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Chapter 23
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Ralion Blaise walked over to the Post and went inside, ignoring the men who guarded the doors. He could see that they recognized him, but he was by them before they had a chance to speak. Since he was heading into more guards, they let him pass. He had a list in hand of the supplies he needed to buy and he went to the counter with the paper. There were sentry men inside. Ralion ignored them too, pretending not to notice, but aware that one was on the way over. He explained to the clerk behind the counter that he needed the list filled. She was watching the sentry, eyes wide and plainly nervous. Her hands were shaking. She hardly paid attention to Ralion at all.
“Is there a problem?” he asked, and her gaze shifted to the approaching guard. Her fear of him was evident, making Ralion wonder how Sadek’s men had gotten such a reputation. Carryn hadn’t reported any evidence of this sort of tyrannical control during her visit, except it obviously existed. “Won’t she be surprised,” he muttered to himself, looking to the guard, then back. “You’ll take care of getting these items together for me, won’t you? Thank you.”
“Excuse me, my Lord,” the guard said. “You will come with me.”
Ralion stood over the man by a head and he frowned down at him. “Who are you?”
This seemed too much to ask of the sentry because he didn’t know what to say. Maybe he wasn’t used to being questioned by anyone. “I am a sentry of the Inquisitor, my Lord. You will come with me now.”
Ralion turned back to the girl. “I’ll be back to collect my order soon. My man, Drin should be coming with the cart soon.”
That wasn’t true of course, but the sentry took note of it. “Wait here,” he said and went off to one of his fellows, repeating what Ralion had said. He came back and pointed to the door to the inn. The guard almost took him by the arm, but one look made him think better of doing so.
Ralion was led through the door and down a long corridor of windows that overlooked the waterfront. The docks were also under guard, as were all the entrances to the building. He counted twenty-five to thirty men just on the Post and inn alone. He’d seen others out combing the streets and knew there were more at Sadek’s home. He hoped Dynan and Sheed could make it to Meril Talryn and the city guard.
Inquisitor Sadek was in the common room of the inn talking with one of his officers. Sadek dismissed the man as soon as he saw Ralion. The sentry who’d escorted him was sent off with a nod and went back to the Post.
“Inquisitor,” Ralion said before Sadek could speak. “What can I do to help you? My escort didn’t exactly explain himself for this interruption of my schedule.”
“I’m sorry to inconvenience you, my Lord,” Sadek said and Ralion almost smiled. “I’m afraid your servant, Drin Talbor, has gotten himself involved in a difficult situation. I’ll need to—”
“What situation?” Ralion asked, cutting him off on purpose.
“His involvement with Marc Talryn.”
“Involvement? If you mean the joy ride he took yesterday, I was under the impression we had that all cleared up last night. You indicated as much to me at any rate, but if you wish to question him, you may. Is that all?”
Sadek pulled in a breath. He didn’t like being told what he could or couldn’t do, and didn’t care for Ralion’s tone. “Yes, that’s all, except we can’t seem to locate Drin. Where is he?”
“Taking care of several tasks that I asked him to do while we’re in town. He could be anywhere. He better be doing what I told him to. He had a list from Lady Yeld as well, but he’ll be here at some point to collect my order from the Post. I have a hectic schedule today, sir, so if there’s nothing further.”
“No. Thank you for your cooperation, my Lord.”
“Could you tell me where Lady Loren is? I need to speak with her.”
“What about? This isn’t a good time—”
“A private matter, sir, about her impending marriage to my servant, and as inconvenient as it may be, it’s something I need to discuss with her as soon as possible.”
Sadek hesitated briefly, then nodded him toward the door he’d come through. “She should be in her office. She is, however, being detained until she cooperates with my investigation, so your business with her must be conducted here. She won’t be allowed to leave the building.”
Ralion nodded unconcerned, then turned his back to Sadek, glancing out the front windows as he did. There were still sentry men walking the front deck and no sign of the city guard. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Sadek gesturing for one of his men to follow. Ralion didn’t wait for him and went through the door into the hall.
