Search for Audric (31 page)

The Salacian king whispered in his wife's ear. "Send one of the girls to our chambers. He cannot wait until the coronation tomorrow. He must appear immediately."

Queen Malatina whispered to her eldest daughter, and the young woman rose and casually exited the hall. Once outside the hall, she ran swiftly and burst into the suite reserved for the Salacian personal servants.

"Father says that you must appear immediately," the daughter said. "Dignitaries are being seated in the dining hall, and you must appear. Hurry."

King Caedmon had discarded the clothing of a personal servant soon after arriving at the palace and was already finely dressed. The disguise was fine for the short duration required to reach the suites, but the embarrassment caused by being discovered poorly dressed in the palace would have been grist for all sorts of rumors.

The Arin king opened the door and peeked out. Seeing the corridor free of passersby, he stepped out of the room and strode quickly towards the dining hall. The corridors of the palace were deserted as everyone was already in the dining hall. He could hear the royal family of Vineland being presented to the Crown Prince, and he knew that he didn't have much time. He rounded a corner and saw soldiers blocking the corridor ahead. He was not sure if they were meant to bar his entry to the dining hall or not, but he was not about to take any chances. He ducked back around the corner and took a different corridor to reach the entrance of the dining hall.

As the Arin king moved swiftly along the corridor, he heard them announcing the Arin royal family. He could picture the hundreds of people staring at the empty doorway. The fact that his family was being announced when not present proved that King Hector's demand was justified. Prince Garrick was not going to wait for the coronation to embarrass King Caedmon. He heard his family announced a second time and then he slowed down and stepped around the corner and through the door, much to the surprise of the announcer.

To say that people were surprised at his appearance was an understatement. The usually subdued dignitaries were all whispering as he slowly walked towards the far end of the room. He smiled and nodded to dignitaries as he passed them. When he reached his seat, a servant pulled it out to seat him, but King Caedmon stepped toward the raised platform and bowed slightly.

"I offer my apology, Prince Garrick," smiled the Arin king, "for my tardiness in responding to your invitation. Your coronation is an event not to be missed. No doubt you will follow in your father's footsteps by promoting peace and tranquility throughout the Land of the Nine Kingdoms. I want to say on behalf of all of Arin that we hope relations between our two countries will remain prosperous and uneventful. May your reign continue the Great Peace that we all have come to love."

For the first time since the festivities began, Prince Garrick's façade cracked. His smile momentarily disappeared and his eyes narrowed in anger, but to the lad's credit, he recovered quickly.

"Thank you for your kind words, King Caedmon," smiled Prince Garrick. "We all missed you earlier and were afraid that you would not be able to make it. Will the rest of the royal family be joining us?"

"I am afraid that will not be possible," smiled King Caedmon. "The rest of my family had to forego the trip because of health concerns. I am sure that you understand."

"Of course," Prince Garrick nodded.

King Caedmon nodded in respect and stepped back to allow the servant to seat him. Within seconds the room was abuzz again with a hundred different conversations.

"Well done," congratulated King Hector from across the table. "I think you just pricked his wine skin."

"I hope so," smiled the Arin king. "I can't wait to see what he has in store now that I have shown myself."

"Stick close to me after the dinner," suggested the Salacian king.

"That might not be a wise approach," frowned King Caedmon. "He is going to want to know how I snuck into the palace. If I stay too close to you, I may not be able to get out the same way I got in."

"Very well," King Hector nodded, "but keep yourself in very public places until it is time to retire for the night. We can talk after we each get back to our respective chambers."

* * *

Prince Zinan slipped out of the dining hall and had General Ortega summoned to his office. The general took an overly long time to arrive, and Prince Zinan's patience had worn thin.

"How did he get in?" snapped the prince. "Why wasn't I told about it?"

"We don't know how he got in," answered the general. "I figured you would want to know when I was summoned, so I questioned everyone before coming here. No one saw him arrive at the palace. Prior to walking into the dining hall, he was not seen anywhere inside the palace, either."

"Are you telling me that he just appeared out of nowhere?" scowled the prince.

"That is what I am telling you," nodded General Ortega. "No one saw the man before he walked into the dining hall. I thought you said he wasn't coming? Had I known, I would have posted men along the Koar-Tarent Road to mark his progress."

"He wasn't coming," sighed Prince Zinan as he decided that yelling at the general accomplished nothing. "We cannot block him from attending the coronation at this point. It would make people suspicious."

"I doubt that it would accomplish anything anyway," shrugged the general. "People have seen him in the dining hall. Even if he was not at the ceremony tomorrow, no one would think it was intentional on his part."

"You are correct," Prince Zinan nodded as he wondered how to make some advantage of the situation.

