Heaven's Lies

by Daniel Caet

  “A new reason?”

  “You will see, Helel, no one can escape his nature, and unfortunately for Eleanor, her power obsessive nature combined with a novel circumstance in your bloodline. Eleanor is the first of your direct descendants without true power. She has a limited talent for divination, but beyond that, she is as normal as any other human, which has been a constant source of bitterness and frustration for her. She has always blamed me for not teaching her how to use her power and for limiting her in some way without understanding that even I cannot teach her to use what does not exist. Does it remind you of any other of your children?”

  “Narmesh.”

  “Exactly, only that Narmesh had some power and Eleanor has none.”

  “From what you tell me, she might not have any power of a mystical nature, but she has many other talents.”

  “Yes, to destroy everything she touches.”

  “Even that is a terribly powerful skill, Sadith,” he replied without looking into my eyes, and I was afraid to guess what he was thinking. “Can I ask you about your husband?” he continued cautiously, probably for fear that I would rather not tell him anything.

  “My husband's name was William Neville, and he was the third child of a minor landowner. As a third child, he had no right to anything from his father's inheritance, and that was something we both knew before we fell in love, but we didn't care in the least. We met at Lord Reginald's house, his parents were friends of the family. We fell madly in love as soon as we saw each other, and his love had an unexpected effect on me. For the first time the future did not bother me in the least. We decided to get married even though none of us had anything to offer the other, in my case even the possibility of having children. Or so I thought then. When Eleanor left her father's house to move in with the duchess, William and I decided not to wait any longer and get married against the will of his father who disown him, and we ended up living here in the conditions you see. But, as I say, we never cared, never any of us had been happier. Unfortunately, life was not willing to let me be happy for too long.”

  “What happened?” he asked, taking my hand, and that unusual gesture of tenderness caught me off guard, and I had to control myself so as not to show my teary eyes.

  “What happened was Eleanor. In her excessive desire to acquire power, she wanted to place her husband on the throne of England and herself as queen at his side. To do this, she needed only one thing, the death of the current king, and her husband, oblivious to all her weavings, would ascend to the throne in his own right. Eleanor came to see me trying to get my help to achieve her goals, but I refused to help her, and in her fury she ended up turning to a woman known in the region for her dark arts, Margery Jourdemayne.”

  “This is becoming increasingly interesting,” he said almost laughing.

  “You have to understand that, from the rise to power of the damned Christians, all of us who still venerate the ancient gods and the eternal mother are at risk of being labeled as witches and sorcerers, or to deal with yourself or any other similar nonsense, and end consequently at the stake. Why do you think I stay hidden in this shack away from the world? It's not for my safety, Helel, I could end all of them in a sigh if I wanted to, but do you know what they could do to a little girl like Isobel if someone discovered the things she can do? There is nothing more powerful than fear as you said before, but it is a double-edged sword,” I said, unable to prevent a sigh from escaping from my mouth. “The fact is that Margery, who is nothing but a healer with a certain talent for poisons, agreed to help Eleanor with a potion that ended the king's life. Unfortunately for Eleanor, the old woman is not very discreet, and she was telling her plans right and left giving herself importance for having the confidence of the new Duchess of Gloucester; and she ended up getting the two of them arrested, accused of witchcraft and assassination attempt against the life of the king, even if they had not had time to do anything. Margery was trialed almost immediately and ended up burning; Eleanor, on the other hand, was imprisoned because she argued that she had only hired Margery as a seer to find out what the health of her beloved nephew, the king, was; but the charges are still in force. In its eagerness to seek evidence that there was a clear intention to harm the king, the court ordered to arrest all those related to her who could give some kind of testimony, and that included me. When the soldiers came for me, William sent me to the forest to hide, and when they didn't find me it was him who they took. He spent two years locked in a jail, subjected to all kinds of torture until the captors were convinced that neither he nor I had anything to do with Eleanor's affairs. When he was finally returned, he was not the same man; he was broken, mentally and physically, and it was months before he seemed to begin to recover. One day, when I returned with Isobel from the forest like today, I found him on the floor of the house, dead. His heart had not endured the pain and torture to which he had been subjected. In case that pain was not enough, life decided to make a last heavy joke, and two months after her death, I discovered that I, the woman who had sacrificed everything for eternity including the possibility of having children, was pregnant.”

  Helel stared at me without letting go of my hand.

  “I'm sorry!” he said, staring at me. “I'm so sorry that you went through all this because of me, I'm really sorry. But for that reason more than ever I need you to help me.”

  “I can't believe you,” I huffed, and rose suddenly from the chair, releasing his hand. “Why is everything with you, about you and only you?”

  “It's just the opposite, Sadith,” he said visibly frustrated. “I try to fix what my damn brothers have ruined. None of this would happen if my father were free.”

  “Oh, please! Do you really believe that? You underestimate the ability of the human being to ignore any god and destroy everything around them.”

  “But, you were the one who taught me in Egypt that there was still hope for man.”

