The Exodus Sagas: Book II - Of Dragons And Crowns (20 page)

“So what do we do now?”

“I will speak to the bishop without Florin’s knowledge, and get him to hold the execution. Take this,” he slipped her a small key with a crown head, “and when he comes, get me out of my chambers. I will retake the throne, pardon you and Savanno, and have Florin’s head. Once that is done, you and he will leave here, never to return. You have my word.” Richmond reached his hand to touch her cheek.

Rosana withdrew, turning her face to the side. “I would prefer it in writing, your highness.”

“I will have papers drawn then, my queen. You assist me, and you will be free of this place forever. I sincerely hope your husband can reach us. For if
he does not free us both, seneschal Florin will not stop until we are dead and she has all the power in the kingdom.” Richmond stood, nodded at Rosana, and walked out the door to be escorted to his royal chambers. He stopped, taking the blankets from the guard, and tossed them on the bed.

“Guard, I wish to have the bishop come to my room for confession, now.” Richmond walked with his royal entourage as a captive in his own castle,
a captive still with much to do and more schemes to spin.

Johnas I
I:I

Castle Valhera, Valhirst, Chazzrynn

“And of course you will have all the necessary men in place, Lady Katrina? I do not want my gold to go to the bottom of your vaults and receive poor planning.” Jo
hnas raised his nose in the air
and cast the mercenary lord a sarcastic glance with his squinted green eyes. Though of no relation, Johnas noticed how his noble nose and blonde hair nearly matched that of his guest, Katrina of Willborne. Her
long straight yellow-gold hair was
intermingled with gray, just as his. Her regal garb was far more masculine and militant with chainmail and greaves, however.

Katrina had been sick of this throne room for an hour now and wanted nothing more than to leave. Watching and listening to this pompous criminal play the part of regal prince was enough to drive her to plunge her longsword into his sternum. “Yes Prince Johnas, the men are in place to watch all the border roads
to the north of your kingdom, well
your uncle’s
kingdom
that is.” s
he bowed with a smirk.

“So, the Marsh Road, Willborne Tradeway, B
aily, Heumar, and Larkenport?” t
he prince listed all of the roads and towns he had thought of. Johnas was not certa
in that the fugitives
would escape Harlaheim, but if they did he wanted to be ready.

“Even the Garalan River routes, your highness. The free citie
s of Willborne are well watched
Johnas, as long as the coin is flowing.
Nothing will pass through the north without me knowing of it.
” Katrina of Willborne would have much rather met below the city, in the comfort of the criminals she could see, rather than be in a throne room where she did not know who was an actual guard or an assassin. She and Johnas had this game going for decades now. She took his gold to allow him free passage and trade for his criminal organization while she watched the roads and trade routes for his enemies. When the White Spider agents crept into her cities, she would kill a few and let him come to her.
After a few examples,
Katrina’s prices would raise
, she would remind him to keep his scum out of her lands, and then they would corroborate on new plans at deceiving Harlaheim, Chazzrynn, Shanador, or Caberra. His ways were that of assassination and skullduggery, and hers were the old traditions of militant warfare and mercenary code. Both worked well together when they were not planning the demise of one another.

“I had asked for some information regarding on Balric D’Vrelle and an agent of mine he has taken hostage, any word?” Johnas knew that she would not have responded and shown herself in Castle Valhera without anything to barter with, but he much enjoyed testing her. Her Knights of Willborne, as she called them, were nothing more than armed mercenaries
and deadly veteran dragoons
with rules to follow and coin to keep them loyal. Had they not been so utterly efficient, the patriarch of the White Spider would have had her floating in the Carisian Sea for the prices she charged.

“Yes, plenty of word there. My men in the confidence of the Chazzrynn army have located your former captain of the guard and his lover, Vanessa Blackflame. Three thousand
more, Johnas.” o
ne of her bodyguards stepped forward with an empty chest.
Katrina felt it a small price since she had lost two spies in the process of gaining the information. One was found out in Harlaheim by a White Spider agent of Johnas Valhera by the name of Alec. The other was killed by this Balric fugitive in Loucas just last week.

Johnas nodded to one of his many servants, and the bodyguard followed him to back room to fill the chest. “Agreed. And what have you found out my lady?”

“The man and woman you seek are in Loucas, and the capital of your kingdom is difficult to infiltrate indeed. He i
s under close watch by the king. H
er wounds are healing with help from the priests. He has not divulged any information that we are yet aware of, but not for lack of the king trying; he does suspect you have something to do with the whole ordeal.”
t
he lady mercenary held back a bit, waiting to see if he sensed there was more to tell. She walked back and forth on his red velvet carpet in front of the throne, smiling as would any woman who had something a man wanted.

“Where is he being kept
? The Salganat Fortress?” Johnas knew that he already knew these things, but still wanted to make sure his information matched hers. He thought of the Harlian spy who he had cut wide with his kris blade and imprisoned. One disloyal member of his underworld guild and this swordsman spy from Harlaheim made off with his prized slavegirl. If it were not that he luckily ran into the king of Chazzrynn that day and been escorted onto a royal galleon, Balric would be enjoying the pleasures of torture nightly.

“Yes Prince Valhera, an impossible place to infiltrate from the outside. He has sent letters that our men
intercepted, but
not to whom you would think.” s
he smiled so hard it hurt her face, Katrina had him right where
she wanted him. With four c
ities and an army of twenty
thousand to feed, she needed all the coin she could get, and Johnas had plenty.

“He is a spy from Harlaheim, obviously sent to find his way into the White Spider there in his homeland by King Richmond the Second. Richmond wants to keep an eye on me because he is young and does not trust my dealings-“

“Wrong.”

