"No, Markis." He said the words with deadly calm. He'd been playing this scene out in his mind for days. Markis stopped in his tracks, the anger warring with the shock inside him. He took a step backward. Jarid smiled. He lifted the pistol, and watching Markis with a steady gaze, he fired at the mirror on the opposite wall.
The loud report echoed around the room, and the sound of shattering glass tumbling to the floor crashed around them. Markis glanced behind him at the shattered mirror, then quickly back again.
"You're mad," he said in a low, quiet voice and took one more step.
"No. Far from it, my dear brother." Jarid stood and took a step forward. "Now, I suggest you get out before I do something I regret."
Markis needed no further encouragement; he dashed for the door, flung it wide, and sprinted down the corridor and away. Jarid smiled. And now, he thought. He lifted the pistol up above his head and fired into the ceiling, slightly off to one side. The weapon only held two shots. Markis had no way to know that, but it was enough. Here, clear to all who might care to look was the evidence of the struggle between the two brothers, of how Markis had tried to shoot his brother, of how he had fled from the scene. Tossing the pistol to the floor in front of him -- it had served its purpose -- Jarid reached up to mess his hair and tug at his clothing. Then he stood breathing heavily, waiting for the feet that were already pounding down the corridor.
#
Aron Ka Vail stood in the doorway of his son's rooms, unable to comprehend what he was seeing. There, on the floor in front of him lay a weapon, tossed aside. The glass shards all over the floor on one side of the room, the hole in the ceiling that his men had pointed to, Jarid standing there and looking clearly as if he'd been in a fight, he saw it all, but still he didn't understand. He leaned heavily on the doorframe reaching out his hand for support. Jarid looked out of breath, but right now, Aron was struggling for breath himself.
"What happened here?"
"It was Markis," said Jarid. "He told me what he planned, and then when I refused to go along with it, he threatened me. And then he ... he shot at me, Father! We struggled?and then he escaped."
Aron, just for a moment, felt the will to live slipping from his grasp. He slumped even more against the door, and then the anger grew within him, hot, undeniable. "He will pay for this," he said quietly.
"Father, no," said Jarid, pleadingly.
Aron held his jaw tightly closed, and then turned to one of the others in the room. "You," he said. "See about getting this mess cleaned up. Jarid, come and sit over here. Tell me what happened."
Jarid's gaze flicked around, glancing at places all around the room, hesitating to meet his father's eye. The boy was visibly shaken. "Come," said Aron. He crossed to couch and sat, patting the space beside him. Screwing his lips tightly together, Jarid nodded and moved to sit beside his father.
"Are you all right?" asked Aron, peering into the boy's face, placing a hand on his thigh.
"Y-yes. I suppose so."
"So tell me."
Jarid started hesitantly at first, but then the words tumbled from his lips.
"Markis came as we had planned, just like I told you. He said that he had everything in place with the Kallathik, and as soon as everything was closed up here and Yarik was properly shut down, he planned to take over the estates. He gave me the choice, said that I could either join with him or face the consequences. He would give me position, title and we could share in the running of things. If not, I'd end up just like you were going to."
Aron sucked air through his teeth. "And what did he mean by that?"
"What do you think he meant? But there's more. He had it all planned out. With Yarik closed, communications out, the Return, it would be easier for him to seize control, and he could do it without word of it getting through to others in time. He was going to start with your seat, then move from there."
Aron felt the anger burning hotter inside him and he barely restrained himself from shouting. "What is this folly? The boy's an utter fool. By the Prophet... No, he cannot get away with it. Tell me. What else?"
"He didn't mention anyone specifically, but he said he had support within the Guilds."
