Council of War (66 page)

The Alceans took a break as the sun slid lower in the sky, but the sun was not the only thing falling out of the sky. In a flurry of beating wings and giggles three fairies shot into the clearing. The two male fairies chased the female around the clearing several times before Pebble landed on Garth's shoulder and clung to his ear.

"Keep your distance or Alex will squish you in his fist for being bad boys," giggled Pebble.

"Not likely," retorted Droplet as he swooped down and threw his arms around Pebble.

Twerp landed and grabbed hold of Droplet's wings. "Back off, ogre breath. Can't you see that she is more interested in a sophisticated man."

"Stop," Garth growled.

The three fairies immediately froze, and Bitsy and Button peeked out of their pockets.

"What is going on?" asked Bitsy.

"The circus is in town," scowled Garth, "but the show has just ended. We are on a mission here. This is no time for frolicking. Pebble, let go of my ear, and do not mention that name of mine again. I am known as Garth in this world."

Pebble released her hold on Garth's ear, and Droplet released his hold on Pebble. Twerp let go of Droplet's wings and walked as far away from the other two fairies as Garth's shoulder allowed.

"Droplet, you will work with Shawn," Garth said. "Twerp, I am assigning you to Karl. Off my shoulder both of you."

The two male fairies flew to the shoulders of their assigned companions.

"Where do I go?" Pebble asked meekly.

"Far away from here," answered Garth.

"Meanie," frowned the tiny woman.

"I am going to take you to meet the dwarves of Tarashin," stated Garth.

"Oh, dwarves." Pebble brightened. "I like dwarves."

"You are going to Tarashin?" asked Kalina.

"Yes," nodded Garth. "I think the arrival of our three rambunctious friends couldn't have been timed any better. While you are in Waxhaw, I will journey to Tarashin and introduce Pebble. I want to be able to communicate with the dwarves, and they will not reveal the existence of the fairies to anyone."

"That is a good plan," agreed Kalina, "but it will take you all night each way."

"It is time well spent," shrugged Garth. "I also think we should leave Shawn in Waxhaw for the same reason. Introduce him to Colonel Pfaff. Shawn, do not reveal the existence of Droplet if you can avoid it. I trust Colonel Pfaff, but we do not know anything about his people."

"I understand," nodded the Ranger.

"Tedi," Garth continued, "you and Natia can nose around the city. See if you can learn anything that might have escaped the notice of Colonel Pfaff. Karl, you stick with Kalina. Watch her back. I will meet up with you on the Lombardi Road outside the city the morning after tomorrow."

The Knights of Alcea nodded their understanding, and Garth mounted Kymia. Pebble slid into the pocket with Bitsy, and Garth heard faint giggling coming from his pocket as he rode out of the clearing. He shook his head and chuckled.

"With Garth gone," Kalina said, "there is no reason to delay our entry into Waxhaw. Let's ride. The food will be far better in the city than it is here."

She did not get any arguments from the others. The Alceans mounted their unicorns and rode into Waxhaw without incident. Kalina led the way to the Waxhaw Wheel House, and Natia rented three rooms. The Alceans went to their rooms and settled in before returning to the common room for the evening meal. Tedi and Natia separated themselves from the other Alceans so that it did not appear to be a large group sharing a meal. Before they were finished with the meal, Tedi saw Colonel Pfaff walk into the room. The Vinaforan stood quietly until he made eye contact with Kalina. He flicked his eyes upward, and Kalina nodded casually. She spoke softly to the two Alceans at her table and then rose to her feet. She showed no interest in the colonel as he turned and exited the inn through the front door. Kalina exited the inn through the rear door. Karl and Shawn rose casually a few moments later and headed up the stairs.

Tedi watched the people in the common room to see if anyone showed interest in the Alceans, but no one did. They were all involved in their own conversations. Kalina soon entered through the rear door and climbed the steps to her room. Five minutes later, Colonel Pfaff returned through the rear door. He entered quietly and moved quickly up the steps before he caught anyone's attention. Tedi pushed his plate away and began to rise when the rear door opened again. He quickly sat back down as a major entered the common room and gazed around. Seeing nothing that interested him, he headed up the stairs. Tedi tapped Natia's hand and nodded towards the stairs. She turned just in time to see the major climbing the stairs.

