The Channel (The Gifted Book 2)

by C. L. McCourt

  "In the name of King Argeon, I place you under arrest for spying on the king's guards," Gaibel stated. "Stand up and come with us."

  At first the men didn't move, they appeared stunned, but that didn't last long. Durth started to laugh as he stood up and smirked. "Just the two of you?"

  Rhea slipped behind the men, ready to take them down from the back if they tried to resist.

  Berdie's eyes darted between Durth and the two warriors in front of them. He slowly got to his feet, wondering if Durth was going to make him actually fight. Durth's laugh made his blood run cold.

  Durth pulled his sword and took a stance that welcomed the two warriors in front of him to try to take him. He cast Berdie a stern look that meant only one thing.

  Berdie pulled his sword but did not display the same aggressive body language as his friend.

  Gaibel formed an energy ball. "Put them away, and you won't get hurt." She looked dead serious, but Durth wasn't fazed.

  Rhea couldn't see the spies faces, but from Durth's body language, she didn't think he was taking Gaibel seriously. Berdie seemed nervous. Just then, Durth lunged at Beth.

  Beth shifted right and blocked his jab, bringing the man in closer. She punched him in the face and retreated, ready for the next attack.

  Berdie hesitated, not wanting to engage Gaibel.

  "Enough of this!" Gaibel threw her energy ball at Durth.

  He stood there, not moving for a couple seconds before his knees started to wobble. He went down hard, first to his knees and then onto his face, sprawled on the lobby floor.

  Gaibel focused on Berdie while forming another energy ball. "What will it be? Cooperation or do you want to join your friend?"

  Berdie dropped his sword and raised his hands in defense. "I didn't want anything to do with following you. He made me, said we needed the money, I swear."

  Gaibel motioned with her sword. "Help her pick up your friend. You're going to the guard station."

  Berdie stepped over his fallen comrade, and between him and Beth, they hoisted the stunned man, hanging his arms over their shoulders, and dragged him to the door.

  Gaibel sheathed her sword, retrieved the ones on the floor and followed them out onto the inn porch.

  Rhea followed Gaibel and Beth down the road to the guard tower where the guards quickly rose from their seats and saluted Gaibel when she entered.

  ~~~

  Taulin stood at the window and watched as Gaibel and Beth escorted the spies to the guard station at the other end of the small town. He couldn't see Rhea, but he knew she was there, walking with them, protecting them.

  Randell sat on one of the beds and watched Taulin at the window. He could see Taulin's emotions flaring in his aura and wondered what was going on in his head.

  Daen stood and reached for Lanne's hand. "Come. Let's make arrangements with the kitchen for provisions." He nodded to Randell as he and Lanne slipped out the door.

  Randell nodded back, confirming he was okay.

  "I've never met someone like her before," Taulin spoke quietly.

  Randell laughed lightly. "No one has."

  Taulin turned away from the window and looked at Randell. "Ha! I suppose you're right." He pulled out one of the chairs and sat down. "How long have you known her?"

  Randell thought about the time difference between the two worlds and how to explain. "Not long at all. Maybe six days."

  Taulin's eyes went wide. "That's all? But she trusts you so completely. How is that possible?"

  Randell thought about how to answer. He could only guess as to why Rhea trusted him. "I don't know. Maybe it's because I have nothing to gain by helping her. Or maybe it's because I walked away from my job, my family, my home, and my world to help her. Or maybe she just likes me." Randell gave Taulin one of his goofy half smiles, typically reserved for his students. He didn't want to give the prince a hard time, but he also didn't want Taulin thinking he'd have it easy.

  Taulin listened carefully, and in awe, to the sacrifices this man had made and wondered if he could ever do the same. "You love her."

  Randell tipped his head to the side and thought about Taulin's declaration. He saw a flicker of pain in Taulin's eyes before the cool princely facade returned. "I care for her, of course, but not in the way you seem to imply. We're related to each other."

  A glimmer of hope dance in Taulin's heart, but he quickly smothered it. "But you are distant cousins." He'd known of such matches.

  Randell smirked. Should he give Taulin a hard time or open the way for him? He decided he couldn't lie. "True, but I don't see her that way."

  Taulin stood and returned to the window to wait for Rhea's return.

  Randell smiled inwardly as he watched Taulin at the window and suddenly felt like Rhea's older brother.

