If I Were a Herald

Chapter 48

Go With Her

A/N (1/23/06): I'm beginning to feel like the singer of "Do It Yourself." It's a filk song about making a computer from a freezer, an old typewriter, and a broken TV screen. Well, I don't have it quite that bad—but I keep wanting to add "Toshiba" to the chorus. That's the type of computer I have. I believe I mention it a few times in the story. Well, its latest adventure involved Sam's Choice lemon-lime soda and a broken backlight. So now, besides an external fan, I also have an external monitor. So much for using a laptop. It's much harder to type in the dark when the screen doesn't light up the keyboard.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Valdemar series. I don't own Toby Keith's "Go With Her." I don't even own the monitor I'm using to write this chapter. It's on loan from Campus Computing, because my monitor went caput. Please don't sue. Or if you do, wait a couple months. I've got a refund check coming, so I might actually be able to pay you then.

Fireblade K'Chona: That sucks about the song lyrics. I guess I'll just have to go back and cut the song lyrics from the chapter beginnings. Oh well. But I'll keep them in the "official" version. I'll be uploading that in my group, "Writers' Boot Camp." Thanks for the tip-off, though. And you know, in the Empire they build Gates at least that often. And besides not using her magic for anything else, Kali has all the ley-lines of Earth to draw upon. Some of the nodes, too.

Dark Angel Lytha: Well, the code would technically be in Khéósin script, but I'll translate it back into English letters for the sake of the computer. I'll start with an easy code-word: by. Two letters. The message is "I love my reviewers." First I change both message and code-word into Khéósin (which, in this case, just means I spell them phonetically). "Ai (one letter, b/c it's one sound) luv mai rívyúwurz." "By" would become "bai," but still be two letters. Actually, that's where it becomes complicated, because I haven't yet decided on an order for my alphabet. So let's use the English order, with extra letters inserted where they make most sense. a-ai-b-d-dh-e-é-f-g-gh-h-i-í-j-k-kh-l-lh-m-mh-n-nh-o-ó-oi-p-r-rh-s-sh-t-th-u-oo-ú-au-v-w-wh-y-z-zh. There are a couple more letters, but we'll use this alphabet for now. Thus, because the "Ai" is on the "b" cypher, it will be transposed two spaces, to become "d." Then the "l" will be transposed a single space, to be "lh." The "u" is on the "b" cypher again, so becomes "ú." And so on. The message eventually reads: "D lhúw nb sjwhzvwhúrha." Aren't codes fascinating?

Tempeste-Silere: Thanks for the suggestions.

Fairy Night. The night when pixies and brownies walked the earth, to play their mischief on mortal kind. The perfect time for pranks.

Now that I was on Earth, I had fewer options. I couldn't really do anything blatantly magical—although, truly, if I did, no one would believe it was magic. But magic was becoming rather boring and mundane. I'd used magic for a few Fairy Nights in Valdemar. Keeping things just out of reach with my Fetching gift.

This Fairy Night, I decided to go the water balloon fight way. With Blake and Jacoby. I cheated, of course. I found myself an empty cardboard box and used it as a shield. Still didn't win, though. Actually, Jacoby won. Dodging arrows is good practice for dodging water balloons.

Then it was Sovvan. As promised, I built my Gate to Valdemar. It was even easier this time—probably because the veil was thinner on Sovvan. Or Samhain, as the people of Earth called it. Halloween.

The other terminus of the Gate was in a small, out-of-the-way arch that nobody visited anymore. It wouldn't do for someone to stumble upon it, after all.

I let the energies of the Gate fade back into me, restoring my reserves of energy. Nothing like building a Gate once a week to help me with my magic. Another couple months of this and I'd be as good as any Tayledras—if I didn't collapse of exhaustion first.

I'd considered traveling in Herald's Whites, but I still wasn't comfortable in them. Besides, all mine were, well, rather unique. Easy to spot.

Camo wasn't a choice, either. No one in Valdemar had even heard of camouflage. So I had to compromise. Something simple and drab, like one of the peasants might wear. The only way to get such a thing on Earth would be to make it.

Fortunately, I'd solved that problem on my first trip back by buying myself some peasant garb at a pawn shop.

Unfortunately, this time, upon exiting the hedges that concealed the archway, I ran straight into an old friend. Said "old friend" immediately grabbed my arm and refused to let go.

