Sea of Sighs (Empath Book 2) (18 page)

“Where else have I got to go?”

“You know for a fact the king would have you
back in Everfell in a heartbeat. As long as there’s a threat of war
hanging in the air, King Vance will take you back.”

“
And abandon Quinn? I
don
’t think so.”

“Good, if that’s the way you think, start
acting like it. All I see right now is a pair of frightened
children bickering with each other and ignoring the real problems.
Whilst that might be what you actually are, you can be forced to
grow up quicker than you wanted to. Baron Pax is going to expect
more than what I’m seeing right now, so you need to buck your ideas
up, and start pretending that you’re not afraid. You managed to it
fine in the end with Sammah, so there’s no reason why you can’t do
it here too.”

“Circumstances are somewhat different,
Ross.”

“Different yes, but also more important.
You’re on strange soil now, and aside from me, there is no one
coming to save you.”

* * *

The muted of distant hoof beats sounded, and
all three stood from their fire.

“Who is it?”

Quinn hated the wobble of fear in her voice,
but she couldn’t hide it. Ross wanted them to be brave, and she
would be, but she wasn’t a very good liar.

“
I don
’t know, but
I can’t imagine that it’s anything good,” Ross answered angrily. He
stalked away from the fire, heading back towards his horse and
drawings swords.

“Is that going to be necessary?” Maertn
asked, stepping back bewildered as Ross passed him a blade.

“
I don
’t know, but
if someone’s going to attack us, we’re not just going to stand here
and let them do it.”

“Neither of us can fight like you, Ross.
What are we meant to do? Just watch whilst you get cut down?”

“If they attack me first, I expect you to
use your common sense and get the hell out of here.”

Quinn and Maertn shared a brief glance,
before huddling further away behind Ross. Maertn gripped the hilt
of his sword tightly, and pushed Quinn behind him, too. They both
received nods of approval. They were reacting in the right way,
even if the circumstances were dire.

The riders were getting closer now, and
Quinn saw that it wasn’t just a lone messenger out on the shores.
There are at least a dozen men, and the uniforms were a clear
statement that they weren’t civilians out for fun.

“Do you recognise the uniforms, Ross?”

“Ha. I do, and it’s not a good thing.”

“They’re soldiers, then?”

“Do they tend to kill people on sight, over
here?”

“That’
s a terrible
question Quinn
,” Maertn hissed over his shoulder.

“Actually, it is a good question, because if
they did, I’d have already told you to turn heel. No, they don’t.
They’re not normally sent out for benign reasons, though. So I’d
say someone warned the baron that we were on our way.”

“Who could have possibly done that? No one
knew were coming here?”

“They didn’t have to know. A similar message
has likely gone out on all the larger islands, and this kind of
patrol is happening on all of them. It wouldn’t have been hard for
Baron Sammah to anticipate where we’d go. This was always going to
be a logical choice for us.”

“So, if we’re going to be taken under
arrest, can we safely assume that the baron was supporting his
brother’s actions in Everfell?”

“
I don
’t want to
assume anything right now, so let’s just start being cooperative
and take it from there.”

“
Cooperative?
You
’ve got two swords in your hand.”

Ross looked down at them, and back up to
Quinn, surprise in his eyes at her challenge. “
Well
, if they’re not friendly, I’m going to have to
defend you aren’t I? The last time I checked, you weren’t my mother
and Maertn wasn’t my liege lord. Sorry lass, but not taking orders
from you when it comes to combat.”

Mortified, but buoyed by his brave words,
Quinn arranged herself so that she could easily dart away if
needed. Maertn copied Ross's pose, and they did all they had left
to do. They waited for the guardsmen to arrive.

* * *

Their anxious defence didn’t last long.
Fourteen horses, complete with mounted, armed riders surrounded
their meagre camp.

“Hold!” One of the men, Quinn couldn’t tell
which one, called out the command in the Everfell tongue. They all
drew their swords, holding them limp at their sides, but ready to
swing if the order was given.

