by Amanda Fleet
“Because I alone have had them and I cannot make full sense of them.”
Faran rubbed a hand through his hair, leaving it in spikes. “Do you see anything else?”
“No. My dearest Lady Aeron, I do not want to distress you, and please do not think of me as anything other than your friend.”
I snorted. “Mathas, you told the Council that I’ll be a traitor if I go Outside. Three people have already tried to kill me since my return. How many more will now try, and use protection of The Realm as their defence? Those don’t seem to be the actions of a friend.”
He reached over and grasped my hand. “Lady Aeron, I will always be a friend in whom you can place the highest trust. But I cannot lie about what I see. I hope that my words have not endangered you too much. But I had to speak.” He stood and bowed to us both. “Forgive me, but I must return to work.”
I waited until he’d gone before speaking. “Faran, I have to go Outside if it means your life is saved.”
He turned cautious eyes to me. “Only Lilja and Steen see that.”
“I know. But Lilja also says that Aegyir has moved. If I went Outside, I could find him easily through the newspapers and the internet, whereas even if you could read the script Outside, you don’t have enough vocabulary to understand it. I could go Outside, find out where Aegyir is and come back. I have the talisman. Even if Aegyir attacked me, he couldn’t make me his vassal.”
“Father won’t be happy that you have his talisman.”
“I didn’t choose to have it.”
“You think that will make a difference to him?”
“We have to go and talk to him.
He stared at me. “I’m not sure Father will listen. Or that you going to talk to him, wearing his talisman, is a wise move.”
I pushed past him to the door. “Do you know where he is?”
Faran hurried after me. “Yes. He’s training with Lord Balwen. He will not want to be disturbed.”
I marched down the hallways.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to talk to him?” said Faran, keeping pace with me. “Alone.”
We reached the training quarter, and I scoured the room codes. Lord Eredan almost always trained in room A1.
“Is this the room?” I said.
Faran nodded hesitantly. Before either he could stop me or I changed my mind, I banged on the door.
“Enter!” barked Lord Eredan from within.
I sucked in a deep breath, squared my shoulders and went in. Lord Eredan’s brows shot up. Lord Balwen bowed uncertainly.
“Lord Eredan, I must speak with you. Urgently.” I glanced at Lord Balwen. Cerewen was his son. Should he stay? I didn’t much want to have this discussion with Lord Eredan, never mind more of my enemies. “In private.”
Lord Eredan’s brows crept higher and his gaze switched to his son.
“Lord Father, we would appreciate your time,” said Faran, sounding far more respectful than I had.
Lord Eredan turned to me, then flicked his hand at Lord Balwen. “Thank you, Balwen. I’ll talk to you later.”
As soon as the door closed, Lord Eredan looked at Faran. “Your idea to interrupt my training?”
Faran glanced at me, exasperated. “Entirely hers, Lord Father.”
An expression of approval danced across Lord Eredan’s features. It didn’t last. His eyes flicked to my throat, and he strode over and grabbed my hair, wrenching my head back. “Who gave you this? Did you steal it?”
“No. I was given it by one of the Seers.”
“Which one?”
I swallowed, unwilling to answer. Lord Eredan wrenched my head back, and I yelped.
“Who? he growled.
I held my tongue and Lord Eredan forced my head back so far, I thought he’d break my neck. “Lilja,” I croaked.
He released me with a shove. “I will speak to Mathas. She’s his responsibility. What did you need to talk to me about? To confess to having the talisman?”
“Sort of,” I said, wondering if I’d made a huge error of judgement, choosing to come and tell him. “Some of the junior Seers have had visions about the mission Outside.”
Lord Eredan flicked a towel down from a high hook and dabbed at the back of his neck. “And?”
I told him what Lilja had seen.
“Lord Eredan, I’m requesting that I go Outside and get intelligence on Aegyir.”
“Despite Mathas’s words?”
“I would be protected by the talisman.”
He half laughed. “So you intend to keep my property?”
