where he had made the mistake that had permanently attached his wife’s
affection to him. He realised that this scruffy-looking kitten was Talen’s
mistake – or at least one of them. Sparhawk mentally shrugged. Talen would
make an adequate son-in-law – once Danae had trained him. ‘is it all
right, your Majesty?’ Talen was asking the queen. ‘For her to have the
kitten, I mean?’
‘isn’t it just a little late tO be asking that question, Talen?’ Ehlana
replied.
‘Oh, I don’t know,’ he said impudently. “I thought
I’d timed it just about right.’
Ehlana looked at her daughter, who was
snuggling the kitten against her face. All cats are born opportunists. The
kitten patted the little girl’s cheek with one soft paw and then nuzzled.
Kittens are expert nuzzlers. ‘How can I say no after you’ve already given
it to her, Talen?’
“It would be a little difficult, wouldn’t it, your Majesty?’ The boy
sniffed loudly.
Mirtai rose to her feet, put her dagger
away and crossed the room to Talen. She reached out her hand, and he
flinched away. ‘Oh, stop that,’ she told him. She laid her hand on his
forehead. ‘You’ve got a fever.’
“I didn’t get it on purpose.’
‘We’d better get him to bed, Mirtai,’ Ehlana said, rising from her chair.
‘We should sweat him first,’ the giantess said. ‘i’ll take him to the
bathhouse and steam him for a while.’ She took Talen’s arm, firmly.
‘You’re not going into the bathhouse with me!’ he protested, his face
suddenly aflame.
‘Be quiet,’ she commanded. ‘Send word to the cooks,
Eh’lana. Have them stir up a mustard plaster and boil up some chicken
soup. When I bring him back from the bathhouse, we’ll put the mustard
plaster on his chest, pop him into bed and spoon soup into him.’
‘Are’ you going to just stand there and let them do this to me, Sparhawk?’
talen aPPealed.
‘i’d like to help you, my friend,’ Sparhawk replied, ‘but I’ve
got my own health to consider too, you know.’
“I wish I was dead,’ Talen groaned as Mirtai pulled him from the room.
Stragen and Ulath arrived from Emsat a few days later and were immediately
escorted to the royal aPartment. ‘You’re getting fat, Sparhawk,’ Ulath
said bluntly, removing his ogre-horned helmet. ‘i’ve put on a few pounds,’
Sparhawk conceded. ‘Soft living,’ Ulath grunted disapprovingly. ‘How’s
Wargun?’ Ehlana asked the huge blond Thalesian. ‘His mind’s gone,’ Ulath
replied sadly. ‘They’ve got him locked up in the west wing of the palace.
He spends most of his time raving.’ Ehlana sighed. “I always rather liked
him – when he was sober.’ “I doubt that you’ll feel the same way about his
son, your Majesty,’ Stragen told her dryly. Like Platime, Stragen was a
thief, but he had much better manners. ‘i’ve never met him,’ Ehlana said.
“You might consider adding that to your next prayer of thanksgiving, your
Majesty. His name’s Avin – a short and insignificant name for a short and
insignificant fellow. He doesn’t show very much promise.’ ‘is he really
that bad?’ Ehlana asked’ Ulath. ‘Avin Wargunsson? Stragen’s being
generous. Avin’s a little man who spends all his time hrying to make sure
that people don’t overlook him. When he found out that I was coming here,
he called me to the palace and gave me a royal communication to bring to
you. He spent two hours trying to impress me.’
‘Were you impressed?’
‘Not particularly, no.’ Ulath reached inside his surcoat and drew out a
folded and sealed sheet of parchment.
‘What does it say?’ she asked.
“I wouldn’t know. I don’t read other people’s mail. My guess is that it’s a
serious discussion of the weather. Avin Wargunsson’s desperately afraid
that people might forget about him, so every traveller who leaves Emsat is
loaded down with royal greetings.’
‘How was the trip?’ Sparhawk asked them.
“I can’t really say that I’d recommend sea travel ‘at this time of
year,’ Stragen replied. His icy )blue eyes hardened. “I want to have a
talk with Platime. Ulath and I were set upon by some brigands in the
mountains between here and Cardos. Bandits are supposed to know better
than that.’
‘They aren’t professionals,’ Sparhawk told him. ‘Platime knows
about them, and he’s going to take steps. Were there any problems?’
