Cross Keys: Unity

by Ally Shields

  A smile flickered on Brunic’s face before he turned to the older man. “You and Lormarc come at them from the north. We’ll give you ten minutes to get into position.” He looked at the young archer, then Merik, as if debating, and back at the archer. “Cover us with your bow and block the escape route. If they start anything, shoot them. Trevain will be with me on the south side. Any questions?”

  Rhyden and the older archer scrambled up the cliff and down the far side until they found a position where they could see and be ready to drop into the natural shelter. A few minutes later, Brunic and Merik suddenly appeared in the light of the campfire with drawn bows.

  “Lay down your arms,” the captain snapped. “By order of the king. You’re surrounded with no place to go.”

  For one long, interminable second, everyone froze. Then Kurzi Everins seized a flaming branch from the fire and threw it at Brunic. The captain jumped back to avoid it, and the scene erupted into action. The backup archer took down the first rebel casualty with an arrow through the heart. Merik scored the second. A third rebel was shot in the thigh by the older bowman as he and Rhyden leaped into the fight.

  From that moment, it was hand-to-hand combat with fists and knives. Rhyden attempted to shove his way across the campsite to reach Murielle but was tackled from behind. It took him several seconds to extricate himself. He rolled over and spotted Kurzi holding the old woman in front of him with one arm clamped across her chest. In the other hand, a knife held at her throat glittered in the firelight.

  Kurzi looked Rhyden straight in the eye. “You lose.”

  Rhyden grabbed the Smith & Wesson from his coat pocket. It flitted through his mind that this man was blood kin, but without hesitation he pulled the trigger. The noise reverberated in the overhang, bringing a momentary secession in the fighting. Rhyden heard Murielle’s frightened squeak as she was abruptly released. Kurzi stared straight ahead with unseeing eyes, a round black hole in his forehead. Murielle crumpled to the ground as Kurzi toppled backward.

  With the dramatic death of their leader, the remaining rebels lost their will to fight and were quickly subdued. Survivors were placed in restraints and serious wounds inspected; Rhyden crouched beside the wise woman.

  “Are you all right? Let me help you up.”

  “If you don’t mind, I think I’ll just sit here a minute,” she said pulling a blanket more snuggly around her. “This is more excitement than I’m used to.”

  A steely grip from above cramped onto Rhyden’s shoulder, and he was roughly hauled to his feet.

  “What the—”

  “You shot him.” Brunic glared at him from mere inches away. “Where in Hades did you get that gun? You might have missed and killed Murielle.”

  Rhyden jerked his arm free. “Not from ten feet,” he said, halfway offended. “I’m a good shot. Seth makes me go with him to the range every week.”

  “Is that your best explanation? You crossed the line by bringing a gun into Elvenrude.”

  “He saved my life,” Murielle said staunchly, coming to his defense. She got to her feet assisted by one of the archers. “Kurzi was going to kill me.”

  “I’m well aware of that,” Brunic said. “But I can’t ignore a flagrant disregard of Elvenrude’s laws.”

  “What law did he break?” Merik stepped forward, not even looking at Rhyden. “I believe he took that gun off one of the fallen rebels.”

  “Is that so. You believe that, do you?” Brunic looked away and rubbed his gloved hands against one another. “That, of course, would be an entirely different matter. It would place the focus of this incident where it should be…on Murielle’s timely rescue.” He took a look around the campsite and nudged a dead man at his feet. “Is this the guy who had the gun?”

  Rhyden looked at the corpse as if considering and answered carefully. “It might have been.”

  Brunic grunted and held out his hand to take the gun. “I guess that settles it. I’ll dispose of the weapon. The rest of you, let’s get busy and get Murielle and the prisoners back to town. We’ll send someone back for the bodies after the storm.”

  Well, damn. That was one of his favorite guns.

  After lifting Murielle onto one of the rebels’ horses huddled at the back of the shelter, Rhyden caught Merik’s gaze and gave a brief jerk of his head. He owed the man a pint…or maybe a cask of ale.