  ~~~

  "Throw these two in the cells." The guards took Durth in tow, and Gaibel motioned for Berdie to follow.

  When they started to put Durth into one of the first cells, Gaibel stopped them. "No, take him down one more level." She turned to Berdie. "You, in there, now."

  Beth followed the guards, with Durth hanging from their shoulders, to the next level where he was unceremoniously dumped in one of the darker and danker cells the tower had to offer. After ensuring the cell door was locked, she returned to Gaibel with the station guards for further instructions.

  Gaibel motioned for Beth to stand guard over Berdie in his cell while she interrogated him. The first question wasn't really necessary, but Berdie didn't know. Gaibel wanted to see if he would tell her the truth. "What's your name?"

  "Berdie." The answer was quick and truthful. Gaibel was pleased.

  Now for a harder question ... this is where prisoners tend to stop talking either out of loyalty or fear. "Who hired you?"

  Berdie quivered as he shook his head, not wanting to answer. "Please don't make me say ... please. He'll kill me if I tell. Please don't make me do this."

  Gaibel could see that the man was nothing without his friend and in way over his head. She motioned for Beth to step out of the cell as she backed out as well.

  She started to shut the cell door when Berdie yelled, "Wait! You're not going to leave me here are you? I didn't do anything?"

  "Are you going to answer my questions?" Gaibel raised a brow and glared at the man in the cell.

  Berdie sank down on the bench that would serve as his bed. "I can't."

  "Fine. Have it your way." Gaibel locked the cell door and turned to the other guards. "The prisoners are to have no food or drink until I return. Is that understood?"

  The guards' eyes went wide with disbelief, glancing to each other to see if one had the nerve to argue, but they didn't. They both nodded slowly. "Yes, ma'am."

  A voice from behind the cell door whined, "Wait. When will you come back?"

  "I have business to attend to," Gaibel replied in a casual tone, "and now that I don't have you following me, I can finish my work. We'll be back in about a month, maybe."

  The station guards tried to hide their expression, but it was obvious they were confused.

  Berdie wrapped his fingers around the cell door bars. "But I'll starve? You can't do this."

  "Well, according to you, you're dead anyway. I don't suppose whoever hired you will be pleased that you got caught."

  Berdie started to whimper. "But starving. That's cruel. You can't do that."

  "So ... I should kill you now, save on your keep." Her tone conveyed a matter-of-fact attitude.

  "No, no! Please! Don't!"

  Gaibel turned her back on the cell and was quiet for a moment. Rhea suspected she was pretending to consider his plea, but the expression on her face wasn't consistent with that. She looked like she was trying not to laugh.

  "I expect people to earn their keep. You haven't earned anything. In fact," she spun around to face the small, barred opening and Berdie's scared eyes, "you've wasted my time. You owe me a debt." Before Berdie
could argue, Gaibel added, "But I'm willing to overlook the debt if you tell me who hired you."

  The cell was silent. He didn't come across as a tough guy ready to play chicken with his food and water supply, but his silence cast some doubt. "Do you promise not to tell that I told?"

  Was this guy for real? Rhea was starting to feel sorry for him.

  "Well Berdie, I'll promise you this. The man who hired you would have to get past the guards to kill you while you're in here."

  There was silence while Berdie considered his options and the likelihood someone would break in to kill him. "I don't know the man's name. Durth met him in Sentran. He's the one who agreed to follow you. He made me come along."

  "Thank you. Now, that wasn't so hard was it?"

  "So you won't starve me?"

  Gaibel laughed. "Oh, I didn't say that. You've just repaid me for my time spent having to arrest you. If you don't want to starve, I'll need more information than that."

  "What do you want to know?"

