Vagrants: Book 2 Circles of Light series (10 page)

Hargon inclined his
head at the compliment to his son, then clenched his fist round the
stem of his goblet as Rhaki added:

‘And the girl is
already beautiful.’

‘If you say so, Sir
Lord. I do not see it myself. She is destined to be the mother of
Seboth’s grandsons.’

Such an alliance had
not been decided in fact, but Hargon wanted Rhaki to turn elsewhere
than to his daughter for whatever he might have in mind. Females
were of no consequence in Sapphrea, but Mena carried his blood, and
he had a very unpleasant feeling that Rhaki’s interest in her would
not be a healthy one.

Rhaki shrugged. ‘Surely
she will not be sent to Seboth yet – she is a mere
child?’

‘Sometimes it is
preferred that females go to their future lords early, to accustom
themselves to their ways before they breed sons.’

Rhaki stared at him and
Hargon busied himself pouring more ale.

‘I will leave for
Tagria in a day or so and be away only a few days. I trust you have
been well cared for in my absence?’

‘Oh yes. I cannot tell
who are slaves and who servants but I treat them the same, so I
don’t suppose it matters.’

‘Those who deal
personally with any guests in my house are servants Sir Lord,’
Hargon frowned. ‘Slaves are menials.’

‘Quite so,’ agreed
Rhaki vaguely. ‘What plans do you have for your younger
boy?’

‘Bartos? At present
Zalom of Andla has bred only females, who obviously cannot rule.
Unless he manages to get a son by the time my boy is thirteen
cycles, Zalom will invite Bartos to choose one of the females. Thus
will Zalom have grandsons of his blood.’

‘Hopefully,’ murmured
Rhaki.

Navan cleared his
throat. ‘You have been so busy since you arrived here, Sir Lord.
You have not been riding for pleasure have you? There is good
hunting a short ride north into the lower hills of the Ancient
Mountains. Perhaps it would please you to take a small rest from
your toils?’

‘I have never hunted
for pleasure.’ Rhaki spoke coldly. ‘I would prefer my building to
be complete before I allow myself time for excursions.’

‘I look forward to
showing you some of the wilder lands in the future then Sir Lord.
Even if we do not hunt, one often glimpses the rarer beasts. There
are the mountain wapeesh and the huge clawed creatures that prey on
them. They are occasionally so bold as to lie out on high rocks,
sunning themselves and viewing riders with contempt. And, very
rarely though, a great Dragon may be seen.’

Rhaki looked up
sharply. ‘Great Dragons? I thought they were confined to the Spine
and Sun Mountains?’

‘As Navan said, Sir
Lord, they are seen but rarely. But hunters say they have spied
several, not that far into our Ancient Mountains.’

After a few more
minutes of desultory conversation, Hargon begged Rhaki to excuse
him.

‘I have administrative
matters to deal with in the morning Sir Lord. The usual tedious
things which always accumulate if I leave Return, no matter for how
few days.’

Hargon rose early and
avoided Rhaki at the first meal, being already closeted in his
workroom with his seneschal, Navan, Fryss and Mallit. A serving man
brought Rhaki his satchel of bread and fruit and his water flask,
and he left Return as the mist of dawn was slowly twisting up from
the fields and groves.

He paused on the trail
to the quarry, where the new trail marked the way to his building.
Then he took the turn off, walking on the rough grass beside the
newly rutted trail. He stopped suddenly, sending his senses ahead
of him. Someone was there, and no workmen should normally be here
for another hour. Rhaki moved even more quietly until he had
reached the high point of the trail and yet was still partially
screened by scrubby trees. Two men, dressed as labourers, were
working their way through the tangle of redberry bushes. The
direction was unmistakably towards the hidden caves and the
deliberation of their advance told him that these men knew where
they were going.

