Erosan's Tears

by Jason Scott Gleason

  Instead, he closed his eyes, trying to block out what had happened. He thought of his conversation with Perinor, the anger and hate in his eyes.

  “Perinor did this,” he told Gray. Gray didn’t say anything. “He hasn’t forgiven me for Mardal’s death, and he blames me for Trevan. He didn’t care what I had to say. He was going to maim me for life.”

  Raelyn swallowed, and thought of Callais. “He paid Callais to make me fall in love with her,” he told Gray. “She seduced me so that I would break my oath of office. Perinor’s the one that turned me over to Corlwyn. And then he rescued me from poverty, put me in his debt. He needed me to be willing to do anything for him. All this time I thought that if I could only make enough money, I’d be able to take Callais away from all of this. And all this time she’s hated me. She wouldn’t have even seen me if Perinor hadn’t been paying her.”

  Raelyn opened his eyes again. Gray was looking down at him, his face inscrutable. “You want to say something,” Raelyn said.

  “You would have fallen in love with her anyway,” he said. “I think you’ve been in love with her since you first came home on campaign.”

  Raelyn thought about that for a moment. “You’re right, but it doesn’t make me feel any better,” he said. “You warned me not to trust him, not to see her. Did you know?”

  “No, I didn’t know. But I’ve had my suspicions. I haven’t trusted her since you lost your position with the city. And I’ve never trusted him.”

  Raelyn thought back on all the conversations they had had about Perinor. “You’ve been telling me to be careful for years. But I never listened.”

  Gray smiled sympathetically. “You have amazing intuition, Rae, but you’re completely blind when it comes to the people who are close to you. Especially with those two, Callais and Perinor. They’re the two people you’ve loved more than any others, for all the time I’ve known you.”

  Raelyn nodded. “You’re right. You could have told me anything about them. I wouldn’t have listened.” There was a note of contempt in his voice.

  “You’re loyal,” Gray replied. “There’s no shame in that. You just have to make sure your loyalty isn’t misplaced.”

  Raelyn looked at Gray, wondering if there was a hidden warning in that statement, but Gray didn’t elaborate. Raelyn decided not to dig.

  “So now I’ve made an enemy of Perinor,” Raelyn said. “He told me he’s planning on taking Callais as a consort, giving her the kind of life I couldn’t give her. He’s going to do it just to punish me, because he knows it’ll hurt me.” He looked down at his shoulder. “I’m already maimed. I don’t think I’ll ever use this arm again. But he wants to break my heart, too. He wants me crippled in every sense of the word.”

  “Don’t give him the satisfaction,” Gray said. “Don’t give it to either of them. Karduk is dead. Rennard will be considerably weaker. He may have lost his assassin tonight. Once we get proof that he’s behind the killings, we can present it to the other lords. Of course,” he added, “it might help if we knew who the assassin actually was.”

  “What about Rennard’s seneschal?” Raelyn asked. “I hear he has a Slovani running his household now, but he’s the only seneschal that doesn’t come to any of these meetings.”

  Gray shook his head. “It’s not him, I’m sure of it. He was thrown from a horse about ten years ago. His hip was broken. You don’t see him because it’s too hard for him to walk.”

  Raelyn felt deflated. “Well, it was a thought.” He was frustrated. You should be able to figure this out, he thought to himself. A part of you already has figured it out, and the rest of you has figured out part of it. Names, details, clues began slipping through his mind. The dream, the hallucination—some part of himself was trying to explain it to him.

  Rennard, Fethan, and Trevan. Slovani blade. War between Karduk and Gray. The First seizing the docks. Perinor and Elotarn. Astal’s shipping business. Pieces started turning in his mind, the picture changing as they were rearranged. He looked up at Gray. Or was it Astal? All of a sudden, something came back to him—you’re completely blind when it comes to the people who are close to you. More pieces started to shift.

  “Gray—I mean, Astal—I want to ask you something.”

  Gray looked around, to see if anyone had overheard them, but nobody was close by. “What is it, Rae?”

  “What has Rennard gained from all of this?” Things were starting to click into place.

