The Crimson League (The Herezoth Trilogy) (39 page)

“I can’t. I’m sorry, I just can’t. This isn’t a good idea. In fact, it’s a horrible idea, because I…. Lanokas, I think I could really fall for you.”

Lanokas crossed his arms. “You’ll have to explain how that’s a problem.”

“Let’s gloss over the fact that Brianna got married this week. That I’m fresh off a near-death experience and feel more vulnerable than I’ve possibly ever felt in my life. You’re royal. In line for the throne.”

“I used to be, yes.”

“Suppose that by various acts of the Giver, our stand holds true. We make it out alive. Menikas assumes the throne with you behind him. You and I are in the middle of a whirlwind romance. Where am I?”

“Next to me.”

“No.” Kora’s voice shook. “No, I’ve changed my name and moved to some, some little town in the middle of nowhere where no one knows me, because I’ve been exposed as a sorceress.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“I’m being realistic. What is Zalski? What has he done to this kingdom? After all of that, do you think it’s a good idea for you to be involved with someone like me?”

“I would abdicate.”

“You say that now. And I believe you mean it, I do, but I couldn’t let you do that. Listen, transitioning power from Zalski won’t be simple. People will be scared. Someone might even try another coup. Herezoth needs stability, more than anything else. Stability. That means a clear line of succession, a legitimate, incontestable line. That means you, like I said, at your brother’s side.

“Lanokas, I was in love with Sedder, that’s no secret. He was my source of calm. Losing him, it nearly destroyed me. You were there for the worst, so I know you realize that. Everyone here has supported me, and that’s what’s pulling me through. It’s the only thing pulling me through. Well, I realized months ago I would have to disappear if the League reinstated the royal family. It struck me after that public spat with Zalski, when those people ran terrified at the sight of me. Going away’s just completing the oath I took. There’s nothing else I can do, not that I can fathom, and I’ve accepted what has to be, or I’m beginning to. The problem is, I think I could truly fall for you. I know I could. I know what it was like to have Sedder torn away from me, and I couldn’t stand losing you like that. Not to Zalski. Not to the throne.”

“That’s a real shame, Kora. A crying shame. Truth be told, I could fall for you as well.”

“Don’t say that.” Kora wrung her hands. “Please don’t say that. There is no way this relationship could end well. Tell me you understand….”

“Perhaps you’re right. Perhaps we’ve both lost too much already. If that’s the way you feel, it’
s understandable. F
rustrating as hell, but understandable. Are you saying you want to split up for the watch?”

“We shouldn’t. We’ve overpowered too many sentry units spread thin like that. We’re only two as it is.”

“You have a point.” Lanokas sighed. “All right. Let’s move on.” They rounded the corner and continued to the back of the barn. They circled the building twice in silence before Kora found the gumption to speak again.

“How can so much have gone to hell in twenty-four hours? Less than that? We spent years building operations in Yangerton, and everything’s gone now. Gone. In one day.”

“That’s the story of our lives.”

“One day! Galisan, Kansten, Bennie, Zacry…. Zac, Lanokas. I’m so scared for him. I don’t know which is worse, to think he might rebel and anger Zalski or, or end up being brainwashed.”

“Do you honestly think Zacry would turn his back on what you’re fighting for? On you? On what Sedder died for?” He paused. “I’m assuming he asked you about Sedder.”

“I told him the truth. That it was Zalski. I didn’t say how it happened.”

“And you think Zacry will just push that aside?”

“Zalski will lead him to, step by step. If you don’t think that man can manipulate people….”

“Of course he can. It’s his specialty. But you’re talking about him changing the allegiance of a boy determined to join the Crimson League.”

“Zalski will groom him to be his heir. Through a process, a painstaking, gradual process. He already s
tarted, back at the apartment. H
e takes a kernel of truth and distorts it just enough that you hardly notice the change.”

“What did he say?”

“He used the slander of my good name. Said people lie about me, which is true, and that Zacry shouldn’t believe what they say about a second sorcerer either. How could Zac contradict him? How could anyone?”

“I met your brother, Kora. He’s as sharp as you are. He’ll guard himself against Zalski’s silver tongue. He might pretend not to, but he won’t be taken in, trust me.”

“All right, suppose he isn’t. Suppose Zac’s burning hatred doesn’t cool. A brazen streak runs in his blood.”

“I can’t promise Zac won’t endanger himself. But I can tell you I heard Laskenay thank the teen trio for working with him. Hayden described how things went, and she was amazed by Zacry’s sense of responsibility. His responsibility, Kora.”

