The Phoenix Guards (40 page)
Read The Phoenix Guards Online
Authors: Steven Brust
Adron and Aerich looked at each other, then, as if with a single thought, looked at Garland, who, brave though he was, stood trembling like a Teckla. Suddenly he turned and bolted away from them back toward the southwestern path down from the plateau.
“And him?” said Adron.
Aerich shrugged. “Let him go, Your Highness. His mission has failed, let him survive Seodra’s wrath as best he may.”
“Very well,” said Adron. “So be it.”
These worthies studied the body of Shaltre as if it would tell them something. Then Aerich’s head rose, and he looked as someone will who, without being aware of it, has for years been walking with his back slightly bent; when he suddenly straightens up. He reached into his pocket, took out his crochet work, and held it up. “The Arylle coat of arms,” he said. “And it is almost completed.”
When Garland was out of sight, Khaavren turned back to Lord Adron and said, “We must write out the terms of the treaty, and your Highness may endorse them on the understanding that His Majesty must ratify them, or that they will become official if you are granted the estate of the Pepperfields. You must have a scribe.”
“It will be seen to,” said Adron. “To that end, let us rejoin my troops, who are, no doubt, awaiting anxiously to hear what has befallen us.”
“Yes,” said Aerich. “Let us go.”
Aerich seemed to have changed after his encounter with Count Shaltre; his eyes were alive, his head was high, and all traces of his melancholy disposition seemed to have vanished. He and Khaavren embraced. Khaavren said, “I am delighted for you, Duke,” and sighed.
“Well, I accept your compliments, and do you, in your turn, accept mine, for you have well served the Empire today.”
Khaavren sighed again.
“Khaavren,” said Pel, “accept my compliments as well; what you have done here is nothing short of miraculous.”
Khaavren sighed for the third time.
Tazendra said, “Excuse me, Khaavren, but you seem unhappy, and I am at a loss to know why. Are you, like me, annoyed that we were not able to die gloriously?”
“Not that; I am unhappy because we have survived.”
“Well, and what is wrong with that?”
“Ah,” said Aerich, “he is right.”
“I had forgotten,” said Pel.
“Oh,” said Kathana.
“Ah, now I recall,” said Tazendra, and, one at a time, they turned their glances toward Uttrik.
The Dragonlord shook his head. “No, you have nothing to fear. Perhaps it dishonors me, but, if so, I will live with it, for, after what we have been through together, I declare that I would sooner jump from some of these cliffs than to cross swords with someone whom I love and revere as I do Kathana, and the rest of you as well.”
“So,” said the baroness, “we need not fight?”
“I have said so, and now I repeat it. For my part, we are no longer enemies.”
And, for the first time in many days, Khaavren felt a smile growing on his face, while such pleasure ran through him that he felt like shouting for joy. “And I assure you I shall not arrest you, either,” he said. “So my love will still love me, and, as for the Empire, well, I think I have done enough to-day that the Emperor cannot complain about such a small thing.”
“He will have no need,” said Kathana, “for I will surrender myself, and I will ask for pardon. If you, Uttrik, will speak for me, well, he cannot fail to grant it.”
“We will all speak for you,” said Aerich. “And I believe I can say as much for Lord Adron as well.”
“But, are we not forgetting the true hero of the day?” said Khaavren.
“Ah,” said Uttrik. “You are right; our clever Mica, who overhears conversations so well.”
“Oh,” said Mica, blushing, “It was very little. In fact,” he added with a sly glance at Aerich, “it was less than perhaps you think it was.”
“Well,” said Tazendra, “you heard what Garland and Shaltre said to His Highness, and were thus able to warn us.”
“That is true,” said Mica. “I heard all of that, and I told you all that I heard. But I must confess that I heard nothing beyond that.”
“What?” said Kathana, smiling. “You pretend you didn’t hear what Count Shaltre said to Lord Garland, so that you then went and told Aerich?”
“Not at all. I tried to, but I couldn’t get close enough; that is what I told him.”
Khaavren turned to Aerich, “Do you mean you lied, my friend?”
“I?” said Aerich. “Not at all. I never said that Mica had overheard the conversation, I merely pointed out that no one ever thinks about whether a Teckla might overhear what he says, which is an entirely different thing, I assure you.”
“And yet,” Khaavren persisted, “you claimed to know what they said to each other.”
“Oh, as to that, well, I did.”
“But if Mica didn’t overhear them—”
“It was not necessary that he overhear them,” said Aerich. “Because, some time ago, Pel happened to overhear a conversation between Count Shaltre and Captain G’aereth, and he recently related to me the substance of that conversation.”
“Well,” said Khaavren, “I remember the occasion; it was the day upon which we joined the guards, was it not?”
