Jade carried the tray of tea and sweets down the hall. Eyes to the ground, she glided along making as little noise as possible. For the past several days, she had been eminently obedient, the perfect servant. Practically invisible, she simply did her job and then disappeared, never making a fuss. It was vitally important that she not make waves, because that would draw attention, and attention could ruin everything. She had even apologized to C’arren, as difficult as that had been. They had to think her punishment had worked and she was willing to do just about anything to convince them. It all came down to the package hidden in the woods. Once she had studied that, Jade was certain that she had stumbled upon something big. An opportunity. Maybe even a way out, if she played her cards right. So, she had waited until the other shoe finally dropped.

  Lord T’emlin had arrived home from his trip to the capital, and he had not come alone. He had brought with him a woman with long dark hair who, according to the gossip in the halls, had been wounded and was now suffering from amnesia. Avrinly had prescribed bed rest, ostensibly to help her recover, so she spent most of her time in her room, and Jade’s duties had expanded to include delivering meals to their houseguest and tending to her needs. Someone else could have done the job, but the lady wanted to keep Jade busy, and there was little else to be done. Jade had been very careful to hide her excitement with the new assignment.

  Her instinct had been to capitalize on the chance immediately, of course, but Jade forced herself to wait, to observe before she acted. There had really been no need to rush, she had waited years, she could wait just a little longer. Today, however, she decided it was time. She was taking a risk, of course. If she was correct in her reasoning, she was about to back a very dangerous person into a corner, but this might be the best opportunity she would ever get, so that was a chance she was willing to take. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door. The woman on the bed started and quickly stuffed a sheet of paper into the fold of her shirt. Jade smiled. At least she hadn’t missed her guess. Jade set the tray down gently on the table.

  “Thank you,” the woman replied vaguely, waving her away. She clearly didn’t want to be interrupted.

  Jade moved back towards the door, but instead of exiting, she gently pushed it closed, leaning on the frame. The other woman looked up, sharply. Jade had her attention now, but she had to tread carefully.

  “You know, you didn’t need to stop your work on my account,” she offered a wry half smile. “Though, it is pretty much a waste of time anyway.”

  “I don’t know what you are talking about,” the woman was cool, unruffled.

  “And I suspect it will be hard for you to finish without this,” Jade continued as though she hadn’t spoken.

  She tossed the leather satchel down onto the bed, scattering flecks of dirt and leaves across the white bedspread. Shock registered on the woman’s face, only for an instant, but long enough.

  “What is that?” she asked, feigning confusion.

  “Let’s not do this. Neither of us has the time to waste, do we?” Jade asked.

  “What precisely is your pressing engagement?” the woman stopped abruptly, swallowing the end of her last word and flushing slightly. “I apologize, that was unkind. I… am not myself, of late.”

  “How would you know?” Jade smirked.

  “Look, I don’t know what you think you have here…” as she spoke, the woman began to slowly slide one hand into the bag.

  Jade laughed softly,

  “Looking for these?” she held up the pair of daggers she had removed from the bag.

  The stranger sucked her breath through her teeth, a combination of irritation and alarm.

  “I thought I would hold onto them, for safekeeping,” Jade continued. “Knives can be dangerous, you know?”

  “What do you want?”

  “I just want to talk. I know more than you think. I saw you, several nights ago, when you came to hide your things, so that T’emlin wouldn’t find them on you when he came across you ‘injured’ on the road,” she gestured to the bag. “You planned this. You are no amnesiac, obviously. So why don’t you level with me?”

  The stranger’s eyes widened, but she hesitated, looking around the room for another option. Jade knew that she didn’t have much time. She needed to convince the woman that she wasn’t a threat, or there was a very real possibility that she wouldn’t make it out of this room alive. So, Jade continued quickly,

  “Think about it. I have everything that you left in that bag. I’ve had it for days. I also knew what it meant and that it belonged to you. If I wanted to hurt you, to turn you in, I could have easily done it already, without any personal risk to myself.”

  The woman paused, thinking that over.

  “Besides,” Jade finished her argument. “It can’t hurt to hear me out, can it? I think I can help you. And if you don’t like what I have to say, nothing is stopping you from kill me afterwards.”

