‘No, you are destined for greater things, Sandreena.’ He took a folded parchment out of his belt and handed it to her.
She took it and saw the seal of her order pressed into heavy wax. She cracked it and unfolded the message. She read it a second time before she softly said, ‘He can’t be serious?’
Jim was forced to laugh at her response. ‘He predicted your exact words. He knows you well, Sandreena. Or should I say, Mother-Bishop Sandreena.’
‘Me, in charge of the Order in the West?’
‘You already are. As you no doubt realize, the Conclave have not recruited many agents within the various temples. In several of the temples, we have none: Sung, Astalon, and Lims-Kragma being the most difficult. It’s their absolutist mind-set, I think. I am as practical a man as you’ll meet, and even I feel divided in my loyalties at times, between the Kingdom and the Conclave.’
‘Then why compromise?’ she asked.
‘Because while I love my homeland, Pug is trying to save the world; it will be hard to argue for the Kingdom’s interest if the entire planet is conquered by demons.’
She took a deep breath and said, ‘What if I don’t want to be Mother-Bishop?’
‘Well, you were wrong about not leaving here alive. Instead you’ll wake up on a beach somewhere near Land’s End with a vivid memory of your boat overturning in rough water and you not reaching Sorcerer’s Isle. You’ll decide that rather than trying again, you should return to Krondor and seek out help there.
‘After that, you’ll continue as Sergeant-Adamant of the Order while waiting for Creegan to send a new Bishop to run things in the west, and so…’ He shrugged. ‘Creegan will find another.’
‘Another?’
‘You’re not the only talented youngster in the Order, Sandreena. You just happen to be in the right place at the right time, and, well, you’re very talented. Amirantha practically sings your praises on the matter of dispatching demons.’ Jim narrowed his gaze as if appraising her. ‘You have always been one of the most striking women I’ve ever seen; there was a reason you commanded the highest price in the brothel. You’ve kept the core of that beauty despite the hard training, and pounds of muscle you’ve put on, but I’ll tell you this much: he sees more in you than most men do.’
Her expression turned dark. ‘He has a pitiful way of showing me.’
‘Ah,’ said Jim with a single slow nod. ‘Now I understand; he sees more than he admits to himself. Very well, that’s between you and Amirantha. Now, are you taking the commission or not?’
She looked one more time at the folded message then said, ‘Of course I am. If I don’t, I’ll never get to look for Jaliel.’
Without another word, she turned and walked back to the keep. Jim stood outside, enjoying the cool breeze off the ocean and the relative calm. He knew there wouldn’t be peace after today.
Taking a deep breath, he shook his head over how things had turned out, and he chuckled at how well Creegan understood his protégé, then he slowly returned to the keep, trying to savour the fresh air before plunging back into the intrigues and murderous needs of the Conclave.
Pug asked, ‘Why can’t you go?’
Laromendis said, ‘My brother and I are not well regarded by our people.’ He sat back in one of the two chairs before Pug’s desk. The other should have been occupied by his brother, but Gulamendis was somewhere with Amirantha pouring over a volume on demon lore. ‘To understand, you’d have to have some knowledge of our history.’
‘I know a little,’ said Pug, ‘from Tomas.’
Laromendis nodded. ‘Yes, his memories from the Valheru, Dragon Lords…’ The elf’s forehead furrowed in an expression of worry. ‘There are many things that I still fail to understand, and that particular miracle is one of them, but what he remembers is only what one being saw. It is not the only perspective.’
Pug indicated that the elf should continue.
‘I will spare you the long story of our struggles and just say that at the height of our power, the taredhel had become greater than any elf living on Midkemia could imagine. We were rulers of worlds, Pug.
‘But with such a change in our nature came a price, arrogance. Few of my race would admit to it, but having spent some time on this world, scouting and encountering—’ He took a steadying breath. ‘Before I returned to Andcardia with word that I had found Midkemia, I killed a cleric of your race. I captured him, and after I had obtained all the useful information I could, simply disposed of him to ensure no one would know I had been there. Travellers who have ventured too close to E’bar have also been murdered. I know the Regent Lord has ordered raids against farms and villages in the Free Cities, and allowed the blame to fall on our cousins, the moredhel.’