Ascendant (57 page)

Raddick found
the court wizard in a private chamber that had been set up within the large,
high-ceilinged space of the hospital. The hastily built chamber had wooden
walls, but no roof, to let in air and light. Eight guards surrounded the
chamber, four of them archers positioned behind screens, and four in full armor
with swords drawn. Raddick had to repeat the password, and get permission from
the healer, before he could even peek his head in the chamber
’
s door. The wizard
appeared to be asleep, his face grey and damp with sweat, until Raddick
approached, and the wizard
’
s
eyes opened.

“
Ah, Captain Raddick.
”
Paedris struggled to
focus his vision, the man
’
s
face kept fading in and out.
“
The
castle, secure? The nurses here won
’
t
tell me anything, they want me to rest, and not to worry. Not knowing what is
going on is making me worry!
”

“
Yes, my lord. We have
swept every inch of these old stones, and found no trace of the enemy, other
than the assassin you killed. The princess is well, her mother is insisting she
rest also, but you healed her remarkably well, my lord.
”

“
Take care, Raddick, be
watchful. It is not like the enemy to send only one assassin for such an
important task. It would be best to keep the princess securely within the
fortress, until I am able to search the castle myself.
”

“
Yes, Lord Salva.
”

The wizard
reached out a shaky hand to get a drink of water, Raddick helped him hold the
mug steady as he drank, then looked discretely away as Paedris wiped up the
water he had spilled on himself. Raddick knew that no man, especially no
powerful man like Paedris, wanted others to see his weakness. After Paedris had
found and killed the assassin, he had collapsed, and lain almost dead in his
sickbed for two full days. Even now, he was terribly weak.
“
Thank you, Raddick.
”
Paedris said, laying his
head back on the pillow.
“
Now,
I have a dispute with you. I am told that when my servant came back to the
castle, you had ordered the guards to hold him, as a coward and a deserter?
”

Raddick
’
s eyebrows lifted in
surprise. He certainly hadn
’
t
expected the court wizard to ask about his servant boy, not with so many other
important matters to occupy the wizard
’
s
attention.
“
Not
exactly, my lord. My dispatches about the battle mentioned Koren only briefly.
In the battle, he hid amongst my men, instead of staying by your side, and
later, he left us, against my specific orders that he stay and help with our
wounded.
”

Paedris
’
eyelids shut tightly,
overcome with great weariness.
“
Raddick,
”
he said in a voice so
soft that the army captain had to kneel by the bed and put his ear to the
wizard
’
s lips
to hear,
“
you
are a damned fool. If not for that young man, that extraordinarily
brave
young man, we would all be lost. It was not I, with my wizard senses, who saw
the enemy had laid a trap for us, it was an alert young man who knew that no
farmer would leave his sheep alone in a field. Koren saw we were riding
straight into trouble, while I was looking at the pretty flowers growing in the
fields. He didn't hide amongst your men, I sent him away. I
ordered
two
soldiers, Arteman, and another, I can
’
t
remember her name, she had long black hair, Darton, Datman-
“

“
Dartenon, my lord?
”
Raddick suggested.

“
Yes, that
’
s her. A good woman. I
ordered them to get my servant to safety, he could do me no good in a wizard
fight, and could be a distraction. You saying he is a coward is an insult to
him, and to me.
”

Raddick bowed
his head in shame.
“
I
am sad to report, my lord, that Dartenon did not survive the battle, and
Arteman was injured badly enough that I feared he would not survive the journey
back here. I left Arteman in the care of a village near the battle, I had no
occasion to speak with him, for he was weak with fever, the last I saw of him.
I meant no insult to you, or to the boy.
”

“
To the young
man
,
Captain, Koren Bladewell is no boy. Not any more.
”

“
Forgive me, my lord.
”
Raddick looked up, and
waved away the nurses who were approaching, out of concern that the wizard was
exerting himself too much. This needed to be a private conversation.
“
I would not have said he
was a coward, for many men find themselves sorely tested in their first battle,
but, after the battle, he went against my orders, and he did desert us.
”

Paedris
summoned his energy, and grasped the front of the army captain
’
s shirt with surprising
strength.
“
Fool
you are again! He left you to
rescue
me, when you and your men twiddled
your thumbs and did nothing while my need was dire. If not for Koren, I would
be dead now, a pile of scorched ash, as the enemy intended. It was not for you
and your soldiers that the enemy sent three wizards into Tarador, nor for
plunder. They laid that trap to kill
me
, and they could have succeeded,
if Koren had not disobeyed your inept orders and ridden off to rescue me, all
by himself! He found me, sorely beset by the last two wizards, and distracted
the foul sorcerers so I could kill them. At great risk to himself, he faced
wizards, and a squad of enemy soldiers. The only reason I am alive today is
that Koren Bladewell, who you falsely named a coward and deserter, risked his
life to save mine. He got me on his horse, and sent me to safety, while he
faced the enemy
’
s
soldiers, trapped in a ruined castle in the darkness, alone. That he survived,
and made his way here, is some kind of miracle. If you seek men your soldiers
should look to for inspiration, you need look no further than my most faithful
servant.
”

“
I, I am,
”
Raddick stammered,
“
I regret accusing him, my
lord.
”
Raddick
had proven himself in battle many times, no one who knew him would question his
bravery. Faced with the wizard
’
s
wrath, however, he found himself shaking. As an army commander, Raddick had
authority. The Regent who commanded him had authority. Paedris had
power
,
before which all sane men quivered.

