Darksong Rising (38 page)

poor substitute, but all I can do.”

The two women bowed deeply.

Albero was next, and the hold armorer smiled shyly. “l owe you more than you realize, Albero,

especially for teaching me about knives." She slipped him two golds. “Thank you.”

“Lady... I did what...”

“You did well.” She smiled.

Frideric and Wiltur came in together, and each of the hold guards received two golds. As had the

others, they bowed reverently.

“Said you don’t forget... good or evil,” offered Wiltur. “Good thing." He grinned briefly.

“I try not to,” Anna answered. “We’ll be going to the workroom building in a bit, after I finish."

“I’ll be waiting by the stables, lady,” Wiltur confirmed.

 
After the two left, Anna retrieved the lutar before heading back down the hallway and then

down the stone steps to the main level, followed once more by her guards. At the base of the

stairs, she looked through the stone arch to the front entry hall, but the hall remained empty.

Where is Jecks? Or did he mention something about blade lessons for Kinor and Jimbob?

Anna walked to the stables, followed once more by the guards. As she crossed the north

courtyard, her glance went to the rear of the courtyard, where Jecks was instructing Kinor and

Jimbob in some aspect of using a blade, while several of the younger lancers watched. Anna

wondered if Jimbob was really paying attention.

“Lady Anna?”

Her head turned back toward the stables. Outside the open doors in the already hot morning

sunlight stood Quies.

“Yes, Quies?”

“If I might ask, Lady Anna, from where does this Halde hail?” inquired the stablemaster.

“He’s been the saalmeister at Synfal, Lord Arkad’s hold at Cheor,” Anna answered. “When Lord

Jimbob received those lands, he also decided to replace the saalmeister with someone from Lord

Jecks’ lands.”

Quies nodded.

“I thought Halde had done an excellent job in the weeks after Lord Arkad’s death and the death

of the head saalmeister, and I’ve had him working under Herstat. I believe he will do a good job.

He’s fair, and he works hard.” Anna looked at Quies. “If he has any fault, it is that he may not

praise good work enough, but those who have worked with him for years say he does not bully

or cheat, but expects the best out of each person.”

Quies pursed his lips before speaking. “You won’t be here long, will you, lady? And you won’t

be here that much.”

“No,” Anna admitted. “I can’t be. Not now. I might be here for a week, or less, and I don’t know

when I’ll be back.”

"Lady...?”

“Yes, Quies.” Anna smiled.

“I’d not be the youngest stablemaster... and the horses are not Albero’s love…”

“You want to train someone else to help you?”

“Aye…my sister’s bairn Vyren. A bit young, not twelve, but he loves the horses, and they love

him.”

“Can he learn the rest of running a stable?”

“That young, I’d not be knowing for sure, but I’d send him home if he could not.” A crooked

smile appeared on the stable-master’s face. “With two... we could build up the stable more."

“Then have him come to work for you... you tell Serna and anyone else who needs to know."

“Thank you, lady."

“Thank you. You do the work, and Farinelli’s shown me that you do it well, Quies.”

A nervous smile appeared.

“I meant it.” Anna stepped into the comparative cool of the always-clean stables and toward the

front stall where the big gelding greeted Anna with a whuff, as if to ask why she’d taken so long.

“Business, fellow, business.” She slipped into the stall and brushed him briefly, not all that

necessary since she’d groomed him thoroughly the night before, tired as she’d been.

The ride out to the workshop buildings was almost too short, except for the heat, and, again,

almost a parade, Anna felt, with Wiltur and two of her guards following her.

Wiltur insisted on checking the building before she entered. Then, as Anna carried the lutar, a

water bottle, and a sheaf of her notes into the building, Wiltur stationed himself by the door,

joining Rickel and Blaz as guards.

After closing the door behind her, the sorceress and Regent wandered through the dusty

workrooms, then through the larger room where Brill’s players had practiced, and where hers

would later.

After checking the last of the three workshop rooms, she stopped by the pool in the scrying

room, pondering. It’s been long enough... do you dare? Besides, when and where else can you

try? She nodded and took out the lutar, beginning her vocalises, as she tuned the instrument.

