Well of Tears (Empath Book 3) (3 page)

“Where is he? He should have been here by
now!”

Sammah was talking to himself, not addressing
Neyv, nor the lord sitting quietly in the corner. Neyv didn’t
bother answering. Sammah was often like this, and sometimes she
answered him, only to be ignored or shouted at. Sammah was used to
Neyv been silent, and he told that when he asked questions, he
didn’t need her to answer them. When he wanted her to answer his
questions, he always let her know. Neyv was fine with this, because
he never asked her many questions. He just understood what she was,
and kept her safe from the horrible people around her.

Neyv had believed, once upon a time, that
Maertn understood what is was like to be her. Maybe even Quinn
could relate to her, but neither of them had ever taken the time to
get to know who Neyv was. They been too concerned with each other,
and then with the king. Why they’d gotten in the way of that, Neyv
didn’t know. Her father had made it quite clear to her what his
plans were, and that all of them had to play a part in making
Sammah’s future happen. Then the girl had gone and gotten in
everyone’s way, stopping Sammah from taking the throne when he
wanted. Neyv had been distraught when her father had been thrown in
the gaol, and she visited him every day. The guards had never
remembered, though of course, that was the way things normally were
in Neyv’s world.

Right now, they were waiting for some
important guests, and Sammah needed her to be there whilst he spoke
to them. This used to happen, but now Quinn was out of the way,
these meetings were more and more frequent. It made Neyv feel
important, for Sammah to ask for her like this. Neyv been told they
were expecting Lord Erran of Achteren, and Obrenn of Mossvale. They
were attending Sammah as his allies, two of the men that had stayed
loyal when it had been declared that Vance was splitting
Sevenspells from the kingdoms. The castle had been a tumultuous
place that day, and Neyv didn’t remember any of it fondly. Men had
shouted, drawing swords on each other, and she’d hidden in her
rooms at first, before seeking out comfort with her father. Sammah
had escaped then, with Neyv’s help. She hadn’t wanted to see her
father slaughtered like a pig in a pen. He had wanted her to help
someone called Shiver escape. Neyv knew that he was a lord, but
when they got to him, he’d already escaped. There had been dead men
near that man’s rooms. Neyv had been scared, and Sammah had taken
her back to his own rooms. She’d slept in his bed that night. It
had been the safest Neyv had ever felt in her life.

The door creaked, and the other lord, Obrenn,
walked in. He nodded at Sammah, apologising for being late, but he
did not sit down. Neyv thought the man was rude and she hoped that
her father would tell him as much. He usually told people if they
were being rude.

“I thought Vance was going to be here?” the
lord sitting in the corner asked. He was Erran. He’d been waiting
there already for what seemed like a long time, and Neyv thought he
looked bored, and a little bit scared. The adults started talking,
and Neyv stifled a yawn. She never minded helping her father when
he asked her, but she never needed to actually
do
anything
apart from concentrate on what her father was saying. She wasn’t
allowed to play or read when she was meant to be concentrating. She
sat cross-legged on her chair and kept quiet. She didn’t want to
disappoint her father, and she thought that this would be a very
long conversation.

* * *

“You know the king is unwell and has been
confined to quarters. He’s not going to tend to these trivial
matters,” Sammah replied, his voice snapping and betraying his
impatience.

“
Trivial matters
? I hardly call the
empath being back here a trivial matter, nor the amount of men
Shiver seems to be gathering to his banners. What news of the
Sha’sekian fleet? Are they going to be able to cut off Port Kahnel
and drop help inland for us?"

