Her Reputation (The Empire: Book 1)

by Laura R Cole

  *

  Rhys slipped into the newest victim’s room. He had been a lower noble, and therefore his room was far more accessible than the previous man’s. Rhys looked around. Light streamed in from the window Rhys had climbed in through and illuminated the space. There was a large wooden desk shoved up against the opposite wall. Rhys strolled over to it. He picked up a paper on the desk and then set it back down again. His gaze swept over the room.

  First the Lord Havensford and now this man. From the looks of his belongings, the second victim was a nondescript man with few possessions and even fewer reasons to get rid of him. Rhys opened the drawer and shuffled through the items within. Something caught his eye at the bottom. Amongst the disorganized mess of random articles was a neatly stacked pile of papers, tied together with twine. At the top of the stack, was the invitation to Phoenix’s birthday party.

  Rhys picked up the stack and his breath caught in his throat. Over the “i” in Phoenix’s name was a blot of ink. His mind flashed back to a similar invitation in Havensford’s room which had the exact same blot in the exact same spot. That couldn’t be coincidence. He stuffed the papers into his pocket. Giving the room a quick once over, he leaped out the window and onto the ledge beyond. He waited patiently until the guards below moved around the corner before scurrying down.

  Once safely on the ground, he made his way back around the outside of the palace to the Queen’s chambers. He hoped that she would be able to get him a copy of the documents in Lord Havensford’s room from the royal investigators. He was in luck as she happened to be perusing those very documents after having just been updated by the royal investigators. She turned them over to him without question. Papers in hand, he headed straight for the city gates. There was someone he needed to see. He snuck through the streets and out into the wilderness beyond. After sprinting until his lungs ached, he finally saw what he was looking for.

  “Mater Levi,” Rhys called into the small hut on the edge of the forest.

  A small fire burned in the back, the crackling sparks the only sound. Smoke billowed out a chimney hole cut above it, and the smell of cooking rabbit permeated the home. Rhys moved cautiously forward, eyes alert. The hut was empty. A pile of furs that must serve as a bed was to his right, a large wooden table to his left. A mean-looking knife was stuck into its top.

  Rhys moved slowly to the furs, gently touching them to see if the man was underneath. He heard a sound and whirled around. His eyes swept over the hut. Something in the fire popped. Rhys’s gaze landed on the table. The knife was gone.

  Before he could react, he felt the cold bite of metal against his neck and his arm was bent roughly behind him.

  A gravelly voice whispered in his ear, “Haven’t you ever heard of knocking, boy?”

  “There’s not exactly a door to knock on,” Rhys pointed out. The hand encircling his wrist tightened, and Rhys winced. Then it released its grip.

  Rhys turned around. “Good to see you, too, Master Levi.”

  “Haven’t seen you since you decided I had no more to teach you, you arrogant little whelp.” There was a twinkle in the man’s eyes. “And yet, I still got the better of you.”

  “This time,” Rhys agreed amicably. “How are you?”

  “Oh, the same,” Levi grumbled. “Ever since the darn barrier came down and the two halves of the country reunited, there’s been no one to spy on. Back in the good old days Gryffon and I had some times. Now he’s too busy being King for anything exciting and tells me that even the last of the Order’s been ferreted out. I have nothing to do but waste away in the woods teaching younglings my craft. Yet they do what with it? Use it for their own thievery and mischief.” He gave Rhys a long stare. “But you didn’t come here for small talk. What do you want?”

  Rhys took the papers out of his pocket and handed them to Levi. “Have you heard about the attacks at the palace?”

  Levi grinned at him. “I may be an old man rotting away in the woods, but I still have a friend or two around.” His tone grew dark. “I heard.” He looked down at the papers in his hands. “So, have you finally decided to put all your training to some real use? What are these?”

  “I took them from the second victim’s rooms.” He pointed to the ink blot. “You see this?”

  “Where the writer’s pen leaked?”

  “Yes. There was the very same leakage on the invitation to the first victim. Coincidence?”

  Levi raised an eyebrow. “You don’t think so.”

  Rhys shook his head.

  “Why then, did you take these papers instead of leaving them for the royal investigators?”

  “The Queen personally charged me with helping to clear Phoenix’s name.”

  “I’m still not following why you would impede their investigation by removing evidence then.”

  Rhys gave him a long look.

