“Be very careful who guards him. You heard what Kor’aderil said. Mer’iteras is the expert; his voice is all he needs,” Jerrol warned.
“We’ll be careful,” Simeon promised. “You’ll come back for the confirmation, though, won’t you? And you, Lieutenant Jennery?”
“Can’t promise anything, but we’ll try. We have to return for Lady Olivia so that may well work out quite well,” Jerrol said. “Send word when you have the date set.”
“I’ll send Ari.” Alyssa interrupted the soft conversation she was having with Jennery to look over at Jerrol.
Jerrol noted their quick tete-a-tete though he refrained from comment. “Right, Birlerion is out front, it’s time we left.”
Zin’talia was complaining at being roused by the Sentinal. “He doesn’t like me,” she grumbled. “Why doesn’t he like me?”
“He does like you, don’t be silly,” he soothed. “Be nice.”
Versillion spoke. “By your leave, Captain, I will assist my brother. It may be some time before we see each other again.”
Jerrol waved assent and turned to Bryce. “Warn Jason to patrol the Stanton passes. They must be coming over from Terolia. It sounds like that is where the trouble is brewing.”
Bryce shook his hand. “I will, and you be careful in Vespers. In both of them,” he said, his face grave. He took his leave of the ladies and left the room to find Hannah.
Pausing at the top of the stone steps, Jerrol surveyed the men and horses waiting for them. If he hadn’t seen it for himself, he would never have believed the Sentinals had awoken, yet here they were, tall and mysterious. The material of their unusual uniforms shimmered in the evening sunlight. He swallowed the lump in his throat. Greens should be celebrating the return of three of its sons. That such a momentous occasion had passed almost unnoticed was not right. The three men stood close together, their bond visible, and he thought that maybe Greens was celebrating: busy tying her knots, as Birlerion would have it.
Three Sentinals from Greenswatch and there were more down at the Grove. He ought to wake them. Simeon was staring at him with awe. He supposed he looked as strange as his Sentinals with his silver eyes. His only comfort was the fact Taelia wouldn’t notice any difference. He admitted to himself he missed her, and Zin’talia snorted and shook her head.
“Jerrol, I can’t thank you enough for all your help. I hope you can return for my confirmation. We’d be pleased to see you.”
“Do my best,” Jerrol said as he mounted Zin’talia and, casting a glance around his companions, he led the way down the road.
Chapter 34
Old Vespers
It took all night to reach Old Vespers, and that was only after Jerrol insisted they detour via the Grove to wake up the Sentinals. He slid off Zin’talia as they approached the trees guarding the Lady’s temple and stood in the centre by the stone table, where he simply said, “The Captain has returned and requires your presence.”
Jennery still couldn’t quite believe that five tall, silver-eyed men stepped forward out of a swirling mist and crashed their fists against their chests. “As the Captain commands,” they responded in unison.
Jennery eyed the three men riding behind him a little suspiciously. Jerrol left the Sentinal called Parsillion to guard the Grove and sent Frenerion to join Versillion at Greenswatch. The three accompanying them seemed worryingly like Tagerill, a little too enthusiastic for Jennery’s taste. They all wore the same archaic uniforms as the ones he and Jerrol wore. Each had one of those brutal broadswords across their backs, and they all greeted Tagerill and Birlerion like long-lost brothers. They continued an intense low-toned discussion with the blond-haired Serillion as they rode.
Jennery frowned at the three of them. Birlerion had become more withdrawn and silent as more Sentinals were awoken. What did he fear? The exuberant Tagerill naturally drew the attention, but it seemed as if Birlerion took a step back and watched from the shadows, eyes alert.
Darllion appeared to be the eldest. His grey hair denoted his seniority. Fonorion was black-haired, lean and predominantly silent, a little older than Serillion and Tagerill, who were of an age and knew each other well.
They were all shocked that it had been three thousand years since they last breathed the air of Vespiri. Even worse was the news that the Lady was no longer present and that Remargaren was a very different place to what they remembered. Yet they accepted Jerrol’s authority without a single complaint.
Jennery shifted his gaze to Jerrol; he was different too, as if the awakening of the Sentinals was changing him. He seemed more – of what Jennery wasn’t sure, but he had a presence about him that he didn’t have before, and his eyes flashed silver like those of the Sentinals. Jennery was struggling with the fact that he took it for granted that he could just walk up to a tree, conjure a man out of it and then command him to follow him.
Passing under the golden stone arch of the East gate, Jerrol called a halt on the outskirts of Old Vespers by the temple gardens. The sky was streaked in red and gold as the sun rose and the tower bell in the Chapterhouse called the scholars to break their fast. Tying Zin’talia to the fence, he led the way into the gardens. Soft green foliage edged the paths, sheltering them from view.
He had been aware of Jennery’s scrutiny for the last few miles. He didn’t know what Jennery was searching for or expected. There were few answers to his questions, so he focused on how to get four distinctive guards through Old Vespers without making a commotion or setting off the garrison.
“Right, we need to get a lay of the land,” Jerrol said once the Sentinals had gathered around him.
“A lay of the land?” Darllion asked.
“Yes, I’ve been gone for nearly two months. We need to discover what’s happened to the King, and what the Chancellor and the
