By Blood Betrayed (The Kingsblood Chronicles) (32 page)

Lian sighed. “No doubt you do, Lord Grey,” he said. “Even if they are of a malevolent nature, they are sure to be
good
reasons. Regardless, you have my thanks, and my gratitude.

“Our suspicion, however well grounded, is a poor way to repay you for the aid you have given us. I beg your forgiveness for the distrust, and apologize, for it will have to continue, I fear.”

“I accept your apology, Alan,” the skull said somberly.

“Actually, Lyrial notwithstanding, I’m having the best time that I’ve had for centuries,” he continued in a lighter vein. “My previous bearers were far less savory types than you, Alan. And not a single one of them
ever
trusted me, so I’ll accept your wariness gladly.”

His tone became more serious again, “You are most welcome to my aid, young man. I hope that it is enough to move you beyond your uncle’s reach. You are aware that there will probably be an assassin waiting in Mola?”

Lian nodded wearily. “From my hunters’ viewpoint, there’s only a slim chance that I’d go there, so I’m hoping that the majority of the ‘pack’ headed west after the gryphon’s false trail. However, some of them move with a sorcerer’s speed, and will even now be discovering that no golden gryphon has been sighted anywhere in the western cities. These men will pore over maps looking for places that I might really have gone.”

Slipping back into his pidgin tongue, Snog said, “It depends on how much yer uncle’s offerin’ for yer head, sir. A lot o’ those boys ‘ll be nursin’ hurts from the guards an’ each other. Gatherin’ together a group of killers like he needed to do in all yer kin, he’s goin’ to have freelancers and guild assassins, an’ some o’ the guilders will be rivals, with old feuds o’ their own. Once this turns into a hunt for you, it’ll be every killer for hisself.”

“I’ve seen this kind of operation before, Lian, and I agree with Snog for the most part,” Lord Grey said. “The present, however, is the most dangerous time. Whatever pressure he exerted upon them to force them to work together for the initial job will be weakening. These aren’t the sort of people you can successfully bully for more than a little while, after all.”

Lian asked, “So given a little time, the assassins will either drop out or turn on each other?”

“Most likely the latter,” said the skull. “These are also not the sort of folk who will give up on a contract.”

Gem said, “That’s assuming Rishak doesn’t reward the lot of them with death, my Lord Skull.” She spoke in the same deferential tone in which Lord Grey addressed her, and Lian had to stifle his grin.

“I doubt he’d dare,” Lian said. “No matter how many mages and personal assassins he has, the guilds he hired from would take extreme exception to their operatives suddenly dying. I guarantee that there won’t be a purge, because Rishak needs to know where his threats are right now.” His uncle’s chief concern would be to strengthen his position, and a major assassin guildwar aimed at him wouldn’t help him achieve that goal, even if he was capable of surviving it personally.

“You’ve a good head for this game, Alan,” the skull complemented. “I rather imagine that our association will be entertaining, at least. For now, however, I need to study Gem further, to ensure that there wasn’t a deeper enchantment lurking beneath the first one.”

Keep on eye on what he’s doing, Gem
, he instructed to her.
Remember that we’ve seen him cast enchantments without singing
. Aloud, he said, “You’re right. Snog, hit the sack, and I’ll take up my watch. Will your examination interfere with your ability to warn us of impending danger?”

“No, Alan. My senses are radial.”

“What’s that mean?” asked Snog of the unfamiliar word. The skull patiently explained that he could see in all directions. The goblin grinned toothily and muttered that this might be useful to know.

Halfway through his watch, Lian said mentally,
Gem?

Reading his emotional overtones, Gem sighed mentally and said,
I won’t hide my concerns from you again, lad. But you had a lot to worry about already.

I’d prefer that you burden me rather than allowing me to spend my time imagining what you haven’t told me. We’ve always, to my knowledge, been honest with each other before this, for good and bad. I’d like that to continue, alright?
he said, sending his love and concern for her along the linkage.

