by Garry Spoor
“Well, it almost was,” Kile said. “The whole expedition was a lie from the beginning, set by the Alva. They wanted us to bring back the Heart of Nilak so they can use it against the vir. They want to destroy Aru, create another wasteland.”
“Why, that doesn’t make any sense. What can they possibly gain from that?” Alex asked.
“Revenge,” Kile answered. “This whole thing is about revenge. The Alva blamed us for destroying their homeland, so now they want us to suffer like they did.”
“It seems pointless,” Erin said. “If they turn Aru into another wasteland, it won’t bring back Kilmore. It won’t restore what the Alva lost. It’s not like they can come back and live in a dead world.”
“I don’t think they are coming back,” Kile said. “From talking to Galan, I don’t think there are many Alva left. This might just be a dying act of vengeance, one last stab at the enemy.”
“But it still doesn’t explain Garret’s part.”
“I know. That’s been bothering me as well. Master Boraro would never side with the Alva, at least I didn’t think so.”
“Maybe he just hates you that much,” Alex said. Kile looked at him and the young bard shrugged. “Think about it. He’s tried to kill you before. Maybe he saw an opportunity.”
Alex had a point, but would Boraro risk the entire expedition for his personal hatred of Kile? She didn’t think so. He was first and foremost a Hunter, which meant the mission was always his top priority. Everything else was secondary. He would never risk the mission by making it personal. The only other explanation was that her death was part of the original mission. She was never meant to leave the island.
“Elmac.”
The name brought Kile back to the conversation. She looked at Emara, who had been strangely quiet the whole time. The mystic looked worried by what she was hearing.
“Elmac,” she said again. “We haven’t received word from him since his first report. He’s avoiding all forms of communication. This is troubling. The Elders are concerned. He should have reported in weeks ago.”
“There’s more to this than meets the eye,” Erin said. “We have to get to Azintar.”
“Emara,” Kile addressed the mystic. “Can you zap us to Azintar?”
Emara raised her eyebrows and grinned. “You honestly want me to send you to Azintar?”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but yes,” Kile answered.
~~~***~~~
Kile sat nervously tapping her fingers on the table. She was not looking forward to another mystical traveling experience. None of them ever turned out as intended, but it was the only way to get to Azintar, apart from flying, and that was out of the question. They planned to set down right outside the city walls to avoid raising too much suspicion. Unfortunately, she would have to leave Grim behind again. The mountain pony would not be pleased. She wanted to tell him herself, but Erin thought it might be too dangerous if she was seen wandering around Baxter’s Bay. Right now, her being dead was the greatest advantage they had in reaching the king, so instead, the Lady Hunter took Alex while Kile sat and waited.
“Hey, Emara, I’m sorry I made Alex use the artifact.”
The mystic looked up from where she was playing with Vesper. She had the yarrow on his back and was rubbing his belly.
“Sorry?”
“The artifact, I’m sorry I made Alex use it.”
“Oh, please, that’s nothing.” Emara waved it off.
“But isn’t it dangerous?”
“Dangerous? It’s a seashell. The worst that can happen is if he cut himself on it. Some of the edges can be sharp.”
“So… it won’t explode or anything?”
Emara laughed. “I told him that so he wouldn’t keep using it. I was afraid he’d be calling me day and night.”
There was a single knock on the door, followed by two more, a pause, three more, another pause, another two, another pause, and Erin shouting, “Open it already.”
“It’s my secret knock,” Alex said after opening the door. “I wanted to let them know we were coming in.”
Erin shook her head and sighed. Kile sympathized. Alex meant well, but sometimes he could be difficult.
“So, how did it go?” she asked the Lady Hunter.
“That pony of yours is not too cooperative.”
Kile cringed. “Did he give you a hard time? I tried to send him a message.”
“No, but he was reluctant,” Erin said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a horse drag their feet before.”
“I’m sorry. He can be a bit stubborn”
“Yeah, and I think I know where he gets it from. So, are we ready to do this?” Erin asked Emara.
The mystic quickly jumped out of her chair and straightened her robes. “I’m ready when you are,” she said.
“Remember, outside the city walls,” Kile added, standing. She held her hand out to Vesper, who quickly scurried up her arm and took his place on her shoulder. They had decided to ditch the orange robes, for fear they might attract too much attention.
“I know, I know, I remember,” Emara said. “Stop reminding me—you’re making me nervous.”
That was not something Kile wanted to hear.
“Just stand together, and get ready,” she said, rolling up her sleeves.
Kile moved to stand beside Erin while the mystic started chanting. The air around them crackled, and she could see the different colors of magic at work. She never appreciated the complexity of the spell until she smelled it. It was then reality started to ripple and Kile closed her eyes. At first, there was a feeling of light-headedness followed by the sensation of floating, right before being sucked through a small hole. After that, things got distorted. There was a loud pop and Kile was standing on solid ground again.
“Are anybody else’s feet wet?” she asked.
“Mine aren’t.”
“Alex, what are you doing here?” Erin asked.
“I have no idea.”
