by Speer, Flora
“I wasn’t defending him,” Calia responded hotly, “only pointing out that Lady Elgida’s illness could have some other cause than deliberate poisoning. Garit, you cannot challenge Mallory over this. We need you, if only for your sword arm when it’s time for us to leave.”
“She’s right, you know,” Durand said.
“Of course, I know it,” Garit snapped. “I’m worried about my grandmother, and uncertain whom we can trust, but I’m not fool enough to challenge Mallory on what is, in effect, his own territory.”
“Good. I’m glad you understand,” Durand said. “I’m sure once you calm down a bit, you will also understand that if Mallory wanted Lady Elgida dead, you would be speaking to the castle carpenter at this moment, to order a coffin for her. Now, we need to think of something for Calia to offer to Mallory in lieu of real information.”
“I have an idea,” Calia said. “He admitted to me that he wants to be ruler of Kinath in title, not just as guardian.”
“And you didn’t tell us?” Garit snarled at her, looking furious.
“I haven’t had a chance to speak to you privately until now. That’s hardly a detail to mention in a great hall full of folk who depend on Mallory for their very lives,” she said.
“What else did he say?” Garit demanded.
“Will you listen to my idea?” she responded, speaking to Durand, knowing he’d be more likely to agree with her than Garit would.
“What is it?” Durand asked.
“Why don’t I tell him that Lady Elgida’s dearest wish is to take Belai and Kinen back to Saumar Manor with her and then to send them to the royal court at Calean, so they can train as knights in King Henryk’s household?”
“He won’t allow it,” Garit said at once. “While the boys remain in Kantia, he can keep watch over them. Send them to Sapaudia and he loses control of them. King Dyfrig is Mallory’s friend; King Henryk is not.”
“He doesn’t have to allow it,” Calia said. “He only has to believe it is what Lady Elgida wants.”
“Then you would put my grandmother into even greater danger,” Garit said. “If he thinks she’s going to escort those boys into safety, the next dose of poison will kill her.”
“Why can’t you see what is clear to me?” Calia cried. “For Mallory to achieve his goal of becoming lord of Kinath, both of those boys will have to die. Lady Elgida has been most outspoken about her fear of their deaths.”
“What we are going to do,” Garit told her, “is carry my grandmother to The Kantian Queen just as soon as she’s well enough to be moved. Then you and Mairne and two of my men-at-arms will escort her across the Sea of Lestrac to Port Moren, and thence to Saumar Manor.”
“No!” Calia cried. Her genuine worry over Lady Elgida’s condition battled with concern about the stone box that Ultan had entrusted to her. She had to reach Kerun City if she was to deliver the box. She scrambled through conflicting loyalties to think of a reason to make Garit give up his plan. “If you do that, Lady Elgida will never speak to you again.”
“Perhaps not. But she will be alive. I will personally see to the safety of my half-brothers.”
“You can’t,” Calia began, but Durand came to her aid.
“If you try to remove Lady Elgida from Kinath against her will,” Durand said to Garit, “she is perfectly capable of pleading with Mallory to take her to Kerun City in defiance of your wishes. Just think how that would please him. Or, if you actually succeed in hauling her aboard The Kantian Queen, she could convince Captain Pyrsig to sail to Kerun, rather than to Port Moren.”
“All right, I grant you she won’t be pleased to have her cherished plans circumvented,” Garit said. “Have you a better idea?”
“Yes. It’s a perfectly simple idea, too.”
“Do you intend to reveal it to us during this present lifetime?” Garit demanded with some asperity.
“Calia, will Lady Elgida be well enough to travel today?” Durand asked.
“Not well enough to sit a horse, certainly,” Calia answered. “She’s weak after being so violently ill and I doubt if she can tolerate any solid food that would strengthen her. I wouldn’t offer her meat or cheese or vegetables until tomorrow. She ought to drink a little broth later today, and perhaps eat a bit of bread. But if you mean, can she be taken down the cliff path in a litter, as we originally planned, then yes, I think she could easily survive that.”
