Kethril (46 page)

Tathan couldn’t help laughing.

The courier cleared his throat. “Lord
Purvasa Mugave is his brother and a master swordsman.”

“I’ll champion for you if you like, Vevin.”
Tathan was itching for a good fight. “I’m fair with a blade.” He
grinned at his own understatement. Liselle looked back and forth
between the two of them in apprehension.

Vevin’s jaw was set in anger. “No. I’m tired
of people thinking it’s acceptable to take interest in my mate. I
love Liselle and she loves me.” He kicked his chair away as he
stood and his eyes swirled. “Take me to this fool,” he told the
courier.

Liselle stood and took his arm. “Vevin . .
.”

“I
must
, Liselle. Otherwise they will
continue to believe that you are available for them,” he told her.
She looked down at her feet and then nodded. They followed the
courier to the arena. Tathan wondered how bad it had become. He
wanted to cut off a few hands by that point too.

The arena was a large oval, dirt floor.
Ascending rows of seats surrounded it, creating a large bowl that
could sit thousands of people. It was partially full and people
streamed in at the word of a duel. Had there been more notice, it
likely would have been full.

Lord Purvasa Mugave had a permanent sneer on
his face and Tathan instantly hated him. A light blade with
bejeweled hilt sat at his waist. When Vevin entered the floor of
the arena, the man drew the weapon and swished it around
expertly.

“Who calls this duel?” an official wearing a
bright colored toga asked.

“I, Lord Purvasa Mugave, call this duel in
the name of my brother, whom foul Vevin has maimed this yesterday
past.” He raised his sword and snarled at Vevin.

“And who is your second?” the official
asked.

A light-haired man stepped forward and
introduced himself. Tathan didn’t notice. He was studying the
movements of Lord Mugave.

“And does the one named Vevin accept this
challenge?” the official asked.

“I do.” Vevin stepped forward.

“And who is your second?”

Vevin looked over his shoulder at Tathan.
Tathan grinned, happy that Vevin had chosen him. “I, Tathan of the
Shadows, act as Vevin’s second.”

The lord and his second sneered at the name.
Tathan’s reputation consisted mostly of rumors and wasn’t feared in
Mayncal. He supposed that was a good thing considering he wanted to
stay awhile.

“So be it!” The official raised his hand.
“This is a duel of honor. It will end once honor is satisfied or
sacrificed.” He lowered his hand and then dashed to a raised seat
away from the center of the arena. From there, he would judge the
fight.

Lord Mugave began circling with his sword at
the ready. His steps were graceful, showing great experience at
dueling.

Vevin transformed into a dragon, taking up
half the arena floor. Lord Mugave froze in shock. Vevin put his
snout directly in front of the noble’s face and roared with all his
might, though not using dragon fear.

Tathan jumped up and down in glee, laughing
as the arena emptied. The people in the seats scrambled over each
other, desperate to get out. The official jumped out of his chair
and broke a leg on the landing. He crawled away, screaming in agony
and fear.

Lord Mugave didn’t run away because he was
too busy losing control of his bowels and fainting. His second ran
away, seemingly not caring if the dragon ate his friend.

Liselle stood there with her face in her
hands. Tathan couldn’t tell if she was laughing or crying. Vevin
transformed and walked back to her. “I win.” Liselle lifted her
face and they could see that she was laughing uncontrollably, so
they joined her.

From that point on, nobody dared make
advances at Liselle.

***

A week later, the head of palace security
approached him with a royal appointment. Tathan responded by
delivering evidence he had collected in his spare time on two
agents of Iynath that were working in the palace. They made him a
special agent with extensive influence that night.

***

Another week later, an extravagant wedding
united the prince and princess along with their kingdoms. The
citizens rejoiced. In addition to a royal wedding, there would
finally be peace between the two countries.

Whispers of conquest had been casting a pall
over the morale of the people, but the wedding replaced it with a
sense of security. Generals and Admirals would soon be gathering
around strategy tables, planning their defenses against Iynath and
the Rojuun.

