Sunshine shook her head in disbelief. That couldn’t be the case—Rayne wouldn’t be involved with another woman, would he? Of course not, she chided herself. This is just an attempt to make him look bad.
“Anyways,” Cameron continued, “he puts his sword up to my throat and says to me he’s goin’ to kill me if I don’t back off. I backs off and wuz ables to escape ’fore he could hurts me.”
Bertram stared at Cameron, then turned his head and asked Ivor, “And you saw all of this?”
The tall guardian from Erd simply nodded in agreement.
“And where are the merchant and his daughter, Captain Sullivan?” Bertram asked, glancing around the hall.
Captain Sullivan shrugged. “When we went to their store, it was deserted, and their neighbors said they must have left in the middle of the night because no one saw them leave.”
“I see…” Bertram said thoughtfully. “Do you have anything to add?”
“What else needs to be said?” Sullivan asked harshly. “I consider this action to be attempted murder. Had Guardian Cameron not been so skilled in his escape, I’m sure Rayne would have killed him.”
Bertram frowned. “That will be all, Captain. Guardian Rayne, please stand.”
Rayne stood, and instead of slumping over and looking defeated, he stood tall, with his shoulders squared.
“Guardian Rayne, did you draw your sword and place it against the throat of Guardian Cameron?” Bertram asked.
In a clear, strong voice, Rayne stated, “Yes, I did.”
The crowd reacted with gasps and several people saying, “Oh, no.” Abrecan sat up straighter and glared at the people in the hall.
“And why did you do this?” Bertram asked.
“Guardian Cameron was attempting to collect taxes from the merchant, but we were there earlier in the month and had collected already.” Rayne pointed at Cameron. “I was standing outside, per Cameron’s order, and only entered the store when he called me in. He told me the merchant refused to pay his taxes. When I reminded Cameron that they had already paid for the month, he said he wanted them to pay again, and he drew his sword.”
Cameron stood up and yelled, “That’s not the ways it happened!”
Bertram didn’t shy away from the outburst. “Guardian Cameron, you had your chance to speak. You will not speak again unless asked a question.”
“But—” Cameron began, but he was silenced when Sullivan yanked him back to the bench.
“Continue please, Guardian Rayne,” Bertram instructed.
Rayne nodded. “It’s my opinion that Cameron was breaking the law and threatening the innocent merchant and his daughter.”
Bertram’s eyebrows furrowed. “But Guardian Ivor testified that he saw the whole thing and agrees with Guardian Cameron.”
“Guardian Ivor wasn’t there,” Rayne said matter-of-factly. “I don’t know where he was, but he was not in the building when this happened.”
Ivor started to stand up, but Sullivan grabbed hold of his tunic and shook his head.
“What else would you add, Guardian Rayne?” Bertram asked.
Rayne turned and looked at Captain Sullivan and the two guardians. He then shifted his attention to Councilor Abrecan and didn’t say anything for a moment. Sunshine couldn’t see Rayne’s expression, but whatever it was, the councilor appeared not to care for it.
“I became a guardian with an honest desire to help the people of Bariwon. However, it has become obvious that honesty is in short supply here. Consider the following points. If I truly threatened Cameron’s life, do you think he would still be alive? And if he escaped my threat, do you think I would walk casually back to the castle and allow myself to be arrested? And what of the merchant? Isn’t it convenient that the only two people who can verify my story have disappeared? And last, does anyone here who knows both Cameron and myself actually believe his story over mine?”
“No!” shouted a voice from the crowd. “I do not believe Cameron’s lies!”
The voice came from an elderly lady who stood and pointed a finger accusingly at the crooked-nosed guardian. Sunshine knew her as Anemone, a nursemaid who had spent many years in the castle.
“Shut up!” Councilor Abrecan shouted. “You’ve been warned not to speak out. Guardians, get her out of here.”
The guardians who stood against the walls moved toward the nursemaid. The crowd watched in stunned disbelief.
