The Channel (The Gifted Book 2) (13 page)

~~~

Kaurl had arrived at the inn a few hours before Taulin with just enough time to bathe and change into fresh clothes before grabbing a bite to eat in the dining room. When he arrived, he'd half expected Taulin to have already checked in. A twinge of concern needled the back of his neck when he heard otherwise from the desk clerk.

Taulin didn't have as far to travel as he had.
Where could he be?
Kaurl paid for a room with two beds and decided to push his concerns to the back of his mind, telling himself that nothing was wrong, that his brother had probably come across a young woman in a local tavern and become distracted. It wouldn't be the first time.

Kaurl was the oldest of four with Taulin being the youngest. He was already married, but Taulin showed no sign of wanting to settle down. He'd become known in Laundan as someone who was popular with the ladies. Kaurl knew Taulin's boyish charms and good looks got him into hot water on several occasions, and he hoped nothing was truly amiss.

He'd finished his meal before the anxiety an older brother gets when his youngest sibling is on his own, started to take over his thoughts. His brother was in a realm where just his presence could be viewed as inappropriate, or worse, as an act of war. He ordered another drink and opened a book as a distraction, not wanting to retire to his room just yet.

A moment later, he looked up from his book and watched the young server place his drink on the table. As she stepped aside, she revealed a familiar face.

"Hello, brother." Taulin gave Kaurl a cocky smile.

Kaurl shot up from his chair and stepped around the table, embracing Taulin in a brotherly hug. "Where have you been? I expected you to arrive before me?"

"It's a long story and I brought ... friends."

Kaurl raised a brow.

"Not that kind! You'll see. Just wait here. I'll return shortly."

~~~

Taulin returned to the lobby. "Kaurl has a table that will seat all of us."

"Should we go in? What if Lanne was trying to warn us away?" Rhea looked at Daen and then Randell.

Daen needed to see for himself what was going on. He stepped around Randell and Rhea, intent on going to the dining room. "Let me take a look."

Before he got two steps, Lanne, Gaibel and the other woman left the dining room and headed in his direction. They seemed to be in deep conversation, acting as if they didn't see Daen or Rhea, as if they weren't even there.

Lanne bumped into Daen, excused herself, and kept going, as if she didn't know him. It pained her to do so. Her first contact with him and she couldn't reach out to him, she could hold him. All she could do was pass him the note and wait.

They reached the stairs as Daen turned to Randell, reading the note. "They're going to wait for us in Room 12. We're to eat first. Apparently they feel they're being watched."

Taulin stepped closer and repeated he previous invitation. "If you'd like, you're welcome to join me and my brother."

Rhea felt letdown at seeing her best friend and biological mother walk by without the slightest acknowledgment, but she understood. Her stomach growled, as if on cue. "Thank you Taulin. That sounds great."

She took a step towards the dining room, but an ache radiated through her shoulder. It was her canvas sack; her body was finally protesting the fact that she'd had it strapped to her most of the day. "Maybe we should put our things in our room before going in."

They agreed and turned away from the dining, and headed for their rooms.

14
Brothers

At the top of the lobby stairs, Rhea followed her companions as they turned right down a long hall of doors. They found the rooms they were looking for halfway down on the left, across from Room 12.

Rhea wanted to reach out and knock on the door, skipping dinner, but decided to listen to what Lanne had instructed. Rhea stepped up to Room 11. Daen opened the door next to hers as Taulin was already stepping into Room 7.

"We'll meet in the hall in ten minutes," said Daen.

Rhea nodded and stepped over the threshold.

Her room was smaller than hotel rooms she'd seen growing up. She tossed her sack and saddlebags on the first of two twin beds. They were parallel to each other, headboards on the wall to the left. There was a small wood table and two chairs under the window opposite the door.

She noticed the dirt that had accumulated on her hands and had the urge to at least wash them before going to dinner. Searching for a bathroom, she opened the first of two doors on the right. It was a closet.

She opened the second to find a small bathroom. Once again, she saw no sign of electricity. Remembering the oil lamps at the farmhouse, she scanned the room, and was relieved at the sight of the oil lamp on the table between the beds.