  Jade figured that if she was going to gamble, she might as well go all in. After a tense silence, the woman finally spoke,

  “Fine, start talking.”

  She had dropped her fa?ade, that was a start.

  “Well, first things first, I’d like a name, if you don’t mind. It is so much less complicated that way.”

  “Well, I suppose it can’t do any more harm than the things you already know. You can call me Mikiva,” the woman offered a hand. “And you are…?”

  “Jade,” she took the outstretched hand. “Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

  “We’ll see about that,” Mikiva snorted.

  “I suppose we will. Now, how about you fill me in on exactly why you are here?”

  “I don’t think I am willing to do that.”

  “Fine, how about I tell you, then? And you can correct me if I make a mistake,” Jade smiled. “You’re from Maaskal, aren’t you?”

  Mikiva was shocked,

  “How did you know?”

  “Your accent is well disguised, but it’s recognizable all the same,” Jade shrugged.

  “No one has ever noticed my accent before,” she murmured. “How did you…?”

  “I notice things,” she replied. “But that is beside the point. Based on that, and on the papers that you were carrying, I imagine that you are here about the war.”

  “Yes,” Mikiva finally admitted.

  “Ah, see, now we are making progress. As I thought, you are here for Avrinly.”

  “Avrinly?” Mikiva furrowed her brow.

  A sly smile spread across Jade’s face,

  “Oh, you think you are here for T’emlin then, don’t you?”

  “What are you talking about? Of course I am here for T’emlin. He is Istaria’s head military advisor. Why would I be here for his wife?”

  “Well, I did tell you that I could help you. Allow me to explain,” feeling more confident in her position, Jade took a seat in the chair by the door. “T’emlin is just a front. You want the real brains behind this operation, then you want Avrinly.”

  “Are you serious? That spoiled, overdressed princess?”

  “Oh yes indeed. But you forgot a few adjectives, like ruthless, calculating and brilliant, just to name a few. You shouldn’t underestimate her, that is what she banks on. Her husband is a puppet, a feint. He goes through the motions, but he dances to her tune.”

  “Damn, I never would have seen it,” Mikiva shook her head in disbelief.

  “Nobody ever does. That’s why she does it; T’emlin does all of her correspondence, picks up her notes, delivers her plans and orders, and she runs the whole show from behind the scenes,” Jade explained. “Why do you think she allowed you anywhere near this house, especially unguarded? She has great faith in her little shell game. In fact, I doubt that anyone, except the Queen, knows who’s really in charge. At least anyone who matters.”

  “How do you know?” Mikiva raised an eyebrow.

  “It isn’t hard to see when you are here all the time, with nothing else to do,” Jade shrugged. “Nobody pays me much mind.”

  Mikiva tapped her fingers on her knee, clearly considering whether she should believe her. After a moment, she nodded decisively.

  “Well, that’s what I get for taking a rush job,” Mikiva shook her head ruefully. She was clearly embarrassed by the oversight.

  “This is salvageable, you just need to adjust, slightly. If you want to be intercepting any information, you want to focus on the lady. Her communications are the important ones, and they are carefully disguised to appear innocuous. Anything T’emlin writes himself is a ruse to lure out spies,” Jade smirked. “If you tell me the plan, I might be able to assist further.”

  “Why not? You know the worst already,” Mikiva sighed. “We have information that T’emlin… Avrinly, will be sending messages from this house to the Queen with troop movements and positions, preparations to begin the war with Maaskal. In essence, our plan is to copy the information, maybe change a few details, if I can get away with it.”

  “Good plan. She’ll be sending out the initial orders very soon. If you intercept those and alter the positioning of the armies, Maaskal will know the moves of the enemy better than they do. Not to mention incorrect positioning could jam up supply lines and delay any offensive movement by weeks, if you are lucky. And the place where the plans are least defended is right in this house,” Jade pondered the plan aloud, it wasn’t bad. “I would love to meet your boss.”

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “You assume it isn’t my plan?” Mikiva feigned insult. “I do think K’ivin would like you, though. I’ll be sure to introduce you, if you are ever in the neighborhood.”