  Strangely enough, as they started the journey back to town, the snow stopped.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Since Esty wasn’t allowed to help Rhyden and the Guard search for Murielle, she sent word to Olseon she was resuming her interviews that morning. As she hurried through the village, the few people she met were buzzing with news of the abduction and the raid overnight. Villagers were frightened and confused, not understanding why the wise woman had been snatched from her home or what the kidnapping meant for them.

  The widespread rumor of a link to the duchaen rebellion engendered anger and frustration on both sides. Fortunately, the bitter winds and threat of snow discouraged folks from remaining outside long enough to cause trouble.

  Esty hunched against the wind, grateful she didn’t have far to go. She watched for Rhyden, just in case he was passing through town. Of course, he wasn’t.

  Nor did she see Ellyn, and she hoped her friend stayed inside. It wouldn’t be a good day for any of the duchaen to be seen around town. Esty was pretty sure Merik was interested enough in Ellyn to see she wouldn’t be part of the search teams. Sometimes alpha men were handy to have around.

  With the wind nipping at her back, she entered the guild house to find an outwardly peaceful scene in contrast to both the weather and the mood outside. Olseon stood on the balcony, surveying the workplace below; he gave her a long-suffering look and an artificial half-smile. His discomfort raised her own spirits. Anything she could do to brighten his day.

  A revised interview schedule lay on the table in her temporary office space. She picked it up and burst out laughing. Olseon seemed anxious to have her gone. He’d squeezed all ten remaining interviews—four supervisory, six employee—into today, allotting a half hour for each with no breaks between.

  No problem. She’d simply cut out some of the non-essential questions. Even with this schedule, she hoped to be done by midafternoon and home well before dark. She tapped her chin with one finger. Although…she should probably complain. Wouldn’t he expect it?

  She left the storage area and walked purposefully toward the Guild Master’s office. It grew quiet wherever she passed, and workers followed her progress. There was more tension in the room than she’d first noticed. The facade of calm might be just that, a false front. Lormarc had recently hired several duchaen workers and one duchaen supervisor. They’d never been serious suspects because each had been highly vetted by Seth and Rhyden. In the current climate, the mere presence of the crossbreeds might stir animosity among the common workers and Elite elves on staff. Olseon might earn his pay today.

  He greeted her stiffly. “I took the liberty of planning your schedule. Your first interview is in five minutes.”

  “Yes, I saw that. How kind of you to help, but I may not be able to complete such an ambitious schedule in one day.”

  “We need to return to a normal routine as quickly as possible. Free of disruptions…despite events in the community.”

  “Oh, I understand, Guild Master. I’ll do my best, but I’d rather take another day or two than rush through, miss something, and have to schedule additional interviews for next week.” She smiled.

  “Um, yes, of course, we don’t need a second week of interruptions.”

  “I thought you’d agree.” Esty returned to her interviews. Baiting Olseon hadn’t been as much fun as she’d thought. He was much too distracted.

  Esty turned her head and coughed to hide a yawn. The interviews had grown tedious. The forty-five-year-old transport employee seated across from her didn’t appear to notice her inattention as he continued his long list of complaints about f
ellow workers. She’d already told him that was beyond the scope of her inquiry, and for a while he’d switched to how many times he’d approached supervisors with the same issues. As far as she could tell, the only issues were his abrasive personality and a strong dose of paranoia.

  She checked the battery-operated clock on the table and stood. “I’m afraid we’re out of time.” She hurried to the door of her makeshift office and pulled it open. Sherlee recoiled as if scalded by hot water. It was obvious she’d had her ear to the door. “May I help you?” Esty asked.

  “No, no. I was just walking past. You startled me. I have to get back to work.”

  Esty stared after her and barely heard the departing interviewee’s protest that he wasn’t finished. “Don’t worry,” she said before closing the door behind him. “I have all I need. Thank you so much.”

  She counted to ten and opened the door again. The tiresome man was gone. She peeked around the corner and found Sherlee seated at her desk. Why had she been lurking? Excessive curiosity? Or spying?

