A Dragon In the Palace

by William King

  A few moments of reflection convinced me of the stupidity of that idea. If she saw me as a potential rival, there would be easier ways to get rid of me. A dagger in the back, for example.

  She could simply not have healed me when I was sick. No, as far as I could see, Mistress Iliana was not my enemy. Master Lucas did not appear to be either. That left an obvious question, “who would these potential enemies be, mistress? Who would see me as a long-term rival?”

  “There are those at the Courts of the Moon and some who stand before the Thrones of Shadow who would see you as one. Worse, some of them might see you as a potential source of power.”

  “A source of power, mistress?”

  “There are those who feed on the power of rival magicians. They consume their life force and thus extend their own life spans.”

  She had mentioned this to me before. I shuddered at the thought. “You have convinced me that I should keep a low profile, mistress.”

  “It’s a bit late for that now and I have not finished,” she said." There are also those who keep rival mages alive and use them as a source of power. They link to them in the same way as you are linked to your dragonling."

  I had not heard of this before. “Who would do such a thing, mistress?”

  “You already know the answer. All manner of dark arts are practised in the Shadow Kingdoms. Those who serve the Thrones would be glad to have you as a slave, as food, as a potential source of power.”

  “Fortunately for me, mistress, I am not in the Shadow Kingdoms,” I said. I did not mean to sound snarky. I was frightened and this was the way it came out. “We live in a land where those who serve the Holy Sun rule.”

  “Yes, fortunately, we do.” She said. “However even here agents of those rival powers are at work. And you would make a tasty morsel for some Dark Lord.”

  The way she said it was chilling. I did not like the idea of becoming food which was, no doubt, what she intended. “What can I do to avoid such a fate, mistress?”

  “You can study and you can serve the Duke,” she said. “He has already made an investment in you. He will do his best to preserve it.”

  “And you, mistress?” It was cheeky of me to ask but the words just slipped out as they so often did.

  “You are my apprentice,” she said. “I have a duty of trust to you. And I would do it anyway.”

  The last part of that statement surprised me. I wondered whether to believe her. She was teaching me and she had not made any attempt to devour me so she had that in her favour.

  “I’m grateful, mistress,” she said.

  “You ought to be. My own master was not so kind.”

  An old bitterness which had grown familiar with during our travels showed in her voice. “Your old master, mistress?”

  “Hopefully, you will never encounter him. If you do my advice would be to run as fast and as far as possible, at least until you come into your own power. But then, of course, he might consider you a rival.”

  “He sounds like an awful man, mistress,” I ventured. I was hoping to provoke into telling me more. I was at once fascinated and repulsed by the thought of her master. He did not sound at all like someone into whose clutches I would want to fall into but on the other hand he had been her teacher.

  “He is. But we shall speak no more of this matter. You’re not yet of an age where these things should be discussed.”

  I was fifteen summers old. I took this as a grave insult. I kept my face bland though. I would show her. We would see who was old enough.

  “Anyway, tomorrow, you’re visiting your friend Jay’s family, I believe.”

  The abrupt change of subject startled me. I had forgotten the visit in all of the excitement. It was a good job that one of us had remembered. “Of course, mistress,” I said.

  “Doubtless you will want to explore the town a bit with your friends,” she said. We were going to have to go through the town in order to reach Jay’s family home but I had not imagined that we would want to do anything on our way. “Yes, mistress.”

  She reached into her purse and produced some coins. “You should take these, in case you wish to purchase anything,” she said. “It is customary to take a small gift when you visit somebody’s home. Flowers perhaps.”

  I almost laughed to hear Mistress Iliana talking about flowers. I restrained myself. She was most likely correct. After all, she knew much more about these things than I did. I suddenly felt as out of place as I had done contemplating meeting the Duke. Once again, the fact that I was far from home was made apparent to me. “Thank you, mistress. I shall bear that in mind.”

  “You might also want to change of clothes,” she said. “I understand that your friend lives in the less salubrious part of the town.”

  It did not occur to me then to wonder how she knew that. It just seemed part of her general omniscience. Of course, she would have checked into these matters. I was her apprentice and my safety, as she had said, was important to her. “Change my clothes, mistress?”

  She indicated a small basket that sat upon the stool in the corner. I walked over and saw it was full of clothes. I picked them up. They smelled freshly washed and they looked clean but I recognised them immediately. They were my old clothes. Here was the shirt my mother had patched so many times. There were the britches that had once had a hole in the knee which had been neatly darned. I felt a sudden surge of nostalgia. I noticed that it was the basket my mother had given me when I left. Then it had been filled with food. I felt a surge of gratitude, “You saved my old clothes, mistress. Thank you."

  “Well,” she said gruffly, “they are yours. I thought it best to let you decide how they would be disposed of. Now, it looks as if you might have some use for them.”

  I stared at her. I was starting to suspect that behind her cold exterior there might actually be a considerate person. I thrust that thought aside as deeply unlikely.

