Zara the Wolf (22 page)

"You may want to show the troops
the young man before you question them. They think they have been following an
older officer. It might make them more cooperative," I said, thinking the
troops were just following orders, not in on some grand conspiracy. He nodded.

Over the next hour the troops were
questioned and slowly a picture of the current situation at Arucci emerged.
Earl Meade, his wife, and two sons had died in a coup attempt that Baron Lyons
defeated. Captain Drake, the dead young man, replaced Captain Pratt, who they
were told was the leader of the coup, which included the minister and several
nobles. A new minister, Foster, was appointed and a new baron and baroness had
joined since the coup.

"Zara, could you pretend to be the
dead Siren?" Bradley asked as he, Shelly, Higgins, Rhodes, and I sat
around a breakfast fire later that morning. "You obviously have
talent."

"They were trained at the Trasslat
Monastery. I wasn't. The talent I have is as a fighter; the other talents are a
mystery to me. But with the help of the detail's sergeant, we might fake our
way in.

"How?"

"If we can convince him Sirens killed
the earl, we can have him ride back to the castle and say the captain is
fighting a band of Indians and has ordered thirty troops to help him wipe them
out. When they come, we convince them of the situation. Then we could ride with
them as conquering heroes and once inside, take command of the castle."

"It’s worth a try. If the people
of Arucci believe a legitimate noble is in charge, they will follow his orders.
He could say we are part of the coup or we were part of those that overthrew
the duke," Bradley said, looking around the group. Hearing no dissent, he
continued. "Let's try it."

I suggested Lady Shelly be the one to
talk to the sergeant. She spent two hours with him, talking about our journey
from Calle and encounters along the way and the attempted coup at Hipula. When
she was satisfied, we let the sergeant go and crossed our fingers. Personally,
I believed Shelly had the sergeant on her side. Bradley wasn't taking any
chances, and deployed his troops to counter any treachery, so I decided to follow
well behind the sergeant to ensure I knew what was happening in advance.

The sergeant reached Arucci late in the
evening and several hours later a group of thirty left the city. I followed
them to make sure things looked normal—no stops or attempts to sneak up
on the camp. They arrived just after sunrise. When they did, Lady Shelly rose
along with Bradley to meet them. Her troops stayed seated so as not to present
a threat. I joined the group as discussions were taking place. It took four
hours to convince the senior troopers and to develop a plan to enter the castle
and another two hours to prepare for our return.

Twenty-five of the thirty would return
with the first group along with ten of Bradley's force dressed in Arucci
uniforms and ten bodies—mine, Sonya’s, and eight more of Bradley's
force—slung across saddles as if dead. The rest would wait two hours away
for someone to get them when the castle was secure.

The entry into the city and castle went
smoothly. Once inside, we all went to the barracks to change and get organized.
We had barely changed when Minister Foster walked into the stables. He took one
look around and turned to leave, but I stepped in front of him, blocking his
way.

"I'm afraid you are under arrest,
unless you'd like to try and fight your way out." I said with my dagger in
my hand. "Even if you overcome me in the blue dimension, one of these
troopers will cut you down, so drop the illusion and live."

He stared at me for a long time, until
Sonya drew her sword. The illusion of an elderly man disappeared and a boy in
his late teens stood in his place. Bradley and Higgins saw me and came walking
over.

"Meet the current minister of
Arucci," I said. "He as well as the others will need to be secured
and guarded. I'd suggest we secure them with a lock that only the captain or
his sergeant can unlock. They are capable of putting ideas into you head."

Higgins and a couple of troopers took
the young man away. When everyone had changed back into their appropriate
uniform, Bradley led his seventeen troopers plus an additional twenty Arucci
troopers across the courtyard and into the castle, with Sonya and me following.
We caught the Sirens impersonating Baron Walton and Baroness Berry coming down
the stairs.

"What is the meaning of
this?" the Siren Berry shouted. "Arucci soldiers, arrest these men. They
are part of Duke Phipps's coup!" As she shouted this, my head began to
feel cloudy. I stepped forward and slammed the flat of my sword against the
Baroness and then poked the baron in his side. Both images faded and a young
man and woman were revealed.

"Change back or attempt any
illusions, and it will be the last time."

"Sergeant Rhodes, take these two
into custody. Put the three in the dungeon and you keep the keys for safety.
Any funny business, kill them," Higgins said as Bradley and over twenty
troopers followed him up the stairs. Sonya and I followed. Bradley found Baron
Lyons in the earl's study. He stood, frowning.

"Baron Bradley, why are you on
Duke Brodka’s land with troops?"

"With permission of the council of
dukes. Baron Lyons , you are under arrest for the murder of Earl Meade and his
family."

"I stopped a coup by Captain
Pratt. I was just waiting word from Duke Brodka."

"You will have your day in court;
however, I'm afraid you will pay for the treachery whether you instigated it or
were a willing coconspirator or a victim of the Sirens. Captain, place Lyons in
the dungeon with the Sirens."

* * *

Shelly and the others joined us several
hours later. Bradley held court with all the nobles and their wives that
evening. The overthrow of the earl appeared all too easy. Everyone believed
Captain Pratt and a few soldiers had attempted a coup and Baron Lyons had
stopped it, albeit too late to save the earl and his family.

"That was too simple," Shelly
said that evening when we were alone in her room. "An earl and his family
killed and no one seemed to care."

"Because their lives weren't
impacted. No one lost land or status. Dinner was still served on time," I
quipped.

"That's harsh."

"Another good lesson."

"What lesson?"

"If dinner hadn't been served,
there would have been a revolt. Questions asked. Someone made to pay," I
said, watching Shelly's expression change from indignation to concern. Finally,
she sat and became quiet.

