Loren hesitated a moment. Annis noticed it and looked at her curiously. Loren’s mouth worked for a moment before she spoke, more quietly and slowly than before.

  “Let us not spread the coins among all our saddlebags,” she said. “Just yours, Gem’s, and mine. It would be better if Chet did not know about it at all.”

  There was a long silence between them as Annis looked away uncomfortably. “This is about your dream, is it not?” she said at last. “I could understand Chet wanting to leave, after … after what happened. But do you really think he would rob us into the bargain?”

  “I do not,” said Loren. “But remember that Chet knows nothing about the magestones. How would we explain where the coin came from in the first place?”

  “Ah,” said Annis, nodding quickly. “Of course. That is very wise. I should have thought—”

  But her words died as the night’s silence shattered. Deafening as thunder, the city’s bells began to toll.

  The sound made them freeze in their tracks, and Loren’s hand went to her dagger. In all their journeys, they had heard many bells tolling in alarm, and her first thought was that somehow she had been discovered. But she realized that was a ridiculous thought.

  A second thought flashed through her mind to replace the first: Damaris.

  “Something is happening,” she said.

  Gem had been startled to full wakefulness, and now he cringed every time the bells tolled anew. “Is the city under attack?”

  Loren turned to Uzo. “Go to Shiun at once. Make sure that Wyle does not try to escape in the confusion. If you must, escort him to join the rest of us at the inn.”

  Uzo nodded and ran off while Loren turned to Annis and Gem.

  “Whatever this is, I do not like it. We must reach Chet at once.”

  They set off at a sprint, only slightly hampered by Annis with her shorter legs and longer skirts. Soon they found the inn and ran inside. Loren had planned to dash upstairs and find Chet. But she skidded to a halt on the threshold as she saw him there in the common room.

  “Chet!” she said. “Are you safe? We heard the bells—”

  “As did I,” he said, “and I came down to see what the fuss was all about. Then a crier come to the square outside. He … he told us the reason for the bells.”

  His words died, and one hand rose to scrub at his face. His skin had gone ashen, and his fingers were shaking.

  “Chet?” She almost lifted a hand to reach for him, but she pulled it back at the last second. “What is wrong?”

  “King Jun, the king of Dorsea,” said Chet. “He has been murdered. The crier said he was assassinated by the High King. Dorsea has joined the war on the side of the rebels.”

  They stood there in silence for a moment, staring at him. Then Loren shook herself out of her thoughts. The common room buzzed, and no one seemed to pay them any attention. But that might change. She had to get them out of sight.

  “Upstairs,” she said. “Let us speak no further word until we are safe in our room.”

  Annis began pacing the room’s length even before Gem closed the door behind them. “This cannot be,” she said. “It cannot be. Dorsea pledged its support to the High King. Jun was one of only three kings to do so at once. Enalyn would never kill him when she so desperately needs the support of the other kingdoms.”

  “It is a ruse, then,” said Loren. “It must be some work of the Necromancer. Only they stand to benefit from the tumult this will cause.”

  “And my mother must be behind it,” said Annis.

  Loren frowned. “Damaris? What makes you think so?”

  Annis shook her head, looking miserable. “It is just as Wyle said. She has done the unexpected. We thought she would stay away from the capital, just as she wanted us to think. She went there and put this plan in motion, knowing we would be unlikely to follow her and discover her plot before she could carry it out. We thought she would avoid Dorsea’s king, but all along she meant to kill him.”

  “But assassinating a king ….” said Loren. “That is no small feat. And she has only been in Dorsea a scant few weeks.”

  “Oh, she must have set events in motion long before,” said Annis. “I should have foreseen this. We wondered if she still served the Necromancer, and now we know. Seizing power in Dorsea was a part of the grander scheme. Now this kingdom is a strong foothold. Indeed, Dorsea’s betrayal is far worse than Dulmun’s. Dulmun’s strength of arms may be greater, but it lies far to the northeast. Dorsea is in the center of Underrealm, and it borders more kingdoms than any other. There is some small comfort: this threat would have been even greater if Damaris had managed to capture and hold Yewamba. From that stronghold, she could have staged assaults into both Feldemar and Calentin with relative ease.”

