A Price Paid

"Etan Strannix," Bryana repeated. "He just gave you the name?"

The fire crackled behind him, Deres enjoying the warmth of it as he lounged in one of the plush chairs in Neral's study. A chill had descended on the city this evening and the trip home was surprisingly cold and breezy. It was early for such weather and, if tonight was any indication, winter would be exceptionally cold.

He ran his hand through his close-cropped dark hair in order to stifle the smirk that wanted to appear. "He just gave me the name of the man he knew as his employer. I took that name to the dockmaster who, in return for a sizable sum of gold skipped the nonsense of going through a few more shadow owners he was supposed to surrender in the event anyone ever asked and give me the one that mattered."

"And you're sure he just didn't give you another name that he was supposed to give you in the event that anyone asked?" Neral prodded from behind her desk while Bryana stood near the bookcase on her left.

"He was so concerned about giving it up that his price for doing so was enough gold for a fresh start and the means to that new start. He told me that the number of people who knew who actually owned what was exceedingly small, and Strannix was a man of sufficient ill-temper to maybe get rid of all of those few just to make sure he got the right one if he felt crossed. He didn't know about the human cargo and when I told him he saw where it was all going to lead and he wanted out before anyone mentioned him and maybe tried to pin it all on 'the little people.'"

"Strannix is the right man," Bryana said glumly.

Neral looked to her. "How can you be sure?"

"Because his wife was relocated and my guild was responsible."

Neral absorbed the information without expression. "Explain, please."

She steeled herself for what she was sure would come and began the story. "Strannix is what he is, I'm sure I don't have to explain that to you."

"He is someone you can go to for hard to find items. He's someone you can go to if you want things that aren't legal or aren't legal without long delays and sizable duties. I know several families that have gone that route for various finery."

"And there is talk because there is always talk. There's talk that there is no limit to what you can have from him if you're willing to pay, though I know of no one who will admit to doing so to me. Not that that much surprises me, as I'd like to think myself an honest soul who would do something about it if they told me, never mind that my position would obligate me to act anyway. Continue."

"Whatever you've heard is true and probably understates the matter. He has reach in the underworld and control of vice in two kingdoms. And he has buried scores of bodies in order to maintain that reach and hold that power. Are you aware that his wife has gone?"

"I'd heard she'd gone on sabbatical somewhere on the coast."

Bryana couldn't help but being amused at the benign explanation Strannix put into the wind. "She is at least 'away.'" Bryana needed to move and, since she couldn't act decisively on the issue before them, she settled on pacing. "Dina Strannix took a lover some months ago. That lover contacted my guild to arrange a fresh start not unlike what the dock master has bargained for. Before that could be done, Strannix sent men to send her a message, catching her contact with my guild in the process. They were both hurt badly."

Deres remembered the night. "I can vouch for the badly part. The client nearly died and if the guild contact hadn't been caught up with her she probably would have."

Neral had to ask. "Don't trust me enough to name names?" There was no anger in the statement.

"A guild keeps its confidences. But it's you, if you can come up with a compelling reason that you should know, under the circumstances, I..."

"I can't. I understand." It was best if she didn't know details of Bryana's work and she made a point to never ask. She simply trusted Bryana not to act against the masses, the queen, or Erette and there had never been a reason to question that trust. Indeed, Bryana's position was beneficial in that she kept Neral appraised of the broad strokes of activity of the other guilds. It was an added layer of security for Erette and its people and the general treated it as she would any other passive espionage operation.

"I swear, there is nothing I would not do to protect my family."

"Bryana," she said firmly, "I know that. I know that. I don't need to know. If something changes and it might be helpful to know I'll make my case. But I think I know where this is going, so those details don't matter."

The pause in Bryana's story held for a moment more. "Anyway, before dawn, the contact exacted revenge on their attacker, and, later that day I transported Dina Strannix and her lover to their new home myself."

