You’re only an undersecretary.’
‘Appearances can be deceiving, can’t they? Actually, my
brother placed me in charge here in Cynestra. My authority is
absolute.’
‘Your brother.?’
‘Didn’t the similarity between Oscagne’s name and mine set
off any bells in your brain, old boy? I knew you fellows at Interior
were sort of limited, but I didn’t think you were that dense.
Shall we cut directly on through to the significant part of this
discussion, Kanzad? It’s beastly hot out here in the sun. My
brother’s authorized me to take charge here. I have the full support
and cooperation of the Atan garrison, don’t I, Atana?’ He
smiled at the golden giantess standing beside his horse.
‘Oh, my, yes, Itagne.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘We’ll do almost
anything for you.’
‘There you have it, then, Kanzad,’ Itagne said. ‘i’ve uncovered
the fact that you and Taubel are part of a treasonous conspiracy,
so I’ve removed you from authority. I have all these lovely
muscles to back me up, so there’s really not a blasted thing you
can do about it, is there?’
‘You have no authority over me, Itagne.’
‘How tiresome,’ Itagne sighed. ‘Cynestra’s currently under
martial law, Kanzad. That means that I have authority over everybody.
The Atans control the streets. I know you share my confidence
in them.’ He looked critically at the policeman’s stubborn
face. ‘You just don’t understand at all, do you, old boy?’ He
smiled fondly at the giantess. ‘Atana, dear, what would you do
if I asked you to delete this tiresome wretch?’
‘i’d kill him, Itagne.’ She shrugged, reaching for her sword.
‘Did you want me to split him up the middle, or just cut off his
head?’
‘Charming girl,’ Itagne murmured. ‘Let me think about it for
a while, Atana. Kanzad’s a fairly high-ranking official, so there
may be some formalities involved.’ He turned back to the now
pasty-faced policeman. ‘i’m sure you see how things stand, dear
boy,’ he said. ‘Oh, I suppose you should sort of consider yourself
under arrest.’
‘On what charge?’
‘i’m a foreign-service man, Kanzad, so I’m not really up on
all these legal terms. I suppose “High Treason” will have to
do. That’s the crime they arrested Interior Minister Kolata for,
anyway, and I used it again when I had Taubel picked up. It’s
an impressive sort of charge, and I’m sure that a man of your
standing would be insulted if I had you arrested for loitering or
spitting in the street. Atana, love, do be a dear and have this
criminal taken back to Cynestra and thrown in his own
dungeon.’
‘At once, Itagne-ambassador,’ she replied.
‘Darling child,’ he murmured.
‘You favor your brother, your Excellency,’ Vanion said to the
smiling Itagne, ‘not only in physical appearance, but also in
temperament. ‘
‘How is the old rascal?’
‘He was well, the last time we saw him.’ Vanion frowned. “It
might have been helpful if he’d told us that he was sending you here,
though.’
‘That’s my brother for you. Sometimes I think he tries to keep
secrets from himself. ‘
‘Exactly what happened here, your Excellency?’ Sparhawk
asked him.
‘You would be Sir Sparhawk,’ Itagne guessed. ‘Your nose is
really famous, you know.’
‘Thank you,’ Kalten said modestly.
Itagne looked puzzled.
“I broke it for him, your Excellency – when we were children.
I knew it was a good idea when I did it. He wears it like a
badge. I’m a little disappointed in the fact that he’s never once
considered thanking me for the service I did him.’
Itagne smiled. ‘As you’ve probably gathered, gentlemen,
Oscagne sent me to Cynestra to look into the rather peculiar
situation here. The chain of command in the outer corners of
the Empire’s always been a little cloudy. The Foreign OffiCe
takes the position that the Elene kingdoms of the west, as well
as Valesia, Arjuna and Cynesga, are essentially foreign nations
subservient to Tamul proper. This would make the ambassadors
to those kingdoms the ultimate authority. Interior has always
maintained that those kingdoms are integral parts of metropolitan
Tamuli, and that puts them in charge. Oscagne and Kolata
have been quibbling about it for years now. Ambassador
Taubel’s a political hack, and his stunning ability to reach a
working accommodation with Interior sort of surprised my
brother. That’s why he pulled me out of the university – where
I was quite happily putting down roots – and sent me here in
the guise of an undersecretary to investigate.’ He laughed. ‘i’ll
make sure that he regrets it as much this time as he did both
other times.’
