Exile's Return (Book 1) (56 page)

The candle flame abruptly jerked and trembled as the door behind Finnlay swung open. He turned to see Robert standing there, his white shirt billowing around his arms. From the end of the room, Ayn and Wilf stood at this sudden appearance but Robert held up his hand. ‘I’m sorry I kept you waiting. I had something I had to attend to first.’

Finnlay straightened up as Robert took a seat at the end of the table, near the fire. Robert did look better, but Finnlay knew him too well to assume that meant everything was fine. Robert was too good at masking his real feelings.

‘How are your injuries?’ Henry asked as he stood to move further down the long table.

‘They’ll mend. How is it going, Wilf? Sorry you Stood the Circle yet?’

Wilf asked sardonically, ‘Sorry you didn’t?’

With a laugh, Robert placed his hands on the table before him. ‘What? And miss all this fun? Never! So tell me, what conclusions have you come to?’

‘Why do you insist on taking this all as one almighty joke, eh? Your brother comes that close to execution at the hands of the judges and now stands to spend the rest of his life a virtual prisoner here, and there is a real possibility that the Guilde Proctor may have some powers of his own. On top of that we have the first exposure of one of our number for almost a century – not to mention a confirmed Malachi at court. We have to make a decision about what to do. A decision which could endanger the entire Enclave. I don’t think there is anything at all amusing about any of this.’

Robert just smiled. ‘Perhaps you just don’t have a sense of humour. I don’t see any need for you to do anything other than warn your people to keep their heads low for a while.’

Wilf slammed his hand down on the table. ‘Damn it, Robert, I’m serious!’

The smile vanished. ‘So am I. Deadly serious.’

He paused to allow Henry time to find a seat and pour him some wine. Taking the cup, Robert leaned forward to
rest his elbow on the table. With the wine raised in mock salute, he smiled again. ‘You can’t make a decision about something you know nothing about. It’s foolish. And don’t think I say that lightly – with my brother now a permanent resident here, I have a vested interest in keeping him safe. He is, if nothing else, my sole heir and unless I decide otherwise, he will remain so. It doesn’t matter that he’s officially dead. When you’re secluded up here as you are, away from real life down in the valleys, it’s easy for you to forget that there are other considerations to be taken into account.’

Henry leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. ‘I don’t see what this has to do with the matter at hand. What difference does Finnlay’s status make?’

Robert shrugged. ‘Quite a bit – to me. I’m merely stating my reasons for objecting to your imminent decision.’

‘Oh?’ Wilf’s face creased in anger. ‘And you know what that decision is, do you?’

‘Certainly I do. You’re curious about the presence Jenn felt at court. You intend to send someone to Marsay to find out who it is, what their intentions are and, assuming our mystery man is not Vaughn himself, ask them to join you. You want to find out if this Malachi Valena has any real influence on the King and whether the split in the church will herald a softening of the official stance against sorcery. Correct me if I’m wrong.’

Nobody did. Instead, looks were exchanged, glances avoided. Anything in fact, other than a response. Finnlay tried to gauge what they were thinking, but it was impossible. Fortunately, Patric was keeping quiet.

Henry leaned forward on his elbow, his voice level and sincere. ‘I don’t want to reopen the old argument, Robert, but you must understand our position here. For almost five hundred years the Enclave has survived against all opposition, sometimes from within, but mostly from without. We have come very close at times to actual discovery, and our current measures are a product of that constant danger. We’ve worked hard over the centuries to break through the
morass of ignorance our heritage has left us, but still we fail. All along we believed that one day we would see a sorcerer who would be able to unlock the secrets of the Key and perhaps eventually teach us enough to release us from this prison. It is the one hope that continues to bind us all together – a hope, I might add, that would free your brother along with the rest of us.’

He paused and took a breath, folding his hands together. ‘From the first day you came here, most of us believed you were that sorcerer, but you have always refused to join us. We now understand from Finnlay that the Key told you never to Stand the Circle. We are flexible, we can change direction. If there is the slightest possibility that there’s a sorcerer at court who is powerful enough to shield himself from even your powers so that you were unaware of his existence, then we have a moral obligation to find him. Even if it is Vaughn.’

