Betrayals (25 page)

The coach slowed to a complete stop, and by then both Naran and Tamrissa were awake again. For a short while Tamrissa had used Valiant’s shoulder as Naran had used his, and Rion had been able to see that Valiant had treasured the time. But when she’d shifted away again, he’d made no more effort to stop her than he’d tried to speak to her after that first, disastrous occasion. Rion was certain that Valiant hadn’t given up on their relationship, but wished he knew what the other man had in mind to repair the damage done.

Grath, the man whose place as a forward scout Alsin had taken, climbed down from the box where he’d ridden beside their driver. His movements seemed stiff and a bit awkward, and when he opened the coach door his first words matched quite well.

“If Alsin tries to take my horse again, I’ll probably have to kill him,” the man grumbled as he rubbed at his back. “Riding up top on this thing is enough to cripple you, and I don’t understand how Lidris does it all the time.”

“Ridin’ inside isn’t all that much better,” Valiant said as he slowly left the coach. “I thought I’d gotten used to it durin’ the past weeks, but I’m learnin’ I was foolin’ myself.”

“We probably need more rest periods than the horses do.” Rion added his agreement as he followed Valiant out of the coach, then he turned to assist the ladies. They looked logy from sleep as well as stiff, and the way they stared at the inn as they descended suggested that they were likely hoping the place was simply a bad dream.

“This progression downward keeps gaining intensity,”

Tamrissa said once she stood with the rest of them, her glance at the inn more than simply displeased. “I think it’s time to do something about it before we find ourselves sharing our rooms with rats and a variety of wildlife.”

“That’s for you and Alsin to discuss,” Grath said quickly with both hands raised. “I’m nothing but hired help around here, and happy to have it like that. Let’s just be careful when we go inside. They’re bound to notice us no matter what we do, but we don’t want to give them anything… spectacular to remember.”

Rion joined the others in nodding, understanding as well as they why such caution was necessary. It had so far been their good fortune that there was no sign of pursuit. There had been no uniformed guardsmen pounding along their trail and catching up to demand their whereabouts from those in whatever inn the fugitives currently stayed, but that good fortune wasn’t likely to last. There would be pursuit, and the less those pursuers were able to learn when they came, the better off their group would be.

Grath led the way toward the inn while the driver Lidris moved the coach to where Alsin would be able to see it. Rion had wondered about that, the supposed need for Alsin or Grath to see the coach to know where they were, but he hadn’t had the chance to ask about it. Considering their rate of travel, there was really only one choice of which inn they were at along that road….

Grath entered the inn, then moved forward to look for the landlord while first Naran and Tamrissa and then Rion and Valiant followed. Quite a lot of noise came from the crowded common room to the left, as someone played a musical instrument and someone else seemed to be doing something to that music. With the left wall of the entry area cutting off sight of the far end of the common room it wasn’t possible to tell what, but the whistling and clapping and shouting of the audience said it was something extremely enjoyable.

“Looks like Grath may be havin’ trouble gettin’ us rooms,” Valiant murmured only loudly enough for Rion to hear him over the noise. “We may end up havin’ to sleep in the coach, or maybe even goin’ on to camp with the convoy.”

Rion looked toward Grath where he stood talking to a boy who had appeared behind the registration counter. The boy kept shaking his head, obviously disagreeing with whatever Grath said, but Grath seemed unprepared to accept the denial. It was possible that they haggled over price, Rion realized, as the price of a room and meals had not been the same in every inn. Their sojourn was being paid for by the gold and silver Tamrissa had gotten from that Lord Lanir, and although there was still a surprising amount left, Grath might be trying to conserve their funds.

A burst of laughter and shouting and longer applause came from the common room, but Rion wasn’t distracted from watching Grath’s efforts to get them accommodations. To Rion’s left, Valiant also watched the exchange closely, possibly thinking the same as Rion: that it might be wise of them to join Grath. Saving pennies was all well and good, but not at the expense of a place to sleep. And their last meal was too many hours behind them for Rion to enjoy the thought of a delay in sitting down to—

“Well, h’llo there, lovey,” Rion half heard, and then there was a cry of protest in a woman’s voice. Rion turned his head quickly to see that one of the roughly dressed men in the common room had come into the entrance area, and now had his arms wrapped about Tamrissa. The man was obviously drunk, as were his three friends, who stood in the entrance to the common room and laughed out their encouragement to their crony. Tamrissa, clearly mindful of the caution against doing something that people would remember, struggled futilely to escape the drunkard’s embrace.

