Troy Denning - The Sentinel

And now Yder had a ship of his own.

In their haste to escape Marsember with their lives, the Shadovar were fleeing in their stolen vessel with all oars pulling. Malik could hear the cries of their wounded captives echoing off the buildings that lined the canal banks, and he could see their craven leader standing on the quarterdeck, looking back toward the great arcing bridge where Kleef Kenric and his brave fools stood watching in anger and despair.

The crazed watchman had hoped to reach the High Bridge in time to drop onto the Wave Wyvern ’s decks and avenge the death of his murdered duke, and so the entire group had spent the last ten minutes racing through the streets like madmen. But Malik had wanted to avoid being seen by the Shadovar, and it was on that account that he had contrived to stumble and fall so frequently that his companions had finally begun to drag him along by his elbows. Even so, he had managed to slow the company enough to save it from the slaughter that would surely have followed had it arrived in time to execute Kleef’s foolish plan, and the group had raced onto the bridge to find the Wave Wyvern ’s stern just beyond leaping distance.

Taking care to keep one of Kleef’s courageous buffoons between him and the Shadovar at all times, Malik reached out to tug on the topsword’s tattered cape.

“It is a sad thing that we have missed our chance to deal those Shadovar devils the death they deserve,” he said. “But Lady Emmeline and I have urgent matters beyond the Lake of Dragons. If you and your men will kindly escort us to Starmouth Harbor and help us find the ship we have hired, I’m certain you will find Lady Emmeline most grateful.”

“Indeed,” Joelle said. Like Malik, she was taking care to remain hidden from the Shadovar-in her case, by standing directly behind the big watchman. “Most grateful.”

She took Kleef’s arm and graced him with a beaming smile, and Malik knew they would soon be on their way to the harbor. As a Chosen of Sune, Joelle had but to smile at a man to bend him to her will-and when she deigned to touch him, he became her happy slave. Malik knew this from his own experience. It was the only reason he been foolish enough to accompany her into the orc stronghold at Big Bone Deep and remove the Eye of Gruumsh from the great statue in the Hidden Temple of Nishrek.

As Malik had foreseen, Kleef nodded at Joelle, then turned to his followers. “This is a matter for the Royal Navy now,” he said. “We’ll escort the lady and her manservant to Starmouth Harbor and report to the lord admiral. He’ll alert the fleet to watch for the grand duke’s ship, and perhaps one of his captains will be able to take vengeance.”

“What about Her Grace?” demanded the archer, Elbertina. Though she had spoken very little until now, she had been one of the most determined runners, leading the company the entire way. “And the rest of the household?”

“The Seasilver family is aboard?” Kleef asked this not of Elbertina but of the grizzled sergeant of the household guards, Carlton. “Duke Farnig hadn’t sent them ahead?”

For some reason Malik did not understand, Carlton glanced at Elbertina before he spoke. Perhaps she had been the grand duke’s private bodyguard or his personal bard-or some other assistant of an even more confidential nature.

After a moment, Elbertina nodded, and Carlton said, “The grand duke felt his family would be safer crossing on the Wyvern with him. Her Grace is aboard.”

Kleef cursed, then said, “You didn’t mention Lady Arietta. Is she aboard, too?”

Again, the sergeant’s gaze slid to Elbertina.

“Arietta wasn’t aboard,” she said. “She was … away from the residence.”

The words scratched at Malik’s ear, for it was a gift of Cyric the One and All that he could always tell when someone spoke a lie, and he knew her hesitation had not been innocent. The minstrel was keeping something from them-something she and the sergeant both knew about Lady Arietta.

If Kleef noticed her falseness, he did not show it. The big oaf merely turned to watch the Wave Wyvern as it departed the canal, his brow furrowed with the effort it took him to see what was obvious. The ship was already entering the open sea, and even now the shades were stepping her masts. There was no way to catch the vessel.

Still, Kleef pointed to a pair of canal boats moored at a quay at the far end of the bridge.

“There,” he said, starting across the bridge. “We can still catch them.”

“And then what?” asked Joelle, taking his arm. “Even you can’t board a fighting ship from a pair of oversized canoes-not against shades.”

“We need to try,” Elbertina insisted. Her loyalty to Duke Farnig and his family must have been great, for her voice was cracking and her eyes were swollen and wet. “If they don’t murder Her Grace outright, they’ll hold her hostage the rest of her life.”

“And how will getting yourselves killed change that?” Joelle asked, her voice filled with comfort and reassurance. “It’s better to be patient and look for a real opportunity to save her.”

“What opportunity?” Kleef asked. “The Lake of Dragons is a big place. By the time we reach Starmouth Harbor and report, the Wyvern will be far from shore. And by the time the lord admiral sends a flotilla after it- if he sends a flotilla-it will be lost in the Sea of Swords.”

Joelle shook her head. “No, it won’t,” she said gently. “It will be waiting for us somewhere at sea. And if you do as I suggest, the Shadovar will come to you .”

“How can you know what the Shadovar will do?” Malik asked. He was starting to grow worried, for it was plain to see that Joelle had set her fickle heart on Kleef and would say anything to have him-even the truth. “They have what they came for. The duke is dead and they have his wife. We should say our farewells to our brave friends and let them go after her before it’s too late.”

Malik took Joelle’s arm and started to pull her away-only to have his path blocked by Jang, the narrow-eyed Shou who served as Kleef’s second-in-command.

“But you are wrong,” Jang said. “The Shadovar do not have what they came for. It is you and Lady Emmeline they have been chasing.”

Kleef nodded. “It’s true,” he said, turning to Elbertina. “I only noticed the Shadovar in the first place because they were stalking these two.”

Elbertina lowered her brow and studied Malik for a moment, obviously weighing Kleef’s words-and perhaps what she had observed for herself-against the brilliance of Malik’s suggestion. Finally, she nodded to herself and turned back to Joelle.

“Very well. I’m listening.”

Joelle smiled, and Malik knew that the oaf and his followers would soon be traveling with them-a tragedy that would certainly make it more difficult for him to claim Joelle for himself and to perform the task his true god had set before him. Still, Malik would never have been pulled from the Plane of Nothingness, where Cyric had left him to roam lost and dead for a hundred years, were he not the most resourceful of all the Chosen now wandering Toril. By the time the fateful moment arrived, he would be long rid of Kleef and his troop of fools-and free to make Joelle his forever.

“The good watchman is correct,” Joelle said, nodding at Jang. “The Shadovar are chasing Malik and me. If you want to find them, come with us.”

“And what good will that do?” Malik asked, making one last attempt to divert his competition. “If the Shadovar see watchmen aboard our ship, the duke’s wife is as good as dead.”

Joelle shot him an angry look-a devastating frown that almost crushed his putrid heart-and then she said, “Then we mustn’t let them see any watchmen.” She turned to Kleef and spoke in a warm voice. “I don’t believe she’s dead. The Shadovar are too cunning to kill a valuable hostage without good reason. As long as the grand duchess makes no trouble, she’ll be held as a bargaining chip-or perhaps to install as a straw queen after they’ve conquered the realm.”