The Unwilling Accomplice (Book 5) (16 page)

Pat straightened and frowned at him. "We will discuss this after the duel."

"But the High Priest-" he began, but a warning look from Pat interrupted his words.

"After your lies I will not change my mind. Now if you will excuse me there are matters I have to attend to. Do you happen to know where Ned has gone?" she asked him.

"Not at all," Birch replied.

"But I do, my lady," a voice spoke up, and all present turned to see Theowin's servant coming up the stairs. "I heard a commotion and overheard your last question. Master Edwin and His Royal Highness are out on the balcony in the courtyard."

Pat bowed her head to him. "Thank you. We're much obliged for your honesty," she told him. She cast one last disappointed glance at Birch before she strode off. Ruth resumed her post at Fred's door, and, with one last look of warning at Birch, Sins left with Pat.

Birch slumped against the wall and breathed a sigh of relief. He caught the elf looking at him, and glared at the servant. "I have no need of you," he assured the elf.

The elf smirked and bowed his head. "Very good, sir," he replied and walked off.

Pat was calm until she exited the castle. Then she paused outside the doors, clenched her fists at her sides and scowled at the air. "What could have induced the High Priest to send such a dishonest messenger to find me?" she growled.

"Is something the matter?" a voice spoke up, and the two companions turned to see Ned and Theowin walking toward them. Ned was the speaker, and he held an earnest expression of curiosity on his face.

Pat took a deep breath and calmed herself. "Brother Birch has told an outright lie, but I must admit his intentions may not have been as black as what I first feared," she replied.

"May I ask what this fib was that is no great dishonesty?" Ned wondered.

"He claimed that you had no intention of allowing weight to my opinion on whether to leave with him or not," Pat explained.

"I am guilty of many improprieties, but in this case I don't believe I have committed such an act as that," Ned commented.

"Sins confirmed that you said nothing of the sort, but still I hesitate to condemn Brother Birch. The High Priest must be desperate to see me if he granted the brother leave to come fetch me, and if Brother Birch is so worried as to lie for him to goad me into coming with him," Pat argued.

"You are being kind, my dear Pat, but I am less eager to hear the ramblings of Brother Birch than to know your reply," Ned replied.

"The reply was to wait for my decision after the duel," she told him.

"A very diplomatic answer, though I am afraid we will have to answer the High Priest's summons and leave with Brother Birch on the morrow," Ned told her.

Pat's eyes widened and she glanced from Ned to Theowin and back. "But the barrier," she reminded Ned.

"Ned has told me all, and I must think of my people ahead of the needs of a single young man," Theowin spoke up. "Under those conditions, I have asked that you leave tomorrow and lead Canavar's attention away from my city."

Pat's face drooped. "I see. Then I will give that answer to Brother Birch when I next see him."

Theowin sighed, stepped up to her and set his hand on her shoulder. "My daughter and I will be sorrowed to see you all leave us so soon," Theowin commented.

Pat bowed her head to him. "It is fine. We could not remain here all our lives," she commented.

"I will ensure you have all the provisions you need when you leave my kingdom tomorrow," the king promised.

"I thank you, Your Highness, for your hospitality," Pat returned.

Ned stepped into the center of the small group. "While we speak of the far future we should be concerned with the near one. Our friend here-" he turned to Sins, "-has an important engagement this afternoon that should be occupying our minds for the present. I trust you were inspecting the place of battle?" Ned guessed.

"Aye, and slunk away from me when Ah wasn't looking," a voice commented, and they saw Canto approaching. The dwarf glared at the assassin. "What do ya mean to just be leaving me standing there at the Grounds when ya should've been studying that peacock a little longer?"

"There was no more need," Sins replied.

"So ya think ya can defeat him, eh? Well, I guess we'll see this evening, won't we?" Canto quipped.

CHAPTER 20

The company returned to the castle and Ned strode up to Ruth. "I thank you for the watch," he told her.

"I am glad to be of help, but why did you wish me to remain outside the door? Is Fred well?" Ruth asked him.

"Quite fine. I merely wished to avoid waking him," Ned replied. He opened the door only wide enough to squeeze through and closed it quickly behind him.

Pat walked up to Ruth and frowned at the closed door. "What is this about guarding the door?"

"Ned told me Fred sleepwalked last night, and he wished for the door to be watched in case Fred should exit that way," Ruth explained.

"Sleepwalked? Fred has never sleepwalked before," Pat commented.

Inside the room Ned glanced at the bed. Fred lay atop the covers bound in a brilliant light that wrapped ropes around his body. His eyes were open and his mouth was gagged with the ropes so only angry, muffled screams erupted from his lips. Beside the bed hovered Ned's staff, glowing with its power and the source of the light. Ned strode over and grasped his staff. The light disappeared and with it the tendrils.

Fred sat up and glared at Ned. "Why couldn't you just stay here and watch me?" he growled.

"There were other matters to attend to, and I didn't wish for you to escape out the window again," Ned commented.

Fred jumped out of bed and rubbed his stiff muscles. "I could have come with you," he pointed out.

"But you were not yet awake, and I wished for you to get as much sleep as possible," Ned countered.

"I was awake after you wrapped me," Fred argued. He stretched and winced when his back cracked. "How did you do that trick, anyway? Having your staff stay here with its power on while you left?"

Ned chuckled. "I see you haven't been practicing my final skill I showed you in the forests to the west of String," he scolded his apprentice.

Fred shrugged and pointed at the two sticks in his waist. "I can't exactly do that with my staff," he reminded him.

Ned waved aside Fred's reason. "Merely details, but seeing as you are awake we may as well join the others for the long day."

"Have you told the others of what happened to me?" Fred asked him.

