"I had thought to let the Foot Soldiers take you and kill you. But that seems a bit too kind. Traitors deserve to die most of the time, but your crime is subtle."
Wisdom was shivering.
"A subtle crime deserves a subtle punishment, don't you agree?" Rugad asked.
Wisdom said nothing. There was nothing he could say. He knew that Rugad had him.
"I am not always a bloodthirsty man," Rugad said. "In fact, I do not like shedding blood, but it is part of my job. I would be remiss if I didn't shed a bit of blood here."
He smiled. Wisdom kept his head down, as if that would prevent his punishment. Or perhaps he didn't want to see Rugad's face.
"I trusted you," Rugad said. "I trusted you more than I trusted most. And in betraying that trust, you have made it that much harder for the Fey in general. Never again will I trust someone the way I trusted you. Never again will I treat someone as well as I treated you."
Rugad snapped his fingers. The Foot Soldiers came forward. Wisdom hunched in on himself, as if he were protecting his own skin.
"You are dismissed," Rugad said to the Foot Soldiers. "Except for you."
He caught the arm of Gêlo, who had been with him when Solanda died. Gêlo had served him well then, and had not flinched at executing another Fey. He would not flinch here either.
"You will stay," Rugad said.
Wisdom raised his head slightly.
"You are a Charmer," Rugad said to him. "You make your magick with your tongue. It is your weapon to woo others to your bidding. They listen to the magick you speak."
A flush built in Wisdom's cheeks. He was not a dumb man. He caught the implications immediately.
"You also betrayed me with that tongue," Rugad said. "For that, and your subsequent crimes, it shall be removed."
"No!" Wisdom said. "You —
Rugad held up a hand. "Charms do not work on Visionaries," he said. "Do you want your last words to be remembered as failed magick?"
He turned to Gêlo.
"The tongue is yours to do what you will," Rugad said. "But take it quickly. I have other business to attend to."
Gêlo nodded. He approached Wisdom, who took a step back.
"It would be better for you," Gêlo said, "if you did not fight me. My fingertips are precision tools, but even precision tools slip."
Wisdom held still. He opened his mouth enough for Gêlo to stick his fingers inside. The generals watched, some with great interest, some with only mild curiosity. Seger had her arms crossed and her face averted.
There was a scratching sound, then a rip, and a moan from Wisdom. Gêlo removed his hand, cupping it, blood dripping onto the polished floor.
"Well done," Rugad said. "You are dismissed."
Gêlo nodded, then left the Audience Chamber. Wisdom still held his position, mouth closed now, blood dripping out the left side.
Rugad beckoned Seger to come forward. "You may stop the bleeding but not the pain," he said. "You nor any of your kind may not now nor ever replace the tongue. Is that clear?"
"Yes," she said, disgust evident in her voice.
"Before you treat him," Rugad said, "I have one more thing to say to him."
She sighed, but stayed back.
"Wisdom," Rugad said, "You are no longer my adjunct. You no longer have a place at my side. In fact, you no longer have a home among the upper echelon of the Fey. You shall leave your possessions here, and go out in the world, to live off the kindness of strangers."
Wisdom brought one hand to his mouth, then seemed to think the better of it. The fingers came away bloody.
"If you write anything, I shall know of it, and you shall be punished. If you ever invoke my name or my power in any way, you shall be punished. If you return to the headquarters of the Black Throne, wherever that may be, you shall be punished. If you repair your tongue, you shall be punished. Do you understand?"
Wisdom nodded.
"Good," Rugad said. "I want you to note that I have said you will be punished. You will not be killed. Do not do any of these things in the hope that you will be executed. You will not. Your death sentence has been set aside. Look on that as a sign of my lenience."
Rugad turned to Seger. "Take him outside, treat him, and then let him go. When you're through with him, come back to me. And make certain you have washed his stench off you. I never want to think of him again."
"As you wish," Seger said tightly. She put a gentle hand on Wisdom's arm, and led him out the door.
