The colonel offered no quick statement of support. He fell thoughtfully silent for a while before speaking.
“None of the men have any love for the Federation, but I am not sure how most of them would react. I know that they would follow you anywhere into battle, but it might be wiser not to reveal the truth until it is necessary. It only takes one man to tell the world of your true identity.”
“If it does come to war, the goal of King Arik is to liberate the countries of Zara from the Federation. So, even if the men of A Corps are patriots of their individual countries, they should be eager to follow me.”
“Are you suggesting that Ertak would be allowed to continue as a country if Alcea wins the war?”
“Ertak and every other country,” the general affirmed. “King Arik will demand that the rulers of the countries change some of their policies to better reflect the needs of their peoples, but the goal is not to rule them from Tagaret.”
“If that is true,” the colonel responded hopefully, “you will find the men of A Corps eager combatants. In fact, we could expand the ranks of A Corps to include thousands of others.”
“That is too dangerous at this point. For now, only the four colonels of A Corps are to know the truth.”
“Four colonels?” questioned Donil.
“Treman is now a colonel and in charge of the Olansk garrison. I have already spoken to Magee and Hardi. I trust the four of you to keep this secret and others that will soon be revealed to you.”
“Your secret is safe, General,” vowed Colonel Donil.
Clint nodded in response and held up his hand to silence the conversation. The two officers rode on in silence for a long time before the general halted in a large clearing. Soldiers in Federation uniforms suddenly emerged from the trees and surrounded the two riders. Colonel Donil grew concerned as he scanned the faces of the soldiers and did not recognize a single one of them. His hand eased towards his sword as he glanced at the general to gauge his state of alarm.
“Relax, Colonel Donil,” the general said softly before addressing the soldiers surrounding him. “I am General Forshire. I am expected.”
Clint knew that others who had chosen not to reveal themselves were watching him. His fingers moved swiftly at his side as he signaled the hidden Alcean Rangers.
“Send them through,” ordered an authoritative voice from deeper in the forest.
Colonel Donil’s eyes scanned the trees, but he could not see anyone hidden in the woods. The ring of Federation soldiers suddenly parted, and General Forshire led the way out of the clearing. A few moments later, the riders entered a smaller clearing. Clint dismounted and the colonel followed his lead. Five black-clad men stepped out of the trees where they had been concealed. The colonel watched the warriors closely, noting their wary, yet confident, stance. He knew instinctively that he was gazing upon Alcean Rangers.
“Is the colonel spoken for?” asked one of the warriors.
“Colonel Donil is one with us,” answered General Forshire. “Are Garth and the others still here?”
“We are,” answered Garth Shado as he walked into the clearing. The Knight of Alcea turned and stared at the colonel. “I have heard much about you, Colonel Donil. I understand that Clint has taken you into his confidence. I am sure that you do not need to be reminded about the need for secrecy.”
The colonel nodded anxiously. While the words were welcoming, the tone was steely, and Donil knew that even a hint of betrayal would carry a sentence of death. In a strange way, the warning gave him a feeling of security. The Alceans were far more serious about the coming war than the Federation could ever hope to be.
“I am proud to serve under General Forshire, and I would never betray him or those who are allied with him. I understand the need for secrecy, and I have given my vow to preserve it.”
The Knight of Alcea smiled and nodded as he waved for others to join him. “Then let us sit and discuss our plans.”
Colonel Donil watched as three others emerged from the woods. He raised an eyebrow when he noticed that one of them was a woman, but he was truly surprised to see that another was an elf. The surprise must have shown on his face because he heard General Forshire chuckle. He turned red-faced to his superior.
“You have much to learn, Donil,” smiled Clint. “There are more forces allied against the Federation than just Alceans. Morro is a Dielderal.”
Garth waved dismissively at the Rangers, and they departed as the rest of the group sat around a fire ring. Clint surreptitiously handed the hourglass to Morro as he sat down.
“Peanut reported your discussion with the emperor,” Garth opened. “I am not sure that I share your feelings of trust in that area.”
“Jaar was sincere in his promise,” frowned Clint. “I am certain of that, or at least I was.”
“Explain.”
“When Donil and I were leaving the palace, Emperor Jaar intercepted us. He asked if we were going for a ride, and I said that we were returning to Olansk. He acted as if he wanted to say more, but he ended by wishing us a safe journey.”
“Perhaps he was being watched,” suggested Natia.
“I have no doubt that he was being watched,” replied Clint, “but he should not have approached me in any event. I took care to avoid making contact with him. That is what troubles me, that and the fact that he is suddenly allowed to roam freely around the palace. Colonel Taerin reported that the emperor has his old guards back. Something doesn’t make sense.”
“I agree,” frowned Garth. “The timing of the emperor’s release is suspicious, especially following the disappearance of K’san. Do you think Jaar could have betrayed you in return for his freedom?”
“That makes no sense.” Clint shook his head. “If Jaar were truly free, Grand General Kyrga would be dead. The emperor despises that man. Besides, Jaar knows that I have his family. I alone am capable of overthrowing him. It would be foolish for him to harm me when he knows that I have no designs on his throne. I find the whole situation puzzling, Garth. Jaar should have avoided any contact with me.”
Garth stood and silently paced the clearing. Suddenly the Knight of Alcea halted between Clint and Donil. Without looking at the general, Garth’s fingers moved rapidly by his side where the colonel could not detect them. Unexpectedly, Clint rose and faced the colonel.
“How do you feel about being a spy?” Clint asked Donil.
“A spy?” frowned the colonel. “I am willing to do whatever you require of me, but I don’t know if I am capable of being a spy. What do you want me to do?”
“I want you to return to the Imperial Palace,” stated Clint. “If anyone asks, you merely have to state that my orders were for you to wait at the palace for me. You may get pushed for information the first few days, but everyone will probably ignore you after a while. You are to sit on the bench by the waterfront twice a day, once in the morning, and once in the evening. Instructions will be sent to you.”
Clint woke Peanut up and watched the colonel closely. The fairy leaped on Clint’s shoulder, and Donil’s eyes opened wide with disbelief.
“Peanut is one of the fairy people,” explained Clint. “There are others of his kind who are allied with us. One of them will bring you instructions and carry your reports back to me. They must never be discovered so you must guard their presence whenever they are around.”
Donil was dumbstruck for a moment, but he eventually recovered enough to speak. “He is so small that he will not be able to carry much of a message. Should my reports be coded somehow?”
“There is no message too large for me to carry,” scowled Peanut.
Donil scrambled to his feet and nearly fell over the log he had been sitting on as he tried to move away. Natia laughed, and the colonel soon realized how foolish he must appear.
“I didn’t know he could talk. I am sorry.”
“No apologies are necessary,” smiled Garth. “We have all been shocked by them at one time. The fairy people are very intelligent an
d they are mighty warriors as well. They have the ability to memorize everything and recall the images later. If you are unsure of their capabilities, ask them. They will not lie to you.”
Donil nodded exaggeratedly as he stared at the tiny man. Peanut returned his gaze with a stern look of disapproval, but everyone else was smiling.
“What am I suppose to discover at the palace?” Donil asked.
“Observe everything,” answered Clint. “I am particularly interested in Emperor Jaar and Grand General Kyrga, but do not appear to be watching them. I would like to know how they react to each other. Also, try to befriend Colonel Taerin. You will have to be careful in dealing with him as he is excellent at drawing information out of you. He will disarm you with his friendliness, but he can be a wealth of information about what is happening in the palace. You can discuss you travels to Alcea with him, but keep to your original impression of Alcea. Do not be lulled into saying anything about the Rangers or anything else that you have learned from us.”
“Report everything,” added Garth, “no matter how insignificant it might seem to you. There is something strange going on in the palace, and we need to understand it better. Can you do that?”
“I will do it,” Colonel Donil replied confidently. “You can count on me.”
“We are, Donil,” Clint said seriously. “Don’t press too much, but discover what you can. If things start going poorly, ride out of the palace grounds and return here. The fairies will find you.”
Chapter 47
Lair of the Heirs
A shadow among shadows, the Badger moved silently through the dark alleys of Despair. He used a circuitous route to avoid being followed, doubling back on his path several times until he was satisfied that he was alone in the dark. The Badger moved stealthily to the rear door of a tailor’s shop, opening the door with his key and silently easing it shut. He stood silently in the darkness for several minutes before proceeding. Maneuvering through the shop in total darkness, the Badger made his way to the staircase with the ease of someone who held an intimate knowledge of the layout of the shop. Rather than take the stairs to the upper floor, the Badger bent down and squeezed under the staircase. His hands moved over the wood of the floor, searching for the hidden latch. Quietly, he released the latch and raised a small square of wooden flooring, uncovering a hole in the floor. He eased his body into the hole, balancing his feet on the ancient ladder while he replaced the trap door above his head.
The ladder ended in a long, narrow corridor that ran the length of the building. In ancient days, the corridor had been an alley between the buildings, but both ends of the alley had been sealed off years ago leaving only two entrances to the empty void. Franco moved away from the ladder towards the door off to the side at the far end of the corridor. Using another key to open the door, the Badger eased into the building next to the tailor shop. The doorway led to a small storage room in the basement of a jewelry shop. Franco closed the door and slid out from behind an old tapestry that hid the secret door. He moved across the dark room to a tall wooden set of shelves and unlatched a secret mechanism, revealing a hidden tunnel running under the street. He entered the tunnel and swung the set of shelves back into position. Traveling quietly through the tunnel, the Badger came to a dead end. His hand methodically sought out the final hidden latch. The door swung open to reveal a dimly lit basement. Franco paused as his eyes scanned the dim room. He could see no one, but he knew that he was being observed.
“He is expecting you,” a voice said softly.
Franco recognized the voice and sighed with relief. He eased the door shut and walked into the room. The sound of the voice had given away the location of one of the Badger guards, but Franco knew that there were always two present. He scanned the darker areas of the room more out of habit than any desire to identify the guards. Once he found the location of the second guard, he nodded in welcome before walking to the stairs and climbing upward. The stairway was also dimly lit, but the door at the top showed brilliant light flowing under it. He knocked softly on the door and waited for permission to enter. When a distant voice gave permission to enter, Franco opened the door and stepped into a lavish sitting room. A baldheaded man with a large black mustache waved him towards a chair. Franco nodded submissively and sat down facing the leader of the Badgers.
