‘Patience,’ he said.
‘Patience?’ asked Alkon, starting to become enraged. ‘Do it now—that is an order!’
Kobin stood up and placed the rifle carefully against the railing. Alkon’s eyes flared. Kobin had failed the test, and now he stood in defiance of Alkon’s authority.
Kobin raised his right hand with his index finger pointing up, calling for silence. ‘Perhaps it is good that I have such limited use of my left hand, it allowed me time to evaluate this situation properly. Consider an alternative, General. Your thoughts are too quick to turn to death in present times. The one to be feared is the man that thinks before he strikes, not the man that wields the sword wildly.’
Alkon’s expression turned grim in disbelief. ‘Callibrian, I will not tolerate such insults.’
‘This boy will die without the assistance of his family. He is of no concern to us.’
‘Then make his death quick and painless,’ said Alkon, picking up the rifle and holding it out.
Kobin slowly looked at the gun, then at Alkon, before turning back to the young man below. ‘Our scouts should follow him. He might be able to show us the way.’
‘The way to what?’ asked Alkon, doing his best to contain his anger.
‘There is something in this land for which I have searched a long time. He may be the key to finding it.’
‘And what is it that you seek?’
Kobin took a moment before responding. ‘I seek the Daijuar,’ he said. ‘They have been known to help lost children.’
‘The Daijuar have either perished or gone into hiding. You are wasting your time,’ said Alkon, walking away.
‘A race as powerful as the Daijuar does not perish simply because of an army,’ said Kobin after him.
Alkon turned. ‘Many have faced us, all have fallen. I have seen it with my own eyes.’
‘What you saw was an illusion. You have drugs for mind control, but they have something far, far greater.’
‘What proof do you have?’ asked Alkon.
‘None … of their actual ability,’ said Kobin. ‘If I were able to hold such power, I would have changed the world by now. That is why I must find them. There is still the one that I warned you of here in this land.’
‘You speak of the powerful one.’
Kobin nodded.
‘He has been defeated,’ said Alkon. ‘Kill the boy—that is my final order.’
Kobin laughed. ‘You underestimate him. Of his people, he is the most powerful, but just as they, he knows when he is outmatched. Have the boy followed—it is in your best interests.’
Quickly Alkon turned, any doubt about this man now gone. Alkon’s nostrils and eyes were flaring as he raised his voice. ‘Do not tell me what is in my best interests, Callibrian! I am commander of this unit. Your authority is not next to mine, and I will not tolerate this insolence any further! Do you understand?’
Kobin paused calmly in thought, glancing briefly over the railing to make sure the boy had not woken. ‘Have the boy followed,’ he repeated. ‘I will stake my reputation upon it.’
‘You will stake your life upon it!’ threatened Alkon.
‘If I must. What have you to lose? If we kill the boy, we have nothing. If we let him go—’
‘We have a breach in security!’ interrupted Alkon.
‘Not if he is followed. He will be disposed of before he has a chance to tell his story.’
‘And if he is lost?’
‘Surely your men can handle following a single boy. And if he is followed, we may find where the Daijuar hide, and then, we may even learn of their power. Imagine what that means if you can.’
‘Patronise me any further and I will shoot you where you stand.’
‘I do not know what you are talking about. I am speaking of building an army as powerful as the Daijuar. Surely even you can understand that.’
With lightning speed, Alkon reached behind his cape and withdrew a pistol, firing a single bullet at Kobin’s injured shoulder. In the same moment, Kobin had realised what Alkon was doing and stepped back onto his left foot, but he did not duck or move out of the way, instead, he threw his right hand out as if to block the bullet with flesh alone. Alkon flinched as a blinding light flashed between them and a high-pitched ringing was left in his ears. It took him several seconds to recover enough to look up again. He saw Kobin standing with his right hand lazily down by his waist and his left arm still in the sling. He wore the same relaxed expression as he always wore, and for a moment Alkon questioned whether he had even fired the bullet.
Impossible, he thought, and as if able to read his mind, Kobin spoke.