"It’s been years since I’ve seen an elvin blade and never one so fine." His voice was hushed, reverent. "Would you consider selling it, Miss? I’d offer a tidy sum for this."
"No, just sharpen it, please. How much will it cost?"
"Well now, I got to say to myself, how would such a pretty and genteel lass, such as yourself, come to be in possession of so fine a blade? Maybe your father or uncle gave it to you. But then, they’d have told you this is not a blade you flash around. So maybe you stole it. And if you did, it’d be my duty to take it back and hold it till the proper owner comes looking for it."
"Sir, I’ve changed my mind. If you’ll return my sword, I’ll be on my way." Leena started frantically gathering packages.
"But I’m not an unfair man," the armorer continued as though she had not spoken. "Tell you what I’ll do. You can have your pick of any short sword on the table here. Made em myself and they’ve all got keen blades."
He swept his arm over the display.
"I’ll even throw in a scabbard."
He inspected the jeweled scabbard of her blade, eyes shining with greed.
"No, thank you," Leena tried to sound polite. "If you’ll just return my blade, I’d like to leave now."
She saw irritation, then anger, flare in the man’s eyes. The tip of the sword pointed at her. What was going on here? Did he intend to run her through and claim she was a thief?
Suddenly, she realized that without Arvin here, it had not crossed her mind to invoke a protection spell. With her hands clutching packages, she could not reach her wand in time.
She was a stranger in this town. If she died, everyone would take the armorer’s word. No one would care. She was alone and the door was so very far away. Maybe, if she turned and walked out, he would let her go. Maybe she could still take his deal. She knew nothing about elvin swords. One sword would be just as good as another for her. She was not even sure she needed one.
She looked from the door to his eyes and knew he had no intention of letting her leave. He had decided he wanted the sword and he did not want anyone around to say he had stolen it.
She was too close to him. He could easily strike before she could move out of range. She dared not move. He waited only for the slightest excuse.
Fascinated, she watched the blade move closer to her neck.
CHAPTER 15
Light behind her dimmed as a figure filled the doorway. Was one of the armorer’s apprentices blocking her escape?
"Have you gotten my blade sharpened yet, Sis? We have too much to do for you to be dawdling." The voice was sharp, but she breathed an inner sigh of relief at the sound.
It was Darius.
She saw hesitation in the armorer’s eyes. As the sword tip wavered, she stepped back out of easy range. The armorer would have to come around the counter to strike her now.
Through the door behind the armorer, apprentices scuttled busily about. If an alarm were raised, she was certain they would swarm into the shop, swords in hand.
Clutching her packages, she turned to Darius.
"I’m sorry, Dar, but my hands are full. If you want the thing sharpened, why don’t you just get it done yourself?"
Darius had sidled up and rested his hands on the counter in obvious frustration with her. She noticed his right hand rested next to the hilt of a large sword with a leather-wrapped handle.
"Look Sis, I told you we have too much to do today to lollygag around. Let’s get out of here and I’ll sharpen it myself later." He turned to the armorer.
"I’m sorry she troubled you, Sir. If you’ll just give me back my sword, we’ll be out of your hair." He extended his left hand.
The armorer glanced at Darius’ right hand positioned near the blade, then up into his eyes. Slowly, he sheathed the weapon and handed the scabbard to Darius.
"Thank you, Sir. Come on Runt, let’s get back to the inn."
Leena followed his broad back into the street. He set a fast pace and she found it hard to keep up. He held the door to the common room open for her. She noticed he casually looked back toward the armorer’s shop as he closed the door.
He turned and sought a table. The common room was nearly empty at this time of day. Travelers had gone on their way and it was too early for the midday-meal crowd.
She stowed her parcels under the table as Darius ordered a pot of tea. They sat quietly until the serving wench moved away.
"Sis?" Leena said chuckling.
"Dar?" His eyes shone with humor.
"Runt?" She said in mock consternation. Before they knew it, both were laughing quietly, trying not to disturb the few others in the room.
They pulled themselves together as tea was served.
"I have to ask," he said seriously once they were alone again, "why you were asking an armorer to sharpen an elvin blade? Humans have neither the tools nor the magic."
"I do not know much about weapons," she admitted quietly. "I, uh, found it and figured I should have an armorer sharpen it."
His gaze bored into her as though looking for a trick in her statement. Finally, he sat back and shook his head in wonderment.
"You really don’t know what you have here?" He lifted the sheathed sword. He drew it partway from its scabbard and looked at the carving on the blade. "I don’t read elvin runes, but there’s no doubt this is a king’s blade. Used correctly, this blade could shatter armies. I have never known a human to possess one of these. Are you sure you want to keep it?"
He held it out to her.
The blade had obviously come to her by more than mere chance. Again she felt the hand of someone or something guiding her destiny. She reached to accept it.
"I think I must."
He looked at her long and searchingly.
"I think there is much we need to talk about, but first we must find a way to get you safely out of town with your blade."
She almost told him she had nothing to fear from the townspeople. She was a hedge witch and a simple protection spell would prevent them from harming her. She wanted to trust him. He had an air of integrity about him and he had saved her life. Still, he was a stranger.
