Word of Traitors: Legacy of Dhakaan - Book 2 (48 page)

Ashi ground her teeth. “Apologize to—”

The door of the torture chamber opened. Ekhaas emerged first. Her red-brown face was drawn and her amber eyes haunted.

Geth and Tenquis followed, the tiefling leaning so heavily on the shifter that Geth might as well have been carrying him. Blood spattered Geth, matting the patchy, half-burned hair of his bare chest. Tenquis shook with every step as if his legs might give out under him. His dark face was ash-pale and carried a sheen of sweat. His golden eyes were dull and seemed to stare off into some private nightmare. Breath came in shudders. His clothes—shirt, leather pants, labyrinth-patterned vest—hung awkwardly on his body, as if someone else had dressed him. They were mostly clean, though. No blood soaked through to betray an injury. His face was bruised and scraped as if a coarse gag had been bound into
his mouth, but that was all. Geth seemed to have suffered more. For a moment, Ashi wondered what had been done to him or if Ekhaas’s magic had somehow healed him of any wound.

Then she realized that where the tiefling’s long, sinuous tail should have been was only a thick, bandaged stump.

Geth’s mouth was set in a hard line. His gaze fell on Aruget. “He knows everything,” Ashi said quickly, but Geth didn’t seem to hear her. His eyes settled on Midian. He shifted Tenquis’s weight onto Ekhaas and went to the gnome, dropping to his knees in front of him. Midian had two vials of pale blue liquid ready in his hands—the healing potions he had mentioned, Ashi guessed—but Geth ignored them.

“I have to tell you something,” he said hoarsely. “And I’m sorry about it. On the night that Ekhaas, Dagii, and I went to see Tenquis, Chetiin found us.”

Ashi stiffened. “You’ve seen Chetiin?” She looked to Ekhaas, but the
duur’kala
was watching Geth and Midian, her ears flicking rapidly. Aruget’s hand grasped her arm, urging her to silence. Geth’s attention was entirely on Midian, whose eyes, in turn, were darting rapidly between each of them.

Geth continued without even a pause, as if he was determined to speak his piece before they left the dungeon. “He convinced us that you were actually the one behind Haruuc’s assassination”—Ashi couldn’t hold back a gasp, but Geth still didn’t stop—“and that it was a
shaarat’khesh
assassin you hired who pretended to be Chetiin. I thought I found evidence that confirmed it, but I was wrong.” He half-turned his head to speak over his shoulder. “Ekhaas, Chetiin lied to us. He was supposed to go with you and Dagii to fight the Valenar, but he stayed in Rhukaan Draal.” The shifter stood. He turned to look at all of them, fury twisting his face. “On the day of Tariic’s coronation, when I rushed up to my chambers, I caught him in the middle of stealing the true Rod of Kings. He betrayed us again!”

Midian’s eyes opened wide. Aruget stood frozen. Ashi’s stomach felt like it had turned over inside her. “So Chetiin has the Rod of Kings now?”

Geth bared his teeth and nodded. He might have added something, but Ekhaas spoke first. Her ears went back and she said, “Geth, Chetiin
did
fight with us.”

“He stole the rod! I saw him!”

“He was with us!” Ekhaas insisted. “He’s with me now—he’s standing guard outside the dungeon!”

“He’s here,” said the
shaarat’khesh
elder’s strained voice. All of them turned to follow it. Chetiin crouched at the foot of the stairs, a dagger in his hand, and his black eyes glittering. Ashi’s stomach flipped again.

“You
!” Geth roared—and charged at the goblin.

Chetiin slid aside, flattening himself against the wall. Geth sprawled past him, twisted around, and came back up. The terrible, savage growl was back. Chetiin kept his back to a wall, dagger ready. “I did what you asked,” he said tightly. “I went with Ekhaas and Dagii. I kept them safe.”

“Liar,” Geth snarled.
“Traitor!”

“He was with us,” Ekhaas said again. “He couldn’t have stolen the rod!”

Geth paced forward, stalking Chetiin. The old goblin held his ground. “Then maybe he did what he accused Midian of doing,” said Geth. “Maybe he hired another of the
shaarat’khesh
to do the job while he went with you as a cover!”

“Or maybe,” said Aruget, “Chetiin was right the first time he approached you.”

