Temple of the Traveler: Book 01 - Doors to Eternity (15 page)

“New money,” said Tashi, shaking the dwarf’s hand with an iron grip. “Will this get you in trouble with the others?”

The dwarf shook his head. “My deal was with the dead one alone. Besides, I left them something at the gate which should make up for my not saying a proper farewell.” As soon as the craftsman had collected what remained of his tools and ancient devices, the two disappeared into the crypts, barring the doors to the Hall of Remembrance from the inside.

From her boat, Humi saw the unnatural storm clouds. Her eyes narrowed and she ordered the rowers back to the island. When she arrived, the docks were deserted. This was unprecedented. She immediately pulled her dagger, a small, sharp type that all divers carried. Without a word, Humi sent two rowers ahead to explore while the rest of them protected the boat’s cargo.

An agonizing interval passed where everyone clutched the nearest weapon they could find. Eventually, the two rowers returned to explain that all the soldiers and laborers from this side of the island were now lining the inner walls of Kragen’s personal zone at the barriers between the wizard territories. War banners were flying prominently from every camp. Inside, Humi was wailing in fear. Outside, she wore a mask of stone. A mere diving girl wouldn’t be able to demand an accounting from this lot, but the Lady of the Deep could not be denied.

She strode into the heart of the conflict. Humi blew through the outer layer of guards without a word. When she reached the gate between realms, she spotted Kragen’s chief steward in his trademark, gold-brocade cape. The administrative head of her lord’s household was as bland as toast, even when discussing the as blaest scheme or sums of money that would make a monarch drool. But now the steward’s cheeks flared red as he engaged in heated debate with lead soldiers and emissaries from the two neighboring ki mages. Was this a mutiny?

Rage burned in Humi’s eyes as she shouted, “What is the meaning of this?”

Her tone was so similar to the late wizard’s that the drugged bodyguard with a bandage over his throat snapped to attention. However, Morlan’s body could not endure the surge of pressure this entailed, and he immediately slumped back against the wall. Every professional soldier in the room winced at this display of loyalty.

The lord’s retainers all respected Humi, but each feared to be the first to tell her the news. One of the apprentice ki mages in the room was offended at the girl’s presumption. This was a meeting to decide the future leadership of the sept, the greatest magical and criminal force in the world. The mage glared at the lord’s most recent concubine. Stranded out here in the sticks, Kragen had gone slumming. And the trollop had made the most of his attentions. She was supposed to be the most productive diver on the Great Project and yet the girl was bone dry. Scanning Humi with his aura sight, the mage saw something that made his mouth gape like a fish. This changed everything. The apprentice sank to his knees and prostrated himself before the Lady of the Deep.

When the others in the room stared, the apprentice explained, “All hail our former lord’s only son, the sole heir of the house of Kragen.”

The news should have made her weep for joy, but the words ‘former’ and ‘heir’ told her volumes. Surely, Lord Kragen had known about the child; it explained several small changes in his manner, a softening. In an instant, she saw the life she had always hoped for flash before her. Then, like lightning, it was gone, leaving a void so great that the resounding roar shook her world. This vision of happiness had been stolen from her; the love of her life was now dead, and these jackals were trying to rip his corpse to pieces. Humi wanted to cry for a dozen reasons, but couldn’t afford to show an iota of weakness before this pack. There was too much she needed to know, alliances she had to forge, and orders she had to give. Only then could she permit herself to return to their tower bedroom and collapse in grief.

The chief steward of Kragen’s palace didn’t seem surprised. The other emissaries raised their eyebrows in his direction, looking for confirmation. With a silent nod, he changed the political playing field for all of them. When one of the military men asked for written evidence, the steward went to a fire-proof chest and produced a codicil to the lord’s will. Reading aloud, the head servant announced, “Humi Kragen shall be henceforth known as my first wife, with ceremony to follow once the Court of Zandar makes good on its debts to me and returns deed to her ancestral lands, along with a suitable title. This will be my dowry to her. As for the male child she carries, I name it as my lawful heir with all the rights and duties that confers.”

