David Dalglish - Blood of the Underworld

“I will think on it,” she said. “Your wisdom?”

Another smile.

“That you say yes to my request.”

Despite herself, she laughed.

“Perhaps. But we have entered an agreement with the guilds, and now pay for their protection. What you ask jeopardizes everything. For once we have a semblance of peace. I do not want to ruin that now on some foolhardy outsider who has come to Veldaren with more stones than sense.”

“Your peace is a mirage,” Victor said, turning to the door. “It will fade no matter what you do. It is a house built on sand, a painting drawn in dust. Oh, and remember, Alyssa, that all I do, I do with the King’s full authority.”

He opened the door before she could say anything. Waiting there was an old man, a heavy tome in hand. His hair was white, his face scrunched inward from age. Her eyes narrowed.

“What is this?” she asked.

“My most humble apologies,” the old man said, bowing low. “My name is Henris Potts, and I will do my best to work quickly and without trouble to your businesses.”

Alyssa glanced to Zusa, confused. The smoldering anger she saw in her friend’s eyes only confirmed her fear. Victor was playing a game with them, but what?

“Explain yourself,” she told him.

“It is not only the thieves I hunt, but all the guilty,” said Victor. “Henris here must be shown all your records and all your dealings undertaken over the past few years. Not that I expect to find anything, not with such a lawful woman as yourself ruling the Gemcroft fortune. Still, I would hate to appear unfair to Lord Connington by scouring his records but not yours.”

Henris stood there, looking very nervous and uncomfortable. Alyssa felt furious, but she held back the rage. She could not err, not now. Zusa’s warning suddenly made perfect sense. If Terrance had made a single mistake, if he’d avoided tariffs, smuggled in goods, or dealt in the more exotic spices and leaves illegal to Veldaren…

“Zusa, fetch a servant,” she said. “Prepare a room for Henris. I fear this will take many days, and would hate to make an old man uncomfortable.”

“Thank you,” Henris said, looking relieved to hear of her cooperation. As Zusa left, the old man followed. Victor smiled at her, and gave a quick salute.

“Thank you for your time,” he said. “I pray Stephen is just as accommodating as you are. Now if you’ll forgive me, I must be off. I have a wizard to hire.”

Alyssa thought of the young leader of the Connington household and could only imagine how the boy would react. Most likely better than she had.

“You’re making many enemies,” she told him as he exited her mansion. “I will not help you, not in this.”

He turned back to her, hand on the hilt of his sword. No smiles this time, no amusement. He looked tired, weary of the long day ahead.

“I am taking up the war the Trifect lost. I am fighting the enemies you could not defeat. Why do you respond with anger, and resist me? Just because I would hold you to the same standard as they? Or is it because your hands are just as dirty?”

She shut the door, pressed her forehead against it. In her anger, she tried to deny him, to dismiss the easy accusations. It was far harder than it should have been.

A hand touched her shoulder, and she turned, thinking it was Zusa. Instead, her mother stood there, clearly worried. Alyssa closed her eyes and accepted the silent embrace.

“You poor dear,” Melody whispered. “I remember well the difficulties of being one of the Trifect. Please, let me help in any way I can. Your father had me to share his burdens with, but you are so alone…”

“I’ve always been alone,” Alyssa said, gently pushing her away. “I have ever since I took up father’s mantle, and I fear I will be until the day they cast the first handful of dirt upon my grave.”

“If you are alone, then it is by choice. That is the way it always is with our family.”

“That what you told yourself when father turned you over to Leon and his gentle touchers? He was just choosing to be alone?”

It was a cruel barb, and she didn’t know why she had said it. Her mother took a step back and touched her cheek as if she’d been struck across the face.

“Maynard was a cold, cruel man,” she said. “Even on the day of our wedding, he had no warmth in him, not for me. Yes, he chose to be alone. He chose to keep his heart closed, and to love nothing but his trade, his power, and his coin. Is this why you have been so unwelcoming to me? Do you think those years of torture were warranted, were my fault? ”

“You insulted his name, slept with another, and because of that I lost a mother!”

“Then blame the man who cast me aside, and took me from you!”

There were tears in both their eyes. Alyssa felt exhausted, frightened. Too much was changing without warning, without any time to adjust. She crossed her arms, tried to think. Meanwhile, Melody leaned back against a wall. Alyssa realized how thin she looked, barely more than bones. At times, it seemed like a miracle she could stand.

“Do you know how I endured?” Melody asked. Her words were whispers of a ghost. “How I managed to sleep at night in that…darkness? I thought of you. I prayed for you, for safety, for protection. Now I am free, and I can touch your face, see you grown…don’t hate me. Don’t do this to me. I can’t stand it. I won’t live through that terrible a cruelty. I’d rather return to the cage.”

Alyssa cast her eyes to the ground. She could only begin to imagine everything her mother had been through, yet she had the audacity to blame her, to feel anger and betrayal for such a distant shame.

“I’m sorry,” she said. She reached for her mother, and it pained her heart to see the way she hesitated, the wariness in her eyes. But even still, she was her daughter, and Melody came forward, wrapping her arms around her. Alyssa sighed, and let tears silently run down her face. Let her whole household be damned. She would not let her fears keep her from regaining what was lost.

“I’m so glad you’re back,” Alyssa whispered. “Please, it is just so much, and I’m always fearful for Nathaniel.”

“You have nothing to explain,” Melody said. “Nothing to apologize for. I’m here. I’ll always be here.”

The door burst open, startling them both. A guard stepped in, then immediately bowed in apology.

“Forgive me, milady,” he said to Alyssa. “I did not know you were…sorry, I was ordered to ensure you were safe.”

“Safe?” Alyssa asked, wiping her face. “What is the matter?”

“Nothing you should concern yourself with. A servant was killed on the premises, and we fear the killer still might be lurking outside.”

Pushing her emotions aside, she shook her head and straightened her back.

“I will not fear to walk in my own gardens,” she said. “Let me see the body.”

The guard looked between them, then submitted to his master.

“If you insist,” he said, leading the way.

“I’ll tell John,” Melody said, declining to follow. “And make sure Nathaniel is safe.”

Alyssa nodded, hurrying after the soldier, who looked like he’d decided that if he couldn’t deny her seeing the body, he could at least make the process as quick as possible. They curled around the front of the mansion, off a walkway, and into the smooth grass decorated with trees. All of it was surrounded by an enormous stone fence, the top spiked, but the Trifect had learned how little use such fences were over the past decade. More house guards lingered about, some searching for evidence of intruders, others scouring the fence for signs of rope or hook.

“Make way,” the guard said as they came upon a cluster of four halfway to the east wall. The men stepped aside, giving Alyssa access to the body. Seeing it, she held in a gasp. It was just a young servant boy, no older than ten. An arrow was stuck in his neck, having pierced his windpipe. Blood stained the grass red beneath him. At his feet was a pile of soiled clothes, his task for the early morning.