"So long as you don't impact
people's lives, no one cares who rules. That's not a good lesson."

"Only if you wish to rule."

"What's the option?"

"I'll let you know when I find
it." I sat and quieted my mind. Bradley was going to expect a strategy
tomorrow or the next day for Monis, and strategies weren't my strong point.

* * *

The Sirens and Baron Lyons were hung
the next day. The following day, Bradley called a meeting to discuss Monis.

"Maybe we can pull off the same
trick we did here," Higgins said, looking at me.

"I don't know, but I somehow think
Monis is aware of what happened here at Arucci."

"How would they know?"

"A good question, but Arucci knew
we were coming, based on the patrol. Fortunately for us, their captain didn't
have the experience of someone like you. If he had, they would have known our
position, strength, and colors and could have returned to the castle with that
information. The castle had nothing to fear. There was no way you could have
breached the city with so few men."

The discussions went on for hours, slowly
coalescing around the idea of taking thirty troopers from Arucci, making the
combined total of the expedition over a hundred.

"What do you say, Zara. No
advice?" Bradley said, knowing a hundred troopers wouldn't get them into
Monis.

"I think Lady Shelly, if she is
willing, and I should go around the backside of the Wild Mountains, in case
whoever runs the Sirens decides to escape through the Monis Pass." I
looked to Shelly, who frowned in thought then nodded.

"So you can take off?"
Higgins asked in an accusatory tone. Why he wanted me around was beyond my
logic. He clearly didn't like me and didn't agree with my
approach—meanness I guessed.

"I didn't know I was under arrest.
I was sent here by Duke Wetzel to
look
and report my findings to Duke Phipps, which I did."

"You’re an advisor to this
expedition. Duke Phipps appointed you." Bradley said as if that answered
the question.

"If I wanted to leave, no one
could stop me. You and I know you couldn't catch me even if I told you the time
I was leaving," I said, smiling to take the sting out of it. "However,
I'm quite certain that Lady Shelly would suffer the consequences, although she
has no control over me. Consequently, I'm not going anywhere. You claim I'm an
advisor, well then, I'm advising you that the Sirens know or will know shortly
you are advancing on Monis with over a hundred troops. This gives them two
options: one, to stay and fight since your odds of breaching the castle are few
with the numbers you have, or two, to flee. Going west they may run into you,
so east is the most logical direction. That would mean going through the Monis
Pass. Of course, someone else could go if you like."

"Alright, you've made your point,
Zara. You have to admit you aren't a willing participant," Bradley said in
a reasonable tone.

"You have to admit, no one asked
me if I'd like to volunteer or offered to pay me to be an advisor." I
heard Shelly choke back a laugh.

"What are you being paid by Duke
Wetzel?" Bradley asked, obviously taken aback by my response, or he saw a
chance to bind me to the expedition.

"Nothing, but I volunteered."
I grinned.

"I'm sure Duke Phipps will be very
generous if we are successful," he said with a reassuring smile. I let the
issue drop with a nod, which he took as assent. In fact, I doubted Phipps would
reward anyone except for Bradley if we were successful. And if we weren't, I
would get all the blame. That would be a real dilemma, because if I took off,
Shelly would be left to answer for the expedition's failure.

"Lady Shelly, are you willing to
take Zara and your troops to the Monis Pass?" Bradley asked.

"Yes, Baron Bradley. I'm sure Duke
Wetzel would want us to support you in getting rid of the Sirens, and I trust
Zara."

"Alright then, we will say you are
returning to Hipula and then back to Calle by boat. If Zara is right and they
have informants, that should provide a reasonable explanation as to why you are
leaving. I'll give you a four-day lead, which should get you in place about the
time we are two days from Monis." Bradley looked to Higgins, who was
frowning. "If you don't find the Sirens in the Pass, I expect you to meet
us at Monis."

"Understood," Shelly said. I
would imagine she understood quite well—"or else."

* * *

"You aren't planning on leaving,
are you?" Shelly asked several hours’ travel from Arucci's city gates.

"And you said you trusted me. I'm
hurt, Lady Shelly."

"I'm sorry. But I know a little
something about the maturations of the royalty and the uncomfortable position
Duke Phipps has put you in. You did what you promised Duke Wetzel, and that
should have been the end of it. But they are forcing you assist them by holding
me hostage, and you will get all the blame if things don't go according to Duke
Phipps's wishes. It's not fair, and I wouldn't blame you if you did leave."
Shelly looked miserable. She was struggling with too many conflicting issues:
she wanted to help capture the Sirens, wanted me to help, but understood the
cost.

"I won't desert you, Lady Shelly.
If my assumptions are correct, we will catch the Sirens and you can return home
a heroine."

"What about you?"

"I may just pick a tribe and go
live with them. A warrior is at the top of the tribe’s hierarchical structure,
and the life is simple," I joked, although there was a lot of truth in the
statement.

"You wouldn't!"

"Or there is the Manola community.
They let me keep my shares when I left. They have no hierarchical structure,
and the local Baron is only interested in receiving his taxes."

"What should he be interested
in?" Shelly grinned.

"You tell me, Baroness
Shelly," I asked, and her grin disappeared.

"The people who pay for his fine
dinners, silk clothes, woven rugs, servants … I'm going to be eating off wooden
bowls and cooking my own food." She laughed long and hard.

"I don't know Duke Wetzel, but I
think he is a reasonable ruler. It was truly my decision to take his
assignment. His Cheyo Monk said he would honor my decision, which confirmed my
opinion."

"I agree. He's a very persuasive
man, but I agree he wouldn't force you." She remained quiet for a long
while afterward. By the time we stopped for the night, we were on the other
side of the Wild Mountains and within three days of the Pass.