they have spies in high places or someone has established some sort of alliance with them and is feeding them information, someone close to the King.”
“Exactly,” I affirmed. “What was a simple war of humanity against the creatures of darkness has now been complicated. Very likely someone on our side has thrown in with the forces of evil. We need to know who before we remove the King from power.”
I could see Marc’s mind had already caught up with us and he was working ahead to try and figure out the best course of action. “We need someone inside the palace,” he said finally.
“What were you saying about being a ‘spymaster general’?” I reminded him.
He shook his head, “In this case I’m the wrong choice, even more so than with the clergy I am too well known among the nobility.”
Rose agreed with him, “No offence, but even given Marcus’ exalted social standing; he was raised as country gentry. This will require someone with an intimate knowledge of the city and the people that call it home, particularly those in the palace.”
The two of them exchanged glances. As usual when it came to intrigue they agreed with one another. “You’re suggesting that you can find the information we need?” I said looking at Rose.
She smiled in a fashion that reminded me of her usual confidence, “Of course I am. Marcus needs to finish ferretting out the secrets of the priests. I suspect that he may be close to something that may be important.”
“Aren’t you too well known to sneak into the palace?” I said, bringing up one of the arguments Marc had used to rule himself out.
She raised her eyebrow again, “Why Mordecai, who said anything about sneaking in? Do you have such a low opinion of me? I will discover what we need to know through various contacts. I think it is not too far from the truth if I say that I know absolutely everyone important in this city, and if I don’t… I know someone else who does.”
A cold shiver went up my spine. Rose could be rather intimidating when she put a little effort into it. Then I realized I was the only one left without an assigned task. “What will I do to keep myself busy in the meantime?” I wondered idly.
Marc gave me a wicked grin, “You should check with my father. It’s been a few days; I suspect he’s got news by now.”
“What makes you say that?” I inquired.
“My father loves to hunt. I dare say he is nearly as knowledgeable in the forest as his master huntsman, William, and William is far from the only hunter in his employ. If he has not managed to trace at least some of them by now I’ll eat my hat,” he informed me with a certain amount of pride.
“You don’t have a hat,” I pointed out.
He groaned wearily, “It’s a figure of speech. Anyway, you’re so used to thinking like a wizard you forget that men are not helpless without magic. He won’t have been idle while you were here, but he may need your help when he finds them.”
Chapter 33
The next morning I returned to Lancaster. We had talked long into the night but in the end we didn’t have any better solutions than what we had started with.
Stepping out of the teleportation circle I spotted two men standing guard within the building that held them. They had already taken note of my appearance and were opening their mouths to speak. I was too quick for them however. “You!” I said sharply. “Where is the Duke presently?”
The man looked quite anxious, probably due to my aggressive demeanor. “He should be in the keep your Lordship, taking breakfast, given the hour.” I had arrived fairly early.
“Excellent,” I replied and turned to head that way.
The man called after me, “He said to tell you that he would like to speak with you as soon as you arrived.”
I laughed and kept walking. Entering the keep I headed straight for the great hall. A number of people pointed and began talking as they saw me pass, which gave me the impression I had been the topic of discussion lately, but I didn’t bother trying to listen in. When I entered the great hall the effect was entirely the opposite. All conversation died as I made my way to the high table, and silence fell over the room.
James stood as I got close and greeted me with an embrace. As his head came close to mine he spoke quietly, “Where the hell have you been these past two days?”
“I had a wizard to interrogate, people to inform, and information to gather. I take it things have been exciting in my absence?” I didn’t bother to keep my voice quiet. The crowd needed something to talk about after all.
The duke sat down again. “Do you think a band of armed men could infiltrate my castle, assault and murder my guests, and then escape without any repercussions?”
“They’re already dead,” I replied. “Except for the wizard,” I added.
James leaned toward me, “And what did you learn from your new guest?”
“That his situation is more complicated than it at first appeared, and our enemies are more powerful than we knew,” I said wittily. I had probably spent too much time in Lady Rose’s company.
The duke’s eyes narrowed, “That is ever the case, but what of the particulars?”
I shook my head negatively, “Not here your Grace, the matter requires as much tact as dealing with royalty.”
James’ eyes widened momentarily but he showed no other sign of having understood my meaning. Instead he rapidly switched to his own news and delivered it with his usual enthusiasm, “The news that shiggreth in the hundreds could be roaming my lands with impunity did not sit well with me, nor did it please Master William or my other foresters. Despite the great lengths the enemy went to in order to disguise their trail we believe we have run them aground.”
I showed my teeth in an expression that only resembled a smile in the most superficial of ways. “Marc told me you’d find them,” I replied.
A shadow crossed James’ face so quickly I doubt many would have noticed it, “How is my son?”
“Doing well,” I told him. “He has taken to intrigue and subterfuge like a duck to water. At the moment he is engaged in Albamarl, ferreting out secrets for me. More importantly, I think he is recovering from what happened to him.”
He nodded, “I want you to tell me in more detail later.” I knew he meant his words.
“I will.”
“William and I had a devil of a time finding the shiggreth,” he said returning to the subject at hand.
“My husband spent more time in the woods than at home after what happened,” came the voice of Genevieve from behind me. She had walked up while we talked. I glanced up with an expression of mock surprise. She leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. “Nephew,” she said simply.
“Your Grace,” I replied. “I hope you can forgive my rudeness the other day.”
She raised a hand as if she were shooing a fly away, “Nonsense, I recall no fault on your part.”
“Thank you,” I told her.
James interrupted, “As I was saying, we searched high and low, but the tracks of so many going in so many directions made it impossible to find them at first.”
“So how did you do it?” I asked.
“If it were a cunning beast you would circle the area more widely, until at last you find where the trail emerges, but these were no animals. They are intelligent, and each one took a separate path, even after traveling miles from where they converged. William and I had to divide my lands into sections and assign men to search each of them. Even so nothing was found, until we reached the foothills,” he answered.
“I might have thought you would start there, rather than in the forests,” I commented.
James sighed, “I had thought it would turn out this way, but I could not leave the forests unexamined. Otherwise we might have left a viper near our bosom while we were searching further afield.”
I had to admit he had a point.
“When we started searching the foothills to the east we lost several men,” he went on. “I had to increase the