Kora nodded. “He’s had to grow up fast. Too fast. And Laskenay’s plan to scare respect for magic into him worked like a charm. She’s a genius in her way, that woman.”

“You and Laskenay are the foundation of his magic. You provided the values he brings to casting a spell. You taught him his power’s not to be abused, and you have to trust he paid attention. Zalski’s rhetoric doesn’t seem to have hit the mark. Didn’t you say Zac asked for a grammar, that he knew that would be important to you?”

“I did say that.” Kora wiped a tear from her eye. “Thank you, Lanokas.”

“For what? You knew all that already.”

* * *

Kora climbed beneath her blankets with her head spinning, wishing nothing more than for dawn to break, for the horrible day she had passed to be gone for good. She expected to lie with her eyes closed until sunrise, but was so depleted of every kind of energy that her body pulled her into sleep almost instantly. She woke to Laskenay’s gentle shake. The League gathered in the loft soon after, and Kora wondered: would Laskenay let on about the upcoming stand? Would she wait until she and Menikas could break the news together? What did Lanokas think about all this? Kora could not look at him. Instead, until Laskenay started the meeting, she stared at the wooden beam Neslan had cut to bar the barn doors.

“Hal, I think you know this area?” Hal said he did. “I want you, Bidd, and Hayden to buy as much food as possible with three silver pieces.”

Bidd raised an eyebrow. Hayden said, “That won’t get much.”

“Just get what you can. And be careful coming back. Head for the square if you’re followed, Kora will meet you at the clock tower if you haven’t returned by nine. She’s been there, she can transport.”

The League’s youngest members took off.

“Neslan, I need you to do research.”

Neslan leaned forward, as though he were a child she had offered a honeycake and he wanted to grab it before she pulled it away. “Are you serious?”

“Fontferry’s the closest settlement to the Hall of Sorcery, so its library’s renowned for books about magic. Magic history in particular. The collection won’t be huge,” she warned, “don’t expect to be overwhelmed. We’re not talking about the Hall’s library. But I need you to find as much as you can about the legend of the Marked One, especially in relation to magic.”

“I could transport to the Hall,” said Kora.

Laskenay insisted, “You’ll do nothing of the sort. You’re going nowhere near Petroc. Fontferry should have a sufficient array of books for what I’m looking for.”

“Which is?” Kora pressed.

“I’ll know when Neslan finds it.”

Lanokas finally opened his mouth. He had been uncharacteristically silent up to then, but told Laskenay, “I need to speak with you before the boys come back. Neslan does too. About Valkin.”

Laskenay’s mouth became a thin line. She drew her hand to her chest. “My husband? You saw as well? You know what happened, firsthand?”

“The three of us were together.”

“I see.” Laskenay fidgeted with her skirt. “I see, I hadn’t realized….”

“It’s time you listened to us,” said Neslan. His expression had sobered from its previous excitement, and Laskenay’s eyes glazed over; she was thinking. About the stand? The likelihood of failure?

She agreed, “It’s time now. I hope it hasn’t pained you, my reluctance to hear.”

Kora made to slip down the ladder, but Laskenay told her, “Please stay. Your presence will keep things in perspective, remind me how long I’ve done without him. I met you afterward, you see. Quite a while after.”

Kora sat cross-legged next to Laskenay. Lanokas began his tale, one Kora was familiar with: meeting a bleeding Valkin in a hallway of the Palace, learning he had been attacked. Laskenay reached for Kora’s hand as Neslan continued, picking up at the point when the prince and the noble burst in the room where he was reading. Lanokas rushed out to warn his family, only to be faced with guards who ran Valkin through.

Laskenay’s voice was a whisper. “Was it quick?”

“He didn’t suffer.”
             

“Forgive me,” said Laskenay. She still squeezed Kora’s fingers; her palm had turned clammy. “I never should have made you hush the details. You’ve been blaming yourself, Rexson, I can tell. As though you had any idea your sworn guards would turn against you!”

To hear the prince’s given name surprised Kora, but she returned to the conversation when Neslan responded, “We’ve talked that over between us. Multiple times.”

“It amazes me still, how we see the absurdity of each other’s survivor’s guilt but never of our own.”

Lanokas, who had been sitting remarkably tense, eased his posture. “There’s a lot of survivor’s guilt in our little community, isn’t there?”

“There’s bound to be,” said Neslan. “When you consider the numbers.”

Laskenay said, “Let’s not speak of that. I owe you both an apology for being mulish, and thanks long overdue. I’m glad to know Valkin’s warning enabled you time to escape.”

