Krondor the Assassins (24 page)

‘‘Maybe, or maybe it just seems that way.’’

James grinned. ‘‘Anyone ever tell you you’re a pain to talk to?’’

‘‘Yup,’’ said Lucas. ‘‘Not too many, though.’’

‘‘Look, I need . . . well-placed friends.’’

Lucas laughed. ‘‘Well, start with the Prince of Krondor, boy.

I can’t imagine anyone better placed than him.’’

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‘‘I mean well-placed
within
Krondor. People who are in a position to hear things.’’

Lucas was silent as he weighed James’s words carefully, then he spoke: ‘‘Over the years I’ve made it a business to be very hard of hearing most of the time, Jimmy. It’s why lots of people are comfortable doing business with me. There are them that wants to move cargo without having to deal with the Prince’s customs men or the Mockers’ fences, and I know the occasional caravan driver heading inland.

‘‘There are those that need to speak to others who want to kill them on sight, and I can sometimes get them together without bloodshed. Things like that.

‘‘But all that goes to naught if anyone thinks I’ve turned snitch.’’

James said, ‘‘I’m not looking for snitches, Lucas. I’ve got enough of those on every street corner. I need something more, someone I trust. I need good information, not rumors or lies fashioned to earn some coppers. Moreover, I need someone, after all is said and done, who is my man, no matter what he’s telling other people.’’ He looked at Lucas and said, ‘‘I think you understand what I’m saying.’’

Lucas was thoughtful for a moment. Then he sighed and said, ‘‘Sorry, but I could never be no man’s spy, Jimmy. That’s too dodgy a path, even for the likes of me.’’ He moved away and went behind the bar. ‘‘But I’ll tell you this. I’ll never work against the Crown. I was once a soldier and my boys died for the Kingdom. So, you have my word on that. And if I catch a hint of anything like that, well, let’s say I’ll make sure you find out quick. How’s that?’’

James said, ‘‘It’ll have to do.’’

‘‘Would you like an ale?’’

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James laughed. ‘‘It’s still a little early for that. I’ll just take my leave. When Talia and William return, tell Will to return to the garrison and report in, will you?’’

Lucas said, ‘‘About that young fellow . . .’’

‘‘Yes?’’

‘‘He’s a good sort, right?’’

James said, ‘‘Yes, he’s a good sort.’’

Lucas nodded, then picked up a rag and started polishing his bar. ‘‘Just that . . . well, like I told you, Talia’s all I’ve got left. Want to see she’s done right by, if you see what I mean.’’

‘‘I see what you mean,’’ said James, grinning. ‘‘If any one will do right by her, William will.’’

Lucas glanced up. ‘‘Father’s a duke, you said?’’

James laughed and departed, waving good-bye to Lucas.

William felt flushed and a little giddy, and couldn’t quite decide if he was in love or just overtired. He’d had numerous conversations with his parents on the subject of men and women and their relationships, as well as hearing plenty of opinions from the academy students at Stardock as he grew up. In many ways he was far more acquainted with the theory of romance than many young men his age, but far less practiced than most.

As Talia chattered on about the current gossip, he tried to keep interested, but his mind wandered. He had known girls all his life, starting with his adopted sister Gamina. But while he had had many female friends as a boy, he had only thought himself in love once before.

He tried to push the image of Jazhara aside, and the more he tried, the more vivid she became in his mind. Four years older than William, she had come to study at Stardock when 214

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he was eleven years old. That had been half a lifetime ago, he realized.

She had been aloof at first, a Keshian of noble birth who had eventually put up with his childhood infatuation with good grace and even, occasionally, flattered amusement. Then the year before he left for Krondor, things had changed. He was no longer an awkward boy, but a strong and intelligent young man and for a brief time his interest in her was returned. Their affair had been stormy, intense, and ultimately painful for William.

It had ended badly, and he was still unclear as to what had made their relationship so rocky, and until he had learned that she was being sent to Krondor he had thought he might never discover the reasons why she had pushed him away. Now he considered the prospect of meeting her again with dread and some excitement.

‘‘You’re not listening.’’ Talia’s voice penetrated his reverie.

‘‘Sorry,’’ he said with a smile. ‘‘I haven’t had much sleep the past couple of nights.’’ When she frowned, he quickly added,

‘‘Business of the Crown.’’

