Queen (Brotherhood of the Throne) (18 page)

“Brenna.” Brenna smiled at the
woman and took her hand in her own. Two of the others came forward too but the
fourth simply wrapped her blanket tighter and hurried away.

“Don’t mind her,” Shalla said. “The
witch haters took her ma and then she got put with these wagons. This here’s
Glyn and Iona. Did you come on the wagon with Neemah? I didn’t see you there.”

“Not for the last few days.” Neemah
stepped out of the dusk. “But this whole rescue was her idea. Brenna even took
Pater’s place with the men in order to make sure everyone was safe.” Neemah
turned to Brenna and handed her a wrapped cloth. “Here’s some dinner. I’ve
delayed Dasid as much as I could to give you a chance to get cleaned up but he
says he has more information from the prisoners and he needs you to come as
soon as you can. Now ladies, let’s get you three get back to camp. We’ll need
everyone’s help to get us all settled for the night.”

Neemah herded the women up the
stream bed, back towards the camp. She looked back at Brenna and winked and
Brenna smiled, grateful to have a respite from their questions and curious
looks. With a sigh she opened the cloth to find a thick slice of cheese and
some dried meat and journey bread. She ate as she walked back to drop her
bundle of dirty clothes near the wagon. A few minutes later she found Dasid,
Wils and Pater huddled around a fire.

Kane paced the room, his hand on
the hilt of his sword. Brenna had sent him a quick word of their success and
the promise that she would contact him later with all the details. Now it was midnight and there was still no word. He hated this waiting. He stopped pacing and
laughed.

“What’s so funny? Did Brenna
contact you?” Eryl asked. He was sprawled in the chair, his feet on the wooden
bench.

“No. I was just thinking about how
much I take Brenna’s abilities for granted.” Kane shoved Eryl’s feet to the
edge of the bench and sat down. “When I was Captain of the Kingsguard and I
sent men out on a mission, let’s say near the border with Langemore, it could
be months before I knew if they were successful and even longer before I could talk
directly to the men involved and get the details. Now,” he shook his head. “Now
I already know that today’s mission was successful yet I’m still impatient for
details.”

“Brenna does that - make you forget
how things were before her,” Eryl said. “There’s been no healer in the Quarter for
over a year and more folk have died than would have if Brenna had still been
here, I’ll tell you that.”

“Well don’t tell her that,” Kane
said. The last thing he wanted was for Brenna to feel responsible for people
dying in Thieves Quarter. “Did Marcus have news?”

“Just that even less trade is
coming into the city than expected.” Eryl had just returned from meeting with
the Guild Master. “He’s worried that food shortages will happen even before
midwinter.”

“That’s sooner than we thought,”
Kane said. They’d hoped the food would last until early spring at the very
least. “Can he ship more in?”

“Not sure,” Eryl said. “Marcus has
the word out to all corners of Soule but either the goods aren’t there or the
traders won’t come to Kingsreach. Although.” Eryl’s lip curled. “If food is scarce
enough there might be those who’ll risk coming in order to make a huge profit.”

“By Jik,” Kane said in disgust.
“The Quarter can’t afford food now. These traders will get rich by feeding
those few with money and allow the rest to starve.”

“So Marcus says,” Eryl agreed.

“And most of Kingsreach starves.”
Kane dragged his hand through his hair, hating this feeling of powerlessness.

“Not exactly,” Eryl drawled. “The
church has promised to feed anyone who follows the One-God. The High Bishop
issued a proclamation a few days ago.” He grinned. “The people of Thieves
Quarter have always been practical.”

“And they’ll be fed? Won’t the
church be suspicious?”

“I’m sure they will be,” Eryl said.
“But they’d still have to feed any who ask. They can’t let their true believers
catch them lying. Lots of folk have already
converted
.”

“And are they convincing?”

“That’s where I come in.” Eryl
flashed him another grin. “My lads and me have been working on some things folk
can say and do that the church can’t ignore. Marcus had some ideas on that as
well.”

Kane smiled. They could help keep
the people of Kingsreach fed and put extra stress on Thorold and the High
Bishop at the same time. “I like this. With everyone converting Duke Thorold
will have a harder time finding people to ship off to the mines,” he said.

Eryl nodded. Kane was about to
settle back against the wall when he felt Brenna contacting him.

“
Kane
,” she said. “
Kane
.”

“
I’m here
.” His hand gripped
his sword pommel tight. “
Are you all right
?”

“
I’m fine. There were no serious
injuries for either Dasid’s men or the prisoners. Just blisters and a turned
ankle or two
.” Brenna paused. “
Pater says hello
.”

“
Tell him I’m glad he’s fine
,”
Kane said. “
But I’m still angry you risked yourself. You shouldn’t have
.”

“
But it worked
,” Brenna
replied.

“
And next time it might not. When
you accepted the crown you accepted the responsibility to lead. You’re the only
one who can
.” He paused, trying to find just the right words. “
It’s not
that I don’t care what happens to anyone else but we are all expendable
compared to you. All of us
.” She had to understand this or she would never
be a great leader, she would never see the overall picture and would spend her
time and energy dealing with the smaller problems - problems that could be handled
by others.

 “
Brenna
?” She remained
silent but he could still feel her through old steel - he called her again. “
Brenna
?”

“
I’m here
,” she replied. “
And
you’re wrong
.”

“
I simply want you to keep
yourself as safe as possible
,” he said. “
You have to understand your
role. There are other things – more important tasks – that only you can do.
”

“
I understand what you’re saying.
”
Her words crackled with anger. “
But you’re wrong. Only I could have created
that illusion, only I could have manipulated the fog. My magic made this a
bloodless fight. That’s worth it to me
.”