‘That one escaped me, I’m afraid,’ Sparhawk conceded.
‘This is the third time Oscagne’s wrenched me out of private
life to put out fires for him. I don’t really like being wrenched,
so I think I’ll teach him a lesson this time. Maybe if I replace
him as Foreign Minister for a while he’ll get the point – if I ever
decide to let him have his office back again.’
‘Are you really that good, Itagne?’ Sephrenia asked him.
‘Oh, good God, yes, dear lady. I’m at least twice as good as
Oscagne – and he knows it. That’s why my appointments are
always temporary. Where was I? Oh, yes. I came to Cynestra,
set up a functional apparatus, and found out in fairly short order
that Taubel and Kanzad were eating from the same plate. Then
I intercepted the instructions Matherion sent to Taubel after the
disturbances there. I decided not to trouble him with the distressing
news, so I went to the Atan garrison and personally
took care of advising our towering friends that the Ministry of
the Interior was no longer relevant. They were quite pleased
about it, actually. The Atans dislike policemen intensely for
some reason. I think it has to do with their national character.
I was about ready to move on Kanzad and Taubel when one of
my spies brought me word of your impending arrival, so I
decided to wait until you got here before I upended things. I
must say, Sparhawk, you really upset the people in the local
office of the Interior Ministry.’
‘Oh?’
‘They were running through the halls screaming, “Sparhawk
is coming! Sparhawk is coming!” ‘
‘He has that effect on people sometimes,’ Flute told him. She
looked around at the others. ‘This is the one,’ she told them.
‘We can leave here now.’
Itagne looked baffled.
‘in a moment,’ Sephrenia said to her sister. “Itagne, how did
Interior find out that we were coming?’
He shrugged. “I didn’t really look into that too deeply. There
are all sorts of disgusting people who work for the Interior
Ministry. One of them probably flogged four or five horses to
death to bring the news.’
‘QUite impossible,’ she said. ‘No one could have gotten here
ahead of us by normal means. Could the news have been
brought by a Styric?’
‘There aren’t any Styrics in Cynesga, dear lady. ‘the hatred
between Cynesgans and Styrics predates history.’
‘Yes, I know. I think you may be wrong, though. I’m almost
positive that at least one Styric passed through Cynestra just
before the people at Interior went into their panic.’
‘How did you arrive at that conclusion, little mother?’ Vanion
asked her.
‘There’s a Styric working with our enemies,’ she replied. ‘He
was in that shadow Sparhawk dissolved back in Edam. Whoever
was inside was screaming in Styric, at any rate.’ She frowned.
“I still don’t understand how he got here before we did, though.
He might be a renegade of some kind who has dealings with
the Elder Gods. We’ve never really understood the full extent
of their power.’
‘Could it be an Elder God himself?’ Bevier asked apprehensively.
‘No,’ Flute said flatly. ‘We imprisoned them all when we overthrew
them – in much the same way we imprisoned Azash. The
Elder Gods don’t move around.’
“I seem to be missing about half of this conversation,’
Itagne observed. ‘Aren’t some introductions in order at thiS
point?’
‘Sorry, your Excellency,’ Vanion apologized. ‘We weren’t
really trying to be mysterious. The lady is obviously Styric. May
I present Sephrenia, high priestess of the Goddess Aphrael?’
‘The Child Goddess?’
‘You know of her?’ Sephrenia asked him.
“Some of my Styric colleagues at the university mentioned her
to me. They didn’t really seem to approve of her. They evidently
feel that she’s flighty – and a little frivolous.’
‘Flighty?’ Flute objected. ‘Frivolous.?’
‘Don’t take it personally,’ Sparhawk told her.
‘But it is personal, Sparhawk. They’ve insulted me. When you
get back to Matherion, I want you to go to the university and
issue a challenge to those impious wretches. I want blood, Sparhawk,
Blood!’
‘Human sacrifice, Divine One?’ he asked mildly. ‘isn’t that a
little out of character?’
‘Well…’ She hesitated. ‘Couldn’t you spank them anyway?’
Itagne was staring at them.
‘Disappointing, isn’t it?’ Talen murmured.
To say that Oscagne’s brother was shaken would be a profound