Huge Ajax's Arc

Chapter 502 of 619

The nine keepers were read clean, but Ajax knew the fifth one still bothered him. That keeper had worn a charmed silver chain to hide from JD's gift. If one merchant could buy such a charm, others could too. Ajax called Chalam to the yard at dawn. "The chains are the crack," he said. "A charm can turn my own silver into a mask." Chalam set his satchel on the wall and opened it. He did not look up. "I've been thinking on it since the fifth man," he said. "I can charm the silver instead. Bind every chain to warn us, not hide." He pulled out chalk and powdered lodestone. "Any chain sworn to the house will alert if the wearer means treachery. And no other charm can touch it after. It seals against outside working." Ajax weighed it. "How long?" "For as long as they wear the chain and are sworn." Chalam met his eyes. "I want it done right. The fifth man nearly walked past me. I don't forget that." They brought the keepers in one at a time. Each man knelt in the yard. Chalam pressed lodestone to the silver at their throats. He spoke short words, low and even, and drew a mark in chalk on the chain's clasp. The metal warmed once, then cooled. "That one holds," he said, and moved to the next. Marco stood at the wall through the morning, arms folded. When the fourth keeper's chain took the charm, Marco stepped close. He laid a hand on the man's shoulder and listened. "He felt it," Marco said. "The chain pulls at him now when I ask about his loyalty. He can feel the working watching him." He looked at Ajax. "He doesn't like it. But he's clean, so it does nothing." "Good," Ajax said. "Let them feel it. An honest man carries a warning chain and thinks nothing of it. A false one will sweat under it." By dusk Chalam had charmed all nine keeper chains. He tested the last himself, holding lodestone to the mark. "It answers," he said. "If any of these men turns, the chain will burn cold against Ajax's own gold. He'll know before the man reaches a boat." He closed his satchel. "No merchant charm can hide inside it now. I checked twice." Ajax touched his father's gold chain at his own neck. He felt nothing yet. That was the point. It would only speak if a keeper broke faith. The nine keepers sailed back to their posts before the next tide, each bound by silver Chalam had sealed. For the first time, Ajax did not need JD or Marco at every gate. The chains themselves would tell him of betrayal across eight days of sea. But now every man he trusted carried a working at his throat that watched him.