“Well done.”
Watching Denny reassure and care for his giant-sized brother was bizarre, to say the least. A mute giant. Odie set a plate-sized hand on Denny’s head and rubbed, a smile transforming his still face.
It struck Benjamin how sad the brothers were. Odie was the worst. Were they still mourning their parents? Benjamin had lost both parents and then found one of them again. He wasn’t a smiling, rosy-cheeked, sixteen-year-old boy, but then, who was? Of course, he’d grown up around what many would consider juvenile delinquents—or at least youth who aspired to be delinquents someday. Perhaps Benjamin was not in a good place to determine such things. But that was only the second smile he’d seen on Odie's face.
Odie shook his head as he listened while Denny described all he’d seen on his journey to the castle and back.
Back at Benjamin’s house, Odie handed the Lieutenant a few squares of thick leather with an eye-shaped symbol stamped in the center. The Lieutenant smiled back and clapped Odie on the shoulder.
“Thank you, Odie!” He looked up into the boy’s face. “You’ve done very well!” He held up the stamped leather.
“What’s that?” Benjamin asked.
“I had Odie collect a few favors people owed me.”
“Ha! More than half the Thieves’ Plain owes you something, whether they know it or not.” Denny pulled a ham from one of the sacks Odie had brought in.
“I hope they are paying with more than just ham,” Benjamin said. His mouth watering as he reached across the table.
The Lieutenant chuckled and sliced a few pieces off for Benjamin. The ham nearly rolled onto the floor when the tabletop tipped under Benjamin’s weight. The Lieutenant caught the ham before it soiled the entire map that had been left on the table. Benjamin had forgotten the top was still loose; his mother had never bothered to fix it.
“Thanks.” Benjamin made a point of smiling at the Lieutenant, who smiled back.
“You can thank Odie for that!” Denny said through his mouthful of ham. “Odie made it. He’s really good with curing and smoking. He started helping Mom with the food when she got sick.”
“Really?” Benjamin bit into the ham and mumbled, “Fantastic job, Odie!”
Odie blushed in pride and then rushed back outside to the horse. When he returned, he set a jug in front of the Lieutenant, who pulled out the stopper and sniffed the contents. A smile spread across his face. He poured a glass of what looked a lot like mud and swallowed it with a look of determination.
“What is that?” Denny asked. “I thought that was spirits.”
“No. That would be nice, but this is much, much better.” The Lieutenant’s face twisted. “It’s a tonic that speeds up healing, or at least makes you feel better: one of Helda’s specialties.”
Denny and Benjamin exchanged skeptical looks but didn’t press any further.
Benjamin rolled out the map of Shreb’s fortress to query the brother’s about the fortress. Denny marked Mouthrot’s movements while Odie pointed out where Helda could be found. According to Baldo, Shreb spent most of his time in his rooms. They went over the plan before pulling out a map of the Thieves’ Plain.
“Two riders went north toward the Villains’ Academy. They were going to split here,” Benjamin said, setting his finger down where the northern road divided, “and gather men as they went. They’re supposed to meet at the Brick. It’s just north of here.”
Benjamin looked at the Lieutenant, who nodded as he followed Benjamin’s finger across the map, looking pleased. “Another two riders went south down the main road toward Thistle Rock. They’re to meet at Denny’s.”
“Odie said Laford and Weston were already there with their men. We’ll head over there and fill people in,” Denny said.
Benjamin looked at Odie, who nodded silently as he stared at the map. So he can speak! Odie drew a line with his finger that ran between Shreb’s fortress and their house.
“Oh, yes,” Denny added. “There’s a patrol that circles the area around the fortress. They never get as far as our place, though. So men approaching from the south should be fine. The patrols might disappear completely as more men desert.”
“That sounds good.” The Lieutenant rested his black eye on Denny. “You know the location and time they need to be in position? We’ll light a fire if we cancel.”
Denny nodded, and the brothers headed out on foot.
