The Bastard King (22 page)

"Why not Commodore Grus?" Lanius said. "Out of all our leading officers, he's the only one who didn't end up looking like a fool or a knave."

"Not if you hear Corvus or Corax tell it," his mother said. "And besides, I tried to arrest him after he wouldn't take the Heruls across the river. Do you think he would forget?"

"To prop up the government?" Lanius said. "I think he'd forget a lot for a chance like that."

Certhia sniffed, but thoughtfully. "He's not a noble. He can't have any nasty, ambitious ideas, the way Corvus or Corax would. He'd be leaning on me as much as I'd be leaning on him." She smiled. "The more I think about it, the better I like it."

"Let's hope it works well," Lanius said.

His mother's smile faded. "It had better," she said. "I hate needing to lean on soldiers and sailors - it's the drawback to being a woman. But you're likely right - he's the only real choice we've got."

* * *

As Commodore Grus walked down the gangplank from the
Crocodile
to one of the quays of the city of Avornis, marines formed up around him. Trumpets and drums began to play, blaring out a fierce and martial music. Anyone listening to it would have thought he was entering the city in triumph. And so, in a manner of speaking, he was. The Thervings had gone back to their own kingdom, and he'd had something to do with that. In a war where most Avornan soldiers had fallen or fled, anyone who'd gained any success looked like a hero by comparison.

That was one reason Grus chose marines as his bodyguards. The other was that they came from the flotilla he'd commanded, and so were likelier to be loyal to him than men who didn't know him.

The music got louder. Nicator looked at the scarlet silk tunics shot through with sparkling golden threads that the trumpeters and drummers were wearing. "How'd you like to have a shirt like that?" he asked.

"A little gaudy for my taste." Grus pointed ahead. "And, speaking of gaudy, here come the royal bodyguards."

They wore tunics - surcoats, really - even fancier than those of the musicians. They left them unbuttoned, too, to show off the gilded mailshirts that matched their gilded, crested helms. But despite those gorgeous uniforms, the men who wore them looked tough and capable. At their head marched Marshal Lepturus. Having dealt with him before, Grus knew
he
was tough and capable. The two men eyed each other, sizing each other up. Lepturus spoke first. "Welcome to the city."

"Thanks," Grus said. "Let's see what we can do about getting things shipshape again, shall we?"

"Sounds good to me," Lepturus answered. He turned and gestured to his men, who opened a lane up which two sedan chairs advanced. Queen Certhia got out of one, King Lanius out of the other. The bodyguards moved to form a protective screen between them and Grus' marines.

Grus bowed low to the head of the regency council, then even lower to the king. "I'm proud to serve Avornis any way I can," he declared.

Queen Certhia replied - not Lanius. "I'm pleased that you have come to help me restore good order in the kingdom."

"We can use it, Your Royal Highness, after everything that's happened this year," Grus said.

King Lanius nodded. So did his mother. But, by the glance she shot Grus, she still judged some of what had happened this year - maybe more than some - was his fault and no one else's. Even so, she said the right things. "I am delighted you will support the king and protect the land he rules." If she looked as though the words tasted bad, how much did that matter?

I'll find out,
Grus thought. Aloud, he said, "Anyone who doesn't support King Lanius is a traitor to Avornis. Anyone at all." Corvus and Corax wouldn't like that when they heard about it. Grus didn't care. As far as he was concerned, they were already traitors, even if they hadn't openly declared themselves.

Lepturus said, "When you get to the palace, Commodore, the royal bodyguards will be pleased to take over the job of protecting you and your family."

Beside Grus, Nicator coughed. Grus needed no signal to recognize the danger that lurked - or might lurk - in that proposal. What he did need was a moment to figure out how to evade it without offending. After that moment, he said, "Thank you, Marshal, but the royal bodyguards should watch over His Majesty here, and over nobody else. My marines are plenty good enough for me. I think I'll just keep them on, if nobody minds too much."

"I would be happy to share my guardsmen with you, Commodore," King Lanius said. "As you guard the kingdom, so they should guard you."

