Chasing the Prophecy (Beyonders) (24 page)

Nia used a key to open the door. A pair of broad, heavily muscled drinlings stood guard just inside, swords ready. Taking a small oil lamp from a shelf, Nia led Jason and Jasher past the stolid guards, then up two flights of stairs and through a doorway to a windowless room.

While Nia closed the door, Jason and Jasher sat down on a cot. She flung her cloak over the back of a chair and sat as well.

“How are the others?” Jasher asked.

“Aram and Drake arrived safely,” she confirmed. “They didn’t pick any fights with locals.”

“He started it,” Jason complained.

“We know,” Nia assured him. “The owners are rightfully chagrined. Their regular customers keep creating problems for those involved with their secret enterprises. A few of the smugglers suspect something is going on around here and are curious. They prod and pry when they can.”

“Sounds like this won’t be a safe haven much longer,” Jasher said.

Nia shrugged. “They should probably stop housing rebels here for a season. Any real suspicion from the authorities could prove disastrous. Farfalee and Corinne will meet us on the water?”

“Along with Bat and Ux,” Jasher said. “I saw no warship in port.”

“The
Valiant
is scheduled to arrive in three days.”

“We’ll take it the first night?” Jasher verified.

“That’s the plan.”

“We want a specific ship?” Jason asked.

Nia nodded. “An interceptor. Maldor constructed a fleet of eighty to win the western coast and conquer Meridon. He only built three to cover the Inland Sea. And three were all he has needed. Big warships have never sailed these waters. The smaller vessels are no match for an interceptor.”

“Where are the other two interceptors?” Jasher inquired.

“They reliably sail between Angial, Russock, and Durna. They mostly patrol the coasts, stopping unpredictably at the smaller towns. Occasionally they check the islands. Except for Windbreak, of course. No sane person would set foot there.”

“Do you know how to sail a ship?” Jason asked.

Nia waved a casual hand. “I try not to fret about the minor details.”

“You’re kidding,” Jason checked.

“A few of us have some nautical experience,” Nia said. “Mostly we’ll rely on Aram’s instruction.”

“We have the required manpower?” Jasher asked.

“Yes,” Nia replied. “We can spare eight fighters to help us get out of the harbor and still retain enough drinlings to crew the ship, along with eighteen fighters down below to pull the six emergency sweeps.”

“Resources?” Jasher pursued.

“We’re all armed, with supplies to spare. Three clans contributed warriors and funds. This will be the biggest drinling offensive in many lifetimes.”

“Have things been quiet here in town?” Jason wondered.

“No revolt in years. After the city fell to Maldor, the serious dissenters were weeded out. The smugglers and traders support a healthy black market, much of which is unofficially permitted. The guardsmen have grown overconfident, the leadership complacent.”

Jasher clapped his hands together. “Good tidings at last. The next few days should be uncomplicated.”

“We’ll need to stay out of sight,” Nia said. “Surprise is crucial. If our foes catch wind of our plot, it won’t work. They have ready means to block the harbor mouth, and troops to spare.”

Jason frowned. “I hope no smugglers draw attention to us.”

“We’ll keep our ears open,” Nia said.

“I’ll help,” Jason assured her. “Your hearing may have started to go.” He had started teasing Nia about her age after she had begun to flaunt looking older than him back at Mianamon.

Nia leaped from her chair and slugged Jason on the shoulder, a response she had learned from Rachel. Except Nia hit a lot harder. If they worked at it, drinlings could pack on pounds of muscle overnight. Apparently, she had kept up with her exercising. “You using a razor yet?”

Jason grinned. This felt more familiar. The Nia he remembered had been brash and playful. “I’m glad you can still tease. I was worried you’d gotten all serious in your old age.”

“Nope. Just smarter, stronger, and more mature. You wouldn’t understand.”

Jason looked around the windowless room. “I’m glad we’ll get
to rest for a few days. I’m sick of sleeping on the ground.”

“We’ll have time to strategize,” Jasher said with relief.

“We’ll watch and listen,” Nia added.

“And sleep?” Jason asked hopefully, stretching his arms.

Nia gave a nod. “Those of us who need it.”

CHAPTER
6

T
he walled city of Durna was positioned more than two miles upslope from the coast of the Inland Sea. The many buildings near the fortified waterfront were connected to the city by a protected highway. The walls around the port rose thirty feet, the walls along the highway were perhaps half as high, and the city walls soared to more than sixty feet.

Jason was beginning to catch on that the major cities of Lyrian had all been constructed to withstand invasions. Maldor was clearly not the first threat these kingdoms had faced.

The battle-worn fortifications of Durna were gouged and scarred. Mismatched stonework showed where broken sections had been replaced. Construction was underway down by the port, restoring shattered battlements. Although the ancient walls loomed tall and thick, anchored to imposing towers, they hadn’t done their job. The king of Durna had surrendered to Maldor. He and his family were currently prisoners of the emperor.

“The port gates are the only entrances,” Jasher explained. “There is one on the west side and another on the east, both
heavily guarded. The only access to the city proper is to follow the highway up from the port.”

“There have to be hidden ways through or under those walls,” Aram said, surveying the city. “Durna is too big. Nobles. Criminals. They would grow weary of taking the long route. They would demand private passages. The city has stood for too long.”

Bat, one of the two drinlings who had accompanied them on horseback, folded his brawny arms. “You’re probably right. But we don’t know of any.” After traveling with the group for less than a week, the drinlings had already lost their accents.