"Hey, whoa, Vandir. I'm not really here. I gather from the hostile expression that things haven't blown over?"

"You gave me your word you'd not let the pirates escape," Vandir accused.

At that point I felt compelled to defend my honor. "I gave you my word I'd see them safely to land. I did that." I reclaimed my arm, but made no effort to run away. Vandir wouldn't have allowed me to escape. "So what's the situation with the Evendim Confederation?"

The hostile expression deepened. "Bad. They're convinced we have you, and are threatening to end all trade—and possibly declare war—if we don't hand you over."

My brow furrowed. That was confuzzling. "But why? I'm nothing. Come to think of it, there was a really large reward for me even before I left." I did a couple mental calculations. Wow. "Really big."

"Someone's convinced the Evendim Confederation that you mean to bring it down."

"Hell and damnation," I swore. "That's heavy. Who could have done that?" I'd made many enemies, and I'd learned not to name names on suspicion alone. I was going to have to gather more information. Which meant spywork. Best if that be done within the confines of the Confederation.

I'd have to tell Jacoby, of course. Which meant that somehow I'd have to convince Vandir to let me go back to Earth. "So what about Captain Jacoby?"

"What about him?"

"Are they still after him?"

"No; more's the pity."

I favored Vandir with my best pissed-off expression. "I'm going to marry him."

"You're crazy."

"It has been said."

"What'll you do now? Run back to wherever you've been hiding?"

Well, excuse me. I was still a Herald, no matter what happened. The only person who could change that was Lyrna—and she was with me all the way. "My duty lies with Valdemar."

"Oh, indeed?" Now his superior expression was challenging mine.

:I had orders to hide: I informed Vandir, using Mindspeech so he'd know I wasn't lying. The order may not have been in so many words, but Roald hadn't dared send me a message.

"But King Roald—"

"Politics, Vandir. Roald had to keep up the appearance of searching for me."

"If you say so. I try to steer clear of politics. Regardless, I still have orders to bring you before the king."

"Okay. But first, could you let me return to Earth? I mean, my hidey-hole. Lyrna's still there, and so is Jacoby. I've got to tell them what's going on."

Vandir smiled insincerely. "Right. And as soon as you're out of my sight, you'll run as fast and as far as your legs can carry you."

I regarded him coolly. "I didn't have to come back here. The safest thing for me to do would have been to stay where I was, rather than taking a trip here to see whether it was safe for me to resume my duties."

We stared at each other in silence. It stretched on and on, until it was becoming something of a contest, to see who could hold out longest. I shrugged and broke the oppressive absence of sound. I knew I could win, so I had nothing to prove. "It's not really like you have a choice. I'm going back to Earth whether you like it or not. It'll be easier on everyone involved if you just let me."

He thought about it. I could almost hear the wheels turning in his head. "I'll let you go," he said slowly, "if you'll swear to return in a timely fashion."

"You have my word," I replied solemnly.

Blake stared in wonder at the Gate as I stepped out of it. Well, this could be a problem. If I handled it wrong. Drawing on all my acting skills, I shrugged nonchalantly. "Wormhole."

He nodded, still gaping open-mouthed.

"Yo, kid, you trying to catch flies with that mouth? You'd do a frog proud."

With a shake, he pulled himself together. "How'd you do that?"

"State secret, kid. It's classified."

I met up with Jacoby a short while later and drew him aside for a conference. My mind was quite busy trying to figure out just how much I should tell him.

"So how did your king take the news that we're to be married?" he asked.

"What?" I asked distractedly. "Oh, right." That'd been the reason I gave Jacoby for my sojourn to Valdemar. "That. Actually, I never found out. Jacoby, we have a problem."

"I don't like how that sounds."

"It doesn't affect you, except indirectly," I hastened to assure him. "It's about me. The Evendim Confederation thinks I want to bring it down. Somebody told them Roald knows where to find me, and they're threatening war if he doesn't hand me over."

"He'd better not." Jacoby's expression boded ill for the King of Valdemar.

"He'd better," I replied calmly. "Look, Jacoby, Roald is a Herald. Yes, we Heralds stick together, but he also has to do what's best for Valdemar."

"Then stay here."

