Demonkin (42 page)

“Would he now?” laughed the sergeant. “Any man who would hire an assassin would surely hire another. Do you really expect a hired killer to speak openly about such a man?”

Captain Kent gritted his teeth in pain as the sergeant carried him to the garrison. The big man kicked the door with his boot and a soldier promptly opened it. Sergeant Lamar eased through the doorway and deposited the captain on a table.

“Someone get a healer for the captain,” the sergeant said as he drew his knife. “I am going to cut this arrow out.”

Captain Takir came out of his office and stood staring at the spectacle. “What happened?”

“Someone doesn’t care too much for our new captain,” quipped the sergeant. “Fortunately, the killer wasn’t a very good shot. His body is in the alley across the street from Orkare and Son.”

Captain Kent screamed as the sergeant cut the arrowhead out of his leg. Lamar held it up for everyone to see with a broad grin on his face. The soldiers knew that Sergeant Lamar took a certain amount of pleasure in giving pain to others, and they started laughing at his exhibition. Captain Takir shook his head with displeasure.

“I think you men have better things to do,” scowled Captain Takir. “For those who don’t have anything better to do, stick around for a while. I am sure I can come up with something.”

The soldiers stopped laughing and slowly dispersed. Even Sergeant Lamar took the hint and found something better to do. Captain Takir gazed down at Captain Kent with determined eyes.

“I need to know why you were sent here,” stated Captain Takir.

“I don’t know,” answered Captain Kent. “I was highly praised in my last position. There is no reason for anyone to kill me.”

“Well someone is trying to. We don’t get assassins in Olansk. You managed to get one on your very first day. That tells me that the killer has been in this city waiting for you to arrive. If we are to keep you alive, I need to know who I am up against. Level with me.”

“I am leveling with you,” insisted Captain Kent. “I have done nothing to upset any of my superior officers. I always do exactly what they want, and I succeed at whatever I attempt. There is no reason for my posting to Olansk, and certainly not for a hired killer to be stalking me.”

Captain Takir pressed his lips together and turned away from the wounded man. He believed that Kent was telling him the truth, or at least the truth as he knew it, but the evidence was telling a different tale. He bounced the idea around in his head for a while before he nodded knowingly. He turned back to face the wounded man.

“If you didn’t do anything wrong,” posed Captain Takir, “then you are being punished for something you did right. Have you been assigned to any special missions lately? Perhaps something that might prove to be embarrassing for someone higher up?”

Captain Kent stared blankly for a moment and then his eyes suddenly widened in understanding. A cold shiver raced up his spine.

* * * *

Karl Gree sat at the table in the common room of the closed inn in Ur. Captain Marez and his sister sat across from him. Spread out on the table was a crude drawing of the keep in the center of the city. The Knight of Alcea listened intently to the head of the Tyronian patriots, but his mind was distracted by the presence of Althea. Each time he glanced in her direction, he found her staring at him, and each time she quickly averted her eyes.

“We may never get a complete layout of the keep,” stated Captain Marez. “I have interviewed hundreds of men who have been in the keep at one time or another, but that doesn’t begin to paint a complete picture of the keep.”

“Perhaps we need to get someone inside,” suggested Karl Gree.

“Impossible.” The captain shook his head. “Anyone I send in will be captured and killed. I am sure of it.”

“We need to know the layout of the keep,” countered the Knight of Alcea. “If we don’t know it by the time it comes to attack it, hundreds of your men will die. Maybe thousands. The information is vital.”

Captain Marez sighed deeply and nodded. “I know what must be done, but I did not agree to take this position just to send men to their deaths. If there was any chance at getting men inside the keep and getting the information we need, I would order it this evening, but there is not even a slim chance of success. General Marashef and his personal guards are the only true Federation troops allowed inside the keep. The rest of the soldiers in there are King Mectin’s men, and the king is not foolish enough to accept new members to his guard. He knows that there are people in Tyronia plotting against him. He distrusts everyone.”

Karl glanced once again at Althea, and she immediately looked away. He shook his head and returned his eyes to the crude drawing. “That distrust is the only wise thing Mectin has done in his life. I don’t know the answer, Marez, but we need to discover it. Time is running out for us.”