A stranger on his way to the Great Wizard’s castle. The Great Wizard that destroyed her village and took her family hostage.
She dared not tell him more until she knew more about him.
"I am leaving in the morning," she told him. "Surely the armorer would not be brash enough to try something in full daylight."
"It’s easy to see you are not used to traveling. Most armorers work for whoever pays them. They do not concern themselves with the good or bad weapons might do. Certainly this one knows men who would as soon slit your throat for a silver piece as look at you. Now that he knows you have the blade, he will undoubtedly contact those who can retrieve it for him.
"I saw an apprentice scurrying up the road just before I shut the door. By tonight, they will check here to see when you are leaving. No doubt someone will be waiting for us along the road tomorrow."
"Us?" Was he offering to accompany her?
"I can’t very well let you go wandering by yourself and you said your traveling companion is gone. Who else is going to protect you?"
She was getting a little tired of his attitude. Okay, she had been a bit clumsy and naïve, but that gave him no right to assume she could not protect herself.
"I’ll have you know I am not without defenses."
"You," he chuckled, "how could you possibly defend yourself against a band of rogues?"
His superior smile was more than a little annoying. She was not a defenseless little girl.
"It just so happens, I am a hedge witch in training," she blurted out before she thought. Immediately, she wished she could take the words back.
What had she done?
Darius’ smile disappeared, but he did not look surprised. In fact, he looked impressed. He stared at her quietly for a few minutes while he thought over what she said.
"Okay, granted that could be
helpful. If you can cast a protection spell, it could save you for a while. However, from what I’ve seen, the drain on a witch is tremendous in battle and few can maintain the spell for long. Can you cast a protection spell?" His voice lowered so no one else in the room could hear.
"Of course." her voice lowered to match his, but even as she said it she knew she had never had the spell tested. Still, with the Garlan branch...
No, she did not dare reveal she had it. He had some relationship to the Great Wizard. What if he were sent to find the person who had the branch?
She felt him watching her, gauging the play of emotions across her face. She wanted to get up and run, to pretend she never met him. She willed herself calm.
"Okay," he said, breaking his silence. "However, I think it might be a good idea to help you learn to use that sword. How far are you going?"
The question caught her off guard.
"To the Great Wizard’s castle."
"Great," Darius seemed genuinely pleased. "If you’ll permit me to accompany you, I’ll try to teach you the proper use of a blade along the way."
Try? Did he fear she was too stupid to learn? Did he see her as a slow child?
Angrily she bent and gathered her packages.
"Fine, I’ll accompany you," she huffed, "because I believe there is danger, and I’ll try to learn to use the sword. Thank you, Sir!"
She saw a confused look on his face as she turned and stormed to her room.
Her clothes were clean and neatly folded on the dresser. Still smarting from Darius’ implication, she angrily mumbled to herself as she jammed clothes and provisions in her pack.
When she finished, she threw herself on the bed and stared at the open-beam ceiling. Without warning, she grabbed the pillow and used it to muffle the heart-wrenching sobs that started pouring from her. Her village was gone, her family taken as hostages, and she was alone not knowing who she could trust. She cried for the Woodsman couple and all the people she sent to their rest. She cried for all the towns and villages now empty.
She cried for her fleeing girlhood.
CHAPTER 16
She woke in the dark room. A rumble of noise floated up from the common room below. She rose slow and stiff, but mentally refreshed and cleansed of a sadness she carried since the morning she returned from the Garlan tree. She felt more alert, and hungry.
Again the common room was crowded with travelers and townspeople in for a pint. She found an empty table in the rear of the room. She managed to catch Evelyn’s attention and mimed eating with a spoon. Evelyn nodded and pushed through the crowd toward the counter.
To Leena, it looked like the same crowd as last night, scores of strangers, mostly men. Something caught her eye. She scanned back.
The armorer sat with a thin, bearded man hunched over a table in quiet conversation. The bearded man glanced at her then quickly back to the armorer, as though he had been caught peeking.
A clay bowl of stew, a small loaf on a cutting board and a carved wooden spoon clattered to the table in front of her. She turned to thank Evelyn, but saw only the serving maid’s back pushing a way through the crowd. She glanced to the table where the armorer sat. Both men were gone.
The stew smelled delicious and she set to with gusto.
"I apologize for this morning, Miss. I didn’t know you were related to the Ambassador."
She looked up. Uninvited, the armorer had seated himself on the chair across the table. Though his words were conciliatory, his expression was hard.
"Your apology is accepted, Sir. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to finish my supper."
She wanted the man to leave. She doubted he would try anything violent in the crowded inn, but an aura of threat was strong around him.
"I’d like you to know though, my offer stands. I’d be willing to pay any sum you name for the elvin blade."
"I’m sorry, but it’s not for sale."
Before she could move, his hand flashed across the table and grabbed her wrist.
"Listen, Miss, that sword’s no good to you. I doubt you even know how to use a regular sword much less an elvin blade. With that blade, no one could stand against me." His huge hand contracted. Her wrist felt as though it would break any second.