He found an entrance on his left marked as the office and went through it. A long narrow stair rose to the second story. He took the steps two at a time, but quietly, so that the sentry men who were likely on the upper floors wouldn’t hear him coming. He slowed before he reached the hall, being careful to appear at ease. There was a guard and Ralion asked him where Loren’s office was.
After a brief explanation of getting Sadek’s permission, the sentry directed him up another set of stairs at the other end of the hall. He passed doors along each wall, all of them closed. There was a musty smell about the place, of fish, and of men who spent their days on the water, but no one else was in evidence. It felt too quiet.
He took the stairs to the third floor the same as before. Another guard stood at a door at the end of the hall, back toward the waterfront. This man, however, didn’t want to give him entry, coming away from the door to stop him.
Ralion explained as he had before, but the sentry didn’t listen, or seem to care that Sadek had given permission. A muffled cry, a woman’s voice calling for help, followed by sounds of a scuffle filtered into the hall. Ralion looked at the guard, gauging what the man would do about what was happening behind that door.
“She’s being questioned. You can’t go in.” The sentry moved to take him by the arm.
Ralion batted the man’s hand away and punched him in the face before he’d moved more than a step. The sentry crumbled, his nose an instant mass of blood. Ralion didn’t let him fall, catching the guard and easing him to the floor. He checked the door quietly and found it locked. From his pocket, he pulled out a laser cutter. While Ralion listened for sounds of approach from below, he changed the setting, narrowed the beam, and used it to slice through the bolt. He opened the door as he put the cutter away, went in and closed the door behind him.
Sammel Clayton had Loren pinned on her desk, practically on top of her, while she struggled beneath him. He had his hands on her and he was kissing her. Sammel had time to jerk around at the sudden intrusion before Ralion was across the room and hauled him off of her. He punched him the same as the guard, only harder this time. Sammel crumpled the same way too, but he wasn’t completely unconscious yet, fighting the sudden assault on his brain.
Ralion leaned over him as he set him down, his fists full of jacket. “You’re lucky I’m not her future husband. You’d be dead right now.” He smiled pleasantly and let his head drop to the floor. That was enough to knock him out.
Loren had already scrambled off her desk by the time Ralion turned back to her. He held a finger to his lips as he straightened and looked out the window over the wharf. The same number of sentry remained, though the extent of their watch had deteriorated to talking in groups. They looked nervous too. ”Are you all right?” he asked, turning back to Loren and she nodded.
She had only started to get frightened. Now that Sammel was on the floor, she was more angry than anything else. She realized it could have turned out differently though and smiled up at him. “Yes, I’m fine. Thank you.” She was serious the next moment, recovering enough to remember what was going on. “Where’s Dynan? Sadek had Marc taken to his home and he’s holding Col Eldin with his family over at the inn.”
“Dynan and Sheed are on their way to Councilor Talryn to raise the city guard and then get to Marc.” As Ralion spoke, he moved back to the door, retrieving the broken bolt and checking the hall. It was quiet, with no sign of the guard Sadek had sent to follow him. The other guard was still slumped over. Ralion grabbed him by the collar and pulled him into the room. “Where does that door lead to?” he asked, nodding across the room.
“Daryl’s office.”
“Is there another entrance?” When she shook her head, Ralion hauled the sentry man into that room and went back for Sammel. “Do you have these manifests that Sadek is after?”
She smiled at that and maneuvered a key from the bodice of her gown. “Sadek has the copies that I gave Daryl, but the originals, the ones that Marc turned in to me, have the names of all prepaid passengers. That’s the list they want, because when this first started, Sammel is the one who bought passage for the first of them. I’m guessing that they’ll turn out to be with the rebels.”
“They’re going to attack. We only know Sadek’s plans to a point. None of it’s good. I have to get you out of here. Get the manifests. Is there a way over to the inn from up here?”
Loren nodded, using the key to get the manifests from the locked cabinet. “Two doors down on the other side of this hallway,” she said, “there’s a short corridor, then a parlor and office where Daryl entertains his colleagues and important guests, then another hall that connects to the inn. Col is in the middle suite. It has a swan carved on the door.” She pulled in a breath, watching him at the door. “What is that and what are you doing?”
