Ambition and Alavidha (32 page)

“I’ll ask
around. The Cartel will help, they don’t like unexplained murders
and the like round here; it’s bad for business. I’ll send men to
speak to the other merchants.”

“Thank you,”
smiled Thalia, donating upon him her most winning smile.

The constable
blushed.

Daniel smiled a
secret smile at the man’s discomfiture. He knew what the man was
thinking and felt sure he had looked very much as the constable was
on occasions too numerous to count.

* * * * *

Back on board
the
Dalina
the four adults discussed the situation. Zeb had
not yet returned and Thalia was beginning to suffer twinges of
anxiety about him. The boy had a propensity for getting into
trouble, minor things but trouble all the same.

: He is even
better at getting out of it :
offered Josei. His words did
manage to allay her fears a little.

: Indeed?
And who was it who fell into the vat at the Supply Station? :
she countered with a ‘voice’ full of irony
: and we would never
have guessed it was him who spilt its contents if he hadn’t owned
up to Daniel. Actually, did you or Vya have something to do with
it? His owning up? :

: We might have
done :

: And there was
the little matter of the mix up of the shoes :

: That was
mischief, no more :

: I had to
apologise to no less than ten people! :

: But he did
own up to that too :

: You think Zeb
a reformed character I see :

: All boys
get up to tricks :
answered the tolerant Josei.

: Just keep an
eye on him Josei and Vya too. Make sure his little escapades don’t
get out of hand :

: Out of paw
sounds much better :

* * * * *

“How did the
King of Leithe find out about the power core in the first place?”
asked Thalia.

“I’ve been
thinking about that and I can come up with one plausible
explanation. Want to hear it?”

“Course I do
you impossible …. Person!”

“It was
something I heard from my Father when I was little. He was talking
to my uncle. Did you know that the King of Leithe, before he became
king, visited Murdoch?”

“No I
didn’t.”

“Well, it was a
Grand Occasion with a capital ‘G’. Jousts and feasting and all the
rest. He visited the then Duke of Duchesne. I think he must have
found out about it then. The old Duke was quite a collector. I’ve
seen it myself. He collected a huge library and it was filled with
old books and manuscripts.”

Thalia pricked
her ears, “library? Books from all over?”

“Yes, some are
very old, handwritten ones and printed both.”

A mental
picture came into Thalia’s mind of an ambitious Prince of Leithe,
bored and at a loose end, thumbing through the ducal library and
finding … what? Of course, an account of the aftermath of the Dglai
Wars. She rather thought that a volume from the library might well
have gone missing around this time.

: The
Avuzdel will find this out :
interrupted Josei
: Vya will
ask if an agent can check :

: Let’s not get
distracted, what’s past is past :

: She says she
will ask anyway :

“So he reads
about it, takes the book and sets about finding out what happened
to the core?”

“That’s it in a
nutshell,” said Daniel.

Thalia regarded
Daniel. Her exasperation was obvious, “I wish the Lai could do
something, anything to help us in all this. Seems strange that the
safety of the world has been entrusted just to us two.”

“This is our
task,” Josei said to both Thalia and Daniel, “and remember, very
few know about the core’s existence and it must be kept that way.
The more who know the more chance of the secret leaking out.”

: Vya tells
me we have three moons :
Josei added.

: What have
three months got to do with it? :

: She will not
say and will not until three have passed or we find the core if
sooner :

: Odd :

: She has her
reasons. She says to tell you that she is under orders not to
divulge until then. It is the orders of the Lai and it is our duty
not to question. All shall become clear in time. She also says that
you are not to tell Daniel about this :

* * * * *

Late that
night, when their human companions had gone to bed, Vya and Josei
were alone in the wardroom. Josei was trying to sleep but he soon
found out Vya had other ideas.

: Josei, can we
talk? :

: We can and
certainly you may :
Josei replied
: what’s the problem, if
it is a problem? :

: Not a
problem, no :
Vya replied
: I’m just not sure what to do
:

: Zeb? :

: Zeb :
she agreed
: I am drawn to him more and more each day and I
don’t know what to do about it :

: It seems
clear enough to me :

: You’re
talking as a vadeln. I’m Avuzdel. I never thought I’d ever feel
drawn to a human :

: You won’t be
able to fight this Vya, especially as the boy is likely to be in
our company for some time to come. It will get more difficult with
the rise of every sun :

: I know, I
know and the time is not right :

She lifted up
her front paws one after the other with agitation and her whiskers
were bristling, a sure sign of uneasiness in a Lind.

: Is this
why you’ve been avoiding being alone with Zeb? :
asked Josei
: He doesn’t understand why :

: Yes :

: Want some
advice? :

: Ceja :

: Spend as much
time as you can with him. Open your mind, don’t try to shut him
out. What will be will be :

: You really
think so? :

: I
know
so. If you’re not destined to vadeln-pair with Zeb you will know
in short-pawed order and if you are then you will also know. It is
a wondrous feeling Vya, it cannot be mistaken :

: I’ll try
to get to know him better :
she agreed with a wag of her tail.
Now that she had come to this decision, it somehow felt
particularly pleasing to her.

* * * * *

-43-

VADATH

Tara and Dsya’s
journey across Argyll and over the border into Vadath was without
incident. They travelled along what Dsya called ‘the high way’ and
were going along, had Tara but known it, the route her sister
Thalia had taken during her journey to Port Lutterell but in
reverse. They were less likely to meet people who might be looking
for them Dsya explained during one of their infrequent rest stops.
Winter had begun and the North Caravan Route was but infrequently
traversed during the colder (and very much wetter) months.

Tara quite
understood why their journey had to be cold and uncomfortable but
she couldn’t help but wish it was a bit drier.