Caution or no, Rion was affronted enough to do something with his own talent to free Tamrissa, but wasn’t given the chance. Even as Rion took in the situation, Valiant was already striding toward the coarse animal pawing Tamrissa. When he reached the pair Valiant broke the man’s grip on the girl, pulled him away from her, then threw a fist into the drunk’s face. With Valiant’s entire body behind the blow, the burly drunkard stumbled backwards to fall to the floor at the feet of his friends.

The three men had stopped laughing when Valiant interfered with their friend’s entertainment, and seemed about ready to come forward in the man’s defense. For that reason—

Rion quickly strode over to stand beside Valiant, and a heartbeat later Grath had also joined them. Together they stared at the three men, who now showed hesitation along with their drunken belligerence, and the confrontation held for several seconds. Then one of the three bent to help their fallen friend to his feet, and all four staggered back into the common room to seek safer entertainment.

“Nicely done, people,” Grath said softly to all of them, including a quietly furious Tamrissa. “Most people don’t go beyond the physical with those who have been drinking, since it’s smarter not to set them off talent-wise. Are you all right, Dama Domon?”

“I’d be a good deal better if I could have taught that fool how big a mistake he nearly made,” Tamrissa replied in a growl. “I really hate having to do things this way.”

“Are you sayin’ you find it humiliatin’ and frustratin’ to have needed someone else to rescue you when you would normally be perfectly able to rescue yourself?” The quiet question had come from Valiant, who made no effort to avoid Tamrissa’s blazing gaze. “If so, the situation sounds familiar for some reason—And you’re very welcome. I didn’t mind helpin’ out in the least, not when I knew how graciously I would be thanked.”

Tamrissa, still furious, parted her lips to say something, then changed her mind and simply stalked away to stand alone. Naran exchanged a pained glance with Rion before going over to join Tamrissa, and Rion decided it might be best to change the topic of conversation.

“It seems, Grath, that you were having trouble of some sort taking rooms for us,” he said rather hastily. “If it happens to be a matter of cost, let’s disregard the added expense. If it became necessary for me to climb back into that coach tonight, I’d very likely turn violent.”

“You’d certainly have my company in that violence,” Grath commented wryly, then shook his head. “But the problem isn’t cost, it’s a matter of available space. This inn has become a very popular place in the area since they brought in a troupe of what the boy called exotic dancers. The girls each do their dance, and then they spend the night with the man who bids highest for their company. I’ve heard about troupes such as this one, and keeping them here for a week or two will bring in enough gold to let the landlord completely renovate this place.”

“I’m pleased for the man, but certainly not to the point of being willing to give up a night’s sleep,” Rion returned. “Just how short of space are they?”

“There are only two small rooms still available,” Grath answered with a sigh. “I’ve already taken the two, of course, and then tried to offer a bit of a bonus for two more. The boy refuses even to discuss the possibility, and claims the landlord will feel the same way. The man is currently engaged in overseeing the dancing and auctions, but I mean to speak to him as soon as he’s free. In the meanwhile we can go into the dining room and have our dinner.”

“We ought to arrange for the drawin’ of lots for one of the two rooms just in case,” Valiant put in blandly. “Naran should certainly have one of the two, but I’m not in the mood to give up a possible claim to the second for Tamrissa. She seems to think that the rules applyin’ to me can’t also be applied to her, and I’ve decided not to stand for that kind of behavior. She’ll learn to act properly, or she can sleep in the stable for all of me.”

Rion felt the urge to protest, but the steely look in Valiant’s eyes caused him to change his mind. The disagreement between his two groupmates had changed somehow, and something told Rion that he would be much better off staying out of the matter. As long as humanly possible, that is….

