"He is the owner of the Koman Mercenary Company," stated Duke Graves. "He used to be a Targa Ranger officer. Very distinguished record."
"Yes," Lord Gelman nodded impatiently. "He told me that they had received intelligence of a bona fide threat against my life."
"I told you they were good," said Duke Graves. "Thank goodness they learned of it beforehand."
"I wish they hadn't learned of it," frowned Lord Gelman.
"Why in the world would you wish that?" inquired Duke Zalski.
"Because if they had not learned of it," continued Lord Gelman, "I would still have a chance of surviving it. Mitar Vidson demanded that I hire another twenty mercenaries. I have ten already and told him that I did not see the need for any more. Quite frankly, the cost of these mercenaries is draining my resources."
"They are expensive," nodded Duke Graves, "but not when you figure in the value of your life."
"Which is why I hired them as we all have," agreed Lord Gelman. "The problem is that when I pointed out that I did not wish any more men, Mitar Vidson told me that he was removing his men from my estate."
"Preposterous," snapped Duke Tredor. "They cannot do that and get away with it."
"Actually they can," interjected Duke Graves. "If their contract is the same as the one I have with the Grakus Mercenary Company, and I am sure it is, it states that if they determine that a specific threat exists, we are bound to increase the men to the required level or they will cancel the contract. Both companies pride themselves on never having lost a client. The contract is based on them maintaining that record."
"Exactly," frowned Lord Gelman. "How is that fair though?"
"It is fair in a way," explained Duke Graves. "In addition to the cost of the men they supply you with, they also expend a great deal of resources on intelligence. They do this to provide you with better security. They also do it to ensure that they never lose a client. Reputation is everything in their business. While it might sting for a while to pay for the extra security, I would go along with it. These ex-Rangers are not joking when they say they have intelligence of a threat. I would believe them."
"I do believe them," sighed Lord Gelman. "The problem is that I cannot afford them. I have always lived extravagantly. It comes with the territory of being a councilor. Frequent parties, gifts to influence people, all of these things drain one's resources. I spent a fortune in my desire to get a seat on the Council. I know that it will all be worthwhile in the long run, but I do not have the money now."
"I doubt that the Grakus Mercenary Company will touch you then," Graves said. "I suspect that they share intelligence with each other. In the very least, they are each as capable as the other in ferreting things out. I would suggest borrowing money to pay them."
"Three thousand crowns a day?" Lord Gelman shook his head. "Who would lend me that kind of money?"
"Don't look at me," interjected Duke Tredor. "My family manages to spend everything I get faster than I can earn it."
"There is only one source that I know of in this city that could lend that kind of money," Duke Graves said as he looked around the room.
"Stafa Rakech is that one source," Duke Zalski provided. "And three thousand crowns a day adds up quickly. Who knows how long you will need those extra men?"
"Then I shall speak to him tomorrow," sighed Lord Gelman. "We really have to do something about this Contest of Power. Soon there will not be anyone in the city who can afford to be on the Council."
"There is truth to what he says," commented Duke Graves after Lord Gelman had left. "It is not only councilors who are buying protection. Anyone scheming to get a seat on the Council is also a target and requires guards."
"Perhaps we should bring this up at a Council meeting," suggested Duke Zalski. "Should not the treasury of the city provide the funds for our protection?"
"They already do," scowled Duke Tredor. "We can have men from the army for our protection."
"As if that would do any good," Graves shook his head. "We managed to rid the army of capable men when we disbanded the Rangers and the Red Swords. That was supposed to save the city money, but now we are paying exorbitant prices for the same men to guard us."
"We were led to believe that it was to save money," retorted Duke Zalski. "In fact, I believe Everich pushed it through to rob King Byron of his security. Why do you think Queen Marta fled? She was smart enough to interpret our actions."
"I don't know about that," argued Duke Tredor. "I don't think Queen Marta had a clue as to how to run the city. King Byron made all the decisions until he got sick."
"My question is where all of the King's treasury went," declared Duke Graves. "After the assassination of King Byron we were forced to raise taxes to keep the city running. That was after dismissing most of the army. We raised taxes another three times since then until the people are on the verge of revolt and we still are cutting services. The money has to be going somewhere."
"You have asked that question several times before," noted Duke Zalski. "Each time Duke Everich came down on you for asking it. If you intend to ask it again, I would suggest you think about increasing the number of your bodyguards."
Duke Graves turned and looked at his bodyguards standing quietly at the edge of the dining room. The other councilors' guards were there too, and he thought about the tremendous waste of funds being tied up.
"Maybe so," frowned Duke Graves, "but I do intend to ask it again."
***
Lord Gelman left the dining room at the Palace Shadow and walked down the steps to the street. He saw his driver in a group of other drivers and hailed him. The man nodded and ran around the building to retrieve the coach. Lord Gelman waited impatiently for the coach to arrive. He felt exposed standing in the dark waiting for his ride. He breathed a slight sigh of relief as he saw the coach turn the corner and stop directly in front of him. The driver jumped down and opened the door and Lord Gelman entered the coach.
