Eleanor (67 page)

Eleanor nodded. “Yes, Will, but they don’t know that. I just wanted to make sure that Gregor’s book stayed with me.”
 

Will looked at her, another long appraising look, and she could see he was thinking. “Well I guess I’d better clean up my neck,” he said, moving to sit on the rug. Eleanor carried the bags over, and she and Amelia dropped in front of him.
 

“What do we need?” Eleanor asked. Will looked into the bags.
 

“That bottle with the red liquid in it would be a good start, and there’s some material you can use to apply it under the bandage strips.”
 

Carefully following Will’s instructions, Eleanor and Amelia cleaned the cut. Amelia had wanted to stitch it, but Will had convinced them that applying a bandage would be enough. They had just finished when the shriek of the bolt being forced back snapped all their eyes to the door. It opened with a creak and several men entered carrying a large, hot metal pot of food, along with some bowls and spoons, a loaf of bread and a jug with some mugs. They placed the food and drink on the floor without a word, turned and left, the door closing with a bang and the bolt grinding into place.

“It would not take much for us to escape,” Merl said thoughtfully. “I do not understand why you let them capture us in the first place.”

Conlan sat down on the rug, serving food into the bowls and passing it round. Merl frowned at him.
 

“Conlan, you should not be serving us, we should be serving you!”
 

Conlan smiled at him and then concentrated on his task; he did not look at Merl as he spoke.
 

“We are not escaping, because I want them as allies, not enemies.”
 

“Allies against what?” Merl asked.

“Did my grandfather not tell you? If he sent you out here I would have thought he would have explained what he was sending you into, or at least given you the option to decline. After all, you are risking your life right now.”
 

Merl’s frown deepened. Taking the food Conlan offered, he sat down on the rug next to him.
 

“He told me you were doing something vitally important. He said you might be in danger, that you might need help after the earthquake in Nethrus. I was to find you and do anything you asked. What is the Avatar of Fire’s sword you asked for?”

Conlan ignored the question for a moment. “Eleanor, this food has meat in it, would you like some bread?” he asked in English. Eleanor nodded. Conlan tore off half the loaf and gave it to her. Will rooted around in his medical bag and produced a small piece of material, the corners pulled up and tied into a bag, and passed it too her. She opened it carefully to find a mix of nuts and dried berries.
 

Eleanor smiled. “Thank you.”
 

Will shrugged and smiled back. “They were for emergencies – I think this qualifies.”
 

Merl watched them, trying to understand what was going on.
 

“She is not eating?”
 

“She does not eat meat,” Conlan answered, passing a bowl of food to Freddie, who took it gratefully and plonked himself down next to Eleanor.
 

“Why not?” Merl asked, his tone implying it was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard.

“I am the Avatar of Earth, Merl, and the animal that gave its life for the meal you are eating was my brother or sister. Could you eat one of your siblings?” Eleanor snapped, irritated.
 

Merl paled and shook his head.

“You asked about the Avatar of Fire’s sword…” Conlan continued, as if Eleanor’s outburst had never happened. Merl nodded, a look of polite interest on his face; Conlan gave him a warm smile.
 

Starting from pretty much the beginning, with Alaric and the first Avatars, Conlan gave Merl the abridged version of what they were doing and why they were doing it. He had just got to the part about the Talismans and how many they had and where they had been, when Eleanor felt an energy string brush against her.

Why is he telling Merl all this?
Will asked. Eleanor was surprised by the emotionless look he had on his face compared to the worry in his voice.

Merl is risking his life being with us, he deserves to know why.

He must really think Merl can be trusted.

Eleanor thought about it for a moment.
Or he doesn’t think it matters.
 

Will gave her an odd look as he pulled his energy string back.

“You are looking for Talismans, which were hidden by Alaric’s servants centuries ago, so that you can recreate the power of the Five, overthrow the Lords of Mydren and declare yourself king?” Merl was asking in wide-eyed disbelief, food forgotten in his hand.

