The Sword Of Angels eog-3

by John Marco

  ‘And he has been good to you? Not too unkind?’

  White-Eye’s grin widened. ‘Ah. Now I think I see. Is that why you have come? To make sure I am unharmed?’

  She felt Minikin’s small hand slip onto her thigh. ‘Am I so obvious?’ She laughed. ‘All right, yes. I’m just an old woman, full of worries! When I sent him to you I was unsure what to expect. Put me at ease, daughter — tell me he has treated you well.’

  ‘He has, Minikin,’ White-Eye assured her. ‘It was hard at first. He has a will of iron, and no one can make him bend. I did try!’

  ‘I can’t imagine tears getting to him.’

  ‘They did not. But he was gentle in his own way. He has pushed me, Minikin, but he has made me change.’ White-Eye turned to the mistress hopefully. ‘Can you tell?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Minikin. ‘You have grown so much. You are your father’s daughter! He would be proud of you.’

  Thinking of her father again made White-Eye wistful. It was a generous compliment, but she knew she was really nothing like her father. Kahan Kadar had built everything around them. He was a man of great vision, something the blind Kahana could never be, and not just because she couldn’t see. Men like her father were rare, both lion-hearted and deeply kind. She might try to be like him — did, in fact, try with all her might — but she was sure she would always fall short of his mark.

  ‘No can replace my father, Minikin, but I’ve done my best. I have, and I’m glad you see that in me.’

  ‘No grudges, then?’

  ‘None,’ said White-Eye sincerely. She hesitated, having a subject of her own she was afraid to broach. It had been many weeks since she had seen the mistress, but she heard little improvement in the lady’s mood. It was true what she had said — she was old and probably tired, but more than that she had exhausted herself fighting Aztar’s army, inflicting a wound on her soul that had yet to heal. ‘Tell me about Grimhold,’ she said brightly. ‘I miss it.’

  ‘Things are the same,’ said Minikin. ‘Things there never change. You know that.’

  ‘How is Monster?’ White-Eye asked, eager for news of her old friend. ‘He should come to Jador soon. Tell him that for me, will you?’

  ‘Monster knows he is welcome here,’ said Minikin. White-Eye detected a certain slyness. ‘Now, tell me what you really want to know. We keep secrets from each other. Not good.’

  ‘You’re so worried about me,’ sighed White-Eye, ‘but I have done almost nothing but worry about you, Minikin. You say you’re old, but you have the Eye of God. You can never be old, not really.’

  ‘Magic is one thing,’ said Minikin, ‘but time still passes.’

  ‘But you are the Mistress of Grimhold! You did not have to give me over to Lorn. You could have taught me these things yourself.’

  ‘I could not,’ said Minikin adamantly. ‘I have never been a king, never a true leader. And never when so much is at stake. Lorn will teach you the difficult things, daughter. As you said, he is made of iron. He has done things in his life that none of us would do in our nightmares.’

  ‘And that’s the man you left me with?’ White-Eye chuckled, but she too had heard the stories, mostly from her beloved Gilwyn. ‘He’s more than all of that, though. He is a good man, really. They call him ‘the Wicked’, but that’s not the side he has shown here in Jador. He cares about Jador and the promise he made to Gilwyn.’

  ‘I believe you,’ said Minikin. ‘I did not at first when Gilwyn told me the same, but now. .’

  She hesitated.

  ‘What?’

  Minikin patted the girl’s leg. ‘Still, be on guard. Will you do that for me?’

  ‘On guard? For what?’

  ‘Don’t lose yourself, that’s all. Lorn will teach you things you must know to be Kahana. Good; let him tutor you. But don’t forget who you are.’

  White-Eye took her hand and squeezed. ‘I am the daughter of Kahan Kadar. I will never forget what that means, Minikin.’

  At peace, Minikin spoke no more. Together the two women — one young and unproven, the other as ancient as the trees — sat in the starlight and listened to the tunes of unseen insects. White-Eye took a breath of the sweet evening air, satisfied that Minikin was well. She revelled in the little woman’s presence, thrilled that she had come after so long an absence. Minikin, too, seemed satisfied, pleased to just be with the girl she had always called a daughter. For a moment, White-Eye thought that nothing could spoil her mood.

  Then, she heard his footfalls.

  Heavy and deliberate, leaden by boots of northern design, his steps were unmistakable, and White-Eye did not need the sighted Minikin to tell her that Lorn had come. He moved quickly, breathing hard, as if he’d been looking for them for quite some time.