  “I know, but even I can lose hope after so many years of pain, hate and suffering, Helel!”

  “As you wish, but at least give me the opportunity to fix things.”

  “Fix? Helel, I still have my contacts in the underworld, I am aware of all your plots to weaken the power of the archangels. Plots that have resulted in entire villages destroyed, families killed, cities devoured by the flames, trapped in your damn war of egos.”

  “Sadith, I beg you, set the price you want, but help me!”

  I said nothing. I had been waiting for that phrase all night. Each and every one of my words had been woven to get him to reach that state of despair where his offer was sincere.

  “Very well,” I said as I turned slowly to look at him, “if you want my help, you'll have to get Eleanor released.”

  “How? What the hell...! Why would you want such a despicable creature to be released? She has what she deserves …”

  “Because it's your daughter, Helel, and I made a promise a long time ago that I won't break, take care of each and every one of your children, all of them, do you understand?”

  “No, Sadith, I don't understand you. I don't know how to understand such a great and selfless love, even though I admire you for it.”

  “I don't need your admiration, I just need to know if you're willing to pay my price.”

  Helel was thoughtful for a moment and his eyes showed no emotion until he answered me.

  “So be it. Where is she?”

  “They have moved her to Kenilworth Castle, near Coventry, but I don't want you to come there and take her out anyway, or else we'll spend the rest of our life running away from her captors. I need you to get her acquitted.”

  “You don't make it easy for me,” he replied visibly annoyed.

  “You are the king of hell, I don't think it's much of a problem. Be that as it may, that is my price.”

  Helel thought for a moment before answering, and when he did a half smile crossed his face.

  “Very well, I will do a you say. Actually I think I have a friend who will hel
p us with this whole matter.”

  “What do you have in mind?”

  “The archangels are not the only ones who have their contacts and influences in the courts of the world. I also have my infiltrators, and I usually walk through the halls of the palaces when it is necessary to disrupt some of the plans of my dear brothers. About a year ago, I met a young woman full of energy and with an overwhelming passion that, let’s say, she was eager to share with someone.”

  “Save me the details, will you?”

  “As you wish,” he replied with a mischievous child's smile. “The fact is that this young woman has just arrived in England and while we speak she is being crowned queen by the hand of King Henry.”

  “Margaret?” I said without believing at all that fate could favour us that way.

  “The same. Margaret of Anjou. And you and I are going to pay her a visit with the excuse of paying our respects to the new queen.”

  “And why do you think she will receive us? I hope you are not so arrogant as to think that your love skills will open the doors of the royal palace.”

  “They could perfectly do, believe me,” he said without a hint that this was a joke, “but in this case they will open the doors to the Marquis de Lavalle, second cousin of the Duchess of Lorraine, Margaret's mother, who is also accompanied by her pregnant wife.”

  “How?” I said almost screaming watching the mess that Helel wanted to get me into. But he didn't even pay attention to me and started putting on his cape.

  “Give me a couple of days. Make the necessary arrangements for someone to take care of Isobel, we will have to be in the palace for at least two or three days.” And without letting me reply, he disappeared, leaving me absolutely irritated by his behaviour, but somehow relieved that he was with me again.

  As promised, two days later Helel reappeared in my house.

  “Are you ready? Have you been able to take care of Isobel?”

  “Isobel is with a person I trust and surrounded by all the protection spells I know. Not even the gods themselves could find her.”

  “Good,” he replied without asking anything else. "Then we better start. Put this on!” And he threw at me a bag of bulky dark cloth that didn't weigh too much.

  “What is this?”

  “The dress of a Marquise, Sadith. You won't intend to go to a palace dressed like that, right?”

  Reluctantly, I took the clothes out of the bag and asked him to leave the house while I changed. It had been many years since I dressed as a member of any court and somehow I felt uncomfortable, but I decided to follow his instructions for Eleanor's sake. A while later I screamed from the cabin that he could come back inside. Helel stared at me without saying a word.

  “If you don't like it, you'll have to put up with it, that's what it is!”

  “Actually I was going to say that you are very beautiful.”

  The dress he had brought me was of fine wool, in a light brown tone, but it was covered by a green velvet overlay with the sleeves stabbed so that a white silk camisole could be seen under it. The dress was held under the chest to fall loose from there, making it truly comfortable for a woman in my state. The full outfit was dotted with gold buttons that matched a large gold and emerald necklace that covered my entire chest. Gold rings and precious stones completed the disguise that I had finished collecting my hair in an elaborate way, but without any of the intricate pieces of jewelry that I knew that many women of the court used to wear on great occasions. I felt strange, but I knew I had no choice but to move on with that pantomime.

  “Are you ready then?”

  “I suppose so,” I said resignedly.