“I have to fix this,” he said of the bolt. It wouldn’t do for questions of how he’d gotten through a locked door to arise later on. He doubted anyone would notice for a while, but it was too odd to leave for investigation. So he changed the setting on the laser cutter to melt the metal enough so that it would adhere to the piece that remained in the door. He smoothed the edges and let it set for a moment while Loren finished getting the manifest together.
It was a large book, full of papers bound by ribbon. She thumbed through more than half of them and started pulling out the rest. Ralion checked the door, moving to help her. He folded up the pages she handed over in a stack and put them inside his jacket. There were too many to hide that way so she had him fold the rest and put them down the back of her dress. He had to smile over her ingenuity and that Dynan wouldn’t be walking in on them just then. A moment later, they were ready and he took her by the hand.
He opened the door. The other guard that Sadek had sent after him was standing in the hall. The man opened his mouth to call for help. Ralion grabbed him by the throat, hauling him into the room. Loren jumped back when Ralion punched the man and he too collapsed unconscious. Ralion took her hand again, feeling like they were running out of time. He didn’t bother moving the guard into Daryl’s office with the others, closed the door and headed for the inn.
They made it as far as the parlor office, a carpeted room with polished wood furnishings, a desk, table, and chairs, before they heard voices, a lot of them, coming from the opposite door. Ralion found another door quickly, discovered it opened into a washroom, and pulled Loren in with him. He closed the door as quietly as he could manage just as the other opened.
He could hear Loren’s breath stuttering, and wished he could tell her that they would be all right, but couldn’t risk saying so. He recognized Sadek’s voice among the others, saying that their plans were moving along as expected, and that the rebels would soon begin their attack. There were at least five others with him. It was hard to tell through the door. Ralion thought too, that once they moved on, it wouldn’t be long before Sadek realized that Loren wasn’t in her office and the alarm would go out.
The men were apparently passing through. A door opened and closed, voices cutting off. Ralion waited a space of breaths and opened the washroom door carefully. The room was empty. He took Loren and hurried for the opposite door to the inn. From her, he learned of the service entrance to the third floor that could provide an escape route through the kitchens.
He meant to get Eldin and his family out too. That man needed to survive this day so that the rest of them wouldn’t end up charged with inciting a rebellion. Ralion wasn’t sure how he’d manage it, or if he did, what he’d find outside the building, but doubted it would be pleasant. His primary responsibility was to Loren, and he told her as much as they hurried down the hall.
“You stay right with me,” he said, and she nodded mutely. “If we get into a fight, I want you on my left. If I tell you to go, you do it. Run, start screaming if you have to. Dynan will be here. Ready?”
She nodded again and he turned for the door. He listened before he opened it, but then heard the sound of voices rising in alarm from behind them.
He opened the door to the inn, pulling his sword free at the same time. There were two guards in the hall. Loren followed right behind him, but stayed out of the way when Ralion attacked the man closest to him. The second guard started yelling. Ralion dropped the first and went after the second, who made the mistake of drawing his weapon. He wasn’t a match in skill, something he discovered immediately when his sword was swept out of his hand, right before he too, was knocked unconscious.
The door with the swan on it was locked. Ralion kicked it in. There was another guard in the room, coming to see what the commotion was, and Ralion had him on the floor an instant later. Eldin and his family were terrified, but recognized him.
“Come with me,” Ralion said, motioning them to hurry. He could hear more guards coming from the Post but not from the service stair at the end of the hall. He retrieved a sword from a fallen sentry. “Know how to use this?” he asked of Eldin and the High Chancellor’s secretary nodded, but he had a wide-eyed look to him that told Ralion he hadn’t wielded a weapon in a long time. “You need to keep your daughter quiet,” he said to Lady Eldin and she nodded. So did the little girl. “Go. Loren, go.”
They made it to the service door and through it, just ahead of the arrival of more guards in the hall. From there, it was a race to get down the two flights of stairs and into the kitchen. They didn’t meet any other resistance. Ralion didn’t doubt that the entire sentry guard was now alerted.
Sadek had corralled the staff into the kitchen, but they weren’t under guard. They were startled at the sudden arrival, but Loren quickly calmed them, asking them to stay out of the way and out of trouble. The women agreed easily enough, plainly frightened by what was going on.