+ + +
Later, Keston arrived to update Benjamin and the Lieutenant. Benjamin marked the location of men and numbers on the map, while the captain helped himself to ham and potatoes. The lieutenant poured the limp man some apple cider.
Keston spoke between greedy bites. “Between Denny’s place and the Brick, we have just about one hundred men. Not everyone is accounted for yet, but they know to go straight to Shreb’s.” Keston drank deeply. “With most of those good-for-nothings behind Shreb’s wall slinking away, they’ll fold like a poorly staked tent.”
The Lieutenant walked over to the map and ran his fingers over the markings. He nodded in appreciation and then examined the captain. “You look tired. Have you gotten any rest?”
Before Keston could protest, the Lieutenant pointed the soldier to Benjamin’s cot. Benjamin sighed.
Great; another night sleeping on the ground.
Benjamin traced a path on the map between the different camps and Shreb’s fortress—the very fortress he had wanted to defend and work in not so long ago. How did I get here? He’d spoken with King Aldo face to face, crossed a mountain, and planned an attack on Shreb’s fortress with Lam’s master of spies. He discovered his father was alive. He’d survived a princess. This was the opposite of every plan Benjamin had ever made for himself. Could he be happy with this? Would he be able to live with this choice? He felt weary and cast his eyes to his mother’s bed, the one the Lieutenant had claimed as his own.
“I have always known this moment was inevitable, but still, it doesn’t feel quite real.” The Lieutenant stepped beside Benjamin and patted his shoulder briefly. Benjamin did not flinch. “A part of me is going to miss all of this. After we enter that fortress, everything will be undone.”
“What are you going to do then?”
“What I intended to do years ago. Go home to Gehnry, my estate in the east.” He walked around the map and followed the notes and marks. “You are welcome there.” The Lieutenant gave Benjamin a sideways glance. “By all rights, it will be yours after I’m gone. I’d understand if you didn’t…what I mean is, you’re welcome there whenever and for however long you wish.”
Benjamin nodded, even though the Lieutenant was focused on the map. His stomach twisted. He didn’t know how to answer. Benjamin picked up the empty plates. “Thanks.”
“I would happily welcome Denny and his brothers at Gehnry as family or help them start somewhere. I think I owe them that much. Do you think they would accept that?”
Benjamin set the dishes in the sink. “Denny would, I think, as long as Baldo was taken care of. Who knows what Odie wants?”
The Lieutenant flexed his jaws and nodded, trying not to look directly at him. “What about you?”
What would he do at an estate? Go hunting? If nothing else, he could sleep and eat enough food to make boredom worth it until he figured out a plan.
He had hardly spent more than a few days at a time with his father. He still didn’t really even believe he had a father. Did he owe the Lieutenant that much? Did he owe him anything? He’d been alone for so long. It was strange to think he could belong to someone. But, he reminded himself, Branwen has practically offered me a job working with him—and Rebecca.
He was concerned for Rebecca, even if she was planning a slow death for him right now. A dangerous machine of ambition surrounded her. Many noblemen and one fiancée to the king may wish a terrible accident upon her. It was a knotted mess. Once you started untying, you could never stop. Benjamin wasn’t sure whether he wanted to be sucked in or not.
“I don’t know
. Honestly, my head is still spinning.” Benjamin flicked a glance to the Lieutenant and shrugged. “Branwen hinted at employment opportunities. Maybe when the dust settles—” It was the only fair answer he could give. I’m not entirely sure that’s up to me.
The Lieutenant nodded. “I think—” he paused. “I think coming to Gehnry might answer some questions for you. Fill in a few of the missing pieces to your story.”
Benjamin met the Lieutenant’s one light eye and one dark eye for a moment. The truth of that statement pricked his heart. He blinked at the map and then nodded. Benjamin’s voice was not available to comment.
“Go to sleep. We’re all going to need to be awake and operating at our fullest tomorrow.”
