The foul weather kept the Companions indoors for days. They practiced at swords in the feasting hall and played wild games of chase through the corridors, much to the despair of those n.o.bles unfortunate enough to encounter them. Several ended up in the fish pools.
Korin held court in his great hall, surrounded by jugglers and minstrels. He brought in troupes of actors and badgered the heralds for news every few hours. And he drank.
Ki and Tobin were sweating through another round of dancing lessons when a page wearing the yellow livery of Lord Orun beneath his dripping cloak appeared and approached Prince Korin.
"Cousin!" Korin called to Tobin. "Your guardian requests our company this afternoon. I suppose we must go. You too, Caliel. I"m sure Orun can make room for you."
"d.a.m.n," sighed Ki.
"You"ll have a better time here than I will there," groused Tobin. "What does he want with me now? I was just there three nights ago."
Other messengers appeared through the dreary afternoon, calling more of the boys away. Chancellor Hylus called for his grandson, Nikides, who took Ruan with him. Lutha was ill with a fever and Barieus was tending him.
Faced with Mago and few allies, Ki decided to make himself scarce until Tobin came back.
He went back to their room and cast about for something to do, but Molay had put everything in order. Even Tobin"s carving bench was tidy for a change. Deciding to chance a ride in spite of the weather, Ki threw on old shoes and a thick cloak and set off for the stables.
"Shall I send for your horse, Sir Ki?" Baldus called after him.
"No," Ki replied, glad of the excuse for a walk after being shut up inside for so long.
The rain had slackened but a strong wind whipped his cloak around his legs as he left the shelter of the palace gardens. His shoes were soon soaked through, but he didn"t care. The pummeling of the wind and the cold, sharp smell of the sea made his blood race and his heart feel lighter. He turned his face up and let the wind scour it. There was plenty of daylight left; perhaps he could get Tharin to go for a ride by the sh.o.r.e.
The stables were deserted except for a few grooms, and ostlers. They knew him and bowed as hewalked through the sour darkness of the mews. A hundred glossy rumps faced him on either side; Dragon and Gosi"s stalls were about halfway down on the left side.
He hadn"t gone very far when he realized that he wasn"t alone after all.
Turning, he found Mago and Arius almost on his heels. The sound of the storm must have covered them as they followed him from the palace. That, and his own inattention, he thought with sinking heart.
There wasn"t a groom in sight now. These two probably had the sense to bribe them to stay away.
"Why, fancy meeting you here, gra.s.s knight," Mago exclaimed brightly. "And how might you be this fine afternoon?"
"Well enough, but for the company," Ki retorted. They wouldn"t let him pa.s.s; that much was clear.
There was a door at the far end of the stable, but it meant turning tail and running, and he"d be d.a.m.ned if he"d do that. He"d rather take a beating. Then again, surely even they wouldn"t be that foolish.
"I wouldn"t think you"d be so particular about what company you keep," Arius said, toying with a heavy ring on his hand. "Stuck in that rat trap old keep of the duke"s with a demon and Tharin"s draggle-tailed peasant soldiers? And I"m curious..." Arius went on twisting the ring around and around.
"Perhaps you can tell me, since you lived there. Is it true what they say about Tharin and Lord Rhius?
With you being his son"s squire and all, I thought maybe you"d know."
The blood began to pound in Ki"s ears. He had no idea what Arius was talking about, but the way he said it was insult enough.
"Maybe it runs in the family, like the madness," Mago put in with a poisonous smile. "Do you and Tobin do it, too?"
Ki began to suspect what Mago was hinting at and went cold with anger. Not at the implied act itself, but at the thought of these spotty-faced b.a.s.t.a.r.ds dragging two such men down with their filthy leering tones, and Tobin with them.
"You take that back," he growled, advancing on Mago.
"Why should I? You share a bed, don"t you? We all saw it the night we went to the old throne room."
"Everyone does where I"m from," Ki said.
"Well, we all know where you"re from, don"t we, gra.s.s knight?" said Arius.
"Two in a bed," Mago taunted. "Lord Orun told me that Tharin used to take it up the a.s.s. Do you? Or is it Tob-"
Ki punched Mago without even deciding to do it. He just didn"t want to hear those words, and, in the instant that his fist connected with the older squire"s nose, it felt good. Mago went down cursing and landed on his back in the wet muck of a stall, blood spurting from his nose. Arius got Ki by the arm and yelled for help, but Ki threw him off and walked away.
His elation was short-lived. By the time he was out the door at the far end of the stable he knew he"d made a serious error and started running, knowing there was only one place to go. No one followed.