  Jade paused, had she ever met someone by that name? There was something familiar about it. She shook her head; it wasn’t really important at the moment.

  “I might just take you up on that,” Jade smiled. “You see, I know this house and its routines. I can get access to Avrinly’s study. I can make your job much easier. And likely more successful too.”

  “Why should I trust you?”

  “Why not? As I said, if I wanted to turn you in, I could have done it long ago.”

  “And what would you want in return?” Mikiva asked, obviously still suspicious.

  Jade couldn’t blame her. It was time to lay her final card on the table.

  “What I want is very simple,” Jade replied slowly. “I want to leave.”

  “And how do you see that happening?” Mikiva’s eyes narrowed.

  “I help you accomplish what you came here to do. When you leave, you take me with you.”

  Mikiva seemed to consider this for a moment, weighing her options.

  “If you want to escape so badly, why not just go? Why do you need me at all?”

  “Ah, that is the real question, isn’t it? Well, aside from the fact that I have nowhere to go and no idea how to even get to a town from here, basically it is because I physically can’t leave,” Jade rose and turned so that her back was to Mikiva. She pulled aside the collar of her shirt, exposing the bottom of her left shoulder blade, just a hair’s breadth from her spine. Mikiva cocked one eyebrow at her,

  “I am not following.”

  Jade pointed as best she could, indicating a faint circular protrusion of skin.

  “What is that?” Mikiva asked, leaning closer to inspect the strange marking.

  “That,” Jade explained, “is a magically invested disc, not unlike those that open locks on front doors or banks. This one, however, is special. There is a magical boundary around this estate; if anyone with one of these discs tries to pass that boundary, they are paralyzed. And if they aren’t returned shorty, it will kill them. I am literally trapped on this property.”

  “This must be absurdly expensive,” Mikiva said, still staring in fascination at the disc in Jade’s shoulder.

  “Probably. I can’t say I am flattered, though,” Jade replied bitterly.

  “So, what do you want me to do, then?”

  “Well, I have two daggers on me now, are they sharp?”

  “Of course,” Mikiva replied.

  She almost seemed offended that Jade even had to ask.

  “Good,” Jade nodded. “Because I need you to cut out the disc.”

  “You want me to do what?!”

  “It isn’t that deep, really, it shouldn’t be very hard. The only reason I can’t do it myself is because I can’t reach. I thought about scraping it out on a sharp rock, but it is too close to the spine, not sure I could do it without doing permanent damage. The only person here I could really trust is mostly blind and lacks the dexterity, so that is sort of out of the question, and any other servant would turn me in to Avrinly immediately. But you… you could do it easily, I bet.”

  “Are you crazy?” Mikiva shook her head. “I’m no surgeon.”

  “It is a relatively minor procedure. I would sacrifice a lot more for my freedom. Wouldn’t you?” Jade kept her voice calm and level, but the depth of conviction showed in her eyes.

  “I suppose I would,” Mikiva admitted.

  “If you help me with this, then I’ll help you, you have my word.”

  Mikiva hesitated for only a moment. If Jade was telling the truth, she needed the help. And that would be easy enough to confirm, now that she knew what she was looking for. But, she could already tell, it wasn’t a lie. It explained a great deal, in fact. She’d thought this had been too easy. Mikiva frowned, she didn’t want to involve a civilian, but at this point what choice did she have?

  “Should I remove it now?” she asked.

  “No, someone might notice the wound. Better to wait and remove it at the last minute, right before we go.”

  “Can I have my knives back?”

  “Yes,” Jade hesitated. “If we have a deal.”

  Mikiva nodded,

  “We do. If you help me, I will take care of your problem, and when I leave, I’ll take you as far as Telvanar. Is that satisfactory?”

  “Tell me one thing first, is it true that Maaskal does not support the slave trade?”

  “It is true. Every person in Maaskal is a free citizen.”

  “Then that is more than satisfactory,” Jade passed Mikiva back her knives and watched as they vanished instantly into the folds of her clothing, invisible.

