I believe you, Aaron, the Virtue responded, though you’ll forgive me if I wish I didn’t.
Aaron grunted. “Nothing to forgive, firefly. I can’t blame you for wanting to believe the best—we all do, after all. The difference is that you’re not fool enough to convince yourself of it just because it’s what you want.”
I don’t know if that’s a good thing. They say that ignorance is bliss.
Aaron snorted. “Ignorance will get a man dead quicker than a sword to the gut, firefly. Well, as quickly anyway. Not knowing its coming doesn’t stop the blade from finding its mark.”
As you say. Still. The meeting?
“Fine,” Aaron sighed, “though I think I know well enough what they’ll say. Anyway, I don’t exactly love the idea of having to watch the damned castle guards drop to their knees when I pass like somebody struck them dumb with a mace—and don’t think I haven’t been tempted to.”
But you’re a hero, Aaron, she said, her voice heavy with amusement, the man-god who managed to hold off an army of thousands with no more than one hundred men. I’m fairly sure, if we looked close enough, we’d find some shrines dedicated to you in the city.
“Go fuck yourself, lightning bug.” He cast one final look over the walls of the city before turning and reluctantly heading into the castle.
He came to the end of the hallway on which his and Adina’s room was located and, sure enough, the two guards there dropped to one knee. They brought their fists to their chests in salute, lowered their heads as if he was a god with light shining out of his ass and they feared being blinded. “Oh, get up, damn you, before I kick you over.”
The two guards rose and grinned at each other as if it were a privilege to be threatened by him. The damned fools. Aaron sighed and walked on, making his way to the queen’s audience chamber and weathering the worshipful stares of the serving men and women he passed in the castle’s hallways. If these meetings keep up like they are, he thought, I’m going to just start sleeping in the audience chamber. If not to save myself a trip, at least to save one of these fools’ lives, as I’m growing low on patience.
The audience chamber? Co asked as if seriously considering, not a terrible idea, I suppose. Though, I wonder if Adina would mind the cold bed. Still, I suppose that there are plenty of men within the castle who would be more than happy—
Aaron frowned. “Leave it, firefly.”
In a few minutes, he was at the queen’s audience chamber, and he nodded to the guards. As the two men went about opening the doors, Aaron took a slow, deep breath and tried to gather what little patience he had left. He had a feeling he would need it.
When the doors were open, Aaron stepped past the two guards and into the queen’s audience chamber. The same people who had been gathered at all of the meetings of late were waiting for him. Queen Isabelle sat on her throne, nodding her head to him as he entered. At the left table sat Adina, flanked by Leomin and Gryle, the chamberlain, holding his hands clasped tightly on the table’s surface as if afraid to move lest he break something with his newfound strength. From what Aaron had heard, the man had reason enough to be cautious—it seemed that every castle servant or guard he spoke to had some story about the chamberlain breaking some priceless chair or vase.
Captain Festa also sat at the table. The captain was dressed in an assortment of thick shirts and coats so that he looked like a homeless man who was doing his best not to freeze. Despite this, Aaron noted the man’s red nose and constant sniffling. Captain Brandon Gant sat at the end of the table, his back straight, and he winked as Aaron came inside.
On the other side of the room sat General Yallek, the commander of the forces from Avarest and representative of the city’s ruling council. The general wore his military uniform, the picture of a commanding officer. He nodded once to Aaron as the sellsword entered. Sitting beside Yallek was Hale, one of the two most powerful crime bosses in the Downs. The big man was reclined in his chair, his feet propped up on the table as if he wasn’t in a castle but some tavern or brothel. He waved the thick, meaty fingers of one hand at Aaron in an almost dainty gesture, and Aaron nodded back.
Beside Hale sat Grinner, the older man rolling his eyes as if disappointed in Aaron’s lateness. The thickly muscled bodyguard who was his constant shadow and, if the past was any indication, quite a bit more than that, stood behind the crime lord. His thick muscular arms folded around his chest as he surveyed each person in the room, a challenge in his eyes.
