Suddenly it came. Gath foresaw the decision, and Mom screaming and being shouted down. He saw the leaders and the sorcerers all leaving. He turned to stare at his sister, clenching his fists. Intent on the story, she didn’t notice him. She didn’t know yet. Oh, Kadie, Kadie! I can’t save you this time, Kadie! Don’t cry, Kadie!
5
Death Bird stormed out of the hovel, with the dwarvish general scowling along at his heels. The four sorcerers followed, the dwarves taking the lanterns. That didn’t matter—the fire gave light, and the windows were bright.
For a moment Shandie just sat where he was on the floor, a crumpled heap of weariness older than the Impire, and yet somehow exultant. Or feeling as if he would feel exultant if he could feel anything ever again. Dawn was coming and it was a dawn he had not expected to see. He had survived, and he might even have turned the awful horde aside from the Impire, his Impire. He might have saved thousands of lives. Even if he hadn’t, he’d made an evilish good try at it! If he ever got back to Hub, he ought to award himself a medal of some sort. And he had also made a start on promoting the new protocol—he had told four sorcerers about it.
Then he pulled himself out of his pit of exhaustion and peered blearily at Inosolan. She was staring down at him reproachfully, her eyes red-rimmed, her hair a tangle. Not reproachfully—furiously. The two kids were still sitting in the corner. They hadn’t moved since they arrived, except the boy was now hugging the girl, and they were both white as ice under their dirt.
He heaved himself to his feet and faced the woman’s blazing green stare. ”I tried, ma’am! We all tried.”
“She is only a child!”
“Do you think Death Bird doesn’t know that? We did all we could. You offered yourself in her place, ma’am, and so did I” He wondered if he would have had the courage to make that offer if he had not been so certain it would be refused.
She crumpled suddenly. “Yes, you did.” She stared at the floor.
He stepped closer, and for a moment was tempted to lay a hand on her shoulder as he would have done with a man. “It makes sense. It makes sense to move us to Dwanish. In similar circumstances I have always sent important prisoners back to my base. It is better for us that we not stay with this rabble. And it makes sense that Death Bird would not trust his allies with all four of us. Be grateful he only demanded one.”
She wrung her hands and turned away. She was admitting the logic, even if she could not bring herself to say so. “She is a valuable hostage, ma’am . . . May I call you Inos? She is the daughter of a sorcerer, a friend of Death Bird’s. She will be well treated, I am sure. Better than any of the rest of us could expect.” He was lying, of course, and they must all know that.
Inosolan did not reply. How in the Name of Evil had she ever landed in this Evilish perdition, and with her children? Time enough tomorrow to get the story.
Lucky for him that she had, though.
He walked over to the kids, and they scrambled to their feet. Frightened, exhausted, shocked, they stared wordlessly at him. He spoke to the boy first.
“You’ve grown since I saw you last summer, Prince Gathmor. I owe you my life. I am very grateful.” He held out a hand.
The boy had an unexpectedly powerful grip—jotunn, of course. His hair was a golden bush, but his eyes were the same dark gray as Rap’s.
“Your father would be very proud of you.”
The kid just licked his lips and nodded, as if past the point of speech.
“I admire the way you’re bearing up, lad. I’m a soldier. I know what it takes when you’re new to it. If you can handle this at your age, you’re going to be quite a man in a couple of years.”
The kid squeaked, “Thank you, sir,” in a wavery treble. ”Sire!” the girl snapped.
“Sire, I mean.”
“Don’t worry about that!” Shandie said, and felt his face ache as he smiled. “Now, your father told me you had—”
“Just an hour or two. No, I can’t.”
“Can you—”
“The building’s shielded. Can’t know what happens when we go out.”
Shandie nodded. “I see. Thank you.” He looked to the girl and was tongue-tied. He never knew the right thing to say to women, and what could he possibly say to this doomed waif ? Tell her she was going to be a stunning looker like her mother? Not very comforting under the circumstances. Tell her that being raped was better than being tortured? Was it true?
“Princess Kadolan? I . . . er, am honored to meet you.” Like her mother, she had brilliant green eyes, and they were wide with wonder. ”Oh!” she said. “Oh, your Imperial Majesty!” She curtseyed low in her filthy fur robe. That was a crazily inappropriate reaction and should have been funny, but his Imperial Majesty had no sense of humor left. Well, maybe he did—he bowed in response. Every bone in his back groaned.
“I am sure that the goblin king is an honorable man and will see that you are well treated, as he promised.” Liar! Liar!
“And I am sure that someone will rescue me, your Majesty!”
Gods! What childish fancy was that?
He was saved from having to say more. The door creaked open. The old goblin sorcerer stepped in nimbly and closed it behind him. He folded his big anns across his greenish chest and stared hard at Shandie.
Now what? The great danger was that one or more of those four sorcerers was a Covin spy, of course. Perhaps this man . . . Long Runner was his name. Perhaps Long Runner had come to announce disaster. You are coming to Hub with me, your Majesty …
“That went very well,” he growled.
Shandie felt a surge of excitement. “You mean I persuaded you? You will join our cause?”
The short man chuckled. “I’m part of it already. Sit down before you fall down. All of you.”
Exchanging perplexed glances, the hostages obeyed. The goblin leered, his big teeth and black tattoos making a fearsome sight. “Just in case you’re wondering, Death Bird trusts me because he’s known me a very long time. I’ve never used sorcery on him, though, or for him. His destiny comes from the Gods and sorcery had no part in it—apart from a little help that Rap gave him once, of course, and Rap was more than just a sorcerer. But we’re old friends, Death Bird and me.”
“Get to the point,” Shandie snapped. “We’re too tired to play games.”
“Don’t get uppity. Imperors aren’t protected by the Protocol anymore. But you did very well, all of you.”
“If you’re trying to be friendly,” Queen Inos shouted, “then stop them taking my daughter!”
“I can’t. I just told you. I don’t dare use sorcery. And you shouldn’t, either! Yes, you! That tantrum you threw a little while ago just about deafened me. Good job this cottage is shielded! Some of Rap’s old magic, I suppose? It took all four of us to cancel you out, woman! You shout orders like that outside this building, Queen Inosolan, and you’ll call down the Covin!”
“Do you think I care? My daughter—”
“You had better care! If you think Death Bird is bad, how much do you suppose Zinixo would like to get his hands on Rap’s family?”
Shandie would not have believed she could have turned any paler, but she did.
“Furthermore,” the goblin snarled, turning to the children, ”you two both have magic, also, don’t you? That foresight of yours is not too bad, son. Frankly, if your dad hadn’t mentioned it, I probably wouldn’t have detected it, and I expect you can’t help using it. Not much you can do, but just remember that an unfriendly sorcerer can smell you out if he gets close enough. And you, little missie? Keep that sword of yours well covered.”
Sword? Shandie stared at the girl—who was hastily pulling her robe tight around herself but who certainly was not wearing a sword—and then at the goblin, wondering if he’d gone mad. Sorcerers could go mad. They often did—Zinixo, Bright Water.
“It’s a very fine piece of sorcery,” Long Runner added. “Very old, I should guess, but I couldn’t improve on it. As long as it’s mundanely hidden, it doesn’t register occultly either, understand? So keep it out of sight. I think Death Bird’s forgotten about it already. Course, he has a lot on his mind just now.”
“Why didn’t you use sorcery on him when he was in here?” Inos raged. She was addressing a sorcerer as if he were a wayward tradesman. ”You can stop him stealing Kadie!”