by Matthew Ward
Adanika laughed. "We hardly have time for me to answer that question." Her merriment faded. "In any case, the problem remains. Your presence here changes things, especially when you bring others."
"Again, it wasn't my decision to make."
"And again, I did not say it was. Like it or not, Edric Saran, events have a habit of reshaping themselves around you. My little friend here seems to think so, don't you?"
The cat stared balefully up at her.
I smiled. "How wise can the serathi be, taking counsel from cats?"
"How wise would we be if we did not?" Adanika countered. "A cat sees much that is hidden from others." She glanced at the councillors. "Does this complete your delegation?"
"No," I replied, surprised she had to ask. "Arianwyn joined us, but she's with her father. You should go and introduce yourself. I'm sure she'd be delighted to meet you."
Adanika rose. "Perhaps I will."
"The serathiel seemed intrigued by her," I said. "Even to the point of assuming she was the head of the Tressian council."
"The serathiel is given to impulsive behaviour. As I am sure you have seen for yourself, emissary."
The emphasis on that last word was not lost on me. The sentiment struck me as a little rich, coming as it did from a serathi who had not only rescued me on a whim, but had also done much the same with Koschai a decade or so earlier. Not that I begrudged her that, I thought, recalling the cold and bitter snow of that night. I still owed her for that. Her, Elynna – and even Myrzanna.
"Do you know anything more of Elynna's disappearance?" I asked.
"She is safe," Adanika said quietly.
I frowned. "Where is she? Where did she go?"
"She is safe, Edric Saran. That is enough for me. It should also be enough for you." She paused. "I thank you for your concern."
The subject was clearly closed, and the rest of my party were on the move once more. "I have to go," I said. "Are you joining us?"
"Not now," Adanika replied. "Perhaps I will seek out this Arianwyn who fascinates everyone so. Farewell, Edric Saran."
As she departed, I hurried to rejoin Karov and Magorian, and instantly wished that I hadn't. Their company was no more entertaining than before, and I found myself hoping Adanika or Arianwyn would return.
*******
As it transpired, I didn't see Adanika again that day, but Arianwyn rejoined us a little under an hour later. To my mild surprise, she brought Koschai with her. By this time, Isari was showing us around an armoury of quite remarkable proportions. There might have been hundreds of serathi on Skyhaven, but this chamber contained enough in the way of weapons and armour to outfit thousands. It would seem Skyhaven had once been home to a much larger host than the one living there now.
When Arianwyn and Koschai entered the room, Karov was still trying, and failing, to get direct answers from Isari – Magorian had given up some time before – and for the second time that day he completely failed to notice newcomers.
"We should be careful not to ask too many questions of our hosts, Lord Karov," Arianwyn suggested from behind him. "We wouldn't wish to be thought impolite, would we?"
Karov started, then recovered his composure. "Ah, Lady Trelan. Good of you to rejoin us, at last. Might I ask where you've been?"
It was Koschai, the presence of whom Karov had not yet noted, who replied. "Surely you wouldn't begrudge me a private conversation with my daughter, not after so many years?"
Karov at last turned around, the surprise plain on his face. "Lord Trelan! Forgive me, I'd no idea... I didn't even know you still lived."
"I get by, my boy, I get by." For once, it seemed Koschai didn't feel the need to announce his questionable mortality. Had he told Arianwyn?
Karov, back on balance, or near to it, offered Koschai a deep bow. "Of course, I'd intended to lead these negotiations myself, but your experience far eclipses mine..." Magorian looked on in horror. Clearly he didn't like the idea of his master yielding authority so easily.
Koschai waved the offer away. "My thanks, Mikel, but I'm in no position to represent the Republic. I'm content to advise, if you'll allow it."
"Of course, Lord Trelan."
"In which case, you'd do well to heed my daughter's suggestion. Not only out of etiquette, but because if a serathi doesn't give a straight answer the first time the question is asked, she certainly will not give one on the fifth or sixth occasion. Trust me on this."