"Friend or foe?" Natia whispered.

"That is the question," Tedi replied. "If he was meant to watch the colonel's back, he should have known that he went upstairs. Let's take a walk back to our room. You walk in front of me."

Natia nodded, and the Alcean couple rose to their feet. Tedi paused at the table to drain his mug of ale, and his wife walked away. Natia reached the bottom of the stairs before Tedi had crossed half the room. She climbed the stairs casually, not appearing to have any intent of stealth, but her footsteps were light enough to conceal her approach to anyone on the floor above. As she reached the second floor, she saw the major with his ear to Kalina's door. She purposely looked down at the floor and coughed. She sensed the major stiffen even though she could not see him. She raised her eyes and saw him standing in the hallway fumbling in his pouch. She smiled at him and walked past him as Tedi moved silently up the stairs.

Natia turned around after she passed the major. "Did you lose your key?"

"I always misplace it," smiled the major as his fingers moved around in the pouch. "I am sure it is in here somewhere. Thanks for asking, but I will be fine."

"Pity," smiled Natia. "I could use some company."

"Another time," the major smiled.

Suddenly, Tedi's staff came down on the major's head. The man's eyes rolled up and his body pitched forward. Natia stepped in close and grabbed the man's body before it fell to the floor. The door to Kalina's room flew open and Karl leaped into the hallway with his sword drawn.

"Let's get him inside quickly," Tedi whispered.

Karl sheathed his sword and picked up the major's body. He stepped back into Kalina's room, and Tedi and Natia followed.

"He was listening outside the door," Natia said as Karl threw the body on the bed.

"Do you know him?" Kalina asked the colonel as she rose and checked the body.

"Major Pezzola," nodded the colonel. "Is he dead?"

"No," Tedi answered before Kalina could open her mouth. "I only hit him hard enough to knock him out. He came in right after you, and he was listening outside the door. Need I ask if he is friend or foe?"

"Foe," sighed the colonel. "We are gathering so many men into our organization that it has started to become noticed by those we wish to avoid. I guess we are growing too quickly."

"I think so," replied Shawn. "How many men do you have now?"

"Four thousand," answered Colonel Pfaff, "but they are not all soldiers. Farmers, vintners, merchants, and fishermen are looking for some way to take a stand against the Federation. Daramoor is pillaging this great nation."

"I guess I should have hit him harder," sighed Tedi. "If he was following you, your cover might already be blown."

"I don't think so," replied the colonel. "If I was known to be with the rebels, I would already be dead. Major Pezzola tried to infiltrate the organization last week, but I happened to know that he was working on some secret project for Daramoor. I had his contact flee the city, and that left the major without a lead. I suspect he has been tailing officers since then. Tonight was probably just my lucky night."

"Well he knows enough now to put you in jeopardy," stated Shawn. "He probably heard you talking about Queen Romani."

"That is a problem," the colonel nodded. "It complicates things greatly. Word came to the palace yesterday that Queen Romani was still alive. The news caused quite a stir. It was said that she was seen in Herinak. How can that be? I thought she was going to Tyronia."

"She was no longer safe in Tyronia," frowned Kalina. "With it falling to the Federation, she had to be moved, but your news indicates that the Federation is getting information out of Herinak. That is not good for our plans."

"At least she is safe," remarked the colonel. "They may have spies in Herinak, but the Federation will not waste them by assassinating the queen. She is powerless as long as she stays there. They will wait until she tries to return to kill her."

"You miss the point," warned Kalina. "We are setting up a Council of War to align all of the enemies of the Federation together. If she mentions who is running the show for her here in Waxhaw, your life will be forfeit."

"She probably doesn't even know that word of her presence there has been reported," stated Karl.

"Tedi," ordered Kalina, "Button knows Sidney Mercado. Inform the merchant of what we know. Mention the episode with Major Pezzola. If the queen is asked who Crusher is, she should say it was the major."

Tedi left the room, and Colonel Pfaff looked questioningly at Kalina. "I did not understand much of what you just said."

