Quest for the King (19 page)

Mary and the couple from Chereb approached Bamah and could see
that the city was overshadowed by an oval mound. From the center
of the mound a temple rose majestically, yet with sinister lines. Fearful
in its immensity, dominating not only the palace but the whole city,
the temple stared down on the city like an evil bird ready to swoop
and strike.

They entered the eastern gate and proceeded along a wide treelined avenue, finding the palace at the edge of the great mound. At
the palace they were detained in the guard house, waiting as word of
their arrival was sent inside.

They did not have long to wait. Scarcely five minutes passed before
an enormous young man, fully seven feet tall and weighing three
hundred and fifty pounds, entered the room. His broad shoulders
were emphasized by the puffed sleeves of his stiff blue velvet jerkin.
Matching blue velvet trousers were tied above his white silk stockings, and black leather shoes completed his costume. Though his clothing
was trimmed with lace, the total effect was of manly power and
strength. The young man moved swiftly and with agility, taking the
three visitors in with a quick penetrating glance, bowing low as he
looked at them. Mary noticed his astonishingly thick eyebrows, projecting forward to match his thick black hair.

"My lord and ladies, I am Duke Dukraz," he said in a deep voice,
his eyes continuing to examine each of them in turn. "Permit me to
welcome you to Anthropos from your overseas estates, and to congratulate you on your recent marriage." He bowed again before continuing. "Unfortunately, her majesty the queen left the palace yesterday
with an armed escort. We anticipate her return tomorrow evening.
You are doubtless aware of the crisis that is developing here, and the
regrettable necessity of your being confined to the guard house for
the present."

Lord Nasa, also bowing, was quick to reply. "We are aware of some
of the difficulties facing you. But it is strange to come here at her
majesty's personal invitation, and yet to be treated as persons who are
not above suspicion. I understand that her majesty left orders for
chambers to be prepared for us in her own quarters. Has your royal
highness inquired whether the chambers are ready?"

In no way intimidated by the duke, Lord Nasa raised his eyebrows
a little. He stared back at the other man with a look that seemed
friendly enough, but that expressed more pained surprise at their
reception than pleasure. If the duke was taken aback by his response,
he showed no sign of it. He continued to look Lord Nasa in the eye,
staring from beneath his own projecting brows with a look that was
not hostile, but cautious. He seemed to be weighing both their persons and his own words with care.

Mary stared from one to the other, wondering how the conversation would end. She also decided that dress made no difference.
Whatever they wore, men were men here. In his own way, the man
she had once thought of as a popinjay was as powerful as the duke,
and seemed to hint at the possibility of the queen's displeasure.

The duke hesitated for a moment longer. "Please sit down," he said
at length. Benches lined the walls of the guard house, and the four
of them seated themselves. Again he looked slowly at each of them,
seeming to make up his mind about something. "Perhaps I should ask
you what you already know about the situation in the palace."

"A few things only," Lord Nasa said. "We know that his majesty is
a member of the royal house of Playsion, while his queen is of the
Anthroponian royal line. The queen has known us for a long time."
Lord Nasa shrugged, then continued. "We also know that there are
differences of religious belief between their majesties which have
caused some tensions, and that some rumor of an infant future king
has reached his majesty's ears. I presume that these facts have some
bearing on your present difficulties."

"Where did you learn this information?"

"From her majesty."

A startled look crossed the face of the big man. Then, speaking
slowly, half in question, he said, "You are not, of course, suggesting
that her majesty was plotting against the king?"

Lord Nasa's eyes widened. "If I had the least suspicion of that, then
obviously my lips would have been sealed. Remember, we are her
guests. I would never have talked to you so freely about her majesty's
preferences if I knew plots were afoot, or that her own loyalty was
questioned. Her majesty may not care for her husband, and is clear
about her loyalty to the Emperor, but she is not given to palace intrigue. So far as I am aware, she has no knowledge of a true claimant
to the Anthroponian throne. I am sure her majesty will have said as
much to the king. Her character is above reproach."

Smiling, the duke raised his thick black eyebrows a little. "You are
better informed than I thought."

Lord Nasa also smiled, finding the duke's uncertainty amusing.
After a moment he said, "You know, if his majesty had suspected the
queen of disloyalty, then you would have been under orders to detain
us. But you are not. Our arrival at a time of crisis seems to be the
source of your uncertainty. Perhaps you could find out whether her majesty left instructions about our reception here."

The young duke rose, and the visitors did the same. If he was
embarrassed by Lord Nasa's suggestion that he had been remiss, it did
not show in his face. But there was a softening in his stance. "I will
do as you suggest." Again he hesitated, looking hard at Lord Nasa. "I
would appreciate a further opportunity of conversation with you, but
for the present I will take my leave. If preparations have been made
for your reception in the queen's chambers, then you will most certainly be conducted there." He bowed and left

Before long, a tall and richly gowned older woman appeared, accompanied by two maids-in-waiting. "I am Princess Anne, cousin to
her majesty, and her chief maid-in-waiting. Your journey must have
been tiring. I trust you are well?"

There was a quietness and tranquility about her, an atmosphere of
joy and warmth that drew them to her. "I am so sorry about her
majesty's absence," she continued. "She had left instructions for your
reception, but no one told the duke." Princess Anne smiled. "And the
pigeon announcing your coming arrived, so that your apartments are
ready-and waiting for you."

They followed her gladly, relieved to be freed from suspicion. Soon
they stood in a pleasant suite of rooms overlooking the palace courtyard. A large sitting room separated a bedroom for Mary from the
larger room for Lady Roelane and her husband.

