The Wizard (16 page)

"It was a scene of indescribable confusion," Idnn had told us the previous evening. "You can't understand what happened if you don't understand that. The torches had gone out, or most had. Sir Svon and Sir Garvaon were fighting the champions His Majesty had matched them against, and others, too, because others had joined the fight. Some were fighting each other, drunken quarrels and settling old scores. His Majesty straightened up as if in a fit. He threw his head back and shook. That's when we knew something was terribly wrong. He bent double, and we slid off his shoulder. A moment later he was lying at our feet. His minister came, and we supposed our screams had brought him, but he told us afterward that an Aelf had said our husband was in danger." Idnn paused, searching my face and Marder's. "He wasn't our husband then. Have we explained that?" "No!" The Knight of the Leopards could keep silence no longer. I said, "Proceed, please, Your Majesty." "It was horrible. Thiazi told us to look after him and disappeared. He'd gone to get people to help carry him into the castle, but we didn't know that. We stood beside him and shouted, trying to keep the rest from stepping on him. Our father came, and Thiazi with a litter and slaves to carry it. They were blindblind men, and we want to put a stop to it. But they were blind and it was dark and everyone yelling and fighting, and the blind men and Thiazi rolled him onto the litter and they carried him away, with us trying to guide them, and we thought he was dead." Gerda said gently, "You haven't eaten nothin', Queen Idnn, when that deer haunch is awfully good. And there's onions! Onions is a real treat up here." Idnn pecked at her food dutifully. Watching her, I wished I could paint. The rocks behind her caught the dying light, and she in her diamond diadem and black velvet, with Duke Marder's aged face to her right and the Knight of the Leopards in his leopard-skin pelisse to her left, would have made such a picture as artists dream of. Woddet whispered, "Are we going there?" "I believe I am," I replied. "I would not compel you." "If you go, I go." "And I," the Knight of the Leopards declared. Marder looked up from his plate. "We must comprehend the situation. Do you, Sir Able?" I shook my head, and Marder spoke to Idnn. "Do you know who struck the blow?" "No." Idnn laid aside the silver-mounted dagger she had produced when we sat down, a bite of venison still impaled on its point. "We were on his shoulder. Some of the ... of our folk were fighting, and he was commanding them to stop when he was stabbed from behind. It was dark, very dark, though a few torches were still lit." "That's the key," Marder said. "If we're to help you, Your Majestyand I for one will do everything in my powerwe must grasp it. Questions cannot but seem impertinent, yet I must ask them. Will you forgive me?" "Certainly." Idnn's fingers warred in her lap. "We must know, and I am a friend no matter what answer you make. Did you yourself stab him?" She looked up, her hands extended to the sunset clouds of purple and gold. "Lady of Skai, witness our innocence! If we have done this thing, strip us of all favor!" Slowly she lowered her hands, stared at the palms, and held them up to Marder. "We will not ask whether you've cut off a woman's hands, Your Grace. You have not, we're sure. But if our husband's blood is found on these, you may cut them off and welcome. Or have the headsman do it." Marder nodded. "I understand, Your Majesty. It had to be asked, though I expected no other reply. Another now, repellent as the first. Who do you think the assassin might be? I understand that you did not see the blow struck and can offer no proof. But have you no conjecture?" "None, Your Grace." From the other side of their fire, Hela gave me a significant look. "Sir knight?" "Yes." I cleared my throat. "Your Majesty, I must speak. Hela there knows all that I intend to tell you. Sir Woddet and Sir Leort know but a part, as do these others save His Grace, who knows nothing of it. Will you hear me out?" "Gladly," Idnn said, "if it will cast any light on our husband's misfortune." "It may cast more darkness," I told her. "I'm afraid it will. This chief minister, is he trustworthy?" Hela muttered, "Is anyone?" Bold Berthold rumbled, "My stepdaughter talks too much truth, Sir Able. You can trust me, but no Frost Giant can." Idnn nodded. "Just so. Our husband trusted Thiazi, and we would guess that he was right to do itThiazi wouldn't betray him. But he's a son of Angr's. We're a human woman." "He told you that one of the Aelf had told him King Gilling was in danger?" "So we said." "Then I believe I'll trust him in that, at least. An Aelfmaiden came to tell me that her sister had stabbed the king. I told Sir Woddet, Sir Leort, and some others, though I didn't tell them that this woman is of the Fire Aelf. Her name's Uri, and I know her pretty well. Her sister's name is Baki. I know her too." Hope