The Lodestone Trilogy (Limited Edition) (The Lodestone Series) (7 page)

Morran leaned over the counter towards her and lowered his voice. “Careful, friend. The Prophet’s servants are not well regarded here at present.”

“Has something happened here?” Keris asked innocently. However, it was the big man at the table who answered.

“Nothing but the wanton murder of a good man.” The man’s voice was a bass rumble with a hint of menace. Keris` expression of shock was genuine.
Sallidor had been sent to investigate, nothing more. What had gone wrong?

She turned to face the man at the table. “Forgive me, friend; I did not mean to give offence. I deal only with the cutters. I am a simple merchant, arrived in your town but late this afternoon. I had no idea something so ill had transpired here.”

Then something quite unexpected happened. The figure sitting next to the man cuffed him squarely on the shoulder. The big man flinched. The figure spoke up, and it was a woman’s voice. “
Jadar!
” She was easily half his size, which made the scene appear that much more comical. She had delicate features, and her dark hair was combed straight back.

“I apologise for my partner.” She glanced in his direction, but he had assumed a morose silence. “What has taken place here is no excuse to resort to suspicion and bad manners. Please, won’t you join us?”

She gestured to a third stool at their table. Keris took the opening gratefully and sat down. “May I get you a drink?” she offered.

“You are kind,” the woman responded. “But as you can see for yourself, Jadar has had quite enough for one evening.”

The big man was still staring straight ahead. “Poltann was a
good
man,” he repeated more to himself than anyone else.

“That was the man who died?” Keris asked the other woman.

“Executed,” continued Jadar. “Strung up and left to die by the Prophet’s soldiers.”

“Why? What did he do?”

Keris learned that he was the owner of the Wayfarer, another inn fronting the next street over. It was where the girl who was involved with the incident three days ago had worked. That explained the connection, but not why the man was now dead.

She listened to the parts of the story she already knew, registering shock and concern in the appropriate places. A strange man impersonating a Keltar had tried unsuccessfully to set free the tributes and then fled. She listened closely to the description of the impostor. A few people had caught a glimpse of him, but it seemed he was unknown in these parts. The couple seemed sincere, and Keris had no reason to disbelieve them. That left the girl as her only lead.

The girl had worked in the kitchens there. It seemed unlikely that such a person could be a part of an insurgency movement, but it could be part of a cover, Keris supposed. In any event, her next move was clear.

The woman, who she had learned was named Fallon, had a kind, easy manner. Even Jadar seemed to have shaken himself out of his black mood and smiled slightly. Keris found herself drawn to the two of them and would have liked nothing better than to have whiled away the evening in their company, but she had work to do.

She excused herself on the pretext of retiring for the night and located her room. Once the door was closed behind her, she located her flying cloak, black tunic and black trousers. Moments later, Keris the diamond merchant was no more; in her place stood Keris the Keltar. She opened the window latch, climbed onto the window sill and glided to the street below. Moving between pools of shadow, she headed for the Wayfarer

~

The rear of the Inn was quiet, with no lights showing. That was unusual. Innkeepers normally kept late hours, although the owner of this particular establishment was dead, so perhaps the guests had taken rooms elsewhere. That would make her task rather easier.

She approached the kitchen door silently. A simple catch on the inside. She reached inside the pouch at her belt and felt for an oval shaped lodestone. It resisted her pull on it slightly. Taking it out, she placed it carefully against the door, a little way beneath the catch. Its repulsive force was enough to push the latch up. In a single fluid movement, she slipped inside and closed the door behind her.

The stairway to the left would lead to the staff chambers. She ascended and came to a hallway with three doors set in them.
All
right, we do this one by one.
The first door was unlocked. She entered and shut the door behind her. A brief search turned up nothing of interest. She was about to turn to go when she heard a scraping sound. A split second later, the door to the room flew open and two silhouettes burst in, weapons drawn.

Without taking the time to turn, she jabbed her elbow backward. She heard a satisfying “Ooomph” as she made contact with the intruder’s stomach. As the body doubled up, she jerked her fist upward, feeling her knuckles make contact with the face as it descended. She spun around in time to see her attacker stagger backwards and fall to the floor on his rump. The other was advancing, weapon raised. She crouched down and launched a spinning kick which took out her opponent’s legs from under him.

A light suddenly appeared at the doorway, illuminating the forms of two soldiers sprawled on the floor. One was bleeding profusely from the nose. A man’s voice called out, “What’s going on in there?”

The dark uniformed man stepped into the room, holding an oil lamp. He bore a Captain’s insignia.

Keris faced him squarely. “You are Sallidor.”

The Captain squinted at her by the lamp’s lambent light. “Keltar?”

She glanced at the soldiers, who were by now helping each other up from the floor. One was still clutching his bloody nose. “May I ask why your men do not issue the customary challenge, but attack on sight like scaran beasts?”

It was a moment before Sallidor found his voice. “My apologies, Keltar, but this is a secure area. We did not know you were here.” He seemed to recover his courage somewhat. “May I ask the purpose of your presence here?”

