Sovereign Stone (20 page)

Alexander and Isabel shared a look before she took up the line of questioning. Alexander stepped back and watched his colors. Jack stood silently in the background observing intently.

“Did you pose as the Baron to give Nero authority over the affairs of Buckwold?” she asked.

He squirmed for a moment before he answered. “Yes, but it was Nero and Rake that made me do it. I didn’t want to.”

Alexander watched the subtle shift in his aura as he gave up the pretense, and the weight of the burden of deceit sloughed off his conscience.

Isabel frowned. “How did they make you do it?”

“Well,” he hesitated, “they threatened me.”

Alexander saw he was still hiding something. “Was that all?”

He looked down and spoke very softly. “Rake also promised to pay me a thousand gold sovereigns.”

“Besides Nero, who else is involved?” Isabel asked.

“Just a couple dozen men in the palace guard. Mostly soldiers Nero brought on staff to help him with security.”

“Aside from enlisting Buckwold’s aid, was there anything else Nero was doing that we might like to know about?” she asked.

“Not that I know of, but they didn’t tell me everything.”

Isabel looked at Alexander and shrugged.

“Just one last thing,” Alexander said, “let me see you change into someone else.”

“All right. But it takes a few minutes. Who do you want me to look like?”

“How about me,” Alexander said.

The man stared at Alexander very intently for several long seconds and then started whispering a chant over and over again. After a couple of minutes, his appearance very abruptly shifted and Alexander saw himself sitting in the chair in front of him. It was a remarkable likeness, but the physician couldn’t disguise his aura. There was a distorted quality to the man’s colors that revealed he was masking his true appearance. That was what Alexander was hoping for. He nodded his approval. They left the man alone in the room and closed the door.

“We’ve got to do something about him,” Isabel said. “He’s way too dangerous. There’s no telling what kind of trouble he could cause.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” Alexander said. “I’d feel a lot better if he was unconscious. I’m going to stay here and keep an eye on him. You two go get Lucky and have him bring some deathwalker root. Jack, I’d like you to stay with the Baron while Lucky’s away from him.”

They hurried off. Alexander opened the door to find that the man looked like himself again. He stood in the doorway, arms crossed, and watched the man until Isabel returned with Lucky.

“Isabel told me about our friend here,” Lucky said. “I think your instincts are correct.” He fished around in his bag and produced a tin cup, then a water skin, and finally a jar of deathwalker-root flowers. He quickly mixed enough tincture to make the man sleep for a good eight hours.

The physician watched intently with a bit of fear.

“I think I’ll rest easier if you’re out cold. Drink up,” Alexander said.

The man tried to resist but they held his head back, pinched his nose, and poured the tincture down his throat. In ten minutes he was asleep. They tied his hands and feet and laid him down on the floor, then posted two guards with orders not to open the door for anyone unless Alexander was present.

They returned to the Baron’s bedchamber to find Anatoly and Abigail looking worried as they discussed their tactical situation with Commander Kern.

“We’re surrounded by about three hundred soldiers,” Anatoly reported. “They’re well armed and well trained. If they attack, we won’t be able to hold them off.”

“I saw Nero with General Randal on the far side of the courtyard,” Abigail said. “It looked like they were making plans. Alexander, I doubt we have long before they come for us.”

“It looks like they have a battering ram in the hall outside the door,” Anatoly added. “They’ll probably come through the door and up ladders from the courtyard at the same time.”

“My men will find it difficult to kill the palace guard,” Commander Kern said, “especially since we know that most of them are loyal servants of the Baron.”

A soldier entered with a worried look. “They say they have an answer to your demands, Lord Alexander. A representative of the court is at the door.”

“This is moving much quicker than I’d like,” Alexander muttered to himself. “Lucky, how’s the Baron?”

Lucky shrugged helplessly. “He may not wake until this time tomorrow. I’m sorry, Alexander, but there’s nothing I can do that wouldn’t put him at greater risk.”

“I guess we’d better go see what their answer is,” Alexander said, heading toward the entry hall with everyone but Lucky trailing behind him.

He carefully opened the little window in the door and saw an officer of the palace guard waiting impatiently. “Well?”

“Administrator Nero refuses to meet your demands,” he said. “The Baron was adamant about protecting the trade routes through Headwater. Furthermore, Administrator Nero demands you show proof that the Baron is alive or we will assume he’s dead and your act of war against Buckwold will be met with the full force of our army.”

Alexander smiled humorlessly. “As you well know, the Baron is ill. It will take some time to prove he’s still alive without further jeopardizing his health. I’m sure the palace guard wouldn’t want to act rashly and provoke a fight that could result in his death.” Alexander closed the little window and went to the room where the serving staff was being held.

“Sergeant,” Alexander said, “take these people to the Baron’s bedchamber.”

Alexander and his friends walked well ahead of the group of servants being herded along behind them. “Commander Kern, is there anyone in the palace who would be willing to help us if they learned the truth of Nero’s treachery?”

“Just about everybody,” Kern said.

“Anyone the palace guard would obey over Nero?” Isabel asked

“Perhaps Lady Buckwold, the Baron’s daughter,” Kern said. “She is first in line for succession. Her two brothers are still too young and the Baron has been grooming her for the position. She and Nero have been at odds for some time now.”

Alexander looked over his shoulder at Jack. “How do you feel about running an errand?”

Jack smiled. “I live to serve,” he said with a flourish. Abigail shook her head and rolled her eyes but couldn’t help grinning.

Alexander had the servants each come up and sit on the bed next to the Baron. One by one, he asked them the same question: “Is the Baron alive?”

