by Pam Uphoff
Gold Rush Territory, Kingdom of the West
Xen eyed the domed roof of the Edge of the World. "Magical construction. I wonder who built it?"
"Someone with a lot of power." Deena frowned. "Even a single triad couldn't do the whole thing."
"A compass of mages, maybe?" Easterly shrugged. "Or your family, of course."
They dismounted and walked in.
Wacolm was waiting for them. "The autopsy showed a few things, knife slice on a rib bone for one, that indicates that Lord Keith was probably dead before the lizards tore him apart and ate most of him."
"Bet that was a fun job, getting the pieces." Lily muttered.
"Oh, weren't you here?" Deena smirked over her shoulder.
"According to the stories running around, Colonel Janic got some magician named Wolfson to magically haul lizards out of the water, and they dissected them until they had all the body parts." Lily eyed Xen.
Xen wrinkled his nose. "Ah. And that would be why I was getting wild-eyed looks from the Guards?"
Easterly snickered. "They knew you called yourself a wizard. They just hadn't seen you showing off."
One of the uniformed men glanced around. "Yes, very amusing, water and contents flying all over. Contents including some shockingly large lizards."
"I trust you killed them?" Deena eyed Xen.
"Before they ate anyone else? Yes, although it was a close thing, until we worked out a routine."
Lily shook her head. "I think I'm sorry I missed it."
Easterly stepped out the back door and pointed.
Lily edged closer for a look. "It's got to be thirty feet long." She paced the length, balking at the broad armored head.
Xen shrugged. "It's the biggest one I've ever seen. No question."
Deena eyed it. "I thought it would look smaller in the daylight. I'm going to have nightmares."
"Join the crowd." Lily looked unsympathetic. "And then if you really want to scare yourself, check out the political gossip. Everyone is trying to figure out what the succession looks like now."
"Umm, the Crown Prince only had the two boys. I suppose his brother Mirk . . . or does Mirk now count as the spear heir, and Garit the heir to the throne? Good Grief." Deena frowned. "I need to go reread the charter."
Xen grimaced. "I know that Prince Staven hasn't yet reached the rank where he's supposed to be leading, not fighting himself . . . But there's really no reason a one armed man cannot command the Armies."
They all blinked at him. Easterly nodded. "True. But a junior officer, so badly wounded, is generally at least removed from any field assignments, and often retired. I don't know if the senior officers will accept him. I wish he'd had a few more years experience before this happened. He's not quite twenty-three. Four months younger than you, with a single year's more experience."
Xen winced. "I'd thought he was a bit older. But is he out of the running? Maybe Prince Rolo will have another child?"
"In theory. Apparently the second man who said 'divorce and remarry' in the Crown Prince's hearing is bound for duty at Fort Oven. Prince Mirk was the first. Rolo just about bit his head off."
"Bad timing. Way too soon t'be pushing ideas like that. Damn those illusions, I wonder if, or rather, how many, of those women are pregnant, and does it matter? A bastard can't inherit t'throne." Easterly shook his head. "Even if they could sort out which ones were Rebo's."
"Those women." Lily frowned over at him. "They were all fucking all the men. Old Gods! I'm going to start getting matter of fact about your people eventually. So there's no way to tell who fathered which baby. However many of them get pregnant and however many twins and triplets happen."
"Just think of it as no more naughty than breeding horses." Xen grinned at her indignant glare. "Someone may have had plans, but I doubt they can influence the Council."
Lily nodded. "Selano Discorski could pull off a Fossi, but no one else could do it."
"Hmm." Xen wondered about Indigo, if she took, and since she'd had wine . . . had someone, the killer, stage managed the men so only the prince had her? The same couldn't be said for Dusty, she'd had a 'normal' orgy. Why? Art tried to gain political power through a daughter having twin boys. Did someone else have a similar idea? Who? "I need to check on a couple of things, and then talk to Janic. Is he here or there?"
"There. The Council is all over him."