The room was silent again for a moment as each man considered what the news meant to his faction and how best to cover for recent, tactical errors, for both magical and aristocratic power were based on very strict adherence to certain laws. The soldier who’d made the demand was the next to bow before her. “Forgive me, milady. It was necessary. For the contract all of us signed was to the blood of Kragen, and not just the man. A moment ago, we thought ourselves free men. Now we are bound to the boy child by our word of honor. Long live the House of Kragen.”

"29"ight="0" width="29">Biting each word with monumental effort that made the room chill, she said, “Chamberlain, there is much for us to discuss…
alone
.” The head administrator tended to be chauvinistic and territorial, but he was relentless when it came to the good of the House. If Humi faced him first and won, he would help fight her battles with the others. He would also be the hardest to intimidate.

“Indeed,” said the steward. He had ideas of his own about how the House would be managed in this time of crisis, and planned to bend the girl to his will. “Honor the widow’s wishes. Please leave us while we put the lord’s affairs in order. Until then, continue with your duties as before.”

All of those from outside the house filed out under the pall of a respectful and stunned silence. As one of the door guards put his shoulder under Morlan in order to lift him, Humi asked, “He took a blow meant for my lord?”

The door guard nodded. “His partner was crushed by falling stone. The assassins planted a dagger in Morlan’s throat and left him for dead. He would have perished if one of the wall sergeants hadn’t risked the magic storm to bandage him. As it is, the surgeons say he’ll never speak again.”

The steward chimed in, hoping to rub some of the heroism off on himself. “What little we know firsthand of the battle in the courtyard comes from what the good Morlan has written down for us.”

“And what do we know?” she asked, on the verge of breaking. “Who was responsible for the assassins?”

The steward gestured for the bodyguard to be taken away. Humi halted the action with her open hand. “Morlan stays. He shall be my personal bodyguard once he has recovered. Until then, I shall oversee his nursing myself. He is the only one in this nest of vipers I can trust.” She took a mental note to summon her rowers for protection, avoiding military alliances of any kind until she learned the lay of the land.

The bodyguard’s eyes took on a look of minor surprise, then gratitude. The steward wished to take control of this girl and wanted no witnesses. “Your ladyship, we shall be discussing matters of the utmost delicacy. It would not be prudent.”

The mask remained firm. She was already beginning to look regal in her defiance. “This man probably overheard the conception of the heir himself. What can you know about me or my husband that’s more private than that? Besides, as the doorkeeper already pointed out, Morlan is guaranteed never to speak of what transpires here.” With a heavy sigh, the steward allowed the injured man to be placed on the divan, and waved the doorkeeper out. “Now, report,” Humi demanded.

“Milady, the investigation is still on going. Our best mages are attempting to reconstruct the scene with utmost skill and patience,” the steward began.

“Who were the assassins? Surely they left dead behind.”

Cautiously, the steward answered, “They were from the Executioner’s Guild. In their haste, they left one of their Honors behind at our front gate. But in their brazenness, they took one of ours to replace it.”

She closed her eyes and trembled. “Who hired them?”

“There were no enemy survivors to question, milady.” She glanced at the bodyguard for confirmation. Morlan was glaring at the steward in contempt. “But there were several reports that their charge through our open gates was lead by a sherff.”

Humi drew an involuntary breath. “A gate opened from the inside means treason. Who was the traitor?”

“It’s not conclusive,” he stalled. The lady could smell lies and incompetence, and was merciless with both. “But some evidence points to Tumberlin.”

The bodyguard rolled his eyes.

“What evidence might that be?” Humi asked with deceptive calm and sweetness.

