by B. T. Narro
“Two hells, that’s a lot to do to one word.” Shara scribbled it down as she complained. “It makes more sense if we say they switched the last two letters and then added an A and an S.”
Neeko agreed.
Soon they’d gotten through the changes to each word and had a list.
“1. Switch the last two letters. (Leaev)
2. Switch the last two letters, then add an A at the start and an S at the end. (aoens)
3. Add an E as the third letter. (daey)
4. Switch the last two letters, then add a D at the end. (aftred)
5. Switch the first two letters and the last two letters, then add an S at the end. (erceivigns)
6. Add an E as the third letter. (theis)
7. Switch the first two letters, then add an E as the third letter and a U at the start. (ucseroll)”
They were making good progress. Shara tapped her lips as she thought, a habit Neeko couldn’t help but find seductive.
They decided to go through every coded word and tried to determine what the word actually was and what steps were taken to code it.
There was a daunting amount of work left when they finished, but at least they had a longer list of changes. Shara began guessing which rules applied to which words, going through the coded message and writing down each new word. Neeko didn’t quite understand her thought process as he watched her, but he trusted that she was better at this than he was. In fact, she was probably better than anyone.
All of the rules were about switching or adding letters. None had to do with replacing one letter with another. With this in mind, he looked at the first word, “na,” and figured it could only be one thing: “An.”
“An ambush…” he said.
“Right.” Shara pointed to where she’d written that same thing. In fact, he saw she had the next three words written out as well. “An ambush is to be…”
Below were sections of other sentences. “Meet at…for…instruction.”
“Leave one day after receiving this scroll.”
“Ride…not with haste.”
“Do……with others you see going the same direction.”
“The…is inappropriate.”
Neeko was more than impressed at how quickly she worked. She pointed at the last part of the first sentence. “This is telling the PCQs about the ambush.” Then she pointed at the middle of the second sentence. “This is telling them where to meet. I don’t think most of the middle is that important if we can figure out those two sentences and then the end. Unfortunately, I only have inklings as to what the end is.”
They spent the next few hours writing down guesses, but nothing made enough sense for them to be certain. Eventually Shara’s stomach started growling. She leaned back and put her hand over it, glancing over with a shameful look.
“Solving puzzles makes me hungry.”
“It’s far past midday anyway.” He stood, giving his legs and back a good stretch. “We should eat and then ride to Lanhine. We can finish solving the message there, where Cedri and Steffen can help.”
“But what if the ambush is in the other direction?”
“It’s probably related to our army because I can’t imagine a group of PCQs, as you call them, attacking a town.”
“They might.”
Neeko remained silent as he let her think through what she’d said.
“Probably not,” she added.
“We can get to Lanhine in two days. I think it’s worth the small chance that the ambush might not be south of here.”
Shara sighed, using her whole body to nod. Neeko had seen this before. She was agreeing reluctantly, probably because she wanted to stay and solve the riddle herself.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
SHARA
During their trip to Lanhine, Shara twice attempted to work on the coded message while riding. The first time, she managed to glance at the scroll for about a minute before Neeko called her name. Her horse had veered away from his, heading toward a patch of lush grass.
The second time, he didn’t call her name, just let her ride errant for a few minutes. She looked up when she realized her mount had stopped to drink from a lake. She looked around, expecting to find Neeko nearby, but he was nowhere in sight.
She jumped from the saddle and yelled for him. There was no response. Just as she began to feel panic, Neeko led his horse out from behind a fallen tree a few hundred feet away. She rode to him, finding him grinning wide enough for his dimples to show.
“You did that on purpose!” she complained.
“I’m trying to show you that you’re not going to be able to solve the scroll while we ride. Have you learned this lesson yet? Next time, you might end up in the lake.”
“Fine. Take it away from me so I’m not tempted.”
They spent that night beneath the stars, the sky clear and the air still and warm. Neeko removed his shirt, and soon her hand was drawn to him, tracing the muscular ridges of his extraordinarily touchable stomach.
Since that night in his aunt’s house, he seemed more hesitant to kiss her. It was as much a relief as it was a tease, for she knew what could become of her after the right kind of kiss. She figured it was the same for him.
But she enjoyed putting him in that state of madness, even if it did the same to her. She’d never known herself to have this effect on anyone. To feel how desirable he found her was better than hearing any compliment.
As these thoughts swirled around in her mind, she pushed off his firm stomach to sit up. Checking each direction, she found no signs of anyone near their campsite upon the low hill. It was a beautiful night. There were few places she’d rather be.
She settled back beside Neeko and kissed his shoulder.
He gave a disappointing peck to her forehead. “Goodnight, Shara.”
She grumbled.
Shara liked to recall when he’d come into her room that second night in the castle. Instead of coming up with a plan for Swenn as they’d discussed doing previously, he’d kissed her for the first time, causing a flutter in her chest and heat to sizzle through her body.
She wanted another kiss like that now, but it didn’t seem as if it would happen.
She pulled his heavy arm over her as she turned to lie on her side. So long as she continued to focus on Neeko’s warmth, she wouldn’t remember the things Swenn did. She might actually get to sleep without reliving the fear.
