“What is the meaning of this?” Donovan blustered.
Meralla recognized General Ariman Keldor as he strode in. Her breath rushed out when Dariad and Bairok entered lugging the limp form of a young woman between them.
“What is that?” Donovan demanded. “I thought I—”
“She’s the best chance to control the prince,” Keldor explained. “My men sent word they have him and will bring him here. He will listen to the proposal for her sake.”
Heat entered Meralla again. In her thirty-seven years she had not run across such blatant disregard for people’s lives, yet here, twice in one day, not an hour between them, were separate evidences of such. Even her part-time captors, part-time parents, Nadia and Byrich Restler, had treated her decently. Her knees shook, but she forced herself to go to the prisoner.
Keldor stepped in front of her.
“That’s not a good idea, ma’am.”
“She could be dangerous,” Bairok warned.
“She’s a child, and she’s unconscious!” Meralla pressed past Keldor. “What do you expect her to do?”
Has the entire planet gone mad?
Meralla knelt in front of the young woman and gently lifted her head, brushing errant locks of brown hair aside to see if the brutes had hurt her. A shiver ran up her arm as she touched the girl’s icy skin.
Criessa! Meralla was too angry to speak.
“Rangers aren’t easy to hold prisoner.” Keldor sounded apologetic.
“Then why is she here?” Donovan asked. “If she’s that dangerous, why isn’t she dead as I ordered?”
The questions stole the heat from Meralla, leaving only a ball of ice in the pit of her stomach. This couldn’t be the same man she had loved and married. That man had been fun-loving and devoted to family. This man not only consented to having his only child held as leverage, he spoke of murder as casually as hunting rabid korvers.
“She’s here to ensure Prince Terosh’s cooperation. His loyalty to our cause depends on her. Where should we place her?” Keldor asked. His tone told Meralla he didn’t think very highly of Donovan.
“Take her to my private chambers,” Meralla said. “I’ll clean her up and have her ready to meet the prince.”
“But—” Donovan began.
“It’s a good idea,” Keldor interjected. “He’ll want to see her, of course. Besides, there’s a storm collapsing graveground all over the Kevil Plains right now. It’s too dangerous to send a hov for my men.”
Donovan stood straighter, obviously not happy.
“Yes, yes, I’m sure the prince will arrive just fine, but what guarantees he’ll cooperate?” asked Donovan.
“Love.” Meralla spat the word like a curse.
Keldor’s curt nod confirmed it.
“I’ve heard Ranger weapons are unique,” Donovan said. “Could you not simply show the prince those?”
“Would you accept your wife’s necklace as proof someone had her alive?” Keldor asked. His eyes flashed. “Besides, we don’t have either of her weapons. The prince has her banistick and my men have her shootav.”
“He wouldn’t care.” Meralla brushed strands of wavy, blond hair aside and considered Keldor’s statement. “She gave him the banistick, didn’t she?”
“Why would that matter?” Donovan wondered.
“It’s a promise,” Meralla explained. “She’s saying she’ll marry him.”
“As you say,” said Keldor. His voice stayed steady, but Meralla saw his surprise that she knew of the obscure custom. Clearing his throat, Keldor turned to Dariad and Bairok. “Take the prisoner wherever Lady Meetcher tells you and wait outside the chamber.” To Meralla, he added, “My lady, please let me know if you need anything or if the Ranger gives you trouble.”
Meralla knew Keldor meant well, but she shivered at the implied threat to the young woman.
ALMOST TEN BLOCKS NORTH of the Meetcher estate though still in the city of Meritab, Talyon Keldor watched his friend tread back and forth across the soft, hand-braided rug. Whenever something upset Merisia Restler, the choices were either pace or cry, so Taly had learned to appreciate pacing. Unfortunately, this would be one of those times where pacing only preceded sobbing. He looked to the nature paintings lining the walls for calming inspiration.
“It’s wrong, Taly, very wrong.” Merisia’s pale cheeks brought out the deep purple color of her eyes. The flecks of silver disappeared beneath the glaring lights as tears pooled.
