by Lisa Cassidy
“Clear on the other side, Dawn?” Dashan asked.
She nodded. “Except for the other Bluecoats waiting for you. I let Tijer know we’re here, and they’re mounting up as we speak.” She looked at Alyx. “I’m going to head back to the street corner we just passed and keep a physical eye out too, just in case.”
“Thanks.”
“We should go before someone sees us lingering out here.” Garan came over to hug Alyx tightly. “You take care of yourself, Aly-girl.”
“You too, Papa.”
“You go first, Lord Egalion,” Dashan urged. “I’ll bring up the rear in case there’s any trouble.”
Garan nodded, trailed his hand down Alyx’s cheek, then turned and jumped into the water.
Dashan approached. “You okay, mage-girl?”
She’d been avoiding looking directly at him the whole evening, and mostly gotten away with it under the circumstances, but now she had no choice. His brown eyes were characteristically soft as he looked at her in query.
“I’m fine. Just worried about my father.”
“He’ll be okay. We’ll make sure of it.”
“I know you will.” To her horror, her voice choked up a little, and she cleared her throat, hoping he hadn’t noticed.
Of course he noticed, and the look of concern on his face deepened. “I know how much you love him. He’s going to be all right.”
The urge to reach out to him swamped her. Why why why? Because as worried as she was about her father, she was equally worried about Dashan. If something happened to him... Alyx swallowed, shook her head and forced a smile. “You be safe too. And make sure you get back here inside the week.”
“Aye aye, ma’am.” He flashed her his grin.
He turned and jumped down into the water, turning back to sketch her a cheerful wave before disappearing under the wall. The gate screeched again as he shut it behind him, and then all she could hear was the sounds of the crickets living in the reeds by the water. Shaking herself, she turned and strode away.
“They get clear?” Dawn asked as Alyx joined her.
“They did. Let’s get out of here.”
“Can’t sleep?” Dawn’s voice drifted through the darkness.
“Not even close. You?”
“Same.” Sheets rustled as Dawn turned over. “I’ve been thinking on why Romas engineered for you and Tarrick to overhear what you did.”
Alyx’s thoughts had been caught up in a situation far more complicated, so it was a relief to think about something else. “And?”
“I think it might have been a warning.”
“A warning to me? I’m not a Taliath.”
“No, a warning to your father.” Blankets rustled again. “Think about it. He had to know you would want to warn your father as soon as you knew what was going on. He’d be an absolute fool otherwise, and Romas is no fool.”
“Agreed.” Alyx thought about that. “But why warn my father? There’s no reason to, unless...”
“The council was planning something.” Dawn finished for her. “When was the last time your father left Alistriem? I bet he hasn’t been here in Carhall since he and your mother separated.”
“Surely they wouldn’t be so brazen as to assassinate a senior Rionnan lord? The council has to be apolitical or they’d be under existential threat from each of the countries they work for.”
“It wouldn’t need to look like an assassination. There are probably few people left who know or remember your father as a Taliath, and as far as the council is concerned, only they know of the fact they’ve been hunting and killing Taliath potentials. If something happened to your father while he was here that looked like an accident, who would think to question it?”
Alyx swore under her breath. “What if Romas was trying to draw us out? He knew I’d run to my father and likely even help him escape, and he wanted to catch us at it. Give the council an excuse to expel us.”
The logic was thin, even to Alyx, and Dawn clearly agreed. “Then why aren’t we captured right now? If Romas wanted us expelled, he’d be able to find a lot of ways to do it back at DarkSkull without needing to resort to an elaborate plan like this.”
“If you’re right, and I agree your explanation makes the most sense, then the question becomes why did Romas risk himself to warn my father?”
“You have to ask him.”
“Dawn—”
“Alyx, stop. I know you’ve had your reasons for refusing to talk to him directly, but this situation has grown out of our control. I’m not saying you need to tell him everything, but you at least need to find out what he’s willing to tell you.”
“Fine.” She conceded. “When I get the opportunity to talk to him, I’ll ask.”
“Good.” Dawn sighed. “It’s nearly dawn, we’re going to be exhausted tomorrow.”
“And we’ll have to pretend like we’re not so we don’t raise any suspicions.”
A moment’s silence then, “I hope Dash is okay.”
“Me too.” Alyx’s fingers curled in her blanket and she turned away from Dawn. “I hope they’re all safe.”
Breakfast was eaten in uncharacteristic silence the following morning. Dawn had dark shadows under her eyes and both Finn and Tarrick maintained a stony silence. Cario rolled his eyes in their direction a couple of times, but otherwise left them alone.
Alyx couldn’t decide whether she was more tired or anxious, the latter sensation momentarily triumphing when Rothai appeared. He said nothing though, merely gave them their guard assignments for the morning’s council session before leaving them to eat.
“Nobody is arrested, so I assume all went well last night?” Cario asked eventually.
Alyx nodded shortly.
A beat of silence then, “Any trouble?” Tarrick asked.
“More activity than usual around the gates to Centre Square,” she said.
Dawn glanced between Alyx and Tarrick. “There was definite attention being paid to Lord Egalion’s movements.”
