Darkspur

Chapter 20 - I Have a Theory

"What? How?" she exclaimed, grabbing the letter. "How can this happen?"

"It was a diversion, to take the Elven force far away from Chesford so there would be no way we could get to the farm in time."

"Do we know for sure they have them?" she was frantically skimming the letter for answers.

"No, not for certain but we only had a handful of men with them. Not enough," he replied.

"Then there could still be time, get the horses ready, I'll assemble the men," she shouted over her shoulder, running towards the barracks.

"Keria," Caden hollered. "Don't be foolish, girl. Hanian and the Fifteen are already on their way; probably there already. What point would there be in you tearing off now?"

She stopped, knowing he was right, tears welling in her eyes.

"But I need to do something, Caden, I can't just sit here doing nothing, I will go insane. I still don't understand how they knew," she said. "How did they know Milly was at the farm?"

Caden rose, still white with shock. "I think we may have a spy."

Twenty minutes later Caden, Keria, Ordwin and Grathan huddled round the table in the council chamber. Keria was still shaking, she still hadn't fully come to terms with what was happening, part of her still wanting to believe there had been some dreadful mistake.

"Ordwin, who knew Milly was at the farm?" Caden asked.

"Very few people knew exactly where she was going, even the troops assigned for her protection didn't know until well into the journey," he replied. "Of the people in Darkspur that know, we are all in this room."

"Well, I think we can count everyone here out," Grathan said. "Who exactly went to Chesford?"

"The troops that I picked were picked for a reason, Grathan. Every one of them is loyal and have served the King for many years." Ordwin said defensively.

"Ordwin, you know as well as anyone that the events of the last several years changed a lot of people's opinions," he chanced a quick glance at Caden; he was always hesitant to bring the dark days up in his presence. But Caden just nodded his agreement, he was no fool and knew a lot of people still held a grudge.

"All born and bred in Darkspur, Grathan," Ordwin continued, "I was particularly careful when picking this group, I'm certain it isn't one of them."

"Wait a minute, the squire that was sent with them, what was his name?" Keria asked.

"Handran," answered Ordwin.

"With a name like that he's obviously from Quellarin," Grathan said. It was traditional that all first born sons from Quellarin to have the prefix of Ha or Han to their names, making it probable he came from that part of the kingdom. "What do we actually know about this boy?"

"Myself, not that much really," Ordwin answered. "It was Mother Kell that requested he join them and she normally has an impeccable judge of character. What I do know of the boy is that he was an orphan when he arrived in the city and spent several weeks on the streets before we took him in. He's an eager, competent squire that sticks to his tasks well and we see a bright future for him here in the castle."

"Grathan, you ever meet him?" Keria asked.

"Can't say I ever did, just another face among many but seems we don't know a lot about him at all, he certainly could be holding a grievance, there's just no way of telling."

Ordwin was frowning, his face troubled.

"What?" Caden urged.

"It was Handran that I ordered to release the Shadowsongs, he let them all out, even though I ordered just the Fifteen to be released. I thought he had just been a bit keen and it was a mistake but now I'm not so sure. Also I recall something one of the kitchen staff said to me last week, didn't think much of it then but in this context it makes much more sense. She said, 'that boy always seems be in two places at once, every time I turn round, whether in the dining hall or in the kitchen, he's there ready to help. It's not even his job, he just seems to be happy to muck in when he can'. If you think about it, he is always just there when you need him, it's a great position to be in if you're fishing for information."