Moons' Dreaming (Children of the Rock) (77 page)

“
No. Pirse doesn
’
t know. He says Doron doesn
’
t speak of it.
”

“
Betajj died in Bronle. He was a merchant, making his final delivery of goods for the season.
”

“
Just a minute!
”
Jeyn said.
“
Is this the same merchant you mentioned to Dad a few years ago? The one who disappeared under mysterious circumstances?
”

“
Aye.
”

“
Stones, Ivey! You said you were investigating the matter because it seemed suspicious, not because it involved your family!
”

“
It
was
suspicious
—
and still is! The fact that Doron is my sister means nothing, except of course that I may never have heard about it otherwise. Palle is too clever not to cover his trail.
”

“
Palle again.
”
Jeyn leaned forward, elbows on her knees.
“
You
’
ve learned something. Why didn
’
t you tell Dad?
”

“
I intend to.
”
Ivey combed his fingers through his damp hair, and his expression relaxed into a wry smile.
“
I only started putting the pieces together on this last trip. When I got to Juniper Ridge, other things pushed it out of my mind.
”

“
You
’
ve been negligent long enough, minstrel,
”
Jeyn said, in her best imitation of Sene
’
s sonorous tones.
“
What have you learned?
”

Ivey smiled in appreciation of her mimicry, but the good humor quickly faded from his face.
“
It was a boating accident on the river. To make matters worse, no word was sent to Juniper Ridge. Doron had to worry for six long months, until I found out from an innkeeper friend, and took the news to her myself.
”

“
If no one bothered to contact her, who led the Remembering?
”

“
There was none. The Shapers of Dherrica no longer let us train Redmothers. All of our traditions are dying.
”

“
If Pirse were king, he
’
d set things right.
”

“
I know that,
”
Ivey snapped.
“
I just wish he would have left my sister out of it.
”

“
Aage sent him to Juniper Ridge. To Doron specifically. The Dreamers wanted them to be together. To have babies.
”
She hesitated, considering what she had heard, and what she knew of Pirse and his continuing exile from a throne that, in justice, should have been his.
“
To help each other, perhaps. To heal each other?
”

Ivey scowled.
“
That would be like them, wouldn
’
t it?
”

“
They are healers
—
and it seems to have worked.
”

“
They
’
re also baby mad.
”

“
You
’
ve been helping them. You brought Vray to that Rhenlan village.
”

“
That
’
s different. Doron is my family!
”

“
That doesn
’
t exempt her from doing the will of the gods.
”

“
Aage
’
s prophecy.
”
Ivey sat down on his bed and matched Jeyn
’
s elbows-on-knees posture.
“
I
’
ve been reciting it in every village and town for as long as I
’
ve been a minstrel. I just never expected it to apply to Doron.
”

“
We all want to protect the people we love. I
’
m protective of my brother, too.
”
She smiled, teasing once more.
“
Don
’
t worry about Doron. From the sound of it, she can handle Pirse. No one forced them into bed together, you know.
”

“
Aye, I imagine not,
”
he growled.
“
She
’
s bigger than he is.
”

“
Is she?
”

“
Bigger than most. Betajj had an inch or two on her, though.
”

“
What else do you know about Betajj? How could Palle have anything to do with his death?
”

“
I
’
m certain that he ordered it
—
but I have no proof. Worse, I still don
’
t know why. I don
’
t know if Palle hoped to gain something by Betajj
’
s death, or if it
was all a tragic mistake.
”
Ivey dropped his head into his hands for a moment, then straightened and sat back in his chair. Fatigue from his long journey, mingled with old grief, deepened the lines around his nose and mouth.
“
It
’
s been over four years. You don
’
t know what it
’
s like in Dherrica, princess. Secrets and lies, wherever you turn.
”

“
Because of Pirse
’
s exile?
”

“
That
’
s part of it, of course, but Dherrica had problems even before Dea died. The guard was captained by a decent man, and many of them were devoted to Pirse. Over the years, though, Bronle had split into factions, some more loyal to Palle than to the throne.
”

“
When Palle became king, the factions should have united behind him.
”

“
They did
—
for a time. Palle
’
s greatest weakness is that he doesn
’
t inspire loyalty, he buys it. Half the Shaper families, and more Keeper merchants than I like to admit, no longer bother to do what
’
s right if they can get away with doing what
’
s convenient.
”

A shiver raised the hairs on Jeyn
’
s arms.
“
Has the entire kingdom forgotten its vows?
”

