By Blood Betrayed (The Kingsblood Chronicles) (31 page)

There were a thousand questions that Lian longed to ask the skull on that subject, but he decided to let them lie for now. Foremost among them was
what kind of enchantment did Lyrial place on you at Whitefall and did you truly not tell him who I was
?

Instead, Lian and Snog went promptly to sleep, only to be awakened before daybreak by Lord Grey.

“Good morning, Alan,” he said cheerfully. “I have done what you asked, and I’m ready to tell you what I’ve learned . . . ” He let the sentence hang meaningfully.

“Snog has my confidence, Lord Grey,” Lian replied.

“As you wish,” he said curtly, his disagreement evident.

“Gem has been cursed, Alan. This curse has had some amount of time to work on her, yet it seems to be strangely incomplete, as if only half of the spell was emplaced upon her. My assumption is that something prevented the other half from reaching or affecting her, but I don’t have any clue yet as to where the curse originated,” he said. His voice settled into an obviously familiar “lecture” mode.

“There are any number of old curses in and around the Tower, and it’s conceivable that you could have stumbled upon one of them before you encountered me. But it would be highly unusual for such a curse to be so selective and specific.”

“What do you mean?” asked Gem, before Lian could formulate the question. Snog sat in silence, packing his pipe carefully.

“I mean that this curse is not one that would affect Snog’s dagger, or any of Alan’s other magical equipment. It is aimed precisely at intelligent weapons of a certain type. More precisely, the curse will only take hold of a soul shard creation.”

There existed several ways to devise an intelligent weapon, from confining a creature within it to killing a man or woman and binding the soul within the blade. A soul shard was a unique type of construction, in which the maker placed a part of themselves within the weapon. Adrienne had constructed Gem thusly, so that her child would always have a part of her with him.
Although she managed to keep memories of the Greythorn misadventure from me when she made me
, thought Gem to herself. She had known nothing of Kolos’ story.

Lian knew that she’d originally intended Gem to belong to Alec, to advise him as he presided over the country. Her plan was that Gem would pass from father to son to help ensure that the dynasty would remain a just one. On the day that she completed the weapon, however, her mentor had come to her and advised that she give it instead to her unborn son, Lian. Stephan was a veteran priest of Rula Golden, and Adrienne had grown to trust the sun priest’s insight implicitly during the years of their friendship.

“Was it directed at Gem in particular?” Lian asked.

“Not to a certainty, but it does seem to be the most obvious conclusion,” Lord Grey replied. “Furthermore, the blade itself would have to be within only a few yards of the object carrying the curse.”

“Can you tell what it would have done had the spell been completed?” Gem asked, her voice shaken.

“Yes, I think I can guess,” answered Lord Grey. “I believe the intent was to destroy you completely, by channeling your mana source into some kind of destructive magic. That’s what the first half of the spell is doing, by the way. Your mana is being depleted, but instead of fueling the destruction spell, it’s being dispersed randomly into the astral planes. If you weren’t shielded by spheres of protection, it would be as visible as lightning flashes in the night to anything with magical senses.”

Lian cocked his head, “You managed to penetrate the protective sphere. Is this because I am carrying you?”

“Astute of you,” the skull said approvingly. “Yes. For all intents and purposes, I am now your
possession
, and therefore I am held within your wards and protections. Magically speaking, I’m an extension of you.”

“Can you break this curse?” Lian asked, adding to Gem mentally,
If he can’t, I’ll find someone else who can, I promise
.

I know you will, boy
, she said in reply.
At this point I’m not worried beyond my inability to cast much magic.

But eventually the magics that keep me in existence will start to unravel
, she continued only to herself, keeping
that
concern tightly shielded from her charge. The mana which powered her magic also sustained her, and if she were effectively cut off from it, she would eventually become no more than a finely crafted but mundane blade.

Lord Grey said, “Yes, I can. If the full enchantment had been successful, she’d be gone by now, but lacking that second half, the spell is very poorly woven. It’s difficult to see, because of the shielding built into it, but it shouldn’t be hard to overcome. I can work on it while we ride, if you can arrange for me to be in physical contact with the Lady Sword.”