  Berdie's voice reminded Rhea of the character Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh. Low and forlorn. At any minute, she was sure he'd say, "Oh bother." She pressed her hand over mouth to prevent a laugh from escaping.

  Gaibel turned to the guards who had been watching with great interest. She waved them on. "Return to your stations." They gave her a nod and quickly exited the cells.

  When they were gone, Gaibel continued her interrogation. "Where in Sentran did Durth meet the man who hired you?"

  "He didn't hire me," Berdie whined.

  "Enough! Answer my question, now!"

  There was a pause and a whimper. "He told me Cauhill. I wasn't there. Durth came and got me."

  "How did you know to follow us?"

  "We got a message from our contact at the castle. They said you were meeting someone, and we were to follow you."

  Gaibel hesitated ever so slightly. The castle. There were spies at the castle. Damn!

  "Who are your contacts?"

  "Two women. They work in the castle. That's all I know."

  Gaibel started to pace. "Did they say who we were meeting?"

  "A woman traveling with a man."

  "What were you to do when I met with this supposed man and woman?"

  "Send a message and continue following you."

  Gaibel closed her eyes, tipped her head back, and took a deep quiet breath before returning her attention to Berdie. "Have you reported yet?"

  Berdie shook his head. "No."

  Gaibel lunged at the door, putting her face inches from the opening. "Liar! You sent a bird last night."

  Berdie groaned. "It wasn't me. It was Durth. He sent the bird."

  "What did he report?"

  "It weren't nothing about you."

  Gaibel slammed the sword she took from Durth against the small opening, causing Berdie to jump back. "What did he report?"

  There was another pause.

  "Berdie? You were doing so well. Now you are wasting my time again."

  "But I didn't see the note," Berdie quickly blurted out.

  "But you know what it said."

  Berdie groaned. "Durth said he sent word that three of King Craen's heirs were in Taulomi and that Prince Taulin was still here with a guardian, a man, and a woman."

  "Have you received word back?"

  Silence.

  "Berdie!"

  "Yes, ma'am, sir, ma'am. Durth got a message back. He has it."

  Gaibel whispered to Beth to retrieve the message from Durth's unconscious body.

  "What did it say?"

  "Durth said they were sending someone. I don't know what they plan on doing. Durth says he doesn't know."

  "Have you sent any other birds since following us?"

  "No. I promise." He sounded sincere.

  Beth returned a few minutes later with a message she found on Durth and handed it to Gaibel. After reading it, Gaibel started to open the door that led out of the cell hall.

  "Wait! What about me? I told you what you wanted to know."

  Gaibel paused. "That's true. You'll be fed. Cooperate with the guards, and I'll speak to the king on your behalf when I return."