“Your memory is excellent, my dear Khaavren.”
“Well, then, what was said?”
“It was simple enough,” said Pel. “Shaltre explained to our Captain that it was the desire of the Emperor that Kathana not be arrested.”
“Well,” said Khaavren, “then it is just as well he didn’t know the real purpose of our journey.”
“That may be,” said Pel. “But that is not the end of the matter.”
“Well, and?”
“I discovered, before we left, that Shaltre must have been lying, because it became clear that it was the Consort who wanted Kathana to remain free.”
“Well, not only the Consort,” said Khaavren.
“No, but it was only the Consort who was acting out of friendship. Everyone else was acting to advance his own interests by being the one who eventually killed or arrested Kathana, in the hopes that this would put him into the graces of His Majesty, especially if the arrest could be contrived to be both public and spectacular.”
“That may be,” said Khaavren, thinking uncomfortably of Illista.
“In any case,” continued Pel, “it was clear that His Majesty had no such opinion; on the contrary, he desired that the Baroness be arrested as quickly as possible, and was even vexed with Lanmarea that she was still at large.”
“Go on, Pel,” said Khaavren, “for I must say this conversation interests me exceedingly.”
“You have now heard the whole of it, for my part.”
“Well, and you, Duke, will you tell me the rest?”
“Only,” said the Lyorn, “on the condition that you continue to call me Aerich.”
“Very well, I submit.”
“Then I will tell you.”
“I am waiting most anxiously.”
“Here it is, then: knowing that Shaltre was lying, I was able to form certain conclusions about why he was lying, and I presented these to him, and, as you saw, he confirmed my guesses by his reaction.”
“And that is the entire affair?”
“That is all.”
“But then, if he had not attacked you?”
“In that case,” said Aerich, “I should have been embarrassed.”
“Blood of the Horse,” said Khaavren.
In Which the Reader Will, No Doubt,
Be As Surprised As Our Heroes
to Learn That All is Not Over
Be As Surprised As Our Heroes
to Learn That All is Not Over
“M
Y FRIENDS,” SAID LORD ADRON “it is my great hope that you will return with me to my home to allow me to bestow upon you the honors you have earned.” They were, at this time, alone on the field once more, for Lord Adron’s troops had been directed back home by Sudi, Adron’s lieutenant, and the Easterners had withdrawn, taking with them, Khaavren noticed, the corpse of the poor horse, which Crionofenarr had caused, with much difficulty, to be loaded onto one of the wains that had been in the rear of the army.
Y FRIENDS,” SAID LORD ADRON “it is my great hope that you will return with me to my home to allow me to bestow upon you the honors you have earned.” They were, at this time, alone on the field once more, for Lord Adron’s troops had been directed back home by Sudi, Adron’s lieutenant, and the Easterners had withdrawn, taking with them, Khaavren noticed, the corpse of the poor horse, which Crionofenarr had caused, with much difficulty, to be loaded onto one of the wains that had been in the rear of the army.
“On the contrary,” said Aerich in response to Adron’s proposals. “Allow me to suggest that Your Highness return with us to the city, where we will intercede with you before the court.”
“He is right,” declared Pel. “For, if we have been fortunate enough to have gained some notoriety here, well, it is entirely at Your Highness’s disposal.”
“And, moreover,” said Kathana, “I am going back to surrender myself to the court, and the company of Your Highness would please me immensely.”
“I should also say,” added Khaavren, “that we ought to hurry, for I think it would be well if we could arrive before Lord Garland, who might endeavor to poison the ears of His Majesty against us.”
“All of this is well thought,” said Adron. “Only I have been exiled by His Majesty, and it would be wrong of me to return.”
“Ah, I had not understood that,” said Aerich, who was well-acquainted with propriety in all situations. “That is another matter, and I entirely agree with Your Highness.”
“In that case,” said Khaavren, “we will return and do what we can for Your Highness.”
“Well,” said Tazendra, who was beginning to recover from her annoyance at not dying gloriously, and was now looking proudly about the field, “I think we should have built up some small degree of credit.”
“And yet,” said Uttrik, “I am worried that—but stay a moment. Tazendra, what is it that your lackey is holding?”
“Eh? Why, yes. What are holding, Mica?”
“A letter, my lady.”
“A letter?”
“So it seems to be.”
“And to whom is it addressed?”
“To Lord Adron,” said the clever Teckla, who had learned his ciphers sometime during his early career, a fact which even Aerich did not hold against him.
“How?” said Adron. “A letter for me?”
“So it seems to be, Your Highness.”
“From whom?”
“As to that, I have no idea, Your Highness.”