  “At least we thwarted her there,” said Gem. “And we will stop her here as well.”

  “It will not be so easy,” said Annis, shaking her head. “Yewamba was a mighty stronghold, but Damaris was isolated. Now she is in Danfon itself. She will have the full support of whoever has taken the throne after Jun’s death. Yet I do not know how they think to thwart the will of the senate.”

  “You mentioned that before,” said Loren. “What is the senate?”

  “A body of twelve representatives, two each from the six states of Dorsea,” said Annis. “They govern most domestic matters within the kingdom, while the king has ultimate authority when it comes to war. But even in that, the senate may gainsay him if enough of them unite in common purpose.”

  Gem sniffed. “That sounds hideously inefficient.”

  “It is meant to be,” said Annis. “A precaution so that no mad tyrant can lead the kingdom to ruin through warmongering.”

  “Yet Dorsea is the most warlike of all the kingdoms,” said Loren.

  Annis raised her brows. “Spoken like a true daughter of Selvan. They are often embroiled in battles, yes, but they content themselves with small border skirmishes. The senate is supposed to keep the king from doing anything too consequential.”

  Loren bit back her first angry answer and took a deep breath before answering in a calm voice. “The people of Wellmont would say that Dorsea’s actions have been consequential enough.”

  Annis spread her hands. “No kingdom is perfect. Some are merely less terrible than others.”

  Gem looked back and forth between them with an uncomfortable expression. “Mayhap we should put aside philosophy for a moment and consider our next action. It seems clear we must stop Damaris, as well as the new Dorsean king.”

  Loren heaved a sigh. Gem was right. Her dislike of Dorsea mattered little in the face of their current predicament. “Who would that be? Who would turn this kingdom against the High King?”

  “I do not know,” said Annis. “Jun is of the family Fei, and it will be someone else in that house who takes his place. But I do not know the royal families of all the nine kingdoms very well. I know only that Jun has no siblings, and so it will be one of his cousins, or mayhap an uncle or aunt.”

  “So we mean to pit ourselves against a king, then?” said Chet quietly.

  Loren looked at him. He sat on one of the beds, leaning against the wall beside it. His knees were up, his arms draped over them. He was not looking at any of them, but only picking at his nails.

  “Only so far as we must,” said Loren gently. “It seems clear we shall find Damaris in the capital, and she is our true aim.”

  We hunt Damaris, she thought, wishing he could hear the words. You said you wanted to see it through, to catch her. Stay with me at least that long, before you tell me you mean to leave.

  He glanced up, meeting her gaze. His face filled with the sad smile she had seen too often lately. “Very well. It appears we ride for Danfon.”

  Loren nodded. “Thank you,” she whispered. Then she turned to the others. “But not at once. We aimed to get a good night’s rest, and I still mean to. Gem, go to Wyle’s hideout. Tell Uzo and Shiun to split the watch between themselves, and that we ride from the city tomorrow. Then return here as quickly as you can, and get to sleep. We should try to be up before the sun.”

  Gem gave a quick nod and flew from the room. Chet readied himself for bed and fell asleep almost at once. Loren prepared to do the same, but Annis stopped her for a moment.

  “We should bring Wyle with us,” she said.

  Loren’s brows rose. “Why?”

  “He is a smuggler,” said Annis. “Danfon will be in great turmoil, and the guards at its gates will be vigilant. We must enter the city with all possible discretion, and I do not doubt he can sneak us in without anyone seeing.”

  “That seems wise,” said Loren, nodding slowly. “We will bring him, then, though I doubt he will enjoy it.”

  Annis grinned. “I do not think he has enjoyed any part of his dealings with us yet. What is one more unpleasant duty?”

  Loren smiled. “Thank you again, Annis. Our quest would be doomed without you.”

  The girl waved a hand. “You would muddle through somehow. You always do. I only do my best to make things a bit easier.”

  “And you do a marvelous job. Good night.”