“
You can
’
t help being a fool,
Raddick. Now, bring Koren to me.
”

Raddick
swallowed hard, his throat dry as dust.
“
I,
I, I beg your pardon, my lord, I thought you knew. Koren fled the castle, while
you were hunting the assassin.
”

“
What
?
Why? I ordered guards to take him to the fortress, to protect him! Where did he
go?
”
Paedris
struggled to sit upright in bed.

“
We don
’
t know, my lord. I regret
to say, The guards had orders for him to be considered a deserter. And, and
potentially, an assassin, he injured the princess?
”
Alarmed by the angry look
in the wizard
’
s
eyes, Raddick hastened to add
“
At
the time, my lord, the Regent feared the boy, the uh, young man, had somehow
caused that gargoyle to fall on Ariana. This was before you discovered the
assassin.
”

Paedris threw
off the covers and swung his feet to the floor, shouting an impressive string
of curses in his native language.
“
The
Regent! Another fool I am forced to deal with.
”
Nurses who ran over to protest that the
wizard needed to rest, stopped in their tracks when the wizard
’
s eyes blazed.
“
Raddick,
”
Paedris demanded as he reached
for the army man
’
s
shoulder for support,
“
help
me up. I need to get to my tower immediately. Send a runner to fetch the Regent,
I want her to meet us there.
”

“
Uh, my lord,
”
Raddick stammered again,
conflicted because Carlana was his commander,
“
the Regent is with her daughter, and left
orders not to be disturbed.
”

“
Ariana,
”
Paedris said slowly with
smoldering anger,
“
is
fine and will recover completely, she doesn
’
t need her mother fussing over her. You send
word that the Regent is,
”
Paedris
’
jaw
worked side to side as if he had swallowed something distasteful,
“
strongly
requested
to join me at my tower to discuss an extremely urgent matter. Or I will grab
that silly woman by the throat and drag her there myself."

“
Yes, my lord.
”
Raddick answered as he helped
the wizard to his feet, while gesturing for a guard to carry a message. In the
future, Raddick thought to himself, he would request to always be in the field
with the army, for he would rather face all the hosts of the enemy in battle,
than deal with wizards and Regents.

It was a very
annoyed Regent who found her court wizard, sitting on top of a chest in his
former servant
’
s
bedchamber, head bowed, shoulders slumped, staring down at a single scroll of
paper. Carlana was annoyed because Paedris should have been resting in bed, she
was annoyed because she had been
fetched
, however diplomatically the
guard had phrased the wizard
’
s
demand, she was annoyed because she wanted to be by her daughter
’
s side instead of roaming
around the castle, she was annoyed that her daughter had been asking, more
strongly every day, to get out of the cramped and gloomy fortress. And, mostly,
she was annoyed that she had to be the Regent, instead of letting someone else
worry about assassins, war, and death.
“
Captain
Raddick.
”
Carlana acknowledged the soldier curtly, and turned to the wizard, about to
vent her fury, when she was stopped by Raddick making a cutting motion across
his throat with his hand, and shaking his head. Whatever had caused the wizard
to summon her, this was absolutely not the time for her to voice her
complaints. Carlana had not been raised and trained to command a nation, or an
army, but she had been raised and trained to deal carefully with powerful men.
She had met no man more powerful than Paedris.
“
Lord Salva?
”
She asked softly.
“
You wished to see me?
”

When the court
wizard looked slowly up to meet her gaze, she was completely unprepared to see
tears in his eyes. Without a word, he handed the scroll to her.

At first she
found the scroll difficult to read, her being used to documents written
carefully by expert scribes. This scroll was written hurriedly, in poor
handwriting, with many words misspelled and crossed out. Only when she skipped
to the bottom, and learned who had signed the letter, did she understand. She
started over at the top, reading slowly and carefully, correcting the spelling
and grammar mistakes in her mind.

To who is
concerned
(crossed out)

Ariana
(crossed out)

To her
Highness the Crown Princess Ariana

I am very
sorry my jinx curse caused you injury, I did not mean to hurt you

I am
leaving so that I can never hurt you again, please forgive me

Then there
were numerous lines crossed out and smudged, but Carlana could see it
originally said
I love you
, then he had tried to write
I greatly
esteem you
, then it simply said
Thank you for being kind to me,
your
friend always and forever

The letter
continued, and the pen strokes were more forceful, angry