“That they killed me? No, I’m here. For a while I’ll be here, I hope.”
“Where’d they put Kansten? Is she in the other room?”
“I’m pretty sure Kansten did die, Zacry.”
“Oh.”
“I’m so sorry this happened. I’m so sorry. None of us meant you to get tangled up in this, not a one. Zalski caught us off-guard.”
“It’s not your fault,” said Zacry. “My luck was always horrible.”
“Why did he bring you up here? Where were you before? No one’s hurt you, have they? You’re not hurt?”
“Zalski wouldn’t hurt me, are you kidding? He wants to brainwash me. Wants me to turn out like him as some kind of sick revenge on Kora. I told him he could hang himself.”
“Oh, Zacry, you didn’t!”
“Well, not exactly. But that was the idea.”
Bendelof breathed hard. “I can’t believe he locked you up.”
“After what I told him, I can. Don’t worry about it. I’d rather be here if being out means I’m his apprentice. You’re better company. I just wish Kora could know I’m not gonna let her down, or Sedder.”
“God rest his soul,” said Bendelof.
“Do you know, I used to think she was boring.”
“Your sister?”
“And strict. I’d get mad at her when she’d call me careless. Kora boring, how stupid was that? What’s really awful is she knew I felt that way. I made it pretty obvious. Even after she found me a few days ago, I never told her how proud I am to be her brother, and now she’s got to be out of her mind worrying. She told me not to fight. She told me that, and maybe I shouldn’t have. I don’t know. I guess it doesn’t matter now.”
“It was something, what you did. I couldn’t have expected more from Laskenay.”
“Yeah, well, if Laskenay’d been there, you wouldn’t be here right now.”
“Maybe,” said Bennie. “Maybe not.”
“I just, I wish I could tell Kora I’m all right. I hope she’s all right. You don’t think anyone stayed behind to, to set a trap, do you?”
“They didn’t. That wasn’t why Zalski dropped by.”
“It wasn’t? Why else would he sniff the place out?”
“I don’t know if I can explain. It wouldn’t make sense, but I’m sure the others are carrying on. I’m sure of it. I promise, they’re holding tight. Your sister’s safe.”
“For now.”
“For now,” Bennie conceded.
“Is it strange, to think of them working without you?”
“A little. I always figured when they went on without me I’d be dead. I don’t mean to be blunt like that, but it’s unnerving—yes, unnerving—not knowing what’s happening, or where they are. It’s sad to think I won’t go on another mission with Ranler.”
“Who was Ranler?” asked Zacry.
“The bald one.”
“Him? Really?”
“He’s not as gruff as he probably came off. He taught me most of what I know, I’d say. I never would’ve made it without his help. I wouldn’t have lasted a month.”
“Where are you from?”
“A little farm, on the other side of the river.”
“I’m from Hogarane. Well, close to Hogarane. There are tons of farms out there, but my family didn’t have one. My dad was a carpenter and merchant.”
They’ll talk about this droll for hours, Zalski thought. He whispered the transport spell beneath his breath, almost inaudibly, and moved to his office.
Kora dropped to the ground. She let her heart fill with pride at the stand her brother had made, instead of with dread for the plight in which he found himself.
He’s near Bennie. They’re together. If nothing else, the Giver gave them that. He could be worse off: he’s not in danger in that room, and I don’t think he will be, not if Zalski didn’t even strike him. His head’s high, and he knows he did right by Sedder.
Kora had never realized how much Zacry admired Sedder. Had striven to be like him. She shut her eyes, pondering what her brother had said to Bennie.
You haven’t let me down, not today. Not ever. And that’s something that won’t change, I know that, Zacry. I’ll get you of there, I promise. I promise, once we take care of Zalski at the Tricentennial….
“Kora?”
Kora started; she had not heard Neslan walk up. He glanced from the chain that hung around her neck to her pasty face. “Is something wrong? Is it Menikas, did he run into trouble? What did you see?”
“It’s Zacry,” Kora began, and got no further before Laskenay walked out the barn.
“We made lunch, Kora, if you’re hungry. Or you, Neslan. I wasn’t expecting you back just yet.”