“But,” said Khaavren, “where did you find it?”
“In Lord Garland’s pouch, which he left behind him after it was cut from his waist by Count Shaltre.”
“What is this,” said Tazendra sternly. “You have looked through the gentleman’s pouch?”
“Yes, exactly, my lady,” said Mica complacently. “There is no crime in that, for I am not a gentleman.”
“That is true,” said Aerich, after which he murmured, “This notion of Tazendra’s lackey, will, in time, get entirely out of hand; I must mention it to her.”
“And there was a letter for me in it?” said Adron.
“Yes, and the proof is, here is the letter.”
Mica handed the letter to Tazendra to give to His Highness, which she promptly did, but only after glancing at the seal. “Why, faith,” she said, “it is from His Majesty.”
“His Majesty?” said Adron. “Garland had a letter for me from His Majesty which he failed to give to me?”
“I think,” said Aerich to Pel, “that it will go hard with Garland when this is communicated to His Majesty.”
“And when it is communicated to Seodra,” said Pel.
Adron broke the seal and read the letter, then read it a second time, and even a third time. When he began to read it a fourth time, Khaavren said to Tazendra, “I nearly think His Highness is startled.”
Adron, who happened to overhear this remark, said, “Well, I am. Look, His Majesty not only forgives me, but apologizes to me; it is remarkable.”
Pel said, “If this letter was to be given to Your Highness by Garland, and if Garland is Seodra’s creature, well, I am not surprised that he was slow in giving it.”
“Well,” said Adron with a shrug, “I have it now.”
“And will Your Highness,” asked Aerich politely, “condescend to accompany us back to the city?”
“I will,” said Adron, “for I think that there are events stirring of which I ought to be a part, and I accompany you the more gladly because of the esteem in which I hold you.”
“Well, then,” said Khaavren, “it remains for us to find another horse. The one Mica has been riding will do for me, and I will happily surrender mine to His Highness, but, unless we wish to leave our servant in the dust, we had best procure another.”
Uttrik said, “There is a post-station a short distance down the mountain which, as it is maintained by the Empire rather than by the Marquis, ought to still be manned.”
“It will be enough,” said Tazendra, “if it is horsed.”
There was nothing to say after this profound observation, so they set off across the field, walking their horses, and in this way arrived at the post, where Aerich showed the Captain’s letter to the officer. In this way they procured the additional horse, which was, in fact, such a fine animal that Adron took it, after which they continued back the way they had come, returning to Mount Bli’aard and Bengloarafurd. We should note that certain of the residents seemed surprised to see His Highness happily riding knee-to-knee with individuals whom he had proscribed and condemned a week before, but no one said anything, presumably attributing this change in attitude to the right of princes to be as capricious as they wished.
When they neared The Painted Sign, they stopped their horses, as if by a common thought, and looked over the site of the battle. Lord Adron took his hat off out of respect, and studied the grounds. “I perceive the marks of a flash-stone,” he said, pointing to a place above the hill.
“That was mine, I believe,” said Pel. “It seems to have scored the rock upon which Mica was stationed, and where he delivered the famous blow to the head of one our attackers. The Horse, but I think he nearly cracked the scoundrel’s skull for him, which was no more than he deserved.”
Mica shivered with pleasure at the honor he had been paid by this reference to his deed, while Khaavren looked the other way along the path and said, “There, that is the tree we used for a rear-guard, Uttrik and Aerich and I. In faith, I had thought it rather larger than that.”
“It was large enough,” said Aerich.
“I wish I had been with you,” sighed Kathana.
“As do I,” said Adron.
“Bah,” said Tazendra. “It would no longer have been fair. Besides, Aerich would have then required us make a frontal assault, and, in faith, well, some of us might have been injured.”
“You are not far wrong,” said Aerich, and they continued on their way.
They stopped at The Painted Sign to enjoy a repast and for Lord Adron to consider if he ought to return to Redface for any reason, or whether it was enough to write to his steward about his plans. They were treated quite royally by the host, who very rarely had to do with an Heir at his inn, so the wines were all back-of-the-cellar and the meats were prepared with especial care. Lord Adron, in between eating and thinking, which activities he was, in any case, accustomed to perform together, told the host and anyone else who would listen of the recent exploits of his traveling companions,
which caused Aerich to shrug, Pel to smile, Khaavren to blush, Kathana to consider more closely her food, Uttrik to look nervous, Tazendra to look haughty, and Mica to positively glow.
which caused Aerich to shrug, Pel to smile, Khaavren to blush, Kathana to consider more closely her food, Uttrik to look nervous, Tazendra to look haughty, and Mica to positively glow.