I failed him! he raged at himself as the enormity of the situation crashed in on him. He"d failed Tobin and Tharin. And himself. In the next instant he lashed out at his tor-menters. Korin was right; they were all rotting here. Foul mouthed, soft-handed, backbiting little sneak b.i.t.c.hes like Mago wouldn"t last a day among real warriors. But that didn"t change the fact that he"d dishonored Tobin. And now there"d be worse to come.
The clouds opened, the rain lashed down, and Ki ran.
Cob abin hated the visits to Lord Orun"s house. The rooms were too warm, the food too sweet, and the attendants-a pack of droopy, bare-chested youths-overly attentive. Orun always insisted that Tobin sit next to him and share his dish. The sight of those greasy, wrinkled fingers did little for his appet.i.te.
It was even worse today. Tobin"s head had been hurting since he woke up that morning, and he"d had a dull pain in his side that was making him tired and out of sorts. He"d hoped to sleep that afternoon, until the summons came and spoiled his plans.
Orun always insisted on inviting Moriel, as well. Though Tobin still resented this, he had to admit that the pale boy did do his best to be pleasant when they were thrown together here. Then again, almost anyone would seem pleasant company at Orun"s table. There were thirty n.o.bles at the table today, and the king"s wizard, Niryn, occupied the place of honor on Tobin"s left. Between courses he entertained the company with silly tricks and illusions, like making a stuffed capon dance, or floating sauceboats around like ships in the harbor. Looking down the table, Tobin caught Korin and Caliel rolling their eyes.
He sat back with a sigh. Niryn"s magic was even more pointless than Arkoniel"s.
i managed to keep himself under control as Ulies let him in and led him to the hall. Tharin sat by the fire in his shirtsleeves. Koni and some of the other men were with him, gambling and repairing bits of tack by the hearth. They called out their usual greetings to Ki, but Tharin frowned as soon as he saw him.
"What"s wrong?" he asked.
"Can we speak alone?"
Tharin nodded and took him to his room. Shutting the door, he turned and asked, "What happened?"
Ki had rehea.r.s.ed half a dozen explanations on the way here but now his tongue seemed to have glued itself to the roof of his mouth. There was no fire and the room was cold. Shivering miserably, he listened to the sound of his sodden cloak dripping on the floor as he searched for the words.
Tharin sat down in the chair next to his bed and motioned for Ki to come to him. "Come on, now. Tell me about it."
Ki let his cloak fall and knelt at Tharin"s feet. "I"ve dishonored Tobin and myself," he managed at last, fighting back tears of shame. "I struck another squire. At the stables. Just now."
Tharin"s pale eyes fixed on him in a most unnerving way. "Which one?"
"Mago."
"Why?"
"He"s been saying things to me."
"Insults?"
"Yes."
"Were there witnesses?"
"Just Arius."
Tharin let out a snort of disgust. "The arrogant little fool. Well, out with it. What did he say that you couldn"t walk away from?"
Ki bristled. "I did walk away from a lot! Ever since we came here they"ve called me gra.s.s knight and b.a.s.t.a.r.d and a horse thief"sson. And I walked away every time. But this time they got me alone in the stables and they- They- He cringed inwardly at the thought of repeating what they"d said about Tharin. "They insulted Tobin. And Duke Rhius. And you. They said filthy lies and I lost my temper and punched Mago. Then I ran here." He hung his head, wishing he could die and be done with it. "What am I going to do, Tharin?"
"You"re going to take your punishment tomorrow like any other squire. But right now I want to hear what they said that made you angry enough to do such a thing. And why being called those other things didn"t. Let"s start with that, shall we?"
Tharin pulled Ki up by the shoulders and sat him on the bed, then poured him a small cup of wine. Ki downed it and shivered as it burned his belly. "I don"t know. Maybe because I knew most of what he said about my kin and me is true. I am a gra.s.s knight, but Tobin doesn"t care and neither do you or Porion, so I don"t mind it so much. And I know I"m no b.a.s.t.a.r.d. And that about my father? I don"t know.
Maybe he is a horse thief, but Tobin doesn"t care about that, either, so long as I"m not one... And I"m not! So I can stand any of that."
"Then what was it you couldn"t stand?"
Ki clutched the cup in both hands. "Mago said that Lord Orun told him you and Duke Rhius- That you-" He couldn"t say it.
"That we were bedmates when we were young? Lovers?"
Ki stared miserably down into the red depths of his cup. "He said he thought Tobin and I did it, too.
But that"s not the way he put it-what you said."
