“They want to,” Ursa protested. “The king wants to, you damn well know he does.”
August’s voice was soft as always, but firmer somehow, and more confident than Ursa had ever heard it. August even surprised herself, for she had grown used to Ursa’s foul tongue and took no offense from it; the swear provided a foundation, though, from which to build a display of strength, and the younger woman set right to work.
“I’ll walk out if you use language like that around me. And most people have self-restraint, Ursa. They don’t do everything they have the whim to. They don’t blackmail their enemies or kidnap people’s children to get something they want…. Here, take a seat.” August pulled out one of the worn wooden chairs for her sister, and they sat around the table. “I heard you asked to see me.”
“That’s ‘cause I did. First off, I wanted to apologize. I shouldn’t have threatened to sic my bear on you. That wasn’t real sisterly o’ me.”
“It wasn’t,” August agreed. “You had me pretty well scared at times, but the boys, what you did to those boys is worse. I try and I try, and I can’t understand. Why did you…?”
“I’ve been askin’ myself that,” said Ursa. “Got lots o’ time here to think, you know. So I’ve been doin’ some thinkin,’ an’ I ain’t so sure it didn’t have somethin’ to do with Dorane.”
August blinked in the glare of the wall lamps. “Well, of course it had to do with Dorane. It was his idea, wasn’t it? Please, Ursa, tell me it wasn’t you, that you didn’t think to kidnap….”
“Course I didn’t. It was Dorane’s plan, an’ I went along with it. Part of me didn’t want to, but I was head over heels for him an’ didn’t even realize I was that far gone. Love makes people take risks they wouldn’t normally….”
The younger woman shook her head. “Risks are one thing. Risks are one thing and they’re okay. There’s a difference in taking risks and doing something inexcusable. What you did, it….”
“And who made you a philosopher since you left home?”
August replied, “That mansion was never my home, Ursa.”
That statement brought the old, vibrant Ursa back. The spark in her eyes, the disdain in her voice, they returned so suddenly August pushed her chair away to create distance.
“I took you in! When your grandma died, I took you in! Don’t you insult me like that. You’re an ingrate, that’s what you are! Don’t you go givin’ me no lectures like no smarmy…. Love? What do you know about love?”
August whispered, “I think I have some idea.”
“Like you possibly…. You don’t know no boys, no boys but….” Ursa cut herself off mid-sentence. She froze for a moment, then looked to the door and turned back with a loud, incredulous laugh.
“Well that’s somethin,’ that is. That’s just grand. Zalski’s nephew?”
August’s cheeks began to sear. She lacked the strength to look at her sister, so she studied the floor instead. “He has a name and it’s Valkin, after his father. He’s genuinely kind. He thinks of other people besides himself, and he just might be the bravest person I ever met. He was a baby when Zalski killed the king, and he’s his own person, not simply that man’s nephew. I do think I’m falling in love with him. I don’t know what will happen down the road, but that’s none of your concern.”
Ursa laughed again. “You were frightened o’ Dorane, an’ you think you’re in love with Zalski’s nephew? Do you realize the target he’ll have on his back if certain people figure out who he is? Honey, Dorane’s nothing compared with paranoid freaks, or disgruntled nobles or….”
“Stop it,” said August. “You’ll stop it right there, or I’m leaving. I care about him, and I won’t let you bully me out of living my life.”
“Maybe I’m offended you’d take up with someone who ruined mine.”
“Don’t you go there. You ruined your own life.”
“Maybe I don’t like the thought o’ maniacs threatenin’ my sister.”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t have let Dorane in the mansion I was living in. He tried to smother me!”
“You shouldn’t have gotten involved when the king made his move. And I apologized to you. I apologized, an’ I’m tellin’ you, Dorane’s a puppy compared to what some people could….”
August rose. Her hand shook, but her gaze was firm now. “I’ll leave. I don’t want to walk out on you, but I’ll leave if you say one more word about Val.”