shone in Idnn's eyes. "This is news indeed!" "If it's true. I don't trust it." Marder shook his head ruefully. "Coming from the Aelf? Neither would I." He turned to Idnn. "A new question, Your Majesty. Can the king speak?" "When we left him, no." "Then we cannot know whom he believes struck him down, though that would be a most useful thing to know. What of this Thiazi? What does he say?" "That it was one of our people, one of the Angrborn. There were rebellions when my royal husband ascended to the throne, which a dozen claimed. Most of his reign has been spent putting them down. Thiazi believes a rebel has tried to win by stealth what he could not win by war." The Knight of the Leopards said, "What of you? What do you believe?" Idnn sighed. "Let us say first that Thiazi's an adept. His art confirms his opinion, thus we give it great weight." "Lying spirits," Marder muttered. The Knight of the Leopards would have spoken, but was silenced by Idnn's upraised hand. "Second we must tell you, Sir Able, that we, too, have been visited by a messenger. We'll speak of that when we're alone. "Third we should tell all of you that our noble father believes that one of our party struck down our husband. He's loath to say it, but he's our father and we know it's what he believes. He's sick with worry, and we must give weight to his opinion. Our father's a knowing man of wide experience, and an adept himself." Idnn paused to smile at me. "Lastly, we must give some weight to what Sir Able told us. We'd give it more if he gave it more himself." "As for me," Marder said, "I give most weight to your own opinion. We have what? The Aelf, the Angrborn, and Lord Beel's folk. Which do you favor?" Idnn sighed. "None. Weit's one reason we fled." "We will give you escort to your father's castle or to King Arnthorwherever you wish to go." Idnn's eyes flashed. "Do you imagine that we'd abandon our wounded husband? Never! We come in search of aid for him, for knights with the courage to ride to Utgard. Will you come, Sir Able? If you'll come he will live and we triumph. We know it!" "I can't," I said, " 'til there is ice in the Bay of Forcetti. Until then, I have to hold this pass. I'm sorry." Marder's hard blue eyes searched my face. "What if I release you?" "I'd go, of course, Your Grace. Do you?" Marder shook his head. "I'd intended to when I came hereit was part of my purpose. Now I must hear more." "Then ask," Idnn told him. "Have you any notion how hard we've ridden these past days? Or the dangers we've escaped? For Sir Able alone we'd talk all night." "He will not be alone," Sir Woddet told her. The Knight of the Leopards: "Sir Able holds my parole. If he frees me, I'll go with him. If he won't free me, I must go with him." Hela said softly, "My master has no men-at-arms save my brother, and not a bow save his own. Those the Black Knight brought outnumber good Sir Woddet's and Sir Leort's together. What does the Black Knight say?" Idnn chewed and swallowed. "That he must hear more. Your Grace, we're learning how famished we are. Ask, and let us eat, and when you're done we'll lay aside our meat." "Your Majesty, it was not my intent" "After that we'll sleep, for we've slept in our saddle these past three nights, and once we fell for sleeping. At sunrise we'll ride north again. Alone if need be." "We need to speak of that, perhaps." Marder sipped his wine. "Sir Woddet and Sir Leort honor their paroles. I've given none, Sir Able, yet you have not bound me. I give you mine now. I shall remain your prisoner until my ransom is paid, set it as high as you will. Is that sufficient?" I nodded. "It is, Your Grace, and if you'll free me from my vow, that'll be ransom enough." Marder shook his head. "I want to know more. There's Sir Leort's question and some of my own. Your Majesty, how did you come to wed King Gilling? Why did you undertake so arduous a journey?" The blade of Idnn's dagger paused halfway to her mouth. "Brave Sir Leort, you must pardon us. We had forgotten." "I withdraw my question," the Knight of the Leopards said hastily, "and I regret most heartily any pain it has given you." Marder said, "Yet we must have an answer. You wanted all my questions, Your Majesty, and now I have another. You cannot name the assassin. Still, it would give you pain even to voice your opinion. Why is that?" Idnn laid down her fork. "Because so many innocent men may die. You have not been to Utgard, Your Grace?" Marder shook his head. "No. Never." "Our folk take slaves from the kingdoms to the south." Idnn's voice grew gentle. "This old couple we seethe woman is chained. Were they slaves in Jotunland?" "I don't speak proper for a queen," Berthold rumbled, "but you've the right of that." Gerda whispered urgently, and he added, "Your Majesty's got the right of it." "They blinded you, goodman?" "Took my eyes. So they done." "We have hundreds like him in Utgard," Idnn told Marder, "though all are younger and most much younger. It was dark, as we told you, but