“At first we thought it was an invasion by a rival lord or king, but there were too few attackers. They had to expect help from inside our walls.” The steward listed points on his fingertips. “Tumberlin arranged to be in charge of the front gate at dawn. The fire mage was sabotaged. The ropes to the drawbridge were cut. Tumberlin fled his post in order to call down destruction on the men loyal to our cause. He then challenged Lord Kragen to a magical duel. When the coward proved unable to win the duel, his assassins murdered our lord from behind.”

“Where is the coward Tumberlin now?” she snapped, her fury building and her hands shaping into claws that would rend flesh.

“He still lives. But don’t worry, he didn’t escape,” the steward said, trying to soothe her.

“This implies that
someone
did escape,” the Lady of the Deep accused.

“Three or four assassins. We’re not sure yet,” he confessed, somewhat meekly, embarrassed by how little he knew about the plot.

“They just walked off an island warded by spirits through scores of soldiers and seven of the best wizards in the world, and you’re not sure how?” she pressed.

“Well, the sick ki mage died when the fire wizard’s tower collapsed, and the dwarf left in the confusion. You already know about the lord and his apprentice. That only leaves the cousins, and they have been challenging our contract at every turn.”

“Did the dwarf join forces with the traitor?”

The steward was quick to shake his head. “Unlikely. The artificer was the one who bound Tumberlin’s body in leaden wire. He also left his council proxy for us, as well as a third parting gift. Besides, we believe that the villains may have escaped on the second-shift longboat, whereas the dwarf detests water,” the steward announced, hoping for some sign of approval.

“Find that boat. Send the first-shift craft down the coast toward the Brotherhood stronghold. Contact our men in all neighboring counties, legitimate and otherwise. We’ll catch these men if it costs everything in our treasury,” she vowed.

The steward looked hesitant, and the bodyguard glanced away in shame. “Since you broach the subject, we seem to be having a slight problem exercising the proper authority without the lord’s signet ring.”

The steward crept to partial cover behind a sofa. “But we d="0"nd his head. It was a short distance off. Perhaps we’ll find the ring when we have all parties cooperating in the search.”

“Take me to him!” she shouted.

“My lady, be reasonable. A woman in your condition should not subject herself to such unhealthy stresses.”

This minor contest of wills would be the fulcrum of their relationship. Whoever prevailed here would hold the upper hand until the boy reached maturity. “Chamberlain, in the artificer’s absence, I hold his proxy as well as that of my child. I’m sure we can convince Tumberlin to sign his over to me as well. That will give
me
the majority among the five remaining members of the sept.” Humi paused to give the ramifications time to filter through the steward’s convoluted mind. “My demands will be few. You govern the household more effectively than I ever could. I promise not to interfere in your daily concerns except in one small regard. You will obey me without question in any matter touching the death of my husband.” Her voice was steel pressed against his chest. The steward could not breathe as she spoke in pleasant, measured tones. “I will use my votes to provide any authority you need. But my terms are not subject to negotiation. Take me to my beloved
now
.”

The steward blinked, unsure. “This is highly irregular. The sept is a complex body governed by equals. They won’t take this lightly.”

The investigators all stopped and moved out of the Mandala when Humi arrived. After she surveyed the ruins in the courtyard, the destruction of the project that the sept had devoted so many years to, her rage crystallized into a weapon. “Steward, I want you to gather two hundred and ten gold sovereigns, thirty from each treasury. Take the missing members’ portion from Tumberlin’s funds.”

When they heard the distinctive amount, all those around began to murmur. The steward didn’t dare attempt to sway her in public; however, his eyes begged her not to continue. “Then deliver the money to the nearest royal registrar. The House of Kragen is declaring open blood feud on the Brotherhood of Executioners. There is to be no delay. Am I clear?”

“Yes, milady,” the steward whispered.

“Have my lord’s remains placed on a raft and ready him for the ceremonial release into the Inner Sea,” she commanded. Someone started to object and she turned on them. “What’s the matter? You haven’t figured out yet what killed him? They cut off his
head
! Unless you want the same treatment, you will have his body ready before the sun sets. He will have a proper funeral.” Servants moved to obey even before she turned to give the next order.