Knight of Shadows, page 27
Rezkin disguised Seena as a small dog then headed toward the fort located just past the northern boundary of the city. The fort at Drovsk was the center of the Gendishen Army. It was a sprawling complex of training grounds, the command center, the military academy, armories, stables, smiths, fletchers, barracks, and other support structures. But none of that interested Rezkin. To him, the only important detail was that this was the last place Tam was seen before he disappeared. Nearly eight months ago, after Tam’s escape from the slave quarry and subsequent trip to Pruar, Rezkin had sent Tam to Gendishen to lead the army. According to his intel, Tam had arrived in Drovsk as scheduled but had been reluctant to take the lead. After news of Rezkin’s death had reached them, Tam had disappeared—again. Rezkin did not know if Tam had become overwhelmed and voluntarily left his position or if something nefarious had occurred. Unfortunately, Rezkin was just finding out about this, and the trail had surely gone cold.
Rezkin donned an illusion of a plain-faced man in his thirties. He was well-dressed for a commoner in a pair of dark grey slacks, a burgundy vest over a white shirt and a dark grey overcoat. After a moment’s thought, he removed the overcoat from the illusion as it was entirely too hot outside for the garment. After searching briefly for the office of the administrator, Rezkin found a woman in the position. While this would have been expected in Lon Lerésh, it was unusual for a woman to hold such a position in Gendishen. She was older, probably in her sixties, she had grey hair and warm brown eyes. She smiled pleasantly upon seeing him.
“I’m Girdy, the administrator here. How may I help you?” she said in Gendishen as he entered the office.
Rezkin offered her his forged papers and spoke in Ashaiian. “I am Investigator Coulson of Cael. I am here about the disappearance of General Blackwater.”
Her eyebrows reached for the ceiling. “Oh? It’s been some time since he’s been gone. I’m surprised anyone is still looking into it. The last investigator said he hadn’t found a clue.”
“I am reopening the case,” said Rezkin. “I will need any notes and reports from the previous investigator.”
“Of course, Inspector Coulson. I will have my assistant pull those for you immediately. She nodded to a young man sitting at a small desk in the corner of the room. The young man hopped up from his seat and hurried out the door. Girdy eyed Seena who appeared as a small dog to her and looked at him questioningly.
“She is in training,” said Rezkin without further explanation.
Girdy still appeared confused but pointed to a chair. “Please, have a seat, Inspector Coulson. I will be happy to answer any questions you might have.”
Rezkin sat down in the proffered chair. He was surprised by Girdy for more than one reason. Besides her being a woman in what was typically a man’s position, she was open, friendly, and helpful—not typical traits of the Gendishen. He said, “When and where was the general last seen?”
“Now that is interesting,” she said. “A couple of the men reported seeing him enter his chambers shortly after dinner that night. No one saw him leave after that. He was just gone, and most of his belongings remained behind.”
Rezkin nodded as if he had known the details all along and said, “I will need to see his chambers.”
“Of course, but they have been reassigned. Goulen Julik may take exception to you snooping around in his quarters.”
Rezkin gave her a cold, icy stare. “Mistress Girdy, I have been given the authority to investigate this matter by any means necessary. Goulen Julik will have to accept that.”
She gave him a wobbly smile. “Of course, Inspector. I will see that you have access to the suite. General Blackwater’s belongings are in storage if you need to see them as well.”
With a nod, Rezkin said, “Thank you, Mistress Girdy.”
At that moment, the assistant reappeared with a notebook stuffed with loose papers. He handed the notebook to Rezkin with a small bow. Mistress Girdy gave the young man the additional instructions regarding access to Tam’s rooms, and he hurried out of the room again. Rezkin took a few minutes to study the papers stuffed into the notebook as well as peruse a number of entries scrawled in a handwriting that was somewhat difficult to decipher.
Rezkin said, “I see here that Fyer Lansing and Fyer Sorel were the last to see General Blackwater. I will need to speak with them.”