"So he wants revenge against you for taking what's his," Deres concluded, "and he doesn't dare exact that revenge on you directly, so he takes something that matters to you." There was a spark in his eye as he played out the plan. "Not to kill her because the soldiers could have tried that on the street and there's no need to take her to a place guarded from magic. He takes something that Bryana values to get back something

he

values."

It suddenly became almost unbearable to look at Neral so Bryana's gaze went down and away. "This is my fault, all of it."

"Bryana." Neral rose, her heart growing heavier in her chest seeing the ache in the other's very being.

"It

is my fault

.

Neral took her hands, close enough now to feel the warmth of her body. "Look at me, my love. Please."

Bryana mustered her courage and looked up, confounded by the empathy and understanding that she found there and then in Deres's Locking on to Neral's dark brown eyes once again, her own misted. "I'm sorry."

"We

met

because my House has enemies; because they hatched a plan to kill the queen and use me to do it. Remember?"

There was no way to forget. The dark creature that she once was was hired by the leader of a rival House to corrupt Neral, one of the few with unfettered access to the queen. Ideally, the queen would die, the House at the queen's right hand would fall with it and he would have seen his power greatly expanded even if he hadn't found his way to the throne itself.

But Deres had found the traces she'd left behind first and hatched a plan to trap her. Doing so, and using a mix of magic and science far beyond that which this corner of the world, they turned her toward the light, and so began the adventure of their lives together. What began as the need to repay Neral for the wrong inflicted upon her, and to a lesser extent to repay all of those she had wronged had blossomed into love, security and a peace that Bryana thought impossible to feel and, at times, still undeserved. It felt to her that her sins were chasing her down seeking true penance. But there was no anger or blame to be seen behind Neral's eyes.

"This House still has people around it that wouldn't weep if it fell, and do you think I have no enemies? Do you think there's no child or sibling of a bandit I've imprisoned or soldier I've killed in combat that doesn't nurse daydreams of revenge? Even Deres, in his travels, has no doubt made an enemy or two."

"Through no fault of my own, I'll have you know."

Bryana laughed even as a tear fell down her cheek. "I love you and I could throttle you most days." Like just this moment when he gave her that crooked grin.

Seemingly reading her mind, he rose and moved casually over to his two and ran his hand down her cheek. "Have at it then."

A wave of that calm washed over her. Her two were within reach and neither of them were interested in blaming her the way she blamed herself. "Perhaps later."

"It was an enemy of yours who has tried first. It doesn't make any difference. I birthed her and if it were an enemy of mine I would be where you are, but would you allow me it?" She gave him her gentle gaze as well. "Either of you? No. You would tell me there is no way I could have known. You would tell me that I did the right thing, even if something like this was a consequence, just like I'm telling you. You didn't harm him without cause. Goddess, you didn't even harm him. You saved two lives in taking them from his reach, and Khylen proves that. You didn't bring this darkness to our door because you are dark. It's here because your life touched darkness. That's true of all of us."

"Self-recrimination does nothing to solve the problem before us," Deres told her. "The problem is Etan Strannix and that has to be dealt with."

The mage was careful with her words, not wanting to draw another rebuke from Neral, "It's because of my actions that he has focused on this House. I will find him and I will deal with him."

"

We

will deal with him. In the morning I will go to the queen to see if something can be done."

"Do you think she will?"

Rather than answer him directly, she set them to a task because she knew the politics the queen would have to contend with, "What I think you need to do is come up with contingencies in the event that we're on our own."

"Those are already being planned, Neral."

"Dare I ask what they are?"

"So far, I have only enlisted the other guild masters' aid in the search for the mages responsible. When there's more to say, you and Deres will be the first to hear it."

That was good enough for Neral at the moment.

* * *

The queen's castle was a wondrous creation that had evolved over the centuries and it showed. Paintings and murals could be found in virtually every hallway, and where they were not, tapestries from every corner of the world hung between sculptures and examples of fine porcelain. New building techniques and architectural ideas meshed flawlessly, with each ruler having left their mark on it in the building and rebuilding over years. A keen eye could walk a corridor or enter a room and know which king or queen touched it.