"No. I gave my word I'd return. I only came back here to tell you what the situation is, and to fetch Lyrna. You must understand, Jacoby. I have to confront them. This is personal. Someone wants me dead—someone in Valdemar—and I intend to find out who. You can come with me as far as Valdemar, if you'd like. The Confederation doesn't care about you, anymore."

"Good. Then they won't notice when I come with you."

There was a pause of several beats, as the fact that he'd quit arguing registered in my pea-sized brain. "Wait. Run that by me again?"

"I won't allow you to risk your life while I sit idle by."

I met his gaze unflinchingly. "No, Jacoby. There's no reason for you to be at risk as well. Any mistake on your part could cost us both our lives."

"I won't make a mistake," he assured me. "They don't know we're together, do they? Only that you rescued me."

It would have been nice if that had been the case. But there was a high probability that Jacoby was wrong. "They have an informant in Valdemar. Bards love to gossip—and for some reason I can't fathom, bards love me. I'd be surprised if they haven't written some sort of song about us already. Probably two or three."

It didn't phase him a bit. "Fine. Then I'll just have to go undercover. Like you do. I'll be…Captain Jack Sparrow, of the Black Pearl."

I suppressed a grin. That would have been my choice of cover for him, as well. He could play Jack perfectly.

"No one will recognize me," he continued. "There's only one town I visit on a regular basis, and that's Vertin."

"What about Belt? I found you there twice."

Was that a blush I detected? No, it couldn't be. "Actually, I went back there because—because that's where I'd met you. I thought—I don't know what I thought. Kali, I need to do this. I'd die if you got yourself killed because I wasn't on hand to rescue you."

We stared at each other for a long time.

:He's not going to back down: said Lyrna. :And having him along would be helpful. You might as well include him.:

Jacoby's eyes fluttered once.

"You blinked," I said.

"What?"

I didn't bother to explain. Some things just aren't worth the effort. "Alright, you can come. But if you get yourself killed, I'll never forgive you."

Vandir was waiting for us when we got back. Well, for me. And Lyrna. He didn't expect to see Jacoby at all. "Why are you here?"

"He's part of the team," I replied for him. "Together we're going to figure out who this informant is."

"Informant?"

"Nevermind. Just take me to your leader."

He didn't get that, either. But he did take us to King Roald.

Inside the palace, one of my…acquaintances…from Bardic cornered us. Vandir's pleas to let him finish his assignment didn't phase her a bit. She launched right into a song that I just knew she'd written herself, because it sucked. It took me five whole lines to figure out who it was supposed to be about—and it would have been longer, except it was about me. And Jacoby. There were a lot of references to Sunsinger and Shadowdancer. I groaned and hung my head. Jacoby just looked slightly pained.

"You sing much better than that," he whispered to me.

"No I don't," I replied under my breath, "but at least I sing good songs."

"Ah. Right. That must be it."

The entire Heraldic Circle awaited us in the throne room. "Hiya," I greeted them.

"For someone who's supposed to be conspiring with pirates to bring down the Evendim Confederation, you're awfully cheerful," the King's Own observed.

"Yeah, I've got a mad on for the entire Confederation, and it's a sucker who bets on them. Now to business. I've got a plan, but it's rather rough around the edges. If you have a better one, I'd love to hear it."

"What's your plan?" Roald asked.

"Um, basically, you hand me over, and I try to figure out what I can while I'm there."

"That's a terrible plan."

"You're telling me?"

"I've got a better one," Herald Villy suggested. "You said you think somebody here is feeding information to the Confederation?"

I nodded.

"Then, if we let it be known that Roald sent you on a mission to Karse, they'll find out. We'll have to leak the information carefully."

"I suspect it's a noble," I interrupted. "Their informant. So, if Roald summons me before the Council, they'll probably be there."

"Right. Then, instead of going to Karse, you head for Evendim. Even if they realize you're not in Karse, they won't think to look for you on their doorstep. Not alone, at least. They'd expect you to come with an army."

This plan sounded so much better than my plan. "I like it."

Roald nodded firmly. "Karse it is."

"Oh, one last thing. Jacoby's coming with me."

"What was that?"

Jacoby, who had until now remained silent, spoke. "I'm going to go with her. You can't stop me."

I present thee with the Eleventh Commandment: Thou shalt review.