“Then we will advance our plan for leaving Kinath. First, we will explain matters to Lady Elgida. Then we will inform Mallory that because of her illness, we are taking her home to Saumar,” Durand said.
“Yes, I see.” Garit began to smile. “We will include her in this little intrigue. She will enjoy outwitting Mallory. We’ll leave him believing he has as much time as he wants to travel to Kerun City and deal with Belai and Kinen.”
“Once we are well out to sea, we’ll change course and head for Kerun,” Durand said. “We should reach there long before Mallory can ride the distance.”
“Mallory is no fool,” Calia said. “He will post lookouts on the cliffs to report back to him if we do change course.”
“By then it won’t matter,” Durand said. “We’ll be halfway to Kerun City before Mallory can organize his people and leave here. Don’t forget, he intends to make a grand progress to the royal court.”
“Don’t you forget,” Calia warned, “that he can easily send men-at-arms riding fast ahead of his main party, so they’ll be waiting for us in Kerun. They may even have time to locate and dispose of the boys before we arrive.”
“In that case, we ought to leave here as soon as we can.” Durand started for the door. “Garit, if you will speak to Lady Elgida, I’ll notify your men-at-arms to prepare to leave and to signal Captain Pyrsig to send a rowboat ashore to await us.”
“Yes, do that,” Garit said, though he didn’t move. Durand raised his eyebrows, looked from Garit to Calia, then shrugged and left the room without another word.
“I’ll find Mallory and tell him we must go,” Calia said.
“Wait a moment, if you please. I owe you an apology, Calia.”
“How so?” He was too near and she wanted too much to touch him, to feel his warmth and his strength.
“Because you kept your relationship with Mallory a secret, I suspected you of working with him to harm my grandmother and, by extension, to cause me great grief. Now I see that you truly do love my grandmother. I don’t doubt that you are afraid of Mallory, yet you are willing to help us, not him.”
“My feelings about Mallory are more complex than just fear,” she said. “When I was a young girl, what I felt toward him was part fear and part a desperate kind of love. Yes, love, Garit. Don’t look so surprised. I had no one else to love, no mother, and a father mostly absent while he pursued his own ambitions. I wasn’t allowed to have a horse or a puppy, or even a kitten. All I had was Mallory. He did protect me, because I was his blood kin and, therefore, a part of his honor. I knew I dared not spoil my very tenuous position with him.
“But he used me, too. He ordered me to spy for him and report at once any action or any word spoken that could undermine his authority at Catherstone. That was the price I paid for an occasional quick hug or a pat on the head. Mallory showed more true affection to his horses”
“Do you love him still?” Garit asked.
“In a strange way, I do, though I fear him more than ever and I know he won’t think twice about killing your little brothers. He’ll probably rid himself of Fenella, too, before he’s done. He is determined to rule Kinath. Nothing will stop him. He will use his corrupt Power if he must, to get what he wants.”
“Once he removes the obstacles in his path and Kinath is his, will he then decide he wants all of Kantia?” Garit asked. “His father’s ambition knew no limits; is Mallory’s craving for domination as large?”
“I don’t know. If I were to ask him,” Calia said, guessing at Garit’s next question, “he wouldn’t tell me. He’s trying to use me a
gainst you, but he doesn’t trust me enough to reveal his ultimate plans. I’m sure he hasn’t told Fenella, either.
“Garit, I must go. If I don’t find Mallory and provide the information he expects, he’ll come looking for me and he’ll be angry at being made to wait.”
“Of course.” Garit reached for the door latch.
“Your decision to return to Sapaudia will please him, and pacify him for a time, I think,” she said. “But never forget that Mallory cannot rest easy until you and your brothers are dead.”
“I know. I realized that in the first moments after Durand told me who had married Fenella.”
“Where have you been?” In the great hall Mallory grabbed Calia’s arm with a hold so tight that she knew she’d be bruised by it.
“I’ve been tending Lady Elgida, who is ill. As you very well know.” Calia was startled by the depth of the heated animosity she felt toward him. The emotion was so strong it almost banished her lifelong fear of him.
