Ascendant

by Florian Armas

  “You can’t come in now,” the bearded man sitting at the desk in the antechamber said. “The Second Secretary left word he was not to be disturbed.”

  “Tell him that we have an emergency related to the Duke. I am Tudor.”

  “I know who you are.”

  Codrin looked at him for a few moments, then at the door. He stepped forward and opened the door before the man get stand up from his chair.

  Jaun glared angrily at him and snapped, “Wait outside.” Codrin ignored his order. “I am sorry,” the bearded man cried from behind him.

  Codrin closed the door, before the man could follow him in. “Jaun, Cleyre has been kidnapped. Tell your man not to call the soldiers.” He opened the door again.

  “Volgi, everything is fine,” Jaun said, when the bearded man appeared in the doorway again. “You may go now. Take a seat,” he gestured to Codrin. “What happened?”

  “She was attacked by twenty mercenaries. I was too far away to help her in time, but three men came from nowhere.”

  “What chance could they have?”

  “Three men dressed in black, each carrying two curved swords. What chance did the mercenaries have?”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “You don’t know about the curved swords. They were Assassins. A Triangle of Assassins.”

  “Where is Cleyre?”

  “They took her away. Ask Nicolas to come here. We need to act fast.”

  “And Reymont.”

  “Nicolas first.”

  Jaun pulled a cord hanging on the wall, and Volgi’s reappeared. “Where is the Secretary?”

  “Meeting the embassy from Muniker,” Volgi said.

  “Go and ask Nicolas to come here. Tell him that we have an emergency. Then leave a message in Reymont’s office.”

  “We have a situation,” Jaun said, when Nicolas was seated next to Codrin. “Cleyre has been kidnapped.”

  “Who is this man?” Nicolas asked, pointing at Codrin.

  “Tudor, the Wraith of Tolosa. He saw three ... Assassins taking Cleyre,” Jaun said.

  “Assassins from the order or just...?” Nicolas asked, and Codrin nodded. “Then she is in danger.”

  “They saved her. She was attacked by Bear’s mercenaries.”

  “Do you know where Cleyre is now?”

  “With the Assassins. They went south.”

  “You will come with us,” Nicolas ordered. “I will take fifty soldiers with me.”

  Codrin took his time answering. “I am going south anyway, and I can come with you up to the point where I saw the Assassins. Then I need to go in another direction.”

  “You will go where I need you. Now,” Nicolas said and stood up. “Follow me,” he added when they were in the corridor, and they went to his office, where he gestured toward a chair. Once they were seated, he looked at Codrin. “We are both men of arms. Let’s go into more detail. Take it from the moment you realized what was happening.”

  “Before Bear’s men surrounded Cleyre, her guards went away. They did not run. They looked calm.”

  “How close were you?”

  “Three hundred paces. You don’t need to see a man face to understand...”

  “Even Captain Ferez?”

  “How should I know Captain Ferez? Six men walked away, maybe that tells you something.”

  “Even Ferez... I selected him today to guard Cleyre,” Nicolas was clearly taken aback, but Codrin sensed no obvious guilt in him. “Yesterday, I selected Costa, but we had a strange situation. The captain of Western Gate got sick and I asked Costa to take his place.”

  “Why Costa?” Codrin asked.

  “You should ask questions that give you answers. Don’t go above your station. I told you about Ferez, and that should be enough for you to understand that I have been deceived.”

  Or that you are trying to deceive me. “So what do you think happened?”

  “I bet that the sick captain is not sick at all, but I’m trying to recall why I chose Ferez. There were more captains in the room.”

  “Why don’t you start with Costa’s selection for gate duty?”

  “Do you think Cleyre in danger?” Nicolas ignored his question.

  “The Assassins saved her. Someone from Peyris wanted her dead.”

  “And you think it’s me.”

  “From what I know it is more likely that Reymont wants her dead.”

  Nicolas looked at him, thoughtfully. “You are not a Wraith for nothing. Bear’s place is a long way from here. This was set in motion some time ago.”

