Keeper: First Ordinance, Book 2 (10 page)

"You can see that, can't you?" She approached me. I
almost cowered away.

"No," she touched my shoulder and then fingered my
hair gently. "You have nothing to fear from me or any of these," she gestured
toward the men behind her.

"She has nothing to fear," Kaldill appeared at my
side. "By my command."

"The Elf King has spoken," Reah laughed. That was
her name—Reah. It was a lovely name—to speak and to hear.

"Reah is mated to my son—the Prince-Heir," Kaldill
grinned, his eyes lighting with mischief. Reah swatted at his shoulder,
deliberately missing. I could tell they were old friends, as well as related by
marriage.

I wished I knew others like them, I realized. Friends who
might tease one another and share many things without fear. Dena joined us in
the kitchen and stopped short at the sight of Reah and the others.

"This is Reah," I began my introductions. "This
is her mate, Torevik, his father, Gardevik, Kordevik, a guard, and this one—I
know not his name." I stopped at the last man inside the kitchen,
realizing that I couldn't see what or who he was; that had never happened
before and I wondered at it.

"I am Kifirin," he nodded to me and smiled. "If
the Elf King has you under his protection, then I shall uphold and strengthen
that."

"Thank you, Lord Kifirin," Kaldill gave a respectful
nod. "Your offer gladdens my heart."

"All of us have mindspeech," Reah continued. "Do
not be afraid to speak with us in this way. No matter how far away we are, we
will hear."

Good
, I responded.
Something terrible has happened
in Kondar's Sector Two. I felt it while bathing. I fear Lord Dorthil has a
terrible ally at his side, and an even worse ally to hide behind
.

* * *

Le-Ath Veronis

"I think I scared her to death when I disappeared like
that," Reah said, lifting the cup of tea Lissa offered.

"You think she can see through a Sirenali's fog?"
Lissa shook her head.

"I hope that's what this means," Reah agreed. "Kaldill
is sending mindspeech, telling me he is attempting to calm her, with Daragar's
help. She thinks she did something wrong."

"That poor girl," Lissa rose to pace. Reah had
arrived in the middle of the night, but then darkness was the rule on that half
of Le-Ath Veronis. The planet rotated on its side to produce constant darkness
for the vampires. Lissa and a few other vampires were able to walk in sunlight,
but that was a tiny exception in the vampire world.

"She can read most anyone, but she couldn't read Kifirin,"
Reah went on. "These scones are good—who made them?"

"Cheedas—he found new recipes somewhere," Lissa
mumbled, naming her chief cook. "Do you think I should come and take a
look at this girl?"

"I don't want to frighten her more than she already is,"
Reah said. "She hasn't had an easy time of it, and those fool Avii tried
to kill her when she was dumped on their doorstep."

"You say Kaldill is trying to help her?"

"He and Daragar both."

"Then I'll hold off—Ildevar is planning to approach the
Kondari High President in two days—is there any chance we can clear the way on
that?"

"The High President's son is there in Lironis, now,
sending messages to his father."

"Then we'll use that," Lissa sighed. "I'll let
Ildevar know. Kooper intends to travel with him, along with a few others."

"I'd ask him to choose his companions carefully,"
Reah said.

"I will."

* * *

Lironis

Quin

"I didn't want to make a mistake," I assured
Kaldill, who fussed about me as if I really mattered. Wolter waited to bring me
dinner, telling Dena that she'd worked hard all day and asking her to sit at
the table in the kitchen to be served with me.

"Reah made this," Wolter set a wide bowl of food in
front of me. "She calls it noodles in mushroom sauce. I've tasted it—it's
wonderful."

Dena was served a fish course with her noodles, and both of us
were in raptures at our first taste of the food. Whatever Reah was, she was
also a master cook. I'd never tasted anything I liked so much.

Wolter, a fine cook himself, was very impressed by her skills.
Kaldill continued to sit beside me while I ate, and Wolter offered a cup of
watered wine with our meal. "This is worth cleaning out dusty old rooms
any day," Dena smiled and sipped her wine.

We weren't finished with the physician's quarters, or even
half finished. It would take two more days to clear everything out, and then
another day or two to scour it and make it clean enough for Master Ordin's
patients.