Gods help us, Aaron thought as he made his way toward an empty space by his Adina and the others, it’s a wonder we haven’t killed each other already. “Sorry for being late,” he said as he took his seat.
“It’s no problem, lad,” Hale said, “no doubt you were out doing something heroic and didn’t have time to stop in and see us little folk.” He laughed, a loud, full belly laugh that was not reciprocated by anyone in the room. “Tell me, boy, are we goin’ to be hearin’ some new legend when we leave here?”
“Gods forbid,” Aaron muttered.
“I think maybe it is a problem,” Grinner said, the older man running a finger over his eyebrows. “It does not speak well of you, Aaron Envelar, that you cannot even show up on time for a meeting. It isn’t as if you did not know about it in advance.”
Oh, I knew alright, Aaron thought, I’ve been dreading it for a week. He opened his mouth to speak, but Isabelle beat him to it. “I’m sure that General Envelar has perfectly good reasons for his tardiness, and I do not believe it is productive to waste our time discussing them now.”
“Of course you’re right, Your Highness,” Grinner said, bowing his head to the queen, “as you say, there are more important things to discuss.”
Hale bellowed laughter at the other crime lord’s obvious attempts at winning the queen’s favor. Grinner’s face turned a deep shade of red; Aaron expected him to order his bodyguard to attack the other crime lord, and was shocked when the older man only sat silently.
Well, Aaron thought, if we can’t all be friends, perhaps we can keep ourselves from killing each other. At least for a little while.
“Yes…well,” the queen went on, “I have gathered you all here to discuss what our plans for defense will be, going forward.”
“Defense?” General Yallek asked in his soft voice. “Forgive me, Queen, but in order to mount a defense, there must first be an attack, and I see no indication that one is imminent. Belgarin’s armies have retreated, and for a month’s time we have received nothing but silence from Baresh. It is my belief—as well as that of the Ruling Council—that the royal prince has decided to give up his plans of conquest and be satisfied with those kingdoms he has already taken.”
Sure, Aaron thought, and maybe all the tigers in the world have decided to give up meat. Why not? And even if Belgarin had given up his dreams of conquest—a very unlikely possibility in Aaron’s mind—then they still had Boyce Kevlane to worry about. The ancient wizard had failed to sabotage Perennia’s defense, but Aaron drew little comfort from that. The man was out there, somewhere, and wherever he was, Aaron had no doubt that his mind was bent on the city’s destruction.
Still, the majority of those gathered here did not know about Boyce Kevlane or his machinations, and Aaron did not think it wise to tell them. The alliance—such as it was—was tenuous enough without trying to convince them that a man they believed to be nothing more than a character in a children’s tale wasn’t just real, but a threat even worse than Belgarin’s army. So he only sat in silence, giving them all a chance to speak.
“We need not wonder at all about what Belgarin is planning,” Captain Gant said, rubbing his gray, stubbly beard in a nervous gesture Aaron had come to know well, “as we have sent spies to Baresh. In a few months’ time…”
“In a few months’ time, I’ll be fatter than I already am on castle food, and grown soft from silk clothes and soft beds. Sorry, Silent,” he said, shaking his head, “but a few months is too long when we might not get any answer at
all. For all we know, the men that were sent might be shacked up in some brothel, drinking their fill and sticking their wicks in anything they can afford. Sure, it was one thing when Belgarin was trying to take over the entire kingdom, but the bastard has either turned coward or decided that a man’s ass can only sit on so many thrones at once. Whatever the reason, he’s tucked tail and ran, and that’s fine as far as I’m concerned. Meanwhile, I’ve got men and women back in the Downs that rely on me, and if I stay gone much longer it’ll all go to shit.” He snorted. “Probably already has.”
Grinner rolled his eyes, running a hand through his white ponytail. “Hale’s assessment is crass, and though I despise the thought of agreeing with anything he might say, I must admit that he is right. Although I have most enjoyed my stay and am thankful for the gracious hospitality that has been extended to me and my men,” he said, pausing to bow his head low to the queen, “I must confess that while I am here there are certain…interests of mine in Avarest that are being neglected.”
