lovely?’ I said. ‘They’re designed to hurt more coming out than they
do going in.’
His face turned slightly green, and he shuddered. ‘This is a terrible
woman, Callak,’ he said to my owner. ‘How can you stand being
around her?’
‘She’s good for me, your Majesty,’ Callak replied. ‘She teaches
me good manners. Not only that, she’s the best cook in Car og
Nadrak.’
‘In the world, actually, Callak,’ I corrected him. ‘Well, Drosta,’ I
said then, ‘what’s it to be? Did you want me to dance for you, or
would you like supper?’
‘Dance first, Polanna,’ he leered. ‘Let’s see if your dancing whets
my appetite.’ Then he looked around his crowded throne-room.
‘Clear the floor!’ he commanded. ‘Give this girl some room! Let’s
find out if she’s as good as she seems to think she is!’
I took that to be a challenge, so I cast aside my customary restraint
and added some elements I’d never tried in public before.
No, I won’t describe them here – the children, you understand.
King Drosta was trembling violently as I strutted back to reclaim
my outer garment, and there was a somewhat awed look on his
face. ‘Torak’s teeth!’ he swore. ‘I’ve never seen anything like that
before!’
‘I told you I was the best, Drosta,’ I reminded him.
‘Are you positive you don’t want to sell her, Gallak?’ Drosta
pleaded.
‘I think it’s my patriotic duty not to, your Majesty,’ my owner
told him. ‘You have a reputation for excitability, and you might
get carried away some day. I couldn’t in good conscience sell
Polanna to you, since there’s no heir to the throne to succeed
YOU.’
‘You wouldn’t really kill me, would you, Polanna?’ Drosta asked
hopefully.
‘I’d regret it terribly, Drosta, but rules are rules, you understand.
I’d try to make it as painless as possible, of course, but I’m sure
there’d be some discomfort involved. My daggers aren’t designed
for quickness – or neatness, for that matter. The process is usually
very messy.’
‘You’re a cruel woman, Polanna. You flaunt something irresistible
in front of me and then you tell me that you’ll yank out about
twenty yards of my guts if I reach for it.’
‘That fairly well sums it up, yes. What would you like for supper
your Majesty?’
Gallak, Drosta, and I adjourned to the kitchens then, and I cooked
supper for them.
‘We’ve got trouble, Gallak,’Drosta said reflectively as he sprawled
in a chair at the long table.
‘Oh?’ Callak said.
‘How extensive are your contacts over in Drasnia?’
‘I’ve never been across the border personally, but I’ve got some
people in Boktor.’
‘There’ll be a new king over there before long, won’t there?’
Callak nodded. ‘The old one’s sinking fast. The Crown Prince’s
name’s Rhodar. He’s fat, but he’s got a quick mind.’
‘I think I’d like to make some contacts with him. I’ve got a problem
he might be able to help me with.’
‘Oh? Which problem is that?’
‘Its name is Taur Urgas, and it’s sitting on the throne in Rak
Goska.’
‘The Murgos, you mean?’
‘It’s always the Murgos, Callak. The world would be a much nicer
place without the Murgos. Taur Urgas is crazy. Of course, that’s not
too noticeable in Cthol Murgos. The whole race is crazy, but Taur
Urgas raises it to an art form. I’m trying to establish some contacts
with Zakath over in Mallorea. He’s the crown prince there, and he’s
fairly civilized. I’m hoping that he’ll see the advantage of having
an ally here on the western continent. Sooner or later, Taur Urgas
is going to try to unify the western Angaraks, and I’d rather not be
forced to bow down to a crazy Murgo.’
‘Wouldn’t it offend Taur Urgas if you made an alliance with
Zakath?’
‘I don’t care if it offends him. If I’ve got Mallorea on my side,
there won’t be much he can do about it. I’ve got a lot of territory,
Callak, but I don’t have very many people. If the Murgos march
north, they’ll swallow us up. I have to form an alliance with
somebody!’ He banged his fist down on the table.’
‘Is that why you want to get in touch with Rhodar?’ I broke in.
‘Of course. I’d ally myself with the Morindim if I thought it’d do
any good. Have you got anybody we can trust to carry messages to
Rhodar for me, Callak?’
