Carth made her way to the entrance of the cave and watched the sunset. It was a beautiful sky, and as the sun fell toward the horizon, Carth had a sense of foreboding. It was strange for her to feel so helpless when it came to her fate. She was used to being in control, used to being the one that others feared.
When a shadow passed in front of the cave, Carth knew the tribunal had arrived.
She debated what the appropriate response would be. Should she appear remorseful, or should she be deferential? Or should she be neither and stand before them, holding herself with the confidence that would be expected of her?
When the first figure stepped off the platform, Carth frowned.
The Collector. What would he be doing here now?
“The tribunal will be here soon…”
He flashed a smile at her, and she wondered at the reason until she realized that others followed him, including Talia. Her fears that Talia worked on behalf of the Collector were proven accurate with her presence.
“What is this?” She directed the question at the Collector, but the constable, who stepped off the platform last, was the one who answered.
“This is the tribunal. You were informed that they would be coming today and that you would have an opportunity to make your case.”
Carth frowned. “This is the tribunal?” If the Collector were involved in the tribunal, he was already more integrated with them than she realized. She had expected him to have manipulated things so that he would force her to make whatever decisions he intended for her but had not anticipated having him be a part of the tribunal.
Was this his way of ensuring that she did exactly what he wanted?
A tall woman stepped forward. She had straight brown hair and a severe forehead with a sharp nose. Her skin was deeply tanned, much like many of those she had met in Keyall. “You are Carthenne Rel?”
Carth looked at the others standing before her. In addition to the Collector and the woman, there was a third man. He was pudgy and had deep-set eyes and slicked-back black hair. He was dressed in a rich chocolate jacket with significant embroidery along the sleeves and a few colorful flourishes sewn into the lapel. He would be some sort of nobility.
What of the woman? She didn’t strike Carth as nobility. She had a hard edge to her and her posture spoke of authority. If not nobility, then… Her gaze drifted to the constable. She would be with the constabulary.
And then there was the Collector. He was dressed all in black today, and the cut of his wool jacket screamed of cost. Carth had traveled enough to recognize quality of craftsmanship when she saw it. A short sword was sheathed at his side. His eyes studied her, as if he expected her to attack.
If she attacked, he would get what he wanted and she would prove that she should not be in Keyall. If she suffered through the farce that was bound to be the tribunal, he would also get what he wanted.
There was no good option for her. That was exactly what he wanted.
She had to marvel at the gamesmanship. He had truly placed her into a situation where any decision she made would be difficult—and lead to an outcome where her friends would suffer. Without knowing where to find them, she could do nothing to help. She hated feeling that way, hated the helplessness and the fact that there seemed to be nothing that she could do.
“I am Carthenne Rel.”
“You stand before the tribunal in Keyall accused of a grievous crime. What have you to say for yourself?”
Carth glanced from face to face. “You know my name. I would like to know the names of my accusers.”
The Collector smiled. “You face the tribunal, Carthenne Rel. You don’t get to make demands.”
“It is only just that she know the names of her accusers,” the severe-looking woman said.
The Collector kept his gaze on Carth, and he nodded once. There was the slightest edge of tension around his eyes. Had he hoped that he could keep Carth from knowing his name? She knew him only as the Collector, nothing else. Even the constable. She hadn’t learned his name, and she had spoken to him many times.
“I am Natassa Ol’tohn,” the woman said, bowing her head. “I believe you have met Peter,” she said, nodding at the constable.
The chubbier man stepped forward. “I am Lord Tundal Faslan.” Carth searched her memory for anything that would make that name memorable, but could come up with nothing.
“And you?” She eyed the Collector with a neutral stare. Let him think that he had not gotten to her.
“I am nothing but a simple merchant.”
Lord Faslan spluttered. “Simple? You have acquired more wealth than most in Keyall ever managed to acquire, and you have done it in a matter of years.”
“Less now than a month ago.” He eyed Carth as he said it. Would he admit to what he had done to acquire his wealth? Did the others even know? She doubted that they did. To them, he was a merchant, not a man whose tactics were to be feared. To them, he was not a Tsatsun master playing a game with them. That was something reserved only for Carth, and she watched him, waiting for some reaction, but there was none.
“Would you prefer to be called Simple or Merchant?” Carth asked.
He glared at her for a moment. She was pleased that she had gotten him. She hadn’t been certain whether it was possible.
“You may call him Alistan Rhain,” Natassa said.
“Yes. I am well aware of what I may call him,” Carth said, glaring at Rhain. She wanted time alone with him so that she would get the answers she wanted. That was all she needed.
“You are here because you have been accused of destroying the city. You are accused of ignoring the laws of Keyall and the rightful imprisonment of lawbreakers. And you are accused of corrupting our citizens.”
“And how exactly have I been corrupting your citizens?” Carth asked.
