So what then? She could pick at Phane, killing a few of his more important commanders or even Wizard Enu, but those individuals had little strategic value and would only serve to force Phane to tighten his control over her activities. Her opportunities to act would be limited, so she had to make them count.
As she turned the problem over in her mind, she kept coming back to the same idea. While she couldn’t kill Phane by herself, she did have an ally who could, provided she could give him the opportunity. Her decision made, she sat down and wrote a note briefly explaining her situation and the beginnings of her plan. With a rub under the chin, she tied the note to Slyder’s leg and sent him on his way.
***
“No, no, no,” Wizard Enu said, “you have it exactly backwards. I don’t know how many different ways to explain this.”
Isabel stood up, shoving the book across the table and walking away. “I don’t know what you want from me. I’m trying to understand, but these concepts are so advanced.” She started crying. It took some effort since she wanted to laugh in his face, but bringing her worry for Alexander to the front of her mind was enough to start the tears flowing. “I just don’t understand,” she said, punctuating her words with a sniffle.
Wizard Enu sighed in resignation. “Perhaps we should resume tomorrow. A night’s sleep may help clarify your understanding of these principles.”
Isabel nodded, still struggling with her tears as she headed for her bedroom. Issa followed her without a word, and as always, Isabel stopped him at the door. Once alone, she quickly composed herself and linked her mind with Slyder. She’d sent him north the day before and she wanted to check on his progress. As near as she could tell, he was getting close to the right place … the trick would be finding Ayela, Trajan, and Hector.
By evening, she was watching the world below through Slyder’s eyes while he circled over the area where Trajan and his men had been operating when she’d met them. After finding a patrol, she followed them, treetop to treetop, until they arrived at a base camp. She was disappointed to find that it was just a scout base, but it stood to reason. They would have moved their operation to ensure that she couldn’t betray them to Phane even if he tortured their location out of her.
A reasonable precaution, but unnecessary since Phane had shown no interest in the House of Karth since she’d arrived. She told Slyder to remain in the area in the hope that she could track the scout soldiers back to the House of Karth’s new command facility.
Phane arrived during breakfast the following morning, Wizard Enu trailing nervously behind him.
“Good Morning, Isabel. I trust you’re being well cared for.”
Dierdra stiffened almost imperceptibly at his question.
“I might be the most well-cared-for prisoner in the history of the Seven Isles,” Isabel said without bothering to get up.
Phane smiled brightly, taking a seat at the table and picking up a strip of bacon. “You shouldn’t think of yourself as a prisoner. You may go through any door that will open for you within this entire fortress. There is very little here that I will not share with you.”
“What do you want, Phane? Do you think you can buy my loyalty or even my love with this over-decorated house? Are you really that delusional?”
The staff and soldiers in the room became very still as if they were trying to avoid any possibility of drawing Phane’s attention.
He glared at her, slowly chewing his bacon and shaking his head ever so slightly. “Don’t be so ungrateful. I could have easily left you in that cell, and I must say, General Hargrove and his wife were none too pleased when I evicted them from this house.”
“So, he’s the one responsible for all this clutter,” Isabel said, gesturing to the walls.
“More likely his wife,” Phane said, then smiled unexpectedly. “You see, we’ve just discovered something that we agree on. I prefer simple and tasteful decorations in my home as well. Perhaps we have more in common than you think.”
“Are you kidding me?”
Phane sighed, looking almost dejected. “You wound me, Isabel. I’m trying very hard to accommodate you in every way and all I get back is mockery and derision. There is only so much a man can take before such rudeness is returned in kind.”
Isabel started laughing.
“Enough!” he shouted, surging to his feet. “I will not be disrespected by a guest in my home.”
Isabel kept laughing, holding Phane’s eyes defiantly.
He returned her glare and started to smile maliciously, gesturing to a guard at the door.
It opened and Isabel stopped laughing, horror and fear filling her in a way that chilled her to the core. She felt the blood drain from her face and her mouth go dry.
Wren stood at the threshold, looking afraid and confused. When she saw Isabel, she wrenched her arm free of the guard and raced to her, both of them breaking down in tears, both for different reasons.
“Isabel, I was so afraid,” Wren said. “They took me from Blackstone Keep in the middle of the night and they wouldn’t tell me where they were taking me.”
“It’s going to be all right,” Isabel said, hoping desperately that she wasn’t telling the girl a lie.
Phane was staring at her smugly when she met his gaze, fury flashing in her green eyes.
“Perhaps you will be more respectful and more forthcoming now that you understand the stakes,” Phane said, sitting down again. “Please, child, sit and eat. You must be hungry.”
Wren looked to Isabel, who nodded. Wren started timidly, but her appetite got the better of her after her first bite and she ate voraciously. Phane watched contentedly, stopping Isabel from speaking with a raised hand when she opened her mouth, waiting until Wren washed her breakfast down with a glass of juice and looked around.
“Thank you, I was so hungry.”
“Rest assured, child,” Phane said, “you shall not want as long as you are in my care. And, of course, you’re free to roam the city as you please. As I understand it, you’re quite a curious young woman, which just so happens to be a trait we share. I encourage you to explore. The soldiers know that you’re under my protection. You’re safer here within these walls than anywhere in all the Seven Isles.”
“Thank you, sir,” Wren said.
“What a delight you are,” Phane said, turning to Isabel with a bright, boyish smile. “Her manners and courtesy are proof of a good upbringing.”
Isabel glared at him but she held her tongue.
“I would say you’re a quick study, Isabel, except that Wizard Enu tells me you’re having a very difficult time mastering the principles he’s been trying to teach you, though I suspect you’ll make good progress in your studies over the coming days.”
He looked back to Wren with his most charming smile. “If you’ve had enough to eat, why don’t you go with Dierdra? She’ll show you to your room and draw a bath for you.”
Wren looked from Phane to Isabel and back to Phane. “I’d rather stay with Isabel, sir. If I may?”
Phane smiled disarmingly. “Oh, she’ll be here when you’re done with your bath, and I think Dierdra has a new dress for you.”
“Go ahead, Wren. I’m not going anywhere.”
Wren hugged Isabel before she left, looking back once with her big, innocent eyes.
“I must say, Isabel, I’ve noticed a marked change in your demeanor,” Phane said. “Perhaps you’d like to explain how you penetrated my defenses, now that we understand each other better.”
Isabel just glared at him, trying to think of a way out, but finding none.
“Shall I have Wraithkin Issa retrieve your friend so that she can participate in our conversation?”
Isabel closed her eyes and clenched her jaw, trying to work through the ramifications of telling him the truth and weighing them against the potential consequences of telling a lie.
“I’m waiting, and Isabel, my patience is beginning to wear thin.”
“I used a Goiri bone,” she said without opening her eyes.