by Dan Decker
“I agree about your seniority, Barlon,” Jorad said. “That’s why you’ll be second in command of my party as we look for the princess of Karchack.” It took effort to keep the smile from his face as Barlon absorbed the words and understood his meaning.
“I’m going with you,” he said flatly. “And you’re leaving Pakel in charge in our absence.” He shook his head and muttered under his breath. “Melyah, help us all.”
Jorad slammed his hand down on the table. “I tire of your insolence. Give me your insignia or go pack your things.” He leaned forward. “Vaar might be better as second in command anyway.”
Barlon let out a wordless snarl as he pushed back out of his chair, it clattered to the floor. With a rush, he was gone, not saying if he was going to come or leave the Radim army. Jorad suspected the man didn’t know himself.
After Barlon had slammed the door on his way out, Jorad turned to Pakel. “Do you have any criticism of your own to offer?”
The man shook his head, but he looked pleased that he wasn’t going to be accompanying Jorad in the traveling party.
Jorad pulled out an envelope from his coat that was sealed in wax. “Should Barlon decide not to come with me, this is his execution order. You will hang him today.”
Pakel was taken aback, fear covering his face once again. “Sir?”
“I have it on good authority that Barlon was conspiring to assassinate me. He is charged with mutiny and will be put to death if he stays.”
Pakel took the letter like it was a live snake. He tucked it away in his own coat quickly, as if trying to forget about it as soon as he could.
He wasn’t going to like what Jorad had for him next.
“Vaar and Barlon both have conspired to kill me. If you’ve had any thought in your heart to do the same, I suggest you reconsider. Conspiracy will not be tolerated.” Jorad took additional envelopes out of his other coat pocket. “Should they return, claiming I was killed in an accident, you are to execute them both at once.” He separated a sheet from the envelope and unfolded it. “You are my second in command and will have full authority to carry out these orders.”
Pakel looked down at the sheet with wide eyes. “I’m not sure I’m the right man.”
“Do you deny Vaar and Barlon were conspiring to kill me?”
Pakel let out a sigh. “No.”
Jorad gave Pakel a stern look. “And you did nothing to report or stop it. A lesser crime among the others, but one nonetheless. If you accomplish my orders while I’m gone, you’ll be forgiven.” Jorad gave Pakel a considering look. “All my orders. You better never taste alcohol again. You might think I’m choosing you because you’re the only option I have, and while there is some truth to that, there is no reason for you to not succeed. Lay off the drink. Follow my orders and learn to think for yourself. Your job as my second in command is to give me your thoughts, I’ll need good counsel in the days ahead.
“Yes, sir.” Pakel nodded his head. “I won’t let you down.”
“Did you tell Vaar or Barlon how many men you prepared?”
“No, sir.”
“Very good. Have five new men not part of the original party meet us by the Outer Gate. Send the original group ahead, ordering them to keep out of sight but stay close to my party once we’re a mile from the wall. Their orders are to protect me at all costs.” Jorad gave Pakel a considering look. “Will they do it?”
Pakel chewed on his lip for a moment. “I believe so. The captain I selected knows your father, and if I’m not mistaken thought well of him. I’ll feel him out before giving the order. If I don’t think he’ll do it, I’ll find somebody else.”
“You’re excused, remember have the five ready at one. I don’t want to see a sign of the others unless an attempt is made on my life. Please send in Bullford on your way out.”
Pakel stood, picked up Barlon’s chair and replaced it. When he continued to stand in place, Jorad looked up.
“I’m sorry, sir. You’re right about everything. I will not let you down.”
“See that you don’t.”
When Bullford entered, he gave Jorad a salute.
“Tell me what you learned.”
“Unfortunately, sir, not much.” The man swallowed. “How committed are you to learning the truth?
Jorad studied him for several long seconds. “Very.”