“
All right
,” Kane said,
startled. He couldn’t remember the last time Brenna had been this angry at him.
“
But you risked yourself unnecessarily to save Pater
.”

“
In my view, not an unnecessary
risk. I saved both Pater and Ronan and taking Pater’s place allowed me to know
where the guards were at all times. That helped Dasid a lot
.”

“
Yes, but
…” Kane started
but Brenna cut him off.

“
Kane, you have to trust me. I’m
not a child. And if I’m to rule then I need to learn to make decisions
.”
She paused. “
And maybe the odd mistake. Which would be better to make during
a small skirmish than an all out war, don’t you think
?”

“
You’re right
,” Kane said.
And she was. He shook his head. He’d wanted her to start learning to rule. It
served him right that she started by disagreeing with him. “
I’m sorry. You and
Dasid conceived a plan that you felt was appropriate and that plan worked
exceptionally well. Now tell me what you and Dasid have found out about these
slavers
.”

Kane leaned back against the wall
as Brenna told him what they’d learned from the leader of the wagon guards.

“
You don’t think Mannel even
wants the prisoners as slaves
?” he asked. “
I’ll have Marcus see what he
can find out about that tomorrow. I’m meeting him in the morning so there’s no
need for you to contact him tonight. The last few days must have drained you. Draw
some strength from me if you need to
.”

“
I’m fine. I took Dasid’s advice
and drew some power from Gaskain last night
.
”

“
Good to hear it
.” Kane
thanked the gods that she was starting to overcome her reluctance to using
Brothers when she needed to. “
How long before you’re out of Comack
?” Thorold’s
militia patrolled even that high in the mountains, but none of them knew how
often.  If he was in charge he’d have men doing sweeps at minimum every three
or four weeks.

“
Dasid says another day. Most of
the Kingsreach folk are just tired so a single day’s rest with a few good meals
should help put them to rights. And going downhill will be easier than up
.”

“
Are they all going to
Silverdale
?” Kane asked.

“
Neemah’s going to sort them out
,”
Brenna replied and Kane was relieved that she was letting someone handle this
task. “
She’ll find out what skills they have and tell them who they can speak
to once they reach town. She already thinks that some may be better going
farther north
.”

“
Tell Dasid he did good work
.”
Kane paused. “
And so did you, Brenna. I’m proud of you, I just need you to
stay safe
.”

“
I’ll do my best
,” Brenna
replied. “
Right now I need to get some sleep
.”

“
Good night then. I’ll let you
know what I find out from Marcus
.” He smiled as their conversation ended and
looked up to see Eryl grinning at him.

“By the looks that crossed your
face,” Eryl said. “I’d guess Brenna that with a crown is still the same Brenna
- frustrating and surprising at the same time.”

Startled, Kane laughed.

Three days later, the first night they
had the wagons heading back towards Silverdale, Brenna contacted Kane.

Kane told her that Marcus’ network
of merchants, Brothers and minor nobility could find nothing that indicated that
King Mannel was other than a king who was trying to help his people, and his country,
prosper. The nobles knew that he was eager to wed his daughter but there was
nothing suspicious about his desire to either expand his holdings or increase
trade by doing that. A few merchants had heard rumours that Langemore’s fishing
fleets had not been successful for the past few seasons and that Mannel wanted
to secure trade for grain and meat to offset the poor catches.

“
We know that
Mannel had
offered his daughter in marriage to Ewart long before Thorold proposed Beldyn
,”
Brenna said when Kane finished his report. “
There are no rumours that he’s
interested in war. Maybe all he wants is to feed his people
?”

“
But Mannel was considered a
threat long before his daughter was of marriageable age
,” Kane replied. “
It
was certainly discussed at council with Mattias
.”

“
Yes, but who brought it up
?”

He paused for a moment. “
You’re
right. It was always Thorold who described Langemore as a threat – and Thorold corresponded
with him on behalf of King Mattias.
”

“
And we know Thorold was
poisoning Mattias for at least six years
.” Brenna paused. “
Kane, you’ve
been there, on the border with Langemore. Did you ever have any trouble with
Mannel’s troops
?”

“
None. Bandits were preying on
the folk who live there, on both sides of the border, and the Kingsguard and the
Langemorian army worked together to rout them
.” She felt his sigh across
the distance that separated them. “
Maybe King Mannel isn’t doing anything
other than bargaining with Thorold
.”

“
That’s what I think.  I also think
we need to change that
.”

“
What do you have in mind
?’
Kane asked. She could hear the wariness in the question. He wouldn’t like her
answer but it was something that only she could do.

“
I need to pay a visit to King
Mannel
.”

Kane was quiet for a few moments. She
could feel his fear through their connection. A trek over the mountains wasn’t
something she wanted to do, but she felt it was necessary.

“
I can’t forbid it
,” he
said. “
You are going to be queen and you need to do what you feel is right.
But I will council against it. We have no idea what kind of reception you will
receive. Besides, it will be winter soon and you could be stranded in Langemore
until spring. You can’t be gone that long, not when we’re expecting to go to
war in the spring
.”

“
I won’t be stranded
,” she
replied. “
I can manipulate the weather so I’ll be able to get there and back
– and I’m the only one who can do that. Just as I’m the only one who can talk
to Mannel sovereign to sovereign and I’m the only one who can communicate with all
parts of Soule
.” There was a pause and Brenna bit her lip. She’d expected
him to rant, to be angry, but his controlled, thoughtful argument underscored
by the intense fear she felt from him through the old steel was almost
unbearable. She wanted to tell him that she wouldn’t go, that she’d return to
Silverdale and stay safe all winter. But that wasn’t what she needed to do -
she knew that in her heart.