Broken World Book Four - The Staff of Law (7 page)

The Mujar
studied them with narrowed eyes, clearly unsure of whether to trust
them or not. His gaze flicked to the crossbowmen in the corridor,
their weapons dangling forgotten in their hands, their mouths
open.

The King
gestured at the men to leave. “I only called them to stop you from
fleeing, that’s all.”

He seemed to
relax a little, glancing at Talsy. “She needs me.”

“
Go to her,” Ronos said, “I swear, no one will harm
you.”

The Mujar
returned to the bed and sat beside the sick girl. Merina closed her
mouth belatedly, her eyes captivated by him. The King rose to his
feet, followed by Orland, and they watched the Mujar dip his hand
in the basin of water beside the bed and trickled some onto Talsy’s
brow. She moaned and writhed as he placed his palm on her
forehead.

Merina crept
closer to her father to whisper, “What’s he doing?”

“
Hush, he’s healing her, I think.”

Merina slipped
her hand into his and stared at the demigod who had come amongst
them, straining to hear the words he muttered in a strange tongue.
After a few minutes, Talsy stopped tossing and relaxed with a sigh.
The unman pulled the covers up to her chin and turned to face his
audience. Merina shivered as his eyes slid over her, coming to rest
on the King.

Ronos bowed
again. “I’m King Ronos. This is my son, Orland, and my daughter,
Merina.”

The Mujar
nodded. “No harm.”

“
Thank you.”

“
Where is Prince Kieran?”

“
You mean Tyrander.”

“
No, I mean Kieran. Tyrander is dead.”

Merina gasped
and sagged, and Orland stepped closer to take hold of her arms and
help her to a chair.

The Mujar’s
eyes narrowed again. “You’ve harmed him?”

“
No!” Ronos said. “He’s fine, quite all right. We... we thought
he was Tyrander. My daughter was married to Tyrander. He looks...
the same.”

“
Identical,” the Mujar agreed.

Ronos glanced
at his son. “Orland, fetch the Prince.”

Orland hurried
out, and Merina fanned herself. Ronos looked confused and
embarrassed. The Mujar rose and approached the King, studying
him.

“
You don’t hate Mujar,” he stated.

“
No, we don’t.”

“
One helped you.”

Ronos nodded
as the unman walked around him. “Yes. They lived amongst us, and we
didn’t judge them. We never asked them for anything, nor did we
harm them. It was in my grandfather’s time. I can’t say we liked
them. We were indifferent. People fed them if they chose, but when
others threw them into the Pits, we didn’t.

“
Then the mountain exploded, and a river of lava came straight
towards the town. It was little more than a village then, with no
wall. There was no time to flee, and many would have perished. My
grandfather went into the town and found a Mujar. He asked him to
help, and the Mujar agreed. He made the land rise up, stopping the
lava. That’s why there’s a cliff there now.”

The Mujar
circumnavigated the King and stopped in front of him again. “So,
you worshipped them.”

“
Yes, but they all left soon after they had saved us, long
before I was born. Is it wrong?”

“
Yes, we’re not gods.”

“
Sorry,” the King mumbled. “I just wanted to reassure
you.”

“
I’m assured. How strange.” He went back to the bed and sat
beside Talsy. “I can walk amongst your people.”

“
Absolutely! No one will say a bad word to you.”

The Mujar eyed
the King, who radiated friendship and a desperate sort of yearning,
as if his life depended on convincing Chanter of his
trustworthiness. In Chanter’s experience, Lowman kings’ pride was
mostly to blame for Mujar’s downfall. Ronos’ demeanour seemed odd,
yet he detected no duplicity on the King’s part. The man was in
earnest.

“
I am Chanter.”

“
I shall not use your name against you, thank you for the gift
of it.”

“
You’re well versed in the ways of Mujar.”

“
We have prayed for another Mujar to come to our city since the
last one left, and in that hope we have all learnt your ways. Some
thought your kind left because we offended them in some way, so I’m
careful, you see.”

