The Hekamon (34 page)

"I don't want to interrupt," Hayden whispered,
"but I don't think we should should stay here," while
motioning that they should move.

"You're right," Alyssa said, speaking quietly,
too, and the three of them them began to walk out of the alleyway.

Reaching the top of the stairs and moving onto the
gantry, Tregarron climbed the ladder and tried the trapdoor, it
wasn't bolted but was held shut by other means. He pushed the door
harder and, as it opened wider, he heard something slide off.

"Light," he demanded.

Phelan held up a lamp and Tregarron took it to
illuminate the coal bunker above. Seeing it empty, he climbed up the
last few rungs of the ladder and into the room, Phelan followed, with
the rest of the guards in tow.

Climbing into the coal bunker, Tregarron could see that
the weight that had been holding the door down was the chain that was
used to raise and lower the coal tub. The tub that had been abandoned
in the mine below. Why had it been left there? It struck him as
unusual, but he could think of no reason for it. He walked to the door
only to find it locked.

"The
door's locked and I don't have—"
I
do have the keys,
he remembered
now, he took them from Croneygee when he found the man unconscious.
He reached for the keys and opened the door. It allowed them to leave
the bunker and let in some light at the same time.

Tregarron hadn't been able to see into this room when
he'd looked through the south window earlier, and it wouldn't have
made much difference if he had. Since what he saw on the floor of the
bunker would have lead him to go for reinforcements anyway. Among the
coal dust was patches of drying blood, not a huge amount, but
certainly more than the result of a cut finger or other minor injury
that were common place here.

"Looks like trouble," Phelan said, climbing
the ladder and seeing the object of Tregarron's interest.

"Everyone of out the mine. Quickly men, we're going
to Tivitay," Tregarron said, as the remainder of the guards
piled out of the mine.

He waited for all of the men to emerge, before closing
the trapdoor and leaving the coal bunker. Stepping into the shop,
past the workbench and to the front door. He unlocked it and got
everyone outside, before closing the door behind him.

As he left,
he once again noticed the long handled hammer leaning
against the wall. He thought of Croneygee. Had the armorer been hit
with a rock or a hammer? Either way, the assailant was less well
armed than he had been, that much was clear. With that in mind,
Tregarron left the armory and started running toward Tivitay.

The area directly behind the houses of the village was
open ground but thirty yards further on, the forest of the glades
began.

The trio walked anxiously toward the tree line, before relaxing, as it became clear they hadn't been
seen. They remained silent for a time, before the young apprentice
turned to her and spoke.

"We haven't been introduced, I'm Galvyn," the
boy said, "and this is…er…"

"Hayden, I know, you said."

"…Horton."

"Pleased to meet you Horton," she said,
finding it hard to resist a smile, as the man rolled his eyes. The three of
them had walked fifty yards into the forest.

"Pleasure," Hayden said, "but I don't
think we should go any further into the glades."

"You're right," she agreed.

"Why not?" Galvyn asked, before looking at
her, "Oh, it's not safe for you."

"Actually, since she's a Fennrean, it's not safe
for us," Hayden said, deadpan.

She smiled.

"I'm not joking," Hayden said.

"I know you're not," she laughed, and Hayden
gave a little laugh too, while Galvyn just looked confused.

The three of them stood in silence, each considering
their next move. For Alyssa, there came the growing realization that
the Ettinshel was now in the possession of Tregarron, and that she was
going to need some help in getting it back. She turned to the younger
of the two men.

"Is there any chance that you can get my necklace
back from the captain?"

"I don't know. I will certainly try, but from what
you've told me about my boss, things might be more difficult now, and
Tregarron will be suspicious. If I'd been honest with the captain, and
told him that it was Tansley who had given me the necklace to repair,
he might not have taken it, and Mr. Croneygee might not have got
hurt."

"I doubt you could have prevented it," Hayden
said, "don't blame yourself."

"I do blame myself though, and Tregarron will blame
me, too."

"Why
didn't
you tell Tregarron who gave it to you?" Alyssa asked.

"He asked me who owned it, and since I knew it
didn't belong to Tansley, I said I didn't know."

"What made you so sure that it didn't belong to
Tansley?" She asked, watching Galvyn carefully.

"I just knew," he replied, returning her look.

"That
was perceptive of you."
It
had spoken to him.
She could feel it.

"I will go back to Tivitay," Galvyn sighed, "I
need to think things over."

Alyssa looked back at the village still visible through
the trees.

"Which is your place?"

"That one," he said, pointing at one of the
larger buildings, "you can see my window from here, third floor
and furthest to the left."

The window was just visible through the branches. Hayden
looked at where Galvyn was pointing, before placing a hand on his
shoulder.

"Whatever you decide to do, and however you answer
the inevitable questions you face, I would appreciate it if you could keep
my name out of it."

"It's the least I can do."

"I have to be going," Hayden said, "I
can't wait any longer."

They said their goodbye's and Alyssa watched as the man
set off through the forest. Once Hayden was gone, she walked over and
sat down on a tree stump a short distance away, resting her head in
her hands. Galvyn walked over and sat down next to her.

"Aren't you going back to your room?" She
asked, but not minding that he hadn't.

"I was just thinking about you, will you head home
as well?" Galvyn said, indicating north toward the marshes.

"I should really. My family will be worried and it
will be dark soon, and haven't slept for…however long it's
been," she said quietly.

They both sat in silence for a while, lost in their
thoughts.

"You didn't tell me your name."

"No, I didn't, did I."

"It might be for the best, if you did return home
to your family, that is."

"I don't want to, not without my necklace, but If
Tregarron has it then I might not have any choice. Recovering it now
is going to be difficult, if not impossible."

