheeks a bit. “And you had better, as well, my aroused peacock! I’m going to make you wealthy beyond your dreams.” She knew she needed a man to be the public head of her father’s and Roo’s companies, and Duncan was stupid enough for her to control for years. When she got bored with him, she could dispose of him with ease.
Ignoring the pain, Duncan said, “I like wealth.”
“Now, about that service.”
“What?”
“I need you to kill your sister-in-law.”
Duncan was silent for a minute as his breathing became heavy. Finally he said, “When?”
“Within the week.”
“Why?”
“So I can marry Roo, you fool!” she said as her own pleasure was mounting.
“How is your marrying my cousin going to make me rich?” asked Duncan.
Suddenly Sylvia arched her back and shuddered, then collapsed on top of Duncan as he matched her passion. After a long silent moment, he said, “How is marrying—”
“I heard you,” she interrupted him. How like him, she thought. Not willing to wait even a moment to let her linger in her pleasure. Finally she rolled off him and said, “Because, after an appropriate period, we’ll make me Rupert’s widow. And then, after an appropriate period of mourning, you and I can wed.”
Duncan laughed and grabbed her hair roughly, pulling her head around without a hint of gentleness. “You are a woman to admire,” he said, biting her on the lip playfully. “No soft romantic notions for you, my darling.” He rolled her over and looked her in the eyes. “I like the notion of a marriage based on greed. That’s something I can understand.”
“Good,” said Sylvia, slapping him across the face, almost hard enough to hurt. “Just so we continue to understand each other.”
Sylvia lay back as Duncan began to arouse her again, and she thought his usefulness as a public head of the house, as well as his talents in bed, were equally balanced by his boorish behavior. Starting with the maid before she got here was unforgivable. She would punish the girl in the morning for not pointing that out to Duncan. She might not have a shred of jealousy in her makeup, but she insisted on obedience and she had not given the two of them permission.
Rage of a Demon King Page 30
