by Dan Decker
“Why would somebody attack Semal?” Adar wondered aloud. “I imagine that it’s the same reason Semal felt like he had to hide what he was doing from you.” Leaving the accusation that Helam was involved with the Kopal all but spoken. Helam didn't blink at the implication nor did he miss a step.
“This is the work of thieves. Not the Kopal. We have vaults with ancient and valuable treasures. It isn’t the first time that someone has tried to break in.”
Adar nodded his head as if in agreement, but removed the mask he’d taken off the dead Kopal woman from his pocket and held it up for the others to see. “That doesn’t explain why I just killed a woman trying to attack her.” He nodded his head to Nelion. “This mask hasn’t been seen in Rarbon for sixteen years. There was a man that escaped, though I managed to wound him before he ran.”
“We’ll find him.” Helam frowned. “Where did you wound him?” Was it just his imagination or had there been a slight waver in Helam’s voice as he asked the question?
A thought occurred to Adar about the wounded man. During the heat of the chase, he’d forgotten that the man had been well trained. He was certain he'd faced the man before in tournaments and practice. Was there something distinctive about the way the man fought? Nothing came to mind, but Adar would give it some thought.
That didn’t change the fact that there were only three or four men as skilled as their assailant had been and one of those men was Molach, Helam son.
Had there been enough time for Molach to report to Helam? Adar tried to think how long it had been since he and Nelion had been attacked. Half an hour?
They'd been on the roofs for quite some time. Possibly an hour?
Either way, there had been plenty of time for Molach to meet up with his father.
Adar watched Helam as he spoke. “I cut his side and arm.” A flicker of recognition on Helam's face was followed by a surge of anger. Both emotions disappeared as his face became a mask of calm that didn’t reach his eyes. It took effort for Adar to keep from reaching for his sword or one of the daggers he kept hidden. He wondered if he should have been looking for the father instead of the son, but Helam wasn't favoring his arm or side. While the wound Adar had inflicted on the assailant hadn't been mortal, it had been enough to make it awkward for a man to move. Helam wasn't having a problem getting around.
“Gregary,” Helam said, “have the guards search for a man with those wounds. In the meantime, until we know more, a mask isn’t enough evidence to start the witch-hunts again. I don't need to remind you of the damage those caused.” He looked at his guards and motioned towards Semal.
“You’re forgetting about the corpse,” Adar said. “I tried to take the Kopal woman alive, but she swallowed sycanon root before I could stop her. Sound familiar?”
“You are free to make--” Helam was cut off by the sound of an arrow thunking into Gregary's chest, piercing the guards light armor and causing him to cry out. Prior to being hit by the arrow, he'd still been standing in front of the door. When Helam had pointed at Semal, Gregary had stepped over and right into the arrow's path.
Adar looked back in the direction the arrow had come from and saw a hooded figure on the roof of a building across the street from the archives. When the figure saw that he’d been spotted, he ducked down.
“Evidence enough for you?” Adar growled, his eyes locking onto Helam who had followed the arrow back to its source.
“Bloody Melyah!” Helam said muttering something else under his breath that Adar didn't pick up. Adar thought he had heard the words boundaries in all that but couldn't have been certain. Helam started barking orders.
Even though the street had been empty moments before, Gregary's scream had drawn a few people. Some came out into the open while others looked through windows. After a glance to ensure that none of them were hooded like the Kopal, Adar turned his attention to the downed guard.
Helam was ordering his remaining men to pull Semal to safety when Tymy picked Helam up and sprinted back into the archives. The last remaining guard pulled Semal in after him.
Gregary was still breathing and Adar judged that the arrow had missed his heart, but he didn't know enough about it to say for sure. Gregary could live if they hurried. Nelion had just disappeared into the archives when Adar called out to her for help.
She poked her head back out and regarded him as if he were crazy. When she didn't move any further, he asked for help with Gregary again and this time got her to come out after she scanned the nearby rooftops. Adar grabbed Gregary by the shoulders while she picked up his feet and together they pulled the guard inside.
The building was dark when they entered, but Tymy had out a flint and was lighting a lantern. The sparks lit his face and gave him a surreal appearance in the dark of the room.
“Send for the doctor,” Nelion said, cutting Adar off as he was about to say the same thing. “Your man isn’t dead.”
The lantern lit with a flare of light and the glow cast the rooms into shadow. Helam stood beside a round table, Semal and the other guard were on the other side.
The guard still had Semal by the arm and Adar couldn't decide if it was a protective action or if he was trying to keep Semal from escaping. Motioning to Nelion with his head, they moved Gregary to the table and set him down.
Helam felt for Gregary's pulse and nodded. “It's strong. Tymy, fetch the doctor and more men.” There was a hesitant pause before he continued. “Find Hanri and tell him I want to be updated immediately with any developments. He’ll know what I mean.”
Tymy had just stood up and put his flint back into a bag that hung from his shoulder. He looked from Helam to Adar and back, as if questioning the order. Helam must have understood what the big man had been about to say because he cut Tymy off as he opened his mouth.
“Run, I'll be fine until you return.”
