The Mansions of Idumea (Book 3 Forest at the Edge series) (79 page)

After a minute, the master sergeant came
behind the colonel and gently put a hand on his shoulder. He
squatted next to him and whispered something to Shin. After another
moment Colonel Shin nodded, wiped his eyes with his dirty sleeve,
patted both coffins and struggled to his feet.

The sergeant put his arm around him, and the
lines of soldiers took another step back to allow the two men,
arm-in-arm, trudge back up the slope.

When they reached the road, they didn’t stop
or turn around to observe the lowering of the coffins, but
continued on slowly away from the gathering, across the vast
cemetery past the thousands of other fallen soldiers, and out of
view.

Chapter 25
~
“So the Quiet Man is still
our
man.”

I
t’d been an
impossibly long day for Mahrree and her children. The plan had been
to work. Just work. Not think, not worry, just work.

Except that Edge didn’t get the message. The
message they got was, Rush over to the Shins and tell them how
sorry you are.

It was nice to hear, Mahrree had to admit,
but it always happened just as she was finally making some decent
progress in loosening a stubborn timber from a pile of rubble, and
the focus of her concentration made her temporarily forget the
agony in her heart—

That’s when the, “Oh look—it’s the Shins! We
just heard, and I’m so sorry . . .” cut into her efforts. Each time
she heard the wailing croon it sucked her energy and resolve nearly
dry. She’d give up, take the embrace, and miserably wait until it
was over so she could get back to something real and useful, such
as freeing a timber.

Four soldiers followed them around, on
Karna’s orders, and in turn Mahrree ordered them to work. They
could easily snatch up their swords in a moment’s notice if some
brazen Guarder decided to attack the Shins in broad daylight in the
middle of the village.

But what they found when they trudged home
that evening, exhausted and depleted, stopped Mahrree and her
children in their tracks and wrenched out a new set of tears.

Flowers.

Flowers, everywhere.

Wedged in the slats of the wooden fence,
along the rock path to their front door, all over the porch, and
even into the house. Every bulb that had sent its blooms bravely up
through the last snowfall, every shrub that had dared to open its
buds, had been cut and delivered to the Shin house.

Mahrree sat down, right there in the road,
and held her head to weep. Others had died in their village—over
one hundred—but none of them had been given the entire village’s
supply of flowers.

“They wanted to do something,” said a gentle
and familiar voice above her. Someone squeezed her shoulder kindly.
“Relf and Joriana saved the village from starvation, and it seems
it cost them their lives. Everyone asked me how they could honor
their memories. This was all anyone had left to give.”

Mahrree looked up into the peaked expression
of Rector Yung. The poor man must not have slept in weeks, but here
he stood again, ready to check on them, and ready with a shoulder
to cry on.

“It’s beautiful,” Jaytsy sobbed quietly.
“Reminds me of the gardens in the mansion district. Rector Yung,
you would’ve appreciated their gardens. Flowers, everywhere. Just
like this.”

Peto just sniffed and nodded.

Hycymum stood at the front door; she hadn’t
left all day, but waited for news about her son-in-law that never
came. “There’s more inside,” she called softly. “They’ve been
bringing them all day. Fortunately you have a lot of empty jugs I
could use to arrange them. Your gathering room has never looked
lovelier.”

Mahrree chuckled pitifully. At least her
mother had a pleasant time arranging the tribute to and for the
Shins. She massaged her forehead, unable to release the pressure
building there.

“It is lovely,” she confessed as she allowed
Rector Yung to help her to her feet. “Please send out the word that
we’re most grateful and overwhelmed.”

“I will,” the old man told her. “What more
can I do, Mrs. Shin?”

“Just keep praying for us, Rector. Pray that
our men come home.”

---

Two men sat in the dark office of an unlit
building.

“Not that I’m one for saying ‘I told you
so,’—”

“Oh, yes you are!” Doctor Brisack snapped at
his companion.

But Nicko Mal wasn’t about to be silenced.
Not tonight, of all nights. “But
I told you so!
Not only did
Perrin Shin show up, he barged unannounced into my Conference Room,
jumped on my table, and tried to kill Gadiman!” He slapped the
armrest of the chair in triumph. “Ha!”