“Don’t let them do this!” Anemone cried out, backing away from the advancing guardians. “Abrecan has caused nothing but problems all these years! Do not let him and his henchmen do this to an innocent man!”
Abrecan stood up and shouted even louder, “Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” He motioned furiously at the guardians to grab her.
Priest Sherwyn came down the stairs and rushed toward Anemone. The nursemaid looked terrified as guardians came at her from different directions. When Sherwyn reached her, she clutched his arm for support.
“There’s no need to be physical here, Guardians.” Sherwyn held up his hands in a gesture of peace. “She will go with you quietly, won’t you, Anemone?”
The nursemaid gave Sherwyn a questioning look but then nodded her head. Then a gruff-looking guardian grabbed Anemone’s arm roughly and pulled hard, nearly knocking her off her feet.
“That’s quite enough!” Sherwyn put a hand on the guardian’s chest.
The guardian responded by slapping the priest’s hand away and shoving him to the floor.
“No one else will interfere!” Abrecan screamed almost hysterically. “Guardians, arrest the priest as well!”
The remaining people in the hall sat very still while watching the guardians remove Anemone and Sherwyn.
“As for you, Rayne,” Abrecan said, still seething, “the choice is clear what needs to be done.” He addressed Bertram and the rest of the Hierarchy of Magistrates. “Read what the Tome of Laws says about someone who attempts to take the life of another.”
“But, Councilor—” Bertram began.
Abrecan slammed his fist down on the armrest. “Read it!”
Bertram paused a moment, looking at Rayne briefly before he opened his copy of the Tome of Laws, and turned to the correct page. In a quiet voice, he read, “Anyone who kills or attempts to kill a member of the kingdom shall be punished, up to death.”
“Louder!” Abrecan bellowed.
Bertram spoke up. “Anyone who kills or attempts to kill a member of the kingdom shall be punished, up to death.”
Abrecan glared at Rayne while he asked Bertram, “And how many witnesses does it take to prove guilt?”
“Two.”
Pointing to Guardians Cameron and Ivor, Abrecan said, “There are your witnesses. They are guardians, so their motives cannot be questioned. Now tell me, who makes the final choice of punishment once the person is found guilty?”
Bertram sat down, defeated. “The king or queen.”
Abrecan stood and said to the crowd, “Such actions by a guardian are unacceptable, especially against another guardian. The people need to see that they are not allowed to threaten us. The punishment needs to be severe! Rayne must be put to death!”
The councilor turned to his son, who had the same blank look on his face as he did when court began. “Wouldn’t you agree, Your Majesty?”
“Of course, of course,” King Daimh said. “Are we done yet?”
CHAPTER 24
Sunshine sat alone in the main hall for a while after Rayne had been escorted back to the dungeon. One of her fellow savants asked if she was all right, but Sunshine didn’t respond. She didn’t react when she heard someone enter the hall and walk toward her. It wasn’t until Magistrate Caldre sat down next to her that Sunshine finally acknowledged his presence.
“Oh, my poor dear,” he said in his customarily nasal tone. “You look quite distraught.”
Sunshine gave him a blank stare.
“It was dreadful what happened here today.” With a sweep of his arm, Caldre motioned t
o the empty hall. “Guardian Rayne showed himself to be quite the able fighter. It’s too bad he never learned how to adapt to his surroundings. He was always trying to be noble and such, and he ended up irritating his superiors. And of course, he should have learned never to get involved with a woman while being a guardian in the castle—very dangerous indeed.”
This last statement helped Sunshine find her voice. “He was not involved with the merchant’s daughter,” she said coolly.
Caldre arched an eyebrow. “Who said anything about the merchant’s daughter? Oh, no, my dear, you misunderstand.” He poked her with a finger. “I’m referring to you.”
“Me? What are you—”
“Tsk, tsk.” Caldre wagged his finger in front of her face. “There’s no use denying it. After you turned down the offer to become my personal assistant, I put you under observation. My sources tell me that you and Rayne spent a lot of time together.”
Sunshine’s pulse quickened. “So what? We’ve done nothing against the rules.”
