“Of course. Where am I going?”
“Danal’s quarters. I want to see if we can get close. This time, however, you’ll take Warren with you.”
Aaron nodded.
“Oh,” Dagan said, as if it were an afterthought, “thanks for the food. Do you think you might bring back some water tonight?”
Aaron and Warren left the secret passage several hours after sundown. It was earlier than Aaron had gone out the night before. They left the less-used part of the castle and headed toward the royal apartments. There weren’t as many guards around this time, only a few scattered guards standing outside the various rooms.
They were still several hallways away from the king’s chambers when Aaron suddenly realized that Warren was no longer beside him. Tensing up, Aaron turned and immediately spotted the Fae prince standing next to a window. Aaron glanced around and, satisfied they were still alone, rejoined Warren.
“What is it?” Aaron asked, stepping next to Warren and peering out the window. The castle was an ancient and sprawling collection of buildings, but they were near the exterior walls. From their current vantage point, they could see over the walls and they had an excellent view of the surrounding city. It was dark, but numerous torches, lamps, and fires of all kinds illuminated the vast expanse of the city.
Warren didn’t answer; he just continued to stare out at the city of Telur.
“Warren?” Aaron said, and placed a hand on the Fae’s shoulder.
Warren jumped and looked around. “What?”
“Is something the matter?”
Warren shook his head and looked back out the window. “I’ve just never imagined anything like this. It goes on forever.”
At last, Aaron understood. The Fae had lived hidden in the wastelands for thousands of years. They didn’t have any cities of their own, although they did guard over ancient ruins. Those old, collapsed piles of stone could not compare to a thriving city like Telur.
Aaron gave Warren’s shoulder a gentle pull. “Come on, we need to keep moving.”
Warren took one more look out the window, then followed Aaron. He walked like a man in a daze.
They passed the king’s chambers without a second look. In the next hallway, they passed Aldon’s rooms; there was only one guard standing in front of the door. The lack of guards wasn’t surprising, as Aldon was spending his nights at Hannah’s manor, but nevertheless, the prince still wanted a guard on his door. Once again, they passed right by. The next several apartments were empty but there was still a guard posted. The guards looked bored. These were the rooms of Barrett and the princesses, none of whom were currently in Telur. The very last of the royal apartments belonged to Danal. A bored-looking guard stood beside the door. He watched them approach and returned Aaron’s nod as they walked past.
Warren waited until they were out of earshot before he stopped and spoke. “We could get in there if we had to.”
“Yes,” Aaron nodded, “but what happens when they go to change the guard and they can’t find him?”
Warren sighed. “I don’t know, but I hate all this sneaking around.”
Smiling, Aaron started walking again. “I got an idea. Flare told me once that he would often see his brother in the royal library.”
“And?” Warren asked, looking skeptical.
“Well,” Aaron replied hesitantly, “since we’re not going to get in his chambers, why don’t we visit the library?”
“Surely he won’t be there this late at night.”
“Probably, but it’s either that or return to the others.”
Warren sighed deeply. “All right, let’s go to the library.”
They arrived at the library half an hour later. There were quite a few more people out in the hallways than there had been last night. Aaron simply attributed it to being so much earlier. On several occasions, nobles walked past, and Aaron and Warren moved to the side of the hall and bowed, just like the other servants. The nobles completely ignored them, and the guards didn’t glance twice.
The library was located on the first floor toward the middle of the sprawling castle complex. Aaron had half-expected the doors to be locked, but was pleasantly surprised to find that they opened easily at his touch. He pulled the door open, leaned his head in, and gawked at the sight that awaited him. He had never visited the library before and had never suspected that there could be so many books in one place in the castle. It did not compare to the royal library in Eled Aminor, but it was still impressive nevertheless.
The library was immense. The rows of books stretched off into the distance. The ceiling opened up to multiple levels of the library. He waited, trying to hear if there were any sounds, but it all seemed quiet.