“We’ll need to proceed cautiously. Semal was killed while in his home, and it looks like whoever did it used a spear. That much I’ve been able to learn just through a few casual questions.” He licked his lips and lowered his voice while taking a step closer. “There are rumors of masked people in the night. Semal wasn’t the only one found dead at his home. Several of his guards were dead as well. One was missing, and the others poisoned.”
“There is no doubt Semal was murdered.”
“Correct.” Bullford looked around the room, and even though it was made from stone and they were alone, he was nervous. “Sir, may I approach further? I’m afraid of being overheard.”
There was something in the man’s voice that gave him away. A look of excitement and intrigue. Jorad pretended to bite his lip in thought as he crossed his leg and slid a dagger out from his boot. He nearly cursed when he realized it was the Ou Qui dagger that was covered in a blackened tar. It would do the job just as effectively but with a great deal more effort.
Jorad held it to the side as he agreed to the let the man come closer.
Even though Bullford moved quickly, Jorad was prepared for what was coming and stood, his back protesting as he did, and brought his forearm out to block Bullford’s attempt to stab him with a dagger.
The look of surprise on the man’s face turned to pain as Jorad stabbed him in the gut and pushed him up against the wall.
“Did Abel send you?” Jorad demanded while ramming his Ou Qui blade in again. “How long have you been working for him?”
Confusion crossed the man’s face, but Jorad was unable to determine if it was because of what had happened to him or because Abel wasn’t involved in the assassination attempt.
The man’s dagger clattered to the floor as Jorad repeated the question. When one of Bullford’s hands moved towards his mouth, Jorad wasn’t quick enough to stop him from popping in a glass vial which he chewed, the crunching of the glass filling the back of Jorad’s mouth with bile.
Foam came out of Bullford’s mouth as his eyes rolled up into the back of his head. When Jorad yanked his dagger free and stepped back, Bullford crumpled to the floor in a heap. Jorad had only caught a glimpse of the vial, but it tickled something in his mind. He had trouble recognizing what it was.
Was anything he told me true? Jorad reviewed his conversation with the man earlier in the day and wondered if Bullford was the only person to have claimed Semal was dead. And I won’t have time to learn the truth before I go.
Jorad looked down at the body, wishing he’d taken the man alive. The fact that he’d been willing to poison himself made Jorad worry there were far more things going on than he’d thought.
What has Adar gotten me into? Not for the last time he wished his father was on hand to at least provide some advice. He had two lieutenant generals who were plotting to kill him, while the third did nothing. Assassins in his own ranks. A grandfather he couldn’t trust who was playing political games at a level he couldn’t comprehend, let alone begin to fight.
He was glad to be leaving the city. If Vaar or Barlon even look at me sideways, I might hang them both just to be done with them. He shook his head. He couldn’t do that unless he had proof that would be convincing to the men Pakel had selected.
Melyah send that Pakel selected men I can win over, otherwise I won’t last the week.
Chapter 33
The sun climbed higher, and Jorad was beginning to wonder if perhaps Abel was going to prove himself a liar already. They had agreed Jorad would meet up with Abel’s messenger before two in the afternoon, a mile from the Outer Wall in the Napael territory.
Barlon was beside Jorad on his horse, his face angry but also resolved. The man hadn’t spoken more than two words to Jorad, but he hadn’t left Jorad’s side either. He appeared to have taken to heart Jorad’s comment that he would be second in command of this little party, and while he’d ignored Jorad, he’d been very effective at making sure the five men Pakel had selected were organized and ready for the trip.
Nothing had pleased Jorad more than when Barlon had started asking men for their names. It was as Jorad had hoped, these soldiers might know Barlon by reputation, but they didn’t know him personally.
Vaar had let Barlon see to the final preparations while sitting on his horse with a diffident look. If he was surprised to find that Barlon was coming, it hadn’t shown on his face.
Something about the man told Jorad that Vaar was going to be trouble, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on the cause of that feeling.
