Obsidian Ridge - Jess Lebow [48]
"Yes, my lord," replied the soldiers in unison.
One man dashed off down the road toward the palace. The other entered a nearby barracks and came quickly back-a vial of healing potion in his fist.
"Let us hope he's got some more answers for us," said the king. "Help me sit him up."
Captain Kaden lifted Whitman by his shoulders until he was upright.
"Gently now. Just enough so he can drink." The king uncorked the vial and poured the liquid into the scribe's mouth.
Whitman choked on the thick potion at first, but it didn't take much coaxing to get him to swallow the rest of the healing magic.
The partially dried scabs on the beaten man's face faded, and he gagged a bit as he sputtered back to consciousness.
"No! No! Please stop!" Whitman flailed on the ground, startled, then he calmed himself as he seemed to find recognition in the faces of the king and Captain Kaden.
"What…? Where…?"
"Whitman, you're safe now."
The scribe let out a sigh of relief. "Oh thank the gods. Each and every one of them."
Captain Kaden laid Whitman back down on the grass, letting him recline.
"What happened?" demanded the king. "Who did this to you?"
"The-the Matron." He coughed hard between the words, spitting up phlegm laced with blood. "They took me from-from my bed. Her henchmen-they beat me."
"They took you from your bed? They abducted you from inside the palace? How could that happen?" Korox looked back at Kaden.
The captain shrugged. "We've tripled the patrols, and all the entrances are warded against intrusion."
Whitman nodded. "I don't know how-how they got in. The last thing I remember was being awakened from sleep. There were four men. They held me down. I was gagged and taken from the palace, down to the docks. They took me into a dark room. And they-they beat me. Told me to deliver a message to you."
The king handed his scribe the piece of vellum. "You mean this?"
Whitman looked at the scribbled words. "Yes-" His coughing fit this time was much longer, and he nearly choked.
The king and Captain Kaden tried to lift him back to sitting, but he waved them off, regaining his composure. "There's more."
"More?" said Kaden. "Did they tell you where the princess is?
"No. But they do have her." Whitman felt his bruised face, poking at his mostly closed-over right eye. "The Matron told me to tell the king that if he turns the Claw over to her, not only will Princess Mariko be returned, but the underworld will also summon all of its mages to help the king fight the Obsidian Ridge." He looked up at King Korox with his one good eye. "She said if you give her the Claw, then you will have your daughter and an alliance that will give you all the mages you need to fight Arch Magus Xeries."
Korox flinched and pulled away from Whitman. "So she knows of our plan to fight Xeries. How could she know about the convocation of mages?"
Whitman looked to the ground and shook his head. "I do not know. But she knew, and she wanted you to know that. That's why I was beaten." The scribe began to sob.
The king put his hand on the man's shoulder. He felt a pang of guilt. For Korox, this was the worst part of being the king-knowing that sometimes other people were hurt on his behalf.
"She's got Mariko." The king closed his eyes and shook his head. He hadn't thought it could get any worse. But it had. He turned to Kaden. "If the Matron can abduct a member of my court from his bed and knows of plans we've only just talked about, then surely she has more reach into the palace than we had thought."
Korox tried to wrap his brain around Whitman's story. The pieces just didn't add up. If four men could get into and out of the palace without getting spotted, then why didn't they just come for him? If the Matron had that much reach, then why abduct a junior member of the court? Only then to return the man at some time later, beaten to a pulp, with a ransom note and an