Ralion pointed to a girl about Loren’s age. “Go open the outside door a little. Everyone look that way. Thanks.”
“This way,” Loren said, pointing. “It leads into a service area for the Common room.”
They could all hear the approach of many men on the stairs and didn’t need any prompting to move. As requested, the staff were looking toward the open doorway like that’s the way they’d gone. Ralion hoped it would divert at least a few of their pursuers. He knew that the city guard had to be aware by now that there was trouble. He had only to time his exit from the building with their arrival and then they’d all be safe. Or at least, not so horribly outnumbered. He expected to encounter a number of Sadek’s men in the common room and he was right. There were six of them.
Three of them fell almost immediately, overwhelmed by the sudden onslaught. Ralion never hesitated. They did and they fell because of that mistake. The other three had a chance to prepare, but Col was a better swordsman than Ralion expected and fought them off. Their pursuers crashed into the room, half of them, and there were soon more coming in from the back of the building. Oddly enough, the sentry on the front of the Post weren’t paying attention to what was happening inside. They were looking out in the street.
“Loren. Out the door,” Ralion said, backing that way himself while twelve and then fourteen of Sadek’s men advanced toward them. “You too, Eldin.”
“I can’t—”
“Yes you can. Go! Now!”
“He’s here,” Loren said, looking out the window, and she was smiling. “Dynan’s here. He’s ... oh ... get away from the door.” She reached for Col and his wife, pulling them to the side of the door, even as she opened it.
Loren blinked, cringing away while Ralion hurled a chair into the men who were coming for them. She had enough time to think how immensely strong he was and then there was a horse barreling into the room with Dynan and Marc on its back.
“Timing is everything,” Ralion said with a brief smile as Sheed joined him on foot. Then the two of them were in the middle of men who meant to kill them. Dynan glanced at her once, a look to reassure. He was there and he wasn’t going to let anything happen to anyone.
Marc slid off the animal sideways, landing beside her. He turned immediately to face the oncoming attack, looking pale and like he was having trouble moving. Dynan kept the stallion in front of them, a large deterrent to anyone trying to reach them. The sword flashing in his hand took care of the rest. No one got through. Sheed and Ralion advanced into their enemies together, protecting each other and Dynan, a force of destruction that drove their attackers back.
It was horrible to watch, but amazing at the same time to see these men fighting off three times their number with unfailing precision. It was obvious even to her that their training was different from anything Cadal had ever seen before. She saw that Col Eldin was noticing the same thing as the room was cleared. His eyes were wide with shock and a growing amazement.
“Remind me to never get into a fight with them,” Marc said quietly of Ralion and Sheed. Then he was looking outside. The main street into Quilar was filled with men in pitched battle, the rebels from Brent and the city guard led by Alden and Marc’s father. It seemed to Loren that there were more rebels than city guards. “Doesn’t look too good, does it?” Marc said. He pulled Col over and pointed to a man on horseback, one of the rebels near the rear of fighting. “That was one of the first men I brought over here on the Gailorn. His name is Odin something. Sammel paid for his passage and I’m pretty sure he got the money from Sadek.”
“Odin Slater,” Loren supplied. “I remember seeing his name. We’ve got the manifest to prove it.”
Dynan rode over, containing the restless stallion with a firm hand on the reins, having to duck slightly to avoid a ceiling beam. He looked outside too, then to Ralion and Sheed who were watching all the doors and out the back windows, prepared for trouble should it come find them again. The three of them talked quietly and then Ralion and Sheed were heading out the door. Ralion handed over the manifest copies to Loren and took Dynan’s horse. Once outside, the two were soon mounted, charging into the thick of battle where it seemed the city guard was about to collapse.
“Where’s Sadek?” Dynan asked, watching outside a moment before he turned to survey the room. Men were waking, the injured crying out in pain. The noise from outside was soon drowned out by their moans.
“He was upstairs,” Loren answered, then shook her head. She didn’t know where he was, but thought he’d probably escaped. “There are more sentry in here, unless they all went outside.”
“Some of them did,” Marc said. “But they aren’t fighting for the rebels.”