  “Perhaps, or maybe they were hired for a different purpose and just happened to be here after the meeting about your army.”

  “What do you know about that?”

  “Wraiths are ghostly things. Do you know anything about the Assassins’ rules?”

  “I believe they have some strange rules.”

  “Rules are important to them, and they are sometimes strange for us. It’s not a given thing that they have saved Cleyre. If they have a Black Warrant in her name, they would save her only to fulfill the warrant themselves.”

  “Why are you telling me this?” Nicolas asked.

  “Because if they have a contract to protect her, some people may be in danger. They will protect her. Are you sure that you still want to find out where she is now?”

  “I will have a hundred soldiers with me.”

  “They will not give a damn for your soldiers. They will not attack them; they will kill you. This business of you choosing Ferez may be already known to them. After all, they knew about the attack.”

  Nicolas rubbed his forehead and, eyes closed, tried to remember, Codrin’s eyes fixed on him, following his every reaction. A twitching finger, a bead of perspiration. The flow of breath. He was trained like an Assassin, and knew how to read a body’s reactions.

  “I know,” Nicolas said, and sighed, relieved. “When I was told that the captain of the Western Gate was sick, Ferez was the closest captain to me and Costa. That’s why I chose him to replace Costa who was to replace the sick man. I will make sure that he is sick for a while.”

  “Do you understand what that means?”

  “Yes,” Nicolas said, “there are some traitors among my closest people; but that won’t be solved today and not by you. Let’s find Cleyre.”

  Chapter 28 – Cleyre

  Cleyre gasped; it was not a vision, just the feeling that something bad was happening. Her grandfather had been sick for some days already. The last two weeks she had been haunted by the attempt on her life, and she still did not fully trust Nicolas, even though he had brought her safely home. What if Codrin was wrong ?Nicolas had come to the inn alone, a sign that Codrin trusted him, but the mercenaries had not tried to kill Codrin; they’d tried to kill her. She stood up abruptly, and hurried out of the room. It was almost midnight and the corridor was empty, so she kept running. Close to the Duke’s suite she slowed down, not wanting to alarm the guards at the door. “Is Grandfather alone?”

  “Meunier, the healer, is with him,” one soldier said.

  With a cursory nod to the guard she opened the door and entered the antechamber. From there, she hurried to the Duke’s bedroom. As the guard had told her, Meunier was there, an empty spoon in his hand. Seeing Cleyre, he moved to hide, with his body, something on the table close to the Duke’s bed.

  Cleyre pushed the frail healer away, and found a small open bottle on the table. She sniffed the bottle, but the scent told her nothing. She had no knowledge about medicine, but she had knowledge about people – the healer was frightened by her reactions. “You’ve poisoned him,” Cleyre whispered and grabbed a bronze statue, ready to smash his head in.

  “I am sorry, Cleyre,” Meunier cried out in terror, and fell into his knees in front of her. “Kill me. I deserve it.”

  “Why have you done this?”

  “They took my daughter and her children and threatened to kill them if I don’t...”

  “Who are ‘they’?”<
br />
  “Reymont. I used small doses of poison on the Duke until today, trying to make it slow. Reymont pushed me to hurry... It’s something to do with the army for Bucur. I am sorry.” He burst into tears, as distraught as he was terrified. Meunier had been the Duke’s healer for more than forty years. “Kill me. I won’t blame you.”

  “Grandfather trusted you, and you... You...” There was a lump in her throat and Cleyre could no longer talk. She went toward the bed, but Duke Stefan was no longer breathing. His face looked rigid and serene at the same time. “Goodbye, Grandfather,” she whispered, closing his eyes, and tears coursed down her face. It took her a while to gather herself. “Stay here,” she snapped at Meunier and, wiping her face with her sleeve, she left the room.

  She knocked at Nicolas’s door, and his page came to open it. “Wake Nicolas,” she said, and seated herself in a chair in front of his desk.

  The page frowned, tried to say something. In the end, he obeyed the order, and a sleepy Nicolas emerged from his bedroom. Cleyre glanced at him, and then nodded toward the page. “Leave us,” Nicolas said. “This is most unusual,” he said, sleepily.