  ‘Kahana,’ he called to her. He halted in front of them. ‘Mistress Minikin.’ His voice sounded unsurprised, even pleased to see her.

  Minikin stood. ‘King Lorn.’

  ‘Your pardon, Mistress, but I have news for both of you,’ said Lorn. ‘White-Eye, you need to come.’

  ‘What is it?’ asked White-Eye, suddenly alarmed.

  ‘Another visitor has come,’ Lorn explained. ‘Someone I don’t think any of us was expecting.’

  Lorn had not seen Princess Salina since he had left her in Ganjor, months earlier. He had heard of the princess’ arrival from Fouro, one of the palace’s many grooms, who had come rushing into his chambers while Eirian — Lorn’s woman — was feeding his daughter Poppy. The news of Salina’s arrival stunned Lorn, who went at once to fetch White-Eye and Minikin. Now, as the three of them walked the empty corridor, Lorn wondered why Salina had come and how she had managed to make it unscathed across the desert. She was a remarkable girl, this desert princess, and Lorn grinned like a wolf when he thought of her. She had likely come to them with bad news, but to Lorn that hardly mattered. She had already impressed him, because she had helped him and the other Seekers and because she had beliefs, something Lorn found sorely lacking in the world he’d left behind.

  At Lorn’s orders, Princess Salina had been taken to one of the palace’s antechambers. He had directed Fouro to bring food and drink for her, but to separate her from the warriors who accompanied her. They were, Fouro explained, Voruni men, another part of the mystery Lorn meant to unravel. He explained this to the others while they walked.

  ‘Fouro says there are eight of them, all of them dressed like Aztar’s brood. She didn’t say why she had come, only that she needed to speak to you, White-Eye.’

  White-Eye moved cautiously through the hall, holding Minikin’s hand. Although she had progressed amazingly over the past few weeks, the news of Salina’s arrival had unbalanced her.

  ‘Is that all?’ she asked. ‘No word about Aztar?’

  ‘Not as yet,’ Lorn warned. ‘But the Voruni. .’

  ‘The Voruni are Aztar’s people,’ said Minikin. ‘They would not have come with her unless she has spoken to him. Prepare yourself, White-Eye

  — she bears a message for you.’

  Lorn concurred, then guided the women to the antechamber where Salina waited, seated at a long table beneath a frescoed ceiling. The food and wine that had been arranged for her lay untouched. She sat alone, wide-eyed as she studied her impressive surroundings, but when she heard Lorn and the others approaching she stood at once. Fouro, who had been waiting nearby, fled the antechamber at Lorn’s brusque order. Salina looked at all of them in turn, but her gaze rested comfortably on Lorn. An expression of utter relief washed over her and she smiled.

  ‘Lorn,’ she sighed. ‘The people outside the wall told me I would find you here. Do you remember me?’

  Lorn was careful not to overstep his authority, but could not help being enthused about her arrival. ‘Would I ever forget someone who helped me so much? Welcome, Princess Salina.’ He stepped aside to introduce the others. ‘Kahana White-Eye,’ he pronounced, carefully taking her hand.

  Salina, looking all the more like the child she was, lic
ked her lips nervously, stepping forward and bowing. ‘Kahana,’ she said reverently. ‘Thank you for seeing me.’

  ‘I wish I could see you,’ said White-Eye softly. ‘I have heard from King Lorn what a lovely young woman you are.’

  Salina blushed. ‘The king is kind.’ Her eyes went to Minikin, filling with wonder. ‘The lady of Grimhold.’ Again she bowed, but this time more slowly. ‘I am in awe of you, lady.’

  Minikin floated closer on her tiny feet. Behind her towered Trog, though the big man kept respectfully distant. The mistress inspected Salina with a smile, then reached out and took her chin, lifting the girl’s eyes to face her.

  ‘Don’t look away, child,’ she said gently. ‘I want to see the brave girl who has done so much for us.’

  The princess coloured. Like White-Eye, she was dark-skinned, yet her girlish embarrassment was plain. She managed to hold her gaze on Minikin, but only slightly.

  ‘My lady, all my life I have heard the stories about you. And now I know they are true! To see you now is like. .’ Lost for words, she faltered. ‘I am amazed.’

