by Lee Duigon
Goryk didn’t hear them. His only impulse was to escape the terrible white lady: to escape from God. With a strangled scream that finally worked its way out, he freed his feet from the stone and fled, moaning, into the palace.
“You’ve said your piece, and it’s time to go!” Uduqu said. He held up his hands and Fnaa jumped down from the coach. Uduqu caught him and swung him safely to the street. “Come on, Gurun, Prester—time to go!”
The crowd milled confusedly. “Traitors! Murderers!” it roared. Uduqu put his shoulder down and headed for the seminary, forcing people out of his way. It was just across the plaza, if only they could get there.
Hand in hand, Fnaa and his mother, Gurun and Jod, followed him. People dropped back when they saw Uduqu’s ferocious tattooed face. Gallgoid and his agents tore men and women out of their way.
“Stop them! Stop them!” cried Merffin Mord, dancing in frustration. The other councilors stood around the empty throne like scarecrows, unable to collect their wits.
And Mardar Zo, seeing the ruin of all their plans, and only one last chance to save them, whisked the cover off his box and opened it.
He lifted the Thunder King’s weapon. It seemed to vibrate in his hands. It had never done that before, but he had no time to wonder about it now.
He aimed it at the roaring mob in the plaza and depressed the lever, as far as it would go, that would unleash the demon that slayed with blinding light and noise that drove men to kill themselves to escape from it. He let the demon loose.
Fnaa heard a sudden hissing sound, like that of a whole lake instantaneously turned to steam, and a blast of furnace-heat smote him in the back.
The Thunder King’s relic, ages old, and never in centuries called upon to function at its full capacity, engulfed the palace in a storm of flame.
Those in the front ranks of the crowd fell dead, the breath seared out of their bodies before they even fell. But the main thrust of the blast blew inward, obliterating the tapestries, devouring the men on the porch without a trace, dissolving the heavy oaken doors. Hellfire in a great gout poured straight into the palace, consuming everything it touched, burning through the walls and ceilings—right down to the cellars, right up to the roofs. Rivers of fire raced into the sky.
The palace burned.
CHAPTER 45
Tidings from the City
Much of Obann burned: most notably the palace, whose very stones burned down to powder. But the fire never crossed the rain-soaked plaza, and the humbler quarters of the city were altogether spared. Before the afternoon was done, the blaze had spent itself. And then it stopped raining.
Gallgoid found Fnaa and the others in the seminary, under Preceptor Constan’s protection. Gurun’s Blays, on guard, were on the point of spearing him before he convinced them otherwise; then they let him in.
“There will never be a better time for all of you to leave for Lintum Forest,” he said. “The city’s in confusion. No one knows what to do. No one is guarding the gates, and people are leaving in droves. I can send a few of my own people with you, and Queen Gurun has her bodyguard.”
“My place is with King Ryons,” Gurun said. “I am ready to go now, Gallgoid.”
“I’ll stay,” said Prester Jod. “Maybe I can help restore some kind of order.”
“We’ll be needed here,” Constan said.
“I want to meet King Ryons—it’s about time I did!” Fnaa said. “I want to go with Gurun.” Dakl, of course, would go with her son.
“I’ve had enough of city life,” Uduqu said. “It’s back to Lintum Forest for me! But what happened to the palace, Gallgoid? All of a sudden the whole place was on fire! What was it?”
“Nothing that I know of,” Gallgoid said; but Jod said, “It was the hand of God, stretched forth in judgment. But I think His mercy has spared much of the city.”
The baron’s party found an empty barn and took shelter there. They were all glad to get out of the rain. “We’ve come at least ten miles,” Kadmel said. “No need to go any farther for a while. I doubt anyone will pursue us today.”
They rested. Jack, Ellayne, and Martis exchanged their stories, with Roshay Bault listening and shaking his head in amazement.
“What times these are for our poor country!” he said. “And I’m afraid there’s worse to come, with the Thunder King’s cat’s-paw as First Prester and those fools, those lack-wit councilors, pretending to govern the city.”
“There’s only Gallgoid left to overthrow their plans,” said Martis. “Not much hope there.”
Wytt had been sleeping in the straw, having broken his long fast on some tasty beetles. But at midday his nostrils began to twitch, and he suddenly sprang up, wide-awake and chattering. Before Ellayne could stop him, he rushed outside into the rain.
“Oh, now what?” she cried. “Come back, Wytt!” She ran after him, and Jack ran after her. Martis followed, and one by one, the men all picked up their weapons and went to see what was the trouble. They were in time to see, at a distance, tentacles of flame crawl up into the sky and, after several minutes, sink back down and disappear.
Wytt uttered a long string of chirps and clicks and whistles.
“That’s what he was afraid of!” Jack said. “It was that thing that Goryk and the mardar carried in a box—the thing they used to make men blind.”
“Just like the little thing that I had,” said Ellayne, “that burst into flame while I was holding it.” Martis nodded. What else, he wondered, had the Thunder King salvaged from ancient times? But he kept that thought to himself for now.
“The poor city!” Kadmel cried. “Hadn’t we ought to go back and see what’s happened?”
