Without a King (Greatest Thief 1, mxm)

Chapter Twenty-nine

The director was sitting at his desk. He looked up at us as we walked in, putting down the piece of paper he was reading. A candelabra stood beside him with five flickering candles, but besides that there was no light in the room. A slight breeze came through the open window, causing the flames to jump and cast flickering shadows on the walls.

"Lord Tandrix," he said calmly. He slipped the paper into a drawer, then interlocked his fingers and rested his arms on the desk. "And Lord Tandrin. To what do I owe the pleasure?" He looked at me then, and his eyes narrowed. "Did you arrest him again?"

"No." Tannix approached the desk, his left hand still clenched around the sword handle. I hung back with Tandrin and Sir Eppson, who had closed the door behind us and stood facing it as if an enemy was about to burst in.

"In fact," Tannix said, "he brought something to my attention regarding a letter. Tell me, my lord, why would you torture him for information you already had?"

The director shook his head slowly. "I'm afraid I have no idea what you are talking about, Tandrix."

The tension in the room jumped up a notch at that. Even I knew that dropping Tannix's title without permission was extremely offensive. Tannix's reply was calm and steady. "You're denying knowledge about the letter?"

The director ignored him and looked at me. "You told me that Lord Tandrix had nothing to do with this. I can't say that I'm surprised that you lied to me, but it's quite a shock to find that the Tandrans are out to kill the king."

"They're not," I said, forgetting my promise to Tannix in my desire to defend him. "You are."

The director laughed. "You believe that I'm part of this? No doubt they helped you escape so that you could carry out your plans. I knew there was something suspicious about you getting out."

Tannix slapped his palm on the table, drawing the director's attention. "Whether you are involved or not, you know something about the plot. Tell me. I have the authority to follow up on it myself, and I fully intend to."

While the director was distracted by Tannix, I approached them. I was curious about the paper he had hidden from us.

"Had you found the letter, you could claim rights to information regarding it," the director replied. "As it is, you cannot."

I crept around the side of the desk. The director must have noticed me, but not realized what I was trying to do. He didn't react until I reached for the drawer. I grabbed the handle and suddenly he lunged at me.

It happened almost too quickly for me to follow. One moment he was coming at me with a knife and I was sure he was going to stab me and that would be the end of it. I moved instinctively. My fingers found the little sword letter opener, and I stabbed it into the director's arm. He reeled back just as Tannix vaulted across the desk and jumped into him, slamming him against the wall. Tannix drew his sword, and with his left hand tightly held the front of the director's tunic. The little sword clattered to the floor and blood ran down the director's arm.

"Carry on, Finn."

I hesitated, eyeing the director warily in case he tried to get around Tannix and attack me again. Tandrin and Sir Eppson had also pulled out their swords, and I decided I was safe. I reached for the drawer once more, ignoring the furious look from the director, and pulled out the first few pieces of paper.

The one on top was the letter. I recognized the wax seal. The second piece was a diagram. At first, I was confused, but then I turned it to the side and recognized it with a gasp. Tandrin, who had walked up behind me to look over my shoulder, figured it out at the same time.