When she was ready, she faced the pool, not that she needed it, and sang the simple spell.

Bring to me the letter I desire,

from my daughter, safe from fire

across the void from Earth to here,

let all words from her appear....

A column of flame exploded beside the scrying pool, forcing Anna to lurch backward—then died

abruptly, leaving a steaming oblong lump of blackened matter on the stones beside the pool. Her

eyes went to the object. She swallowed.

“Shit…” Then, as she continued to study the object, she smiled, realizing that the black was a

heavy black fabric. Once the steaming subsided, she set aside the lutar, laying it on the small

worktable behind her, and bent down.

Her fingers brushed the heavy cloth—almost like a stage curtain.

Within the crude bag was an envelope of some sort of synthetic material, and within that were

two envelopes. The first contained a small pencil sketch of Elizabetta, and the second a thick

letter. Anna looked at the sketch for a long time before she opened the letter and began to read.

Mom—

Your letter arrived. It just popped into the passenger seat of my car. The outer envelope was

pretty charred, and there’s a brown spot on the upholstery now, and it reminds me of you. I’m

leaving this under the stairs like you said, but I found pieces of an old stage curtain, lined with

asbestos or something, in the back rooms at PSC. One of my friends goes there, and I made a

pouch out of it for this. I hope it works.

The sketch is because I don’t know if a modem picture would get there. The sketch of you got

here, so I was pretty sure this would. Cortland was happy to do it, and I didn’t tell him why.

Anna took a deep breath, looking at the black blot of soot on the stone floor. She turned to the

careful script and kept reading.

I decided not to show Dad the coins. Mr. Asteni paid me by their weight, cause he says there

isn’t any speculative market for private mint coins. He thinks they were minted by those creative

anachronism folks, and I’ll bet he’s keeping a few for himself. I told Mario you’d left money

hidden in the jewelry case I brought back from Ames, and I just found it. I tried to give him half

that way, but he wouldn’t take it. He said he had a job, and I’d need the money more.

I’m headed back to school. Because you’re “missing”—and Dad thinks you’re dead because

even he admits you would stay in touch, that means you’re presumed to be dead. The insurance

people said it could be years, but the school gave me full tuition and room and board. So don’t

worry about that.

You can’t be dead. Ghosts don’t send messages on real parchment or whatever it is, and funny

gold coins. Especially not coins worth that much. I worry about you, and I was really glad to get

your last letter. When I come back to the lake house for Christmas, if this one is gone, I’ll leave

another letter there, and I hope you can use your sorcery or whatever to pick it up. It sure is

weird to write each other this way, but it helps to know you’re all right somewhere. It’d be really

hard if you had just vanished into nowhere. I don’t know how people stand that.

By the way, my grades did go up second semester, and I made the honors list. German was

easier than I’d thought it would be, but I barely scraped out a B+ in theory. You said it would be

hard, and it was. My voice teacher sounds like you, always talking about keeping the sound

free....

The police in Iowa haven’t closed the case, but they’re not actively investigating anymore. I

think they think you just adopted a new identity. You did, but not the way they think...

Anna blotted her eyes, and cleared her throat, then blotted once more. She had trouble

swallowing, but she looked back at the letter, reading quickly, almost as if she were afraid it

would turn to dust in her hands... or disappear.

...still hard to think of a world or a place like you describe. Somehow, I can see you running

things, though. You neyer got a chance here, not taking care of us, and always being there and

picking up all the messes...

Anna had to set the letter down…letting the sobs come.

After another interval, she sniffed, blotted her eyes once more, and continued reading the rest of

the long and chatty letter, collapsing into sobs with the closing lines.

…Wherever you are, even if you can’t ever write again, I love you.

A good half-glass or more passed before Anna was ready to tackle scrying again. She’d also

finished off most of the water in the bottle she’d brought out to the domed building.

Finally, she stood before the pool, lutar in hand, and began the next spell.

Silver pool, show me now and as you can

where near Mencha sorcery by this woman

will find gold to mine and gold to coin....

The pool showed three images. Anna took a deep breath and studied them.