“I know,” Taly said, wishing Merisia’s husband, Gareth, were around to deal with the coming flood.
What could he say?
Merisia, I think it’s a good idea to hold small children captive to make sure their parents don’t back out on a deal.
Taly shook his head in frustration.
“She’s five, Taly, five! And she’s scared. I know she’s scared! We’ve got to do something. We’ve got to return her!”
“Maybe her father will turn down the position,” Taly offered, feeling sick.
Or maybe not. Who are those men? Who do they work for?
Taly had never known the RT Alliance to be generous with kefs or positions, and he hadn’t liked the two men. He had only seen them briefly, but the sight of them carrying Kia Meetcher had disturbed him. Their rumpled uniforms and dark expressions said the child had fought. Taly refrained from telling Merisia the obvious. They could safely do nothing to help the Meetcher child.
Merisia stopped pacing and wrapped both arms around her stomach, staring hard at the floor for several seconds before finally meeting Taly’s questioning gaze.
“You’ve got to get me out of here, Taly, got to!”
“Why?” Taly sat up straighter and watched Merisia’s every move.
She pressed her lips together.
“Because I’m going to have a baby, Taly, a baby! And I never want this to happen to my child. Never!”
“What about your husband?” Taly asked.
Pain crossed Merisia’s face, and she averted her gaze.
“I ... don’t know.” She stared into the flickering fireplace flames. “I don’t want to hurt him, really I don’t. He’s a good man, but I’ve got to get away.”
Taly’s head spun with partial plans. If they left, they would be leaving for good.
We need to be good and gone or we’re dead. Who would help us?
A year or two ago things might have been different. Both of their families would be furious, but no harm would befall them. Since the birth of the RT Alliance, however, things had changed. The Alliance did not tolerate disloyalty. What Merisia proposed would bring no small amount of consequences crashing down upon their heads.
“What do I do, Taly?” Merisia asked. “At first, it was just Alliance soldiers acting like street thugs and shaking down merchants. I tried to ignore the small wrongs, but this is no small wrong. I’m surrounded by plots and plans, and if I do nothing, my baby could meet Kia’s fate.”
“You don’t know that, Merisia,” Taly said.
“But I do, Taly,” Merisia argued. “This incident with Kia is only the most recent outrage. There have been others, many others.” Tears glistened in her eyes. “I tried to ignore them, but I can’t pretend everything’s right when everything I know about the Alliance tells me we’re on a dark path. Will you help me?”
Taly needed time to think, and he couldn’t concentrate with Merisia charging up the air with fear. Though she was several years older, she had looked up to him for years.
“We’ll figure something out,” he promised. “Why don’t you visit the Meetcher kid? She could use a friend, but calm down before you go or you’ll scare her.”
It took Taly several minutes to convince Merisia a visit with Kia Meetcher would do them both good, but finally, he was alone to ponder their precarious situation. Her position as Lady Restler gave her some authority, but the fact that she sought Taly’s help proved how desperate she must feel.
The Alliance grows in power every day, but what are we doing w
ith that power?
Since the formation of the RT Alliance, Taly had expected broad changes in the political spectrum. He kept waiting for the power to grow to a point where they could demand representation in the Senate and better the lives of the merchant class. Instead, things had carried on much the same as they had before the Alliance. True, the black-market sales thrived, and squads reported less deaths from day to day clashes. But Merisia was right. The time to choose between the Alliance and his conscience had arrived. Simply running away with no plan would only get them caught. They needed to leave Meritab quietly. If anyone suspected, they would be hunted down within hours. If they got caught, he would probably pray for death long before they granted it.
For some reason, Lady Meetcher kept coming to mind. At the very least, she deserved to know her daughter was safe, and perhaps, she could help them escape. The Meetcher Estate controlled several Alliance resources and was located in the bottom left section of Meritab right along the wall. If anyone could arrange for Taly and Merisia to disappear, Lady Meetcher could. Taly liked her, and the danger her daughter faced might even make her sympathetic.
I hope we can trust her.
