“You have no knowledge of who that might be?” Rannick asked.
Yester shook his head. “None. Whoever it is keeps his identity well hidden.”
“Someone must connect them,” Bliss said.
“It would seem logical, but I spent little time with Jaffee to learn anything more and to be truthful, I did not want to know more. I fear it would be the death of me if I did. Even now I worry that word will reach him that I betrayed the troop, and he will hunt me down.”
“Are the various clans these men are from involved in this mission?” Rannick asked.
“I do not know for sure, but I did hear a few say that their clan would not condone their participation, too fearful that Clan MacClaren would retaliate. That is all I know, my lord, after my wound is tended, I will be on my way, and you will never see my face again.”
“You really expect me to believe that?” Rannick asked.
“You have my word on it, my lord.”
“How do I believe the word of a liar?” Rannick challenged and pulled his dagger from its sheath.
“I tell you the truth,” Yester insisted.
“Some perhaps, since your surrender and sharing what you know would not only get me to trust you but would provide you with the opportunity to kill me. You are not truly part of this group. You surrender while the others stand for what they believe and you by no means battled alongside Jaffee. The men he fights alongside have neither family nor a home. They desire only battle and coin.”
“Nay, my lord, I speak the truth,” Yester protested, shaking his head, then cringing and reaching down at his wounded leg.
Rannick grabbed the man’s hair and yanked his head back, his dagger’s point scratching the surface of his throat. “Move and I will slice you from ear to ear.”
“I swear,” my lord, I mean you no harm,” Yester pleaded.
“GUARDS!” Rannick yelled and the two warriors rushed in. He looked to the shorter of the two. “Unwrap the cloth around his wound and be careful, a dagger is tucked in there somewhere.”
The guard did as he said and as Rannick predicted, a dagger was found.
“How could you know for sure that I lied?” Yester asked, his compliant demeanor gone.
“Jaffee would have never sent you to kill me. He wants that pleasure for himself. So, who is it who sent you, since you are not part of the righteous?”
Yester grinned and suddenly lunged forward straight into the blade Rannick held at his throat.
Bliss stepped forward ready to help the man.
“Stay where you are,” Rannick ordered. “He is beyond help.” He looked to the other guard who had hurried to his side. “Take Lady Bliss outside and let no one approach her.” He then looked to his wife and warned, “Not one word of protest. I will join you shortly.”
Bliss stepped outside, her mind a jumble of thoughts. She now understood what her husband had meant when he had said he already got what he needed from Sheed. The man had made it clear that all would die for their belief so when Yester chose differently it meant he was not truly part of Sheed’s group so who did he serve?
Her husband stepped out of the cottage, a wood bucket in hand. The guard quickly took it from him and filled it with water from the rain barrel. Rannick then proceeded to wash his hands clean of the blood. He wiped them dry on his cloak before he approached her.
Rannick issued orders to the guard. “See it all cleaned away.”
Bliss walked with her husband, his hand reaching for hers to clench it tightly, as if needing to reaffirm that she was safe there beside him. She reassured him, giving his hand a tight squeeze.
She waited until they were clear of others to speak. “I am a bit confused. If Yester is not part of the group Sheed belongs to, what is he doing with them and why did he sacrifice himself?”
“Yester knew something important and feared revealing it under torture. Death was inevitable for him, so he chose to hasten his demise. What happened here confirms that we are dealing with two separate groups with two separate intentions. The one uses the other to hide its true purpose.”
“If the righteous group believes they fight against evil, then what does this other group fight for?” Bliss asked.
“There is only one reason men and countries war… power. Someone wants power.”
“How does killing the three cursed lords gain this person power?” Bliss asked.
“When we find the answer to that question… we find who is behind it all.”
CHAPTER 22
Things had been quiet, no attempts made on Rannick’s and his wife’s lives since they first arrived over two months ago, but Odran’s message that arrived this morning explained why. The group had turned their focus on Odran and his wife.