When the door closed, Slaughter laughed. "Such fear on such a proud face."
"He expected you to kill him," Kendrad said.
"Killing him would have been too kind," Rugad said.
"There is no living off the kindness of strangers, at least among the Fey," Black said.
"Fortunately for Wisdom, we are on Blue Isle," Frad'l said. "The Islanders pride themselves on their charity. It is part of their religion."
"The religion we destroyed," Onha said smugly.
Rugad smiled. He liked this group of generals. They understood him. They knew as well as he did that Wisdom would survive, but that was all. His life would never again be comfortable, easy, or pleasant.
He turned to Selia. She was listening to the comments, the look of the trapped hare still in her eyes. Her back was rigid, and her mouth was tight, as if she were preventing herself from speaking.
Rugad nodded his head slightly at her. "Selia," he said softly.
She started, then clenched her fists together as if her own jumpiness bothered her.
"I have heard that you can convince a Foot Soldier in the midst of blood lust to forgo its victim."
"I've done that once," she said.
"I have heard that you can make Red Caps laugh."
She shrugged. "It's not hard."
"I have heard that you can make Islanders believe the touch of a knife's blade is the caress of a lover."
A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "It was an experiment," she said. "It worked."
"Successful members of the Black Throne have always had Charmers at their side, to make certain things run smoothly, to be the eyes of the Throne, and the voice of the Throne when so ordered. You have just seen what happens to a Charmer who fails in this duty."
She nodded, her eyes wide.
"Are you willing to become my new adjunct? To serve me with diligence and to never once take the power of the Black Throne as your own?"
She swallowed so hard he could hear it from where he was standing.
"Yes, sir," she said softly.
He smiled at her. "Good," he said. "I shall tell you the rest of your duties after this meeting. Until then, listen and observe. And remember what will happen if you fail."
"Yes, sir," she said again.
There was a knock on the Audience Chamber door.
"Come," Rugad said, thinking it was Seger, back from treating Wisdom.
Instead it was an elderly Fey, his body shrunken into a question mark, his skin so wrinkled that his eyes were barely visible.
"Sir," the man said. "I am Xet'n. I was told you needed a Lamplighter."
"Yes," Rugad said. In the distraction of dealing with Wisdom, he had forgotten that he had ordered a Lamplighter. "In my chambers upstairs, I destroyed a golem. I have reason to believe that his soul is still there. Can you capture it?"
"If it hasn't left the premises," the Lamplighter said. "A living soul would remain for hours, maybe days, but a golem, sir, a golem is different. If it has life of its own, then it has a different understanding of mobility than we do. It might have moved on already."
"I understand the difficulties," Rugad said. "If you succeed, there's a reward for you. If it is not there, and you can track it, you shall also be rewarded. If you cannot find it, I will not hold that against you."
"If I cannot find it," the Lamplighter said, "it will be searching for its stone, or some other empty vessel. I will leave the lamp inside the suite, and if it returns, it may simply crawl in ther
e. Should it do so, contact me, and I'll make sure we get some use from its magick."
"Excellent," Rugad said. "Have one of the guards show you to the suite."
The Lamplighter nodded, then backed out of the room. He had clearly never been in the presence of the Black Throne before. Rugad had been worried that the golem would not be tied to the space where it shattered. But he also believed this golem would not know its options. It had stayed in this chamber after it shattered the first time. It would stay in Rugad's.
When the Lamplighter had closed the door behind him, Rugad turned to his generals. They were watching him closely. They were scattered along the big table. Some of them used a lot of room, like Onha, the Beast Rider, and others, like Black the Dream Rider, used almost none. Dimar, the Doppelgänger, looked out of place with his Islander face and his cook's whites.
Selia was gripping the arms of her chair tightly, probably regretting her decision to become his adjunct, and Quata, the ship's captain, was looking a bit confused about the proceedings. Quata had expressed confusion before, when Rugad first insisted that he climb the mountain like the rest of the invading Fey. Quata had thought he was going to remain with his ship. He probably hadn't been on land this long since he received his captaincy.