  “There’s a small purse as well, you’ll notice, for you to put money on.” To my shame I had not noticed. There was a small pouch of leather with the drawstrings by which the mouth could be closed. It was extremely well made and considerably more expensive looking than my clothes. I put the money in and then I lifted the purse. It clinked satisfyingly in my hand. I stuck it in my pocket and felt almost like whistling.

  “You will be able to go after church service tomorrow,” she said.

  Somehow, so far, I had avoided attending any form of church service since I got here. I had even forgotten that I had a responsibility to go and worship the Holy Sun on Sunsdays. I did a swift mental calculation, “I have been sick on both Sunsdays since I got here,” I said.

  “Correct,” she said. “Now it seems best if you attend holy service again. The inquisitors will start paying attention soon. You will be attending the sermon at the Duke’s Chapel with me.”

  I felt another surge of nervousness but also excitement. Lady Alysia would be there. I would see her again. I smiled broadly. My mistress nodded as if she understood exactly what I was thinking. I would not have put that past her.

  “I will try not to wear my old clothes, mistress,” I said.

  “That would be a very good idea,” she said. “Now run along and get something to eat and then get some sleep. Tomorrow is the first day of rest you will have had since you got here. Try and enjoy it.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The next day the servant laid out a new set of clothes, even more elaborate than the ones I had been wearing. On the breast worked in gold thread was the symbol of the Duke. There was a white tabard as well. I struggled to put the clothing on until the servant helped me.

  There was even a special sling for Red, marked in the Ducal colours and embroidered with golden thread. He clambered into it and hung there. I stowed some sausage in my pocket. I dreaded the idea that he would start roaming round the church in search of food during the service, an embarrassment to me, my mistress and himself.

  I fretted about all the things that could go wron
g. I imagined him breathing fire on the nobles or setting the altar alight and I felt the urge to hide in my room, although I knew there was no way of getting out of attending. I had been spared previously because I had been sick. Now there was no excuse.

  I was surprised when there was a knock on the door and Mistress Iliana entered, dressed not in her usual garb but in a similar costume to my own. On her, it looked natural. It gave her an air of authority and command. Her face was still painted white and hair was still dyed blood-red but she looked every inch the Sunlander aristocrat. Multiple elder signs dangled from her neck and the tattoos showing her magical glyphs were covered up by the clothing.

  She inspected me critically, grasped my chin with her fingers and turned my head to one side then the other. She walked around me. “You’ll do,” she said eventually. She looked at Red and said nothing but I felt as if she was sending a silent message to the dragonling to be on his best behaviour. Red hunkered down in his sling and did his best to avoid her gaze.

  We set out for the Sunsday service. It was to be held in the cathedral we had passed on my way to be presented to the Duke in the Glass Wing. It was early but the servants were up and about doing all of the things that servants have to do whether it’s Sunsday or not. They would be going to their own service later, Mistress Iliana explained to me on the route.

  Red’s head poked out of the sling and he surveyed everything we passed with interest. I took the opportunity to slip him a bit of sausage. The last thing I wanted was for him to be hungry and begin hunting once we were inside.

  We went up the steps of the cathedral and entered. It was cool in there, not just with the cool of the morning but with that of an old thick-walled stone building. It took a few moments from my eyes to adjust to the darkness within.

  Everything seemed shadowy and vague to begin with but after a while I began to pick out the rows of benches, the pillars carved with heraldic symbols and the tapestries depicting religious scenes that covered the walls. I was glad that Mistress Iliana was there because I had no idea what to do.

  The pews were already filled with worshippers. It seemed like the richest were at the front. Certainly, there were a number of people wearing a considerable weight of jewellery. Sir Vorster sat in the second row. Master Lucas was at the very front.

  In the centre of the first pew right next to the aisle were empty seats. I guessed that that was where the Duke and his family would go. Mistress Iliana led me towards the front.

  I was very conscious of people staring at me as I walked. My new shoes were tight and the collar of my tunic bit into my flesh. Despite the cool I was sweating again. We walked right to the first pew, and I followed Mistress Iliana as she swept towards the left. It put us as far as possible from the lectern from which the sermon would be preached. As I walked, Vorster glared at me. As I studied his arrogant face, I noticed something else there, a twinge of fear or perhaps of uneasiness.

  Did he regret breaking my nose? Was the fact that I was in favour with the Duke making him nervous? Did he know about my apprenticeship and was he afraid? I hoped so.

  Red extended his neck from the sling and glanced at Vorster and then around. A lot of eyes focused on him. I guessed it was not every Sunsday people saw a dragonling in church.

  Mistress Iliana sat at the very end of the bench and she patted the space beside her to make sure I knew where to sit. I almost tripped as I did so but then felt that I was in a refuge. My back was partially covered by the wood of the pew.

  Next to Master Lucas sat his apprentices. In the seats closest to the empty parts of the pew was First Minister Kahil. Beside him sat a slender woman of extraordinary dark-haired beauty and a girl almost as pretty. On the far side there were other people I could not quite make out in the shadows.

  I heard the sounds of coughing and low conversation as more people arrived. There were greetings as friends encountered each other. Priests in golden robes came and went, active as the servants at a feast. I had the sense that they were preparing for some vast intricate ritual. They had a look of concentration on their faces.

