"How do you live with him?" sighed Tanya. "I swear he cannot fight a battle without throwing himself into the middle of it. There was no reason to leave concealment and block the trail. The Tice garrison could have handled the strays. Does he seek to end his life early?"
"Who can say what goes through the mind of a man?" Jenneva responded. "I understand his battle skills as well as he understands my magic. It is his realm and I have learned to accept his judgment."
"How can you say that?" persisted Tanya. "Did you feel nothing when you saw him covered in blood? Can you truly say that you felt no emotion?"
"Of course I felt emotion," scowled Jenneva. "Do you know how many times I have wondered whether he was alive or dead? My heart stops every time I think of him wounded and dying. One would think that the emotions would diminish after years of narrow calls, but they do not. What I have learned is to hide those emotions. You need to work on that."
"Me?" queried Tanya. "I have no need to hide my emotions. My husband will never be so foolish as to constantly impress me with his narrow escapes from death. You need to set some ground rules for Alex. Why should I learn to hide my emotions?"
"Because your love for Alex is quite visible," replied Jenneva as she turned to find the unicorns that had been wounded.
"What?" screamed Tanya as she ran after Jenneva. "How dare you say that? I am not in love with a man who is well past his prime. And I do not hunt for a husband in another woman's bed. You owe me an apology."
Jenneva stopped and placed her hands on her hips as she turned to face Tanya. "Past his prime?" growled Jenneva. "There is not a man alive that can best Alex in battle. Or woman for that matter," she added as she looked Tanya in the eye.
"But he is old," Tanya persisted.
"As for your search for a husband," softened Jenneva, "I am not accusing you of attempting to steal Alex from me. To do so would be the battle of your life. Still, I know love when I see it. You care for Tedi, and you are attracted to Arik more every day, but your anger with Alex is the sign of a powerful love that you cannot deny. At first it was an infatuation born of tales told by your uncle, but it has changed. The tales no longer impress you, but the man himself does."
Jenneva turned and continued up the trail, leaving Tanya staring after her. She quickly found a unicorn with several arrows protruding from his hide. The unicorn was prone in the trail and Jenneva knelt beside him. Tanya soon knelt alongside Jenneva and drew her knife. As Tanya worked to cut the arrows from the flesh, Jenneva magically calmed the unicorn and placed herbs in his mouth.
"Does Alex feel like you do?" Tanya asked softly. "Does he think I love him?"
Jenneva chuckled softly and smiled, "Alex does not know what to make of you. It took several years for Alex to realize that I loved him when everyone else already knew. While Alex is perceptive in many areas, love is not one of them. He sees your actions and emotions as irrational and illogical. The way you act confuses him."
Tanya placed her hand over the wounds one at a time and invoked a spell that would speed the healing of the scarred flesh. She looked up as she heard Arik and Tedi approaching. She watched as the boys got closer. Tedi walked with a boastful swagger while Arik strode confidently, observing everything around him. She tried to overlay the image of Alex in the approaching group and came up with the vision of a stride that was wary, hiding his tenseness under the façade of a calm carefree posture. She suddenly realized that much could be learned about a person by simple observation and vowed to begin a study of people and their emotions. She would also accept Jenneva's suggestion to hide her emotions. Whatever her feelings were for other people, Tanya had to learn to hide them.
"It is going to be quite a task to burn all of these goblin bodies," Tedi stated as they stopped next to Jenneva.
"Talk to Larastrides, Arik," suggested Jenneva. "Perhaps the unicorns can help transport the bodies to the clearing before Tice. We certainly do not want to attract predators closer to the garrison. The bodies must be disposed of."
"Are there many dead and wounded among the unicorns?" questioned Tanya.
"Much less than we expected," answered Arik. "The unicorns have proven to be deadly warriors. The goblins never really had a chance. I think we can bind groups of goblin bodies together, and the unicorns can pull them into the clearing."
"It would take days to gather the wood for such large fires," complained Tedi. "Can't we just let them rot?"
