Coonhil gulped.
Vac slapped his hand on the side of the desk and demanded, “What do you mean, ‘few casualties?’ Is my brother all right?”
“He is alive,” said Coonhil, scratching at his chest.
“Alive? What does that mean?”
“He may have been the target of the attack, but his wounds are superficial. Deliberately so, it would seem.”
Vac took a breath. He walked to the back of his office, to the arched stone window, and looked out into the night. There were a lot of stars in the sky—more than he’d ever seen from that office window before—but, in spite of feeling the tinge of inspiration, he was in no mood to give a soliloquy about how beautiful they were.
“If they were Thyrian special agents, why would they target him?”
Coonhil walked toward the governor, and slumped a little at the shoulders so as not to be too much taller than him. “It could be a war of attrition.”
“No,” said Vac with a shake of the head. “The Thyrians have always been too proud to starve out their enemies. Even if Dracon is playing by different rules, it wouldn’t make sense. If he wanted to conquer us, he would need to get some operational farms out of the deal.”
“Maybe he’s trying to get to you,” Coonhil added.
“What? Emotionally? Good luck.”
“Just the same, it may be wise of you to increase patrols. Frankly I was stunned at how few guards there are in the building right now.”
Vac shook his head slightly. His eyes were stones. “That’s the real heart of the matter,” he said. Then he paused. It was unlike him to be cryptic, but he wanted to be sure to have the puzzle solved before he spoke.
He walked back to his desk and drew Jaysynn’s knife and sheath from the top drawer.
“This is the reason I’ve had so few guards these past two nights,” Vac said. “My patrols are combing the city looking for the young emperor before he skips town. His girlfriend is better guarded right now than I am, just in case he tries to come back for her.” His voice was quiet, but it filled the room like a mantra. “And Dracon’s men were looking for the same thing when they broke into my brother’s camp. Dracon wants him dead. I want him alive and talking.”
“If that’s true,” said Coonhil, “then they most likely learned that Jaysynn was taken here. They struck your brother last night, and they may strike here tonight—and they may not show you the same mercy. Let me round up some more guards.”
Vac laid the knife on the desk and touched his hand to his chin and thought for a moment. “You know,” he said, “it’s been a few days since I’ve had a shave.”
In Vac’s presence, Coonhil made every effort at discipline and emotional restraint. But with Vac’s indifference in the face of grave danger, he at first rolled his eyes, then lifted his arms and flailed them about. “These men will slit your throat,” he said. “And you’re worried about a shave? They could come in here at any minute…”
But they were interrupted, not by a sound—for there was no sound—but by the blotting out of the stars as a figure dark as the sky filled the stone arch of the window.
“Guards,” Coonhil shouted. He backed toward a bookshelf on one of the walls and gripped a heavy book without yet pulling it off the shelf. His arms were narrow, but the veins were large. His teeth were gritted behind his cheeks.
Vac, however, was calm. He had faced the mob like a stone statue. Now his shoulders were gentle as a pillow. In fact, he thought it possible that his life was about to end. But he was also filled with delight. Jaysynn had returned.
Jaysynn stepped down into the room, but when two guards charged through the door he leapt back onto the ledge.
“Touch me and I’ll jump,” he said, “and I’ll splatter the secret knowledge of the Emperor of Thyrion across the asphalt.”
These guards were armed with the swords that the governor had bragged about, and they held the tips toward Jaysynn, but stood twenty feet away, inching their feet toward him to measure the sincerity of his threat.
Vac held up his hand. He spoke to his guards, but his eyes never left Jaysynn’s: “Stop where you are and lower your weapons.” Then, to Jaysynn, “What brings you here?”
“For starters, I want Kyrie freed.”
Vac smiled. “She’s only here to get you to talk. Tell me what I want to know and she can walk out of here tonight.”
“Don’t start making deals just yet,” Jaysynn said. “Not till I’m done.”
“Of course,” said Vac with a courteous “after you” movement of the hand.
Jaysynn looked at each of the guards, at Coonhil, and back to Vac. “Do you want to save the people of your city?”
“At any cost,” said Vac.
“From the leaders of my city?” Jaysynn added.
“If that’s where this leads.”
“Well,” said Jaysynn. “I want to save my city from their own leaders. So we have a similar cause and a common enemy. Are you listening?”
“I’m listening.”
“Dismiss the guards.”
Vac moved calmly and deliberately as he picked up Jaysynn’s combat knife. With his thick fingers, he popped the button of the sheath and drew the blade, leaving the sheath on the desk. He then walked over to one of his guards. “Your sword,” he said.
The guard handed over his weapon and Vac carried it to the edge of the room and handed it to Coonhil.
“This will do more damage than a book any day,” the governor said. Coonhil took the sword from him and nodded.
Vac told the guards they could go, and they left the room.
“Governor,” said Jaysynn, “I’m asking for your trust. I came here unarmed and you’re keeping a sword and a knife against me.”
Vac glanced over his shoulder at Coonhil. “So I am,” he said. “You said we had a common enemy. You didn’t say we were friends. I’m hoping you’ll go on with your proposition just the same.”
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