The Hornet's Nest: Part 8

It took long hours for Darr to finally be brought to camp. Caolinn did her best not to pace, but it wasn’t easy. She’d brought the Order of Whispers, and specifically Lightbringer Nairne, to this point, but that didn’t make her any more comfortable with what she was doing. Too late to back out now, though. The deed was done.

The morning had already passed by the time the Agents returned, Darr in tow. His hands were bound behind his back, but he walked freely, and there was no sign he’d been injured. Caolinn found herself staring at him without really meaning to. She knew that face almost as well as she knew her own; all the hours they’d spent poring over plans to reign in Spark and defeat Zurra had left their mark.

And now here she was, turning Darr over to not just the Order he’d escaped for so long, but to the Inquest. Nairne must be thrilled.

And Darr… If he was worried, there was no sign of it, though that was typical asura. Caolinn had meant to walk away, but somehow she was still standing in the middle of the camp when Darr was brought past.

He stopped, peering up at her, ignoring the impatient noises of the Agents.

“Caolinn. I would say this was a pleasant surprise, but I always knew you’d figure it out.” He was actually grinning at her; for a prisoner, Caolinn thought uneasily, he looked far too in control. “Though I must say, the company you’re keeping surprises me a little.”

Caolinn shrugged. She’d meant to act casual, but she knew the gesture looked forced. “We choose our battles,” she said, “and our allies.”

“That we do. And this one, I suspect, will be very interesting indeed.”

The Agents had finally had enough, and dragged Darr off towards a makeshift cell. Caolinn brooded on his words even as she turned away. He’d known she’d ‘figure it out’, but what exactly did that entail? Simply deciphering the maps from the lair to work out his next target – or did he refer to something else?

She left the compound’s floor, climbing up one of the ramps to its walls, hoping to clear her head. To Caolinn’s surprise, Nairne was nowhere to be seen; she certainly wasn’t gloating over Darr’s capture. What would the Inquest do now they’d caught him, though? Kill him, surely – Darr had been a thorn in their side for far too long.

Caolinn went still, the world fading to grey around her. Kill him. Darr was a prisoner; he couldn’t wriggle his way out of this one. He was at Nairne’s – and therefore the Inquest’s – mercy, with no hope of reprieve. Surely, this time, he’d met his match.

And it had turned out to be her. All these years of evading his enemies, and it had taken a former ally to finally turn him in. Caolinn shook her head. She didn’t want this, not really, but she’d run out of options. She needed to prove Nairne’s treachery, and what better way than to see what she did with Darr? He’d become bait, just as Caolinn had feared, but it was for the greater good – Darr had always been an advocate of that.

There was movement below. Darr had been placed in a hastily constructed cell almost directly across the camp from where Caolinn stood. She couldn’t see his face, but a handful of Valiants and Agents had gathered to observe him. That would amuse him, Caolinn knew; he’d probably taunt anyone who came to watch. Even now, with his life at stake, it would be impossible for him to take the situation seriously.

And there were voices, too. It took Caolinn a moment to realise she wasn’t hearing the gathered watchers outside the cell. Sound was filtering up through the vine wall she stood on, coming from one of the tiny, open-sided rooms the Order had been assigned. One voice belonged to Nairne, the other perhaps to Hixx.

It was impossible to miss how secretive they sounded. Their voices were low, designed not to carry – only an unlucky trick of the camp’s acoustics had thwarted them.

Or lucky, if you were in Caolinn’s position.

She knelt. It would look too suspicious to press her ear against the wall, but she could make it look like she was simply deep in thought. Hixx sounded to be describing Darr’s capture, the way he and Mala had stumbled across his camp almost accidentally, and how he hadn’t once resisted them.

Nairne was silent a moment. “Caolinn thinks Darr gave himself up too easily,” she said. “She thinks he wanted to be caught. I didn’t want to believe it, but she might be right.”

“Can we trust anything she says?” Hixx asked.

Nairne snorted. “Trust Caolinn? Not in the slightest. I don’t know what she’s playing at, but she isn’t loyal to us. She might be right about this, though. Darr gave himself up deliberately.”

“Then we need to deal with him quickly.”

“Yes, and it might be better to get it over with here, in Mount Maelstrom. Less interference, that way.”

Hixx made a satisfied noise. “I never thought I’d see this day. Justice, for Darr? It feels like a dream.”

