‘I am no longer empress,’ Tatrini said mildly. ‘Anyway, it was my own fault. I underestimated her.’
‘This is not like you!’ Bayard insisted. ‘You should be furious. What’s Bugleharp given to you?’
‘Bayard, be calm. I am quite all right. It was wrong of me to assume I was invulnerable. A hard lesson, but perhaps necessary.’
‘It comes late in life,’ Bayard said in a cold voice.
‘It might sound trite, but better late than never. Lady Sinaclara will be found and punished. There is nothing more to say.’
‘Actually, there is,’ Bayard said. ‘There are a few things you should know, which I suspect have bearing on the situation. First, Tayven Hirantel has disappeared.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘The palace guard have been looking for him all day. The last person to see him was Almorante, around noon. That fact alone is suspicious. Then, Master Garante was found trying to smuggle Palindrake’s son out of Magrast. A timely explosion in the boiler rooms enabled them to flee. It was no coincidence and has Hirantel’s spoor all over it. This is the beginning of it, of course. Somehow, Palindrake’s supporters got wind of what happened at the meeting this morning. They mobilised, and now four key players have vanished. It’s clear to me that Almorante is to blame.’
‘He no doubt apprised Tayven of the facts,’ Tatrini said, ‘but I’m quite sure that was in ignorance.’
‘I agree. He is a fool, blinded by lust. Hirantel could always wind Almorante round his finger.’ He cupped his chin with one hand. ‘Strange, I thought Hirantel was ours. He’s a good actor. Not much gets by me. He should be on our side, because his skills and cunning would be extremely useful, but now it seems he must die with the rest of them. A pity.’
Tatrini said nothing.
‘You don’t seem concerned about what’s happened,’ Bayard said.
She gestured languidly. ‘I always knew that when matters came to a head, something like this would occur.’
Bayard expelled a choked laugh of disbelief. ‘Mother! What is wrong with you? Hirantel was supposedly your creature, yet you don’t seem at all surprised he’s gone. He was our creature of air, and young Palindrake was water. We’ve lost half our cabal, and you’re not at all distressed.’ He paused. ‘You know something. Tell me. What’s the secret you’re holding to yourself?’
‘First, remember that Tayven channelled the powers of all the elements into you. We need no others now, my son. Second, Tayven effectively gave us the Crown. His position is now precarious. It’s understandable he’d want to melt away.’
Bayard stared at his mother for a few moments. ‘He’s spoken to you, hasn’t he? You knew he was going. Is this your design?’ He thumped the bed with a closed fist. ‘Tell me! Why is he so precious to you?’
‘He has helped you, Bayard,’ Tatrini answered and now a dangerous barb came back into her voice. ‘Don’t forget that. He walks in many worlds.’
‘Admit you knew he was leaving.’
‘I admit it, yes. I tried to reason with him, but...’ She raised expressive hands.
Bayard put one hand against his mouth for a moment, and then spoke softly. ‘By the flame, it wasn’t him who attacked you, was it?’
‘No, of course not.’
‘You don’t reason with anyone. You give orders. Something’s changed. For Madragore’s sake, let me in. I don’t like seeing you like this. I’m concerned for you.’
Tatrini smiled without warmth. ‘Are you, my son? I think that you are only concerned for yourself. What you really believe is that Tayven and I have a secret agenda. It is not the case. I still have the Crown, even if its guardian has fled. This should be regarded as a beneficial event. In effect, she has abandoned it.’
Bayard stood up. ‘I spoke with Senefex before I came here. Already, there is talk of sending troops to Caradore. I hope this is not a smoke screen for something else.’
‘Speak your mind.’
‘I know Valraven, and despite the estrangement between us, I cannot see him as a traitor.’
‘Love sees what it wants to see.’
‘Don’t insult me,’ Bayard said. ‘I do not look through the eyes of love, and you wouldn’t respect me if I did. You suggested we ally with Almorante and soon he will be emperor. This was not what we planned.’ He looked down at her. ‘You want me to go to Caradore, of course.’
‘You should. The past must be re-enacted, for therein lies the magic.’