Hale bellowed a laugh. “Interests, is it?” He snorted. “You ask me, the only interest you got is in that thick muscled fella behind you there and how tight his trousers are. That and maybe tryin’ to get yourself your own throne to sit on. I’d watch this one, Highness. You ain’t careful, he’ll plop right down in your lap.”
Grinner’s face turned a deep crimson. “How dare you? I have only the best interests of everyone involved in the fore front of my mind. Not that an ignorant buffoon like you would understand.”
“Buffoon, is it?” Hale said, and then they were arguing in earnest, the two most powerful men of the Downs shouting back and forth like children fighting over a favorite toy.
Aaron rubbed at his aching temples. He glanced at Adina and saw his own worries reflected in her troubled gaze. “Gentlemen, please,” Isabelle said in a tone of exasperation, and both crime lords quieted as they turned to face the queen. “I do not doubt either of your valor and courage, for you both showed up and helped to save us in our time of need.” She glanced at General Yallek, the representative of Avarest. “Surely though,” she said, “you must understand that the danger is still very real. My brother is not known for mercy or half-measures. His army will march again, and we will need to present a unified front when it does, or we will all be destroyed. General Yallek, is there not something I can do to convince you to stay?”
The general shook his head slowly. “Forgive me, my queen, but there is not. In the end, the army’s disposition is not my decision to make but the Council’s, and I received word from them only yesterday. I am to remain in Perennia for one month’s time and, if Belgarin still does not rouse his army to battle, I am to return to the city.”
“A month is it?” Hale asked, rubbing a meaty hand over his chin. “Aye, that’ll do me fine. The lads’ll survive another month without me. Besides,” he said grinning, “there might just be one or two whores in this city I haven’t seen to yet, and I wouldn’t want ‘em feeling left out. One more month then me and the boys will head back ourselves.” With that, he grabbed a wine glass from the table and downed it in one long gulp.
Grinner glanced at the big man with disgust then turned back to the queen. “I am sorry, Your Majesty, but my men and I will also be leaving at the end of a month’s time.”
Isabelle’s expression was troubled, but she said nothing, looking to Adina as if for help. The princess swallowed hard. “Gentlemen, my sister was not wrong when she spoke of my brother. He has little mercy in him and even less patience. He will not give up on his dream of ruling Telrear so easily. Please, I beg you, listen to reason. If he comes upon our armies separately, we will be butchered like those he has conquered before us. Only together can we have some hope of victory.”
“Victory, is it?” Hale said. “Lass, you’re a pretty enough thing, I’ll grant you, but victory to me is countin’ my coins and drinkin’ ale. That,” he said, winking at her, “and maybe havin’ a roll with a pretty thing like yourself, that is. And anyhow, if you want troops so bad, why not go to your own kingdom, find ‘em there?”
Adina ran a hand through her long hair. “Is there not some way I can talk you out of this? General,” she said, turning to Yallek, “you strike me as a wise man. Surely you must understand the danger Belgarin and his army pose to Avarest.”
The general nodded slowly, a regretful expression on his face. “I do, Princess, but as I said, the choice is not mine to make. Without some plan in place, without some surety that Belgarin still intends to continue his campaign, I must bow to the will of the council.”
The room lapsed into a troubled silence then, each of them thinking their own dark thoughts. Aaron’s were darker than most, for he knew well what they faced. Not just Belgarin’s army, one that outnumbered their own—even including the troops from Avarest. There was also something worse, an ancient evil that had bent the whole of its will toward destroying the world of man. Had they seen what he’d seen, had they only understood what Boyce Kevlane was capable of, then this conversation wouldn’t be necessary. And it wasn’t just the man himself—a man who could shake off being thrown from a castle balcony in a matter of weeks—that worried him.
