Rhoda saw the Imperial messenger enter the Raven’s Point estate and knew something was afoot. It was not necessarily that a message was being delivered from the Emperor that spurred her to action, but rather it was the hand motion that the fake messenger used to signal her. The Torak mage immediately made an excuse to the students that she was tutoring. She entered the front of the mansion and walked swiftly through the building and out the back. She acted as if she was in a hurry to reach the docks, but at the last minute she turned to the right along the beach. As soon as she was out of sight, Rhoda ran to the cove where she received the secret messages from Aakuta. She hid in the bushes and waited.
Half an hour later, the Imperial messenger came strolling along the beach, his eyes constantly scanning the forest for signs of life. Even though Rhoda had time to conceal herself, the spy immediately detected her. He smiled and waved for her to come out.
“How did you see me?” asked Rhoda. “I was well covered.”
“I didn’t see you,” smiled Fisher. “I just knew that you would be there.”
“I have not had any more messages since the last one,” reported Rhoda. “Why are you back so soon? I did not send for you.”
“I need your help,” replied Fisher. “Can you identify the location on the Island of Darkness where Aakuta sends his messages from?”
“Somewhat,” frowned Rhoda, “but not exactly. It is a place I have not actually been to, although it is not far from the temple. I can tell that much.”
“That is not much help,” sighed Fisher. “I need to narrow it down.”
Rhoda frowned and stared out to sea for several moments before speaking.
“We talked about it when he was healing me,” she said softly. “He told me that he spoke to Polema from the beach. He took a trail through the jungle to get there, and he did not care much for the trail. He said it was a noisy approach and alerted anyone who might be in the area.”
“That is some help,” frowned Fisher, “but I would guess that could mean a thousand places.”
“Not necessarily,” corrected Rhoda. “I do not know much about the island, but I saw a bit of it while escaping. The city extends right to the water and the temple is the outermost part of the city in the opposite direction. Behind the temple is a forest, not a jungle. Also, Aakuta would naturally use the side of the city closest to Raven’s Point. He would not want the air tunnel to be accidentally disrupted by people walking between him and me.”
“Alright,” nodded Fisher, “that is more to go on. Captain Mynor has fairly decent charts of the island. I will study them and see if I can make sense out of your clues.”
“Why do you want to know this information?” asked Rhoda. “Is Aakuta in trouble?”
“Aakuta has been in trouble since he set foot on that island,” nodded Fisher. “I believe that he has taken another person’s body. That is why his voice was not recognizable.”
“Why would he do such a thing?” Rhoda asked with disgust.
“I can only speculate,” shrugged the spy. “I suspect that he was discovered spying on Vand.”
“What does that have to do with where he stands when he contacts me?” asked Rhoda.
“Because I have to talk to him,” replied Fisher. “If he contacts you again, tell him that I am looking for him.”
“Should I have him contact you directly?” asked Rhoda. “Where will you be?”
“On the Island of Darkness,” answered Fisher.
“On Motanga?” gulped Rhoda. “You can’t mean that? Why not talk to him the next time he contacts me? You can wait here safely.”
“He might not use an equalized air tunnel ever again,” replied Fisher. “I cannot take that chance. The information that he is sending is excellent, but we need more. I must talk to him in person.”
“But you don’t even know what he looks like,” argued Rhoda. “You just said that he is someone else now. How will you recognize him?”
“I won’t,” admitted Fisher, “but he will recognize me.”
“You are going to die over there, Fisher,” warned Rhoda as her eyes dampened. “You have no idea what it is like there. Everyone is suspect, and everyone jumps when an order is given. You cannot pretend to be a messenger or a merchant over there.”
“There is no other choice,” shrugged Fisher. “Aakuta knows me and trusts me. I must go.”
“He also knows and trusts me,” Rhoda swallowed hard as she realized what she was offering to do. The thought of returning to the Island of Darkness sent a shiver down her spine.
Fisher’s eyebrows rose as he stared at the petite mage. He smiled broadly and wrapped his arms around Rhoda and hugged her.
“You have more courage than a thousand warriors,” Fisher said softly. “When I get back from the Island of Darkness, I want to talk to you about being a spy. I think that you would make an excellent one.”
“So you are still going to go?” questioned Rhoda.
“I must,” nodded Fisher as he broke the embrace. “I have already arranged to have the Sprite readied to sail at a moment’s notice. You are needed here to receive Aakuta’s messages should I not find him. I have arranged with your lord to free you of all duties from now on. Your only task is to handle messages from the Island of Darkness. I hope their frequency increases greatly.”
Without further speech, Fisher turned and walked away. He followed the beach back to the estate and walked out onto the docks. Captain Mynor immediately came to greet him.
