Heirs of the Enemy (17 page)

* * * *

King Arik finished going through all the papers and sighed with relief. He stuck his finger into his pocket to waken Prince Midge, but his pocket was empty. He frowned as he tried to remember if he had already sent the fairy prince on an errand.

“What is the matter?” asked Queen Tanya.

“Prince Midge is gone,” answered the king.

“He is with Prince Oscar,” chirped Bantam as she flitted around the room.

“What is he doing there?” asked King Arik.

“I do not know,” shrugged the tiny woman. “It is secret.”

“Secret?” echoed the king. When the fairy did not reply, the king dismissed the topic. “Bantam, I need to get word to General Gregor that the papers he wanted signed have been taken care of. Will you deliver that for me?”

“Of course,” Bantam replied cheerily. “I will do anything for the Bringer.”

The fairy shot out of the room, and King Arik looked questioningly at the queen. “What do you suppose my father is up to?”

“Why don’t we go and find out?” suggested the queen. “You look like you could use some time outside this office. I know that I could.”

“It does seem that we spend far too much time on the mundane affairs of office,” frowned the Warrior King. “Perhaps we can spar after we visit Prince Oscar.”

“I could think of no better way to spend the afternoon,” grinned the queen.

The royal couple exited the office and proceeded to Prince Oscar’s office. They entered without knocking and gazed at a comical sight. Prince Oscar and Prince Midge turned at the sound of the door opening. Each of them sported a look of guilt so strong that would make any jury who saw them immediately convict them of whatever crime they were accused of. King Arik closed the door and crossed the room to stand before his father.

“What are you two up to?” asked the king.

Prince Midge and Prince Oscar looked at each other, but neither of them spoke. Queen Tanya crossed the room with a giggle on her lips.

“Out with it you two,” she demanded. “You know the penalty for defying the king.”

“Prince Midge and I were just discussing the need to recall all of the fairies that are not needed in the field,” answered Prince Oscar. “They will be needed to shadow the arriving soldiers from the Federation.”

“That’s it?” frowned King Arik. “Why would that be secret from me?”

“There is more,” interjected Queen Tanya. “I can see it in their faces.”

“Out with it,” the king demanded sternly. “And I want to hear all of it. No more games.”

“We are selling horses to the Federation,” chirped Prince Midge.

“What?” gasped the queen.

“And food,” added Prince Oscar.

“You had better explain this to me,” commanded King Arik.

“Have a seat,” sighed Prince Oscar as he waved towards the chairs in front of his desk.

Arik and Tanya seated themselves and waited for an explanation of the bizarre behavior of the princes.

“It takes a lot of time to bring thousands of horses through a Door,” explained Prince Oscar. “I discovered that the owners of the farms where the Doors are located are in the market for local horses, so I decided to sell them the horses and make a nice profit off of our enemy.”

“I can’t believe that I am hearing this,” frowned the king. “This is a traitorous act, Father.”

“It is not,” scowled Prince Oscar. “Let me finish. I have set up unscrupulous horse traders in each of our provinces. The men manning the corrals are Spiders, and they know who the owners of the farms are. They each have two sets of corrals. One corral is for show, and it is where the buyers are taken to inspect the herds. The deliveries are made from the other corral.”

“So the horses you are selling the Federation are less than cavalry grade?” asked the queen.

“Very much so,” grinned Prince Oscar.

“Won’t the Federation know that they were cheated when the horses are delivered?” asked the king.

“Probably,” smiled Prince Oscar. “We mix in enough decent horses to hide the fact that we are selling them nags, but what are they going to do about it if they do discover our treachery? I have managed to obtain most of the saleable horses in Alcea. Using their standard mix of cavalry and infantry, the Federation is going to need almost fifty-thousand horses. Besides our corrals, there are no other places for them to go for such large quantities of horses.”

“And the sales cannot be traced back to our government,” added Prince Midge. “If the buyers do know that they have been cheated, they will not complain to you for fear of questions about why they need so many horses.”