‘Actually,’ Robert murmured with a glance at Finnlay, ‘to be honest, the Key said nothing about the Circle to me all those years ago. I know you all think I’ve been lying about it – after what my brother told you, I don’t blame you. But the truth is as I have always maintained. The Key’s message to me was entirely private and has nothing whatsoever to do with the Enclave. I will even go so far as to accept the possibility that I was indeed supposed to Stand the Circle – who knows? What I do know is that if you send someone to court to seek out this stranger you will place the Enclave – and everyone in it – in extreme danger. You don’t know what you’re dealing with, and by the time you find out it could be very much too late.’

‘I don’t believe this!’ Wilf snapped, his patience finally at an end. ‘Have you any idea how ridiculous this all sounds? If you believed you were supposed to Stand the Circle why in the name of the gods didn’t you do so before? Oh, yes, I remember – it was to protect your precious independence! Well, where has that independence got you, eh? Where? And are you now just waiting for me to die so you can take my place? How dare you come here and tell us what decisions
we should or should not make. You gave up the right to have a say in matters here when you refused to take Marcus’s place. Oh, I know what you would have us do: we should sit here and do nothing and continue to pine after the great Earl of Dunlorn, wishing he could be persuaded to take on his destiny; to finally take his place among sorcerers. Go on, Robert, deny it!’

‘Just wait a moment.’ Finnlay raised both hands, not daring to look at his brother for fear of what he might see. Something had only just occurred to him. Something important. ‘There is a possibility that I may have overestimated what the Key said to me that day.’

‘What?’ Wilf demanded, annoyed at the way his tirade had been interrupted. ‘What are you talking about now?’

‘Just listen,’ Finnlay replied, doing his best to emulate Henry’s earlier tone of reason. ‘I was angry with Robert over his refusal to Stand the Circle and when I heard those words coming from the Key I may just have applied my own meaning to them. Now that I think back on it, I may have misunderstood.’

Beside him, Robert leaned forward and held his gaze. ‘What, exactly, did the Key say to you?’

Taking a deep breath, Finnlay quoted, ‘“Plague not Robert of Dunlorn to Stand the Circle. His place is elsewhere and he has been forbidden to take any path other than his own. His destiny is written and that is the only salvation you will ever have from him. Leave him to that.”’

With the smallest of whispers, Robert said, ‘Why didn’t you tell me this before?’

‘Damn you!’ Wilf bellowed. ‘Damn both of you!’

‘Please,’ Ayn reached over and placed a calming hand on Wilf’s arm. ‘This will get us nowhere. Robert, if we don’t send someone to court, we could be missing out on the one vital piece in the destiny of the Enclave. Neither of our people at Marsay are capable of such a task. It must come from here. Surely you can understand that.’

‘Of course I can,’ Robert looked at each of the councillors present. ‘I understand your problem, but you don’t understand
the danger. There are factors at work here you know nothing about.’

Wilf made a rude noise and plumped back in his seat. With a sneer, he folded his arms and said, ‘Well, go on. Acquaint us with them. What factors?’

In reply, Robert turned to Finnlay. ‘Did you tell them everything?’

Everything except the caves and the rod – and Berenice. He would never tell anyone about that. Robert must know at least that much. ‘Yes. Everything.’

‘Then they have no excuse, do they?’ Robert raised a jaunty eyebrow and addressed the council once more. ‘Has it not occurred to you that several of these recent events may be connected? To borrow one of Patric’s favourite themes, I find it difficult to believe that it is pure coincidence that Jenn was the one to sense this stranger.’

‘Why shouldn’t she?’ Henry murmured. ‘Her powers are different to ours – and she’s very strong.’

‘You don’t know that she’s that different. But even if you’re right, don’t you think it’s strange that she was one of those children abducted – and we already know the fate of another – in the company of a Malachi.’

Finnlay blurted before he could stop himself, ‘You’re not suggesting that this presence at court is the man responsible for the abductions!’

Robert leaned back in his seat. ‘I won’t say it’s the same man – he was old, remember. But who’s to say they aren’t connected in some way? Why would this person try to pressure Jenn? Why her and none of us? Why not me? Or Murdoch? Why is he so interested in Jenn?’

There was no immediate answer and Finnlay glanced at Patric, who raised his eyebrows in response.

‘I’m sorry, Robert,’ Ayn eventually replied, ‘but that doesn’t really change anything. For all we know, this sorcerer thinks he is isolated and sensed something from Jenn. Perhaps he tried to reach her.’

