“Nobody’s been down here since the interment,” said Fisher, wrinkling her nose at the dust at Harald’s face. “Not even the Queen. Do you suppose that’s significant?”
“Probably not,” said Hawk. “According to an old book my tutors once made me read, things were very different in the early days of the Forest line. Then it was customary for the Royal family to come down here at regular intervals, to remember their ancestors, why they were and what they did. They’d hold picnics between the tombs and retell old stories of valor and courage. It was important to know the line from which you’d sprung, the history you came from, and to set an example of what would be expected of you once you came of age. But as the numbers of the dead increased, the practice declined and finally disappeared. Now the old deeds are only remembered in romanticized and probably inaccurate songs and plays that come and go according to the fashion of the day. And no one comes down here because they don’t like to be reminded of the certainty of their own death. This is a place to be visited only briefly, when necessary, and then forgotten as quickly as possible.”
“The Demon War might have had something to do with that,” said Fisher. “We all saw too much death under the Blue Moon. We all lost friends and loved ones. Can you blame people for wanting to concentrate on life rather than death after an experience like that?”
“I don’t blame anyone,” said Hawk. He looked slowly around him. “I never thought to see this place again. I fully expected to die in some filthy back alley in Haven, when I got too old or too slow, and someone’s sword proved just that little bit faster than my axe.”
“I never really thought about it at all,” said Fisher. “I expected to die in the long night. Every day since then has been a gift, a second life I had no right to expect.”
“We did die in Haven, sort of,” said Hawk. “And there was a place we went to.”
“I barely remember it,” said Fisher. “That sorcerer put a spell on us. You know you can’t trust anything to do with magic.”
“Dammit,” said Hawk with a sudden anger that surprised them both, “Harald deserved better than this. He was a real hero in the Demon War. For all his faults, and he had many, when the time came, he went out to fight the demons in the long night, to protect and preserve the Forest Land. It never even occurred to him not to. He wielded one of the Infernal Devices, and didn’t let the damned sword corrupt him. He put his life on the line for his homeland, again and again. He deserved better than to die at the hand of some sneaking assassin over some stupid piece of politics.”
“I remember Harald,” Fisher said slowly, looking down at the dusty marble face. “But it’s hard to say who I remember. I was intimate with him for a time, you know that, but I can’t say I ever really knew him. He had so many faces, to show to different people at different times. Whether the face he showed me was the real him, I couldn’t say. He never let anyone get close to him. But he was always kind to me, and did his best to protect me. He tried to understand me, when no one else did. And yet whether he really cared for me or just wanted me, I never knew. Now he’s gone, and I’ll never know.”
“I never liked him, but I always thought he’d make a good King,” said Hawk. “Far better than me. He always knew the right thing to say, how to get people to do what he wanted, while still thinking it was their own idea. And he had a real gift for organization. Loved paperwork. He was the politician in the family; he should have been the perfect King for the transition between the old ways and the new. It was only because I believed that, that I was able to leave the Forest with you. I could have been King if I’d chosen. There were many who would have backed my claim to the Throne. But that would have meant civil war, and I didn’t want that. I didn’t want to be King. Harald looked the much better bet. But did I believe that because I wanted to? Because I didn’t want all the duties and responsibilities that went with being King?”
“You did what you thought was best,” said Fisher. “That’s all any of us can ever do.”
She let her fingertips drift slowly across the cold marble of Harald’s face, leaving creamy white trails in the dust, and then snatched her hand back as a shower of brilliant sparks erupted from the carved face. Hawk and Fisher backed away, hands dropping to their weapons, and watched in amazement as the sparks circled and spun above Harald’s tomb before rushing together to form a perfect image of the late King Harald. The apparition looked pretty much as they remembered him; still large and muscular and classically handsome. But his face was heavily lined with strain and care, and there were already thick streaks of gray in his hair. He looked beaten down, confused, almost bewildered. Neither Hawk nor Fisher had ever known him look this defeated, not even during the worst days of the Demon War. He stared straight ahead of him, apparently unaware of Hawk and Fisher’s presence.