Her tiredness crept up on Alyssa and she rested her head
on the young man's shoulder, he didn't seem to mind. She could go to
sleep right now but resting her eyes would have to do. They had only
been closed for a few seconds, when she opened them again and raised
her head, surprising Galvyn with her sudden movement.

"What is it?"

"How far has Hayden gone?"

"He's out of sight already," he replied,
"Why?"

"Did he ask you about any iron grippers or
gauntlets?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. The only thing he was looking for,
was a dagger."

Alyssa's attention had been so focused on recovering her
necklace that she had forgotten about the Coralainians hunting for
her brother's iron grippers. Hayden might well be one of them and the
direction he had started walking in made her suspicious.

"He's heading to Fennelbek, why?"

"He said he was traveling north but he didn't say
where to, he said he was coming back after the winter."

Alyssa relaxed again, and rested her head back on
Galvyn's shoulder. It seemed Hayden was unconnected to the other
Coralainians. The fact didn't surprise her. The Coralainians at the
trading post were violent, whereas Hayden had seemed helpful, he'd
protected Galvyn, or so the boy had said. Defended him from another
aggressive man from the south, or so it seemed.

Could that man be searching for the grippers? His
violent behavior seemed to be in keeping with those at the hut, but
he was asking after her necklace…she raised her head again.

"Galvyn."

"Yes?"

"This Decarius, are you sure he was looking for a
necklace?"

"Well," Galvyn said, with a look of concentration on his face as he tried to recall, "I assumed he was. He was asking about
something valuable that he said Tansley had brought to the workshop.
Your necklace was the only thing that fitted that description,
everything else was junk."

"And you told him Tregarron had taken it to the
fort?"

"Yes."

"And after that he became aggressive?"

"No, he was aggressive before that, after I told
him he tried to kill me."

Alyssa nodded.

"Did I do wrong, telling him I mean?"

"No, you did the right thing, even if it did nearly
get you killed."

"Well, at least I've managed to do something right
today."

Alyssa smiled at the apprentice. He had helped more than
he realized. How effectively had it put the men off the scent of the
grippers? She couldn't be certain. But at least her fellow ferguths
would now have some time to decide what to do about the inquisitors.

It also meant that she could put thoughts of the iron
grippers to one side. They were her brother's problem. All that she
cared about right now, was her necklace.

The Ettinshel had been entrusted to her. It was her
responsibility, her birthright and it was powerful, too. Yet it was
now in the possession of Tregarron and that worried her.

She rested her head once more and realized something else was worrying her, Hayden, and his
imminent journey into Fennelbek. She knew the marshes, and the people
who lived there well. Hayden would be wise to move quickly.

The
Fennelbek Way was only safe during the hours of daylight, he wouldn't
want to be there at night, not if he knew what was good for him.

Tregarron slowed as he neared Tivitay and signaled the
guards with him to do likewise. A six man patrol was never going to
be able to enter such a small village unseen but he didn't want to
draw too much attention to their presence.

Despite their caution, the
cacophony of boots on cobblestones, invited the few residents still
out in the street, that it was time for them to decide where it was they needed
to be.

Leading his men through the village, he could see a few
lights were on in the windows and with most of Tivitay's buildings on the right of the
street, he and his men began to move that way, before making a direct
path for Willard's guest house.

It was an imposing building.

Built in
the same style as many of the houses Demedelei Town. With alleyways
either side, exposed timbers, limewashed walls and an ornate porch at
the front. The large building seemed incongruous in the small
village.

He strode up to the front door, with the other guards
following behind, and entered. Only to be immediately confronted by
Mrs. Willard.

"Ever thought of knocking, Captain Tregarron?"
the woman said angrily, obviously irritated at his uninvited
entrance.

"Does an apprentice called Galvyn lodge here?"
He retorted, ignoring her pugnacious greeting.

"He does, what do you want with him?"

"Is he here now?"

"No, he's most likely at Croneygee's armory."

"He isn't, which is his room?"

Mrs Willard crossed her arms and gave a defiant look, so
he started up the stairs.

"Men, check every room."

"Third floor, last door on the right," the
landlady called out, elbowing a few of the guards out of the way and
starting up after him.

Tregarron stopped, "This won't take six of us, you
three search the ground floor," he said, before continued to
climb.

Glancing down, he noticed Mrs.
Willard was caught in two minds as to which group to follow and keep
an eye on. She decided to go with him up to Galvyn's room.

The old staircase wound up through a narrow stair well,
and the floorboards groaned under the weight of the four of them.
Their boots clattered on the exposed wood and reverberated around the
house. If Galvyn had managed to sneak in without his landlady seeing
and was here in his room, he would be well aware of their presence by
now.

Reaching the third floor, Tregarron was along the
corridor, through the door and into the room in an instant. A quick
look around, showed it to be empty.

Without breaking stride he
moved to the window. It was closed. Looking out, he could see there
was nobody directly below. He tried the window. It looked like it
could be opened with some effort, but suspected that Galvyn hadn't
climbed out that way, since there was a thick layer of dust on
the sill.

Instead, Tregarron looked through the glass, but found it
hard to see much apart from trees. The trees tops of the glades could
be seen for some distance as they sloped up the foothills.

He looked
down at the area of open ground between the guest house and the tree
line, but could see no discernible movement there and didn't dwell on the
view outside.

Instead his attention turned to the contents of the
room, where his search was interrupted before it could begin.

"You need just cause to enter here Tregarron, this
is not Demedelei where you can enter as you please," Mrs.
Willard said, with a determined expression.

He started looking around anyway, since the room was
sparsely furnished, he could see it wouldn't take long.

He moved to a chest, while speaking to Mrs. Willard, "Enyon Croneygee has been assaulted and badly hurt,
Galvyn is suspected of being an accessory."