The first thing Lord Gelman did inside the coach was to pull the dark shades down so nobody would know who was in the carriage. He dreaded the thought of going home to an estate without any guards, and he decided to sleep in the servant's quarters so an assassin would not find him in the master suite, if one came during the night. He decided that he would go to see Stafa Rakech in the morning and try to borrow the funds needed to increase his mercenary force.
Lord Gelman was not surprised to see his hands shaking. The Contest of Power was not a game for the timid, but the thought of an assassin targeting him was more than just unnerving. He opened the cupboard and grabbed the decanter of his favorite brandy. The brandy warmed his body, and Lord Gelman took another healthy sip.
Lord Gelman's driver leaned out and tried to look back at the wheels of the carriage, but he could not see the rear wheels without moving from his perch. What bothered him was the unsteady wobbling he felt. He thought it felt like an overly worn hub and made a note to get it corrected in the morning. He knew if he let it go that he could lose a wheel and that would make Lord Gelman angry. As he made a right turn, the wobbling got worse. He thought about stopping the carriage to check it, but he knew that Lord Gelman was in a fairly cranky mood this evening. He also knew that he would not find someone to repair it if he did stop. Shrugging, the driver continued onward.
As the driver made another right turn to swing up to the gates of Lord Gelman's estate, the driver felt the carriage lurch and knew he had lost a wheel. The tilting carriage ground along the street, and the driver was glad that he had already slowed the team of horses. If he had not been in the process of stopping, the grinding would have caused considerable damage to the carriage while he tried to stop the team. He leaped down off his perch and stared at the carriage. The wheel had come completely off and had rolled into the wall of the estate.
"It's a wheel off, Sir," called the driver. "I will run into the estate and get some men out here right away. We'll bring another carriage out for you."
The driver turned to op
en the gates and then stopped and turned towards the carriage. It occurred to him that the master had not answered him. He ran back to the carriage and opened the door. As he did, Lord Gelman's body hung partially out of the carriage. A decanter of brandy rolled into the street, spilling its liquid onto the ground. The driver ran back to the gates and opened them. He ran shouting along the drive to the mansion.
Zack Nolan smiled to himself from the bushes along the wall of the estate. He had been prepared to assassinate Lord Gelman when the driver went for the extra carriage, but he was pleased that the poison had worked and that there had been no need for his backup plan. Zack rose and swiftly moved into the darkness and away from the torch lit gates. Within moments, he was on his horse and heading back home.
***
"I think we all know why we are assembled today," Duke Everich said to start the meeting of the Council. "Lord Gelman had an unfortunate accident last night, and we find ourselves with another vacancy on this Council."
"Accident?" questioned one the councilors. "I do not think we need to be so naïve as to call these incidents accidents."
"What we call them is immaterial," scowled Duke Everich. "There is an opening on this Council and we must fill it."
"Must we?" asked Lord Clava.
Duke Everich glared at Konic. "I will forgive your outburst because you are fairly new, Lord Clava," scowled Duke Everich. "You have only been to a few meetings of this Council so I think we can excuse you this time."
"While forgiveness is a wonderful thing, Duke Everich," Konic said, "what I would really like is to address this Council."
"I am sure that the Council looks forward to your words, but we have a vote to take first," Everich insisted.
"I ask the indulgence of the Council to hear my words before the vote is taken," Konic persisted. "This Council is always reacting to events instead of shaping them. I think it is high time that that changed."
"Of course we react," stormed Duke Everich. "Do you have some method of foreseeing the future?"
"No, but I do have a suggestion for changing the future," smiled Konic.
"Let him speak," demanded one of the councilors. "You will take up more time trying to get him to shut up than his speech is likely to take."
A number of councilors around the table laughed and even Duke Everich smiled as he shook his head.
"Very well, Councilor Clava," nodded Duke Everich. "We shall hear your words of wisdom, but if they are in support of a nominee, I will demand that you stop."
"Thank you, Duke Everich," nodded Konic as he stood. "I do not rise to place a name in nomination. In fact, I want to discuss not filling the seat vacated by Lord Gelman."
Murmurs ran around the table and Duke Everich's face grew dark.
"This Council and its members are constantly being attacked," Konic continued. "We can change that by changing our rules. Currently we are allowing a few people to force us to continue filling seats in this chamber. I assume that these actions will continue until they achieve the makeup of the Council that favors their plans. Last night one of our members was assassinated. Why? There is only reason that can be deduced for this foul deed. Someone wanted Lord Gelman off the Council and somebody else on the Council."
"What is your point, Clava?" called one of the councilors. "We all know how and why these accidents happen. Nothing you say can change the Contest of Power."
"I think we can change it," retorted Konic. "And very simply too. We currently have twelve members. It should be thirteen, and that is what we are reacting to today. What if the Council only had seven members?"
"Then a bunch of us would be out of a job," chuckled Duke Tredor.
"Not at all," replied Konic. "I am proposing that we change our rules to allow for a seven member Council. The rules will not require any sitting councilor to leave his seat. That means that we will be a body of twelve until the next councilor dies. When he does, we will not replace him."
"How does that help?" asked Lord Markel.