  They went to bed, Loren on the floor and Annis on the pallet next to Chet’s. But for a long while, Loren’s thoughts would give her no peace. She had wondered why her dreams had led her here. Now she had a guess. They had a smuggler now, who could help them enter Dorsea’s capital without being seen. That seemed a boon, but if the dreams were truly meant to help her, they would have led her to Danfon long ago, before Damaris carried out this coup.

  Her hands tightened to fists. Chet’s misgivings about her dreams wormed their way into her mind. Yet she could not bring herself to ignore them as he wished. How could she, when they were the only help she had?

  Back and forth her mind whirled as she lay on the room’s floor. When Gem and Uzo returned, she shut her eyes and pretended to sleep, but slumber came slow. At last, shortly before Uzo went to replace Shiun, Loren’s eyes closed.

  THE NEXT MORNING, THEY FOUND Wyle no more excited about their proposition than they had expected. The merchant greeted them drowsily in a fine coat of blue with golden trim, but he walked around his apartment in bare feet. He had cleaned the place up somewhat during the night, and there were now several chairs upon which to sit. When Annis explained what had happened and what they guessed about Damaris’ role in the rebellion, he waved his hand in dismissal.

  “I have learned of King Jun’s death already, of course, and furthermore I know who has succeeded him. The man’s name is Wojin, and he is Jun’s uncle. Was, I should say. And I had already guessed that Damaris might have played some small part, though I am glad, of course, to hear it corroborated by such a capable mind as the Yerrin girl’s. Ah, well. Our meeting has been a blessed one, and I have enjoyed every instant of it. Your departure aggrieves me, but I suppose it is fate’s cruel wont to force such bitter partings.”

  Loren gave him a faint smile. “Then let your poetic heart rejoice, smuggler. We do not mean to part ways with you at all. I need someone to get me into Danfon, and that person must be well acquainted with secret ways and passages that the King’s law would not use. Who better for such a purpose than the great and honorable businessman, Wyle?”

  Wyle tried to turn his expression into a smile, but it only became something of a grimace. “I might have guessed that would be your aim. But your words are truer than you know: I am great and honorable, but I am a businessman above all. You mean to end a rebellion. There is little profit in such a scheme, and therefore I decline to offer my further service.”

  “Only the poorest of merchants can find no profit in a war,” said Annis. “Surely you can find some way to draw coin from a venture like ours.”

  All humor left Wyle’s eyes. He leaned over his thick table, planting his hands flat upon it. “I enjoy my jibes with you, girl. But never insult me that way again. I am no warhawk.”

  The sudden vehemence in his voice surprised Loren, and she felt ashamed without truly knowing why. Even Annis was taken aback for a moment, and Gem stared at Wyle with wide eyes.

  “Our apologies,” said Loren carefully. “Indeed, I would not work with one who earned coin from the deaths of others. But we do need you, and our cause is honorable. We do not aim to join the war in Dorsea, but to end the far greater war across all of Underrealm. If you help us, you will be serving the cause of the High King herself. Can you not imagine that she would be grateful for such aid? How full might your coffers be after she expressed that gratitude?”

  Wyle drew back for a moment, pinching his chin between two fingers. But then he shook his head. “My coffers are plenty full, and from dealings that are far less dangerous.”

  “Less dangerous, but still beyond the King’s law,” said Loren. “I am the Nightblade. I serve the High King directly. Imagine it, Wyle. Imagine me in her council chamber, speaking to her of your bravery. Imagine her scrawling a writ upon parchment—a writ of amnesty for your past … shall we call them indiscretions?”

  Annis stared at Loren in surprise, but only for a moment before recovering. “Think of it, Wyle,” she said. “A bank account full of the High King’s gold, and a paper that absolves you from past crimes. You could become an honest businessman at last, making far more coin than you do now, and never fearing a constable’s noose. Even my family would avoid you if you had the High King’s favor.”

  Twice Wyle opened his mouth to answer, pointing his finger at them as if about to present a counter-point. Twice he closed his mouth again, looking off distantly as thoughts seemed to flit behind his eyes. In the end he tilted his head at them with a wide smile.