“You have delayed your reporting for an inappropriately long time,” frowned Issa. “You have some explaining to do.”
“I do,” admitted Franco. “I apologize for the delay. I sought to clarify things before reporting in.”
“And have you clarified them?”
“Not entirely. As I am sure you are already aware, we have lost the women. Half of my force was attacked in the Bloodwood. All of the men were murdered and the women were taken. I led a raid to get them back, but it was not entirely successful. One hundred fifty Federation soldiers were destroyed, but two escaped along with the women. My men are currently searching for them.”
“You informed the client of your failure?”
“Lord Kommoron has been informed. He is not happy with the turn of events.”
“Nor am I,” replied Issa. “I understand that you lost fifty men along with the women. Never in the history of the Badgers have we suffered such a loss. Our reputation will suffer greatly if knowledge of this loss spreads. Explain to me why I should not make an example of you with a severe punishment.”
Franco’s eye twitched as he realized that Issa already knew more than he should have known. That knowledge indicated a spy among his own people.
“Setting an example requires that knowledge of the punishment be widespread. The last thing the Badgers need right now is for our failure to be widely known.”
“Our failure?” retorted Issa. “You mean your failure.”
“I do accept responsibility for the loss of the women, but there is more to this than just that. Someone in Giza knew that we were holding the women in the Black Citadel. Someone also knew that we were taking the women to Elfwoods, and they knew the route we would take to get there. The ambush on my men was professional and well executed. There is more going on here than Lord Kommoron has told us.”
“What do you mean?”
“I checked every army stationed in Barouk. All of their men were accounted for. The only army I could not verify was the A Corps. Supposedly they are stationed in Olansk with General Forshire having only a single squad here in Despair, yet the soldiers carried patches for the A Corps. Kyrga interrogated Forshire, and he bought the general’s explanation that the men were rejects, but I don’t believe it.”
“You think General Forshire is working for the emperor?”
“I do. Lord Kommoron and Kyrga do not, but I think they are foolish to make such an assumption. I did discover that General Forshire investigated Kyrga for the emperor on a previous occasion. It makes sense the Jaar would trust the same man to find his family.”
“But the A Corps are misfits.”
“Any man can fire an arrow. The brilliance of the attack on my men rested on the timing and location of the attack. That took a true strategist to set it up, but even misfits could carry it out.”
“So you want to pursue General Forshire?”
“It is a matter of honor.”
Issa did not respond. He stared at the fireplace as his fingers twirled his large mustache. Eventually, he returned his gaze to Franco.
“Lord Kommoron is playing a cautious game. He sent a priest to steal the mind of the emperor, but the priest mysteriously disappeared. Now I understand that Emperor Jaar has free roam of the Imperial Palace again. It might be possible that General Forshire is working for Kommoron and not Jaar.”
“You think Kommoron staged the rescue of the women to avoid paying us?”
“It is possible, but it is only one of the possibilities. Our first priority is to fulfill our contract, with or without Kommoron’s help. From now on, you will report to me before speaking to the client. If he is using knowledge of our mov
ements to defeat us, we will not keep him informed.”
“What about Forshire?” asked Franco.
“Find the women first. I will make some inquiries about General Forshire. If he is the one who attacked your men, he will pay the ultimate price for his actions, even if we have to destroy his entire Corps of Misfits.”
* * * *
The isolated level of Herinak Castle had come to be known as the Lair among those who were familiar with its purpose. The entire level was sealed off with sentries posted at each stairwell. A special troop of trusted servants kept dozens of suites clean and kept the inhabitants of the Lair fed. In addition to the suites, the level included several rooms set aside for common use. One of those rooms was a large dining room converted for use as a meeting room. In the center of the room was a long table with chairs around it. Additional chairs lined the walls, and bright lanterns illuminated the room. In the dead of the night, the door to the meeting room opened, and three men entered and took their places at the table. King Wendal sat at the head of the table. Baron Stikman and Sigfrid each took a seat near the king. The first guests to arrive were Tedi, Natia, and Morro, and they saved a seat for Garth next to Baron Stikman.
Outside the room, in the long corridor of the Lair, Garth Shado quietly ushered the other guests to the meeting room, making sure that none of the occupants of the forbidden level were disturbed in their sleep. King Myer of Tyronia, who also had a suite in the Lair, made his own way to the meeting room, while Garth directed Boric of Karamin and Yortana of Atule’s Maze. King Elengal and Prince Saratoma of the Dielderal entered alongside Drakarik, the dwarven king of Tarashin. Baron Ohmson escorted King Persimon of Zarocca, and Karl Gree followed arm-in-arm with Althea of the Tyronian Patriots. Sidney Mercado escorted Queen Romani of Vinafor. They stopped just outside the door to the meeting room, and the merchant addressed Garth.
“Everyone is accounted for.”
“You two go on ahead,” Garth replied. “I will wait for Clint.”
Heirs of the Enemy Page 59