“Certainly,” said Sorak.
“If you truly are the Crown of Elves, why accept a post as soldier of a merchant house?”
Sorak shook his head. “I never claimed to be a king of any sort, and have no wish to be. Galdra was a gift to me from the high mistress of the villichi, into whose safekeeping it was given by a pyreen many years ago. If she knew of the elven prophecy, and if her gift was prompted by it, she never mentioned it to me. And once the blade was broken, I had no further use for it. It served me well, but came with weighty baggage. I threw it into a deep pool at an oasis not long before we met. And the other day, it magically returned to me. It seems I’m stuck with it. As for why I took the job you offered me, I had to get to Altaruk, and it seemed a good way to be in the center of things.”
“I see. And what takes you to Altaruk?”
“I cannot say.”
“Cannot or will not?” Kieran asked.
“I have no wish to lie to you,” said Sorak. “I must go to Altaruk in the name of the preserver cause, but beyond that, I know nothing. And do not ask me how I know I must go. That I will not tell you.”
Kieran nodded. “Frankly spoken.” He gave Sorak back the blade, and as Sorak touched it, it briefly glowed. “So. Where does that leave us?”
“I suppose you will require a new second-in-command,” said Sorak.
“You have not yet even begun your duties. Are you resigning already?”
Sorak frowned. “But… surely, now that you know—”
“I have heard nothing to make me think I made an error in offering you the post. If you no longer want it, that is another matter. And if what you must do in Altaruk places us at cross purposes, I will trust you to resign at that time. If I should be placed in a position where I must do something in response, I will promise you twenty-four hours before I act. Do I have your hand upon it?”
Sorak gave him his hand. “I hope the day when we are at cross purposes never comes.”
“So do I,” said Kieran. “Now, tell me more about this vision that you had just now.”
Sorak described what he had seen, in as much detail as he could recall. When he was finished, Kieran nodded.
“Dressed in black from head to toe, eh? With black breastplates and black arrows. You are sure about the arrows?”
Sorak nodded. “Is that important?”
“It is the trademark of the Shadows,” he said.
“Who are the Shadows?” Sorak asked.
“You do not know? I am surprised. It is a tribe of elves, one of the oldest in existence, but the Shadows are no ordinary tribe of nomads. Once, many years ago, they were, but they have since evolved into a society as dark and secret as their name. Little is known about them, other than that they are masters of espionage, extortion, theft, and assassination. Especially assassination. They are divided into groups called talons, each led by a talonmaster. Each talonmaster commands a group of subcommanders known as shadowmasters, each of whom leads a smaller group known as a claw. Each claw has its own specialty. Some claws are devoted solely to magic, others to theft, assassination, raiding… And in command of all is the grand shadowmaster. Who that may be is anybody’s guess. If the raiders you saw in your vision are indeed Shadows, we’ll have our hands full.”
“Perhaps Grak may be of help,” said Sorak.
Kieran snorted. “Oh, I doubt that,” he said. “I would not even bother asking.”
“But he is a friend of yours,” said Sorak.
“An old acquaintance,” Kieran corrected him. “But Grak’s first loyalty was and always shall be to Grak. He might consider lending us some mercenaries to escort us into Altaruk, but he would insist on a share of the cargo in payment, and I am not authorized to make such a bargain. I doubt Lord Jhamri would approve.”
“Would he rather lose the entire shipment?”
“No, he would rather I protect it,” Kieran said. “And it would make a poor beginning if I started my new job by admitting I could not do it properly, which is how he would see it. No, we shall have to take care of this ourselves.”
“You may count on me,” said Sorak. “And on Ryana.”
“I did not doubt that.” Kieran frowned. “The Shadows are a cut above ordinary raiders,” he said. “And even common raiders usually attempt to place at least one agent in a caravan, to learn the nature of the cargo and the disposition of the guards.”
“Edric!” Sorak said abruptly.
“The bard?”
“I had a strong intuition about him from the start,” said Sorak. “I thought, at first, I just disliked him, but I could not help feeling he was up to something.”
“You may be right,” said Kieran. “He joined the caravan in South Ledopolus, and who would suspect a mincing bard traveling with a dancer? You think Cricket may be in on it as well?”
Sorak shook his head. “I don’t know. Somehow I doubt it.”
“Well, there is one way to find out,” said Kieran. “Let us go see your friend, the priestess. If you’re right, we’ll know for sure before the night is out.”
10
It was shortly before dawn when they saw Edric leave his tent and make for the oasis pool. He walked casually, with no appearance of stealth, sauntering slowly with his cloak draped over his shoulders and a short clay pipe clamped between his teeth. He looked as if he had simply risen early and was out to enjoy a short walk and a smoke and refresh himself at the pool. Sorak and Kieran followed at a distance, staying low and keeping to the shadows, mindful of the fact that elves had good night vision.
If Edric was concerned about being watched, he gave no outward sign. He simply continued down the slight slope to the pool, where he stopped by a stand of pagafa trees and broom bush at the water’s edge. He crouched and gently tapped out his pipe with the heel of his palm, then set it on the ground beside him. On his knees, he leaned forward with hands cupped and splashed some water onto his face, then dried off with his sleeve, took a drink, and sat back to refill his pipe from a small, rolled pouch. Just an early riser taking his ease.
“There!” whispered Sorak, grasping Kieran’s upper arm as they lay beside each other on the ground, watching from about thirty yards away. He pointed. “By the broom bush. Do you see?”
Kieran shook his head. “Your elfling eyes are better than my mine,” he said in a low voice. “What do you see?”
“A dark form crouches in the bushes to the bard’s right,” Sorak said. “Well concealed, but I can just make him out. Edric isn’t looking at him, but I think they’re talking.”
“As I thought,” said Kieran. “A final conference before the attack.”
“Very bold,” said Sorak. “The raider managed to get inside the walls and sneak right up to the camp.”
“Not as bold as you may think,” said Kieran. “Grak will allow anyone within the walls, so long as they pay the toll and cause no trouble. He probably came in just after we arrived and mingled with the crowd.”
“There, he’s moved,” said Sorak. “Can you see him now?”
Kieran squinted, staring intently. “Yes, I see him now. But if I didn’t know just where to look, I’d never spot him. He’s a Shadow, all right. He’ll probably leave right after we depart and ride out to join his friends.”
“You want to take him?”
Kieran shook his head. “No, let him go. If we take him now, the Shadows will know we’ve been alerted. That might prevent the attack, but I doubt it. You saw it in your vision. And unless your vision played you false, that means it will take place. Better to let them think they still have the advantage of surprise. Come on, we’ve seen what we came to see. You were right about the bard. We’d best go see the captain and make plans to receive our visitors.”