"I had a brief conversation with our Guardian," Fearin continued, his voice lower than it had been. "He"s occupied with something now so we won"t be having a gathering for a while, but he"s very pleased with our efforts. There"s only one major change he wants, and it"s the one Itold you to expect: he feels that Prince Ijarin will be invaluable to us, so he wants us to do whatever"s necessary to keep him with us."
Garam shook his head in resignation while Talasin simply nodded, and then it was time for my reaction. Fearin already had his eyes on me, waiting for it, knowing in advance how pleased I"d be.
"I agreed to use my skills as a Kenoss and a Shadowborn for this campaign," I said with a shrug. "If either of those things will keep the barbarian with us, you can count on me to supply them."
"Maybe that"s what attracts him to her," Garam said with a deep chuckle while Fearin scowled. "He likes having women beat up on him, and knows how good a job she"ll do. Let her try it, Fearin, and then we"ll know for certain."
"Misplaced humor, Prince Garam, is in certain cases worse than no humor at all," Fearin responded, his displeasure still aimed in my direction. "Are you overlooking the fact that this is an order, and not one from me? Would you like to be the one held responsible for failing to obey that order?"
The question wasn"t really aimed at Garam, but it still made his amus.e.m.e.nt disappear. All it did for me was produce frustration, that and resentful anger.
"Let"s just relax and see how things go," Talasin said soothingly, and a glance showed he was talking to Fearin as well as to me. "If our Guardian wants it we"ll have to give it to him, but maybe it will be easier than we expect. If we all work together it certainly should be, so let"s not worry about it now. What I"d like to worry about is dinner, to keep me from starving where I stand."
"Starving!" Garam said to him with a ridiculing laugh. "You? You must have eaten four or five times today already, and I still don"t understand where you put it. Or why you don"t outweigh your horse."
"Those of us who work hard need food to keep us going," Talasin countered with a grin for Garam. "If you ever get to be one of us, you"ll find that out. I wonder what they plan to serve."
By that time we were started on our way out of my apartment, Fearin and I caught up by their nonsense and carried along. He and I both knew the argument wasn"t over, but for the moment we"d let it lie.
The dinner turned out to be an almost formal affair, something I should have guessed from the semi-dress clothes Fearin and the others had been wearing. The room we walked into had a large table and an even larger number of servants, all there to help serve the feast. Ranander and Lokkel had arrived before us, but so had the barbarian Ijarin - and the twin princesses.
The two girls had the big barbarian backed into a corner while they talked at him, leaving Ranander and Lokkel free to come over and greet us.
"Really, Fearin, you must have a word with Ranander," Lokkel said as they reached us, but surprisingly the Healing Master seemed on the verge of laughter. "He threw that poor man to the wolves without the slightest hesitation."
"They were going to start listing all their complaints and demands again as soon as they were through trying to force a beauty spell out of Master Lokkel," Ranander explained, looking totally unashamed. "I knew that, so I asked myself if they"d like to know that Ijarin is a crown prince. You can see what the answer was."
"I didn"t think you were capable of that much cruelty even in self defense," Fearin told him, working to keep from laughing aloud. "Under other circ.u.mstances I would applaud your ingenuity, but you must remember what our Guardian said. If Prince Ijarin is talked to death we"ll all be in trouble, so I"m afraid I"ll have to ask Prince Talasin and Prince Garam to go to his rescue."
Fearin"s two victims flinched at the order they"d just been given, but there was no way out of it for them. Fearin was trading two princes for one, obviously hoping the increase in numbers would offset the fact that they weren"t crown princes. I hadn"t thought I was in the mood to findanything funny, but somehow that trade did it for me.
"I hate smirking females," Garam muttered, and I looked over at his glare to see that he meant me. "If I"m in too many pieces to help with the manhunt tomorrow, you"ll find a lot less to smirk about."
With that he stomped off after a foot-dragging Talasin, which was a very lucky thing. If he hated smirking females, I didn"t want to think how he"d react to grinning ones.
"I"ll take just a moment to check everything, and then we can start the meal," Fearin said to the rest of us before he moved toward a door in the right-hand wall. I wondered where he was going and what sort of checking he would do, but wasn"t left to wonder long.
"He"s going to use the Power to make sure we won"t be poisoned or attacked," Ranander supplied helpfully with a smile. "We can"t really trust these people, you know, not after we conquered their city, but Fearin won"t make things worse by checking where they can see him do it. There"s a small retiring room behind that door, and he"ll cast his spell there."
