Evil Within

by Richard S. Tuttle

  "We don't know that only I can kill him," countered Jared. "That is what Audric said, but he could be wrong. He didn't know how to draw the Talent properly."

  "And Orro did know how to draw it," retorted Prince Antion, "yet he also agrees that you must be the one to kill King Zinan. If you have any doubts at all, we will ask Orro tomorrow. Agreed?"

  "Agreed," Jared nodded anxiously.

  Chapter 56 - Getting Along

  Getting Along

  Winona strode through the halls of the palace in Harangar and into the office of Balrec. Balrec looked up as the warrior entered and smiled warmly.

  "I trust that you are well rested and enjoying the time home with your family?" asked Balrec.

  "My parents are well," replied Winona, "and my brother is close to the age of entering service to Orro. I have been taking this rare chance in Harangar to explain a few things to him. It will prepare him for the future."

  "Then you expect him to follow in your footsteps and become a scout?" asked Balrec.

  "Of course," answered Winona. "Members of my family have been scouts for generations. There is no finer way to serve Orro."

  "If he is half as good as you," smiled Balrec, "he will be among the best of scouts."

  "Flattery means nothing to a scout," Winona replied as her eyes narrowed with suspicion. "You did not call me into your office to praise my skills. What do you require of me?"

  Balrec frowned as he stared at the female scout. Winona was the finest scout he had ever seen, but her personal suspicions of everyone made it hard for him to get to know her. He was concerned about the mission she was about to embark upon.

  "My words were not mere flattery," Balrec said evenly. "You are the finest at what you do, and Harangar would be much less safe without your service to Orro. My comments regarding your brother were sincere, but your response troubles me. You seem to grow more bitter with each passing season. What is bothering you?"

  "Your comments were meant to pave the way for a dangerous assignment," retorted Winona. "I do not need to have danger softened like melted butter before I can swallow it. I stand ready to serve Orro to the death, as every generation of my family has before me. Danger does not cause my flesh to quiver or my heart to grow faint. It is what I live for. In fact, I have grown bored after weeks in Harangar while my comrades are forced to take my place in the wilds. Tell me what my task is to be, and I will prepare for it. There is nothing else that needs to be said."

  "I will be the judge of your fitness to serve," scowled Balrec as a shadow darkened his doorway.

  Winona blinked in surprise. Balrec had never spoken harshly to her before. In fact, she had never known him to speak severely to anyone.

  "I am concerned with your attitude," Balrec continued more calmly. "I have watched you turn from a sweet young girl into a killing machine in the service of Orro. I have admired your skill and commitment. There is not another person alive that I would trust more with the most important of missions, but I fear that your bitterness may have begun to affect your judgment. I have had reports of your trying to intimidate our guests during their stay. Is this true?"

  "Our guests, as you call them," scowled Winona, "are outsiders. They have no place in Harangar. They are pompous, spoiled, rich boys and should never have been allowed into our sanctuary, yet they roam the palace and the streets of Harangar with total freedom. They have spent weeks trying to tell us how things are done in the Land of the Nine Kingdoms as if our ways are somehow deficient."

  "Need I remind you that Orro requested their presence in Harangar?" Balrec pointed out.

  "I am well aware of that," replied Winona. "Whatever was on his mind at the time? I know that we are not supposed to doubt the word of Orro, but these foreigners are insufferable. The Odessian presents himself as the master of all four-legged animals. He has the stableman hanging on his every word. The Salacian thinks he is the greatest tracker to ever walk the land and has been poisoning the minds of the scout recruits. The giant stalks the city with his huge double-headed axe scaring our people. Should the citizens of Harangar have to fear for their lives while in the city? How do I explain to our frightened citizens that I am responsible for bringing these miscreants into the city?"

  "Are you done?" Balrec retorted.

  "Hardly," snapped Winona. "The Caroomite spends his time with the bowyers telling tales of his exploits and then proceeds to tell them that they are using the wrong woods to make their bows. Worse still is the soldier from Arin. He corrals any young woman he can find and tries to impress her with tales of his master's greatness."

