Darksong Rising (67 page)

Duralt lowered the horn.

“Order out!” called Himar. “By files.”

Anna remained facing the freshly packed earth that covered more than fifty men, as the lancers

filed silently past her and through the baileylike gate and back into the liedburg.

"Old... style..." murmured someone. “The lord is the last to leave.”

"Good to see...traditions...especially from a sorceress..."

“...only right..."

Anna hoped so.

71

Anna lowered the lutar and studied the image in the scrying pool—clear enough to see that Jearle

remained behind the walls of Westfort, and that more than twentyscore Neserean lancers

patrolled the heights across the valley.

“That has not changed in a week,” murmured Jecks.

Himar merely nodded.

“But why would they leave twentyscore at Westfort?” asked Anna. “A third or half of that would

be more than enough to keep Jearle inside his walls."

“They would keep you from avoiding the main body of Rabyn’s forces and going straight into

Neserea.”

The sorceress frowned.

“With the Mansuuran lancers, the Nesereans have more than one hundred fifty—score elsewhere

in Defalk. Twentyscore is not that many for them,” pointed out Jecks.

Anna doubted she could have raised twentyscore in real armsmen even if she had stripped

Loiseau, Pamr, the Sand Fort. and Falcor. Lifting the lutar, she tried a second spell, one seeking

Hanfor. This brought a picture of Hanfor reined up on a hillside road, looking westward, or so it

seemed, with the morning sun falling on the backs of the arms commander and the lancers

behind him.

The third spell called forth a troop of Mansuuran lancers who had dismounted beside a stream

running through a deep and narrow gorge. The image in the pool shivered once, then again, as if

being vibrated. Abruptly, timbers and planks lay beside the stream and pillars of steam rose from

blackened soil where the stand of pines had been. Armsmen scurried forward on foot and began

to lift the timbers and carry them toward the gorge.

“Darksong.... the whelp is using Darksong,” muttered Jecks. The way things had been going for

the last few weeks, that didn’t surprise Anna at all. Eventually, Rabyn would have to cut back on

Darksong, or it would kill him, but she doubted that he’d live long enough to worry about that,

one way or the other. You might not, either.

As Anna, Jecks, and Himar watched, the armsmen began to place the timbers across the gorge.

“They are yet chasing Hanfor, and Rabyn grows impatient,” Jecks said. “He would use sorcery to

hurry his lancers across the gorge.”

Anna nodded and sang the release couplet.

Let this scene of scrying, mirror filled with light,

vanish like the darkness when the sun is bright....

“Should the Nesereans get too close to Hanfor... I like that dark spell not,” Himar said slowly.

“Nor I," admitted Jecks.

“Can we leave tomorrow?” asked Anna, looking at Himar. “I’d like to get to Hanfor before

Rabyn does."

“Aye, but we will not have so many lancers."

“How many lancers do we have?” Anna bent and eased the lutar into its case.

“There were fivescore left here, and you brought near-on six back. Dannel killed twoscore and

eight,” answered the overcaptain.

Another thought struck Anna. You should have thought about that earlier. She pulled the lutar

from the case, quickly checking the tuning. “There’s one other thing.” She concentrated on

trying to find the words she wanted.

Show me now and as bright as may be

other lords who fight to keep us free,

those from Defalk who lift a blade and lance....

The mirror offered a single image—that of a tall blond man at the head of a column riding down

a narrow lane.

“Nelmor,” Anna said quietly. "Of all the western lords, he has the least to offer.”

“He has honor and courage,” Jecks pointed out.

Anna was more impressed with the courage, but she nodded, and sang the release couplet, then

replaced the lutar in its case.

“Let’s go down to the receiving room,” she suggested, lifting the lutar case. “We can finish

planning there.” She opened the door and stepped into the corridor to find three guards there.

Rickel bowed. With him was another man in the purple and green of a Regent’s guard. “Lady

Anna, this is Bersan.”

“Lady Regent.” Bersan bowed. His deep-set black eyes were even darker than the short-cut black

hair and the trimmed short black beard.

“It’s good to meet you, Bersan.”