Neslan held up a hand. “Something’s wrong with Zacry.”
“Zalski locked him in the, in the room across from Bennie. My God, the look on Zac’s face when they transported there!”
“Why would Zalski ever…?”
“Zac refused to let Zalski teach him, outright refused. I’m just glad that’s all Zalski did to him. Zac was pretty blatant. I’m starting to regret we couldn’t induct him when he was with us. Obviously, it wasn’t an option, and it shouldn’t have been, it really shouldn’t have, there’s just no way…. It would have meant the world to him, though, to be part of the League, even just in name. He’s got the gumption, he has that already. He’s standing up to Zalski for God’s sake. Laskenay, we’ve got to get him out of there, him and Bennie. Before something happens to them.”
“We will, God willing. Sooner than you may think. For now, you’re handing me that chain.”
“What? Why?” Kora grabbed her necklace tight.
“I don’t want you using it, not for the rest of the week. I don’t want you watching these things. Your heart’s too close to them. I never should have asked you in the first place.”
Kora took a deep breath, untangled her fingers from the chain’s cold links. “I’m just glad I can find out how he is. He’s my brother, my baby brother. Do you have any idea what I’d imagine had happened to him if I didn’t know? And Zalski, he’s meeting with Malzin later, to decide where they’re going with the search. We have to know their plan. We owe it to Bendelof. We owe that to Bennie, Laskenay. We can’t let him find that book.”
Laskenay put a hand on Kora’s arm. “You’re right. You’re right, and I apologize. I won’t treat you like an infant. But you’ll want to be cautious tracking Zalski. Only spend what time you must to stay informed, what you absolutely must. Anything more than that would drain you, even were you not so personally invested.”
“Listen to her,” said Neslan. “I don’t like what this is doing to you. You’re jumpy. You look weak. Lanokas told me what that chain does, and there’s something sinister about it.”
“I don’t disagree,” Kora told him.
“It was enchanted for the Marked One, isn’t that what Petroc said? Only the Marked One can utilize its power?”
“That’s right.”
“The library closes for a couple of hours each afternoon. When I go back I’ll see if I can’t get my hands on a book that might tell us more about this chain. There might be something, a variation of your legend, some obscure addition to the part everyone knows….”
“That’s exactly the sort of thing I meant you to search for,” said Laskenay.
445
CHAPTER NINE
Laskenay’s Story
Zalski and Malzin sat in Zalski’s office, in the armchairs in front of his desk. They had a number of ideas about the Librette, some clever enough to thoroughly impress, but most related to Podrar, not one of which took them in the actual vicinity of the book. More interesting was their discussion about Zacry.
“Two days in that room and he’ll consent to learn from you.”
“Perhaps,” said Zalski. “He has it in his head he owes Sedder Foden the tribute of snubbing me. I should have seen Zacry idolized him. What’s to be done?”
“You could
threaten him with the girl’s welfare.”
“Miss Esper? The boy lies under the misconception I’ve no scruples whatsoever. Condescending to coercion would prove him right. I won’t terrorize a twelve-year-old.”
“I said you could,” said Malzin. “Meaning it lies within your power, nothing more.”
“I suppose there’s a chance he might come to his senses. Remind me tomorrow to bring him his grammar. He rejects a magical education, so general schooling may be the key to winning him. In any case, I don’t want to hold him in that tower for longer than a week.”
“He’s tied your hands. You can’t permit him to run around the Palace. You likewise cannot let him on the streets. Either way, he would not rest until he tried to free the girl. Ask him yourself, and he’ll admit it. He would aim to free the redhead and get himself killed in the attempt.”
“I was rash to incarcerate him.”
Malzin scoffed. “He chose incarceration. You aren’t to blame for his close-mindedness.”
“It’s a pity nonetheless. He has potential.”
“It is a pity. His sense of duty’s misplaced, and there’s nothing to be done to adjust it. He’s made that crystal clear.”
“Speaking of crystal….” said Zalski. The quartz on his office wall began to glow. “This had best be urgent.” He went to the door to find an elite guardsman with his fist raised, ready to knock. Zalski ushered him in. They both remained standing.
“I don’t like to be disturbed here.”
