Free Veil of Shadows (Book 2 of The Empire of Bones Saga) by Terry Mixon

affairs.”
    Elise nodded. “I understand completely, Lord Captain. We need time to figure out exactly what happened here. It would be best for everyone if any additional violence passes you by. Now that we know about this movement, we’ll be on our guard. The perpetrators of this atrocity will pay.” Her voice was as unyielding as steel.
     

Chapter Eight
     
    Lord Admiral Shrike answered his communications unit with more than a hint of trepidation. If things had gone well, good and fine. But if they hadn’t, his life and his plans were about to become much more complicated.
    None of his concern reached his voice. He was pleased to note how steady he sounded. One always needed to sound like they were in complete command no matter what was happening. Any naval officer worth his salt knew that.
    “Shrike.”
    “Oh, I’m very sorry,” a woman’s voice said. “I must’ve entered the wrong number.”
    “That’s quite all right. Have a good day.”
    He disconnected and cursed under his breath. If the attack had gone as planned, his contact would’ve asked for someone named Blake. This meant they’d failed. Perhaps not completely, but at least one of the Royals had escaped the trap.
    Hopefully, his men had managed to kill the King. Princess Elise would have much less experience to fall back on as she tried to defend against his next move. He also hoped that the woman he’d placed in charge of the operation had made certain no one fell into the hands of Royal Intelligence. That would be truly unfortunate.
    The men chosen for this operation didn’t know anything about him personally, of course. The less the Royalists knew, the better his chances of ultimate success. They wouldn’t be suspecting him, but it never paid to take chances when the punishment for treason was execution by beheading.
    He knew it would only be a matter of minutes before word began circulating about the attack, so if he wanted to get an update of the true events he needed to get it now. He locked down his console, set his communications unit on the center of the blotter, and walked into the outer office. His secretary looked up inquiringly.
    “I’m stepping out for lunch. If there are any calls, take a message. I should be back in half an hour.”
    When word came in, he’d have the excuse that he left his communications unit on his desk. It was understandable enough. Everyone did it on occasion. In this case, it would give him the time he needed to get that update.
    He walked out of Royal Fleet Command and flagged down a taxi. He told the driver to take him to a place that he often frequented. He knew he could order in, but he made a habit of going to various locations to eat so that he didn’t spend all his time in the office. It would also serve as cover for this trip.
    It was somewhat earlier than the normal lunch rush when he arrived, so he quickly found a seat. The man behind the counter nodded in recognition of his arrival. He always ordered the same thing, so the man knew what Shrike wanted. The fact that he was also a member of the movement meant that he knew exactly what Shrike wanted by holding up two fingers.
    The man quickly made Shrike’s sandwich and brought it to his table with some unsweetened tea. As he set it down, he also laid a communications unit on the table under the napkin he carried.
    Shrike dialed a number from memory as soon as the man was gone. The woman he’d spoken to earlier answered on the second chime. “Go ahead,” he said.
    “Resistance was stiffer than anticipated. In the end, none of the primary goals were accomplished.”
    “What about our assets?”
    “I’m afraid it became necessary to liquidate them. I’m not certain of what went wrong, but the investment is a total loss. That is confirmed.”
    That, at least, was good news. “Keep me informed of any further developments.” He terminated the call without another word.
    He placed the communications unit under the napkin and slowly ate his