"Who knows what diseases we might allow to spread," frowned Jenneva. "Just heap the bodies into large piles in the clearing. We will create magical fires to consume them."
Tanya rose and proceeded to the next wounded unicorn and Jenneva followed. Arik and Tedi searched for Larastrides and managed to help organize the unicorns into teams for dragging the goblin bodies to the clearing. The task of transporting the bodies lasted throughout the day and the sun was setting when Jenneva started igniting the fires. The men from Tice helped to collect the goblins and managed to strip the bodies of anything useable. As the western sky glowed orange with the setting sun, the Alcea Rangers gathered around the campfire on the edge of the clearing.
"I am exhausted," sighed Tedi. "It was more work to take care of the bodies than it was to kill them."
"Be glad you are around to complain about the task," instructed Alex. "It could easily have gone the other way if the goblins had detected what we were doing."
"The people of Tice sure were happy," commented Arik. "They opened their homes to us, so we could clean up after the battle. Do you think the goblins will attack again?"
"Hard to tell," puzzled Alex. "I suspect that they expected to wipe Tice off the map with this attack. Their losses were enormous and the few who escaped may not be believed when they try to explain how they lost. The Tice garrison will have to remain vigilant."
"I will ask Larastrides to maintain contact with the garrison," suggested Arik. "If the goblins threaten Tice again, they will know to contact the unicorns."
"A good idea," nodded Jenneva, "but they will not have the magical diversion next time."
"What about our use of magic?" questioned Tanya. "Won't it alert Sarac?"
"The clearing of the sky over northern Targa has already done that," Jenneva responded. "It is time to find out where we are heading next."
Arik nodded and withdrew the Sword of Heavens from its sheath. He also took from his pouch the glass bead that had fallen out of the Sword of Heavens after the Unicorns' Opal had been put in place. The Rangers stood in a circle around the campfire and Arik threw the glass bead into the fire. The fire hissed and the smoke formed into a dense cloud over the fire.
The Rangers were ready for another vision depicting the location of the Diamond of Edona, but what appeared was only the image of a breastplate. The breastplate rotated, and the Rangers stood in awe as they gazed upon it. The face of the breastplate was emblazoned with an image that was identical to the mark on Arik's chest. A reptile, which resembled a snake with legs, sported a large pair of wings and had a forked tongue protruding from its mouth. The reptile was a bright green and the wings were black. The eyes and protruding tongue were a vivid red.
"What does it mean?" asked Tedi as the image blinked out of existence and the smoke cloud dissipated. "It does not tell us anything about the location of the diamond."
"It is unlike the other visions we received," agreed Tanya. "What does the Sword of Heavens say?"
"The bead has been restored," replied Arik as he gripped the Sword of Heavens. "It points a little west of south," he continued as he rotated while holding the Sword of Heavens. "It feels far away like it did the other times."
"We will take a ship to Tagaret," decided Alex. "There are a few things there that we must attend to anyway. We will leave in the morning."
***
Duke Everich closed the door to the interrogation room and walked slowly to the Council Chamber. He planned his next moves as he strode confidently through the door to the Council Chamber.
&nb
sp; "Councilors," greeted Duke Everich. "I am sure that you have heard of the unfortunate demise of Duke D'Ales by now. This meeting was called to fill the vacancy created by his untimely death."
Duke Everich appeared to scan the faces of the other councilors as he spoke, but he actually was concentrating on the face of Duke Engar. A series of hands rose for recognition and Duke Everich smiled as he anticipated the rush to place names into nomination for the empty slot.
"Duke Engar," Duke Everich smiled grimly, "you seek recognition?"
"I do," answered the councilor as he rose. "I would like to place in nomination the name of Lady Forloe. Most of us are familiar with Niki, and I think she could offer much to this Council."
Duke Everich frowned at the choice for nominee posed by Duke Engar. He had been prepared to offer up Niki's name himself, but her nomination coming from the employer of the assassin greatly disturbed him. What was worse was that Duke Everich noticed several other councilor's hands were lowered by the nomination, indicating that they too had planned to nominate Niki. While he understood Dalgar's plan was to make Fredrik and Niki popular, he was shocked at the large response directed in her favor. Clearly there was some part of the plan that Dalgar had not shared with him. Duke Everich drummed his fingers on the table and stared at Duke Engar. Finally, he stood to regain the floor of the meeting.