In the celebration after, Vevin danced for
the audience. He did somersaults and even danced in mid-air while
the musicians played enjoyable ditties.

Tathan sat at a table on the other end of
the enormous reception hall. From where he was, the princess looked
happy with her new husband. Jealousy fought to conquer his heart,
but he had agreed to the arrangement.

He wanted to see Anilyia and hold her in his
arms, but it wasn’t going to happen for a while. Liselle constantly
reassured him that the princess still loved him though, and that
was the only thing keeping him there.

The celebrations went on for three days.
Instead of joining, Tathan spent his time finding another agent of
Iynath in the treasury, along with a little extra change for his
purse.

***

A week after the wedding, Liselle and Vevin
took their leave. Tathan and Sir Danth escorted them to the western
edge of the city where they dismounted in a small clearing at the
side of the road to say goodbye.

Liselle accepted Tathan’s help down from the
horse. “I just can’t handle the court life, Tathan. Those women
spend all their time gossiping and trying on new dresses,” she
said. “And Vevin is going to end up eating someone if they ask him
to give them a ride one more time.”

Tathan and Liselle embraced for a few
minutes, gathering strength from each other. “I love you, Cousin,”
Tathan told her as they separated. “Out of all the people I’ve met
in my journeys, you’re my favorite and I truly believe the world
would go poof without you,” he said with a grin.

She laughed. “I love you too, Cousin. The
circumstances in which we began our journey still hurt, but I
realize that if you hadn’t arrived, life would have held a more
terrible fate for me. I’ve enjoyed our travels together and the
friendships we’ve made.” She put a hand on Sir Danth’s arm and
smiled at him.

“You are a light in the darkness, Milady,”
Sir Danth told her. “Should you ever need me, I shall come to your
aid and lay my very existence on the line.”

“Thank you. I hope your research is
successful and that you find a way to free your people.”

“It will take a long time. There is much to
read through and few answers, but I have that time,” he assured her
with a smile.

Tathan gave Vevin a hug. “You take good care
of her, friend.”

“Oh yes! You can count on me,” Vevin said
with a parting dance.

“Alright. I’ll let you go,” Tathan told
them. “You have your money in a safe place, yes?”

“Oh yes, I have the treasure the king gave
us in a safe place and all of the gems and money are hidden,” Vevin
assured him.

They said goodbye again and mounted their
horses. Tathan gave them a serious look. “Whatever you do, stay
away from Dralin. It’s a dangerous city for anyone, but especially
for individuals as powerful as the two of you.”

“We will,” Liselle assured him as they rode
off. They looked back and waved just before disappearing out of
sight.

***

Tathan watched the animal control
specialists take away the diseased monkey he had found hiding in
the walls. It was even odder than when he found the ninety-five
year old aunt of the queen tucked away in a long-forgotten room. A
mute lady-in-waiting had been caring for her for the last few
decades.

He was excellent as security specialist and
now had respect from the king. It helped that Tathan had discovered
numerous agents of Iynath along with evidence of espionage in the
palace.

“Tathan,” a voice whispered from behind some
curtains.

He turned to see a woman peering out.
“Yes?”

“Come with me.” The woman disappeared.

It was the sort of thing people said when
leading someone into a trap. He followed because traps were his
business.

Behind the curtains was a secret passage.
The woman let him squeeze by and then closed the door. It was pitch
black. “One moment,” she said. With a word of magic, she lit a
lantern. The yellow light glistened in her grey eyes, much like
his. She nervously brushed aside a strand of her brown hair.
“Follow me, please.” Without waiting for a response, she squeezed
back by him and led him down the narrow passage.

Tathan didn’t ask questions. Talking was a
bad idea in passages because it could alert others to his location.
Moreover, he liked surprises, even dangerous ones, especially
dangerous ones.