"I could assign men to monitor him while he is here," suggested the general. "Perhaps his movements will betray his method of entry."

"Is the Arin suite empty?" asked Prince Zinan.

"It is," nodded the general. "I checked it before coming here. If the man was in there, he disturbed nothing."

"Fill it," ordered the prince.

"Fill it?" the general questioned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean move some other dignitaries into it," answered the prince. "I want it unavailable for use. Fill it with some minor dignitary from Borunda, and tell him that he is to refuse to change rooms after the switch."

"What do we do about housing King Caedmon?" asked the general.

"We will house him in the other wing," smiled Prince Zinan. "Inform him that due to the overwhelming response to the coronation, his normal suite was inadvertently given to someone else. Apologize and then have him escorted to his new quarters. He is to be allowed to attend the ball this evening, but as soon as he returns to his assigned room, I want the wing sealed off."

"You seek to make a prisoner out of him?" frowned the general. "The other dignitaries will scream."

"He will not be a prisoner," the prince replied. "Don't we normally close off the royal wing at night? Why should this night be any different?"

"But he is not of our royal family," frowned the general. "What if he asks to visit with other dignitaries?"

"Apologize and say that it is impossible," ordered the king's advisor. "Explain that there have been credible threats against the life of Prince Garrick and that the wing is always isolated at night. Tell him he will be free to move around the palace during the day."

"It shall be done as you request," responded the general, "but what are we trying to accomplish?"

"We cannot shadow the man's every movement without causing alarm," explained the prince. "The daytime is filled with activities where he can easily be watched, so his only chance to conspire with others is at night. I want that possibility eliminated."

"I will see to it," replied the general.

Prince Zinan dismissed the general and was planning to return to the dining hall, but Naveena entered before the door closed.

"He outsmarted you," Naveena smiled.

"Perhaps," shrugged Prince Zinan, "but the game is not over yet."

"Did you watch Garrick closely today?" asked the advisor to the king's advisor.

"I always watch him closely," frowned Prince Zinan. "What did you see that I missed?"

"He is womanizing again," answered Naveena. "I warned you about that. You must keep him on a short leash."

"It is a festive occasion," Prince Zinan shrugged with indifference. "Let him have some fun. It is nothing serious."

"An heir would be very serious," Naveena said as she headed for the door. "Use a leash."

King Caedmon attended the ball after the evening meal, and everyone made a point of talking to him. They all inquired about the health of the Arin royal family, and King Caedmon assured them that it was nothing serious. There were so many small conversations that the ball ended before the supply of questioners ran out. As the Arin king departed the ballroom to go to his usual chambers in the guest wing of the palace, General Ortega intercepted him.

"King Caedmon," smiled the Borundan general, "I see that you have been enjoying yourself. I trust your family is not seriously ill?"

"They will survive," King Caedmon replied cordially. "It appears that Prince Garrick is quite the ladies' man."

"He is young and handsome," grinned the general. "There has been an unfortunate mix-up with accommodations, and I apologize for it, but your usual suite is not available this evening. To make up for the inconvenience, I have arranged for you to stay in the royal wing of the palace."

"The royal wing?" King Caedmon echoed with concern. "That is most unusual, and unnecessary. My needs are simple. I am sure that I can find a bunk with one of the other delegations."

"Prince Garrick would never accept such a slight to Arin on my part." The general shook his head. "It is only for two nights, but I have set aside the suite last used by Princess Orenda. It is a magnificent suite with a gorgeous view of the gardens, and I will provide you with a staff of personal assistants to cater to your every whim."

"I am sure that I can plead your case to Prince Garrick in the morning," the Arin king replied cautiously. "I will assure him that no offense has been taken by the arrangements."

"The Crown Prince is not even aware of the problem," frowned the general as he signaled two guards with his hand. "He would have my head if he knew of my bungling. No, King Caedmon, I must insist that you allow me to take care of you properly. The Arin king will not be made to go begging for a place to sleep. I have assigned these two men to make sure that you find your way safely."

General Ortega turned and walked away as the two soldiers approached. The Arin king was left with little choice in the matter. If he refused to accompany the two soldiers, they would drag him away and claim that he had gone mad and was planning to accost the other delegates. While that news would be met with broad skepticism, what would King Caedmon have to reply with? He could not say that the Borundans were threatening him in any way. In fact, they were not. Besides, most of the other delegates would be thrilled to stay in the royal wing of the palace. They would not be able to comprehend the Arin king's aversion to it.

King Caedmon sighed and nodded to his escorts. The two soldiers were cordial and polite and treated the Arin king with respect. They escorted him to the chambers of Princess Orenda and left.