Sometimes Bryana walked through the whole of it just to immerse herself in the history to be found there, and to just feel the belonging of knowing that she could. She couldn't help but find her spirit uplifted by it. Erette was not perfect, nor were its rulers. Indeed, some of them were arguably as dark as she once was, and some of the murals touched on those dark moments. They were sometimes portrayed as celebrations of the moment, created in a time when the people saw those moments in a better light and some of them were presented as warnings to those that followed of how far man could fall.

But, for the most part, Erette was a force for good in the world, and she was proud of her place in it in even this peripheral way. And, given recent events, she remembered fondly Khylen asking about the story behind every mural, every painting, and almost every sculpture as Neral or 'Auntie Evaline,' as she called the queen, told their stories as the young one listened in rapt attention.

Now her heels clacked on the gleaming white and black marble of Ruler's Hall. Each black section held the seal of the royal house etched into it and filled with gold. The white sections carried an etching of an eight-pointed compass, the implication being that the ruler at the end of the hall knew the way and would steer Erette true. Bryana had come to have faith that Evaline would continue to do so with the kindness, intellect, and wisdom.

You have faith in people, Bryana. When did that happen?

Sunlight streamed in from the floor-to-ceiling windows, making it seem as though it might be warmer outside than it actually was, though, watching the wind blow, and having just been out in it, she knew it was chill and had some power behind it. Against the pillars equally spaced throughout the hallway were guards in gleaming silver armor that could leave one seeing spots if they caught it and the sunlight just so. On their white breastplates was a gold sword that marked them as members of the White Guard. They didn't acknowledge her as she passed and she didn't expect them to. They knew she was allowed to be there because the queen allowed it and that was enough.

She paced slowly in her autumn brown dress and other finery that was fit for a trip to the castle like a caged animal. The royal gardens and the city beyond the grounds provided a lovely view that could catch her attention for a moment, but eventually it would serve to remind her that any action she could take was out there, not in here. This place was Neral's dominion and she found herself hopeful yet again that in Evaline's wisdom, her affection for Khylen, and her lifelong friendship with Neral could convince her to act.

All she could do was wait here as time slipped away, but at least it was time she could use to think. The guild masters were delivering their records to her now, and, once she had a place to start the hunt would begin. Whoever they were, Bryana was certain they were still helping Strannix, who hadn't been seen since the riots. To avoid guild eyes for so long, one had to know how they worked. He was running and so were they, even if perhaps they didn't see it that way. And she couldn't discount the possibility that they were simply regrouping to come at them again, which gnawed at her all by itself. She was not one to play defense; that was for her enemies to do.

She heard the doors open and made her way towards them more rapidly than she realized as Neral emerged. The guards on either side closed them as soon as the general cleared them. They didn't acknowledge Neral either because, as members of the White Guard, none of the soldiers here answered to her. Her service uniform was gray and black, the same as any other soldier's, the difference being, her rank trim made up four gold braids that broke pattern to make room for her rank insignia that was placed over her heart. It was the minimum required for a formal audience and, since she was there with the intent to ask the queen to use her power on Neral's behalf, she owed her that respect. Bryana noted that it may as well have been her black full dress uniform covered in her medals and badges given the way she carried herself. Bryana felt her pride just looking at that perfect uniform and those glossy boots. The woman that she was admired Neral's beauty and always thought the way her ponytail swayed just so with her steps was adorable. Such was something that she and Deres had in common.

The look on her face though, told Bryana all she needed to know. She couldn't hide her disappointment, particularly from herself as she fell in stride with Neral.

So much for faith in people.

"She will not act against him?"

"She will not."

"Not even with the threat of mages involved in something so bold?" The queen was shrewd. Clues spread out over years led her to suspect that forbidden magic, was, while still forbidden, not the stuff of stories of old history or musings to scare children around a campfire, and that Neral's two might have a connection to it.