I swallowed. “With your permission.”
“And why would I give you that?”
Faran rubbed the back of his hair, concerned. My armpits were damp with sweat.
“To protect your son. And The Realm.”
He studied me silently. “The Council will discuss this. You’ve been working on hand-to-hand combat?”
We both nodded warily.
“Well, since you disturbed my training session with Lord Balwen, I will continue with you two. Lady Aeron. Try to leave the room. Faran and I will stop you.”
I prayed that the skills that had flooded back to me wouldn’t suddenly desert me. Faran fetched protective gear from the cupboard and looked across at his father.
“Lord Father? Do you want a guard?”
Lord Eredan’s lip curled. I hoped he would rue the decision.
All of us were bleeding within a few minutes – me from a split lip, Lord Eredan from split knuckles and Faran from his nose – but I reached the door and opened it, then walked back to the middle of the room as Lord Eredan slow-clapped.
“It seems as if you’ve learned a lot today.”
Faran wiped at his nose. I sucked a bead of blood from my lip and faced the two of them. “Same again?”
“No. This time your goal is to fell both of us, not just escape.”
I got Faran pinned down sooner than I expected. Lord Eredan came at me and I jabbed back with my foot, catching him in the middle of his thigh. Within seconds, he had me by the neck of my top and had slammed me into the wall. His first punch made me double up. The second almost took my head off.
“Father…”
Lord Eredan hit me a third time and stars spotted my vision.
“Father!”
From the corner of my eye I saw Faran rise. I headbutted Lord Eredan and brought my knee up as hard as I could. As he doubled over, I kicked him in the head with venom. He sprawled to the floor and my boot connected with his ribs. Hard.
I drew my leg back to kick him in the head again but Faran caught hold of me, shooting urgent looks and pulling me back. I almost wrenched free of him but he twisted my arm up behind my back and yanked me against his chest, making me yelp. Lord Eredan rose slowly, his eyes full of murderous rage. Faran still held me back. The fire in me subsided, and I realised with horror that if Faran hadn’t pinned me against him, I’d have committed treason.
Lord Eredan stalked towards me, scanning Faran’s grip on me. “Good. You may even survive Aegyir if you fight like that. Assuming you’re not the traitor we all believe you to be.” His gaze shifted upwards. “As for you… The State Rooms. Now.”
Faran released me slowly. “Aeron, go and wait for me in our rooms.”
He pressed a pot of salve into my hands and followed his father.
I did as I was told and headed to our rooms to apply the magic ointment to the worst of my injuries. As I sat on the sofa, waiting for the pain to subside, I wondered if losing my temper with Lord Eredan had just signed my death warrant. Was I about to be frog-marched down to the cells? Had I finally regained enough skill to survive Aegyir long enough for him to be dispatched, only to be hanged before he even arrived? I screwed the top back on the pot, staring at the swirling pattern, regrets pounding me one after another.
I was still staring at the pot when the outer door opened and Faran arrived.
“What happened?” I asked as he sat next to me.
; Faran rubbed his forehead. “We exchanged words.” He thrust his chin at the pot in my hand. “I need salve.”
He stripped his top off, revealing a torso covered in angry marks from the training session. I unfastened the pot again and scooped some salve on to my finger. “And?”
“Ah!” His breath whistled as he healed. I smoothed a little more salve on his bruises. “There will be a Council meeting soon to decide what to do.”
He clenched his fists, his breathing ragged as the marks on his back began to subside. I rubbed a little more cream on him, watching his muscles flex. “What did he say about me?”
Faran met my eye carefully. “He wasn’t guarded in his speech and I’m not sure you want to know.”
I tilted my head. “That I’m a traitorous slut who’ll betray you and The Realm and that you should divorce me?”
He leaned back, nodding. “And that I should give you a good hiding. Try to beat some obedience into you.” He caught my fingers gently, twining them in his. “He’ll come around. When Aegyir is defeated, and he’s seen you defend The Realm, he’ll believe in you again. You were a favourite of his when we first married. He relished the fact that you challenged him and didn’t fear him. He loved you like the daughter he didn’t have.”