  "I think that will be enough," snapped Balrec.

  "It is not enough," Winona shook her head vigorously. "Antion is the worst of all. His pious attitude as he walks through the city sickens me. Everyone in Harangar knows that he has been privileged to meet with Orro every single day over these past few weeks. The people look upon him with reverence, and he just eats it up. I can well imagine that his head swells several sizes each day. The man was born into royalty and thinks who he is. I cannot imagine why Orro continues to let him sit in on the sessions with Jared. It only serves to boost the man's ego, and it is clear that he doesn't care for anyone but himself. Why wasn't he sent home to traipse around in front of his own peasants? That is all men like him are good for. They all want to sit in judgment of others, but don't ever expect them to make a sacrifice themselves. His kind makes me sick."

  Balrec's face darkened and his mouth opened to berate the scout, but Winona did not give him a chance to speak.

  "So I took it upon myself to put the foreigners in their place," she continued. "Certainly no one else around here could be counted on to do it. I told them that if they brought their weapons out of their quarters that I would humiliate them in front of the people. As I expected, not one of them has carried a weapon since. They are all talk and no action. I am sure that you read my report when I brought them in. I already bested the Caroomite in battle. One would think they would have learned from that lesson, but their arrogance knows no bounds. At least now the people will see them for what they truly are instead of worshiping them. They are just pampered rich boys looking for attention."

  "At least you don't hold back on your criticism," Prince Antion said from the doorway.

  Winona spun swiftly at the sound of the prince's voice. Rage distorted her face, and a knife appeared in her hand. The Arin prince stood still with his palms empty and extended before him

  "I am not your enemy," Prince Antion said calmly. "Put the knife away."

  "How dare you sneak up behind me and eavesdrop on my conversation?" Winona snarled.

  "I asked him to come here," Balrec declared. "Put the knife away, Winona."

  The scout turned to face Balrec. Her face was reddened with anger and her eyes narrowed with contempt. "How dare you humiliate me this way?"

  "My intent was not to humiliate you," Balrec said evenly, "but it appears that you have managed to do just that with your childish tirade. It disturbs me that you have shown such a dark side to our guests. Both of you sit down. This problem must be resolved here and now."

  Prince Antion crossed the floor and took a seat before the desk, leaving his back exposed to the female scout. Winona seethed with anger for a moment and then sheathed her knife. She moved the other chair away from the Arin prince and then sat down. Prince Antion turned and looked directly at Winona.

  "I apologize for letting you continue while I stood behind you," he offered sincerely, "but I was amazed at your perspective. I can assure you that my men are not trying to impress the people of Harangar. They are merely trying to be helpful. Like you, being trapped in this city for the winter also bores them. They have ventured out of the palace to meet the citizens to alleviate that boredom. While I am hesitant to do so, I will order them to remain within the confines of the palace."

  "That will not be necessary, Prince Antion," stated Balrec. "Your people are guests, not prisoners. I called you both here because you wil
l be working closely together. It was my hope that a meeting would bring both of you closer to understanding the other. I made a serious mistake. I apologize to both of you for that."

  "Working together?" frowned Winona. "Doing what?"

  "Orro has requested that you join the daily sessions with Prince Antion and Jared," explained Balrec.

  Winona's eyes widened in surprise. Like most of the citizens, she had never met Orro. Few were ever granted an audience with the ancient one.

  "I do not think that is wise," frowned Prince Antion. "Our sessions require a great deal of concentration, and we cannot afford to be distracted. Whatever evil is to befall the Land of the Nine Kingdoms, it will begin soon. We do not have any time to waste."

  "You seek to exclude me from seeing Orro?" snapped Winona. "How dare you? I have served Orro faithfully as has my family for many generations. Who are you to waltz into Harangar and tell me that I am not fit to see Orro?"

  "That is not what I meant," Prince Antion tried to explain.