*****
The city of Lanhine had sustained more fire damage than Cessri. “There used to be twice as many buildings,” Shara observed as they rode through.
Neeko nodded sadly. Most of the rubble still remained. It made sense. Neither she nor Neeko saw any point to clearing the ruins of their own homes. Why would anyone else? They gave out a silver to each beggar they came across. Shara wondered where these people slept. She doubted it was anywhere indoors. At least the weather was warm…for now. How many of them had died during the days of endless rain?
She could see resentment in Neeko’s eyes, thoughts of vengeance forming. He caught her looking.
“It bothers me that the South thought destroying these innocent people’s homes was a good strategy,” he said. “King Quince would never do that.”
No, Quince was more thoughtful of the families not involved in the war. But Shara knew their king was more devious than Neeko could ever guess. He’d spoken to her about poisons enough for her to realize there was far more than curiosity behind his questions. She’d overheard furtive talks between those on Quince’s council.
She assumed the target was either King Marteph or one of his venerable priests. Maybe after serving on the council for years she would’ve been trusted to give advice on such a secretive matter.
She’d enjoyed that work and relished each day in the castle. Perhaps she might use the experience to work her way up to counseling Kyrro’s king once she was in Ovira.
She would’ve been nervous about the thought of starting fresh in a place she knew nothing about but Neeko woul
d be there with her. There was nothing more comforting.
The setting sun was bursting out from behind Meri’s Stay when they arrived. It was the inn where Shara had told Steffen and Cedri to meet her.
It was named after the owner, Meri, but Shara always thought of “Merry Stay,” which made her want to sleep there even more…where she could be merry.
“This is where it all started,” she told Neeko as they walked their mounts toward the inn.
“It was about a mile that way where we met,” he corrected her.
“You know what I mean. Lanhine—we’re in the city where everything began.”
He smiled to show he understood. “If only it could end here without us going hundreds of miles more to the south.”
“Yes, that would be wonderful.”
Shara didn’t just like the name of Meri’s Stay. She enjoyed walking up the set of stairs to get to the entrance because it seemed to give the building importance. And she thought the triangular roof gave it personality, as most inns were built with flat tops. At the top was a single enormous room. She’d told Steffen and Cedri to rent it if they could, for she’d always wished to spend a night there.
She’d been within the inn countless times as a child but never rented a room. Neeko waited outside with their horses. After she paid, someone would meet him to take the animals into the stables.
“Meri!” Shara called out, too excited to contain herself.
He smiled and waited for her to reach his stand. “Welcome. Would you like a room?”
Why hadn’t he used her name? “Meri, it’s me, Bethilee.” It was the name she’d used during most of her visits, and she was glad to have shed it. Every time she said the name, it felt like she was stuttering. It didn’t help that the illiterate father who’d given it to her couldn’t spell it, making it even harder for her to learn, let alone remember.
She could tell that Meri only pretended to recognize her. “Good to see you. How are you?”
She scowled as all of her joy and excitement drained out of her. “A young man and woman should’ve arrived two or three days ago. Steffen and Cedri. I’m to share a room with them and one more. The other is outside with our horses.”
“Let me check the ledger, Beth-Lily.”
She held back a grumble as she folded her arms.
“Yes, I see they have the top room.” Some excitement returned, giving her a grin as she let her arms relax. But then the innkeeper frowned at something he read. “They told me they were expecting a young man and woman not by your name.”
“My name is Shara now. I’m sure it’s the one they gave.”
“And the man’s name?”
“Jon, who’s outside with our horses.”
“Good. I’ll show him to the stables. Would you like to come along? Then I can show both of you to your room.”
“I know where it is.” She’d asked him to show her the room several times when she was a child. It was difficult not to be offended, but she held her tongue. “Would you mind telling him which room is ours? He can meet me and the others upstairs.”
“I will.”
Shara ran up to the third floor, where there was one more set of stairs that led to just one bedroom. The top bedroom. It was expensive, but well worth it for anyone who had the money, which she finally did. She wouldn’t let Meri’s forgetfulness take away her thrill.
But when she opened the door, she didn’t recognize the room. Where were the three beds, each with canopies adorned with beautiful flower designs? There was only one bed and it was large enough for six people, taking an entire wall. It had a white canopy so fine it was transparent, but the only people who could appreciate such a monstrous bed would be children wanting to bounce on it, and their grabby little hands would tear down the canopy within moments.
The room seemed to have shrunk as well. No, that was impossible. She just remembered it being twice as large. There were no paintings on the utterly bare walls, and the curtain over the one window was an ugly orange, reminding her of rust, of decay.
Gone were the three small tables covered by fine linen. Two chairs used to be at each one, their seat cushions embroidered with the sigil of the North—a dalion—making Shara feel like a queen whenever she sat on them. Now there was just one table, large and square with no fine linen to cover the chips in its wood. Four chairs of mismatched colors stood in disarray around the table. Cedri sat in one of them, her hand cupped around a glass.
