"Zorian," Rory said with a touch of frustration. There was no doubt about the voice.
"Admiral Zorian, if you don't mind."
"Well, that's a step up from gutter snipe," Rory replied and shifted slightly. The room went silent, and Jamison looked as though he thought Rory had gone mad. "Do you mind letting go? I did get stabbed in the shoulder."
"Damn. Sorry."
Zorian released Rory's arm and turned him around into a suffocating bear hug. People made sounds again, mostly relief. Zorian let go of him and took a step back. The huge, dark-skinned man had not changed much in the last ten years.
"I was never a gutter snipe," Zorian protested.
"Do you want me to come up with something better?" Rory asked with as much innocence as he could manage.
"Well, no," Zorian decided and led Rory to a table and benches. He sat on one side. Rory took the spot across from him, and then Jamison and Keltrina accepted Zorian's invitation to sit as well and settled by Rory. Cider arrived and four mugs. Zorian's people stood back and waited. Rory poured the drinks and sat back down, waiting. Zorian sipped, and they did, all quite polite.
"You look like you've fought your way through hell, Rory. I almost didn't recognize you. My friend, I heard an odd rumor that you had taken vows with the Eket temple, and I'm glad to see it's not true."
"But it is true," Rory said with a bright smile.
"Ah, but then they wised up and kicked you out."
"They wised up and taught me everything they could."
Zorian sipped again. Despite his rough look, he had not forgotten his court manners.
"As if you were not dangerous enough already," Zorian finally said with an exaggerated sigh. "I didn't know they let you people out of the temple once you went in."
"I had been under the same impression right until the Queen asked me to do some work for her. And that, my old friend, is why you shouldn't gut me. I suspect you don't want her hunting you down."
"That would be awkward," he agreed. "So you and your friends are my guests for at least a day. Maybe more if the weather doesn't improve."
"And we are most grateful," Keltrina offered.
Zorian gave her a polite nod, then turned to her husband. "Jamison, son of Lord Jamison. We already knew you were in the same sort of work as Rory here, so you need not try to look uninterested in what we discuss. I think, in fact, that we should take some time to trade tidbits -- but after the three of you have had some sleep. We can talk in the morning."
Rory felt a welling of gratitude. He'd used too much magic and too much energy, and Rory doubted it had gone unnoticed when his hands trembled as he'd poured the cider. He wasn't sure what he could -- or should -- tell Zorian, though he trusted the man. The entire country looked riddled with spies, though that didn't surprise him. No one had trusted Kellic.
Had he killed his father?
That was his last thought before he went to sleep.
Sometime around sunrise, Rory awoke to thunder and a deluge. The wind blew through a chink in the woo, so he rolled over and went back to sleep.
Rory sat bolt upright at the realization someone was in the room. Time had passed. He lifted a hand and blinked, but realizing it was Jamison, dropped it again.
"You need to get up," Jamison said. He sounded apologetic. "Zorian wants a meeting over lunch."
"Lunch. Damn. Sorry."
"Get cleaned up and join us," Jamison said. He shook his head. "You still look like hell."
"Food will help."
Jamison accepted that answer and left Rory to pull himself together. Rory thought about everything that had happened in the last two days while he cleaned up. Not much of it made sense. Other than the deaths themselves, what bothered him most was that Kellic had been there. The man knew the risk of being spotted. He wasn't a stupid man, and Rory couldn't believe that he was already secure in his position.
Had he been drawn to the Sunry Embassy? Far better to publicly shame them for their Queen having turned down his bid for the princess. Kellic loved to put on a show.
Things didn't add up.
"You look pensive," Keltrina said when he came to sit on the bench beside Zorian.
"I have had time to think and realize how much of what happened yesterday does not add up."
"Like Kellic killing the King?" Zorian asked as he passed around platters of food.
"That I can believe," Jamison answered. "They argued. The king's guards had to force Kellic out of the area more than once. But that raises a question. How did he get close enough to kill him?"
"And why now?" Keltrina added.
"And why leave the palace before he claimed the throne? Why kill all the Ambassador --" Rory said and stopped. He frowned. "I have thought the killings were focused on my people. Was it?"
"We never checked the others," Jami agreed.
Rory pushed aside his plate despite Keltrina's protest. He still carried the bag he'd picked up from the Ambassador's office, and now seemed a good time to have a look.
Even Keltrina looked interested as he began to lay papers out. Zorian helped his people clear the table, though he did say they would want the food back.
"My apologies," Rory said with a bow of his head. "I should have waited --"
"The food isn't going to run away," Zorian said. "If there are any answers here, we need to know them."
Rory knew these were official papers with the Ambassador's seal. The Queen would disapprove of sharing them, but she had put him on this job, and she'd have to live with his choices.
Rory hoped he lived as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment