Discovered, page 3
Silke could also shapeshift to a spider or transport herself in a blink of an eye. But those were what she considered “tricks,” and she only did them if it was necessary. Sure, she might have read his thoughts, but even that would have been difficult. He had learned long ago how to hide his thinking, keeping the doors to his mind carefully locked.
So instead of asking how, or what she knew, Karn simply asked, “What do you suggest?”
“Oh, you are too smart to be asking this question. You already know you need to tell Tarek the whole story. Don’t leave pieces out. Someone other than you needs to know what you have put into place.”
When Karn looked away, she added, “And you best tell him about what has happened to your shapeshifter abilities. He hasn’t asked because he is waiting for you to come forward. If you are going to trust someone, trust him.”
Before Karn had a chance to reply, Silke had darted away. Across the deck, Tarek was leaning against the rail doing the same thing as Karn had been doing, watching Meg and Wren flying together.
Karn knew that Wren usually didn’t trust wizards, having a belief that they never stayed around. But there was nothing about Tarek that suggested that he would leave, and for some reason, Wren seemed to trust Tarek completely.
A small smile was on Tarek’s face watching the two women. Karn smiled to himself. Yes, they had that in common. He loved Wren with all his heart, and obviously Tarek loved Meg in the same way. Karn wondered if Tarek knew it, or admitted it to himself.
Tarek glanced over at Karn and smiled. Karn tilted his head towards the stairs that led down into the cabins below deck.
Silke was right. He needed to share what he had done. The fact that Silke apparently already knew and hadn’t had him tied up and thrown overboard, gave him hope that he would be believed and that he had done the right thing. But what Karn had to tell Tarek was going to disrupt his entire world.
Seven
Silke followed the two men below deck and into the cabin that Karn shared with four of Leon’s men. Karn would have liked to be sharing a cabin with his wife, but Wren wasn’t ready to act married again and was staying in a cabin with Meg and Silke.
Not that Silke took up much room, and usually, she remained with Tarek. But Tarek was bunking with Leon, Joseph, and Fionn. “Too much male energy,” she said when asked why she wasn’t staying with him.
Like all the cabins, Karn’s cabin had a small table and chairs in the middle of the room. Two bunk beds lined two of the walls. One wall had a porthole, and the door was on the fourth wall.
Leon’s men were used to tight quarters and kept the space neat and well cared for, and Karn had learned to do the same. He figured it was good training for when Wren chose to have him back in her life at night. If she ever did, he would be ready. Karn sighed, thinking about it.
Tarek and Karn moved to the table while Silke stayed on Tarek’s shoulder, both waiting patiently for what Karn had to tell them.
Karn stared at them, suddenly more frightened than he had ever been. What would Tarek do when Karn told him what he knew? Where should he start?
“Start at the beginning, Karn,” Tarek said, anticipating the problem.
Karn sighed, “Well, you know some of the beginning, so I’ll skip the details of being a boy in Stryker’s training camp along with Ibris and Dax. You know that Wren helped me escape, and Ibris and Dax looked the other way.
“But there were more boys there that I became friends with before I left. And then, unknown to Wren, I continued those friendships after I escaped. Long after.
“I kept disappointing Wren by not staying around. What I hadn’t told her was where I was going and what I was doing. So after feeling abandoned by me one too many times, she gave up.
“I let her think that I was cheating on her so that she wouldn’t try to get involved with what I was doing. It seemed safer that way.”
Silke shook her head at Karn. “Dumb,” was all she said.
“Yes. Dumb. I let Wren go to keep her safe, and then what does she do? Heads straight into danger, rescuing as many Mages and shapeshifters as possible without any concern for herself. Which I submit is why I didn’t tell her what I was doing. She would not have had any concern for herself, and what I did was crazy.”
Silke and Tarek waited for Karn to go on. Finally, when he seemed to need prodding, Silke said, “So what zonking stupid thing did you do?”
Karn looked up at Silke and smiled. “Well, it didn’t seem all that stupid at first, and I still would do it again. But it took me down a few paths I hadn’t intended to go.
“It goes back to being in Stryker’s training camp. Stryker liked me. He thought he could train me to be a preacher, but I wasn’t good at that, so Stryker left me alone most of the time while he figured out what to do with me because he didn’t see me as a warrior either.”
“No. You are a spy,” Silke said.
“I am a spy. You’re right. I saw so many things people did not want me to see, and I was at least smart enough to keep quiet. And smart enough to know that what I saw would lead to trouble for Thamon.
“Sawdi scared me the most. I know most people think that Stryker and Aaron are the rulers of Thamon, but as you know, they are both overshadowed by Sawdi.
“I watched him turn six of my friends into something else. Five of them are the dragons that Sawdi keeps as his own personal crown while demanding that all other dragons be eliminated from the planet.
“Bolong is the head of that crown and is the dragon that Sawdi rides. Bolong and I were close, and I was shocked to see what Sawdi did. At the time, I thought that he would turn them back to boys when he was done messing around with them, but as you know, he never did. I didn’t know the other four boys well.
