Ebudae (36 page)

Pelya laughed. “We’re glad we met you too
and not just because you have your own carriage.”

“I have a carriage!” Ebudae exclaimed,
standing as the knowledge came to her. “In fact I have three, but
no horses.” She sat back down. “Why don’t I have horses?

“They are generally helpful for pulling
carriages, especially since we are all against slavery.” Sir Imbra
winked impishly.

She laughed, but stopped suddenly when more
information came to mind. “One of them moves on magic and the spell
is in a book here.” She stood again. “I have so many things to
explore.”

“We’ll leave you to it then. I need to get
these books back to the Guard District,” Frath said, rising as
well.

“No. I’m going to come with you. The estate
doesn’t need my constant presence. We need to handle this danger.
Let me change and get my things.”

“I’ll come with you,” Pelya said, jumping to
her side. They both ran up the stairs. Pelya was normally faster,
but she kept pace instead. Ebudae loved the way the candlelight
glowed against the polished wood of the stair railings. She had
never realized how many candles were in the manor before.

It didn’t take long to change into her
adventuring dress, even though she would have liked a bath first.
Tina followed them up and helped tame Ebudae’s hair as best as
could be done quickly. Pelya grabbed the belt of pouches and cloak
out of the workroom.

“Do you think it’ll be alright to bring
this?” Pelya indicated the magical sword Ebudae had given her. It
was on her right hip, giving her dual weapons that made her even
more dangerous. She had trained with small blades and enjoyed it.
Her regular sword, given to her by the Weaponmaster Coodmur, was
thin and light. The adventuring sword weighed even less and was
sharper than any blade either of them had ever seen.

“Don’t you have to report it?”

“I don’t think I would have to anymore and
I’m rich enough that I could just tell them I bought it, maybe from
a tent at Carnival or something.” Pelya fingered the braided hilt
while thinking.

“Just take it. Maybe your father won’t
notice.”

Pelya gave her a look.

“Alright. He’ll notice. We’ll just tell him
I gave it to you, which is truth. I found it in the ruined academy
below our manor, so it’s technically my property to give. You’re
allowed to accept gifts, right?”

She thought about it for a moment while
Ebudae adjusted everything. “I am allowed to accept gifts, so that
would work. It is the truth after all. We’ll just leave out the
part where I’ve had it for over four years and frequently skewer
beastly beasts in dark places.” Pelya grinned roguishly. They
headed back down the stairs.

The men were discussing how to fight
monsters in the ruins below when the girls came down. The first
thing both noticed was the extra sword, despite the fact that Pelya
was behind Ebudae.

“Where did that sword come from, young
lady?” Frath asked.

“Ebudae gave it to me as a gift.” Pelya
replied. “We’re ready to go.”

“Let me see it.” Frath held out a hand for
the sword.

“It was mine to give.” For some reason,
Ebudae hadn’t thought he would want to see it.

“I’m not saying it isn’t,” he reassured her.
“It’s a new sword and knowing you, it’s probably not a cheap one. I
like swords.”

“I’d like to see it as well. Judging by the
hilt and sheath it’s a good quality.” Sir Imbra craned his neck
around to see Pelya who was trying to stay behind Ebudae.

Neither girl had an argument for that, so
Pelya reluctantly pulled it out and handed it, hilt first, to her
father. The blade was the width of two fingers at the crossbar. Its
sharpened edges tapered gradually to the point. It wasn’t very
thick and there were absolutely no nicks in it.

“It doesn’t weigh anything,” Frath said in
awe, swishing it to the side a couple of times.

Sir Imbra moved close. “That sword has some
sort of magic, but it’s almost impossible to see.” He turned to
Ebudae. “Where did you get this?”

“Give it back to Pelya
now
.” Ebudae
ordered. Both men froze in surprise. “It is her sword. I gave it to
her
.”

“Of course.” Frath deftly flipped it and
handed it back to his daughter hilt first. “I didn’t mean to
offend, Milady.”

“I know. But sometimes . . . sometimes you
just need to leave things be. The sword is hers.” The words were
cryptic even to her, but she didn’t want them messing with it.
“Let’s go deliver those books and plan what to do next.” Ebudae
marched toward the front door, leaving everyone else staring at her
back. “Tina, I’ll be back as soon as I can. The estate will keep
you safe.”

