The Last Dragon: Book Four

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Elizabeth was still in the garden, circulating with guests. She flitted from one to another like the bees moving from flower to flower in spring. She spent a little time with one, more with another, never outwardly questioning them, I was sure. But she was a master at palace intrigue, and the Black Swan Inn was little different than Crestfallen.

I would have expected her to be dressing for the ball. Bran promised to return at sunset to carry us to the ballroom, but we relieved him for the rest of the day. I sat, sipped tea, and watched.

A gentleman came to my side and asked permission to sit with me. I agreed, introduced myself, and learned he was the owner of several cargo ships. We talked little, mostly commenting on the comings and goings of others, and he taught me a new game.

“See that man and woman walking towards each other?”

“I do.”

“I will act the part of the woman,” his voice raised in pitch to speak in a higher octave. “You are a very ugly man.”

Catching on, I said gruffly as they greeted each other, “But I have money.”

“And with my beauty, I’ll convince you to give me all your money.”

We laughed and ignored the disapproving looks cast our way. The wealthy, for some odd reason, like people to be quiet. He said, “That couple under the Gardenia bush? You start.”

I covertly looked their way. They sat across from each other, both leaning over the small table to speak confidentially. I said, “My wife is understanding about these things. A man has desires.”

Using the high-pitched voice, he said, “You must leave her and only love me.”

“You can trust me,” I said. We exploded into laughter again.

He said, “What is your business in Malawi?”

“We have a few messages to pass on and then we have to depart.”

“Your ‘sister’ does not look like you.”

The statement put me off. Not because it was not true, but because I suddenly believed the man was pecking at me for information like a chicken pecking for the last bit of grain on the ground. I said, “Long story.”

“I love long stories.”

I stood. “Wonderful. Perhaps tomorrow I can tell it to you, and we can play the game of pretending to become others, too. For now, I must take care of a few urgent chores.”

I walked past Elizabeth, caught her eye, and flashed our two-finger signal for a warning, and looked over my shoulder to wave to the man as I hurried into the inn. She knew to be careful of him.

Once inside, the woman who had initially greeted us asked if we were pleased with the inn and could she be of service. I said, “Yes, you can. A man has mentioned a business opportunity, but I do not know him. Would you allow me to point him out?”

She said stiffly, “We do not give out information or recommendations about guests.”

We were at the rear door of the inn, peeking out. She might not profess to give out information, but her nose was in the crack just as far as mine. I whispered, “There, sitting alone near that woman in the green dress.”

“He is no guest of ours. I do not know who he is, and you were right to bring him to my attention.” She spun and hissed at a maid, “Find and send Ben Hammond to me. Look in the security office for him first.”

“I did not mean to get him into trouble.”

“We cannot have people wander in here and make false claims about their business. Imagine if you had been cheated.”

I thanked her and climbed the stairs to our room. The idea he was an interloper nagged at me, even more so when it struck me that he’d initiated the conversation and sat beside me. His pleasing personality aside, he’d controlled the conversation. If he was that good, he was dangerous. And he had been intent on speaking only with me. I tried to remember if he had any trace of Kondor accent or even that of Kaon.

I pulled my sword and admired the workmanship again, twisting and turning it in the light to find any sign of repair in the reflection. There was nothing but a perfect blade. I touched the edge lightly and looked at my thumb. A slight cut of skin, so shallow it didn’t bleed told me the blade was sharper than at any time since it had come into my possession.

The new scabbard was slim, the silver metal tips had a dull sheen, and it fit perfectly. I moved my new clothing to a bench and laid down on my back in the narrow bed. While thinking about why the man in the garden had singled me out, and why I was on the hard bed that was little more than a cot when a soft bed the size of my old room stood in the center, my eyes closed, and I slept the sleep of near mental and physical exhaustion.

Late in the day, Elizabeth returned.

I sat up and asked in a groggy voice, “Find out anything?”

“Plenty. Most of it of no value, but I hear there are new people in high positions, and all seem to come from the north. How about you?”

“There are six mages in residence at the castle when there is usually one. I went to the Waystone on the east side of the palace and it is either dead or dying. Nobody has used it in a month. I think the mages are stranded here.”

“Interesting. It confirms much of what I’ve found.”