Arm Of Galemar (Book 2) (110 page)

In all of it, Marik had never felt so out of place. 
He had no idea why he was there, why he had been summoned or to what purpose
his being among such august leaders might serve.  Celerity he could
understand.  The knight-marshal’s interest as well, on one level.

Raymond would have a keen interest in the threat
facing his kingdom…but would he be there to personally question a common
fighter despite the knowledge he might possess?  Would it not be likelier that
the king’s advisors or analysts would gather in the knowledge and prepare it
for the king after they had pieced together as much of the picture as they
could reconstruct?

The whispers were growing thick in the air.  Only
Torrance kept his silence.  Repeated glances at him made Marik’s legs quiver
slightly.  He had long since learned that the unknown could prove to be the
fatal factor in any battle.  This conference room felt as dangerous as any
battlefield he had been on, and lacking complete knowledge was making his
instincts flair.  Worst of all, he felt a churning in his gut that usually accompanied
his sense that life had a nasty trick in store for him.

Raymond’s group stopped their quiet talk.  Each man
and woman shifted to study the vagabond in their midst.  The knight-marshal
kept his distance, arms folded across his chest, countenance as stern as a
magistrate about to pronounce judgement over a heinous criminal.  His look was
only marginally short of hostile.

King Raymond gave a slight nod to Celerity, who
returned the gesture.  A nod at Torrance only made the commander’s head lower
an inch, eyebrows beetling, the corner of his mouth twitching.  Nods were
selling cheap today.  They passed between everyone present save Marik.  When
all the head waggling was finished, Celerity, presumably the pre-selected
spokesperson, donned a slight smile Marik had seen once before.  He barely
stifled his natural reaction to drop into a crouch and send his hand flying to
his sword hilt.

“No introductions are needed,” the woman said softly,
yet with strength in her words all the same.  “We all of us have come to know
you, Marik Railson.  And you have come to know us in return through the course
of your…career.”

He could have argued the point; nearly did out of a
perverse urge to struggle against a descending axe he sensed rather than saw. 
Only half of those present were known to him.

Except as the thought formed, he recognized one of the
two men standing at Raymond’s side.  The king’s seneschal, less recognizable
out of his formal robes of office.  Marik only placed him from the time he
organized the various contenders at the tournament during the opening ceremony,
arranging them into parodies of garden statues in a line extending away from
the outdoor thrones the monarchs would inhabit.

Celerity left him no time to be smart with her. 
Perhaps because she had come to know how stubborn he could be after their brief
encounters last summer, or from whatever gripes Tollaf had vented against her
regarding his misfortune in having the ungrateful whelp as an unwanted
apprentice.

“It’s as well you arrived after the council
adjourned.  For many reasons it would be best to make as little noise as
possible for the moment.”

Marik frowned.  “Noise?  Listen, if you try to handle
these monsters the invaders brought with them
quietly
, then you’ll never
be able to drive them back.  It doesn’t matter who knows about them!  All that
matters is assembling enough strength to smash them!”

Her arms folded in imitation of the knight-marshal. 
“So we are doing.  But we can’t ignore Nolier continuing to violate our border
to the east.  Their army is still suffering from their heavy losses in the last
war, as is our own.  The Nolier king does not seem to care much about that. 
His greed has gotten the best of him.”

The tone beneath her words firmed further, coming out
as when she had spoken to Sloan and Kineta, speaking at the time with her full
authority and rank.  “The majority of the army will be needed to make it clear
Nolier may not set foot on our soil without reaping the consequences of their
actions.  As for the Tullainian border, we intend to question the prisoners you
brought to Thoenar and learn what we can, but in the meantime we must marshal
the forces available and plug the gap in our western defenses.  With the
invaders’ strike force defeated and their command in apparent disarray, they
will not be able to organize quickly.  During that time we will prepare.”

His father’s voice abruptly spoke within the recesses
of his mind, clearer than it had been in a very long time. 
Be careful what
you ask for boy, because the gods love nothing better than to give you exactly
that.

The churning in his stomach intensified.

Marik’s teeth refused to unclench while he demanded,
“What…does that have to do with me?  I came here…to tell you everything I can
about these beasts that nearly destroyed us.”

“Your knowledge of them will be invaluable, it is
true.  Especially since,” she said flatly, her lips pursing, “you will be
responsible for the campaign to defend the western border.”