The Warlock Senator (Book 2) (17 page)

“Did you see what I did?” Erik asked, shifting the subject.

Al groaned. “That I did boy, that I did.” He kicked a pebble out through the mouth of the cave. “Do you know
how
you did that?”

“No,” Erik admitted. “I thought I could use my power to turn her, like I did with Master Lepkin, so I tried to look into her soul.”

“Bet that was about as pleasant as swallowing a baby porcupine,” Al put in.

“Something in me reacted to her. I don’t know what it was, but it felt like a fire.”

“Well,” Al said after a moment of silence. “The important thing is you are still alive. We will rest here tonight and then I will take you in to Drakai Glazei. I have already made contact with Braun, he will meet us outside the tribunal before we go in.”

“How did you meet with him already?” Erik asked.

“It is very early in the morning,” Al replied. “About three hours ago. I went into the city while you were unconscious, after you were stable of course.”

“You left me alone?” Erik said.

“I had no other choice. I had some things to help with your bandages, but I needed to visit an apothecary in order to counter the poison the Blacktongue had used. If I hadn’t, you would be permanently paralyzed from the neck down by morning.” Al stopped talking and turned to pat Erik on the chest. “Don’t worry, the apothecary is a friend of mine. She’ll keep things quiet.”

“You seem to have friends everywhere,” Erik noted.

“One of the benefits of being a dwarf, you live long enough to meet lots of folks.” Al patted Erik’s chest one more time and then hopped onto a smooth, flat slab of rock. “Get some sleep,” Al said. “Tomorrow you have a big day.”

Erik nodded and moved his good hand over to touch the bandage on his left shoulder. “I hope you have a good plan,” Erik said. “I don’t think I will be in fighting shape for a while.”

Al chuckled aloud. “You planning on fighting the senate?”

Erik reached out and placed his palm on his swo
rd. “If I must,” he said flatly.

Al stopped chuckling and stroked his beard. Tomorrow was going to be a very big day indeed.

*****

“Sit upright,” Al said under his breath.

“I’m fine,” Erik replied sharply. “My leg hurts.”

“Deal with it,” Al gruffed. “These people have a certain expectation of Master Lepkin, and you have to make sure that everyone here sees you as
completely
able-bodied,” Al said. “There are people everywhere that gather information. If the senate were to find out you are severely injured…” Al stopped short as a couple of uniformed guards approached.

“Master dwarf,” one of them said. “May I have your name for the log book?”

Al scoffed. “You don’t recognize us?” he said loudly. “I am Aldehenkaru’hktanah Sit’marihu brother to the King of the Dwarves. I suppose I can forgive your ignorance, but surely you don’t need to ask
him
for his name, do you?” Al thumbed to Erik.

Erik straightened his back, fighting the pain in his leg as he pushed down in the stirrups. With his right arm he slid his cloak back to reveal his sword of black, telarian steel. “Go easy on him Al,” Erik said in his best impression of Master Lepkin’s commanding voice. “Perhaps he is new to the guard.”

“Uh, er, I…” the guard stammered as he looked to the sword. The other guard ripped the log book out of his hands and quickly put pen to paper.

“Master Lepkin, excuse us please. We weren’t expecting you.” The guard scribbled their names down. “How long will you be in
Drakai Glazei, and what will you be doing?”

Erik arched his eye
brow in Lepkin’s typical fashion. A part of him thoroughly enjoyed watching two grown men squirm in exactly the same way he had himself squirmed under Lepkin’s scrutinizing gaze. “I will be here for a few days. I am here in response to a summons from the senate.” Erik produced the summons momentarily and let the guards look at it. The guards each nodded and started to respond simultaneously. Erik turned away from them and nodded to Al. “Let’s go,” Erik said. He made a point of not waiting for the guards to finish their sentences. He was done. Al nodded and turned his horse to the gate. The two of them rode in and Al led them straight for the center of town, where a large, black spire towered over the rest of the city.

“
”That is it?” Erik asked.

Al nodded grimly. “That’s the king’s tower. The senate hall is on the other side, adjacent to the tower
.”

“What do I do?”

“I just told you this morning over breakfast,” Al quipped.

Erik nodded. “I’m nervous,” he admitted. “Just tell me again to make sure I have it all correct.”

“Well,” Al started. “The Keeper of Secrets has a unique role in these cases. You will stand on the floor of the senate hall and oversee the tribunal. You will be allowed a vote toward the verdict, but you don’t have the right to overrule the senate”

“Unless the senate has broken protocol,” Erik put in quickly.

“Aye,” Al replied. “Your role is also to ensure that proper protocol is followed.”

“How do I do that if I am not given a chance to speak or… what did you call it?”

“Give testimony,” Al said. “It is simpler than it sounds, lad,” Al began. “I will stand with you on the main floor near the doorway. I will help you observe the proceedings. If I sense something is amiss, I will let you know. Then you can order an injunction, which will stall the tribunal for three days while the king decides whether to order a review of the proceedings.”

“And if he does, the high judge will conduct the review, right?”

Al nodded again. “That’s right.” The dwarf leaned over and clapped Erik on the back. “You have it straight, boy, there is nothing to worry about.” Al nodded to a mounted guard as he rode past. “Besides, today we are just going to announce that we have come to answer the summons. The tribunal is set for tomorrow. So we have some time to go over the protocol in depth tonight.”

“
What happens if the senate finds him guilty, and then the king declines the review? How do I save my father if that happens?” Erik asked.

Al shushed him with a stubby finger and stern look. “Keep your voice down.” Al shook his head and moved in close enough to be heard in a whisper. “
If that happens…” Al paused for a moment. He thought to make something up, but he knew that Erik would be scanning him to see if he was lying. Finally he relented and told Erik the truth. “I don’t know that we can save him, I’m afraid.”

