Django Wexler - The Shadow Throne

“And who is this?” Faro said, indicating Sothe.

“This,” Raesinia said, “is Sothe. She’s what you might call an adjunct member of the cabal.”

Faro blinked. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that I work for Raesinia, but I don’t make myself known to any of you,” Sothe said. “I help keep the Concordat looking in the wrong direction.”

Maurisk’s face clouded. “Then you’ve been doing a bang-up job, I must say.”

“I don’t like this,” Faro said. “You should have told us, Raes. Letting her in on the secret put all of us at risk. We have a right to know what you’re doing.”

“I trust her,” Raesinia said. “I’ve known her for longer than I’ve known any of you.”

“But I haven’t,” Maurisk said. “Faro’s right. Why not let us know?”

“Because,” Sothe said, “I work for Raesinia . My job is to keep her safe. That includes keeping her safe from any of you.”

That hung in the air for a long moment. Cora turned away, walking to the inner edge of the parapet and looking down at the still-thronged courtyard. Sarton was still staring at the sky, but Raesinia, Maurisk, and Faro exchanged glances.

“Now I really don’t like this,” Maurisk said. He stepped forward to stand directly in front of Sothe. “What are you implying?”

“And,” Faro said, coming up behind him, “why should we believe you?”

Thunder growled.

“There!” Sarton said. “Lightning!” He looked down at the others. “I’m sorry. You know how it is when you get your teeth in a p. . problem. I’ve been spending some time looking at the arrangements here, and I think. .”

He trailed off as he absorbed the tense atmosphere. Sothe cleared her throat.

“I imply nothing,” she said. “I asked you all here because, by the night before last, I had become reasonably certain one of you was leaking information to the Concordat.”

Maurisk snorted. “If one of us had been Concordat from the beginning, do you really think we would have gotten this far?”

“I didn’t say the informant was leaking from the beginning. It began quite recently, probably after the Second Pennysworth riots. That was when Danton really became a problem, and I can only assume the Last Duke went looking for answers and found someone he could squeeze.”

Faro was glaring at her, one hand on his rapier. “And you didn’t think to mention this at the time?” He looked at Raesinia. “Ben’s dead because we didn’t know the Concordat was onto us. If we believe what she’s saying-”

“It’s a fair question, Sothe,” Raesinia said. You might have at least told me.

“I said nothing because I wasn’t certain,” Sothe said. “Trust is paramount in a small group like this one. The mere accusation would have destroyed you, and I didn’t want to risk that without knowing for sure who the informant was.” Her eyes shifted, fractionally, toward Raesinia. “If that makes me guilty of Ben’s death, I accept it.”

“I don’t believe a word of this,” Maurisk said. He turned his back on Sothe and stalked away a few steps, then rounded on her. “The Last Duke would like nothing better than for us to turn on one another now. For all we know-”

“Sothe doesn’t work for Orlanko,” Raesinia said. “I’m certain of that, if nothing else.”

“So you say,” said Faro. He was still almost face-to-face with Sothe. “But you kept her secret in the first place. Why should we believe you?”

Sarton coughed politely. “If you kept silent because you didn’t know for c. . certain, the fact that you’ve told us now logically imp. . plies that you are sure.” Another rumble from the heavens nearly drowned out his soft, stuttering voice. “What happened?”

“The commander of the Concordat forces at the Vendre was Captain James Ross,” Sothe said. “His files were well organized. Like many Concordat field agents, however, he failed to take seriously the regulations concerning the practice of keeping books of ciphers in physical proximity to encoded communications.”

“You seem to know an awful lot about Concordat procedures-” Faro began, but Maurisk cut him off.

“You can read Ross’ files?”

“Not all of them, but enough to know that I was right.”

Maurisk’s voice trembled. “And the identity of the informant?”

“Yes. The duke wanted to be sure he wouldn’t be swept up in the purges.”

“Don’t tell me,” said Faro, “that you’re taking this seriously-”

Steel zinged as his rapier came out of its scabbard, faster than Raesinia would have given him credit for. Quick as he was, though, Sothe was faster. Her hand shot out and grabbed his, fingers interlocking like lovers’ on a promenade, and something fast and painful happened. Faro let go of his sword and spun away from her, only to be brought up short when she kept her grip on his hand. Sothe’s left hand had emerged from her waistband holding a long, thin dagger.

“Now,” she said, “I hope-”

“Sothe,” Raesinia said quietly.

There was a click. Even as he’d lost his sword, Faro’s off hand had gone to his pocket and come out with a nasty-looking short-barreled pistol. He thumbed back the hammer and brought the barrel up to aim squarely between Raesinia’s eyes.

“Your job is to protect her, isn’t it?” Faro said, his voice tight with pain. “ Isn’t it? Then let go of me!”

Sothe locked eyes with Raesinia, just for a moment. Raesinia raised her eyebrows emphatically and nodded.

Better he point that thing at me than anyone else. Part of her was trying to process what was unfolding-that Faro had as good as signed Ben’s death warrant-but the rest was still planning as calmly as ever. All I need to do is make him pull the trigger. He’d never get the chance to reload. Raesinia had watched Sothe split leaves with a knife at twenty yards, and she never had less than a half dozen blades on her person. Come on, come on. .

Slowly, Sothe released Faro’s hand. He stepped away from her, weapon still trained on Raesinia, and circled around until his back was against the waist-high parapet stone.

“You’ll never get out of here alive,” Raesinia said, conversationally. She heard a hiss of breath from Maurisk and a startled squeak from Cora, somewhere behind her. “You know that, don’t you?”

“The hell I won’t.” Faro grabbed Raesinia by the arm and pressed the barrel of the pistol against the back of her skull. “Come on. Over to the trapdoor.”

He pushed her, painfully, but she didn’t move. “Then what?”

“Then I leave you all up here, bar the door, and get off the Island before anybody comes up here to let you out.” He tugged again, and when she didn’t move his voice turned almost plaintive. “Come on , Raes. Nobody needs to get killed.”

“Ben,” Raesinia said. “Ben got killed. Because you told Orlanko where to find us.”

“I didn’t know they were going to kill him! Everyone would have been fine if you’d just come along quietly.”

“Raes. .,” Maurisk said. “He’s right. We’ll catch up with this bastard later. It’s not worth getting your head blown off.”

“Please, Raes!” Cora’s voice was high and scared.

“Answer me this, Faro,” Raesinia said, implacably. “How much did it cost to buy you? A new pair of boots? One of those fancy swords you like so much?”

“Shut up . Move, damn it!” Faro tried to pull her after him, but Raesinia let her legs sag and ended up leaning against the parapet, facing outward, with Faro pressed up close behind her. Her knees pressed against the stone, and she felt a tingle in the soles of her feet as her balance shifted dangerously.