Victory and Defeat: Book Five of the Restoration Series (16 page)

“We’re almost ready to go,” Kara said. She was the only one standing, the others were all seated.

“I want to take Leela with us,” Keenan said suddenly.

Derek turned to look at the prince. “Why?”

“Just in case we have any problem finding the shield.”

Derek doubted they could miss the one he had described, but he also didn’t see any harm in the wildling going with them. He shrugged. “All right.” He glanced at Leela, noting that she was already dressed. It appeared they had reached this decision previously.

Derek looked back to Keenan. “I haven’t been able to discover a way for us to steal the shield. Stay alert
. Perhaps you’ll spot something I missed.”

Keenan nodded. “Anything else?”

Derek thought for a moment and then shook his head. “Nothing, except of course, to be careful.”

Mikela sat on the ground, staring through the small gap between barrels. The sun had not broken over the horizon, but it was close, and the darkness was already disappearing. She could see the crates much more clearly now and, on several occasions, she even saw the fighter that Flare had said was there.

She recognized the dark swordsman from Mul-Dune. The first time she spotted him had been a shock; her breath had caught
, and it felt like her heart was going to beat right through her chest. Her reaction surprised her. She wasn’t scared of this man, but they had spent days at Mul-Dune thinking they were going to die at any time. She had thought that the fear was long gone, but just seeing that man brought it all back. She breathed slowly and willed her heart to slow down.

Eventually
, Mikela spotted the kid that Flare had described. He hadn’t been behind the crates, but instead had been farther back in the alley. She didn’t recognize him and there wasn’t any rush of buried anxiety upon viewing him. Then again, he hardly looked old enough to be a soldier and his involvement at Mul-Dune would most likely have been minimal.

Another figure joined them
, and this one she did recognize. He most certainly had been at Mul-Dune. Like her, he was a magician. He was average-looking and thin, but she had seen firsthand that he was a capable mage.

The mage moved over and awkwardly bent down behind the crates with the other two. In an instant, the meaning of what she was seeing dawned on Mikela. She hadn’t seen the kid yet this morning because he had left. He had gone somewhere and returned with the mage.

The sun broke over the hills to the west and still the sentries didn’t move. They just sat behind their crates and watched.

The sun had been up for maybe half an hour when the front door of the inn opened and three figures stepped out into the street. Most of the rain from the previous day had run off in the storm gutters and the stone road was mostly dry and easy to travel.

Mikela leaned out a bit from behind her barrels, trying to get a better look. The small group was two women and a man. The woman on the left was young, had very pale skin, and long dark hair. She was dressed simply
, and Mikela had never laid eyes on the woman before.

The middle woman was humped over and appeared disfigured. She had long
, whitish-blond hair and was covered in boils. Mikela scrunched up her nose at the poor woman’s condition, but she was fairly certain that she had never seen this woman before either.

The man was on the right and all Mikela could see was his back. He had long
, blond hair that hung to his shoulders and he carried himself with a grace that marked him as wealthy, perhaps even a minor noble. Mikela’s forehead wrinkled in confusion at that thought. What would a noble be doing with women like those two?

Mikela shrugged and was just about to lean back when the man glanced back up the street. She was still hidden behind the barrels
, and he couldn’t see her, but she could see him. For the second time in the last hour or two her breath caught. She recognized the man; he too had been at Mul-Dune. She watched as he looked up and down the street and then led the two women north.

Mikela swallowed hard, wondering what this meant. Why were three of Zalustus’
s lieutenants watching another of his followers? And who were the two women?

She was just about to call for Ziteul to send him after Flare when she noticed movement across the street. As soon as the three travelers were out of sight, the kid stood up and ran back into the alley. Utterly confused, Mikela forgot all about the imp.

Fantin waited for Elber to run back up the alley
, and then he turned and looked at Kaleb the magician. He had been hoping that Keenan would remain at the inn, as that would give him the chance to capture the traitor. He was most displeased to see Keenan leading the two women. “Could you tell if the two women were magically disguised?”

Kaleb’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. “The woman in the middle had the look of one whose true appearance has been obscured, but I could not tell for sure without a closer inspection.”

“And the other woman?” Fantin asked. “Could she be one of the men magically disguised?”

“One of the men?” Kaleb repeated slowly
. He had the look of a person deep in thought. After a moment he nodded. “It’s possible, but that would require much greater magic.”

Now it was Fantin who looked confused
. “Why?”

“It’s far easier to alter a person’s natural appearance than it is to give one a completely different appearance. It’s more difficult to make a man look like a woman than it is to change the way a woman looks.”

“But it is possible?” Fantin asked.

Kaleb hesitated and then slowly nodded. “It is possible, but I am surprised that the mage was able to perform such magic at an inn.”

