The Invisible Ring

Chapter Twenty-four

Leaning against his desk, Krelis slowly twisted the Sapphire-Jeweled ring on his right hand.

Darker than the Green Jewel, lighter than the Red.

But skill and training counted for something, didn’t they? What was a pleasure slave’s raw strength compared with centuries of learning how to fight? What difference did it make if the bastard wore the Red? He didn’t really know how to use it.

Except the Shalador Warlord had held off the marauders who had banded together to capture the Green-Jeweled bitch-Queen. Had done a lot more than hold them off.

Had his pet been partially responsible for that? Krelis wondered as the Sapphire Jewel appeared and disappeared with each turn of the ring. Had he used his own training to support and guide the Red? It could have ended with that ambush. Should have ended with it.

His pet had been a serious miscalculation. He hadn’t expected loyalty. No Hayllian expected real loyalty from these here-and-gone races. But a man who allowed himself to be bought should have the good sense to stay bought.

Well, that was one other thing he’d take care of when he got to that privy hole called Ranon’s Wood.

“Come in,” Krelis snapped in response to a knock on his office door.

Lord Maryk stepped into the room just far enough not to be noticeably still in the corridor. “All the supplies have been gathered, Lord Krelis. The guards from the last two southern Provinces are expected within the hour.”

“I’d thought my instructions were simple enough to be clear,” Krelis said, keeping his eyes on his Sapphire ring.

“We don’t need a lot of supplies. We’ll be back here by tomorrow night.”

“Our men will need to eat after a fight,” Maryk replied stiffly.

A fight, Krelis thought, resisting the urge to laugh in Maryk’s face. How much fight would a village that had already sustained an emotional belly wound have left?

“We’re not fighting other warriors,” Krelis said curtly. “Whoever is left in that village already lost a battle with their own people. How much of a challenge can they be to a thousand Hayllian warriors?”

“Closer to fifteen hundred.”

Krelis finally looked up.

Maryk shrugged. “Because this was a special request from the High Priestess’s court, every Master sent along a few more than we’d asked for.”

The other Masters had undoubtedly added a few to keep tempers from flaring as well—not only in the guards’ quarters but in the manor houses of the Hundred Families. What young, ambitious male serving in a lesser court wouldn’t resent being kept from an assignment that might bring him to the notice of the most powerful witch in Hayll?

He’d felt that way himself not all that long ago.

Some things, however, were best seen from a distance.

“We’ve already wasted enough time waiting for these young bucks to finish buttoning up their pants and shining their boots,” Krelis said. “We leave in one hour. If the southern guards aren’t here by then, they can stay behind or catch up to us.”

“I understand, Lord Krelis.” But Maryk didn’t leave. “Have you decided who will take command of the men?”

Krelis rounded the desk, opened a drawer, and took out a large, white feather. Tucking it inside his leather vest, he said, “I will.”