Shadow in the Empire of Light

by Jane Routley

  “Well, they’re not going to come and get you here,” I reassured him. “Especially not during Blessing time. The place will be lousy with mages.”

  “Please! You must believe me,” he said. Curiously, even though he was a complete foreigner whose feelings should have been a mystery to me, I could sense how real his fear was.

  “Well, there is this,” I said. Beneath the window was a sliding panel triggered by pressure. In the wall cavity behind there was room for an adult to curl up, chin on her knees. I pulled out the little calico bag lying on the floor where once I’d hid my travel savings. It was empty now—the money spent on draining those new fields and a doctor for Eff. The empty feel of it in my hands made me sad and a sigh escaped me before I could stop it.

  The ghost didn’t notice.

  “So who knows this is here?” he asked.

  “Me, Bright, Auntie Eff. Maybe Thomas and Hilly the housekeeper. This used to be my uncle Batty’s room, before he died. He had a weakness for Holy Wine, but sometimes he had terrible visions. He’d crawl in here when the hallucinations got too bad. Apparently the pressure of the walls helped. You press at the bottom like this to open it and it closes itself.”

  “This seems better,” said the ghost, squeezing into the little space.

  “I brought you some food,” I said, handing him the food I’d purloined from Bright’s meal. It seemed best not to tell Eff about the Ghost. That way she would have deniability if he was found. “I’m not going to be around much this evening. Neither is anyone else.”

  “I have arrived in the middle of some kind of event, have I not?” He crawled out of the wall cavity and took the food. After sniffing it, he started eating, gingerly at first and then with increasing gusto.

  “Only the most important time of the year. The head of the family travels to all the family estates and walks around the fields blessing the seeds so that they’ll be fertile in the coming year.”

  “So is he the only one coming? The head of the family, I mean.”

  “She!” I frowned at him, because really, what a stupid grammatical error to make when he spoke the language so well. Though of course he hadn’t been in our country very long.

  “Of course. Sorry. So is she the only one coming?”

  “Oh, no. She brings all kinds of other mages and family and their servants. Fifty-odd people all told. Lucky it’s not more, otherwise I’d have to give up my room and you’d have to stay in the trunk.”

  There was a knock on the door. The ghost dived back under the bed.

  “Marm, Lord Bright is leaving and wishes to bid you farewell,” called the servant through the door.

  “HE’S GOING TO be fine, isn’t he?” said Eff as we watched Bright drive away. Her eyes were glistening with tears.

  I put my arms around her. I too was relieved that he seemed happy. Perhaps I could manage the coming Blessing days without shouting at anyone after all.

  “I’ve been so worried, and there was nothing to be worried about,” she murmured. “He doesn’t need our stupid family after all.” She gave me a little reassuring pat on the shoulder and pushed me gently away. “Now all I need to do is get you sorted out.”

  “I’m fine.” I said. “Nothing to sort out here.” I wondered what would happen if the family found out that I had an illegal outlander in my room. Could we be in any more disgrace? Was that even possible?

  One of the servants at the upstairs window let out a shout. “Marm! There’s a rider coming up from the village. The noble ones must have come over the pass.”

  “Oh, pish! The family. Just when I was feeling better,” groaned Eff. “At least now I won’t mind so much when they make snide remarks about my son.”

  “They’ll be gone in four days,” I said putting my hand through her arm as we went up the stairs. “Who knows? We might even have some fun. It is Blessing time, after all.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  BACK IN MY room, Shadow seemed to have made friends with Katti, who was sitting on a chair by the window. He scratched her absently behind the ears as he bent and peered out of Uncle Batty’s old telescope

  He has a wonderful touch, Katti thought contentedly. I wondered if he was good at touching in other ways, and moved right away from that thought. That was one curiosity that was never going to be satisfied.

  “They are your visitors up there, are they not?” he asked, pointing towards the gap in the hills that was Red Cat Pass. He spoke our language well, but in a very stilted way.

