A/N: I wanted to say a quick thank you to gothatheartholo and kaeiru for leaving reviews. It's very encouraging. Thanks!


Chapter Three

Thus far, the trip to Peterny had been uneventful. Adray had, for the most part, kept quiet, making no effort at conversation– which was just fine with Nel. As they would arrive in Peterny tomorrow morning, she even dared to hope that her misgivings had been ill-founded and that Adray really had simply wanted to accompany her to the city with no hidden agenda. However, as they finished preparing camp and were waiting for dinner to cook over the fire, she experienced again that sinking feeling as Adray, for the first time during the trip, began to speak.

"Are you sleeping with my daughter?" he rumbled. For a moment Nel froze. She did not want to be having this conversation with Adray.

She kept her tone carefully neutral, and put on her soldier's face as she replied, "Isn't that something you should be asking Clair?"

"I'm asking you," returned Adray. When she set her jaw and did not reply, a sound very much like a growl poured out of Adray's chest. "It was you all along, wasn't it?" He shook his head and Nel bit her tongue so as not to say a word. Did he think she'd seduced Clair? It would serve him right if she told him that it was the other way around. At nineteen she'd been certain that she was in love with her dearest friend, but she'd resolved to never speak of it, to be silently devoted to Clair, but to try to go on as they always had. It was Clair who had come to her one night and changed everything.

"You can't give Clair what she needs."

"And what would that be?" shot back Nel, staring him in the eye now, fists clenched. That he should think himself able to tell her anything about Clair...

"Children. "

A bark of laughter, harsh and grating, erupted from Nel. Adray was scowling and the firelight flickering over his craggy features gave him the look of a gargoyle, yet Nel could not help but be overwhelmed by the ridiculousness of the situation. "And what do you know about what Clair needs? You're never here; you're always away on some mission in distant lands, and when you are here you never listen."

The crackling of the campfire flicking between them was the only sound for a long moment. Nel did not flinch beneath Adray's unblinking stare and when he spoke it was in a low, threatening tone. "Don't presume to tell me about my daughter."

"Why not?" She had dreaded this conversation for years, hoped it could somehow be avoided– hoped at least there would be other people around when it did to prevent bloodshed. But now they were in it and what restraint she had, was all but used up. That he thought he knew better what Clair, her Clair, her lover, her truest friend and the sister of her soul, wanted... it was beyond absurd! "Do you know what her favourite season is? The things that make her happy or make her smile? What she thought of the war? What she thinks about the peace? Why she became a runologist?" Adray glowered at her, but, when he said nothing, she pressed on. "Do you expect her to just abandon her career, her service to Aquaria when it gives her life meaning, just as it does to yours?"

"Your father would never had approved of this," he said, his voice like the steel edge of a blade.

Shaking her head Nel pressed her lips together to force back the words that threatened to slip out of her. Instead, she took in a long, slow breath before looking back up to Adray and saying very deliberately, "My father would be proud that I had been chosen to assume his responsibilities as commander of the Secret Legion. And he wouldn't be trying to sell me off in marriage. He would care about what I wanted, not just about what he wanted for me. He would want my happiness before anything else."

Adray's gaze flickered and she was confused as to what he was looking at until he spoke. "You're wearing Nevelle's swords."

"Yes."

"I thought they'd been lost."

"Lord Woltar had them. My father asked for them to be passed on to me when I was worthy of them."

Adray made what Nel was certain was a sound of noncommital but then, after a pause, "You do look like him. And you're just as stubborn."

Surprise did not cover what she felt at that moment, but she managed to stammer a "Thank you."

He gave the barest of nods and did not speak again after that. But by then their dinner was thoroughly burnt.

ooo

It was some three days later that Nel sat at one of the little tables near the main food stand in the central plaza of Peterny, sipping a mug of cider, leaning back in her chair, the picture of relaxation. She smiled easily as an off-duty soldier from the Chain Legion sat down across from her. They exchanged pleasantries; she asked him if he wanted to share a drink; he politely declined as he had pressing business and had just waned to say hello. With that he left. The exchange lasted only a few minutes and to onlookers would seem the most mundane of occurrences. Most would not have noticed the small, folded paper slipped from the soldier to Nel during the course of their brief conversation.