Neslan told her, “He would claim he fulfilled his duty as a subject and a friend, nothing more. A trait he shares with his wife, that.” He smiled at Laskenay, and she embraced him with silent tears running down her face, and then Lanokas.

“Both of you mean the world to me,” she said. “The world.”

Neslan smiled. “Don’t turn mawkish on us.”

“You educated types,” Kora complained. “Mawkish?”

“Emotional,” said Laskenay. She gave Neslan a gentle shove and wiped her eyes.

“Well,” said Lanokas, “In danger of sounding like my brother, now that’s done I expect we should return to business. If everyone’s ready for that. Laskenay?”

The sorceress nodded. The loft fell quiet while Laskenay took a moment with her thoughts. Then she told Kora:

“I would ask you to keep watch on Zalski. Close watch. Take note of anything that bears on the Tricentennial, and I do mean anything. I don’t care how trivial a detail you think it is. I hope that’s not asking too much. Should you decide to take a day or two to prepare, well, no one has to know.”

No one being the crown prince.

“Keeping busy’s the best thing we can do,” Kora said, “any of us. I’ll just sit and worry if I put it off.”

“I have to ask….”

Kora spoke over Laskenay, anticipating the question. “I’m not happy with Menikas,” she said. “I think him being in another city right now is a good thing for both our healths. When he returns, I can be civil.”

“Will you be able to take his orders?”

“Honestly? It depends what his orders are. I’ll try not to be petty, for the good of the League. I understand he holds a position of authority, but never again is he interfering with me like he did yesterday.
Never
again.”

Laskenay assured her, “He won’t. You have my word.”

“Damn right he won’t,” said Lanokas.

Laskenay’s lips trembled, almost imperceptibly. “Please, Rexson, veil your hostility if you can’t do away with it. Don’t speak ill of Hune before the others, the boys especially. He intervened for Kora’s safety, as misguided as his actions were. I trust she understands that.” Kora nodded, though her mouth was taut. “You’re his brother. You have the right to confront him about this should you so choose, in private. I’ve already expressed my own concerns.”

“I’ll be speaking to him, I promise you that. In private,” Lanokas assented, noting the worry on Laskenay’s face.

445

CHAPTER EIGHT

Hayden’s Hidden Talent

Zalski sat with his wife in his parlor. A servant had set plates of fresh melon, bread, and eggs with capers on the side table and was now handing Zalski the day’s correspondence. The sorcerer had traded his usual sapphire-hued tunic for one that matched his eyes’ lighter blue, while Malzin was dressed in riding gear, which threw her new jade amulet in sharp relief. She took one bite of her food and grimaced.

“I’m in no mood for eggs,” she said when the servant left. “Should we wake the boy?”

“Let him sleep. He needs rest, he’s still startled.”

“It’s no wonder.” Malzin picked up her glass of grape juice. “Many things changed for him yesterday.”

“What do you think of him?” asked her husband. Malzin pondered the question while she drank and dabbed her mouth.

“I think him rather like his sister. Intelligent, to a point. It was certainly wise of him to attack you first. I imagine he’s wit as well, and courage, to the point of self-destruction.”

“I thought his attempt to rescue the Leaguesmen noble. He could have kept his silence. I never would have guessed he was there.”

“Noble. Foolhardy.” Malzin waved a dismissive hand. Zalski smiled.

“A subtle distinction can exist between them, dear. What I really wonder is, how strong do you imagine his ties are to his kin?”

“I think time can loosen all bonds, that’s what I think. Don’t bow to his every request. He’ll need boundaries. Don’t subject him to philosophy or politics. Teach him to use magic responsibly, that’s the key. Make clear he’ll have to defend any station he attains. He can’t say differently. This world is at war, the empowered against the rest, and though we have our advantages, we’re outnumbered. Eventually he’ll see his beloved Kora for what she is: a traitor to her art. At that point, though he’ll feel shame, he’ll respect you for not besmirching her in front of him.”

Zalski nodded. “I meant to let him come to the realization on his own.”

“He’ll resent you should you force it upon him.”

“Most certainly he will. But you believe he may come around, that was what I wondered.”

“If I thought otherwise you’d already be aware of it. Still, you may wish to take him out of the Palace today. We don’t want him mistaking himself for a prisoner.”

“I can’t be certain his sister hasn’t taught him to transport. I was planning to lunch with him, though, and give him a tour of the building, show him the library. He’ll know this is his home, not a jail. I need you back at four to decide upon a tutor and discuss the
Librette.
Give your sister-in-law due credit. I assumed she hadn’t the gumption to leave it behind somewhere.”