“That could have just been—”
“We know, Finn,” Alyx cut him off. “Either way, it’s all done.”
The door pushed open, and Mika and Jayn appeared. Their cheerfulness as they arrived at the table was a sharp and obvious counterpoint to the heavy silence engulfing everyone else there.
“Four more days and we’re out of here,” Jayn said with evident relish.
“I’m not sure I can stay awake through many more of these sessions,” Mika admitted.
“What’s eating you lot?” Jayn asked when nobody responded.
“They ate something bad last night.” Dawn gestured to Tarrick and Finn. “Alyx and I are giving them space to suffer in silence.”
Jayn chuckled. “We told you not to eat those lamb skewers. That street vendor didn’t look like he’d washed in a week.” She dropped into her chair, making a face at the oatmeal in her bowl. “I can’t blame you and Alyx for ditching us to dine at the palace again. Tarrick told us you got another invitation from Prince Cayr.”
Alyx glanced over at Tarrick. “Cayr is leaving tomorrow. I wanted to see him again before he left. Our dear patrol leader insisted I not go alone, so Dawn sacrificed a night out with you all to come along.”
Jayn grinned at Dawn. “You’re a better friend than I am.”
“Well, at least I got to eat a finely prepared five-course meal. No dodgy lamb skewers for me,” Dawn teased.
“Touché.” Mika winked at Jayn.
“We should go.” Tarrick pushed back his chair.
“All right, grumpy pants,” Jayn said. “We’re coming.”
Tarrick wouldn’t look at Alyx as they left the room, and there was a definite coolness between the twins. She rubbed at the throbbing pain beginning to start up in her temples.
The end of the council couldn’t come soon enough
Chapter 33
On the morning of their departure from Carhall, a tense silence enveloped several members of Third Patrol as they stood on th
e Town Hall steps waiting for the masters’ carriages to be brought around. Jayn and Mika kept shooting them odd looks, although after Jayn’s earlier blunt question as to whether Tarrick’s stomach was still bothering him had been met with a curt reply, neither of them had said another word.
The carriages trundled into view, and the anxiousness abruptly ratcheted up another level. Alyx had to frequently wipe sweaty palms on her robe, and she couldn’t stand still, continuously shifting her stance. What would they do if the Bluecoats didn’t appear?
Rothai appeared, striding down the steps towards them. “Ready?” he asked tersely.
“Yes, sir.” Tarrick nodded.
“Good. They’re just finishing breakfast.”
The northern gate to Centre Square opened and a unit of militia rode through, Rodin’s familiar figure in the lead. Alyx’s breath caught as each rider came through the gate. After the last of them was through, there was nothing for a moment and dread began creeping through her bones.
But then Rodin glanced back, calling out something she couldn’t quite hear. More riders came through the gate then, all Bluecoats. Dashan was first, voice full of amusement as he responded to Rodin.
Alyx’s breathing resumed and momentary dizziness consumed her as relief flooded her body.
“We’re good,” Tarrick said, the rigidity in his shoulders relaxing for the first time in days.
“Free and clear,” Finn murmured with a smile.
“Feeling suddenly better, are we?” Jayn asked pointedly.
“Mount up!” Rothai’s voice suddenly lashed out, causing Alyx to jump. “Master Romas is on the way.”
The fog in her head clearing with every step, Alyx walked to Tingo. He snuffled affectionately in her hair as she stroked his nose before swinging into the saddle.
Glancing up to make sure Romas hadn’t appeared yet, she urged the stallion over to where the Bluecoats were forming up.
“You okay?” Her eyes roved Dashan’s familiar face—he looked all right, his dark eyes lighter today. The remnants of the anxiousness inside her uncurled.
“I’m good, mage-girl.” His slow smile warmed her. “And your father is safely on a ship south.”
She took a deep breath. “That’s good. When did you get back?”
“About three hours ago.” He grinned.
“Geez, Dash, that’s cutting it fine!”
“Pfft. Three hours is heaps of time.”
Tarrick’s voice sounded before she could reply. “Alyx, come on. The carriage is loaded.”
Alyx scanned the road ahead, noting the overcast skies above promising rain and possibly even snow.
Cario rode up beside her. “You look terrible.”
Alyx glanced at him; Cario was as well-groomed and dapper as always, and today it irritated her for no discernible reason. Normally it was one of the things she liked most about him. “I’m fine.”
“Sure you are.”
There was a note of understanding in Cario’s voice that surprised her, and she had a flash of insight. “This is why you don’t care about anything. You know all about who and what the council is, and you hate it. So you pretend not to care.”
“I don’t pretend, Alyx.”
“Drank too much last night, did we?” Dashan rode up between them, interrupting. Apparently glad of the inadvertent rescue, Cario nodded in a friendly fashion towards Dashan before kicking his horse ahead.
“You know very well I wasn’t out drinking last night,” she muttered.
Dashan leaned across from his horse. “How are you feeling?”
Irritation surged. “That seems to be the question of the day. I’m fine.”
He said nothing, and after a moment, she sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you.”
“It’s all right,” he said easily. “I’d be pretty snappish if I’d been through what you just have.”