"I have had word," Rugad said with no preamble, "That the Islander King and my great-granddaughter are in the mountains. I do not know their precise location; the word I received was not specific enough. Since we have a firm hold in the mountains to the south, we can be assured they have not gone there. We have needed to consolidate our power in the mountains in the northern part of Blue Isle. Now, I believe, is the time to do so."
Kendrad stirred, as did Onha. They looked even more interested than they had before. So their attention had been, in part, an act. Of course. They had both seen Rugad administer discipline many times. It was not new to them.
"We shall operate as usual," he said. "I shall give you my overall plan, then excuse you. You will develop strategy and report back to me within the hour. Any questions?"
He scanned the faces. They were attentive, but not filled with questions. Not yet. Perhaps not at all. This was an experienced group.
"All right then," he said. He moved toward the maps. "I want you to remove the bulk of your people from this country's heartland. I want you to leave small forces, enough so that these inexperienced Islanders believe they will still be punished, and punished heavily, for any infractions. I want you to send your troops to the mountains here" — he pointed to the Stone Guardians — "here" — his hand moved to the Eyes of Roca directly north of the city — "and here." He tapped the part of the map marked Cliffs of Blood.
Around the table, the generals nodded. Landre leaned back in his chair, his hands templed beneath his chin, as if studying the maps more closely than he had before.
"I understand there are small towns and villages along this route, and that they had given the Islander Kings a bit of trouble." He glanced at Dimar.
Dimar smiled. Doppelgängers were so useful. They had access to the knowledge of their host bodies. "The Wise Leaders of the Cliffs of Blood have refused to acknowledge the authority of the religious group, the Rocaanists. They do acknowledge the religious authority of the King, but not his ruling authority. That religious authority is based on the King's direct lineage to the supreme religious leader, the Islander's Roca. It's odd that the King and his daughter would be hiding anywhere near these people, since there is so much strife. The other villages have historical opposition to the throne, some of which dates back half a millennium. I could go into more detail if you want."
"I think that's enough," Rugad said. "We might be able to use that attitude and turn it to our advantage. If we convince the Islanders, like we did with the group in the Kenniland Marshes to the south, that the Fey will be better for Blue Isle than its traditional ruling family, we might be able to take over the mountains with a minimum of bloodshed."
"I'm not opposed to bloodshed," Slaughter said.
"I prefer to leave as much of this Isle intact as possible," Rugad said. "We don't know what kind of valuables lurk in those mountains. Perhaps none. Perhaps a lot. I suspect the mountains have much to offer us. We might even have to bring over some of our mining domestics from Galinas." He leaned against the maps. "But I get ahead of myself. There are two objectives to this mountain campaign. First, we must find my great-granddaughter. And second, we must secure those mountain villages by any means necessary."
"What of the Islander King?" Ife asked in his lisping light voice.
"Kill him and bring the body back to me," Rugad said.
"Won't that alienate his daughter?"
Rugad shrugged. "I will work on the girl here. The key is to get her here. She is a fighter and quite cunning, as you all know." He brought a hand to his throat. Then he smiled. "But I would expect nothing less from a member of my family."
There was light laughter around the table.
Landre didn't participate. He was still leaning back in his chair, staring at the map. "I have spent the last week gathering information about this place," he said. "There is a wild magick here. And much of it seems to be preserved among the mountain people."
"Are you saying they will be a match for us?" Rugad asked.
"I do not know," Landre said. "It would not surprise me if some of their attack came from magickal weaponry. We've already experienced magickal weaponry here. The first invasion force" — he spit out the words as if they were distasteful — "succumbed to a liquid weapon. The day we took over this palace, a young Black Robe slaughtered several of our people with a single sword."
"We need to recover that sword," Rugad said.