She raised the wick and shed enough light to quickly wash her hands and face before joining her group in the hall.

Taulin was already waiting, with clean hands and face. Randell stepped out with Daen a moment later with evidence that they'd had the same idea.

~~~

Kaurl looked up from his reading when he saw a group of people approaching his table. His face wore a puzzled expression before lighting into excitement. He stood and opened his arms. "Well, well. Who do we have here?"

Daen gave him a quick embrace. "It is good to see you. You have grown so much." Daen leaned back and took in the man that was only a boy the last time he'd seen him.

Taulin watched the exchange between Daen and Kaurl. Daen had told him he knew his father, but he hadn't really accepted what he'd said. He stepped up to the table and asked Kaurl, "You know him?"

Kaurl laughed. "Of course. It's been a long time, but I remember."

Daen laughed. "I had to tell this one I remembered him as a baby. He was skeptical." Daen gave Taulin an affectionate slap on the shoulder. "Kaurl was twelve the last time I saw your father, old enough to remember me ... and to make an impression." Daen gave Kaurl a sly smile as Randell and Rhea waited to be introduced.

Kaurl's affectionate smile faltered slightly. "And who do we have here, Taulin? More friends?"

"New friends I would say. Kaurl, these are Daen's companions, Randell and Rhea."

Kaurl focused for a moment on Rhea.
Was she Taulin's distraction?
She certainly had the looks to do so. No. There was more to this story and he meant to find out. "Come! Sit. If you're a friend of Daen's, you are welcome."

As everyone took a seat, the young server came to take their order.

"I don't know what to order," Rhea whispered to Daen. "I don't recognize the items on the menu."

"Don't worry, I'll order for you."

Rhea tried to hide her concerns regarding relinquishing control of what she was about to be served.

Daen couldn't help but laugh. "You'll like it well enough."

Daen ordered for Randell and Rhea, something he knew they would find okay.

While they waited for their meal to arrive, Taulin started to fill Kaurl in on all that his travels had revealed.

"And you verified the men weren't ours?"

Taulin nodded. "Most certainly. I can't tell you what it felt like to come upon such a scene. At first, I thought the stories were true." Taulin remembered how his blood ran cold at the sight of Laundan warriors attacking three civilians on Taulomi soil. "In the end, I was able to confirm that not only were they not rogue warriors but they've never served our realm."

Kaurl released a quiet chortle. "So, you came to the rescue of the great warrior guardian and this fair maiden."

Daen rolled his eyes and shook his head.

Taulin corrected him quickly. "Oh, no. I wouldn't call it a rescue. They were doing quite well on their own, especially Rhea."

Shoot!
Blast Taulin's big mouth. Rhea presented a demure smile, hoping to discourage Kaurl from asking any questions, but it didn't work.

"So ... you're quite the warrior, eh? Been in many battles?"

Rhea's eyes went to Daen in a silent plea to help her out, but Daen was already on it.

"Kaurl, Rhea can't comment on such things. You understand." Daen gave Kaurl his best guardian-business look.

"Ah, yes, of course." Kaurl raised his glass. "A toast ... to safe travels. May you always return home."

Everyone raised their glass in unison. "Hear. Hear."

The break in the discussion welcomed the arrival of their meal. Rhea and Randell felt Daen had made a good choice. There were potatoes, some kind of fowl, carrots, gravy, and a hunk of bread with butter. Combined with dark ale, the meal was the perfect comfort food after a long and stressful day.

Randell sat quietly, observing Kaurl and the way he interacted with Daen and Rhea. He was starting to feel relieved that Kaurl had overlooked his presence when the next round of questions was tossed onto the table.

"As I can't talk about the young lady's business, what about you ... Randell is it? How do you know Daen?"

"We met on one of Daen's missions a long time ago."

Daen raised his brow and nodded. That was clever, the truth, but not totally.

"Kaurl." Taulin interrupted what looked to be more questions for Randell. "Tell us of what you discovered on your travels. Did you learn anything useful?"

Rhea noticed right away that Taulin was moving the discussion away from his experiences, as well as theirs, and onto Kaurl's. It looked like he was going to leave out the unrelated attack from the men she killed. He also skipped over what he knew about her, what he'd witnessed. He was keeping her secret, or, at least, he was in her company.

