Daughter of Regals (11 page)

“Lest you misunderstand
at all,” he concluded, “let me assure you that I have never felt the slightest
desire for you or your person. You are a savorless morsel at best, and I would
not sully myself with you.”

I heard him in silence.
But if he thought that his insults would hurt me, he had misjudged his victim.
His contempt only brought me back to clarity. To all appearances, my attention
remained transfixed upon him; but within myself I was gone, see* king help and
hope in places where he could not follow.

He looked at me
narrowly. His excitement or his arrogance required the vindication of a
response. “You would do well to speak,” he said with velvet menace. “If you
plead with me, perhaps I will spare you briefly.”

I did not speak; I did
not risk provoking him. I did not want to die. [wanted to learn who his
confederate was.

A frown pinched the
flesh between his brows. His desire to see me grovel was unmistakable. But
before he could attempt to dismay me by other means, a faint knocking at the
door interrupted him.

Nothing kindled in me at
the sound. It was clearly a signal—a coded sequence of taps for Kodar’s
benefit, not mine. He cocked his head, at once gratified and vexed— gratified
that his plans developed apace, vexed that he had no abject victim to show for his
pains. Yet he did not hesitate; he had not come so far by giving spite precedence
over ambition. Lithe and virile, he strode to the door and tapped a response.

When his question was
answered, he unbolted the door and opened it, admitting Queen Damia to my
chambers.

She appeared more
radiant than ever. As Kodar sealed the door again, she hung her arms around his
neck and kissed him as if she were insatiable for him.

His ardor in return was
everything a woman could have wished, yet she broke off their embrace before he
was done with it. Her gaze turned to me, and her eyes were bright.

“Kodar, my love,” she
beamed. “You have done well.

She considers herself
defiant, but she will make an apt sacrifice nonetheless. I am pleased.”

Watching her, I wondered
if Kodar had noticed the subtle way in which she had already taken command of
the room, reducing him from mastery to the status of one who obeyed.

But I did not understand
why she had allied herself with him. For desire? Perhaps. It was conceivable in
his case, but I did not think so. And if she had at her disposal the power of a
Dragon—either Real or Mage-made— what need had she of him?

Kodar and his knife were
several paces from me. I might be able to say a few words before I was
silenced. Meeting her gaze alone as though I were capable of ignoring her
companion, I said, “My lady of Lodan, this Kodar has advised me that I should
not scream. But now that he has told me how he has betrayed his cause to serve
you, and how he means to give you the rule of the Three Kingdoms by slaying all
those who stand against you, I find I no longer comprehend why I should not.
His plan will be foiled by any forewarning, however slight. With one cry, I
will deprive you of all that he offers. Why then should I not—?”

Gripping his knife,
Kodar started toward me. I snatched a breath, filled my lungs to call out with
all my strength.

My threat meant nothing
to him. Yet Queen Damia said, “Withhold a moment, Kodar.” Her command was
certain. “For the sake of blameless lives which would otherwise be lost, I will
answer her.”

This game was hers, and
I was outplayed. But in the face of death I could do-nothing but strive for
life. My eyes held her as if Kodar had no significance between us, and I prayed
that he had wit enough to understand her— and me.

“My lady,” she said with
demeaning courtesy, “you have not failed to reason that Mage Scour is not in
truth able to create Magic. If he possessed that power, he would not suffer any
other to rule him. Assuredly he would not suffer
me.”
Her tone said
plainly that Scour was a man and would gladly have suffered anything for her
sake. “Therefore his Dragon was but an image. And therefore it follows that there
is a Creature in the realm that has remained hidden from all eyes.”

She smiled gloriously. “All
eyes but mine.”

Kodar grinned at her. I
wanted to curse him for the arrogance which blinded him to the queen’s cunning;
but I kept my gaze upon her and waited for her to continue.

Lacking Ascension, his
power has been latent,” she went on, “but fortunately Mage Scour and I
discovered it.”

Doubtless that had
indeed been fortunate for her.

