Kirsh had a feeling he’d just been badly outwitted by the younger boy, but couldn’t really say how. His thighs were beginning to feel the strain of the steep, seemingly endless stairs as they reached the fifth-floor landing. He looked upward, wondering how much farther they had to go.
“This way,” Dirk said, pointing to the long corridor that led off the central staircase. The hall was torch lit, as neither sun reached into the hall to lighten the gloom.
Kirshov glanced down at the stairs they had climbed. “You climb this every day?” There was no banister on the staircase, just a dizzying drop to the flagstones far below them on the ground floor.
“Several times a day,” Dirk informed him.
“And you scaled the levee wall, Lanon says? Somehow, I find myself not in the least bit surprised.”
Dirk suddenly smiled. “Don’t worry, Kirsh, you’ll get used to them.”
“That I shall,” he agreed with a grin. “In fact, I’ll make you a wager, Dirk Provin. By the time we leave Elcast, I’ll bet you I can race you up these stairs and win.”
The Elcastran boy studied him for a moment with those disconcerting metal-gray eyes. “To the top?”
He glanced up at the stairs, suffering a moment’s doubt about his boast, then nodded. “To the top.”
“What will you wager? I’ve no money to gamble with.”
“A favor, then. If you win, I must do you one favor, whatever the cost to me. And you must do the same.”
“When am I ever likely to be in a position to do a favor for a prince of Senet?” Dirk asked.
Kirsh shrugged. “Does it matter?”
“It’s a stupid wager.”
“Yes, but you’ll take it, won’t you?”
The boy shrugged. “If you insist.”
“Excellent! Lanon, you shall be our witness. The day before we leave Elcast, Dirk and I will race each other to the top floor. The loser will owe the winner one favor, to be granted at the winner’s convenience. Is that fair?”
Both boys nodded. Kirsh smiled with satisfaction. Maybe this forced holiday on the backwater island of Elcast with his unsophisticated cousins would not be so boring, after all.
Chapter 13
Tia Veran paced the longhouse like a caged cat. She listened impatiently as her elders talked ... and talked ... and talked, about what to do about Johan Thorn.
She had almost bitten through her tongue to stop herself from telling Novin Arrowsmith he was an idiot. She felt like slapping Lile Droganov. Couldn’t they see that all this talking was getting them nowhere? Johan was probably being tortured to death, exposing their every secret, even as they argued.
The people who populated Mil were Dhevynian for the most part, although there were a few refugees from other places around the globe. A few, like Tia and her father, were Senetian, but generally the people who found their way to the Baenlands were those who had been persecuted by Antonov’s occupation of the Dhevynian islands during the Age of Shadows. They had come here in that time of darkness and terror to gather their strength before the final, and ultimately futile, attempt to push the Lion of Senet out of Dhevyn. Johan had gathered them here with a promise of a brighter future. When that failed, they had done their best to carve a life for themselves in this inhospitable place. Until now, she had thought they were doing quite well.
She glanced across the hall at Lexie, who sat quietly at the head table listening to the discussion, displaying no visible sign of emotion. Small and reserved, her thick auburn hair tied back in a loose bun, Johan’s wife was—by default—their leader in his absence, but she had never had to face a decision like this before. Mellie sat beside her mother, fidgeting with the fringe on her shawl. Tia caught her young friend’s eye and smiled at her encouragingly. Poor Mellie. She had been distraught since learning that her father’s ship had been destroyed in a tidal wave, even worse since she learned that Johan had survived the shipwreck and was now in Antonov’s hands.
A pall of grief had hung over the settlement since then. Thirty-three husbands and sons lost to a tidal wave, and our leader a captive, Tia thought sadly. Why are we doomed to suffer? It seemed too much to think that random chance had once more struck out at her people and delivered another blow. It’s enough to make you believe there really is a Goddess.