Kile slowly opened her eyes. Although Emara got them to Azintar, she’d missed her mark. It didn’t come as a surprise, but it was a bit of an inconvenience. Instead of landing them outside the city walls, they were standing in one of the city squares, or at least Alex and Erin were. Kile was standing in the water fountain.
“I hate magic,” she mumbled.
Fortunately, it was late, and the streets were empty for the night, so there was no one around to witness their arrival.
“What in the realm is going on here?”
Almost no one.
Kile slowly turned to see four men standing behind her. They were all dressed in green livery, a uniform she had never seen before, although it did look vaguely familiar.
“I was charged with escorting this couple to Azintar,” Erin said quickly.
Three of the men spread out slightly as one stepped forward. He was a young man with sandy-blond hair, cut in the military fashion. His face was round, with a protruding jaw and when he looked at Kile, he casually pulled on a neatly trimmed beard. That’s when she saw the ring. These men were Hunters.
“And where is your script?” he asked Erin.
“I seem to have lost it in route,” she said.
“Strange for a Level One to be escorting a couple of… peasants,” the Hunter said. “Why are you standing in the fountain, grandmother?”
Grandmother? Kile looked down at her reflection in the water and was surprised to see an old woman staring back at her. She had somehow aged about sixty years.
“Her feet were sore and she needed to cool them off,” Erin said.
“And what is your business in Azintar?” The Hunter quickly held his hand up to silence Erin and directed his gaze at Kile.
“We are… on our way to the Vetta,” she answered.
“The Vetta? So you are merchants. What line do you represent?”
“The Undack trading line,” Kile announced with confidence. Hopefully the Undack family wasn’t affected by the current trade problems w
ith Balaa, otherwise their little ruse might have just been exposed.
The Hunter turned and looked at his men. One of them nodded, clearly showing he knew about the line of merchants Kile had aligned herself with.
“I see.” The Hunter appeared to accept the answer. “One of my men will escort you up to the Vetta.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Erin interrupted. “I have to see my mission to its end.”
“I will make sure to inform the local Guild office you have fulfilled your obligation, Hunter Silvia. Meanwhile, you are to report to headquarters.”
“For what reason?”
“That is not for me to say. I was told, should you arrive in Azintar, to take you directly to the colonel. He is eager to speak with you.”
“Very well.” Turning to Kile, Erin gave a slight nod. “I will meet with you later, ma’am.”
“Are you sure?” Kile asked.
“I think it’s for the best. You have business… in the Vetta that needs your immediate attention. I’ll be okay.”
The young Hunter waved for Erin to go ahead of him while two of his men fell in behind. Kile watched them go.
“Do you need help, Grandmother?” the Hunter, who remained behind, asked.
He was a thin young man with a sharp face and an angular nose. His long red hair was tied back in a ponytail, and he was sporting the same neatly trimmed beard as his superior.
“No, I’m fine,” Kile said, moving to the edge of the fountain. Somebody grabbed her arm when she tried to climb out. Her first instinct was to pull away until she saw it was an old man with an eye patch, who was lending her a hand. When Kile finally stood on dry ground again, the Hunter stepped forward.
“I am Certified Level Five Hunter, Carl Burk, at your service,” he announced.
“Well, Hunter Burk, have you been out of the Academy for long?”
“One full year, starting this summer,” he said.
Fresh out of the Academy, just off probation. This Hunter was clearly indoctrinated with the Terrabin way of thinking.
“Well, I wouldn’t want to keep you any longer… young man. I think me and my… I think we should be able to find our way to the Vetta from here.”
“It’s not a problem. I’ll be more than happy to escort you.”
“No, really. You probably have more important things to do. We know the way. It was only getting to Azintar, we needed the aid of a Hunter. There’s no telling who you might meet along the road these days.”
“As you wish, Grandmother,” he said with a slight bow. “Then I will take my leave.”
“I’ll be sure to let the Guild know how helpful you were.”
“Thank you, Grandmother,” Hunter Carl said, turning sharply and marching off after his companions. Kile waited until he left.
“If he called me grandmother one more time, I was going to kick him in the—”
“You think Erin will be all right?” Alex asked.
“I don’t know,” Kile said.
Looking over at Alex, she was glad to see he was a young man again. She even took a moment to examine her own reflection in the water to make sure she was who she was.
“Quick thinking with the illusion again,” Kile said.
“I forgot how scary it was, being on an assignment. I got a little nervous.”
“You being here is one mistake I’m glad Emara made. If they had recognized me, I’m not sure what would have happened.”
“I wish I was quick enough to disguise Erin, but she had already turned around.”
“Don’t blame yourself, Alex, you did the right thing.”
“Well, they’re taking her to the colonel, so it can’t be all that bad. He’ll sort everything out.”
The colonel? It couldn’t be Colonel Barshed since that was Luke, who was Mathew Latherby, and he was keeping a low profile. Was Erin aware of any of that? Kile suddenly had a bad feeling.
“Alex, I want you to follow Erin.”
“What? Why?”
“Just keep an eye on her. Make sure she’s all right.”
“What about you?”
“As Erin said, I have urgent business elsewhere but not in the Vetta.”
