“The Isles have never sought eastern expansion. Her eyes have ever been turned to the west.”
“But who can say that has not changed?” Tal lowered his voice even more. “I do not say this lightly, but it is in all our interests that Salmater and Olasko remain good neighbors.” He glanced around. “I would hate to see this lovely palace reduced to rubble.” As Pasko would say, Tal had just shown the mule the stick, now it was time to show him the carrot. “My lord is very generous with his friends. He would appreciate any good work done by any member of the Privy Council in avoiding this war.”
Odeski looked as if he might say something, but he closed his mouth and remained silent for a moment. Then he said, “I will caution reason to Their Highnesses.”
“I shall keep in mind your good works when I report to my master.”
“Good day, Squire,” said the First Minister, leaving.
Tal realized Amafi’s reading of the older noble was correct. Odeski wouldn’t blatantly betray his Prince, but he would be willing to work on behalf of any peaceful settlement that kept him in his place of privilege.
And once the Princess was dead, the royal household would be in turmoil, and the Prince would be as unable to govern as a chicken in a thunderstorm. Odeski would almost certainly take charge of the council, and from that point on, Kaspar would have his way in Salmater.
Tal stood alone on the deck of the ship. He was four days out from Opardum and by his calculations, Princess Svetlana should be dead. The concocted poison Amafi had blended for him was one he claimed would not take the Princess’s life for a full week after being administered, and would make it appear she had succumbed to heart problems. The beauty of the poison, said the former assassin, was that symptoms were misleading, looking like a fever, which would cause chirurgeons and healing priests to attempt cures that would avail them nothing. Death came quickly, so unless a healing priest of great power intervened swiftly, there was little chance of the Princess surviving.
It had proven easy enough to administer, as Amafi had said it would. While she slept, Tal took out a slender silken cord and a tiny vial of the poison. He had slowly dripped the poison, one drop at a time, down the cord onto the Princess’s lips. As Amafi had predicted, she had licked them in her sleep, and when she stirred, Tal paused. The poison had a sticky, sweet taste, and by the next morning what residue was left on her lips had been made harmless by being left to dry. Tal kissed her awake without fear. They had made love before dawn, Tal knowing that she was already dead by his hand.
Tal felt a stirring of remorse, and he pushed it down inside. Despite her charm, he knew Svetlana was as ruthless in her own way as Kaspar and that sex was but one of her many weapons, that her passion and the sweet things she whispered into his ear were meaningless, only part of the experience, and not to be taken seriously.
His mission was black, and he had already given up his soul to pursue it. Like the scorpion, Kaspar’s nature was betrayal, and eventually Tal would be betrayed, and then free from his oath and able to strike at the man responsible for the obliteration of his people. Even if he should die while taking Kaspar’s life, he would have done his duty to his ancestors.
But before Kaspar, one other had to die: Captain Quint Havrevulen, the man who personally oversaw the murder of Tal’s family. Yes, he would have to watch for an opportunity to destroy the Captain before Kaspar. If he survived, if he killed Quint and destroyed Kaspar, only then would Tal mourn the loss of his own soul.
If he survived.
Ten
Discovery
Tal waited.
Kaspar sat back reading a message and at last put it down and smiled. “Word just in from our agents in Micel’s Station. Princess Svetlana was unexpectedly taken by a sudden fever that cause her heart to stop beating. Prince Janosh is beside himself with grief, and the Privy Council has declared him unfit to rule. Prince Serge has been named ruler, but as he is only a boy, Minister Odeski will rule as regent in his name until such time as he reaches his majority.” He put down the parchment. “Brilliant, Tal. How did you achieve such a perfect resolution?”
Tal spoke calmly. “My manservant, Amafi, knew of a particular poison that could be concocted from seemingly harmless ingredients—a few of them difficult to find—and visited several apothecaries in the city. He prepared the poison, and I found means of administering it the night before my departure. The Princess should have died in a week’s time.”
“There is no clear connection between your visit and her death.” Kaspar positively beamed. “My boy, I am very happy with your work. I expect we’ll hear from the First Minister within days asking for some ‘clarification’ or another on my last message so that he can try to negotiate his way out of my demand.”