Bayard regarded her with a cool gaze. ‘And there Valraven and I will have our last confrontation. Who can predict the outcome? Some might think we are both being used. Almorante schemed to have me murdered on the battlefield before, remember. And now Tayven, my proposed assassin, who glamorised you enough to win your favour, has fled the city. I cannot help feeling these facts are connected.’
Tatrini put her head to the side. ‘Many frightened ideas are roiling in your head, Bay.’
‘I am not afraid,’ Bayard said. ‘Look into my eyes and search for fear. You will not find it. I’ll do what has to be done. I simply question your motives.’
‘Do you no longer trust me?’
‘I think you are floundering,’ Bayard said. ‘You have lost control and will do whatever you can to salvage your position. This is why you are so calm in the face of all that’s happened today. Behind that serene exterior, you are thinking madly, desperately.’
Tatrini lay back against the pillows. ‘You’re wrong. I believe in us, Bayard. I believe in the Malagashes. We are an ancient line and we are not doomed to disappear from history. I trust in the future, and so must you. Almorante will make a competent emperor, but he is not the beautiful sun king. That role is yours. When you defeat the dark lord, Valraven Palindrake, your name and your reputation will shine. Retake Caradore for the empire and you will be Cassilin Malagash, the warrior king who first subjugated that realm. You must kill the Dragon Lord and make his son swear the allegiance as his ancestors did. History will begin anew. The empire will be reborn and so will you. I guarantee there will be no obstruction to our designs then. Senefex, Mordryn, the military: they will all see the sense of giving you the crown, and then the true crown will be revealed.’
Tatrini could see that Bayard was inspired by her words, but she had not allayed his suspicions entirely. ‘I hope all you say will come true,’ he said. ‘But it all depends on a single truth, and that is whether Valraven is a traitor or not. I could go to Caradore and find only a household of lamenting women. He could be dead, mother.’
‘He is not,’ Tatrini said. ‘Of this I am sure.’ She held out a hand, which after some moments, Bayard took hold of. ‘The elemental power is within you,’ she said. ‘Experiment with it, feel it coursing through your blood. That is all you should concern yourself with for the moment. Leave the rest to others.’
Bayard stared at her, his expression hard, but Tatrini felt a pulse of energy pass from his hand to hers. It was the start of it.
Tayven led Sinaclara deep into the labyrinth of passages, until they found themselves clambering through areas that had clearly not been frequented for centuries. Sometimes the passages were blocked or flooded, but Tayven insisted they must keep moving. They hauled rubble from their path with bleeding hands and replaced it as best they could in their wake. They waded through stagnant stinking water that exhaled a miasma of disease. Sinaclara clearly had little reserves of strength, yet she did not complain. Sometimes, far overhead, they’d hear the thunder of running feet. ‘They are looking for us,’ Sinaclara said.
‘They will not find us,’ Tayven snapped. He felt fully focused now, and kept his eyes closed for most of the journey, feeling the way ahead with his senses. He was fired by a fierce, white-hot hope that he would succeed in finding a way out. He had to believe this completely: to doubt for one instant might mean they’d be lost, unable to find their way forward or back. Tayven had to trust that there wouldn’t be soldiers waiting for the
m should they find an exit. He must believe they were meant to escape, that they were still part of the unfolding story.
Sinaclara wanted to know everything that had happened to Tayven since Tatrini had taken him captive, and he obliged her with the full details.
‘I can see why Bayard must have the elemental power now,’ she said when he’d finished speaking. ‘It will be Valraven’s final trial.’
‘Let’s hope he’s up to it,’ Tayven said. ‘Whatever you think of Bayard, he has great reserves of strength and confidence. He will believe utterly that he can vanquish all enemies, and that might be his most potent weapon. The Dragon Lord must have no doubts.’
‘Then we must get to him soon,’ Sinaclara said. ‘If anyone can help him find his own strength and confidence, it’s us.’
Coming to a low chamber, where the mould-encrusted walls ran with glutinous moisture, Tayven agreed they could pause for some minutes, while Sinaclara caught her breath.
‘This place has existed for millennia,’ Sinaclara said in a hushed voice. ‘The palace has grown upwards from it.’ She uttered a soft laugh. ‘We might be standing upon the original sacred hill, Tayven, though there is not much sense of it.’