The suite was enormous. It consisted of six large rooms. There was a massive bedroom, a personal bathing room, a library with thousands of books, an eating nook big enough to accommodate twenty people, an office with a large desk and upholstered chairs, and a room for entertaining with two large fireplaces.

The first thing King Caedmon did when he entered the suite was to stand quietly behind the closed door and listen to the sounds outside the suite. He heard soldiers taking up sentry positions outside the door and the unmistakable sound of the nightly guard for the royal wing of the palace. Borunda, like most nations, always cordoned off the royal wing at night to prevent the royal family from being disturbed inadvertently.

The Arin king then checked out the rest of the suite. He was impressed with the chambers, but he also recognized a prison when he saw one, even one decorated in velvet and satin. He walked into the office and gazed out the window. The moon was waning so he could not see a great deal, but he recognized the elaborate palace gardens below. He also caught sight of a patrol marching through the gardens.

Resigned to his prison for the night, King Caedmon settled into the office and prepared to write a message. He did not think that he would be prohibited from attending the coronation, but that might be his last chance to get word to the outside world. He chose his words carefully, and then read what he had written. He frowned and tried to put himself in Prince Garrick's place, as ill at ease as that made him feel. He tried to imagine how they would separate him from the others after the coronation and what excuse they would make for his absence. He also tried to figure out what the Borundans hoped to achieve with their deceit. He doubted that they would kill him. That would only open the throne of Arin to a young prince who would vow vengeance until his dying day. No, they intended to use King Caedmon as leverage for some more elaborate scheme, but he could not determine what it was.

* * *

The coronation was held early in the morning. The throne room was packed with rows of chairs, and the dignitaries filed in to observe the ceremony. King Caedmon was itching to get to the ceremony so that he could speak with King Hector, but the royal wing remained sealed off from the rest of the palace. When the time finally came for the ceremony to begin, King Caedmon was escorted through a side door of the throne room. A seat had been reserved for him in the front row, and he barely had time to get to his seat before the ceremony began. The Salacians were on the other side of the room and unreachable without halting the ceremony. Such a public display would cause ill feelings towards him from most of the dignitaries present, so the Arin king sat in his assigned seat.

The coronation ceremony was elaborate and full of pageantry. It lasted well over two hours. King Caedmon sat and watched, but his mind was on other things. He had brought one of Princess Orenda's books from her library. While he sat, he slid a note in between the pages of the book. It was an innocuous note addressed to no one in particular. It stated where his accommodations were and his desire to travel home with some of the dignitaries going that way.

Normally the coronation would be followed by a reception and dinner, but King Caedmon had the sinking feeling that the Borundans would find some reason to exclude him from it, so the note also asked for someone to request his presence should he fail to show up promptly. The message made no accusation of ill treatment, but if the Borundans found it, he was sure they would know that the Arin king was onto their scheme.

As the ceremony ended, soldiers escorted King Garrick out of the throne room while requesting that everyone remain seated. As soon as the new king had left the room, two soldiers approached King Caedmon.

"You must follow us quickly," instructed one of the soldiers. "There has been a threat made against the king's life."

King Caedmon rose and turned to look at King Hector, but a column of soldiers entered the room from the rear, and everyone's attention was focused on them. The king sighed and dropped the book on his chair as the soldiers escorted him towards the side door. Just as he exited the room, King Caedmon held his hand over his head with his fingers twisted to represent a single word in the horse language.

As soon as the Arin king was gone from sight, Prince Zinan casually walked past the first row of chairs and picked up the book of poetry. He continued walking and passed through the door and made his way to his office where he searched the book and discovered the note.

"What did he write?" asked Naveena as she stood in the doorway.

"It is rather lame," shrugged the dark prince. "He makes no accusations against us, but he seeks someone to ensure that he is not isolated."

"What do you plan to do with him?" she asked.

"Keep him," grinned Prince Zinan. "He is a prize."

"A dangerous prize," commented Naveena. "You are making a powerful enemy. Do not forget who his son is. I am sure that some of the dignitaries are already whispering about the strange doings surrounding the Arin king."

"All the more reason he cannot rejoin them," declared Prince Zinan. "And I have not forgotten who his son is. In fact, I expect his son to show up here in Tarent rather soon."

Naveena stared at the dark prince with wonder, and then her eyes rolled, and she shook her head.

"You are keeping him as bait," she accused.

"Well done," the price said sarcastically. "It would solve little to merely remove the Arin king, but to eliminate him and his son, that is quite another story. We will leave Arin with only women in charge, and Prince Antion's threat involving the Talent will be dealt with, permanently."

"You are ambitious," smiled Naveena, "but don't expect the prince anytime soon. It will take some time before they even find him. You will likely have to feed King Caedmon for months."

