by A D Lombardo
A barmaid approached, and before she could ask, Kai barked. “Ale and stew, missy, I don’t have all night.” He used his cane to tap the edge of the table, sending her scurrying away. He wanted to laugh, but he knew better. He thought of an old man he’d studied as inspiration for his voice and gestures.
When the barmaid returned with his request, she slopped down the cup and a bit of ale splashed the sleeve of his ratty brown shirt. “Come on missy, mind my shirt.” He grabbed the mug of ale and took a sip. He was glad he’d taken a small sip; the sour taste was unpleasant compared to the wine served at the palace.
Thankfully the stew was more to his liking, and he slowly ate while he watched the door.
The next patron to enter scanned the room before taking a seat at the end of the bar. He was a shifty middle-aged man with frazzled unkempt hair with a grayish-white streak in the front. He was dressed in dark gray pants, a white shirt, and a green vest. Strapped to his side was a reddish-brown leather satchel with golden embossed corner tips.
The barkeep approached the man with wary eyes. “You look thirsty. Can I offer you a drink?” he asked as he leaned in close.
“Just a room upstairs, please,” said the shifty man.
Kai took another sip of ale and glanced over his mug. In the dim light, he noticed the barkeep slip the shifty man a slip of paper and a key. Kai was not close enough to see what it said. Unsure what to do, he watched the two men exchanged glances.
Moments later, a well-dressed man entered the establishment with a small book gripped in his hand. He also initially scanned the room and took a seat at the bar, one down from the shifty man. They eyed one another but said nothing.
He had an air of wealth, just enough to suggest a merchant of means. He was a stout man with a faint bald spot on the back of his head and a curly black mustache. His clothes were all neatly pressed and well made. Not the typical person who frequented the Drunken Dragon. He was clearly out of place and nervous.
“Sir, can I offer you some ale, or maybe a slice of freshly baked pie?” the barkeep offered.
“Ale please,” the merchant requested.
As the barkeep served him a mug, Kai caught sight of another slip of paper pass between the barkeep and the merchant. In return, the merchant slid a white envelope to the barkeep.
Riome approached the far end of the bar. Kai watched her speak to the barkeep, offering him coins. Then she departed, leaving the pub. He knew the rest was on him, so he listened to their quiet conversation. His young ears focused on the two men, the merchant and the shifty man, at his end of the bar.
“Can you make it? If I get you the formula—can you make it?” the merchant asked.
“I am sure,” insisted the shifty man. “I can make anything. I might even be able to make it better. Get me the formula. I will get you a list of the ingredients once I have tested a small batch. Then I will make you as much as you want. You could blow the place sky high if you wish.”
“Not so loud, fool!” the merchant protested. “You’ve no idea who could be in here.”
“Get me that formula and get me my money,” the shifty man demanded as he slid off his stool. He grabbed his case and took the stairs leading to the rooms above the pub. A black iron key twirled between his fingers. Kai kept his eyes low as the man passed.
The merchant remained behind, scrawling something in his small leather book. Kai needed to get a look at that book. As the merchant twisted in his seat, he knew this was the time. The merchant was about to leave.
Kai tossed a few coins on the table to cover his meal and hobbled towards the bar. As the merchant went to slide off his seat, Kai collided with the man, knocking the book from the merchant’s grip.
As it struck the ground, it opened, and Kai read the first few lines. Slowly he bent down as any old man might. He reached down, reading several more lines before he closed the book and read the cover. Then he jabbed it in the merchant’s gut. “Watch where you’re going, mister.”
Not waiting for a response, Kai hobbled out the door. Outside he shuffled across the street into the shadows of a pottery store. From there, he watched and waited for the merchant to leave while he removed his cloak, vest, and the ratty brown shirt, which he used to rub the smudges from his prematurely aged face.
The padding fell to the ground as he used his hands to shake the white dust from his hair. He put on the black leather vest over his light gray undershirt. As he collected his disguise and tucked it under his arm, the door to the tavern opened and the merchant emerged.