Brisack slowly began to smile. “I’ll admit
it: when you’re right, Nicko, you’re really right.”

Chairman Mal threw back his head and laughed.
“What a marvelous day! Not only did I see my old irritant buried,
but I also watched his son fall to his knees and writhe in
misery—”

“—then fall into a pit ten feet deep!”
Brisack grinned back. “Should’ve seen him at the hospital, Nicko.
Completely broken and destroyed. I went back to my office and spent
an hour detailing every behavior, movement, and word I could
remember. I’ll be studying his reactions for seasons.”

Mal sighed in contentment. “The old
weasel—Slag, I wished Perrin had killed him! Just one thrust,” Mal
gestured to his own chest. “His sword was right in line with
Gadiman’s puny little heart. I kept thinking, ‘Do it, Perrin! I
dare you! Just
do it!
’ He could have, when Cush was pulling
him off the table. There was that moment before the master sergeant
took the sword, when Perrin could have just—”

Mal made a thrusting motion, but sighed in
disappointment.

“Ah, well. I guess we have to give Gadiman a
little credit. I thought you were going to bring him tonight?”

“Couldn’t find him again.” Brisack held up
his hands. “I thought perhaps he’d gone out to celebrate, but
that’s not his style. Maybe he’s out looking for a blacksmith that
can make him a shield he can wear under his shirts. I’ll tell you,”
the doctor began to chuckle, “I have never,
never
, seen a
man go so gray without passing out!”

The two men laughed.

“We should have brought mead tonight,” Mal
sighed as he wiped tears from his eyes. “Or ale to celebrate. This
was easy and brilliant. And there was something else we were lucky
enough to observe first hand. Or rather,
someone
we were
allowed to meet.” He looked at his companion meaningfully.

Brisack pointed at him. “That’s what I
thought too. When I saw him execute the suffocation technique on
the table, it suddenly hit me—it was
him!
”

Mal nodded. “After all these years, I thought
he was gone or even dead. But no—our Quiet Man is alive and very
well.”

Brisack leaned forward in his chair. “So we
have confirmation?”

“Revealed himself to Thorne in the carriage
on the way to the hospital. He said he ‘always found the north
appealing.’ He
was
the baby tender, after all! Stunning.”
Mal looked up at the ceiling. “Oh, if only I could get him alone
for five minutes, just to know what he knows—”

“You can,” Brisack pointed out. “Who can turn
down an invitation from you?”

“It’s too risky,” Mal shook his head. “I’ve
already contemplated several scenarios, but whatever he does while
he’s here, Perrin will know about. Then fourteen years of our Quiet
Man’s work will be gone. No, I’ll find another way to reach
him.”

“‘I find the north appealing,’” Brisack
muttered. “Haven’t heard that one in years. Nearly forgot about it.
But he didn’t. I guess it’s not surprising he doesn’t know the
later codes, since he hasn’t left Edge for many years.”

“He said he was from between Flax and Waves,”
Mal told him.

The doctor shook his head. “I doubt that. I
spoke with him in the hospital. His demeanor and speech are nothing
like those from the southern edge of the world. Then again, he
has
been in the north for quite some time.”

“Extraordinarily close to the family,” said
Mal, a bit awe-struck. “Did you hear him call Shin by his first
name when he was choking him nearly to death? Never have I heard an
enlisted man call an officer by his first name, not even out of
uniform.”

“I noticed that as well,” Brisack nodded in
concern. “That
could
signal a problem.”

Mal scoffed. “That Perrin’s closest man is
also one of
our
closest men?”

“But is he still?” the doctor pressed.
“Nicko, what if the Quiet Man has bonded to Shin? What if he has a
skewed sense-of-duty problem just like his commanding officer? If
he’s forgotten he’s loyal to us, then . . .” Brisack shrugged. “He
was extremely concerned about Shin’s treatment at the
hospital.”

“Worried that you might be eliminating
him?”

“That’s what you thought I’d do, isn’t it?”
the doctor accused. “When you didn’t want me to go with them to the
hospital?”

Mal shrugged.

