The Channel (The Gifted Book 2) (30 page)

"There's an old trader that lives not too far south of Cauhill. He doesn't trade much anymore, but he's been just about everywhere, or at least that's what he says. He might know."

Rhea felt a twinge of excitement. "Do you know him? Can he be trusted?"

The commander laughed. "Oh, I know him. He's my father-in-law. And yes, I trust him."

Rhea could barely contain her enthusiasm. If they could find the building, they could not only capture the man causing the realms their recent troubles but they might also find Raisal and … the man with the light green eyes. "When can I meet him?"

"I'll take you to him tomorrow. Meanwhile, come to dinner tonight, you and your companions."

Rhea's first thought was something her mother had taught her. Don't surprise the person responsible for dinner, by bringing extra guests, unless you're buying. "Are you sure you want to surprise your wife with five guests?"

"She'll be fine. We have plenty."

Rhea wasn't confident that he wouldn't be in the dog house for last-minute visitors, but who was she to judge? "Then I accept. Thank you."

The commander extended the invitation personally to Daen, Randell, Taulin, and Bandon. Each accepted.

They rode in silence for a while. Rhea took advantage of the time and scanned the area around them, searching for anyone who might be waiting to ambush them. The area was clear.

Her thoughts returned to the queen.
Was she a fair queen? Would she believe Rhea or throw her in the cells for impersonating a royal?
She looked at the commander. "How do you think the queen is going to react to the news that I exist?"

He didn't know what to say and wasn't comfortable with where the conversation was headed.
If he wasn't sure he believed her, why would the queen?
All he knew was she had the mark and was very powerful.

"I honestly can't say. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to check in with my men." He nudged his horse into a canter and joined the warriors riding lead.

Rhea cringed as she drifted back to ride next to Taulin. She could tell she'd brought up a subject Naylor didn't want to discuss.

Taulin looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "I couldn't help but overhear your question."

"I don't think he believes me."

"That might be true, but I can tell you this. The queen sent a message to my father when Kalaub went missing. I was too little at the time to know what was happening, but the order still stands. We are to keep watch for any sign of him. Maybe she'll welcome his child, assuming she believes you're his."

"She's going to want proof," Daen added. "The mark will help, but she might want to speak to Gaibel."

"Do I tell her what I am?" Rhea whispered.

Taulin glanced at Rhea but turned away before providing his opinion. "If asked, don't lie."

"If she finds out that King Argeon and a Laundan prince know and you don't tell her," said Daen, "she's likely to take it as an insult given you're part of her court."

"Do you think she'll make me stay at the palace, do her bidding
as it were
?"

Randell laughed to himself. "I'd like to see her try."

Rhea scrunched her brows. "Yeah, well, I won't be anyone's yes man ... woman."

Daen nodded. "Just like your father."

Rhea thought back to her conversation with Gaibel. "Gaibel told me he kept a low profile, and that he didn't like being known as a royal."

Daen chuckled. "He wasn't your typical prince."

"Typical prince?" Taulin's brows furrowed. "How would you define typical prince?"

"This is going to be good," Rhea thought to herself.

Daen glanced at Taulin for a second before his lips curled into a grin. "If you could see your face right now," he started to laugh.

Taulin tried to give Daen the evil eye but couldn't keep a straight face.

"Taulin, you know the kind," said Daen. "The ones who follow the rules of their station, keep up appearances, and don't give others a hard time for trying to ensure their safety. I'm sure you know at least one or two who don't fit that mold."

Taulin rolled his eyes. "Point taken." He looked over his shoulder at his bodyguard who was riding a few yards back. "I consider Bandon a friend. We trained together when we first enlisted as Laundan warriors. But since Kaurl gave him an order, and Kaurl outranks me in the family line, he's back there alone." He paused and then added, "Sometimes being a royal is a lonely duty."

Randell listened to Daen and Taulin talk about family and couldn't help but miss his own. He wondered what his mother and father were doing at this moment. His internal clock was so far off, he didn't know if it was day or night in the world of shadows.