I have the next several weeks to sort it out. If he came back with one less lieutenant general, Jorad wasn’t going to be disheartened. Both men seemed to know Jorad was testing them, keeping a close eye on them. Barlon, for all his faults, had at least decided to take control of things that were his responsibility as second in command. Jorad didn’t dare hope that it was the beginning of the man coming around, but he was also glad Pakel hadn’t been forced to carry out Jorad’s execution order. The man got a reprieve.
For now.
Vaar continued to look around as if expecting somebody more to show up at any minute, it was almost like he knew what to expect next. Barlon had been confused when Jorad had ordered the five men to hide in the trees to either side of them. The two archers had bows ready with arrows. And the three with swords were prepared to rush out the moment anything looked wrong. Jorad had made it clear nobody should move until he’d made the first move.
That had earned some strange looks from the men, and even Barlon and Vaar had exchanged a wary glance, but nobody had questioned it.
Jorad would have preferred to not have his lieutenant generals at his back, but considering what he knew of their desires, he’d rather lose them than any of the other men.
As they’d left Rarbon, Jorad had wished he’d had more time to think through his orders. It would have been better to break up the twenty-five into smaller groups, selecting only the best at tracking to stay nearby. He’d expected to see a sign of the men’s passing during the mile they’d traveled from the wall, but so far, he’d seen no indication they were there.
Either they’re good, or Pakel has betrayed me as well. He didn’t think the man had it in him, but he needed to prepare for the possibility. Melyah, I might not last the next hour.
It wasn’t until almost half an hour later that a group of eight men came riding up on horses. Vaar noticed them first and made a clicking sound with his tongue while motioning with his head. His interested look made Jorad wary.
Barlon looked wary as well but not as expectant as Vaar. What made him think that of Vaar? Jorad wasn’t certain he could have explained it, yet he was sure it was there. It wasn’t just his imagination.
The leader of the approaching group was dressed all in black, though the rest wore uniforms that marked them as coming from Barim army. Jorad wasn’t surprised to see more than double the number he’d represented to Abel that he was planning to take with him on his quest.
Eight versus three, he thought, almost a certain outcome.
Jorad shook his head, hating what he knew was going to happen next, but also knowing it was necessary. Adar would have called him a fool for wasting so many lives just to prove something he already knew, but there was a part of him that had hoped Abel wasn’t a monster. Firsthand knowledge trumped all the rumors in the world.
If we could ever stop fighting ourselves, we might have a chance of defeating the Hunwei. Human nature was their real enemy. Jorad had let it slip that he was only taking a couple of men because he’d wanted to travel fast and be able to move without worrying that people were looking at them askance.
He’d felt a little guilty telling a lie, even to Abel who he knew was a liar through and through, but it had seemed the most logical test to prove once and for all what side Abel was on.
The eight men were all the proof Jorad needed. He thought about telling his men to be ready, but he didn’t want the approaching men to suspect anything. Thirty-three men against eight weren’t bad odds.
If Pakel came through.
As Jorad urged his horse forward so that he was further away from the lieutenant generals, his blaster rubbed up against a sore spot on his back, but he kept the pain from showing on his face. It was difficult, but he managed.
Abel’s men slowed to a stop, fanning out from the leader in an obvious fashion. Jorad didn’t look over his shoulder, but he heard Barlon shifting in his saddle.
That fool Vaar is probably prepared to stab me in the back the moment he gets the word.
Jorad bit his lip in thought as the man in black approached. He decided he’d rather have his back to Barlon than Vaar. He slid off his horse while ignoring the searing pain, glancing back at his men as he did.
Barlon was frowning, but Vaar was as stoic as ever, his eyes burning into Jorad.
I thought I’d come back with one less, not leave with one less.
Resisting the urge to shake his head, Jorad approached the man in black with his arms out to either side in front of him. None of Abel’s men had bows, but several had spears, and all had swords. Those with the spears were placed on the outside, making Jorad happy he was heading to the middle. He stopped about fifteen feet away from the newcomers.