  ‘As am I, child,’ chirped Minikin. ‘None of us expected you to be here. Please, sit. Tell us why you’ve come all this way.’

  With no servants around, it was up to Lorn to pull out the chair for her. He did so quickly, then did the same for White-Eye and Minikin, at last choosing a seat for himself at the Kahana’s right hand. Together they looked at Salina expectantly, none of them really knowing how to begin. Salina seemed on the verge of bursting. Her eyes jumped between the three, finally resting on Lorn, the only one of the trio she knew.

  ‘Where do I start?’ she lamented. ‘So much has happened.’ She pushed aside the plate that had been set before her. ‘You know I came here with others, yes? Voruni men?’

  ‘We know,’ said Lorn. ‘They are Aztar’s men.’

  ‘We know that he’s still alive,’ said White-Eye. ‘Have you been with him?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Salina softly. Lorn picked up the dreamy quality of her tone. ‘I have left my father and gone to him.’ She looked earnestly at White-Eye. ‘We are in love, Kahana. My father has forbidden it but it is so, and he has protected me so far from my father’s anger.’

  ‘Forbidden it?’ White-Eye cocked her head. ‘It was your father that sent Aztar against us! You were to be the prize for him. Why would he forbid it now?’

  ‘For politics, that is why,’ said Salina. ‘He still bargains me like a gaming chip, but now he does so to move the conscience of the people. They think he is weak, that Aztar has made a fool of him, and so he still bargains with Aztar for me.’

  ‘And Aztar?’ asked White-Eye. ‘What about him? What does he want from your father?’

  ‘To be left alone and nothing else,’ claimed the princess. ‘My father has offered him land and a title if he returns me, but he’s refused.’ She puffed a bit at this. ‘Aztar is a changed man, and that’s what I’m here to tell you. Lady Minikin, you most of all must hear this — Aztar isn’t the man he was when he attacked Jador. He’s not my father’s puppet or a zealot. He’s a good man who’s heart has suffered.’

  Lorn ached to jump in with questions, but he controlled himself, leaving the battlefield for White-Eye. To his pleasure the Kahana did not retreat.

  ‘Prince Aztar killed hundreds of people. All of them were innocent.’ White-Eye’s voice was steady and cool. ‘Forgive us, Princess Salina. We are not ungrateful. None of us have forgotten what you’ve done for us. But to speak of Aztar this way. .’

  ‘Let me convince you,’ Salina told them. ‘Kahana White-Eye, Lady Minikin — I have spoken with the one called Gilwyn Toms. He was with Aztar at his camp. He knows of what I speak.’

  White-Eye leaned forward. ‘Gilwyn? What do you know of him?’

  ‘He came to Ganjor. He sought me out — at your insistence, King Lorn.’

  Lorn nodded. ‘That is so.’

  ‘He told me of his mission to save your friend, the one named Baron Glass. I gave him gold and direction for him to be on his way.’

  ‘He was well when you saw him?’ asked White-Eye. ‘What else did he tell you?’

  ‘He was well, Kahana, but only because of Aztar.’

  Salina told them her story about Gilwyn, how he had come to her in Ganjor after his time recuperating in Aztar’s camp. A rass had attacked him, she claimed, and Aztar’s people had nursed him back to help. He had spent time with Aztar, speaking to him, learning about the events that had changed him.

  ‘Aztar wanted him to return here,’ claimed Salina. ‘He wanted Gilwyn to tell all of you that he’s not your enemy, that he knows now that Vala did not choose him to destroy you.’

  ‘But Gilwyn could not return,’ Minikin guessed. ‘Because of his mission.’

  ‘That is right, lady,’ said Salina. ‘But everything I’ve said is true. If not for Aztar, Gilwyn would not have survived.’

  White-Eye drew back, contemplative. Lorn read her expression, knowing the questions running through her mind. If Salina spoke the truth, their worries about Aztar were over. With no reason for him to attack, they were safe from him at last.

  ‘This news is welcome,’ said the kahana. ‘Until recently we thought Aztar was dead. And after all he has given us reason to fear him.’

  Lorn added, ‘Indeed. Tell me, Princess — how can a man like Aztar change so much?’

  Salina raised an eyebrow. ‘You ask me this? Where you come from you are called King Lorn the Wicked.’

  Lorn smirked. ‘An apt name, where I come from.’

  ‘And would you have us all believe that all your wickedness follows you wherever you go, and that the evil things you’ve done are all that your life amounts to?’