  Comprehension dawned on him, and Levi answered his own question. “Because the ink blot indicates that both these men had something to do with Phoenix. Perhaps something to do with the rumors that have been circulating about her. This realization by the royal investigators will only further fuel the accusations against her.” He was silent a long moment in contemplation. “Are you sure that the Princess didn’t do these things? Her parents are the strongest mages in living memory. It is not impossible that she has retained or regained some of the power that would otherwise have been hers were it not for the Bricrui all those years ago.”

  Rhys shook his head. “Absolutely not. She would never do such a thing.”

  Levi gave him another long stare. “I haven’t seen the Princess much, but I knew her father. I find it hard to believe that he would raise a child capable of something like this.”

  “So we’re agreed,” Rhys stated firmly. “Phoenix had nothing to do with the attacks.”

  “Very well, then,” Levi looked once more to the papers in his hands. “I take it you want me to try and decipher any clues or codes these papers may contain?”

  “If you’re not too busy,” Rhys said, looking around the tiny hut sardonically.

  “Finally, a challenge,” the man replied, already dismissing Rhys’s presence.

  The rabbit that was already now getting slightly charred over the fire would likely be allowed to burn to a crisp as Levi engrossed himself in the work; so Rhys went over to it. He turned the meat and poked at the fire, spreading the heat out a bit. When the animal was cooked, he removed it from the spit and set it aside to let it cool a bit while he prepared the rest of the meal. When everything was ready, he set a plate next to Levi, reminding him to eat. The man hardly batted an eye, scribbling something onto his parchment.

  Rhys left him to it, chewing on a section of rabbit he’d helped himself to, and looked around the hut. In a corner he saw a pile of clothing and shook his head ruefully at the man. He sat himself next to the pile and took out a needle and thread he knew to be in the cabinet next to the bed. The man may have been a master spy, but he still couldn’t mend his own clothes if his life depended on it.

  Just as Rhys finished the last stitch on the last piece of clothing, severing the thread with his teeth, Levi made a triumphant noise.

  Rhys turned to him, “Did you find something?”

  He leaned over the table, trying to see what Levi had scrawled onto the parchment next to the sprawled pile of papers. He couldn’t read the handwriting, but in trying to do so he noticed that the man had eaten the entire plate of food. He leaned back and crossed his arms across his chest. “Good timing,” he commented sarcastically.

  Levi winked. Rhys knew the other man would have never paused to eat unless he’d already found the answer which meant that he’d actually found it some time ago and was just waiting for Rhys to finish mending his clothes.

  “Well, out with it,” Rhys waved a hand impatiently at him.

  “Your instincts were correct,” Levi’s tone grew serious.
“These letters were indeed magically coded with intimate information about Phoenix, her abilities, her whereabouts, and her childhood imaginary friends. They also indicate that someone has hired people to spread these rumors. There is definitely a conspiracy at work here and not just some nasty gossip.”

  Levi picked up his scribbled notes that Rhys had been unable to decipher. He read aloud, “Your daughter’s life depends on your continued cooperation with our cause.” He looked up from the papers and met Rhys’s eye. “This one is to Lord Havensford.” Glancing back at the notes, he continued, “Contained in this communication are specific incidents in the Princess’s childhood which show that she can read minds. Arrangements have been made for you to attend the ball at the Towers estate. We shall expect to be hearing about all we have told you by the next day.”

  “The ball at the Towers estate was quite some time ago. Obviously this has been very thoughtfully planned out. Do you suppose they kidnapped his daughter?”

  “Indeed,” Levi agreed. “There is another communication dated the day before Havensford was attacked indicating that he was supposed to meet someone who had more information about Phoenix by the wool mill in the city the next day. Given the time he was attacked, I’d say it’s a fair bet that he never made that meeting, but it could be that this meeting was to lure him in to be attacked as well. Though it doesn’t explain where he was found unless the attacker moved him. But finding this conspirator may lead us to his daughter.”

  Rhys shook his head. “That conspirator would be me,” he said and explained at Levi’s questioning look, “I had pulled a few strings to set up a meeting with them in hopes of finding out who was involved, but the person never showed. Guess that explains why.”

  “Do you know who set up the meeting?”

  Rhys shook his head. “No, it went through too many channels to be traced. A dead end on both sides now.”

  Levi nodded and put down the paper he’d been reading from and picked up another. “This is the second victim’s, Lord Donnovan.” He read, “You will find payment beneath the rose bush in the gardens for you and the other you have recruited to our cause. You will also find additional instructions for a meeting with your contact. From there, we will move forward with our plans which will be explained at the meeting.”