‘She said the sensation was entirely evil.’

‘She’s untrained, Robert, how would she know what she’s sensing?’

‘In that case,’ he replied, ‘she may not have sensed anything at all. Look, I’m not suggesting for one moment that you ignore this new player – that would be pointless. I am merely suggesting you do nothing about it for the moment.’

‘And do what?’ Henry murmured.

‘Leave it to me. Let me deal with it.’

Stunned silence filled the council chamber for several long moments. Finnlay’s attention was wholly on Robert. Was it possible? Was he really going to act at last? Did he mean to …

Wilf slowly rose to his feet. ‘Am I hearing right? Did you just say you were actually going to do something?’

‘I did.’ Robert replied, glancing up. ‘Don’t die of shock, Wilf – as yet, I still have no intentions of taking your place, so don’t go rushing it. Yes, I want the Enclave to stay away from Marsay, from the King, Vaughn and whoever it is that Jenn sensed there. At least until I’ve had a chance to find out more. You risk all you’ve accomplished so far if you expose the Enclave in this manner, especially in light of Finnlay’s arrest. If you are right – and this sorcerer is powerful enough to have avoided me for all the years I was at court – then that person is surely powerful enough to overcome whoever you send there. They have been shielded for a reason – and perhaps that reason is that they have no wish to be discovered by other sorcerers. There are a myriad reasons why you should do as I suggest.’

‘This is ridiculous,’ Wilf grumbled.

Henry, however, sat forward and said, ‘You’re not telling us everything, are you?’

‘I never took the oath to the Enclave, Henry. I’m under no obligation to tell you anything at all.’

‘No,’ Henry said flatly. ‘You swore an oath to the King instead. How are we to know where your allegiances lie? You refuse to tell us what we wish to know, you will not explain why – and at the same time you expect us to trust you to
investigate this sorcerer at court, the same court where your old friend Selar resides. You deliberately influenced Jenn to leave the Enclave so that we could do nothing with her. You have always guarded your independence from us, refused to join us, regardless of how important it is. You cannot honestly expect us to trust you.’

‘Now wait a moment,’ Finnlay interjected, ‘are you suggesting that my brother would betray the Enclave?’

‘It’s all right, Finn,’ Robert shook his head briefly, ‘I can see their point. I just don’t understand it. After all these years of them asking me to help, when I do, they refuse to trust me.’

‘Then tell us what the Key told you,’ Wilf snapped. ‘Then we’ll trust you. For once, Robert, tell us the whole truth.’

‘No.’

‘Robert,’ Finnlay hissed, ‘are you sure you can’t?’

‘Absolutely,’ he smiled, ‘I can’t do or say anything more to convince them. They must make their decision without my help.’

Henry’s jaw jutted out. ‘Perhaps not. Perhaps there’s another way we can be sure of you. The Key.’

‘The Key?’ Wilf repeated in a flat voice. ‘You actually want to allow him access to the Key now?’

Henry shrugged. ‘It’s the only way. Will you do it, Robert?’

There was a sudden increase in tension around Robert’s eyes. Finnlay swallowed, but could say nothing, do nothing to help him. What was he thinking? Would he face the Key again, for the first time in twenty years? Did he dare?

‘Well?’ Henry insisted.

‘No. I won’t. I can’t.’

‘There it is again!’ Wilf waved his arms in frustration.

‘Then our decision is made,’ Ayn said quietly, rising to her feet. ‘We will send someone to Marsay to contact this unknown sorcerer. I will leave in two days.’

‘No!’ Robert sprang up, pinning Ayn with that terrible gaze of his. For long seconds they stayed like that, the air almost alive with tension. Then slowly, gradually, Robert dropped his shoulders in defeat. ‘Very well, you win. I’ll go
to the Key. In fact, I’ll do it now if you like and save you the suspense.’

*

The great cavern was almost empty, but the galleries above soon filled with spectators. This event was too unique to miss. Finnlay just wished they’d all go away. This was no game, no trifling occasion to be toyed with. Robert didn’t need an audience.

Finnlay left the others standing to one side of the Key and followed Robert to the base of the steps. There, hanging on its ornate trapeze at the end of the hall, was the innocuous-looking bell, dull and lifeless. The moment Robert took the first of the three steps, it would awaken.