  ‘No,’ Lorn admitted, ‘I would not.’

  ‘It is the same with Aztar,’ argued Salina. ‘He has changed. And now he is in danger.’ The princess looked pleadingly at Lorn. ‘He needs help, my lord.’

  ‘Help?’ Lorn guessed at her meaning at once. ‘You mean the threat of Jadori force.’

  Salina nodded. ‘If my father knew that the Jadori were in league with Aztar — if you were willing to protect him — he would think again before sending his army to rescue me.’ She turned to Minikin. ‘He knows that happened to Aztar’s army when they attacked you, Lady. He fears your magics.’

  ‘Protect Prince Aztar? The Jadori?’ scoffed White-Eye. ‘Why would we ever do such a thing, after all that he’s done to us?’

  Salina drew back. ‘Kahana, my father imprisoned me for helping your people. I warned you about Aztar’s attack. I gave you time to prepare and because of that you defeated him.’

  ‘And now you think we owe you a debt,’ White-Eye surmised sourly. ‘And maybe we do. But what you ask is impossible.’

  Lorn tried to hide his budding smile. With no coaxing at all, White-Eye had risen to her station.

  ‘Is that why you’re here, child?’ queried Minikin. ‘Aztar sent you all this way to ask our help?’

  ‘No, Lady,’ replied the princess carefully. ‘Aztar has no idea that I’m asking this of you. He sent me here for protection. He asks only that you give me sanctuary.’ Her face clouded with sadness. ‘He wants me to be safe.’

  ‘And you may stay, of course,’ said Minikin gently. ‘We are grateful to you, Princess Salina. Please believe that.’

  Salina gave a grudging smile. ‘I do believe you, Lady. And what I did for you was not meant to be a lever. I did it because I believed in it, and I’d do it again. I have no regrets at all.’ Her face darkened deeper. ‘It revealed things to me, about my father and the kind of world he wants. I love my father, but he would make me a prisoner simply because I am a woman! I’ll not live that way.’

  Lorn nodded, at last understanding. This wasn’t just the struggle of two lovers. It was a tussle between a father and a daughter.

  ‘I’m a father, too,’ he told the girl. ‘Imagine just for a moment what it is like for him, Princess. You are young. Maybe you do not yet
realize that the world doesn’t change simply because you wish it.’

  Salina bristled in offense. ‘You have not lived in Ganjor, King Lorn. You have no idea what it is like to a woman there.’

  ‘Women have their place,’ Lorn countered. ‘Just as men do.’

  ‘Is it there place to be slaves?’ Salina asked sharply. ‘Yes, perhaps it is that way in Norvor, too.’

  ‘Stop now,’ said Minikin, wrapping on the table to get their attention. ‘Princess Salina, it doesn’t matter why you are here. Whatever your reasons you are welcome.’

  ‘Is she?’ Lorn questioned. ‘Mistress Minikin, you do not speak for Jador.’

  Minikin’s face creased. ‘Don’t I?’

  ‘Your pardon, but no,’ said Lorn. ‘White-Eye is Kahana. It is for her to decide whether or not Jador grants this sanctuary.’ He turned to his charge with all seriousness. ‘And think hard before you decide, White-Eye. What will you do if her father comes with an army to claim her?’

  White-Eye blanched at the question. ‘I do not know.’

  ‘My father will come for me,’ said Salina dreadfully. ‘And his army will crush Aztar.’ She looked at her three benefactors helplessly. ‘Are all of you just going to let that happen?’

  ‘We can do nothing to help Aztar,’ said White-Eye. She had already made up her mind on this, a point that Lorn applauded. ‘Even if we wanted to help him we could not. Jador is devastated, Princess Salina. We endured two wars in two years, one of them with your beloved Aztar. How many men and kreels do you think it would take to defeat your father?’

  ‘But you would not have to fight him,’ insisted Salina. ‘My father fears you. If you would just stand with Aztar. .’

  White-Eye shook her head. ‘We don’t have the strength for it.’ She stiffened. ‘Or the will.’

  Salina shrank against her chair. Her eyes wandered from White-Eye to Minikin, hoping for sympathy. Minikin smiled warmly but echoed White-Eye’s words.

  ‘I am sorry, child, but the Kahana is right,’ she said. ‘Jador doesn’t have the power to stand against your father. If Aztar chooses to fight him, he will do so alone.’