Page 95 of The Study of Magic
Yes!
“What took you so long?” Janco complained.
“I wanted to prove my point. Where’s…ah, Adviser Ilom and Cahil?” She looked around the farmstead.
“Why the sudden concern for Ilom?” Janco asked with mock sincerity. “He’s a grown man with surprising abilities. That stuffy old bore appeared out of nowhere, did a dead perfect impression of Valek’s voice and disappeared as if by magic. The man’s a genius! I should have known he would come along. Valek wouldn’t miss all the fun.”
The smile dropped from Ari’s face. “Valek’s going to get caught. Cahil made a beeline for the Citadel, probably to tell the council members about Valek.”
Ah, so Cahil had pretended to rush back to the Citadel, only to loop around and hide. Interesting.
“Great disguise, though,” Janco said. “He had us fooled.”
“Cahil already suspected Valek was here,” Yelena said.
That was new. He wondered what gave him away. Was it something he’d done or did Yelena tip him off? She tended to expose Valek’s plans when defending him. And she had argued with Cahil earlier.
“I’m sure Valek can handle it,” she said.
He could, but Signe wasn’t going to be happy about it.
The three of them headed back to the Citadel. Valek waited behind to see what Cahil would do. Yelena might have told Valek ‘no killing,’ but he’d seen the sick rot in Goel’s gaze. Best to deal with the problem permanently.
Cahil waited until the others were out of sight before he entered the shed. Valek eased closer to listen.
“…disgrace to my unit,” Cahil said.
“Your unit. That’s a laugh,” Goel said.
Valek thought about the comments Goel had made earlier. Sounded like there was some dissension in the ranks about who was really in charge. Valek hadn’t left any of the royal family alive. Perhaps Cahil’s people lied to him about his birthright? He would have been too young to remember his real parents.
The argument continued, but they both left the shed, crossing the field. Valek considered his options. He could attack them now and solve two problems. Except, there might be some push back from the Sitian authorities, and it might cause difficulties for Signe. No. He’d wait until the delegation left and then return to finish the job.
“Shut up. Just. Shut. The fuck. Up!” Cahil pulled his oversized sword from its sheath. “You’ve pledged your loyalty to me. Your life is mine, and I’ve decided you’re no longer welcome in my unit.” He plunged the blade into Goel’s chest with one mighty thrust.
Goel staggered back with a look of astonishment. Cahil yanked the weapon out. Blood gushed and Goel collapsed. Impressed that Cahil had the wherewithal to murder a man, Valek approved the decision. Was this Cahil’s first kill?
Cahil stared at the body. The red flush of his anger faded from his cheeks, and he swallowed a few times. His forehead creased. Would he get sick? Then Cahil cleaned the blood off his sword with a handful of grass and headed to the Citadel.
It would be interesting to see how the Sitians deal with Goel’s murder. Valek took another route back and hoped to reach Ilom and Signe before the authorities. He found them in the suite of rooms assigned to the Ambassador.
Ilom stood. “What’s going on? Why are you still in disguise? I’ve the morning shift.”
“Did something happen to Yelena?” Signe asked.
“She’s fine, but my cover is blown. I’m sorry Ilom, it’s going to be a rough couple of days for you.”
“Well, I wanted an adventure.”
“That’s the spirit, old man.” He clapped him on the shoulder.
“You need to leave Sitia immediately,” Signe ordered.
“I can’t,” Valek said. “They’ve a big problem here and I need to help them stop it. If not, it will eventually affect Ixia.”
“How should I play this?” Signe asked.
“Indignant and angry. After all, Ilom is innocent of all accusations.”