  “Grandfather is dead,” she said and then she could hold back her sobs no longer.

  “I am sorry.” Nicolas went to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. “The Duke was an old man, Cleyre.”

  “He was poisoned.”

  “Who told you that?”

  “Meunier. He poisoned Grandfather on Reymont’s order because of the issue with the army for Bucur. Reymont kidnapped his daughter and her children. Meunier confessed everything to me.”

  “That’s a ... strange tale.”

  “Arrest Reymont.”

  “He would deny it all; and who will believe Meunier? Let’s talk to him first.” Nicolas went to his bedroom and returned in a few minutes fully dressed, and carrying a dagger at his waist.

  They found both Reymont and Meunier in the Duke’s bedroom.

  “The Duke died in his sleep,” Reymont said.

  Cleyre closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. It will solve nothing if I yell ‘assassin’ at Reymont. “Is this true?” She looked at Meunier, murder in her eyes.

  “Yes, milady,” Meunier whispered, avoiding her eyes. “There was nothing I could do. The Duke was an old man.”

  She clenched her hands into fists to stop herself from crying; and to stop herself from attacking Meunier.

  “You are troubled, Cleyre,” Reymont said. Go to your room, I will take care of everything.”

  She was on the point of accusing him of her grandfather’s murder, when Nicolas’s hand gripped her shoulder. “I will accompany you.” Holding her tightly, he escorted her out and they walked in silence into her suite.

  “You don’t believe me,” she said, despondently.

  “What I believe is that even if what you have told me is true, and it may be, Reymont acted faster than we did, and it will now be very difficult to convince anyone of his guilt. Meunier contradicted your story in front of two witnesses.”

  “Leave me.”

  “Cleyre,” he said gently. “We are in a new situation now. You must forget what has happened and think about your future.”

  “Reymont killed his Duke. What future do I have with Albert and Reymont working against me?”

  “It may not be the future you want, but you still have one.”

  “Reymont tried to kill me, too.”

  “Someone hired mercenaries to kill you, but there is no proof that it was Reymont who tried to kill you. Don’t get me wrong, I believe that Reymont did it, but we have no real proof.”

  “You just don’t want to be involved. The new ... situation,” she said, her voice thin.

  “New situations require new approaches.”

  “You are the Spatar of Peyris. Your Duke has just been poisoned. I was abandoned by a captain you chose to a band of mercenaries...”

  “Careful Cleyre, I may be the only friend you have at the court.”

  “Yes, that’s good advice. I was not careful enough to prevent Grandfather being assassinated, but at least I tried to do something. I can’t say that about you. Leave me, Nicolas; in the next few days I will see how much of a friend you really are.”

  “Try to sleep, Cleyre.”

  As was customary, Peyris Council gathered again three days after the Duke’s funeral. Before the assembled councilors, Albert accepted the Duke’s scepter and raised it above his head.

  “From now on, Peyris stands on my shoulders,” Albert spoke the ancient words, and from that moment, he became the new Duke of Peyris. “We mourned Father, but now we have to work. Cleyre, you are no longer part of this council. My sister, Cecile, will take your place. I shall soon find you a good husband. In fact, I already have someone in mind. You need to settle down. There have been many complaints about your behavior at the court and in the council.”Albert had no living children, and only two granddaughters. By the succession rules, Cleyre’s elder brother was the next in line to the dukedom and a member of the council but, thinking that Cleyre might still have some influence, Reymont had convinced Albert to appoint Cecile.

  “Cleyre has disgraced our court with her shameless behavior,” Cecile said. “So many men in her bed...”

  “At least I am not married.” She looked at Cecile who, even at fifty, had a lot of lovers that she paid generously. No one could say if her three children belonged to her husband, who lived more or less separated from her.

  “And you wanted to be gentle with this viper,” Cecile growled at Albert. “Don’t be weak, Albert; do your duty.”