Before she left them, Princess Anne made a request. "I will see that
the panniers with your things are brought here, and that your animals
are cared for. You are to have complete freedom in the palace, but
Duke Dukraz has requested that your lordships remain here a little
while, since he would appreciate the chance of talking further with
you."

Then she looked at Mary, smiling. "You are free even now, my dear.
But if you like, I can show you the palace. I could make sure the
Captain of the Guard knows who you are, so that you can even come
and go from the palace."

Mary did like. Freedom was important, and it occurred to her that a knowledge of the palace might later come in handy, especially if she
were to wish to contact the sorcerers she was sure would be around.
She smiled. "Thank you, your highness."

They walked together through the palace, which proved more complex the more she saw of it. Mary tried to secure in her mind the
layout of the many corridors and rooms, for she knew she must find
her way to the priests. But even she was a little confused. Princess
Anne introduced her to a number of palace officials, including ladiesin-waiting (who fussed over her) and men with titles like Guardian of
the Royal Wardrobes or Chancellor of the Exchequer (who ruffled
her hair in an absent-minded and irritating way). Her sharp mind
noted them all, sizing each one up carefully.

Eventually they crossed the palace courtyard, where she was introduced to Captain Integredad, the Captain of the Guard. He was a
grizzled, bearded man with a twinkle in his eye. Mary stared at him,
and wondered what manner of man he was. She had dismissed the
Guardian of the Royal Wardrobes as a simpering idiot. She had glared
at the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who scarcely looked at her. But
about this man there was a quality, a quality shared by the longvanished Uncle Alan, by Uncle John, by Lord Nasa, perhaps even by
the big man with the gorgeous eyebrows whom they had been with
so recently. All of them had the same feel about them. How could she
put it into words? It was the way Gaal felt to her. Trust? Yes, that was
it-they could be trusted. She sighed a deep sigh.

Then something else occurred to her. She was not accustomed to
trusting men. Slowly the realization grew inside her, dawning on her
like a revelation. It was not easy for her to trust women either, though
she had begun to be drawn to, and to trust, Lady Roelane. It usually
took a long time for her to trust anybody, and there were few people
she trusted fully. As for men, they tended to arouse fear in her initially. Yet the twinkle in this man's eyes was the kind of twinkle that would
never betray her. She remembered vaguely another pair of twinkling
eyes-blue ones. Twinkling? Had they twinkled? If so, the twinkle had
mocked her. No, they had not twinkled, they had just seemed amused.

"You are chilled, little lady," said the captain. "Come inside the
guard house where it is warmer! Come and sit down."

They sat in a corner, angled toward each other.

"Oh-I'm O.K," she said. "I was just thinking!" Vaguely she heard
Princess Anne take her departure, entrusting her to Captain Integredad. But the thoughts that had passed through her mind had shaken
her, so that for the moment she was scarcely aware of all that was
happening.

"So. You were thinking. Thinking about what?" the captain asked.

"About someone's eyes. But I don't want to think about them. They
scare me."

"Scary eyes? Well, I am sure I cannot blame you. When I was your
age, the thought of staring eyes used to frighten me to death."

"Let's talk about something else."

"To be sure. What would you like to talk about?"

"About the temple."

"The temple?" The captain was clearly taken aback. "Ho, little lady,
the temple is no place for you! Whatever would you want to know
about the temple?" He paused a moment, peering at the temple
through a window. "Though I must say it is an impressive piece of
architecture, impressive in a veiled and sinister way."

Mary eyed him carefully. Ought she to trust him enough to tell him
what her interest in the temple was? She stared hard at him, then
made up her mind to risk his trust.

"I'm a witch, and I really want to meet some of the sorcerers in the
temple. I think they could teach me more."

The captain said nothing for a moment or two. A look of sadness
slowly took shape on his face. For a moment he seemed to have
receded into some space where Mary could not reach him. Then he
sighed, looking at her gravely. The twinkle had gone from his eyes.
"Lady Mary, never trust a sorcerer. "

"But I never have," she thought. "I just want to know what they
know." Aloud she said, "Why not?"

For a moment Captain Integredad did not speak. Then he shrugged. "I suppose for the most obvious reason of all-that sorcerers cannot be trusted. Look into their eyes, child. Usually they will
stare back into your own eyes. They do not lack courage. The look
in their eyes is too frank, too honest. But they are not being frank so
much as watching you, trying to read you. Their lips smile but their
eyes calculate. Look into their eyes and see whether sorcerers-any
sorcerers at all-have trustworthy eyes. Trust neither witch nor sorcerer,

"But I want-I want to ask them questions. If they have secrets, I
want to learn them."

"Oh, they will teach you! They want you as a follower, as a servant-or worse. But you will have to be cleverer than they are to
wheedle their deepest secrets out of them. And they would demand
a price, a very high price." Captain Integredad shook his head slowly
from side to side.

"What d'you mean?"

"Mary, I would just as soon not discuss it right now. But it is a price
you would not want to pay. And even if you paid it, there is no
guarantee that they would keep their promises."

"But this is different! I'm a witch myself. I just want to learn. I really
know what I'm doing."

"Do you, Lady Mary?"

"Of course I do!"

The captain stared at her. She was so small, yet she talked more like
an adult than a little girl. "What is it you want?" he asked at last, with
infinite kindness in his voice. "What would you gain by risking your
life and your happiness by messing with very dangerous people?"

"I want power. I need plenty of magical power to get people to do
whatever I want. With my Uncle John, for example. The woman I
thought was my mother told me she wasn't my mother and sent me
away. You can't trust people. I don't want to depend on people anymore. I used to like my Uncle John, but he's gone an' got himself
married to an old lady, an' I don't know what will happen. In any case
he and his old lady disappeared. I think they're somewhere in this world, and that's why I'm here. Oh, gosh, I..."