“I do not know you.” His voice was deep and even.
“But I know you. I was there when your grandfather let you hide under his desk as he destroyed the merchant guild of Barder. I saw your father kill your uncle. I witnessed you assaulting a maid because you wanted her and your lust turned to violence, and then I watched as your parents had you whipped because you had dishonored your house. I know your thoughts. I was in your head. Look into my heart and see if I am lying.”
He stared at me, and for the first time ever I saw his expression change slightly. A new emotion shivered in his eyes. Fear.
“Who are you?”
“Someone who came into this world to stop you.”
He frowned. “Why would you want to stop me? The world needs order. It needs a strong hand. My hand.”
“You’re right. The world needs order, but that’s not what you offer. You offer tyranny.”
“What is the difference?”
“Order is imposed to allow the majority of people in a society to survive and prosper. It curbs violence and provides protection by enforcing laws and limitations. Tyranny concentrates power in the hands of the few and benefits only them. The rest suffer.”
“The rest aren’t fit to govern. I see into your heart now and it’s filled with contempt for me, but I am what people made me. You don’t know the nature of human hearts. They are woven of false promises and full of deceit and hatred. The world is filled with the weak, the stupid, the easily deceived and easily led.”
“You cherry-pick your truth. You saw other things in people’s hearts, like love and kindness. Compassion. Valor. Empathy. But you chose to discard them.”
“They are illusions,” he said. “Lies people tell themselves to aggrandize their petty ambitions. In the end, only the self-interest matters, and they will sacrifice everything they profess to love just to survive. I am the only one who isn’t blind to it.”
I shook my head. “You think your life is the most valuable life out there, but it’s just one of many. We are all unique, yet in the eyes of the law we must be equal. Only then can we survive and thrive. You’re just like everyone else, Ulmar. You bleed like any other human, and soon the kingdom will take your head.”
“No. I’m Ulmar Hreban,” he told me. “They will not kill me.”
“Oh, they will. You’ve planned to murder the Sun Margrave, a cornerstone of Sauven’s reign. The king will never let it pass. However, the Sun Margrave is prepared to spare your life if you tell me how to find Cai of Sunder.”
“So, this is why you’re here.”
“Does it not bother you that you will be dead while Silveren is free?”
This was a gamble. In all of his papers, I had found no mention of Silveren. No hint, not even a whisper.
Hreban gave me a smug smile. “You do not know.”
“Why don’t you enlighten me?”
“When all is said and done, I will walk out of here and you will be brought to me in chains.”
“Are you imagining me incontemplationright now? Perhaps with a proper sign suspended from my neck?”
He drew back.
“You’re counting on Silveren to free you, but if human hearts are as treacherous as you claim, why would he? Does he truly need you? What do you offer besides money? If Cai succeeds, your head will be the first to roll, and nobody can implicate Silveren in the killing. How neat and tidy that would be.”
A hint of doubt appeared in his eyes.
“Follow your self-interest, Ulmar. Make this deal. At the very least, it will preserve your life long enough for you to find out if Silveren will come to your rescue. Tell me how to call off your pet assassin.”
He laughed a quiet bitter laugh. “I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I will not allow you to beat me.”
I reached into my bodice and touched Digi’s amulet hanging around my neck. If I broke it, Hreban would see the person he loved most. It would likely be his grandfather. Of course, knowing him, it could be himself. The question was, would he tell that person what I wanted to know?