The five of them retired to the dining room then, finding it empty except for two lone travelers who each sat alone eating. They chose one large table and sat down at it, but the icy, deliberate silence coming from both Tamrissa and Valiant put a damper on casual conversation among the other three. Naran looked at Rion as though she expected him to do something to change the heavy, chilly atmosphere, but Rion had already decided on the better part of valor. He took Naran’s hand and squeezed it gently, then simply sat and waited for a serving person to appear.

The servant arrived in only a few minutes, and shortly thereafter they had something to do with their mouths other than converse. The food came rather more quickly than expected, and Rion discovered that that was because it was rewarmed rather than freshly made. At another time he would certainly have sent it back with his indignation ringing in the servingman’s ears, but tonight Rion was too hungry. He therefore attacked the roast beef and boiled potatoes rather than the man who brought them, and the others silently followed his example.

Silently. By meal’s end the silence had long since grown grating, with both Tamrissa and Valiant pretending that they were alone at the table. After spending his eating time thinking about it, Rion was quickly coming to the conclusion that the better part of valor wasn’t always better. Those two hardheaded groupmates of his needed a good talking to, and he was just about to begin giving them one when Alsin Meerk walked into the dining room.

“Alsin, you’re back!” Grath exclaimed, blurting the obvious. “Since you probably don’t need me, I’ll go and check on my horse. I want him to know how much I missed him.”

Grath was on his feet and heading out of the room by then, obviously having no intention of waiting to see if Alsin disagreed. The newcomer, brows raised high, watched Grath disappear, then he came to the table and took his associate’s abandoned chair.

“What’s wrong with him?” Alsin asked, still looking puzzled. “He didn’t seem to be in love with his horse when I took it this morning.”

“A day can sometimes make a lot of difference,” Valiant remarked, leaning forward to rest his forearms on the table. “To tell the truth, I’m hopin’ you can say the same. What did you find out?”

“I found out that they’re using lethe on their… guests,” Alsin replied, lowering his voice a bit. “It’s a gentle sedative that can usually be used for quite a long time without it doing any harm, and they administer it three times a day. That means the captives will come awake in a matter of hours once they stop taking it, although they will be a bit confused and disoriented at first. I’ve also thought of a way to make use of the information—if it turns out to be possible.”

“What way is that?” Rion asked, also leaning his arms on the table. “I’ve got to tell you, Alsin, that the rest of us are agreed: we have to do something now to free our groupmates. If you don’t agree with that as well, we’ll simply have to go forward without you.”

“All right, just calm down,” Alsin replied soothingly after glancing at Tamrissa and Valiant. Their concurrence was obvious enough that the man had no need to confirm Rion’s claim in words. “I said that I might have a plan, but it all depends on just how strong and versatile a High talent is. My idea is that we remove most of the lethe from its various barrels and make up the difference with plain water. The water will be taken from the barrels used by the guardsmen and drivers, and it will be replaced with the lethe. If we can do that, your people will be awake and their guards ready to fall asleep by lunchtime tomorrow.”

“Won’t someone notice the difference in color and taste?” Naran asked while Rion and the others sat silent. “And how would the substitution be made? By some of us sneaking into their camp and changing things around?”

“Lethe is a pale yellow in color, and only has a faintly noticeable taste,” Alsin replied with a smile. “The water in the drinking barrels has been in there too long to still be clear, and I noticed that almost every driver and guardsman flavored their ration in some way before drinking it. Not stopping for fresh water must be a standing order, but no, there won’t be any sneaking into the camp. I’m hoping that a High talent in Water magic will be able to handle both the water and the lethe.”

And with that he looked toward Valiant, his expression frankly demanding an answer to his question. Rion would have enjoyed being able to say something, but once again his mind had gone blank. A glance at Tamrissa suggested that she found herself in the same quandary, and then Valiant saved them both the trouble of racking their brains.

“I find this really fascinatin’,” he commented, sounding as though he were extremely pleased about something. “If you can suggest that, then my private life hasn’t been made completely public. With that in mind, it will be my pleasure to try movin’ that lethe around as well as the water.”