Queen (Brotherhood of the Throne) (22 page)

“Is there anyone out there?” he
asked.

“No.” Mistress Mundy sat heavily on
a chair. “Business has been poor enough lately, but after the Kingsguard closed
off the Quarter last night folk have holed up where they can. I’ve not had one
customer all day.”

 “Are the doors barred?” Kane
asked.

“No, I’ll do it now though.”
Mistress Mundy rose and headed to the tavern. “Help yourself to some stew. It’s
not like I have any paying customers and you look like you could use it.”

Kane wasted no time grabbing
himself a bowl of stew. He was halfway through it by the time the innkeep
returned with two mugs of ale.

“Now, get yourself some more stew
if you want.” Mistress Mundy set the mugs down on the table.

Kane took a swallow of ale before
he got up to ladle more stew into his bowl. Mistress Mundy pulled out a loaf of
bread and sliced two thick portions off it and placed them on the table, along
with a crock of butter.

“Thank you,” Kane said as he sat to
finish his meal. “I know you don’t know me but I appreciate it.” He picked up a
slice of bread and sopped up some gravy. “Brenna always said the stew here was
the best in the Quarter.” He ate in silence. Once he was finished he took his empty
bowl and placed it on the table beside the bucket.

“All right, Mistress Mundy,” he
said as he sat back down. “I owe you an explanation.”

“I have some of it figured out,”
she said, surprising him. “I know Eryl has been living at the Crooked Dog. Now
I never did like Eryl but I’ve been hearing things lately that have made me
change my mind some. Eryl’s been helping folk leave town and get food and such.
Rumor has it there’s been another young man staying at the Dog with Eryl - a
man Duke Thorold would dearly like to get his hands on. So much so that he
raided the Dog and closed down the whole Quarter.”

Kane paused to sip his ale before
replying “And by coming here I’ve placed you in danger.”

“The Quarter takes care of its own,”
Mistress Mundy said. “I’m ready to help Brenna in any way I can - I think that
means helping you. Besides, I can’t do less than Eryl, can I? Nor can I have
the Sheaf be less welcoming than the Dog.”

“Thank you.” Kane relaxed, finally,
for the first time in days. “I need you to get word out that everyone needs the
leave the Quarter. I mean everyone.”

Mistress Mundy gave him a slow,
measured look before she answered. “For how long?”

“I’m not sure.” Kane ran a hand
through his hair, trying to remember the small glimpses of Brenna’s vision that
he’d shared. “There’s going to be a fire. I don’t know how big, but a good part
of the Quarter burns. It happens at night, I think.”

“A fire, how do you know this?”
Mistress Mundy’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll not help if you plan on burning the
Quarter, friend of Brenna’s or not.”

“No, it’s not me. I don’t know how
it starts. It’s from one of Brenna’s visions.”

Mistress Mundy looked up, startled.
“Like when she saw that other healer die? That poor lass who died right in my
tavern?”

“Yes, a vision like that,” Kane
said. “But I have no idea how soon it will happen. In the meantime we need to
warn the people.”

“Of course,” Mistress Mundy said.
“I’ll start in the morning. I know just who talk to. Every man, woman and child
in the Quarter will know this before midday. I imagine it’ll be best of you
stay out of sight for a while so I’ll give you a room. And I might find some
spare clothes for you. Yours need washing almost as much as you do.”

“Thank you.” Kane followed her from
the kitchen. “If you don’t mind, I’ll fetch some more water and have a good
scrub before I put the clean clothes on.”

A few hours later, clean and well
fed, Kane lay stretched out on a bed in a room at the rear of the inn. One small
window – just big enough for him to squeeze out of if he had to - looked out
onto the courtyard, its curtains pulled shut against prying eyes. More than
ever he wished to talk to Brenna, to make sure she was safe. They should be
close to the worst of the journey for her as far as the mountains went. After
the last trip into the mountains he swore he’d never let her travel up into
that elevation again. He grunted and rolled over onto his side. And he’d have
as much chance of changing her mind next time as he’d had this time. Finally,
Kane fell into a deep sleep.

