Heirs of the Enemy (50 page)

“I had the most strange dream last night,” Wylan said softly. “I was walking among the clouds, and I was sure that the gods were close. I thought I could hear their distant voices, but a monk was standing between me and the stairway I needed to climb. The monk spoke to me, but there was no sound to his voice. His lips moved, but nothing came out. I tried to communicate with him, but he shook his head and pointed to his bandaged hand. What do you make of that?”

“I know nothing of dreams,” replied Brother Dominik, “but it sounds like someone didn’t want you to speak to the gods.”

“That is what I thought,” nodded Wylan, “but what was the significance of the bandaged hand? Do you know of such a monk?”

“No,” Brother Dominik replied. “Nor can I think of what the bandage might mean.”

Wylan sighed as his gamble failed to pay off. A few minutes later, Brother Dominik chuckled softly.

“Perhaps you saw Brother Louis in your dream. I just noticed that his hand is bandaged this morning. Whatever he did to injure it might have been inspired by the gods.”

“What do you mean?”

“Brother Louis is the enforcer around here. Whenever a punishment is to be delivered, it is Brother Louis who administers it. He is the oldest member of the order after Brother Nicholas. Never get on the wrong side of Brother Louis. He has a temper, and he doesn’t know how to control it. I think he delights in giving pain to others.”

“Brother Dominik,” came a stern voice from behind Wylan, “are you too lazy to partake in the morning exercise? I could have Brother Louis instruct you if you have forgotten how.”

The monk leaped to his feet. “I have not forgotten, Brother Nicholas. “I was taking time to instruct Brother Wylan of our customs.”

“Brother Wylan has no need of instruction,” retorted the head monk. “He is leaving us soon.”

Brother Dominik nodded and raced away. Wylan rose and turned around to face the head monk, but he intentionally erred a bit.

“Actually,” he smiled, “I was thinking of staying for a while, if that is all right with you. I find it peaceful here, and I might benefit from the solitude. I would, of course, make a donation each day.”

Brother Nicholas hesitated. Wylan smiled inwardly as he reached into his purse and extracted another gold coin. He placed it in his palm and extended his hand before him. Brother Nicholas took the gold coin and walked away without a word.

Brother Louis knocked softly and then opened the door to Brother Nicholas’ office. The head of the Cult of Everlasting Bounty looked up and waved his associate towards a chair. Brother Louis closed the door and crossed the room silently. He sat in front of the desk.

“What happened to your hand?” asked Brother Nicholas.

“It is nothing,” shrugged Brother Louis.

“Nothing? You consider being beaten by a blind man nothing?”

“Who told you that?” Louis asked with alarm. “He is blind. He could not possibly have seen me.”

Nicholas smiled knowingly. “Wylan said nothing to me. Your own words have betrayed you. What were you thinking?”

“You mentioned that he had a fat purse,” sighed Louis. “Who would have known if it left here a little lighter than it should have been? Since when have you cared for the fate of travelers?”

“I do not usually care, but something is wrong here.”

“What do you mean?”

“Wylan said nothing about your attempted theft. He didn’t complain to me, and he didn’t even mention it to Dominik. Don’t you find that a bit strange?”

“Maybe he doesn’t remember it. It was the middle of the night. Perhaps he thought he had dreamt it.”

“Perhaps he doesn’t want to draw attention to himself,” countered Brother Nicholas. “Tell me what happened.”

“Nothing happened. I snuck into his room. Both of them were sleeping. I am sure of that. When I went to reach for his purse, his staff hit my hand. It might have even fallen by itself.”

“Such convenient timing,” scoffed the head monk. “I don’t believe that for a minute.”

“Let it go. He is moving on and the incident will be forgotten.”

“He is not moving on. He has decided to stay around for a while. He likes it here.”

“He likes it here?” echoed Louis. “Now you have me suspicious of him. What happened to us, Nicholas? At one time we were as rich as the nobles. Now we cannot afford to feed the rabble that stays here.”

“We became lazy,” shrugged Nicholas.

“We made a deal with the queen,” retorted Louis. “That is when the wealth stopped coming in. We need to do something to revitalize our order.”