“You have been observed attempting to influence them, working with those who seek to overthrow the lawful government.”
Carth frowned. Could they mean the smugglers? She didn’t have much experience with them, other than when they had camped outside of the city, but didn’t think that they intended to overthrow the government of Keyall. They feared for what the Collector wanted from them, and they had worked with Rhain… hadn’t they?
“What do you have to say in your defense?” the Collector asked.
Carth considered him for a moment. What did he intend for her to say? He had something in mind, though what that was wasn’t clear. She tried thinking of how the pieces would move around on the game board, but without knowing the nature of the pieces and what motivated them, she struggled to know what the Collector intended.
“I have explained myself to your constable already. I was defending the city, not attempting to destroy it. There was another who thought to create an explosion, and I was doing what I could to control it.”
Natassa studied her for a moment. “If this is true, this would weigh heavily in your favor. Do you have any way of proving this?”
She couldn’t prove that it was the Collector, and he knew that. She couldn’t even prove that it was Talia, though even if she could, Carth wasn’t certain that she would want to implicate her. The woman needed her help—whether she knew it or not.
“Unfortunately, I am unable to confirm who was involved.” She looked at Talia, and the other woman held her gaze for a moment before looking down. If nothing else, Carth was determined to prove that she would help Talia and that she would not betray her. She would need to know that Carth meant to help.
The corners of the Collector’s mouth turned in a hint of a smile. Was she playing in to his plans? Even if she was, did it matter? She didn’t want to implicate Talia, because if she did, Talia would be the one facing the tribunal. Carth didn’t know enough about the woman to know whether she deserved that, but if she truly was coerced into assisting the Collector, Talia needed her help. Carth might not be able to help Linsay, but maybe she could help Talia.
“And then there is the blatant disregard for th
e laws of Keyall,” Natassa went on.
“By that, I presume you mean your holding one of my companions in the stocks as a way of teaching her a lesson? This would be a woman who has suffered much abuse, and so placing her into confinement such as you did would of course elicit such a reaction.”
“Yet you did nothing to try to follow the lawful processes,” Natassa said.
“Didn’t I? I spoke to Peter, but he seemed unconcerned about my objection to the punishment.”
Peter studied her. Carth had thought that he worked for the Collector, but she was no longer certain. It could be that the Collector exerted his influence on the tribunal and that he had not taken control of the constables.
“You thought it necessary to attack my men in order to rescue her?”
“I thought it necessary to end her torment. If it required attacking your men to do so…” She shrugged. What other response could there be? “And your accusation of corruption is little more than a fallacy. I imagine it came from Alistan Rhain.”
Natassa glanced at him before turning her attention back to Carth. “He is a valued member of our society.”
Carth shook her head. “What is your punishment?”
“You have nothing to say for yourself?” the Collector asked.
Carth glanced at the others and knew that anything she might say would be useless. Worse, anything she might say would provide the Collector with more information about her. If she did manage to escape—and she was no longer certain that was a given—she had to ensure that he not learn even more about her. The fact that he had infiltrated her network—that Linsay had managed to get so close to her that she had discovered information that could be used against Carth—would force Carth to reevaluate her entire organization.
“I have said all that I intend to say. And I think that the tribunal has already made up their mind prior to coming here.”
“I had thought you might want to say more on your friends’ behalf,” the Collector said.
“My friends’ behalf?”
He nodded solemnly. “They are your co-conspirators. They have been silent, unwilling to speak against you, I suspect out of fear. We have offered our reassurances that they would be protected within Keyall, but the threat of the great Carthenne Rel”—with this, he did smile—“has been enough to buy their silence. One of them in particular still owes a debt to Keyall, and there is only one way such a debt can be repaid.”
Carth didn’t like the way that this conversation was heading. What would they do to Jenna? That was who he referred to, and her friend had suffered enough that she didn’t deserve to suffer anything more, especially at the hands of the Collector and for his own personal vendetta against Carth.
“What penance have you required?”
The Collector smiled and opened his mouth as if to speak but Natassa cut him off. “That is enough. We do not need to torment her with what will take place. The tribunal will meet and discuss, and we will return with our decision.”
One by one, they stepped back onto the platform, with Peter the last to leave. Carth tried meeting the Collector’s eyes, but he made a point of looking away from her. Did he fear to meet her eyes or was it all part of the game he was playing with her?
It was Talia who looked at her the longest. Her gaze lingered until she disappeared, the platform rising back out of view, leaving Carth staring out at the sky, wondering what fate would befall her friends.
7
Carth rested with her back against the rock. She couldn’t sleep, not well, and not with the thoughts that plagued her. Every effort that she had made at using her magic on the stone had failed. If she could have escaped, she would have done so and gone and found one of the tribunal members to force them to tell her where to find her friends. There was no way to get free.
She heard a gentle creaking and started into a greater alertness.
