Authors: Alex Bledsoe
“I believe you,” she said simply.
Now it was just me and a tent full of tense men and women trapped between two armies itching to go to battle for the fate of a kingdom. No pressure. I put away my sword and said, “I suppose you wonder why I’ve asked you all here.”
Despite everything, Bob Kay loudly choked down a laugh.
“It’s because I’m going to tell you a story,” I continued. “If I get something wrong, I apologize. I wasn’t there for some of it. But the broad strokes will be right.
“I’ll start with what I know for certain. A few days ago, a poisoned apple ended up on a tray in the queen’s possession. It was intended for Thomas Gillian. Before it got to him, though, a serving girl named Mary held it, and a new knight named Sam Patrice snatched it by mistake. He died in front of everyone in Nodlon. Some folks said the queen was responsible, some said I was. Neither was the case. I think we all know now who was behind it.”
Gillian said to Megan, “You wanted to
kill
me?”
“No, I—”
“Not a word,” I snapped at her. To Gillian I said, “Yes, she wanted to kill you, but that wasn’t the main point. And once it all went south, three groups got involved, all working at cross-purposes. One was the nobility, desperate to exonerate the queen in order to preserve the status quo. They decided
I
was guilty. The second was the Knights of the Double Tarn, long suspicious of the queen’s fidelity, and convinced
she
was guilty. The third was the king’s exiled sister, her son, and a trio of disloyal knights trying to salvage their original plan.”
No one said anything.
“My presence was what really screwed things up,” I continued. “The attack had been aimed at Gillian, but Patrice, another knight, would do almost as well. And if I hadn’t rushed to try and help Patrice, it might’ve still worked. Let that be a lesson about no good deed going unpunished. Then, when I started actually investigating things, the original plan had to be abandoned and covered up. That’s when the second murder happened. The serving girl who held the poisoned apples was quietly killed and dumped in the drainage tunnel beneath the castle.”
“She was?” Kay said in surprise. “We questioned her.”
“No, we didn’t. She was already dead. We questioned Megan here. She painted on some fake injuries and a lot of acting and fooled us both. She put the blame back on Jennifer by convincing us Agravaine tried to protect the queen. After all, why would a knight beat up a lowly kitchen girl if she didn’t know something important? And we fell for it.”
“How do you know all this?” Drake said coldly.
“Because when I found Mary’s body
after
we’d supposedly talked to her, there wasn’t a mark on her face. Not a scratch. Which was impossible. The only explanation was that we hadn’t questioned Mary at all. And once I figured that out, I realized how closely Mary, and Rebecca, and Elaine all resembled each other. Same height, same size. So when I met Polly, I knew exactly who she was.”
I let that sink in. Megan sat with her chin up, her eyes focused on nothing.
“So the queen was charged with treason, and once again my presence gummed things up,” I continued. “Kay sent me to fetch Elliot Spears, which Megan wanted to avoid at all costs; after all, Spears was unbeatable on the field, and a victory would end the plan once and for all. Megan left Nodlon ahead of me and made it to Astolat, where she planned to meet her son and explain the new situation. He, meanwhile, had amassed an army that would arrive at Nodlon just in time to witness the queen’s conviction and execution, catching King Marcus at his weakest point.
“When I got to Astolat before Medraft, she disguised herself as a poor tavern whore and tried to get me into a back room. Luckily I didn’t fall for it, but I did see Medraft arrive, and the dust from his approaching troops.
“I got away and made it to Blithe Ward. Elliot set off for Nodlon, while I got another task: deliver something important to a safe hiding place. Thanks to Dave Agravaine and his pals, I failed at that.” I grabbed Megan’s chin and forced her to look up at me. “And that
pisses me off,
Princess.”
“I’ll shed a tear when I’m old,” she said.
I released her contemptuously and resumed my story. “But I did kill Agravaine and his pals. They missed their rendezvous, so Megan assumed Elliot had dealt with them. She disguised herself as Polly and waited to intercept Elliot on his way to Nodlon. She had a wounded Bob Kay to use as bait. It says a lot about her that she didn’t trust an entire army of battle-hardened killers to deal with one man and felt the need to do it herself. But instead of Elliot arriving,
I
did, and she tagged along to learn what had happened. She probably would’ve killed me then, except she didn’t know who was in the coffin. When we got close to Nodlon, she disappeared. Until now.”