“The first time we kidnap another noble’s son, the queen will order the army to annihilate us. We have been through this conversation before.”

“We still have Samuel,” countered Louis. “We can threaten to kill him again.”

“She no longer cares about him, Louis. Once she changed the order of succession, his value plummeted. Now he is just another mouth to feed.”

“We have to do something. Maybe we should try kidnapping one of the Ertakans or Baroukans. Surely, the queen will not pursue us for that.”

“She would be pressured to do so. The Federation acts as one, but you are right. We have to find something to bring some gold in. We certainly can’t continue living off travelers who give a few coins for a roof over their head.”

Louis sighed. “Then let me steal the traveler’s purse. At least we will have some gold to spend.”

“No. We will have all of his gold before he leaves here anyway. Why steal it?”

“Where does a blind man get gold?”

“Now, that is the correct question to ask,” smiled Nicholas. “There is something about Wylan that we are missing, and I think it might be the key we have been looking for. I want you to find out everything about him. I want to know who his parents are, where he gets his gold, how he became blind, everything.”

“You want me to torture him?”

Nicholas sighed heavily and shook his head. “Try thinking for a change, Louis. You would be satisfied with grabbing his measly purse, but his family might be richer than the queen. Introduce him to the brothers so that he makes friends. Let them ask the questions and report back to you. If we have forty brothers asking the questions, the answers will flow quickly enough. We might even convince him to join the order. That is how we used to do it in the old days, and it worked quite well.”

* * * *

In a suite at the Greystone Inn in Valdo, two old friends prepared for a trip to the Royal Palace of Spino.

“How do I look?” asked Sheri as she slowly turned around, displaying her full-length gown.

“You look beautiful,” smiled Zack Nolan as he crossed the room and came up behind Sheri. “Let me add a touch of elegance to your perfection.” Zack produce a pearl necklace out of his pouch and put it on Sheri’s neck. “That is sure to catch the eye of Queen Samir.”

“I hope that she does not rip it off my neck before we leave the palace,” giggled Sheri. “It must have cost a fortune.”

“It is not important to us,” Zack said seriously. “If she demands it, give it to her. Let’s not lose sight of our goal.”

“Giving it up freely would be losing sight of our goal,” retorted Sheri. “If she truly desires it, she will invite us back to the palace time after time until she gets it.”

“Unless she decides to have you killed to obtain it,” warned the spymaster.

“She may try,” countered Sheri, “but she may find it is not so easy to take what I have.”

“Focus,” Zack replied tersely. “This plan will be neither quick nor simple. Do not get distracted by minor things. We have to work on her slowly. If we move too fast, we will lose it all. Always keep that in mind. This is more about timing than anything else.”

“Alright,” agreed Sheri. “I am not used to such subtleties, but I will follow your lead.”

“I would have it no other way, Lady Zachary.” Zack smiled as he bowed to his supposed wife.

Sheri smiled broadly and curtsied to Lord Zachary. “Whenever you are ready.”

Zack gave his arm to Sheri and led her out of the suite. They walked down the stairs and climbed into the ornate carriage Cobb and Bork had ready for them. It was a short ride to the Royal Palace of Spino, and Lord Zachary was expected. The large gates opened wide, and the carriage rode along the driveway to the front of the palace. A uniformed servant opened the door, extended the step, and helped the visitors out of the carriage. Another uniformed servant led them into the mansion and deposited them in a huge sitting room that was decorated with wealth unlike anything Sheri had ever seen. Queen Samir was already present in the room, and she watched the couple closely as they entered the room. Fortunately, Zack had prepared Sheri well. Her eyes took in the ostentatious wealth as if it were nothing special. She moved her eyes around the room and left them focused on the queen. Lord Zachary bowed low to the queen.

“Queen Samir, may I present my wife, Lady Zachary.”

Sheri curtsied and bowed her head respectfully.

“Welcome to the Royal Palace of Spino,” Queen Samir said with a wave of her hand to signify that her guests should rise and join her. “I have so looked forward to meeting you, Lady Zachary. I heard so much about you at the celebration in Despair. I didn’t think I would ever get the chance to meet you.”

“The pleasure is certainly mine.” Sheri smiled as she sat on the couch. “I had not intended to come east of the Barrier, but the messages from my husband proved irresistible. I am glad that I have come.”

