Alfred saw Jonathon, the young nobleman he’d met on Abarrach, murdered, torn apart by the hands of a once-loving wife. Jonathon had believed, he’d had faith, and he’d died horribly because of it. Now, he was probably one of those tormented living dead, the lazar.
Alfred sat down heavily in the chair. The dog, grieving for the man’s unhappiness, padded silently over and nuzzled him with its nose. Alfred rested his aching head in his arms.
Gentle, cool hands slid around his shoulders. Orla knelt beside him. “I know how you feel. I truly do. We all felt the same. Samah, the rest of the Council. It was as if … How did Samah put this? We were like humans drunk on strong wine. When they’re intoxicated, everything looks wonderful to them and they can do anything, solve any problem. But, when the effects of the spirits wear off, they’re left sick and hurting and feeling worse than they did before.”
Alfred raised his head, looked at her bleakly. “What if the fault is ours? What if I had stayed on Abarrach? Did a miracle happen there? I’ll never know. I left. I left because I was afraid.”
“And we were afraid, too.” Orla’s fingers tightened over his arm in her earnestness. “The darkness of the Patryns was very real and this vague light that some of us had experienced was nothing but the tiny flicker of a candle flame, likely to be blown out with a breath. How can we put our faith in this? In something we don’t understand?”
“What is faith?” Alfred asked gently, not talking to her but to himself. “Believing in something you do not understand. And how can we poor mortals understand that vast and terrible and wonderful mind?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered brokenly. “I don’t know.”
Alfred grasped her hand. “This was what you fought over. You and the other Council members! You and . . . and”—it was difficult for him to say the word—”your husband.”
“Samah didn’t believe in any of it. He said it was a trick, a trick of our enemy’s.”
Alfred heard Haplo speaking, the Patryn’s words were almost an echo. A trick, Sartan! You tricked me . . .
“. . . opposed the Sundering,” Orla was continuing. “We wanted to wait before taking such drastic action. But Samah and the others were afraid—”
“And with good cause, so it appears,” came a grim voice. “When I returned home and discovered you both gone, I had an idea where you might be found.”
Alfred quailed at the sound, shivered. Orla, very pale, rose slowly to her feet. She remained standing near him, however, her hand resting on his shoulder in protective support. The dog, having been negligent in its duties, was apparently attempting to make up for it by barking at Samah with all its energy.
“Shut the beast up,” said Samah, “or I will kill it.”
“You can’t kill it,” Alfred replied, shaking his head. “No matter how hard you try, you can’t kill this animal or what it represents.”
But he rested his hand on the animal’s head. The dog suffered itself to be gentled into silence.
“At least now we know who and what you are,” stated the Councillor, eyeing Alfred grimly. “A Patryn spy, sent to learn our secrets.” His gaze shifted to his wife. “And corrupt the trusting.”
Resolutely, with dignity, Alfred rose to his feet. “You are wrong. I am a Sartan, to my sorrow. And as for learning secrets”—he gestured to the scroll—”it seems the secrets I have discovered were meant to be kept from our own people, not from the so-called enemy.”
Samah was livid with rage, unable to speak.
“No,” Orla whispered, looking earnestly at Alfred, her hand biting into his arm. “No, you’re wrong. The time wasn’t right—”
“Our reasons for doing what we did are not his concern, Wife!” Samah interrupted. He paused, waiting to speak until he had mastered his anger. “Alfred Montbank, you will remain a prisoner here until the Council meets and we decide what measures to take.”
“A prisoner? Is that necessary?” Orla protested.
“I deem it so. I was coming to tell you the news we have just received from the dolphins. This man’s Patryn ally has been discovered. He is here in Chelestra and, as we feared, he is in league with the dragon-snakes. He has met with them, he and representatives from the mensch royal families.”