Shana secured his horse and led him down the narrow path that led through the woods to the stream. “Through there,” she said as she pointed to the waterfall.
Rolan’s frown deepened until his eyebrows met. “What do you mean?”
“There’s a cave behind the waterfall. They’re camped in there.”
Rolan grabbed her arm. “You go first.”
Shana walked up to the waterfall and dashed though it. Rolan followed close behind. As soon as he cleared the waterfall, he shook his head and raked his hands over his arms. “Messy, but effective. Doubt too many people find this place by accident. Where are they?”
Shana pointed down the tunnel.
Rolan shoved her in front of him. “Show me.”
Shana took the cover off the glowstone torch she’d brought and led the way. Fifty feet later, the tunnel turned sharply to the right for ten feet, and then back to the left. The room the men were using was around that corner.
The men were scattered around the room eating dinner when Shana walked in, followed closely by Rolan. As soon as they saw the sorcerer, they dropped their plates and jumped to their feet. The man Shana knew as Fasil, the one she thought of as the leader, nodded at Rolan. “Good evening, sir. Can we offer you anything?”
Rolan turned up his nose and shook his head. “So this is how you spend your time? Lounging around some cave? No wonder Landis is still alive!”
Fasil shook his head. “The reason we haven’t been able to kill her is she hasn’t come anywhere around here. We heard a rumor that someone who looks like her was seen in a valley a couple hundred miles north of here, so Cpt. Garen and his men went to check it out while we keep watch here.”
“So? Did they find her?”
“Not as far as we know. We haven’t heard anything from them since they packed up and left.”
Rolan glared at the man. “Are you familiar with Rhianna, the elf?”
All of the men nodded, but Fasil said, “She’s not with Landis anymore, sir. We’re not sure, but we think she and Myron might be interested in each other.”
“Business? Or personal?”
“I think it’s personal. We’ve seen them walking in the evenings, sir. They hold hands. I’ve even seen him kiss her. I don’t think she’s got any connection to Landis now.”
“But she’s connected to Myron. And if he’s interested in her, she’s a valuable connection.” Rolan grinned. “She might not know where Landis is, but he does. And if I’ve got his woman, I bet he’ll let me have Landis in exchange for her.”
The little bit of color showing in Fasil’s face faded. “Are you suggesting we capture Rhianna, sir?”
Shana’s gasp echoed around the silent cave.
“I’m ordering you to do it!” Rolan roared. “And have her here, in this cave, by Friday night. I want him to know she’s gone before the council meeting Saturday morning.” Rolan took out his key. “After the meeting I’ll tell him if he ever wants to see his precious elf again, he has one hour to bring Landis to me. One of those two women will die Saturday. Let him choose which one.”
~ ~ ~ ~
For a moment after Rolan vanished into the energy flow, no one moved, no one even breathed. Then one of the men shook his head and asked, “How? Just how are we supposed to capture a warrior elf? The man’s crazy!”
“Crazy or not, those are our orders, Bruno,” Fasil said quietly.
“So how are we going to do it?” Bruno asked.
“I’m not sure yet.” Fasil picked up his plate and stared at his uneaten dinner. “This looked good before he got here.”
“I know what you mean,” another man said as he slid his plate to the side. “How do you capture an elf? I mean they can translocate.”
“I have no idea, Correll,” Fasil said.
“Maybe we could give her something to knock her out,” Bruno said. “Do we have anything like that?”
Fasil looked around, but none of the men had any suggestions.
“Maybe the sisters do,” a man with a shiny bald head said.
“And how are we supposed to get them to give it to us, Amos? Go up to them and tell them we need to knock out an elf so we can capture her? I’m sure they’d love to help us out on that,” the fifth man said. “I think it’s time for us to pack up and get out of here. This is a fool’s errand.”
“Hold on, Sunder,” Fasil said. “We can’t do that.”
“Why not? We don’t owe Rolan a thing. He hired us to capture his sister, a human. I didn’t sign on to go messing with a warrior elf. You know what happened to Saryn when he tangled with her.”
