Monday, December 29, 2014

Page 928

Sanko breathed a laugh. “Simpler times, to be sure.”

Then came silence as the Rainlords responded no further, deciding only to wait as Sanko deliberated. In the intervening period, the watchmen that she ordered out earlier arrived through the hole in the gate. She spoke to them in turns, quietly enough that the Rainlords could not hear what she was saying. She showed them the photographs they had taken, presumably attempting to corroborate as much of Parson’s information as she could.

At length, she concluded with the watchmen, took one more opportunity to mull things over on her own, and then returned to speak with the Rainlords.

“I find your demands agreeable,” she said. “I am willing to grant you all three of them.”

Rayen was the one to say it. “But?”

“But I have one condition of my own,” said Sanko. “This matter of potential treason is not something that can simply be overlooked. If not properly addressed, the ripple effects could result in the loss of hundreds, if not thousands, of good Vanguardian soldiers--and by extension, the countless civilian lives that they protect.”

“State your condition,” said Rayen.

Sanko gave her a look. “You must submit yourselves to a formal investigation by the Vanguard so that these allegations against you may be put to rest.”

Zeff saw the shifting postures around him. Already, he could tell that they were going to reject her.

“Once your innocence is confirmed,” Sanko went on, “you have my word that all of your conditions will be met.”

Rayen shook her head. “After everything your people have put us through, why would we ever believe that such an investigation would be fairly conducted?”

“Because I give you my word that it will be,” said Sanko.

“Of course you do,” said Octavia. “But even if we presume that you are trustworthy, your people have already proven that they are not.”

“Your condition is unacceptable,” said Rayen.

Sanko tilted her head. “Can the two of you merely decide that by yourselves? And so quickly? Should you not at least discuss the matter among you? What do the other four say?”

“This is not something which requires debating,” said Evangelina Stroud. “You may consider this our resignation as well.”

“Indeed,” said Socorro Garza. “We have already told you to leave, and you have responded by offering to invade our privacy more than ever before.”

“The Ladies have the truth of it,” said Santos Zabat. “I stand with them.”

And when Zeff didn’t add anything, Sanko took notice, indigo eyes lingering on him.

“...Do not ask my opinion,” said Zeff. “You would like it even less than theirs.”

Sanko exhaled a heavy breath and stiffened. “Well, then,” she said, still with two voices. “It appears there is nothing more to say.”

Octavia Redwater placed both hands upon her cane. “So it does.”

14 comments:

  1. Here ends the Ninth Oath. Finally. Took a while, but we made it. This will also serve as the end of the Volume 3 ebook, which I will be compiling over the next few days.

    The next page will begin the Tenth Oath, which will be called Rise and Fall.

    As a side note, any extra typos you happen to see in the Seventh, Eight, and Ninth Oaths would be thoroughly appreciated. Once I upload the complete ebook to Smashwords and Amazon, correcting typos thereafter will mean having to upload it again--which isn't a huge deal, of course, just a bit more hassle. I always appreciate typo catches, regardless of the time.

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  2. Love your work Frost.I'm excited to see what happens next.
    Keep up the good work.

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  3. I have read dozens of fantasy books. This is easily in the top!!! I hope this never ends haha.

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  4. I appreciate that. :)

    Wait a minute... Ice...? Frost...? THOSE ARE BOTH WORDS WITH LETTERS IN THEM. THIS MUST BE FATE.

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  5. Yeah, I don't express my appreciation for this serial often enough. Frost, you're right up there with David Weber and Brandon Sanderson on my list of favorite authors. The characters, the plot, the awesome powers, the consistency...it's just an awesome series.

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  6. Just started reading this Yesterday and finished today i could not stop it was that good

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  7. I agree. Keep up the good work, and we'll keep making fun of your punctuation and spelling. I mean, offer encouragement.

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  8. Well, now we know that Parson's plan at least worked well enough. No honest Vanguardian ringer for Zeff.

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  9. The Zombie Knight: Where the most pants-wettingly terrifying confrontation to date would be between a little old lady and the only person we've so far met to wear a silly mask on a regular basis.

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  10. Today I worked from 5.45 in the morning until 6.30 at night on two hours sleep, all because I couldn't tear myself away from this story. This is a great read and I can't wait for more.

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  11. It was totally worth it!

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