One by one, they said, “Yes.” Once all of them had seen the Baron and verified that he was still alive, Alexander had Kern’s men escort them to the entry hall and hold them there. When they were gone, he turned to Commander Kern.

“Where can Lady Buckwold be found?”

“Either in her private chambers or in her offices; given the situation, I’d say her offices.”

“Can you draw a map?” Alexander asked. “One that shows how to get there from here?”

“I can do better than that,” Commander Kern said. “Come with me.” He led them into another chamber within the Baron’s private residence. It was a map room with maps of the palace, city, and territory. Kern walked to the wall map of the palace grounds and pointed to the building that housed both the private residence and the offices of Lady Buckwold.

“Can you find your way from here, Jack?” Alexander asked.

He studied the map closely and traced the route. Then he traced a second and a third route. When he was satisfied, he nodded. “When I find Lady Buckwold, what would you have me say?” Jack asked.

“Tell her that her father is alive but Nero is about to order an attack,” Alexander said. “If she doesn’t intervene, the Baron may not survive the battle. Tell her Nero is a traitor who has been poisoning her father and we need a day to flush the poison from his system.”

“The truth it is,” Jack said with a wink.

They returned to the entry hall. Alexander opened the little window and called out to the nearest guard. “Clear the hall of your soldiers and we will offer proof that the Baron lives.”

Alexander could see the frustration in the colors of the guard. He was clearly working with Nero, but the rest of the men were loyal to the Baron and moved quickly to clear the hall. Alexander opened the door and told the servants to file out to the guards and report on the condition of the Baron. Jack tossed up the hood of his cloak and faded out of sight. Only a slight wavering in the air could be seen as he passed through the door on the heels of the servants.

The afternoon faded into dusk and then to darkness. Alexander watched the palace guard argue with Nero, who clearly wanted them to proceed with the attack. But the testimony of the servants gave the soldiers pause. They were sworn to protect the Buckwold line regardless of Nero’s emphatic orders to attack.

The courtyard was lit with torches all around. It was a dark night shrouded in heavy clouds that blacked out the moon and stars. The torches sputtered in brief gusts of wind. Soldiers milled about waiting for orders to attack or to stand down.

After an hour of waiting for a sign from Jack, Alexander noticed a commotion in the courtyard. Nero marched one of the servants out in front of the soldiers. Alexander could see fear in her aura. She spoke with a tremor and glanced furtively at Nero as he prodded her on.

“I saw the Baron. He was dead,” she said. “The criminals told us they would hurt our children if we didn’t lie to you.” She hung her head after she gave her false testimony and a guard led her off into the palace.

Chapter 17

Nero raised his voice to address the soldiers. “The Baron is dead! He’s been murdered! You must avenge him now. Attack and leave no one alive. There is no more reason for delay. The enemies of Buckwold have killed the only reason to withhold our vengeance.”

General Randal stepped up next to Nero and commanded, “Make ready for our assault!”

The soldiers were roused to anger by the revelation of the Baron’s death and began donning helmets and strapping on shields.

One of Kern’s men came rushing through the Baron’s bedchamber and onto the balcony. “Lord Alexander, Lady Buckwold is at the door. She’s demanding to be let in to verify the condition of her father.”

Alexander smiled fiercely at the news just as another soldier rushed out to the general and spoke hastily in his ear. Alexander could see the anger flare in Nero’s colors when he was told the news. He snapped orders to prevent Lady Buckwold from entering her father’s suite at all costs, then grabbed General Randal by the arm and pulled him close to reiterate his orders to attack.

Alexander turned and ran for the entry hall. He threw open the little window and saw Lady Buckwold standing not ten feet from the door. He tossed up the bar and pulled the pin from the floor. The Baron’s daughter entered silently with Jack trailing behind her still less than visible. Just as he dropped the bar back into place, Alexander heard a breathless and exasperated guard rush into the hall and yell to stop her.

She stopped in front of Alexander and appraised him with a stern expression. She was a plain-looking woman, not ugly by any means but not beautiful either. Her hair was dark blond and naturally wavy. Her eyes were slate grey and her skin was a touch too pale. She stood just over five and a half feet tall and, while she wasn’t fat, she was big-boned. She wore a long, plain grey dress made from coarse cloth.

“You are the man responsible for this,” she said. It was not a question. Jack became visible behind her and Alexander gave him a brief look of thanks.

“I am,” Alexander replied. “Please come with me, Lady Buckwold.” She didn’t hesitate when he turned and strode off toward the Baron’s bedchamber. She followed him wordlessly through the halls. Kern’s soldiers looked slightly shamed by the reproving looks she gave them as she passed.

Alexander led her straight to the Baron. When she saw her father, she went to his bedside and took his hand. She choked back a sob at seeing him alive and breathing slowly and deeply. Then she stood and faced Alexander.

“Master Colton tells me that my father has been poisoned by Nero.”

Alexander nodded gravely. “Nero is a traitor to Buckwold and Ruatha. His loyalties lie with Elred Rake and Prince Phane. Your father should wake from the poison sometime tomorrow.”

Before she could respond, a soldier stuck his head into the room and shouted, “The palace guard is advancing!”

A look of thunderous anger overtook her severe expression and she marched out onto the balcony and up to the railing. In a clear and loud voice, she spoke to the palace guard moving under cover of shields and carrying ladders toward the building.

“I am Lady Buckwold. My father lives. I command you to stand down.”

The soldiers slowed, then stopped as they looked up at her on the balcony. A murmur of confusion rippled through them.

Nero stood far in the back and shouted, “Attack! You must attack!” But his commands were lost on the palace guard—they had sworn to protect the Buckwold line.