Fantin looked back toward the inn. “Kaleb, Keenan is going to the abbey and Zalustus is going to capture him, and Jasmine will get the glory. If they find the shield there, you too will have glory, but I’m sure it won’t be long before Jasmine forces you aside.”

Kaleb watched Fantin through suspicious eyes. “And what is it that you want to do?”

Fantin waved his hand back at the inn. “Let’s capture the remaining two Guardians.”

“Two?” Kaleb repeated.

“Yes, two,” Fantin said. He resisted the urge to smile, but he felt sure he had the magician’s attention. “Keenan fled Dahl-Rucka with the four Guardians; the two male fighters, the elven mage, and the female cleric. Keenan and two of those four just left, so that only leaves two inside the inn.”

“So?”

“So, let’s capture these two and have them waiting on Zalustus’s return.” Kaleb looked unconvinced, so Fantin hurried on, “I believe the elven mage is in there and probably one of the two fighters. I can defeat the fighter, if you can handle the elven mage.”

Kaleb still looked dubious. “Our orders were to watch and inform.”

Fantin nodded. “And we have done as ordered, but now we have a chance to find favor with our lord. We dare not refuse such an opportunity.” He tried to keep the urgency out of his voice, but it was difficult. Jasmine had found favor by discovering Keenan. Kaleb had found favor by ferreting out that Elem was the hiding place of Ocklamoor. Time was running out for him to please his lord.

“I can defeat the magician,” Kaleb said after a moment, “but what is your plan?”

This time Fantin couldn’t help but smile. “It’s simple. We go through the front door and convince one of the servants to tell us which room the elf is staying in, then you disable him before he can do any damage. After that, it should be a simple matter of disarming the other fighter.”

Kaleb was silent for a long while. He preferred to be safe, but there was something to that damn Jasmine discovering Keenan. He couldn’t believe the woman’s luck, and he feared that the woman’s undying love for the lord Zalustus
just might elevate her above him. He looked back at Fantin. “Are you sure we can do this?”

Fantin only nodded.

Chapter 16

Prince Aldon yawned into the back of his hand as he waited to see his father. The late nights with Countess Lells were wearing him out. He smiled at the thought; he couldn’t imagine a better reason to be exhausted. She was a good deal older, and he wasn’t so naïve as to think they were in love or would get married. He knew their relationship was exactly all that it was going to be, and he didn’t mind a bit.

He leaned back in the small wooden chair; there was a small grouping of such chairs in the anteroom of his father’s study. There wasn’t much to the anteroom, just six or seven chairs and two doors. One of the doors led back into the hallway, but the other door opened into the study. The study was one of those that the king used rarely. Aldon glanced around trying to remember the last time he had come here. He wasn’t sure, but he suspected that it had been well over a year. He quickly decided that he was glad that he didn’t come here much. The room was not decorated in the least
, and the gray stone blocks that made up the walls were rather depressing. Two torches flickered in their holders, barely giving off enough light to chase away the darkness.

Aldon took a deep breath and closed his eyes
as he imagined visiting with the countess tonight. His eyes popped back open, though, as the door to the study opened. None other than Duke Angaria beckoned him forward.

Aldon st
ood and started toward the door; his good mood disappearing. He did not like the duke and felt he always had to be careful about his choice of words around the man.

Stepping through the door, Aldon stopped in surprise. Angaria did not stay in the room, but passed Aldon and closed the door behind him. Perhaps it was more correct to say that Angaria slammed the door. Surprised, and rather relieved, Aldon glanced around the room.

This study was small and rarely used. The room was a square, roughly fifteen feet on a side. Two long bookcases covered the side walls, and a fireplace dominated the wall behind the large wooden desk. Two small couches and an oversized chair sat facing the desk. King Darion sat behind the desk and he looked tired. Aldon wasn’t surprised; the castle was abuzz with the story of how he had marched angrily to visit Prince Danal last night. He was rather hoping to find out what that was about.

Aldon bowed and said, “Good morning, Father.” He did not say anymore as he caught sight of another man standing at the end of the leftmost bookcase.

Straightening, Aldon studied the man; it took only a moment to realize he had never seen him before. The man was tall and thin, with short black hair; his beard and mustache were also cut short. He wore a rather plain shirt and pair of pants — not impressive at all.

“Father,” Aldon began hesitantly
. He wasn’t sure what type of mood his father would be in and he wanted to be careful. “Won’t you introduce me?”

King Darion glanced to the man beside the bookcase and smiled. “Angaria wanted to know my guest’s name as well, but I’m afraid he left disappointed.” The
king studied his son for a moment. “I have some rather important information, and I don’t want the entire palace discussing it. Understood?”