“Wrong? It was written all over him when he arrived, we all had him pegged and we were right-“

“Wrong I said. You are losing your touch Johnas, trust me. He was not sent by the king of Harlaheim.
Why would a king send one of his own countrymen to gain access to your operations in Harlaheim and then send him here? Too obvious.” Katrina loved to beat the mastermind of Valhirst at his own game of who knows the most. She swaggered with an air of confidence that no man could put asunder, tossing her blonde hair over her armored shoulder guards. Her green eyes flickered with joy and supremacy.

“Then who? Who would want to find me out? My uncle the king would have acted should he know anything solid, and Balric would have spilled his story by now.” Johnas was agitated now, confused,
his mind racing. He stood up in
his regal robes and paced the steps of the raised dais that held his throne.

“The church.”

“Why would the church of Alden want anything to do with me? It makes no sense.”
t
he prince of Valhirst sat back down, hoping to be enlightened to her train of thought.

“The church cannot abide the failing rule a
n
d depravity that Richmond sets u
pon his people and kingdom. T
hey have wanted his line to end for some time, as it has been too many kings of that family that have led Harlaheim
away
from church and decency for far too long.” Katrina paused.

“Common knowledge, nothing more.”

“And, rumors exist that Richmond, last of that line, has close dealings with Florin, the lady knight of the court and seneschal. Titles she does not deserve, as you and I are aware; and we also know she is your lady in
charge in Harlaheim, Johnas.” t
he lady of Willborne paced more, tapping her longsword pommel with her gloved hand.

Johnas thought deeply, still not understanding what this had to do with him. “And what of it? The church cannot hope to tie the failures of Harlaheim to me.”

“No, simply that Florin has power from the king, power over the kingdom, and that she is tied to you. If they can prove you are influencing the court of Harlaheim through unsavory means, they could see it as an act of political war. And since the church suspects Caberra of the same political deceptions, they are most interested in who is really ruining the kingdom besides the young king.”

“Caberra? How is it that they are
involved in this? My agents have reported nothing of the sort.”

“Th
e queen, Johnas. Rosana was a
princess of Caberra. Married to a high ranking knight in the order of Saint Tarumin secretly, many years before she was given to Richmond by the king of Caberra. The church sees her as a threat, since they have found her record of marriage previous, and they have the shame of one of their most noble order involved should anyone ever find out. So if the cardinal can prove that you and Florin have part of the throne, the Caberran queen has her deceptions that could trace back to her homeland; the church could very well deem the rule of Richmond undermined and su
pplant him.” Katrina bowed to J
ohnas, smiling from ear to ear.

“Replace the king of Harlaheim? With who?” Johnas was still confused, though the logic and motive was believable.

“The Cardinal of course. He left for Acelinne in Shanador several weeks ago to make it official, howev
er this Balric was supposed to
arrive as well with his findings
and absolute proof and testimony of your involvements
. Once you were exposed, Florin exposed, and the queen exposed with this knight she carries the child of; The Aldane would send…”

“The Crossguard Legion.” Johnas’ eyes lit up.

“Exactly. They would cut my spies out of the kingdom, your agents and organization would be rooted out, the remnants of Richmond and the L’herrim family would be
cast away, and they would have every right to do it with so much evidence. The church would appoint the Cardinal as
acting
king with the backing of the Aldane elders and the most lethal legion in Shanador
, the continent for that matter
. Balric D’Vrelle was not sent by the king, he was sent by the bishop to find evidence
against his king
.” Katrina laughed, feeling rather content that Johnas had not figured this out.

“That is why he will not say a word to my uncle, King Mikhail of Chazzrynn, he is sworn by the church.” Johnas felt stress coming now, for he never liked to be on the receiving end of potentially life threatening information.

‘My spy in L’Herrim, a chambermaid, says that the queen is with child for months now and tha
t it is definitely this knight
,
Savanno Lisario
, not the king
’
s. More than likely, with the threat of an heir looming, that is why the Cardinal left to Shanador so quickly. I cannot believe that you, Johnas Valhera of all people, would not be aware of an entire kingdom about to be completely reformed. If I were you, I would eliminate Balric and this woman of his, pull Florin out of Harlaheim with her people, and keep eye for when the churches in Valhirst begin filling.
I would also kill the bishop before the cardinal returns. Willborne can help you out of most things, but the Crossguard Legion of the Church of Alden is beyond me. If this Balric and you ever crossed blades, you would be lucky to survive.
He is a trained assassin of the Broken Wing of the Aldane Order.
You should be grateful he fell in love with your whore, otherwise he may have completed his mission
, for he was trained in secret by the church and
likely
sent t
o kill you after he had his proofs
.” Katrina saw the chests of gold her men had gathered, and motioned for them to be taken to the longship.

“And what else can you help me with Katrina of Willborne? I am in need of another woman, until I bring mine back covered in Balric’s blood.” Johnas winked at the beautiful blonde woman, in her forties much like himself, but still lovely and charming especially for her line of work.

“Johnas, I would require a lion of a man with a passion for ridding this continent of the north
erners to match my own. Everyw
here I see brown eyes, dark hair, the descendants of Altestan from when they came to Agara and overtook these old lands. You are Agarian, your mother was anyway, I can tell by your green eyes and blonde hair. I would require a man with the ferocity to see the false nobles of Caberra, Harlaheim, Chazzrynn, and the church fall. I would see Shanador rule without the cross, as those are my people that follow a once foreign God instead of their blood.
The old ways of Agara are fading, our religions nearly extinct, and I fight to keep them alive.
You are not a lion, Johnas, despite you
r heritage. You are a snake.” s
he bowed, feeling the time to leave was
upon her
when this lord of a
ssassins began to flirt
.