Krondor: The Assassins

  William felled one from behind, while the other killed the soldier next to Matthews.

  Matthews managed to cut the attacker, who ignored any pain and spun to push the sergeant into William. Tangled for a moment, they saw the man hurl himself against the door to the duke’s room.

  The door crashed inward, causing splinters to fly through the air like tiny missiles. A scream sounded from the room next to the duke’s.

  ‘‘The Princess!’’ William shouted to Matthews as he half-pushed, half-pointed the sergeant toward the duke’s room. William raised his foot and kicked hard against the door to Paulina’s room. The shock ran straight up his leg to his hip, but the door gave way, swinging inward.

  Paulina sat cowering in the corner, her fists before her face as the wooden shutters of her window splintered and fell away. Another black-clad warrior was entering from outside. William raced forward, holding his sword with both hands, leveled like a lance.

  The man died soundlessly.

  William knelt next to the Princess, who looked at him in horror. ‘‘Are you all right?’’ he shouted, as if his loud voice might reach past the fear.

  She stared at him and shook her head slightly. He took that to mean she was unhurt. Without any idea how things fared in the rest of the inn, he could only say, ‘‘Don’t move.

  Stay right here until someone comes to fetch you.’’

  He hurried next door to find Vladic, Kazamir and Matthews standing over two dead assassins. The duke lay half-conscious, staring up at his son and nephew, as if confused as to who they were.

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  Seeing no immediate danger, William said, ‘‘Sergeant, come with me.’’

  They hurried down the stairs and found three guardsmen lying dead on the floor, with five black-clad warriors stretched out beside them. Sounds of struggle came from the kitchen and William said, ‘‘Sergeant, guard the stairs,’’ and he raced into the kitchen.

  Dead bodies littered the floor, among them the innkeeper, his wife, and the serving girl. Two soldiers, obviously wounded, had one last invader cornered. He stood with his back to the wall, a curved sword in his right hand, a dagger in his left.

  ‘‘Keep him alive!’’ shouted William.

  Seeing no escape, the man reached up with the dagger and with one quick motion cut his own throat.

  The two soldiers and William stepped back, astonished at the act. William hesitated, then knelt next to the man. His eyes were staring upward, and what life in them fled in moments as the blood gushed from his neck.

  ‘‘Fanatics!’’ said one of the soldiers, holding his sword in his left hand while his right hung limply.

  William sat back on his heels. ‘‘Yes, fanatics,’’ he said.

  The other solder, holding his bleeding side with a bleeding hand said, ‘‘Lieutenant, what were they? Nighthawks?’’

  ‘‘I don’t think so,’’ said William. He had an idea what they were, but thought better of saying anything to the men. He stood and said, ‘‘Let’s get this place as secure as we can.’’

  The two men nodded and one tried a salute, but William waved it off. ‘‘Get yourself bandaged.’’

  William inspected the kitchen. Besides the bodies of the innkeeper, his wife and the serving-girl, three more assassins lay dead, as did the two guardsmen he had stationed there originally.

  William stuck his head out of the door that opened onto 170

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  the stabling yard and saw the sky to the east was lightening.

  He heard the horses snort in the stable and counted himself fortunate that he hadn’t put men needlessly in the stable. Two or three less men in the inn and they might not have survived.

  William returned to the common room and looked around.

  ‘‘Someone’s missing,’’ he said to Matthews. ‘‘Where’s Sidi?’’

  ‘‘Vanished during the fight,’’ said one of the soldiers. ‘‘Faced one of the killers with a dagger and when I killed the man trying to kill him, he runs off into the night without so much as a thank you.’’

  William nodded. ‘‘Given the circumstances, I don’t blame him. Maybe he’ll come back.’’ William doubted it. From what he had said, the man skated along the edge of the law and with this many dead, there was bound to be too much royal scrutiny for him to welcome it. William looked at Matthews.

  ‘‘How do we stand?’’

  ‘‘There are five men still living, and you and I, sir.’’

  ‘‘Sun’s coming up. I think we’re safe until reinforcements arrive.’’

  ‘‘I’ll see to the men, sir. You could use some rest.’’

  William nodded, then stood. ‘‘We all could use some rest.’’

  He started to pull bodies out of the inn and then said, ‘‘Sergeant, I want these assassins searched.’’ He was almost certain they’d find nothing but swords and daggers, no personal items, jewelry, or anything else that might reveal who they were.

  As Matthews set about tending the men, William went to the first attacker outside. He knelt next to the body and removed the head covering. He then pried open the mouth and saw the man’s tongue had been cut.

  William sat back on his heels and shook his head. Looking toward the south, he said to himself, ‘‘What are Keshian assassins doing trying to kill a Prince of Olasko?’’

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  NINE

  DECISIONS

  m

  A RUTHA frowned.

  He stood to one side of the Duke of

  Olasko’s bed and watched as a priest of the Order of Prandur examined the duke.

  The priest was new to Arutha’s service, having been selected by his order to serve for a year as Arutha’s spiritual advisor.

  The position rotated through the various major temples in the city, each sending an advisor for a year’s term—though some chose not to—and this year it was Father Belson.