The sound reminded her of the creaking of her ship on the waves, a sound that had once been reassuring. The suddenness of it, and the strangeness to it, jolted her into full alertness.
She crept forward, drawing on the shadows for concealment. Was someone coming for her? Could the tribunal have made their decision?
If they had, she wasn’t certain what it meant for them to be coming at this point in the night.
Carth didn’t have to wait long. The platform appeared, a smear of shadow against the night. She waited for whoever might step off it, expecting Peter or perhaps Natassa, and less likely, the Collector.
It was Talia.
“Why are you here?” Carth asked.
“You didn’t betray me when you could have,” Talia said.
“What would the purpose of me betraying you have been?” Carth asked.
“Purpose? You could have said anything to have gotten yourself free. Instead, you did not. You seemed like you protected me.”
“That’s what I do. That’s the foolishness that you thought to comment on. That foolishness has kept many people safe. That’s why I offered my protection to you in the first place.”
Talia shook her head. “I didn’t know.”
Carth took a step toward her. “Did he send you here?”
Talia’s eyes widened slightly. “No. He doesn’t know that I’ve come.”
“I find that hard to believe. If he is what I believe him to be, he will have anticipated your coming, even if you didn’t tell him.” Carth couldn’t believe that Talia would not have shared with the Collector that she was coming. It was exactly the kind of thing the Collector would have done, trying to play Carth in such a way that she would believe Talia to have come of her own volition.
“I only came because the tribunal has come to a decision,” Talia said.
“And?”
“And they have sentenced you to death.”
“If that’s the case, why wouldn’t I make my escape now?” Carth asked.
“Because they still have your friends. I overheard their plans for them. They think to punish them the same way. It is meant as a deterrent for outsiders, to prevent anyone from thinking to linger too long here.”
“I thought Keyall wanted merchants’ money.”
“The money, but not the headache that comes with having outsiders here. You don’t understand.”
Carth laughed and crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t understand? I’ve lived my entire life as an outsider. Everywhere I go is someplace new to me, and everywhere I go, I must establish myself. Don’t presume to know what I have experienced,” Carth said.
“I thought you would want to help them.”
“I do want to help them.”
“I can show you where they’re kept.”
Carth eyed Talia suspiciously. “And why would you do that? What purpose do you have in helping me?”
“You could have implicated me. I want to repay the favor.”
Carth frowned as she considered Talia for a moment. “He doesn’t know that you were the one responsible for the explosions in the city, does he?”
Carth had thought that the Collector had encouraged Talia to blow up that section of the city, but maybe he hadn’t. Could Talia have been working against him? Could she have been testing some way of escaping his reach? Or, maybe more likely, had she attempted to destroy the Collector’s connection to power?
“He doesn’t know that I’m here,” Talia said.
“Are you certain? From what I can tell, the Collector is aware of far more than I would have once given him credit for. It’s possible that he not only knows that you’re here, but he wanted you to be here.”
“Why would he want me to be here?”
“Because he offered you to me as a bargaining chip to get me to do what he wants.”
Talia’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“You didn’t realize that he had done that, did you?”
Talia shook her head. “Why would he think that would work?”
Carth breathed out heavily. “Because he has had someone spying on me for quite
some time. She’s the reason I am even here in Keyall.”
Talia gasped. “How could he have reached that far?”
“The better question is how he planned that long. She’s been with me for the better part of a year, which means that he must have been planning to place her with me even longer.” That was what troubled Carth more than anything. The Collector was playing a long game, much longer than she had imagined possible. She had thought that her ability to force accords between the Hjan, the A’ras, and the Ih represented a long sort of game, but the Collector proved that she had been shortsighted.
“You’re sure he’s been planning this for a long time?”
“Now I’m sure,” Carth said. “I may not have been before, but it explains much to me.”
“Which explains why he wasn’t surprised when I shared with him what I had learned about you. I’ve always known him to be well connected and to have knowledge that it seemed as if he shouldn’t have—he is the Collector, after all—but that seemed surprising. You had never been this far south.”
“He made it sound as if rumor of me had spread from merchants making their way south,” Carth said.
Talia shrugged. “Perhaps some did, but he knew more about you than what I would’ve expected from him.”
Carth let out a heavy sigh. “You never told me why you blew up the section of the city.”
“Because he has been gathering it, though I don’t know why. He wanted it empty. These were stores that once had been profitable and prominent within Keyall. After he bought them out, they became empty, shells of what they once had been. This was my home. Seeing him change it…”
Could the Collector have known that he would drive Talia to such anger that she would retaliate?
It seemed far too coincidental and almost impossible to believe that he would be able to exert so much control over her reaction, but wasn’t that one of the keys of Tsatsun? He would have learned about Talia, and he would have discovered in what ways she might respond so that he could force her to react in the way that he intended and not in any other way.
Shadow Games (The Collector Chronicles Book 2) Page 5