Gem
? Lian asked, aware of her mistrust toward the skull.

We have little choice, Lian
, Gem said.
I fear permanent harm to my spellcasting if we don’t act soon
. She didn’t mention that the “harm” to her spellcasting would be her dissolution.

Lian removed the skull from his bag and said, “I can hang you on her pommel, unless you have some objection.”

Lord Grey chuckled. “No, that should suffice, even if it’s a little humorous.”

The prince asked, “This is a process I shouldn’t interrupt, I assume?”

“Most likely, I’d just have to start over, but there is always the chance that the magic would become ungrounded and have an adverse effect on you or Gem. It would be best if you don’t disturb us during the day if you can,” the skull replied.

“I wish I could afford to stop and hole up for a day to let you work your magic, Lord Grey,” he said, “but we need to distance ourselves from Greythorn as soon as possible. One last thing, however. You said this spell had been affecting her her for some time. Is there any possibility that this is Saul’s doing?”

“I don’t think so, Alan,” the skull replied. “My guess is that it has been working on her since the Tower, at least. No longer than three days before that at the outside.”

Lian nodded softly. “The assassin must have brought it, then. The second half was probably on his partner, the one my aunt consumed.”

“Logical surmise,” the skull said, “but there’s really no way to confirm or deny your assumption. I’m going to start working now, and it won’t be silent. Keep an extra watch out, and I advise you to shy away from peasants. A singing black skull won’t inspire trust and welcome.”

“Ain’t that the truth, milords,” Snog remarked wryly. “The idea don’ make me none too happy, either.”

The skull laughed aloud at that and then began to chant a spell. Gem allowed Lian a glimpse through their bond, and it was again colorless and unaligned.
This spell is a high order unweaving magic, intended to protect the caster from assault by the spell that’s being unwoven
, Gem reported.
This would incidentally shield him from me were he to attempt to unweave
me
with it. In most circumstances, I would have said that your mother made me invulnerable to being unwoven, but with this curse on me I don’t really know. And that’s assuming that it does what he told you, of course.

It fits the available data, and makes sense. Rishak knows about you, and would have sent his assassins armed somehow against you. It’s dumb luck that they got greedy, or maybe fate
, he replied to his friend and mentor.

Or maybe both
, Gem said.

Warn me if you perceive, even for an instant, that he is directing the unweaving toward you yourself,
Lian said.
I don’t want to try to figure out if he’s leading me astray without your advice and wisdom, old friend. I haven’t always followed your advice, but I’ve never been sorry to have it.

Spoken like a poet, my boy. I’ll let you know, I assure you
, she said, basking in the warm affection her wielder was broadcasting toward her along with his thoughts.

Chapter Seventeen

“Kra zu’l k’redor.”

“Death is patient.”

-- Goblin proverb

The melodious chanting of the skull quickly rendered both of the travelers uneasy. The timbre was sonorous and low, but spellsongs carried farther than did the mundane variety. The two maintained an uneasy silence as the day wore on, extending their senses in an attempt to perceive any danger that might be attracted by the song. The two horses were apparently accustomed to magic, for neither reacted in any way when Lord Grey began, and they continued their pace, unconcerned, throughout the long day.

It was nearly sundown when Lian finally called a halt. His chosen campsite lay near a clear-running stream which ran by a small, defensible hill. He let the horses drink their fill, then turned them out to graze on the hillside away from the stream. Lord Grey’s song had not ceased once during the entire day, though he noticed that there were breaks, obviously for breath, built into the melody. These pauses led Lian to believe that the spell came from the days when the skull was encased in living flesh.

Show me the magic, please
, Lian asked, and was instantly rewarded with Gem’s magesight. The spell was gathered about both the skull and sword, and he could discern that something dark within the sword was reacting to it. Finger-shaped fringes of spell were reaching out to grasp and entwine with Lord Grey’s enchantment, and the two spells were becoming one.