  The slender, black-bearded cleric stood up, his purple and scarlet robes shimmering with reflected torchlight, and turned to the Prince. ‘‘There is infection and something else, a magical element that keeps the wound from healing properly.’’ Then, looking at William, the priest said, ‘‘The powder you saw sprinkled upon the wound was green, you say?’’

  ‘‘Yes, Father,’’ William replied.

  He had returned to the palace less than an hour ago, bone-tired and filthy. When relief under Captain Treggar had arrived at the inn at dawn, the healer who had accompanied the relief column had pronounced the duke’s condition beyond his ability 174

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  to improve, and urged Captain Treggar to return the duke to Krondor as quickly as possible. The captain had utilized a wagon out behind the inn to carry the duke and his family, and while the inn’s wagon was being made ready, William had made his report. Treggar had said nothing to him after that, save direct orders regarding the return to Krondor.

  William waited silently while the priest again examined the duke. ‘‘I have magic that will burn out the contamination,’’ he said to Kazamir who stood at his father’s bedside. ‘‘But like most magic practiced by my temple, there is little in it that is gentle.’’

  ‘‘Will it work?’’ asked the young Prince, obviously worried but trying to hide it.

  ‘‘Yes, but it will leave a scar.’’

  ‘‘My father has many scars. Do what you must to save his life.’’

  Belson nodded. ‘‘Highness, I will need a brazier and a clean blade that I may heat.’’

  Arutha called for the required items, and nodded at James.

  James motioned to William and said, ‘‘Come with me.’’

  William followed James from the duke’s bedchamber and when they were outside, James said, ‘‘You did well, Willy.’’

  William looked at James in open-mouthed astonishment.

  ‘‘Well? According to whom?’’

  James gr
inned. ‘‘According to Captain Treggar. He says the fact you managed to keep half your company alive and, more importantly, kept the duke’s family alive, was commendable.’’

  William sighed. ‘‘I thought I was going to be cashiered right out of the army. It doesn’t feel like I did much commendable.

  All I can think about is the men who died.’’

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  James said, ‘‘I don’t want to sound like the old veteran, but I’ve seen enough warfare in my life to know that you’ll probably never get past that. Just keep in mind that you’re a soldier and your line of work isn’t known to have a long life-expectancy.

  Now, come along.’’

  ‘‘Where are we going?’’

  ‘‘The Prince’s office.’’

  ‘‘Like this?’’ asked William, indicating his dirty appearance.

  James smiled. ‘‘Remember, I’ve crawled through sewers with His Highness. Right now, expedience outweighs fastidiousness.’’

  They reached the entrance to the Prince’s private chambers, and one of the pages flanking the portal opened it. James led William into the Prince’s receiving room.

  Princess Anita and the twins were waiting. ‘‘Cousin Willie!’’

  shouted Borric, followed an instant later by Erland. The boys jumped up from where they had been sitting as their mother read a story to them, and hurried over to inspect the young soldier.

  ‘‘You’ve been in a battle!’’ shouted Erland. ‘‘Outstanding!’’

  William gave the nine-year-old a frown. ‘‘Not if you’d been there. We lost some good men.’’

  That calmed the twins down a little. ‘‘Did you kill anyone?’’

  asked Borric.

  William nodded, looking regretful. ‘‘I did.’’

  Anita rose and said, ‘‘James, you and William refresh yourselves until Arutha gets here.’’ She indicated a washbasin that had been placed on a table in the corner. ‘‘I’ll deposit these two thugs elsewhere.’’

  ‘‘Aw, mother,’’ began Erland.

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  court. You can annoy James and William at supper.’’ Looking at the two young men she said, ‘‘You will come?’’

  James nodded. ‘‘Unless your husband has other plans for us, of course.’’

  William hurried to the washbasin and attempted to clean himself as much as possible. A page appeared with a clean tabard, and he stripped off his blood-covered one. He washed his face, hands, and the back of his neck, not wishing to sit at the royal table looking as if he had just come from a slaughter-house. He was toweling off his face and hands when Prince Arutha walked in. ‘‘The duke will live,’’ he said without preamble. With a wave of his hand he indicated that the two young men should sit on the divan vacated by his wife and sons.

  They sat and Arutha said, ‘‘From everything that has occurred in the last two weeks, I can see that we face as big a danger to the sovereignty of our realm as we did from the moredhel recently.

  ‘‘We have unchecked murders in our streets, a war between criminal factions, someone methodically killing magicians in our city, magicians attempting to assassinate visiting nobility, and a band of Keshian Izmalis operating far north of our border with Great Kesh.’’ Arutha sat back. ‘‘In sum, we have as out-of-control a situation as I can remember.’’

  James said nothing, and when William looked at him, gave the young man a slight shake of the head, indicating that the Prince was not to be questioned or interrupted.

  After a moment of silence, Arutha said, ‘‘James, I have a commission for you.’’

  James smiled. ‘‘Another?’’

  ‘‘No, the same, only more clearly defined.’’

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  William sat motionless, expecting to be dismissed at any moment.

