Master of Chains - Jess Lebow [45]
This didn't make Liam feel any better about the situation.
The baron continued. "Think about the meeting at Dowmore Glen. Were there any new people there? Anyone who wasn't already part of the Awl?"
Liam thought back on the group of hooded strangers he'd seen watching the proceedings. "No," he lied.
Purdun shook his head. "Come now. Think hard. Did no one seem out of place?"
Liam narrowed his eyes. "What are you getting at?"
"The Awl is being manipulated by an outside power." Purdun said, slightly exasperated. "Someone who has reason to see me removed from power."
Liam shrugged. "Then perhaps I should meet them. Sounds like my kind of person."
Purdun turned around, pacing between the chairs, holding his chin in contemplation. "If you met this one, you'd think differently."
"Anyone who wants to see you out of power is a friend of mine."
Purdun stopped his pacing and turned to face Liam. "This person is a very powerful, ancient undead spell-caster. A vampire by the name of Shyressa."
A chill ran down Liam's spine, just hearing her name.
"And I can assure you, she doesn't have your best interest at heart," explained the baron.
A vampire? Liam thought back on the clearing, on the strange group of robed figures followed by a group of wolves. He'd heard legends of vampires and their spawn having the ability to turn into wolves. Maybe what Purdun was saying was true. How could he have known about the strangers at the meeting? None of this made any sense.
Liam shook his head. "You're making this up."
"I wish I were." Purdun rubbed the back of his neck, looking as if he were quite stressed. "But I'm not. Shyressa has it out for me, and she's using the Awl as a way to destabilize Ahlarkham."
"Why are you telling me this?"
Purdun walked across the room to stand in front of Liam. "Because I want you to understand why I did what I did. I want you to see that I had to have you followed so that I could try to get to Shyressa before she gets to me. It was nothing personal. I ordered my men to do everything in their power to ensure your safety."
Liam was confused. "You ordered them to protect me?"
Purdun nodded.
"Why would you do that? I'm not on your side."
Purdun took a deep breath. "Because, despite what you think of me, I am not an evil man. I don't want to see you or any of the citizens of Duhlnarim harmed." The baron sat back down in the chair he had started in.
"And I know you're not on my side, but I want you to be. I want you to join my elite guard."
"Again with the elite guard." Liam didn't understand any of this. "Why are you doing this to me? What is so special about me?"
"You have passion. You genuinely believe in what you are doing, and you care about the well-being of the citizens of Ahlarkham. I could use a man like that."
"How?"
"Well, for one thing, if you were to join us it would add a lot of legitimacy to the guard that is currently lacking. You and the Awl have done a pretty good job convincing the people of Duhlnarim that we're a no-good bunch of despots."
Liam couldn't help but feel a small amount of pride swelling in his chest. To hear from the baron's own mouth that his work had made some impact was a heartwarming thing.
"And you want me to switch sides and tell my friends and family that I was wrong all this time. Is that it?"
Purdun nodded. "The people listen to you. If they see you-a man they look to for leadership, a man they trust-put his own faith in me and the elite guard, then I believe they will follow suit."
"Well," responded Liam, "thanks to you, they no longer believe I'm on their side."
"Your reputation has been called into question with the compromised leadership of the Crimson Awl, not with the people at large."
"You stand here and tell me incredible stories about a vampire who wants you out of power, saying that I don't understand the forces at work. But it is you who don't understand." Liam shook his head. "The Crimson Awl is the people at large. This isn't some bought-and-paid-for