“How should I know any such thing?” Mallory demanded.
“Your plan worked, just as you expected it would. You hurt a helpless old lady—”
“She’s hardly helpless,” Mallory interrupted with a sneer.
“—and you took advantage of Garit’s love for his grandmother. Now, you’ll have what you wanted. Garit has decided to escort Lady Elgida back to Sapaudia, to her own estate at Saumar. You no longer need to worry that we’ll interfere with your plans. Isn’t that what you intended?”
“Not entirely. I expected you and Garit to leave Lady Elgida here at Kinath and ride to Kerun City in my company. How sorry I will be not to enjoy your presence along the way.”
“Why did you want us with you? So you could order one of your henchmen to stick a knife between Garit’s ribs during the first dark night?”
“No, sister dear. I’d far rather catch him sticking his hard rod into you,” Mallory said with a smile that infuriated her. “What greater excuse for a fight can a villain like Garit offer to a loving brother?”
“Garit would never put his arms around Walderon’s daughter.” She spoke with a cold certainty, her heart chilling at the realization.
“If you believe that, then you know nothing about lust,” Mallory said. “That’s all he’d feel for you while he was rutting upon you, Calia; lust, and the desire to violate his old enemy’s child.”
Calia was so enraged by his insults, and so afraid for Garit’s sake that she could not answer him. Angry words came to her lips, but the cautious habits of her youth kept her from speaking them.
“Now,” Mallory went on, his hold on her arm tightening until she winced in pain, “confess what you are concealing from me.”
“Nothing. I’ve told you all I know of Garit’s plans.”
“Ah, but what of Durand’s plans? He intended to visit his sister in Kerun City.”
“Durand is also worried about Lady Elgida’s health. He’s fond of her, too, so he has agreed to return to Port Moren and see her off the ship. Then he will return to Kantia.”
“If you are lying, you will regret it,” Mallory said.
“Is something wrong?” Durand joined them, his smile as bland as his voice.
“I was just explaining to my brother that we must leave.” Calia tried unsuccessfully to wrest her arm away from Mallory’s hold.
“I’m sure Sir Mallory is sorry to see you go so soon,” Durand said in the same calm tone. “I am also certain he will understand the call of duty.”
“Perhaps I won’t let her go,” Mallory said. “Perhaps I choose to keep her with me.”
“That would not be wise,” Durand said quietly.
“Oh?” No one could mistake the menace in Mallory’s tone, or in his gaze. Then he switched his look to Calia’s face. “What aren’t you telling me, little sister?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” she whispered, her voice trembling. Was it possible that Mallory had detected the barriers she had placed on her Power? He knew she was hiding something important. She could only hope he’d assume she was concealing what Garit intended to do once they had all left Kinath, and not the other secret she held. She hoped he’d decide that, whatever she knew, it wasn’t important enough for him to use his corrupt Power and exhaust himself to uncover it. She doubted she was strong enough to withstand Mallory’s unleashed Power.
“Calia,” Durand said with smooth assurance, “why don’t you see if Lady Elgida is ready to depart? If I understand the matter correctly, we will need to sail on the ebbing tide.”
Mallory’s lips twisted into a snarl as he met Durand’s cool gaze. Then he looked beyond Durand to four of Garit’s men-at-arms who were approaching. One man carried a folded litter. Mallory’s face darkened with frustration.
Calia knew he had enough men of his own in Kinath to prevent any or all of Garit’s party from leaving, and for a tense moment she feared he’d do just that. Then he took his hand from her arm.
“We will meet again, sister,” he warned, and turned his back on her.
“He was so angry, I don’t know why he didn’t keep us there,” Calia said later.
They were back in their cabin aboard The Kantian Queen and Lady Elgida was resting on her bunk after a difficult trek down the hillside to where the rowboat waited. Calia could hear the horses being loaded into the hold. From the noise, some of them were unwilling to be harnessed below.
“Does Mallory’s reasoning matter?” Lady Elgida asked. “With a bit of luck and a fair wind, we will reach Kerun City and sail away with my grandsons before he can ride there to interfere.”