what is darkness to a blind man? And who had better reason to hate my royal husband?" "I should not have pressed you for an answer," Marder confessed. "Let us talk no more of this. If the Angrborn came to think as you do, they would slaughter every man. Do all of you who heard Queen Idnn understand?" "We'll say nothing," Woddet assured him; others nodded. "We may be wrong," Idnn whispered. "We hopeoh, how we hope!we're wrong." She paused to collect herself. "We slid from His Majesty's shoulder, as we said. We'd had Mani, but we must have dropped him. We carried His Majesty into the keep, where there were a few lights, and some slave women came with lanterns. We didn't know how badly he was hurt. We didn't even know whether he was still alive, and his blood was crawling everywhere." I asked, "Where's his wound?" "In his back." Idnn laid aside her trencher and rose, and we with her; I had forgotten how small she was, and shuddered when I tried to imagine her in a crowd of fighting, veiling giants. "Would you Hela, is that your name?" "Your Majesty's servant. Perhaps it would be more convenient for Your Majesty if I knelt?" "No, stand. Stand, and turn your back to them." Hela did. Rising on tiptoe, Idnn pushed aside the ragged hide Hela wore to show the place. "On the right," I said, "under the shoulder blade?" "Yes, that's it. That's it exactly." Marder said, "Struck from behind by a right-handed foe. If one of us held the dagger, he'd have to be a tall man." "A very tall man, with a dagger," I said. "I've never seen King Gilling, but I've seen Angrborn, and stabbed a few. They're much bigger than Hela." Woddet said, "He could've been standing on something." Marder shook his head. "Not likely." "And yet," I said, "Lord Beel, who was there, fears it was one of his party. He joined you, Your Majesty, while you were guarding the fallen king?" Idnn nodded. "He was with you, when you carried the king inside?" "Of course. Our husband was talking then. He'd only been moaning before. He asked our father and Thiazi who had struck him. Our father said he didn't know, and Thiazi that he'd been stabbed by some rebel. We carried him upstairs after thatthe slaves did, but we went with them. He was coughing blood, and each time he coughed I thought he was going to die. It was horrible. We were walking behind his litter then, and there'd be great clots of blood. They . . ." Abruptly, Idnn sat again, and Marder, Woddet, the Knight of the Leopards, Blind Berthold and Gerda, Hela and Heimir, Uns and I resumed our places as well, permitted by her nod. "We were going to tell you they seemed alive," Idnn said weakly, "but that wasn't really how it was. They were dying. Likelike jellyfish. Did we tell you we'd bandaged him? We had, and there wasn't much blood from his wound, but he kept coughing and coughing." Marder said, "A sucking wound," and I nodded. "We got him into bed, all the slaves and Thiazi and our father and we. He said to bar the doors of the castle, you understand. He was afraid the person who'd stabbed him would come in and . . . Finish. That was what he said. Finish. "Thiazi went to see they were barred; the knights had followed our father in. Sir S-Svon and Sir Garvaon. They'd killed Skeol before the king was struck, and after that had just been trying to save their lives. They'd come up with him, with Masterwith Master Papounce and others of our father's folk. Some were hurt, and we bandaged them." I drank the last of my wine, poured out the lees, and put aside my flagon. "You wish us to return to Utgard with you. I will if I can, but maybe it'd be good for you to tell us about it. What can we do?" Idnn raised her head. "Our father talked to our husband while Thiazi was gone. We were there and heard it, but took no part. He began by asking our husband whom he could trust, and when our husband said he could trust only Thiazi, our father assured him that he could trust us, saying we had been sent in friendship by our king and would never betray him. "Our husband was grateful. He was weak, you understand. Very weak, but he thanked our father over and over. Then our father reminded him that Thiazi's magic had said the throne would stand secure if he took you into his service." She looked at Marder, Woddet, and the Knight of the Leopards. "We don't think you know about that, but it did. Thiazi recited spells and looked into his crystal, and a spirit there said the king must get Sir Able to fight for him or lose his throne. He and Thiazi had told our father, and our father reminded him of it." Marder asked whether the king had agreed. "Oh, yes." Idnn drew her black velvet cloak about her more tightly; the sun had vanished behind the mountains of the west, and the wind promised snow. "He wanted our father to send for you, and our father promised he would." "No one has come," Woddet said. "We have come. We wed His Majesty next day. It seemed to uswe mean to our husband, our father, and wethat it would be best if the ceremony