I would, too, son
, she said. Her maternal instinct towards him had always been powerful, due to the nature of her spirit. Adrienne had actually endowed her creation with a small portion of her own soul, which Gem had always considered to be a gift beyond price. She enjoyed a special bond with Lian, for she had been close to him for nearly his entire life, but she also carried Adrienne’s love for the other children, and her sorrow at their deaths was profound.

Her nature was derived also from the steel from which she was forged, and her grief would not interfere with her duty to her wielder. There would be time to mourn later, when the danger had passed.

With a heavy sigh to herself, she opened her magical “eyes” and observed the mana flow in from her surroundings with approval.
The necromancer certainly has his uses
, she thought to Lian.
Even if I never trust him
.

Chapter Eighteen

“Once every thirty years, all six moons of Tieran are simultaneously at full phase. On that night, tides and earthquakes are terrible, and no one can predict what damage might result. On that night, the gates between the worlds may open, and no one can foresee what might emerge. On that night, magic is at its ultimate peak, and no one can anticipate what might be accomplished. On that night, the fates and chance are literally in alignment, and no one can prophecy what extraordinary being might be born under such a sky. On that night, I generally try to find a good hiding place.”

-- Alionur the Sage

They crossed the Villas River the next day, easily fording it at a point almost halfway between Greythorn City and Mola. At one time, the site had been a large semi-permanent gypsy encampment, back when the capital was thriving and there was a fair amount of traffic between it and the seaport.

All that remained were remnants of old campfires, and no indication that anyone had been there in days. Lian rode Beliu across, leading Nightmare by the reins. Both horses accepted the crossing without complaint, though Beliu wanted to prance after bounding up the opposite bank. Lian kept him reined in, however.

Snog had flatly refused to ride “that unnatural beastie” across the river, so he traversed at the shallowest point, clutching one of the spidersilk ropes while Lian held the other end secured about his saddlehorn. He emerged soaked to his thighs, and nearly lost his footing at the deepest point, but maintained that a wet, treacherous crossing was better than splattering his brains on a rock when his mount threw him. Gem, savoring her newly restored magic, sang a minor spell, and Snog discovered he was suddenly dry.

“Ah!” the goblin exclaimed in surprise, then said, “Um, m’ thanks, Lady Sword, ma’am. I’d ‘ave dried on me own, like as not.”

Lian said, “She knows that, Snog. I think she’s simply pleased to have the freedom to do that again.”

Gem said to Lian,
I should have remembered that goblins don’t like magic much, except for that performed by artificers. Should I apologize?
Lian indicated that she didn’t need to.

They continued toward the seaport. Lord Grey was tucked away in his sack, and had remained silent for most of the day. Lian observed Snog’s sidelong glances at the saddlebag, and sympathized with the goblin’s uneasiness.

Gem’s thoughts were also centered on the necromancer.
I wonder how much of his own mana reserves he depleted combating that curse
? Gem asked Lian.
I know that much unweaving would drain me considerably.
Unweaving a permanent or embedded spell was a far more complex task than countering a cast spell, for the latter’s strands were not generally tied off and inaccessible. Countermagics sought to pull the key strand of the magic loose, leaving the rest to unravel harmlessly.

Probably not much. The battle magics he threw when we escaped from the Tower didn’t seem to affect him at all, and neither did that tentacled horror that he tossed at the goblin infantry. But the information might be useful to know,
he replied.

“Lord Grey?” he asked, not turning to look at the saddlebag in which the necromancer rode.

“Yes, Alan?” the skull replied, his voice not at all muffled despite his surroundings.

“I don’t expect you to disclose to us the limits of your abilities, but I would like to have some idea about whether you are still capable of spellcasting or not.” Some mages did not possess much innate power, and could only cast one or two spells before having to rest. Others had a huge wellspring of power to draw upon, which could fuel their magics for extended periods.

“A fair question,” Lord Grey said after pausing a moment to think. “The unweaving did not drain my resources excessively. I can simply inform you that I still have at least as much of a power reserve as your blade does, and a great deal more skill at applying it than she possesses, at this stage in her life.” Mages with deficient innate mana could extend their power considerably by becoming very skilled, if they had the voice for it. A tight, well-sung spell consumed significantly less power than one sloppily constructed.