  Gray thought a moment. “Nothing, I suppose. In fact, with the death of Karduk I’d say he’s lost a considerable amount of influence. It may take him a while to recover from that.”

  “That’s not all he’s lost,” Raelyn said. “The Wharfs have been seized. A lot of that land was his.” He cast a skeptical eye at Gray. “How much will that affect Astal’s business?”

  Gray looked confused. It was the first time in the past few days when Raelyn felt like he was ahead of his old friend.

  “Well, that will cut into profits, but it also eliminates some of the competition.”

  “Like the competition that was eliminated when Karduk was killed, right?” Raelyn asked. The picture was emerging faster now.

  “Sure, Rae,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “I’m not sure where you’re going with this.”

  “When something like this happens, you look to who profits,” Raelyn responded. “We’ve been looking at Rennard and Karduk.” That’s where you wanted me to look, isn’t it?

  “But they’re the losers here. Is that where you’re going with this?” Gray looked skeptical.

  “Someone profits from all of this. Someone whose rivals are seriously weakened.”

  “I’m not sure I’m following you, slialne,” Gray said warily. Raelyn continued.

  “You told me the other day—or maybe it was only last night—that each of the Houses of Mitigol have a specialization. Kind of like guilds. Right?”

  “Sure,” he replied.

  “If I want to hire a seneschal, I go to House Restol. If I want to hire a merchant, I go to the house Crian.” He paused for a moment, trying to make the right connection. It was right there, ready to be put into place. “But it’s not quite that simple, is it Astal? Or Gray?”

  Gray didn’t reply. His face was expressionless, but Raelyn could see his mind working rapidly.

  “Astal’s only an aspect of Gray. You’ve been hiding in plain sight all this time, and nobody has known it.” Again, Gray didn’t reply. “And you could have any number of aspects, couldn’t you?”

  “It wasn’t me, Rae,” he said, his tone low, dangerous.

  “You told me not to trust anyone. You told me that I’m blind when it comes to my friends. And you’re right. When I feel like I owe someone a debt, it’s hard for me to think anything bad of them.” The picture was coming into focus. There were only a couple key pieces left to put into place, but they were right there, within his grasp.

  “Don’t do this, Rae,” Gray said quietly. “I’m not the man you’re looking for.”

  Raelyn ignored him. “If I wanted to hire an assassin, what house would I go to?” he asked.

  “It’s not that simple, slialne,” Gray replied.

  “What house, Gray? Where would I go?”

  “Mitigoli assassins are never who you’d think,” Gray replied.

  “Right, I got that,” Raelyn countered. “They hide in plain sight. You know who they are but never suspect them, because they’ve spent years training for the role, learning how to be inconspicuous, learning how to blend in. They’ve had masters of the art teaching them the secrets of being a perfect killer—masters who owe their allegiance to one of the houses of Mitigol.” He took a deep breath, looked hard at his friend. “What house trains assassins, Gray?”

  Gray closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them. His eyes were expressionless.

  “There are a few,” he said, “but they make it a point not to be the only house. Assassination is distasteful even to the Slovani.”

/>   “Tell me.” Raelyn stared hard at his old friend. “Tell me all of them.”

  Gray looked at Raelyn for a moment, and then spoke. “Ersat, Destrol, Katest, Brothin—and Crian.”

  Raelyn looked at Gray. The final piece fell into place.

  “I know who the assassin is, Gray, and I know who’s behind it all. And you’re right—it’s the last person I would have suspected.”

  Gray blinked. He realized that Raelyn wasn’t talking about him.

  “Get Teldra here, now.” Raelyn struggled to sit up. His shoulder was in agony, and when he sat up he felt nauseous. He realized that his skin was cold and clammy.

  “Raelyn, I don’t think—“

  “I need Teldra,” Raelyn snapped, gritting his teeth through the pain. The adrenaline had long since worn off, and moving set his shoulder on fire again.

  Gray stood up and walked off quickly. Raelyn felt his head swimming, and he closed his eyes, trying to get a handle on himself. Details were flashing through his mind. How could I have been so blind! he asked himself. But he knew the answer.

  “Raelyn!” Teldra snapped. “Lay down this instant! You’re not to be up for anything!”