As Tymy left, Adar made a mental note to learn who Hanri was and how he fit into the structure of Paroke army. The order to find Hanri might be a coincidence but it was probably related to what had just happened. What did Helam want to be updated about? If he wasn’t connected to the Kopal, maybe he’d known of their involvement and for some reason wanted to keep it quiet. Either way, knowing who Hanri was would provide insight into why Helam had thought of him right after Gregary had been shot.
Tymy's departure left the room in silence while they endured the sounds of Gregary's gasps for breath.
Helam turned to his other guard. “Secure this building. Make sure we’re the only ones here.” The guard lit another lantern and left to sweep the rooms.
“Still thinking this is the work of thieves?” Semal asked Helam.
“Kopal or thieves,” Helam said. “Doesn't matter. They're fools for killing one of my guards.”
Adar hid a frown. Was this a setup to try to allay Adar's suspicions about Helam's involvement with the Kopal? If that was the case, it had been put into place and executed quickly. Helam was capable of many things, but did he have the forethought to plan something like this? He would have known that Adar was on base because he'd received the messenger, but it was unlikely he'd have known what Semal was up to, given the way they'd been talking earlier.
Much as Adar hated to admit it, he couldn't make a logical connection between the attack that had just happened and Helam. This might mean that Helam wasn’t connected to the Kopal after all. Helam could be vindictive and was always putting together political schemes, but that didn't mean that he was one of those idiots that believed the Hunwei were bringing salvation.
“Deny it all you want--” Adar began only to have Helam cut him off.
“Melyah!” Helam said. “My guard was just shot and I have several bodies to deal with on top of the panic this will cause, stop trying to force your political--”
“If you can't open your eyes, Helam,” Adar said, “or won't, it will be a small matter for me to convince others of the truth and you'll be taken for a fool. They will know what
that mask signifies.”
“If I wanted your advice, I'd ask for it. Do you hear me asking? You don't know the half of what goes on in this city and if you think that you're going to get yourself made Ghar so you can rule, think again. Your ascension would be the worst thing that could happen short of the Hunwei invading. I don't need an idiot like you to tell me how to run my army.”
Adar processed the stream of words as Helam hurled them his way and was surprised at the loss of composure. There wasn't anything said that Adar didn't already suspect Helam of believing but having him lose his temper and confirm to the others in the room that he didn’t support Adar was something else. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Adar realized that he should be angry, but he was too shocked. The man that was almost always in control, who had plans and backup plans for those plans had lost his temper again.
While Adar wouldn't mind taking credit for the break in demeanor, he couldn't claim any for the raw edge to Helam's tone. Something else was going on here.
“If I'd thought you'd make a better Ghar than me, I'd happily stand aside and support a new law that would allow you to ascend. I'd even forgive you for what you've done if I thought you were worthy of it, but you're not. You lack the honor and trust required. I will stand in your way every bit as much as you intend to block my own.”
It was the first time that Helam and Adar had traded barbs publicly. In private, on the tournament grounds when nobody was close enough to hear, insults were the way that they talked. That conversation was usually left on the tournament grounds. Helam’s dislike for Adar had been apparent, but he appeared supportive. Until now.
The silence in the room was punctuated by Gregary's grasping hold on life. Several minutes later, when Tymy returned with the doctor and additional men, Helam renewed his order to show Semal and Nelion to the gate and invited Adar to go with them. The order no longer included protection for Semal and Adar couldn’t decide if that was intentional or if Helam had forgotten about it in light of everything else.
Adar took one last look at Helam before he left, Helam’s anger still bubbled at the surface but there was more to it than that. Helam looked like he was in pain, but it hadn’t been caused by Adar or by what had transpired between them today. Something else was indeed going on, but as to what it was, Adar didn't have the foggiest notion.
Once they were back in the city with the Paroke Inner Wall gate several blocks behind them, Semal broke the silence. “Helam was a lieutenant for General Marel the last time the Kopal raised their head.”
“I’m familiar with the story,” Adar said. The Kopal had been active when Adar was a young boy. He remembered a time when he’d overheard his mother expressing concern to his father that the Kopal might target him. Abel had laughed it off and said he wasn’t afraid of hidden shadows. At the time, Abel had been undergoing his trials to become Ghar and had already been successful in obtaining the rank of Rahar.
The talk of the Kopal subsided a few months later when General Jakop Marel discovered and destroyed a pocket of Kopal that had been operating in the north side of the city. Helam had been among the group of men that Marel had trusted and used to bring down the operation.
There had been rumors that Helam had acted the part of a double agent, but Adar had never been able to substantiate them. He had tried to befriend General Marel, but Marel was a difficult man to talk to, let alone build a relationship with.
Adar hadn’t thought about that period for years. As an adult, he’d intentionally never thought about it. Back then, Abel had been a father to Adar. He could remember how his father had played with him, laughed with him, and had done the things a father should do. The change had happened when Abel had failed at his last trial. That had been the day when Abel had begun to distance himself from Adar.
“You believe the rumors then?” Adar pushed away the thought of a much happier time. There was no going back.