“Everything is ready as you requested,” smiled the captain.
“Did the package I requested get put onboard?” asked Fisher.
“It arrived a while ago,” nodded the captain. “We need to leave promptly if you wish to arrive under the cover of darkness.”
“That is the only way we will be able to approach the island unseen,” nodded Fisher as he climbed aboard the Sprite. “Let’s go.”
* * *
Ukaro used the secret doors to arrive in the temple at StarCity. He peered through the spy hole and saw that the library was empty. He silently moved the bookshelves and slid out from the small alcove. After he secured the bookshelves, the Chula shaman transformed himself into a black kitten.
The kitten padded softly towards the exit from the library. He halted as he sensed the guards just outside the door. Not wanting to walk past the guards, the kitten reversed course. He jumped up on a chair with a small table beside it. On the table were a book and a reading candle. The kitten slowly pushed the book towards the edge of the table until he felt the rear end of it start to lift up. Next the cat took the reading candle and placed it on top of the book, closest to the tableside. Bracing himself against the chair, the kitten lightly batted the candle, causing it to roll slowly towards the edge of the book hanging off the table. As soon as the candle started rolling, the kitten leaped off the chair and darted to the opposite side of the doorway.
As the candle rolled across the book, it shifted the balance, causing the book and the candle to fall to the floor. The noise was not loud, but it shattered the silence of the empty room. Both guards instantly entered the room, their eyes scanning the darkness and their swords swinging free from their sheaths. The kitten silently exited the room, hugging the walls so that the movement would not be noticed.
Moving swiftly through the dimly lit corridors, the kitten made his way to the office of the Star of Sakova. The door was closed, and no light appeared through the crack underneath the door. Ukaro berated himself for waiting too long into the night to make his appearance. He wanted to come late enough to avoid the bulk of the Sakovans, but not so late that he missed Lyra before she went to bed. He had no idea where she slept.
The kitten found the nearest stairwell and climbed to the second level. He walked around corridor after corridor, and all he found were closed doors. He suddenly decided to go up on the roof and transform into a human. There he would contact the Kywara using an air tunnel and ask them to weave another air tunnel to the Sakovans requesting to speak to Lyra. He would transform back into a cat and follow the mage that went to wake Lyra. It was not the best way to find the Star of Sakova, but it would work.
The kitten climbed the steps to the roof and decided to walk around to make sure that his transformation would not be observed. When he passed by the doors to the prayer chamber on the roof, he heard a voice. He silently padded towards the voice and recognized Lyra’s voice as she prayed. He backed out of the prayer chamber so as not to intrude on Lyra’s privacy and waited in the darkness.
An hour went by before the Star of Sakova emerged from the prayer chamber. The kitten silently followed her down the stairs and to her room. Just as she was closing the door to her room, the kitten darted through it. Lyra noticed the motion and immediately grabbed her rapier.
“Don’t even think that I will mistake you for a cat,” warned Lyra. “Reveal yourself immediately.”
Ukaro immediately transformed back into a human and bowed to the Star of Sakova.
“How did you know?” he asked.
“I know all the cats around here,” smiled Lyra. “Why are you sneaking into my room?”
“I carry information from the Torak that is for your ears only,” explained Ukaro. “I do not even want anyone else to know that I am here.”
“The Torak does not trust my people?” Lyra asked with a hint of a scowl.
“He does not,” answered the Chula shaman. “In fact, the message is that your inner circle has been compromised.”
“Inconceivable,” Lyra shook her head as she sheathed the rapier. “What would cause Marak to think that?”
“Your father said so,” Ukaro replied softly.
Lyra’s eyes opened wide, but her gaze was not focused on the shaman. She stared right through him. Slowly, she nodded and sat down on the bed.
“Tell me everything,” she demanded.
“There is little to tell,” responded Ukaro as he handed the note to Lyra. “This message has only been seen by Rhoda, Fisher, and Marak. Now you and I must be added to that list. We five are the only ones to possess this knowledge other than those on the Island of Darkness.”
Silence filled the room as Lyra read the message. Her facial muscles tightened as she read the note.
“This information is accurate,” sighed Lyra. “There is no doubt that I have a spy nearby. What do I do now? Our cause is lost if I cannot depend upon my own people.”
“I have had the benefit of time to think about this problem,” replied Ukaro. “I think there are three things that we must do. We must develop two new strategies for defending the Sakova, one for real, and one to divulge to others.”
“You mean lie to my own people?” asked Lyra.
“Yes,” nodded Ukaro. “Lie to them and save their lives at the same time. You have no choice.”
“What is the third thing?” asked Lyra.
“We must find the spy,” answered Ukaro.