  A tapestry nearby depicted a battle. Yellow haired men riding on armoured chargers slaughtered dark-skinned people who might well have been my ancestors. Over them the armoured forms of angels loomed. They were human with beautiful faces and halos. Their armour and weapons looked like those in the Glass Wing but proportioned correctly for the human form.

  Around the edges of the battlefield demons and monsters lurked. The borders were worked with elder signs made from golden thread. Someone had spent a lot of money and time creating this work of art and it was just one of many. The whole church spoke of wealth. I guess that was the intention as always in the Palace.

  Just as that thought percolated into my mind, a bell rang. As the last echoes faded, all conversation stopped and all eyes turned towards the front.

  A door opened in the far side of the chapel close to the lectern. Through it came the Duke and Lady Alysia and a tall old man with long silver hair who I had not seen before. I guessed he was a priest. The clue was in his golden robes, elaborately worked with elder signs.

  The Duke made his way towards the central pew of the first row with Lady Alysia walking two steps behind, eyes modestly downcast, face veiled. They took their seats.

  The old priest walked up to the lectern and opened the huge book. He coughed, placed one hand on each side of the lectern as if by gripping it he could keep himself upright and then stared out at us, making sure that we were all silent.

  He began to read aloud from the book, at first in a quavering voice but which gained power becoming more golden and persuasive as he progressed. He read a passage of scripture I recognised, about a rich man’s generosity to the poor. It was a reminder to all present to give to charity and pay their tithes to the church and to be open and fair and honest in all their dealings.

  I felt some reassurance at the long-remembered words. They took me back to my childhood. The air started to smell of incense and I realised that was one of the duties of the lesser priests around the church. They were lighting braziers and placing herbs in the flames.

  The priest began a catechism, chanting questions and waiting for responses. I joined in enthusiastically, forgetting my self-consciousness. The measured words, ritual, scent, the Sunsday gloom all took me back to my childhood, which was not so long ago at that time.

  It was reassuring to sit in the dark and listen to the words of the sermon and then chant the catechism. It was reassuring being told to bow my head and pray. As I spoke the words of the first prayer along with everybody, I felt a great peace settle in my heart.

  I felt myself being cleansed. I had missed this. I needed the reassurance of the benevolence of the Holy Sun. As the priest spoke, great shutters moved in the ceiling and sunbeams fell on us, illuminating us with the Holy Sun’s light. It was a theatrical effect but it made its point.

  I heard a faint snoring coming from the region of my chest. Red had fallen asleep which was a relief after all my earlier worries.

  As I said the prayer, I noticed that no sound was coming from my mistress. I glanced sidelong and saw she was mouthing the words but not saying them aloud. I wondered why but now was not a good time to ask. She noticed me looking at her and narrowed her eyes to indicate that I should get my attention back to the priest.

  He spoke more prayers and catechisms. After a full hour passed, I was almost sorry when the old man closed the book, led us in the final prayer and then departed.

  Once he had passed out of the church, a bell sounded and there was a moment’s silence before a babble of speech as the tension of the ritual was let go. People spoke to the neighbours. I looked at the noble man sitting to the right of me and he nodded amiably enough then started talking to the person on his right.

  I wondered whether he was simply more interested in his companion or whether he was frightened by the presence of Mistress Iliana. She certainly looked out of place in the church on Sunsday.
<
br />   “We can go soon,” Mistress Iliana said. I thought I heard a note of relief in her voice. I wondered what it was about the ceremony that so upset her. I thought about some of the hints she let drop about her master. It seemed that in her time, perhaps, she had had some contact with the Shadow and I wondered if she felt that might come between her and the light.

  Standing as I was in the glow of my faith, I knew I never wanted that to happen to me. It was then I noticed that the Duke had not followed the priest out. He stood in the centre of the church being greeted by First Minister Kahil and all of the other nobles. Lady Alysia hovered near him. Frater Jonas and Frater Franco were with her, talking away. Frater Franco seemed particularly intense. I wondered why.

  “Perhaps,” my mistress said, “because Lady Alysia is a person of some influence. One way to influence the father is through the daughter.”

  She spoke in a whisper so low that I almost could not hear and I was sorry I had asked the question. I felt as if I had made some sort of social error.

  When I looked at Mistress Iliana though she was already giving her attention to the rest of the room, scanning it as a hawk scans a field looking for prey. Her gaze made many people uneasy.

  I approached the Duke with everybody else to pay my respects. Mistress Iliana bowed as did I. I felt the Duke’s full attention on me. He placed a hand lightly on my shoulder and said, “I have been hearing wonderful things about you, young man.”

  “Thank you, Your Grace,” I said. Once again I found myself the centre of all attention. Once again I felt exposed. There was no thrill in it at the moment. I felt as if anything I could say would make me look like an idiot.

  I glanced across at Lady Alysia. She smiled when she caught my glance and I smiled back. The Duke said, “I have never heard of such promising beginning to any mage’s studies. Master Lucas assures me that you are quite the most astonishing pupil he has ever had.”