“But a well-deserved one. Darr has had this coming for a long time.”

The conversation grew more muted, at least one of the speakers turning away. Caolinn caught a ripple of laughter; they’d started talking about something else. She stood, resting her hands on the wall’s railing, digging her fingers into it without meaning to. Sap oozed beneath her hands.

They were going to kill Darr – and they were going to do it here, before they even left the camp.

The panic that rose up in her chest took her by surprise. She’d resigned herself to this, for the sake of the Order of Whispers and everything they protected – hadn’t she? Now it came to it, though, Caolinn knew she wasn’t just having second thoughts. She’d changed her mind.

This wasn’t about Darr, in the end, even though he’d been a mentor to her. She simply couldn’t let someone die at the hands of the Inquest, not even to bring them into the open. This had to stop.

She left the vine wall, walking back down the ramp in something of a daze. The little groups of Agents and Valiants were gone, leaving nothing but empty ground around Darr’s cell. Darr himself stood at the front, peering out, his hands casually behind his back. He might even have been humming.

Every one of Caolinn’s instincts screamed at her to walk away, but for once she’d stopped listening. This had gone far enough.

She strode to Darr’s cell, ignoring the looks thrown her way, Darr regarding her expressionlessly.

Caolinn grabbed the bars. “Tell me you have a way out of this.”

“Should I have?” Darr’s ears twitched. “You belong to the Order of Whispers now, Caolinn. Don’t you think I should submit to their justice?”

She shook the bars in frustration. “This has nothing to do with the Order. Nairne is Inquest; all her cronies are.”

“Inquest.” Darr’s voice was flat. “I don’t know where you’re getting this particular stream of intelligence, but I think you need to reexamine your sources.”

“It doesn’t matter how I know.” Caolinn thought of all Nairne’s secrecy, the list of names, the Agents she’d smuggled into the Chantry. Her conversation with Hixx. “The Inquest have had enough of your interference. They’re going to kill you.”

For the first time, Darr looked amused. “Oh, I don’t doubt that the Inquest want me dead, but that’s not why I’m here. You’ll have to put your grudge against Lightbringer Nairne aside, Caolinn. I’m here to save her.”

Caolinn let her hands fall from the bars. “Save her?”

“There’s a lot going on in the Order of Whispers. There always has been and there always will be – it’s simply in their nature.” Darr’s mouth twisted. “Our nature, I should say. I might not belong to the Chantry any longer, but there are some things it’s not easy to walk away from.”

“Why would you want to save Nairne?” Caolinn asked, groping for understanding.

Darr peered at her. “You seem to have discovered that there’s some kind of plot within the Order. I only wish you hadn’t misinterpreted it so badly. Lightbringer Nairne has been targeted by the Nightmare Court. If anyone ends up dead today, it’s not going to be me.”

The Nightmare Court. Caolinn didn’t want to believe it – she wasn’t sure she could. She’d never liked working with Torwen, but everything he’d told her to look for, every clue about the Inquest, had been there. He’d been right about their involvement in the Order. He’d been right–

Darr hadn’t finished. “There comes a point in every scheme when it’s time to draw your enemy out. I’d been counting on Nairne bringing more allies with her to Mount Maelstrom – it would have made this a lot easier. As ever, though, I’m not without allies of my own.”

“You were caught deliberately.”

“Of course. How could you think otherwise? It’s a very good thing I’m here, too. I brought Nairne here – thank you for your part in that, by the way – and now she’s exposed. As I said, I’d hoped she’d bring more of an army with her so the Nightmare Court could be dealt with properly, but that can’t be helped. We’ll have to work with what we’ve got.”

Dismay threatened to swallow Caolinn whole. “What’s happening? What are the Nightmare Court going to do?”

“Attack this camp, of course. They’ll hit it hard and fast, if I’m not mistaken. A sting operation, to take Nairne out as quickly as possible. I will attempt to protect her, but I wouldn’t say no to your help.”

Caolinn staggered back from the cell. The Nightmare Court. They were after Nairne? But the Lightbringer was Inquest, and she’d infiltrated the Order of Whispers. They wanted to kill Darr – didn’t they? None of this made any sense.

Darr was right about one thing, though. Even as Caolinn stepped away, there were shouts from the north gate, then from the south. Valiants ran past her, panicked looks on their faces. They were under attack.