“If Belai and Kinen leave Kantia,” Calia said, “they may lose all claim to the lordship of Kinath. Have you thought of that, my lady?”
“Are you suggesting that Garit will stay in Kerun to defend the boys and their rights?” Lady Elgida sounded hopeful and excited at that thought.
“I have no idea what Garit will decide.” Calia didn’t say that she suspected Garit, along with Durand, of having some other purpose behind their actions. Garit wanted his brothers safe, of that much she was certain. But she sensed something more, something agreed upon between the two men. Durand, she reminded herself, was a secret agent for King Henryk.
How very complicated a simple voyage had become, she thought as she felt The Kantian Queen begin to move.
She wondered what Garit was feeling about their departure and whether he expected ever to visit his childhood home again.
Chapter 17
Kerun City was much larger than Tannaris and it appeared to be more fragile, too. Where buildings in the capital of Chandelar were kept to one or two levels in order to avoid casualties and damage in frequent earthquakes and were set on high ground because of sudden tidal surges, the Kantian capital was founded upon steadier ground. Kerun City was all high towers and needle-thin spires that looked too delicate to withstand a strong wind. Narrow buildings four and five or even six levels tall crowded close together near the water, as if they lacked enough land to spread out and be comfortable. Long, narrow windows emphasized the shape of each building, and every window boasted a box of tumbling, colorful flowers and luxuriant green vines. Huge stone pots along the streets added still more color and fragrance.
Even the wharfs were decorated with stone pots of flowers. The blue sky above exactly matched the color of the surprisingly clean harbor water. Bells rang out as if to welcome the travelers.
“What a lovely city,” Calia exclaimed.
“Don’t take what you see as the reality,” Lady Elgida warned. Her health had improved greatly in the two days since they’d left Kinath, so she was back to her usual acerbic self, especially on the subject of Kantia and the Kantian people. “Don’t trust anyone you meet here.”
“Not even Durand’s sister?” Calia asked.
“Lady Ilona is Sapaudian by birth,” Lady Elgida reminded her. “But her husband is Kantian, so take care, Calia. You too, Mairne. We don’t know yet who in Kerun City is trustworthy, and who is not.”
“Yes, my lady.” Mairne’s face was all innocence, though Calia noticed how her eyes sparkled as she regarded the city.
As soon as the horses were unloaded the company mounted and Durand led them along a narrow street and up a hill to the house where his sister and her husband lived. This building was made of dark wood and was three stories tall. Seeing it, Calia began to worry about Lady Elgida having to climb several flights of stairs.
“Durand!” A woman who could have been Durand’s twin flung herself into his arms while he was still barely inside the door. “I was beginning to fear you were lost at sea. How glad I am to have you here, safe and well. I must say, you do look very well.”
“Unhand me, Ilona.” Durand contradicted his own order by pressing his sister close for a moment before he released her and stepped back to introduce his companions. “I have promised beds to all of them,” he finished.
“Of course, you are all most welcome.” Ilona smiled upon her unexpected guests at the same time she caught her brother’s hand and held it against her heart. “My dear, I really was concerned. We’ve heard reports of pirates hindering travelers, killing those who resist them, and holding others for ransom.”
“We easily outran the pirates,” Durand said, laughing. “I’ll tell you about it later. If you are wondering where to put everyone, Garit and Anders can share my usual room with me. It’s certainly large enough. Perhaps the ladies would enjoy the guest cottage in the garden, if it’s not being used at present?”
“As you wish.” Ilona bestowed an affectionate grin on him. “I trust you appreciate that you are the only man I’d allow to make domestic arrangements in my home. Not even Euric dares to tell me where to put our house guests.”
“Where is Euric?” Durand asked. “And do you have many guests these days?”
“Men from the Western Hills come and go, Euric’s family and his boyhood friends, mostly.” Ilona’s silvery eyes danced with humor as she regarded her brother. “You are always so inquisitive, my dear. We will talk in private after everyone has a place to sleep. Euric is at court today. We can join him there this evening, or wait until tomorrow if you’d rather.”