Rhaki’s anger was like
a tiny worm coiling through his head, twisting and writhing until
his mind was aflame with rage. He hadn’t realised he was holding
his breath until he expelled it in a gasp, and as he did so, he
raised his hand. His fingers were extended towards the two men and
the red worm of fury flew down from his head, along his arm and out
of those long fingers. There was a soft implosion of air and the
men were gone.

Rhaki drew in a
trembling breath and realised he was shaking all over and drenched
in sweat. His head hurt as badly if not worse than when he cut the
blocks of stone. His legs gave way and he dropped ungracefully to
the ground where he sat, holding his head with one hand as he
fumbled in the satchel for some of the dried fruit with the other.
As he chewed the fruit, the roaring in his head subsided and he
cautiously got to his feet again.

Walking as though he
was suddenly very old, or ill, he went on to where the men had
been. Small heaps of dirty grey ash were all that remained except,
oddly, two knives half hidden in the ash. Rhaki stared at the
insignificant piles of ash that had been men and wiped his wet
forehead on his sleeve. Then he turned and trudged slowly down the
new track to join the old quarry trail. He would go to the quarry,
but he doubted if he could cut blocks, not until he had rested the
morning away. Perhaps he could manage six blocks today at least,
instead of the usual twelve.

The watching armsman
lay flat behind a bush for a considerable time after Rhaki had
gone. He finally lifted his head a fraction, then slowly the rest
of him rose from the ground. He moved stealthily to where he had
last seen the two armsmen dressed as labourers, his head constantly
turning to check that Rhaki did not reappear.

The armsman stared at
the two heaps of ash already being scattered a little by the
breeze. He gulped, looked around once more then stooped and picked
up one of the knives, retching as he did so. Tucking the knife in
his belt, he hurried back to where his konina was tied out of
sight, rubbing the flakes of ash from his hand onto his trousers as
he went.

The seneschal was
leaving Hargon’s workroom as the armsman arrived, breathless. Navan
glimpsed the new arrival as the door swung closed behind the
seneschal. He called for the door guard to let the man in. The
armsman stood before Hargon’s table, shivering, his face white. He
managed to keep his voice level as he reported what he had
witnessed, laying the knife on the table as he finished.

There was silence as
the four seated men stared at the knife, unmistakably one of those
issued to all Return armsmen. Hargon poured ale into a mug with a
steady hand and offered it to the armsman.

‘Sit,’ he said, nodding
to the chair vacated by the seneschal.

The armsman sagged onto
the chair and took a gulp of ale.

‘So it really begins,’
Hargon said quietly. ‘Now we know how he can truly destroy as he
pleases. Did he fall swooning to the ground afterwards?’ He looked
hopefully at the armsman and sighed as the man shook his
head.

‘He was standing Sir,
then I heard him walk to where – they – were. I kept down Sir. I’m
sorry, but I thought I’d end the same as Tass and Pern
Sir.’

‘Very well. I want
total silence on what you have seen for now. The Arms Chief will
speak to you shortly. Wait outside for him.’

The man saluted and
left them.

‘Fryss, Mallit, stay
with that armsman until he is drunk and then sober again. Let him
say what he will to either of you alone. I will not have panic
spread by this means.’

The two armsleaders
took their leave.

‘Vagrants be damned,
now what Navan?’ Hargon leaned back in his chair with a
groan.

Navan rubbed a finger
along the edge of the table, as he always seemed to when thinking
hard.

‘First, Sir, I think it
might be wise to arrange for your children to take an early trip to
your lodge at the edge of the Mountains. All of your children. They
could fish, and the wapeesh and volu will be dropping their
young.’

Hargon noted the
emphasis on the word “all”. ‘Even Mena?’

‘Perhaps especially
her, Sir.’

Hargon nodded. ‘You
noticed his interest too. Do you think I should still travel to
Tagria?’

Navan rubbed the table
edge again. ‘He would surely wonder if you changed your plans so
soon after telling him of your trip Sir.’