Chapter
24

During the carriage ride, Frath and Sir
Imbra began talking about the ruins again. Pelya and Ebudae joined
in during an interesting part. Instead of condemning the young
ladies, the men listened intently and began including them in the
discussion.

Frath shook his head in amazement after they
were done talking about the academy. “I’ve never known about that.
I agree with Sir Imbra. We have to plan an expedition when all of
this blows over.”

Pelya smiled enthusiastically. “That sounds
like fun. There are some places we just won’t go because we’re not
willing to take foolish risks.” At their raised eyebrows, she
clarified. “We’re not willing to take
foolish
risks. We’ll
take the other kind anytime.” They laughed at that.

“And then you go back up to Ebudae’s suite
and count your treasure?” Frath asked with a wink.

“Well . . . maybe a little,” Pelya
admitted.

“And we usually eat lots of food,” Ebudae
added. “I cast spells, so food is on my mind a lot,” she said
wryly.

“Yeah, it’s the best food . . .” Pelya
stopped in horror. “Your cook left?”

Ebudae nodded sadly. She had no idea how to
replace everyone. “They all left. I’m not sure where Grandmother
found everyone.”

“I could help with that,” Frath suggested.
“I know a lot of people, but . . .”

“I’d like that very much, Frath.” It was a
relief to her.

“Well, they’re mostly odd.” He ran fingers
through his hair. “I meet a lot of people in my job. Some of them
have extraordinary talent for various things. But for whatever
reason, they can’t get a job. A couple are insane, but they’re
harmless.”

“They sound perfect. I don’t like normal
people, which is why you and I get along so well.” Ebudae grinned
impishly.

“Exactly . . . wait . . . hey!” The laughter
that followed felt good.

The carriage was waved through the gates
after a quick inspection and a runner met them as they exited.
“Captain Alice Zephan will see all of you in her office right away,
Sergeant.”

“Thank you. We’ll be right there.”

A few minutes later, they entered the
captain’s sparsely decorated office, with a desk in the center,
tables and bookshelves around the walls. There were numerous maps
of the city covering every space on the walls. The only real luxury
was rugs scattered haphazardly over the floor. Some were nice,
others heavily used.

“Good. You’re here. Were you able to rescue
the prisoners or find evidence?” Captain Zephan asked, coming over
to them. There were two Guardmembers going over papers. One was a
female corporal and the other a male lieutenant. They glanced up,
but went back to work right away.

“Only one prisoner was alive,” Frath told
the captain. Ebudae felt her heart squeeze again, like it had when
they first told her of Aphry’s rescue. Frath put the backpack on a
table. “We do have log books and we rescued a number of
slaves.”

For the next half hour, they went over
everything that had happened. Captain Zephan explained what her
people had learned up to that point.

“Commander Coodmur has discovered that
Master Thanzin has blackmail on a few officials in the Estate of
the Grand Assembly, that’s where the ruling body of Altordan is,”
she clarified for the younger two who nodded, already knowing that.
“How the commander discovered that is his business, of course.”

“Of course,” Frath agreed.

“Your incorrigible friends,” Captain Zephan
pointed at Pelya, referring to Clutz, Grinkin and Florsy, “were
able to grab some records of illegal sales. They’ve learned that
Master Thanzin may have more incriminating evidence in his office
at Master Blavoci’s estate. They’ve been getting some rest for the
past few hours and then they’ll try to break in. This still isn’t
an official investigation, so we’re breaking some rules here.”

“We can help with the break-in,” Ebudae
suggested.

“No. Definitely not,” Captain Zephan said.
“Frath and Pelya need to get some sleep. They’ve had a long day.”
She pointed at Ebudae and Sir Imbra. “Neither of you are in the
Guard, so I can’t include you in any plans.” The captain crossed
her arms. “We have another problem though.”

“What is it?” Frath asked.

“Thanzin’s men came with legal orders to
arrest Pelya for the break in.”

Frath put an arm around Pelya’s shoulders
protectively. Ebudae took a hand and squeezed it.

“The worst part is that he took it to
Commander Duuth, who doesn’t like Pelya.”

Frath spat out a curse.