  “I will admit you present an attractive offer, though you hide insults within it. I have always been an honest businessman. But in this, you have changed my mind. My heart sings at the opportunity to be of further service to Her Majesty.”

  Loren sent Chet and the Mystics to fetch the last of the supplies they would need for the journey. When they had gone, Wyle brought out eleven lockboxes full of gold coins to pay for her magestones. Each box was made of iron and had a small latch at the bottom through which a lock could be placed. All the locks had the same key, which Loren took from Wyle and put in her coin purse. Each box held four rows of twenty-five gold weights each, and they were packed tightly with velvet so that the coins did not jingle when the boxes were moved. Annis insisted on opening all of the lockboxes to verify their count, and Wyle seemed to take that as a great insult.

  “As though I am a swindler,” he complained. “As though I would have lived this long in my line of work if I had acquired a reputation of shortchanging my customers.”

  Annis inspected the lockboxes, and then the pile of gold weights that would go directly into Loren’s coin purse. She pointed at the pile. “There are thirty-eight coins here where there should be forty.”

  Wyle’s eyes darted to the pile. He picked it up and fingered through it before looking at Annis uneasily. “An honest mistake. My apologies.”

  He put the pile down and pulled not two, but six extra coins from the purse at his belt.

  “By way of amends,” he muttered.

  “Most excellent,” said Annis, clapping her hands. “Let us store them for travel, then.”

  Loren and Gem had stood silent through the whole exchange, gawking at the money before them. More than eleven hundreds of gold weights. Before leaving the Birchwood, Loren would have laughed at the thought of a single person owning that much wealth. Since then, of course, she had learned that some people had much more. But to see such riches laid out before her and know they were her own … she suddenly understood the gold-lust in the tales of Bracken, the old storyteller who came to her village in her youth. They closed the lockboxes, and Loren put six of them in Midnight’s saddlebags. The other five went into the bags of the horse that Gem and Annis shared.

  They ate an early midday meal and rode from the city just before noon. Loren feared that with the news from last night, they might face extra scrutiny at the gate, but the guards waved them on.

  “A good thing, that,” said Uzo, after they had passed well beyond earshot of the gate. “I do not think it will be wise to flash our Mystic badges any longer.”

  “Why?” said Gem. “The Mystics have no quarrel with Dorsea,” said Gem.

  Uzo scoffed. “Do you think our order is free from the politics of the nine kingdoms? Every Mystic vows to serve no king but the High King—and now the Dorseans have declared the High King their enemy.”

  Loren glanced over her shoulder. “What about the Mystics in Bertram itself?” she said. “Are they not in danger?”

  Shiun and Uzo looked at each other uneasily, but this time it was Shiun who spoke. “I do not think so. Not so far from the capital. Not yet. Our holdings in Bertram are strong, and the Dorseans would be loath to assault them without a pressing reason. As long as the Mystics do not take overt action against Dorsea, they should be safe. In Danfon itself, things may be different.”

  That thought remained with Loren for a long while. She knew the Mystics had a presence in almost every great city across the nine kingdoms—a castle here, a fortress there, sometimes in the heart of the population, sometimes in long-distant wilderness. But now the Mystics in Dorsea were cut off from the rest of their order—and now that she thought of it, so were the Mystics in Dulmun. For three months now, they had been isolated in a kingdom at war with the High King. If the Mystics here now faced a brittle peace, could such peace have lasted so long in the very heart of a treacherous nation?

  Some referred to the Mystics as the Tenth Kingdom. Many in their ranks had held great power before donning the red cloak, and if unified that power would be no less than that of a true king. Yet Loren saw now that their power was scattered all across the nine lands. It would be near impossible to consolidate it in order to achieve any end, great or small. Sometimes she was not sure of her own feelings towards the Mystics. Some, like Jordel, served high ideals. Others, like Uzo and Shiun, were honorable enough soldiers, willing to follow orders and fight for the greater good. Loren had met others who were self-serving and hungry for power. But she did not relish the thought of small pockets of the red-cloaked warriors suddenly finding themselves isolated in rebellious kingdoms, there to wait until the king finally decided to eliminate them.

 

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