“How?” Lyra sighed with exasperation. “It could be anyone, and I have seen how hard it is to identify someone using another’s body. If Larst had not acted so out of character, he would never have been discovered at all.”
“I did not say that it would be easy,” Ukaro replied comfortingly, “but we must do it. I will stay with you until the spy has been uncovered.”
“And what if you are the spy?” challenged the Star of Sakova. “What a clever ruse that would be to turn me away from all of the people that I trust.”
“You are wise to think in such terms,” nodded Ukaro. “I have already specified the people who know of this problem. You are free to contact all of them if you wish.”
“I am sorry, Ukaro,” shrugged Lyra, “but that is something that I must do.”
“I am not offended by such thoughts,” smiled the shaman. “In fact, you would be foolish to accept my words alone.”
“Please do not leave my room while I am gone,” ordered the Star of Sakova as she rose from the bed and left the room.
Ukaro sat in the chair and thought about the dilemma while he waited for Lyra to return. He did not have to wait long.
“Marak is unavailable,” Lyra reported as she reentered the room, “and so is Fisher.”
“And Rhoda?” asked Ukaro.
“Rhoda refused to speak to me about it,” answered Lyra. “Her instructions did not permit it.”
“Then we must wait,” shrugged Ukaro. “I know Marak was bound for Elvangar, but I know nothing about Fisher’s movements.”
“You are not going to try to contact Rhoda and get her to talk to me?” asked Lyra.
“No,” Ukaro shook his head. “Her instructions make sense. In fact, they are written in the note you read. Lyra, when we cannot trust even our closest friends, how can we berate Rhoda for following her orders? She acted properly. Besides, Rhoda does not know me, nor does she know that I have read the message. We will just have to wait.”
“We cannot afford to wait,” Lyra shook her head. “Every moment that we delay, the invasion gets closer. I am going to have to trust my instincts on this, Ukaro. May Kaltara guide me from making a mistake. What do we do next?”
“Your armies are in danger if Vand knows where they are,” answered the shaman. “The first thing you have to do is move them.”
“Without anyone knowing where they are going,” nodded Lyra. “And just how do we do that when I can trust no one?”
“I have a thought about hiding your armies,” replied Ukaro, “but not one of formulating a new strategy.”
“I will take whatever you have,” responded Lyra. “How do I hide my armies without anyone knowing where they are?”
“Give each general an air mage attached to him,” explained Ukaro. “Give each mage a number, and do let anyone know which mage is which number. Throw in a few dozen more mages with numbers who are not attached to any armies. You will start each mage out by giving them a direction to travel and an amount of time to reach some destination that is unknown to them. You have mages here in StarCity weave an air tunnel to each destination at the appropriate time and give new directions. No one will be able to decipher which army is where.”
“I will end up with armies scattered all over the Sakova,” frowned Lyra. “While it will deceive the spy, it will also disorganize us.”
“Perhaps,” shrugged Ukaro. “If you are clever in the use of directions, you could end with each army exactly where you want it to be. Plus, you will reveal a bogus war plan for the spy to concentrate on.”
“I see where you are going with this,” Lyra nodded in appreciation, “but I sure would like to have a few more people helping me with this.”
“You will have Kaltara helping you,” smiled Ukaro. “If you are worried about the mages recognizing the voices of the other mages, I could persuade some Chula to come down here to help.”
Lyra sat on the bed and did not answer. After a long time of silence, she rose and walked to the window. She stared out at the brilliant night sky before turning to face the shaman.
“When was this message received?” she asked.
“I am not sure,” admitted Ukaro. “I spoke to Marak about it yesterday, so it was some time before then. Why?”
“Because I am thinking of one Sakovan who could be of great help with this plan,” answered Lyra. “Until tonight, StarWind has been by my side for the past week. It is not possible that she has been possessed by a mage without me being aware of it. Her help could be immeasurable.”
“That is your decision to make,” Ukaro replied cautiously. “Please remember that your father’s life is at stake. The message does not come right out and say it, but I have to believe that very few people on the Island of Darkness even possess this information. If it is revealed that we know of the spy, your father’s life will be forfeit.”
“And if we do not find this spy,” retorted Lyra, “thousands of Sakovan lives will be forfeit. My father is a resourceful person, Ukaro. While I will not intentionally endanger his life, I cannot work totally in the dark. I feel confident that StarWind is not Vand’s spy. I will stake my life on it.”
“And the lives of your people,” reminded the shaman.
“And the lives of my people,” nodded Lyra. “It is time to bring her into this conversation.”
* * *
The throne room in the Royal Tree was crowded with officers and military advisors. They crowded around a large table that had been brought in for Marak to spread his charts over.