"While I stated that the purpose of this meeting was to fill the vacancy," Duke Everich began, "I became privy to information that is much more important on my way here. I am afraid that nominations will have to wait for another meeting."
Murmurs ran around the table. Duke Everich noticed three councilors who had lowered their hands after the nomination whispering to each other. He made a note to check out their alliances later. The other murmurs appeared to be in regards to the break in usual protocol.
"What some of you may not know," Duke Everich continued, "is that Duke D'Ales died a violent death last night. He was assassinated. While we have had problems of this nature in the past, this particular episode troubles me greatly. The army was fortunate to capture the assassin before he got away."
The volume of the murmurs increased and Duke Everich watched as Duke Engar's face paled visibly.
"Many times we have had councilors assassinated to create an opening in this Council, but usually it is someone on the outside desiring a seat," scowled Duke Everich. "This time, apparently, the assassin was hired by one of us."
Vocal cries of protest emanated from around the table as each councilor scanned the faces of the others as if they could determine the guilt by sight.
"What scoundrel would do such a thing?" Duke Tredor blurted out. "Is there nothing sacred between us any more?"
"Obviously not," scowled Duke Everich as he dismissed the breach of protocol. "Fortunately, we have managed to extract a confession from the assassin, a man named Herzel."
Duke Engar closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as his hands tightened on the arms of his chair. Duke Everich nodded to the two soldiers standing guard near the door, and they waited expectantly to hear the name of the man they would arrest.
"Not only was Herzel very forthcoming with the name of his employer," Duke Everich continued, "but he was foolish enough to use a dagger with the crest of his employer as the weapon of choice. We have confiscated the dagger and I promise that it will be prominently displayed in this very room as a warning to future councilors. We will not tolerate any more Duke Engars on this Council."
Gasps ran around the table as the soldiers moved swiftly to arrest Duke Engar. Engar did not put up a fight as he was dragged away by the soldiers.
"Councilors," continued Duke Everich as the door closed behind the soldiers, "it appears that we have two seats to fill on this Council. I suggest that you give careful consideration to your nominees. We shall meet here again tomorrow morning following the execution of Duke Engar."
Duke Everich nodded to the councilors and left the room. The previously quiet murmurs in the Council Chamber erupted into loud conversation. Some councilors posed that there should be a trial for Duke Engar while others replied that a confession and the dagger was enough evidence for the execution. During the turmoil, one quiet councilor approached two of the others.
"Duke Tredor," greeted Duke Graves, "Duke Zalski, I think the three of us need to have a talk."
"What about?" questioned Duke Tredor.
"Our choice of nominees," responded Duke Graves. "Your hands came down the same time mine did. I think that a certain young lady who wishes a seat on this Council is charming us all. It appears that she also managed to get to Duke Engar, and I do not wish to end up like him. You should also be aware that Duke Everich took note of our hands going down when they did."
"She is betrothed to my son," stated Duke Tredor. "Why shouldn't I sponsor her?"
"But she is betrothed to my son," countered Duke Zalski.
"I fear she is betrothed to all of our sons," scowled Duke Graves. "That is why we must talk."
Duke Tredor nodded and rose, as did Duke Zalski. They followed Duke Graves out the door and across the street to the Palace Shadow. Duke Graves secured a quiet table in the corner, and the three councilors ordered a meal.
"So she is pitting the three of us against each other," opened Duke Tredor. "We could assure her a seat on the Council and then see who wins her hand in marriage. Her father's wealth could be split among us."
"It is more than that," frowned Duke Graves. "I suspect that she doesn't plan to marry any of our sons. She is just using us. What bothers me is how Duke Everich orchestrated the meeting this morning."
"What do you mean?" questioned Duke Zalski.
