Chartile: Prophecy (29 page)

Her heart pained at the thought of Nefiri,
having to choose between what was right for her people and the ones
that she loved. Nefiri had dismissed Dimitri from her service
because he had decided to stand with those who supported the Black
Diamonds. Piper did not agree, but she understood. But she couldn’t
do that to him. She couldn’t cast Dimitri away like that— not how
she had been cast away so long ago. Almost exactly eighteen years
ago. She would find a way. She was Piper. She could fix
anything.

Dimitri squeezed her hand back, and hugged
her closer to him. She smiled, and her heart raced thinking she
would give anything to wake up like this every morning for the rest
of her life.

“
You’re almost home,” he
whispered quietly in her ear.

“
I know,” she said and
untangled herself from his grasp. She reached for her rucksack and
pulled a small pear-like fruit she had been holding onto since
before they left the mountain. It was slightly bruised, but plenty
fresh. She offered a bite to Dimitri. He sat up cut off a piece
with his knife, tossing it into the air to catch in his
mouth.

“
You certainly cannot do
that at the high table.” she teased.

Dimitri laughed and shuddered. “You won’t
catch me anywhere near those prissy elven banquets.”

“
What is that supposed to
mean?” Piper asked, her hands flying to her hips.

“
I-I just mean… they’re
very… well, there are so many rules, and everyone is always so
perfectly dressed and poised.”

“
I have seen you during
meetings and banquets. You look wonderful, Dimitri. You can be very
proper when you want to be.” Piper replied kindly, relaxing once
more.

“
Only because I had to be.
I never really it. I wanted to join the army, but…. Maybe now I
can, since…”

“
Dimitri, I heard what
Nefiri said. I think she will take you back into her service. It
was more of a…” Piper struggled for the correct word. “A political
move, I’m sure of it. Now that the council has decided to work with
the Black Diamonds, there is no need for this rift between
you.”

Dimitri shrugged, and bit off a piece of
dried meat he had pulled from his pack.

Jayson, Jack and Leo woke shortly
thereafter, and shared in the last decadent bites of Piper’s
“pear-apple-fruit-thing” as Jayson called it.

“
If Taraniz’s army is in
Cannondole, it must be because she knows Valar has been helping us,
and expects us to go there.” said Piper as they cleaned up their
camp.

“
She obviously knows what
Piper looks like, and they probably have descriptions of what you
three look like by now.” Dimitri nodded to the boys.

“
Our shoes would be a dead
giveaway, anyway.” Leo indicated the tennis shoes they had changed
back to before leaving the mountain.

“
Yeah, but they don’t know
you’re not with Nefiri anymore,” said Jayson.

“
What?” asked his friends
together.

Jayson rolled his eyes. He did have some
good ideas once in a while.

“
Well, nobody knows that
you’re not working for Nefiri anymore. So, just go in there and
pretend you have a message from her for Valin. Then, you can talk
to Valin and Valar about the best way to sneak us in.”

They all stared at Jayson until he awkwardly
shrugged and started kicking the dirt with his toe.

“
It is not a bad idea,”
said Dimitri, and Jayson beamed.

“
Taraniz knows that the
dwarves have turned on her,” said Leo.

“
No,” said Piper, “I do
not believe Taraniz will be with the army in Cannondole. She will
remain at the castle, because she knows that’s where I will
eventually go. If the messengers we caught a few days ago headed
straight to the castle, even by the roads, it would be three days
at least. Taraniz would need another two days for any messages to
reach the commander in Cannondole from the palace. We may be
cutting it close, but I think we may still be able to bank on
messages not having been received yet. It is a risk, but it is
worth a try.”

“
It is better that we send
me in to be safe.” Dimitri looked at Piper and smiled. “We wouldn’t
want anything to happen to our future Queen and our
Kings.”