"I will tell you what you need to understand," smiled Kalina. "You are going to kill Major Pezzola tonight. In the morning, you will report to King Daramoor that you discovered who Crusher was when he tried to get you to join the rebellion."

"He will never believe that," frowned the colonel. "I am sure that Major Pezzola was trying to infiltrate our organization for Daramoor. He has probably been doing so ever since the king got wind of the rebellion."

"And he has repeatedly failed," smiled Kalina. "I bet that Daramoor chose him for the task because he thought he was capable of it. What better reason for failure is there than failing because you cannot be expected to turn yourself in?"

"The king might be skeptical," offered Shawn, "but if he gets word out of Herinak that Queen Romani has confirmed it, you will be a hero to Daramoor, Colonel."

"It is risky," Colonel Pfaff shook his head. "What if Queen Romani has already mentioned my name?"

"Then you are already dead," answered Natia. "We can know for sure what the queen has said in two days. Can you keep the major confined for that long?"

"Two days?" echoed the colonel. "Herinak is hundreds of leagues away. How can you do that?"

"We have the means," smiled Kalina. "Can you keep him alive somewhere for two days?"

"I can," nodded the colonel.

"Good," replied Kalina. "We are going to leave Shawn with you when we leave. Any information you need to get to Queen Romani or us, give it to Shawn. He can also advise you if you wish."

"Advise me?" frowned Colonel Pfaff. "I do not even know who you people are. I know that the queen trusts in you, but you keep me in the dark. That does not give me a warm feeling."

"I apologize," Kalina replied sincerely. "When we first met, we were not sure if you could be trusted. That is no longer true. We are from Alcea. It is a country across the ocean, and the Federation will soon invade it. We came here to learn what we could about the Federation, but we lost our ship in the sinking of the Federation fleet."

"That was your group?" gasped the colonel. "That shocked the Federation badly. How many of you are there?"

"A dozen," answered Kalina.

"You destroyed a hundred warships with twelve people?" the colonel asked in awe.

"More or less," nodded Kalina. "We also destroyed the Giza shipyards. I am not telling you this to be boastful, but rather to let you know the type of advice Shawn can offer you. He is an Alcean Ranger, one of an elite military group in our country. He will not try to take your place or try to do something without your blessing, but you would be wise to talk to him about strategy and tactics."

"Does the queen know the truth about you?" asked the colonel.

"She did not at first," admitted Kalina, "but she does now. We rescued her from the palace. She has no reason to doubt us."

"Nor do I," smiled the colonel. "I will ask for Shawn's advice often. Thank you for lending him to me."

* * *

The four Knights of Alcea mounted their unicorns and started to ride out of Waxhaw on the Lombardi Road. They had not ridden more than a few blocks from the Waxhaw Wheel House when Karl suddenly halted his unicorn and jerked his head to the right. The others stopped to see what was the matter. Kalina moved her unicorn alongside Karl and followed his gaze down a side street. She saw four men riding away from her in the distance, and they had four extra horses with them.

"What is it, Karl?" asked Kalina.

"That was Fakir Aziz," nodded Karl. "He has three men and eight unicorns with him."

"Wait for me here," instructed Kalina as she turned her unicorn to follow Fakir Aziz.

Fakir and his friends were moving slowly through the city. Kalina had little trouble catching up to them, but Fakir unexplainably turned around and stared at her before she got close. He said something to the other men, and they nodded in understanding. The men turned into a park and dismounted, but Fakir remained astride his unicorn and waited for Kalina to come alongside him.

"Well met, Fakir Aziz," smiled Kalina. "You seemed to have increased your herd."

"There were not enough for my needs in Traginak," replied Fakir. "I had to make a journey to a place where you have already been."

"Monocornus," nodded Kalina. "Why didn't you tell us who you were when we met?"

"Would it have mattered?" asked Fakir.

"It would have to me," Kalina replied sadly. "For three years I have wondered what became of you. It hurts me that you found me and said nothing. You were like a father to me."

"And you are like a daughter to me still," smiled Fakir, "but you have much to accomplish and very little time to do it. There was no need to fill your head with distracting thoughts."

"Dismount," ordered Kalina as she swung off her unicorn.