Jeff Salyards - Veil of the Deserters

Before their exchange had an opportunity to escalate, Braylar rolled the scroll back up and said, “Well, Mulldoos, you and anyone else in the company tired of Anjurian politics can breathe easy. It seems there is no wiggle room to speak of here. We will be returning to Sunwrack. Anon, as it happens.” His tone ran at cross purposes to his words-he didn’t seem particularly pleased or at ease.

Soffjian slowly spun her ranseur in circles, watching the tassels flutter above her hand. “I am hurt, brother, that my word alone wouldn’t persuade you on this point, but hardly stunned. Which is why I was relieved to have the documentation. You have been abroad for so many years, I expect that this must come as a welcome surprise.”

Twin scars at the corner of Braylar’s lips twitched. “It is indeed surprising. But no less so than the fact that an esteemed Memoridon should be sent to deliver the news. Were my Jackal brothers so very occupied that none could be tasked with serving as courier? Certainly you haven’t misbehaved and earned Commander’s Darzaak’s displeasure. Again.”

The ranseur stopped spinning and now it was Soffjian’s turn to force a hastily counterfeited smile. “Oh, no. I volunteered. Not wanting to miss the opportunity to reconnect after so many years, Bray.”

There were undercurrents I didn’t understand in the exchange but didn’t have a chance to parse them out when Braylar gave a feral grin. “Much longer, and you might not have been able to track us at all.”

Soffjian’s eyes flashed with something closer to hate than love, but her false smile didn’t waiver. “Oh, dear brother, I will always be able to track you. Always.”

“A keen comfort. Truly.”

Skeelana added, “Between the two of us, I’m sure we could find your company just about anywhere.” She said this casually, impishly, but there was something else veiled there as well. A warning?

Braylar sat down in his chair. “Well, with this unexpected turn of events, we have plans and preparations to make. We cannot simply pull out of the region without undoing so much of the good work we’ve done here.”

Soffjian lifted the ranseur, briefly inspecting the divot in the floorboards the butt spike made. “I have not read your orders, of course, so can’t speak to the specifics, but I was under the impression that Commander Darzaak was himself following imperial directive when he issued them. So I imagine there will be some urgency in obeying.”

Braylar’s smile seemed a touch more genuine now, though no more pleasant. “Ahh, yes. I imagine you need to return to Sunwrack very soon. So far afield, sister. It must be quite… uncomfortable for you. Don’t feel the need to wait on our account. If you must go, by all means, go with speed. We won’t be far behind.”

Skeelana answered before Soffjian could. “Oh, I just don’t think we could do that. No, no. You see, we have orders to accompany you every step of the way. Commander Darzaak was most insistent on that point. So there will be quite a bit of time for the two of you to catch up. Which is wonderful, if you ask me. Just wonderful.”

“Truly moving,” Hewspear offered.

Braylar ignored both of them, eyes still locked with his sister’s. “All those skills, all that power, and still as much a pawn as the rest of us, yes? Never fear, we will move shortly. Just after I have followed the rest of the orders that prefaced the recall. The particulars of which, I will still leave to your vaunted and vaulted imagination. Now then, we have a great deal to do in a very short amount of time. So, if you will be so kind as to leave us to it…?”

Soffjian seemed to like being dismissed as much as Braylar liked being recalled, but she nodded and replied, “Of course. Far be it from me to interfere with the work of soldiers and saboteurs. That is, I imagine, what you are doing in this region, is it not? Being but a pawn, I so rarely have fulsome information to operate with.”

I wondered which parent the siblings had inherited their biting rejoinders from.

Braylar’s smile didn’t fade, though it seemed held there more by rigid force of will than any emotion. “I have so missed our engaging repartee, sister. Truly. But we will continue another time, yes?”

Soffjian held onto the ranseur, and performed an exaggerated bow and curtsy. “As you will, brother. Only remember, the recall originated with Cynead, not Darzaak. So you would be wise not to dawdle overmuch. I suggest you make your final maneuverings soon. This Emperor has never been much of a forgiving sort. Though which of them has?”

She turned and headed to the door, but before exiting, stopped in front of Vendurro and laid a hand on his shoulder. “I am truly sorry for Glesswik’s death.”

If anyone thought it strange she would know such a thing, having only arrived, no one gave any indication. Vendurro nodded and said only, “Appreciated.”

Soffjian let Skeelana leave first and then pulled the door shut behind her. We all listened as their footfalls receded down the hall toward the stairs, then Mulldoos broke the silence. “What are you fixing to do, Cap? Want me to round up the regulars and get them pointed home?”

There was an edge to the question, as if the answer he expected and the answer he wanted weren’t likely to be the same.

Braylar didn’t disappoint. Exactly. “I have no wish to give my sister the satisfaction of vacating so quickly. But she is right on that count-the Emperor is not the most patient of men. So, we ride out tomorrow. Tell the rest of the men to prepare the wagons and supplies. We will meet them after.”

Mulldoos looked at Hewspear, then back to his captain. “After?”

Braylar stood and started toward his room, only seeming to realize halfway there that Mulldoos had asked him a question. I wasn’t sure if this was due more to him calculating several moves ahead, or if the stolen memories were taking their toll. He looked at Mulldoos. “We are going for the High Priest tomorrow. Have twenty men ready to ride out with us. Twenty-five, if that leaves enough to handle the wagons. No, no, twenty will have to do. I have no wish to leave our cargo poorly attended.”

It was obvious this didn’t sit well with Mulldoos, but he paused long and hard to chew over his objections before finally saying, “The High Priest, Cap? What for? Brune was ready to plunk us in his toy room already. Sure as spit he’ll figure we were in league with Henlester or worse once we pull out. What’s the point going after the priest? Won’t matter if we silence or even capture that holy horsecock. Nothing will win Brune’s good graces now. Can’t see we got much to gain there, Cap. What am I missing? Am I looking sideways again?”

I expected Braylar’s temper to flame up anew, being questioned by his lieutenant so soon after their recent dustup, but he appeared calm enough as he slowly made his way back to the table. “You are correct. The good baron will no doubt presume the worst. Thanks to a rash and foolish Emperor, a great deal of effort will have gone to waste here, and I suspect in the other baronies as well. Lives spent and lost over nothing now. You are absolutely right-we have no more to play out with him. Not just now. But Henlester is another piece on the board. And still a valuable one. If we can procure him without additional loss, we will do it.”

Mulldoos seemed ready to argue the point, but perhaps remembered the recent dressing down he incurred out in public and thought better of it. Instead, he looked to Hewspear in mute appeal.

While Hewspear didn’t share the pale boar’s hot blood, he still seemed to be of a similar mind, at least as far as this single topic went. Everything else was a point of contention. “Captain, as we discussed, there is still the possibility-perhaps a strong one at that-that Brune is baiting us with the leak of the High Priest’s whereabouts. He could be waiting for us to march right into that trap.”