by Phil Parker
‘Are you suggesting that because something has always been so, we should never seek to change it? Because I maintain if we don’t change things, there will be revolution, regardless of anything I do.’
He was biting his lip now and his eyes had turned icy cold. We were entering dangerous territory and I knew pushing him beyond it could prove hazardous, even deadly.
‘It is important to pick the right moment for such changes. I recommend we delay them. Our attention needs to be focused on the impending threat from the humans.’
And there we were, I’d forced him into admitting his priority. He faked a smile, no doubt like the one he’d flashed at Mab when they’d had that conversation in the library. It was a lifetime ago. He’d been happy to have one High Lord assassinated then, his smile hinted at his readiness to order another one if I thwarted him. I’d done it once by being Oberon’s bastard son. He wouldn’t tolerate a second time. I’d waited for this moment, provoked it enough times, now I couldn’t run away from it.
‘What impending threat is that, my lord? There is no evidence. None at all. The portals were dismantled, unless you know of any that remain intact? The humans do not understand how to create them. Therefore, I disagree with you, I don’t think such a threat exists.’
I paused to let that sink in but didn’t allow him to reply.
‘There is talk, within the Court, that this threat you mention is actually a means to wage another war for your own glory. It is foolish talk, we both know that. I do not want your reputation to be soured in this way. It’s best to focus on the changes for this world.’
There we were, lines drawn. We stood in front of a bench that provided an uninterrupted view of a tree-lined avenue to the lake beyond. On a sunny day there was no better vista to be seen. A dark cloud had arrived as we spoke, I hoped it wasn’t a harbinger for what was to come.
‘It would appear we have reached an impasse, sire.’
I sat on the bench and looked at the view, anything to appear casual. It was actually more about my legs turning to jelly under me.
‘Have we? Declaring war is more important than my changes to our society?’
One cold grey eye twitched, otherwise there was no sign I had cornered him into admitting what had been an open secret until now. His reply was a growl.
‘Your youth prevents you from understanding the injustice we have suffered over so many human generations, thanks in no small part to the treachery of our Light Cousins.’
‘And with Lady Nimue’s death, it’s time to undermine the peace she orchestrated.’
That provoked him into exploding.
‘Peace? Look, you little shit, the humans fucked with us long before you were born. I fought against them, lost good friends in the process. I swore to each and every one of them I would wreak bloody vengeance on the human race and I mean to carry out that pledge. And no fucking bastard hybrid is going to stop me.’
His face was red, his voice echoed off the palace walls, I was sure everyone inside would hear him. I hoped that would be a good thing. I couldn’t allow his self-righteousness to go unchallenged.
‘So rather than change our world for the better now, in the present, you want to live in the past do you? How will your vengeance prevent the revolution that you, yourself, admitted was likely? How many people actually care about stuff that happened so long ago only old men like you remember it?’
His face went so red he might have been having a seizure, he gulped for breath and his arms stiffened as though they were in spasm.
‘Old men!’ he gasped and gulped more air. ‘They were men of honour and integrity who fought that thieving bastard Arthur and his treacherous knights. Yet, to hear the humans tell it, it was the other way around. My own sister suffered at his hands. You know nothing, you little shit.’
His rage stalled. He took a breath and though his voice continued to echo around the garden, it had real malice in it now.
‘I’ve had enough of being part of this fucking play-acting. You are not the High Lord. You’re an ignorant servant who has overstepped the mark. You’re a hybrid bastard, conceived by a fucking lunatic and it’s time you learned not to challenge your betters.’
He glared at me with so much venom I thought he was going to attack me. My heart was ready to burst out of my chest but I couldn’t allow him to have the last word. As he turned to go I said called out,
‘That sounds like treason, my lord. Spoken loud enough for the whole palace to hear.’
His head jerked over his shoulder so quickly it would give him plenty of pain for the next few days I was certain.
‘On that, we can both agree.’
