Volle (48 page)

Volle waited, knowing that Prewitt wanted him to ask what the unofficial portion was. He met the bear’s level gaze and waited quietly while Oncit fidgeted in his seat.

After a minute, Prewitt smiled. “Exchequer Ullik told me that you found a southern gold piece of mine and were going to return it. I suspect it was dropped by your visitor from a month back.”

“I found all fifteen of them,” Volle said. “He left them behind.” He didn’t trust himself to say any more than that.

Prewitt’s smile didn’t waver. “Ullik said you exchanged all but one of them for Tephossian Royals. I wonder when I might expect the Royals, and the last one back.”

“You might not,” Volle said coolly. “The Royals are on their way to Xiller’s family. As he carried out your mission, I was certain you would wish his family to have his payment.”

“No messenger left for—his home province yesterday.” Prewitt had been about to say the province’s name, Volle noted, and had stopped himself in case Volle didn’t actually know it.

“Lord Ikling was passing close by Villutian on his way home,” Volle said. “He kindly agreed to deliver the payment for me.”

The bear nodded slowly. “And the last Terralian gold?”

“I will keep it. As a souvenir. I did send his family the entire ten Tephossian Royals, you know. I figure that means I bought the coin.”

“I don’t mind you keeping the coin,” Prewitt rumbled, “just so long as you don’t show it to anyone who might understand its significance.”

Volle wondered why Prewitt seemed so unruffled at having his secret found out. Obviously Oncit already knew it; the wolf was leaning back in his chair behind Prewitt, eyes half-closed, but ears perked and alert. Volle glanced at him briefly but got no sign.

“I don’t intend to show it around,” he said.

“I do appreciate that,” Prewitt said. “And I know you had an audience with the King recently, and as soldiers have not come to my chambers, I assume you did not share any of this with him.”

“It was rather careless to put your name in the financial books.”

The bear spread his large paws. “Nobody else who knew had the authority to order foreign currency. Any other name would have aroused more immediate suspicion. And if all had gone as planned, the gold would have been considered evidence by the Ferrenians, and nobody in the palace here would even have heard of its existence, much less had a reason to suspect that someone here had originated the plot.” He shook his head. “I don’t mind telling you that it could only have gone more wrong if that idiot had failed to kill the prince.” Volle gritted his teeth as Prewitt went on. “Instead of them being distracted away from us, their attention is squarely focused on us. It’ll be four or five years before we can even think about proceeding.”

“We?” He forced the word out through clenched teeth, but Prewitt didn’t seem to notice.

“Ah, yes, I’m getting ahead of myself. There is a small group I have organized that is attempting to reclaim the Reysfields, and maybe, in the long term, more.”

“More?”

“We feel that with the right strategy, we can win a war with Ferrenis and actually take over the country. Weakening the royal family was part of that long-range plan. But that’s far off in the future. The Reysfields are strategically important from a standpoint of terrain as well as supplies…but we don’t need to go into that now. Oncit tells me that your sympathies are firmly in line with our goals, and that you would be a good addition to the group. You haven’t gone to the King with your information, so I’m forced to conclude that either you want to join us, or you’re hoping to blackmail me. If it’s the latter, then I will be very disappointed, and I might add that your chances of success are very small. So you’ll join us, and maybe with your help, the next mission won’t be such a disaster, eh?” He leaned forward, smiling, eyes bright.

Volle opened his muzzle angrily, but a small motion caught his eye. He saw Oncit shaking his head minutely, just for a moment. He stopped. “I certainly think the last mission had some flaws,” he said stiffly. “I would be honored to help with the next one.”

“Splendid!” Prewitt reached forward and slapped him on the knee, and it took all his restraint to keep from slapping the huge paw away. “Oncit here will be your contact. No discussions in public now, remember.”

Volle nodded. “Of course not.”

The bear rose, and Volle and Oncit followed suit. “I think that is all. Please save any questions for our first meeting, if you would be so kind.”

“Secretary, I would like to discuss our contact system with Lord Vinton, if you can carry on without me,” said Oncit, the first words he’d spoken since entering.

“Certainly. I will see you both within a couple weeks. I’m sure we’re all anxious to hear your views, Lord Vinton. Good day.”