"I would advise you to accept my offer now. I’ll not offer to pay again, but I will have that sword."
"Hey Sis, I’m beginning to think you and the armorer are becoming close friends." Darius pulled out the chair to her right and sat. His right hand lay across his lap barely touching the hilt of his sword.
The pressure on her wrist eased instantly as the armorer withdrew his hand. He glanced quickly at Darius’ right hand then to his face. Darius’ words had been friendly, but his eyes were hard as steel.
Though he was more than twice the size of the younger man, the armorer wore no sword. He stood and looked at Leena.
"Remember what I said, Miss. The offer stands until tomorrow morning." He turned and left.
"Where were you?" She did not mean to sound so abrasive, but the armorer scared her.
"I was over there," he nodded toward the counter, "talking to some travelers when you came in. After the way you left, I thought it best to leave you alone for a while. However, when that brute sat at your table, I knew there would be trouble. I assume he was after your sword again."
"He didn’t come right out and threaten me, but he let me know he intends to get the sword no matter what it takes. When I first saw him he was sitting with another man and I’m certain they were talking about me."
"What did this other man look like?"
"He was thin with a black, scraggly beard and he was wearing a black traveling cloak. That’s all I noticed."
"I’ll wager he’s one of a gang of highwaymen that’s been plaguing the road north of here. I think we might consider changing our plans and leave tonight rather than tomorrow morning. With luck, we will be past them before they know we’re gone."
"Don’t you have something to pick up in the morning?"
"I have him putting a new point on a dagger with a broken tip," Darius said. "It’s an heirloom that’s been in the family a few hundred years. I’ll regret letting it go, but it’s not worth our lives."
He looked around the room.
"Too many people would see us leave now. I suggest we meet here after the common room has closed."
She watched him as he spoke. He was so calm, so self-assured. She knew he could be plotting with the armorer to get her off by herself so they could wrest the sword and Garlan branch from her. However, what choice did she have? Whenever she left, they could be waiting for her. For the moment, she had to trust him, to a point. She decided to maintain a protection spell while they were together.
"Okay, I’ll meet you here," she said.
"I have others I want to talk to before I leave, so I’ll see you later." He stood.
"One thing, why did the armorer call you the Ambassador?"
"Because," a smile played at the edges of his lips, "I am the Ambassador of the Great Wizard to the lands of the Far Eastern Shores."
He swept his arm up as though removing a cap and bowed with a self-deprecating smile. Still grinning, he straightened, winked at her, and turned back into the crowd.
Leena pushed the bowl away. She had lost her hunger. She saw Darius in conversation with several strangely dressed gentlemen. While his attention was diverted, she returned to her room.
CHAPTER 17
A fire was dancing in the hearth when she entered the room. She sat on the bed, then quickly stood and started pacing the confined space.
As an ambassador, he reported directly to the Great Wizard. Was all of this, the conflict with the armorer, Arvin’s disappearance, even meeting Darius, part of an elaborate plot to lull her into going to the Great Wizard willingly?
No, they could not have known about the sword nor that she would go to the armorer’s shop. Where was Arvin? At least she knew he would lead her to the Great Wizard. Oh, he
would probably betray her when they got there, but at least she knew she could not trust him. On the other hand, was Darius so different? The Great Wizard’s castle is where she wanted to go and he would take her there. Eventually, he would probably betray her also. However, he might be right about needing protection from rogues.
She paced and thought, thought and paced. She was so absorbed she did not notice when the noise from downstairs diminished.
Although the knock on the door was quiet, it startled her. She jumped and spun to see the bar sliding. She had forgotten to put the peg in place. She reached beneath her tunic to touch her hedge witch wand.
Darius peered around the door.
"When you didn’t show up downstairs," he whispered, "I came to find you. It’s time we leave. Are you ready?"
What choice did she have? If he left without her, she would have to face the armorer without his support. Besides, despite his employer, Leena wanted to trust him. She shouldered her pack.
"How did you know what room I’m in?" her whisper matched his.
"I told the inn keeper you left a package downstairs and I wanted to return it. Now, I think it best we hurry. Minutes could be precious."
Every creak of the floor sounded like a boom of thunder to her as they tiptoed through the quiet inn. Outside, a nearby owl called to the moon and a dog barked in the distance. The village was still.
The night was cold and crisp. The frozen surface crunched as they walked toward the stable. The door was open. Pale moonlight cut a thin wedge through the black silence inside. They stepped in. Leena smelled the pungent odor of horseflesh and manure.
"Can you make a light?"
Leena pulled her hedge witch wand and cast an illumination spell. The first thing she noticed was that no horses were in the stable. The second was the body with an ornate dagger protruding from its back. She stifled a reflex to scream. Blood seeped around the wound in the vest of the stable keeper she paid when she and Arvin arrived.
They crouched next to the body.
"It’s the dagger I left with the armorer. That’s my family crest on the hilt. I guess he’s put a new tip on it."
Darius reached a hand to the neck. He held it for a few seconds.
"He lives. There’s a pulse, but it's faint. Can you heal him?"
"Remove the dagger," she said.