“And we can’t steal a ship unless we access the port,” added the other drinling, a solid man named Ux.

“Can’t we just stroll in through a gate along with the crowd?” Jason asked.

“Possibly,” Jasher said. “Security will be tighter here than what you have encountered in the past.”

“A governor called Duke Ashby oversees Durna for Maldor,” Drake explained. “He is competent and driven.”

Ux peered at the city through a spyglass. “We’ve found security to be a serious obstacle. Of course the entrances are heavily monitored, but we’ve witnessed wandering patrols and random searches as well.”

“We’ve been entering the city by water,” Bat said. “One at a time. Swimming. We reach the docks from the sea, looping around the huge defensive breakwaters in the small hours of the night. A two-hour swim at a brisk pace. The harbor is well guarded.”

Jason looked out at the harbor. From their current vantage in a grove of tall, slender trees, they had an elevated view of the west side of town. The water of the Inland Sea looked gray-green under the predawn glow from the overcast sky. The port walls did not end at the water. Rather they extended out into the sea,
encircling the harbor, with only a relatively narrow gap to allow vessels access.

“Too hard of a swim for us?” Jason asked.

“I expect,” Bat said. “Drinlings don’t tire.”

“What about a small boat?” Farfalee wondered.

“The harbor mouth is well illuminated,” Ux said. “The risk is great even as a lone swimmer.”

“Then we’ll probably have to brave the gates,” Jasher said. “Which poses some problems. The whole empire is on the lookout for Lord Jason. Corinne is too regal and lovely. And we seedfolk are almost as conspicuous as you drinlings.”

Jason glanced at the drinlings. Their golden-brown coloring was just outside the normal spectrum of human skin tones. And the coppery tint of their irises looked a little too metallic.

“Which is why we enter Durna quietly and lie low,” Ux said. “Our kind would be detained on sight.”

“My amar is gone,” Drake said. “I can cut my hair short and make sure my clothes cover the scar at the back of my neck. Farfalee can wear her hair long and just not roll it up over her seed.”

“I suppose if I trim my hair shorter and don’t roll it I could pass as human,” Jasher said. He raked his fingers through his long tresses. “Let it barely touch my shoulders, subtly cover the amar without giving me away. I dislike the feel of it, but I’ve done it before.”

“We’ll need nondescript clothing,” Farfalee mentioned.

“These robes don’t blend?” Jason asked.

Aram began to wheeze and grunt. Veins bulged in his thick neck. He backed away into the grove, looking for some privacy as he shrank with the veiled dawn. A couple of the horses neighed at his approach.

Jasher looked around. “I feel too exposed here.”

“We have operated mostly from the woods on this side of town,” Bat said. “We’ll see trouble coming long before they see us.”

There were numerous groves on this wild part of the slope above the Inland Sea. Jason and the others had taken up position here in the night, after weaving between some of the farms and outlying settlements south of Durna.

Aram returned, adjusting a smaller set of robes, face damp with perspiration. “You could let me go in alone and try to ferret out a secret entrance. I have experience with this sort of thing. We have plenty of money for bribes.”

Farfalee shook her head. “I think Jason had it right from the start.” Jason tried to resist a proud grin as she continued. “We should flow into town with the morning crowd, in ones and twos. People come here to buy and trade. They come looking for work. They come for entertainment. The imperial guardsmen may be watching for Jason, but almost certainly none here have ever seen him. We dress as peasants. We look humble and hungry, and walk into the city with the rest of the unwashed masses.”

“Bat and I could bring the swords,” Ux offered. “Jason’s and Corinne’s. Even sheathed they would draw interest. They look too fine. Unsheathed they would immediately give you away. We’ll swim them in.”

“What about my armor?” Aram asked. “My sword?”

“Your sword would drag us straight to the bottom,” Bat said.

“We could use it to anchor a ship,” Ux grunted.

“I could pose as a wealthy merchant,” Drake offered. “Well fed, well dressed, a debonair peddler of oversized weaponry.”

Farfalee laughed derisively. “Why not portray a wealthy noble on a pilgrimage? We could supply you with riches and hire servants. Our weapons could be disguised in your armory.”

“Don’t give me ideas,” Drake warned, eyes flashing with relish.

Jason couldn’t shake the feeling that they were making this harder than it needed to be. “Do we have to take everything into the city?” he asked. “I mean, we’re only going there to steal a ship and leave. What if we reunited on the water?”

Farfalee nodded pensively. “We would have to get hold of a smaller craft outside the city and rendezvous beyond the harbor mouth.”

“There are many options,” Bat said. “Finding a small craft would not be difficult.”

“What if Farfalee, Corinne, and one of the drinlings met us on the water?” Jasher proposed. “They could bring Aram’s gear, the torivorian swords, and the orantium. We shouldn’t need the globes for our hijacking. Success will depend on slipping away quietly.”

“I would prefer to help cover the hijacking with my bow,” Farfalee said.

“That would be ideal,” Jasher said. “It might not be wise. You and Corinne are too attractive. You’ll stand out more than the rest of us going into the city. With a tireless drinling on the oars, a rendezvous at sea might be a reasonable solution.”

“We will need to know how to meet,” Farfalee said.

“I can still swim into the city,” Ux offered. “Then I can swim out with the details. Bat could stay with you. Then the two of us can help you manage your boat.”

Farfalee sighed. “My bow could be useful inside the city, but I admit that this alternative would reduce the overall risk.”