Heirs of the Enemy (46 page)

“I wonder why?” Morro quipped sarcastically.

“Quiet,” Clint ordered sternly. He waited for total quiet before beginning. “Tell me what happened Peanut.”

“I flew into a wall. I think I damaged one of my wings.”

Clint peered at the trail ahead. While it was quite dark, there was enough starlight to see the next switchback, which was beyond a couple of strides. He frowned in confusion.

“Sparky,” ordered Clint, “find Peanut and levitate him to my shoulder.”

Clint heard Sparky’s tiny wings flutter past his ear. Even with the starlight, he could not see either fairy.

“Ouch!” came a soft cry. “There is something blocking the trail, but it is invisible. I can see right through it.”

“You are right above me,” said Peanut.

“Alright, I see you now. Hold on.”

After a few moments of silence, Clint felt a tug on his ear. He reached up and gently cupped Peanut in his hand. “Can I put you in my pocket without further damaging your wing?”

“I think so,” answered Peanut. “It is not as bad as I thought. I guess I was laying on it. I can move it some now.”

Clint nodded and carefully slid the fairy into his pocket.

“I am going to dismount on the mountain side,” Clint announced. “No one move.”

Clint’s unicorn lowered his head and Clint swung his leg over. He reached out and felt the side of the mountain, searching for handholds. Once he found a pair that were secure, he edged his feet towards the rock wall in search of footholds. He found one and eased his body off the unicorn. Slowly, he moved sideways along the rock wall until there was clear path below his feet. He climbed down to the trail. With one finger stretched out before him, he slowly walked forward. When his finger hit a solid object, he halted and quickly pulled his hand back.

“Sparky, come to me. Do not go beyond me.”

Morro’s fairy immediately complied and landed on Clint’s shoulder. Clint reached up and cupped the fairy. Squatting carefully, he placed the fairy at his feet.

“I want a very dim fairy lantern. Make it as dim as you can. If I need more light, I will ask for it.”

A tiny glow suddenly appeared on the trail. It was not very bright, but it showed Clint what he wanted to see. A line of flying-insect bodies stretched across the trail.

“On my shoulder, Sparky,” Clint commanded as he rose erect. “There is an invisible mage shield across the trail. I suspect that it is alarmed, but not for small things. Many bugs have already collided with it. I can’t imagine any mage wanting to check each and every insect that hits his shield, but if a horse and rider slammed into it, we would have unfriendly company in a short while.”

“If they didn’t just tumble off the trail,” added Morro. “What do we do now?”

“I want to see how far it extends,” answered Clint. “Hang on tight, Sparky.”

The fairy gripped Clint’s collar tightly. The Ranger turned and faced the wall, his hands once more searching for handholds. Slowly he climbed up the side of the mountain, pausing every foot to stick a finger out and test the shield. When he had determined the extent of the shield, he climbed back down.

“The black-cloaks are not into wasting any energy. The shield only extends a short ways.”

“Wonderful,” Morro quipped sarcastically. “What do we do now? We can’t go forward, and I doubt that even unicorns can back down this trail. There is not enough space for them to turn around.”

“We improvise,” answered Clint. “The unicorns can fly, but it will be safer for all of us if we are not on their backs when they depart this trail. They are going to have to hug the side of the mountain until they can find a place to land facing the right direction. I think several of the switchbacks would offer sufficient landing spaces. Once they are gone, you and I will walk down the trail until we reach them.”

“Sounds like a good plan,” frowned Morro, “But I am not even sure that I can dismount. There is no room to stand alongside my unicorn.”

“We will deal with that in a minute,” Clint said before focusing on his unicorn.

Aeron, you will go first. Just glide down the side of the mountain until you find a safe landing spot. If you do not find a good one, land in the canyon and wait for us. Try to stay as close to the mountain as you can. I am not sure how much they can see from up there.

The switchbacks will work, Clint. I will see you soon.

Clint’s unicorn stepped towards the edge and jumped. Clint tried to watch, but he never saw the unicorn’s wings extend. A shiver of worry rushed through his body, but he pushed it out of his mind and turned to face Morro’s unicorn.

“Sparky, you need to levitate Morro off of Minitari. Bring him forward to me.”