  I took a look through the telescope. Sure enough, five huge carriages were flying in stately splendour along the road, so stuffed with people and finery that they looked like window boxes full of bobbing flowers. The magic crystals in the foreheads of the driving mages were bright even in the daylight.

  “Ladybless! Look at those hats. They’re even bigger than last year. Each of those sods must be wearing three times our annual earnings.”

  “And the one on the flying golden throne in front is...?”

  “Our Matriarch,” I said. I noticed that she was causing her crystal to glow with a golden light—a reference to the Lady of Light whose priestess she was. “That’s Auntie Splendance. Say one thing for her, she knows how to put on a show. Even in a daylight entrance like this, there’ll be something to thrill the peasants. Not that they take much thrilling; nothing much else happens round here.”

  I took another look through the telescope and snorted. “Rose pink. Does she think she’s the Blessed Lady herself? Well I suppose she is, in a sense. I bet there’ll be yellow streamers and yellow petals when she comes up the front drive. Wonder where she’ll get the petals from, this early in the season? Well, time to be serious. Help me off with these boots, will you? Pull. They’re too big so I wear extra socks and they get... whoops! That’s it—are you hurt?”

  Shadow had sprawled on the floor pulling off my second boot, but seemed undamaged. I started getting changed.

  “So the Matriarch is—?”

  “The head of our family. The font of our blessings and our fecundity. The representative of the Holy Lady of Light on earth. My legal guardian too, for all that means.”

  He was staring at me in a funny way and his skin had flushed a bright red colour.

  “What?” I asked, pouring cold water into the basin so that I could sponge the dirt and sweat off my chest and neck.

  “Nothing,” he said, turning his back and returning to looking out of the telescope. “So who else is there?” he asked, as I pulled my white linen under-tunic on.

  “Let me see.” I took a turn at looking out of the telescope. “In the carriage behind Splen’s throne are other family members. The big one’s Great-Uncle Igniate. He’s the Avunculus.”

  “That is...?”

  “He’s the uncle, or in our case the great-uncle, responsible for protecting the children and household. He’s the one who should have organised a university education for me. Next to him is Blazeann, Splen’s eldest daughter who will probably be Matriarch after her—she’s already added three magely daughters to our family line and the Elders favour her. Next to her is her sister Lumina. Curse Lumina; why does she always have to come?”

  “You do not like your—what is she, your cousin?”

  “That’s right, she’s my cousin. The meanest of the whole rotten bunch. Every time we’re in a room together, I start tripping over furniture and dropping cups.”

  “What? You mean she makes this happen with her magic? A bit petty.”

  “It’s against the law, too, such as it is. I’d be a sad little skeleton still locked in a cupboard at the Family House if it were up to Lumina. Fortunately, cousin Lucient went and got help.”

  I took another turn at the telescope. “Good, Lucient’s here. I knew there was a reason I didn’t run off to the hills. He’s Lumina and Blazeann’s brother. Auntie Splen’s son. He’s in the second carriage with that pig rat.”

  “That who?”

  “Lord Impavidus. The one with the flashy gold an
d blue feathers on his hat. Typical. He’s Auntie Splendance’s consort. The unspeakable rooster shouldn’t be anyone important in her household, but he certainly knows how to make his presence felt. No I’m not going spoil my mood with thinking about him. The two other men are... One of them is Cousin Scintillant, Splendance’s nephew.”

  I felt a flutter in my belly and my heart gave a little twitter of happiness. Stupid cursed heart. I changed the subject quickly.

  “The other I can’t tell, he’s got his face turned away. Ah, it’s Lord Illuminus. He’s Scintillant’s brother. Voice like warm velvet, but what a grouch. Curse it, didn’t know Illuminus was coming. I wonder if Thomas counted him. I’d better get down there.”

  I pulled on my leather body shaper. “Could you lace me up?”

  The ghost proved quite adept at lacing. It was nice to have someone to help me and even nicer to have someone new to talk to.

  “So this Lucient let you out of the cupboard?”