She had asked Neral for Deres's help with a means of tying her to soon-to-be consort and prince, Danil, so that the two could live happily for life since they were destined to be joined until death parted them and Evaline would have endured almost anything rather than suffer decades of cool detachment and have their children have to endure it as well. Also at play was the fact that she knew now that other rulers were making use of mages to varying degrees and she realized that the kingdom needed its own in-kind response to them, even if the public remained largely unaware of their prevalence.

"She can't, and I understand why. She has nothing to go on but my say so. The soldiers involved remember nothing, and, even if they did, what could they say that wouldn't cause a panic?"

"There is the dockmaster and the ship captain."

"Yes," Neral agreed as they made their way through the corridors. "Two men who profited by all of this, with one who is facing a large portion of his remaining life in prison and one who traded his knowledge in order to escape punishment for his, lesser though his crimes are. Two men who, under the circumstances, would be willing to say almost anything to lay blame at the feet of someone else to get mercy for themselves. To court it will seem all the more convenient that the person they name cannot be found."

"And that the person they name is someone half of them have used for this service or that that they would rather not be common knowledge."

Bryanna's humor was tinged with bitterness, "What's the point of being queen if you can't simply wave your hand and smite the people who threaten you?"

"She

is

queen. She still could, but not without cost. Imagine if, as you see it, without cause, the queen simply wipes a powerful businessman from Erette. She seizes his sizable holdings and he is simply...gone."

Bryana had no trouble imagining it. "If he's an example for me to see, what will she begin to ask for from me to keep my position so I don't vanish?"

Neral continued, "Everyone around me is thinking the same thing. What are

they

doing behind my back to curry favor?"

"Or to vanish me me so they can fight over my leavings. It would be the era of stagnation all over again." Neral referred to a time many generations ago where the Houses warred on all fronts with their own spies and armies as they sought power. As a result, the progress of the whole of society, from the arts to the sciences slowed to a crawl. "Rather than risk the loss of position and property, openly or not, the Houses of Court would seek a new ruler."

"She will act," Neral promised. "She has given me her word that it will be the army that she unleashes on him and his holdings here, not the constables. It's my hand that will destroy everything he holds dear in this kingdom." It was still something of an unfamiliar feeling for her. She was gifted at the art of war, but she never relished it. Enemies of Erette were simply that. She rarely had a bloodlust running through her veins to rend someone limb from limb like she had now. Neral ached to make him suffer.

"But she needs proof," Neral told her, raising her voice now to be heard over the breeze as they entered the gardens on the path to the a side entrance. Neral looked at the way the wind caught Bryanna's golden hair and it almost made her look like she were flying. "The queen needs proof. She needs so much proof that the members of court that have used him and use him still have no choice but to wash their hands of him, even if it's only to save face in front of the others."

"So, my dear, we have two problems: first, we need proof. We need a mountain of proof so high court will need a guide to climb it."

"I will get it, Neral. There will be enough that court will choke to death on it as you shove it down their throats."

"Should I ask how?"

Bryana decided to answer honestly. "I'm guessing everything you need is in his home. I doubt he'll return anytime soon and it shouldn't be that hard to locate, especially if those inside are willing to help."

"Unless he took it with him. Or he destroyed it."

"There's no way to know unless someone looks, so I will look."

"You cannot be seen," Neral admonished. "It cannot look like my hand is in it or it will taint what you find no matter how much it is. It will look like I'm trying to grow my power at his expense and, given our closeness, such a perception still taints the queen." She thought carefully. "Khylen is safe and I would sooner forget retribution and just move on with our lives than do that."

"No one will see you in this." Her tone was a promise. They walked in silence for another dozen or so steps before Bryana decided to prod Neral. "Second?"

"Second, even with the queen's blessing, all I can do is chase him from Erette." He has power and reach beyond the queen. As much as I can wound him, I can only wound him. He may take a lesson from that to leave well enough alone, but if he would respond to a disappeared wife that he could arguably replace as he has, I suspect that, sooner or later, he'd have at revenge again. What then?"