  "Enough," shouted Balrec. "Prince Antion, I apologize for having brought you here to witness this sad episode, but this meeting between the two of you is over. Orro has decreed that Winona will join the sessions, and that is how it will be unless he changes his mind. Kindly retreat from my office, and close the door on your way out."

  The Arin prince nodded and rose to his feet. He left the room silently and closed the door.

  "Do you see the arrogance of the foreigners?" scowled Winona. "The nerve of him thinking he can say who gets to see Orro."

  "Your attitude disgusts me, Winona," retorted Balrec. "You have disgraced our people with your behavior. If I wasn't positive that Orro knows all, I would strongly protest your attendance of the sessions because of the conflict between you and the foreigners, but I cannot object to that. Where I do have influence to act is in your behavior to the foreigners outside the sessions. From now on, you will not interfere with them. If you do, I will restrict you to the palace, not them."

  "You place the rights of the foreigners over mine?" gasped Winona. "They will be right back out there tomorrow with their weapons causing terror in the streets again."

  "The only reason those men are no longer carrying their weapons is because Prince Antion asked them not to," countered Balrec. "He was afraid that you would goad one of them into a fight, and he did not wish to embarrass you."

  "Embarrass me?" sneered the scout. "Do not be ridiculous. I am a trained warrior, not a pampered prince."

  "You continue to think of them as pampered princes," Balrec shook his head, "but you are wrong. Your own report detailed the battle that they had with the Borundans. Can you not see with your own eyes that these men have skill?"

  "They defeated a small group of feeble soldiers," retorted Winona. "Have they been bragging about their great deeds and inflating the skill of their foes?"

  "I have had occasion to discuss their travels with them," answered Balrec, "and I do not find them to be braggarts. Captain Xero's men were the last part of an elite force sent out to track them down and kill them. I think the fact that several of them are princes is coloring your judgment. Regardless of what you think about them, I will give them free reign within Harangar, and they may carry their weapons. You are not to interfere with them or goad them in any way. Is that understood?"

  Winona seethed, but she nodded her agreement. She knew full well that Balrec had the authority to confine her to the palace, and as bad as it was being stuck in the city, being confined to the palace would be torture.

  "Good," Balrec said with an air of finality. "Starting tomorrow morning, you will join Jared and Prince Antion in daily sessions with Orro. I implore you to open your mind to Orro, and let him wash this hatred out of you. You are too fine a person for such an attitude."

  * * *

  The old woman rode through the streets of Oran on a horse that had seen better days. People stared at the old nag and the misshapen woman that rode it. One of her legs was twisted, and her foot pointed away from the beast. While her head was covered with a hood, those who saw her face were taken aback by the deep hollows of her eyes. The woman rode to the gates of the royal palace and asked to speak to King Rihad. The guards tried to shoo her away from the gates, but she refused to leave. When she was informed that the Odessian king was not in the city, she gave a sealed note to the guards. The guards dutifully carried the note into the palace and an officer came out to the gates. He stared into the woman's face as if trying to make out her features.

  "I have aged," Naveena said softly, "but I remember your face. You accompanied King Rihad to the coronation of King Garrick."

  The officer nodded in agreement. "King Rihad is not in Oran," he stated. "What can I help you with?"

  The woman glanced suspiciously at the guards, and the officer led Naveena away from the gates.

  "I have vital information for King Rihad," Naveena declared conspiratorially. "It is imperative that I speak with him."

  "That is not possible," the officer shook his head. "I have already told you that he is not in Oran."

  "Then summon him to the city," retorted Naveena, "or take me to him. I have information that he must possess."

  "Tell me the information," suggested the officer. "I will see that it gets to him as soon as possible."

  "No," Naveena shook her head. "I will speak directly to King Rihad or not at all."

  "Then he will never learn of your information," replied the officer. "You do not represent an official envoy from Borunda, and let me be frank here, Borunda is no longer a peaceful neighbor. I will not expose King Rihad to a potential agent of a possible enemy, especially one with your renowned power."