Nelion started at the question, as if she hadn't heard them. He didn’t bother to clarify and Semal was too lost in thought to notice her confusion.
“I have never known what to believe,” Semal said, “at least about that. Helam has always been an enigma to me. He has as many scribes working for him as I do. From what I can tell, they spend all their time researching the Rarbon Portal and the Hunwei as well. I’ve approached him several times about combining our efforts, but each time he has pretended not to know what I was talking about. You saw the way he treated me.” Semal stopped and met Adar’s eye. “I’m sorry for bringing you into this, if I’d have remembered where I was, I wouldn’t have sent for you.”
Nelion snorted. “It’s not entirely your fault. Helam came because Adar sent for him.”
“Bloody Melyah, man!” Semal said. “Why would you do a thing like that? If I’d have wanted him, I’d have sent for him.”
“I’m sorry for the inconvenience,” Adar said, “but I didn’t have a choice, it’s the law. I can’t afford to give Helam a weapon to use against me. You saw his opposition to me becoming Ghar. He’s going to do whatever he can to stop me. He’ll take advantage of any little technicality to trip me up.”
“You’re a tough man to understand. Sometimes you get hung up on obeying technicalities but then do the complete opposite and disregard the larger rules.”
“When I disregard something larger, it’s because I’m making a statement that I’m prepared to back. I’m not willing to make a statement that one general should be able to move freely around the base of another.”
Semal walked faster. “In your absence, I forgot how infuriating you can be.”
Adar smiled. It was the first real smile he’d had all day. He didn’t have a retort for that, nor did he want to think of one.
Chapter 10
It was a couple of hours after the incident at the archives before Helam was able to return home. It had taken that long to arrange for the dead, both the Kopal bodies and Gregary. Helam had also made a visit to Gregary’s wife and informed her of the news. The sound of her sobbing still echoed in his ears. The tears had been punctuated by questions of why.
Because I made a deal with my wife, Helam thought, I should have eradicated the Kopal years ago.
Helam hadn’t recognized either of the dead Kopal and had asked the men with him if they could identify the bodies. None of them had spoken up, but he wasn’t convinced that they were all being truthful. There were Kopal hidden in his ranks. He knew of some, but it was those he didn't know about that kept him up at night.
There was an investigator from the city that he’d bring in to handle the case. If either of the dead Kopal were connected to any of his men, the investigator would discover the deception so that Helam could remove the corruption when the time was right.
He’d also sent soldiers scouring the roofs looking for the assassin, but so far, the search had come up empty. He sighed at the doorstep of his home.
Going through his own front door might reveal more answers than his men could find on the roofs. He wasn’t surprised to see that Hanri had left several guards to keep an eye on things even though Elaire was no longer in the house. In his haste to leave earlier, Helam hadn’t thought about the potential danger to Molach. The Kopal weren’t known for their loyalty to a single individual and their members swallowed sycanon root rather than be taken captive.
Now that he’d had a chance to cool down, he realized that his actions had been rash and left his son in danger.
It has become clear that the woman I love no longer exists—something I should have come to terms with long ago—I was a fool to put our--
No. He corrected himself. There is no longer a we or an us or an our. His wife had put an end to any reconciliation of their relationship when she’d recruited their son to join the Kopal.
I was a fool and put my son in danger.
While it was too late for his wife, it wasn’t too late for Molach. Whatever had been done could be undone. He’d turn his son on the Kopal and br
ing them down.
He hesitated when he got to the door of the guest bedroom. He had to be practical. A brief conversation wasn’t going to be enough to convince Molach. It might be months before Molach could be brought around. What if his son was so far entrenched into the Kopal that he wouldn’t want to give it up?
Helam would deal with that when he came to it.
Things had been different with Elaire. It had been beneficial for her to be married to a General for as long as their agreement had held. And like the fool that he was, Helam had believed that with time he could convince his wife of the error of her ways. In the meantime, he had assumed that he was keeping her boxed in with their agreement. He’d thought it adequate to keep the archivist on his payroll.
He shouldn’t have waited for so long to have her followed.
Helam wouldn’t have the same leverage with his son. After looking for any other alternatives and coming up with nothing, he returned to where he’d left his guards at the door and asked them to come in with him.
Tymy raised an eyebrow at the request, but followed behind the other guards. He had once received a tongue-lashing from Elaire when she’d discovered him standing guard inside their home at Helam’s request. When they arrived at the door of the bedroom, Helam motioned for them to wait outside.
He gave a quick quiet knock on the door before he opened it and poked his head in. The candle gave the room enough light to cast it in shadow and the ambience fit Helam’s mood.
Molach was pale and the room smelled of sweat and blood. Helam entered, doing his best to slide in with the door half closed so that Molach wouldn’t notice the guards standing outside. He didn’t want his son to feel like he was in danger or the responses Helam would get to the questions he was about ask might change. He also didn’t want his son swallowing any of that cursed sycanon root.
As he approached, he saw fear dancing across Molach’s face and stifled a sigh. He hadn’t realized it, but there had been a part of him holding out hope that his son hadn’t joined the Kopal. As he pulled over a chair and sat at his son’s bedside, he let the hope slip away.