Just after noon they reached the fork that went up towards Blackwall town and the mines. Brenna glanced along it
as Pater drove the wagon past, remembering when she, Kane and Yowan had come
this way in the spring. The meadow grasses had grown up alongside the road and
the ruts were worn deeper with use.

“We’ve seen no signs that these
trails have been used in the past few days,” Dasid said as he pulled his horse
up beside her. “I’ve sent a couple of men to Blackwall to find out any news.
They’re posing as wagon guards looking for work. At the very least I hope to
find out if we should be expecting company on the road to the coast.” Dasid
peered at her. “You look much better today, Brenna.”

“I feel much better, thanks.
Another day like today and I’ll be strong enough to contact Kane and the
others.”

“I’d prefer another two days,”
Dasid said. “Keep in mind I might need your talents along the trail. I’m sure
Kane is perfectly safe in Kingsreach. He’s stayed with Eryl in the past and no
harm has come.”

As Dasid spoke, Brenna felt a chill
run down her spine. She was missing something, something important. She almost
knew what it was, could almost see something. She was about to reach out for it
when Pater dropped his hand on her arm.

“Take it easy lass,” he said. “I
know ye want to do more but we need ye rested.”

Brenna nodded and relaxed, her eyes
meeting Dasid’s.

“Something’s happened, or is about
to,” she said. “I feel like I know what it is but I can’t remember. I think it has
to do with Kane.”

“I know you’re concerned about
him,” Dasid said. “And I’m sure he’s worried about you. But he knows what he’s
doing. He’ll be fine. If you still feel well tomorrow you can contact Kane.” He
held up his hand when she was about to speak. “But only Kane and only if you
draw some strength from me first.”

“Yes, I’ll do that.” Though she
hated doing it, Brenna would to take energy from him in order to speak to Kane.
She thought about what she was feeling - this odd sense that she’d missed
something important. She sighed. It didn’t feel like Kane was in danger so all
she could do was hope that she remembered what it was before she contacted him.

They made camp for the night and Brenna
sat by a fire with Dasid and Pater. She’d spread the map out in front of them
and they were trying to determine their exact location. The two scouts, dressed
in clothes borrowed from men from the Quarter, walked into the circle of
firelight.

“Lieutenant Addems,” one of the men
said. “We were not able to reach the town.”

“What was the problem?” Dasid
asked, standing up.

“There were too many guards at the
gate, Lieutenant. At least twenty that we saw. Wearing Duke Thorold’s colors.”

“Did anyone go in or out of town?”

“We watched for three hours and saw
nothing. The gates didn’t even open.”

“Anything else to report?” Dasid
asked and the guard shook his head. “Thank you. Please ask Wils to join me and
find yourselves something to eat.” Dasid sat back down when the two guards
turned and left.

“So we won’t have any company along
the road after all, not if the gates are locked up tight and guarded,” Pater
said.

“I don’t think merchants will be on
the road,” Dasid said.

Brenna looked across the map at
him. “But you think others may be?” she asked.

“With the town locked up tight by Thorold’s militia I have to assume patrols have been sent out,” he said. “We’ll need to
scout both ahead and behind to be certain.”

When Wils arrived, Dasid instructed
him to send scouts out immediately.  

Brenna stared into the fire. So far
they had no proof that Duke Thorold had been building an army in Kingsreach but
that didn’t mean he hadn’t started building one here, close to where Langemore
troops would land. Is that why he wanted slaves for his mine? Was he using them
to free up miners for his militia? She thought about the men she’d seen in
Godswall, trudging through the streets towards the mines, heads down as they
plodded towards another day of back-breaking labour in the mines. A post in the
militia would seem easy and patrolling the trails would be welcome after the
dank blackness of the mines.

