CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO - REPERCUSSIONS

“This is a disaster. A total disaster.”

Julian looked over at Fendig and felt a surge of contempt. Ever since they received the news of what happened, he had been less than useless. He fidgeted, whined, and paced, but didn’t actually contribute anything of use. It was clear why he was the Deputy and Malory the man in charge.

“Calm down, man,” he said. “It’s not as bad as all that. At least Gilroy made it back so we know what happened.”

Fendig sniffed and turned away, clearly not encouraged at all. Julian just rolled his eyes.

“The real question is what to do now.”

The Mayor did not look any more pleased than Fendig. And truth be told, Julian was upset as well, though he suspected not for the same reason they were. They cared about Malory, and that was fine. In Julian’s mind the greater cause to be upset, angry even, was that the whole thing was preventable. If they had just set up the ring like Melanie told them to…

“Now you do your Mayor thing and keep everyone calm,” Raedrick said, “We’ll continue fortifying the town.”

“That’s it?”

Raedrick nodded. “That’s it for now.”

“What about the Constable?" Fendig demanded. “Those thugs have him. Who knows what they’ll do?”

“What they’ll do is question him vigorously,” Julian began.

“You mean torture.”

“Most likely. Then when they have learned all they think they can, they’ll either kill him or send us a demand for ransom.”

Fendig paled and he licked his lips. “K-kill him?”

“It’s possible,” Raedrick replied, looking askance at Julian. “But not likely. Isenholf knows Lydelton values him, so he is worth more alive than dead. I’d expect a ransom demand.” Looking at the Mayor, he put on an apologetic expression. “Looks like the payment due next week just got a bit bigger.”

The Mayor sighed and slumped into his chair. “I suppose so.” He barked out a half-laugh and shook his head. “Not that it matters. We don’t have the funds to pay the original demand as it is.”

“Leave that to us, remember?”

Mayor Brimly nodded.

* * *

“The Mayor’s right, you know,” Raedrick said as he and Julian left the Town Hall.

“About what?”

“We need to do something else besides fortify.”

Julian shrugged. “Hiram and Rolf are good shots. The others are becoming decent. Why don’t we just attack? We were going to in a few days anyway.”

Raedrick shook his head. “They’d kill Malory for sure.”

“And that will be his own damn fault. Bloody fool.”

They turned into the stable yard of The Oarlock. The midday customers were beginning to roll in, from the look of things. Pleasant odors wafted from the open windows to the kitchen, reminding Julian that it had been a long time since breakfast. He picked up the pace toward the taproom door, but froze as Raedrick grabbed his arm. Julian turned around to tell him to let go, but his friend suddenly wore a deadly serious expression.

Moving a little bit closer, Raedrick spoke in a low tone of voice. “Maybe not. He and Gilroy had the first shift, and they lit no fire. Even with Melanie’s concealment circle incomplete, don’t you think it was awfully convenient that Isenholf’s men showed up right then?”

Julian frowned. “He’s not a fool. He probably has his men do sweeps every so often.”

“Yes, but to find them so quickly? They could have been stationed on any one of a dozen hilltops nearby.”

Julian saw where he was going, and did not like it one bit. “You think he’s getting information from someone.”

Raedrick nodded. “It’s the only explanation that makes sense. Someone told him where to look for our scouts, and when.”

“There’s only a few people who knew the plan.”

“I know.”

Glimmer Vale is the first book of the Glimmer Vale Chronicles, an ongoing heroic fantasy series set in a world of valor and magic. It will be published here, one chapter per week, on Tuesday.

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