‘I think this illustrates succinctly what the Magravandian kings have become,’ Tayven said. ‘Mouldy, stagnant, rotten and dank.’
There was a silence, then Sinaclara said, ‘Where do we go from here, supposing we find a way out? We have no money, no transport, not even any travelling clothes. How can we get to Caradore?’
‘I’ve been thinking about that,’ Tayven replied, ‘and have come up with a risky plan.’
‘Risky? In what way? Any plan at all is to be applauded!’
‘Well, we could appeal to my family for help.’
‘That doesn’t sound risky, but very sensible.’
‘I haven’t seen them for years,’ Tayven said. ‘They believed me dead, and even though news must have filtered through to them I’m back in Magrast, they’ve made no attempt to contact me. This speaks eloquently of their feelings.’
‘You haven’t attempted to contact them, either,’ Sinaclara said. ‘And you don’t know for definite that they’re aware you’re alive.’
‘My parents have friends at court,’ Tayven said gloomily. ‘I’ve hardly been invisible recently. Most courtiers regard me as the worst kind of scoundrel, little more than a criminal. No doubt my family have heard all kinds of rumours about me. They have a great regard for propriety and etiquette. I imagine I’ve been a great embarrassment to them all round.’
‘You still share their blood, Tayven,’ Sinaclara said. ‘That will count for something.’
‘We’ll have to see. Are you ready to get moving again?’
‘In a moment,’ Sinaclara said. ‘Tayven, we’ve got to think about Darris Maycarpe. He’s in great danger now, isn’t he?’
‘I’d rather not think about it,’ Tayven said, ‘because there’s nothing we can do to free him. He’s more closely guarded than you were. I should have had more time, or realised sooner that we’d have to leave Magrast. I was stupid.’
‘We’d all do things differently if we could foretell every event,’ Sinaclara said with a wry smile. ‘Even those of us who are psychic! There’s no point punishing yourself for it.’
‘Isn’t there? It’s my fault you and Maycarpe were taken captive in the first place. I told Tatrini Darris was a conspirator to get Palindrake on the throne. That, of course, is an executable offence. I only hope he can wriggle his way out of it.’
‘He could tell them he was working undercover with the rebels,’ Sinaclara said, ‘for the benefit of the empire, that is.’
Tayven sighed deeply. ‘I hope he thinks of something. I don’t want his blood on my hands.’
‘It wasn’t your fault,’ Sinaclara said. ‘Tatrini drugged you as she drugged me.’
‘I doubt you revealed as much.’
‘I’m lucky. I live in the middle of nowhere with only my dreams.’
‘Did you tell her you supported Palindrake?’
Sinaclara nodded silently, her expression thoughtful. ‘I tried not to implicate anyone else. I admitted I knew the Malagashes would come looking for the Crown and that I went to Maycarpe because he was an old friend, who being Magravandian might give me some protection. I told her that Maycarpe’s interest in the Crown was mostly academic, and that it was I who suggested Palindrake might be the True King to wear it.’
‘Then you fought well. I just spilled everything.’
‘What does that matter? I took my best friend with me to Mewt and now she’s dead. If I hadn’t gone to Maycarpe when Almorante was looking for me, maybe he wouldn’t have been arrested. Things just happen, Tayven, and sometimes we have no control over them.’
‘That doesn’t make it any easier to live with.’
‘It’s past now,’ Sinaclara said briskly, ‘and we cannot dwell on things that cannot be changed. Come on, let’s go. The sooner we leave this disenchanted place the better.’
They set off down a passageway that was an inch deep in water. By this time, their torch was nearly spent and Tayven did not relish the prospective loss of light. He might close his eyes to navigate, but it was a comfort to open them and see Sinaclara beside him.
‘There’s a glow up ahead,’ Sinaclara said.
Tayven held the torch behind him a little so he could see. ‘Looks phosphorescent,’ he said. ‘Could be some kind of lichen.’ Even so, they increased their pace.
Within minutes they came to a circular grille that was nearly covered with ferns and moss.