“My lady, he is the
reason you will not scream. Kodar and I pursue this plan against you because it
will cost little bloodshed—and will enable us to assume rule swiftly. But if we
are foiled in that, we will simply call upon the rebels concealed in the manor.
They will assist the Dragon to the Seat, and he will take what we desire by
greater violence. So you see,” she said as though contradiction were
impossible, “we cannot be defeated. You will accept your death quietly in order
to spare a great many lives in the Three Kingdoms.”

Perhaps I was too
slow-witted for her. Perhaps I should have worked out much earlier what she
wished me to understand. But at last I knew. I might have cried out in my
anguish, had I not been too desperate for such weakness; she pushed me to the
limit of what my sore heart could endure. That such beauty had come to such
evil! I had no recourse but to prove myself equal to it or die.

“My lady,” I said
slowly, “you speak as if even a Dragon will be glad to serve you when you claim
the rule. That is clever—to put a smiling face upon the fact that you will be
merely a figurehead through which the Creature commands. If indeed he will not
cast you off when he has gained his ends. You seek to distract me from the
truth.

“But Kodar lacks so much
wit. He has already vaunted himself outrageously before, me. Your Dragon will
teach him the worth of his arrogance.

“Unless the Creature is
Kodar himself.”

He was facing me now. He
seemed deaf to insult. His face was alight, not with umbrage, but with a savage
glee. He felt in himself the power of the coming transformation and was
exalted.

But Queen Damia stood
behind him and to one side. With his gaze upon me, he had no view of her. He
did not see her smile broadly in my direction.

I did not take up her
hint. Instead,
I turned my attention to Kodar. Having failed to make
him think better of his trust for Lodan’s queen, I encouraged him to see my
grave regard as a new deference. “My lord,” I said quietly, “I do not
understand.” If I could have pulled my hands free at that moment, I would not
have done so. They would have been of no help to me. “Possessing such strength
why have you troubled to mime rebellion?” I had no doubt now that the
lesser
men
whose lives he spent to further his plans were the sincere ones, the
honest rebels who believed—however wrongly—that the realm would be, better
without rulers. “Why do you persist in subterfuge now? And why do you accept
the hand of this treacherous queen in your dealings? Why do you not declare
yourself openly and claim what is yours by right? You require nothing but the
touch of true Stone.”

At once, I saw that he
would not refuse to answer me. Where his Magic estate was concerned, pride
outweighed judgment.

While Damia watched him
with a loveliness which might have signified either adoration or scorn, he
replied, “A hidden threat is stronger than a declared power. When first I
conceived my intent to rule the realm, my nature was unknown to me. Therefore
rebellion was the only path open. And now it is clear that I will be stronger
if none know how I betray those who serve me. My queen will assume the
throne—and an unknown Dragon will roam the Three Kingdoms, wreaking her will
and its own— and my rebels will continue to strike where I choose, thinking
that they still serve me. Stark fear and incomprehension will unman all
resistance. The realm will be unified as no Regal has ever been able to master it,
and every man and woman will tremble at my feet!”

His vision of
sovereignty seemed to entrance him. But Queen Damia had no use for his
transports. “Kodar, my love,” she interposed, “this is pleasant—but the time
flees before us.” She was marvelously unafraid of him. “If the guests are
called to the Ascension before we have dispatched Thone and Thornden, our
opportunity will be lost. We must be at work. Will you accept the brave sacrifice
of this daughter of Regals?”

He glanced down at his
knife and smiled. “Gladly.”

The unmistakable look of
bloodshed on his face, he started toward me.

I had no time left. I
had been meditating to the depths of my mind on what I must do in order to live—what
must happen to save me. There was but one hope, and it was as scant as ever.
But if I did not act upon it, I was lost.

Summoning every resource
of will and passion and heritage, I sent out a silent cry of desperation and
protest. Then I ducked under the knife and flipped forward, away from the bed.

I was hampered without
the use of my hands; but I contrived to roll my feet under me and spring erect.
Whirling around, I faced Kodar.

He charged after me. The
knife swung. The unsashed brocade of my robe caught the blade, deflecting his
thrust as I danced aside. Though my sandals were paltry as weapons, I swung my
foot with all my strength against his knee. He answered with a grunt of pain.