  “It was probably at that meeting that he was attacked.” Rhys sighed at Levi’s nod that the time and place were correct for this assumption. Moments later, he countered his own logic, “Except that why would the other conspirators attack him rather than give him the additional instructions?”

  “Unless that was the next stage of the plan,” Levi suggested.

  Rhys didn’t respond as he didn’t have any answers. Instead he asked, “Was there any indication as to who hired the men, who the contact was, or who the third conspirator that was recruited is?”

  Levi shook his head, his eyes alight with excitement. “But I know people we can ask. I’ll get to it right away. At least we have Havensford’s daughter to go on; if we find her we may be able to find who’s threatening her.”

  “Thanks, Levi.”

  The knife appeared at Rhys’s throat once more. “That’s Master Levi to you.”

  Rhys bowed his head respectfully before leaving. He’d have to let the Queen know what Levi had found. His journey back to the palace took much longer than the trip to Levi’s as this time he meandered around the city first. He wasn’t sure how to deliver the news and wished that he had more answers to give her before bringing any news at all. In the end, he convinced himself that he should let her know. Perhaps she’d have another idea where to go with it.

  Once he made this decision, he made a beeline for the palace and then straight on to the royal suite. Once he’d been searched and the guard had announced him, he was led into the conference area. The King and Queen were both in attendance, as well as several of their most trusted aides. The Queen bade him speak with no preamble. When he delivered the news, the monarchs sat silently before him.

  One of the aides spoke up. “We must let people know; this is good news. We can prove there’s a conspiracy against her that started the malicious rumors.”

  “But two of those in the conspiracy have been attacked,” the Queen said softly.

  “Don’t you see?” asked the King, though not harshly, when the aide looked baffled by her lack of excitement. “This would only serve to further fuel the rumors. People are starting to believe that Phoenix uses her mind to read others. Is it really a stretch to think that they might also believe that she can use this ability to harm people with her mind? Baron Winters has already accused her of doing so, if he found out that the two men were part of a conspiracy against her...” He trailed off and was thoughtful a moment. “Other than the fact that these two were part of it, I would almost think that it was part of their plan. It certainly worked to get Winters to accuse her. Maybe the two had just reached the end of their usefulness?”

  “I could see that with Havensford since he seems to have been coerced into helping them, but the second victim was willingly going along with it. Why attack him?” the Queen mused.

  “And why not kill them then?” Rhys asked. “Why allow them the chance to regain consciousness and possibly turn on the other conspirators?”

  “Perhaps they weren’t actually the conspirators at all, but only framed to look as such to then be attacked,” the aide who had first spoken suggested.

  “That would seem more likely if it hadn’t been so difficult to detect that they were part of a conspiracy. It doesn’t necessarily seem that they wanted to be discovered as such,” Gryffon pointed out.

  They were all silent for several long moments.

  “So we have two men we know to be conspirators: Lord Havensford unwillingly so, and a second currently in a coma. That still leaves the third that the second victim recruited, the contact that was mentioned, and whoever is behind it all,” the Queen summarized.

  “At least we have Havensford’s daughter,” Rhys said hopefully.

  “Yes,” Gryffon, ever the optimist, agreed. “Unfortunately, that fact that you removed the evidence linking her to the conspirators will complicate things.”

  Rhys started to apologize, but the King put up his hand to stop him.

  “It was the right choice,” Gryffon said firmly. “As a victim in an ongoing investigation, it would not be unusual to try and contact all members of the family anyway.” He paused thoughtfully. “In fact, I believe we ought to suggest it to the royal investigators so that they can look into it themselves.”

  The Queen nodded. “That’s a good idea.” She turned to Rhys. “You’re sure that there was no other indication of who was behind it all? I hate to think of there still being people out there trying to hurt Phoenix.”

  Rhys shook his head.

  “What are we going to do about it?” an aide who had so far been silent asked.

  “I don’t know,” the Queen rubbed her forehead. “There are still too many questions.”

  “You said Levi is looking into it as well?” the King asked Rhys.

  He nodded. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

  “Good,” he put a comforting hand on his wife’s shoulder. “We’ll get to the bottom of this.” King Gryffon turned to Rhys. “Please continue your efforts as well.” Broadening his statements to the rest of the room he added, “And please, let’s keep this quiet for now. Until we know the facts.”

  Everyone nodded, and Rhys excused himself. Things were looking worse and worse for poor Phoenix.