Bronze Magic (Book 1) (57 page)

Tarkyn looked around at them all. “And will I go to sleep or just
pretend?”
Waterstone shrugged. “It’s up to you. There will be many of us
watching all through the night. Even if he put a knife to your throat, we
could knock him out with a slingshot.”
“And if he put his shield up?”
“Bloody sorcerers!” exclaimed Waterstone, “So hard to deal with.”
“You could say that Shturrum word,” suggested Thunder Storm
tentatively.
“Good idea,” said Tarkyn with a smile, “if I’m awake.”
“Don’t worry,” said Thunder Storm. “Stormaway can wake you if he
gets up to anything.”
“Why don’t you make sure your hand is in contact with a tree so that,
if the unthinkable happens, you can heal yourself before your lifeblood
runs out all over the ground?” suggested Stormaway.
Waterstone handed him a piece of soft green moss. “And take this so
you can translocate safely onto the ground out here if you need to escape.”
Tarkyn’s eyes crinkled with amusement at the end of all this. “Thank
you, my friends. I think that should cover it.”
Rainstorm came running up with a knapsack full of food and drink.
“Good luck. Give him a chance. I hope he is who you think he is.”
Tarkyn smiled at him. “Thanks.” He looked at the others. “This
is the woodman who persuaded me to go back and listen to what
Autumn Leaves had to say, the other day. I can see he has a diplomatic
streak in there somewhere. I don’t suppose you have ambassadors,
do you?”
Waterstone shook his head and watched with some amusement as
Rainstorm flushed with pleasure at being referred to as a woodman.
“You don’t happen to have a hairbrush in that pack, do you?” asked the
prince unexpectedly.
Rainstorm rummaged around inside the knapsack and produced a
hairbrush with a flourish.
“Thanks,” said Tarkyn as he attacked the knots in his matted hair.
He gradually became aware of a stunned silence and looked up. “What’s
wrong?”
“You’re about to use yourself as bait in a trap and you’re brushing your
hair?” asked Autumn Leaves in bemusement.
The prince raised a quizzical eyebrow. “Appearances must be preserved
as best we can. That is a court-bred man in there. He will expect a certain
standard of dress and behaviour from me. I can’t give him the dress, but
at least I can present myself in some sort of order. Even amongst you
who do not expect it, I would rarely appear as dishevelled as I am at the
moment, after being in the pouring rain all afternoon.”
Waterstone’s lips twitched. “True.” He grinned, “I have to admit, that
is true.”
“Mind you, if you cut your hair it wouldn’t be half so hard to keep
tidy,” said Rainstorm thoughtfully, with a quick, conspiratorial glance at
Thunder Storm.
Tarkyn eyed him. “I have no intention of cutting my hair. It took me
years to grow it.”
“But this fellow you’re going in to talk to, his hair is only shoulder
length.” Thunder Storm raised his eyebrows. “So it’s not obligatory to
wear it long? Or is it only obligatory for princes?”
Tarkyn looked from one to the other. “No. It is not obligatory for
princes or for anyone else, as far as I know. It’s a matter of personal vanity,
if you must know, and that’s all.”
“Even if it’s inconvenient?” asked Rainstorm innocently.
“Even if it’s inconvenient,” said Tarkyn firmly. He frowned fiercely
around at all of them. “I can’t believe I’m allowing anyone to question
my appearance like this.”
Stormaway gave a smug smile. “I told you, even with the oath, one
man against a nation is poor odds.”
Suddenly the four woodmen and even Stormaway smiled broadly and
patted him on the back.
“Go on, Your Gorgeousness,” said Autumn Leaves, with a big grin,
“Get in there and get at him.”
Tarkyn smiled sweetly at them all. “Right. Make sure you’re watching.”
He turned to Stormaway. “Perhaps you should release him first. Then
when you are ready, you may present me.”
The four woodmen vanished.
eaning back awkwardly against the beech, Danton heard the approach
of quiet footsteps. He turned his head to see the old wizard returning,
a soft light glowing beside him.
“This is bloody uncomfortable,” he said immediately.
Stormaway merely raised his eyebrows. “Perhaps we can do something
about that. If you will agree not to attack me, at least for the time being,
I will agree to untie you.”
The elite guard frowned. “Why the sudden change of heart?”
“I was never going to keep you bound for long. Only long enough to
establish your intentions, which I think I have done.” Stormaway stared
at him, “Agreed?”