Rhea noticed Randell's far off look. "What do you think of our adventure so far?"

Randell grinned. "I wouldn't trade it for anything." He wasn't kidding. No matter how much he missed his folks, he would not have wanted to miss this experience.

The trail they followed kept them on a slight downhill most of the way. After about three hours of slow riding, they could see Cauhill through openings in the trees.

For the remainder of the ride, the commander answered Rhea's questions about the town and where he lived. She noted that Cauhill was significantly larger than Taulomi's Eantan and Baurns.

They entered the town from the east. The first stop was the guard station where they waited outside for the commander to see if any messages had been delivered. He assigned Haurld to stay with the foursome while the other warriors returned to their quarters.

The commander was gone only a few minutes. "No messages have been delivered here, but you'll want to check the message center. In the meantime, let's get you into an inn and your horses to a stable." He swung himself into the saddle. "Follow me."

He led them to an inn, not far from the station. From the outside, it was similar to the one in Eantan. Daen and the commander inquired about rooms, while Rhea, Taulin, Bandon, and Randell walked their horses to the inn stables, agreeing to meet out front when they were finished.

Daen stepped onto the walk in front of the inn. "I reserved three rooms. I hope that's sufficient."

"The message center is around that corner, and if you need anything, there is a general store back that way, a few stores down," the commander added. "I'll come back in a few hours to pick you up." He mounted up. "You won't need your horses this evening." He bowed his head slightly and rode in the direction of his home.

Rhea looked towards the general store. "The first thing I want to do is some shopping. Do we have enough money left for me to get a fresh shirt and still pay for the rooms?"

Daen touched the pouch tucked into his waistband. "We have enough. I'd like to stop at the message center first, and let them know where we are in case a message comes in." He stepped off the walkway and headed in that direction with Rhea, Randell, Taulin, and Bandon in tow.

Their next stop was the general store where Randell, Daen, and Rhea each got a clean shirt.

31
Nauylors

When they got back to the inn, Rhea checked her watch and saw she had just enough time left to soak in the tub and scrub the trail from her body. She had just finished getting dressed when there was a knock at the door.

"Rhea, you ready?" Taulin asked through the door.

Rhea stepped out of her room, locked her door, and noticed Taulin looking at the sword hanging from her hip. "What? You have yours."

He shook his head. "It's customary for me to wear it." The minute his words came out of his mouth, he knew he shouldn't have said anything. With the exception of his sister, he wasn't used to women wearing swords. He understood the need when they were traveling but dinner at the commander's didn't seem to warrant the need.

Rhea stepped past him. "I need to be able to protect myself."

Taulin started to apologize but stopped when Daen and Randell stepped out of their room.

"Shall we?" Randell motioned to the stairs.

The commander entered the lobby at the same time the foursome stepped from the lobby stairs. "Ah, perfect timing." He turned and held the door for them.

As they stepped outside, they were greeted by a large open-top carriage and Bandon on his horse.

Taulin sighed and leaned close to Rhea. "Bandon says riding will gave him an advantage if anyone tries to attack."

Rhea suppressed a laugh and followed Randell into the carriage. Taulin slipped in next while Daen joined the commander in the front seat.

"Now that we're away from my men," the commander announced, "I would appreciate it if you would call me Huntr. Commander is best when I'm on duty."

"Huntr, it is," said Rhea. "By the way, may I ask, who did you tell your wife was coming to dinner?"

"Well, I seldom bring people home for a meal, so when I said we would be having company, she knew you must be important." He didn't continue.

"Well? Who did you say?" Rhea was fairly certain she knew what his silence implied but wanted to be sure.

"Since I don't know your official title, I told her a member of the court and her companions. I thought that would be sufficient for her to understand." He glanced over his shoulder to Randell and Taulin. "I wasn't sure if you wanted to be known."

"If I can get Bandon to loosen up, I would prefer that he and I just be part of the group. If he doesn't, we might want to explain."