Benjamin piled several cloaks on the floor and lay under the kitchen table, leaving the spare cot for the old man. He watched the Lieutenant’s feet as he made nighttime preparations. Benjamin rolled onto his back. He looked up at the underside of the rickety table where he had eaten all his meals with his mother and saw something he’d not seen before: curly letters. The writing was upside down and impossible to read in the shadows. The room went dark, and the words were gone.
Ah well, he thought. Morning will come soon enough. He rolled over and slept.
FORTY EIGHT
The guards camped outside Rebecca’s hallway stood at attention as she walked by, relief evident on their faces. One stood forward in a silent offer to carry the basket, but Rebecca discreetly waved him off.
She hiked her laundry basket up her hip. The hallway was much longer than she remembered. Sir Wendell, the captain of the guard, stood in front of two sentinels placed outside her door and directed one of the guards to take the basket.
He then followed her into her rooms. “I think I can now officially breathe easier,” Sir Wendell said through locked jaws.
He glared at the teacup Dally offered him. She returned it to the tray untouched.
Rebecca explained how she needed access to the castle for her own safety and sanity. She checked her rekindled wrath as she remembered his order to remove her from her horse this morning. He stared hard at both of the women, biting the inside of his mouth. His eyes blazed hotly. Closing them to speak, he nodded in acceptance. “I do not want to find out these things as I stroll through the castle reviewing all our security plans with my lieutenants.” He opened his eyes that had cooled beneath his lids. “I don’t need to know every detail, but it might be good to know a few things you and Secretary Branwen are up to.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. Dally stepped forward in reconciliation.
“You are right.” Rebecca waved her nurse back. “This plan was hastily put together this morning.”
He nodded at this. No doubt he thought this was a direct retaliation for this morning’s events.
“You and your men have a great responsibility to keep me safe, but I’m about to be released into a world completely unknown to me. I need to know what I’m getting into. And I need to know the castle. Being locked away is not helping me,” she said, holding her ground. “Every king or queen has a bodyguard, but they also are armed with knowledge, experience, and a knife or two of their own.”
Sir Wendell raised his eyebrows at this. “You remind me of your grandmother, the queen mother, rest her soul. She used to do exactly what she wanted, regardless of any advice.” He smoothed his mustache as he sized her up. “Do you have a knife with you right now?”
She nodded.
“Do you know how to use it?” he asked.
“I kept myself from being killed with it.”
“Can I see it?”
Rebecca’s cheeks burned as she thought of how to remove it discreetly from under her clothes.
Sir Wendell turned his back. “I hope you’re not so modest when it counts.”
Rebecca lifted her skirt and pulled out the knife that Benjamin had given her as a going-away gift.
Sir Wendell examined the blade. “This is good for close combat but little help if you are outnumbered.”
“The Lieutenant trained me how to defend myself.”
“Of course he did. Probably against peasants on the plain.” Sir Wendell fingered his moustache. “Here I worry more about assassins. I would feel better if I could continue your training. I’ll also add a few more guards around the castle. That way if the king ever finds out that you’re wandering the castle, we may be allowed to keep our heads.” He rested his hands behind his back. “If anyone finds out who you are, it’s over. Someone sneezes too close to you, you run. Find a guard and return to your rooms.”
She bobbed her head obediently and swallowed. What’s the point of being a princess, she thought bitterly, if everyone still orders me around?
Sir Wendell nodded and left the room. Rebecca sat down, feeling a touch sick.
Dally looked at her and smiled. “I think that went very well!”
FORTY NINE
Benjamin’s shadow stretched in front of him as he walked along the road with the other fake merchants and farmers toward Shreb’s fortress. He felt as if he was walking through mud, though the road was as dry as powder. Every step felt heavier than the one before. He scanned the merging groups for Denny or Odie. Rina walked beside him. She refused to be left behind and had chewed through the rope the Lieutenant had used to secure her. He felt a pang of nerves in his chest, like bat wings flapping wildly.
Odie was the shyest person Benjamin had ever met, but he was strong. He also had a tender heart. Perhaps that was why Rina followed him so closely. That was her job. Benjamin peeked at the Lieutenant ahead of him. He wore a patched blanket as a cloak and his scuffed eye patch again, the strap pressing into the permanent dip in his hair.