With deliberate calm, she continued sipping at her cider, appearing to be enjoying the pleasantly warm afternoon sun, never giving an outward hint of how urgently she wanted to read the message the soldier had passed her. Her face was known in Peterny and subterfuge was necessary, more here than ever it had been in Airyglyph. After another ten or so minutes she got up from the table and headed back to her usual room at the Luxury Inn on the west side of the city. It was only there in the privacy of her room that she unfolded the message. She scanned it quickly and then reread it more carefully. This was it, the information she'd needed.

It had been nearly two weeks since her subordinate had last been seen. Her room had been paid for but she had not returned to it and all her things remained as she'd left them. Nel had gone through her scant belongings but found little to go on. It had taken the past few days to pick up her trail and it had required her to draw on all her resources in the city. The Chain Legion, several of whose members had at least some experience in information gathering, had been invaluable. And now she had a name: a shop in the eastern part of town.

It was frustrating, but she waited until nightfall to leave the inn. When she did, she wore hooded cloak and made her way quietly down the inn steps, skipping the fifth one that had a tendency to creak loudly– alarmingly so when one was trying to go unnoticed– and out into the streets of Peterny. Here on the west side the streets were kept clean and even after dark people of every sort walked about at their ease. It would not be so once she reached the east end.

Nel skirted along the edge of the plaza, keeping to the shadows as she headed to the opposite end of town. Once she was there she navigated the increasingly narrow streets, ducking down alleys at regular intervals, taking care that she was not being followed. However, though she was using every trick she knew, she was certain someone was close behind following her trail with the persistence of a bloodhound.

Turning another corner, Nel ducked into the gap between the wall of a ramshackle house and a pile of empty crates, stacked haphazardly nearby, and drew the Blades of Ryusen. She held her breath as a shadow slanted across the street and then immediately darted away again. "Damn," she hissed under her breath. She wanted this over with.

Her blades drawn and ready, Nel stepped back out into the street. "Show yourself!" she called to the retreating shadow. The figure stopped and promptly stepped into the flickering light of the single remaining streetlight.

"It's you." She lowered her swords and could barely contain her annoyance as she asked, "You were the one following all this way, Adray?"

"I may never have been in the Secret Legion, but I did learn a few things from Nevelle. You're not the only one who can get information here."

"I'm here on the Queen's business. Please don't interfere."

Adray snorted and crossed his arms over his burly chest. "From what I hear there are a fair number of them. I came to help."

"Why?" Her attempt to keep the amazement out of her voice failed completely.

"We still have things to talk about," he rumbled, scowling. "I want to make sure you stay in one piece until then."

For a brief moment Nel found herself weighing the prospect of another conversation with Adray against the possibility of facing a horde of armed foes on her own and was uncertain which was worse. It was a brief moment, but still... She sighed and with a nod signalled for Adray to follow her.

He had never been a subtle man, but Nel was impressed by his ability to move silently through the narrow streets, keeping to the shadows. Perhaps he had learned a few things from her father after all. As they turned a corner and found themselves in a particularly squalid street, they both stopped as the building they had been moving towards finally came into view. It was a two storey edifice, greyish paint peeling off the wooden facing, shingles missing from the roof, and immediately Nel's eyes fixed on the signboard above the door. A star, immaculately white, was painted onto a royal blue background and the shop's name "The Star Dealer" appeared in brilliant gold lettering. It was the only signboard of its kind in east Peterny and as soon as Nel lay eyes on it she knew this was the place. The signboard hung on a building like this shouted inexperience in criminal matters, which was just what she expected out of a band of pampered merchants' sons. How they could actually expect to bring down the Aquarian government was beyond her.

Ignoring the front door, Nel let her eyes trace over the environs of the building. The wall of the neighbouring building on the left side had been built right against it so there was no entrance at all from that quarter. To the right, however, there was an alleyway. The top of an elm tree could be seen behind the building so the alley likely led to small grassy enclosure like those attached many of the better properties on this side of town. There was probably also a back door.

Nel gestured to Adray, signalling her intentions, before she hopped the alley's low gate and made her way around the building. Behind her, she heard a soft thud as Adray followed. They were in luck. In the darkness, Nel could make out the faint lines of a doorway against the back wall. Without hesitation, she reached for the pick she'd brought along for just such an eventuality and within moments came the satisfying click of the lock. She did not immediately open the door, but instead pressed her back against the wall to the left of the door and nodded to Adray as he waited to the right of it. Blades drawn, runology prepared to be used at a moment's notice, she reached for the doorknob and, keeping her position against the wall, swung open the door. Light spilled into the yard, but not a sound came from inside. Nel counted to three before moving to glance through the door. There was no one in the hallway.