Adron had come to the decision to write, and was on the point of calling for pen, ink, parchment, and blotter, when he was interrupted by the arrival of a small girl, who did him a courtesy, placed a scrap of paper in his hand, and dashed off without waiting for a reply.
Adron frowned and said, “Well, that is peculiar.”
“How peculiar?” said Tazendra, who had been so intent on her meal that she had not noticed the arrival of the messenger. “It is merely a duck which has been covered with wild plums before being baked like a loaf of bread. For my part, I find it excellent.”
“How?” said Pel, ignoring Tazendra. “Your Highness doesn’t know this messenger?”
“Not the least in the world.”
“Then she was merely a messenger,” suggested Khaavren.
“But from whom, and for what? For, you perceive, we have not been here so long that my presence could have become generally known; not, at any rate, at the fort.” Such was the way, we should point out, that Adron always referred to his home. “Nor, certainly,” he added, “to the Empire.”
“Well,” said Kathana, “perhaps if Your Highness would read the message, it would explain.”
“Perhaps not, too,” said Pel.
“I will read it,” said Adron.
“We shall await Your Highness,” said Pel.
“I shall do more than wait,” said Khaavren, “I shall eat this famous duck, and at the same time, I declare that I shall tear off pieces of this heavy, dark bread and allow these pieces to absorb the sauce, and then eat them along with it.”
“And,” added Uttrik, “if you will drink from some of these five bottles of Furnia wine which we have ordered to accompany our repast, I think the time will go all the more quickly.”
“You are wisdom incarnate,” said Khaavren. “I tell you so.”
As Adron read the letter, his frown deepened, and he said, “What nonsense is this?”
He held out the note to Aerich, who took it and said, “Does Your Highness desire me to read this?”
“Yes, yes,” said Adron, impatiently. “Read it aloud, and tell me what you think.”
“Very well, Your Highness,” said Aerich, and he first studied the almost impossibly elegant handwriting, then read: “Your Highness ought to return home directly if he wishes to have his daughter presented to him.”
“Well,” said Khaavren, “that is clear enough, I think.”
“Not at all,” said Adron. “For I have no daughter.”
“Perhaps none you know about,” said Tazendra carelessly, then realized what she had said and blushed deeply, while Aerich gave her a look full of reproach.
Adron, however, did not appear to notice the blunder, so engrossed was he in contemplation. “It is impossible,” he said, “for I have not—ah.”
At this word, the others, who did not dare to say anything, looked at each other significantly. “Well,” he amended, “it is not altogether impossible, yet, for such a thing to be—” His voice trailed off, and Khaavren would have sworn that he was trembling as if from some great emotion.
We should say here that certain discoveries in the High Art which provide safeguards that are common today were less common then, although they were available, thus the existence of bastards and even half-breeds was not unknown. However, the stigma which such unfortunates must suffer today was in existence even then, though perhaps with less vigor. Still, it should be said that any gentleman who was informed, especially publicly, of the existence of a child whose birth he didn’t expect was almost certain to feel embarrassment to a greater or lesser degree; yet, to judge by Adron’s countenance, the emotion he was feeling had less of embarrassment or shame about it and more of excitement or wonder, which reaction did not escape Khaavren’s notice.
“Well, then,” said Pel. “What are Your Highness’s wishes?”
“My wishes?” said Adron, frowning. “It seems that, in all cases, I must return to the fort.”
“I assure Your Highness,” said Aerich, “that we are entirely at your service, should you wish us to accompany you.”
“Oh, as to that,” said Adron. “I think you had best return to the city with all speed, and, when you appear before His Majesty, as I have no doubt you will, you must inform him that I have been delayed by unusual circumstances and will return as soon as it is possible to do so, and will then present myself before him.”
“We will fulfill your commission with the greatest pleasure,” said Aerich.
“And at once, too,” said Tazendra, “for, in faith, I am taken with the desire to see the city again.”
“And I, also,” said Kathana. “For if I am to stand to trial before His Majesty, well, I should like it to be finished sooner rather than later.”
“In that case,” said Adron, “we will part at once. Yet I think we will see each other again, and I assure you that I hold you all in the highest esteem.”
“Your Highness does us too much honor,” said Aerich.
“Not at all,” said Adron.
“Then let us be off,” said Pel and Uttrik together.
They settled up with the host, which honor Adron insisted upon for himself, even over the protestations of the host, who wished to have for himself the honor of providing the Heir’s repast, and afterward they caused
their horses to be saddled and brought to the yard. Then, with only a few more words, they took their separate ways: Adron back to Redface, the others toward the city.
their horses to be saddled and brought to the yard. Then, with only a few more words, they took their separate ways: Adron back to Redface, the others toward the city.
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