  “Good. Well, time is of the essence,” decision made, Mikiva was eager to get to work. “I’ll need all of Avrinly’s disguised military correspondence, before they start going out. If you bring them to me here, I will do what I need to, then you will have to return them before they are missed. You think that you can handle that?”

  “Piece of cake,” Jade grinned. “One more thing to consider though, I listened in on Avrinly talking to T’emlin when he returned. The Queen wants the first wave of instructions in 2 weeks’ time. They will be sent out by courier in just 5 days. That is how long we have, and then we need to get out before you overstay your welcome. You know that you cannot make any major changes in that amount of time, right?”

  “I know. I could never make any significant changes anyways, someone would notice. In fact, it is probably more important to know their moves than to modify them. But I’ll take what I can get.”

  “Very well. I’ll be back when I have the documents,” Jade turned to leave, but a hand on her arm stopped her.

  “Be careful, if they catch you, they will kill you.”

  “I accepted that possibility the moment I walked in here with your bag. And your knives. I’ll take my chances.”

  With that, Jade turned and slipped out the door.

  **

  Av’ry had arrived at the border of Maaskal, only to find that security patrols had already locked it down. The Imperial Army was denying entry for any person who could not prove that they were of Maaskalan origin. The rumours of war were making them paranoid, and he figured that they were trying to keep out advanced spies and infiltrators. Fortunately for them, but unfortunately for him, this mountain pass was pretty much the only passable route into the empire for miles in either direction. To get around it, he would have to spend days backtracking along the mountains to reach the open plains that formed the border further north. He really didn’t want to waste that kind of time, not to mention spend it on a horse. After being sedentary for so long, he ached all over from days of riding. He wished he’d thought to get a forged passport, or any documents that portrayed him as a citizen of Maaskal. It hadn’t seemed necessary at the time; now the nearest major city was almost 2 days behind him, and that was just as bad as trekking around the mountains. So Av’ry had stopped by the border crossing while he tried to think of another way through.

  Lounging back at his campfire, Av’ry assessed his situation. The path he had reached was in the valley surrounded by a steep mountain range, with cliffs rising on both sides. Tactically speaking, it was a brilliant place for a checkpoint; there was only one way in, and it was watched on all sides by soldiers posted on the cliffs above and at the mouth of the pass. The only plausible way in was to get the guards at the pass to let him through. Av’ry honestly didn’t know how fast this war was going to start, but every moment could bring them closer to the brink, so it seemed that he was going to have to see if he could still do any of his old tricks. He packed up his gear quickly and led his horse across the open field, past the tents of all the other people who had become trapped outside of Maaskal, unable to get back to their homes, their families, their businesses. The blockade had snuck up on everyone. Stopping outside the guard’s command tent, Av’ry tied his horse to the post and walked in, trying to look confident and nonchalant. The guard seated at the desk looked harried, to say the least, and he did not seem happy to see another person begging entry.

  “Look, I told you already, we aren’t letting anyone in until we can verify identification, or we get permission from the Emperor.”

  It was obvious that the man had said the same thing a hundred times today.

  “Oh, of course sir, I understand completely,” Av’ry replied, smoothly spreading his hands in a gesture of surrender. “I mean, damn, I wouldn’t want your job for the world.”

  The man seemed surprised by the sympathy,

  “It’s been rough. In fact, we’ve been worried about people storming the gates. If we don’t get some support from the empire soon…” the man sighed, glad to find a willing ear.

  It never ceased to amaze Av’ry just how loose lipped people could be, if you offered them a shoulder. Generally, people loved to complain about their lives, and given half a chance, they would ramble forever. That was just what he needed, for the guard to let down his defences. Meeting his eyes with a look of intense interest, Av’ry focused his mind.

  “No support from the empire, eh? That figures, those royal types never respect the risk us little guys are exposed to,” Av’ry commiserated.

  “You’ve got that right!” the soldier pinched his nose. “I mean if those big shots understood how easily we could end up dead out here before the war even starts…”

  The man continued, but Av’ry had stopped paying attention. He needed a moment to concentrate, if he was going to get this to work.