“Don’t insult us by asking us why we are
here, just tell us what you want us for.” Ross’s voice was solid
and unwavering, and right in that moment, Quinn loved him.

“We were expecting the children to be on
their own.”

Ross raised both swords, waving them around
with mock glee. “Well, you can clearly see that they’re not. That
shouldn’t change anything though, given they are just children. Can
you do us the decency of answering my question?”

“For their own safety, the children are to
be taken into the custody of Baron Pax of Farn. Such is the will of
the council.”

This statement made Ross lower both his
blades. “The council? They are already gathered here?”

“Baron Sammah has been a prisoner in
Everfell now for nearly a fortnight; of course the council was
called.” The man talking to them edged his horse out of the rough
circle, bringing him closer to Ross. Quinn saw him frown. “What
does a man of Everfell claim to know of our council’s ways?”

Ross bought himself up then, straightening
his back and taking an authoritative stance.

“You might ride with these well-dressed
jumped-up sword swingers, but not me. I know most of you are likely
from noble houses. You probably didn’t see a drop of blood during
the wars. I did. I fought on the shores of the lands to the north,
and it wasn’t against Sha’sek. I was by your side. I fought with
the ranks from the island of Kenn. Don’t start asking me what I do
and do not know about Sha’sek.

“I know how difficult it is to gather the
council at short notice. It doesn’t matter how short a time Sammah
has been imprisoned; it wouldn’t have been long enough to get the
houses from the farthest islands here to have already passed
judgement. What that says to me, is the council has been gathered
for quite some time, and there are other things afoot. Tell me that
I’m wrong, Captain Evander of Farn.”

No small wonder Vance wanted him in
court,
Quinn thought.

The man Ross had addressed as Evander
gritted his teeth, biting back a response that would have clearly
got in into some trouble. “The council rules itself. I’m sure if
you claim to know so much about our ways, you already knew that. In
fact, you know a great deal about us. My temptation is to just kill
you, but if you fought on our side, and are guarding two of our
own, then I don’t want to take the risk of just cutting you down.
The only question is, will you come peacefully, or would we have to
subdue you?”

“Are the children in danger?”

“They will be, if we don’t protect
them.”

“I’m already doing that.”

“And a grand job you seem to be doing.
Outnumbered and surrounded on your first day with them on the
islands. I salute you, you were clearly the best man for the
task.”

“Task? I’m here of my own free will. The
king in Everfell was willing to send these children out to die on
their own.”

“And the council is fully of the belief that
the king is going to send yet more men after her still. It seems we
are both intent on protecting them, so you can drop your swords. If
you
are
here to protect them, you are not a threat to us,
and we none to you. You can come with us, but I can’t allow you to
keep your weapons. We’ll need to submit you to the council,
too.”

Ross dropped his swords, and this brought
out a squeal of fright from Quinn. The captain’s horse danced to
the side, and Evander brought it into rein.

“Please girl, keep calm. We don’t know what
you’re capable of yet, and you seem young, but you also seem to
become capable of projecting yourself to others. I’d rather you
didn’t instigate a stampede. Please understand that we are not here
to hurt you; you’ll be completely safe under our care.”

“
I don
’t know you,
so how can I even begin to judge that to be true?”

Evander looked surprised, even shocked that
she’d ask such a thing. “Why, just look for yourself? You
are
an empath, aren’t you?”

Quinn blushed, embarrassment flushing her
cheek. She relaxed her guard, encircling the captain and thoughts.
The sense was he was a pleasant man, but authoritative, and loyal.
His loyalty to Sha’sek wouldn’t necessarily help Quinn, but such
men—similar to Ross—could at least be relied upon to tell the
truth.

“Tell me again then, tell me why you’re
here, and what are you going to do with us.”