“Wait a minute,” Bruno said. “What about opium? I saw some poppies growing in the chapel garden the other day and they looked ready for harvesting.”
Correll shook his head. “All it’ll do is ease pain. It’s not strong enough to knock anyone out, much less an elf.”
“When the sisters use it, they mix it with other stuff,” Bruno said. “I’m talking about pure opium. I knew a man who would slice into the pod and collect the sap. Then he’d cook it and put it on the tip of an arrow or a knife and use it to knock someone out without killing them. Works great.”
“All right,” Fasil said. “Do you know how to prepare it?”
Bruno shrugged. “I’ve never done it, but I watched him do it. It’s worth a try. What have we got to lose?”
“Other than our lives?” Sunder asked with a snort.
“Do you have a better idea?” Amos asked.
“Other than putting as many miles between me and this place as I can by Friday night, no,” Sunder admitted.
“I say we give it a try,” Correll said, “but we need to test it out on somebody before we use it on her.”
“Agreed,” Amos said.
Fasil looked at Bruno. “Will you take care of getting the pod and fixing the opium?”
“I can try, but I don’t want to remove the pod from the stem. I’ll have to cut it as soon as possible tonight so it’ll have time to seep before I harvest the sap, and I’ll need to do that early in the morning if I’m going to have time to get it ready to test.”
“So you’re planning to sneak into the chapel garden twice and hope no one notices you’ve been there?” Shana asked. “And then shoot at Rhianna? Are all of you crazy?”
Sunder stared at her. “Why are you still here? You’ve got no business listening to their plans.” He looked around at the others. “You need to keep her here. You can’t take the chance she’ll tell someone what you’re planning.”
“I agree,” Bruno said as Amos asked, “What do you mean ‘you’? You’re part of this, too.”
“Not anymore I’m not,” Sunder said. “I’m heading out first thing in the morning and I don’t plan to stop until I’m so lost no one will ever find me.”
“Hold on. Settle down.” Fasil turned to Shana. “You do know you’re not the only spy Rolan has in the castle, don’t you?”
Shana nodded.
“And you know if you tell anyone about our plans, one of the other spies will hear about it and let us know.”
Again Shana nodded.
“And when Rolan comes back to get Rhianna and she’s not here, you know who we’re going to blame, don’t you?”
Shana felt sick on her stomach, but she managed to nod.
Fasil turned to his men. “She won’t say anything. She knows what will happen if she does. It’s less risky to let her go than to keep her since she works for Laryn now. If she doesn’t show up tomorrow morning, people will be looking for her.” No one argued with him, but no one agreed either. Fasil looked back at Shana. “Go on, get out of here. And don’t come back until after all of this is over. And be sure you keep your mouth shut. If you don’t, someone’s going to shut it for you.”
~ ~ ~ ~
While Rolan was talking to his assassins, Kevin was delivering the groceries Callie had requested. When he returned to his office, Chris walked in and sat down.
“Anything happen while I was gone?”
Kevin asked as he sat down at his desk.
Chris nodded. “We had a visitor.”
“Rhianna?”
“Well, she did come by earlier, but she’s not the one I meant. Caelan dropped by for, as he put it, a quiet word.”
“Caelan? The elf? Here?”
Chris nodded.
“Why?”
“Seems a few of the bounty hunters have become particularly obnoxious, especially a band of three who have been ransacking the northern sector. Those men would show up at all hours of the day and night and demand access to the elves’ homes, barns, sheds, anywhere and everywhere someone might hide, so they could search for, and I’m quoting Caelan who said he was quoting the bounty hunters, ‘the human girl who had been captured by the elves.’ The elves put up with them until they grabbed a couple of children and threatened to hurt them if the elves didn’t produce Landis. That’s when things got a little ugly.”
“How ugly?”
“The elves surrounded the house where the bounty hunters had the kids and demanded they release the children. When the hunters refused, the elves stormed the house.”