Ned sighed and shook his head. "No, but if you wish them to be told then we can do so right now. I need only call them," he offered.

Fred sat back down on the bed and nodded. "Yeah, they need to know," he insisted.

Ned strode from the room and returned a few minutes later with their companions in tow. They gathered around the room and Ned stepped up beside Fred and put his hand on his apprentice's shoulder. "Fred wishes to inform you of important news," he announced to them.

Fred sighed and stood. "I. . .I was controlled by Canavar last night," he explained. His companions faces showed looks of horror mixed with concern. Percy and Canto glanced at each other with furrowed brows.

"Controlled how?" Pat asked him.

"Through my soul. He took control of my body and led me down to a door in the hill on a lower terrace," Fred replied.

"It was one of the entrances to the escape tunnels," Ned expanded upon.

"So what are we gonna do about him now?" Canto spoke up, indicating Fred.

"I will keep him by my side at all times. Should something like this occur again we will be ready for it," Ned assured them.

"This is perhaps more serious than a single castor can handle," Percy protested.

Pat frowned at him. "What are you saying?"

"That perhaps Fred must be given into the care of the king. Their magic is powerful enough to keep Canavar physically at bay, why should they not keep his control over him in check?" Percy suggested.

"That is unnecessary. Now that we know of Canavar's control any future trouble can be averted," Ned swore.

Percy smiled and shrugged. "It was merely a suggestion, but since Ned has the situation once more under his control I suppose we should worry about Sins and the long day ahead of us."

The long day strolled by in seconds and minutes, but at one hour before sundown the friends, Brother Birch, and a few invited elven guests gathered in Theowin's feasting hall for a small meal before the duel. Besides Birch's indifference and barely concealed disgust for the duel, the atmosphere among the gathered group was suppressed optimism. They all knew the consequence should Sins lose, and they would sorely miss their moody friend if Ransan were to treat the duel as a battle to the death. Their newest companion, Birch stood against a far wall partaking of nothing but water and scowling at the back of Ned's head. He was duly ignored by everyone else.

Fred sat among his chatting friends in a subdued manner. He was quiet and had a slight headache from his sleepwalking adventure the night before. Pat noticed the strained lines in the corners of his eyes and seated herself beside him. She lowered her voice so no one would overhear her. "Is everything all right?" she asked him.

"Yeah, just a little headache from-well, from last night," he told her.

Any further conversation was interrupted when four pairs of trumpeters marched up the stairs on their far right, lined up in equal numbers on either side of the top of the steps, and blew their trumpets. The sound brought out the revelers inside the castle just as Ransan himself with his practicing assistant came up the steps. He was dressed every bit the foppish elvish dandy with baggy clothes and a heavy coat. At his waist was his rapier, and he swept off his large, floppy hat and bowed to the opposing company. Behind him was a large crowd of followers. They neither voted against nor for him. They were merely there to follow the groups to the Grounds and watch the spectacle.

Ransan's eyes fell on Sins, and his stiff, bored voice hardly matched his words. "I greet you with all formality, my opponent, and demand the duel," he called to the assassin.

Theowin stepped forward and turned so the groups stood on his left and right. He held up his hands for silence. "The duel parade shall now commence. Let us all to the grounds," he called to them.

The crowd from the castle joined the one on the steps, and they parted for the combatants and their entourage. Sins and Ransan walked side-by-side down the stairs with friends and relatives behind them. The trumpeters led the way down the stairs to the Grounds and the single mass of spectators in tow.

The crowd meandered down the stairs to the grassy plain upon which such little blood had been shed. None of the companions noticed as Percy slipped from the crowd on a higher terrace and into the buildings on the right-hand side. No spectators were allowed on the green, but as the first to arrive the companions garnered the best seats at the railing overlooking the Grounds. The crowd pressed close behind them, but there was enough room to breathe in and out, and still have space enough to swallow. Brother Birch sneered at the close contact and ground his teeth together.

The combatants, along with the king and the assistant, walked to the grass where Sins and Ransan stood opposite one another at ten yards apart. Ransan's helper handed a sword to Sins and proceeded to help Ransan out of his inappropriate attire to reveal close-pressed clothes. Sins raised the weapon and brandished the blade with skill. Ransan smirked and bowed his head to Sins.

"I see I won't be fighting a novice, but even a trained swordsman has difficulty in blocking my blows," he mocked.

Sins' only reply was to raise the sword so it was even with his face and bring it down in a deft movement that caused the sword to whistle. Theowin waved off the assistant. The elf glanced at Ranson, who gave a nod. The servant bowed his head to the other three and hurried up the stairs. He passed through the crowd and up the stairs to the higher terraces.

Theowin stood between the two men, and faced the spectators. "We come here to watch these men fight honorably in a Lapita Duel. May the most skillful-"

"A moment," Ransan interrupted Theowin. The combatant nodded to Sins cloak and hat. "Before we being he must remove his clothing."

"I will not," Sins refused.

From the railing Canto grinned from ear to ear. "Ya tell 'em something about their own rules," he chuckled.

Ransan sputtered out his protests. "T-this cannot be! Coats and cloaks are strictly forbidden!"

King Theowin raised his hands. "A moment. I myself cannot recall anything that requires a combatant to remove their coats, but we shall consult the rules," he suggested. A messenger was sent to the library, and he returned with both Tolen and the rule book.

Tolen bowed to his king and cleared his throat for the benefit of the audience. "I have been informed of the complication, Your Highness, and I can with certainty say that no such rule exists that demands one leave on or remove any articles of clothing. Either combatant may perform the duel naked if they so wish," he informed everyone. The crowd roared with laughter.