Abuud: the One-Eyed God (20 page)

"Then a bunch of us would be out of a job," chuckled Duke Tredor.

"Not at all," replied Konic. "I am proposing that we change our rules to allow for a seven member Council. The rules will not require any sitting councilor to leave his seat. That means that we will be a body of twelve until the next councilor dies. When he does, we will not replace him."

"How does that help?" asked Lord Markel.

"I am glad you asked that," Konic smiled. "If someone wanted a seat on this Council under our current rules, he would assassinate a sitting councilor and then work to see his name nominated. Under my proposed rules, the assassination would gain him nothing because we would not replace the councilor who was assassinated. If there is no gain to be had, then I doubt that the assassination would even occur."

"So we end up taking the reason for assassinations away?" asked Lord Wason.

"Exactly," nodded Konic. "You would have to assassinate six councilors and get away with it, and even then you would only have a chance to get your name nominated. Not exactly very good odds."

"And none of us would lose our positions," nodded Duke Graves. "The plan has some merit. It would be nice to end these foul assassinations."

Duke Everich began counting votes. If there were only seven councilors, he would need only three allies to ensure his success in any vote he wanted to bring up. He had two solid allies now and two more bordering on coming over to his side. Duke Graves, Duke Tredor, and Duke Zalski also looked favorably upon the plan as they represented a block of three votes and only needed one more ally to control the Council.

"A most impressive plan, Lord Clava," nodded Duke Everich. "I think it is workable. It certainly would be refreshing to be able to actually vote on something other than nominees. Let us put it to a vote."

The plan passed with nine votes for it. Only the three nonaligned councilors voted against it. The Council meeting adjourned, and Konic Clava directed his carriage to take him to Stafa Rakech. The Koman mercenaries took a roundabout route to get there to make sure they weren't followed, although it would not seem strange for a councilor to visit the world's wealthiest man. When he arrived, Konic was shown to the sitting room with furniture. Within moments, Oscar Dalek appeared.

"How did it go?" Oscar asked.

"It went perfectly," reported Konic. "I could almost hear the different groups counting the votes that they would need to control the Council. It passed nine to three."

"Did none of them see the danger inherent in your proposal?" asked Oscar.

"If anyone did, they hid it well," commented Konic.

"You appear to have a knack for this sort of thing," complimented Oscar. "Have you given any thought to actually remaining on the Council when Queen Marta returns?"

"My goal is to see Arik crowned safely," answered Konic. "Anything that I can do to that end, you will find me committed to."

"Well, now the real fun begins," declared Oscar. "It is time to tighten the noose and see who survives."

"How many of them are you going to squeeze?" asked Konic.

"All of them," laughed Oscar. "I want to make sure that we get Graves and his allies totally committed. I plan to squeeze the three of them at the same time. I will start with them."

"They work well as a team so that makes sense," nodded Konic. "How can I help with that?"

"You do have a part to play," assured Oscar. "You are going to have to boost your mercenary guard. I will have Mitar Vidson talk to you in a public place to give you the bad news."

"Graves and his allies spend a lot of time at the Palace Shadow," mentioned Konic. "They think that provides them with cover from the others. Truly, it just lets the others know where to find them."

"Then you should dine with them this evening," suggested Oscar. "Can you arrange that?"

"I am sure they will accept me after today," nodded Konic. "It would not surprise me if they counted me as the fourth vote that they will need to rule the Council."

"Excellent," smiled Oscar. "Duke Everich and Duke Jiardin will be hard to squeeze. They are the only two not using mercenaries. Duke Everich must have a hundred troops on his estate."

"If you take out Jiardin or Count Melorn too early," warned Konic, "Everich might try to rescind the seven man Council. You will have to wait until we are assured of a majority."

"Can we count Lord Wason in that majority?" asked Oscar.

"I am not sure," admitted Konic. "I would like to say yes as I like the lad, but his real loyalties are not assured."

"That means that the three independents must be the first to die," summarized Oscar.