“You did go through it,” she said firmly.
“You’re not going to thank me again, are you? I can only take you being nice to me once or twice a year, three times at a stretch. More than that and I get really uncomfortable.”
She laughed, her bleak mood lightening.
“Alyx, can you join Dawn at the top of the road?” Tarrick shouted down to her.
“See you soon,” she told Dashan, kicking her horse into a gallop.
Dawn gave Alyx a concerned look as Tingo galloped up.
“Not you too,” Alyx warned. “I’m fine, and I’d prefer if everyone stopped asking me how I am.”
“I know you’re not fine,” Dawn said tartly. “But as usual I’ll leave it alone since that’s what you prefer.”
“Thank you.”
After they stopped to make camp that evening, Alyx was surprised when Master Romas approached her as she was collecting water from a nearby stream. A light drizzle fell, making it even stranger that the head of DarkSkull was outside of his warm, dry carriage. They were some distance from the camp site too—it wasn’t visible through the trees.
“Sir?” She straightened at the sight of him, a half-full bucket of water dangling from her right hand.
“I came to talk to you about what I allowed you to hear in the council meeting,” he said without preamble.
Alyx swallowed and carefully placed the bucket down. “Sir, I…”
“Save it.” He raised a hand. “I don’t care to hear your views on the subject. I allowed you to hear that conversation for a very specific reason.”
“What’s that, sir?”
Romas glanced around to ensure they were alone before lowering his voice to a murmur. “A warning to your father.”
Dawn had been right! Alyx fought to keep her face expressionless. “Why? You obviously agree with the council’s course of action in regard to the Taliath.”
“Because of your mother,” Romas said softly. “You wouldn’t know this, but she saved my life once. I still owe her for that day. If anyone found out what I’d done, I’d be arrested and expelled from the mage order.”
“Why should I trust you?”
“Stop being so damn stubborn and listen to me,” he snapped. “I’ve just told you I risked expulsion for what I did. What possible other motive could I have had?”
“What happened to my mother?”
“I don’t know.”
“If you want me to believe you, if you are telling the truth, then tell me now what happened to her.” Part of Alyx couldn’t believe she was speaking so forcefully to the master of DarkSkull, but a stronger part of her was too desperate for answers to care.
“I truly don’t know for sure, Alyx.” He raised a hand. “Just before her death, I received a letter from Temari. It was the first we’d heard from her since she left your father. In the letter, she told me she’d found out something momentous, that the council needed to know about it straight away. She was planning to come and meet me at DarkSkull. We were to travel on to Carhall together.”
“But she never arrived,” Alyx whispered.
“No. I learned of her death mere weeks later.”
“What was it that she found out?”
“She didn’t say in the letter—it was too important to risk falling into the wrong hands. I remember thinking she was being overly paranoid, but then after what happened…”
Romas’s voice trailed off and for a moment there was no sound but the rain pattering on the leaves around them.
“Do you have any idea at all?”
“I can’t be sure, but if I had to guess, I’d say your mother learned something about the missing mages. I can’t think of anything else that would be so important she couldn’t risk writing it down.”
There was no way Alyx could attempt reading the master telepath’s thoughts, but from studying his face, she thought he might be telling the truth.
“I should go before someone comes looking for me. Nobody knows about this conversation, understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Oh, and Alyx?” He paused in the midst o
f walking away, “About your brother? I don’t know anything about Ladan for certain, and neither does the council. But I wasn’t only trying to warn your father. I did what I could to dismiss their interest, but the council does tend to be overly cautious.”
Fear clutched at her, but she determinedly kept it off her face. “Yes, sir.”
As Romas vanished into the shadows darkening between the trees, a branch rustled to Alyx’s left. She spun, hand reaching towards her staff, only to still as Dashan appeared. His sword was drawn, gleaming in the fading light as he stepped towards her.
“I saw him walk out here after you and wanted to make sure he didn’t try anything.”
She nodded. “You heard all of that?”
“I did.” He sheathed his sword. “We need to warn your brother.”
“Can you get a message to him as soon as we get back?”
“I think it would be better if I went in person, not only because this kind of warning is better not written down.” Dashan half-smiled at her. “We want to be certain he gets it.”
“Dash, no.” Worry leapt in her chest. “You can’t cross the disputed area on your own, and besides, what would Rodin and the militia think if you vanished for weeks?”
“I won’t go through the disputed area, I’ll go overland through Tregaya and down to one of the crossing areas Ladan and I identified. Rodin will accept what I tell him, which will be a thoroughly believable cover story.”
“It’s dangerous.”
He shrugged. “Less so if I go alone.”
Alyx looked down, torn. Romas’s warning had deepened the fear she already felt for her brother, and anxiousness at warning him as quickly as possible was already tugging at her. Yet the thought of sending Dashan alone through Shivasa, even if it was only a short distance...
“Alyx, is something wrong?” Dashan asked eventually, when she made no reply. “Something’s off with you, it has been ever since Carhall. I thought it was just worry over your father, but is there something else?”
She gave a nervous laugh. “Isn’t what we found out in Carhall enough to explain it?”
“It is.”