“Excellent,” I replied and turned to head that way.
The man called after me, “He said to tell you that he would like to speak with you as soon as you arrived.”
I laughed and kept walking. Entering the keep I headed straight for the great hall. A number of people pointed and began talking as they saw me pass, which gave me the impression I had been the topic of discussion lately, but I didn’t bother trying to listen in. When I entered the great hall the effect was entirely the opposite. All conversation died as I made my way to the high table, and silence fell over the room.
James stood as I got close and greeted me with an embrace. As his head came close to mine he spoke quietly, “Where the hell have you been these past two days?”
“I had a wizard to interrogate, people to inform, and information to gather. I take it things have been exciting in my absence?” I didn’t bother to keep my voice quiet. The crowd needed something to talk about after all.
The duke sat down again. “Do you think a band of armed men could infiltrate my castle, assault and murder my guests, and then escape without any repercussions?”
“They’re already dead,” I replied. “Except for the wizard,” I added.
James leaned toward me, “And what did you learn from your new guest?”
“That his situation is more complicated than it at first appeared, and our enemies are more powerful than we knew,” I said wittily. I had probably spent too much time in Lady Rose’s company.
The duke’s eyes narrowed, “That is ever the case, but what of the particulars?”
I shook my head negatively, “Not here your Grace, the matter requires as much tact as dealing with royalty.”
James’ eyes widened momentarily but he showed no other sign of having understood my meaning. Instead he rapidly switched to his own news and delivered it with his usual enthusiasm, “The news that shiggreth in the hundreds could be roaming my lands with impunity did not sit well with me, nor did it please Master William or my other foresters. Despite the great lengths the enemy went to in order to disguise their trail we believe we have run them aground.”
I showed my teeth in an expression that only resembled a smile in the most superficial of ways. “Marc told me you’d find them,” I replied.
A shadow crossed James’ face so quickly I doubt many would have noticed it, “How is my son?”
“Doing well,” I told him. “He has taken to intrigue and subterfuge like a duck to water. At the moment he is engaged in Albamarl, ferreting out secrets for me. More importantly, I think he is recovering from what happened to him.”
He nodded, “I want you to tell me in more detail later.” I knew he meant his words.
“I will.”
“William and I had a devil of a time finding the shiggreth,” he said returning to the subject at hand.
“My husband spent more time in the woods than at home after what happened,” came the voice of Genevieve from behind me. She had walked up while we talked. I glanced up with an expression of mock surprise. She leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. “Nephew,” she said simply.
“Your Grace,” I replied. “I hope you can forgive my rudeness the other day.”
She raised a hand as if she were shooing a fly away, “Nonsense, I recall no fault on your part.”
“Thank you,” I told her.
James interrupted, “As I was saying, we searched high and low, but the tracks of so many going in so many directions made it impossible to find them at first.”
“So how did you do it?” I asked.
“If it were a cunning beast you would circle the area more widely, until at last you find where the trail emerges, but these were no animals. They are intelligent, and each one took a separate path, even after traveling miles from where they converged. William and I had to divide my lands into sections and assign men to search each of them. Even so nothing was found, until we reached the foothills,” he answered.
“I might have thought you would start there, rather than in the forests,” I commented.
James sighed, “I had thought it would turn out this way, but I could not leave the forests unexamined. Otherwise we might have left a viper near our bosom while we were searching further afield.”
I had to admit he had a point.
“When we started searching the foothills to the east we lost several men,” he went on. “I had to increase the size of the search parties to groups of five men each. The next day I lost an entire patrol group and I knew we were getting close.”
“They seem pretty bold. Surely they realized that would give away their location,” I pondered aloud.
James snorted, “They’re desperate and they knew we were drawing close. It was only a matter of time. I mobilized all my armsmen at that point. We swept through the hills leaving no stone unturned in that region.”
“When was this?”
“Yesterday,” he said with a smile. “We found their hole. There’s a cave out there, and they’ve gone underground. My men have them bottled up now.”
“What if they have another exit?” I worried the enemy might circle around and attack Lancaster while he was focused on their ‘lair’.
“That thought occurred to me,” he said. “I sent a message to you yesterday, asking for men and assistance.”
I frowned, “I haven’t been home yet, but I’m sure Sir Harold will respond in my stead.”
“I received a reply late last night. He promised to be here before noon with as many men as he thought he could safely muster without endangering the defense of Washbrook and Castle Cameron,” said the duke.
“Then he is on the road as we speak,” I observed. “How soon do you plan to leave?”
“As soon as he arrives.”
I rose abruptly, “Then I have some preparations to make.”
James chuckled grimly, “You always do… heaven protect us. Best hurry, I won’t hold the men up if you haven’t returned by the time he gets here.”
Walter looked up as I entered the room where I was keeping him under, ‘house’ arrest. “How are you feeling?” I asked. He looked tired and he had dark circles under his eyes, but somehow I could tell he was starting to recover.
“Now that the fever is gone much better,” he said plainly. “Though I have to admit this necklace makes me feel blind and helpless.” He held up the necklace I had used to block his magesight as well as his power.
I had spoken to the guards as well as those in charge of keeping his wound clean while I was gone and they had informed me regarding his condition already. Yesterday the fever from his wound had broken at last, signaling that he would most likely survive. He was still quite weak though. “Think you can ride?”
He made a face, “It won’t be pleasant, but yes.”
“How do you feel about the shiggreth?”
“As any decent man would feel, they are an abomination and a threat to all of us,” he responded promptly. After a pause he added, “They also scare the living daylights out of me.”
“A reasonable response, though I have to say… most decent men don’t even know they exist,” I sat down next to him so I could see his face more closely as we talked.
He looked at me with anxiety in his face, “You’ve found them haven’t you?”
“James Lancaster has,” I informed him. “We ride from his keep in a few hours to burn them out of their nest.”
“You know they eat magic as easily as men’s souls don’t you?” he said nervously.
“I’ve fought them before,” I told him. “I’d like you to see what happens today, and it is entirely possible I might need your help.”
He gestured at his wounded leg, “I’ve just returned from death’s door. I’m not sure how much help I will be, especially with this.” His hand touched the pendant at his neck.
“My father was friends with your older brother, did you know that?”
He nodded.
“Why didn’t you say anything about it?” I said curiously.
“I’m a prisoner. Anything I say will just make it seem as if I’m trying to curry favor. Besides you never knew your father, so there was no way to verify the claim,” he answered rationally.