They crept as quietly as they could along
the outskirts of the forest line. The boys were thankful for the
training they had received from Piper during their hunting lessons
long ago on how to ‘ninja stealth walk’ as Jack had put it. At the
forest’s edge to the village, they hid in the tall bushes and
surveyed the scene. There were elven soldiers everywhere. They had
camped along the main road that would have taken them from the
elven palace straight to Mount Kelsii. Men flitted in and out of
the taverns and huddled around the blacksmith’s workshop. The
people of Cannondole could be seen peeking out of their windows and
walking quickly with heads down from one building to the next. The
Chantry of Canna, Mother of the skies and seasons, had its doors
shut tight, and no candles burned in the windows.

Dimitri put up his hood, and handed his
orenite cuffs to Piper. She tucked them in her rucksack, and hugged
and kissed him. “Please be careful,” she whispered.

“
Yeah, be careful, man,”
said Jayson, and each of the boys shook Dimitri’s hand in
turn.

“
If I am not back by
nightfall, get as far away from here as you can.”

“
You think it’ll really
take that long?” Jack asked.

“
I do not know,” said
Dimitri. His face set hard, he stood, and made his way around to
the bend in the main road.

Chapter Eighteen

Into Cannondole

Dimitri’s heart raced. He loved the thrill
of the unknown, especially when Nefiri had sent him to spy on the
elders and certain elven nobility. This, however, was different. If
he was caught, they would begin looking for Piper and the boys. He
couldn’t let that happen. He wouldn’t let it happen. He had to
protect them at all cost.

He walked the main road, his face obscured
by his hood, hands clasped together beneath his robes. He began
running scenarios over in his mind. He never planned what he would
say. The mark of a good spy was his art of improvising. He rounded
the bend, and a large wagon came bouncing and creaking down the
road beside him. Dimitri smirked, and stepped to the side.

Two soldiers stepped out from either side of
the road, and held up a hand to stop the driver.

“
State your business,”
said the soldier to the left. He sounded bored, which meant he was
likely not on high alert, and Dimitri’s smile deepened.

“
Goods from Serestell,”
said the wagon driver, confused as to the soldiers’ presence. “I’m
headed to Castielle, sirs.”

The soldier on the right looked the wagon
over. He glanced at Dimitri, who stood lazily beside the cart. He
smiled and nodded to the soldier, and leaned against the wagon
nonchalantly. The soldier eyed him for a moment, and Dimitri’s
heart beat harder and faster. The soldier nodded back, and
continued his search of the wagon. Dimitri silently breathed a sigh
of relief. Posing as the merchant’s son had been a trick he had
used before, but never when the dwarves had been under such
scrutiny with the elves. The soldier on the left recovered the
goods in the wagon with the burlap tarp. Nothing more than woven
baskets and mats.

“
Move along,” he said, and
waved the merchant on. Dimitri gave a friendly wave to the soldier
on the right as he passed. He continued beside the cart, staying
just out of the driver’s vision. They rounded another corner by the
chantry and Dimitri ducked behind a tree.

The Lord of Cannondole lived in a small
estate manor behind the Chantry of Canna, facing the very center of
town. Dimitri saw Cannondole was filled with soldiers, but
certainly not enough as to be a serious threat to Fortress Kelsii.
Valar had been the Lord of Cannondole before his appointment as the
King’s advisor. His son, Valin, had taken his father’s place in
running the bustling town several years ago. But, since Valar’s
disappearance after King Aramor’s death, walking up to the front
door was out of the question. Dimitri would have to improvise. He
stepped back onto the road, his hood still drawn up, and headed
toward the town center.

The Glass Lantern was Cannondole’s main inn
for traveler, and the town’s most popular tavern for a pint. It was
rumored to have a history of aiding those loyal to the magical arts
after the fall of Duke Noraedin, but of course it was only rumor.
Dimitri held the hanging wooden sign in his sights for a moment. It
might be the perfect place to look for someone foolish enough to
help him get to Valin. He stepped off the main road as a group of
rowdy soldiers emerged from the inn. The door slammed open, and
Dimitri stepped back into the shadows of the building. There was no
need, as the soldiers appeared thoroughly drunk. Dimitri stepped
through the door before it closed, and allowed his eyes to adjust
to the dim light.

There were only a handful of people in the
tavern that morning, and the last of the soldiers seemed to have
just departed. Dimitri realized he had no coin or anything to trade
or barter with. He lowered his hood and approached the bar.