He marched with military fury back to the palace. I remained where I was, until I could guarantee my legs would allow me to stand up. I’d just signed my death warrant. I hoped no one would act on it but I couldn’t leave that to chance.
A few minutes later, walking on legs that felt like they belonged to a new-born foal, I returned to my study. Darcel took one look at me and adopted the same anxious expression that was probably on my face. She gestured to the small room next door that I used for private meetings.
‘She’s waiting.’
She planted a kiss on my cheek and wished me luck. I opened the door and strode in and hoped my legs would support me long enough to get to a chair.
‘Thank you for coming to see me, my Lady.’
I gestured for her to sit but she remained standing, staring at me.
Mab’s face couldn’t hide her curiosity. We hadn’t spoken since my coronation, I had a feeling Taranis had been keeping her at a distance and I was about to risk my life on that hunch. You didn’t beat around the bush with Mab, I plonked myself in my chair and spoke the words I’d rehearsed with Darcel the night before.
‘I overheard you and Cernunnos plot to kill Llyr when you were in the library. I know you were the one to provoke Robin Goodfellow. I know you planned to place Cernunnos on the throne. Robin’s news about my family connection ruined all that, didn’t it?’
She didn’t say anything but she squared her shoulders, I assumed she expected me to accuse her of treason.
‘I heard Cernunnos admit to murdering the Knights, an admission which could cause enormous problems if the Light Court found out.’
Still no reaction.
‘Today, my First Minister has informed me of his intention to provoke war with the humans. He’s just expressed his dissatisfaction with me as his High Lord. has also made it abundantly clear that he longer acknowledges my right to be High Lord. If I remember his exact wording, I’m a hybrid bastard, conceived by a fucking lunatic who he’s going to teach not to challenge his betters.’
That got a raised eyebrow.
‘Our debate arose out of a difference of opinion regarding the direction the Dark Court should take in the future. Cernunnos wants war with the humans. I want to bring about social change so that we can grow and become strong, without it happening on slaves’ backs. There are factions who are starting to question our society and I think I’m well-placed to act as a broker between the privileged and those who have little or nothing.’
Now I waited to hear the reply. If Mab left then I was a dead man walking. I couldn’t guarantee that she wouldn’t deceive me but Mab was always direct with me, if she was against me, she’d say so.
‘Nice speech. Did you practice that?’
I chuckled, I couldn’t help myself.
‘Yes. Darcel helped.’
Mab nodded and for the first time ever, she smiled.
‘You’ve changed Keir. More confident. You believe in yourself. That’s Darcel too.’
It wasn’t spoken as a question. I told her she was right.
‘I thought she’d be good for you. She’s like her mother.’
She saw my puzzled expression and smiled again.
‘Darcel’s father was one of the first Trooping Fairies Llyr murdered. I took Darcel and Jana into my home when they had nowhere else to go. I’
d known Jana for many years, we’d been… close, so I had a responsibility for her and her daughter. When Jana died in a riding accident I made sure Darcel would be happy and have opportunities denied to her mother. And women like her.’
She held my eyes until she knew I understood what she was saying. If she cared for Darcel this way, she might appreciate my own feelings, so I told her.
‘I’ve promised Darcel I will do everything in my power to make her happy.’
‘I know. She told me. She tells me most things.’
She jiggled heavy eyebrows, my expression probably didn’t hide my panic. She chuckled, I’d never heard the sound before, it was throaty and lusty.
‘Don’t worry, not everything, just enough.’
I had to bring the conversation back to the matter at hand, rather than my sexual adventures with her adopted daughter.
‘Is that why we haven’t met? Because of Darcel?’
The smile vanished.
‘No Keir. You’ve guessed why I suspect. It’s why you’ve invited me here and given me your little speech. What I don’t know, is what you want from me.’
Here we go, I thought to myself. Things were going better than I hoped but I still had no idea where Mab was going to position herself. Even if it wasn’t with Cernunnos, she might stand back and let the two of us fight it out and then congratulate the winner.