"I take your point." Karov shook his head. "I'm sorry. I'm still having a hard time coming to terms with your presence."
"Not at all." Koschai launched into a series of his own questions about Karov, Magorian and about Tressia itself. He knew most of the answers, of course, because he and I had already had much the same conversation. I sensed it was an attempt to help set Karov and Magorian at ease – a generous effort, and one I wasn't certain they deserved.
I crossed to join Arianwyn. "Your father's being very friendly with those two. Did you not warn him?"
"Oh, I did." The corner of Arianwyn's mouth twitched. "This is just his way. He's giving them plenty of opportunity to disappoint him."
"Ah, yes. He did something similar with me. How are you feeling?"
The slight smile faded. "I honestly don't know. It's wonderful and horrible at the same time. Did he tell you that he can't leave?"
"He did. That has to be better than the alternative, surely?"
Her smile returned, this time in full force. "Of course. Just to see him again is... well, it's beyond words. Why didn't you tell me?"
I took a deep breath. "I didn't want to risk disappointing you. If the serathi had never arrived, or if your father hadn't been here when they did, it would have been like losing him all over again."
She looked at me with amusement, then poked me hard in the ribs. "Nice try, Ambassador, but I know you better than that. You were relying on my reaction to see if he was who he claimed, weren't you?"
"Perhaps a little," I admitted. "But for what it's worth I've not really doubted him for a while now. I'm sorry for the deception."
Arianwyn shook her head. "One of these days, Edric, you're going to have to learn to trust a little more. And yes, he is my father. He looks just as I remember him, and his smile..." She kissed me on the cheek. "But thank you, all the same. He told me that you talked him into this."
"I helped him make a choice he already wanted to make. Besides..."
I broke off as Edina entered the room, took a brief look around, and headed straight for me. [[I have come from Speaker Myrzanna. She wishes to speak with you, Edric.]]
"Myrzanna?" asked Arianwyn. "But isn't she...?"
"Yes. Why does Myrzanna want me?" I asked Edina.
[[I cannot answer that question.]]
It was an unhelpful reply, and meant the only way I'd find an answer was to speak with Myrzanna herself. I glanced at Arianwyn, who shrugged. I didn't want to bandy words with one responsible for so much death, but I did owe her.
Coming to a decision, I walked over to Isari, who was watching the three Tressians with mild amusement. "One of your sisters has requested I speak with her," said. It seemed sensible not to mention Myrzanna by name. "Will it present a problem if I leave for a time?"
Isari's lower lip twitched. "The serathiel would not approve."
I looked over at the Tressians. Koschai was engaged in a polite argument with the councillors. I couldn't hear clearly enough to tell what it was about, but they looked certain to be occupied for some time. "I don't believe anyone will miss me for a few minutes."
Isari shook her head. "The serathiel would not approve."
"But she hasn't specifically ordered I not leave, has she?"
"No," Isari allowed. She wasn't happy, but didn't want to offend me over a mere feeling of what her mistress might or might not permit.
"I'll be back as soon as I can."
I turned and followed Edina from the room. Arianwyn, clearly not wanting to be drawn into whatever argument had claimed h
er father, joined us.
Given the circumstances under which I'd last met Myrzanna, I'd expected to have been led to Skyhaven's gaol, but instead the drudge's brisk pace brought us to an upper chamber in one of the city's majestic towers. The door of the room wasn't locked, and opened easily at the drudge's touch.
Judging from appearances, this chamber must have been Myrzanna's quarters. It reminded me a great deal of the room in which Calda had convalesced, but it lacked many of that room's trappings. There were no statues, and little in the way of obvious finery – just a four-poster bed, a large wooden chest and a full length wood-framed mirror. At first, I thought that more luxurious items had been present in here before, but had been removed in punishment. Then I realised that a serathi so single-minded as Myrzanna probably had no eye for art in the first place, and such things had likely never been present to begin with.
Myrzanna stood in the middle of the room. Her bearing was as proud and regal as ever, but there was wildness in her eyes, the look prey adopts when it knows the hunt is all but over. Her wrists and wings were bound, as before, with silver rope. The length wound about her wrists trailed back across the room, and was tied around one of columns along the outer wall.