“
Evenin’, sir,” said a
pretty young girl from behind the bar block. “Will it be board or
booze for yeh?” she asked, flashing a toothy smile. She was a few
years younger than Dimitri, but her fingers deftly counted out the
coins left on the bar with one hand as she balanced a tray with the
other.

“
Neither,” said Dimitri,
and he flashed his sultry smile back at her. “I’m only passing
through, and needed a place to rest my feet out of the wind for a
bit.”

“
Aye, sir,” said the girl.
“My name is Atana if yeh change yer mind. Where are yeh headin’, if
you don’t mind my asking?” She set the tray beside her, and began
scrubbing them clean as she talked.

Dimitri hesitated for only a moment, gently
stroking the stubble on his chin and replied, “I have a message
from the Chamberlain of Duneland to the Lord of Cannondole.” The
lie rolled off his tongue perfectly. “Simply financial in nature,
but…” He lowered his voice and leaned over the bar. The girl leaned
in closer, her eyes locked onto Dimitri’s. She blushed when Dimitri
came so close she could feel his breath on her cheek. “It is a
matter he would prefer to keep private. You understand. You
wouldn’t happen to know anyone who could…” He ran his fingers
through his hair and licked his lips. He looked over his shoulder,
pretending not to notice as Atana blushed and suppressed a shiver.
“Make any sort of formal introduction, would you?”

Dimitri grabbed a grape from a dirty plate
behind the counter, and tossed it in the air to catch in his mouth.
Again, he leaned forward, resting his elbow on the bar and his chin
on his hand. He looked at the girl with his eyebrows raised in an
innocent stare.

The girl did not speak for several long
seconds. She opened her mouth, then closed it again, swallowing and
glancing behind her nervously.

“
Meet me in the stables in
a half hour.” she said and rushed off.

Dimitri stretched and swung his feet onto
the chair beside him, and waited, a smug grin spreading across his
face.

Atana returned minutes later. She continued
to wait on the few patrons left in the tavern, but only passed
Dimitri brief, side glances as she worked. At ten minutes before
their meeting time, she disappeared again. Dimitri found himself
bouncing his knee and playing with a hole in the inside pocket of
his cloak. His mind raced with the possibility that the girl could
have turned him into the soldiers. He glanced at every window and
every door in the tavern before allowing his mind to settle. No,
the soldiers would have come charging in without warning the moment
they heard the news.

Dimitri knew he could be arrogant at times,
and he had yet to forget Piper’s words to him about his
stubbornness. He was not about to take any chances. He headed for
the stairs leading to the rooms above the tavern available for
rent. He stepped quietly, making no noise and checking for creaking
floor boards. He pressed his ear against each door, and listened.
The third room was silent, and the door unlocked. Dimitri opened it
to find the bed stripped of linens and completely bare.

He sighed and stepped quietly to the window.
The city street below was deserted. Dimitri smiled and thanked
Ygtall, Goddess of mischief and gambling for his luck. He swung
himself up the eaves and onto the thatched roof. From there, he
could see the entire surrounding area. He checked every entrance
into the inn, lying flat against the roof. No soldiers. He could
see the army had made camp in the large, now empty fields at the
edge of the town. Cannondole was known for its summer harvest of
hot yellow peppers, and the once lush fields had been picked clean
and turned into an encampment. More soldiers had pitched tents and
pavilions in the area beside the chantry— right in front of Valin’s
estate. The side road leading to the small manor house was riddled
with tents and campfires. None of the soldiers seemed on edge. They
were calm. Too calm for Dimitri’s comfort.

Dimitri squinted, staring at the most dense
sections of soldiers. Through the early morning fog, he saw a
different sort of haze. It hung in the air above the natural fog
and shimmered slightly to the experienced eye. Leo had been right.
There were more soldiers waiting in Cannondole than what first met
the eye, and the people of the town took little heed of the strange
occurrence. His skin crawled as he thought of Piper facing such a
formidable adversary. If Taraniz was capable of this, what else
could she do?