“Hello, Rupert, Julia. If you’re seeing this, then I’m dead. No, I’m not a ghost; this is my last message to you, recorded by a spell I had the Magus prepare for me, to be triggered after my death by your return. I am threatened on all sides, and no longer know whom I can trust. There are things you must know.” He paused, as though uncertain how much he could say, even to his unseen audience. “I did my best. I tried to be a good King, to preserve the Forest Land. But everyone, everything, turned against me. I should never have allowed the Magus to open the Rift. It brought prosperity of a kind, but it also brought dangerous Southern ideas into the Land. There were always factions in the Court, but at least I understood them. Knew how to play them against each other, to prevent any one cause from becoming too powerful. Now democracy has become the new religion of the people, there’s more political parties than I can shake a stick at, and there’s growing pressure from all sides for me to stand down and become a constitutional monarch so a bunch of damned politicians can run things. I’m damned if I’ll let the Land fall into their greedy, grasping hands. All they care about is power. They know nothing of duty and responsibility. And none of them can see the big picture. Not like I do.
“As a Prince, I had to make deals with people I despised. Once I was King, I no longer had to compromise. I had so many plans, so many things I intended to do, to make the Forest Kingdom strong and great again. But always I was undermined and defeated by the bloody politicians, spreading disobedience while claiming they spoke for the people. I was King! It was my job to decide what was best for the people. Because I was the only one in a position to see the big picture. Why couldn’t everyone just do what they were told, when it was clearly in everyone’s best interests?
“No King ever had to deal with the problems I faced. It wasn’t my fault that I inherited a Land devastated and almost bankrupt, and then had to deal with all the changes brought about by the Rift. It wasn’t my fault that the Inverted Cathedral returned. My people turned against me, seduced by the false promises of democracy. It wasn’t fair. No one should have to face so many problems … so many evils. Not after surviving the long night. I still remember the dark, and the horrid light of the Blue Moon. I still have bad dreams, sometimes. And there is no one left to stand beside me. So it was all up to me. After all the chaos, all the madness, I had to make the world make sense.
“Julia, thank you for coming back. I had no right to demand that you return, but I hoped you would. I did care for you, in my way. And you were always so very good in bed.” Fisher glanced quickly at Hawk, but his gaze was fixed on Harald, as his brother spoke haltingly of things past. “I would have loved you, Julia, but I don’t know if I’m capable of love. If I have it in me. None of our family’s ever been much good at caring for anything other than the Forest Land. I never loved the woman they made me marry, though I did admire her strength of character. I’ve no doubt she’ll survive me. How much you trust her is up to you.
“Rupert, if you’re here, do your duty. Be a strong King. Fight off democracy. And protect my son, if you can. He was the only good thing to come out of my life. And beware our father’s legacy. That’s all I have to say. I’m really very t
ired. Avenge my death, brother. Don’t let me have died in vain.”
The image vanished, and the Crypt was still and quiet again. Hawk and Fisher both let out long, slow breaths. “Well, that last bit was pure Harald,” said Hawk. “Manipulative as ever.”
Fisher frowned. “What do you suppose he meant by beware your father’s legacy? What legacy?”
Hawk shrugged. “I have no idea. No doubt we’ll find out, in time. Poor bastard. He didn’t look like a happy man, did he? He spent his whole life plotting and preparing to be King, invested all his hopes and dreams in it. And then his dream betrayed him by coming true.”
The Magus sat at ease in his quarters, slumped bonelessly in a comfortable chair. He wore a simple white tunic and trousers, and there was no sign anywhere of his great night-dark cloak. Without it, he looked surprisingly ordinary. He watched the chessboard set out on the small table before him, frowning slightly as the black and white pieces moved back and forth on their own, darting across the board with dizzying speed. The Magus watched the patterns carefully as they developed, and when the game finished, the pieces reset themselves and started all over again.