“Then I saw him do it again. As usual, I was hiding when I saw Sawdi change another boy into a falcon. Later that day, I saw him “gift” the falcon to Stryker. I know that Stryker calls him Falcon and Falcon still serves Stryker.
“And, that’s the falcon that we all saw with Stryker on the Islands?”
Karn nodded, yes. “Even after Wren and I were married, I couldn’t stop thinking about those six boys. Or Sawdi.
“Aaron and Stryker were starting their conversion of Thamon, and after having seen all that I had, I realized that I couldn’t sit back and let it happen.
“So I went looking for those six boys. First, I found Falcon. He recognized me, and since he could mind-speak, we made a plan.”
Tarek started to speak, and Karn raised a hand to stop him. “Yes, I will tell you about the plan. But first, let me give you the big picture, and what I found at the Palace. I promise I won’t keep anything back and will tell you as needed. But there is something I need to tell you first, and that came after meeting with Falcon.”
Silke tilted her head, and Karn knew what she wanted to know.
“Yes, Falcon and I communicated together while I was on the Islands. He is on our side. He is betraying Stryker and Sawdi. But it is dangerous for him, so the fewer people that know about it, the safer it will be for him.”
Both Tarek and Silke nodded in agreement, but Karn could see that Tarek was still not sure. When he told him the rest of the story, who knew what he would think or do? That’s what scared him.
Eight
Tarek stood up and started pacing, leaving Silke sitting on the table, staring at Karn. The two of them stared at each other until Karn softly asked, “Do you already know what I have to tell him?”
Silke waited for a beat before shaking her head, no. “You are quite skilled at concealing your thoughts. I suppose that is how you have survived this long, being a spy and all.”
“Are you mocking me?” Karn asked, reverting to his habitual sneer.
“I suppose you developed that face to look threatening?” Silke shot back.
The two of them continued to stare at each other until both of them starting laughing, bringing Tarek’s attention back to the table.
“What are you two laughing about?” Tarek asked, looking at them with a puzzled expression on his face. He hadn’t seen Silke laugh like that for a while. What could they have said to each other?
“I think what you’ll have to accept, dear Tarek,” Silke said, “is that Karn is quite good at being a spy and that despite the veneer of smart-ass that he puts on, he is actually quite a softy.”
When Tarek and Karn looked at her as if she was crazy, she added, “On the inside, of course. On the outside, he really is a smart-ass.
“But putting all of that aside, to answer your question Karn, no, I don’t know what you have done or what you are planning. You have guarded yourself well, and I understand why. What I can see is your distress and worry at what you are going to tell us. The best thing to do is get it over with and let us deal with it.
“You were saying that Falcon and the crown of dragons lead by Bolong are boys, now men, that Sawdi shifted and then locked them into that form?”
At Karn’s nod of, yes, she continued, “So, you made plans with Falcon. I assume part of that plan was to have the ship waiting for Stryker, so his escape would lead Sawdi away from the Islands. Is that also why we haven’t seen that ship?”
“Yes, the captain of the Soleis and Falcon are keeping the ship moving as slow as possible to give us a chance to get to Turva before Stryker does.
“Falcon sees the map when Stryker opens it, and he has told me where the map is leading them, which is one reason why I needed to tell you about Falcon. If you want to land closest to the pendant, I know where that would be because of him. Not because of magic. I am only a spy.”
“And a dragon,” Silke said.
When Karn didn’t move, Silke tilted her head in thought. “If you are a dragon, why haven’t we seen you do that? We are out to sea. You could fly with Wren and Meg.”
When Karn didn’t answer, she said, “Wait. You can’t shift into a dragon, can you?”
Karn shook his head, no.
“Have you lost your abilities to shapeshift the same as Meg has?” Tarek asked.
“I didn’t lose them. I traded them. That one moment of being a dragon was the last of it. I needed that part to get to the Islands.” Karn said.
“You traded them?” Silke blurted. “How could you? And for what?”
Unconsciously Karn reached up and touched his left shoulder, causing his shirt to move away enough for Silke to see what was underneath it.
“Is that part of the story? That scar?” she demanded.
“Yes,” Karn sighed. “But it will take some telling to get to that part, and I think perhaps I should tell everyone all at once.”
Tarek nodded and left the room, leaving Silke and Karn alone staring at each other again.
“You asked for the others for him, didn’t you?”
Karn nodded, “I thought he should have others around him because what I have to say will change everything for Tarek.”
“Again,” Silke said, dropping her head.
“Again,” Karn agreed.
*******
To Karn, it felt as if Tarek was gone for hours, but in reality, it was only a few minutes.
Karn’s mind raced, filled with questions that he didn’t have the answers for. He worried about the outcome of what he had to say.
Everyone would be affected. But most of all, what would Wren think? Had he done the right thing? Was he doing the right thing now? Should he tell everything, or leave out part of it for now?
By the time everyone filed into a cabin built to hold four people, it was packed and stuffy. But whatever Karn was going to tell them was not something they wanted the crew to hear. Even though they assumed that everyone on the Eos was on their side, Karn had proven that spies could be anywhere or anything.
