Fortress Draconis (83 page)

He felt a little bad for Will because the thief had accused him of freezing when the grand temeryx had come for him. Kerrigan had aptly pointed out that because the temeryx was a predator, and predators tended to go after things that acted like prey; by not moving, he was not presenting himself as prey to that creature. Will had refused to believe that explanation and had laughed, so Kerrigan feigned being hurt. Resolute berated Will for his behavior, so Will did his best to stay away from Kerrigan, and the others left him alone as well.

The Adept touched his heels to his horse and urged it forward to where Alexia and Crow rode. He smiled at them as his horse pulled even. “We’re almost in Oriosa, yes?”

Alexia smiled. “We are. It’s good to finally see you in high spirits, Adept Reese. We’re safe, and now we can rest.”

“Oh, I know.” Kerrigan glanced beyond her and at Crow. “And your leg, it is still okay?”

The older man nodded. “I appreciate the work you’ve done on me.”

The Adept’s smile broadened. Crow had been in a bad way by the time they got him back to the camp. Kerrigan had worked on the broken leg, healing it up some, but lacked the strength to complete the job. He set the bones and started their repair, but couldn’t finish it without drawing on Crow’s own strength. As with the Panqui Xleniki, Kerrigan feared that to do that would kill Crow.

The next morning he’d come to complete the repairs, and to even fix up some other stuff as he’d done with Orla, but Crow stopped him. “As long as I can sit a horse, that’s all I need. Work on others who have been hurt.”

Kerrigan could tell, even looking at Crow’s leg now, that it was swollen and hurt him, but he respected the man’s wishes. “If you want or need any more help with your leg, when I’m rested, I’d be glad to be of service.”

“Thank you. And thank you for riding up here to share that.”

Kerrigan said nothing until they rode past the stone pylon marking the border. “That wasn’t the reason I caught up with you. Princess, I have a message from Dothan Cavarre. He made me promise I wouldn’t say anything unless it was an emergency or until we reached Oriosa.”

Her violet eyes glittered. “Go on.”

The Adept reached into the wrinkled folds of his many shirts and produced a leather bag. “In here I have a fragment of the DragonCrown.”

“What?” Alyx gasped at the news. “How did you? I don’t understand how…”

Kerrigan nodded at Crow. “The Draconis Baron must have told you about it, Crow, since you agreed to help smuggle me out with it.”

The princess turned to look at her riding companion. “You knew?”

The man shook his head solemnly. “I knew the Draconis Baron thought it was vital that we head south. I did not know why, beyond his hoping to have his wife and the other Oriosans evacuated. This I will swear. Had I been told what we were really doing, I would have refused. I thought there was no way we could smuggle a portion of the DragonCrown out of Fortress Draconis without the dragon detecting it.”

The Adept let the gemstone slip back next to his skin. “The Draconis Baron had long ago created three duplicates of the real fragments. He hid the true fragments away, but the magick on them linked them to the decoys, so the dragon thought all the parts were still in Fortress Draconis. The Draconis Baron had a long talk with me—I guess Arristan had sent him a message about me courtesy of a Steelfeather. He had me make up a new duplicate, a better one, for one of the fragments—the ruby one. I strengthened the spells. If we had had more time I could have done more; but he said the Red was the most important of these…. If Chytrine gets her hands on my duplicate, she’ll know it’s not real.”

Alyx and Crow exchanged glances. They said nothing as Sallitt Hawkins spurred his horse forward to meet the cavalry company riding toward them. Ryhope and her children followed in themeckanshits wake, while the others let their horses drop to a walk.

The princess blinked, then slowly smiled. “Well, this is a victory of sorts, I guess. We’ve cheated her of two crown fragments.”

“That’s not the only thing.” Kerrigan’s voice came a bit low and he shifted his shoulders uneasily. “I did something else while I was there. I hope it will work.”

Crow watched him closely. “What was that?”

“The magick they used on Orla, it was bad, really bad. It pulled away magick strength and stored it up to trigger another spell. I put one of those in another fragment. If she notices it I’m sure she can take it out and fix it. If she doesn’t, though …”

Crow ran a hand over his beard. “What-will the magick do?”