Dynan nodded. “We ran into a few turncoats before all this started. Marc, I want you to sit down. My Lord, if you would, I need you to keep watch while I take care of these men.” He smiled down at the little girl, who was still cowering at her mother’s skirts. “Do you remember me?” he asked and got nodded at. He leaned down on his knees so that he was at her level. “Scared?”
“Yes,” she said and tears started in her eyes.
“You don’t need to be. I’m not going to let anyone do anything to you or your mother and father. Believe me?” It took her a moment to sum up the courage to nod, but she did, even managing a smile. “Good. You stay with your mother and do just what she tells you. We’ll get out of this all right.” He turned to Loren, pulling her to his side. “That goes for you too, except I want you right here. I need your help with them.” He nodded to the injured men sprawled around the room.
She nodded. “The horse was a nice touch.”
“You liked that?” He laughed. “Sorry about your inn getting in the way.” A few tables and chairs hadn’t survived the stallion’s passage.
“It’s not my inn, so I don’t mind. There are linens we can use for bandages in the service hall. I’ll go—”
Dynan pulled her back, shaking his head. “No one goes anywhere by themselves, you especially.”
He went with her instead and while he collected a big stack of tablecloths, Loren stuck her head into the kitchen to enlist the help of the staff. They were relieved to know that the sentry had been driven from the building, full of their own stories of what had happened, along with many unkind things to say of the Inquisitor. It was the first time in memory that Loren heard so many people openly criticizing him.
They set about tending the wounded while the battle raged outside, and at times, all around them. The crew of the Gailorn showed up and acted as guards. As soon as they had enough men for a watch, Dynan sent others to check for any sentry who might still be inside. The inn remained secure, but soon began to fill with wounded city guardsmen.
Somewhere in all the chaos, Geneal showed up and quietly went about helping the injured and dying. Loren knew it had to be difficult for her, when she had the equipment to save lives, but couldn’t use it. She did see the doctor slipping an unusual-looking device into her pocket after using it on the man she tended.
Marc gave up his chair by the front windows when the room got too full of others who were wounded who needed a place to sit and rest. He found a corner by the bar and soon fell asleep there, sitting on the floor. Dynan got him a blanket and made sure Geneal took a look at him, making Loren wonder what had happened to him.
Throughout the battle, Loren watched Dynan fighting down a desire to go out to help in Quilar’s defense. He didn’t like it that Ralion and Sheed were out there and he was worried about them. Instead, to her relief, he remained in the relative safety of the inn. The Common Room became the command center of sorts. A map of Quilar was spread out and rebel positions noted. There were runners constantly coming and going.
It was Dynan who had them all organized and advised them of what they should do to stop their attackers. He realized that the rebels were trying to move out of Quilar toward Crey based on a report from one of the runners and sent word to Alden to have them stopped. He had a guard of twenty sent to the Council Hall. They later learned that an attack against the Councilors was repelled because of those men. He had other men go and pull Marc’s father out of the fighting for the same reason. He thought of things before they happened and he was listened to when he pointed them out. There seemed a natural propensity to turn to him for leadership. He provided it without being overbearing about it. Loren found herself smiling over it, seeing for the first time a heightened air of authority that he radiated, privately elated that he was capable of managing so well in the midst of all this chaos.
She wasn’t the only one to notice. Col Eldin was one. He wasn’t inclined to assert his own authority when he really should have been the one in charge. Meril Talryn noticed it too. Loren saw the two men talking and thought they were discussing Dynan. She was suddenly worried they’d find out about him.
He wasn’t the only one attracting attention, either. Many of the men who came in had some story to tell of how Lord Ramin and his servant Ven, had saved them. It was apparent that without them, Quilar would have been overrun. Loren couldn’t help laughing when she thought about Ralion suggesting that Dynan get a medal. It looked like Col Eldin planned to give them all one.
Finally, word came in that the rebels were surrendering, but several of their leaders were trying to escape. Ralion and Sheed were going after them. Not long later, they heard that one of them had been caught. Two others got away. Ralion and Sheed showed up with Odin Slater, struggling to escape the vise-like grip on his arms, but without any success.