  Arutha noticed the posture and said, ‘‘I assume my wife has invited you to sup with us?’’

  William nodded.

  ‘‘Good, because you’re to play a part in this as well.’’

  ‘‘Me?’’ asked William.

  Arutha gave his adopted cousin a faint smile. ‘‘You feel as if you’ve been derelict in your duty?’’

  William nodded again.

  Arutha said, ‘‘Losing men under your command is never easy. On your first mission, it can be devastating.’’

  William felt tears threatening, and blinked them back as relief flooded over him. ‘‘Thank you, sire,’’ he said softly.

  Arutha paused for another long moment, then said, ‘‘What is said here, now, stays in this room.’’

  Both young men nodded.

  ‘‘James, for two years you’ve been flirting with the idea of setting up an intelligence corps.’’

  James said nothing.

  ‘‘I want you to stop flirting and start building in earnest.

  Young William here will help you.’’

  ‘‘Me, Highness?’’

  Arutha looked at William. ‘‘The longer you stay in Krondor, the more you will come to understand that trust is a rare commodity to the throne. There are those, of course, who swear loyalty with every fiber of their being, but their own natures make them untrustworthy, since they harbor mental reservations even they are unaware of until the moment of crisis comes.

  You have shown your mettle over the last two days, and besides, you’re Pug’s son.’’

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  William’s expression darkened a bit despite his attempt to keep a neutral fac¸ade. ‘‘Sire?’’ he asked, tentatively.

  ‘‘I know you’ve had difficulties with your father, about taking service with me. You can be certain he and I had words over this several times. My point is, Pug has a particular loyalty to this family and nation. He has experienced things you and I can only imagine, yet he works for a greater good. Had you been a man I could not trust, I would have learned of that long before you came to Krondor.

  ‘‘Besides,’’ finished Arutha, ‘‘as one of the younger officers, you will be last among those suspected of any special rank within this court.’’

  James said, ‘‘And I?’’

  Arutha looked at James. ‘‘Publicly, you will continue for a while with the rank of squire, but we both know you abuse that limit on your authority with regularity and invoke my name whenever you feel that will make a difference.’’

  James just grinned.

  ‘‘Eventually, if you and Locklear manage to live, I’ll promote both of you to baronets, but while you probably have earned that rank half a dozen times over in the last few years, that promotion would only serve to call more attention to you should I award it now. Those men who tried to apprehend you a few days ago have me concerned.’’

  James nodded. ‘‘As they do me. And given that some of my informants were among the dead, I shall have to give some thought to how I recruit their replacements.’’

  ‘‘Young Deputy Means can help. What you must do is to recruit a few—no more than five—people who know you by name and face. Those must be the ones who work to bring in informants and agents. I shall also have to send you to every 179

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  city in the Kingdom, and eventually, abroad, so that a true network can be established. It will take years.’’ He rose and the two young men followed suit. ‘‘But for the time being, let’s see if you can set up a bit of an intelligence service here in Krondor without getting yourself killed.’’

  ‘‘I’ve avoided it so far,’’ James said with confidence.

  ‘‘Which is why you get the task, my young future duke.’’

  James grinned at the old joke between them. ‘‘Are you going to name me Duke of Krondor some day?’’

  ‘‘Perhaps. If I don’t hang you first,’’ Arutha said, leadin
g them to the dining area. ‘‘Though if we get this network to the state I wish, one that will counter Kesh’s, then I suspect you’ll end up in Rillanon. The east is where we need intelligence, in many ways, more than we need it here.’’ Ignoring protocol, Arutha pushed open the doors himself.

  Seeing the door open from the other side, the two pages inside the dining room hurried to pull out the Prince’s chair.

  William took his place at the foot of the table, next to James.

  He glanced over to see how James was taking all of this and saw the young squire was already lost in thought about the task before him.

  Arutha said, ‘‘We’ll continue this discussion later.’’ He turned his attention to his wife and children.

  Princess Elena seemed content to sing quietly to her doll, which had been propped up next to her dinner plate, and occasionally she informed James and William that the doll was not enjoying supper, mostly because she didn’t like the behavior of the two boys next to her.

  James nodded to William, and whispered, ‘‘Even money says the doll is abducted before the meal is over.’’

  Sizing up the mischievous Princes Borric and Erland, Wil-180

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  liam said, ‘‘No wager.’’ Supper passed quietly and pleasantly, with Anita asking William questions that led him to tell of his mission without vivid details that might disturb the children.

  After supper, Arutha rose and motioned to the two young men to follow him back to his office. As they left the dining area, and again passed through the private chamber, from behind them came an outraged screech from the Princess, followed by, ‘‘Mummy! Borric’s got my dolly!’’

  James shrugged and said, ‘‘So I was off, she made it through the meal.’’

  William smiled. ‘‘Barely.’’

  When they reached Arutha’s office door, James opened it for him.

  The Prince swept through the door and William followed when James motioned him ahead. James closed the door and joined William before the desk.

  Arutha waved for them to sit and said, ‘‘I’ve given this a lot of thought, James, and as much as I know you’d love to be given a free rein on this, I want you to report to me on every proposed agent you want to recruit.’’