Kaavl Conspiracy (47 page)

Lost in her thoughts, she jumped a bit when Old Sims fell into step beside her.

“I’m glad you’re back, my girl. Didn’t realize what a help you’ve become to me until you left for that long trip.”

“Oh, Sims!” Methusal impulsively hugged him. Her discoveries in Tarst flooded her mind, and she grinned. “Have I got a surprise for you!”

* * * * *

During lunch, Erl agreed with Methusal that Verdnt’s compartment should be searched for more clues about the conspiracy. Verdnt had admitted that Ludst Lst was one accomplice, but what if he’d had more? All facts needed to be brought to light now, for Rolban’s safety.

Erl searched Verdnt’s desk, Ben searched the bedchamber,
Petr the main compartment, and Methusal the trash. She discovered the mother lode. One page of dense, cramped handwriting was addressed to a “Presidente.”

“Papa,” Methusal said urgently. “Look.”

Erl took the letter and read out loud:

Presidente,

Victory is near. Still, they suspect nothing. I have planted clues so that Rolban will trust neither Dehre nor Tarst. Already those seeds are bearing fruit. Even if our pawn’s takeover fails, distrust has been sown, bitter and deep. I am confident that when the full course of time has ripened, the ore will be ours to pluck. Their weaknesses are plain, and have been simple to exploit. The plan is a success. My fellow Zindedi in Tarst has done his job well, and I will give him this letter soon. As for your deepest, closest spy, he remains silent and undiscovered, waiting
and watching, as you wish. When the battle is finished
, I will convey the full details to you.

I remain your dedicated servant,

Verdnt

“Who is this Presidente?” Petr wondered.

“And where is Zindedi?” Methusal wanted to know.

Lines of worry deepened in Erl’s brow. “I’m not sure, but Zindedi must be a land across the sea. No such people live on Koblan.”

“Verdnt and his accomplice came here to create distrust. They want us to be at war with the Dehriens
and
the Tarst?” Methusal asked.

“Yes. And apparently they want our ore.”

“Verdnt said that to me,” Methusal agreed. “He said Mentàll wants the ore, too.”

“Maybe Mentàll is the pawn Verdnt referred to in the letter.
”

“Do you think Mentàll was working for Verdnt? For Zindedi?” Although Methusal didn’t think much of the Dehrien, she felt fairly sure he was only acting for himself, to accomplish his own goals. She couldn’t imagine him knowingly being a subservient pawn to anyone. Then again, what did she really know about the Dehrien? He’d proven he was a wild beast. Maybe he was capable of anything.

Petr blustered, “I wouldn’t put anything past that Dehrien
whip.”

“One thing is clear,” Erl said. “Verdnt’s accomplice lives in Tarst. I need to contact Pan. We’ll need to talk about the Alliance and Zindedi.”

“What about that deep spy Verdnt mentioned?” Methusal said. “Do you think he’s here in Rolban?”

Grim lines tightened her father’s mouth. “We will be on guard, and we’ll warn other communities to do the same. Clearly, the Zindedis have been planning this for years. They planted Verdnt in Dehre thirteen years ago. And he moved here seven years ago. His death won’t stop their plan, whatever it is. Multiple spies could infest communities all over Koblan.”

Methusal remembered again what the Prophet had told her about the coming trouble. Would that take place in a few years? Or sooner? Maybe she hadn’t listened closely enough to the Prophet before, but she would now. He’d known about Mentàll and his sword. He’d told her to pray for her enemy, but she had not.

Would it have made a difference if she had?

In a quiet voice, she said, “I think we’d better hurry, Papa.”

Erl frowned. “Why?”

“According to the Prophet, this is only the beginning of trouble.”

* * * * *

That night, Methusal sat with Behran on the crop plateau.
They were safe from all predators there—both man and beast. The tally had come in—five Rolbanis had been killed during the short war, and seven Dehriens. They were lucky they hadn’t lost more people.