Xen winced. "Right. I'll go improve his day." He walked south along the rim, and found the path down to the "safe" hotsprings. Checked the visibility of each one. From each one. They could not be seen from above, and the curve of the cliffs blocked the view from one to the next. The site of the assassination was far enough around a shoulder of stone, that even being lower, it was out of sight. Bet sound is muffled as well. Especially around that little waterfall. He thought about the magical construction of the building, and meditated between two pools. Felt the earth. The stone, molded. Not natural. Holes down to the natural springs below. Holes connecting to pipes in the inn, to create the waterfall of fresh cold water. One way spells on all the pipes. Spells on pipes and pools to regulate the temperatures of the water.
Back inside, the subdued staff, scurrying around under the gaze of the guards, admitted to ignorance of who'd actually built the . . . place. Four months previously.
Ricardo's base of operations? Surely not built just to lure Rebo out and kill him. Rebo didn't take much luring.
And why do I think Ricardo's the one in charge? He's . . . eighteen? Nineteen? Heso and Zap are one or two years older. Is there someone behind them? Someone with experience, contacts, money? Well, there must be. None of the wizards could profit from this, no reason to kill Staven, even if they had a falling out with Rebo.
Someone hired them.
They returned to Karista, wrote it all up.
Janic's office door was closed.
"If it's not an emergency, go away. He's got three Councilmen and four lawyers in there arguing about the Charter." His secretary shook his head. "Just leave the report. Come back in an hour. Or two. If you really need to speak to him."
They decided there was no point in waiting on an empty stomach and went back to the tavern. Lily followed them. "What about these women? And possible babies?"
Xen massaged his temples. "That is a complication we could do without."
Deena shrugged. "Rebo's got eight older bastards. Then the probably not-legal marriage to Eden, who also had twin boys . . . And there were six more babies, right?"
"Two boys and four girls. Eight months old, or so." Xen bit his lip. "Maybe we ought to start by checking their genetics. It'll simplify things if we can eliminate most of the sixteen kids."
Lily eyed him. "Check their genetics? Magically?"
"Yes, Lady Gisele or my mother could do it."
"I'll ask Janic. After I have another beer or three to fortify myself. He hates magic, you know." Lily grimaced. "Not that many people will believe a word of it."
Xen flashed a grin. "Don't underestimate the collective subconscious. As soon as someone with the ability checks them, everyone will tend to believe talk that the kids who are Rebo's really are, and laugh, sneer or doubt claims about kids who aren't. Honest. Look at Fossi."
They all gave him dubious looks. Deena raised a slim eyebrow. "I thought you were an expert?"
"I am, but the king is going to need the opinion of someone with more, umm, gravitus." He caught their looks and sighed. "Someone who doesn't know every single one of the suspects. Someone who couldn't possibly gain by this."
Lily choked. "Hey! You aren't a suspect, you aren't in the line of . . . Well, I know you are Rufi’s great grandson, but through the female line. Unless there’s something else you haven’t happened to mention?"
Deena smirked. "I heard Rufi and the king talking about who possible successors. Xen's name did come up."
"So it's going t'show up on t'list of suspects as well." Easterly looked blank, and Xen really hoped that meant he was hiding amusement.
<
br /> Lily shook her head slowly. "Oh. Oh, God of Travelers, please don't make me arrest Xen."
Harry started coughing, behind the bar. Trying not to laugh.
Lily blushed bright red and buried her nose in her mug.
"Don't you mean try to arrest Xen?" Deena murmured.
They scarfed sandwiches, then rode back to Karista. Janic was alone in his office.
Janic rubbed his tired eyes. "Old Gods. We tried to keep that boy guarded after what he pulled three years ago. We made him finish off his two year rotation here. And everyone complained about nepotism. But we thought he was settling down. He slipped his guards slick as could be. But they weren't too worried, once they found out that Staven was with him.
"They should have started a massive search as soon as Rebo lost the guards." Janic slapped his hands on the desk. "Enough. Now I'm past second guessing myself and criticizing Security. Time to get some sleep." He shoved himself to his feet and hesitated. "Go talk to Lord Hell. Those two witches are our main witnesses. The assassins may want to eliminate them. I'll provide guards if he wishes."
