The Slayer (Completed Book!)

Chapter 26 - Finding the Needle (1st Pass)

“I thought your friend was going to vomit when we cloaked back there,” Weryn said cheerfully.

“You should have seen him when I promoted him.”

They had made it out of the Vanguard camp and were heading back toward the barn. John had decided that Weryn would be more useful with him until after his meeting with Dylon’s father.

“I was wrong,” Weryn said after he pushed a snow covered branch aside.

“About?”

“You. Mia was right.”

John didn’t quite understand the man. He changed his conversations from formal to informal as quickly as the wind.

“Nothing I wouldn’t have done if I were in your shoes.”

Weryn merely grunted.

“Have you been with Mia for very long?”

“Thirty years or so. She saved my neck from Tekal. Been with her ever since.”

“Has she ever had a husband before?”

Weryn paused at a deer trail crossing. Looking from left to right, he continued on. “Would it matter?”

“No,” John replied honestly. “I’m just curious about her. I feel like a barely know her.”

“That’s because you don’t know her,” Weryn said with a grin. “And no, she hasn’t. Don’t know why either. It’s not like she hasn’t had any offers. Normally, she would have been married off by now but… Well you could say her father is more like you southerners in that he never forced her into marriage. I must admit, I was shocked when she accepted the assignment. Hell, even her father almost said no and he’d let her get away with treason.”

“Because she’d be a slave?”

“Aye. And let me tell you, she hadn’t ever bent to anyone. I still don’t know why she accepted it. She--She has changed since we left. I think it freed her in a sense.” Weryn paused again at one of the land marks they had made heading to the Vanguard camp. “You love her?”

He gave a weak laugh. “Love. Aye, but--“

“Celia?” When John coughed uncomfortably, Weryn laughed. “Everyone knows. Mia actually pointed it out from the start. I know it isn’t common in your land but, well, you aren’t courting someone from your land. How I see it? Go with it.”

It amused John how everyone seemed to have an opinion when it came to relationships.

They continued on in silence until they reached the barn. Five Caprian men dressed in light armor stood at attention near the large doorway. When they approached cautiously, the soldiers wordlessly stepped aside for them. Inside, Mia was in the middle of a conversation with an older looking Dylon. A rickety table and three stools were all the barn had to show for.

“--still has that wooden horse,” Dylon’s father said laughing. Mia laughed too, but John sensed it was more out of politeness.

Upon his entrance, Mia gracefully stood up from her chair. “Master,” she said as she made an impossibly deep curtsy. “This is High Merchant Barbados, father of Devotee Dylon.” Barbados stood as she extended her hand out to John.

“I’m pleased to introduce you to Lord John, House of Ce’l, Major of the Ce’l Empire’s Vanguard.”

Barbados bowed half as deep as Mia had. “My Lord.”

“Barbados, it’s good to finally meet you,” John said with a smile. He looked around the room for Dylon but the man was nowhere in sight.

“He is still in the Capri camp doing fire control,” Mia said over the mindlink.

Fire control?

Instead of asking what she meant by it, he sent the thought “have you seen your father yet?” to Nina, who was watching over the Ghourd camp.

“No, John.” There was a touch of bitterness to her thought.

“Dylon has informed me of the situation. I’m pleased to announce that I’ve made contact with all of the Kings and they are at the ready. Although I must admit, they don’t seem too troubled by it.”

John was both relieved and frustrated. They still didn’t know who the person was. He had hoped for a miracle of some kind, or perhaps a clue…a King disagreeing or something. But no, that would be too easy.

“And why would they not be?”

“It’s rather obvious who the traitor is.”

“Oh?”

“Kalian of course, my Lord. King Hugar is a greedy bastard that would do anything for more power. I wouldn’t put it past him to pull something like this off.”

“King Hugar recently signed an embargo that only allows one of Barbados’s competitors to trade in his kingdom.” Mia interpreted over the mindlink with a hint of tiredness.

“I see.”

“I say we kill them all now.”

Oh. THAT fire control.

“I want you to inform your Kings that the Empire will only fight when the traitor shows himself.”

John wasn’t sure if he could make decisions on behalf of the Empire but he had to do something.

Barbados quickly bowed. “Of course, my Lord. I will tell them that. Um--as for Tekal and the Head Mistress…?”

“She will be handled with tomorrow. Please let the Kings know that we plan on having everyone stay within their camps. If any one of the camps decides to move outside of their immediate area, then all the other lands will attack the one. I insist that they keep their soldiers in their camp at all times, starting tonight. I will know if anyone strays out from their camp.”

It had been something Lord Vaunder had thought of. All the camps were a good ten minute ride from where the actual Summit was being held. John planned on having men stationed at each camp, making sure everyone was where they were supposed to be. At any sign that one of the camps was betraying, his men would have all the other camps attack the traitor. The hardest part was getting everyone to cooperate. Normally every Brigade was given a quarter of the grounds to watch over and allowed to be within three hundred spans of the Summit. It was a big change, restricting them to only their camps.

