“I’ll be with him,” Rachel said. “I’ll keep him safe.”

His eyes snapped to hers. “Swear it.”

Rachel swallowed dryly. Suddenly she had to confront how far she would go in order to fulfill her words. The thought of her protecting Galloran seemed almost silly. He was the best swordsman in Lyrian. But it obviously mattered to Nedwin. He actually seemed to think her protection could make a difference. She imagined a soldier attacking Galloran from behind. Would she allow that? “I promise, Nedwin. I promise to watch over him. I love him too. I’ll die to protect him if necessary.”

His posture relaxed a little. “That is good to hear. Yours is no small gift, and he will keep you close.” Nedwin sighed. “We have come upon hard times if I am the man he selects as regent.”

“He couldn’t choose anyone more loyal,” Rachel argued.

“But he could find many more polished, more schooled in politics. Less scarred. Less damaged. Sometimes I can feel my mind unraveling. Once I was something of a social creature. No longer. I prefer solitude. I’m a good scout. Great, even. I don’t expect I’ll make much of a regent.”

“But you’ll do it?”

“If I refuse, I’ll have failed him already. I would give anything not to fail him.”

“You’ll have help from Nollin and Nicholas,” Rachel reminded him.

“I’ll be forced to lean on them,” Nedwin agreed. “Much as they would lean on me out in the wilderness, where I belong.”

“You’ll be terrific,” Rachel encouraged. “The fact that you care so much makes you the perfect person for the job. Much better than some overconfident politician.”

“Let’s hope for the sake of the realm that there is sense in your words. I’m relieved to know you’ll be watching out for my king.”

“We’ll all be watching out for him. Nobody wants to see Galloran harmed. But I’ll make a special effort. I’ll try to do what you would do.”

Nedwin closed his eyes. “Thank you, Rachel. The thought affords me a measure of comfort. Can I give you anything?” Pulling on the leather strands around his neck, Nedwin produced several vials from within his shirt. “I’ve collected unusual substances from the far corners of Lyrian—expensive extracts, rare and useful. Pain enhancers, poisons, healing ointments.”

“You keep them,” Rachel said. “Carrying poison would freak me out. We should rely on our strengths. Mine is Edomic.”

Nedwin nodded, eyes remote. “Mine is stealth, I suppose. And commitment. I don’t suppose I could be more committed.”

“That might be exactly what this kingdom needs.”

Nedwin stood. With him seated, she had almost forgotten how abnormally tall he was. “Enough wallowing. I’ll escort you back to your bodyguards.”

“I can find my way.”

“Let me guide you. It’s one of my strengths.”

CHAPTER 14

THE MAUMET

As the Valiant gently swayed and creaked, Jason sat in his cabin studying the prophecy. While reading and pondering, he munched on a thick burrito improvised out of flatbread and fish meat. Sunlight streamed through the porthole. Since she had memorized the prophecy, Farfalee had written down all the words spoken by the oracle, so that he could examine them. Jason had been insistent, because he felt their current plan would get them all killed.

After much debate, their best strategy involved circling the island, leaving a number of landing parties offshore at different points. A pair of squads at the far end of the island from the library would go ashore first, not advancing too far inland. If the Maumet attacked them, they would detonate an orantium sphere. At the sound of the explosion, squads would move in from the north and south to further delay and distract the Maumet. Teams on the eastern side of the island would race to the library in order to get the information and escape before the Maumet returned and killed them all. Jason, Farfalee, Aram, Jasher, and Drake would be members of the eastern teams.

That plan outclassed the others mostly because it sought to dodge the Maumet rather than defeat it. It amounted to a high-stakes game of steal the bacon. But the strategy had many flaws.

Farfalee had warned that it might take hours, days, or even weeks to find the desired information, depending how effectively the enormous library was indexed. Any major delay in finding the location of Darian the Seer could result in a fatal confrontation with the Maumet. Furthermore, the plan assumed that the Maumet would react to multiple intrusions by storming around the island and battling all the trespassers. However, if the Maumet was smart and meant to guard the library, it might react to the invasion by falling back to the library and slaying all comers.

Jason felt certain that if the plan was implemented, they would fail to get the information, and they would all die. Quest over. War lost. Just because their current strategy was the best they had devised did not make it the right plan. They would be relying on stupidity from the Maumet and a whole lot of luck finding the information swiftly.

Rubbing his eyes, Jason tried to force his strained imagination to deliver better options. The oracle had seen a way they could succeed. The thought would not quit pestering him. Out of all the possible futures, there had to be one where they survived the Maumet. There had to be a strategy that would work. They simply hadn’t found it yet.

Jason stared at the freshly drafted parchment. Farfalee had warned that prophecies seldom gave many specifics. They did not lead you step by step, strategy by strategy, to your desired end. But Jason didn’t need a full explanation of how to handle every upcoming problem. He just needed a clue.

Most of the words were inapplicable. Much of the prophecy specified who should go where and when. Much of it dealt with Galloran’s attack of Felrook. He focused on the lines that seemed to have the most relevance.

The last abode of Darian the Seer can be learned at the Celestine Library within the Inland Sea. The line referenced this part of the quest, but lacked details pertaining to their current problem. Jason knew where he needed to go. The trouble was how to get there.

Several utterances toward the end contained some potentially useful statements. The parallel quests must succeed. Many present will perish. You must stand united. Maybe many of them had to die in order to get the info from the library. Maybe by working together and sacrificing heavily they could pull it off. That line of thinking supported the current plan.

The most mysterious and potentially useful predictions were among her final words. A secret from the past can ransom the future. That seemed to hint that the information they would get from the seer could help them win the war. But maybe it meant a secret from the past could teach them how to defeat the Maumet and access the library. Farfalee, Jasher, and Drake had all lived a long time. Maybe one of them had forgotten an important detail.