As she readied herself for sleep,
Brenna realized how important her meeting with King Mannel was. If he aligned
with Thorold, together they could field an army that would sweep down into
Fallad from the mountains and quickly capture and hold much of the duchy.
Silverdale wouldn’t realize what had happened until it was too late. It was up
to her to convince King Mannel not to join forces with Thorold.

Mistress Mundy was true to her
word. Early in the morning she left Kane eating porridge in the kitchen and
didn’t come back until shortly before noon. Kane had spent that time tidying
his room, cleaning what few dishes there were in the kitchen and pacing the
inn, out of range of the windows.

When she returned, Mistress Mundy
told him that she’d visited friends and local businesses she trusted. She’d warned
them all to be prepared for a fire.

“Some of them,” she said, looking
at Kane oddly, “had heard this same story from another.”

“Guild Master Brunger?” Kane asked
and she nodded. “Good. That means Eryl’s still a free man. His task was to warn
Marcus.”

“Well.” Mistress Mundy sat down
heavily. “I’m surprised. What does a thief and the most powerful merchant in
Soule have in common.”

“A fondness for bargaining,” Kane said.
“And they both fear what Duke Thorold will do to Kingsreach and Soule and are
willing to risk much to help stop him.”

“Yes, I do see that. At any rate, both
the chandler and the butcher have already sent their families out of the
Quarter. Others are filling buckets with water to help contain a fire if it
happens.”

“Do you think more people will
leave?”

“If their shops are on fire and
they can’t stop it, yes. But these folk have already lost much this year, they
can’t afford to lose any more,” Mistress Mundy said. “Me, if it comes to it,
I’ll walk away. My sister lives in Fallad and has been after me for years to
come live with her. Her husband offered to help me start an inn there, if
that’s what I want. Maybe it’s time I accepted their offer. Now that so many
have left the Quarter it no longer feels like home.”

For the rest of the day, Kane paced
the inn. Poor Mistress Mundy tried to go about her daily tasks but she had to
dodge Kane. Eventually she gave up and left him alone. Now that he had food and
water and the effort to save the Quarter from fire was out of his hands, he found
it hard to be patient and let events take their course. He had an almost
overwhelming need know what was happening in the city. He felt useless - almost
paralyzed in his ability to make decisions because he knew that if he made
incorrect assumptions he could make any given situation worse. A few times he
stopped and fingered the pommel of his sword, tempted to reach out for Brenna.
Then he’d remind himself that she would know even less than him, having been
cut off from communication for days.

Kane stopped pacing and sat down at
an empty table in the tavern. What was he doing? He’d become so reliant on
Brenna’s unique gifts and abilities to gather information that he’d forgotten
how to manage without it. He’d spent years as Captain of the Kingsguard, forced
to rely on what he knew and what he could deduce. It was time to stop waiting
for Brenna to give him information - he knew how to find out what he needed to
know. As soon as dark fell Kane stepped out the back door and headed into
Thieves Quarter.

The carriage traveled through the
streets quickly. The few people who were about hurried out of the way when they
saw his ducal insignia on the carriage doors. The further into Thieves Quarter
they traveled the more deserted the streets were. Even the buildings showed few
signs of life, the windows dark outlines on the weathered, wooden walls.

“How much further?” Thorold leaned his head out of the carriage to ask the nearest rider.

“Just another few blocks, my Lord,”
the Kingsguardsman said.

Thorold nodded and leaned back into
the seat.

“Now my King, you’ll see how a
proper interrogation is done.” He looked over at Beldyn who sat slumped against
the carriage wall, a sullen look on his face. “And no doubt it’s a lesson you
will learn well.” Frankly the only lesson Thorold wished Beldyn to learn was that
his father held all the power in Kingsreach. The Kingsguard answered to
him
,
as did as the High Bishop. Beldyn would get no help from them. The sooner he
learned his role the better it would be for him.