“
You did offend them, but not with your manners,” Chanter said.
“You drove the Mujar away with your worship of them.”

“
But... how is that possible? We only gave them their due, for
saving the town. What did they want of us in return?”

“
Nothing but what you had given them before, and your
love.”

Kieran came
trotting in, followed by Orland. He hurried over to the bed,
pausing to clap Chanter on the shoulder.

“
Chanter! Am I glad to see you.” He bent over Talsy. “Is she
going to be all right?”

“
Of course. They are chosen.”

“
Who?” Kieran straightened to glare at Ronos. “This lot? They
put me in a damned dungeon!”

“
They thought you were Tyrander. A whole city of chosen,”
Chanter marvelled.

“
They weren’t good enough to save the race, like
Talsy.”

“
No. They made one mistake. They worshipped us.”

“
Too bad. People always go to extremes, don’t they?” Kieran
turned to Ronos. “I didn’t think much of your dungeons.”

“
I didn’t think much of your brother,” the King retorted. “I’m
glad he’s dead.”

“
So am I. I didn’t know him long, and all he wanted to do was
kill me. He took sibling rivalry a little too far.”

Ronos inclined
his head. “I apologise, Prince Kieran.”

Kieran bent
over the sleeping girl again, placing a hand on her brow. “Was it
the baby?”

“
No,” Chanter replied. “Not directly. It has weakened her,
allowing her exhaustion to become a serious illness. It might have
killed her, so I would have been forced to intervene soon, but
strangely, I was invited in.”

“
Is it time?”

“
Not yet. She’ll recover now. It’ll be easier later on. Now
would be very dangerous.”

The Prince
tucked the bedclothes around Talsy’s shoulders, obviously relieved
at her return to health. An awkward silence fell for a moment, then
Ronos dispelled it by saying, “Well, we must celebrate the
Princess’ recovery, and our new guest. I’ll order a feast tonight.
We would be honoured if you joined us, Chanter.”

The Mujar
smiled and inclined his head, and the King sent Orland to give the
orders, evidently not wishing to let Chanter out of his sight. He
had yet to take his eyes off him. Orland returned within a few
moments, having found a bevy of curious servants just outside.

Ronos gestured
to the door. “Perhaps, in the meantime, you’d care for some
refreshment? Talsy should sleep, I suppose.”

The King stood
aside so Chanter could precede him, and they followed Orland into
the grey stone corridor, where servants shuffled aside, staring at
Chanter with expressions of awe and wonder. Evidently the news of
his presence had spread through the keep like wildfire.

Merina fell
into step with Kieran, glancing up at him shyly. “I’m sorry for the
misunderstanding, Prince Kieran.”

He shrugged.
“Under the circumstances, it was understandable, Princess.
Frustrating, though.”

“
I’m amazed that two men who look so alike can be so
different.”

“
I think it had a lot to do with our upbringing. Perhaps if we
hadn’t been separated, we would have been more alike.”

She gazed at
Chanter’s back. “You have an incredible friend.”

“
He is kind of strange, isn’t he?” Kieran chuckled.

“
That’s not what I meant!”

“
I know. I’ve just become used to him now, that’s all. When I
first met him, I found him rather awe inspiring too.”

“
It’s hard to believe that stupid people actually threw such
beautiful and magical men into those horrid Pits.”

Kieran smiled.
“That’s Trueman nature, I suppose. We’ve become so convinced that
we’re the best creatures ever created that when we’re confronted
with someone better, we’re consumed by envy.”

They entered
Ronos’ warm, wood-panelled study and sat on the overstuffed
leather-covered chairs that thronged it. A servant brought a jug of
wine and cups, gaped at Chanter and almost dropped the tray. The
Mujar settled upon a sofa and gazed at the fire that crackled in
the grate. He accepted a cup of wine from Orland and sipped it with
apparent enjoyment. Ronos’ eager to please attitude warmed with
satisfaction.

“
So, may I ask what brings you here?”

“
You did,” Kieran said.

“
I meant before I found you.”