“Have you gotten new information on the timing?” Captain Marez asked anxiously.

“No.” Karl shook his head. “I just know that the sands are dropping quickly. Call it a gut feeling, but I think the Federation moved into Tyronia to get horses for the war. Now that they have them, there is little reason for delay.”

Captain Marez sighed and nodded as he rose to his feet. “I need to step outside for a minute. I will be right back.”

“I will get fresh ale for us,” Althea said cheerily.

The captain slipped out the rear door of the inn and Althea headed into the kitchen. She returned moments later with three mugs of ale. Karl nodded his thanks and took a sip as he leaned over the crude drawing, one hand flat on the table to support himself. Unexpectedly, he felt another hand rest on top of his. Karl withdrew his hand instinctively. He turned and stared questioningly at Althea’s flushed face.

“I could go into the keep,” she volunteered. “They may be leery of soldiers, but they would never suspect a woman spy.”

“Under what pretense?” frowned Karl. “Why would they let you in?”

“I will think of something,” shrugged Althea.

Karl glanced at the rear door as it opened and Captain Marez entered. The Knight of Alcea turned back to Althea and shook his head exaggeratedly.

“No. Absolutely not.”

“Why not?” retorted Althea. “I can do it. You know that I can, or are only men capable of such daring deeds?”

Captain Marez frowned at the conversation as he quietly took his seat at the table.

“I said no,” scowled Karl. “By the gods, woman! You know what that beast does to women. What is wrong with you?”

Althea slammed her mug of ale on the table and stormed out of the inn. Karl gazed at the rear door long after she had slammed it. He shook his head in confusion and sat down.

“She has a point,” the captain said softly. “Mectin would never suspect a woman spy.”

“Does insanity run in your family?” spat Karl. “I can’t believe that you would let your sister enter that keep.”

“I didn’t say that I would be in favor of it,” Captain Marez said calmly. “I merely pointed out that she was correct.”

“Well, I will not stand for it,” Karl declared assertively. “I can’t even imagine why she would offer to do such a thing.”

“To please you,” Captain Marez said softly.

Karl’s eyes grew wide as he stared at the captain. “To please me? What are you saying?”

“She loves you, Karl,” Captain Marez stated. “Just as you love her. How can you be so blind to the truth?”

“I am a married man,” Karl stated forcefully. “I will not abandon Lyda. Ever.”

Morro stood in the chamber near the secret dwarven door. He stared at the stack of doors as he tried to think of a plan to switch them for the real Doors in the mystery valley. Sparky stood on his shoulder, but the partners did not speak. Both of them turned at the sound of someone approaching. Garth Shado entered the chamber and walked over to stand next to the elven thief.

“This will take many trips,” sighed Morro. “The night might not be long enough.”

“There is an alternative,” Garth said slyly.

Morro glanced suspiciously at the Knight of Alcea. “Does this new plan involve you entering the valley? While you are the quietest human I have ever known, you are still not quite an elf.”

“There are some who would disagree with you,” smiled Garth, “but no, it does not involve me entering the valley. Should we be discovered, a human and an elf working together would set off alarm bells. The party should be all humans or all elves.”

“So what is your alternate plan?” asked Morro.

“Instead of relying on the hourglass to give you access to the Doors, why not let Sparky use the hourglass to safely approach the soldiers. While time is stopped, the fairy can put the soldiers to sleep.”

“That is an interesting approach,” mused the elven thief, “but that buys me little. I would still have to move over twenty doors.”

“Not if there were others to help you,” grinned Garth. “Prince Rigal and his men are greeting the dwarven king as we speak. The four of you could move a dozen doors in short order.”

“And they move like only elves could,” brightened Morro. “Can Sparky keep the soldiers asleep long enough for us to accomplish the switch?”

“Mite and Bitsy can go with Sparky,” offered Garth. “While only Sparky will be able to put the soldiers asleep, all three fairies could keep them asleep indefinitely.”

Morro stared at the doors in silence for a moment and then nodded his head in agreement. “That will work. With four of us, we could carry a dozen doors in one trip, and do it quietly.”

“And quickly.” Garth nodded.

“Is Prince Rigal aware of your plan?”