Girdy retrieved a large, leatherbound tome and dropped it on her desk with a thump. She licked her fingers, then flipped through a number of pages. After a couple of minutes, she said, “Fyer Sorel is no longer here. He was transferred two months ago. Fyer Lansing is still here, though. I will have him sent for.” Girdy stepped around her desk and left the room for several minutes. When she returned, she held a key. She said, “I can take you to Goulen Julik’s quarters now.”
Rezkin followed the woman out of the building and around the corner. They entered a larger stone building that had an open veranda and a statue of a long-dead goulen, the Gendishen equivalent of a general. By the time they reached the top of the stairs to the second level, Girdy was breathing heavily and favoring her right leg. At Rezkin’s inquiry, she said, “It’s my knees. They aren’t what they used to be.”
She led Rezkin to an ornately carved door and handed him the key. “This will get you through the door.”
“Thank you,” answered Rezkin as he slipped the key into the lock. The door swung open, and he stepped across the threshold with Seena on his heels. Being in Gendishen, he knew not to expect a ward, but he prepared himself for the encounter anyway. The suite consisted of a bedroom, a study, and a sitting room. Each was furnished in dark wood, and the seating areas were adorned in green and beige fabric. Paintings and tapestries graced the walls, some portraits and others battle scenes. At the back of the study was a bar complete with glassware and bottles filled with colorful liquids.
Rezkin searched the rooms, ignoring the personal items belonging to Goulen Julik. He was searching behind the tapestry in the bedroom when he found his first clue. The wall there was deformed, as if the stones had been melted into a single slab. Upon sniffing it, Seena began to snarl at the wall. Rezkin examined the area first with this eyes and hands, then with his vimara. He sent a thread of power into the stone seeking any sign that magic had caused the anomaly. After so many months, it was unlikely he would find anything, but he searched anyway. He was rewarded for his efforts. The stone held the slightest signature of power, but it was unlike any mage Rezkin had sensed. In fact, it was unlike anything magical he had known. Except that was not quite right. Something about it felt familiar. This power did not feel like a human mage or even Eihelvanan. Nor did it feel demonic. It felt like the fae.
Rezkin left the goulen’s quarters with more questions than he had entering. Did the fae have something to do with Tam’s disappearance? Why would they want him? Did he make a deal with them? He knew Tam had interacted with the fae Goragana at the quarry in Verril, but he did not think Tam had agreed to anything. If he had, then Rezkin was not sure he could help Tam. His past interactions with Bilior had shown him that his power was next to useless against the fae.
Girdy led Rezkin back to the administration building where she left him in a small office with instructions to wait for Fyer Lansing. Rezkin waited around fifteen minutes during which time he pondered his own deal with the fae. They had agreed to provide his people with a safe haven, while he had agreed to provide them with an army. He had since realized that it was not a human army the fae expected him to bring, but an army of the Eihelvanan. There had been no discussion about the size of the army, though, and he wondered how many they would require to consider the deal fulfilled. It seemed a moot point, though, considering he did not have an army of the Eihelvanan. He had two, and they presently considered him to be dead. He had never said he would bring the Eihelvanan, though, so he hoped a human army would suffice.
Fyer Lansing eventually appeared in the doorway, and Rezkin set about questioning the man. When asked where he had last seen Tam, Lansing said, “I spoke to him shortly after dinner outside his quarters. He went into his quarters and that was it.”
“What did you speak about?” asked Rezkin.
“He was asking about the northern forest,” replied Lansing.
“What about it?”
Lansing shrugged. “I don’t really know what he wanted to know. I told him it was unsettled forest rarely visited. Those who stray into the woods often don’t return. Some say it’s cursed. I say it’s the drauglics.”
“Did General Blackwater give you any indication that he meant to go there?”
With a shake of his head, Lansing said, “No, he didn’t mention it; but now that you ask, I remember that he did ask me if I knew where he could get a compass.”
“What did you tell him?”