“Fine,” Ursa agreed. “It’ll be your funeral.”
August’s hand was shaking more than it had been. She grabbed it with her other to stop it trembling. “Did you have something else to tell me?”
“Yeah.” The glow of resolve left Ursa, and she looked weak and pale again. August returned to her seat. “I do feel bad for how I treated you, an’ for what Dorane did, an’ I’m glad you came by before they cart me off north or drag me out an’….”
“They’re not going to kill you, Ursa.”
“I think they might. But even if they don’t, I wanted to tell you the mansion’s yours. I ain’t gonna make no use of it, so my money, an’ the mansion, an’ all the stuff that’s in it, just take it. ‘Cept my books, the books are Dorane’s.”
“Ursa, I don’t want….”
“Then sell it all. Give it away. Dump the china in the river, I don’t care. It’s yours. I figure I owe you somethin.’”
And August realized Ursa truly felt remorse for what she had put her through. August might want nothing to do with the mansion and the articles it held, but material gifts were the only way Ursa knew to prove her emotions. To reject the gesture was to spurn Ursa’s apology, as heartfelt as it was, if not quite eloquent.
“Thank you,” August told her. “Thanks, Ursa.”
“Will you forgive me?”
“I’m trying. I’m really trying.”
“How are the boys?”
“They’ll be just fine. I mean, I don’t think you scarred them for good or something like that. That’s what you’re asking me, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. Yeah it is.”
Ursa paused, and before she spoke again, as she had introduced the topic of the king’s children, August told her about her post as Melly’s nurse. Ursa was stunned to think her sister could have gotten on without the gifts she had just bestowed on her; she even seemed hurt, a bit resentful. They spoke of insubstantial things for another half hour or so, until Vane came in to tell August she could stay no longer. The jail had a time limit for visits. August told Ursa she’d come back, and a guard entered to escort the prisoner away.
“You were right,” August whispered when she and Vane were alone again. “She’s not who she was. I don’t think she’s eating…. I did need to come. And I’m so glad you came with me!” Vane pulled her in a one-armed hug from where he stood beside her, and she said, “Let’s get out of here. This place, it’s horrid. I don’t think I could eat either if I had to stay.”
“You feel sorry for her?”
“Not really. She deserves to be here, if I’m honest with myself, and I think being here has opened her eyes to how horrible a thing she actually did. She’ll do better when they move her north and she’s out in fresh air, working in the quarry. That’ll do her wonders. And we, we can still visit her there, right? You can transport me there like we came here today?”
“Every three weeks if you’d like. You can’t visit more frequently. No one can. Would you like that?”
“I wouldn’t, actually. I don’t want to have anything to do with her, but Val, I probably should. She doesn’t have anyone else, and she’s in a bad way. She’s worse than I expected. You don’t think the king and queen would have an issue with me…?”
“They both have siblings, or had, in Rexson’s case. And allowing visits was part of the bargain we made.”
“I hope Ursa learns to cope with this.”
“She will, in time. Just give her a few weeks. No doctor or medicine heals like time.”
August sighed. “I
think we could all use a good dose of months, then.”
Vane thought of all that lay ahead: his first appearance at court, the first mentions of the council he would have to join, the appointment of other members. He could not help but agree with August’s sentiments. Just then, he would have given his parents’ fortune to skip over the next months entirely.
BOOK II
CHAPTER ONE
Carson Amison
The new year had progressed three days. Vane and August (holding a happy Melinda) sat with the king around the hearth in the Palace library, warm in the shadows of the books. Frost on the windows at their backs darkened the room.
Much had changed in the past four months. August had settled into new quarters at the Palace, rooms even more expansive than her suite in Ursa’s mansion. She had yet to decide what to do with that building and what furnishings she had not moved for her personal use or given to Vane. He needed to replace the rotted or rusting tables, chairs, and benches in the sprawling home he had inherited from his parents in the eastern suburbs of Podrar.