The man in black disembarked from his horse. Strangely, he wore his sword on his hip instead of over his shoulder. Jorad wasn’t aware Abel employed men who weren’t Radim, but he needed to become used to the idea that his grandfather was going to do things he didn’t expect.
Isn’t it a problem that it’s happening exactly as predicted? Jorad gave that some thought while the man in black closed the distance another five feet, leaving about ten in between to the two of them. His arms were bare, and there was a mess of scars down his forearms, reminding Jorad of the scars one might get from entanglement with a cat, though these were far larger. Jorad didn’t look back over his shoulder when the man in black glanced towards Barlon, and even though there was no emotion on the man’s face, Jorad was now certain that Vaar was Abel’s man. The man in black hadn’t looked at Vaar once. Subtle, but there was more than one reason that Abel believed his little show of force was going to work. He had a man on the inside.
“I have a message for you from the Rahar,” the man in black said, his voice higher than Jorad had expected. It was also scratchy, the two factors making him sound like a boy.
“I’m expecting the location of the Karchack princess. Do you have it?” Jorad looked at the other men. “Why did the Rahar think it necessary to send so many men for just a simple message?”
The man’s face split into a smile as his hand rested on the hilt of his sword. For a moment, Jorad thought he was going to say something, but the man ripped out his sword and sprung forward.
Jorad reached over his shoulder for his blaster and brought it up, firing a shot as he did. The man in black fell with a hole burned in his belly. Jorad turned his blaster on the others and fired without hesitation, taking out two more before the rest fell by arrows from his men hidden in the trees.
A scream came from behind, and a moment later a horse galloped past Jorad with inches to spare. He turned to see Barlon with his sword out, still atop his own mount. Vaar picked himself up off the ground. He was covered in dust and had blood coming from his side where an arrow had hit him.
Vaar ripped his sword out of his sheath as he charged Jorad who stepped out of the way. An arrow took him in the stomach just before Jorad kicked Vaar’s feet out from underneath him. Jorad slung his blaster back up onto his shoulder as the rest of his men swarmed from the surrounding trees. Several went to Vaar and held him at the poin
t of their swords.
Barlon still sat atop his horse with a ghostly look on his face, before Jorad could say anything another man appeared at his side.
“He was going to kill you,” the man’s eyes were distant, “I shot him without thinking. As soon as that man moved to attack, Lieutenant General Jemmer urged his horse forward, but he wasn’t going for any of the enemy.”
“I believe you.” Jorad looked back at his other lieutenant general. “Barlon, secure the area. Make sure all of Abel’s men are dead or captive. We’ll deal with the traitor in a moment.”
Barlon nodded as he sheathed his sword and got down from his horse. The color was still returning to his face, but he started barking orders immediately, not even tripping up on the fact that there were an extra twenty-five men. In short order, Barlon had determined that Abel’s men were all dead, except for the man in black. Jorad’s shot had taken the man in the side, but the blast had cauterized the wound on its way through.
“What’s your name?” Jorad asked. The man groaned but didn’t answer. “Barlon, have the men dig a hole with enough room for nine bodies, put it someplace in the middle of the forest. I don’t want Abel to know what happened to his men unless he asks me.”
Barlon nodded and sent out several men to find a spot, he avoided looking at Vaar as he did. Jorad waited until Barlon was done before continuing with what he had in mind. He wanted Barlon to watch.
Jorad strode towards the men who held Vaar, one of which was the man who had shot him. He was older than Adar and wore a woman’s necklace that was well kept even though the edges of the man’s uniform were fraying in spots.
Vaar looked up, his face twisted in pain but still a mask of insolence.
“Vaar Jemmer, I sentence you to death for the attempted assassination on my life. Unnamed man, the same.” Jorad took a step back and unsheathed his sword, drawing looks from several of his men. They hadn’t expected him to carry out the execution immediately. Or himself. If they had been on base, Jorad would have turned them over to the Rarbon Council, but time was short as it was. “Any last words?”