Kai gave the man a few moments before he ducked out to follow. He followed several paces behind, moving down several winding streets until the man entered Willow Auctioneers. The man turned and locked the door behind him. That was good enough for Kai. The ledger said Willow Auctioneers and the merchant had a key to the place. They were connected. Now he needed to deliver this news to Riome. She would want to know what he learned.
Before he even took a step, a frail old woman came up to his side carrying a basket of bread and fruit. “You look like a strong young man. Mind helping me with my basket?” she asked.
He looked at the crinkled skin and gray hair. Half of her face was cast in shadow by the cowl of the cloak she wore. Even up close, her disguise was believable.
Before he could respond, she handed him the basket and patted his hand. “You did well,” Riome whispered, no longer sounding like an old woman. “Walk with me. Tell me what you learned and why you were standing outside Willow Auctioneers.”
After he conveyed his tale of the merchant and the shifty man’s conversation, she stroked her chin. “It is good you chose to follow him. I can keep an eye on the merchant, find out what he deals in. I will continue to watch the shifty man staying at the tavern.” She insisted. “Is there anything else you remember?”
“I am afraid there was nothing else. What are you searching for?”
“Everything at this point is rumor. Our spies in Milnos heard hints about an ancient substance being developed here in Diu. Highly flammable stuff. Some kind of oil. We can’t have something like that in the wrong hands or here in Diu.”
He was pleased she was willing to share the details. “Do you want me to ask around?”
“No need. Thank you, Kai.” Riome waved him off, grabbed her basket, and turned back the way they’d come. She disappeared into the evening crowd, and he walked home alone.
◆◆◆
A few weeks later, Kai closed his balcony doors to a wicked winter storm. It had been another long day. He needed a rest. Hopeful for a moment’s rest, he laid down before going to dinner. His eyes felt heavy and they closed slightly. He willed them back open, but they started to close again. Finally, he gave in. If he could only close them for a moment. The second he let his eyes shut, he fell asleep.
Smoke’s growl startled Kai. He bolted upright. As the sleep cleared from his eyes, he saw the Master General kneeling to soothe Smoke in front of the open hidden passageway. “Good evening, Your Highness. Retiring early tonight? You missed dinner. But it looks as though Kendra has brought you a tray. Here, come and eat while we talk.” Cazier took a seat. “You know there are times I wish I were a young boy again sleeping in this room—dear old dad a tunnel away in his tower.”
“That’s right, this was your room.” Kai hopped off the bed and grabbed the plate of food from the tray. “Sorry, I only closed my eyes for a moment. It was a long day. Between Professor Grayden’s classes and Riome’s training with daggers, ciphers and poisoning lessons, I was exhausted. Then Riome sent me on another mission. After the same two men from the other week. She had me running all over the city chasing clues, stealing a ledger, and other trinkets. This time she had me drug the merchant and this shifty man. Then I had to carry them both like a sack of potatoes two blocks to some storage house. Since when do I kidnap people?”
“Sounds like a very productive day,” his cousin teased. “I am quite pleased with your progress. Nobody can know I have trained yo
u in the art of deception and stealth. I need you to be able to discern the truth, intimidate and evade. You need to know more than everyone else in the room. More importantly, you need to know the intention of others and when you’re being manipulated.”
“Is all of this in preparation for me going to Milnos? You know I don’t want to marry Amelia, right?”
“Cousin, I understand, I truly feel for all four of you. Tolan knew better; he should have never let Amelia get so close. Not to mention, who chases a girl betrothed to a prince? I warned you about your relationship with Rayna, and I am sure I am not the only one. I see no way out of this. Your father needs someone he can trust ruling Milnos. Who better than his own son?”
With a whine, Kai responded, “Tolan is better suited to go to Milnos. Maybe he should marry Amelia. He does love her, after all. He has years of fighting experience in the military.”
Cazier laughed. “Who are you trying to convince? I’d lay money on you over Tolan. He may be taller, with a longer reach, but I have every faith he is no match for your speed and cunning with a short sword or a dagger. Has Riome given you one of her throwing stars yet?”
