1 State of Grace (10 page)

Chapter 11: Watch Your Back

(Two Days before Revelation Day)

Wolf stood at the prow of
The Shimmering Veil
and smiled at the feel of the wind on his cheeks. A stiff breeze filled the ship’s sails and carried it along at a good enough clip that it felt to Wolf, standing at the very front of the vessel, as though they were sailing into the wind instead of with it. The cool air bit into his cheeks in a pleasant way, and the warmth of his tunic and cloak kept it from chilling the rest of his body.

He’d discovered the pleasure of standing up front a few days ago, and it was here he came to think. With the wind blasting his face and whipping his cloak behind him like a flag, he found it possible to shut out other distractions and focus on the problem at hand. He supposed that wasn’t entirely true. He was able to relax and think, but his mind was focused on diplomacy and understanding elves more than discovering who murdered Sara Wensley-James and how Sagaius Silverleaf might be connected.

His reading of the materials issued him by the Shadow Service and his regular talks with Captain Hoag had done more to confuse him than clarify the situation. To be sure, he had a much better understanding of Elfin culture, but he also sensed it was a purely academic one, not supported by the real-world experience of knowing and living with elves.

Moreover, he didn’t fully understand the positions of either Alfar or Urland. The elves were adamant about maintaining their independence and had seized on the Urlish occupation, as they liked to refer to it, as an affront to them. Meanwhile, Urland was determined to maintain a presence in Alfar to protect her interests – most especially the supply of magic. But Wolf’s research showed Her Majesty’s government didn’t export nearly as much magic from Alfar as he’d been led to believe. What they did do was send young human magicians to study under elfin masters to learn their secrets.

So why was it necessary to maintain a military presence? To reinforce the coalition government, which both Alfari and Urlanders worried was a bloody
coup
away from being deposed. If Alfar fell to Shendali fundamentalists, visas for students of magic might be revoked or denied, magical trade could stop, and, Alfar might follow Jifan’s suit and trade with Phrygia. Moreover, the two countries might reunite under an anti-human fundamentalist theocracy, which could cause any number of security threats.

It was a bloody awful mess he’d been stuck with trying to clean up, and he often reminded himself he was not actually a diplomat, just a Shadow undercover, so he would not despair at the task ahead of him. Sometimes, he would think to himself, since he was only undercover, he didn’t need to worry about any of these details. But then his patriotism would rise up and remind him he was here to serve Urland in multiple capacities. Besides, the more he understood the political situation, the easier it would be to determine just what Silverleaf’s involvement in Sara’s death might be.

As he contemplated what level of troop reduction it would take to make the Alfaris happy and still make Her Majesty comfortable with the military presence, a shout rang out above the roar of the wind.

“Hey, Ambassador!” Hoag called. “We’re preparing to change course. You’d better move back here if you don’t want to get wet!”

He followed his warning with one of his characteristic guffaws. Wolf turned and made his way back to the helm. When he arrived, both Hoag and Richie were grinning at him.

“Her Majesty would be upset with me if I delivered you all wet, Wolf,” Hoag joked. “Helm! Fifteen degrees to port!”

“Aye, Cap’n!” came a reply from a sailor Wolf thought was named Bayless. Moments later, the ship veered to the left, listing a bit as it did so. Wolf was forced to hold onto Richie to steady himself. The young man smiled at him after he recovered.

“Your cheeks are red, Ambassador,” Richie said. “You’ve spent too much time in the wind. Can I get you some coffee to warm yourself?”

“Thanks, Richie,” Wolf replied. “I’d love some.”

Wordlessly, the young man turned and went below. Hoag eyed him with a smile on his face.

“He’s taken a shine to you, Wolf,” Hoag said. “I’d better be careful, or you’ll steal him away from me.”

“There’s no danger of that,” Wolf replied. Hoag guffawed again.

“Yes, I can see you’re a ladies man,” he replied. “Richie’s all but thrown himself at you, and you haven’t given him so much as a glimmer.”