“We are to take you into custody. That
sounds like an arrest, and in some ways it is, but you won’t be
thrown with all the other thieves into our jails. You’ll be in a
suite of apartments, awaiting submission for the council. They know
that you grew up with the B
aron Sammah
.
You are a healer, and a young girl whose skills are unknown. We
know that Sammah is an apath. We know that Sammah has been arrested
by the King Vance, and there is upheaval in Everfell. You are close
to it, and we know that someone was using you and your abilities.
The council needs to know just what you did, just what Sammah has
done, to find out how they should act next. The council fears that
war is coming, and they need to know if Everfell or Sha’sek is at
fault.”

“Is he being honest, Quinn?” Ross’s words
were guarded, but also rich with curiosity.

“He’s telling the truth.” Quinn’s statement
was simple, and without hesitation. She might be a strange young
woman, unable to swing a sword and needing to be defended by
others, but she could tell Captain Evander and his men feared what
she was, and she would have to start using this to her
advantage.

“I suppose I’d better surrender, then. My
name is Ross. You already know these two, I assume?”

“Thank you, Ross. Surrender is not quite the
right word. You are not at the mercy of the council. On the
contrary; they are very much looking forward to meeting Quinn.”

Eden hurried down the
hallway on the heels of the king, doing his best to keep up.
Vance’s temper had been escalating for the past few days, and the
man was intolerable. Even Rowan had been more level-headed in his
dealings in court. Eden was regretting putting his lot in with the
king.

“Your highness, you need to give the lords
notice before you call a trial. We all need to be present.”

Vance came to an abrupt stop, wheeling on
his chamberlain in fury. “We? Don’t forget your place. You are not
the lord of Sevenspells, you are my chamberlain. You’re meant to be
loyal to me Eden, so why are you questioning me in this?”

Eden was forced back a couple of paces in
the face of Vance’
s verbal assault.
“I’m
just trying to recommend what’s right, your highness, isn’t that
what the chamberlain’s meant to do as well?”

“Recommend yes, advise perhaps. Order me?
Never.”

“I wasn’t trying to instruct you, sire, I
was attempting to advise you what’s best. The lords will be up in
arms if they think you’re trying to leave them out of the trial. It
involves one of their own, after all.”

“Yes,
your
father. Is that why you’re
getting so upset about this? Are you worried I’ll have him executed
without having a fair trial? I’m not that kind of ruler, Eden.”

Eden felt like a stupid boy, and he knew
exactly what he needed to do at that point. He dropped to one knee,
dropping his head to supplant himself to the king. “Of course not
your highness, I know exactly what kind of man you are. I wouldn’t
be in this position now if either of us thought any differently.
I’m just trying to think of what’s best for you. I don’t want the
lords to have an excuse to revolt even more. If they think you’re
starting to make decisions without involving them—decisions that
could trigger a war—then they will begin to question your
rule.”

Vance waved Eden to his feet and bit at one
of his thumbnails. “You are of course right, I know perfectly well
the lords need to be involved. This is just a preliminary hearing
if you will, a private conversation between me and Sammah, just so
I can gauge his attitude. Some men will say anything one-to-one to
get themselves away from the executioner’
s
block. I don
’t think either of those men are going to act
any differently, but I have to see that for myself. I think Shiver
will throw himself on my mercy, and Sammah will be aloof and
arrogant.”

“If you already know how they’re going to
react, why see them at all?”

“Because I want to. Do I need any other
reason?”

Eden dropped his head again, clearly put in
his place. “No sire, you don’t need to justify yourself to me—or
anyone else.”

“
Correct. Perhaps
we
’ll make a decent chamberlain out of you after all. Have
you spoken to your brother the past few days?”

“I haven’t had the time. Rowan and my mother
shut themselves in his chambers as soon as she arrived, and haven’t
emerged since. I haven’t been able to talk any sense to River since
our father was arrested, so seems I’m out on my own.”

“Far from it Eden, come, keep walking with
me.” Eden did, falling into pace a couple of steps behind the king.
Vance kept glancing over shoulder at his chamberlain, but didn’t
ask Eden to move up alongside him. There were little nuances to the
way Vance threw his rank around, Eden was starting to find this out
now, and the longer he was serving directly under Vance, the less
he liked the king.