“Yes, you do,” Ch’drei said, her tone still sharp. “And you will continue to do so. Having been so adamant, I hesitate to tell you that I have indeed arranged passage with the Occuran through their Imperial Trade Folds as you requested. You have been granted an Imperial Charge that cannot be questioned and that leaves you free to pursue your target at any price-any price, you understand.”
“Yes, my Keeper.”
Ch’drei nodded with satisfaction. “Very well, Soen. How do you intend to proceed?”
“I must leave at once, Keeper,” Soen said. “I’ll follow the Trade Folds into occupied Chaenandria and then the old Northmarch Folds as far as Yurani Keep. Then I’ll make my way southwest, to pick up their track once more. My Matei remains aligned to the traitor’s beacon stones. It is only a matter of time after that.”
The Keeper raised her brow over her glossy black eyes. “Time before what?”
“Before I track down this Drakis and find out who he really is.” Soen said. “If he’s worth your time, Ch’drei, then I’ll bring him back to you as a gift.”
Ch’drei smiled. She could imagine Soen thinking and rethinking this plan each day for the last three weeks. “Bring this Drakis back to us and we’ll see if he is of any use. I am counting on your skill and your discretion. No one may know of this, you understand. I am sending you out alone and with no Quorum in support. This is against the laws of our Order, but under the circumstances I think it best you be left to act on your own.”
“Wisdom indeed,” Soen said with a smile. “For if I am discovered. .”
“I will deny that this conversation ever took place,” Ch’drei nodded. “I believe we are both clear on this subject?”
“Yes, Keeper,” Soen nodded. “When may I leave?
“Within the hour,” Ch’drei said. “You are expected at the Trade Folds of the Occuran before noon.”
“Thank you. I shall bring honor to your name, Ch’drei,” Soen said with a slight bow and a wry smile.
“I have every confidence in you, Soen,” Ch’drei smiled in return.
The Keeper watched her Inquisitor as he backed a few steps from her and then turned, his strides carrying him across the floor back to the still open doors. He stopped and, flashing a sharp-toothed grin, pulled the doors closed as he bowed out of the room.
Ch’drei sat for a moment, waiting for the deep silence to once again permeate the room. She always thought of the silence as a physical thing that she both welcomed and respected. She reveled in it for a while longer until she was certain that it would not be disturbed by Soen again.
“You understand what you have heard?” Ch’drei whispered into the silence.
The silence whispered back. “Yes, Lady Ch’drei.”
“And your Quorums? Are its members in place?”
“Yes, Lady Ch’drei,” came the hushed response, barely echoing between the columns supporting the low ceiling overhead. “They are arranged among the Trade Portals as you requested. Everything lies in wait.”
“And none of the Quorum members know your mission,” the Keeper said, stressing each of the words as she spoke. “It is absolutely vital that you alone know your true mission-that you alone complete it.”
“They know only that we serve the Iblisi,” the voice replied. “They will obey me without question.”
The Keeper allowed herself a sad smile. “He must never suspect you are tracking him-never have the notion so much as enter his head. If he so much as hears you breathing, you will be of no use to me.”