When he was gone, Volle offered Oncit a seat again, but the wolf shook his head. “I want to make this quick,” he said in a low voice. “You’re probably wondering why I only recommended you recently when you’ve been spouting off against Ferrenians for weeks. I was the only one who thought that this assassination was going too far, and even though Prewitt had ordered me to check you out, the last thing I wanted was to bring on another young firebrand who would agree to any crazy scheme as long as it harmed Ferrenis. But when you said it disgusted you…well, I could see the sincerity in that. So you hate them, but you are still bound by the rules of war and dignity. I like that. I want someone like you at my side, so I won’t be…so afraid to stand up for the things I believe in.” His tail wagged slowly and he looked at Volle hopefully.

Volle smiled and patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about that. I think we have the same ideas about what’s decent. I’ve served alongside you on the tribunal for a couple months now.”

Oncit nodded, wagging his tail a little faster. “I thought so. That’s all I wanted to say, Lord Vinton. I’m glad you’re joining. You seem decent.”

“I like to think so,” Volle said. “Would you like to stay and talk? Lord Black left me a whole jar of candied locusts. They’re pretty good.” He offered only out of politeness, and because he’d found he couldn’t eat more than one a day himself. He didn’t really want to stay and talk to Oncit; his anger at Prewitt was still burning in him.

Oncit waved his paw. “No, thank you. I need to get back upstairs. I think my wife will be returning soon.”

The way he said it caught Volle’s ear. “Returning from where?”

The wolf turned a sad look on him. “I think you know. I think everybody knows. They don’t think I do, but I do. She doesn’t think I do either. It’s okay. It makes her happy. I don’t know if I could any more.”

Volle bit his lip and nodded. He suddenly felt no anger, just pity for the old wolf. “I’ll see you at tribunal,” he said quietly.

Oncit just nodded, looking embarrassed to have admitted so much, and left quickly.

And so there it was, as easy as that. Perhaps ‘easy’ wasn’t the right word, but still: He knew who was involved and they had welcomed him into their circle. It had only taken three or four months and the death of a lover and a prince. He took one of the locusts and crunched it thoughtfully, letting the sweet and smoky flavor fill his muzzle as he looked out his window, surveying the gardens, for the first time, with a feeling of accomplishment.

Chapter 22

The note he’d been expecting came a week later, while he was in the middle of writing up some notes for the Agricultural Council. Welcis brought it to him, and he smoothed out the paper on his desk. The message was short and to the point: “I’m ready. Please come tonight. –Ilyana.”

He folded it back up and returned it to Welcis. “Thank you. I will be visiting Madame Rodion tonight.”

“Very good, sir. Semi-formal clothes?”

“No. I don’t expect she’ll really look at my clothes much.”

“I see, sir.”

“And Welcis?”

“Sir?”

He rested his elbows on his desk and his muzzle in his paws. “Can you get me two or three bottles of some kind of mead?”

He drank the last bottle of blackberry mead in the carriage on the way over. Snow had fallen again the previous day, and was falling again, but the two bottles he’d already drunk kept him warm even in the chilly carriage. As he gulped from the last one, he noticed that his tongue was numb to the sting of the alcohol, and that the ghostly snow-covered buildings were dancing before his eyes. He opened the door and stuck his nose out into the cold air to see if he could smell the ghosts. He felt the searing cold on the inside of his nostrils, but no smell of ghosts. Perfect, he thought muddledly.

When he stepped out of the carriage, the ground rushed up to meet him rather sooner than he expected, but he kept his balance. If he walked slowly and planted his feet, he could walk through the swaying yard without much trouble. The door seemed a long ways away, so he was relieved when the driver clambered down and helped him find it. The driver’s weight seemed to steady the yard, and Volle was able to walk more quickly with his help.

He vaguely heard the muffled conversation the driver and Katiana Rodion had at the door—“Was drinking mead on the way over” “as long as he can walk”—but didn’t interpret any of it. The door closed, and someone started to help him up a flight of stairs. He smelled Marcel and tried to say, “Good evening,” only it came out rather slurred, like “G’v’ing.” He blinked and was surprised to see only Katiana beside him, her scent clearer now though still he thought Marcel had met him at the door. “How did you get here so fast?” he tried to ask, but Katiana stopped him in the middle of whatever he actually was saying.

“Ilyana’s in my brother’s room. Do you understand? They’re staying with us. You go in here, and I’ll go upstairs. Do you understand?”

Volle nodded his head and pointed at the door. “Ilyana…in there.”

She sighed and nodded. “I wish you weren’t drunk.”

“I am not…well. Maybe a little.”

The door was open and he was inside a strange apartment, and then the door was closed. He seemed to hear the sound of the door closing before it actually happened.

“Volle?”

It was Ilyana’s voice, but different. He couldn’t pinpoint how. “Here,” he said, and walked towards it, a little more steadily than he had outside.

