The Invisible Chains - Part 2: Bonds of Fear Read Free Page A

surprised.
    “What?”
    “You know my name?”
    “Of course, I do. I know all your names. Son of the viscount of
    Eldorn, aren’t you?”
    “Yes, my lord. Only, everybody calls me Rahendo.”
    “Sad. I never understood why people insist on shortening
    perfectly beautiful names. Everybody seems to do it. Me, I like long
    names and how they roll off the tongue. Radyamirodyahendo... it’s
    not just a name, it’s a poem.”
    “Even my parents can’t remember it, and they gave it to me. My
    sisters do, but they only use it when they are mad at me.”
    “I think it’s a shame. However... I called you because I want you to
    make sure that nobody enters here between now and midday. I need
    some time alone to think. So, lock the door to the hallway and keep
    the key on your person. Let nobody through. And I mean nobody. Tell
    20
    Andrew Ashling
    them to come back around noon. Understood?”
    “Yes, my lord. You can count on me,” Rahendo said, with the
    solemnity as if he was promising to fulfill a dying wish.
    Anaxantis paced up and down the war room. After several
    minutes he stopped before the big map of Ximerion that hung on
    the wall and stared at the southern border, at the little pictograph
    that represented the fort of Nira, where his father had made his
    headquarters.
    He frowned.
    “What is he thinking? He will have known the gist in less than a
    day and by now he must have had full reports about the proceedings
    of the Amirathan Council. Is the secret charter his only instrument to
    stop me? As long as he and Demrac think that I know nothing about
    the existence of such a document, he might well take the risk. On the
    other hand, he seldom lays all eggs in one basket. So, father, what else
    do you have up your sleeve? What else are you planning? At the very,
    very least you must have a fallback plan, some kind of safety net.”
    He returned to his chair, put his elbows on the table, and rested
    his head in his hands, his fingers deeply clawed in his thick blond
    hair.
    “Are you really not aware of what I am doing here? Can you really
    not see the ultimate consequence? I had to play in the open. There was
    no other possibility, no way to hide my actions. Surely, by now you must
    have seen through my plans. All the signs are obvious and nothing
    about them is covert for him who knows where to look. And if you have
    seen through them, what are you going to do about it? How are you
    going to try to stop me?
    “My guess is you will wait until the very last moment. You won’t
    Bonds of Fear
    21
    be able to resist this opportunity to bedazzle me with your superior
    wisdom and experience. You will want my humiliation to be as big
    as possible. Your triumph to be as sparkling as can be. Exactly this,
    father, gives me some time to prepare. Precious little time, however.
    And still I have no idea what you are planning. One thing is certain,
    you can’t intervene personally. You might as well send an invitation
    to Lorsanthia to invade, while we are having a little family feud. You
    could always depose me, but you won’t. Your purpose is for this to be a
    shaming lesson. You will probably not send one or both of my brothers.
    You know all too well I would see them coming from afar. It would
    be a disaster if I bested them. If they bested me, the end result would
    be doubtful. They could simply step into my place, and you would be
    exactly where you started. You have no choice but to work with trusted
    agents...”
    Anaxantis leaned back in his chair and deep furrows formed on
    his brow.
    When Bortram entered the entrance hall of the tower he saw that
    the door of the hallway to the war room was closed. Before it stood a
    deeply unhappy boy in a page’s uniform. It hung just a tad too loosely
    on his frame. The poor guy seemed a bit simple.
    “Good day, young man,” he said cheerfully and slowly, making
    sure the youngster understood him. “I am Bortram, Bor-tram, a
    friend of the lord governor. I wish to visit