She smiled and held onto his arm as they approached the market. ‘‘Well, enjoy the sunshine and we’ll just pretend the Prince and his business are very far away. And promise me you’ll get a good night’s sleep, all right?’’

‘‘I’ll see what I can do,’’ William replied. He looked at the young woman’s profile as she stopped to inspect produce that had come into the city that morning.

She pointed to a pile of large golden onions and said, ‘‘I’ll take six of those.’’

While she and the seller haggled a little, William found his thoughts returning to the differences between Talia and Jazhara.

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Jazhara was Keshian, from desert stock, and darkly exotic by Kingdom standards. She was a magician of some skill and great potential, and as fit as any fighter he had ever known. He knew from first-hand experience that she could crack your skull with a quarterstaff as quickly as conjure up a spell, and she was better educated than any woman he had met—she spoke a dozen languages and dialects, knew the history both of her own homeland and the Kingdom, and could discourse on sci-ences, the course of the stars, and the mysteries of the gods.

Talia by contrast was a sunny, open person, full of humor and grace. She turned to catch William staring at her and said, ‘‘What?’’

He smiled back. ‘‘Just thinking that you are as pretty a girl as I’ve ever seen.’’

She blushed. ‘‘Flatterer.’’

He felt suddenly embarrassed by the comment and said,

‘‘Tell me about . . . where you grew up. You said you were raised by an order of . . . ?’’

She smiled as she handed over four coins to the seller and put the onions in her shopping basket. ‘‘I was raised by an order of the Sisters of Kahooli.’’

William almost let his mouth fall open. Then: ‘‘Kahooli!’’

he exclaimed.

Several shoppers nearby turned to see who had invoked the name of the God of Vengeance.

She patted his arm. ‘‘I get that reaction.’’

‘‘I thought you were sent off to an abbey of a . . .’’

‘‘More feminine order?’’ she finished.

‘‘Something like that.’’

She said, ‘‘Women serve the Seeker After Vengeance. And Father decided if I was to be raised outside the city, it would 216

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be by someone who could teach me to defend myself.’’ She reached out and touched his sword hilt with her right index finger. ‘‘That’s a bit big for my tastes, but I could probably do some serious harm with it.’’

‘‘No doubt,’’ he said. The orders of Kahooli were primarily dedicated to seeking out wrongdoers and visiting justice upon them. At their most benign, they acted as aides to local constables and sheriffs, locating malefactors and either capturing them or pointing out their whereabouts. At their more malignant, they were avengers who ignored local laws and the King’s Justice, and hunted down and executed wrongdoers. And at their worst, they refused to consider any claims of innocence by their prey. An often-stated joke about those who served Kahooli had it that their credo was ‘‘Kill them all and let Kahooli part the innocent from the guilty.’’ Often they created more problems than they solved.

Talia smiled. ‘‘I know what you’re thinking.’’

William blushed. ‘‘What?’’

‘‘Do I run now, or wait until her back is turned?’’

He laughed. ‘‘Nothing like that. Just . . .’’

‘‘Don’t do me any wrong, William, and you’ll have nothing to fear.’’

Her smile was so open and bright he had to laugh. ‘‘I won’t.

You have my vow.’’

‘‘Good,’’ she said, playfully hitting him in the arm. ‘‘Then I won’t have to hunt you down and hurt you.’’

‘‘You’re joking, right?’’

Now she laughed. ‘‘I was
educated
by the Order of Kahooli, William. I never took any vows in his service.’’

William realized she was joking, and laughed. ‘‘You had me there for a moment.’’

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She slipped her arm back into his as they moved along, inspecting the other produce on display. ‘‘I think I have you for more than a moment,’’ she said under her breath.

William chose not to hear the remark. Right now, he didn’t know what to think. He enjoyed the warm, slightly apprehensive feeling he got when he looked at her. He admired her dark hair, fair skin, erect posture and youthful energy that seemed to impart itself to everything she touched. All he wanted to do was to keep her at his side from moment to moment, and not think about anything unpleasant ever again.

‘‘Lieutenant!’’ came a familiar and about as unpleasant a voice as he could imagine.

He turned and saw Captain Treggar approaching with two guardsmen.

‘‘Sir!’’ he said, coming to attention.

