“Hail, Prince Zared,” said the Icarü, landing gracefully some two or three paces away from them. He was a striking birdman, with brilliant blue plumage and eyes and luminous white skin. “My name is ForestFlight EverSoar, and I -”
“You come from Caelum?” Zared said shortly.
“Indeed, my Prince. He has instructed me to greet you well in his name, and to -”
“Oh, get on with it, man!”
“My Prince, StarSon has instructed me to say that while he abhors your actions, he has reluctantly conceded that talks on the throne of Achar must proceed. Accordingly he bids that you wait here until he can summon the other Heads of the Five in Council at Kastaleon.”
Zared looked at the Icarü carefully. “He is summoning a Council to meet here?”
“At this very moment, my Prince,” ForestFlight said, unblinking.
Zared looked to Herme. “Well?”
Herme chewed his lip. “You seem to have startled him into some good sense, Zared. Although, gods knows, Askam must be furious.”
Zared nodded. “Well, nothing for it but to wait for the Council to arrive, I suppose. ForestFlight, I thank you, please avail yourself of the hospitality of Kastaleon before you leave. ForestFlight? You may leave. Now.”
ForestFlight stood his ground.
“Go, birdman!” Herme snapped, sliding his hand back around the hilt of his sword.
“Of course, there is that which Caelum very carefully instructed me not to tell you,” ForestFlight began.
Zared and Herme stilled. “Yes?” Zared said.
“StarSon would very much like you not to know that eight days ago six Wing of the Strike Force took Severin, nor would he like you to know that even as I speak he and Prince Askam lead a force down the Nordra to retake Kastaleon and take you, the Duke of Aldeni and the Earl of Avonsdale into custody prior to your trial for high treason against the Star Throne. And we all know, do we not, Sir Prince, how well Caelum conducts trials.”
Zared could hardly breathe. He stared at ForestFlight, standing perfectly calm before him, and he struggled to come to terms with what the birdman had just declared. “Severin is taken?”
“Yes, my Prince. It has been sealed, no-one can leave. That is why you have not heard.”
“And Caelum is leading a force to Kastaleon? How many? Where are they now?”
“Some five thousand, Prince Zared. And barring shoals and accidents, they will land during the dark hours of tomorrow morning. His message is a lie. Caelum is determined that the throne of Achar will never be resurrected.”
Zared stepped forward and took the Icarü’s chin in his hand. “And why are you telling me this, ForestFlight?” he said softly. “Why should I trust you? Is not your complete loyalty to the StarSon?”
ForestFlight wrenched his chin away from Zared’s grasp. “I answer to no-one save my captain,” he said. “WingRidge gives me my orders. I do not know why he requested I tell you this. You may believe me or not, as you choose.”
And with that he leapt into the air with a powerful beat of his wings. Zared grabbed at him, but missed. He cursed, then put a hand on Herme’s arm.
“No, my friend. Do not shout to the guard. Their arrows would never hit him now, and nor would I want them to.”
“My Prince? What do you think we should do? Was that a false message from Caelum?”
“I don’t know. But can we afford to ignore it? And Severin? Taken?” Gods! He’d not expected that of Caelum! Zared felt guilt bite deep that an innocent town suffered for his ambition.
There was a shout from the courtyard below. They looked down. Theod stood there, beckoning urgently. By his side stood a trader Zared recognised from Jannymire Goldman’s coterie.
“Luck? Or design?” Zared muttered, but stepped onto the ladder anyway.
“Severin was taken over a week ago,” the trader, Bormot Kilckman, said bluntly.
“And how do you know -” Zared began, his voice roughened with frustration, when Kilckman thrust a cage at him. Inside was a small, grey pigeon.
Zared recognised it instantly. “Mayor Iniscue’s bird,” he said softly, then explained to Herme and Theod. “Mayor Iniscue’s wife keeps a score of these courier birds, trained to fly to various locations.”
“This one landed at Carlon two days ago,” Kilckman explained. “It had a message tube attached with the bare fact of Severin’s capture inside. I caught the next river boat for Kastaleon.”