Tharin sighed, but Ki could tell he was angry. "I don"t suppose it was."
"Tobin and I don"t!" "I didn"t imagine you did. But it is common enough among young warriors, and lots of other folk besides. I could tell Mago a thing or two about his own father that would shut him up for you. With some it"s something that pa.s.ses. Others stay with men all their lives. For Rhius, it pa.s.sed."
He reached out and chucked Ki under the chin, making him look him in the eye. "I"d have told you myself if you"d asked me. There"s no dishonor in it between friends, Ki, or half of Ero would be shamed, and some of the other Companions too, from what I"ve seen."
This revelation left Ki speechless.
"So they teased you all this time, and this is what broke you?"
Ki nodded.
"They poked around until they found the sore spot to goad you with. Well, here you are. What interests me the most is that Mago said he had this from Lord Orun, Tobin"s own guardian. I think perhaps that was more than Orun wanted said."
"But why would he say it at all?"
"Use your brains, boy. Who wanted Moriel as Tobin"s squire? Who hasn"t had use for you since the day he laid eyes on you? Who got his nose put out of joint when Porion put Moriel out of the Companions in favor of you?"
"Orun."
"Whom Tobin just happens to be dining with right now, I believe?"
Ki dropped the cup and jumped to his feet. "Oh G.o.ds! He can dismiss me? I"ve done it, haven"t I? Old Slack Guts is going to send me away!"
"He can"t dismiss you, not directly. But perhaps he thinks that Tobin won"t be able to discipline you as he must, and that will reflect badly on both of you. Perhaps that"s what he"s hoping to put in his next report to the king."
"But why? Why does Orun give a d.a.m.n who Tobin"s squire is?"
"Who"s closer to Tobin than you? Who would be of more use to Orun if he wanted Tobin spied on than the prince"s own squire?"
"You think Orun means to harm him?"
"No, I think he means to control him. And who do you think controls Orun?"
"The king?" Ki whispered.
"Yes. You"re too young for this, Ki, but since they"ve gone after you, you need to know. It"s all a great gaming board we"re on, and the stake over on the side is Atyion and all the other lands and riches that Tobin holds. You and me? We"re guard stones around Tobin, and we"re in their way."
"But Tobin"s loyal to the king. All he wants is to go and fight for him. Why can"t Erius just leave him alone?"
"That"s what I don"t quite understand myself. But it"s not for us to solve that, only to stand by him. And to do that, you"re going to have to convince Tobin to flog you properly tomorrow. And you"re going to have to tell him what Mago said."
"No." Ki set his jaw. "I know what you"ve told me is the true way of it, but I don"t ever want Tobin knowing that a squire was talking about him and his kin that way."
"But you"re going to have to, Ki. You"ll have to go before Porion to be judged, and he"s going to ask."
"But that means saying it out in front of everyone. Then they"ll all know what he said, right?"
"Probably."
"I won"t do that, Tharin. I just won"t! Some of the others already make fun of him behind his back on account of me, and for seeing ghosts. I don"t know what Tobin would do if this all came out, too. He isn"t like the rest of us. You know that." Ki was trembling again. "And I don"t want him to be, either. I like him just the way he is. So let me do this my way now and I promise you I won"t give Lord Orun anything more to write to the king. I"ll say it was for the insults to my father and take my flogging and that"ll be the end of it. To make me out a liar, Mago would have to tell what he really said, and I don"t think he"s going to do that. Not in front of Porion."
He stood tensely as Tharin considered this, ready to argue all night if he had to.
But Tharin nodded. "All right then. But be careful, my boy. Some mistakes you can back out of; Ithink you can with this one. But others you can"t. Honor, Ki, always honor. I want you safe. Both of you."
Ki clasped his hand gratefully. "I won"t forget again. I swear it."
Lctors came in after the feast was finished, but the play was a romance of some sort, incomprehensible to Tobin. He was dozing with his chin on his hand, trying to ignore the ache in his side, when a messenger entered and whispered in Orun"s ear.
Orun clucked his tongue, then leaned over to Tobin. "Dear me, there seems to have been some unpleasantness involving that squire of yours!"
Those closest to them turned to stare. Korin had heard, and Caliel, too.
Tobin stood and made a hasty bow. "With your permission, Lord Orun, may I be excused?"
"If you must. I shouldn"t bother myself if I were you."
"I"d like to, all the same."
Tobin felt every eye in the room on his back as he hurried out. His side hurt worse than ever.
^aldus was waiting for him at the Palace gate and burst into tears as soon as he saw him. "Hurry, Prince Tobin!