King of Blades - 19. A King's Secret

"We have no concrete proof that Dyrai will be targeting Phelin next, but it seems the most likely choice for Reesh to make," Jaimathan explained during the meeting the next morning. He took a long sip of his strong tea before going on. "Our spies got very little information about the motives behind the withdrawal, but many questions were asked about my absence. Several of my mother's aides have gone missing, so it is possible that they were captured and forced to disclose my location – some of them did know simply because they helped us escape."

"So he may be coming here just for you," Rohan stated from where he stood leaning against the wall beside the hearth, swirling his tea. No one had slept well the night before, and everyone had been made mugs of the strongest tea Myri knew of.

"That's not necessarily true," Shelton replied from his seat next to Coulta. "Dyrai has attacked us numerous times in the past, as they have previously attacked Algoma. Learning that the Algoman king is here was certainly a factor in the recent activity, but it is far from the sole reason."

"Can Algoma spare any forces to fight with us, then?" Admiral Pavle questioned. He was the only one in the room who hadn't touched his tea. It sat perfectly balanced on the arm of his chair.

Jaimathan shook his head. "What diminished force we have needs to help rebuilt Algoma. Though, help is coming from my wife's family. She is of the Shifter people, and her father is a tribal leader among them. He and my mother had a strong alliance, and he was frustrated to not be allowed to fight the invaders – my mother requested that he wait in case I needed the aid of the Shifters instead. He is bringing a thousand warriors here to fight with us."

Coulta glanced at Shelton, puzzled. "Who are the Shifters?" he asked softly while Jaimathan explained how loyal the people had been to his mother.

"They're shape-shifters," Shelton murmured back. "They live in the forests of central Algoma. The late Queen Cyra allowed them to live and govern themselves without having to pay taxes as long as they were loyal to her. I'm not sure how her son met his wife, but it certainly strengthened the alliance."

Coulta had learned that taking on the shape of anything other than another human was an extremely rare power in a sorcerer, so to learn that an entire race of shape-shifters lived in Algoma astounded him. And a thousand of them were coming to defend Phelin.

"So, how will these warriors arrive, and how soon?" Wildas asked, sitting on Coulta's other side. Of all the people in the room, he was likely the most rested – and only because Myri had given him a strong sleeping drought that she had told him was only going to take the edge off his nerves. Coulta had nearly suffered the same fate, having been given the same tea while discussing matters of his spies with Wildas, but had sipped his tea slower than Wildas had, and had seen the abrupt effects. He'd taken enough to relax into a light sleep that turned fitful as the tea wore off.

Before Jaimathan could answer Wildas' question, Alidex pushed open the partially-shut door and strolled over to the semi-circle of seated officials. He stopped in front of Admiral Pavle, hitched one hind leg in a relaxed slouch, and proceeded to drink the admiral's tea. Coulta almost laughed as the expression on the man's face as he stared at the unicorn's horn, only inches from his nose.

Jaimathan coughed and turned back to Wildas. "They should start arriving in about a week's time. Dragon still needs to make the final preparations, which first require your formal permission to come and fight with me. Though Algoma is Phelin's ally, the Shifters are not, and likely will never be. They fight only for Algoma, the land they are a part of, but Dragon will fight here because I'm here, and so is his daughter. Because the Shifters are fighting on your land for Fae and me, and because the Shifters are very wary of leaving their homes to fight someone else's battles, Dragon needs you to accept his request to enter your nation."

Alidex's whiskered black muzzle dripped tea onto the lush red carpet as he turned to address Wildas, "I will deliver your message to him. I am faster than any messenger you could ever hope to find."

Wildas nodded. "Thank you. I don't doubt that."

"Once Dragon has your permission," Jaimathan went on, "they will prepare to journey here. The warriors who can travel by winged form will arrive first, within a few days. The warriors traveling by foot will arrive several days later, in groups determined by the speed of their animal forms." He set his empty tea mug down on the arm of his chair. "The Shifters aren't the only hope, however. I may be able to supply more support."

Coulta knew immediately that they were finally going to be told what the Algoman's secret skill was. He unconsciously leaned slightly forward in his seat in anticipation.

"I can communicate with the spirits of those who have entered the spirit realm," Jaimathan explained seriously, "and I have the ability to ask them to fight to defend their own descendents and homelands."

The room was silent for several moments before Rohan asked, "Why didn't you do this for your own country?"

"A number of reasons, one of which being the lack of forewarning that we had," the Algoman replied. "It's also not something I am fond of doing, because it seems wrong to ask the dead to fight for and against the living. Though the current situation may surely require it."

"How does this work?" Wildas questioned, looking more hopeful than Coulta had seen him in months.

"Well," Jaimathan answered with a sigh, "it can't, at the moment. I've been trying to contact my grandfather's spirit – he created a full spirit army to come to my aid when needed – but I can't summon him here. A person's spirit retains the same loyalties they had in life, which includes being tied to what they considered their homeland in life. I can't summon any of the spirits of the people from Algoma, and because I'm not from Phelin, I can't summon any spirits of the people who called this country their home. The only spirits of Phelin citizens I have been able to communicate with are those of children who didn't live long enough to develop strong loyalties or sense of patriotism. Unless I can find a way to link myself to another person who is sensitive to these spirits and a Phelin citizen of some importance, there's nothing I can do."

"What about Brother Pelles?" General Ruairi suggested, absently rubbing the scar on his left cheek.

"He is a priest of the High Spirits, the ones who actually control our lives," Rohan argued from beside the hearth. "I'm sure he doesn't know much about communicating with the lesser spirits."

"Well, my lord, you would be mistaken in that assumption."

They all turned to the doorway, where Brother Pelles stood leaning against the door frame in his midnight blue Brotherhood robe. As if sensing the unspoken question on everyone's mind – Jaimathan looked just as puzzled as the rest of the group – Pelles nodded to Alidex, who had moved away from Pavle to stand alertly behind Jaimathan's chair. He then stepped into the room and bowed briefly.

"I do know something of communicating with the lesser spirits," the priest explained, "though calling them 'lesser spirits' is rather demeaning, I always thought. I was told about our friend's predicament by Alidex, and I do know of a way to connect two people who are sensitive to these spirits. It requires a blood joining between the two individuals. Afterward, Jaimathan will be able to call upon spirits from both Algoma and Phelin, and command those who are willing to join our battle. The power is not permanent and will fade within half a year's time."

"So we only need to find someone who can communicate with spirits," Shelton stated.

Brother Pelles smiled and looked directly at Coulta. It was a slightly unsettling look. "I know of the perfect match, someone who channeled the power of every one of our Grand King's ancestors to vanquish our great enemy almost two years ago. That one communication was enough to leave him touched by the spirits, and that is enough."

Everyone was looking at Coulta by the time Pelles finished speaking. They all knew what he had done to avenge the death of Wildas' father, and clearly Jaimathan had heard about it. Coulta didn't know what was going to be expected of him, and he felt as though he already had too many roles to play in this coming war, but when Wildas put a hand on his arm, he nodded.

"But no one else is to know," he declared. "Only Myri, Anil, Fae, and Yvona, and those in this room. No one else."

"I'll be sure of that," Shelton replied, and whether it was a promise or a threat, Coulta couldn't quite tell.