On the other side of the spacious, airy room, a human-sized and entirely naked Lightfoot Moonfleet was admiring herself in a full-length mirror. Her arms and legs were unusually long, and she had too many ribs, and there was something subtly disturbing about the way her bones knit together; but still, she was the most beautiful woman currently inhabiting Forest Castle, and Lightfoot Moonfleet knew it. In the mirror her reflection was modeling a series of different outfits and combinations for her approval. Styles and looks and colors came and went, blinking in and out too fast for the human eye to follow, until Lightfoot finally settled on the day’s look. She snapped her fingers imperiously and the image before her settled on a tight black dress that ended just above the knees, with generous cutouts to show bare flesh in interesting places. Long black boots and evening gloves finished the look. Lightfoot was in a devilish mood. Her hair fluffed out like a dark dandelion, and dark eye makeup and vivid bloodred lips sharpened her face nicely.
“A little obvious, not to mention downright sluttish,” said Lightfoot crisply. “Just the look I had in mind. You can go now.”
Her reflection in the mirror stuck out her tongue at her, and vanished. Immediately Lightfoot Moonfleet was wearing the outfit she’d chosen, right down to the exact shadings of color on her face. She stretched slowly, as luxurious and unself-conscious as a cat, wriggled a few times to settle her dress, and then she turned to observe the Magus at his chess.
“So, which side are you playing today?”
“Both, as always,” said the Magus without looking up. “I like the outfit. Quite understated, for you. Now prepare yourself. Company’s coming.”
Lightfoot looked around quickly. “Who is it? Can I jump their bones?”
“It’s the good Captains Hawk and Fisher. They’ve been down in the Crypt, and spoken with the dead King. And now they’re coming here, expecting answers to their questions.”
The faerie smiled. “They don’t know you very well yet, do they?”
“Oh, I have answers for them. Whether they’ll fit the questions, I have no idea. It’s hard to see the ties of destiny around Hawk and Fisher. The Wild Magic has touched them deeply, on levels they probably don’t even know about. Perhaps they will be able to understand me, after all. They are no strangers to the weird and the uncanny, or the fields beyond.”
“Will they be able to get to the truth?” asked Lightfoot, striding over to stand beside the Magus. “Will they find out who killed Harald?”
“Who cares if they discover the truth?” said the Magus calmly. “What matters is that they go into the Inverted Cathedral, and face what must be faced there. Harald could have done it, if he’d been the hero he claimed to be, or the King he wanted to be. But he wasn’t, and he didn’t, which is why we’re in the mess we’re in now.”
“Harald was afraid,” said Lightfoot Moonfleet. “Just like everyone else would be, if they knew the truth.”
“Heroes feel fear,” said the Magus, watching sadly as the black pieces on his board decimated the white, moving inexorably towards checkmate. “They just refuse to be ruled by it.” He leaned forward suddenly, and swept all the pieces from the board with a slap of his hand. They fell to the bare floor, and lay there twitching for long moments, before finally lying still. The Magus leaned back in his chair, his face entirely calm and composed. “Hawk and Fisher must go into the Inverted Cathedral. There’s no one else left.”
“What about the Questor, Allen Chance?”
“A good man,” the Magus admitted. “Perhaps too good. He thinks too much. There’s not enough of his father in him. Not nearly enough ruthlessness. And he has too much to live for. That can weaken a man’s resolve. No, Hawk and Fisher have always been ready to do what was necessary, and to hell with the cost and the consequences.”
“And if they’re not up to it?”
“Then the Blue Moon will come into its power again, the Transient Beings will be released from their long confinement, and there will be hell on earth.”
“Abandon all hope …”
“Quite. Come in!”
The knock at the door came just after he’d spoken, and there was a bit of a pause before the door opened, and Hawk and Fisher came in. They looked quickly about them, as though studying a potential battlefield, and then advanced together on the Magus. Lightfoot moved to stand a little closer to him. The Magus nodded politely to his guests without getting up, and Hawk and Fisher nodded briefly in return as they came to a halt before him.