After a thorough cleaning and less than completed redecorating stint, the manor had housed Vane for a week. Vane himself felt as refurbished as his home, for he’d replaced his entire wardrobe of necessity. He’d owned nothing appropriate for formal occasions at court, and all his clothes were of Traiglandian style. He wished not to associate himself with Traigland. His previous life would be his own, only his, not public like everything he did from this point out.
Vane’s Aunt Teena had come to stay with him at Oakdowns, as the manor was called, for at least three or four months, until any storms Vane’s presence at court caused blew over. There was always a chance, if Vane’s history became known, that someone could threaten or harm Teena to intimidate him, and he could better protect her if she stayed with him in Podrar. She was nothing but in favor of what Vane was doing, and came to the capital from Yangerton without complaint.
Despite their new and lavish homes, both August and Vane had been spending some time in the prisons, she visiting her sister near Partsvale, he Treel, whose story fascinated him. The first visit with Dorane’s spy was uncomfortable, for the two men had almost nothing in common and little to say. The second time around Treel turned hostile, resentful of becoming a charity case. Vane failed to return after that.
Vane had not yet been to Yangerton to visit Treel’s uncle, his father’s old butler. He could find no time. He had to relocate before he could appear at court, and had to appear at court well before March, to give the nobility, and the kingdom at large, some time to grow accustomed to his presence before news of the Magic Council hit all Herezoth square in the stomach.
The bustle and repairs around Vane’s property could not be hidden, and it was no secret in Podrar or among the noble class that the late Duke and Duchess of Ingleton’s son must be alive after all, and intending to exercise his birthright to its full extent. However, Vane had yet to speak with a single noble beyond Mason Greller, who was the Duke of Podrar and Rexson’s Chief Adviser, or to attend to any court business. Today would be his introduction, official if lacking flair and taking place behind closed doors.
Carson Amison, the Duke of Yangerton, had come to the capital to meet with the king and with Greller, as well as with the dukes whose smaller domains were now considered part of the capital but in the past had comprised their own towns: neighborhoods like Ingleton or Hayden’s Crescenton, which was nestled in the Podra River’s only bend in the region. The Duke of Podrar had been managing Ingleton’s affairs since Vane’s parents died, but this meeting Carson Amison had organized was the perfect opportunity to start transitioning control to the late duke’s son.
The meeting, though, was not scheduled for another half-hour. The king had asked both Vane and August to come to the library beforehand, and August’s arms were filled by her toddler-aged charge, her eyes by the new duke, who had dressed for the part. She had never seen Vane in rich fabrics like he wore, a tan vest and collared coat of the latest style dyed jet-black. The look suited him more than well, and almost made her blush to think of her work frock stained with spit-up. Vane asked Rexson what this summons was about, and the king responded, “I wanted to give you these before you’re in a situation to need them. Hopefully you never will, but in the eventuality….”
Rexson pulled a long, thin box of wood from his robes and slid back its lid. Inside were three clear crystals the size of a thumb, strung on metal chains to be worn like a necklace.
“Zalski enchanted these years ago, and they still function perfectly…. Let me explain,” said the king, when Vane leaned away and August drew a deep breath. “This center one’s the master crystal, which goes to Vane. If I tap the other crystals three times, either one” (he demonstrated with the left-most) “both that crystal and Vane’s will glow, either red or blue, depending on the stone. And Vane will know whoever has the crystal is in trouble. Hopefully he’ll know where that person is supposed to be and can transport there…. It’s for security. Far from foolproof and completely precautionary, but I figured you could give them to….”
“August and my aunt,” said Vane. Rexson nodded, and August shook her head.
“Me? Why? I know you’ll have enemies just coming to court, but….”
“I’ll have more once the council’s announced. You know they could discover I come every other day to see you, that they could use you to get to me. We’ve discussed this, August. Take the crystal.”
August bit her lip, since holding Melly prevented her pulling on her hair. Though she had known since late summer Vane would take up his title, it was only within the last week he had told her about the council, and why the king had to form it, and why he had to be involved. Ursa’s voice had been running through her head ever since.