I said nothing for a moment then blew my cheeks out. “One can but hope.” I pulled the neck of my shirt open and sniffed. “Am I needed for the Council meeting? If not, I need a shower.”
He pulled his top back on and tucked it into his trousers. “No. The Scouts have some papers for you to read before the Council meeting. I’m to discuss the mission Outside with Lord Sondan, Cerewen and my father. You’re to stay out of trouble!”
“Will you tell Lord Sondan and Cerewen what Lilja has seen? Or any of the other stuff that Mathas saw?”
“I’ll tell them what Lilja and Steen saw. I won’t tell them that Mathas sees you killing me!”
I swallowed. “I genuinely can’t imagine doing that to you. Will Lord Sondan and Cerewen ask not to go?”
Faran laughed. “No. No more than I could ask not to go. It’s our duty.”
“Even if your deaths are predicted?”
“By two junior Seers. With no backing from the Senior Seer.”
I scratched the back of my neck, the cord from the talisman irritating me. “If I can’t go Outside, will your father get Lilja to take this off me and give it to you?”
“He would have already, but Lilja has disappeared.”
Was that why she’d scarpered? I didn’t know whether to be pleased or furious with her. But, I had the talisman, and all the people who would say I couldn’t go Outside would be bickering in the Council meeting. I’d have several hours Outside and could still be back before the Council meeting closed.
“We’re attending the first sitting of dinner with my parents tonight,” said Faran, scrutinising me.
My heart sank. “Oh. Great. They both hate me. You do know that, don’t you?”
“Yep. To my father you’re the woman who tried to destroy his Realm and who may betray it again; to Mother you’re the woman who broke her son’s heart.”
“So why are we having dinner with them?”
A smile tweaked the corner of his mouth. “So that they see you as the woman who is perfect to stand at the helm with me when the time comes.”
“Faran, I’m amazed and somewhat in awe of your ability to abandon reality and live in fantasy-land. You don’t even think that.”
“I think that you’re the only woman that I’ll want to have by me.”
“Ah. Ever the diplomat. That isn’t the same thing at all!”
18
Lord Eredan summoned us to join him, Lord Sondan, Cerewen and Aned in the State Rooms. The Guardians sat at the long conference table. Aned stood to one side, holding a bundle of newspapers, and Mathas sat towards the back of the group. Aned scuttled over, bowed obsequiously and handed me the newspapers. I sat at the table and sorted them to find the most recent, skimming the headlines, aware of everyone’s gaze on me. A lot more deaths, all of them from flu. The medics and scientists were flummoxed over it as it didn’t seem like a normal flu. All the deaths had come from a hospital near the portal which had been converted to a specialist centre to deal with the flu cases. It wasn’t entirely clear whether all the patients came from the area or if they were distributed geographically.
“Well?” demanded Lord Eredan.
“I’m still reading,” I said, without looking up.
“Where’s Aegyir based?”
“I said, I’m still reading.”
Faran touched my back lightly. I put the paper to one side and picked up the next. I needed the information – to know what I might be heading out to face if I managed to sneak out. I hadn’t forgotten Mathas saying that Aegyir would torture me if I went Outside.
“We need information, Aeron,” said Lord Eredan.
I gritted my teeth. “You think I don’t know that? It’s my husband who’s going, so I sure as hell want to know what he’s walking out into. But I can only read so fast!” I said, adding in English, “And it’s Lady Aeron, too!”
Faran must have been picking up more English than I’d realised because I felt him shake, stifling a laugh. He pressed his palm against me more firmly.
An impatient silence grew, broken only by me rustling the papers as I read. Eventually, I laid them aside. “It’s hard to tell exactly where he is, but I think he’s still in the area around the portal. Those people who’ve been touched by him and who are being drained slowly have been transferred to a single centre and so the reports are all coming from there. But that doesn’t mean that’s where Aegyir attacked them. The local paper has listed a number of people from the town where I used to live who’ve died recently, which is what makes me think Aegyir is there or thereabouts. As for how strong he is… the death rates are climbing.”