Captain Zephan held out a calming hand.
“Duuth brought it to me and ordered me to make the problem go away,
either by getting rid of Pelya or getting rid of Master Thanzin. He
didn’t care.”

“I would think he’d want Pelya gone,” Frath
said in surprise.

“Yes, but he doesn’t want to be dragged into
an alley and beaten to death by the entire Guard if he were to do
anything to Pelya, so it’s a matter of self-preservation.”

Sir Imbra and Frath bellowed in laughter.
Ebudae continued holding Pelya’s hand. Neither girl thought the
situation anything but terrifying. Even the
threat
of Pelya
having to go to one of Dralin’s notorious prisons made their knees
weak.

Captain Zephan began pacing back and forth.
“This is a problem though. If we harbor one of our own, it’ll be
bad for the Guard. Other officers have begun hearing about this and
are offering their assistance, but we need a little more time.” She
stopped pacing. “Sergeant, I want you and Pelya to go someplace
safe, Perhaps Lady Pallon’s estate?

“Yes,” Ebudae said. “No one will be able to
touch them there and they can get some rest.”

“Excellent.” The captain smiled
appreciatively at her. “Would it be possible to meet there tomorrow
morning to finalize plans? I don’t want them to have to come back
here.”

“Yes, I have a meeting room that can be
used. However, there are no servants to take care of guests at the
moment.” Ebudae wondered how quickly Frath could get her more.

“Did your grandmother relieve them of their
duties?” the captain asked.

“She died yesterday.” Ebudae waved off any
condolences the officer may have offered. “We weren’t fond of each
other and the servants were loyal to her, not me. Tina, my personal
assistant, is still with me, but that’s all.”

“I see. Well I thank you for everything
you’re doing to help us despite your circumstances.”

Ebudae gave her a brief smile. “I thank you
for helping me as well. I wouldn’t be able to handle this on my
own, at least not as efficiently as the Guard.”

“But of course. Any friend of Pelya’s is a
friend of the Guard.” Captain Zephan smiled at the girls. “You two
are to be careful and stay safe. Sergeant, get these young ladies
to safety and then get yourself some rest.”

“Will do, Captain.” Frath smacked his chest
with his fist in salute and Pelya did the same. Ebudae thought
hitting oneself in the chest a silly way to pay tribute, but it
made them happy so she didn’t say anything about it.

They made their way back to the carriage and
climbed in. Once they were settled, Sir Imbra cleared his throat.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to stay with you and assist until this
matter is resolved.”

“We don’t mind at all, but I’m curious as to
why,” Frath said.

“The important reason is that I have come to
like the three of you and want to help in whatever way I am
able.”

Ebudae was sitting next to him and had taken
the opportunity to examine the sheath of his sword that lay across
their laps. “That implies that there are other reasons.”

“Yes, there are.” He ticked off the points
on his fingers. “Sometime in the future, Pelya Jornin will assist
me in a matter that has not been made clear to me. It would be nice
if I do something for her in return regardless of whether it is
sooner or later.

“This is the first I’ve heard of that,”
Frath said unhappily.

“I should have told you,” Pelya apologized.
They sat next to each other. “I first met him the day Uncle Bobbell
died, but I’ve spent so much time forgetting that day that I forgot
to ask you about Sir Imbra.”

He gave her shoulders a squeeze of
reassurance. “That’s alright then, but I’d like to know what you’re
supposed to assist with.”

“As would I,” Sir Imbra agreed. He ticked
off the next point. “Masters Blavoci and Thanzin are slavers.
Reanna hates slavery. Therefore, assisting you will fulfill my
duties to my most wonderful goddess.”

“I must admit that I’m starting to like
Reanna,” Frath said. “Everything I’ve seen from her followers is
good.”

“Perhaps you would care to join the fold?”
the knight suggested.

A purple glow took over Frath’s eyes and a
surreal tone wrapped around the word he uttered. “No.” The glow
disappeared, but his irises were even more brilliant than
usual.

Sir Imbra sat back and gulped nervously.
“Right. I shall never make that suggestion again.”

“I love it when your eyes glow like that,”
Ebudae told Frath with a grin. “I know a couple of spells to make
mine flash and I didn’t even have to get my head hammered by a
god.” Frath stuck his tongue out, causing her to laugh in
surprise.