  Helel accompanied me outside the house and without warning me, hugged me tenderly and I felt like my stomach was spinning, threatening to ruin my new clothing. When I could look again around me I saw that we were no longer at the door of my house but in a forest clearing, and that around us there were about twenty or thirty people who had not paid any attention to our arrival. Beyond the fact that I was not used to appearing, my body immediately told me that there was something else that was not right, and I soon realised what it was. Those people were not people at all but demons of all kinds. Concentrating to see beyond the obvious hiding spell that surrounded them, I could see their true nature. Helel had mobilised his resources from the underworld to create the entourage of a marquis, and those creatures of different races, shapes and colours responded to his master with obedience.

  “Surprised?” Helel asked when he realised that I had noticed his ploy.

  “Not really, although the idea of being surrounded by so many demons doesn't drive me crazy.”

  “You have nothing to fear, they would pay with their life if they tried to do something to you, and they know it.”

  “They would pay with much more than their life if they approached me. And you know it.”

  “That's the Sadith that I remembered,” he replied smiling.

  Helel's servants had prepared two grey-coloured horses for our arrival at the palace. In my state it was not going to be very easy for me to ride a great distance, but Helel promised me that we were near the palace and that it would only be a short ride.

  “Would you mind explaining to me how we're supposed to do this? Are we going to show up at the palace without notice, knock on the door and wait for Margaret to look forward to seeing you again?”

  “Well, something like that. You see, Margaret is in a complicated position.”

  “I know, basically everyone hates her before they even meet her. This country has suffered a lot from the constant war with France over who must be its legitimate sovereign to suddenly feel an uncontrollable love for a French queen.”

  “I see you are aware. Margaret knows that she is only a pawn in that fight of wills over the territories of France, the problem is that she has a character too strong to settle for being a pawn. Her newly acquired husband is a wimp who she married by proxy and who, since her arrival in England, has been unable to consummate the marriage. Not that Margaret cares, don’t get me wrong! She is more than entertained with the Duke of Somerset, but she knows that her survival as queen depends on two things; one conceiving an heir for Henry, the other getting the love of her people. I have no doubt that she will be able to manage for the former, but for the latter she needs help, so the first thing she has done has been to open the palace doors so that the minor nobles of the kingdom can come to meet their new queen and leave bewitched by her charms. And we are going to get into one of those receptions.”

  “And I suppose there will be no risk of anyone noticing that neither you are the Marquis de Lavalle nor I your wife, right?” I asked wryly.

  “None. Especially since the marquis does not exist,” he snapped, “it is a creation of mine. Continental noble houses have been inbreeding for centuries and as a result everyone is related to everyone in one way or another. When the family is so big it is impossible to meet all the cousins, but you are not interested in ending badly with any of them because those same blood ties can make that minor relative, whom you despise today, be your king tomorrow.”

  “I see you have a great knowledge of the nobility of today.”

  “More of the ladies to be honest, but, of course, I've spent a lot of time between them.”

  “Oh, please, shut up now!”

  We continued on our way without saying anything else until a short time later we saw the towers of the palace in the distance and headed towards the south gate. Helel had measured every act of our pantomime. The south gate was the one with the largest esplanade to approach the palace, which meant that an entourage like ours was seen from a distance and did not go unnoticed by anyone.

  When we arrived at the gates, a group of five soldiers came forward to ask us who we were and what our purpose was there. One of Helel's servants came forward to announce the name of his lord and mistress, and after verifying that our visit was expected, they let us pass without further questioning. We were informed that we had b
een assigned rooms in the northern part of the palace, but we did not have time to address them as we were told that the queen was waiting for us in the banquet hall.

  If, due to the haste, we felt that the queen would be waiting exclusively for us, a very different reality received us upon entering the room. There were about a hundred people waiting to be able to bow to the new queen, mostly nobles from far away provinces that had never before been to the royal palace, much less in front of anyone from royalty, and who watched everything unfolding around them with the eyes of a rabbit about to be slaughtered.

  We joined the group and waited patiently until the queen deigned to appear. A fanfare of trumpets announced her entry into the hall generating an unnecessary rumble since the hall was not extremely large. But a glance at the small, girl-faced woman who entered the room made me immediately understand that, in no way, that girl would have entered that space with less pomp. To my surprise, Margaret did not go to the throne immediately but directly entered the group of people and greeted each nobleman who appeared in her path as if they were all close family. It was at that moment that I realised that this woman, although seemingly young, was far from being the typical inexperienced girl, and that her knowledge of the arts necessary to survive in a court was profound. One by one she toured each and every one of the faces of the room, thanking the obeisances and asking each of the attendees for their families, their lands and their concerns. I could see how those men and women, accustomed to being ignored by a social level far above theirs, fell under the spell of that woman who pretended to be close and sincere and to show a real concern for their affairs. Only when she was closer to us could I understand what was the key to her success. A step behind her, a man in her thirties was whispering in her ear the name of those she was about to meet. When it was our turn, the man stood by, not being able to recognise us and tried to whisper something in the ear of the queen who turned immediately to see the faces of those who were unknown even to her own people, and her face lit up with recognition seeing Helel.