“Avery,” I whispered. It was my old nemesis from Crestfallen. I’d last seen him on the Gallant in Trager as the city was about to burn at his demand. He was going to attempt a rescue of his friend who had become king. He was alone, so his friend was not with him.
We emerged and ran to greet him. His staff rose in self-protection until he recognized us, and a grin split his face. He hugged us and later cried as he told the story of his friend. The King of Trager was dead, as were all his close relatives. The now familiar story brought sadness to us all.
I said, “Why are you here instead of returning to Dire?”
“Princess Elizabeth is in danger. The Council in Vin has been in contact with the one in Trager. I don’t know how, but even before her ship departed Trager, they knew she was coming. In Vin, they’re waiting, and we think there’s danger,” Kendra said.
“So, you are on your way to Vin, too?” I asked because he was walking the wrong way and Avery was far too clever to make that mistake.
He shook his head. “What can one wandering priest do against the ruling body of an entire city? I came to the Waystone here because Kendra is linked to them and I hoped to find you here—and I did.”
“Linked?” Kendra asked.
He said, “It was reported to me that you visited the Waystone at Crestfallen several times over the years. Then again, the one at Mercia. It was reasonable to assume you would come to this one in Vin. Waystones draw you. I don’t know how or why, but with you, they are like a moth to a flame on a moonless night.”
“That was not part of our plan to come here,” she stated flatly.
“Yet, this is where I found you.” He wore the impetuous smile that had annoyed us since our first meeting so many years ago.
Worse, he was right. Without knowing about her magic, he’d centered his search to locate us, and I wondered if he secretly controlled any magic at all. His actions were as if he could tell what Kendra thought, but I knew it was not magic. Avery understood people and their motivations and knew what they would do before they did, not just my sister, but everyone. I changed the subject. “What is the Council in Vin going to do to Elizabeth?”
“Use her as bait to draw her brother, the heir apparent to Vin or to another part of Kondor to rescue her. How they are going to do that is not within my sphere of knowledge.” Avery had looked at me without flinching or blinking. He was telling the truth and wanted me to know it.
The heir apparent was the king’s eldest son and Avery’s master. While the ideas he presented bordered on unbelievable, one fact stood out more than any other. Avery had always been on the side of his master. I would never question his loyalty.
The obvious answer was that once she was a prisoner, they would use the Waystones to notify the King of Dire and suggest that his eldest son could save her if he traveled to Kondor. No doubt, he’d have an accident or be killed, and the King of Dire would again fall ill. A council was probably already in place to rule for him.
Dressed as a wandering priest instead of the rich garb he normally wore at Crestfallen, Avery was more believable and much more likable. He leaned on his crooked staff as if exhausted. We’d left him in Trager where he was attempting to rescue his old friend. “How did you get here?”
“As the city burned because of your dragon, I ‘fled’ to upper Trager with the other refugees to escape the flames and managed to find a back way into the palace where I found proper clothing to wear. Dressed properly, I moved to the private quarters of the king and found them deserted. The next logical place was the dungeon. There I had a few conversations with the keepers.”
“Conversations?” I broke in.
He shrugged. “We talked. Yes, I held a knife, and each of them bled, but in contrast to what they do to people, it will not set heavy on my mind. The third one, a man who enjoyed inflicting pain, couldn’t handle it himself. He admitted taking the life of the king and enjoying it.”
“Did you enjoy taking his?” Kendra asked in an awed whisper. She was as amazed as me at the actions of a palace buffoon we’d laughed at, outwitted numerous times, and often ignored as impotent in our politics.
Now we both questioned our pasts. Avery was far more than we’d ever guessed, and that indicated he was far more dangerous. He’d allowed us our little victories; I had no doubt. As for outwitting him, that had never happened.
Avery said, “I thought it would bring a taste of satisfaction. It didn’t. He deserved to die, and there is no regret unless it’s that I should have taken longer instead of one merciful slash of my knife against his neck.”
*He is a good man,* Anna’s voice muttered in my head. *Trust him.*
“What can we do to help Elizabeth?” Kendra asked.
Avery said, “I rushed here to meet with you. I think we should split up and make our separate ways into Vin, then meet and compare what we learn.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Princess Elizabeth
I marched down the gangplank, a princess in the middle of being abducted, ahead of the four soldiers to stand facing twenty others. None displayed weapons but didn’t need to. The officer who held the sword to the captain’s belly walked behind his last man until he reached us.
He gave a curt nod to a soldier who shouted orders, and I was surrounded by soldiers on every side. At another order, they all stepped ahead together, forcing me to skip to keep from being trampled from those behind. They were packed around me, front and back, side-to-side. I had no option but move with them, although not one laid a hand on me.
We marched through the dark streets, and while their feet struck the pavestones in perfect unison, I was a princess and refused to allow my feet to match pace, although the natural thing was to fall into step with them. Whenever I found myself in step, I skipped again. It was the only manner of fighting them I could think of.
For a fleeting thought, I decided to call out for help to any of the people of Vin we passed, demanding help if required, and telling them what was happening, so all in the city would know. But a glance behind me revealed candles and oil lamps were relighted in windows after we passed by. Ahead, as the sound of our approach warned people, lights were extinguished.
The people of Vin already had an idea of what was happening, and they wanted no part of it.
We marched up the hillside and along a wide avenue until we turned upward again, this time with a stone mansion our destination. It was not a castle or palace. For me, castles are built defensively, and palaces for grandeur. The building was three stories tall, made of brown rock, and had probably been the residence of a wealthy merchant, or a family of them.
A pair of guards were on either side of the door, another pair at either corner in small guardhouses that were made of unpainted wood and out of place. There were other guards marching from corner to corner, the two meeting at the same place each time, but each watched the other’s back as they performed their duties. There would be more of the same on either side and at the rear.
Whoever was inside had close to twenty guards to protect him, all day and all night. That made him or her as important as any king or queen. At least they thought so. The soldiers forced me ahead, right past the outer guards and to the front entrance.