My fury rose as I looked at her again. “I knew it was you last night. I should’ve just killed you on the spot. Be glad I didn’t.”
Be glad,
I thought,
that Cameron Kern made me second-guess my instincts.
Drake stepped between Megan and me, towering over us with his considerable regal presence. He touched her cheek, smearing the blood from my cut. “
You
should be glad you didn’t, Mr. LaCrosse,” he said quietly. “She’s still a princess of the realm, and we’ll settle this according to our codes of law. Untie her, Bob.”
“I’m not done,” I snarled, my temper barely under control. “We haven’t gotten to Kindermord yet.”
“This is not the place to discuss that,” Drake said in the same soft voice.
“Oh, I think it is,” Bob Kay said. Loudly.
Everyone looked at him.
“I’ve been hearing that name for years,” he continued. “I overheard you and Kern talking about him, right before Kern stomped out of court. Every time I asked you who it was, you blew me off.”
“It’s never been the right time,” Drake said, as calm as if discussing which fork to use for his salad.
“
Fuck
the right time!” Kay shouted. He gestured with the sword. “Do you know what your precious nephew’s army has done? They’ve massacred everyone in their path. Men, women, children, even the goddamned farm animals!”
Marcus turned to Medraft. “Is this
true
?”
Medraft had no problem meeting the king’s gaze. “Shock-and-awe is a well-known tactic, Uncle Marc. With the queen compromised, someone has to step in and keep order.”
“Then your coup has already failed,” Drake said. “The people will never trust you now.”
“Sure they will,” Kay spat. “Because he made sure the survivors knew it was all done in the name of good King Marcus Drake.”
“They’d never believe that,” Drake said.
“They will when they see the bodies,” Medraft said coolly.
Drake turned away from Medraft. I couldn’t see his face, but I saw Medraft smile. It was the most contemptuous expression I’d ever seen.
“So please, Eddie, tell us about this goddamned Kindermord,” Kay finished. “Who the hell
is
he?”
“A secret identity,” I said. “Megan’s not the only Drake who pretends to be other people.” I looked at her. “Right?”
“You told me not to speak,” she said sullenly.
“Megan here has always been good at acting,” I said. “And she’s always hated her half brother for something his father allegedly did.”
“Allegedly?” Megan spat. The veins in her neck stood out as she strained against her bonds. “My mother would never have willingly let him touch her. She was a priestess and a sworn wife, not some tavern whore! She deserved respect and admiration, not the brutality of some robber knight who happened to win a joust. None of you here even
knew
her!”
“She still carries a grudge, as you can see,” I said. “It must’ve been awful back then, watching the seed of her mother’s degradation claim the throne of Grand Bruan. So she played the ultimate trick on him, one night after a battle when the local girls were giving their all to the victorious forces of King Marcus.”
I paused for effect, and to muster the resolve to say out loud something that had been kept secret for two decades. I wasn’t sure who to look at when I said it, so like Megan Drake I just stared into nothing.
“In disguise, she seduced her own brother. And she got pregnant from it. Her own living, breathing trump card to play at the right moment in the future.”
The tent was silent. Drake neither moved nor visibly reacted. The only noise came from outside: wind, clanking armor, distant voices.
At last a lone voice spoke. “So what are you saying?” Medraft asked in careful, measured words.
I’d thought there were no more surprises in this twisted tale, but I was wrong. Kern had told me only he, the king, and Megan knew about the seduction, but I’d assumed Megan had told Medraft, since he was both her son and her instrument of revenge. I’d guessed wrong.
When I didn’t answer, Gillian spoke to Megan. “Yes, what exactly is he telling us?”
“It means,” I said to Medraft, “your uncle is also your father.”
Here was a tangled family knot, all right. Everyone in the tent except me was bound by blood at some level: mothers and sons, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters. And the fate of the kingdom was bound up in it as well.