"And then it will finally be safe to indulge," Lokkel added, back to his usual impatience. "I"ve been waiting to sample that wine ever since I first heard about the Chief Administrator"s cellars."
"Then it isn"t possible to cast a healing spell that would "heal" any poison there might be?" I asked, suddenly curious. "The poison would have to start to work before you could do anything about it?"
"Even if "healing" the poison were possible, it wouldn"t be possible with wine," Lokkel explained, unexpectedly patient and interested in answering. "Alcohol is in itself a poison, although one we"re able to tolerate in moderation. If I attempted to "heal" the wine, there would be no wine left when I was done. You see... "
He took my arm and guided me slowly toward the table as he spoke, giving all the details about healing and wine that I could possibly have wanted. We left Ranander behind us, a Ranander who hadn"t looked very pleased. I"d gotten the distinct impression he"d wanted to talk to me, but Lokkel had taken over and walked me away. Very briefly I wondered what he"d wanted to say, then forgot about it. Ranander being Ranander, he"d certainly get around to telling me at another time.
It took longer than the moment Fearin had said it would, but after a while he was back and we were able to take our places at the table. His was at the head of the table to my left, and on his left he placed Talasin, one of the girls, Ranander, the second girl, and Garam. All three of the men looked as though they"d lost their appet.i.tes, but this time they weren"t alone.
"Your place is here to my right, Prince Ijarin," Fearin said with an easy smile, hidden satisfaction behind it. "To your right will be Aelana, and to hers Master Lokkel. Let"s all be seated."
There was a considerable amount of foot-shuffling while those on the other side of the table moved themselves to their places, but our side needed only a few steps to do the same. I could feel the barbarian"s eyes on me again, as they"d been almost from the moment I walked in, but I continued to ignore him. Since Lokkel had been talking to me, Ijarin hadn"t tried to come over; as I sat, I decided I"d see if it was possible to continue using the Healing Master in the same way for the rest of the meal.
"That food looks delicious," came from my left, a clear testing of my decision. "Which of the wines would you like to try first?"
"I won"t be drinking," I answered without turning my head, then looked at Lokkel on my right.
"Was the wait worth it, Master Lokkel? Are the cellars living up to their reputation?"
"I"ll need to taste the other vintages before knowing for certain," he answered, staring critically at the pretty pink wine in the gla.s.s goblet he held. "This one is definitely above average, but I haven"t yet decided if it ranks as superior. The decision requires a bit more testing, I think."
He drained the goblet in a single gulp before holding it out to the nearest servant for refilling,and that was when I knew my plans weren"t going to work. You don"t taste win by swallowing it whole; all you accomplish that way is eventual unconsciousness. The sinking feeling inside me was not on my face, I"m sure, but the same wasn"t true for the grin I glimpsed on the face of Ijarin.
"Dinners like this can be very dull without someone to talk to," he said, a casual comment casually made. "You look better than you did earlier today, more rested and happier. Aren"t you glad now that I turned up?"
I made a sound of ridicule to show what I thought of that comment, then reached for a piece of cheese. I was beginning to feel hungry, but didn"t like the idea of eating while being stared at.
"Did you know that I"ve been invited to join your inner group?" he asked after a brief pause.
"Master Fearin believes I can be of help to all of you, and I"m considering whether or not to accept. I"d probably enjoy the experience and come away with a respectable amount of plunder, but I have enough wealth in the Far Mountains to make the idea of plunder only a minor consideration. What I find more important is how I"m treated by the people around me. It"s unreasonable, I know, but I usually refuse to stay where I"m not wanted - by everyone."
He said his piece and then leaned back to let a servant begin to fill his plate, showing with a gesture that he wanted a little of everything. Another servant came to my right to do the same for me, but I left her to her own devices while I seethed in frustrated anger. It was almost as though that miserable barbarian knew how important his staying was considered, and that I didn"t dare test the temper of a G.o.d by being the one responsible for his leaving. He was trying to trap me, most likely because of that prophecy he"d mentioned.
The servants took their time filling our plates, a languid air demanded by the customs of upper cla.s.s society in that city, but I didn"t mind. It had come to me that only under very special circ.u.mstances can you win a battle simply by defending. Attack and counterattack are the usual keys to getting the job done, and I had the time to think along those lines for a while before the servants finally faded back to let me see an Ijarin who was paying more attention to me than to his food.
"Living all alone must be very hard for you," I commented with only a glance in his direction while reaching for another small wedge of cheese. "Mountain retreats may provide scenery, but they don"t do much in the area of companionship. That must be why you"re trying so hard here."