"I was told he removed it from the wall in the Great Hall," Kendrad said.
"I would like it or others like it for study," Landre said.
"We will examine the swords on that wall," Rugad said. "After I determine which to take."
Landre nodded once.
"You sidetracked us. What was your original point?" Rugad asked.
"My point is this: None of the previous magickal attacks came in a form with which we were familiar. What may look to you like a simple stick might in fact be a wand. Be forewarned." Landre's voice wobbled on the last, as if he were trying to make a pronouncement.
"Prepare your troops as Landre suggests," Rugad said. "His point is a good one. We must never underestimate these Islanders."
The generals nodded. Then Quata cleared his throat. Rugad looked at him.
"Am I to understand, sir, that the ships you brought on this invasion are to take part in the attack on the northern mountains?" Quata asked.
"No," Rugad said. "I brought you here for another reason. I'm sending you back to your ship."
Quata let out a small breath of air. His relief was palpable.
"I want you to choose a ship, not the Ycyno, but one of the smaller ships, probably the Lime Hill, but you can see which one is more seaworthy, and send it back to Nye."
Quata nodded.
"I will have you meet with one of the Domestics. You'll load the ship with supplies from Blue Isle, things that can only be found here, things the Nyeians haven't seen since Blue Isle cut off trade twenty years before."
Kendrad smiled. She knew, as Rugad did, that long-missed goods would do a lot to repair the Fey's reputation among the Nyeians. It would also keep Rugad in the forefront of their consciousness, since he would be the giver of such bounty.
Rugad smiled down at her, then continued. "I also want you to take this order to my grandson Bridge. Tell him I want the second team and their ships sent to Blue Isle. They will approach the Isle as we did."
Landre leaned back in his chair. The temple of his fingers collapsed and he held his hands together tightly. He obviously didn't approve.
"The message you will send to Bridge is this," Rugad said. "You will tell him that we are preparing to go to Leut, and that we will need additional troops as we conquer a new continent. I will have a list pr
epared for you this evening of the names I want on the third team. Tell him to have that team ready in two months. I will probably need them then."
"All right, sir," Quata said. "When do I leave?"
"This evening. I will have a horse for you. It's a bit of a journey to the southern part of Blue Isle."
Quata smiled. He had already made the journey once. He knew how difficult it was.
"When are we planning to go to Leut?" Landre asked. His question was laconic; it almost seemed as if he didn't care. But Rugad knew better. Landre always had a reason for his questions. Unlike Wisdom, he knew how to couch his objections in more acceptable terms.
"As soon as we have my great-grandchildren."
"You do not care if you've molded them by the time we head for Leut," Landre said.
"Not everyone shall go to Leut," Rugad said. He knew Landre had spoken up so that Rugad would tell them the entire plan. He didn't mind. He would tell them just enough so that they thought they knew what he was going to do. "Blue Isle is an interesting and captivating place, as my son discovered. We can't leave it untended as we did, say, L'Nacin, when we went on through Galinas. I did not know that when I left Nye. Some of these things must be discovered in the field. Now I know. And we need more troops."
Landre nodded. "I would appreciate extra Spell Warders if they can be spared," he said. "This place provides a challenge we have not seen in my lifetime."
"I will make certain we have some," Rugad said. He paused. No one else seemed inclined to say anything, so he nodded. "You're dismissed, then. I shall see you back here in one hour with a detailed battle plan
They stood and started out of the room. Selia came up to him. "You were going to tell me my duties, Sir."
She was terrified of him. He could see it in her eyes. That was good; it would keep her honest. She would always remember the day she saw Wisdom lose his tongue.
"I will," he said. "In a moment. Take a break with the others. I have a few things to finish first."
She bent her head, then backed out of the room, showing complete respect. He smiled as he watched her go. She would be a nice change from Wisdom, whom Rugad had let get out of hand.
The Resistance: The Fourth Book of the Fey (Fey Series) Page 40