The Doom of Kings_ Legacy of Dhakaan - Don Bassingthwaite [36]
“Sorry,” said Ashi. “Can I join you?”
She’d changed, Ekhaas noted, out of the formal robes she’d worn in the carriage and into clothes like those she’d worn the night they’d encountered each other at the memorial. Her scarf was loosened to show her face, and her sword was on her hip. She was ready to fight if necessary.
“Does Vounn know you’re up here?” Ekhaas asked her.
“She’s in her cabin,” said Ashi. It didn’t really answer the question, but Ekhaas suspected it was as close to “no” as Ashi was willing to go. She made room for Ashi at the rail, and for a time they watched in silence as the mist glided past.
Eventually Ashi spoke. “You lied,” she said. “Haruuc hasn’t asked to see me.”
They were the words Ekhaas had been expecting—and dreading—for the last week. She’d known Ashi would figure out the flaw in their plan sooner or later. Her ears folded back and she said, “He was curious about you when he heard my story of Dah’mir and the Master of Silence. He did say he’d like to meet the bearer of a Siberys Mark.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“Have you told Vounn?”
Ashi turned and looked at her. “If I’d told Vounn, do you think I’d be here? She hasn’t let me out of the inner halls of Sentinel Tower for the last week, though, or I would have asked you about it before this. What’s going on?”
Ekhaas didn’t want to lie to her friend, but she couldn’t tell her the truth. Not yet. Fortunately, Vounn’s stubbornness had given her time to work out what she could say. “Do you want to go to Darguun?”
“Blood in your mouth, yes! You know I was going mad stuck in Sentinel Tower.” Her eyes narrowed. “You didn’t do this just to give me a chance to get out, did you? You couldn’t have—you had Tariic working with you.” She paused for a moment as she thought, then added, “You’re not just here as a representative of your clan.”
Ekhaas cursed silently. Ashi could be uncommonly perceptive sometimes. She stuck with what she had planned to tell her, though. “Ashi, finding you in Karrlakton was an opportunity that Tariic and I couldn’t let pass. Having you here is important, or we wouldn’t have used Haruuc’s name to make sure it happened. We’ll explain soon, though. By the Blood of Six Kings, you have my word on it.”
Ashi grimaced. “How soon?”
“Soon. That’s all I can say.”
Breath hissed between Ashi’s teeth. “I trust you, Ekhaas. I don’t like not knowing what’s happening, but I trust you. I am really going to Darguun, aren’t I?”
“You’re really going to Darguun,” Ekhaas said with a smile. “And you will really meet Haruuc, too. We may have lied to get you there, but I promise that he’ll be happy to see you.”
“Good.” Ashi started to turn away, then looked back. “Is his invitation for Vounn to join his court real or is it a lie, too?”
“It’s real.”
Ashi grimaced again. “Too bad.”
The arm of the sound opened up late the following afternoon, and they sailed beyond sight of the gray mist of the Mournland. The mood on the ship lightened immediately, at least for the soldiers and crew. Ekhaas found herself exchanging glances with Tariic almost every time they passed each other. The time when they would have to reveal the whole truth of their visit to Sentinel Tower was approaching.
On the fourth day out from Karrlakton, they made harbor at Flamekeep in the nation of Thrane and the first leg of their journey was over. Officials wearing tabards with the silver crest of flame and sword boarded the ship to inspect their credentials. The ship’s captain and crew, Vounn, and Ashi were left largely alone while the officials focused their attention on the Darguuls. They’d had the same experience on their initial voyage to Karrlakton. Ekhaas held her tongue with difficulty, but she could see that even Tariic had little patience for the Thranes’ probing questions.
Eventually the officials ran out of reason to delay them, but there was one final