For a month, they’d had peace. No war, no assassinations, yet that too was worrying, for the creature would never give up its quest for destruction and death. If they didn’t see it, it was only because it was hidden away preparing some new evil . What’s more, Aaron felt something building, had felt it for weeks now. He’d woken up in the morning on more than one occasion in a cold sweat from dreams he could barely remember. Always, in the dreams, he was someone different. Upon waking, all that was left of the dreams were broken fragments, but he remembered that he had been being chased. By whom or by what he didn’t know, but that feeling of being pursued never entirely left him even in his waking hours. Something was wrong, something was coming, and he knew it with a certainty that he could not explain or even understand.
He knew it in the same way that some men were said to be able to smell a storm before it arrived, to know of it even when the sky was clear and the sun was shining. While their allies argued and fought, Boyce Kevlane was hidden away somewhere, plotting and preparing some new threat…but there was no way to convince them of this. They’d have only laughed at him, if he’d tried. You couldn’t tell a man about the things he’d seen the ancient wizard do and expect him to believe you. You would have to show him.
Aaron’s eyes widened in realization. That’s it, he thought, we have to show them that the threat is real.
Aaron, Co said, her voice nervous, I think I see the direction of your thoughts, and can I just say that I think it is a horrible idea.
Maybe it is, firefly, he thought back, but it’s also the only one. “Two months,” he said aloud, surprised to find that he’d risen out of his chair and was now standing, meeting the eyes of those gathered.
All eyes in the audience chamber turned to look at him, and he saw a myriad of expressions in them. Confusion, mostly, but in Adina and Leomin’s face he saw not confusion but concern. “What’s that, General Envelar?” the queen asked.
Aaron met Adina’s eyes for a moment, saw that she was shaking her head slowly at him, then turned to the other side of the room where General Yallek, Hale, and Grinner watched him expectantly. “Give us two months. You’ll have your proof by then—proof enough for the council. Who knows, maybe even proof enough that you two’ll agree on it,” he said, glancing at the two crime bosses.
Hale grunted, “May as well hope that we all grow wings, Silent; then we can fly up in the sky, spend our days drinking ale, reclining on clouds with naked goddesses sitting on our laps.”
“Crude as always, but I agree,” Grinner said. “And anyway, two months changes nothing, Silent. The chances of your spies returning with any information worth having—returning at all for that matter—are slim to none, and every minute I’m away, my interests are put at unnecessary risk.”
Hale nodded slowly, a regretful
look on his face. “I’m afraid I’ve got to agree with the old bastard, Silent. Sayin’ two months doesn’t change anything—we’re still in the same situation we were in before.”
“But it does,” Aaron said, glancing at Adina once more. “In two months’ time, you’ll have your proof of the danger. I can guarantee it.”
“Guarantees now, is it?” Hale asked. The heavily muscled crime lord picked at his teeth for a minute and sighed. “Had a whore once guarantee me she was clean and, being drunk, I was ready enough to take her word on it. Didn’t stop a rash from croppin’ up on my fruits a week later though. Boils too, so far as that goes.” He grunted. “You wouldn’t believe what the healers charge to fix such a thing, and I don’t mind tellin’ you it wasn’t a pleasant experience.”
Grinner frowned at the man, sliding his chair further down the table before turning back to Aaron. “Guarantees are only words, with no more weight than wind. They are easy enough to say, Aaron Envelar, but saying a thing does not make it true and empty promises won’t have your spies back in time with proof that Belgarin’s still up to his mischief.”
“No,” Aaron agreed, “they won’t. But I guarantee it just the same.”
Grinner sighed. “And how, I wonder, might you guarantee such a thing?”
“Aaron,” Adina said, “don’t. There’s got to be another way.”
“You know there’s not,” he said, meeting her eyes. Then he turned back to the others, “I’ll go to Baresh myself. I’ll find the proof you all need and come back with it in two months’ time—you have my word.”
Grinner frowned, considering. “The word of Aaron Envelar. Well, that just might change things. Two months, you say?”
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