  Esty peered more closely. Why wasn’t the woman working? The papers on Sherlee’s cubicle desk lay untouched, nor was she watching her assembly line crew. She simply sat there, tapping a foot, as if impatient for something to happen.

  Intrigued, Esty continued to watch. She should get back to her interviews. The next person on the schedule would be waiting. But something about this just wasn’t right.

  A minute, then two passed with no change. Esty was ready to give up when Sherlee cast a furtive look above her, as if noticing something or someone on the balcony, then she stood and headed for the ladies’ restroom. At the last minute, she detoured left and out of sight.

  To where? What was back there? Esty envisioned that part of the guild. The portal, the assembly tables, a rear exit, and the back stairs to the balcony. Sherlee might have gone to any of them.

  The woman reappeared, walked briskly to her desk, and noisily opened and closed drawers as if looking for something. But she didn’t peer inside, place anything there, or take anything out. For some strange reason, she was putting on an act.

  Esty was enthralled with the performance.

  When Sherlee slammed the last drawer closed, she said something that might have been “There it is” and abruptly turned, headed for the back of the guild again.

  This time Esty wasn’t letting her get away unobserved. She strolled across to the ladies’ room, taking her time as she kept one eye on Sherlee. The woman went straight to the portal, took a paper from her pocket, and sent a message to someone outside of Elvenrude.

  Esty’s fingers trembled with excitement. She could hardly wait to get her hands on today’s portal log and read a message that required so much subterfuge. She noted the time of dispatch…approximately 2:30 p.m. If it contained anything incriminating—and she’d be surprised if it didn’t—she’d have her leak. Or at least one of them. She’d give anything to know where the woman had gotten the note before putting on that odd show.

  Hastening through her last two interviews, she gathered her files and grabbed the colored bag she’d taken to New Orleans last night. She was too impatient to wait until morning to view the portal log and stopped for a copy on her way out. The guard didn’t question the break in routine, handed her the printout, and she turned toward the front entrance.

  Olseon intercepted her a few feet from the door. “May I have a moment of your time?”

  “I’m rather in a hurry. I have an appointment I really must keep.”

  “I’ll be brief. I…” He looked around and lowered his voice. “I observed something I thought you should know. We need to speak in private.”

  Had he seen Sherlee’s unusual behavior? She hesitated, feeling a twinge of uneasiness, but maybe it was just her general dislike of the man. What if he could tell her where Sherlee had gotten the note? She finally nodded.

  “All right, Guild Master. But it must be short.”

  “Since your interview room is closer than my office, shall we step inside?”

  Esty led the way. The moment the lock clicked behind her, she stopped in midstride. She’d made a terrible mistake.

  She turned slowly, clutching her files and bag to her chest. Olseon stood next to the door with a dagger in his hand. It looked out of place against his immaculate gray business suit…and all the more deadly.

  Her heart thumped against her rib cage. Stay calm. Think. How would Kam handle this?

  She took a shaky breath. “What’s the meaning of this? Get away from the door. I wish to leave.”

  He gave a half laugh, and his face twisted into a patronizing sneer. “I don’t care what you wish. You just couldn’t keep your nose out of things, could you?”

  “The owners asked me to do this survey.”

  “Did they also ask you to spy on me? Or Sherlee? Oh, yes, I saw you watching her. When you picked up the portal log so early, I knew you’d seen her send the message.”

  He walked toward her and Esty backed away, putting the table between them.

  “I can’t let you ruin things when we’re so close,” he continued conversationally. “Twenty-four hours and you might have lived. Maybe not the plush life you have now, but King Jermon—with me at his side—would have found a use for you.”

  “King Jermon?” Esty’s paralyzing fear vanished. “You’re crazy, Olseon. You and Jermon Lormarc both. The King’s Guard, my sister, Seth, Rhyden…none of them will let that happen.”

