Page 14

Luc

The War Room is in the dungeon of the Castle.

It has been fitted with steel doors and various security settings are in place. Big screens track our activity and movements. They indicate the latest skirmishes and show fatalities, and there are photographs where possible.

I have attended most of the meetings and have noticed that our forces seem to be in all the wrong places. We should be scoring more victories, instead, we are recording losses. Various attacks have been launched on our operations at sea and we have suffered significant damages.

As I listen to the reports from various commandos and armies in the field, it occurs to me that we appear to be on the back foot. After the meeting, I walk over to Harris and ask to have a word. He seems displeased to be pulled aside like this.

“I want to have a word with you…” I watch him closely, “…about the king.”

I catch the glance he casts at me, instantly.

There is fear and apprehension in his eyes and I realize that Prince Dano was talking the truth. What I need to establish now is whose side Harris is on.

“Let’s talk in my office,” he says and steps out of the room.

The thing about Harris is that he is slippery and tricky to read. He is so quiet and watchful, and I have never really trusted him completely. He is not from any of the big families and I’ve never been able to establish where his link with Vlas stems from.

When we get into his office, the door closes behind me and I am confronted by a stark, clinical room dominated by a large view of the garden. It is unexpectedly green and luscious, the window is framed by roses and creeping ivy, reminding me of the gardens of long ago. Unexpectedly, I feel a tug of nostalgia for times gone by and I realize that Harris and I may have more in common than I think.

“Let’s hear it,” he says, a guarded look in his eye.

I decide to play open cards with him and tell him I’m worried about the king after a conversation with Prince Dano.

“I wanted to know your take on his health. Does he seem fine to you?”

“As fine as can be expected under the circumstances. We are at war and we are losing.”

Even though he may be right, I don’t like hearing him say it.

“And that is the only reason?”

“I don’t see what you are getting at, Lord D’Essay,” he says, stiffly.

I look outside the window again. I notice the fountain and the statues. It is such a peaceful view and I feast my eyes upon it.

“I was hoping we could speak freely,” I said.

“Have we not always been frank with each other?” he asked lightly.

“No,” I turned to look him in the eye. “I don’t think we have.”

“And we should change this, now?”

“I guess it depends on whether you think our survival depends on it or not.”

I can see him trying to come up with a response.

“I am loyal to Vlas,” I say. “I always have been. Do you doubt it?”

“I do not,” he says, with conviction, “but…”

“You think he is fine?”

Harris does not respond right away. He walks over to where I am standing at the window and points at one of the roses.

“Beautiful, right?”

I nod.

“The thorns are poisonous though. They come from Ferraro. A gift from the family. I had the gardeners plant it here to remind me that beauty can be treacherous and deceitful, to never trust what I want or like.”

I wasn’t entirely sure what he was talking about. I had a feeling that he was trying to tell me that even though he loved the king, he thought he was no longer leading us the way we should. I wasn’t sure he was backing the son, however, or anyone else. He was keeping things from me, that much I was sure of.

“You have been a loyal servant,” he finally said. “I think you should continue being that,” he turned away and it seemed this was his final word.

“If not, you’ll get rid of me as you did with Matteo?”

It was a shot in the dark and I saw his shoulders stiffen. He had not expected that.

“I don’t know what you mean,” he said with a little smile around his bloodless lips.

I nodded and turn to leave.

“As long as you fight for us, you will be fine,” he said as I neared the door.

I paused and looked back.

His sentence seemed laden with meaning and sub text. Was he asking for loyalty to him? I wasn’t sure that I could do that.

After our meeting, I tried to see the king but I was informed he was not available. I asked if I could wait but the guard merely shook his head. I asked if Prince Dano was still around and he told me that he was not at the Castle and had not been for some time. Too many secrets, too many lies.

I wanted to check in with my team and was headed to my offices when my senses were alerted and I checked over my shoulder. I stepped back just in time. I heard the dart coming past me, only a hair’s width from my chest. It hit the wall beside me instead of finding my chest and my heart, as had been the intention.

I swung around and scanned the corridor trying to find the culprit but there was no sign of movement, no single sound to be heard. It was as if the poisoned dart had come out of nowhere. I grabbed it from the wall and put it in my pocket, then streaked to my office where I could lock the door.

“What’s wrong?” Tick asked as soon as I flew into the room, locking doors and closing windows. I put the dart on her desk and she put on gloves as I explained what had happened. Gagarin, another member of my team stared at me aghast.

“But, an assassination attempt…in the Castle? Who would be so blatant?”

Only someone at the very top.

“I am getting out of here,” I told them. “Talk to me on secure lines only.” I gave them some codes to use. “We have to be careful here. If anyone asks, you are working on attack plans, nothing else.”

As soon as he stepped away, I told Tick, “This is priority. I need to know who sent it.”

She held it up. “It is pure silver and poisoned too. Someone really wants you dead.”

I was about to leave when I got a message from Vlas to meet him in his quarters. It was risky, but I didn’t delay. I couldn’t believe the dart had come from him and decided to take the shortest route, through the dark night up to his window.

He was waiting for me in the dark.

“Ah, Luc, you came,” he said. His tone was weary.

“Of course, I always come when you need me.”

“Do you?” he sounded far away... “I suppose you do.”

“You sound uncertain,” I said. “What can I do to put your mind at ease?” I was using the old language, where courtesy and politeness was important.

The king sat down with a deep sigh.

“We are losing the war,” he said.

“We can turn it around, I’m sure,” I started. “All we need to do is to neutralize their…”

“No,” he said. “Not us, me. I should have been more… clear. I am losing my power.”

I fell silent.

“I don’t know when it started, but… I am weakened, my thoughts….my mind..” He sounded dazed. I couldn’t help wonder if he had been given something. I wanted to suggest that he leave the tower but I didn’t want to risk being accused of being against him.

“I don’t have long, I think,” he said, his tone wavering, “but I think you, you, you should…”

He didn’t finish his sentence. His eyelids fluttered and he fell back. Horrified, I rushed to his side but I couldn’t rouse him. There was no sign of an injury or a weapon. Perhaps he had simply fainted? I didn’t want to be found alone on the balcony with him in this state. I jumped into the night to blend into the shadows.

As I dropped into the darkness, I heard another word follow his last….as if he was able to say it now…..flee. He said he thought I should flee.

The king was warning me that I was in danger and that he was unable to protect me. Who could be more powerful than him? His son? His wife? Harris? Too many possibilities.

I blended into the night, my senses keenly attuned to my surroundings. I wanted to plan my next move when an agonizing pain made me wince.

Ruby.

Something had happened to her. She was in pain.

But I didn’t know where she was.

Something was blocking my connection with her.

She was somewhere where I couldn’t reach her.

I doubled over in pain. I couldn’t think of anything else.