“That is a beautiful string of pearls that you are wearing. Were they purchased locally?”

“I really don’t know,” smiled Sheri. “My husband buys me so many trinkets that I gave up asking where they came from.”

“I doubt such pearls could be found locally,” interjected Lord Zachary. “The ones sold here are too small for my tastes. These were obtained beyond the Needle.”

“Beyond the Needle?” the queen echoed, obviously impressed by the rarity of the pearls. “If I had a husband so diligent in pleasing me, I would make him a king.”

Sheri smiled and laughed softly at the queen’s little joke. The queen continued the conversation with mostly pleasant questions about insignificant facts, but it soon became clear that she was trying to determine the true wealth of Lord Zachary and the nature of his holdings. Zack had meticulously prepared Sheri for this portion of the conversation, and the Knight of Alcea reveled in playing the game. She never bragged nor touted the family’s wealth, but the answer to each of the queen’s questions always included a reference to another valuable asset. After an hour of conversation, the queen was convinced that Lord Zachary was among the world’s richest people.

Following the talk in the sitting room, the queen had arranged for a formal dinner. In addition to the wealthy nobles of Valdo, the two princesses also attended. Each girl tried to show off her wealth with expensive necklaces, but it was obvious to everyone that the necklaces were chosen strictly for their worth and not their beauty. The heir’s necklace was particularly gaudy, and Sheri cringed at the thought of wearing something so large and heavy.

Sheri did find the conversation around the dinner table interesting. She marveled at how Zack managed to steer the conversations to his supposed holdings without seeming to do so. After the dinner, everyone moved into a ballroom for music and dancing. For the next two hours, Sheri did not get a chance to sit down. All of the male nobles made a point of dancing with her and questioning her about her husband’s businesses. Eventually, she managed to break away and found a small sitting room to rest in. She had barely collapsed into a chair when the door opened, and the two princesses marched in. Sheri smiled politely at them, but they returned looks of hatred as they strode across the room and stood in front of her.

“I want the pearls,” stated the heir.

Sheri was shocked at the forwardness. For a moment, she was speechless.

“Give them to me,” demanded the heir. “I want them.”

“Do you always get what you want?” Sheri asked.

“Of course,” scowled the heir, “and I don’t like having to ask twice.”

Sheri rose to her feet and glared at the girl. “Then don’t ask again,” Sheri said menacingly.

The princess stepped back in surprise, but her sister came to her defense.

“How dare you speak to her in that tone of voice? She is the heir to the throne.”

With the verbal support from her sister, the heir stepped forward and reached for the pearls to tear them off Sheri’s neck. Sheri’s hand shot up and grabbed the girl’s wrist, holding it tight enough to bring a look of pain to the heir’s face.

“You will hang for this,” spat the heir. “Let go of me.”

“Hang?” laughed Sheri. “Let me explain something to you, Princess. If you ever try to take what is mine again, I will have my husband buy this country and exile both of you to the Endless Swamp. If you want something of value, find yourself a husband, if you are able to, and get him to buy it for you. You aren’t getting what is mine.”

Sheri pushed the princess away and released her grip on the girl. The girls stood shocked at Sheri’s treatment of the heir. They appeared ready to shout for help when a commanding voice came from the doorway.

“I believe that Queen Samir is looking for the two of you,” Lord Zachary said threateningly. “I think you had better hurry to her before she gets angry.”

The princesses looked at each other worryingly and hurriedly left the sitting room. Lord Zachary closed the door and walked to Sheri.

“That is a dangerous gambit you just played. Queen Samir is the law for many leagues in all directions. Never lay a hand on a royal.”

“But they are spoiled brats,” seethed Sheri. “They should both be taken out and paddled until they are raw.”

“You will get no argument from me on that point, but you must remember your place. Did you not notice that they have both been glaring at you for the last two hours?”

“How could I notice?” retorted Sheri. “I spent the last two hours dancing with every man in Valdo.”

“And they haven’t danced with a single one,” Lord Zachary smiled thinly. “I must admit that you have played your part well. The nobles love you, but the pearls are not worth the confrontation.”