Stoneweaver

Stoneweaver - Chapter 19

The coral chair survived the first hit, and still hung together by the third, but didn't last much longer, as the iron club Thortus had taken from the armoury separated it into fragments.

He took a breath, finally able to exhale his frustrations.

"Clean that up," he said to no one in particular, tossing the club nearby as he walked up to his own chair, slumping into it.

A couple of the guards hurriedly dealt with the mess, as Elgren came to take his own seat. "I have men out looking for them, but the last report from the roof was that they'd gone out to sea. That was a while back now though."

Thortus said nothing, still uncertain he could control his temper, despite the tiredness creeping over him. Everything seemed to be going against him. Nearing a Cleansing, with a possible traitor within the ranks, they had a threat loose in the city (at least it was only one threat now, but did that mean Kulth's threat about what Kreddick was after would be false?), and he'd probably damaged his relationship with Lord Narvon. He'd considered having Kulth killed to keep that quiet, and blame it on Welden, but couldn't be sure Narvon didn't have spies.

He considered going out to lead one of the search parties, to at least have something to do, but knew he had to stay here, waiting. He had to be the one organising things, so he needed to be in the central location, but the waiting for someone to bring some information on which to plan only increased his tension.

"Did you recognise what gemstone they used?" he asked finally. "To animate the air?"

"I think it was a zelxus," Elgren said with uncertainty. "I believe you have some in the collection, so with your permission I'll try one when we have time."

"Of course," Thortus said. "But how many others does Narvon know about that we don't."

"Possibly only Narvon knows for sure. I don't think Kulth knows all the details of his mission here, so he may well not know all of the secrets Narvon knows about the gemstones."

Nodding, Thorvus grunted his agreement. "And Kulth didn't know about Kreddick being Welden either." He suppressed a shudder at the memory. "I wonder if Lord Narvon does?"

His mind continued along the paths of how much Narvon would know as they waited in silence, until Danath entered, out of breath. He walked over, taking a seat and catching his breath before speaking. "He was spotted on the docks, sailed out on a ship. Some of the men commandeered another, but they're still a way behind him."

Thortus allowed himself a curse. "Which ship's he on?"

"The Trident," Danath replied with reluctance.

It took Thortus a moment to place the name. The ship belonged to Andira, Syssarra's sister, who used to run with Danath's gang. He watched the boy, trying to work out how much he knew. Considering what he'd heard about Andira, she'd hardly give up her ship without a fight, so Welden couldn't have got it out of port without her aid. And if she was working with him, what did that mean for Syssarra's involvement? Or Danath's?

"Do we know their heading?" Elgren asked, but the response was delayed as Kulth strode in, furious and soaking.

"Have you found him yet?" he demanded.

"I'm sorry, did he get away from you?" Thortus asked, a picture of innocence.

Fighting to hold back his instinctive response, Kulth managed to regain a measure of his composure. "Do you have any idea where Kre... Welden is now?"

"He's sailed." Thortus turned to Danath. "Which direction..."

"Without the gemstone!?" Kulth interrupted.

Turning slowly back to his guest, Thortus didn't attempt to hide his irritation. "Yes, without the gemstone, I checked with the guards as soon as you went flying after him. So would you care to offer an explanation of how come you didn't know your two escapees were the same person?"

"Do you think we bother with the slaves' names? One of them escaped, and Lord Narvon worked out from the books disturbed in his library that he could be after the gemstones. It was only in the hunt I learned the name he was going by. Had you not identified Kreddick as being a different person from Welden, I might have assumed they were the same person."

Trying to pass the blame for his failures, was he? "Not that it would have helped you catch him, apparently. Now if you would let us get back to the task of apprehending him. Which direction were they going?"

"North north-west," Danath replied, his eyes fixed warily on Kulth, to Thortus' satisfaction. "Towards the Dusky Reef."

"We'll take over the hunt," Kulth said abruptly.

Thortus studied his face, which seemed suddenly more guarded. Rumours put Lord Narvon's domain in that approximate direction, although no one had ever determined where exactly it could be. The Dusky Reef was a miles long hazard in the area, high land that had only just been covered by the waters. Mostly near the surface, darkening the water above to give it its name, some outlying areas had more hazardously obscured patches, so the entire area tended to be given a wide berth. And the seas beyond supposedly held little of interest. Yet Kulth seemed anxious they not go anywhere near it.

"My thanks for the offer, but he is still a fugitive from my justice, so I think I..."

"I must insist, by Lord Narvon's authority..."

"Narvon has no authority here," Thortus roared. "He's an ally, and I may be persuaded to turn over your escaped slave after I've caught him, but if you dare try to command me again, your Lord Narvon will have to accept the apology taped to your severed head."

The silence that followed lasted a long moment, until Elgren interceded. "We'll need to get ships to sail quickly if they've a hope to run her down. The Trident is faster than anything we've got, so we can..."

"We're not taking to ship after them," Thortus said, his tone more controlled now. "Order the city helmsman, I want Melmyrn heading full speed after them."