Chapter 18 Not a Boy. Not Yet a Man
~ DONAVYN ~
“Benji, there’s something else I wanted to discuss with you—a new responsibility for you, if you believe you can handle it.”
Benji straightened from picking up a strap that had slipped off the harness as I’d hung it up in the stable, his expression solemn. “I can handle a lot.”
I offered what I hoped was a soothing smile. “I don’t doubt it—but this is… sensitive. And might be dangerous.”
“I’ve been in danger before. I can do it.”
I was surprised to find he didn’t say that with the sullen obstinance of a child, but with the firm belief of a young man who’d faced hardship.
I tilted my head to regard him. “Benji… I believe I’ve been somewhat remiss in not asking you your story,” I admitted. “I’ve been a bit consumed with everything else that’s happened. But I want you to know… if you need a listening ear, I am better at it than it might appear.”
His ears went red and he looked away, scratching the back of his neck. “I’m okay.”
“You’re doing very well here. But there is a great deal we’re asking of you. I want you to be sure you don’t have to face it alone.”
“Thank you.” But he wouldn’t meet my eyes.
I sighed, but I remembered Kgosi and what he faced with the dragons. I couldn’t force him to speak. “Well, we have another problem to tackle. A new challenge that has arisen since we’ve arrived in Fyrehold. And it involves… a need to assure ourselves of the loyalty of certain persons here.”
Benji frowned. “We wouldn’t expect Fyrehold people to be loyal, would we? Except—do you mean friends?”
“This person is not from Fyrehold. They are a Furyknight, and they have arrived here unexpectedly. That may or may not be suspicious. But I have devised a way that you could help me be sure.”
Benji’s eyes went wide and he looked around the stable as if to be sure we were alone. “You think you have a traitor?”
I tried to remain casual, but the word echoed in my bones.
A traitor to honor, absolutely. To Vosgaarde? Possibly.
“I don’t know. Which is why I need to check.
We can’t always know a man’s secret motives.
” Benji looked alarmed, so I hurried to reassure him.
“People will always claim to be our brothers—but some lie. And sadly, the best liars are the easiest to believe. I don’t wish to put anyone in harm’s way, so it’s my responsibility to determine if this man can be trusted. ”
“Man? Do I have to fight him?”
“No, no,” I chuckled. “But you may have to lie to him.”
Benji’s lips twisted. “Lie to help find someone who lies to hurt?”
“Yes.”
He nodded solemnly. “I’d like to help find liars.”
“I thought you might. It will involve a different sort of work—with people, rather than dragons.”
Benji looked wary. “I don’t want to stop working with the dragons.”
“You won’t, I give you my word. This is an additional task. So, it will mean more hours working in a day.”
Benji huffed. “There’s not a lot of hours working here. I get bored. That’s fine.”
“I’m glad you see it that way. In that case, walk with me. I’ll explain what we need…”
Late in the dead of that night, I slipped silently out of bed, leaving a sleeping Bren curled up on her side.
It was so hard not to touch her, not to pull her close.
But she’d worn the nightdress to bed again, and avoided meeting my eyes when we returned to the room after an exhausting banquet in which we’d stayed stone-cold sober, but the nobles—including Hanson—and Ruin, plied each other with drink.
My body was exhausted, and clearly Bren was wrung out. We’d both fallen into bed and held each other to sleep.
But now… now my body ached for her as I woke and slipped out of the covers and through the chamber, to the clothing I’d left on the chair. Not flying leathers, though it would make the trip cold. But a noble’s cloak with a deep hood, and the buff trousers and leather boots so favored here.
If I was seen tonight, I didn’t want to be recognized.
I prayed she wouldn’t wake while I was gone, but just in case, I scratched a note and left it in the sitting room, before easing out into the corridor and out of the castle in the dead of night.
When I reached the Southbridge Inn an hour later, a different boy was nodding off on his stool in the corner, but the tavern was utterly empty. And would remain so for another couple of hours, until the kitchen staff arrived.
Hood up to shadow my face, I whispered my instructions so my voice wouldn’t be recognized, then waited for the boy to retrieve Horace—who kindly brought me a cup of wine—and we settled at the table in the corner.
I sat facing the door in case anyone else appeared. Horace hugged a cup of ale, but knew better than to prod me. We’d worked together since I wasn’t much older than Bren.