But the baron said, “No. There’s nothing we could do. It’s time we all went home.”
Iolo’s reinforcements never came to Silvertown. As the summer drifted into fall, and word spread that the king was there, many hundreds of Silvertown’s inhabitants came out of their hiding places in the hills and returned to the city. Carts loaded with provisions came up from the towns along the river, and Ryons’ men and the people of Silvertown repaired the defenses. For no one doubted that the Thunder King would come again, someday.
The people elected a mayor—not an oligarch—and a council, raised a militia, and sent men up the mountain to defend the pass. Messengers would keep Silvertown in touch with Ninneburky and with Lintum Forest, so that help could be sent swiftly when the Thunder King returned. Families rebuilt their homes in time for winter. By then, it was expected, a prester and a reciter would be sent to serve at Goryk’s chamber house. But no one sent by Goryk would be allowed into the city.
News arrived from Obann that the palace was destroyed, Goryk presumed dead, and First Prester Orth safe in Lintum Forest.
“We ought to be getting back,” said Helki. “If God wants us to cross the mountains, I reckon we’ll have to do it in the spring. Winter comes early, around here.”
The chiefs agreed, and on a fine fall morning, with all the people of the city to cheer them on their way, King Ryons’ army set out for Lintum Forest.
“I’ll be glad to see Carbonek again,” Ryons said to Obst, “but is that truly where God wishes us to be?”
“For the time being, yes—I think so,” Obst answered. “But I don’t believe our work is done, Your Majesty.” He paused, then added, “King Ozias crossed the mountains once, and then returned. It may be God’s will for you to do the same.”
Jack and Ellayne and Enith were playing behind Roshay Bault’s stables when Vannett rang the bell on the back porch to call them in.
“Your grandmother has a visitor from Obann, Enith,” the baroness said, “and they’re waiting for you in the parlor. I believe they have some news for you.”
All three would have rushed to the parlor, but Vannett held back Ellayne and Jack.
“This is news for Enith,” she said. “I’m sure she’ll tell you all about it presently.”
When Enith entered the parlor, a man rose up from the c
ouch to greet her—Master Harfydd, their one-time neighbor, whom she’d never thought to see again. Grammum stood up, too.
“Master Harfydd!” Enith cried. “I’m so glad you weren’t killed in the big fire! What was it like?”
“Hello, Enith. I’m glad to see you, too.” Enith crossed the room to give him a kiss.
“It was a dreadful fire,” he said, as the smile fell off his face. “The Oligarchs’ Palace is no more, and many of the fine townhouses burned down, too—that whole quarter of the city. The same for three of my warehouses and all the stuff inside them! I’m not impoverished, but I’m not a rich man anymore, either.”
Grammum took his hand and said, “Never mind. It doesn’t matter.”
“But you were right, Nywed,” he said. “God’s wrath fell upon the city because they killed the prophets—and many other sins besides. You were right. The city still stands, and will stand. But there’s no more Temple, and now we’ve lost the palace, too. Thousands of people have left Obann, probably for good.”
“But listen, Enith,” Grammum said. “Master Harfydd has asked me again to be his wife—and this time I’ve said yes! We only ask your blessing.”
Enith hugged her grandmother hard and kissed her on both cheeks.
“Oh, I’m glad!” she said. “You should have married him ages ago, Grammum! I could have told you that! But does this mean we’ll be going back to Obann?”
Harfydd shook his head. He’d lost a bit more of the little hair he’d had, Enith noted, but otherwise seemed much the same.
“The city will never be the same again,” he said, “not for me or anybody else. It’s no more the Obann that we’ve always known. Business will take me there from time to time. But I think I fancy resettling here in Ninneburky—if that’s all right with you.”
This morning, for the first time ever, Wytt had hopped into her lap. She beamed at her soon-to-be stepfather.
“I think it’s all just fine,” she said.
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Table of Contents
Moving Day
How Jack Went on a Journey
Ysbott the Snake
A Mission for Ellayne
Jack’s Prayer
The Superstitious Troopers
To Tempt the King’s Guardians
How Wytt Fought a Duel
How Ysbott Earned a Reward
The King in the Forest
How Jack Was Offered a Crown
The Assassin
Councilor and Prester
How the Zeph Were Quelled
Ysbott’s Enterprise
Heralds From Silvertown
How Ellayne Received a Secret Message
How Martis Entered Silvertown
King Ryons’ Loyal Servants
How Ellayne Wrote to Her Father
How Ellayne Played Music for the Outlaws
The White Doe
At Rest in a Gully
How the Army Set Out for Silvertown
Toward Coronation Day
The End of a Long Walk
How Martis and the Baron Parleyed
How Lord Orth Came to the Palace
Guests and Prisoners
How Fnaa Returned to the City
A New First Prester
Concerning the Crown
Jack’s Climb
Iolo in Command
How Jod Learned the Truth
Martis Has a Vistor
How King Ryons Came to Silvertown
How Jack Parted from Gallgoid
The End of the Night
Coronation Morning
A Game with Poisoned Arrows
The Battle of the Brickbats
How the King Was Not Crowned
Tidings from the City
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6