“That I didn’t know where he could get one. I’ve never seen one, myself, but I’ve heard of them. They’re made by the afflicted—I mean, by the mages. Of course, we wouldn’t have anything like that here.”
“Of course,” said Rezkin before dismissing the soldier.
Next, he was taken to the storehouse where Tam’s belongings were being kept. All of Tam’s things fit into two trunks. Rezkin was glad to see that Tam’s sword was not among the items. That meant there was a chance that wherever Tam ended up, he was armed. What he did find in the trunks, besides the clothing and usual personal affects, was a small, smooth milky-white stone. While the stone was pretty, it would have otherwise been unremarkable if not for the faint trace of power that suffused it. The power felt the same as the power that had deformed the wall in the bed chamber. He held the stone out for Seena to sniff. Her wings snapped out as the spines along her back stood up, and she released a very dragon-like roar. She seemed to surprise herself with the latter and fell over, shattering the effect. Rezkin chuckled then pocketed the stone.
Rezkin had Seena open a portal to Kaibain. He had investigated all that was to be seen at the fort, and now he needed an expert. He had given Seena instructions to open the portal into an alley near the market district that he recalled. What he had not expected when he stepped from the portal was the multitude of people camped in the alley. There were a few surprised faces when he appeared seemingly out of thin air, but most of the people were preoccupied with listening to a man at the end of the alley. He stood upon a crate and was shouting about the glory of Ygrethiel and how only through Ygrethiel could they be saved from damnation.
Rezkin stepped around the people in his path and made his way through the throng of pilgrims toward the storehouse he had instructed Wesson to use. He watched the storehouse for some time before Mage Wesson emerged alone. Rezkin scurried across rooftops and down alleyways as he followed the mage. Once Wesson was a suitable distance away from the storehouse, Rezkin stepped into his path. Wesson came up short as he almost ran into Rezkin.
Wesson said, “Pardon me, sir, I didn’t see you there.” When Wesson made to step around him, Rezkin stopped him with a hand to his shoulder. This time, Wesson really looked at Rezkin. Genuine surprise showed on his face when he recognized him.
“Rez—”
Rezkin pulled Wesson into the alley. Once they were both out of sight of prying eyes, Rezkin said, “Where are you going?”
Wesson straightened his tunic and with a huff said, “It is good to see you too.” He lowered his voice and said, “I was going to spy on Avikeev. What are you doing?”
“I was looking for you,” replied Rezkin. He pulled Tam’s milky white stone from his pocket and held it out for Wesson. “I need to know what this is.”
Wesson took the stone and turned it over in his hands examining it with his senses of sight and touch as well as magic. After a few minutes, he said, “It bears unique power unlike any I have sensed. That being said, I believe it is a beacon stone.”
“What is that?” asked Rezkin.
“It is used to locate someone or something. It has a matching stone, called a twin, that is placed with the person, object, or place you wish to find. When vimara is fed into this stone, it will lead you to its twin.”
“How does it work?”
Wesson handed the stone back to Rezkin. “Once it is powered, you will feel a pull in the direction of the twin. You just follow the pull, and you will find the stone. This stone will begin to glow when it is in proximity to the other one.” He looked at Rezkin curiously. “What are you looking for?”
“Not what. Who. I am searching for Tam.”
Wesson’s face fell. “Yes, I heard of his disappearance. An investigation was opened, but nothing came of it. Where did you get the beacon stone?”
“It was with his belongings in Drovsk,” explained Rezkin.
“Oh?” said Wesson. “I’m surprised the investigator missed it.”
“It is Gendishen,” said Rezkin. “They would have assigned a mundane to the case. To him, this probably just looked like a pretty stone. He would not have known to look for magical significance.”
“No, I suppose not. We should have sent our own investigator, but it’s still too dangerous for the talented in Gendishen. The people hate us, and the purifiers still hunt us.”
“The people do not hate you,” Rezkin replied. “They fear you.”
“It’s the same thing so far as our lives are concerned,” said Wesson.