  "I have no desire to harm King Rihad," countered Naveena. "If I had, I would not show up here and ask for him. I have traveled a great distance at great risk to myself to bring this news to him."

  "At great risk?" frowned the officer. "Odessians would not harm you without reason, even if they knew who you were."

  "Some Odessians would," argued Naveena. "King Zinan has spies in Oran, and they would gladly kill me if they knew what I was about to do. I carry information about a future Borundan attack. If you do not take me to King Rihad, the consequences will be great. Are you prepared to accept the death of thousands because of your uncalled for hesitation?"

  The officer stared wordlessly at the woman for several minutes. Finally, he appeared to make his mind up.

  "I will arrange for you to be taken to him," stated the officer, "but you must agree to certain restrictions. I will not endanger the king's life for even thousands of people, but I think we can come to an agreement."

  * * *

  The eight Borundan officers filed into General Ortega's office and closed the door. They moved across the room and arranged chairs around the general's desk and sat down. General Ortega nodded to each of the officers.

  "I have received confirmation of our suspicions," the general said softly. "Several Vinelanders verified that their officer staged the attack on King Garrick. The officer's name was Belon, and he was struck down after the battle of Laborg had ended. King Zinan personally killed the man to silence him."

  "That was assumed before," commented one of the officers, "but even that confirmation does not tie King Zinan to King Garrick's death."

  "There is more," General Ortega continued. "There is a man in Laborg called Tabansi. He had been a spy for Borunda for some time before the invasion. He arranged for the bridge to be defended by citizens and for the rider that alerted General Wikner's army that the king had died. He never knew whom he was working for when he was spying, but after we took over the city, he recognized King Zinan's voice as the man who had been paying him. He also confessed to arranging a meeting between Belon and King Zinan before the assassination. There can be no doubt about it. King Garrick was assassinated so that King Zinan could assume the throne."

  "What treachery," swore one of the officers. "We cannot serve such a man."

  "Of course no
t," agreed General Ortega. "It is our duty to avenge the death of King Garrick and remove the usurper from the throne."

  "But he is the last of the line," frowned one of the officers. "Who will rule Borunda?"

  "He is no longer the last of the line," declared General Ortega. "Queen Tamil is with child, and it is a male child. We must ensure that the future king grows up without the influence of his evil father."

  "It will be a long time before a newborn is ready to rule," an officer pointed out.

  "There will be a need for a regent," smiled General Ortega. "I am ready to fill that role and keep Borunda safe for the future king."

  "You do realize the gravity of what we are planning?" asked another officer. "If we fail in our attempt, we will branded traitors and hung."

  "You will be heroes," countered General Ortega. "The people of Borunda cannot stand the rule of King Zinan. Never have we had such a cruel and vicious leader. Citizens are whipped for the slightest infraction, and the taxes extracted from the people to wage the coming wars have made paupers of them all. If things continue as they have, Borunda will be reduced to a wasteland of hamlets where great cities once stood. We must act decisively and quickly."

  "Do you have a plan?" asked one of the officers.

  "I do," nodded General Ortega. "I have arranged for a meeting between King Zinan and the officers who will be responsible for the troop movements to Capri. You men will take the place of the other officers."

  "All eight of us?" asked one of the officers. "Why so many?"

  "So no one will ever know who actually struck the killing blow," explained General Ortega. "This is not a task taken for personal motives, but rather one taken for the good of the country. Let the honor not fall on any single man."

  "When is this meeting to take place?" asked an officer.

  "During the king's daily bath," smiled General Ortega. "He will be alone and unarmed. Do not hesitate when the opportunity arises."

  * * *

  King Zinan was relaxing in a hot tub of water when the eight officers entered the room. He barely paid attention as the men crossed the room and surrounded the tub. When he saw one of the officers draw his sword, his brow creased heavily in confusion. Unexpectedly, swords lashed out at him from every direction. King Zinan leaped to his feet, the water sloshing violently in the tub. The king watched with a strange sense of detachment as the swords swung towards him in slow motion. He watched as steel blades snapped in two as they came into contact with his skin.