attacks. His mind is like putty in my hands. What do you plan to do?"
"That is not your concern," Naveena replied evasively. "Just make sure that you succeed with your part. Your future adventure and excitement depends upon it."
Naveena did not wait for a response. She rose from the chair and promptly left the library. The episode in there had made her feel weak and uncomfortable. She slowly made her way back to her suite, her mind replaying the scene in the library over and over. While the pain had made no sense to her at first, she was sure that the Talent induced it, but her mind refused to delve deeper into the mystery. It was as if there was a wall deep within her mind that could not be looked beyond.
Naveena opened the door to her suite and found Lavitor talking to General Ortega, the head general of the Borunda army. Both men looked towards the door as she entered.
"Good news, Naveena," smiled Lavitor. "A guard in the city of Koar thinks he saw Zalman a few days ago. I am sending a squad of soldiers and a tracker to pick up the trail. With any luck, we will have him in custody soon."
"Was Flori also sighted?" asked the wisper.
"Just Zalman," the general shook his head. "We will interrogate him when he is arrested. We will find out what happened to your sister."
"Arrested?" balked Naveena. "I thought the instructions were to kill him on sight?"
"We can always kill him when we are done interrogating him," shrugged the general. "What is the rush?"
"How many times in the past fifteen years have you almost captured the murderer of Princess Orenda?" snapped Naveena. "Has it been fifty? A hundred? Maybe two hundred? It is so many that I have lost count. Just follow your orders, General. Kill the man before he becomes an even greater embarrassment to your army. Do you understand?"
The general's eyes narrowed and his hand fiddled with his mustache, but he did not verbally respond to the wisper's tirade. Lavitor felt the tension in the air and stepped between Naveena and the general. He faced General Ortega and spoke softly, but firmly.
"Send out the squad," ordered the king's advisor. "Their orders are to execute Zalman as soon as he is captured. It is well past the time to put this sordid episode in our nation's history to rest. There will be no need for interrogations. Zalman has nothing left to tell us."
"Very well," grumbled the general. "The orders will be given now that they have been received from a proper authority."
General Ortega cast one final glance of defiance at the wisper and marched out of the room. Lavitor sighed heavily when the door closed. He walked to a chair and sat down.
"You must remember your position in the palace," Lavitor said softly. "You are the wisper, and while that is a well respected position, it is not one of influence in the policies of the kingdom. A simple whisper to me could have resulted in the same ending without drawing the anger of General Ortega."
"Why should I care how the general feels about me?" scowled Naveena. "Besides, I am not only the wisper, but the wife of the king's advisor. What is the general going to do about it? Is he going to complain to you about my attitude?"
"Naveena," pleaded Lavitor, "don't make everything so difficult. There are proper protocols to be observed in any palace. It is the way things are done in the civilized world. Is that too much to ask?"
"I suppose not," conceded Naveena. "I am sorry."
"Let's forget it," offered the king's advisor. "It is over and done with. I thought you were going to be with the boys today? Why have you come back here?"
"I just left Zinan," answered Naveena. "He was in the library studying for today's lessons."
"Studying for today's lessons?" echoed the king's advisor. "That rascal is trying to discover arcane laws to trip me up. That is what he is doing. No longer am I testing his knowledge, but rather he is testing mine."
"Perhaps," laughed Naveena. "He did mention something about wills, and that prompts
"That is not your concern," Naveena replied evasively. "Just make sure that you succeed with your part. Your future adventure and excitement depends upon it."
Naveena did not wait for a response. She rose from the chair and promptly left the library. The episode in there had made her feel weak and uncomfortable. She slowly made her way back to her suite, her mind replaying the scene in the library over and over. While the pain had made no sense to her at first, she was sure that the Talent induced it, but her mind refused to delve deeper into the mystery. It was as if there was a wall deep within her mind that could not be looked beyond.
Naveena opened the door to her suite and found Lavitor talking to General Ortega, the head general of the Borunda army. Both men looked towards the door as she entered.
"Good news, Naveena," smiled Lavitor. "A guard in the city of Koar thinks he saw Zalman a few days ago. I am sending a squad of soldiers and a tracker to pick up the trail. With any luck, we will have him in custody soon."
"Was Flori also sighted?" asked the wisper.
"Just Zalman," the general shook his head. "We will interrogate him when he is arrested. We will find out what happened to your sister."
"Arrested?" balked Naveena. "I thought the instructions were to kill him on sight?"
"We can always kill him when we are done interrogating him," shrugged the general. "What is the rush?"
"How many times in the past fifteen years have you almost captured the murderer of Princess Orenda?" snapped Naveena. "Has it been fifty? A hundred? Maybe two hundred? It is so many that I have lost count. Just follow your orders, General. Kill the man before he becomes an even greater embarrassment to your army. Do you understand?"
The general's eyes narrowed and his hand fiddled with his mustache, but he did not verbally respond to the wisper's tirade. Lavitor felt the tension in the air and stepped between Naveena and the general. He faced General Ortega and spoke softly, but firmly.
"Send out the squad," ordered the king's advisor. "Their orders are to execute Zalman as soon as he is captured. It is well past the time to put this sordid episode in our nation's history to rest. There will be no need for interrogations. Zalman has nothing left to tell us."
"Very well," grumbled the general. "The orders will be given now that they have been received from a proper authority."
General Ortega cast one final glance of defiance at the wisper and marched out of the room. Lavitor sighed heavily when the door closed. He walked to a chair and sat down.
"You must remember your position in the palace," Lavitor said softly. "You are the wisper, and while that is a well respected position, it is not one of influence in the policies of the kingdom. A simple whisper to me could have resulted in the same ending without drawing the anger of General Ortega."
"Why should I care how the general feels about me?" scowled Naveena. "Besides, I am not only the wisper, but the wife of the king's advisor. What is the general going to do about it? Is he going to complain to you about my attitude?"
"Naveena," pleaded Lavitor, "don't make everything so difficult. There are proper protocols to be observed in any palace. It is the way things are done in the civilized world. Is that too much to ask?"
"I suppose not," conceded Naveena. "I am sorry."
"Let's forget it," offered the king's advisor. "It is over and done with. I thought you were going to be with the boys today? Why have you come back here?"
"I just left Zinan," answered Naveena. "He was in the library studying for today's lessons."
"Studying for today's lessons?" echoed the king's advisor. "That rascal is trying to discover arcane laws to trip me up. That is what he is doing. No longer am I testing his knowledge, but rather he is testing mine."
"Perhaps," laughed Naveena. "He did mention something about wills, and that prompts
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