  "Thank you." His voice was quiet and humble.

  ~~~

  Bandon was still on guard when they returned from the guard station.

  Gaibel turned to Beth. "Go pack your things and then relieve Bandon if he wants to pack as well."

  Daen heard Gaibel's voice in the hall so he let them into the room.

  Once inside, Rhea dropped the veil and turned to Gaibel. "You were great!" She glanced at everyone in the room. "You should have seen them. The spies were no match."

  Gaibel shook her head. "They were nothing, Terrwyn." Her face was serious.

  "You certainly made it look that way. Your interrogation technique was perfect."

  Gaibel turned to Rhea and explained as gently as possible, "The man's a sniveling rat. We were lucky he wasn't the one I knocked out. I doubt we would have gotten anything from Durth."

  Before Rhea had a chance to ask about the message, Daen looked between them and asked, "What happened? Fill us in."

  Gaibel told them what had transpired and about the information she'd gained. When she got to the message Beth found on Durth, she read it aloud. "Help is on the way. Send a message if they leave. Stay with Argeon's group."

  Rhea shrugged. "It looks like Durth didn't lie to Berdie. He doesn't know what's coming."

  Randell stood. "I take it we're leaving now."

  "Yes," Daen confirmed. "Let's get packed. Our provisions will be waiting for us in the lobby."

  Taulin stood to leave with Randell and Daen, but before Daen opened the door, he stopped and met Taulin eye-to-eye. "You don't have to do this."

  Taulin didn't flinch, didn't hesitate. "Yes I do. This affects Laundan just as much as Taulomi."

  "Will you be bringing Bandon?"

  "I've been thinking about that, and I have an idea. I'm going to have him stay behind ... hide at the edge of town and wait for the next group to arrive. When they head out in search of us, he'll follow. He's one of Laundan's best trackers and hunters."

  Rhea thought about Bandon standing in the hall. "But what about his uniform?"

  "He has other clothes that he can wear. He just wears the Laundan doublet when he's on guard duty."

  "Then what?" Randell looked a little puzzled.

  "If they track us down, he can help prevent an attack or at the least, we'll have them on two sides."

  Daen hesitated. "Are you going to tell him where we're going?"

  "Only that I'm with you and heading south to investigate further. That way, if he gets stopped, there isn't much they can force out of him." He motioned to the door. "Shall we?"

  As Daen closed the door behind him, Lanne turned to Rhea. "We haven't had much time together, have we?"

  Rhea wrapped her arms around Lanne. "Thank you for all you've done for me over the years." She was suddenly feeling a little dewy-eyed.

  Lanne hugged her back, and years of friendship and love passed between them.

  They released their embrace but still held hands as Lanne looked at her shyly. "I take it you've forgiven me for putting you in the other world?"

  Rhea chortled. "I will admit I was a little upset at first, but I could never stay mad at you."

  Lanne glanced over Rhea's shoulder to Gaibel who couldn't help but watch the exchange. Lanne could see the envy in Gaibel's eyes and felt guilty about what she and Rhea shared. She so wanted Gaibel to have the bond a mother has with her child and prayed that, in time, she would.

  Lanne released Rhea's hand. "We need to pack and get out of here." As Rhea turned away to get ready, Lanne whispered in Gaibel's ear, "Give her time."

  They were packed and ready to go to the stables in a few minutes. Taulin briefed Bandon and gave him coins for the gear he would need before he left on his mission.

  Still not wa
nting anyone to see them together, they said their goodbyes in the room. Rhea hugged Gaibel and Lanne again. "I'll see you soon."

  Gaibel nodded. "Yes, you will. I'm going to report to King Argeon, and assuming he agrees, I'll head to the southern quadrant station. You'll be able to get word to me there in two or three days."

  Daen and Lanne gave each other an embrace that said they would see each other again.

  Within ten minutes, Gaibel's group was picking up their share of the provisions and heading to the stables at the back of the inn where their horses were saddled and ready to go.

  21

  South

  Daen, Randell, Rhea, and Taulin checked out of the inn and crossed the road to the stables, hoping to put enough distance between themselves and the next set of spies arriving later that day.

  Rhea walked down the center of the building, peeking into each stall, looking for the horse she'd ridden the day before. She was starting to get concerned, but when she reached the last stall, there he stood.

  "You might want to be careful with that one." The manager of the stables approached Rhea as she stood in front of her horse's stall.

  She looked at him warily. "Why's that?"

  "He's made it quite clear he's not to be messed with."

  Rhea stepped closer to the stall and reached her hand up to his muzzle. "Are you being difficult?"

  The horse nickered in response.

  "Watch yourself." The stable manager tried to reach for Rhea's arm, but she was already stroking the animal's forehead.

  Rhea stepped under the rope that acted as the stall door. "He's not clean."

  The manager watched in wonder. "I know. He wouldn't let us near him."

  "Can you hand me a brush and comb? And he'll need his hooves checked."

  The manager handed her a brush and comb from the bucket hanging on the stall wall. "I'm not going near him."

  Taulin walked over to the manager with his horse in tow. "What seems to be the problem?"

  "My horse needs his hooves cleaned. Can you help me?" She could manage brushing the horse but she'd never cleaned a horse's hooves.

  Taulin tied the reins of his mount to a ring outside the stall and slipped under the rope.