"Leave us, drudge."
Apparently Myrzanna's incarceration hadn't improved her manners. On the other hand, I couldn't recall a serathi addressing a drudge politely. Edina, composed as ever, simply bowed and backed out of the room.
Myrzanna stared pointedly at Arianwyn. "I told the drudge I wished to speak only to you. Your companion must leave."
"My companion stays, or we both leave," I told her. "I've no sympathy for your plight. As it happens, I'm here only as a courtesy to the drudge who brought us."
Myrzanna laughed darkly. "What a strange creature you are, caring for the feelings of those incapable of such."
"The drudges may no longer be the people they once were, but they still have wants and fears. Perhaps you've not seen that because you've not been looking for proof that what you've done to them is wrong."
"They were sinners in need of repentance," Myrzanna bit out. "Would you rather we left them to prey upon their fellows? This way, they atone through service."
"And how will you atone for those you have slain?" Arianwyn asked.
"My punishment is coming, little one, have no doubt about that," Myrzanna said bitterly. "Once I served the serathiel with my life. Now, it appears I shall soon do so through my death."
"They'll execute you?" Somehow, I hadn't expected the serathi to deal so harshly with one of their own.
"Does that please you? Does it meet your expectation of justice?"
I shook my head. "I don't know."
"Then there is perhaps hope for you."
"What do you mean?" asked Arianwyn.
Myrzanna sneered. "My fate was sealed by defiance, not blood."
"You can't expect us to believe Azyra will execute you simply for disobedience," I said. Was this whole conversation a waste of time?
"Can I not? Do you trust the serathiel?"
"More so than a murderer of innocents."
Myrzanna smiled without humour. "You make a comparison you do not understand. I killed no innocents. Every heart was stained with blood and sin. You could not see it, but I could. It is my gift, and my curse."
Arianwyn stepped closer to Myrzanna, but stopped when I placed a hand on her shoulder. Myrzanna appeared bound and helpless, but there was no point taking any chances.
"You'd not be the first person to claim infallibility in the dispensing of justice," Arianwyn said coldly. "Would you have me believe the children of Salkard were steeped in sin?"
"I believe I asked that you leave," Myrzanna hissed.
"And yet I'm still here," Arianwyn said sweetly. "It seems there are things beyond the serathi, after all."
Myrzanna strode to the limit of the rope so suddenly that I took an involuntary step back. Arianwyn didn't. She held her ground and met the serathi's cold gaze with one of her own. Arianwyn was easily within Myrzanna's reach now, shackles or no, and I was about to pull her away when the serathi did the one thing I didn't expect... She laughed. It wasn't a pleasant sound, so suffused was it with bitterness, but it was a far cry from the attack I'd expected.
"You are a fearless little one," Myrzanna's lips twisted into a mocking grin. "I find your audacity touching. You may stay, on the condition that I have your name."
Arianwyn glanced at me, and I shrugged. I didn't see what harm it could do, especially if Myrzanna was not long for this world.
"I am Arianwyn Trelan."
"Koschai's daughter?" Myrzanna sneered. "Oh, but this is priceless. Adanika's collection is growing."
"Actually, I haven't yet met Adanika," Arianwyn corrected coolly.
"Really? How interesting. What brings you here, little one?"
"I'm one of Tressia's councillors."
"But not a senior one, I would think, judging by your age?"
"No," Arianwyn conceded.
"And not all of Tressia's councillors are on Skyhaven, are they?" Myrzanna asked.
"Just three of us."
"But here you are anyway. Isn't coincidence a wonderful thing?"
"The serathiel invited me personally," Arianwyn replied, with a touch of asperity.
"I am sure she did, little one. Perhaps she wished to reunite you with your father."
I thought back to how Azyra had greeted Arianwyn, assuming she was the head of the council. "What are you trying to tell us?"
