The meeting broke up and Sandreena rose quickly from the table, wanting to put some distance between her and Amirantha; she found being with him in the name of duty acceptable, if barely, but would avoid his company if she had the option.
Besides, she was intrigued by the Kingdom nobleman who lurked in the corner of the room, and decided it was as valid an excuse to get away from the Warlock as any she could contrive. She would be forced to confer with Amirantha on matters of demon lore and, more importantly how to eradicate them.
She caught up with Jim at the door and said, ‘Excuse me, sir, but have we met before?’
With a slight smile, he nodded. ‘On the docks in Durbin. I was the agent who gave you the package.’
‘Ah, yes,’ she said. ‘Still, I have some other meeting in mind. In Durbin I could not see your face, just your eyes…’ She squinted slightly. ‘There was something about your eyes.’
‘Well, then, a formal introduction: I’m James, Court Baron in Krondor, aid to the Prince, servant of His Majesty the King, and,’ he lowered his voice, ‘member of the Conclave of Shadows.’
She glanced around. ‘Apparently I am as well.’
‘I heard about Creegan hurrying off to become Grand Master of your order.’ He motioned for her to walk with him. The meeting room was in the basement of the castle opposite the pantry and kitchen, and he led her up the stairs to the central keep’s great hall. Here tables had been set up and a large fire was burning against the need to feed the thirty key members of the Conclave. ‘Walk with me outside,’ asked Jim.
Sandreena said, ‘I could use some fresh air.’
They stepped outside the central keep and found the marshalling yard relatively empty. Whatever activity the Conclave was undertaking, it was doing a masterful job disguising it, to guard against the possibility they were under scrutiny.
‘You and Amirantha?’ He looked her in the eye. ‘Is something going on between you?’
‘It’s personal.’
Jim took a slow, deep breath and looked away. He said, ‘I was going to have this talk with you tomorrow; I’ve already discussed it with Creegan and Pug. But now is as good a time as any.’
She caught a glimpse of his profile as he stared into the sky, and for reasons she couldn’t name she felt herself tense and her hand moved towards her mace. Suddenly his hand seized her wrist, his thumb digging into a nerve, paralysing her arm for a moment. She instinctively twisted away, breaking his hold, but the damage was done. She could not get a decent grip on her mace with her right hand.
She switched it to her left. ‘What did you do that for?’ she demanded as she got into a defensive position.
‘Your training,’ he said backing away. ‘I didn’t want to take the chance that you’d leave my brains all over the sand before I had the opportunity to explain a few things to you.’
‘Such as?’ she asked.
‘Let’s start with the first problem between us, though it is the least important. You’ve been trying to remember where we have met before, correct?’
‘Yes,’ she said, still on guard. The numbness in her right hand was wearing off and she tossed her mace deftly from left to right.
‘I sold you to the Keshians.’
Her eyes widened. ‘You’re Quick Jimmy!’
‘Jimmy Hand, Jim Dasher, yes.’
He could tell that she was using all of her self-control not to lash out at him right then. Slowly she put her mace back on her belt. ‘I will kill you later, if I must,’ she said softly, almost a hiss of warning. ‘Why? Don’t tell me this was some part of a great plan you and Creegan had for me. I was a whore.’
‘Creegan had nothing to do with it. He didn’t even know you existed,’ countered Jim, crossing his arms over his chest. ‘And it had nothing to do with the Conclave at that time, at least not directly. I wanted you in bed with that merchant, and we planned to contact you after a month or so, and offer you your freedom if you worked for us for a while.’
‘Freedom…?’ She paused to consider his words. ‘You wanted me to spy on him!’
‘Yes. He was well connected to members of the Keshian Intelligence Corp, but he also had dealings with Kesh’s criminal empires. The man was a smuggler as well as a trader.’ Unfolding his arms, Jim put his right hand on his chest and said, ‘I am also the Upright Man of Krondor, and I needed my competition from Kesh neutralized.
‘As fortune would have it, even though you didn’t reach Kesh and instead joined the Order of the Shield of the Weak, I found other means to achieve my end.’ He looked at her with a narrowing gaze. Her expression was one of open shock. ‘You know what this means?’
‘The Upright Man…’ She weighed the mace in her hand. ‘It means I don’t leave this island alive if I don’t agree to something.’
He grinned. ‘Creegan said the Goddess had better plans for you, and I will not dispute them. You are far too intelligent to wither away in some Keshian lord’s bed, or simply retire on the gold we would have given you.