“And they will probably not report their foolishness to the Federation, either,” stated Prince Oscar. “We are charging outrageous prices for the horses, and I doubt that any of the farmers are going to be willing to admit that they squandered all that gold. The penalty for failure in the Federation can be quite severe.”

“And if they do report it to Despair,” continued Prince Midge, “all they can do is bring their own horses through the Doors, delaying their schedule and causing confusion.”

“And the food?” asked the queen.

“Same type of deal,” answered Prince Oscar. “Now that we know that they must preposition food in Alcea, we are setting up food merchants who will only sell in large quantities. The prices will be exorbitant, but the Federation will need supplies for a quarter of a million men. You cannot buy such quantities in the local food markets. They will be drawn to our new merchants like flies to a carcass.”

“And we will steal the food back,” chirped Prince Midge.

“That is why we need the fairies to shadow the colonels,” offered Prince Oscar. “We have to know where they will preposition the food.”

King Arik nodded thoughtfully and then said, “Do not steal the food back until the armies come through the Doors. If they have any decent officers leading their armies, they will verify the provisions just before the invasion.”

“What are you doing with all the gold?” asked Queen Tanya.

“A number of things,” answered Prince Oscar. “Most of it is going into the treasury to pay for the cost of the coming war, but I am allocating portions of it to fund our other activities. Zack Nolan is getting a healthy allowance to facilitate the appearance of a wealthy Vinaforan. It is nice to be able to use the Federation’s own gold against it.”

“You are incorrigible, Father,” chuckled the king. “Carry on with your plans. The queen and I have some very pressing business to attend to.”

* * * *

General Forshire entered the private dining room reserved for the representatives from countries west of the Barrier. General Fabio of Karamin was seated in his usual place, but no one else was in the room. Clint crossed the room and sat across from General Fabio.

“Ah, company at last,” greeted General Fabio. “I was beginning to look upon this dining room as my personal place to get away from it all.”

Clint raised an eyebrow at Fabio as a servant came to take his order. Clint ordered a simple meal and the servant departed.

“Does Garibaldi not join you any more?”

“You are behind on your news,” replied General Fabio. “Garibaldi was arrested well before the celebration began. I think he has been executed, but I can find no one to confirm that. You are to be congratulated on recognizing him as a danger early on.”

“I cannot say that I am surprised,” replied General Forshire. “What did he do?”

General Fabio lowered his voice and leaned across the table. “They say that he used the V Corps to attack the elven reeducation center. I can’t imagine why the fool would do such a thing.”

“To get noticed,” shrugged Clint.

“That is precisely what I told Grand General Kyrga during the investigation, but I still have trouble understanding it.”

“Then why did you offer it up as a reason?”

“Only because of your words the last time we met. You predicted that he would do something to gain attention for himself, and I have no doubt that you knew what you were talking about, but I still can’t fathom how his mind must have worked. I mean, he did get attention, but certainly not the kind he wished for.”

“Well,” Clint replied as his meal was served, “I do not see his absence as a loss for the Federation. Frankly, Garibaldi was a waste in terms of being an officer or a representative. Are you still leading the F Corps?”

“Oh, goodness no.” General Fabio shook his head exaggeratedly. “I was already leaning towards getting rid of them before the incident with the center. When Grand General Kyrga suggested putting them back in prison, I wholeheartedly agreed. Life is much simpler without them.”

Clint nodded distractedly and ate in silence. He glanced up a few times and saw Fabio staring at him as if a question was poised on his lips, but he was afraid to ask it. Clint finished the meal and pushed his plate away.

“What do you want to ask?” inquired Clint.

“I am not sure,” admitted General Fabio. After a few moments of silence, Fabio leaned forward again and lowered his voice to a whisper. “Take no offense at my words, but questions are being asked about you that lead me to believe that you might share the same fate as Garibaldi. People are wondering if you truly are who you say you are.”

“Did I step on someone’s toes?” chuckled Clint.

General Fabio frowned. “You should take this seriously. It is no laughing matter.”

“My history is well documented,” Clint replied seriously. “My family can be traced back through centuries of Tyronian history. Would these questions happen to be coming from Colonel Taerin?”

