Wolfblade by William King

Author:William King
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Black Library
Published: 2011-05-24T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Torin swept the eavesdropping augur over the room once more, then relaxed and smiled. Ragnar was glad that he had come straight here after his meeting with Skorpeus and Gabriella. Torin seemed exactly the man to turn to for advice under these circumstances.

‘Ah, Ragnar, old son,’ he said. ‘Here less than a week and already knee deep in conspiracies. That’s the spirit.’

Ragnar heard the mockery in his voice, and felt the hackles on the back of his neck rise. Torin’s smile widened as if he knew what Ragnar was feeling, and then just as suddenly it vanished.

‘A subtle man, Skorpeus,’ he said. There was disdain in his voice. Ragnar was not sure whether this was because Skorpeus imputed subtlety or because Torin thought the Navigator was not subtle enough.

He glanced at his battle-brother’s chamber. It was the opposite of his own. There was a four poster suspensor bed and ancient paintings of distant landscapes. One showed a one-armed warrior mounted on a horse, shouting commands as he rode dramatically through the snow. Doubtless he had been a great warrior in his time.

‘Is he correct?’ Ragnar asked.

‘Almost certainly. There has been talk about this for months among the Navigators. They are very good at avoiding eavesdroppers, but they sometimes forget how keen our ears are.’

‘What would it mean for us if Cezare got his catspaw on the throne?’

‘By “us” do you mean the Wolves?’

‘What else could I mean?’

‘You are a bondsman to Belisarius now, Ragnar.’

‘Our interests in this matter are the same.’

‘You are more subtle than you seem, young Wolf,’ said Torin. He poured himself a glass of narcotic wine and sipped it delicately. The crystal glass and ornamental decanter looked incongruous in his gauntleted hand, and his expression was one that would not have been out of place on the face of a Navigator.

‘You think he means to use Gabriella to assassinate Cezare?’

‘Do you really think she could?’

‘At the cost of her own life perhaps. Everyone is vulnerable if you get close enough.’

‘The Lord Feracci will be extraordinarily well protected.’

‘So you are saying no, then.’

‘She could not do it, but there is one present who could.’

‘You mean either Beltharys or myself?’

‘Now you simulate obtuseness, Ragnar. What need would Skorpeus have of discussing this matter with her if he intended to use Beltharys?’

‘He would not have known I was listening.’

‘Men like Skorpeus never forget such things, old son.’

‘Then why not approach me directly?’

‘Because he could not deny doing that. But if a certain hot-headed young Space Wolf were to take it into his own head to do Skorpeus’s killing for him he could honestly say, even under truth machines, that he had never talked about it with you.’

‘It seems a subtle distinction.’

‘You need to start thinking like a Navigator.’

‘How could he have known that I would be accompanying her?’

‘Perhaps they cooked it up between them.’

‘What?’

‘You heard me.’

‘Are you saying the two of them are in league?’

‘I am suggesting it is possible. A gallant, naïve young Space Wolf, fearing a threat to a young woman whose life he has already saved once, acts to save her from potential harm.

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