Hargon chewed his lower
lip. ‘Have my children brought to me tomorrow Navan. I think they
should leave in the next day or so. Select a reliable escort for
them. I think they should be away for two ten-days. I will be back
from Tagria then. And make arrangements for the families of those
two men, that they suffer no hardship through their loss.’ Hargon
spun the knife with one finger as it lay on his table.

When the serving men
had put dishes of sweet pastries and custards on the dining table
that evening, Hargon dismissed them so that he, Navan and Rhaki
were alone.

‘I have planned a small
entertainment for you tomorrow evening, Sir Lord. Tumblers and
singers to amuse us while we eat. I though to have a really special
entertainment later, to celebrate the raising of your
tower.’

Rhaki looked more ill
than at any previous time since arriving in Return. His dark eyes
were ringed with shadows like bruises, and sunk deep in their
sockets. He could not disguise the tremor of his hands as he
reached for food or drink. He inclined his head towards
Hargon.

‘You are ever the
solicitous host, Hargon.’

Navan swirled the ale
in his goblet.

‘Two labourers
disappeared from the building work Sir. I forgot to mention it
earlier. Should they be tracked down and punished for leaving their
work with no word to the overseers? They were free men,’ he
added.

Hargon shrugged, his
eyes on Rhaki. ‘Hire two more. Plenty of men still willing to do
other work before they are too busy with their farms.’

Rhaki had watched Navan
as the Arms Chief spoke of the two missing labourers. The only sign
that he knew anything of the matter was a slight twitching that
began in his right eyelid.

Mim was drawn
increasingly to the upper levels of the stronghold where Rhaki had
had his personal quarters. Finally he spoke to Dessi and
Tika.

‘There are books, and
perhaps papers, in there that we need to see,’ he explained. ‘I
think we should remove everything from those chambers. Destroy
anything that feels wrong and then bar the doors.’

Dessi was keen on the
plan to bar the door, not so enthusiastic about going in to clear
the rooms.

‘But it has to be us,’
Mim insisted. ‘This is not something we can ask servants to do.
Bark was the only one who went in there, never any servants, even
Galt.’

Tika agreed. ‘Let’s do
it now Mim. Farn is strengthening each day and the time draws near
when we must leave.’

Rofu woke with an
alarmed squeak from his doze on Mim’s shoulder as the Dragon Lord
got to his feet.

‘I wish Nolli was still
here to advise us on this,’ Dessi murmured as she and Tika followed
Mim from the hall up the sloping passage.

‘Do you know why she
suddenly decided to return to the Domain?’ Tika asked. ‘Or how long
she will be gone? I would like to have said farewell
properly.’

Dessi looked vague.
‘She mentioned several different plans. I’ve no idea which one
she’ll follow.’

‘She has no fault to
find with Berri has she?’

‘No,’ Dessi grinned.
‘Berri was so shocked, thinking she had lost any hope of becoming
Wise One, and then Nolli Naming her! She’s taking it very
seriously! Is Farn really stronger?’ she added.

‘Yes. Kija would not
allow him to travel unless he was. Oh!’

Tika dropped to her
knees clutching her head, as Mim spun round and came rushing back
to her.

‘What is it? What is
it?’ Dessi begged.

Gan was striding
towards them as Farn’s roar of pain came from the great
hall.

‘Rhaki,’ Mim said
tersely as he hugged Tika into his arms. ‘Are you all
right?’

‘I think so.’ Her face
was bleached bone and her eyes huge green pools of pain. ‘Did you
feel it?’

She looked from Mim to
Gan to Dessi.

‘I felt something,’
said Mim. ‘But whether it was Rhaki or reflected from you, I’m not
sure.’

Gan nodded agreement.
‘Do you know what happened Tika?’ he asked.

‘Rhaki did something.
He twisted the power somehow – to kill.’

Colour was creeping
back into her cheeks and she freed herself gently from Mim with a
grateful smile. Rofu was whimpering quietly, clinging to the back
of Mim’s shirt.

‘Sorry Rofu. I didn’t
mean to frighten you.’ Tika went back a few steps to look over the
stone balustrade edging the slope from the hall.