“Good. You’re here.” She didn’t bother to stand to offer a hug as Shara had hoped. Instead, she calmly sipped her beverage and made a face of disgust. “I don’t care to spend another hour with Steffen.”
Shara sighed. She tried to ignore her disappointment for the room, for Meri forgetting her, and for Cedri’s mood. “Where is he?”
“In the bathing quarters. Neeko wasn’t in Cessri?”
“He was. I found him.”
Cedri smiled. “Good. I look forward to leaving tomorrow. Steffen and I have been arguing.”
“About what?” Shara looked around the room, trying to find something familiar she could appreciate to bring back the thrill of being here. She heard Cedri slurp another mouthful of her beverage.
Finding nothing, she sat beside Cedri and examined her drink. Strangely, it was green.
Shara’s heart jumped. No, Steffen wouldn’t! It must be something else.
“He has secrets,” Cedri said. “I’ve confronted him, but he refuses to tell me anything.” She pointed a thumb at the bed. “And you told us there would be three beds. I didn’t know I would have to sleep beside him. It took psyche to convince him to sleep in his undershorts instead of naked.”
She said he has secrets. “What are you drinking?”
“I don’t know. Steffen said it would help me sleep and heal, but it tastes like dirt.”
Shara jumped to her feet. “Did he take some powder from a pouch and put it into water to make that?”
Cedri squinted at Shara, worried. “He did.”
“Cedri, that’s poison! You need to vomit right now.”
Cedri stood and grabbed Shara’s arms. “Oh my gods, I can tell you’re serious! I didn’t try to sense anything when he made it for me! I should’ve used psyche.” She fell to her knees as she cursed, then heaved in a poor attempt to empty her stomach onto the wooden floor.
“Stick your fingers down your throat!” Shara urged.
Cedri took one hand and shoved two fingers into her mouth. She made a gagging sound but didn’t vomit.
“He must have an antidote! I’ll get him. Keep trying.” Shara pulled the wand from its holder on the back of her belt. She would shoot him with a fireball if that’s what it took.
She heard Cedri continue to gag as she flung open the door. Steffen stood there, reaching for the handle.
“Shara?”
She pointed her wand. “Where’s the antidote, you puddle of horse piss!”
Shara assumed his confusion was feigned as he looked past her at Cedri trying to vomit.
“What in the bastial hell?” Steffen muttered.
“The antidote! I will shoot you, you damn bastard!”
His eyes bulged as he ran past Shara as if she weren’t there. “Cedri, stop doing that to yourself. It’s not poison.”
“It is,” Shara insisted. “It’s the very same poison Darri put in Jaymes’ water. Keep trying, Cedri!”
“I can’t do it!” She reached up and grabbed Steffen’s shirt collar. “Give me the antidote or I’ll kill you before I die, you craven son of a whore. Poison? Kill me like a man, you bastard!”
“It’s not poison. Use psyche on me, dammit!”
Cedri grabbed his face with both hands, her nails digging into his cheeks. “Say it again,” she demanded through gritted teeth.
“It’s not poison.”
“Tell me what it is!”
“It’s like I said—to help you sleep because you’ve been complaining that you can’t while sharing a bed with me. It also h
as some healing properties to help your face.”
“Is he telling the truth?” Shara asked.
Cedri shoved Steffen’s head back with enough force to cause him to stumble into the wall. “He is.”
“Bastial hell!” Steffen screamed, abruptly belligerent. “The mouth on you two! You’re worse than Effie.”
Neeko’s voice came from the doorway. “What happened?” His eyes went to Shara’s wand when she turned. She felt silly for still aiming at Steffen and put it back in its holder.
“They thought I would poison Cedri!” Steffen said, indignant as he straightened his shirt and tucked it back into his pants.
“Because,” Shara explained, “Cedri was drinking a green liquid identical to that in Commander Jaymes’ poisoned water skin. She said Steffen used a powder from a pouch.” Shara glared at him. “I found it unlikely that you had another pouch besides the poison that would turn water green.”
Steffen took a long breath. “It’s the same pouch. Darri never poisoned Commander Jaymes, but let me explain.”
Chills of terror went down her spine. Steffen set up Darri? Her next thought sent her into a panic. Was Darri innocent after all? If so, that means Cedri killed Charlotte.
“I told you all about the caregelow plant already.” He pointed at his cage of four plants at the edge of the table. “When a chemist melts a caregelow leaf with bastial energy, the potion it produces helps to heal nearly any illness.” He took a pouch out of his pocket. “This contains ground up seeds from the caregelow. It’s what went into Jaymes’ water as well as Cedri’s. It has some of the same healing properties, but it works better to cause heavy drowsiness. I had it with us, Shara, when we snuck into the army camp.”
“So Darri was innocent.” She drew her wand again, this time pointing it at Cedri. “Don’t move or try to use psyche.”
Cedri put up her hands and spoke in a cautious voice. “Shara…put that down.”
“Darri wasn’t innocent!” Steffen blurted. “He killed Charlotte.”
“But now you’re telling me he didn’t try to kill Jaymes. How can we know that this psychic hasn’t been deceiving us the whole time? She gave up Neeko to PCQs, after all!”