The fairy leaped from Clint’s shoulder and hovered over his partner. Morro slowly rose. Sparky moved him forward and set him down next to Clint.

It is your turn, Minitari. May the gods be with you.

And with you, brothers. See you lower down.

The unicorn took one step and leaped off the mountain trail.

“Lead us down, Morro. This night’s excursion is over.”

* * * *

Garth Shado was waiting in Tarashin when the Door to Alcea opened. He smiled broadly when Zalaharic stepped through the Door.

“You made good time,” Garth welcomed the elven healer. “I thought I might have many days to wait.”

“King Arik has placed your project at a high priority,” smiled the elf.

“He truly believes that it will make a difference,” said Wylan as he stepped through the Door.

“Wylan,” grinned Garth. “What are you doing here? You certainly are no healer.”

“King Arik is being kept well informed of your progress here. I have been sent to help with Prince Samuel.”

Garth shook his head in confusion as Wylan closed the Door.

“Join me while I get Zalaharic settled,” Garth said. “Then we will sit down and talk about this.”

Wylan nodded wordlessly, and Garth locked the Door to Alcea and unlocked the Door to Herinak. The three Alceans stepped into Sidney Mercado’s suite. In the adjoining room, Sidney and Sigfrid were sitting and talking. Garth led his companions into the sitting room and introduced them. Zalaharic and Sigfrid immediately became engrossed in a discussion about Prince Harold’s health. As the two healers left the room, Sidney waved to the empty chairs and offered refreshments. Sidney stared at the patches covering Wylan’s eyes and shook his head at the thought of a blind man being of use. Garth pulled a chair out for Wylan and guided him into it before sitting next to him.

“What do you know about Prince Samuel?” Garth asked Wylan.

“I know that he resides in the monastery of a strange religious cult. The cult believes that the gods have forsaken Spino for some reason, and that Queen Samir has finally decided to write Samuel out of the chain of succession, leaving his younger sister as the heir.”

“You are well informed,” stated Sidney as he set three cups of tea on the table and sat down.

Wylan cocked his head as if he was listening to something. His right hand probed the table in front of him and eventually wrapped around the cup of tea that Sidney had placed on the table for him. Wylan smiled broadly and brought the cup to his lips.

“If you don’t mind my asking,” frowned Sidney, “how is a blind man going to help rescue Prince Samuel?”

“Let me counter that with a question of my own,” Wylan smiled thinly. “Prince Samuel is not exactly held captive. He is at the monastery of his own free will, although he was probably duped into joining the order. How can anyone get him to come to Herinak?”

“I haven’t really thought much about it,” admitted the merchant. “I guess I assumed that someone would just go into the monastery and kidnap him.”

“You would end up with a rather reluctant guest if that was done,” replied Wylan. “I also think the cult leaders would resist, so you would end up killing a few of them, and that would spoil any relationship you might have with the prince.”

Sidney was flustered by the blind man’s reply, but Garth was grinning broadly.

“Wylan has some experience with weird religious cults,” Garth said to Sidney, “and he has obviously thought a bit about this situation before coming here. How did you talk King Arik into letting you leave Alcea, Wylan?”

“I came up with a solution to the problem,” grinned Wylan. “Or at least I came up with a feasible solution. I call it blind man’s bluff. A lot will depend upon the true nature of Prince Samuel, but I will spoil nothing with my attempt. If I fail, you can still proceed with whatever backup plan you might have.”

“Then I wish you well,” Garth replied. “I have other eggs to fry, and little time to do it. Tell me what you will need to make this work and I will see that you get it.”

“That’s it?” balked Sidney. “You are just going to wish him well and go on your merry way? Garth, this is not like you. You can’t send a blind man into Brother Nicholas’ den and just forget about him. That cult is dangerous.”

“Brother Nicholas?” asked Wylan. “You know the leaders of this cult?”

“Not well,” Sidney replied. “I ran into Brother Nicholas many years ago. The man used to be a brutal, petty thief. Then he discovered that the path to riches lay in religion. He tried to pass himself off as a priest of many of the temples before founding his own cult. He struck gold when he convinced Prince Samuel to join his circus. Queen Samir tried to get her son back by force, but the soldiers could never locate them. Nicholas even collected a ransom from the queen and then still refused to return the prince. When Queen Samir tired of the game and changed the order of succession, Brother Nicholas blackmailed the queen. He collected yet more money with a threat of releasing the prince and backing his claim to the throne.”