Sammah tried to look congenial, placing his
hands on his knees and trying to smile. Lord Calvin of Port Kahnel
was astute, and had a decent army at his disposal. He was a man
usually looking to pick the victor rather than the moral
high-ground, and Sammah had been hopeful that Calvin would be
manipulated onto his side. It had been a blow when he’d helped
Shiver to escape the city, effectively ending any hopes Sammah had
harboured of bringing him over as an ally. Strategically, Kahnel
was a critical stronghold, and one that Sammah had been banking on
as a bargaining tool to convince his brother and the rest of the
council that he was able to take and keep control of the tactically
critical parts of the kingdom. After the dust of his brief
rebellion had settled, he had been left with Broadwater, its young
heir ineffective and the geriatric lord Broc unaware of what was
going on, and the minor provinces of Mossvale and Achteren. As much
as Sammah had negotiated with Broadwater, he no longer counted
those men in his ranks, as he had murdered lord Alec earlier in the
year. The best Sammah could hope for now, was that Broadwater would
remain neutral. The lands of Daggerdale, Yender, Port Kahnel and
Sevenspells had united their banners against Sammah. The fact that
Sammah had any of the Everfell lands at all was a bonus, he
remembered, and he held a lot more now than anyone in Sha’sek had
governed in a long time. They had never had a foothold on these
lands, not throughout the entirety of the Empath Wars. Thanks to
his decisive actions, Sha’sek could strike from inland. They had
safe havens for their troops. Sammah truly believed that Sha’sek
could win the war this time, but for that to happen, they would
need to take Port Kahnel.

Now that Sammah had failed in gaining
Calvin’s trust, they could only do that from the sea, and he could
only do that with his brother’s cooperation.

The trouble Sammah had with
that
, was
that he suspected Pax did not want to risk men on his younger
brother’s ambitious enterprise. Sammah couldn’t let the lords know
that—not yet. Neyv’s ability could only stretch so far given her
age and strength. The more complex or outlandish the lie, the more
difficult it was to believe, and the more regularly it had to be
told. Sammah was exhausting Neyv, keeping these men on his side.
Sammah had to see the situation improve, if only to relieve the
burden on his only weapon to keep these lords in line.

“
My lords, I
’m
afraid it’s not as simple as calling a meet. The councillors of
Sha’sek live on different islands. When the call to a council
meeting is declared, they have to travel quite some distance. They
too, would have been disrupted, as I’m sure Lord Lynton has been
summoned back after hearing of his cousin’
s
grave illness.
We must, therefore, be patient, whilst we
wait for word to come through from my brother. I have no doubt that
he’ll get the council on our side, and will get both the ships and
men that we need soon enough to make a strike. Until then, we have
to keep raising the banners here, and get isn’t getting as many men
to our side as we can.”

“We’re doing the best we can Sammah. I still
can’t believe Shiver has deceived everyone like this.”

Sammah shook his head, only daring a passing
glance at Neyv, who sat motionless with a bland look on her face.
“I was as shocked as you, my lords, but perhaps not surprised. The
man has always been devious. He was open and callous in his pursuit
of the throne, and now it’s clear he will stop at nothing to get
what he wants. He claimed to be a hero of the wars, but only
cowards use poison to kill. Shiver had no knowledge of poisons
himself, so there’s only one other person in Everfell I would wager
had a hand in this. I wish I’d never brought Maertn to Sha’sek,
though it seems revenge might be ours. I have word out of Farn that
the boy is close to death, if not already.”

“The death of one boy won’t be enough
retribution if civil war breaks out, and it looks like that’s an
inevitability,” Lord Erran huffed, standing and pacing around the
room. “If I’d have, for one second, thought that all of this would
result from your benevolent collection of children I wouldn’t have
let any of them through the city gates. You have them in my court
too, Sammah! How dangerous are they all, and what are you doing
about them? Are our families going to be slaughtered in their beds,
or poisoned at their dinner table, like our king and his family?
What are you doing about them?"

“I assure you my lords, messengers have
already been sent to the major cities where my extended families
still live. They will all either be brought here, or sent back to
Sha’sek as exiles."

“Exile? We all know how well that punishment
goes, now. What was Vance thinking? She’s already back here, and
your crow says your men weren’t in time. So now what,
she’
s in Sevenspells
’ hands? Spirits know
what someone like Shiver is going to do with the girl when he gets
his hands on her. What did you say she could do again? Manipulate
emotions? We already have a bloodthirsty warlord on our hands, and
now he has a direct relative of the man that
started
the
last war in his court. This is a nightmare, Sammah, and it’s all
your causing.”