Kieran glanced
at Chanter, who did not seem inclined to answer. The Prince
launched into the story of their quest, which his hosts listened to
with great interest. Chanter rose to examine some of the books,
riffled through them and replaced them on the shelves. The Mujar
appeared unembarrassed at being the object of such fascinated
scrutiny, though each time he glanced at one of his audience they
looked away with obvious shame, as though caught peeping through
someone’s bedroom window. Even so, their eyes were drawn back to
him as if by a magnet. When Kieran finished the tale, Ronos looked
thoughtful.

“
A strange but worthy quest, Kieran. So, once this staff is
restored, the world will return to normal again?”

“
No.” Chanter turned. “The laws cannot be restored.”

“
That’s a point of dispute, I’m afraid,” Kieran said. “Talsy
maintains that the laws can be restored, Chanter denies it. I
suppose it’s safe to say maybe the laws can be restored. We’re not
sure.”

Ronos nodded.
“We’ll help you any way we can.”

“
All we need right now is a safe place to rest for a while;
we’ll journey on once Talsy’s better.”

“
That you have with us, never fear. Stay as long as you wish.
The black army will not bother you within my walls. They have left,
returned to Larina, I would guess, either permanently or to fetch
reinforcements. But Larina would be a fool to move against me. She
has no hope of winning such a war, even with her crossbreed
warriors.”

“
Thank you. We’re most grateful for your aid.”

Ronos waved it
away. “The longer you stay amongst us, the better pleased I’ll be.
To have a Mujar in our city again is a great honour.”

That night,
Ronos provided a sumptuous feast for his guests, but the Aggapae
remained in the stables with their horses and Talsy slept. Chanter
consumed prodigious amounts of food and wine, unaffected by the
alcohol. Kieran became pleasantly drunk, something he had not
indulged in for some time. The Mujar’s reticence forced the Prince
to do most of the talking, but Chanter was the guest of honour and
centre of attention. By the time Kieran reeled from the banquet
hall with Chanter’s help, the birds awakened in the first glow of
the false dawn.

Talsy woke to
find Chanter sitting cross-legged on the end of her bed, gazing
into space with the vacant-eyed preoccupation that only Mujar could
indulge in for hours on end. She sat up with a smile and glanced
around the empty room.

“
Is it safe for you to be here?”

He smiled.
“Yes. These people wish me no harm.”

“
Was I that ill?”

“
Yes.”

She yawned and
lay back. “Where’s Kieran?”

“
Asleep in his room.”

“
They believed you, then.”

“
Mujar don’t lie.”

A knock on the
door drew Taly’s attention. Merina hesitated in the doorway, gazing
at Chanter.

“
Come in,” Talsy invited. “I take it you’ve met
Chanter.”

The Princess
nodded, shooting the Mujar a shy smile. “Are you feeling
better?”

“
Much. It seems I’ve missed all the fun.”

“
I’m afraid so.” Merina approached, stopping beside the bed.
“When Kieran asked me to leave you alone, I was suspicious. But
when Chanter came, it was the most wonderful thing that has ever
happened in our city. You are blessed to have such a wonderful
friend.”

Talsy grinned
at the Mujar. “Well, this makes a change, doesn’t it?” She looked
at Merina. “We’re used to a very different attitude towards
Mujar.”

“
Thank goodness we found out about Kieran, too,” Merina said.
“He’s everything Tyrander pretended to be, but was not. He’s told
us the whole story, and my father has sworn to help you
all.”

“
And you’ve got a promise to keep.” Talsy giggled.

Merina
blushed. “I should have believed you. I noticed some things about
Kieran that were different, but I was so bitter that I refused to
admit I might be wrong.”

“
Blame Chanter, he’s the meddling Mujar who brought us
together,” Talsy said. Chanter raised his brows, and she added, “I
know what you did. I doubt King Ronos has ever had his horse run
away with him before.”

“
I only wished to put you amongst people who could protect you
from the Torrak Jahar,” he replied. “I didn’t know of Tyrander’s
crimes against Princess Merina. It seemed a better idea than
Kieran’s.”