Kai conceded the argument. He knew Milnos was his responsibility. “Riome has provided me with four of her metal stars. Impressive little weapons.”
“Strength will come with time,” Cazier noted, “but size doesn’t matter. Look at Riome, she is rather small compared to others, yet she can take on anyone. Her speed is unmatched; I’m sure you’ve noticed. And I seem to recall a young man not so many years ago putting Tolan in his place. Landon too.” Cazier leaned back, pride lifting the corner of his mouth.
“You heard about that? That was years ago now. Tolan and I have mended our relationship.”
The rest of Cazier’s comments caught up with him. There were several things Kai had started to notice of late, besides the fact that Riome’s mother Yulia was a Weathervane and a woman Cazier trusted with Diu security. Yes, he knew a great deal.
One more thing he knew: there was a connection between Riome and the Master General, something secret. Did he test their friendship and reveal what he knew? Information was power, and he did not have all the information, not yet. But could he weed it out? What did Cazier know about the Katori—about Yulia?
Kai looked to the painting covering the hidden passage. “Are we alone?”
“Whatever do you mean?” Cazier cocked his head to the side.
“Listening to others can tell you a great deal.” Kai sensed Riome in the passage. “Come in, Riome. I know you’re there,” he called. He heard a barely audible click, and the panel slowly opened to reveal Riome. The painting blocked most of the light from illuminating her face, but he saw her silhouette. “Have a seat, if you’re going to listen. You might as well have a front-row seat.” Kai gestured to the sofa.
She stepped from behind the painting and closed the panel. “Took you long enough,” she said, taking a defensive stance near the balcony door to watch the winter storm.
Cazier raised his hands. “Hold on now. I did not set her to spy on you,” he said adamantly.
Taking his time, Kai thought out his next move. They trusted him. “Here’s what I know. The shifty man you had me kidnap, with the frazzled blond hair and a white streak in the front, is a chemist. He smelled of chemicals, unlike what Sigry uses medically. He had serious burns on his hands, face, and neck. Those are new from the last time I saw him in the Drunken Dragon. Our shifty man carried black powder, metal fragments, and some handheld weapon. I kept those, by the way.”
Since his vision of Drew’s death, Kai had been searching the palace for this new weapon, and now he had one to study. He was not about to give it up. “Although I’ve seen the weapon before, or something like it, I intend to study it for now.” He said with a smirk. “You mean to question the merchant, not about the ledger, but the shipping manifest hidden within the cover. I found that too. He deals in ammunition, black powder, foreign chemicals, and secrets, though he plays at being a humble auctioneer. How am I doing so far?” Kai questioned with confidence.
Cazier looked over his shoulder at Riome and nodded toward the empty chair. Without question, she crossed the room and joined them near the fire. “You’re doing very well,” Cazier nodded. “Good to know you’re not just blindly following orders. You were paying attention. Don’t stop now. What else do you know?”
Kai heard the pride in his cousin’s voice, but hesitation still lingered in his eyes. “Are we really laying it all out tonight?” He questioned. “No more secrets? Are you willing to reveal the secret between you and Riome?” Kai let the silence linger about the room, hoping one of them would speak first.
All the information Kai needed was in this room, he was sure of it. Cazier trusted Riome with the life of a prince and with the secrets of the kingdom. Trust like that cannot be bought; loyalty and duty only go so far. Spies are natural-born liars. And she was the best. No, their connection was personal, but not intimate. He thought back over the years, through several interactions he’d witnessed between them. Yulia came to mind. Who was she to warrant a private consultation with the Master General of Diu, unless they already knew each other? He smirked at the revelation. It suddenly became clear.
Riome smiled and tossed a look at Cazier. “Looks like he’s figured it out, or at least he thinks so. Let’s have it Kai, what do you think you know?”