By then, they’d all moved to the upstairs parlor, making themselves comfortable in Daryl’s quarters. Loren was starting to wonder where her boss had disappeared to. She said something to Meril about it and he had someone sent over to Daryl’s home to check on him.
Marc was awake too, but still in pain, though he was trying to hide it. Geneal was still down in the Common Room. Lady Eldin and her daughter had moved into a room to get some rest, but were under guard. Dynan stood by the window, listening while Col questioned their prisoner. Odin wasn’t cooperating. He simply didn’t speak, and before long, Col had him taken to detention. When Odin was gone, Col turned around, frowning over something.
“There’s something about this that I don’t understand. We know now that Sadek was behind having the rebels attack Quilar,” he said. They’d learned that for certain from Sammel, who had started blabbing to save his own skin the minute he learned that Sadek had disappeared. “And that he meant to blame Marc for the attack, which in turn would have made it difficult for Councilor Talryn to keep his position on the town Council, control that Sadek wanted for himself. He had his sentry posted all over town, under the guise of looking for you, Drin, but really to have them in position to join the rebels. They would have won this fight, had you not been able to alert the guard. What good would it do Sadek to blame Marc and then have the rebels win the day, if he meant to maintain his authority here?”
“He was in league with them,” Meril said. “Once the rebels had established control, if they’d won, Sadek would have come out as their leader.”
“Having the sentry join the rebels gives that away. Why have Marc take the blame for bringing them here?” Dynan said, and everyone paused at that, seeing his point. “Sadek didn’t want anyone to believe that the problems in Brent were that great. Not yet, anyway. He had Marc under his care, which he knew would keep everyone from believing him when he came back with a different story. Councilor Talryn believed it, but couldn’t do much about it. Sadek tried to keep Marc from going to Brent by sabotaging the ship, still in an effort to keep what was going on in Brent from becoming known. We overheard two sentry men at the Clothier’s who said that they’d be in the middle of a war when the Chancellor sent his army here. Is he doing that?”
“Not here,” Col said. “I sent word to the Chancellor three days ago that the situation was more serious than we had thought. I recommended that he send reinforcements to Brent. That message should already have reached him.”
“What does that do at the border, where the rebels have been attacking?”
Col frowned. “The rebels haven’t been attacking. Their last attempt ended in failure, where they sustained fairly serious losses.”
“Confirmed losses?” Dynan asked and picked up a pen from the desk, turning it in his hands to examine the tip.
Col was hesitating. “I don’t ... No, I don’t think that information was in the report from our commanders, now that I think about it. The rebels lost, which under every other circumstance of attack has not happened without heavy losses on both sides. I’d have to look at the report again, but if I recall, I don’t think we had many casualties during that particular battle, which I thought odd at the time.”
“If the Chancellor sends troops here, does that weaken the defense of the border?”
“Yes, which is why he hasn’t been willing to do it, but now, since this last battle which we thought was a decisive one, he would feel it safe to send reinforcements to Brent.”
“When really it isn’t,” Dynan said. “They lost that battle on purpose, to make you think that the border was secure. That’s the real purpose behind the attacks in Brent and now Quilar, to draw the Chancellor’s forces here when they’ll be needed at the border. To stop an invasion.”
“But why alter the reports on Brent then?” Meril asked. “If the purpose was to draw those troops from the border, Sadek would have been telling us about Brent all along, wouldn’t he?”
“Timing,” Dynan said easily.
“Everyone knows that the Chancellor is in Carthage for High Days,” Marc said.
“The real target is Carthage and the Chancellor himself,” Dynan said.
Col looked at him a moment, as if questioning how Dynan could have put all this together, but then he was nodding. “Yes, you’re right. I should—” He stopped when Dynan handed him the pen and Col smiled as he took it. “You’ll have to tell me how a talented young man like yourself was so thoroughly overlooked by our training commanders. Which camp were you in?”
Dynan didn’t know the answer, or that military training was required of all men in Bremin Territory. Marc was there to silently give him the answer. “It was the Golar training camp, and the reason the commanders overlooked me is because I didn’t know anything then. Mostly, what I know, I learned from my father.”