"That assumes that Graves and his allies are tricked into behaving," Konic stated.

"They either fall for our bait, or they die," declared Oscar.

"When will the assassin come for me?" asked Konic.

"Probably tonight," answered Oscar. "It could be tomorrow though. Mitar will tell you all about it."

"Will this be necessary for Alan as well?" inquired Konic.

"I am not sure yet," Oscar replied. "If the story of the attempt on your life is sufficient to motivate Graves and his allies then we will not need an attempt on Lord Markel. Let's take it one step at a time."

"Have you managed to find out if they even have a spy in Alan's mansion?" asked Konic.

"They do," assured Oscar. "Like the spy in your home, this one replaced a man who had to quit for family business. What they are doing is threatening the families of the men to get them to quit and create places for their spies."

"Where would we be without the aid of the fairies?" Konic asked rhetorically.

"The information they feed us is invaluable," nodded Oscar. "I am quite surprised that they have not been discovered yet. This whole plan could easily fall apart if that happens. There is no way we could infiltrate all of those estates with human spies."

"They are a wonderful ally for our son," smiled Konic.

"I am beginning to like the ring of those words," smiled Oscar. "You did a magnificent job of raising Arik. He is son to be proud of. For both of us."

"I wonder how he is doing now," posed Konic. "I still worry about him although Alex has trained him well. I know there are always situations that one can get into that exceeds one's preparation."

"Arik will do fine," smiled Oscar. "It will take quite a bit to take him unawares."

"Still, I will feel better when he is back with the rest of the Rangers," said Konic. "They are a potent force together."

Master Khatama guided the wagon eastward along the narrow, seldom-used trail. Niki sat alongside him as she combed her red hair.

"Why were Azmet's men after you?" Boris asked nonchalantly.

"What makes you think he was after me?" Niki asked coyly.

"When I see someone running for her life I just assume that someone is after her," chuckled Boris.

Boris's jovial attitude put Niki at ease and she laughed heartily. "He is really angry," she chuckled. "First Wylan stole the Sword of Heavens. Then Arik and Tedi escaping threw him into a fit. I thought his heart would stop beating right then. I would love to see his face when he discovers his poor statue."

"The statue of Abuud?" questioned the merchant. "What happened to the statue?"

"I broke it," laughed Niki. "It ended up in thousands of pieces."

"What of the eye?" inquired Boris.

Niki immediately stopped laughing and glared at the merchant. It told Master Khatama exactly what he wanted to know. He knew that Niki had the diamond and that he had just sent the boys on a dangerous trip for nothing.

"If that does not stop his heart nothing will," Boris commented. "That statue is his claim to fame. Nobody will believe that Abuud made him the prophet without that statue."

"He will just replace the statue," Niki shrugged. "People like Azmet don't give up easily. I managed to get him to promise to make me queen of Tagaret, but I don't think he would have kept his bargain."

"How can he replace a statue given to him by Abuud?" Boris asked. "No, his people will start to drift away without the statue."

"How can you say that?" queried Niki. "You know that Abuud did not give him that statue. I heard you telling Wylan about it when he hid in your wagon."

Master Khatama recalled his conversation with Wylan. He had noticed Niki at the time, but it was obvious that she had been lurking nearby. He wondered what she had heard.

"Yes I did," smiled Boris. "The statue Azmet had was not even the real statue."

"I know," laughed Niki. "You should have seen his face when I told him that. He chased the guards out of the room so they would not overhear us talking about it."

"Does he know where the real statue is?" inquired the merchant.

"Oh sure," nodded Niki. "That is how I got him to promise to make me queen. I told him that Arik and Tedi were going to the Island of Storms to get it. Now he will probably take his army down there to retrieve it. I hope they stay down there. I don't like him very much."

Boris turned off the trail and started taking the wagon through the woods.

"What are you doing?" asked Niki. "You missed the trail. You better get back on it before you bust a wheel."

"We have to head south as swiftly as we can," Boris said seriously. "The trail we are on does not intersect another trail for over half a day."

