Duke's Courier

6. Chapter One

Chapter One

Meikah stood beside Kellan on the deck of the old timber sailing boat, her gaze fixed on the dock ahead of them, the weathered timber looking like the next storm might pull it apart. The last light of the day filled the sky with vibrant colours, the ocean tinged with them. Brushing the strands of her rich brown hair back from her face, that had come out of the plait hanging down her back, she tried to focus on their plans to return home soon, rather than think about the depressing day they’d had.

It had started with a visit to the school for wayward students, their cover story for being in Port Mayren. She pitied anyone who was sent there, its atmosphere made her think of a prison. The students had kept their heads lowered, but she’d noticed more than a handful of them sending daggered looks towards the teachers. And not a single one of the teachers had smiled. They’d had hard expressions and in one case pursed lips and a deep frown. Meikah had been glad to leave and even more glad the school wasn’t in her future. At least she’d been glad until they’d reached Durnning Island, where they’d paid Shorty, the grizzled old man who owned the boat they were on, to take them.

Meikah had hated telling Daveth and Marta they’d been random victims caught up in a plot against Timell, a previous King, and their deaths hadn’t been personal. Nor could she help them return to their home with the dragons, even though Mezeth, one of the ancestor dragons, would have welcomed the two of them home. Or at least she would have welcomed them home if she had the ability to see and talk to the spirits.

Meikah sighed. Her plan to think of going home wasn’t working. She’d only been gone from Dreyton for three days. Obviously not long enough to have missed it and have it on her mind.

Kellan glanced at Meikah before returning his attention to the dock they’d nearly reached. His black hair was tied at the nape of his neck, many of the strands having escaped to blow about his face in the cool breeze. “We should do something more interesting tonight. See some of the sights around the city or something before it’s time to return home.”

“Your ‘something more interesting’ usually gets us in trouble and I don’t think the King will be as lenient as the Duke.” Meikah’s gaze momentarily collided with Kellan’s and she couldn’t miss seeing the mischief in his brown eyes.

Kellan chuckled. “I bet he’d be lenient if you’re involved. Especially since you saved his city from being destroyed by a dragon yesterday.”

“No, I saved a dragon from being destroyed by him and his city,” Meikah corrected. “She was the one held prisoner.”

“She would have figured out a way to escape and then destroyed the city and all the countryside for miles around,” Kellan said. “If not further.”

Meikah’s gaze was drawn to the back of her right hand where the silhouette of a dragon in flight sometimes appeared. She’d never asked to be dragon touched, but during the past few days she’d been glad for Letha’s so-called gift. With it she’d been able to save the life of an ancestor dragon and possibly the lives of Port Mayren if Kellan was right and Mezeth had escaped. She met Kellan’s gaze, drawing in a breath at the intensity of the look he gave her. She was still uncertain what she should do about his interest in her. It wasn’t like she was uninterested, but the two of them had to work together and if things didn’t work out between them, how would they manage to do that? She again looked at the dock, determined not to focus on such thoughts. Not after the day she’d already had. They slowed as they approached the dock and she was surprised to see a figure dressed in dark clothes, the hood of a jacket pulled up to shadow his face. But she didn’t need to see his face to know who it was.

She turned to Kellan. “Did you ask Shade to meet us here?”

Kellan shook his head. “Maybe he has something interesting for us to do.” He strode towards the front of the boat and tossed a rope to Shade who caught it and tied it off.

Before clambering out of the boat, Meikah thanked Shorty, who nodded in answer, arms crossed as he watched them leave.

“Do you finally have a reply to take back to the Duke?” Kellan asked Shade as they strode towards the horses grazing under a tree well back from the beach.

“In a manner of speaking.” Shade gathered up the reins of his horse.

“What sort of manner?” Meikah swung into the saddle, turning her horse to face Port Mayren. It wasn’t that far along the coast from them. “Or do you mean we now have something else we need to wait for before we can go home?”

“Tolmerr has asked to see us,” Shade said.

“Who?” Meikah glanced at Shade. What little she could see of his face, in the shadows created by his hood, was unreadable.

“The Commander,” Shade said.

Meikah stared at him for a moment. The leader of the entire Assassins Of The Dead faction wanted to see them? Her included? “All of us?”

“He mentioned the two of you by name,” Shade said.

“Did he say what it’s about?” Kellan asked.

“Only that he had the answer the Duke sought and to bring the two of you to headquarters.” Shade glanced at each of them. “He isn’t like Danton. He doesn’t sit down with his people for meals and he certainly doesn’t talk to them like they’re part of his family.”

“What is he like?” Meikah couldn’t help thinking of the teachers at the school for wayward students. Was he like them?

“He sticks to the rules, is fair, but tends to be rather distant with people,” Shade said. “That is, he is fair unless you’ve done something wrong and then I hear he can be quite harsh.”

Meikah thought about everything they’d done since arriving. Had they done anything wrong? She supposed she’d soon find out. “Should we call in and let Grandmother Isha know where we’re going?”

“I stopped in there looking for you,” Shade said. “She directed me to Shorty’s.”

Meikah hadn’t liked to involve her grandmother in Assassins Of The Dead business, but she hadn’t wanted to return to the island without letting someone know where they were going. Not after the last time they’d been out there.

Kellan spoke, interrupting Meikah’s thoughts. “I wonder what the letter the Duke sent to Tolmerr said. A pity we couldn’t have read it before we handed it over.”

“I doubt we’ll find out exactly what it said, but if we’re given a verbal answer to pass along, at least it’ll give us an idea of what the question might have been.” Shade nudged his horse to pick up speed. “It took you longer to return from the island than I expected. The Commander’s been waiting a few hours now. Even though he didn’t say it was important, I’ve been told he doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

Meikah nudged her horse to match the pace of Shade’s mount, Kellan also doing the same. They remained quiet as they headed towards Cryptic Ramblings. Obscure Texts And Scrolls, the bookshop the Assassins Of The Dead used for their headquarters in Port Mayren. They left their horses at the stable used by the local Assassins Of The Dead and headed inside.

She stopped in the doorway of the bookshop while her eyes grew accustomed to the shadowy interior. It didn’t take long since there’d been very little light outside. She scanned the area. It was a larger bookshop than Fable. Tomes Of The Arcane. And a much older building.

“This way.” Shade led the way to behind the counter where they slipped through a curtained doorway, heading straight up a set of stairs from the hallway behind the curtain. He stopped at one of the doors along the upstairs hallway that was guarded by a young man.

“He’s waiting for you.” The young man stepped to the side, nodding towards the door.

Shade knocked sharply.

There was silence for a moment and then a voice called out, “Enter.”

Shade swung the door open and ushered them in, closing it once they were inside. “Commander Tolmerr, we’re reporting as requested.”