“I hasten to remind you my lord, that Vance
has made me ruler in his stead. You may question my lineage and my
decisions, but not my loyalty to Everfell. If I’d have thought any
of this could have happened, I would have stopped it before it had
begun. Unfortunately, despite the range of abilities the Sha’sekian
people boast, soothsaying is not one of them. We leave that to
witches, peasants, and drunk people in taverns. Everfell seems to
specialise in those, so if you want to see what the future is like
I suggest you go and get drunk. It’s the only way you’re likely to
find out."

Galled at being spoken to like that by a mere
courtier, Erran recoiled. Sammah squared to face him, and didn’t
back down. “What are you going to do, Erran? Strike me? Go on—put
yourself on the same footing as Shiver and see where that gets
you."

“Enough of this, both of you. Shiver has
gathered most of his bannermen and we can’t even have a civil
conversation without it erupting into a fist fight." Lord Obrenn
had his head in his hands, and he looked exhausted. His beard,
usually a chestnut brown and neatly trimmed, was overgrown and
flecked with grey. His hazel eyes seemed gouged out of his face,
shaded with deep purple circles, and he looked like he hadn’t slept
in a month. They had to pull together to try and salvage the
situation, and if Lord Erran was constantly at the Sammah’s throat,
they’d never get anywhere. Obrenn didn’t like the fact that they
were answering to a Sha’sekian baron, but if that’s was Vance’s
ruling, he wasn’t going to question it. Vance was their liege, so
if Sammah was the man he picked, then so be it. Who else was there
to govern them? Shiver had already taken most of the lords to his
side, and Obrenn knew that he didn’t want the responsibility. There
was no one but Sammah to lead him, and despite the baron’s race
Obrenn knew where his loyalties lay. His lot was with Everfell even
if it meant his death.

Erran backed away, raising his fist and
pointing viciously at Sammah. “We’re doing our damned hardest to
pull as many men together for our king as we can. You have an
entire race at your disposal, and your brother leads the council.
You’ve promised us support, Sammah, and so far we’re seeing
nothing. If this doesn’t change in the coming weeks, we may have to
rethink Vance’s decision to put you in charge.”

Leaving the threat hanging in the air, Erran
strode from the room. Sweeping a glance around, Obrenn followed
reluctantly. Sammah didn’t try to stop either of them leaving, nor
did he give them any parting words. It didn’t matter to him what
those lords thought. Sammah would let Erran have his way, allowing
the lord to throw his weight around to give him the impression that
he still had some influence and importance around here. Only two
things matters at that point—convincing his brother to join his
fight, and making sure Vance stayed under his influence.

“Neyv? Come with me, my dear. We have to go
and see the King.”

* * *

Neyv immediately got to her feet, following
Sammah though the hallways in an obedient silence. His bodyguards,
two dozen of them recalled to Everfell to hold him safe in court
and control the royal guard, stood stiffly to attention as he
walked past.

Sammah was calming down, after his meeting.
Erran and Obrenn weren’t going to rebel against him. Neyv’s
influence was still working. After Quinn’s violent rebellion
against him, Sammah had begun to question whether the little girl
had any real skills at all. He had been guarding Neyv as an option,
in case something had befallen Quinn. Sammah had been anticipating
the girl harming herself with her own ability, like her
predecessors, not unravelling Sammah’s plans and throwing them back
in his face.

Neyv’s ability wasn’t nearly as wide-ranged
and useful as an empath, though it had its purpose and its place.
It was enough to get Sammah the throne, but he didn’t think it was
enough to keep hold of it. Quinn would have been enough; like
Nerren, she could have triggered outright war—between all of the
lords, not just the meagre one-sided battle they had on their hands
now. Quinn could have made wagon boys into warriors. Neyv could
help him to keep his allies, but she couldn’t stretch herself to
make men fight a battle they had no vested interest in.

* * *

There were two royal guards standing watch
outside Vance’s rooms. Sammah was controlling the castle, and he
could see them shake as he got close. He was maintaining the status
quo for the show of things. The royal guard still protected the
king, but they now found themselves answering to the orders of
Baron Sammah. What could they do? Sammah had pinned up the decree,
signed by the king, in the great hall for all to see.