Pulling the door open a bit farther, he slipped through, then held it open long enough for Warren to enter behind him. Being careful to make as little noise as possible, Aaron slowly closed the door and motioned for Warren to follow him.
Off to the right of the entrance were several wooden desks. Most likely the desks were used by librarians who kept the massive number of books organized. It wasn’t a job that Aaron would have wanted; he imagined it was quite boring and tedious.
After walking for about ten yards, they emerged from under the ceiling overhang and could see the upper sections of the library. It was simply amazing. Along the upper tiers was a railing that allowed the library patrons to look out onto the floors below. There didn’t appear to be anyone here.
Aaron felt a tapping on his shoulder and turned to see Warren holding his finger to his lips. Aaron nodded, and Warren pointed to right rear corner. Aaron nodded again and motioned for Warren to lead the way.
Warren led them farther into the library and they passed long rows of bookcases. Aaron couldn’t help but scan the multi-tiered balconies of the upper levels of the library. Just because they couldn’t hear anyone, didn’t mean they weren’t there. He kept thinking that at any moment movement would betray a watcher, but a stillness lay on the upper floors and nothing moved.
However, after traveling a good distance into the library Aaron heard a sound and he knew what it was. His eyebrows went up and he looked questioningly at Warren, who smiled back at him. How had Warren known? There was something strange about Warren, but then again, he wasn’t a man. He was a Faerum, and Aaron wasn’t exactly sure what that meant. Had Warren been able to hear the sounds from the library entrance, or could he somehow sense the people in the back of the library? Aaron decided that was a question for another time.
Warren stopped moving, and motioned to the bookshelf on their right.
It took Aaron a moment but he realized what the Fae was telling him. The sounds were coming from the other side of the bookshelf. Aaron nodded and retraced their steps about ten feet. He had noticed a gap in the bookshelf, and he leaned through and peered up the library aisle.
Two people were on the floor - a man and a woman, both young. They were lying on a thick blanket and both seemed to be enjoying themselves, but Aaron had been able to tell that from the sounds they were making. He waited for a moment, trying to see if he could recognize either person. He wasn’t worried about being spotted; the two had their attention squarely focused on each other.
After a minute or so, the pair rolled over and Aaron pulled back, just to make sure he wasn’t accidentally spotted. Once again, he needn’t have worried. He probably could have walked over and poked the two with a stick and they wouldn’t have noticed. He caught a glimpse of their faces this time, though, and it was enough. He pulled his head back through the gap and motioned for Warren to follow him.
They headed to the front of the library and out into the main passage.
Warren held his tongue until they were several hallways over before he spoke. “Did you recognize them, or are you one of those who just likes to watch?”
Aaron snorted a laugh and glanced around to make sure no one could hear them. “I wanted to see their faces, and I’m glad I did.”
“Why?” Warren as
ked, curious now.
“The young man was Prince Danal.”
“Really?” Warren asked in surprise.
“Yes,” Aaron answered with a grin. “I guess he does like women after all.”
They left the library and Aaron gave Warren a rough idea of the layout of the castle. They grabbed some dinner in the kitchens and then Aaron took Warren on a meandering tour. It would, of course, take the Fae many days to get comfortable walking the castle hallways by himself, but now at least he knew the castle’s basic design.
After several hours of wandering the palace, they once again stopped by the kitchens, but this time they left only with a couple of pitchers of water. No one paid them the least bit of attention; it would seem that in the right clothes everyone took them for servants and completely ignored them.
With the pitchers in hand, they returned to the less used part of the castle and back into the secret passage. They were a bit surprised to find everyone still awake.
“You’re back rather early, aren’t you?” Dagan said in surprise.
“Yes,” Aaron replied with a smile, and he held up the water pitchers. “And as you requested, we brought water.”
“Great,” Dagan answered. “Put that down and let’s talk.”
After setting their pitchers down, the group gathered in a small circle, each sitting on their blankets, except Atock who insisted on standing.
“What did you learn?” Dagan demanded.