"It's not unheard of for a guardian to travel with a member of the court," said Daen. "You don't need to hide my identity."

Randell glanced around and grinned. "I don't have a title, so I'm easy."

They passed the Lamp Light Tavern half way to the residential area of town. Each head turned to look, remembering that this was the place where the dark-haired man had been seen.

Rhea glanced at her watch and her heart skipped a beat. It was 9:00 p.m. in the other world. Shadows.

"I put several warriors in the tavern tonight and told them to watch for a man with long dark hair," said Huntr, glancing back at Rhea. "If anyone matching that description shows, one of them is to come get us."

"Will they be in uniform?" Daen asked.

"No. They're to blend in."

Hearing that helped, but Rhea was still on edge. If the man was going to enter the tavern, it could be any time over the next six or seven hours, assuming the moon was bright enough in the world of shadows.
How long was the tavern open?
She couldn't help scanning the area for openings in the veil as they rode along, wondering if there was another location for him to come through. She saw a few small openings, nothing large enough or positioned such that someone could pass through.

The ride took about … ten minutes, it was further than Rhea had realized. His home was similar in style to Randell's parents' home. It was painted white with dark blue shutters, and the shape of the house was square versus the rectangular style of homes she was used to. It had two stories and had a wrap-around porch with a swing.

They followed Huntr to the front door while Taulin had a few words with Bandon. Rhea turned to see how Taulin was doing and saw the two men nose-to-nose, glaring at each other. She thought to herself that they must friends, who else would defy a prince? The stand-off didn't last long before Bandon's shoulders slumped in defeat and Taulin grinned.

Huntr held the door as they stepped into the home. "I'm glad you decided to join us." He winked at Bandon.

"Yes sir. Thank you for having me." Bandon bowed his head and slipped inside.

They were all standing in the living room when Huntr's family came in from the dining room.

The commander stepped towards the older woman. "This is my wife, Caurma, and my daughters, Lil and Raesa." He turned to his guests. "Ladies, this is Rhea, Randell, Daen, Taulin, and Bandon."

Each gave a slight bow when introduced.

"Welcome. Please come in and have a seat." Caurma presented the room. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. Can we offer you something to drink while you wait? Ale, wine?" She looked at Rhea first.

"Wine would be nice, thank you."

The others requested ale.

Rhea had just finished scanning the room for veil openings when Huntr's daughters returned with their drinks but then disappeared back into the kitchen. She thought Raesa was close to her age while Lil was a few years younger but given the way Luxatrans age, she had no idea and wasn't sure she should ask.

She turned to Caurma. "You have a lovely home. Thank you for allowing us to join you this evening."

"It's our pleasure." Caurma glanced at Huntr. "We don't have guests as often as I would like." She proceeded to engage them in small talk while they waited for Raesa and Lil to announce dinner was ready. "What brings you to Cauhill?"

"We're just passing through," Daen answered. "Your husband was kind enough to provide us an escort for part of our journey."

"Where are you from?"

Daen took the lead again. "I'm a guardian." Everyone knew where guardians resided.

"Bandon and I are from Laundan," said Taulin.

Caurma looked at Randell next. He hesitated. "I ... I'm not from Sentran."

Her expression conveyed a bit of confusion, but manners kept her from pushing further. Then she turned to Rhea for her answer.

"My family is from Sentran and Taulomi."

Again, Caurma's expression conveyed some confusion regarding the odd answers Randell and Rhea had given, but Rhea was thankful she didn't press the topic. "You said you're passing through. Might I inquire as to where your travels take you?"

This time Rhea took the lead. "We're waiting for word from my family before we decide."

Before she could ask another question, Lil announced that dinner was served.

~~~

The generous main course looked and tasted like roast beef, and it was wonderful. There were potatoes, carrots, and fresh bread. Rhea had to force herself not to eat too fast. She looked up and saw that her male companions were losing the battle as they quickly devoured their first helping and were reaching for seconds.