Of course, in the case of a fire spell, either would burn the target alive adequately.

The most dangerous kind of mage was one who possessed both a great deal of power and skill. Lian had no doubt that Lord Grey was one of these. His Aunt Jisa was probably another.

“Okay,” Lian said. “That’s enough for my purposes. Please be sure to warn me, though, if your magic becomes depleted during a battle.”

Lord Grey said, “No promises, Alan. After all, the enemy can hear my voice, too. If I have the opportunity to do so, all I can say is that I’ll consider it.”

They rode in silence for a few minutes before Lord Grey spoke again, “Look at my situation this way, my newest friend. You do not trust me, for reasons of which we are both aware. This means that my inclusion in your band is not certain, and you may at some point decide that you need to be rid of me. You are a moral and ethical young man, and I don’t think for a moment that you will leave me alone to make my own way.

“I rather think that you would drop me off at a major temple to Rula Golden, or perhaps Damar the Avenger, with plenty of warnings to the priesthood about how dangerous I am,” the skull said, his tone laden with irony.

“It is important, then, that I not know the true limits of your abilities, so I can’t give them sufficient information to restrain you?” Lian asked with a half-smile. To Gem he added,
Actually, if it came to that, I planned to find the biggest dragon I could and give him to it, with plenty of warnings to the wyrm about how dangerous he is.

Sneaky boy
, she said.
But better you never tell him that, so he’ll be off guard
.

“Exactly,” said the skull. “As time goes on, and we learn more of each other, there may come a time when you actually trust me, and therefore I will be more able to trust you.”

Something else I won’t tell him is that for the most part, I do trust him
, Lian confided to Gem.

You can’t be serious
, Gem replied, surprised.

I am. I think he is honorable, though I can’t give you my reasons why. I’ll still watch what he does, but only because Elowyn taught me to be excessively paranoid. He would have to betray us dreadfully before I’d search for a dragon to keep him, or a temple for that matter.
Lian sighed and said, “I sincerely hope that trust comes sooner rather than later, Lord Grey.”

The skull chuckled but didn’t reply.

They located a small farmstead later that afternoon, set in a good size clearing. It was obvious to Lian that the holding had been in existence for a long time, for there were no cut stumps or other signs that the forest had been recently cleared. There were a dozen men and half that many women working in the fields, and they regarded the two riders warily as they passed.

Lian’s sword-enhanced hearing detected muttering about “goblins and mercenary scum,” but the farmers didn’t interrupt their work beyond pausing to ensure that they had implements at hand to use as weapons. Lian simply raised his hand in greeting while he led Snog across the edge of the field to continue toward Mola. The farmers didn’t return his gesture.

“Friendly folk,” growled the goblin.

“They’ve little reason to be friendly, Snog,” Lian replied. “Your kind has never been well loved in this area, the little trick with the spring aside. I expect we’ll some trouble over your presence in town, too. I’ll make it clear that you are with me.”

“I’ve been thinkin’ about that, milord,” Snog said, “an’ I’m not so sure we ought ta’ be together when we reach town.”

“How so?” Lian asked, turning in his saddle to look at the goblin.

Snog dropped his accented speech. “What I mean, lord, is that it might be more beneficial if the folk in Mola are not aware that you have a goblin in your company. Even if there isn’t an assassin already in town waiting for you, there will be sooner or later. If they don’t know you’ve got a goblin companion, your cover might last a little longer when we arrive.”

Lian was pleased that the goblin had thought that far in advance. “I’ve been thinking along those lines, too. But I don’t really think it will matter. It’s not the fact that I have a goblin companion that will mark me. It’s that I’m a young man matching my own description. I’d frankly rather have you with me to watch my back than not.”

“As you wish, milord,” the goblin replied.

Lord Grey spoke, pitching his voice low enough not to be heard by the farm folk, “I will ensure that the sphere is about you when we reach Mola. This will confound any detection spells intended to identify you as the prince. For some assassins, this alone will be enough to discount you. However, we will have to be extremely careful.