Page 40 of Lhora
“Online!” another man answered.
“Vadris! We have incoming!” A man with a telescope up on the forecastle turned to him. “They’ve seen our empty wagon!”
“And heard us powering up!” Lon yelled. “Launch ship!”
Pullid grabbed the immense lever on the floor beside the wheel and jerked it perpendicular to the deck. The frigate shuddered and began moving forward, out into the harbor. By the time the people got to the dock, it was too late to stop them.
“All ahead full!” Lon ordered as soon as they were clear.
The pilot pushed the lever all the way forward, and the big ship steadily gained speed, plowing through the waves like they were made of air.
“Ready to deploy solar sails!” a crewmember announced.
“Deploy!” Lon turned to Lhora. “Get us out of here!”
Happily, she slammed the bright green button on her panel, and theBeccansoared into the atmosphere.
20
Deceived
Duren stared out the window. Behind him, the Sarpi was meeting with several of his senior officers as they helped him plan the execution of the Vadris of theTubrad.His father was in high spirits. He knew Sov took exceptional delight whenever he got the chance to purge the country of someone he deemed an enemy, especially if it was another Coltrosstian. The Sarpi liked to flex his leadership muscles, which kept the populace cowed and in fear of him.
Personally, Duren detested the man’s approach to keeping his countrymen in check. When and if—and that was a very bigif—ifDuren ever assumed the command seat, he would take a completely different stance. He’d continue to rule with a firm hand, but he definitely wouldn’t go out of his way to feed his ego with someone else’s death.
Duren saw his scowl reflected in the glass. He couldn’t explain why he was starting to think this, but a nagging thought had begun to bury itself into his brain. The thought that his father had no intention of letting his son and rightful heir assume the title of Sarpi. That maybe Sov was priming someone else to take over the leadership of Coltross. Someone who would continue to rule over the land with the same unforgiving iron fist because the Sarpi knew his son would not.
Their argument had come to a head a few years back, when Duren made his displeasure known about the execution of three senior Coltrosstian officers. Three men whose only true crime was to voice their opinion about something that countermanded what the Sarpi had ordered. Three men who’d had the strength of conviction to argue with Sov. Three men who’d then been charged with treason and publicly slashed to death. Since then, Duren knew his father kept a close watch on his son’s face whenever he made a decision about something. If Duren showed any sign of negativity, he severely reprimanded the Sarpen, even in front of others, as if Duren would bend or break from the humiliation.
It had worked for the first twenty years of his life, but not in the past nine.
A ship took off in the far distance. For some reason, the sight of it made him think of Lhora. Plug it, everything made him think of Lhora, and he didn’t know whether to be angry or happy about it. Regardless, he had to do something about these strange new feelings. He’d fallen into a hold so deep and cavernous, there was the chance he’d never be able to climb his way out of it.
“I need her back,” he whispered. “I must get her back.”
He glanced at the sun.How far away were they from Avergild?he wondered. Depending on how fast the man he’d sent to take her was driving, they could be just outside the city limits, or almost halfway there.
“Plug this.” He left the window and headed for the nearest door.
“Where are you going?” a voice boomed.
Duren paused long enough to tell his parent, “Out.”
“Out where?”
“To inspect the perimeter. I failed to check this morning,” he shot back. The initial lie was covered with the latter truth. If the Sarpi checked with one of the other men, they would back Duren’s claim that the Sarpen had yet to make his rounds.
Not waiting for Sov to reply, he strode out the door and went straight to the stables where he grabbed a sleek little compact coach. It was fitted with a simple tri-sail mast that gave the engine enough power to easily overtake the carriage his soldier had taken, even if the man was pressing on full-steam.
Between the carriage’s loud reverberating hum and the warning bell he could ring at his feet, he made good time leaving the city as people scrambled to get out of his way before he ran them down. Many people recognized him. Some shouted obscenities, not caring about his status. Word would probably get back to the Sarpi about his son driving like a worrip out of hellfa and endangering lives. At the moment, he didn’t care. Well, truthfully he did. But right now it was imperative he reach Kotill before Lhora did so he could hopefully stop her from leaving.
Once he reached the outskirts of the city, he pushed the throttle all the way forward. Fed by the solar sails, the carriage howled beneath him. It would take some time to get there, but it gave him the time he needed to come up with an argument that might convince her to stay with him.
It was early afternoon when he reached Kotill. He hadn’t passed the coach either on its way there or on its way back, which meant they had to be at the seaport.
He spotted the schooner immediately upon driving up to the wharf. He scoured the area. But not the coach. Duren assessed the situation. He knew he hadn’t encountered the vehicle along the way, much less another red one. Had they stopped somewhere to get something to eat or drink?Or maybe they took a different road.“But this is the fastest way. Why would the man take a more circuitous route?”
Unless Lhora convinced him to.