"Whatever it takes," shrugged Prince Zinan. "As long as he is here, he cannot be plotting against me."

* * *

King Caedmon was kept isolated, and King Hector was not surprised that he did not show up at the reception. His repeated requests to speak to the Arin king were met with a series of lies and fabrications. The phony excuses began to grate on his nerves, and he was about to turn militant in his response.

"Do not be a fool," advised King Rihad of Odessia. "Our combined forces could not even storm the doors of this palace, and we have days of traveling to go before we get out of Borunda. Don't you see what they are trying to do?"

"I see their plans," argued the Salacian king. "The Borundans are going to eliminate one of their rivals, and you are going to do nothing about it."

"That is harsh, my old friend," sighed the Odessian king. "Caedmon is like a brother to me, and I would stand by his side on any battlefield, but this is not a battlefield. We are practically unarmed in the middle of the enemy's tent. As the ruler of your country, you understand that your life is not as important as the survival of your people. Caedmon also understood this when he decided to come to Tarent. We can howl and scream all we want, but here is not the place to do it."

"So we should retreat to the safety of our castles and send threatening messages to the Borundans?" snapped King Hector. "They will laugh at us. We cannot leave Tarent without Caedmon."

"Yet we will," King Rihad said calmly. "Do not give the Borundans a reason to exterminate all of the heads of state in one swoop. Some of us must stay alive to counter the threat when the Borundan armies begin marching northward."

"He is right," Queen Malatina said softly. "They have not harmed Caedmon yet, but if you directly confront King Garrick, your friend's head will roll before you can blink an eye. We should leave Borunda and then work to gain Caedmon's release. Surely, there is some ransom they will accept?"

"Force may be the only eventual answer to King Garrick, Hector," added King Rihad, "but using that force here and now is not wise."

"Perhaps." The king of Salacia was unconvinced. "We will leave tomorrow, and I will demand that they release King Caedmon to me when we are ready to leave. Will the Odessians stand beside me?"

"What will you do if they refuse?" asked King Rihad.

"How could they refuse?" retorted King Hector.

"I do not presume to understand how the minds of the Borundans work," shrugged King Rihad. "I merely asked what your plan was if they refuse."

"I don't know," sighed the Salacian king. "Rihad, I feel responsible for all of this. Caedmon was not even going to attend the coronation. I talked him into coming, and now he is a prisoner of the Borundans."

"I suspected that you smuggled him in," smiled King Rihad, "and I am sure the Borundans probably figured it out as well. I will stand with you tomorrow, and my people will join with yours in escorting Caedmon out of Borunda, but I will not start a fight with these people on their own ground. There is nothing to be gained from it."

* * *

The Salacian and Odessian soldiers formed a wall in front of the royal palace. King Hector and King Rihad stood in front of them, refusing to give orders to their men to move so that other dignitaries could leave. The Borundan soldiers did not know what to do, so an officer ran into the palace to summon General Ortega. The general soon emerged with Prince Zinan right behind him.

"You must move your men," General Ortega said. "No one can get their carriages through. What is the problem?"

"We are not leaving without King Caedmon," replied the Salacian king. "Isolating him during the festivities was heinous enough, you will release him now. We will escort him past your borders."

The general frowned as if he did not know what to say, but Prince Zinan quickly slipped past him and stood before the Salacian king.

"Your accusations are most unbecoming a man of your stature, King Hector," the dark prince said calmly. "We provided King Caedmon with the greatest of accommodations in the palace. While that might have restricted his movements to a small degree, I assure you that such matters did not concern him. As for traveling on roads in Borunda, I assure you that the safety of all dignitaries are of the utmost importance to King Garrick."

"We are traveling with King Caedmon," asserted King Hector, "and that is final."

"As you wish," sighed Prince Zinan, "but you had better hurry to catch up to him."

"Catch up to him?" asked King Rihad.

"King Caedmon left right after the coronation ceremony," declared the dark prince. "There was a message for him from Arin. That is why we rushed him out of the room at the end of the ceremony."

"What kind of message?" asked King Hector, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"He did not share the message with me," shrugged Prince Zinan, "although he muttered something about Prince Antion under his breath. I do hope everything is alright with the royal family of Arin."

King Rihad shook his head and waved his arm to start his party moving away from the palace. King Hector distrusted the prince's words, but he was not sure if it was a lie. He also gave the order for his men to move out and then hurried to his carriage.

* * *

The Palace Shadow in Anatar was aptly named. The inn stood across the street from the royal palace and afforded a decent view of the comings and goings at the main gate. Gunnar sat at the window of the room that Jared shared with his father, Zalman.