His father glanced back at Benjamin and gestured with his chin ahead of them. He must have seen Denny or at least Odie. Benjamin weaved through the parade of spies and allies until he caught up to the old man. The Lieutenant was checking the sword that was hidden under his cloak as Benjamin touched the long knife he wore under his own.
A group, led by a man in a crumpled hat, filtered into their group. He nodded to the Lieutenant with a knowing smile. “Well, if it isn’t the one-eyed dragon back from nowhere.” The man lit his pipe and then tossed a square of leather to the Lieutenant. An eye was stamped into the center. “I’d heard a breath of a rumor, of course, but everyone was so tight-lipped about it—which is saying a lot for a network of spies.”
The Lieutenant smiled, leaving visible crinkle marks in the film of dust around his eyes. He adjusted the strap of his eye patch but said nothing.
“So of course that meant you were tucked away, doing something serious for the king.” The man pulled his pipe to the corner of his mouth. “This should be interesting, if nothing else.”
“And that’s why you came?” the Lieutenant asked, sounding doubtful.
“Well, there is so little unknown to a spy.”
“Except to find out if any of those secrets are true.” The Lieutenant faced the man. “Pete, this is Benjamin. Benjamin. Pete.”
Pete pushed back his crumpled hat and focused intently on Benjamin. His eyes lit up and then flickered back to the Lieutenant. “Nice to meet you, Ben-ja-min.”
Pete emphasized every syllable in Benjamin’s name, sending a shiver down his spine. This man knew something about him.
This guy knows something the Lieutenant doesn’t know, Benjamin thought as a chill ran down his spine. Something dangerous.
Pete nodded and blended back into the crowd.
Once he had gone, Benjamin spoke. “That guy,” he said, “gives me the creeps.”
The Lieutenant chuckled. “Okay. Anyone else?” he said, lifting his eyebrows.
“Well…” He looked around him. “I wouldn’t let my guard down around any of these guys, really. They are spies, after all.”
The old man nodded approvingly as Rina butted Benjamin’s knee. “Do you see Odie or Denny ahead?”
“Yep. Just follow Rina. She could find Odi
e anywhere.”
It was strange that just knowing where Denny and Odie were eased Benjamin’s mind. Things were moving, as they should. He caught a glimpse of Keston, who scanned the line from horseback. He dismounted and led his horse over to Benjamin.
“We still have two riders out, but our numbers look good.” Benjamin and the Lieutenant nodded. Keston left them to check in with the groups behind them.
Soon the fortress was in view. Benjamin noted the prominent lack of guards on top of the battlements. There were two men leaning against their spears who appeared to be dozing off. One guard stood in front of the entry, ushering people in with a wave of his hand.
Inside, a frazzled man with quill and paper sat at a table, trying to note all goods that were being brought in. A spindly youth stood next to him with loose pants cinched around his waist. His hair was the same color as the dust that coated the traveling cloaks of the men. The boy looked bored, but his eyes lit up when he saw the Lieutenant.
“That’s Baldo,” the Lieutenant mumbled. “I thought he worked in the kitchen.”
Benjamin glanced over his shoulder to catch another glimpse of the famous Baldo. He was surprised to see how waiflike the boy actually was. He was quite a bit smaller than Benjamin, even for a twelve-year-old. Baldo smirked at him before turning back to the kitchen.
“He must have wanted to keep his eye out for his brothers.”
They found Denny. Odie was circling the courtyard, taking count of everyone. They were supposed to meet in the dining hall to buy a mug of penny ale.
The more disguised spies who filed in, the more uninterested the guards became. It was a logistical nightmare of herding bodies around and answering questions. The clerk, sitting at his table with ink and parchment, grew paler and more frazzled as men and animals swirled around him. Many asked about prices to keep up appearances. Very few had brought anything real to sell. The Lieutenant nodded at Pete and Keston. They all moved around the fortress to their areas.
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