A number of twists and turns led them to
stairs heading down. They traveled a few levels before making their
way through another series of passages. The woman moved a small
stone at a dead end and looked through. Once she was certain it was
clear, she pulled a torch lever, causing the wall to slide open. It
was quiet, indicating that someone had recently oiled the
mechanisms.

The deserted hallway was dark and had
numerous cobwebs. It was a section of the palace not far from where
he had found the queen’s lost aunt. Still moving quietly, the woman
led him down the hall to an old wooden door with most of its paint
chipped off. She knocked in a pattern and waited.

The door opened a crack and an eye peeked
through. Then it swung open and Anilyia leapt into Tathan’s arms.
“Get inside,” the guide whispered urgently.

Tathan carried Anilyia in because the
princess had her legs wrapped around his waist and her arms around
his neck. The woman stayed in the hallway and shut the door behind
them.

“I love you,” Tathan whispered throatily in
her ear.

“I love you,” she whispered back.

They stayed that way for a long time before
going on about their lives.

###

“Hello, pretty little miss. Would you like
to see the sights of Dralin?” the hawkish Guardsman asked with a
leering grin. He brushed a few flakes of lightly falling autumn
snow from his shoulder-length brown hair. A polished chain shirt
peeked out from underneath the collar of a standard-issue black and
brown tunic, while a long sword waited in its sheath at his waist
for the opportunity to commit malice. Sheela stepped back in
apprehension. Everyone in Dralin was to be feared, even many of the
guards from what she had been told.

“No thank you, Sir,” she responded firmly.
Just because she was a plain farmer’s daughter didn’t mean she was
a fool. Her stomach knotted in dread when the guardsman took a step
forward and put a powerful hand on her shoulder, which menaced
rather than comforted her. The smile he must have thought was
charming came across as sinister.

“Come now, lass. My shift is nearly over and
the sun is about to set. I’ll take good care of you and keep you
warm on this cold evening.” He tried to slide his arm around her
shoulder, but she spun away off the sidewalk and into the roadway.
“Hey! Don’t be like that!” the man exclaimed in surprise.

Sheela had to stop and straighten suddenly
to avoid a passing wagon. Its wheels splashed muddy water from the
cobbled road onto the worn dress she had run away from home in. It
was hard to tell that it had once been warm yellow with sturdy
threads. A year of hard work in the fields and weeks of walking
dirt roads had taken the color out to leave a drab, torn garment
barely hanging onto her shoulders.

She felt the guard’s hand on her shoulder
again, gripping firmly. “Careful. Those wagon drivers won’t
hesitate to run you over.” He pulled her back onto the sidewalk
where she managed to twist out of his grip again. There were too
many people around to simply run and she really did want to go into
the city yet, so she moved a few steps away and stood with as much
resolve as she could muster.

He held up his hands and yielded. “Whatever.
Go learn about the city on your own. We’ll probably find your body
in a gutter after you’ve been thrown out of a brothel somewhere.”
The look of snarling contempt on his face as he spit on the ground
at her feet stunned her. Sheela couldn’t help the tears that began
to well up in her eyes.

With a stomp of her bare foot, she drove the
tears back. After everything she had been through, harsh words
wouldn’t drive her to despair. The guard turned in disgust and
traipsed back to the large guardhouse that bordered the crowded
highway leading into the main city.

Sheela held her chin up as she looked at the
people and wagons passing by. She was on the sidewalk to the right
of the highway leading into Dralin from the east. It was her hope
to ask one of the guards for a safe place to go and she had seen
one that looked like he might be helpful, but the leering guard had
intercepted her instead.

The enormous city before her was daunting
and goosebumps appeared on her arm when she thought about the
stories she had heard of it. Snow drifting down heralded that
winter would be starting early. Sheela wiped some off her eyelashes
and turned to leave. Heading away into the cold emptiness of
unknown roads scared her too. She had come too far to turn back,
but fear of going on made her freeze in her tracks.