"That's very kind of you, Your Majesty," Grus said, eyeing the young king with curiosity. Lanius was supposed to be clever. Was he clever enough to go along with Lepturus' scheme for separating Grus from the men most loyal to him, or was he just naive and trying to be helpful? Grus couldn't decide. He went on, "Any which way, though, the honor's too much for the likes of me. I'll stick with marines, the way I said before."

"Are you sure we can't change your mind?" Queen Certhia asked.

"Your Royal Highness, I'm positive," Grus answered, and waited to see what would happen next. Certhia's question convinced him that she and Lepturus and Lanius were all part of this ploy. Grus eyed the king again. He wasn't anything special to look at - for his age, he was small and skinny. But he did look alert, and anything but naive. Sure as sure, he'd tried to get Grus away from the marines.

How desperate are they?
Grus wondered.
How much power have I really got?
Better to find out here and now. If they kept on trying to thwart him ...
I'll have to figure out what to do if they try that.

But they didn't. Before either Certhia or Lepturus could speak, King Lanius said, "Let it be as you wish. You know best what you require." His mother and the commander of the royal bodyguards both looked as though they wanted to say something more - Certhia bit her lip - but neither one did. They nodded at about the same time.

Well, well. Isn't that interesting?
Grus thought. Lanius wasn't of age, but his word carried weight. That was worth knowing. Grus bowed to him once more. "Thank you, Your Majesty. I appreciate it. These boys here" - he gestured to the marines - "have been through a lot with me."

"A commander should have loyal men," Lanius said. "So should a king."

His cheeks were still smooth, though the down on them was starting to turn dark. His voice remained a boy's treble. Even so, Grus got the feeling that this child-king was very clever indeed.
I'm going to have to watch myself.
But all he asked was, "Have my wife and son and daughter moved to the palace yet?"

"Oh, yes," Lepturus replied with a bland nod. "Royal bodyguards took care of that earlier this morning." He smiled. His words meant,
Your marines may watch you, but they can't be everywhere at once.

"Thank you so much," Grus said, as blandly.
If anything happens to them, you pay.

"I'm sure they'll be very comfortable there," Queen Certhia said.
For as long as we need you to do these things we can't do for ourselves,
she didn't add. Again, Grus had no trouble hearing it even so.
As soon as that's taken care of, we'll throw you out
-
if we decide to let you live, that is
-
and we'll throw them out, too.

"I'm looking forward to doing everything I can," Grus said.

For a wonder, King Lanius asked him a serious question. "How will you hold back Dagipert and the Thervings when Count Corvus couldn't?"

"I'd be a liar if I said I knew all the answers yet, Your Majesty," Grus replied. "The only thing I can promise is, I'll do my best not to let Dagipert or anybody else catch me napping."

"Good," Lanius said. His mother and Lepturus didn't seem to think it sounded quite so good. When Grus said he wouldn't let
anybody
catch him napping, he'd included them along with everyone else. Plainly, they'd understood that.

Lanius had wondered whether having a protector in the palace would be like having his father back again. He didn't remember King Mergus well; the older he got, the more he realized just how young he'd been when Mergus died. Grus didn't remind him of the dead king, or try to fill Mergus' - or even Lepturus' - place. He simply went about the business of trying to put Avornis back together again. Any kingdom that owed its survival only to the strong walls of its capital and to paying tribute needed rebuilding.

He wasted no time in summoning counts Corax and Corvus to the royal palace to account for themselves. He also summoned several other nobles close to the brothers. They all wasted no time in refusing him. Grus sent for them again, this time in King Lanius' name.

As Lanius signed the orders, he asked Grus, "Why didn't you summon them in my name in the first place?"

"Well, Your Majesty, if I'm the legal protector, my orders should be good on their own, shouldn't they?" the naval officer replied. "The other side of the coin is, if they refuse me, it's not quite treason. Now they've had that chance, and they've taken it when I wish they wouldn't have. So we give it another try, this time with your signature. Maybe it won't drive them into real rebellion. I hope it doesn't."

"Do you?" Lanius eyed him. "If you did, wouldn't you not summon them at all? Wouldn't you pretend nothing bad had happened?"