Wolf blushed in spite of himself. It seemed odd speaking with another man about his lover showing an interest in Wolf.

“Well, he’s taken,” Wolf commented. “And I’d hate to insult such a fine host.”

“Blood and bones! You’re really growing into this role of diplomat, Ambassador. That’s as fine an evasion of an issue as any I’ve seen. The fact is, taken or no, Richie’s got no chance with you, because you prefer women.”

Wolf wasn’t quite sure how to reply. He was relieved when the ship suddenly entered a thick mist, offering him an opportunity to change the subject.

“This is strange,” he said.

“All part of the ambience, Wolf,” Hoag replied. “A mist surrounds the coasts of Alfar and Jifan. It’s like God put it there to give you a warning that you’re passing into a strange, new land.”

Presently, Richie arrived with Wolf’s coffee. He handed it to him with a smile. Hoag grinned again, which made Wolf uncomfortable.

“Here you are, Ambassador,” Richie said. Wolf murmured a thanks and then gratefully wrapped his hands around the clay cup, feeling the warmth of the coffee. “We’re almost there, I see.”

“Yes, Lad,” Hoag said, tousling his hair affectionately. “Once more we venture into lands of adventure.” He turned to Wolf. “My father used to say that to me when he would take me to market. Not sure why he did, but I always liked the sound of it.”

Wolf smiled at the confession and sipped his coffee. It had delicious notes of chocolate and warmed him immediately.

A few minutes passed where the companions said nothing to each other. Wolf drank his coffee, and Richie and Hoag just stared through the fog contentedly. Then the mist began to thin.

“Here we are, Wolf,” Hoag said. “Your first look at Alfar, magical land of the elves.”

As he said so, the clouds parted, and the port city of El-Amin was visible. Wolf nearly choked on his coffee.

Everything he’d read and heard about Alfar described it as beautiful, an Edenic paradise populated by the most beautiful people on Earth. What he saw instead was a blighted nightmare. There were no rolling hills of the greenest grass imaginable, as he’d read. Instead, they were a sickly color of brown, dotted periodically with diseased grass patches. The majestic trees he’d expected were rotting and, if they had leaves, teetered toward the ground, as if they were slowly moving towards the grave. The harbor water, alleged to be so clear you could see to the bottom even to depths of twenty feet, was a dark blue, almost black. An Urlish warship patrolled those waters nearby, and Wolf could see others farther off towards shore.

“Blood and bones,” Wolf whispered.

“Not what you were expecting, is it, Laddie?” Hoag said, a somber note in his tone.

“Not a bit,” Wolf admitted.

“It’s sad,” Hoag said. “Time was, you’d come through that fog and have to look away, everything was so bright and beautiful. I used to hate leaving here when I’d have to travel back to Celia or somewhere else. Now, I almost detest returning.”

Wolf stared in horror. If Hoag remembered a time when Alfar was beautiful, it couldn’t have been too long ago – not more than twenty years. What could cause this much ruin in such a short time?

“What happened?” Wolf asked.

“Well, there are several different theories,” Hoag replied. “Some people, most of them elves, believe plundering the land for the magic trade with Urland and Phrygia drained the place of the magic that made it so beautiful. Others say the presence of so many humans has corrupted it.”

“You ask me,” Richie said, offering a rare comment, “I think it’s because they keep killing each other. They’ve divided into two countries, and all the suicide bombings and other murders have made God angry. They’re not his chosen people anymore.”

“You’ll get a lot of support for that theory among both humans and elves, Wolf,” Hoag said. “But it doesn’t matter. Something’s gone horribly wrong here. The most beautiful place on Earth is dying. It already looks like a corpse.”

“Cap’n!” called a voice from the crow’s nest, “That Urlish man-o-war is headed our way!”

Wolf turned to his left and saw that, indeed, the big warship was on an intercept course. She’d be in range to open fire with her ballistae in about a minute.

“Richie,” Hoag said quietly, “go hoist the ambassador’s flag.”

“Aye, sir,” he said and was off.