Brisack shook his head. “Nicko, you know I’d
never do that! I still respect the man. Perrin completely
fascinates me, now more than ever. I certainly don’t want to
eliminate the most fruitful research project we’ve ever
encountered. I really was just intending to sedate him.”

“Of course you were,” Mal smiled thinly. He
pursed his lips in thought. “Qayin told me he got the impression
the master sergeant is tiring. He was questioning the methods. He
seemed to accept Qayin’s coded explanation that the testing
is
the point, but still . . .”

“But still, fourteen years is a very long
time,” Brisack finished his sentence.

The two men pondered the question of the
master sergeant for a few minutes.

“Perhaps,” Brisack eventually began, “perhaps
Zenos’s attention to the colonel was an effort to make sure the
colonel remains in the game
for us.
He has no idea who I am,
but he apparently knows who Thorne is. He was quite adamant about
our not administering the sedation, but when Thorne pulled him
back, he seemed to accept the decision. Would a man who’s switched
sides bother to ‘check in’ with Thorne, and then listen to his
advice?”

Mal considered that. “A traitor would avoid
those he betrayed at all costs, so that they wouldn’t be able to
see the deceit in his eyes. Qayin was impressed with him, and
Qayin’s never impressed with anyone.”

Brisack nodded once. “So the Quiet Man is
still
our
man.”

Mal nodded back. “I’m going to assume so. He
just doesn’t know what to do, is all.”

“We’ll devise something for him to do. In the
meantime,” the good doctor said, massaging his hands, “you realize
we can’t just let this go. The caravan was one thing, but barging
in here and threatening to kill the Administrator of Loyalty?
That’s just a little tough to ignore, Nicko.”

“Agreed,” said the Chairman. “Now tell me, my
dear doctor: for how long can a man remain on his knees in a
pit?”

Brisack shrugged. “I really don’t know.
That’s never been tes—” He stopped. “Oh, Nicko—brilliant. That’s
never been tested!”

“We can drag this out for a very long time,
my dear doctor. We can pick at his heart like a scab. Just when
it’s starting to heal over, we can peel it off and expose the wound
yet again, watch it fester. I’ve already decided that there will be
some major changes to his fort. Perrin must remain in Edge for the
time being. There were too many in Idumea who fell under his
influence. Several reports came back to me as to how ‘impressive’
he was. If he remains here, in some other capacity, he may become
too confident. The time’s not right for him just yet. Besides, now
he’s everyone’s favorite pathetic orphan, so sending him back to
his favorite village will be seen as an act of mercy. But it won’t
be. Our colonel will lose all who are close to him, except for our
Quiet Man. We’ll need him for the next steps.”

“And is Qayin’s request going to be
honored?”

“Might as well. His little scruff needs a
posting somewhere. In time, he may even find the north
appealing.”

“Excellent,” Brisack agreed. “And then?”

“We’ll just see how long that festers, then .
. . I hope you’re ready for this: Perrin faces more loss.”

Brisack’s smile dimmed. “What kind of
losses?”

“Spread out over time, I assure you. But
don’t worry, my dear doctor; we’ll let Mahrree Shin survive for as
long as we can. Her death will be the biggest blow of all. After
he’s lost his officers, his children—one at a time, mind you, and
that’s how the Quiet Man will demonstrate his devotion to us—the
last thing he’ll be able to bear will be losing her. Tell me,
Doctor—can a man die of a broken heart?”

“Again, Nicko,” said Brisack with unusually
severe resolve, “that’s never been tested. But it will. He will
come to realize that we are far more powerful than his
Creator.”

Mal smiled. “This is so much more enjoyable
when you agree with me, Doctor. Finally, after all these years,
you’re beginning to see the light.”

---

It was dark as two different men sat at the
table in the guest quarters of the garrison with dinner in front of
them. The plates were brought by a major some time ago. Only one of
the men was eating; the other was filling a sheet of parchment.

Shem watched Perrin intent on writing line
after line. He wondered if he should reveal what he suspected—what
he
knew
.

After a few silent minutes, he tried. “You
know, I was just remembering that time, maybe eleven years ago,
when we spent every Weeding Season night sitting up in the trees on
the edge of the forest listening in on the Guarders below us. We
sure picked up a lot of information then, remember?”