"Yes, I suppose I could do that, Your Majesty," Grus said. "But if I did, who'd be running Avornis? Would you? Would I? Or would Corvus and Corax be calling the shots? If I'm going to play this part, I'll play it to the hilt."

"All right," Lanius said. "That does make some sense. You're not doing it just because you don't get along with them." He raised an ironic eyebrow.

"Why, Your Majesty!" Grus said, eyes widening. "Would I do such a thing?"

"Probably," Lanius answered. "If people get to the top, one of the things they do is pay back their enemies."

He watched Grus watching him. Grus' mouth twitched. Anger? A suppressed smile? Lanius couldn't tell. At last, the commodore said, "No, you're no fool, are you?"

"I try not to be," Lanius answered. "I'm never going to be a big, strong man. If I don't use my head, what have I got going for me?"

"What? I'll tell you what. You're the king, that's what," Grus said.

"How long will I
stay
the king if I don't know what I'm doing?" Lanius returned. He felt himself flushing, and hoped Grus wouldn't see. "And even if I do stay king, what does it matter?"

Again, Grus thought before he spoke. When he did, he said, "The first part of that is a real question. As for the second, though, Your Majesty, being king matters a lot. Never doubt it. If it didn't, why would so many people want the job?"

Lanius considered that. It was his turn not to answer for a while. He finally said, "There's more to you than meets the eye, I believe. You think about these things."

"Who, me?" Grus shook his head. "Not a chance. I'm just a tool your mother picked up on account of it was handy. She'll use it till it does what she needs or till it breaks, whichever happens first. Then she'll get herself another tool, and use that instead. If you don't believe me, just ask her."

Lepturus presumed to be sardonic in Lanius' presence. So did his tutor. They both enjoyed an immunity based on long acquaintance. Grus didn't. He spoke his mind anyhow. He spoke it as though he didn't care what Lanius thought of him. Maybe he truly didn't. Maybe he wanted Lanius to think he didn't. The more Lanius saw of him, the deeper he seemed.

"What are you planning to do about the Thervings?" Lanius asked him. "That's why you're here, after all."

"Can't go fight'em in their country, not the way things are," Grus answered, and the king couldn't disagree. "I can - I hope I can - pick generals who're able to see past the end of their noses. And I can hold the city of Avornis, and King Dagipert knows I can, too. That means he can't conquer the kingdom, no matter how much trouble he makes. It's an edge for us."

"Yes." Lanius nodded. "You're no fool, either."

Grus only shrugged. "Like you said, I try not to be. If
you
don't think I am, Your Majesty, I take that for a compliment. And now, if you'll forgive me ..." He bowed and left Lanius' presence.

Before long, Queen Certhia came into Lanius' room. "Well, you suggested him," she said. "Now that he's here, what do you think of him?"

"There's more to him than meets the eye, isn't there?" Lanius said after some thought.

"Yes, and I don't know that I like it," his mother answered. "He's got a lot of his marines here inside the city of Avornis. They're behaving most correctly, but they're
here,
and that's a worry."

"Why?" Lanius said, and then, feeling the fool Grus had said he wasn't, "Oh." The walls of the capital could hold out Dagipert and the Thervings, yes. But they could also hold out anyone else who wanted - or needed - to get into the city of Avornis. That included soldiers who might need to come to the king's rescue. "Can Lepturus do anything about it?"

Certhia shook her head. "I don't think so. Grus' men outnumber the royal guards. This is Grus' city right now." Her mouth tightened. "I didn't intend for it to work out like that. He talks like a bumpkin, but he doesn't act like one. That makes him more dangerous than I thought he was."

"What are you going to do about it? What
can
you do about it?" Lanius asked.

His mother's lips got even thinner and paler than they had been. "I don't know, Son," she said. "I don't know that I can do anything, not when he has so many men here. Trying something and failing would be worse than not doing anything."

"Yes, I think you're right about that," Lanius agreed. "Best you don't try anything, then."

"Best I don't fail," Queen Certhia said.

Grus drummed his fingers on the table in front of him. He glared across the table at his son. Ortalis glared back. That meant nothing. Ortalis always seemed to glare. Grus said, "Son, I don't mind you bedding a serving girl. Boys do that, when they can. When I was your age, I got it wherever I could, too."