Richard Parker - Elsewhere

Elsewhere

Temple Islands [3]

Richard D. Parker

(2012)

The Temple Islands Series

Book One: The Black Horseman

Book Two: Assassin of the Heart

Book Three: Elsewhere

Book Four: The Best of all Possible Worlds

For my daughter Alex, who’s still a teenager

and therefore doesn’t give a crap about dedications.

Copyright © 2012 Richard D. Parker

All right reserved

Elsewhere is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locals is entirely coincidental.

I

“She’s a traitor Nacht!” the High King bellowed through one of the two silvery Speaker bubbles that floated in midair near the center of the room. “That pretty little Executioner of yours has gone and changed sides. She’s fighting with the Massi now!”

Tar Nacht, High Executioner of Sinis Island blanched, though luckily no one was in the room to witness his loss of composure. Of course the Speaker Waters was only a few feet away, but his eyes were closed and his brow furrowed in concentration. Beads of sweat stood out on his high balding forehead as the little man struggled to keep two Speaker connections open simultaneously.

Nacht knew creating multiple connections was very difficult and rarely done. According to Waters there were only a few Speakers powerful enough to perform such a feat and those who could, would soon constitute the pinnacle of the Isle of Light’s power. Waters and the rest of the Family’s personal Speakers should count themselves lucky to have escaped the High King’s wrath. They were only spared because they did not have the power to Travel and thus were not a true threat.

“Never!” Nacht spouted in reflex, without thinking. No Executioner in the last three hundred years had turned their back on Sinis. Of course in the distant past such betrayal was not unheard of, but that was long ago, before the old Tars developed the training necessary to forge ultimate commitments. There must be a mistake. de Baard would never join the Massi. It didn’t seem possible.

“It’s a mistake,” Nacht protested. “She must be trying to embed herself deeply in with the Massi before the kill,” he explained. It was a favored tactic used by older, more experienced Tars. True, it was rare for one as young as de Baard to play such a sophisticated role, but it must be so, for betrayal was unthinkable.

“She’s gone over. She’s Massi now,” the High King insisted, his anger coming through clearly despite the distance his voice was traveling.

Nacht shook his head, though again there was no one to see. “It must be a tactic. Killing a man surrounded by an army is no easy task.” he argued.

“She killed my father!” Another voice sounded out of the void.

Nacht frowned. “Whose father?” He demanded.

“She killed Arsinol,” Mastoc clarified impatiently.

“Arsinol…” Nacht mumbled, confused. Even he had to admit killing one of the clients, and a King no less, would be taking the embedding practice to extremes.

“Tar Nacht,” said another voice, more respectful. “This is Ja Brude. I was there when she killed the King. It’s no mistake.”

Everyone was quiet for a moment.

“You have a new target,” Nacht heard the High King say. “de Baard must die as well as the Massi Prince and they must die quickly. Eno is about to fall and I don’t want them in the way when we make our final move on Massi.”

“Massi is mine!”

“Arden,” the High King spoke again. “We’ll discuss that at your upcoming coronation. Be on the King’s Island in seven days and I will crown you King of the Deutzani. You must hurry.” Mastoc would indeed crown Arden the Deutzani King. The rumors coming out of that country were disturbing. The two younger Deutzani Princes, Avaal and Antioc, were already gathering men and arms. They would challenge Arden if they had the opportunity. If Arden was not crowned soon, the country could break down into civil war and then Audra would be very displeased. Mastoc found he liked it very much when his young wife was happy and compliant. One thing was sure however, Mastoc was not about to sail to Malche, not with the Toranado in control of the sea and once again the High King cursed his own lack of control for destroying the Travelers.

Nacht sat silent, shocked by the news, still unable to believe. de Baard a traitor! It was not possible. She must be embedding. Arsinol, the fool, must have challenged her during the battle, or wandered too close while she was in the grip of bloodlust. Hell, any fool knew not to grab a mad dog by the tail.

“Nacht…she must die!” The High King insisted.

Nacht grimaced but quickly accepted the inevitable. Yes, there was nothing he could do about it now. de Baard must die, even though she was now in the perfect position to kill the Massi Prince. Nacht only hoped she would accomplish her task before she came face to face with the Black horseman.

“Very well, she will die,” he finally agreed.

“Do it quickly Nacht!” The High King commanded and when the bubbles were completely dissolved Waters opened his eyes and looked to his master.

“Summon Tar Lacombe,” was all Nacht said. The Speaker nodded and left the room.

Twenty minutes later Lacombe entered.

“You are Massi are you not?” Nacht asked.

Lacombe nodded suspiciously. “Born in Solarii.”

Nacht smiled. “Good. I have a target for you.”

ǂ

Admiral Cantu woke early, well before sunrise, on the day the siege of Eno entered its sixth week. Over that time there’d been little change, the massive inner keep still remained in Toranado hands but most of the city proper was now razed to the ground. The invaders, however, left enough buildings intact for their highest-ranking officers to sleep indoors on soft beds and have an occasional bath, just a touch of civilization while the business of death and destruction was carried to its final conclusion.

Over the weeks, the siege turned into a waiting game as the Palmerrio attempted to dig beneath the keep. For over a month now they dug and chipped their way through the hard, rocky ground in the hopes of creating a weak spot beneath the mighty fortress that would undermine and topple the massive stone walls. Tunneling was a long, time-consuming endeavor; however, in certain cases it could also be a highly effective tactic. The Palmerrio’s progress was predictably slow since the ground beneath the capital city was nearly solid rock; the enormous stone keep could not have been built on a less stable foundation. Up until now the Toranado viewed the tunneling as a fool’s errand. Most believed the ground beneath the city to be solid bedrock, hard enough to keep the Palmerrio digging for years, Cantu included. But they were all wrong. Late last night Queen Ramona reported that the digging was clearly audible through the walls of the keep at its very lowest levels. The tunneling was proceeding much faster than any believed possible. Cantu was worried, worried for his country, worried for his Queen, and worried for his lover, who also happened to be the reigning monarch.

But his greatest worry was not for the safety of Queen Ramona. He was confident she could escape well before the inner keep actually fell; after all she had the Traveler na Gall with her. Plus if that option somehow failed, she had over half the Toranado fleet guarding the harbor of her fair city, ready to whisk her to safety if need be. No, his greatest worry was that Eno would not hold out long enough for their allies, the Massi, to assemble an army large enough to challenge their enemies. It was a daunting task for the young Prince Gwaynn no matter what his skills and popularity. No, Eno must hold the Palmerrio captive for many more months if the young Massi Prince was to have any chance…unless somehow, the Cassinni could be swayed to join the fray against the High King…but for now Gwaynn was their only hope.