Barbados bowed again. “I will send them the warning. But--I must ask the question that they will ask me. Why should we trust you? What if you are the traitor and this is all part of an elaborate plot?”

It was a relief to John to hear the mistrust. He would have been worried if the man had just accepted his terms. “Aye, I guess there is no good reason besides my honor. All I have to show for is your son’s vouch for me.”

Barbados’s eyes narrowed on his, and then he nodded. “Aye. That is enough.”

John held out his hand to Mia and she produced a sheet of paper. Handing it to Barbados, he said, “I would appreciate it if this was signed by each of the Kings. It is a written agreement to what I have just said. This same agreement will be signed by all the other Lands and will be presented tomorrow at the very start of the Summit. I would advise the men in your camp to keep a watchful eye on anyone from Tekal, especially the people assigned to the Kings.”

Barbados took the paper from him and read it. Nodding, he slipped it into his coat. “You have planned this well. I will pass this on to the Kings.”

When Dylon’s father left, Nina’s voice came to John. “He is here.”

John motioned Weryn to go.

“Any sign of Tekal, Nina?”

“Two men I’ve sworn I’ve seen before--both dressed in white robes,” Nina reported.

“Will, Akara, come over here.”

The two immortal teenagers curiously walked over to him as he pulled out a piece of charcoal from his pocket. He quickly sketched the Ghourdian camp into the table.

“I need a distraction from you two. If you go here,” John pointed to a corner of the camp. “You will find their horses. Coordinate with Weryn when he is finished. Time it just right and hopefully we can create enough chaos to smuggle Lord Vaunder out of the camp long enough to get what we need from him.”

“Wouldn’t it just be easier if we handed him a mindlink, Major?” Akara asked.

John looked at her dumbly. A slow grin formed on Will’s lips before John frowned at her. “When did you get so smart? It’s simple. I like it. Get one on him but both of you go. Watch each other’s backs.”

“Yes dad,” Will exasperated.

“Smartass. I’m not that old.”

He grinned and motioned Akara to follow him out.

“Weryn. Will and Akara are pinning a mindlink on Lord Vaunder. Do some recon work while you are in the camp and try to hold out for as long as you can.”

“Yes, sir.”

“John…”

John turned to Mia. She was staring at the barn’s door. Following her eyes, he gasped.

“Waylon!”

The noble’s right side was covered in blood and he limped on his right leg as if it were broken. One of Donnie’s men had Waylon’s arm wrapped around his neck, half pulling the man forward.

“Nina, get to the barn. Now.”

“What is it?”

“Just get here.”

“How do you make these bloody things work?” Waylon gasped, throwing his mindlink to the ground. “Worthless piece of shit. I don’t see how Cedrick did it.”

The Ce’lian stumbled and took Donnie’s man with him. As the two struggled back up to their feet, John rushed over to help, “What the hell happened?”

“In a sec.”

“What’s your name?” John asked the man.

“San, sir.”

“Okay San. Help me carry him to the chair.”

They each grabbed a leg and half of Waylon’s back, carrying him like a chair. When Waylon cried out in pain, John grunted, “Stop being a baby. I hear enough complaining from Nina since you left us.”

When they dropped him into the chair, his friend growled, “I’m not being a baby. You try taking on five bloody Slayers.”

“Actually he did,” Mia said with a smile. “And was about to get himself killed till I showed up.”

“It was six, thank you very much. And I was naked and weaponless.”

“Excuse me. Injured guy here.” Waylon exasperated, drawing both John and Mia’s eyes from each other.

“Waylon?” Nina cried from the doorway.

She must have sprinted the whole way here.

Waylon gave her a ruthful grin. “Hey darling.” She covered the distance between them in seconds and almost tackled him to the ground.

“Whoa, easy there. It’s okay. I’m fine. Really. Just a scratch. Oh, don’t cry.” Waylon whispered into her hair as she started to sob.

“What happened?” John asked quietly.

Patting her head comfortingly, he said, “Cedrick, the crazy bastard. He sent all his energy into Tekal’s Talent Stone stock, back behind the Court. Almost blew us all to oblivion. All the energy trapped in those stones came out with a big bang. The bloody ceiling just vanished. Threw both of us a good hundred spans. He got knocked unconscious so I had to carry him to the stables. Didn’t even get to the Ring. A squad of Slayer’s intercepted us. Had to dropped Cedrick and fight, no place to run. Killed four of them but they pushed me back, way back from Cedrick. They grabbed him.

“Then one of the bastards hit me with a cheap shot. Cut me up pretty damn good. Ended up jumping down the trash chute in the kitchens. Went into hiding for the rest of the day. Healed myself enough to sneak back in and take a portal. It was weird, George wasn’t there. Thought they were shadowing me. Spent the rest of the night covering my tracks. Jumped through two more portals and backtracked three times before I headed here. Killed my damn horse. Poor thing, died from exhaustion.”