"We've made good progress," Ordin nodded his thanks
to Dena and me. "It won't be long before everything is cleared away and
cleaned well enough."

"When we get the bedroom and sitting rooms clean, I'll
move equipment into it and start seeing patients," Ordin said.

"Not without a guard present," Justis said, striding
into the kitchen. "We've just returned from a reconnaissance
mission—Tamblin is making preparations to ride this way."

"Another mystery solved," Torevik said. "Bringing
all his troops, I suppose?"

"Yes, and how is it that you speak our language?"
Justis muttered, taking a seat next to Dena and accepting a plate of food from
Wolter.

"We speak most languages," Torevik shrugged. "Call
me Tory. Everybody does."

Justis was tall—Torevik—Tory, just as tall. I wondered if Tory
could fight as well as Justis. If Tamblin were bent on causing trouble, that
question could be answered soon.

* * *

Vhrist

Tamblin was furious and shouting at anyone who came close.
Omina, whom he'd sent to Lironis to hold the throne for him, had brought winged
devils back to Fyris and convinced them to fight for her.

He'd seen them himself—their black wings flapping far to the
south as they spied on
him
—the King of Fyris. Rath had disappeared from
his dungeon two nights earlier and ten guards were dead, another four wounded.
Yevil was also gone; whether dead or captured, Tamblin didn't know. None remained
to stand at his elbow; none that he trusted—or even half-trusted.

That had been Yevil's position. Half-trusted and dangerous.
Tamblin's mind wandered to the case of weapons Yevil always hid in his
quarters—surely he'd had one with him when he went to fight the winged ones.
Those weapons had killed their kind before; why had they not worked this time?

Any guards who'd witnessed Yevil's failure and Rath's subsequent
disappearance were now dead—most cut across the throat for a swift death. What
had Yevil told him about the winged devils and the oath that kept them from
killing anyone from Fyris?

Had that been a lie all along?

Perhaps he should have read some of those books in Tandelis'
library before burning all of them. Yevil said they weren't needed. Until now,
that had held true.

Tamblin could no longer sort truth from lie, and it made him
angrier, still. "I want to leave now," he shouted at the servants,
who scurried to pack faster.

* * *

Kondar: Sector Two

"What do you mean, Sector Four has withdrawn support?"
Dorthil hissed at President Pragg's assistant.

"The communication is quite long, explaining all their
reasons for pulling away from secession," the assistant handed a tab-vid
to Dorthil. "President Pragg desires a meeting with you within three
hours. He suggests bringing the Yokarun wizard with you." He nodded to
Marid, who stood nearby.

"Do you need a healer?" The assistant gestured at
Marid's nose.

"Have you never seen a nosebleed before? It is nothing,"
Marid waved a hand in dismissal. "Arrange the meeting. I will certainly
come."

* * *

Lironis

“There is nothing I can do," Kaldill fingered the small plant
in his hand. Its leaves were sparse and yellow where they should have been
green. The limp stem bent over his fingers, as if it hadn't seen rain in a
while. The ground was damp, however, so there was plenty of moisture. The soil
itself was the problem. "The poison is too firmly entrenched in the land.
Even if it were eliminated tomorrow, I couldn't cleanse the soil and begin
again for millennia," he added.

"I suspected as much," Daragar agreed as he
shortened his stride to walk beside the Elf King. They'd traveled a short
distance from Lironis to examine the plants and animals outside the city.
"Too much damage has been done to this small country, and the fact that it
was hidden away from all others had already caused it to go stale."

"The farmers and herders know little about
conservation," Kaldill agreed. "This is a lost cause."

"I will place that report in the Larentii Archives. May I
attach your name to the assessment?" Daragar asked.

"Of course. It will please me to know that the Larentii
trust my judgment."

"We do."

* * *

Quin

I wanted to keep working on the old physician's quarters, as
that would take my mind off Tamblin's decision to attack Lironis. The moment
Justis said the one who called himself King was preparing to ride for Lironis,
I understood his intentions. If he had his way, Omina and Amlis would die.

I wondered to whom he'd assign the task of their
killings—Yevil was no longer at his side and thirsty for blood.