‘Cernunnos will try to kill me. I think he was responsible for the attempt at my coronation. He will try to depose me. I don’t have any allies in the Court but I do amongst the working population who like the measures I’ve introduced so far. My greatest fear, apart from being murdered of course, is that all this will lead to civil war.’
She had returned to not reacting to anything I said. It unnerved me.
‘Mab, I’ve always been a servant or a slave. I am not experienced in creating the strategy needed to deal with this crisis. You have been the best military strategist the Dark Court has ever known, I’ve done my research. Yet you’ve been overlooked at every opportunity, with what you’ve just said, I think I understand why. So, I would like to put that right.’
I took a breath.
‘I want you to be my First Minister.’
‘Very well.’
She didn’t pause, not for a second. It threw me, I blinked a lot, swallowed a few times while my brain caught up with my ears.
‘Did Darcel tell you I was going to ask you?’
A casual shrug of those broad shoulders and bulging biceps below them rippled.
‘No. I guessed.’
I blinked a bit more and remembered my manners.
‘Thank you Mab.’
I got up and we shook hands, or rather she crushed my hand in hers.
‘I didn’t think you’d agree,’ I had to be honest with her, I hoped she would be with me. ‘You were so eager for me to train dragons. I thought you wanted war too.’
‘I didn’t want us humiliated by the humans. Llyr led us into a conflict we wouldn’t win. If I was to have any influence over events I had to ally myself with the people who would take over when Llyr was gone. Cernunnos is a vicious, arrogant bastard but when you’re a woman, you learn the only way to persuade men like that is to flirt with them. Even when it turns your stomach.’
I couldn’t help but look with fresh eyes at this woman who I thought I’d known and who had pulled the wool over my eyes, and so many other men too. My curiosity got the better of me, I had to ask the question.
‘There are stories about your… adventures… with men. Are they all untrue then?’
The grin returned, there was a mischievous twinkle in her eye that went with it.
‘I started them discreetly, behaved in ways that made people believe them. It kept the men away.’
‘We’re similar in a way, aren’t we? We’ve suffered from prejudice.’
She sighed and sat down finally.
‘So, what do you want me to do first?’ she asked.
‘I need to meet with people in the Light Court who are open to what I have to say. If I’m to stop a civil war before it starts, I need to get them on my side. Would you agree?’
She said she did but her face looked serious.
‘You might face some difficulty. The Light Court do not involve themselves in our politics, they never have. They will remain neutral and watch from the sidelines.’
‘Even if I tell them I’m trying to change how the whole of our society could improve?’
Mab shook her head, there was no uncertainty in her face, she spoke with the assertive tones she always used, as though any other option was out of the question.
‘You sound as though they don’t use slaves. They do. Your radical ideas pose an equal threat to them. They might take Cernunnos’ side, if they abandoned their neutrality.’
I suppose I knew she was right, my ignorance made me over-simplify everything. I sat down on the chair next to her, dejected at the prospect of being on my own, without allies. She patted my knee.
‘There is one way in which you might tempt them over. You mentioned it in speech. If they found out Cernunnos had murdered the Knights, thereby destroying Nimue’s Knights’ Protocol, you might get their attention.’
My spirits lifted until her eyes told me there was bad news on the way.
‘But Nimue is dead, they may not be interested.’
She was right and I returned to my dejection. Cernunnos had been right, It was stupid and naïve to believe I could change the status quo so easily. How could I change something so entrenched? I had powerful people trying to kill me, it probably wouldn’t be too long until they succeeded and then nothing would change.
I stood up, walked over to the small window that looked out onto the courtyard below, it led to the kitchens where I’d spent so much of my life. That Keir hadn’t posed a threat to anyone. Now those with authority and political muscle would be coming out of the shadows to oust me. I turned and fixed Mab with a look that I hoped inspired confidence.