“Nice trick with the door,” said Hawk. “But it must take all the fun out of Christmas.”
“I don’t celebrate,” said the Magus. “I find all that remorseless sweetness and light a bit trying.”
Fisher looked at the chess pieces on the floor. “Bad loser, Magus?”
“I never lose. It’s bad for the image. How was the Crypt?”
Hawk and Fisher looked at each other. “How did you know we were just there?” asked Hawk sharply.
“I’m the Magus. I know things. That’s my job. Did Harald have anything interesting to say?”
“Don’t you know?” asked Fisher.
“Oh, I don’t know everything. Think how boring that would be. I’m not omnipotent, just very well informed. I set up the spell for Harald, but whatever words he left behind him were strictly between Harald and his conscience. Assuming he had one.”
“He was your King,” said Fisher. “Show some respect.”
Lightfoot Moonfleet stirred uneasily at the sudden cold anger in Fisher’s voice, but the Magus just inclined his head slightly, as though acknowledging a point. “Did the King have anything to say that might help to identify his murderer?”
“Harald didn’t point a finger at anyone in particular,” said Hawk. “I was more interested in what he didn’t say. There was nothing in what he clearly intended to be his last message to suggest he thought his life was in danger. He felt under threat, but by forces in general rather than any specific person.”
“I thought so,” said the Magus. “If Harald had considered any person a threat to his life, he would have had them arrested and worried about obtaining evidence later. At the very least, he would have had me investigate them. Come in!”
Once again, his words preceded the knock on the door. It swung open with a crash as one of Duke Alric’s men stalked in, striding across the room like he was on the parade ground. He crashed to a halt before Hawk and Fisher, ignoring the Magus and the faerie. He wore a Hillsdown guard’s uniform, complete with chainmail vest, and his right hand rested on the swordhilt at his side as he barked out his message to Hawk and Fisher. His voice was like his face—arrogant, offensive, and condescending.
“Hawk, Fisher, you are hereby commanded by the Starlight Duke to attend him at his quarters, there to be questioned by him on certain matters … on certain matters appertaining to … to
…”
The guard slowly turned his head. It was clear he didn’t want to, and equally clear he had no choice in the matter. The Magus was looking at him. Still talking, the guard turned his head in slow painful jerks until his eyes met the Magus’ gaze. The guard’s words trailed away to nothing. He looked deep into the Magus’ eyes, and whimpered. And then the hold over him was gone, and he turned and ran, fleeing the room as though all the demons in the Darkwood were after him. He shot out the doorway, and the sound of his departing feet quickly died away. The Magus gestured lightly, and the door shut itself. Hawk looked at the Magus, making a point of meeting his gaze squarely.
“What the hell was that all about?”
The Magus shrugged easily. “He was being a bit of a bore, so I stared him down. Of course, if you feel you must break off our little chat, to do as the Duke ordered …”
“No,” said Fisher firmly. “The Duke can wait. And don’t think you can impress or scare us with tricks like that. We don’t scare easily.”
The Magus considered her for a moment, then smiled. “No,” he said finally. “I don’t suppose you do. The Darkwood was very dark, wasn’t it?” He looked at Hawk. “Didn’t your hair used to be blond? Or was that your partner? I have an excellent memory, but sometimes it’s so good, it remembers things that didn’t happen. That’s one of the problems with seeing the future, when the future’s always changing.”
“You can see the future?” Fisher asked.
“Through a glass, darkly. Never enough to be of any real use, just enough to confuse and disturb me. Some things are more inevitable than others. And people do confuse the issue so.”
The Magus rose suddenly to his feet, startling Lightfoot into falling back a pace, and then he walked over to look out the open window, as though forgetting they were there. Lightfoot took a few steps after him, and then stopped.
Beyond the Blue Moon (Forest Kingdom Novels) Page 26