“I imagine we can get you a first-class escort into port, Wolf.”

Despite the fact that his countrymen were sailing towards him, Wolf felt uncomfortable.

***

Forty minutes later,
The Shimmering Veil
was docked and still flying the flag of the Urlish ambassador. Goods were being offloaded, including Wolf’s trunks, which he had repacked and locked securely. Wolf stood at the top of the gangplank, saying his goodbyes to Hoag and Richie.

“Well, Wolf, you’ve made it this far,” the captain was saying. “Now the hard part begins.”

“It’ll be easier thanks to all the good advice I got from you,” Wolf said.

“Ah, you’re flattering an old seadog,” Hoag said, brushing off the compliment. “But I appreciate it anyway. You ever need a reliable ship, you just call for me, Ambassador.”

“I will. I hate sailing. I wouldn’t want to endure with it anyone but you.”

Hoag let out one more of his characteristic guffaws and shook Wolf’s hand. After a moment, Wolf turned to Richie.

“Thanks for everything, Richie,” he said. “You made this a much more pleasant journey than it could have been.”

Richie said nothing, but he leaned up and kissed Wolf lightly on the cheek. The gesture made Wolf feel a little awkward, but Hoag didn’t seem offended, so he rewarded Richie with a smile.

“Wolf,” Hoag said. His face had become very serious. “Watch your back here. And your front and your sides too. I don’t know what sort of place you’re used to, but this is a lot different, a lot more dangerous.”

“I know a little something about danger,” Wolf said. “I’ll be fine.”

Hoag’s eyes narrowed. He gripped Wolf’s arm.

“Listen, Ambassador,” he said, “I may be just an old seadog, but I’m not a fool. Her Majesty’s government does not send an inexperienced diplomat to the biggest hellhole on Earth, nor does it charter a scow like
The Shimmering Veil
to get him there. And I’ve never met a diplomat who wasn’t a silk-loving noble. I don’t know what you’re really doing here, but I’ve a good bet you ain’t here to solve the impasse between Alfar and Urland.

“Which means whatever you’re here for is damned dangerous business. I figure you ‘know a little something about danger,’ as you put it, but wherever you’ve been before, it ain’t Alfar. You be careful, or you’ll end up like the dandies without a clue who come over here and get in over their heads.”

Wolf held Hoag’s gaze for a moment. He thought about what he said and supposed there was some truth to it. Sara Wensley-James was as good a Shadow as any he’d known, and she’d ended up chewed to pieces in the wasteland outside Al-Adan.

“Thanks, Captain,” he said. “I appreciate you looking out for me.”

“The pleasure’s all mine, Wolf,” Hoag said. “I can tell you’re a good man.”

They shook hands, and then Wolf turned away. As he faced the shore, he saw an elf in white robes making his way up the gangplank.

“Were you expecting an escort from the consulate, Ambassador?” Hoag said, concern in his tone.

Something was wrong. Wolf hadn’t been briefed about an elfin escort, and this one didn’t look like he came from the consulate. The robes were pristine, but his face was haggard. He looked malnourished. His jet-black skin had a sallow quality to it. Wolf couldn’t believe a government official would appear that way.

He scanned the area instinctively, looking for clues that would reveal the nature of the situation. After a moment, he spied Julius Quincy, the director of Urland’s Magic Division, making his way towards the ship and waving at Wolf.

Wolf returned his attention to the elf, who had made it two-thirds of the way up the gangplank. His thin face was set in determination. There was a wild look in his eyes. He wasn’t here to greet Wolf and escort him to the consulate. He put up his hood and then crossed his arms and produced a wand from one sleeve.

“Look out!” Richie yelled.

The elf waved the wand and said something Wolf couldn’t understand. Wolf saw a wave of magical energy build up around the wand as the elf made it to the top of the gangplank.

Richie dived at the assassin, tackling him around the waist. The two pitched over the side of the ship and plummeted towards the dock as the elf completed his spell. A second later there was a fierce explosion that scorched the ground and set the side of
The Shimmering Veil
ablaze.