‘Powerful people have plotted to kill me. One of them chose to use Lord Rowyn as a weapon to achieve their goal. The one person in the whole of the realm who spans both Courts. As High Magistrate he is responsible for the law of the land, yet someone used him to commit treason. That affects both Courts, doesn’t it?’
Mab nodded and frowned as she considered what I was suggesting.
‘Where is the proof Keir? I understand the old man has no memory of what was done to him. His mind isn’t as strong as it used to be, perhaps his recollections have gone for good, in which case, he’s useless to us.’
‘Perhaps but time might have released a few details we can use. It’s worth a try. What else have we go to lose?’
Mab was probably right, I doubted we’d learn much from Lord Rowyn, he’d lived quietly in his new accommodation, away from everyone else. He’d been denied visitors and only received food from kitchen servants. If he’d remembered anything he’d have alerted them, I hoped he might be waiting for the right person, someone he could trust.
The staircase wound upwards, guards patrolled each landing, it had proved impossible to keep them hidden in such an isolated place. Outside the old man’s apartment two guards jerked to attention as Mab turned the corner, they both looked petrified of her.
‘How is his lordship?’ I asked.
The older of the two, a man with greying beard and a paunch, cleared his throat and tried not to look at Mab.
‘He’s quiet, as he always is, your majesty. He don’t make much fuss. He will when the kitchen sends up his dinner though, he’s one as likes ‘is food.’
He unlocked the door and we entered. It was a pleasant suite of rooms, with windows looking out over the same avenue of trees and lake as from my garden bench.
Lord Rowyn sat in his chair, staring out at the scenery. Staring with dead eyes and a trickle of dried blood in the corner of his mouth.
‘Poison, at a guess,’ Mab said.
I turned to her, I could feel panic rising.
‘We need to talk to the Light Court. The murder of the High Magistrate affects everyone, if they can access someone so well guarded, no one is safe. Do you think it’s Cernunnos?’
She didn’t. He was a soldier, he’d use direct and simple ways to despatch his enemies. This suggested a more devious mind. She went further.
‘Keir, you must be careful now. Meeting secretly with someone in the Light Court could be portrayed as an act of treason. Cernunnos wouldn’t hesitate in using it against you, it would make him appear to be in the right. I don’t think it’s wise.’
‘Palace politics need to take a holiday Mab. This is too important. Will you arrange it? Please?’
She looked down at the body of the old man, staring out the window at the scenery and looking serene in death. She nodded her head, albeit with obvious reluctance.
Chapter 19
The flash of lightning created stark outlines and shadowy corners as it lit our bedroom in a corrosive, white light for the briefest of seconds. The crack of thunder vibrated the air, made the whole building shudder, brought objects crashing to the floor. A moment later, another flash and a sound like the simultaneous discharge of a dozen marekanite spheres. Our bed shook and Darcel grabbed my arm.
‘I hate thunderstorms!’
I held her, glad of the opportunity, we’d been so exhausted in the last two days sleep had claimed us before sex had issued its invitation. I promised to keep her safe, told her not to worry, often shouting over the battlefield clamour outside. I thought of Cochrann, alone in her stable, this commotion was new to her, she’d be frightened as well but my priorities had changed now, Darcel came first.
Outside a deafening crack echoed, it was followed by the sound of collapsing masonry nearby. I rushed to the window, carefully opened a shutter to find one side of the West Tower looked like a giant had sliced off the roof, it lay in a thousand pieces across the courtyard below. It had needed attention for some time but the storm had moved it up the priority list now. I hoped no one had been in the courtyard at the time, though as rain fell in barrel-loads, they had to be stupid or desperate to be outside on a night like this. I hurried back to bed, to fall into Darcel’s waiting arms, the dark outline of her breasts aroused me instantly. It would be really something to make love in the middle of storm, exciting and new. I leaned over her warm body to kiss her, aware of my erection brushing against her thigh.