"He knew that Duke Engar was the guilty party before the meeting," explained Duke Graves. "Yet he allowed us to believe that we would nominate someone for the Council. Do you think it was by pure chance that he chose Duke Engar's hand to reply to first?"
"He wanted to see who Duke Engar would nominate," gasped Duke Zalski.
"Precisely," nodded Duke Graves.
"And he recognized that our hands went down when Duke Engar nominated Niki," scowled Duke Tredor. "Now he probably thinks we were a party to the assassination."
"Exactly," nodded Duke Graves. "I have no doubt that she put the thought into the minds of our sons, but I refuse to be manipulated to the point of death by some aspiring woman. You claim she is rich, but I have it on good advice that her mansion was purchased by Duke Everich himself."
"Duke Everich?" echoed Duke Zalski. "But that makes no sense. If Duke Everich wanted Niki on the Council then why didn't he let the nomination stand and then arrest Duke Engar?"
"Perhaps because he realized that she is playing him for a fool as well," replied Duke Graves.
"Maybe Duke Everich only assisted her father in securing the estate," offered Duke Tredor. "Her father inherited all of Stafa Rakech's wealth when he died. I doubt she needs to accept an estate from Duke Everich."
"Stafa Rakech?" queried Duke Graves. "I am not sure where your information came from, but Stafa Rakech is not dead. How could her father have inherited anything?"
"Not dead?" echoed Duke Tredor. "How can you be certain? Nobody has seen or heard of him in twenty years."
"He does not like to draw attention to himself," replied Duke Graves. "I know for a fact that he resides here in Tagaret."
"In Tagaret?" repeated Duke Zalski. "How do you know this?"
"I was thinking about my own security," explained Duke Graves. "Last month two new mercenary companies opened in Tagaret and it got me thinking that they might be the answer to security. I visited each of their offices and inquired about the services they provide. While I was at the Grakus Mercenary Company I overheard a conversation about Stafa Rakech. I was curious so I dallied a while to see if I could hear what was said. They talked about Stafa Rakech ordering over a hundred men. At first I thought it must be a hoax, but they mentioned an address, and I took a ride later that day to check it out."
"And what did
you find?" questioned Duke Zalski.
"I found an estate with over a hundred mercenaries guarding it," answered Duke Graves. "The guards refused to say whose estate it was, which is what I would expect. So I went to the Palace to see if I could trace the transaction records of the estate. Guess what I found?"
"What?" begged Duke Tredor.
"Duke Everich had already requested the same information," replied Duke Graves. "The clerks thought I was asking for some official Council business and let me peruse the report. He used some rather complicated transfers in an attempt to hide his ownership, but Stafa Rakech was the purchaser of the estate."
"That means that Niki Forloe is an imposter," scowled Duke Tredor. "She told my son that her father was Stafa Rakech's only heir that the old man had died long ago."
"And Duke Everich is the one promoting her," added Duke Zalski.
"Yes," agreed Duke Graves. "I think it is time that Stafa Rakech was welcomed to the neighborhood."
"The stories that I have heard indicate that he never sees anyone," commented Duke Zalski.
"The Contest of Power is more than a game, gentlemen," declared Duke Graves as he stood to leave. "Our lives are on the line, and I am not going to be manipulated by the likes of Duke Everich and Niki Forloe. If Stafa Rakech can verify that Niki is a fraud then that information will be valuable to us. You may sit idle until tomorrow's meeting of the Council, but I plan to be prepared."
Duke Zalski watched Duke Graves leave the dining room of the Palace Shadow before turning to Duke Tredor and asking, "What do you think? Do you trust Duke Graves, or is he trying to trap us?"
"I do not even trust you," snarled Duke Tredor. "Trust is not something you extend to another councilor in Tagaret. Still, he made some valid points regarding what is going on in this city. My son was to marry that wench, and I need to know who is putting her up to this."
"My son was to be the groom," Duke Zalski shot back. "To think he wasted valuable funds courting her."
"Did she ask him to make a seat on the Council available for her?" questioned Duke Tredor. "Did she ever suggest eliminating a councilor?"
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