"What are you talking about?" he asked in bewilderment, his food now forgotten entirely. "I don"t live all alone, and I don"t understand what would make you think I did."
"Why, it"s obvious," I said, turning on my own version of surprise. "Didn"t you just tell me that you refuse to stay places where you"re not wanted by everyone? Since it would be impossible for anyone to find a place where every single person around wanted them there, the only alternative would be to live alone. And what will happen if even one of our guardsmen decides he dislikes having you around? Won"t you have to leave right away, even if the rest of us don"t want you to?"
By now I was looking at him with what I hoped was convincing innocence, but he didn"t seem to notice. He was too annoyed to notice much of anything, the annoyance due, undoubtedly, to the fact that he couldn"t think of what to say in answer. His attention shifted from me back to his food and stayed there, and I was finally able to turn to my own meal.
Most of the dishes weren"t bad at all, and my servant had given me some of everything but the more exotic offerings. Pickled bat tongues, for instance, was an acquired taste, and those who haven"t acquired it usually don"t want any of the dish near them. With an appet.i.te that was improving by the day I was able to do justice to the meal, but when I sat back with the goblet of water I"d asked for I had the definite feeling I"d soon be working off - or regretting - what I"d swallowed. I was being stared at again, and the stare looked like it had no intentions of being distracted elsewhere.
"Why are you so eager to be rid of me?" Ijarin demanded softly after a moment, his light bluegaze unmoving. "Did I offend you by trying to rescue you? Does something about me, personally, offend you? What have I done?"
"You decided to use me without first finding out if I wanted to be used," I answered, caring nothing about the faint hurt that came along with his words. "You searched me out for a reason - your reason that had nothing to do with my needs and wants - and simply a.s.sumed I"d go along. I didn"t like it when the Inadni did that to me as a child, and I dislike it even more now.
Especially since you"re not the Inadni. If you happen to like being taken advantage of, that"s your business. For myself, I don"t."
"I see," he said slowly, an odd expression having taken over his previous one. "These Inadni used you badly, and you believe I want to do the same."
"Well, don"t you?" I said after sipping at my water. "If rescuing me was all that concerned you, you would have left as soon as you found out I didn"t need rescuing. Instead you insisted I come along with you - again for your own reasons - and when I refused to do that you decided to stay. Now Fearin has asked you to join us, so you think you can use his decision to push me around. I don"t know what good you expect it to do you, but if you want me to say I join the others in welcoming you, I"ll be glad to. I join the others in welcoming you."
"You"re glad to say it, but that doesn"t mean you mean it," he interpreted, showing that he did indeed understand. "If I want you to mean it, I first have to prove I don"t intend to use you badly. All right, that sounds fair enough."
"What do you mean, that sounds fair enough?" I demanded, seeing his nod as he turned toward the helping of sweets he"d been given for dessert. "What do you think you"re going to do?"
"I"m going to join the group just as I"ve been invited to do," he answered, giving his whole attention to the chocolate-covered fruit. "Beyond that... Well, who knows? Things do happen, even things people don"t expect. We"ll both just have to wait and see."
He smiled at the spoonful of dessert before eating it, but that wasn"t strange at all when compared to what he"d said. I still didn"t really know what he"d said, and I wasn"t at all sure he did either. I was just about to challenge him on the point when Fearin decided to join the conversation. He"d spoken to Ijarin a few times during the meal, but I hadn"t paid attention to what they"d discussed.
"Did I hear you say you"ve decided to join us?" he asked the barbarian, sounding really delighted. "I didn"t mean to eavesdrop, but I somehow got the feeling Aelana wasn"t being as friendly as it"s possible to be. She tends to be stiff with strangers, but just give her a little time.
As soon as she gets to know you I"m sure she"ll relax and let you see how she really feels."
"I don"t know if I"ve trained hard enough to face that," the barbarian replied with a bland glance for Fearin. "Being allowed to see how she really feels, I mean. I"ll admit I thought at first that she was stretching the truth or lying to herself, pretending to be a full member of this group when she really wasn"t. After this afternoon and tonight, though, I can see there"s no wishful thinking about it."
"No, no wishful thinking," Fearin agreed, his glance sent in my direction. "Her skills and talents make her just as important to this group as any of the rest of us. The only thing I wish, though, is that her capacity for eating would increase a bit more quickly. That dessert, for instance - "
"Doesn"t stand a chance of getting away untouched," I interrupted, at the same time pulling the bowl closer to me. "I happen to have a weakness for this particular dessert, so your wish has been granted. Now you can stop bothering me."