  Raelyn opened his eyes and smiled. She was tired, and her face was creased with concern.

  “How is she?” he asked. The room was rocking back and forth. He was light headed.

  “She may not make it,” Teldra said, “and you might not either if you don’t lay down and rest. I’ll be with you soon. We have to change that bandage.”

  Raelyn looked down at his shoulder. Blood had seeped through the dressing. He looked back up at Teldra.

  “I have to go,” he said.

  “Like hell you do!” she exclaimed, her eyes wide with surprise.

  “I need something for the pain, and something to keep me going. Astal and I—“

  “You need to lay down and get some rest! As soon as I’m done with your friend, I have to do what I can to make sure you don’t die too. You’re going to lose that arm,” she said matter of factly.

  “It can wait a few hours,” Raelyn said. “But I’m not going to be able to do it without something. I need to take this pain away, in case I need to fight.”

  Teldra laughed in disbelief. “Fight? Erosan’s tears, Raelyn, you can’t even stand! You’re half dead! Anything I give you is more likely to kill you than help you!”

  Raelyn shook his head and focused, kicking his legs over the edge of the litter. It hurt, but he stood, only swaying a little. He drew his sword in a quick, fluid movement, and held it up in a salute. He was sweating with the effort.

  “You’re going to kill yourself, Raelyn.” The anger was fading from her voice, replaced with sorrow.

  “Maybe,” he admitted. “But I know who the killer is. If I don’t put a stop to this, it’ll mean a lot more lives than just mine.”

  “Send Astal,” she said, unwilling to yield.

  “I can’t,” he said. Gray was looking at him in wonder. He had seen a few of Raelyn’s epiphanies before. “I don’t think he’ll listen to anyone but me. Besides, I’m taking Astal to watch my back.”

  “If you do this, it won’t matter that he’s watching your back,” she told him. The corners of her mouth were turned down, tight. “You’re going to die, Raelyn.”

  Raelyn forgot himself for a moment and tried to shrug. Pain lanced through him again, and he gasped, swooning. Suddenly, Astal was there beside him, helping to hold him up.

  “I have to do this, Teldra,” he said. “This city will fall apart if I don’t stop the killing, and I’m the only one who has a shot at it. I can’t go to Perinor now, and none of the other lords will listen to me. I’m out of people I can count on to take care of this for me.”

  Teldra looked at him a long moment, then said to Astal, “Sit him down on that bench.” She turned and walked away.

  When Raelyn was sitting, and Teldra was long out of earshot, Gray said, “Do you mind telling me what’s going on?”

  “We have to go to the Rolin estate,” he said. “We have to warn the lord, before it’s too late. We have to try to undo some of the damage that’s been done.”

  “You’ll never get out of King’s Square,” Gray said. “You were out of it when we got here, but the First has the square cordoned off. They’ve cut off all travel through the Garden District during the unrest. A dozen soldiers of the First are stationed at Lord Elotarn’s front gate, and who knows how many others are on the grounds of the estate. I think Lord Elotarn’s afraid of the mob coming to the Garden District and taking out their frustrations on him.”

  Raelyn fumbled in his pouch with his good hand, and after a moment pulled out a piece of parchment, handing it to Gray. Gray opened it and read it. It was the letter from Lord Elotarn granting him all assistance.

  “This should get you through,” he said, putting it back into Raelyn’s pouch for him.

  Raelyn nodded. “I didn’t realize how much I’d need this at the time.” He closed his eyes for a moment as a wave of pain and nausea rolled through him. He opened them again when it had passed.

  Gray looked at him curiously. “So you need me to go talk to Lord Elotarn with you, and to protect you in case things get bad?”

  “Yeah,” Raelyn replied. “But also to clear your name. Gray has to make an appearance, to show that he’s not the killer after all. And Gray might be the only person who can get me out of this if it starts to fall apart. Do you know Lord Elotarn’s estate? Like you know the Gatehouse?”

  Gray nodded. “Not as well, but I have a pretty good idea of the layout. I’ve been inside a couple of times. I can get in, but I don’t think I’ll be able to get both of us in. You’re in too rough of shape to go the way I need to go.”