‘You’ve done it!’ Sinaclara said and jumped on Tayven’s back to hug him. ‘I will never doubt you again.’
Tayven laughed in relief and turned to return her embrace. ‘First, we have to see where we are.’
Together, they began to tear the plant life from the grille. The bars were extremely rusted and would present no problem to break through. Outside, the sun was sinking through the early evening and a panorama of rust-tinted buildings sprawled out far below them. The grille was positioned about thirty feet above a slow moving, wide body of water, and there was what looked like a row of abandoned or run down warehouses on the opposite bank.
‘Where are we?’ Sinaclara asked. ‘Do you recognise it?’
‘Miles from the palace,’ Tayven replied. ‘This looks like Fifer’s Scarp, which is a spine of rock near to the Soak, the old docks. It’s almost a sheer drop. We’ll have to jump down into the water.’
‘I don’t care,’ Sinaclara said. ‘Nothing can be worse than this place.’
Tayven wrenched three of the bars aside and they were able to squeeze through them onto a narrow, crumbling ledge. ‘Now I feel sick,’ Sinaclara said nervously, hanging onto Tayven’s arm. ‘I’ve just remembered I dislike heights.’
Tayven took her hand. ‘Don’t think about it. Jump!’
He leapt into the air, dragging Sinaclara with him, who uttered an involuntary shriek. Then they splashed down into the murky waters, which closed over their heads. Tayven was reminded poignantly of an incident in Recolletine the previous year when the Crown questers had leapt into a dangerous weir. For just a moment he could sense Khaster beside him, then his head broke the surface. Sinaclara came up at his side, still holding grimly onto his hand. He was sure her nails had drawn blood. ‘Are you all right?’ he asked her.
Sinaclara nodded, her face sickly pale. ‘I think so. I thought we’d hit the bottom.’
‘This is a tributary of the Leonid Canal,’ Tayven said. ‘The tributaries were constructed deep enough to take ocean-going ships – mercifully.’
They swam to the opposite bank and hauled themselves from the water. Sinaclara’s gown hung soddenly around her body. One arm of her dress had nearly ripped away, while the hem was a lace of rents. ‘You look drowned,’ Tayven said. ‘Still, in the Soak, that will not be an unusual sight. Its natives are forever staggering drunk in
to the waters.’
Sinaclara gave him a bleak glance. ‘This is where you met Khaster Leckery, isn’t it?’
‘How do you know about that?’
She shrugged. ‘Shan’s friend, Nip, spent many happy evenings with me supplying me with gossip. Shan had given her a detailed account of all Taropat told him.’
Tayven grimaced. ‘I see. Well, yes, this is the place. What you’ve just experienced gulping in the polluted waters of the canal has given you a taste of those happy memories.’
Sinaclara sat on the bank and began to wring out her skirts. ‘It’s not an irretrievable circumstance, you know.’
Tayven hunkered down beside her and was silent for a moment. Then he said, ‘There isn’t one day that passes I don’t think of him, but what’s the point? I have to accept the man I loved is dead – at least to me. I think the phrase is: “I will carry him to my grave”. Sometimes the burden of it isn’t that heavy.’
‘I’m sure he thinks of you, too,’ Sinaclara said.
‘There are more immediate concerns,’ Tayven said. He stood up and bowed. ‘Madam, now it is my pleasure to escort you to the domain of my family.’
Sinaclara scrambled to her feet and took his arm. ‘Charmed, sir.’
The Hirantel manse stood on a wide avenue called The Cloudcaps, which was situated on one of the high hills of the affluent residential district. By the time Tayven and Sinaclara reached this area, the sun had nearly sunk. Tayven suggested they make use of the service alleys that ran behind the estates out of sight, because the sight of soaked, ragged individuals in this place was not a common one. Tantalising cooking smells made both their stomachs roar with hunger. The servants of the houses were preparing their employers’ evening meals. Because it was summertime, many families were eating outdoors. Between the high railings and hedges, these genteel gatherings could be glimpsed. Girls in white dresses sat demure with their smart brothers and elegant parents. Lanterns hung in the trees attracted moths, and rare birds dragged extravagant tails along the dew-kissed lawns.
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