“How can you be sure she ever had it? I’ve seen nothing conclusive.”

“That marvelous stone hanging on your neck,” said Zalski. Malzin fingered the amulet she had stolen from Kansten. “You know little of incantations, dear, and I…. Let me say I’ve never heard of such magic as that which enchants that jade. It came from Hansrelto’s book. The man’s lover was obsessed with protective charms and jewelry. As of yesterday, then, we know Laskenay’s moved the
Librette
. The question is where.”

“The tome’s all that eludes us,” mused Malzin. “Hune must have convinced her to get rid of it. An accomplishmen
t for dear Laskenay, yielding. S
he can be more stubborn than a two-year-old.” Malzin paused. “You don’t think they destroyed it? Surely they’ll have tried.”

“I doubt the book can be destroyed. Hansrelto wasn’t careless, and we’re speaking of his life’s work. He wanted it preserved.”

Malzin took a bite of bread while Zalski turned to a pile of correspondence. He opened the top letter and began to read, lowering the parchment after finishing the first page.

“This may interest you,” he said. Malzin turned to look at him. “Valkin’s grandmother died.”

“Valkin’s grandmother was still alive?”

“Age ninety. Did you know her?”

“I met her once or twice. She made no deep impression.”

“I have to say, for as close to Valkin as you were, his death made no deep impression. You held he would submit like the rest.”

“So he would have, had he made it to that council. Had he not run late. The sad fact is, childhood friendships fade by the time one reaches thirty. Valkin and I became two quite different people. We started to grow apart at fifteen.”

“The most natural thing in the world, I suppose.”

“Not exactly, though it began naturally enough. I’ve never described the specifics, Zalski. Not even to my mother.”

“Did he hurt you in some way?”

“Not intentionally, I’ll say that for him. Valkin had no idea of my magic. No one did in those days when the empowered were forced to hide. The two of us were in Yangerton for the summer, as usual, but he started to visit once a week instead of the usual two or three afternoons. Natural, to use your word. I tried not to read too much into the decrease. I had no cause.”

“I’ve never found you effusively sentimental.”

“One day in June, we went walking in my grandmother’s garden. We stopped before a rosebush, beautiful blood-red flowers, most in full bloom. He said they were the deepest colored he’d ever seen and stooped to cut one. I had trouble taking it from him.”

“Because of the thorns.”

“Our hands brushed, and I heard him think, I remember the words exactly:
What a pity this isn’t Windpine.
”

Zalski crossed his arms. “My father’s Windpine?”

“The cad would have preferred I were Laskenay. I understood then why he stopped by less often. I said nothing, of course. What
could
I say? But things were never the same between Valkin and me. Years later, you and I fell for one another. I guessed Laskenay’s secret when you revealed your own, learned that Valkin was in agreement with her never to speak of it. Having magic myself, I lost what respect for him I’d retained. And that should quash your theory that he ever held my heart beyond adolescent trivialities.” Zalski raised an eyebrow. “What?” said Malzin. “That’s what you were thinking. It’s what you’ve always thought.”

“Don’t deny you resented my sister stealing Valkin. You didn’t stop caring for him, not right away. In fact, your first interest in me sprang from your odium of Laskenay, I’m sure of it. You knew the very idea of the two of us would make her skin crawl. I knew you well enough to recognize something else: that nothing would bring you to take up with a man you found off-putting, you had too much self-respect. Afterward, you grew to resent her familial claims on me. Her sorcery, your power’s trifling in comparison. Her son.”

“Don’t you mention her brat.”

“I’ve never understood why you envy her. You’re more intelligent than she, and twenty times more exciting. She was always an utter bore. You have a more practical view of life. She sees what she wish
es life to be, not what it is. L
ook where that’s brought her.”

Malzin swept a pile of envelopes from the end table. “Let me make this clear, I do not envy your sister. Envy Laskenay? You jest! Why in God’s name would I envy Laskenay?”

“You tell me. She has nothing compared to you. In the one area where she surpasses you, she’s determined to squander her talent. That’s my father’s doing, curse him. She took his admonishments far too much to heart, but you, you have abilities of your own, ones you utilize. Do you think I’d trust just anyone to captain my personal guard? I appointed you because you were the most competent contender, Alten’s aversion to your being female aside. I do wish you weren’t barren. I’d be lying to say otherwise, but I accept your condition with no complaint. I always have. I would rather have you than a son who bears my name. I would rather you support me than my sister, despite her sorcery. We’re shaping history, Malzin, and I’m as proud to have you stand by me as I am of anything I’ve accomplished. You’re the cause of my success.”

