It suddenly came to him, and he didn't immediately notice during his sojourn at Amarah's castle. Governor Chenek was already there when Syrin's rebel cell arrived, and Chenek cautioned Syrin to allow no one beyond the main floor. The uppermost tower was off-limits, Chenek told Syrin with utmost secrecy. Yet, the Benutian governor himself stealed away to the tower moments after the rebels' arrival, and he remained up there all night and into the morning. Then that odd little dwarf, that Basileric, arrived, chatted with Syrin in hushed tones, then hurried upstairs to the tower. There he remained for an unspecified time. Unfortunately, Iacho could not very well sneak upstairs himself to get the goods on a clandestine meeting, as he prepared to do, that is if he hadn't gone outside to get away from Syrin's probing questions.
Odd that Basileric arrived moments after Syrin received a message via a huge birdwing moth...
"That it!," Iacho exclaimed the moment he made the connection.
"What?," asked Globbock, his interest now greatly piqued.
Iacho turned to the master spy, explaining, "The rebels don't use pigeons as messengers, as we do. They use those moths! My guess is the message Syrin received was from someone in Tyq, perhaps that Enos fellow. Why I didn't follow that dwarf...I passed him while exiting the castle. I lingered long enough to see Syrin greet him by name, then Basileric immediately went upstairs."
Globbock, now concerned that the very safety of his country could be in jeopardy, asked, "Iacho, were there any more of these odd creatures coming and going? I have to know, as I suspect Prince Asen may be in the Alliance's company. He may be, by what you've revealed, in that castle as we speak..."
He paused, stroked his paunchy chin, then said, "What if His Highness is en route...That dragon! He must be riding that dragon to some place, somewhere that has ties with the Alliance...Tell me, Iacho. In your time with the rebels, was there any mention of Nemir, of Princess Evore? You know Benut and Nemir Provinces are close allies–"
Iacho interrupted, "Nemir, not Benut, is the key to crushing this resistance movement. Did you know King Vlaric had a special weapon developed? A weapon so destructive it has the capacity of wiping out an entire region with one blow? That, not the bombs, is to be used on Benut, but what if we can persuade the king to change Ground Zero to Nemir? With Nemir gone, the Benutians will have no allies, no one sympathetic to their cause."
Globbock thought it over, replying, "Then we must be on our way as soon as possible. Drat that Hanon! What is taking so long? The sooner we return to Tyq, the sooner we convince King Vlaric to change that missile's target."
"That is," said Iacho, impatiently fidgeting, his fingers drumming on the armrest, "if Hanon ever gets his butt back here. I swear, what's taking so long? He only had to walk back to that well we passed, and it's not that far back. How much water does this jalopy need, for crying out loud?"
He then opened the door, saying. "I'm heading up the road to see if he's coming. Maybe he's been held up. Then again, this may be a trap and all. You know, Hanon pretends this vehicle's on the fritz then goes for water. He leaves us then tells the rebels where we are. Then they attack."
Globbock laughed. "Iacho, you're letting your overactive imagination get the best of you." Then, more seriously, "This isn't the safest place, what with us so perilously close to the edge. Like you said, one big breath of wind could send this baby over into the sea. Just stay put. I'm sure Hanon will be back soon, then we can make it to Pinemoor in time to catch the last train to Tyq."
++++++
Deep within that sea, the guardian of Cape Amorra summoned her loyal comrades. Mitra, through her special mirror that allowed her to monitor the spies' confab, told her followers the time to strike was now.
Her ebony tentacles wavering about, the jet black hair flowing and black eyes flashing, she said, "Go to the surface, to the road that hugs coast, to Haley's Point. There you will find Hanon's vehicle. He has assured me those passengers shall not escape. Now go! Take care of those who dare stand in the way of freedom!"
++++++
The two spies sat in the motorbus, waiting for Hanon's return. Globbock was already asleep, and Iacho nearly nodded off from sheer boredom. How long has Hanon been gone? Nearly an hour passed before the sound of approaching footsteps stirred Iacho awake.
"Globbock," he said, shaking his companion, "I think he's back for I hear footsteps. Hell, anyone could hear a mouse coming as quiet as this place is. Globbock, come on! Wake up!"
"Huh? Hey, I was trying to get some shuteye. What's up?"
The master spy yawned, opened his eyes, and stretched himself awake. Looking about, up and down the winding road, he could see nothing, not even an animal scurrying about.