“I didn’t have time to do much, so it’s a variation of an illusion, really subtle, almost nothing at all.” The Adept’s face hardened. “It will make her certain that no matter how much she knows about what we’re doing, there’s something else, something hidden, something she can’t trust. She’ll always be looking to be betrayed. She’ll be haunted.”

Alexia reached out and rested her left hand on his right shoulder. “You may not think that is much, but it could be everything. You’ve done well, Adept Reese, very well.”

“I’ll do more, Highness.”

“I’m sure you will.” She gave him a broad smile that made him flush.

The princess’ attention turned away from him as the cavalry company came closer and spread from column into line. The line curved around them. She reined her horse to a halt and Kerrigan did likewise. Behind them a squad rode off with Ryhope and her children, leaving Sallitt Hawkins in the middle of the road, cradling his twisted arm against his stomach. With him remained a civilian, a young woman.

Will rode up and pointed at her. “I think that’s Sephi.”

A civilian rider urged his horse forward. He wore a thick medallion on a chain around his neck. “I am Call Mably, magistrate for the town of Tolsin. We welcome you to Oriosa. We have made provisions for your stay with us. We hope you will be comfortable.”

Princess Alexia nodded. “I am Alexia of Okrannel and these people are …”

Mably held a hand up. “We know who they are, Highness. Your identities were sent byarcanslata from Fortress Draconis. We have been anticipating your arrival.”

The magistrate reined his horse over to block Crow. “You’re known as Crow, Kedyn’s Crow?”

“I am.”

Mably nodded. The Oriosan cavalrymen drew horse-bows from their saddle scabbards and nocked arrows. “By order of Most High King Scrainwood, you are placed under arrest. You will be confined in Tolsin until proper authorities come to conduct you to Meredo.”

Alexia dropped her hand to the hilt of her saber. “I believe you’re making a terrible mistake, Magistrate.”

Matty’s voice became ice-cold. “The mistake will be yours if you interfere, Highness. These men will kill you, will kill any of you who interfere.”

Crow reached out with his left hand and grasped Alexia’s right. “Don’t do anything, none of you. This isn’t worth your lives.”

Crow looked Kerrigan straight in the eye and added, “When secrets come to light, they can become deadly. This one should have remained hidden and didn’t, but the price is not yours to pay. It’s mine.”

Crow lifted his chin. “I give you my word that I’ll do nothing to escape. Leave my friends alone.”

“You think I would take your word for that?” Mably beckoned two soldiers over who bracketed Crow, stripped him of his weapons, and tossed them on the ground. They bound his hands behind his back, then one took his reins and led him off.

Kerrigan wanted to do something, but Alexia shook her head. The riders led Crow back through their line and on toward the town. Sallitt Hawkins turned his horse south and galloped off, leaving a trail of dust that swirled like fog over Crow.

Sephi waited, smiled, then trotted off in Sallitt Hawkins’ wake.

Alexia kicked her horse forward. “I demand to know what is going on here. Nothing Crow has done could have warranted this sort of treatment.”

Mably looked at her, surprised, then laughed. “You really don’t know who he is, do you? Your Crow was tried in absentia for treason a quarter century ago. Your Crow is the Traitor. He’s Tarrant Hawkins and when he gets to Meredo they’ll give him the death he so justly deserves.”

ABOUT THE AUTHO is an award-winning game and computer game designer, as well as a novelist. He is best known for his eightStar Wars novels.

In his spare time—of which there is not much when undertaking massive tomes likeFortress Draconis —he plays indoor soccer, rides a bike, reads a lot, travels, and serves as a Frisbee-flinger for Saint, a Cardigan Welsh corgi. He lives with Liz Danforth and Ruthless, Saint’s great-grandmother, in Arizona.

His website is www.stormwolf.com.

The saga of Will, Alyx, Kerrigan, and the others will continue inWhen Dragons Rage (I know, I know, write faster).

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