‘None that I’d trust that much, your Majesty.’
I had a flash of inspiration at that point, and I have quite a few
suspicions about its origin. ‘There’s a young man I’ve heard of here
in town, and from what I’ve heard, he’s very shrewd – even though
he doesn’t shave regularly yet. He’s got some rough edges, so you
might have to train him a bit, but he’s quick, so he’ll pick it up in
no time. He hasn’t had time to build up much of a reputation as
yet, so with a little training, he’d probably make the perfect emissary.
He’s quick, intelligent, and relatively anonymous.’
‘What’s his name?’ Drosta asked.
‘Yarblek.’
‘Oh, that one,’ Gallak said. ‘I’ve heard of him myself. He brags a
lot, but I don’t think he really expects people to believe his boasting.’
He considered it. ‘You know, he might just work out pretty well
if we can train him – and I can get him to Boktor more or less
unobserved. I send caravans there a couple of times a year, and I
could hide Yarblek among my ox-drivers.’ Then he snapped his
fingers. ‘Here’s a thought,’ he added. ‘I know a fellow named Javelin
at the Drasnian embassy. He’s supposed to be a clerk of some kind,
but I’m fairly sure he’s a spy. I could talk with him, and he could
pass the word back to Boktor that Yarblek’s carrying a message
from you to Rhodar. That should get Yarblek into the palace.’
Drosta chewed on one of his fingernails. ‘I’ll need to see him,’he
said. ‘If he’s as good as you both think he is, he might be the answer
to my problem. Where do I find him?’
‘He frequents a tavern called the Rat’s Nest, your Majesty,’ I
supplied. ‘It’s in the thieves’ quarter near the east gate.’
‘I’ll send for him.’ He looked at me. ‘How old did you say he is,
Polanna?’
‘I didn’t say,’ I replied. ‘About fifteen or so, from what I’ve heard.’
‘That’s awfully young.’
‘That depends on the individual, Drosta,’ I disagreed. ‘And you
will have time to train him. Taur Urgas hasn’t started to march yet,
SO you’ve got some time to play with.’
‘There’s something in that,’ Drosta conceded, ‘and young ones
are easier to mold than the ones already set in their ways.’
‘And they usually work cheap,’ Callak added. ‘If you give him a
title of some kind – “special Emissary”, or something like that – he
might even work for nothing.’
‘What a wonderful idea,’ Drosta said enthusiastically.
I’d assumed that mother’d sent me to Car og Nadrak just to assess
the characters of Yarblek and Drosta, but it’d gone a little further
than that, obviously. Not only had I met them, but I’d brought them
together, and that had been the real purpose of my visit. Drosta was
enthusiastic about Yarblek right at first, but I understand that his
enthusiasm wore off after Yarblek found out what his services to
his king were really worth. I wouldn’t swear to it, but I suspect
Yarblek’s price started going up shortly after he met Silk.
‘This has been quite an evening,’ Drosta said expansively. ‘I got to
watch the best dancer in my whole kingdom, and then she helps
me to solve a problem that’s been nagging at me ever since I took
the throne. Yes, quite an evening indeed.’
‘And you haven’t even tasted your supper yet,’ I added.
‘Will it be as good as the rest of the evening’s been?’
‘Better, probably,’ I promised.
*CHAPTER39
‘Was that more or less what you had in mind, mother?’ I sent the thought
out after Callak and I got home.
‘Approximately, yes. You’re quick on your-feet, Pol. Bringing the two
of them together like that was a stroke of genius.’
‘I rather liked it myself. If we’re going to be using them somewhere out
there in the future, I thought it might be more convenient if they were
already hooked together. Am I more or less finished here?’
‘I think that covers just about everything.’
‘The next question is just exactly how I’m going to get out of town so
that we can fly on back to Annath. Erasing the memory of everyone who’s
seen me here in Yar Nadrak might be just a bit challenging.’
‘Why not just send word to your-father? He’s not doing anything useful
right now, and he’s got that stack of gold bars gathering dust in his tower.
Tell him to come here and buy you from Gallak. He needs some exercise