“Yes, agreed,” said the guardsman impatiently. As soon as Stormaway
had unbound his hands, he brought them around to the front and began
massaging his wrists to restore the circulation. “So, may I go?”
“I think not,” said Stormaway. In answer to Danton’s frown, he added,
“His Highness is desirous of seeing you. When you feel ready, I will
present you to him.”
The guardsman stood up quickly and brushed himself down as best he
could. Then he stood at attention and nodded to Stormaway. “I’m ready.”
At a signal from Stormaway, Tarkyn emerged from between the trees.
Immediately, the guardsman fell to one knee, bowed his head and placed
his arm across his chest, hand on heart. There was a protracted silence.
Finally, the prince spoke. His voice was warm but held a clear note of
reserve in it. “You may rise. I am pleased to see you, Danton.”
Four woodmen in the surrounding trees watched in astonishment.
The guardsman stood up slowly. “Your Highness, I am relieved to
know that you are safe.”
“I, too, am glad that you were not hurt in the mess I left behind.” The
prince waved a hand at Stormaway, “Would you be kind enough to put
out some refreshments for our guest?”
Tarkyn seated himself against a beech tree and looked at the standing
guardsman. “Please. Be seated.”
The guardsman sat down warily, watched the prince and waited.
“I understand you have been following my trail for some weeks now,”
remarked Tarkyn.
“Er not exactly, Sire.”
The prince raised his eyebrows. “But surely that is what you told
Stormaway?”
“I could not find your trail to follow.” Danton explained hastily, “I
have been searching for you but not following your trail.”
“And what lead you to this place?”
“Nothing really. I had heard there was some sort of gathering of people
some distance to the west of here and I was on my way there to see if
perhaps you were among them.”
“I know of this gathering of which you speak, although I am not yet
sure of its purpose. Certainly I have not yet been there myself,” there
was a slight hesitation, “in person.” Tarkyn accepted a glass of wine from
Stormaway with a nod of thanks. With a sudden change of direction,
the prince asked, his voice hard, “Are you not afraid of me, if I am now
known as a rogue sorcerer?”
Danton’s eyes twinkled as he gave a gentle smile, “No Sire.”
“And why have you come to find me?”
Danton’s smile faded. For the first time, he looked distressed. “My
lord, how could you ask that? I have always stood by you. In the past, I
have believed myself to be your friend, although your cool reception now
makes me doubt my presumption in thinking that.”
The prince stared at him long and hard. “You either betray me or my
brother by coming here. Which is it?”
“My lord, if you must put it like that, I betray your brother. I could
not possibly countenance serving him any longer after what he did to
you. Whatever happens between you and me, I will not be returning to
service at the palace.” The guardsman took a long draught of wine with a
hand that shook noticeably. “I beg your pardon if I took too much upon
myself in seeking you out.”
At last Tarkyn relented, “No, my friend. You did not take too much
upon yourself.” Four woodmen in the trees above breathed a sigh of relief.
“But nothing is at it was. Come. Let us walk for a while in the moonlight.”
The prince stood up and the guardsman quickly followed suit. As they
walked out from under the lacy canopy of the beeches, the moonlight
threw their shadows across the clearing. The eagle owl flew out past them
and into the night. Tarkyn sent him a brief message of thanks.
“Wow,” exclaimed Danton, “Did you see that owl? It flew very close
to us.”
“Yes. It was a big one, wasn’t it?” Tarkyn smiled and placed an arm
briefly around his friend’s shoulder. “I am glad to see you. I did not think
to see any of you again.” He brought his arm back down and turned to
face the guardsman. “Even though I have grown up around people who
are self interested and fickle, still I was shocked by Sargon and Andoran.
I’m afraid I have become wary, even of old friends.”
“I can understand it, Sire. I too was shocked.” Danton stared around
the clearing and frowned, “You know, it’s strange but I keep getting the
feeling I’m being watched. Who else is with you?”
Tarkyn looked away into the trees and replied carefully, “There are no
wizards or sorcerers with me, other than Stormaway.”
Danton shrugged. All his movements were quick and lithe. “Maybe
there’s another owl somewhere watching us. I saw that one which just
flew past, perched in the trees above me when I was tied up, and it was
certainly watching me.” He grinned. “It must have decided I was too big
and tough to eat.”
From the back they presented as an odd pair; Tarkyn half a head
taller and much broader with his long black hair falling down his back,
Danton’s wavy blonde hair catching the moonlight as his lighter frame
bounced energetically across the clearing. They sat down on a log under
the clear sky.
