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Berdine, wearing a dark frown, skirted the man. “Good. See to it that it stays that way.”
Remembering all too well that her power was next to useless in the palace, Verna stayed close on Berdine’s heels. The soldier, apparently not eager to grab the Mord-Sith, instead blew a whistle that let out a thin, shrill sound, no doubt used because such a sound would carry up the stairs to other guards on patrol. The two farthest soldiers, however, stepped together to block the pathway through the room.
One of the two held up a hand, if politely, commanding them to halt. “I’m sorry, Mistress, but as he said and as you should well know, this is a restricted area.”
Berdine put one hand on a cocked hip. Her Agiel spun into her other fist. She gestured with it as she spoke.
“Since we both serve the same cause, I will not kill you where you stand. Be thankful that I’m not wearing red leather today, or I might take the time to teach you some manners. As you should be well aware, Mord-Sith are personal bodyguards to the Lord Rahl himself and we are not restricted from anywhere we choose to go.”
The man nodded. “I’m well aware of that. But I’ve not seen you around the palace for quite some time—”
“I’ve been with Lord Rahl.”
He cleared his throat. “Be that as it may, since you’ve been gone the commander general has tightened security in this area.”
“Good. As a matter of fact, I am here to see Commander General Trimack about that very subject.”
The man bowed his head. “Very well, Mistress. Top of the stairs. Someone will be able to see to your wishes.”
When the two guards stepped apart, Berdine flashed an insincere smile and swept between them, Verna in tow.
Crossing thick carpets of golds and blues, they came to a stairwell made of a rich, flushed, tawny marble webbed with rust-color veins. Verna had never seen stone quite like it. It was strikingly beautiful, with polished vase-shaped balusters and a wide handrail that was smooth and cool under her fingers.
Changing direction at a broad landing, she spotted at the top of the stairs not just patrolling soldiers, but what appeared to be an entire army waiting for them. These were not going to be men Berdine would be able to so easily get past.
“What do you think all the soldiers are doing here?” Verna asked.
“Up there and then down a hallway,” Berdine answered in a low voice, “is the Garden of Life. We’ve had trouble there in the past.”
That was the very reason Verna wanted to check on things. She could hear orders being passed and the sound of metal jangling as men came running.
They were met at the top of the stairs by dozens of the guards, many with weapons drawn. Verna noticed that there were a lot more of the men wearing black gloves and carrying crossbows. This time, though, the crossbows were cocked and loaded with the red-fletched arrows.
“Who’s in charge, here?” Berdine demanded of all the young faces staring at her.
“I am,” a more mature man called out as he pushed his way through the tight ring of soldiers. He had piercing blue eyes, but it was the pale scars on his cheek and jaw that caught Verna’s attention.
Berdine’s face brightened at seeing the man. “General Trimack!”
Men made way for him as he stepped to the fore. He deliberately took in Verna before turning his attention to Berdine. Verna thought she detected the slightest smile.
“Welcome back, Mistress Berdine. I haven’t seen you for quite a while.”
“Seems like forever. It’s good to be home.” She lifted an introductory hand to Verna. “This is Verna Sauventreen, the Prelate of the Sisters of the Light. She is a personal friend of Lord Rahl and in charge of the gifted with the D’Haran forces.”
The man bowed his head but kept his cautious gaze on her. “Prelate.”
“Verna, this is Commander General Trimack of the First File of the People’s Palace in D’Hara.”
“First File?”
“When he is at his palace, we are the ring of steel around Lord Rahl himself, Prelate. We fall to a man before harm gets a glance at him.” His eyes shifted between the two of them. “Because of the great distance, we can only sense that Lord Rahl is somewhere far off to the west. Would you happen to know where Lord Rahl is, exactly? Any idea when he will be back with us?”
“There are a number of people wanting to know the answer to that question, General Trimack,” Verna said. “I’m afraid that you will have step to the rear of a very long line.”
The man looked genuinely disappointed. “What of the war? Do you have any news?”
Verna nodded. “The Imperial Order has split their forces.”
The soldiers glanced knowingly at one another. Trimack’s face hardened with worry as he waited for her to elaborate.
“The Order left a sizable part of their force on the other side of the mountains, up near Aydindril in the Midlands. We had to leave men and some of the gifted on this side of the mountains to guard the passes so the enemy can’t come over and get into D’Hara. A large contingent of the Order’s best troops are presently heading back down through the Midlands. We believe that their plan is to take their main force down around the far side of the mountains and then eventually swing around and up to attack D’Hara from the south. We are taking our main army south to meet the enemy.”
None of the men said a word. They stood mute, showing no reaction to probably the most fateful news they had ever faced in their young lives. These were indeed men of steel.
The general wiped a hand across his face, as if all their concern was distilled into him alone. “So our army coming south is close to the palace, then.”
“No. They are still some distance to the north. Armies don’t move rapidly unless necessary. Since we don’t have nearly as much distance to cover as the Order, and Jagang moves his troops at a slow pace, we felt it would be better to keep our men healthy and strong, rather than exhaust them on a long race south. Berdine and I rode on ahead because it was urgent that I examine some of the books here…on matters to do with magic. As long as I’m here, I thoug
ht I should check on things in the Garden of Life to make certain that everything is safe.”
The man took a breath as he drummed his fingers on his weapons belt. “I’d like to help you, Prelate, but I have orders from three wizards to keep everyone out of there. They were quite specific: no one, not even the gardening staff, is to be allowed to go in there.”
Verna’s brow tightened. “What three wizards?”
“First Wizard Zorander, then Lord Rahl himself, and lastly wizard Nathan Rahl.”
Nathan. She might have known he would be trying to make himself look important at the palace, no doubt dramatically playing up the part of being a gifted Rahl, an ancestor to Richard. Verna wondered what other trouble the man had been mucking about in while he was at the People’s Palace.
“Commander General, I am a Sister, and Prelate of the Sisters of the Light. I’m fighting on the same side as you.”
“Sister,” he said with an accusatorial, squint-eyed glare that only an army officer could conjure up. “We had a Sister visit us before. Couple years back. Remember, lads?” He glanced around at the grim faces before turning back to Verna. “Wavy, shoulder-length brown hair, about your size, Prelate. She was missing the little finger on her right hand. Maybe you remember her? One of your Sisters, I believe.”
“Odette,” Verna confirmed with a nod. “Lord Rahl told me about the trouble you had with her. She was a fallen Sister, you might say.”
“I don’t really care what side of the Creator’s grace she was on the day she visited us. I only know that she killed almost three hundred men getting into the Garden of Life. Three hundred! She killed nearly a hundred more getting back out. We were helpless against her.” As his face reddened, his scars stood out all the more. “Do you know what it’s like to see men dying and not be able to do a bloody thing about it? Do you know what it’s like not only to be responsible for their lives but to know that your duty is to keep her out of there…and not be able to do anything to stop the threat?”