“Yes,” Conlan confirmed.
 

“What do these Talismans look like?” Merl asked.
 

Conlan looked at Eleanor. “Do you have Gregor’s book?” he asked in Dwarfish. Slightly taken aback, Eleanor stared at him for a moment, before answering in English.
 

“Are you sure Merl can be trusted?”
 

“Yes, I think he can be trusted, but even if he can’t I don’t see the problem with him knowing what we’re doing. If he’s with us, who’s he going to tell?” Conlan said.

“OK, but we need to be careful, Conlan. The people who attacked us, they were ‘People of the Horse’, I’m sure of it. It might just be a few people within the tribe working with Daratus, or it might be that the whole tribe has a deal with the Lords of Mydren. Whatever the case, Merl needs to know that the book is to be protected.”

“You realise that Merl could be working with Daratus,” Freddie interjected, hard eyes on Conlan.

“Yes, the thought did occur to me,” Conlan said mildly.

“Then is showing him the book a good idea?” Freddie asked.

“He’s risking his life to be here, Freddie. I trust him, and even if I didn’t, as I said, I don’t really see how reading the book is going to do any damage if Merl is with us,” Conlan said.
 

Freddie huffed. “You’re in charge.”

“Thank you for noticing,” Conlan said, a sardonic smile on his face. Freddie gave him a mildly insolent smirk in return.

“Is there a problem?” Merl asked. Conlan shook his head as Eleanor pulled her bag towards her, rummaging until she found Gregor’s book carefully protected in its piece of cloth. She handed it to Conlan and he sat next to Merl, opening different pages and showing him pictures of the different Talismans.

Eleanor sat next to Freddie, who automatically put an arm round her and then seemed to remember himself and withdrew it. Eleanor grasped his hand as it slipped over her shoulder, pulling it back around her and pushing a string out to him.
 

Freddie, am I hurting you?

Confusion filled his face.
No, Eleanor, why would you think that?

Letting you hold me. I feel so guilty for doing it. Doesn’t it hurt being this close and knowing it won’t go any further?
Eleanor asked, dropping her eyes, her shame making it impossible to look at him.

Eleanor, if Conlan allowed you to hug him, would you care what his motivations were?
Eleanor’s mind immediately provided her with the memory of Conlan’s arm around her, holding her close as night fell around them. She had shut her mind down and simply enjoyed the moment.

No. If Conlan wanted me to hug him, I’d try not to question it. I’d just never want it to end.

Exactly
, Freddie said softly. Eleanor felt a surge of affection and wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him close to her. He hugged her back fiercely, resting his chin on her head. Eleanor felt another string brush against her.

Are you listening to what Merl is telling Conlan?
Will asked. Eleanor turned slightly, giving the two men her attention.

“… are sure you have seen the crown before?” Conlan was asking.

“I am certain, yes, although this picture does not do it justice; it is a beautiful piece of craftsmanship,” Merl replied.

“Where? Where did you see it?” Conlan asked, the excitement in his voice hard to miss.

“In a glass cabinet in the main reception room in the Central Tower,” Merl said. There was silence.

Do you think he’s telling the truth?
Will asked, once he had translated what Merl had said for Amelia and Freddie.

I’ve no idea
, Eleanor answered.

“How do you know what is in the reception room of the Central Tower?” Conlan asked, suspicion creeping into his voice.
 

If Merl noticed, he ignored it. His response calm and measured. “I went there a few times, with Gregor, on some of his attempts to reclaim custody of you and Jarrick.”
 

There was another lengthy silence.

“Reclaim custody?” Conlan asked, softly.