“That’s ridiculous, dear. I can hardly take credit….”

“You asked me once if I would pay to have my fortune told, do you remember?”

Malzin leaned back in her armchair. “What does that have to do with…?”

“But you do remember? I answered….”

“That you’d rather throw twice as many coins into the street.”

“An evasive response, I’m afraid. The truth is, I’ve had my cards read. I paid nothing, as the man insisted on the reading free of charge. He was an older man, past middle age. Beyond that his years would be impossible to guess. I was eighteen, in Yangerton for only the third time. I got lost searching out the home of the old family chef—my father sent me with a gift when he heard I would visit the city—and I stopped in an odd, circular building to find out where in God’s name I was. It was a fortuneteller’s shop.

“There was no one inside but the old man. He agreed to give me directions if I’d let him do a reading, said I had an aura or some such nonsense. I gave in. It was dusk and I was tired, and I didn’t feel like going somewhere else to ask my way. The cards, considered together, were…. I admit, I was flabbergasted. They seemed to fit together, each throwing light upon the meaning of the others.

“The first card was the blind eye. The only time the man had seen it drawn, he said, but I’m sure he was lying. It meant my
future was impossible to see. T
oo many variations still were possible. Definitive choices, whether mine or someone else’s, had not yet sealed my fate.

“Second was the fox. I felt pursued, he said. Beleaguered.”

“Felt?” said Malzin. “There’s no ‘feeling’ about it, you always were. Hell, you’re a sorcerer.”

“The final card I’ll never forget. A man on a horse, a faceless man, come to a forked road. It meant I was debating a decision, he said, quite possibly the defining decision of my life. The decision to determine my open future. As though I didn’t know I hadn’t slept in about three weeks because I couldn’t make up my mind….”

Malzin rubbed her chin. “The cards meshed indeed, didn’t they?”

“If he hoped I’d reveal my thoughts to him, or ask his advice, he was sorely disappointed. I got my directions and headed on my way. Old Gans, when I arrived, fed me supper and gave me a bed for the night. It was in his guestroom I decided….”

“To kill the king,” said Malzin.

“Not at that point. I told you I was eighteen, eighteen and desirous of marrying a woman who respected my true character, not the charade I was forced to enact at court. That was the night I chose, once and for all, to entrust you with my secret. You know the rest of the story. You know the role you’ve played. My success is due to you.”

Malzin kissed him, her hand on his cheek. “You doll of a man….”

“You really should be off, you know. You’ll run late.”

“So I will.” She kissed him one last time on her way out the door.

* * *

Kora, sitting out in the morning breeze, leaned back against the barn.

Laskenay has a son?

Her head was reeling.

Has or had? Is he alive? I hope he’s alive, my God! But where, where would he be? And how old? Maybe I can ask Lanokas. Lan…. Wait, that’s it!

The thought of the younger prince jarred Kora’s memory. She jumped up, her hand over her mouth.

Laskenay’s son was with Teena. That explained how Lanokas had known the inn, why—Kora’s eyes grew wide—why Laskenay had first protested leaving the
Librette
there. She had even mentioned the boy, called him Teena’s nephew. Was Kora the sole reason for the subterfuge, or had Menikas been just as ignorant of where Valkin’s son was stowed away?

Kora felt a chill, though the breeze had died and the late April day was warm. She made to go inside, where Laskenay herself was briefing Lanokas, but before she reached the door she spied Bidd, Hal, and Hayden toting provisions through the field. She mulled over her theory, waiting for the boys to come up to her.

“What did you get?” she asked. Bidd handed her a burlap sack of tomatoes.

“Those,” he said. “A good bit of bread, three loaves. Some eggplant. And some fish. It sounds like more than it is, trust me.”

Hayden shifted the weight of his bundle to the opposite arm. “Are we really that bad off?”

Kora said, “I don’t think we’re desperate, not yet. But we’re getting there. Why?”

“No reason.”

Bidd shook his head at his cousin. “Tell her,” he urged. “You should tell her.”

“It’s no guarantee,” Hayden started. His cheeks were red. “It’s just that, we found a dodgy inn where we go could some nights and play cards. I have experience. Some, I mean….”

“How much experience?”

“He hasn’t lost a game in two years,” said Bidd.

“I haven’t played against anyone top-notch.”

Bidd scoffed. “And this place is the height of culture? What do you think, Kora?”

“It might be worth the risk. Provided we don’t risk the bulk of what we’ve got, that is. There’s a chance Laskenay might give you some money, or Lanokas. Hayden, what can it hurt to ask?”