Taste of Darkness

“Sure.” Loren glanced at Quain. He put the map down and followed Loren.

Now what? If we couldn’t sneak up on Tohon, maybe we could attack him. I sorted through the rolls of maps and found the one of northeastern Pomyt. Unrolling it, I weighed down the edges with the rocks that littered the entire building.

Belen gave me a questioning look, but I ignored it. Guessing Noak’s army waited in the foothills below the Milligreen Pass of the Nine Mountains, I calculated it would take fifteen days for his army to return to HQ. Plus the time it took to send a message via horseback, adding seven days. Twenty-two total.

Could I last that long? Would Tohon wait that long? He had to know our location. If he attacked, we could hunker down in the mines until Noak arrived. Military strategy was not my thing. Maybe Belen had a few ideas.

“Recalling Noak’s army could ruin Prince Ryne’s plans,” Belen said.

“Too bad. So sad. Ryne’s just as bad as Tohon.”

“Now, don’t go jumping to conclusions. There’s more going on than you think. We need to trust Prince Ryne.”

“Easy for you to say. You haven’t been used as bait when he promised he wouldn’t.”

“Did he know about your dreams?”

“Yes, but—”

“Did Noak tell him about the bond?”

“Maybe, but—”

“Did you consider he might be feeding Tohon false information through you?”

“Uh...”

“Thought so.” Belen lifted his chin, giving me a smug smile.

And then I remembered Ryne’s four Ds he’d learned in boarding school for future realm leaders—diplomacy, defense, deception, and disinformation. He’d certainly mastered the deception and disinformation part.

The monkeys returned with Private Red Hair. The private fiddled with the hem of her shirt. I braced for bad news.

“Go on, tell her,” Loren prompted the private.

“Private Beau has disappeared. I can’t find him anywhere.”

“Is he out on patrol?” I asked.

“No. The rest of his squad is inside.”

“Do they know where he is?”

“He doesn’t hang out with them during down time,” Red Hair said. “They had no idea he was missing.”

“Lost in the mines?” Loren asked. “Or absent without leave?”

Frustration boiled. “I’d send search parties, but no one can read the maps.”

Quain and Loren flipped through the stack.

Out of ideas, I said, “We’ll wait for Kerrick and Flea to—”

“It’s a symhextric cipher,” Quain cried.

“A what?” Loren asked.

“The maps. It’s been driving me crazy, trying to remember where I’d seen this before. Prince Ryne used this symhextric code to send messages to his scouts. It uses symbols, numbers, and hexagons.”

“How do you know all this?” Loren asked.

“Back when we were camped in Zabin with Estrid’s army, he showed it to me.”

“Can you decipher these?” I asked.

Quain picked up another map. “I can try.”

“What do you need?”

“Uh...a few sheets of blank parchment, a ruler, and a piece of charcoal.”

I scrambled to assemble the supplies while Loren helped him organize the maps.

After I finished, he shooed me away. “No need to hover. I’ll let you know if this works.”

I pulled Belen aside. “Seems a big coincidence that Quain knows this code.”

“Coincidence or part of Prince Ryne’s grand scheme?”

Too tired to argue, I said, “I’m going to bed. Wake me if there’s any news.”

Grabbing an extra lantern, I walked through the oversize loading doors into the next room, skirted the piles of dirt, and descended into the living levels of the mines. I’d been sleeping on the cot in Ryne’s office. My blankets smelled of spring sunshine and living green. I debated about taking the sleep powder. Would Kerrick’s scent keep the Tohon dreams at bay?

A light tapping sounded on the door. I answered. A man in his late twenties stood at attention.

“Private Beau, sir. I heard you wished to see me?”

Rather old for a private, but he could be a new recruit. “Yes. Where have you been?”

“Scouting in the tunnels, sir.”

“Are you supposed to be doing that?”

He blushed. “No, sir. Not without Sergeant Hogan, but I...was... I wanted to show a colleague this...rock formation...and...” Beau squirmed with embarrassment.

Ah, the old let-me-show-you-this-rock-formation move. Beau probably had a lady with him.

“That’s okay, you’re here now. I need you to help decipher the maps of the mines. We’re looking for an underground route to the northwest. One that will get us close to the Healer’s Guild.”

“No problem. That’s the three-triangle route. It’ll get you about two miles west give or take a mile,” he said.

Excited, I asked how to find this route.

“I’ll show you the entrance and the symbols you need to follow.” He picked up my lantern.

I hurried after him. We descended two levels and he headed to a tunnel on the far left. Shining the light on the wall, he illuminated a symbol that resembled three blue triangles in a circle with their tips touching. There were other symbols painted on the wall as well.