“What English do we need to be able to find him?” asked Faran.
“You don’t need English,” said Mathas. “If you go Outside, you will find Aegyir.”
“They’ll find him or Aegyir will find them?” I said. “I mean, that’s one way of finding him – the three of you go out and look like bait.”
“As long as it’s only Aegyir we would be facing.” Lord Sondan glared at me. “That would be a foolhardy ploy if he’s been recruiting.”
“I merely said it was one way of finding him. I didn’t say I thought it was a good one!”
Again, Faran pressed his hand against me. “Aeron,” he murmured.
“Sorry.”
“Do you think Aegyir’s working alone?” said Lord Sondan.
I mentally tallied the deaths. “Aned, when Aegyir last attacked Outside, and the Scouts saw many bodies, roughly how many were there each day?”
“Oh, many. Perhaps a hundred or more each day.”
“Okay. Then, based on the fact that the death rate seems to be less than that – maybe thirty or fewer each day – I don’t think he has recruited any. Or if he has, not many.”
Thirty a day was still a big number. The population around my hometown was being decimated. No wonder there were calls for a state of emergency being made in some of the papers. The only saving grace – and it was tiny – was that almost all the deaths were being attributed to flu, which meant that Aegyir was taking energy slowly and all the time it was seeping away from him.
How many of my friends had died? At least Paul might be safe, the other side of London.
Lord Eredan rubbed his chin. “Do you love your husband?”
Faran’s hand tensed against my back. I glanced up at him. Did I love him? I certainly didn’t want him to get killed, and not merely because he was my sole protection here. If even half of what I’d remembered of our relationship was true, I’d loved him as much as I’d loved Finn.
“Yes,” I said.
I did love him. As something more than a friend. But I wasn’t in love with him. Maybe one day I might be. If I came back.
“Ev
en if I didn’t, Lord Eredan, I wouldn’t wish to endanger any Guardian’s life by giving them false information. But Faran’s my husband. Why would I risk his life? My position here would be untenable if he was killed. Wouldn’t they all be safer if I went with them and acted as interpreter? And warrior.”
“And the Council will discuss that,” said Lord Eredan, closing down any further discussion.
I did a quick calculation. It had been late March when I left Outside. The group was due to go out the following morning, after breakfast. Almost exactly four days after I’d arrived. It would be late November Outside.
I turned to Lord Eredan. “It will be cold Outside when they go. Can we get warm gloves made for them?”
“I will speak to Hesta,” said Lord Eredan.
The new Senior Technician, after Mya’s swift demotion.
“When will they be ready? I don’t want the mission to fail because they’ve all got frozen hands and can’t grip a blade.”
Lord Eredan nodded. “They will be ready in time.”
I wouldn’t like to be in Hesta’s shoes if they weren’t.
I turned to Aned. “Can the Scouts bring me more papers just before these guys leave?”
“Of course, Lady Aeron.”
Lord Eredan shoved his chair back. “Thank you, Lady Aeron. The Council will discuss things. Faran, take your wife elsewhere.”
Faran walked me back to our rooms, his shoulders tight, his face drawn. I squeezed his arm.
“What’s up?” I said. “I mean apart from the fact your father’s sending you on a suicide mission.”
He chewed his bottom lip, his eyes fixed on the floor. “Did you mean it when you said you loved me? In the Great Hall.”
I took a breath. “I couldn’t say I’m in love with you. Not the way I was with Finn. Or with you, before I was banished. But I’d be gutted if anything happened to you.”
He peered at me. “Gutted?”
“Devastated.”
He let that settle for a moment.
“Mathas sees Aegyir trapped,” he said, eventually.
“Outside? Or in The Realm?”
“He doesn’t say.”
“Do you trust him?”
“I don’t know.”