“There is at least one guard assigned to each of the royal chambers, even for those who aren’t even in Telur,” Aaron answered, then he grinned. “I did confirm Cassandra’s belief that Prince Danal likes women.”
“And how exactly did you do that?” Cassandra asked, looking interested.
“Well, I remembered Flare mentioning to me that Danal always liked the library, so after discovering that his quarters were guarded, I thought we should scout the library.”
“Good thinking,” Dagan said. “I’m surprised. I wouldn’t have expected such a good idea from you.”
Aaron scowled at the old man, while several of the others snickered. “Anyway,” he said loudly, trying to drown out the laughter, “Danal was in the library and he wasn’t alone.”
“Please tell me that he isn’t sleeping with that damn countess,” Cassandra said dryly.
“My dear Cassandra,” Aaron said in an oily tone, “is that jealousy I hear in your voice?”
Silence settled on the group and Cassandra’s eyebrow shot up and began twitching.
Aaron swallowed hard, realizing that he might have gone too far. One should never anger a magician, especially a king’s magician. Fool! he thought, don’t ever insult a magic user! Aloud he said, “Uh, sorry, but no, it wasn’t the countess.”
“Well, don’t make us guess,” Dagan said. “Tell us who it was.”
In the blink of an eye Dagan’s normal grumpy tone had disappeared and he was smiling serenely. The old goat seemed to be enjoying watching Aaron squirm. Aaron glanced around the room and realized everyone was taking delight in his predicament. He ground his teeth for a moment, and then answered, “It was a young woman who I have never seen before.”
“That’s good news,” Dagan said, looking pleased. “I don’t know if Danal can help us or not, but at least we can speak to him without worrying about the guards.”
“You’re assuming he’ll be there again tomorrow,” Holgar said. The dwarf looked unsatisfied.
“Of course he’ll be there again tomorrow. That boy always loved the library and if he’s found a young woman who’ll let him bed her, then he’ll keep going back as often as he can.”
Holgar continued to look less than happy, but most of the others chuckled at Dagan’s comment.
“So what do you suggest?” Cassandra asked.
“Tomorrow we go and speak to the prince,” Dagan answered.
Chapter 6
Heather stepped out of the doorway and shivered. The doorway wasn’t a normal opening, but an opening made in the air by Wizardry. She nearly cried at the thought. Wizardry had always been spoken of in low whispers, something used to frighten small children, and now they were using it to travel halfway across the known world. Flare had also saved her very life with his new wizard talents and the very thought just about made her sick.
Adel, help us! she prayed under her breath. She had a deep respect for Flare ever since he had held Fort Mul-Dune against overwhelming odds. He had saved her life more than once, but the fear of wizardry was so pervasive, so engrained, that she still found her herself fighting with it. Whenever Flare got too close, she had to fight the urge to pull away, making excuses not to be alone with him. She suspected that Flare had noticed, but he hadn’t said anything or given any obvious sign of recognition.
A large pack hit her in the shoulder and she grunted, not so much in pain but from the impact.
“Sorry,” Enton’s deep voice called out quietly. “Didn’t see you.”
It really was her own fault. They had come through the wizard’s doorway several hours after midnight. It was dark, and she should have been more careful about getting out of the way. The moon was little more than a crescent and provided very little light, but that was part of their plan. By coming through at such an ungodly hour, their hope was that no one would see their sudden arrival. It was still chancy, as they were arriving in the middle of one of the busiest roads in Telur. There wasn’t any fear of people moving along the road right now, but large caravans often camped along the road and they always posted guards.
Luck, or perhaps divine intervention, was on their side, and the field that she stumbled in to was empty. With the exception of Belgil the Dwarf, they had all been in this field before. It seemed like so long ago when they had led a small force of green recruits to reinforce Fort Mul-Dune. So much had changed since then. They had paused in their long trip from Telur to the fort and taken their lunch in this very field. That had been important to Flare; he wanted their destination to be familiar, a place where they’d been in the past. He seemed reluctant to talk about it, but Heather and Mikela had refused to give in. He finally admitted that wizardry only allowed a wizard to travel to a place that he had been to before. They couldn’t go straight to Elem, but instead they had to travel to a point on the West Road, and then walk the rest of the way to the abbey.