That was a good enough answer for Col, but Meril was sitting by Marc, and Loren realized that he noticed the silent exchange. He knew what telepathic communication looked like. By the sudden frown on his face, knew that Dynan wasn’t telling the truth. He didn’t say anything, but Loren guessed that at some point, he would. He’d also just discovered that Dynan was a telepath and he’d certainly have something to say about that.
“Well, the Chancellor will be grateful for your assistance,” Col was saying while he dipped the pen in ink and wrote out a message.
Dynan went back to studying the map. “No one has seen Sadek since this morning.”
“No. The men you sent to look for him haven’t found him. He hasn’t gone back to his home.”
“Would the Chancellor listen to him if he were given the chance? It’s going to take time for this message to get to Carthage and the other has already gotten to him, which probably means those troops have already been ordered south. I don’t think Sadek will give up his plans so easily. If he hasn’t been found yet, he’s probably not here.”
“The Chancellor won’t likely listen to him, but I see your point. Sadek could arrive ahead of this message and attempt to counter it somehow. There isn’t any faster way to get to Carthage, so—”
“Yes, there is,” Loren said and pulled in a breath. She went to the map, glancing at Dynan. “This is the road to Brent,” she said, pointing. “Not far after that there’s another road, on the right side. If you don’t know it’s there, you won’t see it because it’s old. Very old.”
“It’s the road that leads to the Ruins,” Meril said and frowned at her. “Something you shouldn’t be aware of, unless of course, you’ve been there yourself.”
She didn’t bother responding, since the accusation was plainly true. “It’s faster by half a day. If your messenger leaves now, he could get to Crey and then Carthage that much faster.”
“Then that’s the way he’ll go,” Col said. “And we’ll overlook your trespassing in that place this time, young lady. I expect that you’ll never venture there again. There are reasons why people aren’t allowed there.”
“Yes, it might make them ask too many questions about our past,” Loren said before she could stop herself.
“Questions that don’t have any immediate answers. Don’t go there again.” Col frowned at her sternly and then went back to writing his message to the Chancellor.
Dynan was back at the map, tapping a finger over the border mountain pass. “Would those troops you asked for already be underway?” he asked. “Would the Chancellor do what you requested that quickly?”
Col nodded. “Yes,” he said without any hesitation or doubt. “I made it clear that Brent was about to fall and needed reinforcement immediately.”
“The rebels will be aware that those troops are pulling out. There might be a way to turn their plan to your advantage.”
“How so?” Col asked, setting the pen down again with a slight smile.
“The rebels will believe that their plan is working. They’ll see the troops pulling out and they’ll attack. Let them in through the pass, draw them down to this valley here with a series of feints, running attacks on horseback that will look everything like a retreat, but won’t be.” He pointed to the hills that marked the northern boundary of the Bremin Territory. “Then you hit them with those troops that they think aren’t there from the flank and front. They can’t get back through the pass because you’ll have left enough men behind to stop them. You might put an end to your troubles with them, or at least hurt them enough that it’ll be years before they can recover.”
Col smiled at the suggestion, nodding again. “Your father must be a brilliant tactician. I should like to meet him. I’ll be sure to commend him to the Chancellor as well.”
Dynan nodded, but didn’t say anything else. Col finished his message and sent Alden to look for the fastest horse and courier to take it to Carthage. He also sent word to the Constable of Crey and the Inquisitor at Carthage with orders to capture Quint Sadek.
“I’d like to ask you, Drin,” Col said, “if you’d be interested in coming to Carthage yourself. The Chancellor is always looking for men such as yourself. When he hears about you, I’ve a feeling he’ll insist.”
Dynan didn’t know what to say again. Loren linked her arm through his when he hesitated. “He has other plans,” she said easily. “He’s getting married, you see, so you’ll have to tell the Chancellor that he isn’t available.”
It wasn’t every day that service to the Chancellor was offered or turned down, but Col only shook his head, more amused than surprised. “You don’t have much respect for authority, do you?”
“Yes, I do,” Loren said. “Reasonable authority, my Lord, and I know the Chancellor to be a reasonable man. He wouldn’t want to ruin all our plans and he would if he insisted that Drin join him.”
“Plans? Such as?” Col asked.
