The Eyes of a Doll (The World of Shijuren Book 2) (20 page)

“If you do, you’ll die. Actually, we’ll both die.”

“What?”

“If they were willing to kill you to keep you from getting to Lezh, how hard will they work to prevent you from returning to Achrida, now that you might very well have done exactly as you have and spoken to Ylli?”

“Oh.”

“Right now, you’re the most dangerous person in the world to them.”

I started to disagree but realized that everyone in the room agreed with him.

“Time for you to think, Sevener. Time for all of us to think.”

We sat around the plain table and looked at each other for a long while. Ylli was leaning back, tapping his fingers together. Era had pulled out some parchment and a charcoal pencil and was drawing intricate symbols. Sebastijan finished his wine and filled his glass again. 

Ylli interrupted our ruminations.

“Hristo, sit with us, your wisdom may be valuable. The rest of you go about your duties. Tell Spartak to bring us more refreshment.”

The armsmen filed out as Hristo leaned his spear against the wall and sat next to Ylli.

We continued thinking in silence until the small man returned with fresh decanters and a platter of cheeses and fruits. He placed small plates before the five of us, along with pure white cotton napkins. I suspected the napkins were worth a fortune on their own. He left as quietly and smoothly as he had arrived.

“You should try this reddish cheese. I take advantages of trading along the Kopayalitsa by searching for new and different things.”

The cheese was strong, but not overpowering. Ylli ate it with green grapes. I copied him and found the flavors complementing each other.

“We have to get Edward back to Achrida unseen and unannounced.”

Ylli nodded at Sebastijan. “Yes. And we should try to keep the illusion that he is here.”

“Why?”

Sebastijan turned to me. “You are only one man. If they can influence Andreas enough that he can defy Vukasin then whoever is behind this has many more blades at his disposal than you.”

“Oh. Yes, he would.”

“That means if you are going to poke around in Achrida you’re going to need to do so quietly.”

“Why not you? You know I’m not good at that. Why not have me work openly and you help when needed?”

“Four reasons. First, even with my men I’m not sure we can hold off what we’re facing. We simply don’t know enough right now. Second, Gibroz does not trust me. Whoever is working in Achrida has to work with Gibroz at least somewhat. He won’t let me poke around.”

“What do you mean?”

“What he means, lad, is that at least part of the plot is hidden in Gibroz’s organization. Had you said no, whoever I sent to Achrida would have had to sort through Gibroz’s people for the ones who are cheating him. None of my men would be allowed to see that much. Nor would Sebastijan. Only you, an outsider who has already earned some of his trust, could be allowed to see inside his plans.”

Sebastijan continued. “Third, I’m too well known in Achrida. If I start picking through Gibroz’s people, someone will try to kill me, either for interfering with this plot or messing with Gibroz’s people. You, on the other hand, are still relatively new. Yes, it would be better if you hadn’t turned the Enchelei on their heads, but you’re still much less known.”

He sipped at his wine. “So, I’m not going back to Achrida with you.”

“Why not?”

“You have to be somewhere. You’ll stay here.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I’ll stay here in Lezh with Deor, and people will believe you’re still here.”

Ylli nodded primly. “Excellent idea, Sebastijan. I can host you, Deor, and, ostensibly, Edward here and people will be none the wiser. Deor is a servant, I take it?”

Sebastijan and I laughed.

“Anything but. He’s my friend, no doubt, but he’s a horse.”

“An angry, foul-tempered horse that bites and kicks.”

“Yes, he does that too.”

Ylli laughed. “That will work. We’ll move the three of you here today. While you’re in Achrida, we’ll make sure everyone thinks you’re here, even the Dassaretae who ward you. I can handle that, especially with Sebastijan and your horse here as well.”

“But that still does not solve the problem of getting him back to Achrida.”

“I have some ideas on that, Sebastijan.”

Ylli turned to Hristo. “What is the schedule for caravans heading back to Achrida?”