With the caution and fleetness of foot that came from years of training and experience, Nel proceeded into the enemy's headquarters. If her information was right they were nothing but a band of ambitious merchants' sons who'd never held a sword in their lives. Her first instinct was to scoff, but one of her subordinates had disappeared, seemingly into thin air. If they had been able to capture a trained member of the Secret Legion, they must have some advantage. Perhaps some of them had gained runological skill through a rogue runologist. Such rogues were rare and most were runologists who had fled or been banned from the kingdom– traitors of some sort usually. It was possible the merchants had somehow made contact with one of these.

Once again she gestured to Adray and they checked the storefront and the three first floor rooms one by one, finding them all to be quite empty. The lavish decor of the back rooms were a stark contrast to the bare shop area and the dilapidated look of the outside of the building. But the shop was only a front for this place's real function as a meeting place for the treasonous band she was investigating.

As they had checked the rooms, all had been silent in the shop, but then, as they cleared the last one and moved towards the staircase by the back door, the creak of a floorboard from above disturbed the silence. Nel froze. Another creak followed and another. Footfalls. There was no doubt about it. A moment later came muffled speech, a voice– no, two voices– coming from upstairs. If she was not mistaken they were on the far side of the upper floor.

She crept up the stairs, freezing in her tracks as she heard the bottom stair creak behind her under Adray's weight. She glanced over her shoulder and he shrugged. They moved upwards at a crawl, but the two individuals– both men, she was now certain– continued their exchange, unaware of the two Aquarian agents.

Nel paused at the top of the stairs to take in the scene. There was a door on either side of the corridor, both ajar, and another at the far end that led to what seemed to be a large room. It was from this one that the voices were coming, though she could not see the men from where she was crouched. She heard footfalls again and the creak of floorboards, but these were clearly coming from the left side of the room. Moving through the corridor would be tricky, but if she kept to the left wall she could avoid being seen while also taking the necessary time to be silent. She was still leery of these men, spoiled brats though they might be, and thought better than to rush them, even with Adray at her back.

She turned to him and put a finger to her lips and then hand signalled that she intended to get closer. He nodded– reluctantly she was certain. His muscles were knotted with tension and she knew he must want to charge down the hallway; she only prayed his restraint would hold out.

Keeping to the left wall, Nel padded down the corridor, pausing an instant to glance into the side rooms to make sure they were empty. They seemed to be sleeping quarters, but the beds were unoccupied so she continued on. By now she could make out what the voices were saying. As she reached the doorway, she hung back in the left corner of the hall, listening.

"–should be there by the day after tomorrow, right?" The first man had a reedy sort of voice and Nel was amazed at how young he sounded– younger even that Fayt, she was willing to bet.

"Yes, that's what they planned," replied the second man, and the casualness of his tone did not belie that certain cadence, subtle yet unmistakable, that marked him as a merchant– or the son of one anyway. The schooling they received was meant to mimic that of nobles, but there remained a distinctiveness to their speech patterns that Nel could not miss. "They'll attack after nightfall. The battle shouldn't take long. They'll have their item and we'll have the rest of our payment in a few days."

"And the run of the country," added the younger man.

"That too," laughed the other.

"I still wish we could have gone."

"Why? You eager to risk your skin? The nobles may not have our weapons but they've got runology." So it wasn't a rogue runologist, but what sort of weapons could they hope to pit against the Aquarian forces?

The younger man made a scoffing sound. "Have you seen one of these things in action? Runology can't compare."

"Maybe. Have you taken a look at the other trinket they gave us, though?"

"This thing?"

"Yes, that's it. Is it on?"

"Huh? Seems to be, " replied the younger man. The second man was silent for a long moment and she imagined he was studying the object. "What? Something wrong?" asked the younger man.

"Didn't they say we could use this thing to show us when enemies were nearby?"

"I... think so."

A device that showed the position of enemies? That sounded remarkably like– "So if these two dots here are you and me, then what are the other two out in the hall?" –Fayt's Quad Scanner. Damn!