Still doing the math in his head, he looked to the Master General, his cousin, mentor, and friend. “Cousin Adrian, I believe, before you married Ella, you had another relationship. You were, what, nineteen maybe?” Pausing, he studied his cousin’s reaction. Although his cousin was good at controlling his emotions, this memory was strong, and Kai knew he was right. “I believe that relationship resulted in a child, to be more specific—Riome. She is your daughter. Her mother is Katori—Yulia.” Now that Kai looked hard enough, he saw the similarities.
Cazier bobbed his head. “Well done—I was eighteen. It is true. In my younger years, I had hoped to be excused from all this responsibility. You may not know this, but I had two older brothers. My brother Adam was in line to follow Dad as Master General. However, when Adam died in a riding accident, it left me to one day be commanded to serve. I would follow my dad as Master General here in Diu.” He cleared his throat. “Nebea is not the same as Diu. We must not marry below our station. Society and court demanded I marry a lady of nobility, and as you know, I do my duty. Years after I married Ella, Yulia came forward and told me about my daughter. Riome was curious about the world and staying in Katori was no longer an option. Yulia would not explain, and I did not press her. I was happy to learn I had a daughter. She wanted to meet her father.”
Cazier sighed in regret. “Unable to publicly recognize her as my own, Riome asked to be sent abroad. It pained me to send her away. She was so young, ten or twelve, but I was happy to provide her with anything she desired. It was in Bangloo she discovered their spymaster school. She has become a loyal asset to Diu, to your father. And I like having her here. Nobody else knows her true identity.”
Kai studied them as they spoke. Their body language told him they were relieved he knew. But he wondered how much Riome had told her father. How long had she lived in Katori? Did she know more than she should as a Half-Light?
“While we’re being open, you know I have long since suspected a duplicitous nature in Nola. I still don’t have solid proof, just my childhood memory and the hearsay of a person loyal to my mother.”
He looked at them both, fishing for a reaction. They seemed to believe his idea had merit, nodding their heads in agreement. “This summer is the first year my father has ever missed traveling abroad. Just before my father was to depart, he took ill, became dependent on Nola, and lost a ton of weight. While his weight has recovered this winter, his moods still fluctuate between confident and depressed. He was just feeling better a few days ago, and now I think he is back to being confused.”
Riome responded first. “I am sorry,
Kai. I am preoccupied with my search for Andrew and now this chemist and his flammable oil being produced right under our nose. Which I have yet to find. Not to mention I have been following leads on Regent Maxwell’s travels. I want to help you. What do we know about Nola? Where did she come from?” she asked rapidly.
“Those are all great questions,” Kai acknowledged, rubbing the back of his knuckles. “What I am about to propose, I know from anyone else, would sound like treason. In all seriousness, we need to question Nola. Riome, one of your truth serums could help. We may also need to poison her. Nothing deadly, just something that will keep her bedbound for a few weeks. We need to keep my father and Nola apart long enough for her effects to wear off.” He stared at them, waiting for a response.
A sly grin came over Riome as she leaned across towards Kai. “I agree. If she is responsible for your father’s poor health, we need to be sure she does not suspect she has been poisoned. I will concoct something, but it will take over a month to get the ingredients. I could have everything I need just after the Winter Festival.”
“What about Sigry?” Kai questioned. “Do we need to worry about him discovering what we’ve done?”
“No. It will leave no aftertaste or symptoms of poisoning. I am basically giving her a cold to weaken her system. Once she is sick, the physicians will sequester her into a private room. Sigry would not risk Iver’s weakened state or young Cordelia getting sick. She will have symptoms like a headache, stomach pains, and fever.” Riome shook her head, pleased with the plan.
Cazier raised an eyebrow. “Will she actually be contagious?”
“She will not. I will give her herbs to create each symptom. And while I’m at it, I will administer a truth serum and question her. I can continue to administer my concoctions within the physician’s treatments. They will give her daily doses to help with her suffering. She’ll have no idea. Meanwhile, we can observe the King.”
Cazier held his chin. “I wish I didn’t know what you two were planning. Deniability would make this easier. I will do my part, maybe arrange for Hunter Marduk to take the king hunting. Iver will not say no. This will allow you to administer your concoction.”