The new guard bowed again, then stepped back.

The three guards followed Anna, Jecks, and Himar down the corridor toward the steps to the

main level.

“sorcery... one would swear... not a soul in that room,” Fielmir murmured to Rickel and Bersan.

“The Regent is a sorceress," Rickel replied mildly. “Best you both recall that.”

Anna couldn’t contain a brief smile, but it faded quickly as she thought of all those—like

Gatrune and Lysara and more than fourscore lancers who had paid for her sorcery.

Lejun waited outside the receiving room with Alseta, who had clearly appointed herself the duty

page for the day.

“Good day, Lady Anna." Alseta bowed.

“Good morning, Alseta... Lejun.”

Lejun and Fielmir stationed themselves outside the doors. while Alseta reseated herself on the

page’s stool. Himar let Anna and Jecks enter the receiving hall, then followed and closed the

door.

Anna gestured to the chairs around the conference table and sat down, knowing neither man

would until she did. Then she filled three goblets with orderspelled water. “You said we had

tenscore or elevenscore lancers. We can’t take them all. That would leave the liedburg

defenseless.” Anna frowned. “What if I take fivescore?"

Jecks winced.

The Regent took a long swallow of water.

“Ninescore,” suggested the white-haired Lord High Counselor.

“Seven,” countered Anna, with a smile. “I can use sorcery.” Thrap! The three looked up at the

knock.

“A scroll. the messenger said it was urgent.” Fielmir half stepped in and bowed. “Oh. . . and a

young fellow by the name of Halde awaits you."

Anna could see Lejun behind the new guard, and motioned for Fielmir to bring the scroll. “Tell

Halde to wait. I’ll see him after I finish with Lord Jecks and Overcaptain Himar.”

“As you wish, Regent.” Fielmir bobbed his head and handed her the scroll.

Before the door closed, Anna had broken the seal on the rolled parchment and had begun to read

the heavy black script.

Honored Regent and Sorceress,

I am deeply saddened to inform you that sickness has indeed taken its toll here at Flossbend. My

beloved younger sister Anientta has breathed her last, as have her sons.

For the moment, awaiting your decision, I am administering the hold and lands on behalf of my

brother Tybel.

The Regent’s eyes skipped over the rest of the polite words to the signature at the bottom—

Beltyr. “So that was why... Tybel and Dannel were plotting this together. Probably some of the

armsmen were Tybel’s. Shit..."

Jecks raised his eyebrows. “You are distressed, my lady." “Read this and tell me if you wouldn’t

be?” Anna handed him the scroll. Shit! Now Secca‘s the only heir to Flossbend, not that Tybel

and his brother intended it, Secca may not have been that well treated by her mother, but she

doesn’t need this. Not now. Not ever. Anna waited as Jecks read.

When he was done, he looked up. “They are as bad as was Arkad.”

“Worse.” She motioned for Jecks to hand the scroll to the overcaptain. “Arkad didn’t run around

killing children.” That really messes things up, if Secca and Jimbob are consorted, he’ll end up

owning half of Defalk, and you’ll never shrink his head down to size. Plus... all the lords of the

Thirty-three will believe you’re going around doing them out of their lands to hand over to the

heir. Shit...

Himar returned the scroll to Anna, and his eyes flicked from the Regent to Jecks and back again.

“Another thing I put off dealing with, and it’s just gotten worse.

“You could have done nothing,” Jecks said.

“It doesn’t matter; I didn’t, and I can’t. Not now. If I don’t go and fight off Rabyn, there won’t

be much of Defalk left to worry about....”

Himar’s head bobbed in affirmation.

“Has this always happened?” asked Anna.

“Has what always occurred?” replied Jecks, a wariness in his voice.

“When the Lord of Defalk was occupied trying to save the country, the Thirty-three played

games and tried to grab more lands behind his back.”

“It has occurred more often than not,” conceded the white-haired lord of Elheld.

“Was that another reason why you were worried about my going into Ebra?”

“I had not thought any would move so swiftly. I expected some such once you were occupied

with Rabyn.”

“So I can count on this infighting to get worse?”