“Did the children get hurt?”
Chris shook his head. “According to Caelan, the children translocated when the elves crashed through the doors. The elves were counting on that, so they went in loud. The bounty hunters were left all by themselves with no bargaining chips.”
“What happened to them?”
“The elves were a lot more magnanimous than I would have been. The warrior elves in the group, which included Caelan by the way, loaded them in a wagon, drove them halfway to Trendon, and told them to go home and never, ever set foot in North Amden again.”
Kevin let out a long sigh. “I can’t believe they let them go.”
“I know.”
“So what does Caelan want me to do?”
“Nothing. He just wanted you to know what happened in case anyone files a complaint against the elves. He was there from beginning to end and said he’ll be glad to go through the whole thing for Rolan, or for the federation if need be.”
“Who could complain? The bounty hunters?”
“I think Caelan was thinking more along the lines of Rolan.”
“Rolan’s not that stupid. What’s he going to complain about? That the men he sent out to kill his sister made a nuisance of themselves and were told to leave?” Kevin shook his head. “Do I need to go see Caelan?”
Chris shook his head. “He said if you need him, let him know.”
Kevin nodded.
“And how did things go with you?”
“Callie was happy to get her groceries and told me to tell you thank you for getting it all together.”
“What about the others?”
“I talked to Garen for a few minutes and he said things were shaping up. He did want to know when we’ll be able to bring out the rest of the stuff they asked for. I told him I’d try to get to it this weekend if nothing came up.”
“We should have it all together by then.”
“If not, I’m not going to worry about it. Nothing on that list is urgent. They’ve all got a place to stay, beds, clothes, and food. I’ll take what we have and they’ll get the rest of it when we have it.”
“Did you talk to Theresa?”
“Not tonight. I didn’t see her, but I didn’t go looking for her either. I did see Darwyn though.” Kevin laughed. “He’s one happy man. He’s walking around without a cloak or gloves and he’s warm. All’s right in his world.”
Chris laughed as he got up to go. “Rhianna and Nikki went out back earlier. She said they’d be waiting for you somewhere around the pasture.”
Kevin nodded. “Anything else I need to take care of tonight?”
“Not that I know of.”
“Good. I’m going for a walk. See you later.”
Chapter 48
The Assassins Prepare
Early Thursday morning, shortly after daybreak, Bruno walked back into the assassins’ cave holding a small bowl of sap from the opium pod.
“Any problems?” Fasil asked.
Bruno shook his head. A movement from the back of the room caught his eye. Sunder had his bed rolled up and was packing the last of his clothes in a small carry bag. “So you really are leaving?”
Sunder nodded. “And if you were smart, you would, too. If you do manage to capture the elf, the warrior elves will be coming after you. If you don’t, Rolan will. There’s no way this can end well.”
“You may be right,” Fasil said, “but we agreed to do the job when it was offered.”
“We agreed to hunt down his sister,” Sunder growled. “I never agreed to go up against warrior elves. Can’t you see this is not what we signed on for?” He slung his bedroll over his shoulder and grabbed his carry bag. “You’ll end up dead if you stay.” Then he walked out of the cave.
“He’s probably right, you know,” Correll said quietly.
“If you feel that way, maybe you should join him,” Fasil said. “As for me, I plan to get the job done and survive it.” He turned to Bruno. “Do you have enough sap?”
“I think so.”
“We need to split up today,” Fasil said. “Correll, if you’re staying, you’re with me. We’ll watch Rhianna and make sure her routine’s the same as it has been for the past few weeks. Amos, I want you to help Bruno get that stuff ready and test it.”
Amos raised his eyebrows. “Just to be clear, you want us to shoot someone and see how he reacts.”
Fasil nodded. “Without getting caught.”
~ ~ ~ ~
Amos and Bruno were fixing dinner when Fasil and Correll got back to the cave. Amos glanced up. “Same routine?”
