This Braunsknecht came from Plemenza? That meant from the Princess Helspeth.
This had to be handled carefully.
"This Braunsknecht say why he"s here?"
"Because he wants to talk to you. He thinks you"ll want to talk to him."
"I don"t get it."
"He did say it has to do with the monster in the Jago Mountains."
"Ah." That was much less dangerous. "There was something else?"
"Colonel Ghort is ready to leave Sonsa. The Three Families have sworn allegiance to Sublime. They"ve promised the use of their fleets come time for a new crusade into the Holy Lands, hoping that comes soon. They have sailors starving and ships rotting at the quayside while Platadura is taking control all over the western Mother Sea."
Hecht nodded. The real message was that Pinkus had taken prisoners and had dug out all the information he could. "That"s good news. Anything else?"
"One more thing. Colonel Smolens says there were some weird people in Viscesment when he got there. They took off before he could catch them. Into the Connec. Just a creepy feeling, he says, but he wants you to stick close to your lifeguards."
Hecht shivered. His bodyguards were all down below. He did not like having them so he tended to keep them at a distance. "All right. Tell Madouc I need to see him, soon as you"re done here."
"Yes, sir. One more thing."
"You said that already."
"I almost forgot this."
"Well?"
"Count Raymone may be more clever than we"ve credited."
"What"s he done now?"
"It"s what it looks like he"s ready to do. He"s telling all the Connecten Devedians and Dainshaus that they should emigrate somewhere where Sublime and the Society are powerless."
"Does that make sense? He"d deprive himself of his educated cla.s.s."
"It does if he thinks they"re spying. Which they"ve been reluctant to do. The Society has won us no friends. It makes even more sense if he expects to lose his war. We won"t have anyone to keep records. Or any records, either, probably."
"Strategic thinking, not tactical. Interesting. So. Unless you have another one more thing, bring the Braunsknecht, then fill Madouc in on the warning from Smolens."
Hecht met the Braunsknecht outside the mill. He frowned. "I should know you, shouldn"t I?"
"Algres Drear, sir. I commanded the company that took you prisoner when you were withdrawing from your previous Connecten adventure."
"Ah. Yes. The Plemenzan captivity. I hope you didn"t offend Bronte Doneto too much, back then. He"s a member of the Collegium, now. And he"s here with us. Again."
Hecht studied Drear while he talked. The man was in his middle thirties, looking older. Gray speckled his beard and temples. His brown eyes were almost soullessly without motion. This was a hard man used to the hardships of the field. Who found himself in too comfortable circ.u.mstances in his current a.s.signment. And who was not troubled in the least by the possibility of enduring the displeasure of a member of the Collegium.
Stupidity? Or ignorance?
Hecht said, "You asked to see me. I"m giving you time. In deference to the family you serve. But I do have a war to get ready for. So what do you want?" He stifled any hope that Drear had brought some special message from Princess Helspeth.
"The Princess Apparent has a request. I don"t know why she thinks you"d grant it. But it isn"t my place to think."
"Anything within reason. And politically feasible."
"She wants to know how to kill a G.o.d."
Not much could have been a bigger surprise. "Kill a G.o.d?"
"An Instrumentality. A demon, if you will."
"I don"t understand." How much had Ferris Renfrow told Princess Helspeth?
"You do. You killed the Gray Walker. At al-Khazen. Deliberately and methodically. The Princess needs the know how."
"I"ll bite. Why?"
Drear talked about the monster preying on travelers in the Jago Mountains.
"It"s a giant bug?"
"Not many people have survived to describe it. The Grand Duke Omro va Still-Patter is the best known and most reliable. He managed to cut a claw off it. He kept the claw. He describes the monster as a huge praying mantis with a lot of extra legs."
"I know the thing. It was at al-Khazen. If I understand right, it used to be a man. Now it"s an insane Instrumentality. I didn"t make the connection then but I think it was active just north of Alicea last year."
"How do we kill it?"
He did not want to admit that he had an answer. He was not sure why. The secret was spreading, if slowly. But no one understood why it worked.
Captain Drear read him well. "How do I rea.s.sure you?"
"I don"t know. I"m not sure why I"m worried."
"Is it because you don"t know how?"
"It"s easy. You didn"t need to come to me. The Princess saw the Gray Walker destroyed."
"Not strictly true, sir. Not strictly true." Drear removed a doeskin wallet from inside his shirt. "The Princess"s personal appeal, sir."
Hecht accepted the letter. He read. The contents underscored just how much the girl trusted this man. Otherwise, she would never have dared commit such thoughts to paper. "She trusts you more than I could ever trust anyone. I suspect with reason, because your mission is to protect her. Why should I I trust you, though?" trust you, though?"
Drear understood him. "True. I serve the Grail Empire. I can"t can"t make you trust me. Maybe you can explain why it"s important to you not to let anyone know how to dispatch the Instrumentalities of the Night." make you trust me. Maybe you can explain why it"s important to you not to let anyone know how to dispatch the Instrumentalities of the Night."
"But..." Yes. Everyone did know. Iron and silver. The metals that had afforded some protection for thousands of years. But...