  “Oh... He was just a toddler then, so he was too short. But he went and got Klea to help. She’s another cousin. She’s not bad, though I hardly see her anymore—she’s fallen out with the family and who can blame her, but Lucient... Lucient’s a sweetie. He always brings me lovely books and he gave me that map.” I pointed to the large map of the Empire on the wall. “Could you pull a bit tighter? I’m trying to get a bit more cleavage going.” I looked in the mirror. “If only I wasn’t so small and skinny and pale. Why’d my mother have to mate with a ghost? Sorry, nothing personal.”

  I opened the wardrobe and pulled out my silken day over-robe. Mine was bone-coloured silk, to make my skin look darker. It was cut down from a much older robe, but the seamstress had done a good job of matching the red-and-gold embroidered flower pattern, and normally I was pleased with it. As I pulled it on, I wondered how long it would take one of the cousins, Lumina probably, to remind me that I’d worn the same robe last year.

  Shoes, shoes—there they were.

  “So, how about the other four carriages?” asked the ghost.

  “Retainer mages and mundane servants. Are you any good at doing hair?”

  “I can try. Give me the comb. There are lot of these retainers. Does everyone travel with so many?”

  “This is the Lucheyart family.”

  “Sorry. Forgive my ignorance. You are related to the Imperial family?”

  I grinned at him. “My grandmother’s the Empress.”

  “What! You’re ONE of the Imperial family?” His hands fell to his sides as he stared at me. “Ka, ka, ka! I’m really sha sha sha!”

  “What’s the matter?”

  “I was trying to keep away from the centres of power. Avoid a diplomatic incident. And now here I am with a royal.” He shook his head. “Ka, ka, ka.”

  “No, you’re not,” I said. “You have to have magical powers to be noble or royal. Look, Auntie Splen is miles from the throne. Four people at least. Ours is a junior branch. And Eff and I are both mundanes, which means we have no power at all. You couldn’t be further from the centre of power, more’s the pity. So don’t worry. All you’ve got to do is hide for the next few days and no one important will know. Come on. Can you do a braid?”

  “How can you speak our language so well and not know how these things work?” I asked as he braided my hair. I loved having my hair done and he was quick and neat.

  He sighed. “It’s very complicated. We were here to investigate crystal smuggling through the desert. We weren’t meant to come within your borders in any meaningful way. So I didn’t bother …”

  “Marm Effulgentia says you should come down now,” called a servant through the locked door.

  “Hell! Reckoning time, I suppose. So what do you think? How are my breasts?” I adjusted my cleavage to show off what there was to its best advantage. I had my pride. And a pointless longing for Scintillant to fall madly in love with me and want no one else.

  Shadow started to laugh.

  “What? Do they look stupid?” I peered anxiously in the mirror.

  “No, no, they look lovely. I mean, how should they look?” he asked. He’d gone bright red again.

  “Dark. At least they should match my face. I’ve been rubbing walnut juice on them all week. No, look properly. Why are you being such an idiot?”

  He started to laugh again. “I apologise. It is not you. Things are so different here. You look wonderful. I thought it was your natural skin tone. Really.”

  I MADE IT back to the top of the Eyrie stairs and Auntie Eff’s side just as the stately cavalcade of carriages flew around the curve of the driveway.

  In the old days, the family had arrived after dark in a burst of torchlight and fireworks, but after Splendance (and Impi) took over, thrift dictated a more sedate daytime arrival. However, Auntie Splendance still managed to arrive in a cloud of yellow petals. They were silk—specially made, I’d warrant.

  (Later that evening I saw one of the junior retainer mages levitating them up into a shining cloud of dancing yellow and blowing them into a trunk, no doubt to be kept for the next religious festival. Ladybless, that pig rat was a pinch-purse.)

  The mundane peasants, who had assembled on the gravel before the house in their best cotton smocks, loved the petals and cheered at the top of their lungs.

  “Blessings. Blessings, my children!” cried Auntie Splendance, waving languidly. Her voice, magically amplified, carried out over the crowd.

