struggled in Jalia’s grasp and turned her head towards Daniel in appeal. “It’s hurting him so much.”
“Hala,” Jalia shouted. “You would risk Daniel life just to save your boyfriend a little pain? He broke their rules, you stupid girl. How can you think of asking such a thing?”
“Please Daniel?” Hala whimpered.
“Daniel, get out of here. Hala and I have to have a little talk.”
“Jalia, she’s only upset because Nin is in pain.”
“Get out now. Come back in an hour, not sooner.”
Hala was frightened of what Jalia would do and tried to wriggle from her grasp. Jalia held her so firmly she couldn’t move.
“Jalia,” Daniel pleaded one last time. He read the look in Jalia’s eyes and turned and walked from the room.
Hala cried “No,” as the door closed behind him.
Jalia slapped Hala across the face. “Daniel has put his life at risk by saving yours, because I begged him too. And this is how you repay him. Anybody could be listening. Anything could be listening. It seems you still have some lessons to learn and I shall be a good teacher.”
Daniel walked into their cabin an hour later. Hala lay on her tummy, propped up on her elbows. Her eyes were bright red and she looked as though she had only just stopped crying.
“I’m sorry I asked that of you, Daniel,” Hala said quietly. “Jalia has set me straight and I won’t do anything so stupid again.”
On the other side of the room, Jalia nodded her head to indicate she had said her words just right.
5. Alliances
Dor, Jant, and Mal entered the dining room early the next morning. The Steam Dragon had barely got underway again, as it was just past first light. They waited a few minutes as the bread was not quite ready, before they went to the table at the farthest corner to sit to eat.
“I want to persuade the brother and sister to join us for a meal,” Dor told his men. Mal gave him a sideways look through his permanently slanted left eye while Jant was far from happy at the suggestion.
“Why do we need to have anything to do with them? They are too closely allied to Dare and Degar for my liking,” Jant complained. “It is my job to keep you safe and I can’t do that if you keep talking to people. Your father will have me hung for the crows to feed on if I fail my mission.”
“I need to talk to them exactly because it is unclear where their loyalties lie. Brila Marlin has powerful allies in Slarn and it is extremely unusual for two of her children to travel so far from home unaccompanied,” Dor explained. “It is possible they have been tasked with negotiating a deal with someone. If that is so, I need to know the who and what.”
“You see conspiracies everywhere, my lor… Dor,” Jant continued. “Should we not be talking to Tonas and the Denger brothers instead? They are the ones with the swords.”
“And do we have the money to pay them?” Dor asked. Jant didn’t attempt to answer the question, as it was rhetorical. “Exactly, and neither does Gally Sorn for that matter. If we even look at those men, she will become suspicious of us and I thought that you wanted to keep me safe? We both plan to steal the swords from the traders. The only question is which of our plans will succeed. Do not believe for a moment that we will be the only players involved in this game.”
Mal finished eating while the others talked, took out his dagger and began to clean his fingernails with its point. Dor was fascinated and disgusted by his servant’s actions and lost the thread of the conversation. He and Jant began to eat their breakfast in silence.
Alin Bredan limped into the dining room using a stick. It was lucky that the Steam Dragon was in a quiet stretch of the river as he would otherwise have fallen over from the swaying of the boat.
Dor nudged Jant. Jant gave Dor a look very close to despair before he stood up and the men helped Bredan over to sit at their table. Dor carrying the food and
“Hala,” Jalia shouted. “You would risk Daniel life just to save your boyfriend a little pain? He broke their rules, you stupid girl. How can you think of asking such a thing?”
“Please Daniel?” Hala whimpered.
“Daniel, get out of here. Hala and I have to have a little talk.”
“Jalia, she’s only upset because Nin is in pain.”
“Get out now. Come back in an hour, not sooner.”
Hala was frightened of what Jalia would do and tried to wriggle from her grasp. Jalia held her so firmly she couldn’t move.
“Jalia,” Daniel pleaded one last time. He read the look in Jalia’s eyes and turned and walked from the room.
Hala cried “No,” as the door closed behind him.
Jalia slapped Hala across the face. “Daniel has put his life at risk by saving yours, because I begged him too. And this is how you repay him. Anybody could be listening. Anything could be listening. It seems you still have some lessons to learn and I shall be a good teacher.”
Daniel walked into their cabin an hour later. Hala lay on her tummy, propped up on her elbows. Her eyes were bright red and she looked as though she had only just stopped crying.
“I’m sorry I asked that of you, Daniel,” Hala said quietly. “Jalia has set me straight and I won’t do anything so stupid again.”
On the other side of the room, Jalia nodded her head to indicate she had said her words just right.
5. Alliances
Dor, Jant, and Mal entered the dining room early the next morning. The Steam Dragon had barely got underway again, as it was just past first light. They waited a few minutes as the bread was not quite ready, before they went to the table at the farthest corner to sit to eat.
“I want to persuade the brother and sister to join us for a meal,” Dor told his men. Mal gave him a sideways look through his permanently slanted left eye while Jant was far from happy at the suggestion.
“Why do we need to have anything to do with them? They are too closely allied to Dare and Degar for my liking,” Jant complained. “It is my job to keep you safe and I can’t do that if you keep talking to people. Your father will have me hung for the crows to feed on if I fail my mission.”
“I need to talk to them exactly because it is unclear where their loyalties lie. Brila Marlin has powerful allies in Slarn and it is extremely unusual for two of her children to travel so far from home unaccompanied,” Dor explained. “It is possible they have been tasked with negotiating a deal with someone. If that is so, I need to know the who and what.”
“You see conspiracies everywhere, my lor… Dor,” Jant continued. “Should we not be talking to Tonas and the Denger brothers instead? They are the ones with the swords.”
“And do we have the money to pay them?” Dor asked. Jant didn’t attempt to answer the question, as it was rhetorical. “Exactly, and neither does Gally Sorn for that matter. If we even look at those men, she will become suspicious of us and I thought that you wanted to keep me safe? We both plan to steal the swords from the traders. The only question is which of our plans will succeed. Do not believe for a moment that we will be the only players involved in this game.”
Mal finished eating while the others talked, took out his dagger and began to clean his fingernails with its point. Dor was fascinated and disgusted by his servant’s actions and lost the thread of the conversation. He and Jant began to eat their breakfast in silence.
Alin Bredan limped into the dining room using a stick. It was lucky that the Steam Dragon was in a quiet stretch of the river as he would otherwise have fallen over from the swaying of the boat.
Dor nudged Jant. Jant gave Dor a look very close to despair before he stood up and the men helped Bredan over to sit at their table. Dor carrying the food and