His heavy accent had vanished again, but Ashi wasn’t certain anyone else noticed it. All eyes went to Aruget, then followed his to Midian.

The gnome looked shocked, then his expression drew together in anger. “That’s impossible! I wouldn’t do something like that—and even if I did, where’s this
shaarat’khesh
I’m supposed to have hired?”

“Dead,” said Chetiin. “Silenced so he couldn’t give you away and the assassination would be laid solely on me.”

“And I just hired another to steal the rod.” Midian pointed at Chetiin. “He’s trying to turn you against me again! Would the
shaarat’khesh
agree to work with me a second time if I’d already turned on one of them?”

“There was no
shaarat’khesh,”
Aruget said calmly

P
ain and fury seethed in Geth. Pain from the burns inflicted on him. Fury at what had been done to Tenquis. Fury and pain both for Chetiin’s treachery, as fresh and hot as if the rod had just been stolen or if Haruuc were newly struck down. The goblin torturer was dead, though, and with every breath, Geth promised himself that soon Chetiin would be, too.

But Aruget’s words broke through the rush of blood that roared in his ears. “There was no
shaarat’khesh.”

If there was no
shaarat’khesh
involved in Midian’s scheme, that meant …

He looked at Midian again.

On the night they had first gone to see Tenquis, Ekhaas had used magic to disguise Geth as a hobgoblin woman. Midian’s pack and pouches were filled with strange and useful magical devices—one of them might easily have been capable of disguising a gnome as a goblin. The two races were about the same size and Midian was an excellent mimic. He fought well too. Surprisingly well for a scholar, even an adventurous one.

Geth thought back to the day he had investigated Chetiin’s room and confirmed that there was a ledge above the fireplace, just as the goblin had said. He’d encountered Midian in the hall afterward. He’d thought then that Midian hadn’t noticed the soot smudge on his face, but what if he had? The gnome could have investigated Chetiin’s room and discovered that the supposedly dead
shaarat’khesh
elder was no longer where he’d been left. Midian would have realized that at least part of his plot had been
uncovered. He would have had to act. But no …

“It’s not possible,” he said. “Midian wasn’t in Rhukaan Draal when Haruuc was assassinated.”

“Whose word do you have for that?” asked Aruget.

“The coin he brought back to Ekhaas from Bloodrun—”

“—could have come from anywhere,” Ekhaas said, her voice low. “The messenger we sent to Bloodrun to fetch him supposedly died of dust fever, didn’t he? What if he didn’t?”

The gnome made no reaction to the accusations. His face was expressionless.

Ashi spoke up. “I saw you at the beginning of the coronation ceremony,” she said to Midian, “but not later. Afterward when I talked to you about what happened there, you said you didn’t see anything because your view was blocked. But you didn’t stay, did you? You made sure I saw you, then you left to disguise yourself again and steal the rod.”

Midian’s silence was hard to ignore. He damned himself with it. He kept very still, back against a wall. There was a tension in him Geth hadn’t seen before, like a blade ground so keen the touch of a whetstone would break it.

“Why?” Geth asked him.

A cold smile split Midian’s face—and he sprang into sudden motion. One hand hurled the potion vials at Chetiin and Geth. The other whipped a knife, the blade stained black, from his belt as he leaped at Aruget.

A bad feeling about those vials gripped Geth. He stuck out his hands and dived for them, snatching them out of the air as gently as he could. Aruget swung a bulky sack up at Midian, but the gnome ducked around it with astonishing speed. His knife slashed, forcing Aruget back, then he was past him and running for the stairs. Ashi ran after him. Ekhaas shifted Tenquis so he leaned against the wall, and drew breath, ready to sing a spell at the fleeing gnome.

It was Chetiin who caught him, though. The goblin’s movement was as fast as a thrown knife. He bounded past Geth and actually seemed to run along the wall itself for several steps before launching himself at Midian. His arms wrapped around the gnome’s legs and brought him down. Midian’s knife flashed, but Chetiin twisted
and the blade struck stone. Then Aruget was at his side, tearing the knife from Midian’s grasp and pinning both wrists with one large hand. Chetiin rolled free, grabbed the fallen knife, and held the stained blade to the gnome’s throat.

Midian went still, as if he knew further struggles were useless. His eyes were like chips of glass. He glared up at Aruget. “Dark Lantern?” he asked.