Erik turned and shot Al a menacing look. “Then
why
did we come?”

“Because if we didn’t come, then the senate could discredit Lepkin, and try to get the king to turn against
him. If Lepkin were to ignore an official summons for such a monumental hearing, it would be a grave offense to the kingdom. Some might think it was the start of a declaration of war.”

“War? What are you talking about? Lepkin has no army, how could he start a war?”

Al patted Erik’s forearm and stopped him to ensure his next words would sink in. “My boy, a war of ideas is far more dangerous than a war of armies ever could be. There are many in the kingdom who follow the older traditions and hold them dear. With all this talk of the kingdom splintering apart, people may look to the last vestige of those traditions to lead them. Lepkin, as the Keeper of Secrets, embodies those traditions.”

“So you are saying the senate would claim that Lepkin was making a move on the throne by defying the senate? Why would the people believe that if Lepkin is already set to rule jointly with the senate in the event that the king passes away without a declared heir?
”

Al shrugged. “I am not for knowing what you tall folk would do, but I do know that that is the scenario the senate would posit to the king if Lepkin fails to attend this tribunal. They would claim Lepkin was associated with Lord Lokton and preparing to advance against the king
, or at least against the senate in a move to consolidate power.” Al sighed and shook his head. “It would be a self-fulfilling prophecy. As soon as the senate would make the claim, I am sure a sizeable number of people would seek Lepkin out to join him against the senate. There are many who are not happy with the current body of government. Many people believe that after King Mathias passes, the senate is the worst and last body that should be trusted to rule, even if they are only joint rulers with Lepkin. That is to say nothing of the several nobles who have made overtures of their own desires for power.”

“So,” Erik said with a nod. “We are here to delay the inevitable civil war. Either way, my father will die as the senate will find him guilty.”

“I don’t like it either,” Al said. “I won’t tell you how to feel about it, but you must see this through.”

“I’ll see it through,” Erik promised. “And I will find a way to set my father free.”

Al gripped Erik’s forearm tight. “You can’t break protocol. If you do, the senate could still claim that you are siding with rebels. You must remain in character the entire time. No matter what.”

Erik said nothing.

“Do you understand?” Al asked.

At last, Erik nodded. “I understand.”

“You should know, I spoke with Braun about this as well.”

“You told him who I really am?” Erik asked.

Al shook his head. “No, I mean I explained Lepkin’s role to him, so he also understands the constraints you will be under.”

A slight smirk flashed across Erik’s lips. “Are you telling me that Braun is devising a plan?”

Al shrugged and tried to hide his smile. “It is a lot easier to explain the actions of an overzealous bodyguard. A few people might get riled up, but nobody is going to start a civil war over it.”

Hope returned as if on a warm summer breeze, washing over Erik in an instant. “The
n let’s go.”

The two of them continued on their way until they reached the front gate. A trio of black uniformed guards approached them with a logbook. This time, they only needed to look at the pair before the guards scribbled the names in the book.

“Master dwarf,” one of the guards said. “You may wait in the antechamber outside the tribunal hall. Master Lepkin, you may assume your usual position inside.”

“No,” Erik said. “He will accompany me inside as well.”

“This is highly irregular,” the guard objected. Erik arched his eyebrow in the same, menacing way he had seen Lepkin do many times before. The guard shrank away from Erik’s gaze and nodded.

“Thank you,” Erik offered as he walked past.

“You may leave your sword with us,” one of the other guards said timidly.

Erik glanced to the guard. “My sword stays with me
.” He walked through the great marble encrusted doors without so much as another word. The guards didn’t dare try to stop him.

“That was a little brash,” Al whispered after they were far enough inside not to be heard.

Erik shrugged. “After being caught without my sword yesterday, I feel better keeping it near. You never know what kind of trap may be ahead for us.”

Al raised his eyebrows and pursed his mouth for a moment before nodding and shrugging his shoulders. “Fair enough,” he said.

“Something feels wrong here,” Erik commented. “It is similar to the feeling I got before the Blacktongue attacked me by the brook.”

Al nodded and checked around. “Let’s hurry up then.”

The two of them stopped before a grand set of double doors. Erik pushed them open, not arrogantly, but with enough force that both doors creaked and parted before him. His heart leapt into his throat at what he saw inside.

A senator stood behind a pulpit, obviously stopped in mid-sentence as his mouth was agape and his right hand was raised in the air. To his left was a man bent over and chained with his arms behind his back. The iron chains linked to a steel ring in the dais, keeping the man hunched over. It was hard to tell who it was at first. The bruises and lumps discolored Braun’s face so that Erik almost didn’t recognize him.

“They have Braun,” Al whispered in horror.

“And my father,” Erik said.

A few feet away from Braun, Lord Lokton was in much the same predicament. His face was swollen and purple around the eyes and cheekbones and he was also chained to the floor with a leash so tight that he had to rest upon his knees with his back hunched over.

“Master Lepkin,” the senator bellowed. “I did not think you were coming.”

Erik’s eyes locked on the man in white robes behind the wooden pulpit. If he could have, he would have melted the man into oblivion with his glare. Erik felt a sharp nudge in his side. He looked down to see Al motioning with his head.

“Say something,” Al whispered.

Erik collected his thoughts and put on his best impression of Master Lepkin. He cleared his throat and folded his arms across his chest. “I was unaware that the tribunal would start so soon. The summons I received informed me that the tribunal would commence tomorrow. I came today to announce that I am here in answer to your summons, and I would have assumed you would have either waited for me, or given me ample notice that you would start without me.”