The problem was there.
“You need me,” she said, “but not enough to tell me of your plans until after they are executed.”
“I have kept nothing back from you that you couldn’t find out on your own, it seems.”
“Your attack on the Elven fleet, your destruction of their army, your own army’s subsequent setback, your alliance with Iridia—what other secrets do you keep from me?”
He sighed. “What secrets do you think I keep, Shadea?”
“I haven’t heard any mention of your new weapon, the one that so effectively destroyed the Elven fleet. An oversight?”
The Prime Minister shrugged. “It is a fire launcher, a pressure feed that sends burning liquid from a nozzle mounted on our airships into others, setting them aflame. A conventional weapon, good over short distances when properly manned. It is hardly worth mentioning.”
What a pathetic liar
, Shadea thought. “Which must be why you failed to mention it. Or is there something about it I might find objectionable? A forbidden use of magic, perhaps?”
“Magic?” Sen Dunsidan laughed. “Where would I get magic? Oh, you think Iridia might have given me something from the Druid storehouse, do you? Wouldn’t that be useful! But, no, the weapon was developed long before Iridia appeared with her offer of support. She brings nothing of her Druid lore or of Druid magic to our relationship. Nothing that isn’t her own, anyway. There is no betrayal of the Druids involved in the building of this weapon, Shadea. What are you worried about? The power of the Druids is more than a match for anything I have at my command. I have only my armies and my airships.”
It was difficult to judge how deep the lie went, but it went sufficiently deep that Shadea was certain the weapon was much more powerful than he was suggesting and that he intended it for more than simple warfare. At some point, he would seek to use it against the Druids, because in his heart he could never be at rest until he had destroyed everyone who might threaten him. That was the demon that had driven him since he had begun his ascent to power all those years ago. It was a demon with which she had a fair amount of personal experience.
“Your plan,” she said, “is to use this weapon against the remaining Free-born ground forces on the Prekkendorran? On the Dwarves and Bordermen?”
He nodded. “And on the remnants of the Elves who ambushed my pursuit force. The Free-born have nothing with which to combat it. The best they have been able to do is damage the airship that transports it, and that was a fluke.” He sipped at his wine. “The war on the Prekkendorran is over, Shadea, the moment my airship returns to the skies. All I require to proceed is your clear support for my efforts. For the Federation’s efforts,” he corrected.
She walked over to the window, brushing past Iridia Eleri as if she weren’t there, but feeling something so dark and empty as she did so that she wished she had avoided the sorceress entirely. Pausing at the window, she shuddered a moment in spite of herself. Whatever had happened to Iridia wasn’t anything for the better.
She looked out at the city, considering her options, giving herself sufficient space and time to choose wisely. She made several decisions in that moment, but she spoke only of one.
She turned back to Sen Dunsidan. “The Druid order will support your efforts, Prime Minister. I will announce that support on my return to Paranor. But there are two conditions. First, you will speak before the Coalition Council tomorrow in support of my ascendancy to the position of Ard Rhys. You will make your support complete and unequivocal. No half measures, no politician’s word games. Second, you will fly to Paranor within the week to speak before the Druid order so that all may hear your justification for the invasion of the other lands. You are good at explanations, Sen Dunsidan. You should be able to come up with one.”
The Federation leader
“You need me,” she said, “but not enough to tell me of your plans until after they are executed.”
“I have kept nothing back from you that you couldn’t find out on your own, it seems.”
“Your attack on the Elven fleet, your destruction of their army, your own army’s subsequent setback, your alliance with Iridia—what other secrets do you keep from me?”
He sighed. “What secrets do you think I keep, Shadea?”
“I haven’t heard any mention of your new weapon, the one that so effectively destroyed the Elven fleet. An oversight?”
The Prime Minister shrugged. “It is a fire launcher, a pressure feed that sends burning liquid from a nozzle mounted on our airships into others, setting them aflame. A conventional weapon, good over short distances when properly manned. It is hardly worth mentioning.”
What a pathetic liar
, Shadea thought. “Which must be why you failed to mention it. Or is there something about it I might find objectionable? A forbidden use of magic, perhaps?”
“Magic?” Sen Dunsidan laughed. “Where would I get magic? Oh, you think Iridia might have given me something from the Druid storehouse, do you? Wouldn’t that be useful! But, no, the weapon was developed long before Iridia appeared with her offer of support. She brings nothing of her Druid lore or of Druid magic to our relationship. Nothing that isn’t her own, anyway. There is no betrayal of the Druids involved in the building of this weapon, Shadea. What are you worried about? The power of the Druids is more than a match for anything I have at my command. I have only my armies and my airships.”
It was difficult to judge how deep the lie went, but it went sufficiently deep that Shadea was certain the weapon was much more powerful than he was suggesting and that he intended it for more than simple warfare. At some point, he would seek to use it against the Druids, because in his heart he could never be at rest until he had destroyed everyone who might threaten him. That was the demon that had driven him since he had begun his ascent to power all those years ago. It was a demon with which she had a fair amount of personal experience.
“Your plan,” she said, “is to use this weapon against the remaining Free-born ground forces on the Prekkendorran? On the Dwarves and Bordermen?”
He nodded. “And on the remnants of the Elves who ambushed my pursuit force. The Free-born have nothing with which to combat it. The best they have been able to do is damage the airship that transports it, and that was a fluke.” He sipped at his wine. “The war on the Prekkendorran is over, Shadea, the moment my airship returns to the skies. All I require to proceed is your clear support for my efforts. For the Federation’s efforts,” he corrected.
She walked over to the window, brushing past Iridia Eleri as if she weren’t there, but feeling something so dark and empty as she did so that she wished she had avoided the sorceress entirely. Pausing at the window, she shuddered a moment in spite of herself. Whatever had happened to Iridia wasn’t anything for the better.
She looked out at the city, considering her options, giving herself sufficient space and time to choose wisely. She made several decisions in that moment, but she spoke only of one.
She turned back to Sen Dunsidan. “The Druid order will support your efforts, Prime Minister. I will announce that support on my return to Paranor. But there are two conditions. First, you will speak before the Coalition Council tomorrow in support of my ascendancy to the position of Ard Rhys. You will make your support complete and unequivocal. No half measures, no politician’s word games. Second, you will fly to Paranor within the week to speak before the Druid order so that all may hear your justification for the invasion of the other lands. You are good at explanations, Sen Dunsidan. You should be able to come up with one.”
The Federation leader
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