“One leaves tomorrow. One leaves the day after, I am scheduled as its guard captain. After that I am not sure as I’ll be traveling.”

“Excellent. Sevener, you’ll be a new guard recruit in Hristo’s troop guarding that caravan.”

“Won’t your people think that’s strange?”

“To a point, Sebastijan. They’ll know he’s not a normal guard, especially when he leaves the caravan, but this won’t be the first time that’s happened and they know not to talk. I routinely send people to Achrida in this manner.”

“My men know what to see and what not,” growled Hristo.

I shrugged. “Be that as it may, the guards at the gates will probably know me. How do I get past them?”

Ylli looked at me oddly. “Why would you think that you’ll enter through the gates?”

“Because that’s how one gets into Achrida.”

Ylli and Sebastijan rolled their eyes.

“There are other ways to get into the city, Sevener,” chuckled Ylli. “Many others.”

“Fine, so you get me inside Achrida. Then what? I suppose I shouldn’t go to the Faerie.”

“No, you shouldn’t. I will give you a token to show to Radovan. You’ll stay with him. Won’t be the first time he’s hosted a client of ours.”

“Excellent,” mused Ylli. “But he cannot complete his tasks alone. Can your men get word to Gibroz without notice?”

“Yes, Ylli, they can.”

“Good. He’ll need Gibroz’s help to investigate his people.”

I leaned in. “Will he allow that?”

“I think I can convince him. I’ll send a letter with you. You shall give the letter to…”

“Radovan,” Sebastijan supplied.

“…Radovan, and have deliver it to Gibroz. Hopefully, Gibroz will provide the help you need.

I and turned to Sebastijan. “How about Zvono and Kapric?”

“Why would you need them, Edward?”

“I don’t know.”

“Nor I, but if needed we can probably make arrangements.”

“So the plan is that I travel to Achrida in one of your caravans and you’ll make arrangements to get me inside the walls secretly. Sebastijan stays here with Deor to provide the illusion I’m still in Lezh. I work with Gibroz to figure out which people are cheating him. Do I have that right?”

“Yes.”

“But where do I start?”

Ylli shook his head at my ignorance.

“Start with the money, Edward.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m paying Gibroz his proper cut. However, he’s either not getting his proper cut or not getting told he’s getting the cut. Someone is meddling with that money.”

“How do you pay him?”

“I have a man in Achrida who handles that.”

“What’s his name?”

“Ognyan. You will want to investigate him. I shall provide you with a list of places to find him, though as I recall he generally spends his time at one place in particular. You should watch him before approaching him.”

“I should?”

“Yes. If he is actively working against me it is possible you will see evidence.”

“Actually, Sevener, you’ll want to do that for all of the people in Gibroz’s group as well.”

“What do you mean, Sebastijan?”

He sighed. “I don’t know. Look for anything that seems out of the ordinary. For example, if Ognyan or any of Gibroz’s people are taking money from the Kopayalitsa tribute, then they’ll probably be spending it. They’ll look like they’re richer than they should be.”

“That makes sense.”

“If they’re smart, they won’t do that, but it’s possible. Maybe they’re meeting with people they shouldn’t. I don’t know. You’ll just have to watch and look.”

“How will I know if they’re meeting people they shouldn’t?”

“Good question. Maybe Gibroz can help with that. Or maybe you can get a Reader to help.”

“Not likely.”

“I know. Katarina seems to like you. Maybe you could get her to help.”

I shuddered. “Even less likely.”

“The point is, you’re going to have to start thinking like an Achridan. Stop thinking of things in a straight line.”

I thought about that for a while. “There’s only one of Gibroz’s people that I would trust to help with this.”

“Who is he?”

“Actually, Ylli, she’s a woman. Gabrijela.”

“His erkurios?”

“Yes. I wish I could just talk to her directly instead of Gibroz and his thugs.”