He took a deep breath and then said to the woman sniffling in his arms, “I’m sorry, Nina. I couldn’t bring back Cedrick.”

She smiled through her tears. “I’m just glad you are safe, my love.”

His eyes widened slightly, and then he frowned. “I’m sorry but, I don’t think your going to love me when we are broke.”

John suppressed a laugh, “I get a feeling that won’t be the case. Ahh, speaking of father-in-laws…”

“What’s our status?”

Weryn was first. “Rand and I have already gained access to the camp and I’m heading to the King’s tent now. No sign of Tekal yet. ”

“Just made it to the Lord’s tent. Entering now.” Will reported.

John waited patiently, and then Akara’s voice came to him. “Lord Vaunder has the mindlink. Three Slayers are outside, they haven’t detected us.”

Thinking of Waylon’s problem with the mindlink, John said, “Lord Vaunder. This is John Ce’l. Please don’t talk, the Slayer’s have keen hearing. If you can hear me, nod to Akara.”

“He nodded, Major.”

“Do you have the papers? If so, hand them to Akara, she will get them out.”

A few seconds later, Akara said, “I have them, sir.”

“Did you dig up any information on the eight other Lords?”

“He is nodding… He is handing me a parchment.”

“Read it to me, Akara.”

“It says he found a paper trail from Lady Reana, House of Creed. She has received multiple gifts from the Head Mistress. The thing is, she claims she has been receiving them from her brother. Also, he has noted here that she holds a lot of power over Lord Copia, her husband, and that she is a very ambitious woman. There is also a connection between Lord Niles, House of Direk. Niles has been sending a good number of messengers to Tekal, all of them addressed to the Head Mistress. Many of the messengers have died in route.”

“How is that…”

“The letters are rigged to self destruct and kill anyone near its opening, if not opened by the Head Mistress. A tick some nobles use to guarantee safety. It’s done by mages. That is all that’s written.”

“Is this everything Lord Vaunder?”

“He is nodding.”

“Thank you Vaunder. Akara, Destroy his letter to us. Then head back here with the signed documents… and get Will to check in on our two suspects. Ask him to find out if any of Tekal’s people are near them. In fact, get me a count of all Tekal’s people in the Ghourd camp and their locations, especially if they aren’t near the Lords.”



Later that night, everyone gathered around John. They had gotten every land to sign the document except for the Empire, which he would get when Tyrn arrived. Thankfully, the Vanguards were keeping to their camp until Briar and Braggar showed up.

“Lay it on me.”

Will, who was to his left, started. “Both of our Ghourdian suspects have had come into contact with Tekal’s people behind closed doors. A sound ward was used each time they met so I couldn’t hear. Both could be it.”

Akara was next. She frowned at Nina and looked at John pointedly but he motioned for her to go on. “Lord Vaunder’s claims are valid and everything he says checks out. No signs of him lying are present when you spoke to him. All evidence of this morning’s attack--“

“You investigated my father?” Nina demanded.

Waylon laid a hand on her shoulder. “He has to cover everyone Nina. Even Lady Tyrn. Don’t take this to heart.”

She glared at Waylon for backing up John but didn’t object any further.

John nodded to Akara to continue. She hesitated again, glancing at Nina, before turning to him and saying, “All the evidence of this morning’s attack leads me to believe no one in the Vaunder’s Estates was responsible. I think we can safely assume Cedrick was pressured into giving them our location”

Nina glared at John be he ignored her. He turned to Weryn.

“King Hugar agreed to your plan without a challenge. He accepted my word that everyone else had signed the same document. Three reasons why he would do this, in my opinion… One, he is a trusting man or believes he can trust me. Two, someone already informed him of what was going on among all the camps and wanted to show good will toward us. Three, he is the traitor. Over the course of our conversation, he showed signs of tension but he hid them well. It could be the burdens of being a King… or something more.”

Donnie sighed. “No suspicious activity around the parameter and there hasn’t been a messenger in or out since we came here. Either this has all been planned to the T or we are chasing ghosts.”

“Is that normal?” Mia asked. “No messengers from any of the camps?”

“Not unusual, especially it being a day before the Summit.” John let out an identical sigh to Donnie’s. “Caprian’s checked out when I went over there which leaves three people who we could easily pin as the traitor. Everyone is sharing the same motive… Was Tekal present when you were there, Weryn?”

“Aye. Three Slayers were stationed outside. I used a trick I learned though. They shouldn’t have heard what we had said.”

“Some day you are going to have to teach me that,” John smiled weakly. If we survive.

“Alright. Donnie, keep your men on the parameter and continue your surveillance though the night. Mia’s team will relieve you in shifts. Inform me when Lady Tyrn arrives and assign two Hunters to her, cloaked. I want to know if anyone, and I mean anyone, talks to her the moment she arrives. Any questions?”

When no one said anything, he nodded. “Good night then and see you in the morning.”