However, when
Tara complained, she was finding this part of the adventure much
less exciting that she expected, Dsya reminded her that she should
be thankful that no-one was on their trail and to stop feeling
sorry for herself.

After this pep
talk Tara kept her grumbles to herself.

It wasn’t until
they crossed the border into Vadath and were running south through
the woods that Tara realised that she and Dsya weren’t the only
duos travelling to Vada. There was quite a crop of them.

She met some of
them at what Dsya called Domta Alesei, the home of Rtath Alesei.
She met one boy who originated in a village near the border and who
told her he was the son of a baker, there were two girls who came
from mining communities in the Argyllian mountains and also present
was a little slip of a boy who admitted to being the youngest son
of a carpenter from a small town to the north of Port
Lutterell.

“I’ve always
known I was going to join the Vada,” the baker’s son confided, “but
I’m only twelve and didn’t expect it just jet. I suppose it’s just
come a bit early, that’s all. Marya came for me last tenday. Mum
and Dad
were
surprised.”

“You’re already
life-bonded with Marya then?” asked Tara.

“Yep, exciting,
isn’t it? And that boy over there is bonded too. His name’s Jak.
He’s the same. He met his Lind ages ago too. She came early to pick
him up same as me. Fact is, most of us here aren’t fourteen yet and
I suppose we shouldn’t really be here at all but here we are. Bit
odd when you think about it. I’ve asked Marya about it but she
won’t say. It’s really exciting and I didn’t think camping and
travelling like this could be so much fun.”

“Oh yes,”
agreed Tara, “it’s great fun.” She didn’t think it was but she
reasoned, perhaps it was different if you were already
vadeln-bonded.

During the
conversations that followed Tara found out that she was the
only
one not already life-bonded. Of course, she knew that
it would be impossible for her and Dsya, as vadeln-pairings were
always formed between opposite genders. The knowledge worried Tara
but when she spoke of it to Dsya, the tall Lind female told her not
to be silly, adding,” do not fret, young Tara, lis of Thalia. You
are not the only one and the season has arrived for the calling in
of possibles.”

This comment
however, left Tara none the wiser.

* * * * *

-44-

THE DUCHY OF
CHARLESON – AT THE NORTH-EASTERN COAST - KINGDOM OF MURDOCH

The rowing boat
rippled over the light wave froth with little sound. The sailor who
was rowing the boat was relieved that the grease he had slathered
over the rowlocks earlier was working. If they could not be heard
they would not be seen, especially in this sparsely populated part
of the duchy.

The two
passengers were gazing at the shore, glancing right and left as
they watched for the signal.

“There it is,”
said Erik Halfarm, pointing, “row to your left man. Put your back
into it.”

The sailor
complied with a grimace and the little boat glided closer to the
shore. The keel crunched on to the shingle.

Erik Halfarm
and his companion (the same one who had helped to end Chad
Smallhide’s life) jumped out and with neither word nor backward
glance splashed ashore.

The sailor
shrugged and jumped out himself.

“They might at
least have helped me push her off,” he muttered crossly.

Baron Erik
Halfarm didn’t hear him but the other man did and turned back to
the sailor with an apologetic shrug.

Pushing the
boat off the shingle took the sailor only a few hefty shoves and
after clambering back into the boat and grasping the oars the
sailor began the long row back to his ship.

* * * * *

Erik Halfarm
and his man were met by four others, ruffians all. The men were
holding six horses, their own and two for the new arrivals.

Erik’s eyes
narrowed as the leader approached them.

“I thought I
had ordered you to buy at least five more,” he growled, “not
two.”

The older of
the four gulped but managed to answer.

“This is a
terrible place,” he stammered, “nearest town is eleven leagues
away. We were lucky to be able to buy these My Lord. They cost a
pretty packet. The horse trader sensed my haste and bargained
meanly. There is another town some ways south of here, upriver
where we might be able to pick up some spare mounts.”

“We’ll not be
stopping in any towns,” Baron Halfarm informed him, retaining his
grumpy voice. Baron Halfarm didn’t like it when plans went awry,
even by a little bit. “I suppose we’ll just have to make the best
of it. You got the pack-horses?”

“Pack ponies,”
corrected the increasingly nervous man. “There aren’t no pack
horses round here. Most trade goods are pulled by oxen.”

Erik groaned.
What a benighted place! Goods, pulled by oxen! Whatever
next?

“They cost a
good bit of coin,” continued the man. His Lord was taking the news
better than he had expected and he thought he might as well
continue with the bad news while the going was good. “I’m afraid
I’ll not be giving you much by way of change.”

To his
surprise, the Baron did not appear to be too bothered about the
prospect of a few coins in change in return for two average looking
horses and three ponies.

He walked over
to inspect the nearest horse, a wall-eyed animal with a strange
looking convex nose. The animal snorted and winced at his touch,
perhaps sensing the innate nastiness of his new master. Erik
tightened the girth, grabbed hold of the pommel of the saddle and
mounted. He may have been an islander but he had done enough riding
during the last four years or so to make him a competent, if
inelegant, horseman.

“Where to My
Lord?” asked the now relaxing leader of the ruffians, mounting his
own horse and ordering his three men to go collect a pack pony
apiece.

“South you
fool, south,” barked Erik Halfarm.

The thirty-six
hoof cavalcade set off in a southerly direction, the three pony
part galloping ponyfully to keep up.

* * * * *

-45-

THE ROYAL
PALACE AT FORT, KINGDOM OF MURDOCH

Years before,
treason had been plotted in this very room, a plot which had been
successful. That plot had resulted in the death of a king.

Now, six
hundred and twenty-seven years later another treasonable act was
being planned.

In AL 181 the
nobles had planned the overthrow of King Xavier the First. This
time their target was a Queen.