Sebastijan cocked his head at me.

“If I’m to start thinking like an Achridan, I need to start thinking that every person involved is a potential threat.”

“Of course.”

“It’s obvious to you, not to me. Given that Pal broke his word to his entire tribe, it’s clear to me that oaths are not as strongly held here as they are in the Seven Kingdoms.”

“Treachery doesn’t happen there?”

I sat back. Had not Penwulf betrayed his father? And his entire household, including me? Had I not just learned that lesson?

“You’re right.” I paused. “It just seems so normal here for people to break their word.”

“Have I?”

“No, Sebastijan you have not.”

“Kapric and Zvono?”

I shook my head.

“Now that I’ve convinced you some people here are true to their word, I’ll actually urge you not to trust anyone in the Empire.”

“I’m confused.”

“I suspect the Seven Kingdoms are filled with as much day-to-day treachery as the Empire. It may just be that we’re more honest about our dishonesty. Whatever. But if you’re wrong, if you place your trust in someone while unraveling this mess, you’ll be dead.”

“Yes.”

“So, let’s return to the main question.”

“Well, we know that something is going wrong getting Ylli’s money to Gibroz. One of the likely possibilities is that one of Gibroz’s people is involved.”

“Yes, do we have any idea who it could be?”

“It’s not Gibroz, because if he wanted a war with Ylli he’d just attack. His best shot would be to eliminate all of Ylli’s people in Achrida and send his assault to Lezh before Ylli heard about it.”

“Agreed. And I see you’ve learned from your experience with Pal.”

I ignored his sly smile and continued. “I doubt it’s Gabrijela.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. Maybe because of the five people that are always in Gibroz’s office, she’s the only one who seems to get anything done.”

“Watch yourself. You don’t really have any way to confirm that she’s honest, or at least honest to Gibroz.”

“You’re right. I’ll keep an eye on her, but she sure doesn’t feel right.”

“Fine, who else?”

“I don’t trust any of his four thugs. If I can work with Gabrijela or Gibroz without them knowing, I think my chances of success are much better.”

“Agreed, but again, don’t ignore Gabrijela.”

I nodded.

“Who else?”

“I don’t know much else of his organization. I know I don’t want to go to his gambling parlor in the Stracara. There are too many eyes.”

“Yes.”

Ylli interrupted us. “It seems, gentlemen, that you have a hint of an initial plan. I will try to arrange a meeting between you and Gabrijela that no one else might know about.”

Sebastijan and I looked at Ylli.

“Go on.”

“As I said, I intend to send a letter directly to Gibroz anyway. I need to explain what is going on from my perspective. It is the only way I can see to forestall a war between us.”

“Better to avoid the mess than clean it up.”

“Exactly.”

“Era can put a spell on the letter than will prevent any but Gibroz opening it. In that letter, I will expressly ask that he have Gabrijela meet with you somewhere in secret, and warn him keep the meeting secret from his other people.”

“How will we know when and where to meet?”

“Simple. We tell Gibroz of a time and a place for her to meet you. A place where both of you have multiple escape routes.”

“The amphitheater?”

“Great idea, Sebastijan. There’s always a crowd there for the plays. I’ll tell him to send Gabrijela to watch the next production after he receives the letter.”

“And I’ll know when he gets the letter.”

“Yes, and hopefully Radovan can get the letter to him on the same day you get to Achrida.”

We pondered the plan further, finally Sebastijan spoke up. “It’s the best idea we’ve got, I think, but you should also see if it’s only Ylli’s money that is going astray.”

“Why?”

“Right now, we’re thinking this is a plot to get Gibroz and Ylli fighting with each other. But, we could be wrong. Maybe the target is only Gibroz, and they’re messing with him in a bunch of different ways.”

“Katarina?”

“Sure, she’s an obvious suspect. This is the kind of thing she’d enjoy. She’d love watching Gibroz and Ylli butcher each other.”