  “I’m going in the front door, but we can’t tip the killer off.” He paused, then smiled at Gray. “Of course, you’re timing’s going to have to be a bit better this time.”

  Gray chuckled, and they heard Teldra’s footsteps approaching. She was carrying bandages and bottles in a sailcloth shoulder bag.

  “You’re a damned fool, Raelyn,” she said, setting the bag down. “If you don’t lay down and get some rest, you’re going to kill yourself.”

  “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Raelyn promised. “Once I’m back, you can lash me to the bed for a week if you want to. But I have to do this, Teldra.”

  She sighed wearily. “Okay,” she said, finally relenting. “Let me see that shoulder.” She removed the batting that Jinna had used to staunch the bleeding. Raelyn wanted to scream in pain.

  “This is bad, Raelyn.” Teldra was looking closely at the shoulder. “It’s worse than I thought. Even if you make it, your arm won’t. I’ll have to take it off so the shoulder can heal.” She looked up at him, her eyes silently pleading with him to reconsider.

  “I know,” he replied. “I’m just glad it’s not my sword arm.”

  She handed him a small vial with a dark brown liquid. “Pour this in your mouth and hold it under your tongue as long as you can,” she said. “It’s okay if you swallow it, but it’s faster this way.”

  “What is it?” he asked, looking at its contents skeptically.

  “It’s a tincture of Erosan’s holy flower. It takes away pain.”

  He sniffed it experimentally, and made a face. “It doesn’t smell like flower juice,” he said, then poured it into his mouth. It tasted terrible.

  Teldra harrumphed, then started gingerly spreading an unguent on his wound. It stung at first, but after a few moments his shoulder tingled, and it hurt a lot less. Raelyn wanted to say something, but he was still holding the juice in his mouth. She spread more of the unguent in the hole in his shoulder, then started loosely packing it with gauze.

  “I’m going to bandage your arm down,” she told him. “You can’t move it at all. And I don’t want you doing anything dumb, like cutting through the bandages to free your arm, just so you can get yourself poked with someone else’s sword. Got it?” Raelyn mumbled with
his mouth closed. “Just nod if you understand.” Raelyn nodded.

  She began bandaging the shoulder, and then gingerly folded his arm against his chest. She was being uncharacteristically gentle with him, and she kept looking up at him imploringly. She really means it, he thought. I’m going to die if I push myself. Problem is, I don’t see a choice. There’s a good chance I’ll have to fight today, but if I don’t put an end to this, nobody will.

  Raelyn was beginning to feel fuzzy headed and sort of sleepy. He swallowed the rest of the liquid and opened his mouth. “I think the lack of sleep is catching up to me,” he said, blinking his eyes rapidly.

  “It’s the tincture, Raelyn,” she said with a smile. “I could tell you to lay down and sleep now and you probably wouldn’t be able to help yourself.” Raelyn should have been upset, but he was having trouble feeling anything. Somehow, it was okay. He realized that his shoulder didn’t hurt nearly as bad; there was a far off sensation of pressure and a dull tingle, but most of the pain had gone away.

  “I feel pretty good,” he said.

  “Good,” she said, then handed him a cup of white fluid. “Drink this. One quick gulp. This will kick in after about twenty minutes, then keep you going for an hour or so, but not much longer. You had better get done what you need to get done quickly, because after that, you’re going to crash. If the strain doesn’t kill you.”

  Raelyn smiled. “I’ll try not to die,” he said, then swallowed the liquid. “Blech!” he said, raking his tongue across his teeth. “That’s the most bitter thing I’ve ever tasted!”

  “I didn’t say it would taste good,” Teldra said. “But it will wake you up.”

  Raelyn watched as Teldra packed up her supplies,. The fuzzy feeling was still there, and the pain was still dull, like it was far away. He breathed in deeply and carefully stood, testing his feet. Then he realized he was still naked.

  “I think I might need clothes,” he said. Teldra smiled.

  “It’s nothing I haven’t seen before,” she said, glancing down at him. Raelyn felt like he should be embarrassed, but he didn’t mind. He covered himself up with his hand.