Danton turned to the prince and peered at him through the semi
darkness. “Your Highness, I hope you don’t mind me asking, but what
are you wearing?”
Tarkyn laughed, thinking that tonight, his appearance was being
criticised from all sides.
“What’s funny, my lord?”
“Oh Danton. You are such a dandy. I’m sorry you don’t approve of my
new outfit.” Tarkyn put up a hand. “No. Don’t tell me you do. I can tell
from your face and your voice that you are unimpressed.”
“Well, it is a little rough hewn, if you don’t mind me saying so. And
the colour! So drab you can hardly be seen.”
“That’s quite handy, wouldn’t you say, when there may be people
hunting me?” He smiled, “Anyway, I didn’t have much choice after my
own clothes were ruined.”
“Oh no, were they? What a shame.” Danton became thoughtful. “And
I don’t suppose you brought any of your other outfits with you?”
Tarkyn eyes were alight with laughter. “No Danton, I didn’t. I left in a
bit of a hurry, as you may recall.”
“It’s going to be cold tonight. I hope you have something warm to put
on. I can lend you something of mine if you like, but it won’t fit very
well.”
“Thank you, but I do have a cloak. In the same drab colouring as the
rest of these clothes.”
“Ah well, as long as it keeps you warm.” The blonde-headed sorcerer
looked up into the clear night sky. “You know, whatever you two did to
that storm blew it right away.” He turned to look at the prince. “That
was a lot of power I saw there. Either your wizard is unbelievably strong
or you have become more powerful or both. You couldn’t have done
anything like that a month ago.”
Tarkyn glanced sideways at him, wondering how much to tell him.
“I have unearthed some talents I was unaware of, under the tutelage of
Stormaway Treemaster.”
The guardsman rubbed a patch of dirt he could see on the black of his
pants as he continued, “And why did you send all that power up into the
clouds? Why didn’t you just let the storm run its natural course?”
Tarkyn began to feel he was heading into deep water. “Stormaway was
teaching me how the storm worked and how to control it.” The prince
stood up and Danton immediately rose to his feet also. “I think we had
better get something to eat and think about bedding down for the night.
It will be warmer back under the trees,” said Tarkyn, thinking longingly
that it would be warmer still in his shelter.
“You know, Your Highness, I think you should be careful about using
your magic. Your bronze magic shining high into the clouds is what
alerted me to your presence here.”
Tarkyn grimaced. “You may be right. I’ll have to use it very
circumspectly when it might be seen. Still, I would have had to risk it
today anyway.” As soon as he said it, the prince knew he had said more
than he wanted to.
The blonde guardsman frowned, “So it wasn’t just a lesson?” Danton
stole a look at the prince’s face and gave a short, bitter laugh. “Your
Highness, just tell me if you don’t want me to know something. I can
read your face like a book. Perhaps I should ask you a few less questions
for the time being. I don’t really need to know. I’m just curious. So it can
wait until you’re more sure of me.”
Tarkyn smiled. “I am truly sorry to be so uncertain, Danton. It is
difficult to feel safe in my present circumstances.”
Although it was fine
before you came along,
he thought.
I’ll have to repair this. If he thinks I don’t
trust him, we’ll never trap him if we need to.
“Anyway, having come this far,
I might as well tell you what I can. Stormaway thought that someone had
created the storm and it looked as if it was going to lead to widespread
flooding. So we decided to counteract it.”
“So who would go to the trouble of creating such a storm?” asked
Danton. “Whoops. I beg your pardon. There I go again. Asking
questions.”
The prince shook his head. “Don’t worry. You can ask, although in this
case I don’t know the answer except to say it may have something to do
with that encampment in the west.”
His friend looked at him. “I thought you hadn’t been to this gathering,
my lord. How do you know it’s an encampment?”
Tarkyn shrugged, “People have spoken about it. Stormaway is good at
gathering information, you know.”
They arrived back into the shelter of the trees. Stormaway had set
out wine and a small feast on a mat on the ground. Warm bedding had
appeared and had been set up to one side. Danton’s knives were still in
a neat pile a short distance away. Danton’s eyes roved idly over them
but he said nothing. Stormaway appeared to have imbibed a few glasses
already and smoothly took over the conversation, giving Tarkyn a rest
from skating on thin ice. Finally the time came to bed down. Stormaway
wove his way to his heap of bedding and made a big business of lying
down and getting comfortable before apparently dropping off to sleep,
mid slurred sentence.