“You’d want to be for this,” said the guard, a man Kora had never seen. He was bald and stocky and reminded her of Ranler. “Alten Grombach’s dead.”
“When?” asked Malzin, rising to join the men. “How?”
“In an apartment on Yangerton’s east side. Yesterday, we think. Someone shot him.”
Not someone. Hune, damn him.
Malzin eyed the bringer of bad news, visibly shaken. “You came from Yangerton? In this short a time?”
“I changed horses twice. Didn’t stop.”
“What time did this happen,” asked Zalski, “do we know?”
“Witnesses report Vobel and Trank slain outside the building around 11:00 a.m., also by arrow. Shortly thereafter, three adolescents were seen climbing down a fire escape. Males.”
That makes no sense. Esper and Porteg are the only adolescents.
Malzin groaned. “Not Vobel,” she said. “I liked Vobel. He had style.”
“Vobel and Trank,” the guard repeated. Malzin turned to her husband.
“Someone showed up as we were leaving,” she said. “You know what this means?”
“Laskenay found new recruits. Webb, step outside.”
The guard left the office. Malzin was careful not to speak too loudly. “New? Who knows how long they’ve been with her? Why didn’t Rone mention them?”
“He assumed we knew of them. As you said, they might not be novices. What’s clear is that Rone’s no double agent: if he were, we never would have found Zacry Porteg in that apartment. Don’t fret about traitors. Have Webb shown to a room, and have food brought to him. I’m going to Yangerton…. Malzin?”
Zalski’s wife was twisting her hands. “The last time I spoke to Alten, he lamented my luck,” she said. “My luck. He was dead not half an hour later.” She shuddered. “I’ve never been fond of ironies.”
“Nor have I.” Zalski placed a hand on her shoulder.
“When will you be back?”
“When I know what the hell has happened.” Zalski moved into the corridor, tearing toward a staircase that would bring him to the lower floors of the Palace, and Kora left him.
“He’ll go straight to the apartment,” she told herself. Never again did she want to see those rooms, especially not dark and abandoned, profaned by the presence of the last man on earth who should ever have stood within their walls.
* * *
That night, when Laskenay called everyone together to set watch, Kora said she’d like to stand with her. It made no sense for two sorcerers to take guard duty together; that was Laskenay’s response. Better to have a longer portion of the night split between them. Kora insisted.
They took first watch.
“Don’t tell me Malzin found the book’s trail.”
“No,” said Kora. “She’s moving the search to the capital. You know that city better than any other, so she thinks you stashed it there. Zalski agrees it’s likely.”
“Podrar’s a sensible place for them to start. It’ll keep the guard occupied for months.” Laskenay paused. “This isn’t about the Librette, then? Why did you want to stand watch with me?”
“Laskenay, is Teena’s nephew your son?”
Laskenay stopped mid-step. In the moonlight her eyes bore a stunning resemblance to a doe’s, despite their pale coloring. “What did you learn? My God, Zalski hasn’t….”
“He hasn’t touched the boy,” said Kora. “I don’t think he has the slightest idea where he is. He mentioned in passing you have a son, and I, I figured it out. I guess you could say I put two and two together.” Laskenay clutched her chest, her breathing shallow. “I’m sorry,” Kora said, “I didn’t mean to frighten you, I really didn’t. I only meant to ask.”
Laskenay collected herself. “It’s all right, I just hadn’t anticipated…. Yes, the boy Teena calls her nephew is my son, my only child. Lanokas and Teena herself are the only souls who know. I never told Menikas his whereabouts. It’s safer that way, for Valkin.”
Kora smiled. “He’s named after his father.”
Laskenay motioned for Kora to walk with her. They moved to the wall that stood opposite the loft, as far from prying ears as prudence would allow.
“He’s the spitting image of my husband, that’s what Lanokas said. I wouldn’t know. He was an infant when his father died, three months. Three months and twelve days. His birth was so difficult, it nearly took my life. When Zalski killed the king, and Neslan and Rexson dragged a wounded Hune—Menikas, I mean Menikas—when they dragged Menikas to my door, I’d only been walking without support for a week. I imagine that’s why Zalski let me live. He took pity on me. He’s not without feeling, I hope you’ve noticed.” Kora said she had. “He’s decent in some respects, even now. He knew I posed no threat, weak as I was. He could have dispatched me easily, as easily as…. He killed our mother before the coup. I don’t know if I ever told you that.”