Stars pierced the black velvet sky, and the plain below glowed green, bathed in the pale light of Ryon. Methusal had just finished telling Behran about Verdnt and Zindedi.

“I’m still confused about a few things,” Methusal said. “It seems clear from Verdnt’s letter that the Zindedis are the ones who wanted the ore. Did Mentàll, too?”

“He wanted power. I’m not sure about the ore, except for maybe to make weapons.”

“Yes. And he’s arrogant enough to think he can have anything he wants.”

Behran gave a short laugh. “It’ll prick his pride to learn he was only a pawn.”

“Or maybe Verdnt was
his
pawn.” For the first time, Methusal wondered why the Dehrien had really wanted to take over Rolban. Because his people were starving? Because he wanted to find the
Second Book of Kaavl?
Had his delegation been sent to conquer Rolban, or to be used as back up if his unknown plan didn’t go like he’d hoped? In reality, twenty-six Dehriens would be hard-pressed to
conquer Rolban, unless he’d planned to send for reinforcements.
Little made sense. What had been Mentàll’s primary motivation? What had he really wanted to do in Rolban?

Slowly, she said, “Verdnt said Mentàll wanted vengeance. For what, do you think?”

“It doesn’t matter now. It’s all over.”

“I hope so.” Her mind returned to the strange visual carry she’d experienced during the battle that morning. She
decided it was time to trust this fact to her fiercest competitor.

“Wow,” Behran said afterward, and fell silent.

Methusal felt uncomfortable. “I guess I’ll have to wait and see if it happens again.”

“It probably will.” Behran’s voice was quiet, but proud. He didn’t sound envious at all. “Are you going on to the Bi-level, then?”

“Yes, since Kitran has rejected Mentàll’s theories. What about you?”

“I’ll never be able to beat you again.”

“How do you know?” She glanced at his familiar features. “I think we’ve barely scratched the surface of kaavl. But I know we can learn more together.”

“Maybe you’re right.” His midnight blue eyes held hers. She felt his warm hand enfold hers. He interlaced their fingers. Her breath caught—a little surprised, and a little bit
not. A sweet joy surged through her, tingling to her fingertips.

From rival to friend, to possibly more. The future stretched out before them, bright with promise and hope.
Adventure lay ahead…and challenges. Of that, she felt certain
. But no shadows.

Surely, no shadows.

Carachki, Zindedi

(Two weeks later)

“A letter, Presidente.”
Bowing, the skinny young man placed the envelope on the desk, and scurried out.

“At last.” The Presidente of Zindedi plucked it up with a smile. “The pot has boiled.”

Across the room, the General stopped muttering to himself. “What, brother?”

The Presidente flicked him a tolerant glance. “Are you prepared for the mission?”

His amber eyes, so like the Presidente’s, finally focused. “Mission? Yes! I am ready for battle.” He licked his lips in anticipation.

The Presidente smiled. “Good. Make sure your mind doesn’t deviate too far while you are on the battlefield.”

His brother smiled widely, his teeth gleaming yellow in the sun that shone through the window. “On the battlefield, you have no one better than me. And off the bloody field, my fancies are my own.”

The unholy light in his brother’s eyes made the Presidente
smile. “Go ahead. Be as ruthless off the field as on. Just so long as it sharpens your appetite for battle.”

The General’s eyes hardened into the eager blood lust the Presidente knew so well. And the Presidente knew his brother would deliver Koblan to him, just as he had united Zindedi in one short, horrific war two years ago.

The Presidente slit the envelope and withdrew the single page. Unease shot through him. It wasn’t Verdnt’s neat handwriting. The words were dark and crudely formed. He checked the signature. It was from his spy in Tarst.

“Read it out loud,” the General urged.

“Verdnt is dead.” The Presidente read the words again, hardly able to believe them.

“Forget him,” the General said. “What about the war? Is Koblan weakened, and primed for our attack?”