“Perhaps, but fear can be overcome through experience and education. One day, you may go to Gendishen and change the fate of the talented there. For now, we have other priorities. What have you found out about Avikeev’s experiments?”
Wesson explained to Rezkin what he had discovered—that Avikeev was attempting to remove the soul from a mage and store it in a vessel while keeping the mage alive to do his bidding.
Rezkin said, “If he knows of Yserria, then she is in trouble. He will want to use her life stone to control her. And he will want to see how it was done so that he may reproduce the effect.”
“Can he do it?” said Wesson.
“I am not certain. It is possible that with the crystals from the citadel he may be capable of it. It is pertinent he does not get his hands on the crystals or Yserria and her life stone.”
Wesson said, “I can warn her using the mage relay.”
Rezkin nodded. “You do that, but she is not aware of the life stone nor the fact that Malcius carries it. You warned me against telling her in case the knowledge causes her soul to slip further into the stone.”
“That’s right. I did say that. I am not certain that would happen though.”
“Just warn her that someone powerful may be after her but do not tell her why. I am not certain it will be enough. If Avikeev is as smart as you say he is, then he has already sent someone after her—someone with enough power to overcome her considerable skills.”
“What do you propose?”
“I will go to her after I seek out Tam.”
“What if she’s attacked in the meantime?” said Wesson.
“She and Malcius will need to be on high alert. Hopefully with this beacon stone, it will not take long to locate Tam.”
“Assuming he’s still alive,” muttered Wesson.
Rezkin did not respond to that last statement. The possibility that Tam truly was dead weighed heavily on his mind. Had he sent Tam to his death when he sent him to Gendishen? Was he to blame? Rezkin pushed the thought aside. Blame was irrelevant. He needed to focus on what he did know. He squeezed the beacon stone in his hand. At least now he had something to go on. He had thought that, after the last time Tam had been taken by slavers, he would have made a more difficult target, but if the fae were involved, he could not blame Tam for his failure to protect himself. The fae were powerful and cunning. If the stories were to be believed, then when the fae wanted something, they usually got it.
Rezkin fed a small amount of power into the beacon stone, and immediately he felt a tug toward the east. He bid Wesson adieu then instructed Seena to open a portal back to Gendishen. The portal opened to the windswept plain near Drovsk. The day was gloomy, and the tall, dead grasses swayed like a turbulent sea. Shadowy copses stood out like droplets of black paint on a muted landscape. Rezkin entered Drovsk briefly to obtain supplies and a horse then headed back out onto the blustery plain heading north.
Chapter 20
Yserria stepped off the ferry then turned to ensure her horse had no trouble following. Malcius was beside her doing the same for his own mount. She glanced over and saw that he was deep in thought, and she wondered what troubled him. She knew he was anxious about returning to Lon Lerésh. The last time they had been there, they had gone from starving castaways to battlefield warriors, and she had been forced to claim him lest he be claimed by some other matria. He was still angry about the mark he had received when he inadvertently accepted that claim by recognizing it outside Lon Lerésh. She was not happy about it either. Although she and Malcius knew the claim to be a ruse, so far as the rest of the world was concerned, they were now married. At least in Lon Lerésh he was only her consort, which was somewhat better than husband. Still, nothing had come of the accidental union but resentment. She did not know why he insisted on traveling with her everywhere she went.
Upon exiting the ferry, they were greeted by an entourage of her own echelon. Since she was now leader of two echelons, she had a full contingent of retainers ready to do her bidding. That included Japa, the servant she had acquired after winning the battle to claim the Third and Fourth Echelons. Japa had been a good servant. He was quiet but always ready with a smile and a gentle deportment. He was formally educated and specialized in farming, but he had a bit of the talent in him, which came in handy. Japa was presently bringing up the rear while leading his own horse and the pack horse from the ferry. Yserria turned away from Malcius and Japa to face her welcoming party.
“Greetings, Echelon,” said the woman in front. It was Wolshina, Japa’s mother.
Yserria said, “Greetings, Wolshina. It is good to see you well.”
