The man stiffened. “You’re too late,” he spat.
“Oh, why?”
“He is lost. He won’t be able to resist.”
“Where did they take him?”
“Once Var’geris hears you attacked his disciples, you will suffer his wrath.”
“Really? Where is this mighty Var’geris? I keep hearing about him, but there isn’t much substance to him. Does he speak for himself?”
“Blasphemy!” The man struggled to release his hands, desperate to grab Jerrol. “Once Terolia is in his hands, Vespiri will be eager to submit to his rule.”
“How do you intend to do that?”
“You’ll see, we have the Captain now, he’ll show us the way in,” the man sneered, rolling over and trying to release his bonds, refusing to say more. He stiffened as Tagerill loomed over him.
“I doubt he will. I think you’ll find he won’t give you what you want.” Jerrol rose, collected the papers and glanced out the window. “I’m disappointed, Councillor Fortes, that you are not prepared to do your duty to your King and Lady. That is the purpose of the council, you know,” he said as he crossed the room. “I think that it is time you retired and allowed someone more suitable to fill the role.”
The man’s eyes widened in fear. “You wouldn’t dare,” he spluttered.
“Oh, why ever not? You have no such qualms when you send out your men,” Jerrol purred into his ear as Tagerill set to work.
Chapter 24
Stoneford Keep, Stoneford Watch
Jason stood in the gate, watching the last of Bryce’s men ride around the curve in the road and out of sight. He turned back towards the keep with Chryllion at his shoulder. The Sentinal was a constant shadow. Jason strode towards his office deep in thought, ruminating on what to do first. He had called his captains to his office. It was time to read them into his plans. He would miss Bryce; he was his right hand, but it would do the others good to step up.
He looked up, twisting as Chryllion shoved him from behind. He heard a high-pitched twang and Chryllion deflected a bolt which thudded harmlessly into the wall. Jason dived behind the nearest column before his assailant could reload, calling out to his guards. There was the sound of an altercation on the stairs, and he peered around the column, hefting his dagger ready to throw it if he had a line of sight.
He stood astounded as one of his garrison’s unit leaders was hustled down the stairs between two of the on-duty guards, his face starting to redden from a well-landed punch.
“Danilesh, what is the meaning of this?” Jason was horrified.
Danilesh glowered at Jason before staring at the floor. A young private came forward with the crossbow. He was shaking his hand out. “M’lord, he was too busy reloading to check who was behind him,” the young man said, handing over the crossbow, having just struck a senior officer.
The two guards on either side of Danilesh jerked his arms back painfully, forcing his head up. Jason took the crossbow, thinking fast. “Was he on his own?”
“As far as we could see, he didn’t have a spotter,” the young man replied.
“Private Mackie, isn’t it?”
“Yessir.” The young man stood to attention and saluted.
“Escort Mr Danilesh here to the cells and then join me in my office.”
“Yessir!” He saluted again and gestured the men to precede him to the cells.
Jason took a deep breath, trying to control his rapidly beating heart. He stared at Chryllion.
“My apologies, my lord, there was no time to warn you.”
Jason waved away his apology. “Thank goodness you were here,” he said as they walked to his office, where his remaining captains were waiting for him. He threw the crossbow on his desk with a loud clatter. “Bramon, why was Danilesh trying to kill me?” he asked, his voice cold and harsh.
Captain Bramon stepped back at the ferocity in Jason’s voice. “W-what?” He gaped at Jason.
“Danilesh, he is in your division, isn’t he? Where is he from? Has his behaviour changed recently?”
“Lieutenant Danilesh is from Appletree, on the borders of East Watch. He’s a solid officer, clean record, the men like him. I haven’t noticed anything different in his behaviour. He is just back from leave. What happened?”
Jason pointed at the crossbow. “He tried to nail me with that. Now, why do you think he would do that?”
“I-I don’t know, sir,” Bramon stuttered. “There is no reason for him to target you.”
“Well, he obviously thought there was, and we need to find out if there are any others like him,” Jason snapped. “You need to be on the lookout for any change in behaviour. I need to know we can trust our men. I need to know I can trust you.” Jason took a deep breath. “I called you in here today to bring you up to date. This,” and he pointed at the crossbow, “makes it more imperative.” He was interrupted by a tap at the door.
“Come,” he said.
Private Mackie opened the door, saluted and shut the door behind him. “Lieutenant Danilesh is restrained in the East cell block, sir. I left two guards with him. Umm, I took the liberty of requesting two men from Captain Bramon’s unit to man the walls, sir.”
“Very good,” Jason said. “Captain Bramon, Corporal Mackie here shows excellent initiative. I suggest you use him wisely.”
“Yessir,” Bramon replied.
“Right, sit, gentlemen, this is the situation.” And Jason, after waiting for them all to settle, gave them a quick summary of recent events. “We can now see that even our garrison is being affected by whatever disease is spreading through the Watches. We are already spread thin, with the border patrols and increased garrison security; adding a campaign against the smuggling routes is going to extend us further. Suggestions, gentlemen?”
“Why don’t we bring our plans for the Fourth Division forward? Drop the other divisions down to two units for now, before we can recruit. Now is probably not the time to bring new people in if we cannot be sure of their loyalty,”