  “I don’t think that Albert needs your advice to perform his duties,” Cleyre said, her voice calm and almost gentle. “He is our Duke now, and it’s not good to call him weak in front of so many people. You should apologize, Cecile.”

  “I will never apologize to a bitch like you, and I meant every word I said about you.”

  “You should apologize to Albert.” Cleyre fought hard to kill the smile on her lips; Cecile was even more stupid than her brother.

  The councilors silently watched the exchange, and while most of them were neutral regarding Cleyre, they felt that they were on her side this time, though they did not dare to help her. Nicolas shook his head subtly, trying to make Cleyre step back.

  “Cleyre is right,” Albert said, feeling the drunkenness of power seeping into him. “Cecile, you should not call your Duke weak.”

  “This is a private matter, and should be resolved later,” Reymont interjected. “My dear,” he said to Cleyre in a fatherly voice, “you should go now, and let us work on the more important problems we have now.”

  “What was done in public has to be undone in public, ”Cleyre said, “and the Secretary should be the first one to realize this. We can’t let something like this stain the reputation of the Duke of Peyris.”

  “Cleyre is right,” Albert said, raising his voice a notch. “Sister?”

  “I apologize,” Cecile hissed, looking daggers at Cleyre.

  “I shall leave now,” Cleyre said. “Let’s hope that Reymont handles Peyris better than he handled the Duke’s honor.”

  “With your approval, Duke, let’s start the council.” Reymont bowed peremptorily to Albert, who nodded. “We have a pressing issue regarding the army we sent to help the Candidate King. The Circle asked for one thousand five hundred soldiers. Last week, we sent only five hundred.”

  “I received a courier, today,” Nicolas said. “It seems that Bucur’s army is going to Poenari and not to Deva.”

  “Why should that matter?” Reymont asked.

  “I don’t know what you expect from your ambassadors, Reymont, but I wouldn’t expect that if you send one to Leyona, he would go to Muniker. Why were we not informed?”

  “Perhaps there was not enough time, and they will inform us later.”

  “Is the Duchy of Peyris so unimportant?” Nicolas looked at Albert as he asked the question.

  “Of course we are important
, but the army we’ve sent doesn’t match our importance,” Reymont said, his hand gripping the edge of the table. His voice remained calm, but his irritation was beginning to get the better of him.

  “You mean that they snubbed us?” Nicolas asked, his voice gentle.

  “Of course not. We should...”

  “We have a new Duke,” Nicolas cut in, “and if we accept being treated like this, he will look weak. And if he looks weak now, at the beginning of his reign, they will never take us seriously. My Duke,” he said to Albert, “we should clarify their miscommunication before committing more soldiers. Let’s send an embassy to ask for answers.”

  “That would take time,” Reymont said coldly. “My Duke,” he said, mockingly copying Nicolas, “let’s do both, send an embassy and the army.”

  “They will just laugh at our weakness,” Nicolas said, amused, leaning his head back as if he was about to laugh. Through his lowered lids he stared intently at Albert.

  “Nicolas is right. I can’t afford to look weak. Send an embassy to Bucur,” Albert said, avoiding Reymont’s eyes. The Secretary pursed his lips and nodded.

  From the council, Nicolas went directly to Cleyre’s suite, and found her sitting with Jerome, a fifty-year-old friend of Albert.

  “It seems that Jerome is my new fiancé,” Cleyre said in answer Nicolas’s mute question.

  “Albert agreed that we should marry in a week, so you are more than my fiancée,” Jaun said, “and from now on, you should no longer receive other men when you are alone.”

  “You are quite a cautious man, Jaun. Intelligent men are always cautious, but I hope that you will not think so low of me, the Spatar of Peyris. Cleyre has just lost her grandfather to whom she was very attached. She is also like a daughter to me.”

  “Of course not. Please excuse me.”

  “I will not stay long.” Nicolas stared at him and, frowning, Jerome turned and left the room.

  “Reymont did not lose any time,” Cleyre sighed.

  “You’ve made powerful enemies. I don’t see the need for that show with Cecile in the council.”

  “I did not make any new enemy, and Albert took the bait.”