On the second try, he found the right room, the scent of her heat strong enough to penetrate even his mead-induced fog. She was lying on the bed on her side, nude, one leg crossed over the other as she watched the doorway. Her tail thumped against the bed when she saw him.

“After last time, I was worried you might not…Oh, I’m glad you’re here. Come here!”

He lurched toward the bed, vaguely aware of his paws as they carried him across the room. Her scent was all over, and though he didn’t find it exciting, it definitely caused a reaction in his body. Between his legs, he could feel a warm throbbing, and the more he breathed, the warmer it got. He was already fumbling with his shirt when she said, “Oh, I can smell you…take your clothes off!”

She dug at his pants while he wrestled the shirt over his head, dropping it to the floor. His head was clearing, he noticed, but not by a lot. It was just enough to keep him on his feet as his pants dropped to the floor.

Her paws were all over his sheath and erection, and then her muzzle was too, licking at it while he tried to get the shirt off. When he finally did, she pulled him down to the bed. “Please, I need…” her eyes begged him as she lay on her back, legs spread.

He needed it too, now. He made a wavering motion with his paw. “Turn…turn over.”

“Oh, okay. I like that.” She giggled and rolled onto her stomach, then got up on her paws and knees, waving her tail at him.

He suspected he could have finished however she was lying, but at least in this view it looked more familiar, and he felt his mental arousal growing. She had a nice rear that reminded him of…of… He couldn’t remember. He got up behind her, leaning over her back and pressing against that rear. She guided him into her, panting with satisfaction.

Automatically, he started thrusting back and forth, his head giddy with mead and her thick, lustful scent. The familiar feelings building up in him seemed tinged with nausea as he kept moving, smelling her and listening to her squeaks and pants. He panted harder himself, almost unable to stop even if he’d wanted to, his knot growing quickly, though it still slid into and out of her easily.

He slid one arm around her, and now his thrusts were less easy, his knot spreading her lips as it pushed through them, and her squeaks were taking on a higher pitch. He felt it coming and braced, pressing harder and faster, and then he was no longer able to pull back. He shuddered against her hips, felt the climax surround him, and distantly heard her cries as well. It seemed much more diffuse this time, a warm wash of pleasure spread out over minutes instead of a sharp peak of ecstasy. He rode it happily, resting his muzzle on her back.

“Oh, Volle…” he heard her say breathlessly. “Volle…”

He wanted to reply, but his muzzle didn’t seem to want to open. He felt so very heavy, all he wanted to do was lie down. It didn’t seem considerate to have her bear all his weight, so he slid to one side, dragging her with him, and ended up on his side. He remembered only her saying his name one more time before the weight became too much for him and his eyelids drifted shut.

Pain was creeping around the edges of his head. Bright lights flashed even though his eyes were shut. A horrible mix of smells assaulted his nostrils: vixen in heat, the musk of sex, and …rancid blackberry mead? No, not rancid, just…vomited. He groaned and put a paw to his head.

“Awake?” A familiar voice greeted him.

The room took some time to resolve once he finally opened his eyes. Blurry patches of light and dark settled into the shapes of the chair and dresser he’d barely noticed upon entering. He was lying in a bed, naked, covered by a blanket, and in the chair…

“Tish?”

The black wolf grinned at him. “I’m surprised you’re awake so soon.”

“That smell…” He closed his eyes and fought to keep his stomach quiet, as the vomit smell encouraged it to rebellion.

“I don’t know what possessed you to get drunk on blackberry mead.”

“Helfer said…”

The wolf waited for him to finish, and when he didn’t, shook his head. “I told you Lord Ikling wasn’t a good influence on you.”

“Had to…for a female.” He tried to sit up. His stomach protested and he froze.

“Don’t try to sit up too fast. You had to get drunk for a female in heat?”

“I’m okay.” He sat up a little more. The blanket slid down his shoulders but kept him modest. “Didn’t think…about the heat part. Did I really throw up?”

“A couple hours ago.” Tish laughed at Volle’s wince, and the boom of his laugh made Volle wince more. “Don’t worry. Ilyana was long gone by then. She got worried when you fell asleep and her parents sent a messenger to fetch Tika. I came along.”

“Is she okay?”

“She’s fine, she’s fine. Being in heat is a little like being drunk when there’s a male around. At least, that’s what Tika tells me. Tika explained that you’d had some tough times at the palace and that was probably why you were drinking, and Ilyana was perfectly happy after that. She’s very excited about the cub. She feels the mating was a success.”