Xen nodded. "Okay. Although anyone who could get past those dogs probably qualifies for godhood."
Janic winced. "Indeed. If you need something else to do, go check Eternal, and then check the other sides of all the gates, see if Ricardo has doubled back and is out there somewhere."
"Yes, sir."
***
Xen rode through town to the old Temple of Ba'al, an amazing chunk of valuable city acreage apparently so totally tied up in the law courts that the property was essentially in limbo. It was used as a domicile by a gang of the homeless and as a convenient location for traveling magic users and an anchor for several corridors, all with locks so they couldn't be used by non-magic users. As the home of a god for millennia, it was an easy recognition spot for teleportation. The other gods and more powerful of the wizards and witches used it for convenience, whether teleporting or using their private corridors.
Pyrite trotted through the corridor to Lord Hell's island and into an interesting scene.
Two Hell Hounds were blocking Indigo and trying to push her into the house. The red hound was snarling and retreating very reluctantly from a tall figure . . . Xen jumped down and started pulling power and pulling out spells as the figure jerked around to face him. Wearing his face.
He threw sleep, stun and fireball in quick succession. "Excuse me." Xen called loudly. "But only one of me is allowed at a time." Indigo's eyes jerked his way and widened. "Run," he told her. By the time he threw the third spell, he already knew it would bounce like the others . . . he shrugged off a series of basic simple spells and tossed a web of eight different spells all involving power control and loss thereof, and the second Xen disappeared.
Hell emerged at a run.
"Is there a corridor right there?" Xen pointed at thin air, backing hastily as Hell advanced, mayhem in his eyes. "Check the dogs, please, I'm the Real Xen."
Hell flicked a glance at the red dog, now growling and sniffing the place where the other Xen had stood. He relaxed. "Damn, and I had such a good selection of nasties for him. No. No corridor. He traveled."
"You know, there are too damn many of us picking up these advanced techniques." Xen scowled. "However, this would be an excellent time to check on Eternal. Would you send a message to Colonel Janic about this?" Then he trotted back through the corridor, and through the next, to Harry's front door.
Pyrite was happy to get some exercise other than just jumping through one corridor after another. The gate to Ring World had attached in the southern hemisphere. Pyrite leaped from chilly winter to hot summer, and covered the distance to Eternal's little farm in an impressively short time. The sun set before they arrived, but a nearly full moon, the bright rings, and lingering twilight showed the man in front of the small cabin.
And showed Xen to him. Or them. Two babies, six or seven months of age occupied a spread blanket.
"Xen! Welcome. Didn't expect to see you here. What's up?" Eternal looked cheerful and happy. His garden was doing well.
"Sorry to bring up old troubles. Prince Rebo had another Rip Crossing style Orgy, and this one was fatal."
"So you're checking all the usual suspects to get your prince off the hot seat? Sorry. I've been here and busy, not many visitors though."
"You're a long shot, and Rebo was the victim."
Eternal straightened. "Old Gods! Not that I liked him or anything, but that's going to mess up the succession some, isn't it? There aren't any little brothers, just Prince Staven. Although from what I've heard he'd be a better . . . no?" Eternal frowned. "Xen, stop trying to lead me around. Is the Spear Heir dead too?"
"No. Badly injured, lost an arm to the lizards."
"Damn. Well, c'mon down, and stick your horse out with the mares. I was about to call it quits and eat dinner. Please join us."
"Thank you." He stripped off the tack and opened the gate for Pyrite. The two mares, a gorgeous chestnut with a dark colt, and a big dun with a pretty chestnut filly, promptly turned on him and made it clear that the new horse was to stay away from their babies, and mind his manners. The cows were plump, the goats friendly.
They chatted as Eternal pulled things out of thin air – a bubble with practically no time – and put them on the plank table.
"When I cook, I cook enough for four meals and stash three of them. Works like a charm."
Eternal filled him in on the locals.