The real problem, though, was that they really didn’t know very much at all. Porl Isingrin had delivered the news, but all he knew for certain was that Johan still lived. The old smuggler was taking on a load of illicit spirits in Nova, the main port on Grannon Rock, when he heard the news. The rumors were rife throughout Dhevyn, but were conflicting and confusing. Some claimed Johan was on Elcast; some that he was in the Senetian capital, Avacas. One rumor, which Lexie listened to with pain-filled eyes, was that Johan and his former lover, Morna Provin, had run away together and were now planning to retake the throne of Dhevyn from a secret base somewhere on Bryton. Tia scoffed at that one. Johan wouldn’t do that to Lexie. Besides, he’d had plenty of time to consider retaking his throne these past years and had never shown the slightest inclination to do anything about it.
Tia had confronted Johan about that once, demanding to know why he didn’t try to take back what was rightfully his. The deposed king had smiled at her innocence and passion.
“It’s not that simple, Tia,” he’d told her.
“Why not?”
“Because to reclaim my throne would cost too many lives. I’ve seen too much killing in my lifetime. I’ve come to the conclusion that it simply isn’t worth it.”
“But what about the Landfall sacrifices? Doesn’t that bother you? How many people die each year in those sick rituals?”
“It bothers me,” Johan had said. “But not nearly as much as the people who would die if I tried to reclaim my throne.”
No, Johan wasn’t plotting anything with Morna Provin. She’d abandoned him for a life of comfort and security as the Duchess of Elcast. She’d run straight from Johan’s bed to Wallin Provin’s. The coward had run away from the fight and gone back to her husband and promptly bore him another son, just to prove her loyalty. Traitorous bitch .
“Perhaps we should consider some sort of rescue effort?” Porl asked. The suggestion pulled Tia’s attention back to the discussion.
“How?” she demanded, unable to hold her tongue any longer. “You don’t know where he is. You don’t know if he’s injured. You don’t even know who has him!”
“Tia,” Lexie began soothingly. “I think that perhaps we should ...”
“What?” Tia snapped. “Wait until he betrays us?”
Her question was met with a collective gasp of horror. “How dare you even suggest such a thing!”
“Oh, please!” she cried. “The Lion of Senet has him. I’m not suggesting for a minute that he would intentionally betray us, but I’m willing to bet my right arm Antonov Latanya or that creep Barin Welacin will find a way to break him.”
“What do you mean?” Mellie asked fearfully. “You don’t think they’ll torture Papa, do you?”
Tia silently cursed her big mouth before turning to Mellie. “I ... don’t know, Mel. Who knows what they’ll do?”
Everyone looked at her. With the possible exception of Mellie, everyone knew she was right. They all knew from personal experience what Antonov was capable of. One look at Porl’s scarred face, or old Finidice, who’d had her tongue cut out on the High Priestess’s orders, was enough.
Lexie nodded slowly, as if she was finally acknowledging the truth. “Mellie, can you go and find Pella for me? Ask her if she could bring some food up to the longhouse? It’s going to be a long night, I fear, and I don’t want growling stomachs distracting us.”
“But I want to help!” Mellie protested, afraid she was going to miss something important.
“Right now, that is helping,” Lexie assured her.
With a scowl, Mellie climbed to her feet and walked toward the doors at the other end of the hall. Tia watched her leave, then on impulse follo
wed her to the door, just to make sure she didn’t decide to eavesdrop.
“She’s gone,” Tia assured them when she returned to the table.
“Then let us speak plainly,” Lexie said, glancing around the room. “Tia has the right of it. Sooner or later, Antonov will break Johan, and he won’t care how long it takes him. Then he will come after us.”
“Are we certain of that?” Calla asked. She was their blacksmith, a big, heavily muscled woman with close-cropped gray hair. “Why would he bother? It’s not as if we pose a military threat.”
“He’ll come because we know the truth. He’ll come because he won’t feel he’s destroyed Johan unless we are destroyed along with him,” Lexie told her. “In fact, knowing Antonov, he’d more than likely keep Johan alive until after we were destroyed, just so he can ensure Johan knows how completely he’s been defeated.”
“But how are we going to rescue him?” Calla asked. “We’ve hardly got the resources to storm the palace at Avacas.”