“So you do know what this is all about.” General Fabio nodded. “He has been in here at least three times this week with questions. He probes for information in every conversation I have ever had with you. What did you do to upset him?”

“It was merely a misunderstanding,” answered Clint. “With so much going on this week, I thought I would deal with it when the celebration was over, but I guess I should address it today. Was Colonel Taerin the only one asking questions?”

“Yes, and he didn’t want anyone to know that he was asking them. What is it all about?”

“I am not at liberty to discuss it in detail,” replied Clint, “but it involves a special assignment that I undertook for the emperor. I think Colonel Taerin overhead a portion of my report, but not the entire report. I will calm his fears immediately.”

“Special assignment for the emperor?” echoed General Fabio. “Why are you shown such favor in Despair while I am tossed aside?”

“The assignment was not a favor,” Clint smiled as he rose to his feet. “In fact, it was quite dangerous. Be thankful that they allowed you to remain within the safety of the Imperial Palace.”

Clint exited the room, leaving a puzzled General Fabio behind. He had considered Colonel Taerin’s suspicions to be a minor setback, but now that the colonel was asking questions, he needed to put a stop to it quickly. He entered one of the large rooms filled with celebrants and started across the floor. He was only halfway across when he caught sight of Colonel Taerin out of the side of his eye. He pretended not to notice and continued across the room and out of the palace.

Clint strode swiftly across the landscaped lawns of the palace towards his favorite bench near the waterfront. Two-thirds of the way there, he had to round a large hedge that divided the estate in sections. Just beyond the hedge was a stand of trees and then the bench. Clint rounded the hedge and immediately dropped to the ground. A few moments later, he heard footsteps moving quickly across the lawn and then Colonel Taerin appeared, moving quickly but quietly towards the stand of trees. Clint immediately rose and stole after the colonel. While the colonel slowly moved through the trees to get within sight of the bench, Clint moved up behind him.

“There is a better view of the bay from the bench,” Clint said softly.

Colonel Taerin whirled around, his face red with embarrassment.

“Perhaps we should both go and sit on the bench,” suggested Clint. “I have heard that it is a great place to clear the air. After you, Colonel.”

Colonel Taerin nodded silently as he turned and headed for the bench. Clint followed. Neither of them spoke until they were both seated on the bench.

“I am disappointed that you would question my loyalty solely on the word of a man who has a history of not understanding truth when he saw it.”

“What are you talking about?” questioned the colonel.

“Let’s not play games, Taerin. I know what Kent told you. There is no truth to the allegations, but I didn’t think you would believe me if I told you that, so I have said nothing, but I cannot allow you to go around besmirching my reputation.”

“I believed in you, Forshire,” scowled the colonel, “but Kent’s words ring too true. I do not think he had the imagination to make up such things.”

“Kent had almost no imagination,” Clint agreed with a thin smile. “I think he was honest with you when he said he heard those things from my men, but that does not make the allegations true.”

“How would you even know what Kent told me?” questioned the colonel.

“Because he told me before he left the palace grounds.”

“That is a lie,” Colonel Taerin said accusingly. “You never saw Kent the night he left. I arranged for him to flee.”

“You arrangements would have cost Kent his life,” retorted Clint. “Were you unaware that Kyrga had notified the gate guards to seize him as soon as he showed his face? You set him up to die. I don’t think you did it intentionally, but that would have definitely been the result of your meddling in my affairs.”

“Meddling in your affairs?” retorted the colonel. “I think that you spin so many tales that you no longer can keep track of your own lies. If Kyrga’s men would have killed Kent when I helped him escape, how can I believe that he got away freely when you supposedly helped him to escape? Do you have some secret way of getting out of the palace grounds?”

“I talked Kyrga into letting him go,” Clint said softly and calmly. “Kyrga issued a gate pass good until the morning, and the Grand General agreed to allow me to separate Kent from the army if he promised to leave the city within two days. Both of these documents are on file, Taerin. When Kent understood that I truly meant to keep my word, he apologized to me for what he had told you.”