Volle flattened his ears and stayed silent. Tish tilted his muzzle, then said quietly, “I’m glad you went through with this. It will be good for you.”

He was too tired and too sick to censor his thoughts. They spilled out of his muzzle before he could stop them. “It’s as much your fault as mine if their lives are ruined.” He looked straight at Tish as he said it.

He didn’t know what reaction he expected, but the wolf just nodded, not smiling or frowning, ears up. “I suppose it’s about time we had this talk. If you’re caught, you mean.”

Volle nodded, taking a moment to relish the fact that he’d been right. “They’d be ruined. She’d have no more prospects, the wife of a traitor.”

“I suppose you’ll just have to make sure you don’t get caught, then. You’ve done an admirable job of it so far.”

“I’ve come close, though.”

“Volle, in your line of work, you have to make sacrifices. Ilyana is strong. I won’t pretend that her life will be ideal if you’re disgraced, but she won’t be broken. It’s a risk I took when I encouraged Tika to choose her for you.”

“Does Tika know?”

“About what? About why I pressed her to choose Ilyana? Yes. The depth to which I’m involved? She guesses. We’ve not talked about it. But nobody is as good at concealing a single secret as one who talks incessantly about a number of others, wouldn’t you say?” He winked. “I know I can trust her, and maybe one day I will tell her everything.”

“How did you get involved?”

The wolf settled back. “That’s a very long story. I don’t know that I’ll ever have the time to tell you all about it. It spans twenty-some years and I was a very different wolf when it began. I was young and idealistic, and, like you, I thought I could perform a dishonorable task honorably.”

“You’re not so different.”

“Thank you. I am older, though, and no longer under the illusion that what I do has some honor to it. When I was young, though—ah, I thought about nothing but honor then. I studied the history of Bucher and determined that it must never happen again. Full peace with Ferrenis, I thought, was the only guarantor of future stability. Our countries share much, you know. The southlands are full of jungle cats, the western plains are full of grazers, and the northern countries all keep to themselves. Ferrenis and Tephos lie in the cradle of the Panbestian church, the only two countries where carnivores and herbivores live side by side, and yet they squabble like littermates rather than working together as packmates…” He grinned at Volle’s pained expression. “Sorry. I will skip the history lesson for today. At any rate, I believed in that, and I still do. My grandfather had been a friend of the Ferrenian Ambassador, back when such a position still existed, and my father still knew some people in town who had connections. Through them I got in touch with the Ferrenian intelligence, and offered to do some small tasks.

“It took them many years before they trusted me to do anything of significance. I helped three agents gain positions in the palace over the years, including you. Under their orders, I never did any spying directly after the first few years of our association. I was too valuable to risk. That is why we’re having this conversation here, and why we will never discuss this anywhere inside the palace walls.” He looked at Volle sternly, and the fox nodded.

“So that is my story. I suppose Seir told you?”

Volle bristled. “No. I figured it out. Well, she did hint. But I already suspected then.”

“Oh? What gave me away?” The wolf wagged his tail, grinning.

“One thing that nobody else in the palace knows.”

“Which is…?”

“That Derrik, the investigator who ‘found’ me, is a Ferrenian agent.”

Tish nodded quietly. “I wondered if you’d catch that.”

“Even then, I wasn’t sure, but Dewanne made that offhanded comment about you knowing everyone. He said something like ‘I wouldn’t plan a trip to the bathroom without consulting Tish for the best attendant.’ I don’t remember exactly what it was, but suddenly I realized: you referred Derrik to him. You probably put Dewanne up to finding Lord Vinton, too.”

“Just a hint here and there.” Tish looked pleased. “It worked admirably. He’s very insecure about the place of foxes in the nobility.”

“And that’s why you wrote me a letter of recommendation, which allowed me to slide into the nobility despite the fact that nobody had even met me before I arrived at the palace. I didn’t think that odd at first. They fed me some line about you being a sympathizer but not realizing I was an agent, and I realized that had to be false. You wouldn’t put your reputation on the line without knowing what you were getting into. You’re careful and deliberate, and—ow.” He put a paw to his head. He’d talked too long, and a short stabbing pain in his temples cut him off.

“Here.” Tish walked over to him and handed him a small bowl of water. Volle lapped at it gratefully while Tish went back to his chair. “You’re right. I’m sure Prewitt thought it odd that I wrote that letter too, but he probably thought I’d met you at least once.”

“Prewitt…” Volle rubbed his eyes. “I left his name and chamber location with Tella on the way over here. They’ll be killing him tonight.”

Tish nodded. “I wondered when it would be. Good thing we’re here, isn’t it?”