[Queen of Orcs 03] - Royal Destiny (32 page)

“I doubt it,” said Girta.

After Dar departed, Kol gave Girta a puzzled look. “What was that about?”

“You were wrong about Dar,” said Girta.

“How so?”

“She’s not as clever as you think. She told me that you want war so badly that you’ve killed everyone who stood in its way.”

Kol put on an amused expression. “And how, pray tell, did I do that?”

“Oh, she left that part out. She also said you’re turning the prince into his father.”

“I wouldn’t besmirch the dead, but my feelings about your husband mirror yours.”

“Oh well, I’m pleased Dar’s gone,” said Girta. “Now that we know her ploy, can we get rid of those dreadful orcs?”

“My guess is Dar will recall them herself, now that you’ve outsmarted her.” Kol gazed out the window to watch Dar cross the courtyard. “I almost feel sorry for her. A lifetime among orcs!”

Girta shuddered. “What a dreary prospect!”

“I should have a Queen’s Man see her safely to the garrison,” said Kol. “Her crown is gold, and we wouldn’t want her to meet with some mischance.”

“You’re a good man, General. Too bad Dar doesn’t see that.”

Thirty-six

Dar strode down Taiben’s streets in a black mood.
That woman’s a simpleton!
she thought.
Kol has her completely fooled.
Dar resolved to revoke the treaty, withdraw the orc guards, and seal the pass.
If washavokis come raiding, we’ll make them pay! Better for sons to defend their halls, than some ingrate!
Dar was considering pulling out that very afternoon, when she heard someone running. She turned and spied a Queen’s Man dashing after her. Before Dar could run, her pursuer halted and bowed. “Your Majesty,” he said between gasping breaths, “I’ve a message for you.”

“What it is?”

“’Tis a privy matter.”

Dar suspected a trap. “Yet I’ll hear it in this public place. Whisper it.”

The black-garbed man bowed again and approached to whisper in Dar’s ear. “My queen bids me tell you that she spoke as she did only from fear of spies. She knows you’re a true friend. General Kol oppresses her, and she’s desperate.”

“I’m relieved she knows her danger,” whispered Dar. “How can I help?”

“She’d like to discuss that in a secure place.”

“Where?”

“She has one remaining trusted friend, the master of the Merchants’ Guild. His name is Balten. You can meet safely in his house.”

“When?”

“At morrow noon.”

“Tell her I’ll be there,” whispered Dar. “And say she shouldn’t abandon hope. Kol is clever, but I’ve bested him before.”

“May Karm bless Your Majesty. This news will bring joy.” Then the messenger turned and hurried away. Dar headed for the garrison, her hope rekindled.

After his man reported Dar’s reply, Kol turned to Gorm. “Soon, your master will have the war he desires and revenge as well. When Dar arrives at Balten’s house, he need only seize her mind and force her to slay the queen at tomorrow’s banquet.”

Gorm nodded approvingly. “Afterward, we want Dar captured, not slain.”

“Naturally. Why spoil the fun?”

“When she’s done the murder, I’ll withdraw Othar’s spell.”

“You can do that?” asked Kol.

“I can’t enslave minds,” replied Gorm, “but I can free them. Dar will awake and find herself standing bloody-handed over Girta’s corpse. She’ll have no idea how she got there.”

“That should make things interesting.”

“Interesting indeed,” replied Gorm. “She’ll be fully aware when she’s executed.”

“Burning’s the penalty for treason,” said Kol. “Othar will appreciate that.”

“Especially if it’s done slowly.”

“I’ll see that it is.” Kol grinned malevolently. “
Very
slowly. Mayhap, we can burn some piss eyes first. I’d love to roast that green-eyed one and the piss eye bitch that Dar calls sister. It’d warm the soldiers’ blood for the invasion.”

“And the prince? Any problems there?”

“None. He already yearns for glory, and soon he’ll have his mother to avenge. Restraint’s not for the young; he’ll make a bloody king. And I’ll play his obedient general.”

“Until you succeed him.”

Kol smiled. “I have my ambitions.”

“We’ll want the kingdom continually at war.”

“You can rely on it.”

Gorm returned Kol’s smile. “We always have.”

When Dar arrived at the garrison, Sevren was already there. She could tell that he had news, but he patiently waited while she spoke with her mintaris. He listened in, following her Orcish as best he could. Afterward, he asked in the human tongue, “Who’s Bah Simi?”

“That’s our name for Kol.”

“And Girta knows he’s her enemy?”

“Yes. That’s why she couldn’t speak freely. Tomorrow, we’ll meet in a safer place.”

“Where?”

“Outside the palace in the House of Balten.”

“Nay!” said Sevren. “That’s where Othar’s hiding.”

Dar grew pale. “Then the meeting’s a trap?”

“Aye, for certain. From what I’ve learned, one glimpse from Othar will seal your doom,” said Sevren. “Your spirit will be his.”

Dar shuddered. “What else have you learned?”

“The sorcerer came from the corpse pit, so it has to be Othar. Grave robbers brought him out, most likely after he had taken their spirits. Later, Othar moved into town. I’m certain Balten’s sheltering him. I’ve made inquiries. Balten benefited from a suicide and has prospered ever since. Yet his servants drop like autumn flies.”

“I wonder who laid this trap?” said Dar, thinking out loud. “Girta or Kol? Either one could have sent that message.”

“You can na go either way, so it makes na difference.”

“It
does
make a difference. If Kol sent that message, he’s playing with Girta like he played with me. He’ll pounce when he’s ready.”

“Seems to me, it’ll serve her right.”