Aruget’s ears flicked as he hauled the gnome upright. He nodded to Geth. “Good catch. I doubt you would have wanted to drink—or breathe—those potions.” The hobgoblin looked to Ashi. “Or Midian’s wine. I don’t think you were intended to survive your rescue.”

“He called you a Dark Lantern,” said Chetiin. The captured knife didn’t waver, but Geth saw the goblin steal a glance at Aruget. “You’re an agent of Breland?”

“You can trust him, Chetiin,” said Ashi. “He’s a friend.” She caught Geth’s eye, then Ekhaas’s, and added, “An old friend.”

An old friend? Geth thought of the only other Brelish agent he’d ever known—the half-elf, Benti Morren. He glanced at Ashi and silently mouthed Benti’s name. Ashi nodded. Geth turned back to Aruget in confusion but the hobgoblin only held up a hand.

“Not now,” he said.

Ekhaas wasn’t so easily put off. “What’s a Brelish Dark Lantern doing in Darguun?”

“Getting more involved than I should be for someone whose orders were only to watch,” Aruget said. He gave Midian a gentle shake. “A better question would be what’s an agent of Zilargo doing in Darguun? We found out that Midian had attached himself to Tariic. We already had suspicions that Haruuc was up to something. I was sent to keep an eye on both of them, but I don’t think anyone ever thought it would go this far.”

Geth looked to Midian. “You work for Zilargo?”

Somehow Midian managed to look proud. “I work for the Library of Korranberg,” he said. His eyes went to Ekhaas. “That coin was from Bloodrun. You go there and look. You’ll find Koolt Dynasty ruins—”

His words ended at the touch of the poisoned knife to his throat. “I don’t care who you work for,” said Chetiin. “I want to
know about Haruuc. I don’t particularly care that you tried to kill me in the process. I want to know why you killed him.”

“I think I know,” Ashi said. She moved forward, her eyes wide and thoughtful. “When Esmyssa ir’Korran told me that Zils negotiate instead of fighting wars, she said that Zilargo prefers to deal with stable rulers. Haruuc wanted the Rod of Kings to keep Darguun stable. If Midian helped him find it, Zilargo would have the stable neighbor it wanted
and
an agent with Haruuc’s trust.” She raised a finger. “But when Haruuc became warlike under the influence of the rod, it didn’t suit Zilargo’s plans, so Haruuc had to be removed. We thought he was killed to keep him from discovering the power of the rod or to prevent a war, but that was only part of it. He was also killed so that a lhesh more sympathetic and less warlike would come to the throne.” A second finger joined the first. “Tariic also trusted Midian. And he’d said that he wanted to bring Darguun into greater contact with the rest of Khorvaire.”

“Tariic wasn’t Haruuc’s heir,” said Chetiin. “Any warlord could have taken the throne.”

“But Tariic was in a better position than anyone else.”

Geth felt a chill in his belly. “Zilargo killed Haruuc?
Gnomes
were trying to influence the rulers of Darguun?” He looked Midian—who smiled—then at Aruget. “I thought Zilargo was supposed to be Breland’s ally!”

“In this game, there are no allies and no traitors,” said Aruget, “only opportunities. Haruuc started a small war to avoid a large one; Zilargo killed a king to keep their peace. I doubt if Breland would object to a more pliable lhesh either. If you ask in Zilargo, though, I don’t think you’ll find anyone who would admit to anything more than regret at Haruuc’s assassination.” He gave Midian another shake. “What do you have to say to this?”

The gnome looked at Ashi. “I’d say you have more imagination than I thought you did.”

Ashi’s lips pressed tight, and for a moment it seemed that she might lose her temper. She kept her emotions in check, however, and Geth could see Vounn’s influence in that. She raised a third finger. “After the assassination, Midian slipped out of Rhukaan Draal. Whether he actually went to Bloodrun doesn’t matter. He
must have anticipated we’d send a messenger for him, though, and he dealt with him. When the city reopened after the mourning period, he returned—and discovered that by killing Haruuc, he’d only made things worse. For a little while, we were all working toward the same goal of finding a way to keep Tariic from succumbing to the curse of the rod.” She cocked her head to one side. “It’s even possible he came up with the idea of a false rod before he found out about the curse. We just gave him the perfect chance to propose it. He may have intended to steal the true rod all along.”