Fasil nodded as he sat down. “She went to the castle this morning, stayed through lunch, worked in her garden until the others got in, and then went inside for dinner. I think our best bet will be mid-afternoon. Less people around at that time, and she should be outside, provided it’s not raining.”
“Rain could be a real problem,” Amos said thoughtfully.
“Let’s not worry about that until we see what the weather’s like tomorrow,” Correll said.
“How did the test go?” Fasil asked Bruno. “Did the stuff work?”
Bruno nodded as he stirred something in a pot. “At least for a solid hit.” He sat back and said, “We shot the first man in the arm. At first his reaction was normal. He jerked around looking for where the arrow came from, but before he went more than a dozen steps, he fell on his face. He was out.”
“Are you sure? Or was he hitting the ground to keep from getting shot again?” Correll asked.
“He was out. We waited to see. His wife must have seen him fall because she came out of the house calling him. By the time she reached him, he was good and out.”
Fasil frowned. “Are you sure he wasn’t dead? I’m not sure how Rolan will react if we end up killing the elf.”
Amos shook his head. “We kept watching. It was a good half hour, maybe more, before she could get him sitting up, and he was still too groggy to stand. She went back to the house, got some bandages and water, and cleaned him up out there. When we left he was still sitting where he fell.”
“We’ll need some way of transporting her,” Correll said. “Can we throw her across a horse? Or do we need to get a wagon?”
“A wagon would work better,” Fasil said. “If she’s thrown across a saddle, someone will notice. We don’t want Myron showing up here.” He looked at Bruno. “You said you shot the first man in the arm. Did you shoot someone else?”
Bruno nodded. “The plan is to hit her in the arm, but our best archer packed up and left this morning. Any of the rest of us might be off a bit and her arms are smaller than the farmer’s. I don’t think any of us would completely miss, not unless she moves at the last second, but we could end up grazing her, so we wanted to see what would happen if we grazed someone with that stuff.”
Fasil nodded. “Good idea. So what did happen?”
“At first, nothing, and he stayed on his feet for a good twenty feet, but then he started swaying, like he was dizzy. Before he went much farther, he sat down. He didn’t fall, but he was too woozy to stay on his feet. He didn’t lose consciousness like the first guy did, but he was definitely weak. I’d say if we graze her we can get her.”
“Would she be able to throw a knife?”
Bruno looked at Amos for a moment. “I’d say yes. What do you think?”
Amos nodded. “Her aim might not be as good as normal, but she could throw it.”
Fasil frowned. “Then we need a direct hit. I’m not sure which one of us should take the shot. I’ll have to think about it.”
After a moment, Bruno said, “I’ve been thinking about something else, too.”
“What?” Fasil asked.
“She’ll come out of it whether we score a direct hit or graze her, and she’s a warrior elf. They’re strong, and most of them can translocate at will. We need some way to keep her under control until we hand her over to Rolan, and I don’t think tying her up will do it.”
“He has a point,” Correll said.
Fasil nodded. “What do you have in mind?”
“Maybe we should pour a little of the sap in her wound whenever she starts coming around.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Fasil said. “Do we have enough?”
“Not unless I make some more, which I could do if I head back to the garden and slice a couple more pods. There are at least two more ready for harvesting, provided the sisters haven’t already done it. If we don’t attack until mid-afternoon, I’ll have time to cook up some more tomorrow.”
“Did Rolan say when he was coming to pick her up?” Amos asked.
Fasil shook his head. “At least if he did, it didn’t register with me. Did anyone hear him say?” They all shook their heads.
“So we don’t know how long we might need to keep her under,” Amos said. “How much more of that stuff can you make?”
Bruno shrugged. “Depends on how much sap I can get out of the pods.”
Fasil nodded. “And the sooner you cut them, the more sap you get, right?”
Bruno stood up. “Guess I should get going. It’ll be dark enough for me to slip into the garden by the time I get there.” He looked at Correll. “Can you finish the stew?” When Correll nodded, Bruno looked at Fasil. “Make sure you save me some dinner. Be back as soon as I can.”
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