19
Kile stood before the palace of Azintar and was not surprised to see the gates closed. They would not be expecting visitors this late in the evening. Her choices were simple. She could either knock on the front door or find an alternate route into the palace. Since the king’s guard had no reason to detain her, she continued to the front gate. The direct approach would be the quickest. She was within ten feet of the tower wall before her presence was challenged.
“Who goes there?” a voice called from somewhere high above.
Looking up, she could make out the silhouette of somebody leaning over the parapet.
“I am. I have an important message for the king,” she called back.
Even though her name might have gained her entrance, it was not a good idea to scream it at the tower.
A few moments passed before a small door, built inside the gate, opened and a shaft of light escaped up the road. A large man in full armor stood in the threshold. He held up a lantern and grew in size as he walked toward her. Stopping three feet in front of her, he lowered his light to shine it on her face. The glare made it impossible for Kile to see what the man looked like.
“Who are you and what message have you for the king at this hour?” he asked.
“The name is not important and the message is for the king’s ears only,” Kile said.
The guard laughed. “Be gone vagabond. The king has no wish to parlay with the likes of you.”
Kile held out her hand. “If that were true, why has he given me this?”
The guard was forced to lower his lantern to see what she was trying to show him. Now that the light was no longer in her eyes, Kile got her first good look at the man. He was older than he sounded, with a large, round face and an even larger round nose. He looked more like someone’s grandfather than a palace guard.
When he saw the ring on Kile’s finger, his manner changed, although not necessarily for the better. Now he was suspicious of her.
“Where did you get that?” he asked.
“The king gave it to me.”
His eyes narrowed. “Or you stole it.” His tone was clearly meant as a challenge. “Is it a thief we have, sneaking outside the walls of the palace?”
“Uh, hello. I walked up to the front gate. Would a thief do that?”
“They might if they were trying to gain unlawful entry.”
“For what reason?”
“To pilfer, to maim, to vandalize, to assassinate the king.”
“Wow, and I thought my horse was cynical. Look, all I want to do is speak to him, not kill him.”
The guard hesitated for a moment and slowly nodded. “We shall see about that.” He stepping to one side to direct Kile to the gate. “A messenger will be sent to His Majesty. If he wishes to see you, you will be escorted into the palace, if he does not, you will be escorted to a cell. Do you still wish to speak with the king?”
“You guys make everything so complicated,” she said.
When she stepped over the threshold, two more guards greeted her and led her to a small room at the base of the tower. It was a simple room with a single table and a couple of old wooden chairs. It reminded her of the first time she visited the outpost of Moran when Captain Jax took her to a similar room to interrogate her about the Minotaur of Calder Falls. There would be no friendly dogs to help her get out of this one.
One of the guards pointed to a chair. “You should wait here until the messenger returns.”
Although it sounded like a suggestion, she was sure it wasn’t.
Both guards stepped out of the room and closed the door behind them, leaving Kile alone.
“I should have snuck in. It would have been so much easier,” she told Vesper as she took a seat across from the door. All she could do now was sit and wait. How long did it ta
ke for a guard to reach the king and return?
Closing her eyes, Kile fell into her Edge and stretched her consciousness out across the palace grounds. She was trying to make a connection, seeking out any information she could, but there was nothing to connect with, not even a mouse. It was unnaturally quiet. How does one rid a place of every living thing but the vir? Maybe that was the wrong question. Maybe she should be asking herself why. If nothing else, she did learn the Heart was no longer in Azintar. If it was, she would have felt it. It was probably halfway to the wastelands by now.
With her best means of gathering information denied her, Kile started examining the room. There was no other way out but the front door, or at least none she could see. No windows, no vents, no trapdoors. The floor was a slab of solid stone while the ceiling was made of thick timber. There was no doubt about it, she was trapped.
-New form,- Vesper suggested.
“What new form?”
-New form,- the yarrow repeated, and in his words, Kile saw Burgora, the great bear who once lived, and probably still did, in the north woods of Denal.
“Are you serious?” she asked. “Even if I could change into a two-thousand-pound grizzly, I still wouldn’t be able to get out of this room, and it definitely wouldn’t get me any closer to speaking with Roland. Besides, trying on different… forms isn’t something I want to do. I think, at the moment, we should sit and wait.”
No sooner did Kile return to her seat, then the door opened and the large round-faced guard entered. He didn’t seem nearly as intimidating, and in fact, looked almost embarrassed.
“Uh… my lady. His Majesty wishes to see you… immediately.”
Well, that’s better, Kile thought as she got to her feet. The guard stepped aside, allowing her to exit the room. Outside, she found two more men waiting for her.
“My men will escort you to the palace,” the guard explained.
“That won’t be necessary,” Kile said. “I can find my own way.”
“I’m afraid His Majesty was clear. You were not to continue without an escort.”
It seemed like a strange request. It wasn’t like she could lose her way. It was a straight path through the King’s Gate all the way up to the palace doors, but who was she to question Roland? He was the king after all. He had to know what he was doing, although it did seem a little suspicious. Kile continued up the road with one of the soldiers ahead of her and the other following. She was feeling more like a prisoner with every passing moment.