Nel rolled away from the doorway; an instant later a beam of white light lanced through the wall next to which she'd been standing. Nel's heart raced, her pulse pounding in her ears. There was no mistaking that beam of light: Fayt had called them "phase guns" and she had seen her share during her trek among the stars and in 4-D space. She dodged away again, lacking space in the narrow corridor, as another beam struck at her. Concealment was useless now if they had a scanner so Nel opted for a full on attack, rolling into the doorway at an angle calling on the power of the runes to summon a rain of needle-like shards of ice which struck down the closest man. It turned out to be the younger of the two. But the second man, too, had a weapon and he lay down fire, filling the air with a hail of energy beams, so that it was all Nel could do to avoid being hit herself.

And then all at once it stopped.

Dazed at the abruptness with which the battle had ended, Nel rose to her feet, blades still gripped in her palms, eyes fixed on the second man who had joined his companion on the floor, unconscious. There, standing over him, was Adray. He had never even needed to unsheathe his sword to strike the blow.

She nodded her thanks while her mind, still reeling from the sudden turn of events, raced to get a proper grasp of the situation. They had somehow acquired weapons from off world and they were going to use them to launch an attack. Surely they could not be foolish enough to attack Castle Aquaria? But it was most logical target if they were planning a coup. Merciful Gods!

It seemed unlikely that the man Adray had struck would come to in the near future so, instead, Nel turned to the younger one, grabbing him by the frilled collar of his shirt and giving him a shake. Blood was running down his face and his shirt was soaked by it as he bled from a multitude of shallow cuts on his face and torso, but he did not appear to be seriously wounded and groaned when Nel shook him. She gave him another shake. As he groaned again she pressed the blade of one of her short swords against his throat. He blanched then as he opened his eyes, saw Nel, felt the blade's edge, and realized his predicament.

As she spoke, she kept her voice low and even, though a part at the back of her mind was screaming, roiling with panic. She forced it back, ignored it; she had a mission to perform. "Who are you?"

"I– I–" His eyes darted left and right, but he returned his attention to her as she put pressure on the blade, stopping just short of drawing blood.

"The truth."

"My name is Arquin Grainlan."

She recognised the surname; it had appeared in some of the early reports."Son of the merchant of the same name?"

"Yes."

"What did you do with my agent?"

He whimpered and only replied when she forced the blade against his throat once again so that a faint line of blood trickled from beneath the blade's point. "She's dead. She came snooping around and we didn't know how to set the weapons to "stun" mode yet, so she was dead the moment she was hit."

It took all her restraint to keep the blade steady. Damn them all! "Her body?"

"Buried in Duggus Forest."

"Where did you get these weapons?"

"A man from a celestial ship gave them to us. I don't know who he was; I never saw him."

"Why?"

"He was after something from the castle. I don't know what– I swear!" She stared at him hard for a long moment, not because she had any doubt that he was telling the truth, but, rather, to make sure he was frightened enough to answer the most important of her slew of questions.

"What are your comrades planning?"

He whimpered once again and licked his lips several times. "I can't. They'll kill me if I tell."

"You won't survive long enough for that to happen if you don't tell." His eyes widened. Nel's gaze was as blank and pitiless as a dragon's.

"You're an agent of the Queen. You wouldn't kill me in cold blood."

Nel's expression did not change as she looked down on the terrified young man at her feet– a teenager, seventeen at best, blood-soaked and pale as sheet, staring up at her like a cornered hare.

"They're planning to attack the capitol. Strike at nightfall and take the castle."

"How many?"

"Fifty or so."

"All merchants' sons?"

"No. Most of them are bandits or mercenaries."

"Most?"

"Maybe thirty-five."

"Are they all armed with these weapons?"

"Yes. And they have those scanner things."

Nel glowered at him for a moment longer and then nodded. "All right then, you've outlived your usefulness."

"Wha–"

She backhanded him across the face, knocking him out once again. During the course of the interrogation Adray had kept mercifully quiet, though she'd been able to feel his eyes boring into her back all the while. He looked grim as she turned to face him. "We need to turn them over to the Chain Legion," she said. "These two should be out until someone comes." Ideally they would tie them so that they could not escape even if they did happen to wake, but Nel did not want to waste the time searching for rope, not when at this very moment a band of thugs was preparing to attack her home, and in it all she was bound to and all she loved. Oh gods, Clair...

With a nod, Adray followed her out into the corridor and down the staircase. Nel was just reaching for the door when the sound of his voiced stopped her. "Would you really have done it?"

She thought for a moment of the young man, his face pale with terror, and then of the castle, the Queen, her subordinates in Aquios, the agent these men had murdered, and Clair. She turned to face Adray. "Would you?"

And with that she stepped out into the night, Adray following in silence.