“No it won’t,” Dar said, envisioning Girta being driven into Kol’s clutches as Othar killed off her friends, one by one. The image persuaded her of the queen’s innocence.
The trap is Kol’s doing. Girta’s his prey, just as I once was.
Dar’s pique toward the queen turned to sympathy. “We must save her.”

“How? Mayhap, she does na want saving.”

“I can’t go to Girta, so she must come to me.”

“She will na do that,” said Sevren.

“Not willingly,” said Dar. “But if I’m right, she’ll thank me in the end.”

“You do na mean to kidnap her!”

“Why not?”

“It’ll start a war if things go wrong.”

“If Kol gets his way, then war’s inevitable. This is our only hope of stopping it.”

“’Tis a daft idea.”

“You asked to be my agent, not my counselor. Will you help or not?”

Sevren sighed. “What do you need?”

“Women’s clothes. Warm ones—a gown, boots, and a cloak. When we grab Girta tonight, we won’t have time to dress her.”

“Both the town and palace gates will be shut and guarded. How will you get her out?”

“By the same ways we used when the orc queen escaped.”

“The Queen’s Men watch them now. You’ll be trapped in Taiben.”

Dar thought for a moment. “We’ll get her out,” she said. “You just do your part.”

Sevren gave an exaggerated bow. “Hai, Muth Mauk. I’ll return at dawn.” With that, he departed on his errand.

Dar told her mintaris they must get the washavoki queen away from Bah Simi. Then she discussed how to achieve that goal. Two shifts of orcs guarded Girta. A daytime pair stood watch while the city gates were open and were relieved just before they closed. Dar decided that one of the night guards would take the queen from her bedchamber before the palace rose at dawn.

Zna-yat raised the first problem. “We stand alone outside queen’s door, but somehow washavokis watch us. They’re close, for I hear and smell them.”

“I have also,” said one of the orc guards. “Wood covers wall opposite washavoki queen’s door. There is much carving in it, but there is also small hole in its pattern. Eye peers from it.”

“Is there just one looking-hole in wall?” asked Dar.

“Hai, only one,” replied the guard.

“Then if one son stands in front of it, washavoki can’t see queen’s door,” said Dar. “Other son might enter it.”

“Then what?” asked Kovok-mah.

“Queen must be taken from room. Remember hidden way we took to reach Black Washavoki’s tower?” asked Dar, referring to the passageway that allowed servants to move about unseen.

“I remember it,” said Kovok-mah.

“At night, washavokis don’t use it,” said Dar.

“I don’t think Quengirta will be willing to go,” said Zna-yat. “She fears us.”

The orcs had no word for “kidnap,” and the idea was alien to them. Dar had difficulty conveying how a mother could be taken against her will. She described in detail how Girta would have to be gagged, bound, bundled up, and carried away. When Dar finished, she could see that the orcs were uneasy with the idea. Regardless, she never doubted they would obey her.

After Girta was secured, one of her abductors would have to carry her through the servant passageway to the palace kitchen, which had exits to the courtyard. Under the cover of darkness, the queen would be taken to the stables. Zna-yat suggested placing her in the latrine set aside for orcs, since washavokis never used it. Dar agreed that Girta should be hidden there until the city gates opened and the orc guards were changed. The departing orcs would retrieve Girta. One orc would strap her to the other’s back. Then, hiding her beneath his cloak, he would sneak her through the gates.

Every step involved risks that could easily result in disaster. Dar gambled that Girta could be quickly enlightened about Kol and Othar’s schemes and returned to the palace before she was discovered missing. If that could happen, the outcome would be worth the perils it required.

Having determined the basic plan, Dar and the orcs refined its details. Dar described the servant passageway that she had used while serving in the palace. Zna-yat and Kovok-mah volunteered to take the queen. Though reluctant to choose them for the task, Dar did so because they were the most logical choice. Both had used the servant passageway. Also, Zna-yat had experience as a guard and Kovok-mah could communicate with Girta. After that was decided, bindings and a gag were made. Two cloaks were sewn together to make a wrapping in which to bundle the queen. A means to secure her to Kovok-mah’s back was also devised.

In both its broad outline and details, the plan was essentially Dar’s. Accustomed to obeying, the sons didn’t question its soundness. No one said the scheme was hastily conceived or overly complicated. Although based on sketchy information, its assumptions went unchallenged. If Dar wanted the washavoki queen, Kovok-mah and Zna-yat would get her. Or they’d die trying.

Thirty-seven

Taiben’s gates closed at sunset, so Kovok-mah and Zna-yat arrived there well before then. A storm threatened, and blowing snow caused the Queen’s Men at the gate to huddle around a small fire, where they paid little attention to the orcs. The guards at the palace gates also admitted them without question.

Because evening came early in the winter, the two orcs had to stand guard through dinner. The banquet wasn’t a formal one, and fewer people were present than when Dar was hosted. Still, as Kovok-mah and Zna-yat stood to the rear of Queen Girta, they found the company odorous and loud. The two orcs remained motionless throughout the meal, and the diners treated them as a pair of grotesque statues.

When the banquet was over, the queen retired to her private apartments. Kovok-mah and Zna-yat followed her and stationed themselves outside her door. It was located in the middle of a long hallway on the fourth floor of the palace. The corridor was wood-paneled, and along its length ran a wide band of decorative carvings. The two orcs scanned its wooden leaves, birds, and fruit for the peephole. In the dim hallway, even their keen eyes had trouble spotting it. When Zna-yat found it, he left his post flanking the queen’s door, and stood in front of it awhile.

“What are you doing?” asked Kovok-mah, confident no listening washavoki understood Orcish. “It’s too early for that.”

“They must grow accustomed to me doing this,” replied Zna-yat. “That way, they won’t think it’s unusual when I block their view at proper time.”