The Presidente read more. “Verdnt started the war, and our Dehrien puppet joined the cause, as expected. But…”

“But what?” The General strode over and tried to grab the paper.

The Presidente shot him a vicious glare and bared his teeth. The General lowered his hand. “Read it. I want to hear.”

The Presidente complied; mostly so he wouldn’t have to repeat it later.

The war ended in two hours. Rolbanis fought fiercely, and Methusal Maahr used kaavl to capture the Dehrien Chief. Rolbanis found one of Verdnt’s letters. It stated he wanted to stir up war between Rolban, Tarst, and Dehre. Zindedi was mentioned.

The Presidente pressed his palm to his forehead. “The fool!”

“Read!” his brother said impatiently.

The Presidente continued, feeling his horror mount.

They are warned. Any attack should wait until their defenses become lax again. I will report when this is so. Verdnt also mentioned an accomplice in Tarst. As you know, I planted Rolbani objects in Tarst, at Verdnt’s instruction, to try to create suspicion between the communities. We hoped war would engulf all three villages, and thereby weaken all of Koblan. I’m afraid I will be suspected, since I’m one of three messengers who travels between Rolban and Tarst. I am moving south, to Wyen. I will still messenger, and will send reports to you. But Verdnt’s mission has failed. Your deepest spy, however, remains safely undetected.

Build a large army before you try to take over Koblan. As you know, only Verdnt and one other Zindedi learned kaavl. In any war against Koblan, kaavl will prove your most formidable foe. You will need to carry many arms to defeat it. …If that is even possible.”

“If that is even
possible!
” the General snorted. “Mind games are no match for swords or our firearms.”

The Presidente crumpled the letter. “Now we have only
one man in Rolban!” With a vicious thrust, he flung the paper
across the room.

“We need no one,” the General countered, his eyes gleaming. “Only arms. And lots of men.”

The Presidente grabbed the ink well on his desk and hurled that across the room, too. It made him feel better.

“Think, brother.” The General stared at him. For once, his words were the sane ones. “Make your plan.”

The Presidente slowly ran a hand through his prickly hair. His fingers dug painfully into his scalp. The discomfort helped him think. “I’ll activate our other spies,” he growled. “And we will manufacture more arms. When we take Koblan, I want it to be fast and hard. No escape for any of them!” With a swift, violent arm, he swept everything from his desk onto the floor. The objects made a series of satisfactory crashing noises.

“More arms than we have assembled now?” the General asked.

“Much more! I underestimated one small village on Koblan. Perhaps I have underestimated them all.” He named the number of arms and ships he wanted prepared.

The General looked visibly taken aback. “But that will take months. Years. Do you really want to wait…”

“Do it! We will win this next war. The Koblan continent, and even this Methusal with her kaavl tricks, will bow in submission to me before this war is over!”

“Very good, Presidente. We will train every day. When we attack, Koblan will have no escape.”

“Make sure it is so, brother. We need that ore. And we
will get it.” The Presidente spun in his chair and stared outside
at the city skyline stretching north from his two story window.
Zindedi. He controlled it all…the entire continent. But it was not enough. His brother, the General, lusted for blood. Well, he lusted for power.

When a year or two slipped by, and Koblan was not attacked, the continent would relax. He felt confident of that.

Koblan was not a united continent. The Presidente snorted.
Weak fools!
He would win Koblan easily; of this, he had no doubt. And his deepest spy would surface to help him achieve the crowning victory. Then, with Rolban’s ore to make more weapons, and Koblan’s inhabitants as free slave labor, his power would have no limit.

A smile curved his lips. He could easily wait two years to win a jewel like Koblan. With her, he would rule the world.

* * *

I sincerely hope
you enjoyed
Kaavl Conspiracy
as much as I enjoyed writing it. There are three more books in this quadrilogy. The next book,
Kaavl Quest
, will be published in July 2016.

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.

Best wishes always,

Jennette