The West Road ran from Telur in the east until it forked into two branches. One branch ran northwest to Fort Mul-Dune, and the second branch ran in a meandering path to the southwest and eventually arrived in Elem. Flare could have taken them directly to the fork in the road, but as that was a common place for the caravans to stop, he thought it would be safer to try this field. It was a half-day’s journey to the east of the fork, but still reasonably close.
Heather could tell the field was deserted without being able to see. The absence of any smell of smoke was an obvious sign, as was the lack of horse sounds.
Heather closed her eyes and let the breeze blow over her. She had thought that she was to die under the ruins of the Dwarven mine of El’alador; it felt refreshing to feel the wind on her face and hear the night sounds again.
The sound of a deep and gruff cursing caused Heather to sigh; the moment was ruined. She opened her eyes again, not that it helped much, and turned back toward the wizard’s door. She could just make out the outline of the door and the shape of a small figure lumbering though - Belgil the Dwarf, no doubt. The dwarf, like Enton, carried several packs, but he moved rather too noisily for Heather’s taste. The dwarf seemed all right, though he kept to himself and was not the friendliest.
Another form stepped through the portal, and this one was taller and more slender. The magician Mikela followed the dwarf, but she only carried a single pack. Heather was proud of the way Mikela moved silently, or as near to silent as any non-woodsman could. Her time in the Guardians had been good for Mikela; she was now so much more than just a clumsy bookworm of a mage.
Flare was the last one through, and he seemed to
almost blur into the night. In addition to carrying Ossendar, he now wore the black dragon armor Nerandall, which almost made him invisible in the darkness.
Now that they were through, the magical doorway collapsed in on itself and disappeared.
Heather looked to the east and west and could make out the West Road that lay just to the south. There didn’t seem to be any signs of a caravan in their immediate vicinity; on this dark a night, they surely would have had a fire, or at least some torches. The only sound was the wind blowing through the trees that were a bit farther to the north, well, the wind and the muffled curses of the dwarf.
“Which way?” Mikela called out quietly.
A rasping sound came before anyone answered Mikela’s question. Heather knew what that sound was; it was Flare returning Ossendar to its sheath. He had come prepared for a fight, a fight that had not presented itself. Heather realized that she still had her hand on the hilt of her short sword and she reluctantly let go of it.
“Let’s just wait for daylight,” Flare said. “If we try and walk in this darkness, we’ll only break a leg.”
Heather heard the unmistakable sound of packs hitting the ground and she knew that the others were making themselves comfortable. As the first one through, she had been the group’s scout and she carried no pack.
“Heather?” Enton called out quietly.
“I’m going to the trees,” she whispered. “I’ll be back in a moment.”
She didn’t wait for Enton to acknowledge her but instead started walking to the trees that were just to the north. They had come through the portal at a point that was maybe fifty yards from the trees, but she had to go slowly due to the dark. So many caravans and horsemen had made camp in this very field that the ground was cut up and full of ruts.
She was pleased to be alone and feel the soft breeze again but the pleasant thoughts and feelings did not last long. There were too many things that weighed on her. Flare was one of those things. She liked him and trusted him, or at least she had. She wasn’t so sure anymore. He was doing things that no man was supposed to do and it concerned her. What he had said about him and Zalustus both trying to restore the Dragon Order made sense in a way, but it still went against everything that she had ever known. Somehow, Flare had learned wizardry. Wizardry! The very word still sent shivers running down her back, and regardless of how much they’d insisted, he refused to tell them how. That very same wizardry had been used to save her life. If for no other reason, she knew the church wouldn’t stop until she was dead. As far as they were concerned, she had been touched by a wizard and that would be enough for them.
Victory and Defeat: Book Five of the Restoration Series Page 4