This wizard is the most skilled I have ever encountered
, Gem said in a tone approaching awe.
His spell blends with the curse, and as the two merge they cancel each other out at the point of contact. It’s like he has woven the exact opposite of the curse and is knitting them together in a “loom.” The finished product is nothingness.
She pointed out the features of the magic to Lian as she explained.

What is that other part?
Lian asked, indicating a second plait that enveloped only the skull.

My guess is that’s something intended to make Lord Grey invisible to the curse he’s unweaving. I don’t know if it would be effective against all curses, but most wouldn’t be able to transfer to him simply because they couldn’t target him.

I suppose such a curse could be drawn to someone near him, though
, she mused,
so beware should I not survive this.

Do you feel any different
? Lian asked as he unfurled his bedroll. His was first watch, but he’d learned long ago to get his bed ready before he needed it. Nothing made the night longer than having to lay out camp while exhausted.

Not really
, Gem replied,
but I haven’t been feeling
bad
, son. I just haven’t been able to gather my magic back around me. If something changes, I’ll let you know.

Lian said aloud, “If Gem’s consciousness is disrupted by Lord Grey’s spell, I’ll probably lose my darksight, Snog. If that happens during my watch, I’ll wake you.”

Snog nodded from where he was arranging his own “nest” of bedrolls. In clear speech, he said, “Right, sir. We need to find a clear carnelian, or a tourmaline of the right color.”

Lian raised an eyebrow. “You are familiar with earth magic?” he asked. His mother had taught him various properties of so-called “natural” magics. She taught him that there was a quantity of innate magic in most naturally occuring things, from the tiniest grain of sand to the greatest mountain. Some contained enough magic that it could be extracted and utilized. One example of this was carnelian, or red chalcedony. A carnelian of exceptional quality could be magically awakened and used to grant nightvision. Lian was aware of this aspect of carnelian’s properties, but he’d never heard of a similar trait in tourmaline.

Snog said, “A little only, milord. Only what I gleaned from hanging around doorways and watching the shaman to see what he did with the gems.” Gemstones were commonly subjected to awakening, but Lian knew of herbal properties that could be kindled, too.

Their conversation was interrupted as Lord Grey’s song wound suddenly higher in pitch, and Gem said,
He’s about to finish.

Snog nodded toward the skull and sword, leaning against Lian’s saddlehorn. “He about to finish, sir?” he asked, fingering his dagger’s pommel.

“She says so,” Lian replied, again gazing at the magical patterns through Gem’s senses. The darkening on her was almost gone, and as he and the sword watched, the remainder of the shadowy magic faded away, matched strand for strand by the spell of the necromancer.

As his final note dissipated, Gem exclaimed,
Gods and the goddess! I feel the difference, son. Magic’s flowing back into me now.

“You should be feeling a bit different,” Lord Grey said dryly, with no trace of exhaustion in his tone.

“I do,” she said aloud. “I didn’t realize how poorly I
was
feeling until you finished.”

He chuckled softly and said, “I think you did, Lady Sword. The curse would have been the end of you sooner or later, and I think you are too wise to have missed the implications.”

Lian looked sharply at his friend. Gem said, “It was possible that it could have been my undoing, yes. It was also conceivable that, being incomplete, it would have eventually unraveled enough for me to deal with it myself, no?”

“I will grant that as a possibility, my lady,” Lord Grey said. “But it was far more probable that you would have simply faded when your remaining magic fell below some critical level. On the other hand, I estimate that you had months before that was a danger. The late queen wove you well.”

“In any event,” Lian said, with a frown toward his sword, “you have my thanks, sir. As much as I need your help, I need hers more.” He instantly regretted the words, but before he could apologize, Lord Grey laughed.

The skull said, “Because you can trust her, yes. I understand, Alan, believe that I do. I know what I look like, and what questions my imprisonment must raise within you. However, I ask that you trust I have reasons for keeping my past secret, and good ones.”