"I think I"d enjoy meeting whoever it was who taught her to be that gracious and tactful," the barbarian commented while I took the first delicious taste of the chocolate-covered fruit.
"There are a couple of things I"d enjoy teaching them."
"Funny how I"ve had that same thought," Fearin agreed with a chuckle. "Along with another thought, of course."I could feel both sets of eyes on me and thought Ijarin was about to ask about Fearin"s second thought, but he wasn"t given the chance. Just at that moment a guardsman burst into the room, looking downright pale as he hurried over to Fearin.
"High Master, there"s trouble," he got out, as if we couldn"t already tell. "The duty officer was inspecting the guard posts, and found one unmanned. He thought they"d gone off after something suspicious, but to leave their post entirely unmanned... He sent for a squad, had them search... They found the men in a dark corridor, all of them dead... The duty officer"s certain that means there are a.s.sa.s.sins in the palace."
Fearin was on his feet by now, the Power glowing faintly around him, his gaze unfocused and distant. He was searching the palace for intruders, I thought, being a lot more thorough than an army of guardsmen could be. He stood silent and intense for a long string of ticks, almost straining without moving a muscle, and then he was suddenly back with us.
"If they"re here, they"re protected against my searching them out," he growled, the sweat of effort suddenly on his brow. "And they"d also be able to get through the traps I set. There"s only one other thing we can do - if it"s possible. Aelana?"
His eyes were the first to come to me, but everyone else"s followed quickly enough. I felt a strong flash of disappointment that I was being interrupted before I"d finished my dessert, but there was really no help for it.
"It might work," I grudged, putting my spoon down and standing. "Obviously I"ll have to try."
I thought briefly about using the room Fearin had used earlier when he"d checked the food for poison, but that would have added an unnecessary wall. What I needed was fewer barriers, so I moved toward the corridor. I could hear footsteps beginning to follow me, so I held up a hand without turning.
"Everyone stay where they are," I directed, hoping I sounded officious rather than evasive.
"Don"t move any more than you have to, and try to keep those girls quiet. This is going to be a stretch even for me."
The twin chatterboxes had been taking turns squeaking in alarm and demanding to know what was happening, but as I left the room their noise suddenly cut off. They"d either been gagged or threatened, and it didn"t matter which as long as they were quiet.
Once out in the corridor, I saw I had to give up the hope of having no one there to watch me.
Two guardsmen stood to either side of the door, and their expressions said they"d die rather than leave their post. Ah well, word would have gotten around anyway...
I crossed to what shadows there were on the opposite side of the corridor, between two candles.
Even as I stopped I could feel my body drawing the dark, bringing it closer so that it might be used. The shadow deepened, sharpening my senses and strengthening them, sending them out to search for those who would attempt harm. The beast wasn"t far from taking me over, but somehow I was able to hold it back while I used its abilities.
The chill of the night clarified and became more intense, but that was a nothing meant to be ignored. I heard the sound of running footsteps many places in the distance, booted feet running in a familiar cadence. Guardsmen, then, hurrying in their search to find the intruders.
Others shuffled out of their way to stand trembling, which made them servants and slaves watching nervously.
The sharp smell of fear distracted me for a moment, but that, also, was nothing. Those who stood not far from me, staring wide-eyed into the darkness I"d gathered... Terror was in their sweat and trembling. When I looked at them they shrank back, their cringing posture begging me to know they meant no harm...
And that was when I heard it, the sound I"d been trying to separate from all the others. A large number of calmly determined footsteps, stealthy in their hurry, one set among them stumbling rather than walking. Soft-soled shoes and one set of boots, the intruders and an unwilling guide...
Nearly did I merge completely with the beast then, the better to move through the darknessand meet them on their way. Their blood would have tasted sweet in my mouth - And that was what let me pull out of it, the memory of the taste of enemy blood. I couldn"t do that again, refused to do it again, especially when it was unnecessary. The shudder I felt stayed on the inside, where even the terrified guardsmen couldn"t see it, and then I was striding past them and back into the room.
"Well?" Fearin demanded as soon as he saw me. "Did it work?"
"Almost too well," I said, then shook my head to dismiss the unnecessary comment. "There are about a dozen of them, they have a prisoner who"s guiding them, and they"re only about two corridors away. They should be here in no time at all."
"Sergeant, you and your men take the princesses into that room," Fearin ordered the guardsman who"d brought the news, pointing to the room I"d decided against using. "I want the three of you to stay in there with them, and if anyone tries to come in after you without knocking, you"re to cut them down. And if it isn"t one of us knocking, do the same. Move!"