“They don’t include living in Carthage. I’ve been there before. I didn’t like it much.”
Col laughed. “All right, Loren. I’ll see what I can do to dissuade the Chancellor from insisting.”
“Speaking of getting married,” Dynan said then. “I don’t suppose you can issue a special dispensation, can you?”
“A dispensation? To waive the usual waiting period?”
“Yes.”
“I can, but you’d have to have Bishop—”
“We’ve already seen the Bishop,” Dynan said quickly. “And Councilor Talryn. I’m going to Crey to talk to her father in a few days.”
“And he’ll say yes,” Marc offered. “He’s been trying to get her married off for years.”
Col looked at them all and for a moment, Loren thought he was going to start asking the usual questions about why they were in such a rush. He shook his head instead, sat down at the desk and took out a fresh piece of parchment. A moment later, Dynan had that special dispensation in hand and he breathed again. Loren wrapped her arms around him, kissing him right there in front of everyone.
“At least the reasons for the rush are obvious,” Col said in a bemused tone.
“They can hardly contain themselves,” Meril said. “If I may suggest, it’s getting late and I doubt the inn will be able to provide food this night. I’d like to invite you all to my home, Lord Eldin. I think you and your wife would be more comfortable there.”
Col agreed readily enough, but wanted to check downstairs first. Loren didn’t see him leave, too preoccupied by a pair of endless blue eyes to notice. She thought Meril had gone with him, until he cleared his throat. Everyone froze in place a moment, and Loren knew what was coming.
Meril looked at them all, from Ralion to Sheed, included Marc, Loren, and finally Dynan. “So tell me, who is Dynan, and who are Ralion and Sheed? I’ve heard you referred to that way twice already. The only reason I haven’t said anything about this to anyone else is because of your actions. You aren’t who you say you are and I will have an answer.”
“Father,” Marc said. “It’s better—”
“I’m not asking you as your father, Marc. If you know who these people really are, then you will tell me.”
“He was about to say that it’s better that you don’t know,” Dynan said quietly. “For your own safety.”
“And you knew what he was going to say because you can somehow communicate with him the way he and Matt could.” Meril looked at Marc’s eyes. “You’re doing it right now.”
Dynan pulled in a breath. “Yes and he’s telling me that I can trust you, so I’m going to.” He glanced at Loren and she nodded, indicating that she felt the same way. Dynan leaned back against the edge of the desk. “This might be difficult for you to accept. I’m not from this planet. I’m from a place called Cobalt. My name is Dynan Telaerin.”
Dynan then told Meril the story of how he’d come to Cadal and why. He told him about Maralt and the danger his presence brought. About halfway through, Meril got himself a drink from the sideboard. He listened in silence and when Dynan had finished, turned to his son, asking for confirmation with a look.
Marc only nodded, but Dynan gestured to Ralion, who pulled an odd looking device from his pocket and showed it to Meril. “It’s the control pad for our ship,” Dynan explained. Really, it was proof that he was telling the truth because Cadal obviously didn’t have the technology to make such a thing.
Meril examined it, turning it over in his hand and frowning at the symbols printed on the keypads. Loren looked too. She noticed a flashing dot on the small screen. “Why is it doing that?” she asked.
“That means the ship is on standby,” Dynan said, smiling at her curiosity.
Loren didn’t like the sound of that. “Why?”
“Because,” Ralion answered, “we thought Maralt was attacking him and that we’d be leaving really soon if that were the case.”
“Attacking?” Meril asked.
“It wasn’t him,” Dynan said. “Actually, it was Marc. When he was knocked unconscious I felt it. Because I couldn’t explain quickly enough that it wasn’t Maralt, my guards put the ship on standby just in case.”
“So you have a ship,” Meril said, almost to himself, and started shaking his head as if he still didn’t believe it. “A ship ... flying through the night sky, heralding the return of conquest.”
Loren started, recognizing the passage from the Book of Legends. Ralion, Sheed, and Dynan didn’t have any idea what he was talking about and she shook her head. “But they aren’t here to attack our planet.”
“Yet here they are and we’re on the brink of war, if not immersed in it already. I think I’ll go make sure that our messenger is well on his way to Carthage.”