"I am glad you asked that," Konic smiled. "If someone wanted a seat on this Council under our current rules, he would assassinate a sitting councilor and then work to see his name nominated. Under my proposed rules, the assassination would gain him nothing because we would not replace the councilor who was assassinated. If there is no gain to be had, then I doubt that the assassination would even occur."
"So we end up taking the reason for assassinations away?" asked Lord Wason.
"Exactly," nodded Konic. "You would have to assassinate six councilors and get away with it, and even then you would only have a chance to get your name nominated. Not exactly very good odds."
"And none of us would lose our positions," nodded Duke Graves. "The plan has some merit. It would be nice to end these foul assassinations."
Duke Everich began counting votes. If there were only seven councilors, he would need only three allies to ensure his success in any vote he wanted to bring up. He had two solid allies now and two more bordering on coming over to his side. Duke Graves, Duke Tredor, and Duke Zalski also looked favorably upon the plan as they represented a block of three votes and only needed one more ally to control the Council.
"A most impressive plan, Lord Clava," nodded Duke Everich. "I think it is workable. It certainly would be refreshing to be able to actually vote on something other than nominees. Let us put it to a vote."
The plan passed with nine votes for it. Only the three nonaligned councilors voted against it. The Council meeting adjourned, and Konic Clava directed his carriage to take him to Stafa Rakech. The Koman mercenaries took a roundabout route to get there to make sure they weren't followed, although it would not seem strange for a councilor to visit the world's wealthiest man. When he arrived, Konic was shown to the sitting room with furniture. Within moments, Oscar Dalek appeared.
"How did it go?" Oscar asked.
"It went perfectly," reported Konic. "I could almost hear the different groups counting the votes that they would need to control the Council. It passed nine to three."
"Did none of them see the danger inherent in your proposal?" asked Oscar.
"If anyone did, they hid it well," commented Konic.
"You appear to have a knack for this sort of thing," complimented Oscar. "Have you given any thought to actually remaining on the Council when Queen Marta returns?"
"My goal is to see Arik crowned safely," answered Konic. "Anything that I can do to that end, you will find me committed to."
"Well, now the real fun begins," declared Oscar. "It is time to tighten the noose and see who survives."
"How many of them are you going to squeeze?" asked Konic.
"All of them," laughed Oscar. "I want to make sure that we get Graves and his allies totally committed. I plan to squeeze the three of them at the same time. I will start with them."
"They work well as a team so that makes sense," nodded Konic. "How can I help with that?"
"You do have a part to play," assured Oscar. "You are going to have to boost your mercenary guard. I will have Mitar Vidson talk to you in a public place to give you the bad news."
"Graves and his allies spend a lot of time at the Palace Shadow," mentioned Konic. "They think that provides them with cover from the others. Truly, it just lets the others know where to find them."
"Then you should dine with them this evening," suggested Oscar. "Can you arrange that?"
"I am sure they will accept me after today," nodded Konic. "It would not surprise me if they counted me as the fourth vote that they will need to rule the Council."
"Excellent," smiled Oscar. "Duke Everich and Duke Jiardin will be hard to squeeze. They are the only two not using mercenaries. Duke Everich must have a hundred troops on his estate."
"If you take out Jiardin or Count Melorn too early," warned Konic, "Everich might try to rescind the seven man Council. You will have to wait until we are assured of a majority."
"Can we count Lord Wason in that majority?" asked Oscar.
"I am not sure," admitted Konic. "I would like to say yes as I like the lad, but his real loyalties are not assured."
"That means that the three independents must be the first to die," summarized Oscar.
"That assumes that Graves and his allies are tricked into behaving," Konic stated.
"They either fall for our bait, or they die," declared Oscar.
"When will the assassin come for me?" asked Konic.
"Probably tonight," answered Oscar. "It could be tomorrow though. Mitar will tell you all about it."
"Will this be necessary for Alan as well?" inquired Konic.
"I am not sure yet," Oscar replied. "If the story of the attempt on your life is sufficient to motivate Graves and his allies then we will not need an attempt on Lord Markel. Let's take it one step at a time."
"Have you managed to find out if they even have a spy in Alan's mansion?" asked Konic.
"They do," assured Oscar. "Like the spy in your home, this one replaced a man who had to quit for family business. What they are doing is threatening the families of the men to get them to quit and create places for their spies."
"Where would we be without the aid of the fairies?" Konic asked rhetorically.
"The information they feed us is invaluable," nodded Oscar. "I am quite surprised that they have not been discovered yet. This whole plan could easily fall apart if that happens. There is no way we could infiltrate all of those estates with human spies."
"They are a wonderful ally for our son," smiled Konic.
"I am beginning to like the ring of those words," smiled Oscar. "You did a magnificent job of raising Arik. He is son to be proud of. For both of us."
"I wonder how he is doing now," posed Konic. "I still worry about him although Alex has trained him well. I know there are always situations that one can get into that exceeds one's preparation."
"Arik will do fine," smiled Oscar. "It will take quite a bit to take him unawares."
"Still, I will feel better when he is back with the rest of the Rangers," said Konic. "They are a potent force together."
Chapter 13
Abuud: the One-Eyed God Page 15