“Did Gregor not tell you?” Merl asked. “Did you think he just let you go? Gregor spent years and a small fortune trying to get you back. He spoke to any Lord who would listen, tried threats, bribes, even blackmail, but nothing worked. At the time, your father was held in very high regard and he looked set to make it all the way to the Central Tower. You turned sixteen, became an adult and Daratus lost control of you. In my opinion the man was an idiot for thinking he could control you in the first place, you have your mother’s stubborn streak. You started speaking out against him and ridiculed his decisions, showing him up as the weak, foolish man he is. He tried to discipline you, but having you flogged did not shut you up, so he took what he thought was the only step left to him and disowned you. Another mistake, if he had been smart he would have had you quietly killed. Gregor thought you would return home then, come back to him, he was hurt when you stayed away. He persuaded Lord Harris, you remember him? He persuaded him to officially acknowledge you as his heir, despite Daratus disowning you. Gregor wanted to leave his estate to you when he died. He has never stopped loving you and never stopped fighting for you.”
 

More silence.

“I did not return because I did not want my father using it as an excuse to declare Gregor a traitor,” Conlan said quietly. Eleanor shuddered as his pain washed over her. Freddie pulled her closer.

“Your grandfather is a powerful man, Conlan, more powerful in many ways than your father. Daratus would never have risked taking him on, but you were not to know that,” Merl said sympathetically.
 

Silence again.

“How am I supposed to get the crown out of the Central Tower?” Conlan wondered out loud, with just a hint of despair in his words.

“I might be able to help you with that,” Merl said, giving Conlan a mischievous smile.

“Really, how?” Conlan asked, desperate hope in his voice warring with the suspicion in his eyes. His hope appeared to be winning.

“Well, I might be able to convince someone to sneak the crown out... for a price,” he said.

“That would be great, Merl. Would we need to go back to the Central Tower?” Conlan asked, clearly trying to control his excitement.

“No, I could send a message to the person I am thinking of and we could meet them halfway. Katadep would be a good place – there is a Protector stronghold there and my friend could find a reason to visit,” Merl said thoughtfully.
 

What is Merl saying?
Freddie asked.

Will translated again.

That sounds a little too good to be true
, Freddie said carefully.

Eleanor nodded, seeing Freddie’s concerned in Will and Amelia’s faces.
But what if Merl
can
provide us with the crown?
she asked.

And what if Merl is working for the enemy? This could be a trap
,
Freddie answered.

Freddie, seriously, Merl loves Conlan, treats him like a son. You’ve seen it, do you really think he could be working for Daratus? Besides, if the crown is where Merl says it is, we’ve got very little chance of getting it ourselves. It might be worth springing a trap, just to get our hands on it.

You want to purposely walk into a Protector trap?
Amelia asked, a little horrified.

We’re Avatars, Amelia, we’d be more than a match for whoever they sent, and springing the trap would bring our enemies into the light, make them easier to fight
,
Eleanor reasoned.

Avatars have been killed before and Amelia has come close to losing her life
–
we are not invincible, Eleanor
, Will said quietly.

Eleanor nodded.
We were taken by surprise when Amelia was hurt, and maybe the other Avatars got careless, made mistakes.

What? Like knowingly walking into a trap?
Freddie asked. Eleanor shot him an irritated look, but he stared back passively. He was serious, Eleanor realised, he was really worried.

I trust Conlan, he knows what he’s doing
, Eleanor said stubbornly.
 

Will nodded slowly
. I trust him too and Merl is growing on me. I say we give him the benefit of the doubt, but we need to be more aware of our own limitations.

They dropped into silence again, listening to Merl and Conlan’s conversation.

“How would you send a message?” Conlan was asking.

“Your grandfather is part of a large network of spies, so get me to a reasonably sized town and I can send the request,” Merl said. Conlan nodded, looking thoughtful.

“Your Avatars are very quiet,” Merl commented.

“They will be talking in each other’s heads,” Conlan said, giving them a brief glance.

“You are in charge – should you not know what they are saying?” Merl asked, his soft voice full of concerned confusion.

“I am sure they will tell me if they are discussing anything important,” Conlan said.

Merl nodded. “It must be very difficult for you, not knowing what they are thinking or saying, especially when they hold all the power.”
 

Conlan stared at him for a moment, but said nothing, moving to hand out blankets in silence instead.