“Thank you for understanding why we had to leave,” I whispered.
He nodded once. “Your abrupt departure concerned me. But for matters of safety, not coin.”
I nodded. “It’s why I’ve come to you tonight. You’ve always been more loyal than mercenary.”
The man huffed. “If I were in this game for coin, I’ve made a poor investment,” he chuckled.
I smiled, but kept the hood up, so I doubted he saw it. Then I let my tone tell him how serious this was. “Horace, I find myself in a position in which I must trust you more than I trust a man I would have called brother not many months ago.”
Horace’s brows rose and he looked over his shoulder. “You have a… two-faced friend?”
“I don’t know. That’s the problem. And I would ask for your help to determine the truth. In a manner I never believed I would ask of you.” Then I took a sip of the wine.
The innkeeper rubbed his balding head and frowned. “Your request… is it in protection of the king?”
“Absolutely.”
He met my eyes. “You suspect that brother of—”
“I only wish to be certain.”
“And how would I assist you?”
I took another sip of my wine. I’d known this man nearly two decades. He wasn’t going to like this. “I must… intercept his reports.”
Horace wasn’t surprised, but he sat back in his chair, staring at me grimly. “I told you when we started this, I am an aid to loyal fellows, not a—”
“I know. And if there were any other way, I would ask it, I assure you. But… if it’s any consolation, while the messages will be intercepted, no matter the content, they will not be destroyed. Your network will remain intact, and unhindered.”
“But the boys—their reputations if they’re discovered to have—”
“I propose adding a step. A boy, who will undertake the… extra duties, then return the message to the correct runner immediately. Your chain will be unbroken and untouched.”
“Unless I am found out.”
I nodded. Horace was a good man. A man of integrity, who held himself to standards, and took pride in being trustworthy. It was why I’d chosen him for my network so many years ago. We were of one mind about the importance of a man’s integrity, and the vault of his word.
“Horace, you know I wouldn’t ask this of you unless it were truly necessary.”
He took another sip of his ale, still sitting back in his chair. “Does the target… has he done anything you know, or is he only a suspect?”
“I know of personal offenses—from the horse’s mouth,” I ground out.
“As you know, I have always believed a man who is immoral in one area of his life should not be trusted elsewhere. But… I need proof. He is a favorite of our family. And, in truth, if he is revealed as honest, he will remain in our ranks—at least for this mission.”
“You believe he will be unmasked.” It was a statement, not a question.
“Yes. But as I said… I cannot make baseless claims and expect them to be listened to.”
“Your word should be given weight.”
“It is. But this is a particularly valuable asset. It won’t be discarded easily.”
Horace took another drink, and sighed, then sat forward again, his eyes locking on mine. “I will help. But if he finds out—”
“He won’t. We have a new boy. One he hasn’t met. You’ll pass the message to him and he’ll bring it to me, then deliver it to our usual runners.”
Horace nodded affirmation, but didn’t look happy about it. “He makes his reports on Fourthday.”
I almost couldn’t believe my luck. “He’s sending this week?”
Horace frowned. “He sends every week.”
“Every week?”
“Is that not usual? He’s done it since he appeared.”
“No,” I said emphatically. “That is… very frequent.” We’d received reports from Draeventhall once per month at most. While it was true, Ruin had less reason to cover his identity here, it was always a risk to send communications, even with a trusted network in place.
Weekly seemed… excessive. Were they all going to the same person? It seemed unlikely, but then again…
I sighed. “That is… good to know,” I muttered. “Wait, you said he’s done this since he arrived. When did he first reach out to you?”
Horace scratched his chin. “I think… two weeks before you arrived?”
I went still. “Why didn’t you mention him when I landed?”
“We were never alone—and I assumed you’d come to join him. He had all the right signals, and clearly knew you.”
I didn’t like this at all. While the timing probably affirmed Ruin’s story that he’d left Draeventhall the very same day Davros was judged by Ciar, something niggled about the timing.
I’d gotten lost in my thoughts and Horace cleared his throat to bring my attention back to him. “I pray he is loyal,” the older man said.
I wished I could say the same. But even if Ruin was truly loyal to Alexi, and working to uncover a mole in assistance to the kingdom, it didn’t change the kind of man he was.
“Thank you, brother,” I said instead. “I’ll send our boy to you tomorrow.”