Aldon nodded his head. “Of course. Anything you tell me will not be repeated.” He looked a bit taken aback, and in truth, he was bothered by the fact that his father felt the need to tell him to be discrete.

“I also expect you to keep it from that whore you’re visiting night after night.”

Aldon bowed his head. Strictly speaking, he
felt it was wrong to call the countess a whore. There wasn’t any doubt that the woman was a trollop, but she wasn’t a whore.

“Your brother is going to be a father,” King Darion said after a brief pause. “The young librarian,” he said in way of clarification.

Aldon nodded but held his tongue. He could certainly understand why the king would be unhappy, but it wasn’t a total loss; it would definitely help his brother’s image around the castle.

A brief silence ensued
, and after a moment Aldon squirmed. “Is that all?” he asked warily.

King Darion sighed. “If that wasn’t bad enough, my good man
Sherman had brought me even worse news.”

Aldon glanced at the man standing next to the bookshelves; he certainly didn’t seem concerned standing in the presence of the
king. “If I may ask, what news did he bring?”

“Simply that several of the outlaw Guardians will be returning to Telur shortly.”

Aldon gaped at his father. “They’re coming here?” he finally managed to get out. “Why would they ever do that?”

In answer
, the king waved his hand at the man standing against the wall. It seemed his name was Sherman.

Sherman
stepped forward and bowed his head. “My prince,” he said in an oily voice. “Until recently I worked in the employ of the King of Aramonia. He captured some of these Guardians, but he contrived to let them go.” Aldon’s eyebrows rose at this, but he remained silent. “The king even supplied them with information and they are returning to Telur because they believe that a shield called Ocklamoor is contained within the temple proper.”

Aldon frowned in confusion. “Ocklamoor?” he repeated questioningly, his eyes looking first at Sherman and then his father. “What does that mean?”

It was Sherman that answered. “They believe that the shield is tied to the Kelcer prophecy, and they believe it is located here.”

That sent shivers down Aldon’s spine. What fool would purposely involve themselves with something like that? Som
ething else bothered him though. “Why did you bring this information to us?” he asked of Sherman.

Sherman
lowered his eyes and studied the floor. “I am but a poor servant, a poor servant who has ideas of being something more. I came here hoping to be rewarded.”

Aldon’s lips curled in disgust. As distasteful as it was that
Sherman was selling this information, it was made even worse by the fact that he was betraying his king in addition. He dearly hoped that his father didn’t reward the man too well, and he also hoped that the king would send the man away.

Turning his eyes back to his father, he realized that Darion had been watching him the whole time. He set aside the question as to what was to become of the man and asked, “How are we preparing for their arrival?”

Darion smiled. He seemed to have read every thought that crossed his son’s face. “The city guard has been alerted, and I have placed some of the guards around a secret entrance that the Guardians know of. My guess is that they will try to re-enter the city by the very means that they used to leave it and, if they do, we will be ready for them.”

Aldon nodded. He was still trying to understand what would make them return to Telur. It seemed sheer folly.

“I need you to deliver a message for me,” King Darion said, snapping Aldon out of his thoughts.

“A message?” he repeated blankly.

“Yes,” the king said slowly. “I have, in my service, several men who are expert at getting prisoners to answer questions that they would prefer not to answer. Unfortunately, none of those men are in the city. I need you to visit the manor of Lord Briarhill and see if his man Tannemum is in Telur. If he is, then insist that he returns with you. Explain to Lord Briarhill that it is a matter of utmost importance.”

King Darion gave his son a list of things to do and people to visit, all to prepare for the imminent return of the outlaw Guardians. Then, Prince Aldon left the room, leaving Sherman alone with the king.

Within moments of the study door closing, one of the library book shelves slid open to reveal a small hidden room. Dagan and Cassandra stepped out and regarded the king.

“Do you think he believed you?” Dagan asked.

King Darion nodded but didn’t speak.

“Well, shouldn’t we get our spies in place then?” Agminion asked. “After all, he might go straight to the countess’s Manor.”

King Darion’s eyes went a bit cold at that suggestion and he glared at Agminion. “I do not believe my son to be a traitor, a fool perhaps, but not a traitor.”

Agminion went a bit pale, and he quickly bowed his head. “My apologies. I meant no offense.”

King Darion held the man’s gaze a short while longer
, then nodded his head once.

Cassandra waited until the King had turned his attention away from Agminion before she spoke. “As to the spies, who are we to send?”

The King looked surprised. “Why not the three of you?” he asked.

Dagan shook his head. “I’m afraid that Cassandra and I would stand out in the crowd. Most of the common citizenry would recognize us, not to mention that fool Angaria.”

“Then who?” Darion asked.

In answer, Dagan
glowingly smiled in Agminion’s direction.