With a tone approaching a growl, Treggar said, ‘‘I have been
sent
to fetch you, lieutenant, and Squire James.’’ His gaze was hostile and his manner combative, but he added, ‘‘By His Highness,’’ and William could tell he kept some unspoken rage in check because of that admission. Glancing at Talia, Treggar said, ‘‘I realize you’re
busy
, and haven’t had time to stand your watch in the officers’ rotation at the palace, but His Highness felt it important enough to have you join him that he sent me personally to find you and the squire.’’

William said, ‘‘Ah . . . I believe Squire James is back at The Rainbow Parrot.’’

‘‘No, he’s here,’’ came another voice.

William turned to discover James striding toward them.

James said, ‘‘What is it, captain?’’

‘‘Orders, squire. You and the lieutenant are to return with me to the palace at once.’’

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William glanced at James, who said, ‘‘Very well.’’ He looked at Talia and said, ‘‘Pardon us, but we must be going.’’

To William, Talia said, ‘‘I’ve enjoyed our time together, William. I hope you’ll call again, soon.’’

William said, ‘‘Certainly.’’ Glancing at Treggar, he added,

‘‘As soon as duty permits.’’

Talia turned away and continued her perusal of the market’s offerings, glancing over her shoulder to direct one last smile at William.

Treggar said, ‘‘Squire, if you’re ready?’’

James nodded and led the way back to the palace.

William followed a step behind Treggar, followed in turn by the two soldiers. There was a growing tension between himself and the captain and he would soon have to deal with it, otherwise he would make an enemy for as long as he was in the army.

Arutha looked around the room. Captain Treggar and the two soldiers who had been sent to find James and William stood off to one side. Four Krondorian Pathfinders—a separate e´lite command, with trackers and trailbreakers responsible to their own captain—watched as the Prince said, ‘‘Here.’’ He pointed to a spot on the map, indicating a location south of Shandon Bay. ‘‘If our information is correct, that’s where they are hiding.’’

James stood next to the Prince, and his eyes followed the line from the faint scratching on the map that read, ‘‘Valley of Lost Men’’ in tiny letters under an older inscription in a Keshian alphabet he couldn’t read. ‘‘That still looks like a fair amount of territory to explore, Highness.’’

With a gesture, Arutha indicated the four Pathfinders. ‘‘They leave within the hour.’’

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‘‘We have committed the map to memory, Highness,’’ said one of them.

Arutha nodded. ‘‘These men will follow you within a day.

Look for them—’’ his finger stabbed at a point some miles to the east of the general search area ‘‘—here. One of you should make contact each night.’’

‘‘Yes, Highness,’’ said the leader of the Pathfinders as he saluted. With a gesture he indicated to his companions they should leave.

After the four scouts had departed, Arutha said, ‘‘Captain, draw up a battle plan. Tell everyone who will listen that we conduct maneuvers to the southwest and northeast. Then I want you to select two hundred of our best men, ignoring any man who has not been in service for at least five years.’’ James nodded agreement. There had been three Nighthawks posing as soldiers at the garrison at Northwarden. ‘‘Make the selection seem random, but at the end of the first day I will lead those two hundred men south. Captain Leland will take the rest to the northeast, so come up with a plausible problem that explains the splitting of my command.’’

Captain Treggar nodded. ‘‘Sire. If I may ask . . . ?’’

Arutha nodded.

‘‘Wouldn’t it serve better to have the Knight-Marshal draw up the problem?’’

‘‘Knight-Marshal Gardan is retiring, captain. We have a pa-rade and farewell tomorrow at noon. He is then leaving on the evening tide to return home to Crydee.’’

James grinned. ‘‘A farewell party, tonight?’’

Arutha looked at his squire. ‘‘Yes, but you won’t be attending.’’

James sighed theatrically. ‘‘I feel slighted, sire.’’

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Treggar said, ‘‘I will have the problem here before the pa-rade, Highness.’’

Arutha said, ‘‘No, you will have it back here before sundown tonight. An hour after sundown, you five—’’ he indicated the captain, two soldiers, William and James ‘‘—are leaving with a caravan heading to Kesh. At the cut-off near Shandon Bay you will turn west and find this old caravan route.’’ He pointed to a faint trail marked on the ancient map. ‘‘You’re leaving half a day behind the Pathfinders, and you’ll be moving slowly.’’ Again his finger struck the map. ‘‘You should reach this point three days after the Pathfinders. That should give them time to locate our prey.’’