Total pages in book: 222
Estimated words: 210715 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1054(@200wpm)___ 843(@250wpm)___ 702(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 210715 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1054(@200wpm)___ 843(@250wpm)___ 702(@300wpm)
He stared at me, and for the first time ever I saw his expression change slightly. A new emotion shivered in his eyes. Fear.
“Who are you?”
“Someone who came into this world to stop you.”
He frowned. “Why would you want to stop me? The world needs order. It needs a strong hand. My hand.”
“You’re right. The world needs order, but that’s not what you offer. You offer tyranny.”
“What is the difference?”
“Order is imposed to allow the majority of people in a society to survive and prosper. It curbs violence and provides protection by enforcing laws and limitations. Tyranny concentrates power in the hands of the few and benefits only them. The rest suffer.”
“The rest aren’t fit to govern. I see into your heart now and it’s filled with contempt for me, but I am what people made me. You don’t know the nature of human hearts. They are woven of false promises and full of deceit and hatred. The world is filled with the weak, the stupid, the easily deceived and easily led.”
“You cherry-pick your truth. You saw other things in people’s hearts, like love and kindness. Compassion. Valor. Empathy. But you chose to discard them.”
“They are illusions,” he said. “Lies people tell themselves to aggrandize their petty ambitions. In the end, only the self-interest matters, and they will sacrifice everything they profess to love just to survive. I am the only one who isn’t blind to it.”
I shook my head. “You think your life is the most valuable life out there, but it’s just one of many. We are all unique, yet in the eyes of the law we must be equal. Only then can we survive and thrive. You’re just like everyone else, Ulmar. You bleed like any other human, and soon the kingdom will take your head.”
“No. I’m Ulmar Hreban,” he told me. “They will not kill me.”
“Oh, they will. You’ve planned to murder the Sun Margrave, a cornerstone of Sauven’s reign. The king will never let it pass. However, the Sun Margrave is prepared to spare your life if you tell me how to find Cai of Sunder.”
“So, this is why you’re here.”
“Does it not bother you that you will be dead while Silveren is free?”
This was a gamble. In all of his papers, I had found no mention of Silveren. No hint, not even a whisper.
Hreban gave me a smug smile. “You do not know.”
“Why don’t you enlighten me?”
“When all is said and done, I will walk out of here and you will be brought to me in chains.”
“Are you imagining me in contemplation right now? Perhaps with a proper sign suspended from my neck?”
He drew back.
“You’re counting on Silveren to free you, but if human hearts are as treacherous as you claim, why would he? Does he truly need you? What do you offer besides money? If Cai succeeds, your head will be the first to roll, and nobody can implicate Silveren in the killing. How neat and tidy that would be.”
A hint of doubt appeared in his eyes.
“Follow your self-interest, Ulmar. Make this deal. At the very least, it will preserve your life long enough for you to find out if Silveren will come to your rescue. Tell me how to call off your pet assassin.”
He laughed a quiet bitter laugh. “I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I will not allow you to beat me.”
I reached into my bodice and touched Digi’s amulet hanging around my neck. If I broke it, Hreban would see the person he loved most. It would likely be his grandfather. Of course, knowing him, it could be himself. The question was, would he tell that person what I wanted to know?
I looked into his eyes and let go of the amulet.
“I don’t believe you.” I leaned forward. “You are too selfish to gamble with your life. You can’t call him off even if you want to, can you? You have no idea where he is or how he will strike.”
“You fear failure,” he said. “It gnaws at you and keeps you up at night. You will fail tomorrow, and I will savor it. Come and see me again, so I can drink in your despair.”
I got up.
“You have some time left before they kill you. Look into your own heart, Ulmar, if you’re brave enough. Come to terms with all that darkness so you can go in peace. We will never meet again. The next person to speak to you will be your executioner.”
I walked back the way I came, to where the Sun Margrave waited.
“Nothing?” Jenicor guessed.
“No. He set this in motion, but he can’t stop it.”
“Then I will have to put my faith into my armor and my blade tomorrow,” he said.
He was never the best with a blade. Jenicor was a competent fighter back in the day, but he’d been fighting a paper war for the last two decades.