Trusting that small hurt
to slow him, I dove past his reach. He slashed at me and missed. Another flip
and roil returned me to the bed. Nearly staggering for balance because I could
not use my hands. I leaped onto the bed. From that position above him, I would
be able to ward off his knife with my feet for a moment or two.

“Kill her, you fool!”
Queen Damia hissed furiously.

A loud crash resounded
through the chamber as the wood around the doorbolt splintered.

Another heavy blow burst
both bolt and latch. The doors sprang inward and shivered against the wails.

Mage Ryzel strode into
the room.

His bald head was
flushed with exertion; but there was nothing weak or weary in the stamp of his
feet, the stretch of his thick chest. His Scepter attacked the air; threats
glared from his eyes.

My relief and jubilation
at seeing him were so great that I nearly sagged to my knees—into Kodar’s
reach.

When he saw the knife,
Ryzel stopped. “Wallin?” he demanded. “What means this?”

For a moment, Kodar’s
attention jerked from side to side as if he were a cornered animal. Damia
appeared frozen by surprise or indecision. The four of us remained motionless,
gauging the ramifications of Kodar’s blade. Now Kodar would gain nothing by
shouting for his rebels—not while Ryzel might fell him before help came. But
the Mage was alone. Though he held his Scepter, its power would be useless
against knife. And he was no longer young. Would he be a match for the tall,
strong rebel?

Kodar decided that the
Mage would not. Turning his back to me, he advanced warily toward Ryzel.

Queen Damia stopped him
without discernible effort. “You are timely come, Mage,” she said calmly,
defying anyone to credit that any threat or interruption could unsettle her. “This
man is not Wallin the servant. He is Kodar the rebel. He means to slay both me
and the lady Chrysalis. And when we are dead, he intends to treat King Thone
and Count Thornden similarly. Then he will claim the rule—”

With a snarl, Kodar
launched himself toward her, aiming his blade for the deep hollow of her décolletage.

He did not reach her.
Though Ryzel was old, his hands were swift. One sure jab drove the end of his
Scepter into the pit of Kodar’s stomach. Kodar tumbled to the floor and
groveled there, retching for breath.

“I thank you, good Mage,”
Queen Damia murmured as if she thought that she could sway Ryzel.

He did not waste a
glance on her. When he was sure that Kodar would be unable to move for a few
moments, he came to me and helped me down from the bed. Only the trembling of
his hands as he undid my bonds betrayed his fear.

“My lady,” he said grimly,
“I felt power here. Therefore I came.”

“That was Kodar,” the
queen answered. “He thinks himself a Creature.” Her scorn for her confederate
was evident. “Some small capacity for magery there is in him. But for the most
part it remains stubbornly trivial.”

I did not look at her; I
did not wish her to see my reaction to this new demonstration of mendacity.
Doubtless Scour had been clever in persuading Kodar to think himself a Dragon,
so that his plans for rule would serve Damia’s ends. Yet she betrayed him in
his turn without compunction. I did not question that her purpose against me
remained unaltered. My hands shook like Ryzel’s as I took the sash from him and
knotted it about my waist to close my robe.

From his place on the
floor, Kodar gagged on gasps and curses.

“Mage,” I said,
controlling my voice as well as I was able, “Queen Damia and her servant have
done with me. Will you escort them to the Ascension hall?”

He opened his mouth to
protest, then shut it again. The look in my eyes silenced him. Though his jaws
chewed questions and fears, he bowed to me, then turned his attention to the
monarch of Lodan and Kodar the rebel.

When he had plucked
Kodar’s knife from the floor and concealed it somewhere in the sleeve of his
cassock, he bunched one heavy fist in the back of Kodar’s coat and heaved him
upright. Supporting Kodar with that grip, he said to Queen Damia, “My lady,
will you accompany me?”

“Gladly,” she replied.
Wrapping her hands around his arm, she turned her back on me without farewell
and clung intimately to him as they left my chambers. Still she treated me as
if I signified nothing—and him as if she meant to seduce him before they gained
the end of the passage.