The White Road - Lynn Flewelling [29]
Yhakobin had promised him a healing elixir, one that would take the eagle's talons from his chest, the hot sand from his joints, and the fog from his mind. And, he'd claimed, it might prolong life, as well. Ulan would not give up.
He tried to piece together Ilar's ramblings as he soaked. His spies in Plenimar had already sent word that Charis Yhakobin had disappeared and there were rumors from Benshal that one of the Overlord's favorites, a friend of Charis's, was missing as well. If Ilar was sane enough to speak the truth, then the alchemist was dead, probably at Seregil's hands--though what the "sound" had been he could not guess. The clash of battle, perhaps? But Ilar had said that it hurt him. Whatever the case, this was a major calamity. As far as Ulan knew, only Charis Yhakobin had possessed the skill to create a rhekaro. And unless he'd had an apprentice Ulan didn't know about, the knowledge had died with him. Perhaps another alchemist could complete the process. It would take some delicate intelligence gathering to find one, though, as the Plenimaran Overlord must be searching the land just as thoroughly. After all, it had been made for him.
Ulan stirred the sinking petals with one finger. Men like this didn't simply go missing. And Yhakobin had no reason to run away, so Ilar's account probably contained some element of fact.
At least Ilar i Sontir had been properly dealt with all those years ago. Suspicions had run rampant in the wake of the young man's disappearance; most did not connect his amorous pursuit of the khirnari's son to the murder Seregil had committed. Most assumed that Ilar had run away out of shame over his young lover. Members of Ilar's own clan, the Chyptaulos, were relieved--though the dishonor he'd brought upon them had left an indelible blot, since they could not punish him for the seduction to satisfy the honor of Bokthersa. In order to avoid a blood feud, the old khirnari of the Chyptaulos had stepped down and Dendra a Arali, who had no strong blood tie to Ilar, stepped into his place. As Ulan had hoped, with Ilar out of the way, speculation had quickly died down.
It was very fortunate that young Seregil had known nothing of Ulan's hand in those events--and when he'd come to Ulan as a grown man in Sarikali and put the question to him, Ulan had happily lied, resisting the urge to tell him that his betrayer was still alive. He'd had no particular plan for either Seregil or Ilar at the time, but he was not a man to give up a secret.
Ilar had known about Seregil and his talimenios; Ulan took a certain degree of pleasure in keeping the miserable slave informed now and then, once he was broken and in the possession of Charis Yhakobin, a man Ulan knew well. He didn't particularly like the man, but he'd been a trustworthy business partner and ransomed many slaves over the years.
But now Ulan would care for Ilar like a son. It was thanks to the poor creature that the alchemist had learned of young Alec's bloodline in the first place. Ulan been rather surprised when Charis had contacted him so eagerly, asking after the young half-breed. Once the man made known something of the reason, however, Ulan began to plot. All attempts to set up a kidnapping from Skala had failed; there was no one there except his own spies he could count on, and that would have been too