Myrzanna's expression was a study in innocence. "Only that the serathiel does nothing without reason. Remember that after I have been led to the fires. There can be only one price for opposing her."
"And for the death you have visited upon the world," Arianwyn said.
Myrzanna looked at her sharply. "Foolish child. I am not to die out of some sentimental regard for mortal life. I slew less than a score of mortals in that village, and all of them had souls as black as night."
"There were a hundred men, women and children in Salkard," I growled. "They died when you set loose the Light of the Radiant."
Myrzanna sagged, stepped backwards, and sank down upon the bed. "At last we come to it," she said distantly, "the very crux of the matter."
"What do you mean?" asked Arianwyn.
"I carried my sword at the serathiel's order. But I did not unleash the Light of the Radiant, and I did not order Irina's death."
"I don't believe Scarface killed Irina," I said, remembering what Jamar had told me. "She was already dying."
Myrzanna stared up at me, her eyes lost to distant fields. "Then what I saw in her eyes was true. I had known Irina lost heart when the Radiant perished, but I never thought..."
"Wait," I interrupted. "The Radiant's dead?"
"Yes," Myrzanna went still.
I'd the distinct impression she'd told us more than she'd intended, but it was too late now. "Are you sure?"
"I was there," she bit out. "We all were. The war could only end with her death, so she went to fire to save us all. Soon I will join her."
"Then why does the serathiel expect her to return?" asked Arianwyn.
"I don't know. Perhaps she has found a way to bring her back. Perhaps she does not want the rest of us... the rest of them... to lose hope. Does it matter?"
"It might," Arianwyn said thoughtfully. "It might very well indeed."
"Who else fought in this war?" I asked. "Was it Malgyne? Or one of the other Great Powers?"
"No," Myrzanna said flatly. I opened my mouth to ask something else, but she held up her hands to silence me. "I speak no more on this. It is not why I summoned you."
"Then why did you?"
"I am the Speaker for Retribution, and that calling flows through me like the Radiant's blood in my veins. I did not destroy Salkard. I did not unleash the drudge that attacked your friends. The dead cry out for vengeance, and I can no longer answer their pleas." Myrzanna rose, and approached as close as the rope would allo
w. There was no threat in her manner now, just a grief wholly at odds with everything I knew about her. "I have no right to ask this of you, I know that. Believe me, if there were any other way, I would take it, but my sisters will not even speak to me."
"What do you want?"
She took a deep breath. "Avenge the dead. Bring them justice. Bring me justice, for I shall soon be counted among them."
"You ask much," I said. "And I've little reason to grant your request."
"Then I beg you," Myrzanna knelt and hung her head. "You know us to be proud, but I will beg you, if that is what is required."
It would have taken a heart of stone to not be moved at the sight. "We'll do what we can. We can start by asking the serathiel to postpone your execution, at least for a time."
Myrzanna gave a sharp laugh, and a little hauteur crept back into her manner. "It is too late. My fate is already written. Besides, you overestimate your importance. You are a pet daring to think himself our equal. One day soon, I think, you will see that. No. I raised my hand to the serathiel, and that alone is enough to see me destroyed."
"What is it that you're not telling us?" Arianwyn asked gently.
"Many things, little one," Myrzanna replied. "More than you can possibly imagine. But I will tell you this: the ambassador should be careful of his friend."
Those words, simply said, set my nerves jangling. "Who?"
"The woman who was here before. Calda. I should watch her very closely, if I were you."
I stepped closer. "What do you mean?"
"If you watch her, you will see."
"Tell me!"
Myrzanna remained kneeling, her head bowed in silence. No amount of coaxing and questioning would compel her to say more, so Arianwyn and I left the chamber.
*******
We returned to the armoury to find the others had gone, but a drudge, ordered to remain behind for precisely that eventuality, politely informed us that we should head to the Courts of Heaven. Arianwyn grumbled, but I pointed out that we'd been gone rather longer than I'd expected, and also that Koschai was unlikely to let Karov and Magorian cause a very great deal of mischief. Nonetheless, I was glad when we finally arrived before the serathiel's throne.