“That should be obvious, even to you. I am conducting an investigation into the events of three days ago.”

“My men and I were sent here to–”

“I know why you are here, Captain. I also know that you executed the proprietor of this establishment. Why?”

“He refused to give any information.”

Keris had a strong urge to shake the man by the throat. “Well, he certainly won’t be giving us any information now, will he?”

Sallidor seemed lost for words. She changed tack. “What have you uncovered about the girl that worked here?”

“Only that she worked in the kitchens. She eluded our soldiers and was seen leaving the town by the West Gate.”

The West Gate… The West Gate…
her mind worked rapidly.
The road to Lind. That was the girl’s likely destination, then.
She would need to head there first thing tomorrow.

She came to another decision. “This investigation is now being conducted by the Keltar. You have new orders, Captain. You and your men are to withdraw from the town first thing tomorrow morning. You will return to Chalimar and report to Mordal on arrival there.”

“Yes, but–”

Keris shut her eyes and raised her voice in an expression of exaggerated patience. “Do you understand the orders you have been given?”

“Yes, Keltar.”

“Then carry out your orders.”

“Yes, Keltar.”

“Now leave…and take these men with you.”

Moments later, she was alone again in the dim chamber. She felt sick to her stomach, again.
Another man dead. Another casual murder. Was this really all a part of the Prophet`s grand vision?
She felt as if she were being swept up and borne along by forces she could not control. She had to put a stop to all of this somehow. Maybe she could put her concerns to Mordal when she returned to the keep?
He did not seem
concerned at all by the loss of the “tributes.” What makes you think anyone will listen?

She was struck by another thought.
What will happen to the girl if I take her into custody
and bring her back to the keep?
Keris had no answers. All she could do was to follow her mission’s path and see where it led her.

She climbed out onto the window ledge, and leapt into the caliginous night.

<><><><><>

Chapter 4

Shann rose slowly toward consciousness and opened her eyes. Shafts of light were filtering through closed shutters, playing over the cot where she lay. The room was small, with a single stool next to the bed and a hearth opposite, presently unlit.

She closed her eyes again, recalling her flight the previous night, and how she had been taken in by Alondo and Hedda. They seemed kind, and Hedda reminded her of Gallar.
I
wonder how she and Poltann are– if they are worrying about me. Perhaps I should try to get word to them somehow to let them know I’m all right?

She sat up in bed and saw that she was wearing a grey nightshirt. With a start, she realised that she couldn’t remember how she’d gotten to bed last night. Someone had apparently carried her here, undressed her and put her in night attire. The bandage on her ankle was gone also. She felt a wave of embarrassment.

There was a light knock at the door, and Hedda entered.

“I see my brave little one is awake.”
There was that word again.
“How are you feeling this morning?” Hedda crossed the room and opened the shutters, allowing sunlight to wash into the room

“I’m fine, thank you.” Shann replied, squinting at the illumination of day. She ran a hand through her short dark hair.

“How’s the ankle?”

Shann flexed the joint experimentally beneath the sheet. “Better, I think.”

“That’s good. Are you hungry?”

Shann`s stomach informed her that she was in fact famished. She nodded.

“There’s something on the stove for you when you’re ready.” Hedda laid out garments at the end of the bed. “I’m afraid I don’t have any clothes your size. There are some of Alondo`s clothes for now. They will be a bit baggy, I’m afraid, but they should do–at least, until we can get you something more suitable.”

“I don’t know how to thank you for last night,” Shann began.

The older woman smiled. “Nonsense, I’m just glad you made it here, and we found you safe. If you are feeling well enough, I thought we might take a little trip.”

She sounded as if she were proposing a vacation or a sightseeing tour.

“Trip?”

“Yes, the gentleman you assisted last evening would very much like to meet you.”

“Where is he?”

“Not far. Why don’t you hurry up and get dressed?”

~

Later that morning, Shann sat alongside Alondo and Hedda as their cart rumbled out from Lind and onto a winding country road. Wayside flowers unfurled their petals, and small birds pecked at the warming soil, affirming that spring was now well underway. Ail-Gan bathed the landscape in its bright yellow effulgence. In the distance farmers toiled in the fields and domestic animals grazed contentedly. It all seemed so at odds with the happenings of last night, as if those events had taken place on a different world and in a different time.

“If we should be stopped by soldiers,” Hedda had told her at the house, “you should say you are a cousin of mine, visiting from Kinnat.”

Shann nodded. “Hedda, the man I met last night in Corte, the man who gave me the disc. Who is he?

“His name is Lyall. He and Alondo have been friends since they were children. They’ve been getting into trouble together ever since.”

“Why did he attack the Keltar?”

“As to that…it would be better if you asked him yourself. You will be seeing him soon enough.” She placed a reassuring hand on the girl’s shoulder.

Shann found it remarkable that she felt able to trust these people so completely, despite having known them for less than a day.