"What difference does it make which way we go?" asked Niki. "As long as it is not towards Azmet, we will be safe."

"But the boys will not be," explained Boris. "I sent them to the Island of Storms to get that statue. It is the one thing that Azmet would trade the Diamond of Edona for."

"But I…" Niki faltered.

"I know that you have it," smiled Boris. "The point is that the boys do not know, and Azmet does not know. They are both after the real statue, and I do not think the boys stand much of a chance against a thousand raving fanatics with swords."

"You knew I had the diamond and did not try to take it from me?" asked Niki. "Why not?"

"It does not belong to me," Boris said simply. "It belongs to the Sword of Heavens. Either you will see that it goes where it belongs, or you will try to sell it. If you need to sell it, then I will buy it from you."

"I wasn't going to sell it," replied Niki. "I mean I thought about it. It probably could make me queen somewhere, but what I really wanted was to be important. I wanted to be the one that got the Diamond of Edona instead of Arik."

"Well you did get it," Boris smiled tautly. "I think that we are talking about that painful feeling you almost discussed last night. Do you want to talk about it?"

Niki was quiet for a long time. Boris did not press the issue, but rode on in silence. After a while he looked over at Niki and saw the tears in her eyes. He turned and plucked a clean cloth from inside the wagon and gently handed it to her.

"I suspect that people do not ever give you credit for things," suggest Boris.

"People don't even like me," Niki bawled. "I have never been praised for anything. Everyone is always better than me. It has been that way my whole life. Just once I wanted to be the one that everybody praised. Just once."

"I certainly find you likeable," Boris said softly.

"You are just saying that," Niki sobbed, but Boris saw a glint of hope in her eyes.

"Niki," calmed Boris, "a person's worth is not something that someone else gives them. Mostly it is in your attitude. It is a reflection of how you see yourself and I think that you are shortchanging yourself. You are not required to live up to the expectations of others. It is your own expectations that matter most. When you are trying your hardest at something, you know that you are doing the best you can. Nobody can ever ask more of you than that."

"But I try hard and still can't do anything right," complained Niki. "I can't use a sword or a staff. They let me throw knives and stars, but they all move away when I am doing it. Like they expect me to hit them instead of the target. I can't even do magic right, and I know that I am a powerful mage."

"Just because you travel with warriors does not mean that you are expected to become one," responded Boris. "I have no warrior skills at all, but it would not bother me to be with them. I bet I could cook better than the lot of them."

Niki smiled. "That was a very good meal last night. I guess you have had a lot of practice traveling all these years."

"Yes, a lot of practice," nodded Boris. "The point is, everyone has skills they need to develop. Not everyone has the same skills. You need to find out what you are good at and develop your skills to your satisfaction, not to someone else's satisfaction."

"But even at magic I was a failure," Niki began crying again. "Having Fredrik better than me was bad enough, but then being in the company of the great Jenneva was humiliating. I know they were laughing at me."

"Perhaps magic is not your specialty," suggested Boris. "Just because you have some magical talent does not mean that you do not have a greater talent somewhere else."

"Jenneva thinks I have some special talent in healing," Niki said, "but even that was failure. I heard them talking about how I hurt Tedi by trying to heal him. They blamed me for him almost going insane."

"What of your parents?" asked the merchant. "Perhaps knowing what they are good at can tell us where your skills lie."

"I am not sure who my parents are," answered Niki. "It is all so confusing. Jenneva thinks that Sarac and Aurora were my parents. Dalgar say that Aurora and he are my parents. Other than that, I have known three sets of parents. My first parents had too many children to feed. I was the lucky one to get abandoned."

Boris saw new tears forming at the corner of Niki's eyes and knew how painful this must be for her.

"Another couple took pity on me and took me in," she continued. "All they really wanted was a slave to clean up after them. They worked me until I could not stand it any more. I ran away and lived on the streets. Finally I found a nice mother. She worked in a market and caught me stealing fruit. I thought she would have me beaten, but instead she took me home with her. She is the only person to have ever liked me."