“They will be most vulnerable when they are crossing the sea,” King Avalar declared. “Anything we can do to disrupt that crossing will be well worthwhile.”
“We have some surprises in store for them when they cross,” replied the Torak, “but once they have made the voyage that chance is gone forever.”
“Not necessarily,” Avalar shook his head. “They cannot just cross the ocean and be done with it. Vand is not a fool. He knows that we will likely deplete the land of food and supplies. His ships will continually sail the seas to resupply his armies. It is important for us to reserve some ships to harass him.”
Marak stared at the map of Omunga for a long time without speaking while the elves bantered among themselves, trying to figure out where Vand would choose to strike first. The Torak suddenly started nodding and smiling and the room fell silent as Avalar leaned over to look at the map.
“What do you see that the rest of us do not?” asked the King of the Elves.
“An answer to a riddle,” smiled Emperor Marak.
“What is the riddle?” asked Tamar.
“Two questions,” answered the Torak. “Why was Duran already attacked? And why would the evacuation of Zaramilden alter the invasion plans?”
“You mentioned that Duran was attacked to see what your reactions would be,” replied Avalar. “Do you think there is more to it?”
“I do,” nodded the Torak. “You brought the thought to mind a few minutes ago when you mentioned his need to resupply his forces. Duran is a seaport that has absolutely no access from any point of land. As a landing point for an invading army, it is worthless, but it is strategically located in the center of the landmass and will be fairly close to the fighting no matter where Vand strikes.”
“He is going to preposition supplies there,” gasped Tamar. “Once the fighting begins, he will have no need to have his ships crossing the ocean.”
“Exactly,” nodded Marak. “Zaramilden, however, is too close to Duran by sea be left unconquered. Any of our ships based in Zaramilden would be a threat to his resupply effort, but if we evacuate it, they no longer have to bother attacking it.”
“Does that mean that he will also attack Raven’s Point?” asked Avalar. “It is Khadora’s only major seaport on the eastern coast.”
“It is also twice as far from Duran as Zaramilden is,” replied Emperor Marak. “If we have an appreciable navy at Raven’s Point, he will be compelled to attack it, otherwise he does not have to hurry.”
“He will want to destroy your navy before the war commences,” declared Tamar. “He is too vulnerable at sea. He will not risk losing a thousand men at a time when one of his ships goes down. His assured victory rests on getting a million men ashore.”
“Half that number might be enough to destroy all of us,” frowned Emperor Marak. “We still don’t have a good handle on the magic that they use, or the number of mages that will be included in that million men.”
“Well,” smiled King Avalar, “you will have the elves to help balance the fight. You will not find a finer archer in the world.”
“I look forward to seeing your men in action,” smiled the Torak, “but I would prefer to keep the knowledge of your involvement secret for a while. Using the elves when Vand least expects it will have the greatest impact.”
“I agree,” interjected Tamar. “After King Avalar’s escape from the Island of Darkness, Vand will be looking for proof of any elven involvement in this war. The best plan is to deny him that knowledge until it is too late for him to compensate for it.”
“Coordinating will be the hardest part,” declared the Torak. “I am sure that Alahara and Alastasia can teach your mages how to use an air tunnel, but I am no longer sure how secure that is. I believe that Vand now has knowledge of air tunnels.”
“If we are cautious in their use,” interjected Princess Alastasia, “I think it would be hard for Vand to know it. At any given time there must be hundreds of air tunnels in existence. Even if he knew how to listen in, he couldn’t intercept all of those messages. He would concentrate on messages that involved you or Lyra. Those are the ones most likely to give him the information that he needs.”
“I will try to get information from Aakuta about their knowledge of air tunnels,” offered the Torak. “Teach the spell to the elven mages. Even if messages can be intercepted, we need the capability to communicate.”
“Alastasia and I can become Mistake and MistyTrail again,” suggested Princess Alahara. “We know how to act human and not be taken for elves. We are known in Angragar at least, and we can go there for meetings to avoid using the air tunnels.”
“There is some benefit to that suggestion,” Emperor Marak replied thoughtfully. “Rejji can get you quickly from Angragar to Khadoratung or StarCity. In fact, Lyra could probably use your help right now. She is short on people that she can trust.”
“Is that necessary?” Queen Alycia asked anxiously. “They are needed here.”
“Do not try to protect them,” King Avalar said to the queen softly, but firmly. “They are true Kierans and can take care of themselves. When the time comes for the elves to fight, I fully expect my daughters to be leading armies of elves. The danger in their lives is something that you must get used to.”
Alahara’s and Alastasia’s eyes widened with surprise, but Queen Alycia bit her lower lip to forestall the tears that were beginning to well up in her eyes. She stared at the princesses for a moment and finally nodded before turning and retreating to her chambers.