Zared looked to the skies again, half expecting to see ForestFlight still circling above. But he was long gone… back to the StarSon he apparently served so badly. There was nothing there save dark clouds scudding in from the north-west.
Bad weather, then.
“So Severin is indeed lost,” Herme said. “Is then Caelum a few bare hours away?”
“What?” exclaimed Theod.
Zared ignored him for the moment. “We must assume so, Herme. I cannot afford not to.”
Herme nodded, and quickly told Theod what they’d learned from the Lake Guard.
Theod paled. “Four or five thousand men? Where would he get that -”
“Askam sent a thousand of his own men to Sigholt,” Zared said. “Perhaps he thought he’d need them at Council. And Caelum has always had a good force stationed at Sigholt. Coupled with the force he could have called in from Jervois Landing… yes, Caelum could easily have five thousand.”
“We’d never hold against five thousand,” Herme said bluntly. “Can we recall our major force from the Western Ranges?”
Zared shook his head. “It would take too long, far too long, and in any case I do not want to make a stand here.”
“Sir Prince,” Kilckman said, “what will you do?”
“Caelum thinks I will be here, awaiting his decision. He thinks to attack, probably at dawn tomorrow.”
“We have less than fifteen hours,” Theod put in.
Zared stood, thinking, the others watching impatiently.
“We have to leave here,” he said.
“For where?” Theod and Herme said together.
“Carlon.”
No-one looked surprised. “Yes,” Kilckman said. “Carlon is your safest destination. Five thousand would not be enough to take Carlon from you.”
“But if Caelum is only a few hours behind us,” Herme asked, “what chance -”
Zared grinned. “Every chance, my friend. Theod? Once you played a prank on the Prince of Nor’s younger cousin during his fifteenth name-day feast… do you remember it?”
Theod slowly smiled. “Yes, yes I do.”
“Then I think we will not only have a surprise waiting for Caelum and his five thousand, but the means to delay them here some hours, if not days. Yes?”
Theod laughed. “Yes!”
“What is going on?” Herme asked.
Zared slapped him on the back. “Come, my friend. I shall explain shortly, but first we have to get our men out of here. I want this castle cleared, the trap set, and us to be on the road for Carlon within five hours. Herme, I need you to send word to our forces waiting in the Western Ranges to move to Carlon. Kilckman? Master Goldman said that the traders and guilds of Carlon would back me in whatever way they could. Can you fulfil that promise?”
“Aye, Sir Prince.” Kilckman’s eyes gleamed. “What can I do for you?”
“Prepare the way, Kilckman. Leave now. Take the fastest boat if you have to. And…” Zared paused. “And ask Goldman if he will ensure that there will be an appropriate street welcome. He will know what I mean.”
Zared walked down the hallway leading to the private apartments in Kastaleon’s Keep.
The Keep was very quiet – everyone was outside preparing for departure – and the sound of his steps echoed eerily.
He stopped outside the door to the main apartment, knocked quietly, then entered without waiting for a reply.
Leagh was sitting on a bench by a window that looked down into the courtyard. She glanced up as he entered, then swiftly turned her eyes back to the window.
She did not speak as Zared walked across the room and sat down beside her.
He looked out the window —the courtyard was a-bustle with activity.
“We are pulling out of Kastaleon,” he said. “Tonight.”
Leagh finally looked at him.
“Caelum comes,” she said coldly. “And with an army. No wonder you run.”
Zared flinched. “Yes, Caelum comes, and I would prefer to meet him on better terms than those I have available here.”
“So where do we run?”
“We move to Carlon.”
“Carlon? But-”
“Leagh,” Zared leaned over and took both her hands.
She stiffened, but did not pull them free.
“Leagh, I have lied to you, and I have been dishonest with you, and for that I must ask your forgiveness.”
“I don’t think that I -”
“Wait, let me finish.” He shifted his grip slightly, holding her hands more firmly, and he looked her straight in the eyes.
“There is far more to my struggle with Caelum than trade problems. At Council I… at Council I also asked that the throne of Achar be restored to me.”