“No one is looking for you here, Colonel Donil,” chuckled Colonel Taerin. “For most of the people in the palace, you don’t even exist. I am still confused why General Forshire left you behind when he departed for Olansk.”
“I try to make it a habit never to question General Forshire’s orders.” Colonel Donil smiled as he replied. He knew that Colonel Taerin was fishing for information. It was a game that Taerin often played. The manner was always cordial and friendly, but the questions always showed a bit of suspicion about the A Corps. Colonel Donil decided to take a slightly different tact than his usual bland response. “Perhaps General Forshire was hoping that my abilities would get noticed here at the Imperial Palace. I have heard that there have been a great many promotions lately.”
“I hardly think that is the case,” Colonel Taerin replied with a friendly chuckle. “I have seen your file, Donil. You were arrested for theft, insubordination, and striking an officer. You were fortunate to be merely sent to prison for such offenses. Why General Forshire saw fit to rescue you from prison and make you a colonel is quite a mystery. I hardly think Grand General Kyrga will try to outdo such a feat by making you a general and giving you your own army.”
“Perhaps that would be pressing my luck,” laughed Colonel Donil. “For the record, I did not steal anything. I was accused of stealing, and that accusation was the cause of the other charges. Still, you have a point. I will just have to be content to be a mere colonel.”
Colonel Donil was not surprised that Colonel Taerin had pulled his file and investigated his background. He would have done the same thing if he had the authority to do so. He also knew that Colonel Taerin did not really view him and the A Corps as poorly as he pretended. Others within the palace did, but Colonel Taerin was the exception. General Forshire had been correct. Colonel Taerin’s demeanor was disarming.
“I gather that you are heading indoors for the evening meal?” questioned Colonel Taerin. “Perhaps you would care to dine with me this evening?”
And be subtly interrogated, thought the A Corps colonel. It was an unexpected opportunity, and one that Donil was eager to accept, but he needed to be prepared for such an occasion, and he was not. “I would enjoy that very much, Colonel Taerin, but perhaps another time. I must confess to feeling a little under the weather this evening. I think I will just grab something light from the soldiers’ mess and return to the barracks. Were you to extend the same offer tomorrow, I would readily accept.”
“Then tomorrow it shall be,” smiled Colonel Taerin. “I hope you are feeling better by then.”
Colonel Taerin nodded in farewell and separated from the A Corps colonel. Donil’s presence at the Imperial Palace intrigued him. When General Forshire stayed at the palace, he always had a reasonable explanation for his presence, but he was a general. Colonel Donil had no official reason to be on the grounds other than his stated orders to wait for Forshire’s return. While such an order might be acceptable for a squad leader, a colonel was much too important to waste. That indicated a much more nefarious reason for the colonel’s presence, and Taerin planned to discover the truth.
Instead of heading directly towards the officers’ mess, Colonel Taerin climbed the stairs to the second floor and made his way to a balcony overlooking the grounds closest to the old barracks. He wanted to see if Colonel Donil really did return to the barracks as promised. To his surprise, the A Corps colonel soon appeared carrying a plate of food. Although the balcony did not offer a view of the actual barracks, it was clear to Colonel Taerin that Donil was indeed heading there to eat. With a sigh of disappointment, Colonel Taerin left the balcony to procure his own food.
Colonel Taerin ate in uncharacteristic silence. He politely spurned offers of companionship as his mind tried to solve the mysteries of A Corps. While Colonel Donil’s presence on the palace grounds was certainly odd, he had found the colonel to be surprisingly friendly, hardly what he had expected from a convict. He had enjoyed the colonel’s observations of Alcea and found the man to be quite an intelligent thinker. That made Forshire’s decision to abandon him on the grounds of the Imperial Palace even more curious. Colonel Taerin was convinced that Donil was meant to spy on the Imperial Palace, but why? Who was it that General Forshire did not trust? He had had several confrontations with Grand General Kyrga, but General Forshire always seemed to best the Grand General in the end. The Tyronian also seemed to have the ear of the emperor, and Colonel Taerin could not think of anyone else of importance that Forshire had come into close contact with. It was a maddening puzzle, and it drew on Taerin’s attention like an irresistible magnet.
Colonel Taerin finished his meal and wandered around the halls of the palace for a while. Eventually, he turned in for the night, but his sleep was troubled. Like an attack dog with its teeth sunk deep into the flesh of its prey, Colonel Taerin could not simply let go of the mystery and walk away. Sometime in the middle of the night, Colonel Taerin awoke with a start. He did not know what had awoken him, but one thought was suddenly clear in his mind. Colonel Donil roamed the grounds of the palace during the day with a seeming lack of purpose and direction. The pattern was never the same except for his morning and evening relaxations at the bench overlooking the Sea of Tears, the very same bench that occupied General Forshire’s daily routine. What if Colonel Donil’s real mission was accomplished at night under the cover of darkness? The Palace had night patrols, but they were limited to stopping intruders from the outside. Colonel Donil would have much easier movement at night, although any attempted entry into forbidden areas would still be challenged and reported. Still, the thought nagged Colonel Taerin so much that he rose and dressed.
As the colonel stepped out of the palace, he glanced up at the night sky. The sky was heavy with dark rain clouds, obliterating the moon and the stars. While the rain had not yet started to fall, Colonel Taerin knew that it would soon. Already the damp vapors were licking at the lawn, and the air had a moist chill to it. The colonel stole off into the dark night, not taking a direct heading towards the barracks in case someone else was awake and staring down onto the grounds. He headed for the shoreline until he came to a tall row of hedges and then doubled back, using the hedges to hide his movements. He felt silly in a way, traipsing around in the middle of the night like some great spy, but he knew that he would not be able to get back to sleep until he verified that Colonel Donil was in his bunk sound asleep.
Coming to a break in the hedge, Colonel Taerin slipped through into a stand of fruit trees. He was now beyond sight of anyone in the palace, but he continued onward in a stealthy manner. As he neared the edge of the small orchard, he saw a light in the distance. He halted and stared at the light, trying to make sense of what he was looking at. It was a dim light, and he probably would not have even seen it on a normal moonlit night, but this night was dark and ominous. The colonel knew that he was staring in the direction of the barracks, but the light was too dim to be that close to him. It appeared weak and far away, yet that was impossible. Beyond the old barracks was a stand of tall trees that would block any lights from the rest of the grounds.
Staying in the relative safety of the trees, Colonel Taerin followed the curve of the orchard to get a better view of the mysterious light. A muffled thud split the silence of the night, followed closely by a cry of pain. Colonel Taerin halted again and stared at the light. Only then did he understand what he was seeing. The light was coming from inside the barracks, and someone had left the door slightly ajar, allowing a faint trickle of light to seep outside. As he stared at the light, a dark figure moved across it. The slight sound of the door closing coincided with the disappearance of the light. A thrill ran through the colonel’s body. His suspicions about Colonel Donil were proving to be correct. His activities were indeed taking place at night, and it appeared as if he had confederates on the palace grounds.