“We don’t need to storm the palace.” When curious silence met her announcement, Lexie lowered her eyes uncomfortably. “Johan feared this might happen one day. He gave me quite explicit instructions about what to do if he were ever captured.”
“What instructions?” Novin demanded. “I never heard about any instructions.”
Tia studied Lexie for a moment with a puzzled expression, then bit back a gasp. She remembered now. She had been there when Johan told Lexie what he wanted her to do if he was ever captured, although she was fairly certain Lexie had no idea she’d overheard the conversation. She was also quite sure that Lexie had agreed only because she thought it would never happen. Tia’s eyes flew across the room to Reithan, Lexie’s son, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He looked disinterested, but Tia knew he was listening to every word. And that he knew what Johan had ordered. She’d told him about it herself.
Reithan caught her look and shook his head imperceptibly.
“Look, I don’t care what instructions he left,” Tia suddenly announced. “We’ve been sitting here talking for hours. There’s food on the way, so why don’t we take a break for a while? Then we can come back here and discuss this with clearer heads.”
She’d judged the mood of the gathering well. Following a mutter of agreement, Lexie stood up, looking rather relieved that she had not had to elaborate. “I agree. It’s an excellent idea. Go now and see to your families. Let’s meet back here in an hour.”
People began climbing to their feet, rubbing limbs that had gone to sleep from sitting immobile for so long, murmuring among themselves. Tia stepped back against the wall as they filed out. Reithan didn’t move either. They waited until the last of the council had left before they confronted Lexie.
“You can’t tell them,” Tia announced, as soon as they were alone.
Lexie looked at her in surprise. “Tell them what?”
“You can’t tell them what Johan’s instructions were. There’s too much grief. Too many people have already died. It would destroy what little hope we have left.”
“But you don’t know what they are,” Lexie pointed out. “How can you...”
“I know what he wanted, Lexie.”
Lexie sank down on her chair with a sigh.
“She’s right, Mother,” Reithan said. They were the first words he’d uttered all day.
“You think I want to tell them? Goddess! I can barely even let myself recall what he asked of me.”
Tia walked around the table and took the seat beside Lexie. “He’s right, though. And you know it.”
“Then I must tell the others.”
“Tell them he said to do nothing,” Reithan suggested.
“And what of his instructions?”
“We’ll do it,” Tia announced, glancing at Reithan.
“Oh, Tia! I couldn’t possibly ask that of you!”
“We’re volunteering,” Tia reminded her. “You haven’t asked us to do anything.”
“Your father would never agree to me allowing you to do anything so—”
“My father doesn’t even know what day it is, Lexie. He doesn’t need to be told.”
Lexie nodded. She knew Neris as well as anyone. “But even if I agreed, how would you get near him? How will you find him?”
“You let Reithan and me worry about that.”
Reithan nodded in agreement “It’s the safest way, Mother. We’d have a much better chance of finding him on our own. Once we’ve located him, then we can decide the best way to deal with the situation.”
Lexie shook her head. “No, Reithan. I can’t sanction this.”
“Fine,” he said with a shrug. “Let the others decide what to do, then. I’m sure Mellie will want to be involved in the discussion when you announce that Johan left instructions that if he was ever captured, we should find a way to kill him before he could betray us.”
Lexie stared at him in horror. Reithan was the son of her marriage to Drogan Seranov, the former Duke of Grannon Rock. Her first husband had been killed in the fighting during the War of Shadows, and his brother now carried the title. Johan was the only father Reithan had ever known, and she was appalled to think he would so calmly discuss carrying out such an order. Reithan shared Tia’s frustration with Johan’s willingness to sit here in the Baenlands eking out a living, when there was a chance they could reclaim what was rightfully theirs.
But whatever Reithan’s feelings about Johan, Lexie knew he was fond of his half-sister, and looked as if she couldn’t believe what Reithan had threatened.
“Mellie mustn’t know about this!”
“That’s our point,” Tia said gently. “Let Reithan and me go. Tell the others Johan said to do nothing. We’ll find him, Lexie, and if it’s humanly possible, we’ll rescue him. But if it isn’t, then we’ll do what he asked of us.”