‘Not for us,’ Ulath shrugged. ‘The amateurs out there didn’t have a very
good day, though. We left five of them in a ditch, and then the rest all
remembered an important engagement somewhere else.’ He went to the door and
looked out into the hall. Then he closed the door and looked around,
his eyes wary. ‘Are there any servants or people like that in any of your
rooms here, Sparhawk?’ he asked. ‘Mirtai and our daughter is all.’ ‘That’s
all right. I think we can trust them. Komier sent me to let you know that
Avin Wargunsson’s been
in contact with Count Gerrich down in Lamorkand. Gerrich’s taking a run at
King Friedahl’s throne, and Avin’s not quite bright. He doesn’t know
enough to stay out of the internal squabbles in Lamorkand. Komier thinks
there might just possibly be some sort of secret arrangement between them.
Patriarch Bergsten’s taking the same message to Chyrellos.’ ‘Count
Gerrich’s going to start to irritate Dolmant if he doesn’t watch what he’s
doing,’ Ehlana said. ‘He’s trying to make alliances every time he turns
around, and he knows that’s a violation oF the rules. Lamork civil wars
aren’t supposed to involve other kingdoms.’ ‘That’s an actual rule?’
Stragen asked her incredulously. ‘Of course. It’s been in place for a
thousand years. If the Lamork barons were free to form alliances with
nobles in other kingdoms, they’d plunge the continent into war every ten
years. That used to happen until the Church stepped in and told them to
stop.’ ‘And you thought our society had peculiar rules,’ Stragen laughed
to Platime. ‘This is entirely different, Milord Stragen,’ Ehlana told him
in a lofty tone. ‘Our peculiarities are matters of state policy. Yours are
simply good ‘common sense. There’s a world of difference.’ ‘So I gather.’
Sparhawk was looking at all three of them when it happened, so there was
no doubt that when he felt that peculiar chill and caught that faint
flicker of darkness at the very outer edge of his vision, they did as
well. ‘Sparhawk!’ Ehlana cried in alarm. “Yes,’ he replied. “I know. I saw
it too.’ Stragen had half-drawn his rapier, his hand moving with cat-like
speed. ‘What is it?’ he demanded, looking around the room. ‘An
impossibility,’ Ehlana said flatly. The look she gave her husband was a
little less certain, however. ‘isn’t it, Sparhawk?’ her voice trembled
slightly. “I certainly thought so,’ he replied. ‘This isn’t the time to be
cryptic,’ Stragen said. Then they all relaxed as the chill and the shadow
passed. Ulath looked speculatively at Sparhawk. ‘Was that what I thought
it was?’ he asked. ‘So it seems.’ ‘Will someone please tell me what’s
going on here?’ Stragen demanded. ‘Do you remember that cloud that
followed us up in Pelosia?’ Ulath said. ‘Of course. But that was Azash,
wasn’t it?’ ‘No. We thought so, but Aphrael told us that we were wrong.
That was after you came back here, so you probably didn’t hear about it.
That shadow we just saw was the Troll-Gods. They’re inside the Bhelliom.’
‘inside?’ ‘They needed a place to hide after they’d lost a few arguments
with the Younger Gods of Styricum.’ Stragen looked at Sparhawk. “I thought
you told me that you’d thrown Bhelliom into the sea.’ ‘We did.’ ‘And the
Troll-Gods can’t get out of it?’ ‘That’s what we were led to believe.’
‘You should have found a deeper ocean.’ ‘There aren’t any deeper ones.’
‘That’s too bad. It looks as if someone’s managed to fish it out.’ ‘it’s
)logical, Sparhawk,’ Ulath said. ‘That box was lined with gold, and
Aphrael told us that the gold would keep Bhelliom from getting out on its
own. Since the Troll-Gods can’t get out of Bhelliom, they were down there
too. Somebody’s found that box.’
‘i’ve heard that the people who dive for pearls can go down quite deep,’
Stragen said. ‘Not that deep,’ Sparhawk said. ‘Besides, there’s something
wrong.’ ‘Are you just now realising that?’ Stragen asked him. ‘That’s not
what I mean. When we were up in Pelosia, you could all see that cloud.’
‘Oh, yes,’ Ulath said fervently. ‘But before that – when it was just a
shadow – only Ehlana and I could see it, and that was because we were
wearing the rings. This was definitely a shadow and not a cloud, wasn’t
it?’ ‘Yes,’ Stragen admitted. ‘Then how is it that you and Ulath could see
it too? Stragen spread his hands helplessly. ‘There’s something else too,’
Sparhawk added. ‘The night I came home from Lamorkand, I felt something in
the street watching me – several somethings. They weren’t Elene or Styric,