  The Blessing party’s silken robes shone brilliantly in the late afternoon sun. Tumbles of colourful feathers and bows adorned their huge hats. Because they were mages, there was not a single speck of road dust on their lace-edged shirts, fine leather body shapers, gorgeous silken robes and cloth-of-gold imperial flowers. The retainer mages and servants who filled the carriages behind them were almost as brilliantly dressed, although with slightly smaller hats.

  Several special chariot carts had been driven out from their place in the coach house, and each retainer mage responsible for driving a magical carriage carefully landed it on one. That way the magical carriages could be taken round to the coach house without any nobles having to soil themselves by visiting such a humble part of the estate.

  The family’s servants scampered down the steps at the back of each cart so that they could be ready to rearrange mages’ robes and trains and brush off non-existent bits of dust, while the family floated delicately out of their seats.

  Eff let out a huff of breath. “Right. Four days and they’ll be gone.”

  I couldn’t tell if she was muttering to me or to herself. I squeezed her arm and she patted my hand. I noticed that my teeth were clenched and that I was glaring at Lord Impi, so I directed my eyes downward and breathed out.

  Our servants had formed an avenue of welcome at the bottom of the Eyrie steps. Willow-in-the-Mist normally only had two servants, but we got in a lot of extras from the village during Blessing time—mostly young peasants from the estate who helped out in return for the chance to catch the eye of a mage and make their fortunes.

  My gaze strayed into the phaeton where Scintillant was seated. He winked and blew me a kiss and—oh, curse it!—I could feel myself blushing and my treacherous mouth turning up at the corners. So much for giving him the cold shoulder. But I was not going to offer him a flower. Finish. End of story. No more.

  Once the servants were in place, Auntie Eff and I managed to process down the Eyrie stairs quite elegantly, despite having no servants to rearrange us. By the time the procession of mages approached us, we were down at ground level, kneeling on one knee, heads bowed, leading the obeisance that the assembled peasants made every year to welcome the noble mages.

  Our Matriarch had never been one for formality, and she didn’t seem to be holding Bright’s disgrace against us. Probably couldn’t remember it, even. As she did every year, she raised Eff from her obeisance, hugged her and kissed her on both cheeks. They were, after all, sisters, and had grown up together until the accident of magical inheritance had raised Sp
lendance to the nobility and left Eff behind as mere gentry.

  Auntie Splen looked the same as last year: thin, ever so slightly unsteady on her feet, eyes vague, long hands fluttering.

  “Darling Eff,” she cooed. “How lovely to see you. You’re looking so well and the place looks divine. All these sweet villagers. So charming. And Shine. Sweetheart, a little kiss for your Matriarch. Are you eating properly? You always look so pale. Impi, darling, we should get this girl to a doctor, don’t you think?”

  “My dear, have you forgotten she’s a half-breed ghost?” murmured Lord Impavidus. He dwelt on the last three words. “No point in wasting money on doctors. She’ll always look like that.” (Every year, every single year, the same conversation, almost word for word. I tried to see the funny side, but never could.) I kept my eyes lowered in case my hatred for the man who had had Bright beaten and exiled leapt out of my eyes and kicked him.

  Auntie Splendance blinked, tried to focus her eyes, gave up and went back to being benignly floaty.

  “Oh, well, that’s all right then, isn’t it? But she is very pale.” She patted my belly. I kept my eyes downcast, trying not to pull a face. (Lady of Light, this too. Was I to be spared nothing?) “No babies yet, darling? How sad. More meat, darling. More loving. But more meat, definitely. Might help your colour, too.” She patted my cheek and drifted away up the stairs.

  “Yes, do something useful with yourself,” muttered Lord Impavidus at me as he stalked past.

  Him and his snide slights. One of these day I’d...

  “Yes, my lord. Thank you, my lord,” I said as blandly as I could, looking at the ground. My tone sounded impertinent to me and it must have to Impi too, because he stopped. I tensed myself for a confrontation, knowing I had to keep my tongue between my teeth, but he merely hesitated a moment before bounding up the stairs behind Splen, catching her elbow as he went so that her dithering pace sped up.

  “Careful,” said Eff in my ear. “Remember he’s the power in the household. I don’t want to see both of you disowned.”