  It was hard to describe what he was doing, exactly. He had tried before, but it wasn’t something that most people had a frame of reference for. It was sort of like giving a person’s mind a gentle push in the direction you could wanted them to turn. It wasn’t mind control, precisely, it just made him more… persuasive, more charismatic. If he did it right, it convinced people to see his point of view more readily, made them more credulous, trusting. He listened as the guard talked for a while longer, with Av’ry carefully mirroring back the complaints of the older man. Presenting himself as a kindred spirit. The guard was warming to him rapidly; like most people, he loved being agreed with and had a tendency to believe that those who did so were terribly clever.

  “What I really need,” the guard groused, “is a bath, a shave and a good night’s sleep. But instead, I am stuck here with these ingrates. Don’t they understand I am trying to protect the empire? Our empire?”

  “Civilians,” Av’ry rolled his eyes. “That is why I can’t wait to get back to the barracks, myself.”

  The other man looked surprised.

  “Are you a soldier?”

  “Yes, sir,” Av’ry saluted. “And damn proud of it. That is why I am so sorry to bother you, when you are obviously being sorely put upon already. But I am afraid it can’t wait.”

  “Why were you in Esrasea?”

  “I was on ‘vacation’. You know, travelling through Esrasea, learning about the locals. And I desperately need to tell my commander all about it.” Av’ry smiled conspiratorially.

  “Oh ho! Need to share some travel tips with the boss?” the guard laughed.

  “I am afraid I am not at liberty to say,” Av’ry winked. “I have a small problem, though. You see, for obvious reasons, I don’t have my identification on me. It wasn’t a concern when I crossed over, and I didn’t foresee this little problem.”

  “Of course, of course. I understand completely,” the guard tapped his nose. “I think we can sort this out amongst ourselves. I just need to know the name of your superior, to confirm.”

  This was the part Av’ry had been waiting for. Hopefully, Fox’s information was still good. It had been a couple of years. Av’ry leaned in, lowering his voice like he was sharing an important secret.

  “Perhaps you have heard of him. K’ivin Tiran?”

  “You know the…” the guard stopped himself, erring on the side of caution. “Advisor to the emperor? Well, doesn’t that beat all? You work for the man himself?”

  Av’ry smiled,

  “I trust I can count on your discretion, soldier?”

  The guard laughed and clapped him on the shoulder,

  “About what? A tourist who just happened to return home through my checkpoint?”

  “Your empire thanks you.”

  “I will signal the sentries to let you pass. Good luck and Gods’ speed, soldier.”

  “Thank you. We need all the luck we can get in these dark times. Stay safe.”

  The guard saluted and left the tent, Av’ry followed, retrieving his horse. The man waved to the archers above, giving the signal to let Av’ry pass. Av’ry saluted sharply, then swung onto his horse and trotted off down the pass.

  Av’ry barely breathed until he was out of their sight. Finally turning a corner, he broke into manic laughter. He hadn’t been sure he could pull that off. He was very out of practice, but he’d gotten lucky, the guard had been tired of turning people away. It was easiest when the person wanted to believe him from the start, but it was still a gamble. A lot depended on how… amenable the person was to persuasion. That was one reason he didn’t like to rely on it much. It failed almost as often as it succeeded, but there were times when it could be useful. In this case, it had been a simple matter to convince the guard to accept what he said without proof. It had actually been much easier than he had expected, and as convenient as that was, it disturbed him. It showed just how unprepared Maaskal was for this war. Esrasea was much more aggressive than their neighbour, constantly squabbling with others, quelling internal unrest and waging outright war with countries where no treaties had been established. Their army was large, experienced, and well organized. Maaskal was different; it was a peaceful, diplomatic empire, which may have relied a bit too heavily on their major trading partner and closest neighbour, Esrasea, to cover them in case of any open hostility. This betrayal could easily mean their destruction. Even if Maaskal survived, it was doubtful that they would be able to regain the easy peace that they had become accustomed to. The damage done here could last for decades. Generations. And for what? He shook his head, it all seemed so pointless. Av’ry put the thought out of his mind and spurred his horse onward, he had a royal audience waiting in Telvanar. Perhaps it wasn’t too late to alter the course.