"I didn't run into any warriors, but I did hear travelers talking about a group of Laundan warriors raiding their camps. I tried to ascertain where the attacks occurred, hoping to locate the bastards but had no luck."

"Did they say when or where it happened?" Daen took a bite of bread.

"Recently, in the past one or two days, the attacks were about a day's ride north of here."

"I doubt the group we encountered was the same." Rhea turned to Daen. "Remember the first time we saw them? They were coming at us from the west."

"Unless they were riding hard from one location to the next, which is possible, I wouldn't be surprised if there was more than one group of black riders raiding Taulomi's countryside."

"Do you know what you're going to do now?" Rhea asked Kaurl.

"We'll have to report back to our king. What are your plans?"

Given her situation, she didn't know what she'd be doing. King Argeon definitely needed to be told ... and soon ... but Rhea wasn't sure if she would be involved in the telling.

"I'll send a message to King Argeon," Daen answered, "let him know our findings." Not knowing what message Gaibel brought from the king and not wanting to reveal their presence, Daen felt his answer was as accurate as it could be.

Randell leaned forward. "If I didn't know the warriors were false, I'd assume Laundan was picking a fight with Taulomi. Who gains by pitting Taulomi and Laundan against each other?"

Daen leaned back in his chair. "Good question." He looked to Kaurl and Taulin. "Thoughts?"

Kaurl shook his head. "The only other realm close enough to facilitate such a ruse is Sentran, but it doesn't fit Queen Jauline's style. She's never been one for overstepping." He laughed to himself. "But don't be fooled. She may appear genteel, but mess with anyone in her realm and you'll regret it."

"Well, if we don't discover what's going on, we could find ourselves in the middle of a war," said Daen.

"Aye." Kaurl agreed. "Assuming King Argeon knows about the attacks, I'd say there's a strong probability that war is close at hand."

Before the conversation could continue, a woman approached the table. She was dressed similarly to Rhea, but more refined. The hilt of the sword at her hip had a carved grip, and she wore two daggers at her waist as well.

As soon as Taulin saw her, he stood and embraced her. "Daulr! What are you doing here? Are you alone?"

"Taulin, it's good to see you." She looked at Kaurl. "What? No hug for me?"

Kaurl stood and extended his arms. "Come here." He embraced her. "Now answer Taulin, are you alone?"

She patted Kaurl's chest as she stepped back from his embrace. "Don't be silly, my men are out front waiting for me."

Taulin gave her his chair while he sought out another for himself.

Rhea watched the exchange with more interest than she wanted to admit.
Who was this woman and why did Taulin seem so pleased to see her?
She shook off the unwelcome feelings and painted a smile on her face. She didn't have any business or time to worry about ... well, to worry about nothing.

Daulr looked around the table. "Who are all your friends, Kaurl?"

"This is Daen, a friend of the family. You were about four on his last visit."

She looked closely at Daen and started to nod. "Yes, yes. I remember."

Taulin sat down. "You remember him from when you were four?"

"I suppose that sounds unbelievable, but that visit shaped who I became." She turned to Daen. "You brought me a toy sword." She chuckled. "Mother was furious. She didn't want another fighter—she already had three."

Daen smiled and nodded as he remembered. "She gave me such a hard time. From the looks of you, I'd say she didn't get her wish."

"No. Not quite." Daulr looked at Rhea and Randell next. "And who do we have here?"

"These are Rhea and Randell, Daen's companions." Taulin raised his hand, palm up. "And this is my sister, Daulr."

Rhea felt a twinge of relief. This woman was his sister. Feeling uncomfortable with the feelings she had just had, Rhea tried not to look at Taulin for fear he would know what she'd just been feeling.

Everyone at the table exchanged pleasantries before Kaurl interjected, "Why are you here, Daulr? Not that I'm not glad to see you."

"Father sent me with a message he didn't feel he could trust with just anyone. He says he's getting reports of Sentran warriors attacking travelers near the southern border."

Kaurl's face darkened. "This is getting out of hand. Taulin, I'm going to return with Daulr tonight. Our king needs to know what we've learned."