Page 47 of Red Dragon
“Thank you for not wanting to assassinate me,” she said to the nearer man, his face vaguely familiar. He must have been the one whose arm she’d healed in the past.
He hesitated.
“Shit, get her.” The other man vaulted over a bookcase.
The door thudded solidly shut before they reached it, and a moon-mark glowed on the plate to indicate it was secured.
Not certain how sturdy the door was, especially from that side—it had been designed to keep people out, not in—Syla didn’t hesitate to snatch up the book on her great-great grandmother and run for the stairs.
Thumps and muffled shouts followed her. She apologized to the precious books housed within the chamber and hoped the soldiers wouldn’t grow so irate as to destroy them. Someone would be along to rescue the men eventually.
Still running, she reached the table upstairs and barely slowed as she grabbed her pack. She spun to hurry out of the library and almost crashed into another uniformed man. Swearing, she came up short. What would she say?
But it was Sergeant Fel who gazed blandly down at her. “I’ve arranged transportation.”
“Oh, good.”
He looked behind her, his hand lowering to the mace belted at his hip. Expecting enemies on her trail?
“Nothing I couldn’t handle,” she assured him, spotting Teyla leaning through the door, a pack of her own over her shoulders, several book-shaped objects bulging against the seams. Sylaalmost laughed. Every woman in the family packed in a similar manner.
“Who’s after you?” Fel asked, not yet moving to follow.
“General Dolok sent minions.”
His eyes narrowed. “To do what?”
“There was chatter of assassinations, but I believe their current orders are to throw me in the dungeon.”
Fel scowled, though he had been present for her last interaction with Dolok and couldn’t be surprised. “This may not be an advisable time for you to leave the castle.”
“It actually struck me as an extremelygoodtime to leave.”
“If you don’t return for weeks?—”
Syla lifted her hand. “I know. Dolok may have seized power by then. Or someone else may have.” She thought of her ambitious cousin, Relvin. “I’m hoping those who think themselves the next rulers of the Garden Kingdom will end up squabbling amongst themselves and won’t have solidified power by the time I return. If we can get the shielder repaired, Harvest Island back under protection, then…” She tilted her palm toward the ceiling. “That’s as far as I’ve gotten with my plans.”
“You will gather allies and assert your right to be queen.”
The way he said it, Syla couldn’t tell if it was a question or an order.
“If you don’t,” Fel added softly, “yours won’t be the only life at stake.”
Syla gazed bleakly at him, then also toward Teyla. Surely, her friends and relativeswouldn’t be targets, would they? Hadn’t all those associated with her suffered enough?
No, Fel was right. They might all be targeted if there was a military coup. Anyone with a moon-mark, with royal blood and a link to the throne, would especially be considered a threat to a usurper’s right to rule. The Moonmarks had been placed in power by the gods themselves before the divinities had departed.For many people, those with the birthmark were inextricably linked to the throne. And might not a bodyguard for one of the Moonmarks be in danger too? Fel’s grim face suggested he believed that.
“I’ll keep that in mind. I promise.” Syla nodded to the door, wanting to escape the castle before more soldiers showed up.
Fel grunted, grabbed his pack off the floor, and followed her, waving for Teyla to followhim.
As they slipped out through the gatehouse in the back of the castle, where Fel exchanged a few words with the guard on duty, thanking him for saying nothing of their departure, Syla tried not to feel like she was abandoning the capital, if not the entire Kingdom, to chaos, anarchy, and the ambition of power-hungry men.
12
Vorik only slept a few hours,then rose before dawn to pack for his trip by the glowing orange embers of the campfires in the cave. He picked his way between sleeping forms, not looking too long at a couple who’d woken early for amorous activities, and angled to where Lieutenant Wise camped with a few of the other younger riders. But a lone figure standing in the mouth of the cave, his back to the wall, caught Vorik’s eye. With stars still dotting the sky outside, he wouldn’t have known who it was, but Jhiton usually wore the cloak that indicated his military status.
Someone was approaching him. A woman?