The guardsman pounded his shoulder to acknowledge the orders, then ran to collect the two men Fearin had undoubtedly spotted during his own search. The two had to be bellowed at before they would come in and get started with their ch.o.r.e, and the girls had to be pulled to the room by Garam and Talasin. The amount of confusion involved in that simple a doing was incredible, and when the door was closed on the last of it we all felt relieved.
"All right, we can"t have much time left," Fearin said then, reaching across to loosen his blade in its scabbard. "I"ve sent a mind message to the officer of the guard to come here with as many men as he can, but I don"t know if he understood the message. Even if he did it will take them time to reach us, so we"ll have to hold off the intruders until help arrives. Lokkel, you and Ranander and Aelana get into that far corner, and keep an eye on the fight. If - "
"Wait a minute," I interrupted even as Lokkel nodded fuzzily and staggered off to do as he"d been told. "Master Lokkel and Ranander may be out of it, but the same doesn"t go for me.
With only four of you to stand against a good dozen, it will be over so fast there won"t be anything to watch. I can at least - "
"Do what?" Fearin demanded, interrupting in turn. "Conjure a weapon that will be useless against men who are protected? Or have you decided you really want to turn the Shadowborn loose again? It didn"t look that way when you were out in the corridor, but maybe I misinterpreted your reaction. If I did just say so, and the rest of us will stand back while you handle it alone."
"If you four go down, I"ll have to do it anyway," I said, trying to ignore the way I felt sick to my stomach. "There"s no sense in letting you die just to protect my tender feelings, so we might as well do it like that. You"ll all have to stay back, of course, and make sure our own guardsmen don"t - "
"Excuse me," the barbarian said, taking his turn at interrupting as he stepped forward to stand beside Fearin. "I don"t know anything about this Shadowborn you"re talking about, but there"s something you don"t know about. Aelana, I haven"t seen you wearing any weapons. Am I wrong in thinking that doesn"t mean you can"t use them?"
"Of course I can use them," I said, wondering what he was supposed to be getting at. "There isn"t a Life Seeker alive - and I mean that literally - who can"t use every weapon at least a little. What has that got to do with - "
"It has everything to do with the problem," he said, reaching to one of the swordbelts strapped around him. "Before I left the Far Mountains, one of my seers brought this sword to me and told me to wear it with my own. I"d know what to do with it when the time came, she said, and it looks like she was right. Ranander, just how strong a man are you?"
"Me?" Ranander asked with surprise as the barbarian handed me his second sword, scabbard, belt, and all. "I don"t understand what you"re asking, Ijarin."
"I"m asking if you"re strong enough to help us against more than twice our number of attackers," the barbarian said, speaking slowly and gently. "The only weapon I have left tooffer you is my dagger, so you won"t be able to face the enemy the way we do. Are you strong enough to stand aside while the rest of us engage them, then help us out by taking them in the back? For myself I don"t think I could do it, so don"t hesitate if you have to refuse."
"So that"s what you were talking about," Ranander said with a grin that wasn"t quite as innocent as others he"d shown. "You thought I"d consider it dishonorable to stab them in the back. Well, under other circ.u.mstances I might, but not now. They think they"re sneaking up on us with greater numbers, and I"m sure they"re hoping we"ll all be unarmed. Because of that they deserve whatever they get, including being stabbed in the back. I"d be honored to borrow your dagger for that purpose."
Ijarin returned Ranander"s grin as he handed over the weapon, and Fearin nodded with distracted approval. Our numbers had now been raised to six, and that might make all the difference. There was something no one had mentioned, though, and it did have to be said.
"Ranander, check first to see if they"re wearing armor," I told him, settling the swordbelt I"d been given around my hips. Ijarin had had to wear the belt on its last notch, but it fit me as though it had been made for me. "Even if you only suspect they"re armored, aim for a neck or throat rather than a back. We wouldn"t want your efforts to be wasted."
"I"ll certainly do that, Aelana," he answered, transferring his grin to me while he stroked the hilt of his borrowed dagger. "I won"t let any of them hurt you, you have my word on it."
"Just don"t let any of them hurt you," I answered, drawing the blade to test its balance. "With a sword as sweet as this one I can take care of myself."
And I wasn"t lying just to make him feel better. The sword hilt fit my hand as snugly as any weapon I"d ever held, the balance of the blade so true I knew I could accomplish wonders with it. I"d have to ask the barbarian where it came from, but not right now, not when the intruders had finally arrived...