"So you heard someone coming. I don't see a damned thing," he said irritatedly. By now, both men had grown apprehensive, wondering if Hanon would ever return.
Iacho was insistent, saying, "Globbock, I swear I heard footsteps. Hanon has to be close by, so we can be on our way soon. Damned fool! As soon as we reach Pinemoor, we head for the first soldier we see. Report the bastard for holding us up, keeping us from our duties to the king. Let the army kill the old man for interfering with state affairs; he's definitely an enemy of the Crown."
Globbock agreed, adding, "Yes, and I have a sneaking suspicion that Lan guy is not what he seems. Damn, I should've seen through him the minute he offered that ride. Iacho, when I missed that train, Lan appeared out of nowhere and offered to take me to the castle. Now, out of the dozens of people that could've given me a lift, he shows up out of thin air. I'm with you, my friend. Hanon, Lan, the whole bunch, are working with the Alliance."
"That's what I've been trying to tell you," said Iacho, now getting out of the bus. "Hey, I think we shouldn't wait for Hanon. Get out and walk to the nearest village. Hmm..."
A thought came to him. He said, "Why not grab one of those little moths to deliver a message to Tyq, to Banes or Aughir. Tell them we've been detained and need to get out of Benut fast. I'll bet they'll send a battalion. Yeah, really give these folks what for. Come on, we gotta get out of here."
Globbock got out of the bus as well, replying, "I guess we could walk, but about grabbing one of those moth messengers. I don't know, it sounds risky to me. Relying on a Benutian insect could backfire on us."
He glanced over the edge of the cliff, saying, "Gee, it's a long way down there. Nothing but water. Too bad we don't have a boat–"
"Hey," said Iacho, suddenly getting an idea. "Why not head for the beach itself. Yeah, we might stumble upon a boat or some sort of watercraft. We could sail around the coast, to one of the harbors. Once one of the warships spots us, we'll be back in Tyq before you know it. They could even send a message to the palace..."
Without warning, the sky grew incredibly dark. Thick gray clouds gathered, obscuring the late afternoon sun, nearly turning day to night. A sharp, chilling wind caught the spies by surprise, nearly knocking them over.
"Globbock," said Iacho, pulling up his jacket collar, "we got a sudden storm brewing. I guess our walk is out of the question."
"No!," Globbock shouted, to be heard over the relentlessly howling wind, "We gotta get moving. That wind will sweep the bus overboard, and take us with it. Come on! We keep walking, maybe find a shelter until the storm blows over. That damned Hanon! When I get my hands on him..."
They didn't see it coming. They didn't even hear it. Whatever it was reached out with its huge green tentacles, instantly wrapping the men.
"What the–!," screamed Globbock as the thing grabbed hold of the spy, gripping him in its suckered tentacles. Iacho screamed as well but was temporarily stunned by a telling breath of noxious fumes.
The thing, still gripping the spies, made its way back down the cliff, to the sea below. Once it reached the waters, two more creatures appeared, one with many heads, the other a huge whalelike beast. They surrounded the spies who continued to scream in terror and tried in vain to escape their watery grave. Within seconds the monsters, with their prey, disappeared from the surface, submerging themselves to the bottom of the sea.
The waters calmed; the sky cleared. As it was before, the motorbus remained on the road, just as old Hanon left it, but it was minus two passengers. How odd when Hanon finally returned, bucket of water in hand, he said, "Now how about that! I knew those fellows would decide to get out and walk. Stupid fools! And now they've earned their just rewards."
Getting back into the bus, he said out loud, "I'll have to thank Mitra for intervening."
Taking out a piece of paper, Hanon scribbled a note then reached into the glove compartment to retrieve a little black box. Opening the box, Hanon said, "Wake up, Drizz. I got a job for you. Take this note to Aughir in Tyq."
Drizz, a tiny Benutian fruit bat, chittered away merrily as his master strapped the note into its legs. As if the animal understood, it continued to chitter in what resembled laughter. Once Hanon released it, the bat fluttered towards Tyq.
Hanon's eyes twinkled as he said to himself, "We're finally well rid of those spies, so now we can go on with the show. Let ol' Banes work the people into a frenzy, have them call for revenge. Then Banes will make the stupidest blunder of his life. Yep, those folks won't know what hit 'em once the real fireworks start."
Copyright©2006 by P.R. Parker. All rights reserved.