“You did. Lanokas told me once as well.”
“He killed her as a kindness. That’s how he views it, his ideals are that twisted, though I admit she never could have lived knowing what her son had wrought. The news of my father’s death, that alone would have overwhelmed her. Zalski wanted to spare her the pain…. Where was I?”
“Neslan and the royals.”
“Ah, yes, the princes. I wasn’t expecting visitors that day, especially not the ones I received, robed as priests of the Giver. They didn’t have to tell me what was wrong. Menikas’s state made that perfectly clear. I distinctly remember, the baby had just woken, so I held him in one arm as I healed Menikas. He’s fortunate I managed what little I was able. I knew very few spells back then, and hadn’t cast one in over a year. Still, it was a shoddy job. I could barely close the wound.”
“You did enough,” said Kora.
“I suppose. I held the baby while Hune—Menikas, I don’t know why I keep using his proper name—while Menikas was collapsed on a settee and pretty thoroughly covered with blood. Before I could ask about Valkin, I caught Neslan’s eye and I knew. There was something in his look, something indescribable. It was as though I saw the word widow reflected in his pupils, stamped in a ghostly white across the black. I dropped to an ottoman, and Neslan started speaking, but I stopped him when he confirmed my suspicions. My husband had indeed been killed. I needed to know nothing more. I asked how Menikas was injured, and he simply said, ‘Zalski.’
“The reply was enough. I’d assumed my brother’s guilt before Neslan spoke. Though I’d always been blind to
Zalski’s ambition, I assumed. One glance at the wounded prince and it made instant, horrible sense to me that Zalski would seek revenge, would strive to correct the injustice of the king….”
“Injustice against sorcery.”
“Against sorcery,” Laskenay agreed. “Which meant I wasn’t safe. Zalski would build a regime around magic, and I was a sorceress. If I failed to support him wholeheartedly, which I, I simply could not do, he’d consider me against him. I also knew my mother was in trouble. I told Neslan I had to go to her. He insisted on coming with me, so we left the baby with Lanokas at Oakdowns, my husband’s manor.
“We found my mother lying in her bed. She looked to be at peace, if nothing else. I’m certain Zalski poisoned her. She was in good health, and only fifty. To think she died of natural causes, on that of all days, would be absurd.
“Neslan checked her pulse. There was none. He looked up at me when he lowered her arm and assured me, ‘I’m fighting back.’ And I told him, ‘So will I.’ ‘What about your son?’ he asked. I had no answer. But I knew that whether I should fight or no, the safest place, the only place for Valkin, was one as far from me as possible. I took what I could find in the mansion that might be useful: an armful of spellbooks, mostly. Spellbooks and money. We returned to Menikas, and my mind cleared a little.
“I had to take my child from Podrar. Away from his uncle. Lanokas and I set out that night after one stop, to leave a letter with Alten Grombach, of all people. We hoped he might join our side. If anyone could have foiled Zalski at that stage, it was the General. Still, I didn’t trust the man. I told Lanokas to reveal nothing that, should Alten be a traitor, he would not already know.”
“He was a traitor.”
Laskenay nodded. “Neslan tended Menikas in a secret room of his father’s mansion. Lanokas and I took the baby north, and farther north, mile after mile. I had no distinct plan. Lanokas asked on the third or fourth night what I intended to do for Valkin. I told him, find someone who could care for him, could raise him in safety. The baby, he was asleep at the time on a bed in the commonest inn I’d ever seen. I started to move closer to him, to take him in my arms, but Lanokas held me back. ‘You’ll wake him,’ he whispered. I knew he was right. I turned to him in desperation, and he held me. He held me for an hour straight as I completely fell apart. He’s always been a, an incredible comfort to me, has Lanokas. A loyal friend.” Laskenay smiled at the sky, her lip trembling.
The Crimson League (The Herezoth Trilogy) Page 42