  He shook his head and moved to circle the table. “They can’t stop it. Events are already in motion. Your friends are outnumbered, and you’re merely a minor annoyance.” He took another step around the table; she mirrored his movement. “You might as well stop where you are. There’s nowhere to go.”

  She set her files on the table, her hand still holding the colorful bag. “What are you going to do with the body, Guild Master?” Esty saw the uncertainty cross his face. “Knives are messy weapons, you know. You’ll get blood all over your hands and on your spotless clothes. You’re a businessman, not a ruffian like Kurzi Everins. I’d bet you’ve never killed anyone.”

  “There’s always a first time.”

  “But it isn’t today.” Esty reached into her bag and pulled out Kam’s Glock.

  Olseon lunged across the table while she was still finding the trigger.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Once Murielle was in the hands of the healers—despite her half-hearted protests—Rhyden assisted Captain Brunic, Merik, and the two archers in taking the survivors of Kurzi’s gang to the palace. The rebels were subjected to intense questioning, and Rhyden’s fingers and toes lost their numbness by the time it was over. With Kurzi dead and their own fate uncertain, the rebels hadn’t held back for long, hoping their cooperation would gain them mercy.

  King Seliwyn wasn’t likely to see it that way.

  While most of their suspicions were confirmed, including Jermon’s guiding hand on Kurzi’s activities, no one knew who was in direct contact with him. Only Kurzi had known.

  “We need that last piece,” Brunic said. “As long as Jermon has access to anyone inside our world, he’ll continue to be a menace.”

  “Unless Kam and Seth get him first,” Rhyden corrected. “But I admit this Cairo trip is a long shot.” The fugitives could be almost anywhere on earth’s seven continents.

  “We can’t count on it. He keeps finding a way to slip away and survive.”

  “Oh, they’ll eventually get him. But will it be in time…before Jermon finds a new gang to help him?” Rhyden pushed back his chair and stood. “I guess the leak is where we concentrate our efforts tomorrow. Esty Ryndel’s been checking portal messages and interviewing guild workers. When I last talked with her, she’d narrowed her list to four suspects. We can start with those. I’ll pick up the names when I let the Ryndels know Murielle’s been found.”

  Brunic opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a paper with a gold seal. He scribbled his name on the bottom and handed it to Rhyden.


  “What’s this?”

  “In spite of concerns about your methods, your help was critical in breaking up this gang, especially being smart and tenacious enough to include Merik Trevain. I’m reinstating you in the special branch of the Guard.” When Rhyden lifted a brow in surprise, the captain added, “I’d rather have you where I know what you’re doing.”

  Rhyden gave him a wry grin. “I’m overwhelmed by your confidence in me.”

  “Get out of here,” Brunic growled. “See you in the morning with that list.”

  Rhyden lost his grin on the way to the Ryndel home. Breaking up Kurzi’s gang would only be a temporary setback for Jermon. Esty seemed to think the leak was inside the Lormarc Guild, and Rhyden couldn’t deny it. If he had to, he’d shut down the Guild or fire everyone and start over. Another stopgap measure, but it might buy additional time. He’d discuss it with Seth as soon as his cousin returned from Cairo.

  Meotta Ryndel answered his knock and invited him to step inside. “It’s cold out there today. Any news of Murielle.”

  “She’s been found,” he said, stomping the snow off his boots on a doormat.

  “What wonderful news! Is she all right?”

  “She’ll be fine. We left her with the healers.”

  Meotta’s eyes went wide. “Oh, dear. Was she hurt?”

  “It’s only for observation. She was exposed to the cold, and it was a pretty harrowing experience. The healers were just being cautious.” He glanced around the empty room. “Is Esty here? I thought she’d want to know too.”

  “Oh, she isn’t. I should have told you right away. In fact, she’s late. She promised to be home early.”

  Late? Rhyden stilled as a chill ran across his back. Damn the woman. She was supposed to be here. “Where is she?”

  “At your guild. She went early this morning to continue her work.”

  Looking for the leak—a desperate and dangerous person with Kurzi’s gang unraveling. He spun on his heels.