“Cameron Kern found out the truth,” I continued, as much to break the painful silence as to finish the story. “He knew Megan had gone to the moon priestess settlement in Smithwick to have the baby. This was before the edict that kicked them off the island. He told Marcus, hoping that the new king would make peace with his sister before word got out about what had happened. He arranged for Marcus to slip away, disguised as a merchant named Kindermord. But Marcus was still young, proud, and terrified his newly unified nation would find out the truth about him. So he panicked.
“One morning the good people of Smithwick awoke to find the moon priestess compound on fire. No one survived; oddly, no one even screamed or tried to escape, as if they were dead before the fire even started. Women, pregnant mothers, newborn babies, small children all died. Including, it was hoped, the king’s sister and her son. But they somehow got away.”
The tension made the air feel like thick gravy. At last a lone, small voice spoke. Queen Jennifer said, “Marc, is this true?”
A tremor went through the big man. He never got the chance to answer because at that moment one of the knights outside called out, “It’s Spears! Elliot Spears is coming!”
chapter
THIRTY-THREE
“Elliot’s alive!” Jennifer exclaimed.
“You said he was dead,” Drake said to Kay.
“
You
said he was dead,” Kay said to me.
I was too surprised to reply.
“Clearly none of you know the great Elliot Spears,” Medraft said ironically. “He can
never
die.”
“Don’t take your eyes off her,” I told Bob. He nodded, Medraft’s sword still in his hand, and stood behind Megan Drake. He placed the blade flat on her shoulder, its edge against her neck. She glared javelins at me.
I held back the tent flap so we could all see. Rattling down the hill the same way I’d come was a wooden hay cart pulled by a lone horse. The driver was indeed Elliot Spears, his tattered clothes revealing bandaged wounds even at this distance. In the cart were the bodies of at least half a dozen men, their limbs flopping as the rough wheels traversed the battered road. Unlike me, no one moved to block
his
path. A wave trailed and spread from him through the army, as the men realized who he was and stood to get a better view.
Spears stopped the cart beside my wagon. He winced as he stepped to the ground and looked back at the mercenary army. If he’d yelled, “Boo!” half of them would’ve fainted.
Spears saw me in the tent opening. “Mr. LaCrosse. I’m glad to see you safe. Things were more difficult than I expected. I got sidetracked.”
“You don’t know the half of it,” I said.
“Elliot!” Drake cried as he strode from the tent. The two men embraced. I had a sudden flash of the question that every small boy on Grand Bruan must ask at some point: in a fight between these two great warriors, who would win?
“I can’t tell you how happy I am to have you here,” Drake continued.
“Since the pyre remains unlit, I assume I’ve arrived in time to fight for the queen’s honor.” Spears nodded at the mercenaries. “But what is all this?”
“Guess,” Drake said.
“Medraft,” Spears spat.
“Good to see you, too, General Spears,” Medraft said as he sauntered from the tent. “We thought you weren’t coming. The queen’s guilt or innocence is now in your capable hands.”
The look Spears gave the younger man could’ve melted rock. “Yes, despite your best efforts, I am here. Next time send better assassins.”
“
My
best efforts?” Medraft shot back. “I’m only interested in justice. If the queen’s integrity is compromised, then it’s a threat to the whole kingdom. My army is here simply to maintain order.” He nodded at the corpses in the cart. “I have no idea who those men are. Or rather, were.”
Spears ignored him and looked at me. “Did you do as I asked?”
The look in his eye reminded me of those dogs that appear blasé and indolent until their master orders them to attack. I had no idea what would happen when he learned of Jenny’s fate. It wasn’t inconceivable that he’d blame—and take it out on—me. I said, “Yes.”
Spears turned to Drake. “Then when do we begin the battle and clear out this trash?”
“We were just passing the time by discussing some events of the past,” Medraft said. “Family stories I’d never heard before. They were quite compelling.”
“No one was speaking to you,” Spears snapped. “Enjoy the sensation of your head on your shoulders while you can.”
Gillian emerged from the tent behind Drake. He said softly, “You’re a rather large target, Your Majesty, for an archer out to make a name for himself.”
I think at that moment Drake would’ve preferred wading naked into the opposing army to going back into that tent, but he nodded and led the way. I dropped the flap when we were all back inside.