They had to take Karn’s word that Falcon was on their side and that Karn was telling the truth about everything else. They had to start somewhere, and that somewhere was what Karn had to say to them.
After everyone settled down, Silke took the stage and encapsulated everything Karn had told them into a few sentences.
She finished by telling them that, yes, there were many unanswered questions, but they would have to wait for the answers. Instead, it was time to hear the rest of what Karn had to tell them because it could impact where they were going and what they planned to do.
After Silke finished speaking, she nodded at Karn for him to begin.
Taking a deep breath, Karn plunged ahead. “I went looking for Bolong and the other four dragons.”
That’s as far as he got before Wren lifted her hand, “Which means you went to the Palace?”
“Which means I went to the Palace. Which is where I have been all this time until I came to the Islands.”
No one said anything. If Karn had expected everyone to start talking, either because they were mad at him, or curious, he was wrong. Instead, he was met with stony silence.
Finally, Wren asked, “So you worked for Aaron?”
Karn nodded, “But not the way or for the reason that you think.”
It was Silke who asked, “As a spy.”
“As a spy,” Karn affirmed.
Nine
Across the sea, on the continent of Edes, Aaron woke up in his Palace one morning and realized that the white wraith that had been following him around was gone. He breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe Sawdi had destroyed the Warrior Monks, and they would never return.
But he knew that wouldn’t be true. It was wishful thinking. What he wished is that he had never asked Sawdi to return. Wished that Sawdi hadn’t raised those people from the dead and then turned them into what they had stupidly called Warrior Monks.
At the time, it had seemed like a good idea. It was a scary name. It made the three of them laugh as they dreamed up ways to control Thamon together using a religion they invented.
That was when he, Stryker, and Sawdi were friends. Or at least as good friends as men could be that wanted to rule the world. What he and Stryker had not realized was that they would have no power over the Warrior Monks. They belonged to Sawdi and only Sawdi.
Too late Aaron had begun to realize that Sawdi might have been in charge the whole time, leading him and Stryker into situations that only Sawdi could control.
Sawdi had them fooled with that quiet voice of his, and then that idiotic desire to live alone on a mountain. Who would choose to disappear like that if they wanted to rule the world? To Aaron, this was not how it was done.
Being a ruler of a world would look more like what he was doing. Live in a palace embedded and embellished with gold and jewels collected from all his people all over the planet Thamon. It would look like having people who served only him. Like his Blessed Ones. People willing to be blinded so they could be in his presence, the God that they worshiped.
Aaron sighed. Sawdi didn’t seem to want any of those things. No jewels, no servants, not even one of the women of the Blessed Ones. Sawdi had turned it all down.
Instead, even in the Palace he preferred a room with only a bed, a table, and a window. A plain one. As plain as possible.
All of which made it impossible for Aaron to find ways to distract Sawdi from his plans. Whatever they were. Even though Aaron had barely seen Sawdi since he had returned from the Islands, he felt his influence and presence all the time.
Aaron was always waiting for the other shoe to drop. What was going to happen next? How terrible would it be?
Sawdi had come to see Aaron after returning and given him the briefest of reports. Somehow all the people of the Islands had escaped. The Warrior Monks had swept through every home, every cave, forest, and beach and found no people who lived there.
When Aaron asked Sawdi how that could have happened, Sawdi snapped his fingers, and the Warrior Monk that had lived in the corner of his throne room started to vibrate. Aaron got the message. Don’t ask questions. Just listen.
Aaron said that it didn’t matter that they weren’t there. It was just a bunch of Islanders, newly converted, not valuable to him. He had gone to get Stryker, and Stryker had escaped, so Sawdi returned to the Palace to plan what to do next.
All of it confused Aaron. Why had Sawdi put the Warrior Monks away? Yes, he was grateful that they were gone, at least for now, but why or where were they? Wasn’t Sawdi going to continue looking for Stryker?
Was it true that Stryker was betraying the two of them, or was he running because he knew that Sawdi was coming after him? Where was Stryker going? Why didn’t Sawdi seem to care?
And what about Ibris and Dax? Did Stryker take the two of them with him? Stryker said they weren’t on the Islands. The only people he found were the remaining six Kai-Via. Since Sawdi didn’t bring them back with him, Aaron assumed that they died by Sawdi’s hand.
What bothered Aaron the most was why Sawdi was not chasing Stryker. What was he waiting for? Aaron could barely admit it to himself, but he wanted Sawdi to go after Stryker.
One of them would kill the other. That would leave him with one less person to get rid of when he took over all of Aaron-Lem, which is what had to happen. After all, the religion was named after him. It was his. His to control. His to take whatever he wanted when he wanted to have it.
Which reminded him. What happened to all the gold and jewels that were on the Islands that Stryker had collected? Did Stryker have time to send them to him, or were they still on the Islands? Why didn’t Sawdi bring them back with him?
Truthfully, he knew the answer to that question. Even if Sawdi knew where they were, he wouldn’t tell him. Sawdi liked tormenting Aaron. Sawdi knew that the loss of what belonged to Aaron would eat at him.
It gave Sawdi pleasure to torture people, which was really the answer to why Aaron was afraid of Sawdi.