Lexie stared at them doubtfully. “You’re not an assassin, Tia. You couldn’t kill Johan. Neither of you could.”
“Maybe not,” Reithan conceded. “But we might be able to smuggle him the means to end his own life.”
“That might truly prove to be the only option,” Lexie admitted, then smiled wanly and placed her hand over Tia’s. “I think what I truly fear is the idea of you running amok through Dhevyn or Senet. You would have to be so careful. If anybody realized who you were, Johan’s fate would be the least of your problems. And don’t forget—there’s a price on Reithan’s head, too.”
“Reithan’s had a price on his head since he was fifteen,” Tia pointed out. “It’s never stopped him in the past. And it’s not like I’ve never seen the big bad world out there, Lexie. I’ve been to Dhevyn before.”
“You’ve been to Nova,” Lexie corrected. “Grannon Rock is sympathetic to us and Alexin and Raban are our friends. You’ve never been to Senet. It was underestimating that danger that caused this trouble in the first place. If Linel and Hari hadn’t been captured in Paislee, then Johan would never have gone looking for them and none of us would be in this mess.”
“We won’t underestimate anything,” Tia promised.
“But what will I tell your father?”
“Nothing. Just give him some more poppy-dust. He won’t even notice I’m gone.”
Lexie nodded sadly, aware that Tia spoke the truth. She looked up at Reithan. “Are you sure about this?”
He nodded. “I’m supposed to meet Videon in Kalarada in a few days. I should be able to speak to Alexin while I’m there. He’ll have a better idea of what’s happening.”
Videon Lukanov was their contact in the Dhevynian Brotherhood, whose activities were mostly criminal; they were convenient allies for the exiles. There was always a market for illegal poppy-dust among the rich courtiers on Kalarada. Tia had no moral qualms about trafficking in drugs. If their only chance at freedom was to destroy the traitorous nobility of Dhevyn through their own weakness, then she didn’t mind a bit. Besides, poppy-dust was the only commodity of value they produced here in the Baenlands. With
out the revenue it brought in, Mil would have starved long ago.
“I don’t like the idea of getting involved with the Brotherhood,” Lexie said with a frown. “I don’t trust them. If they learn Johan has been captured they could turn on us, just as easily as they could aid us.”
“They’ll have heard already,” Reithan pointed out. “I’d rather they thought we had the situation under control.”
Lexie was silent for a time, considering. Finally she sighed and looked up at her son. “When will you leave?”
“Now,” Reithan said. “While you’re still discussing it. We could be in Kalarada before you even get around to deciding what to have for lunch tomorrow.”
“I’m still not sure that Tia should become involved in this.”
“She might as well.” Reithan shrugged. “She’s only going to drive you mad if she stays here.”
Tia shot Reithan a wounded look.
“Anyway,” he added, “I might need her. For one thing, she’s Senetian, and sometimes a pretty girl can get information that others can’t.” Then he grinned. “And if we run out of money, I can always sell her as a virgin.”
Lexie smiled. Tia glared at him. She didn’t think that was very funny at all.
“You must promise to take care of her, Reithan.”
“She can take care of herself.”
Lexie turned to Tia and frowned. “Promise me you’ll be careful, Tia. Promise me you’ll not get involved in arguments, particularly about the Shadowdancers.”
“Lexie ...”
“Promise me, Tia.”
“All right, I promise,” she said impatiently.
Voices reached them faintly from outside; the others were returning, well before the agreed hour was up. Lexie looked at them for a moment, then nodded decisively. “All right, go. Both of you. And for all our sakes, be careful.”
Tia leaned forward and kissed Lexie’s cheek. “We’ll save him if we can, Lexie.”
She smiled. “I know you will. And if you get the chance ... give him my love.”
“I will.”
The doors flew open as Mellie pushed through, carrying a large tray of bread. Pella was with her, carrying a heavy cauldron of something steaming, and there were others behind them, enticed as much by the aromas coming from Pella’s cauldron as they were by the desire to continue the discussion.
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