I'd spent a long night, either sleepless or experiencing
disturbing dreams that I couldn't recall upon waking. All of it left me
unsettled and grateful for the dawn. The prospect of hard work would hold my
fears at bay—at least I hoped it would.

Breakfast occurred in the kitchen, just like dinner the night
before. Amlis had ordered the large table in Tamblin's suite brought down and
the old table that wasn't nearly large enough was removed from the kitchen and
stored in my old sleeping quarters.

Wolter and Reah had put their heads together and food
appeared—I had no idea where the eggs had come from but I cared not—they were
prepared in such a way that I savored the taste with much pleasure.

"We brought supplies from Le-Ath Veronis," Reah
smiled at me as I gaped at the plate of fruit set near my elbow. "The
Queen sends her regards."

"The Queen of Le-Ath Veronis is my mother," Torevik
grinned. He sat across the table from me and then turned his smile on Reah.

Someday, I wanted to meet her, I think; she cared enough to
send fruit and eggs for a lowly vegetarian. "Thank you," I nodded
respectfully to Reah and Torevik. "I've never had food I liked so much."

"You should have food you like every day," Kaldill arrived
and took a seat beside me. "Our prisoner on the roof tried to refuse his
plate this morning, but the scent of eggs and ham finally convinced him
otherwise."

"What about those in the dungeon?" I asked. In my
mind, Varnell, on his very worst day, wasn't half as bad as Yevil on his best.

"They are receiving food and care—Varnell suffers from
joint disease. Ordin has already provided medicines to relieve the pain. They
also have clean blankets and pallets, plus a change of clothing every other
day," Gurnil informed me.

"The whole palace is gossiping about us," I said,
spearing a fat, red berry and stuffing it in my mouth. The flavor of it burst
across my tongue and brought forth an unexpected smile.

"Many have never seen Avii—either too young or
conscripted to work in the palace after Tamblin killed half the servants in the
purge following Elabeth's death," Wolter muttered. He set a plate of ham
on the table, in case anyone else wanted more before he took a seat at the end
to eat with us.

"That's when you came, isn't it?" I asked.

"It is. My home was in Vhrist—the same as Chen and Fen's,"
he nodded. "I knew them before. Chen came with me; Fen followed quickly,
at Rath's request."

"I couldn't stop Chen's death," I hunched my
shoulders. "I barely sent mindspeech in time to save you and the Prince."

"That came from you." Wolter stilled for a moment. "Thank
you. I had no idea."

"You thought me dead—and mute before that," I
shrugged. "I'm sorry you ruined a good knife taking Hirill down. I knew he
was dangerous, but couldn't tell anyone when I was here."

"The message you watched us write never left Fyris,"
Rath hobbled into the kitchen, helped along by Omina and Sophie. "I hear
you're well-spoken as well as able to read and write."

"Any language," Berel, who sat across from me,
nodded. In some way, Daragar had given Berel access to the Fyrian language. I
had no idea how that was accomplished, but it made me glad—he would understand
all conversations about him, which enabled him to relay swift information to
his father.

"You're the one—the son? From the land Tamblin thinks to
attack?"

"Yes, but Commander Justis says he has changed his mind
and is now riding this way to reclaim the throne."

"Has a plan of attack been drawn up?" Rath dropped
into an empty chair. Wolter rose to find plates for him, Omina, Sophie and
Yissy, who appeared from behind Sophie's skirts with a mischievous smile.

"He should think twice before attacking ours,"
Torevik said, spreading butter over a thick slice of bread. "We're here to
provide protection, no matter what type is needed."

"Troops from the ships will also fight," Berel
agreed. "Does this Tamblin understand what he may be facing if he attacks?"

"No," Omina snorted. "He hasn't understood
anything for a while. One moment he's ordering my death; in the next breath he's
telling me to come to Lironis and hold the throne for him. He's mad and getting
worse, I think. Have we gotten any useful information from Yevil?"

"Nothing we don't already know," Kaldill replied. "Daragar
and I wish to set up a laboratory to study the poison consuming your lands. It
is our hope to find a way to keep it from spreading too heavily to Siriaa's
other continents. Is there a place that might be suitable for such?"