“I have told him what I thought might work,” answered Garth, “but I also told him that the operation was yours to command. It is your decision.”

“Your plan is solid,” stated the elf. “Sparky, go round up our new helpers.”

“The elves will be here before Bitsy stops yawning,” promised the little man.

Sparky leaped into the air and darted into the darkness of the dwarven tunnel. Garth chuckled softly and stuck a finger into his pocket. A tiny blue head immediately appeared.

“There is no need to poke,” scowled Bitsy. “That loud-mouthed Sparky already disturbed my nap. And I do not yawn.”

Morro tried to hide his laugh as Bitsy yawned almost immediately. Bitsy glared at the elf, but she couldn’t keep up the pretense. The tiny woman soon started laughing herself. Within a few minutes, the other three elves arrived. Mite climbed out of his pocket and settled on Prince Rigal’s shoulder. Morro expected Garth to lay out the plan, but Prince Rigal and his men looked expectantly at the Dielderal elf. Morro smiled inwardly as he explained the plan. When he was done, Sparky crawled out the spy hole and returned a few minutes later.

“The way is clear,” reported the fairy. “There should be no one between us and Door twenty-four, but Bitsy and Mite will join me in making sure that the situation does not change.”

“Then let us go,” stated Morro. “Prince Rigal and I will take the first six doors. Lyron and Gerant will get the next six.”

With a nod from Morro, the dwarves opened the secret door into the mystery valley. Morro and Prince Rigal grunted with effort as they lifted the top six doors off the stack. The three fairies darted through the open door and disappeared into the forest.

“How far is our destination?” Prince Rigal asked as the weight of the doors strained his arms.

“About three leagues,” Morro answered. “We will take breaks along the way as needed.”

“I was hoping that you would say that,” chuckled the elven prince. “Let’s go.”

Morro and the elven prince moved slowly through the door as Gerant and Lyron picked up the other six doors. When the four elves entered the forest, the dwarves closed the secret door behind them. Morro kept up a steady pace, one that was neither fast nor slow. He had already been over the intended route several times, and he had several selected resting places in mind. When he reached the first one, he halted and nodded for the prince to set the doors down. The other two elves mimicked their behavior.

“How is everyone feeling?” Morro asked softly.

“The doors are awkward to carry,” offered Lyron, “but I am fine.”

“It will help if we switch places at each stop,” suggested Gerant.

“A good idea.” Prince Rigal nodded.

Morro waited for a couple of minutes before signaling the elves to continue the trek. With Prince Rigal now leading the group, Morro whispered instructions periodically about which way to proceed through the forest. Several stops later, Morro was leading the group when Sparky shot down through the canopy and hovered in front of him.

“It is time to use the hourglass,” Sparky said softly. “You are getting close to the soldiers.”

Morro signaled for a halt and the elves set their burdens on the ground.

“We will take a break before you put them asleep, Sparky,” stated Morro. “Keep watch for a few minutes and then return.”

Morro signaled for the elves to gather around as he explained the next step of the mission.

“Not far from here is the stack of Doors,” said Morro. “There are only ten of them now, so the trip back will be a little lighter, but we will also be a bit more weary. It will be important not to become too weary to maintain stealth. If anyone needs a rest on the way back, tell your partner and then stop. The fairies will only maintain the sleep spell for an hour after we switch the doors. That should give us enough time to get well away from the area.”

“Why only an hour?” asked Gerant.

“Two reasons,” answered Morro. “I don’t want anyone to come along and find the whole camp asleep, and the fairies will be needed to scout the area between us and Tarashin. We accomplish nothing if we are detected switching these doors. In fact, we will do a great deal of harm to our cause. If we are discovered, we must kill everyone, or die in the attempt. This is not something we can just flee from.”

“And take the enemy’s bodies with us,” agreed Prince Rigal. “Let’s try to avoid detection. Otherwise it just gets too complicated.”

Morro noticed the return of Sparky, but he kept talking. “We will leave these doors here for now. As soon as the fairies put the soldiers to sleep, we will go and retrieve the ten Doors. Lyron and Gerant will then place their doors exactly where the other stack was. Prince Rigal and I will place our doors on top of the stack. We come back here, pick up the Doors, and retrace our steps back to Tarashin. Any questions?”