Xen was shocked to hear about the Arbolian Little Gods
"They're no worse than any other neighbors." Eternal grinned. "And better than some." His story about the Church of Love being forcibly re-introduced to hygiene and sanitation was hysterically funny. And half the "Virgins" had run off with the Little Gods?
He wasn't too surprised to hear that the mercenaries and whores had turned into nomadic hunters.
That Harry's old guards and their wives were doing well was welcome news.
"This is going to be a very interesting world, in a hundred years." Xen said, and filled him in on a year of news from 'Home'.
Eternal rocked the girls and put them to bed.
"So, I'm ready, bring out the hard questions."
"When was the last time you left this world?"
"I haven't left since I first entered it six months ago."
"Okay. That'll do."
"You're kidding? I didn't feel any lie detector spells."
"Wouldn't work on the guy I'm after." Xen waved his hand around the homestead. "This just isn't the right ambiance for the guy that attempted to kidnap one of Hell's daughter's off his front porch, umm, nine hours ago, now. Damn good shield, not to mention the illusions. SOB looked just like me."
"Ricardo was always good at illusions. He was always good at things he could see would be to his immediate benefit, but sometimes he hid how good he was, so someone else got the blame when something happened." Eternal sat up. "Wait a bit. Nine hours ago? What did you do, run that creature all afternoon?"
"Just about. He's one of the original god horses." He looked over at the dim shapes in the night. "Yours looked to have the same breeding."
"Yeah, but, we're a hundred miles from the gate. When did you start?"
"Oh, a couple of hours after lunch? I wasn't exactly paying attention, got kinda busy."
"Huh. I suspect I ought to be regretting your fellow's a gelding."
Xen camped out under the stars, then headed home the next day.
Pyrite thought nothing of reversing the long trip, and snorted when Xen wanted to quit and make a two day trip of it. :: I like to go.::
Xen walked back into Janic's office. Who gave him a very jaundiced look.
"Lord Hell, one daughter and two Hell Hounds landed in my lap, no doubt no surprise to you. Did you find Eternal?"
"Yep. Right where he should be, doing exactly what he ought to be doing and happy as a clam. When I said Prince Rebo'd gotten into another orgy and this one had been fatal, he assumed I was tryin
g to clear the Prince of a murder charge. I genuinely think he had no part of this at all."
"Ricardo hasn't shown, and either the Rip people are hiding him, or he really isn't there. We put up the net on the corridor like you suggested and you should hear the bitching."
Xen winced. "I was joking."
Chapter Four
Winter 1393, day 4
City of Karista, Kingdom of the West
Staven woke slowly, aching everywhere. Not wanting to face life. People. Not wanting to look. To have to really come to terms with . . . he opened his eyes. Looked. His right arm ended in a tidy bandage at the elbow.
Booted feet stirred, beside his bed. He glanced, yes, Uncle Day. His mother's paramour. Damien Malder, a commoner, a Traveler, the gossips said. In reality, worse than a commoner. An Earther. A spy. The man who'd taught him how to ride, how to fight with bare hands, how to do algebra . . . shown him how to be a man.
Thank the Old Gods for Uncle Day. He'd been cried over by his mother, questioned by the King's Own, his brother and sister pale and quiet, peeking in the door, Garit describing the chaos in the palace, while not-looking at his arm . . . Rebo's dead.
Staven stared at the ceiling and blinked back weak tears. "I couldn't save him. I couldn't even save myself. Devil . . . "
"The man I talked to said he's badly hurt, but will probably live. If he's not sound, you'll have to find him some girlfriends to retire with." The man leaned forward, elbows on knees. "You'll live, and if you're not sound, you'll find something besides sword fighting to do with your life."
Staven closed his eyes and swallowed, hard. I'm not the first man to lose an arm. I will learn to live with it. And the first thing I am going to do is find the man who killed Rebo. He fought to control his voice. "Have they arrested Lord Keith?"
"No, the alligators got him too. Water lizards. Whatever you want to call those things."
Staven blinked at the ceiling. His brain stirred sluggishly back to life. "So . . . Rebo and I were both set up. By someone who used Keith to do the setting, and then killed him to stop him from talking."