“
Most of the villages are still all right. It
’
s Bronle that
’
s in danger. Bronle, where Betajj died. As I said, I can
’
t prove that Palle was involved. Those who know the truth are either loyal to Palle, or too afraid of him to speak out. All I have to go on are the rumors of rumors.
”

Jeyn rubbed her hands up and down her arms.
“
Tell me the tale, minstrel.
”

“
My sister Doron is a dyer. Betajj was taking the dyed cloth to market, his last trip of the season. He traveled from Juniper Ridge to Dundas by wagon. In Dundas, he and three other merchants boarded a river barge for the voyage down to Bronle. He made the same trip three or four times a summer, every year.

“
They reached the outskirts of Bronle at dusk. Betajj and another man wanted to camp where they were for the night, and continue to the market landing at first light. The other two merchants and the barge owner voted to finish the voyage in the dark. Less than half a mile before they reached the wharves, the barge capsized.
”

“
Capsized? Don
’
t you mean foundered?
”

“
Capsized. Like a wood chip in a millstream.
”

Jeyn stared at him.
“
I may have lived in Sitrine most of my life, minstrel, but I
’
ve been to other lands more than once. Chasa and I visited Pirse and Emlie when we were young. I remember traveling the river between Bronle and Dundas. A Dherrican river barge is as steady as a house.
”

“
Aye.
”

“
Was there a storm?
”

Ivey shook his head.

“
Was the barge poorly laden? Was the river running too low? Too high?
”

The minstrel rejected each of her suggestions, then cut in before she come up with ideas even more outrageously unlikely.
“
I
’
ve asked all those questions, and more, these four years past. Instead of answers, I find more questions. Of all the people aboard, only Betajj drowned. Of all the cargo aboard, only Betajj
’
s goods were lost without a trace.
”

“
They sank?
”

“
The river at that point is less than ten feet deep. At dawn, the other merchants retrieved their cargo from the bottom, or found it washed up on shore at the next bend in the river.
”
Ivey
’
s mouth twisted with grim humor.
“
Don
’
t scowl so, Your Highness. You won
’
t make sense of my tale until you
’
ve heard it through to the end.
”

“
Then tell me! Or are you saving the best part for my father?
”

“
I wish I were. From a hint here, a fragment of overheard conversation there, I
’
ve pieced together a few more details. The barge owner was not well known in Dundas. He traveled that stretch of the river for only that one summer. The next spring, a new man came up from Bronle, and he
’
d never seen or heard of the other one. The merchant who voted with Betajj to spend the last night outside of Bronle was a Dundas man, and friend to Betajj. The other two were strangers. I traced one of them this past summer. He
’
s become one of Palle
’
s favorites at court. On the night of the accident, and the morning after, guards and bystanders helped retrieve cargo. A few of those bystanders had never been seen in Bronle before, and haven
’
t been seen there since.
”

“
Have they been seen elsewhere?
”
Jeyn guessed.

“
Aye.
”

“
Working for Palle?
”

Ivey flipped his hair back over his shoulders with a casual flick of his head.
“
That, Your Highness, is what I need to discover next.
”

“
How?
”

“
I have no idea.
”

“
Then it
’
s definitely time go talk to my father.
”

Damon rode into Bronle as the winter night fell, under gray clouds heavy with snow. A bitter wind whispered through the narrow streets of the capital and dug at the cracks and crevices of the soot-grimed stone buildings. Here and there, the yellow glow of candles or a glimmer of ruddy light from a hearth fire leaked around the edge of a shutter or under a door. For the most part, however, Damon and his escort climbed the hill to the castle through a bleak dusk unrelieved by the least sign of life from the inhabitants of the town.

When they reached the castle gates, a muffled voice hailed them from the darkness atop the wall. One of the guards at Damon
’
s back identified himself, and the gate swung open in a chorus of creaks and rattles. The noise grated on Damon
’
s ears, but his horse barely flinched, and moved forward readily at the touch of Damon
’
s heels on its flanks.

Damon dismounted in the courtyard and handed his reins to his spokesman. The other guard stayed close at his heels. Damon vaguely recognized the Dherrican guard corporal who led them into the castle from his previous visits. Fortunately, she knew her job and walked ahead of them in silence, saving him the trouble of trying to remember her name. They reached the guest rooms at the same time as a harried pair of servants who, at a brusque nod from the corporal, scurried inside ahead of them.