“Do you think he will succeed?”
“If he offers enough money, he might swing the vote of the Council. Normally you could rely on the Quan to make sure the merchants behaved sensibly, but something has them damnably stirred up. They have even been talking with Malkior, you know.”
Sardec gave Laevin a second look. “How do you know that?”
“I have my ways,” he said. “I am the Ambassador’s military advisor.”
Such a post was often a cover for a spymaster. “Why are you telling me this?”
“I have judged it in the best interests of my Queen to tell you. I suspect you may not have learned it from sources that should have informed you.”
Sardec narrowed his eyes. This was tantamount to an accusation that Ambassador Valefor had wilfully not told them what they needed to know. Of course, Laevin was not going to come right out and say such a thing, but then again he did not have to. Sardec’s sense of having put his head into the jaws of a trap increased.
“You think Lady Asea may be in danger.”
“I am certain she is.”
“What would you advise?”
“Do not try to get out of the city by ship. They can have accidents, if the Quan have taken against you.”
“You think that has happened.”
“Let us say I would not rely on it not being the case.”
“You are taking a risk telling me this.”
“I have been instructed to do so by my superiors. They fear the consequences of an alliance between Sardea and the Quan.”
“They are right to do so.” Such an alliance would have control of the northern seas. Whole armies could be moved by ship. Harven would provide a near impregnable base in Northern Kharadrea from which the Dark Empire could sally forth and lay claim to the country. It could even be used as a staging post for an amphibious assault on Talorea itself. The balance of power on the continent would indeed change if the Quan could be persuaded to take sides. Sardec felt out of his depth here. He told himself that such things were not his responsibility. All he had to do was see to Asea’s safety. Even that duty seemed fraught with complications.
“I am glad you take me meaning, Lieutenant. I wish you a safe and uneventful stay in Harven, though I fear you may not have it.”
They stood on the docks waiting for their boat to take them back to Nearshore.
“That was an interesting party,” said Sardec, glancing around, making sure all the men were in position. He had arranged them around Asea, blocking any clear shot someone might be able to get at her.
“Indeed,” said Asea. “I noticed you were talking to the Selenean attache.”
“He had a number of interesting things to say.” Sardec noticed the half-breed had his eyes fixed on the harbour waters. It took him but a moment to understand why. In the depths of the harbour faintly greenish translucent shapes moved, a combination of man and squid and something else. It sometimes seemed to Sardec that they held struggling humanoid shapes between them, but he told himself that could not be so.
They clambered aboard their boat and pushed off. “I am glad to be leaving this place,” said Rik.
“I will be glad to leave this city,” said Sardec.
“Let us hope we have the chance,” said Asea so softly that Sardec was sure that only he and the half-breed had heard it. So she too suspected the way things were going.
Chapter Twenty-One
The next morning Rik joined Sardec and Asea for breakfast in her suite. He noticed at once that Ambassador Valefor had not been invited, that silence wards were in place and Karim stood outside the door looking at his most forbidding. Weasel and the Barbarian guarded the way into the wing.
“Things are not quite as I expected,” said Asea. Rik raised an eyebrow at her understatement.
“Your diplomatic mission is not going as well as we might hope?” said Sardec. Something in his tone told Rik that he was hardly surprised. He was starting to suspect the Lieutenant of having a sardonic sense of humour.
“It is worse than I had imagined. My networks here have been compromised.”
Rik helped himself to some bread and conserve. He poured himself some tea since there were no servants present there to do so.
“You are saying we have walked into a trap?” said Rik.
“I am saying I have led us into a trap. I know that there is much going on here that I should have been told about and was not. This suggests a counter-intelligence operation of extraordinary thoroughness.”
“That is not reassuring,” said Rik. “You have a plan?”
“We should explore lines of retreat from the city.”
“I was warned last night not to attempt to do so by ship. If we do we may have an accident. The Quan control the sea.”
“Who told you that?”
“Laevin, the Selenean naval attache.”
“That might have been an attempt to intimidate us.”
“I think he was sincere.”
“He might have been fed false information. I have been.”
“You think that likely?”
“No. I am merely being cautious.”
“You think we should attempt to book passage out?”
“This is Harven. There are not many ways out, unless you plan on walking through the swamps.”
“Even for that we would need boats.”
“Quite.” Asea sounded a little testy. Rik had never seen her like this before.
“Why are you in this mood?” he asked. She stared at him for a moment.
“I have a feeling that my mission here has already failed, that most of the Council side with Sardea, and that the Quan do as well.”
“What makes you think that?”
“The tone of the conversations I had last night.”
“Lord Malkior certainly seems a persuasive Terrarch,” said Sardec.
“Sardean gold may have proved more persuasive.”
“There’s more to it than that, though, isn’t there?” said Rik.
“Yes. Malkior has been dealing with the Quan for some time now.”
“A sorcerer named Alaryn told me as much last night,” said Rik. She looked interested.
“They seemed to have turned against Talorea all of a sudden.”
“I think I can guess why,” said Asea.
“The Serpent Tower,” said Rik. “That’s what I was told. They think we had something to do with its destruction.”
“We did. At least you did.”
“That’s not what I mean — they suspect the use of some magic or some spell on our part.”
“If we had that power they would have cause to fear us, and more cause yet to do a deal with us.” Rik saw the logic of that. He turned it over in his mind. If the Quan feared them so much why not side with Talorea, why support Talorea’s enemies?
“Perhaps they feel they have the means to deal with us,” suggested Sardec. “Perhaps they would rather the weaker of the two sides came out on top. It would strengthen their position.”
“That may be so,” said Asea. “But the Quan are aliens. We cannot understand how their minds work, and we don’t have one here now to question. I think we might be safest in assuming that they are against us, and make our plans accordingly.”