He had not worked it out himself until just a short time ago, despite countless hours spent on the puzzle.
His response in Esther"s Wood had been sheer panicky inspiration, silver sprayed out in a blast too wide for the bogon to avoid. He had been lucky. That particular bogon had been especially sensitive to silver. Any iron in the blast would have been there by happenstance.
Now his artillerists nurtured secret charges for their falcons. Three charges of G.o.dshot for each of the twelve weapons he now possessed.
Reason eventually led him to the conclusion that it wasn"t the fact of the charge that had slain the bogon in the Holy Lands. Nor the Gray Walker at al-Khazen. Instrumentalities of the Night had coped with iron and silver from earliest times.
So what was different now?
Firepowder.
Firepowder weapons, falcons or the light tubes employed by the Devedian fusiliers at al-Khazen, flung their missiles in a velocity too extreme to track and evade.
He read portions of the letter again, amazed that the girl could write such things, then trust anyone to bring them to him unread.
He went to the mill doorway. "t.i.tus. You still in there? Yes? Find Bechter. I need to borrow Drago Prosek." He told Drear, "It"ll take a while to organize."
Drear just nodded.
Hecht led the way inside the mill and upstairs. "Find yourself a seat." He collected quill and paper and began to write. Drear waited quietly. Hecht sanded the finished product. He was folding it when Sergeant Bechter arrived, huffing and puffing.
Bechter said, "Prosek"s on his way. What"s up?" He spent one glance on Algres Drear. And took the man"s measure.
"Our new good friends in the Empire have a problem. Only we can solve it. I want Prosek to go with Captain Drear and handle it."
Bechter nodded. He gave Drear another glance. "Braunsknecht?"
"I am. Brotherhood of War?"
"Retired."
"Of course."
Drago Prosek arrived. "Permission to enter, sir?"
"Get in here," Hecht said. "Prosek. This gentleman is Captain Drear of the Braunsknecht lifeguard of the Princess Apparent of the Empire. He"s brought an appeal for a.s.sistance. I"ve decided to accede to the Princess"s request. Her friendship could serve us well."
"Yes sir." Without any suggestion of a reservation about his superior"s thinking.
"I"m going to give you a chance to show us what you can do."
"Yes sir. What would that be, sir?"
"Take two falcons to Plemenza. With their crews. I"d recommend Varley and Stern, but the choice is yours. Take two special loads for each falcon."
Prosek"s eyebrows jumped. His eyes widened. "Sir..."
"There"s something ugly in the Jago Mountains. Something of the Night. You were at al-Khazen. Captain Drear tells me this is the monster that got away from us there."
Prosek"s eyes got bigger. Even Bechter showed some reaction.
Hecht continued. "Go figure out how to ambush it, or trap it, then kill it. Do whatever you have to do. Then get yourself back here because by that time we"ll probably be besieging Antieux and we"ll want you there to starve with us."
"Yes sir." Ignoring his Captain-General"s tone. Prosek turned to Drear. "Drago Prosek, sir." He extended a hand. Drear seemed surprised.
Hecht met Drear"s eye. "That"s what I can do."
"Good enough. I think. Thank you, sir."
"Take this letter to the Princess." He pa.s.sed the doeskin wallet back. "Prosek."
"Sir?"
"Don"t let these people tell you what to do. Not even the Princess herself. Make them them support support you. you. You"re smart enough to know what needs doing. And bright enough to figure out how to do it." You"re smart enough to know what needs doing. And bright enough to figure out how to do it."
"Yes sir."
"All right. Everyone go. I have thinking to do."
Once the last man left, Hecht read Helspeth"s letter for the fourth time. And still could not believe the girl trusted Drear that much. Although, mainly, it revolved around her plea for help ridding the Jagos of the monster.
t.i.tus Consent told Hecht, "There"s a problem getting intelligence out of the Connec."
Hecht was tired. The less the army did the more work there was for him. He did not want to hear more bad news. He wanted to go to bed. Maybe to dream about Anna. Or Helspeth Ege. Who was an infatuation he did not yet underhand. He sighed. "Tell me."
"The Society is killing us. Their att.i.tude toward Devedians is black and white. Not Chaldarean? Bad. Kill. So the Connecten Deves won"t deal. And they"re all going away anyway."
"Explain that."
"The Devedian and Dainshau minorities are emigrating. The Society is so obnoxious that even Maysaleans and some Chaldareans are going with them, some places."
"Really?" His preconception was that he would face raving fanatics who considered yielding to Sublime worse than martyrdom.
"At the best of times the Connec is a loosely structured realm. Anarchy is one tomorrow away. Connectens have enjoyed a comfortable life since Imperial times. They"d tolerate anything as long as people tolerated them. Until Sublime decided to stick his nose in."
"So... Oh-oh." Princ.i.p.ate Delari had appeared.
Some people felt no need to get permission to drop in on the Captain-General. All of them were members of the Collegium.
"See you later," Consent said. He was not comfortable around Princ.i.p.ate Delari. Despite the man"s sponsorship.
Delari watched Consent scamper downstairs. "That man is awfully timid for a soldier."