ALLEI (AUGUST) 16, 1538
Same Day
Governor General’s Estate, City of Idonia
Once again tucked into his office, Lord Kezem Altran patiently awaited contact from his mother. Reports from his agents within the RT Alliance in Meritab covered his desk. He longed to take a klipper northwest across the Ash Plains, over the Clear Mountains, and straight to the Meetcher estate to teach the fool a lesson. The noble houses were supposed to willingly send their children to serve in Kezem’s estate and be trained in his schools and camps. The fuss Lady Meetcher caused nullified any control the tradition was supposed to instill.
A chime announced the anticipated call.
“Yes, Mother, how may I help you?” Lord Kezem asked, not bothering to look at the hologram. He kept his head cradled in his hands, elbows propped on the desk.
“I cannot state this any clearer. Keep Terosh alive until the Mitran plan is complete and the Rangers are destroyed.” His mother’s voice rang with warning.
“Meetcher’s a fool, but Keldor’s not. He’ll keep Meetcher in line.”
“See that he does. Do not let them kill the Ranger either. My plan for the Order requires Terosh to marry the girl.”
“The Rangers have been wary of late, what makes you think they’ll gather to conduct some silly trial?”
“Their love of tradition is eclipsed only by their arrogance,” explained his mother. “As ridiculous as it sounds, the ban on marrying into the Minstel line is sacred law to them. The girl gave her banistick to our dear prince. It’s a promise to marry him. Make sure Terosh believes he could lose her. Hurt her if you must. He will marry the girl if he thinks he can protect her. The disregard for the Ranger code should be enough to convene the Ashatan Council.”
“That still leaves too many Rangers in one place,” Kezem argued, trying not to sound whiny.
“That is where your precious RT Alliance comes in.” His mother smiled coldly.
“How will the Rangers learn about the marriage?”
“I believe that is a task for Lucas Telon and Kolknir.”
Chapter 37:
Revelations
ALLEI (AUGUST) 16, 1538
Same Day
Meetcher Estate, City of Meritab
Down in the depths of the hov lot, Todd Wellum couldn’t wait for this rescue mission to end. He understood the Council’s wish to protect the defector, as the last three who had cut their Alliance ties had been murdered. Still, the knowledge of the mission’s significance only went so far in comforting him. He missed his wife. They had used Ireea and Odrik as aliases before, but not being able to call Kiata by name bothered Todd. Being so near her yet keeping emotionally distant was awful.
“Odrik!” a man called, breaking into Todd’s thoughts. “Whatcha doing down here?”
“Waiting for a personal package for a friend,” Todd responded, barely stopping his hands from tugging at the Alliance jacket Meetcher insisted his servants wear while on the estate grounds. Todd had drilled the response into his head just in case someone confronted him. It wasn’t supposed to come to that though, and his heart pounded with the complication. “Ireea said to expect a package around nine.”
Kiata, as Ireea, had told him she would send the informant along at nine tonight. The escape had taken careful coordination and several days to prepare. Todd forced himself to shrug. His shoulders wanted to lock.
Wish I had Kolknir’s acting skills.
“Stupid as a tretling.” Addram cursed and drew breath to start yelling. “You’re on duty, man! If Meetcher catches you doing personal business on Alliance time, it’ll be my head that rolls. Don’t the—”
“I’m aware of the rules, but she must not be. I figured I’d help her out this once,” said Todd.
He listened to Addram’s minute-long tirade, nodding at the right times while he scrambled for a plan.
Eventually, Addram ran out of curses and told Todd to leave.
A shadow moved behind Addram, followed by a faint shuffling noise. Addram spun to face the newcomer, preparing another scathing speech.
Todd struck Addram’s neck, then scooped the man up, and tossed him over his shoulders. His mind raced, but none of the plans sounded good. He had to get rid of Addram, but he didn’t want to kill the man. They couldn’t afford for him to be found for at least ten hours. Kiata would need that time to escape. Her job had been to cover the informant’s movements as he traveled throughout the Meetcher estate.