“No?” Caldre asked. “There are rules about courting.”
“We are friends, Magistrate,” Sunshine said defiantly.
The sharp-nosed magistrate nodded, then said in a patronizing tone, “Yes, of course. But that hardly matters now, does it? He is, after all, going to be put to death.”
Sunshine gave Caldre a hard stare. “Is there a point to this conversation, Magistrate?”
“Direct as always. Very good. Very good indeed. I do have the ear of the king, and I may be able to persuade him to change his mind.”
Trying not to show the spark of hope she felt, Sunshine asked, “You could arrange to set Rayne free?”
“Free? Oh, dear, no. Not free.” Caldre shook his head. “Rayne has been found guilty. I can’t change that, but I believe I could get the king to change the sentence to life in the dungeon. Of course, I would expect something in return for this favor…” He put his hand on Sunshine’s knee and squeezed it suggestively.
She didn’t remove it, but rather acted as if it wasn’t there. “What specifically do you want in return?”
“Why, for you to be my bride, of course,” Caldre said with a smile that repulsed her. “I would have settled for an assistant, but since you chose to play hard to get, I decided to increase my demands.”
At this, Sunshine batted his hand away. “What makes you think I would agree to such a thing?”
Caldre’s smile turned into a threatening snarl. “Before you decide, I suggest you realize that you are the only one who can prevent Rayne from being put to death.”
He stood and loomed over her. “If he dies, it will be your fault. And that is something you will have to live with for the rest of your life. You have until tomorrow before the execution to give me your answer.”
With that, he spun and marched out of the hall, leaving Sunshine alone once again.
After summoning the strength to make it to her room, Sunshine collapsed on her bed and began to cry softly. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed when she heard a knock on her door.
Sure it was Magistrate Caldre, Sunshine got up, straightened her dress the best she could, and reached for the knob with the intention of letting him know exactly what he could do with his proposition.
Instead, she found her brother Oakleaf at the door. He appeared as crestfallen and miserable as she was. “Shiny, I just got in from making my rounds in town, and I heard what happened to Rayne.”
She fell into his arms. “It’s so unfair, Leafy. I don’t believe for a moment that Rayne is guilty.”
“I don’t believe it either,” he said, “but we don’t have time to discuss this now. There are people we need to see.”
Sunshine stepped back and wiped the tears from her eyes. “What people?
***
The entourage of Lady Alana, Kelvin, Nadia, Governor Nash, and his wife Linden arrived at the castle the day before the Shoginoc. They arrived at the castle in the early evening with the sun just starting to set, casting long shadows in front of them as they approached the main gates. After being admitted by the guardians, Alana led them directly to find Priest Sherwyn. He was not in his room, and none of the servants had seen him recently. Fear gripped her heart as she wondered what could have happened to him. She and the others sought out Anemone, but were unable to find her, either.
Unsure what to do next, Alana took the group back to her room. She asked a servant to have meals sent up while they conferred.
After about an hour, a light knocking sounded on Alana’s door. Thinking it was the servant with their meal, she opened the door to find Oakleaf with his sister Sunshine, both wearing serious expressions. Alana ushered them in quickly and closed the door behind them.
“What’s the matter?” she asked.
Oakleaf nudged his sister. “You tell them.”
Sunshine looked up with bloodshot, puffy eyes. “We have bad news. Rayne, Priest Sherwyn, and Nursemaid Anemone have all been arrested.”
“Arrested?” Alana exclaimed. “Come in and explain what’s going on.”
Sunshine and Oakleaf walked into the crowded room and closed the door behind them. Sunshine recognized Governor Nash and his wife sitting at the table in Alana’s room, and was surprised to see Rayne’s grandparents next to them.
“Kelvin, Nadia,” Sunshine greeted them. “I didn’t expect to see you. What brings you here?”
Alana motioned for Sunshine and Oakleaf to have a seat on her bed. “We’ll explain that later. Please, tell us what happened to Rayne, Sherwyn, and Anemone.”