Do you realize the target he’ll have on his back?
You were frightened of Dorane? Dorane’s a puppy compared to….
“Is this really necessary?” August asked.
“Probably not,” said Vane. “But it can’t hurt anything, so why take chances?”
August stammered, “It’s just, I…. The thought that these belonged to…. How did Zalski use them?” she asked the king.
“His wife had one, as she captained his Elite Guard. His general used the second. From what Kora described, Zalski’s intent for them was to expedite message delivery.”
Vane asked, “Can the master crystal activate the others?”
“Unfortunately, no. It only receives a summons, so if you were to find yourself in trouble….”
“I’m a sorcerer. I can fare for myself.”
“That’s what I’m hoping,” the king agreed.
“Take the crystal, August,” Vane directed. August was hesitant, but she had rarely heard Vane speak so forcefully, so she shifted Melly to one arm and, her other shaking, took the crystal Rexson had used in his demonstration. It was still glowing blue. As she held it out of Melly’s grasp, Rexson tapped the master crystal, and its glow faded.
“Thanks, Rexson,” said Vane.
The sorcerer reached for his chain, and the king told him, “Keep that well hidden, under your clothing. You won’t see it if it glows, but it heats as well, so you’ll feel it. You don’t want anyone glimpsing that, Amison in particular. He was more involved with Zalski’s reign than he’ll admit, and there’s a chance he’d recognize the thing.”
Vane tucked the crystal away. He took the box with Teena’s chain from Rexson, who studied the boy and shook his head. “It’s a bloody shame your parents can’t see you here. What your mother would say…. She’d be damn proud, Ingleton. Damn proud.”
The king had never addressed Vane by his title before. He clapped the duke on the shoulder, and then left to give him a private word with August before the meeting. Melly was squirming to get away, so her nurse released her. The child started beating a footstool as though it were a drum, laughing at the noise it made.
“Are you ready for this?” asked August.
&
nbsp; “Does that matter at this point?”
August put a hand on Vane’s. “You might not feel ready, but you are. It’s just nerves, Val. The king and Hayden will have your back, and you know the Duke of Podrar won’t cause you any problems.”
“The only unknown is Yangerton, that’s what Rexson says.”
“So focus on Yangerton.” She smiled at Vane. “You look so handsome, so confident, I can’t imagine he won’t be jealous, so you’ll have that working against you. But try anyway to make a good impression.” At that, Vane smiled too.
“In all seriousness, you can make a good impression. It’s not as though you pose any threat to him and all he’s done. He’s engrained himself so securely into, well, everything.”
“That’s exactly the problem. He’s got everything to lose, and considering his past, my mere identity makes me threatening.”
Vane had learned more about Amison since watching him confront the king the previous summer. An opportunist, and if Hayden and the king were correct, a coward, Amison had done nothing to resist Zalski’s reign, and had gone farther than most nobles to court the sorcerer’s favor. He had refrained from any abuse of power in those days, and as his father had been alive then, had never held a post of responsibility under Zalski. This meant that Rexson, reclaiming the throne, had been unable to act against him, but Amison and the king were far from bosom friends, if for no other reason than Amison’s marriage to Rexson’s first love. The woman had died a year later giving birth to a sickly child, who also succumbed after six days of life. Amison never remarried, throwing all his energies into court, politics, and the welfare of his city, minimizing all remembrance of his former life.
Vane had told August all about Amison and Zalski. Her smile vanished at the reminder of their collusion, for the very thought of the dictator made her uncomfortable; it always did after that book she had found back in Traigland. She tried to be positive.
“So Yangerton doesn’t like you,” she said. “He might make things difficult, or try to convince you to go back under whatever stone you crawled from. That’s not so horrible, is it? You can’t be any more a reminder of those days they’d all rather forget than Hayden Grissner is. He was actually in the Crimson League.”
The Magic Council (The Herezoth Trilogy) Page 30