Nodding to the man he was meeting, Todd said, “Hurry. The hov’s about a kilometer away.”
“Why can’t we take one of these?” queried the informant.
“They have their tracking devices intact,” Todd replied, ushering the nervous man out in front of him.
Without waiting for a reply, he shifted to get a better grip on Addram and raced toward their only hope of escape. He assumed the hov would be in position like Kiata had promised, but Addram’s presence disturbed him. The informant’s successful escape meant that her position was secure as of a few minutes ago, but that did not guarantee she would stay safe. She would smooth things over with their boss back at the Meetcher Estate. Todd didn’t like that part of the plan.
When they arrived at the hov the young driver asked, “What happened? Who’s that?”
“Addram had too much ale,” Todd answered, tossing Addram into the back of the hov.
“How’d you—” began the driver.
“We were out on patrol and hit a fossa tree,” Todd said, silently thanking Addram for having a well-known love of ale. “Ireea’s a friend. I called her, and she sent you.”
The boy sputtered but could do little as Todd yanked him out of the hov, knocked him out, and placed his unconscious body in the backseat with Addram.
“Thank you,” breathed the informant.
“We can talk after we get rid of them,” Todd said. “The hov’s clean, but we can’t be sure they’re totally out. I don’t want anything you say getting back to Meetcher.”
After driving about twenty minutes, Todd tied Addram and the hov driver to a tree and placed a time-delayed homing beacon on the back of the boy’s shirt. He double-checked to make sure he had removed their weapons and anything that could be used as a premature signal. The beacon would ensure a morning rescue, but it would be a long night out on the Kesler Plains.
Hopefully, Kiata would be safely away by then. According to the plan, she would delay things several hours and escape by hiking toward Kerimia until Todd could find her by tracing her comm.
Climbing into the hov, Todd pointed the vehicle in the correct direction and engaged the autopilot.
“I think it’s safe to talk now. Name’s Todd Wellum.”
“I am Nils Clavon, a native of Terab, but my home has long been Meritab. I owe you my life, and for that, I am forever yo
ur servant. But my past is painful. I do not wish to explain more than I must. You will hear it when I report to the Ranger High Council.”
“Fair enough.” Todd hoped he could negotiate the servant part. His knowledge of Terabian history told him it would be difficult to convince the man information was payment enough. The Terabians held their honor debts in very high regard. Thinking the conversation over, Todd switched off the autopilot and concentrated on driving.
To his surprise, Nils cleared his throat.
“Besides my story, I have much information about the Alliance: numbers and names. They are not working alone. They have a very powerful ally in the government.”
“Who?” Todd prompted.
“I have only a code name,” Nils confessed. “She is called ‘The Lady.’”
Oh, well, that’s specific.
Todd listened raptly as the informant spoke about the Alliance’s ambitions. He hoped the man’s information would be worth the risks he and Kiata had taken. So far, the RT Alliance had confined its bullying to individuals and small businesses, but if the informant spoke truth, their goals included meddling in the highest political arenas, perhaps in the palace itself.
KIATA WELLUM LISTENED for people who might barge into the cramped security closet. The rescue had gone well, but she wouldn’t count it a success until she put at least half the Kesler Plains between herself and the Meetcher Estate.
Remembering her husband’s shabby story, she hissed and checked the security vids, erasing traces of the informant’s movements. Common sense told her to move the timetable up and escape quickly, but something urged her to stay. Sixteen small screens, stacked four by four, cycled feeds from multiple vidrecorders. Suddenly, the image in the bottom right screen confirmed her instincts. The sight sent chills everywhere. She froze the image and enhanced the quality, dividing it over every screen. Kiata gaped at the image.
Reia!
Fear, confusion, and anger, coursed through Kiata so strongly that she grew lightheaded. Reia’s hair, braided and coiled in a fancy style, caught Kiata’s attention first. A closer look revealed an unnatural stillness that clawed at Kiata’s heart. She held her breath until she saw her sister’s chest rise and fall in the slow manner of a drug-induced sleep.
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