Nodding, Sunshine took a deep breath and then recounted what had happened. Her story was interrupted several times with Nash’s outbursts and continued when Linden had settled her husband down.
When Sunshine finished, everyone sat in stunned silence for a moment until Nadia asked somberly, “When are they going to execute my grandson?”
Nash slapped his hand on the table. “They are not going to execute him. I won’t allow it.”
“And just what are you going to do?” Linden asked skeptically.
Nash blustered for a moment, and then said, “I don’t know, but I must do something!”
Alana shook her head. “I’m not sure anything can be done. Once Abrecan makes up his mind about something, it is pretty much a foregone conclusion.”
“There is something that can be done to spare Rayne’s life,” Sunshine said quietly.
Everyone looked at her expectantly.
“Magistrate Caldre said he could talk the king into changing the sentence to life in the dungeon if I were to agree to marry Caldre.”
Nash threw his hands up in disgust. “Absolutely not! This is just like those weasels. No, what we need to do is find the merchant and his daughter to testify that Cameron was lying and Rayne was telling the truth.”
Kelvin spoke for the first time. “He’s right. Knowing Rayne, he would rather die than have you marry someone to save him.”
“Sullivan reported that the merchant and his daughter disappeared in the middle of the night,” Sunshine said. “It’s doubtful we can find them before tomorrow.”
Oakleaf jumped to his feet. “Maybe we can find them. I have an idea where to look.”
***
Ivor counted out loud. “Forty-seven…forty-eight…forty-nine… fifty.”
“Fifty what?” Oakleaf asked, coming down the rock steps into the dungeon.
Ivor stood up quickly, sword drawn, and then relaxed when he saw it was Oakleaf.
“Bah, it’s just you,” said the tall guardian from Erd. “I was just counting the drips of water I heard. Not much else to do. It must be really raining hard outside for water to be seeping in down here.”
Oakleaf walked to the wall and placed his hand on it to feel the moisture. “Yeah, it’s really pouring out there.”
Ivor sat back down. “What are you doing here? I was told I had the night shift.”
Thinking quickly, Oakleaf said, “The captain said he wanted extra pr
otection for the dungeon. He didn’t want anyone bothering the new prisoners.”
Ivor scratched his head and looked suspiciously at Oakleaf. “You sure the captain said that?”
Oakleaf nodded toward the stairs. “Want to go ask him?”
“Nah, you know the captain doesn’t like to have people question his orders.” Ivor leaned his chair back against the wall. “It figures he would give the bad assignments to the new guardians. You might as well take a seat. It’s going to be a long night.”
Oakleaf sat down in the other chair in the antechamber outside the dungeon. For the next several hours, the two guardians sat mainly in uncomfortable silence. As the night dragged on, Oakleaf noticed Ivor starting to doze off. Although his head would bob up and down as he fought off sleep, Ivor eventually succumbed.
Oakleaf waited a good half hour to make sure Ivor was sound asleep, then removed the keys from the peg on the wall, trying cautiously not to wake his fellow guardian. After opening the door that led to the dungeon, Oakleaf grabbed a torch and headed in. He walked through the maze of passageways that made up the dungeon, looking carefully at the ground by each cell door. It wasn’t until he had gone quite deep into the dungeon that he found what he was looking for. At the base of one of the doors, the moss and dirt had been pushed away as the door was opened. As a general rule, the doors were only ever opened to put someone in or to remove the dead prisoner.
Oakleaf opened the small door where the meals were delivered. “Hello! Hello in there!”
There was a moment before he got a response. “Yes, hello?” came a tired male voice.
“Who is this?” Oakleaf asked.
“What does it matter?” asked the voice. “Are you here to torture or taunt me?”
“Neither,” Oakleaf said gently. “I know you were put in here recently. Please, tell me who you are.”
There wasn’t a response.
“Please sir, this is important,” Oakleaf said. “I give you my word as a royal guardian. I mean you no harm.”
The Hidden Sun (Bariwon Chronicles Book 1) Page 26