that is—gazed around the cramped room. The others fell into that waiting quiet of soldiers expecting orders. Gerek shifted his grip on the staff.
The stranger’s gaze fell on him. To Gerek’s surprise, the man smiled. A brilliant, open smile, completely at odds to what had just transpired. He was so taken aback, it took Gerek a few moments before he recognized the man. Alesso Valturri. “You,” he breathed.
Valturri smiled, a lazy seductive smile that reminded Gerek of Dedrick. Or Kosenmark. “I am delighted you remember me. However, we do not have time for pleasantries.” He turned to the others and gave them a rapid string of orders. Then he held out a hand to Gerek. “Come.”
But Gerek refused to trust him so easily. “What happened? How did you find me?”
Alesso sighed. Motioned for the others to leave the room.
“I cannot blame you for mistrusting me,” he said. “So, let me begin again. You know Kosenmark and I had an agreement. No? I am disappointed but not surprised. Listen to me then. Your Lord Kosenmark offered certain assistance to me and my associates, in return for other favors. In the spirit of that assistance, I followed these three men to Tiralien’s wharves.”
Gerek gripped his aching head in both hands. “A very good story. Thank you for the distraction.”
Valturri grabbed Gerek by his shirt and shoved him against the wall. “Listen, you stammering idiot. Your Lord Kosenmark expects a ship. I learned that in his own household. What he, and you, do not understand is that Khandarr’s agents have taken your agent and all his records. Your man is dead, do you understand? He killed himself before they could question him. So they decided to arrest you.”
Gerek absorbed this news with dismay. So very plausible. Too plausible. “How do you kn-kn-know that?”
Alesso shrugged. “Does it matter how I know? What does matter is that you must get to the ship and tell them to sail at once. Never mind about the stores or all the rest. Leave before this one”—he gestured toward Khandarr, lying insensible at their feet—“recovers and closes the port.”
Gerek wanted to argue, but he was too sick to make the effort. And too much of Alesso’s explanation made sense. The man might be a questionable ally, but he was right in this matter. He rubbed his aching head. “Very well. I will go at once.”
Alesso’s grin was unnerving, almost gleeful. “And I will come with you.”
* * *
IT TOOK THEM longer than Alesso liked, but Gerek only had the name of the ship and the captain, not where they had anchored, and they were both too wary to use these names indiscriminately. Eventually they found the ship—it lay well off shore—and hired a boat to take them over.
The argument with the captain took longer. At first the man would not believe Gerek. But when Gerek repeated the sum of money paid, named the presence of Ralf and Udo, and recited the exact instructions he had written to the agent, and finally remembered the code words passed along by Ralf and Udo to ensure just such an emergency, the captain relented.
“Have you read those instructions?” Alesso asked.
The captain shook his head. “My orders were to read them once at sea.”
“Do it now,” Gerek said.
The man took Kosenmark’s letter from a locked chest. Ran his hands over the paper and tried the wax seal. He shook his head. “No good, sir. I don’t know magic, but I know enough that it won’t open without the right spell.”
“Let me see it,” Alesso said.
He, too, tried a few spells but to no effect. While the other two muttered about secret orders, Gerek examined the letter. He was an amateur, he reminded himself. And yet, so was the captain. Kosenmark surely did not expect Gerek or an unknown captain to decipher such a key.
He went through all the instructions. They were simple, short. Read everything. How many ways could a man interpret that? Read the instructions. Every word. Wasn’t that obvious?
Oh. Now I understand.
“To the captain,” he said softly. “Read everything. Private orders.”
The envelope unfolded. Inside was a single short paragraph:
Sail to Hallau, Jelyndak Islands. Send a boat with six men into the old city. We will keep a watch for you, but if we are detained, have the men wait ten days. Return once more in three weeks. If that meeting fails, depart the region at once. Send word through the agent for further instructions. Above all else, do not hail any other