“And the queen paid this?” asked Wylan.

“Queen Samir has never been known for her intelligence,” sighed Sidney. “She is a cunning, scheming vixen with a bent for crushing her foes, but Brother Nicholas is fairly quick witted. Besides, she merely raises taxes whenever she needs more money. Gold flows through her fingers quickly.”

“When did you meet Brother Nicholas?” asked Garth.

“It was right after Prince Samuel joined the cult. Queen Samir asked if I would try to purchase her son back from Brother Nicholas. I tried every avenue I could think of, but Brother Nicholas fully understood the true value of his commodity. Shortly after that, he also managed to get the sons of several nobles to join his cult. He sold each of them back for hefty fees. I will give the scourge credit where it is due. He learned from my offers that the sons of the wealthy were worth their weight in gold.”

“Do you know where the monastery is?” asked Wylan.

“Everyone knows where it is,” answered Sidney. “It is no secret. It is in the Bloodwood about a day’s ride west of Valdo.”

“Why is the queen no longer interested in attacking it?” asked Garth. “Surely, the armies of the Federation could easily crush the cult.”

“The last I heard,” answered Sidney, “Brother Nicholas promised that there would be no more demands for gold. His last deal was one of peace. As long as the queen ignored him and his cult, she would suffer no ill from his presence, but if he was attacked, he would kill Samuel and swear that he did so on her orders.”

“He would hang for that,” frowned Garth. “What kind of threat is that?”

“He would hang,” agreed Sidney, “but the people of Spino would not stand for a mother murdering her own son. Even the army would turn against her.”

“And as she has already changed the order of succession,” nodded Wylan, “everyone would be quick to believe the lies told by Brother Nicholas.”

“Exactly,” sighed Sidney. “Brother Nicholas has outplayed the queen every step of the way. He is a smart and ruthless opponent. That is why I cannot believe that you are sending a blind man up against him. It is shear folly.”

“Wylan is not just a blind man,” Garth replied seriously. “He is a Knight of Alcea. Do not make the same mistake that others have made. Do not underestimate him.”

“Your insight into Brother Nicholas is most appreciated,” Wylan said to the merchant. “It will give me something to think about on my way to the monastery. It also highlights another area of concern. If Queen Samir has written Prince Samuel out of the line of succession, how can we put him back in? Is he even worth the effort if he will never be the heir?”

“He is the only card we have to play in Spino,” answered Garth. “If Queen Samir is so pliable, perhaps we also need a plan to get Prince Samuel back into the line of succession.”

“Sheri might be able to help with that,” suggested Wylan. “Do you remember when Sarac flooded Alcea with ogre gold?”

“I remember it well enough.” Garth nodded. “That was before your time. Why do you mention it?”

“Jenneva discovered a horde of it recently,” smiled Wylan. “Evidently Sarac had stockpiled it just beyond the Dusty Trail Inn. King Arik wanted it left in place as he does not want Alcean markets flooded with it, but I think it could be of great use here in Zara.”

“Ogre gold?” questioned the merchant. “What are you talking about?”

“An evil magician tried to take over all of Alcea,” explained Garth. “One of his tools was a massive supply of gold from another Universe, except it wasn’t real gold. It looked the same and weighed close enough to fool everyone until someone accidentally discovered that it dissolved in a certain acid.”

“Sheri could pretend to be a wealthy woman with that gold,” suggested Wylan. “It sounds like Queen Samir is the type to immediately adopt her as a close friend.”

“That is true,” agreed Sidney. “A large amount of gold would seal a friendship with the queen, for whatever that is worth. She really does not know the meaning of friendship, so the relationship would only last as long as the gold.”

“The ogre gold would wreak havoc on the economy of Zara,” frowned Garth.

“The Zaran economy is already in shambles,” retorted Sidney as he opened his pouch and placed a large gold coin on the table, “and it will get worse when the war starts. If King Arik has people with skills enough to duplicate that coin, I think your plan might work.”

Garth sighed with indecision as he stared at Sidney’s one-thousand-gold piece. The Alceans had been funding their covert activities with gems, but those gems could be better used to feed the people of Alcea. Slowly, he nodded decisively.