The Black Guard: Book II: Evolution (Black Guard Series 2) by C. R. Daems Read Free Book Online Page B

go home, that the party is over."
    "Major Gowad, send several men to the Monarch's
office to collect six dead bodies," he said while watching me. When I
nodded, he continued. "Send the rest of the men back to the base. Tell the
men you send to leave their weapons with those leaving. Yes, that's an
order."
    "Thank you, Colonel …?"
    "Prakash."
    "I think there has been enough killing for
today."
    "Am I under arrest, or can I go?" he asked
quietly, having gained his composure, but his eyes flamed with hate.
    "You may go, to avoid further bloodshed. However, I
do not speak for your Holy One, only for the Black Guard."
    "I understand."
    Toch and I watched as a detail came and removed the
bodies. They would have liked to charge us, but Lieutenant Elijah arrived only
a minute after they did. I changed while she supervised the cleanup.
    * * *
    By the time I had changed back into my uniform, the
cleanup had been completed. Omom Nastya and her daughter had changed rooms, and
the Holy One had been taken to her room. The new room looked more like an
informal meeting room or a place for people to wait. The walls were painted a
light shade of green, and the pictures were landscape paintings of rolling
hills, forests, and rivers. Six comfortable chairs and a small couch sat on a
hand-woven rug in shades of green with a vine pattern. Small wooden tables were
next to each chair.
    The Omom and her daughter were sitting on the couch and
the general on a chair off to the side. They appeared to be engaged in a
conversation when I entered.
    I gave a small bow. "Omom Nastya, I am Captain
Sapir in charge of the Black Guard detail assigned to protect you and your
daughter. I apologize for the violence in front of you and your daughter, but
we have a contract to protect you. When I entered, you appeared to be in
danger, and the Gurk didn't seem in a mood to talk."
    "Why didn't you arrest Colonel Prakash?"
Nastya asked as she sat appraising me, her voice quiet and her face calm.
    I smiled mentally. Invariably, clients assumed all sorts
of things about their contracts they had read and signed that weren't there. "Omom
Nastya?"
    "Yes, or just Omom until I'm ordained, then Holy
One. You can call my daughter Sanaz."
    "Omom Nastya, you contracted with the Jax for
protection for you and your daughter. We don't arrest people. If they are a
danger, we kill them so they don't cause future problems. I didn't kill Colonel
Prakash because I felt his death might have increased you and your daughter's
risk. His death would have caused Major Gowad and his twenty men to attack in
revenge. In the melee that followed, you or your daughter could have been
injured or killed."
    "They will seek revenge eventually," she
persisted, watching me like a master appraising an apprentice.
    "You could have them all arrested," I said.
    "Not without cause."
    "It won't be necessary then," I said.
    She nodded after a few seconds. "I've spent several
hours contemplating your performance at Outpost. At the time, I thought it
miraculous. But meditating on it, I realize you were prepared for the trouble.
You knew your potential enemies and where each was positioned. You did that
today when you entered the room. Both were impressive performances. That's
good, because I can't afford to take any action against my Gurk guards. They'll
use it to incite the Gurk clan. I can justify relieving them of the honor of
being the Holy One's guard due to their extravagant demands. I don't have to
justify the killings—the Black Guard did it." She sounded sad.
"I wish there was another way to make the transition, but there isn't. I'm
sorry."
    "There is no need. No one hires the Jax if there is
a reasonable alternative. But the honesty is appreciated. Although keeping you
and Sanaz safe is my only concern, it may help me in choosing between
options."
    "I've told General Heydar to support you anyway he
can, although I'd prefer it didn't directly involve the army, since its members
come from the six clans.