Fifth Quarter (11 page)

She sang the final verse with less emphasis than usual on the "Love conquers all," but as the prince's expression remained besotted, she suspected she needn't have bothered.

A babble of voices rose as the last note faded. Karlene smiled and inclined her head. Pushing her heavy, blonde braid back over her shoulder, she set her quitara to one side and stood.

"You must be thirsty." Prince Otavas stepped forward to claim her before any of the others could. "Would you care to join me for a drink? They've chilled lime juice tonight, I think. I remember you saying once how much you like it."

Those beautiful eyes looked so hopeful, she couldn't deny him. Besides, she was thirsty. A pity he'd read a deeper meaning than intended into the ritual response. "It would be my pleasure, Highness."

"Highness…" She turned to face him. "While I am…"
Well, there really isn't another word for it, is there
? "… honored by your attention, I feel it only fair to tell you again that I have no interest in men in that way."

He shrugged and grinned. "I'm not men. I'm me."

"
And
that I'm eleven years older than you are."

Flashing a triumphant grin, the prince straightened and extended his arm. Shaking her head, Karlene laid her hand on his wrist and allowed herself to be led to the refreshment table.

In warm weather, the Imperial Court spent its informal evenings in a second-floor room with more window than wall. This evening, the three wide pairs of louvered shutters to both the east and west had been folded back to allow the passage of cooling breezes delicately scented by the night-blooming flowers in the gardens below. As always, refreshment tables had been set up at the narrower, south end of the room to either side of the arched entranceway. Karlene often wondered how the guards could stand so close to such mouthwatering bounty and be able to resist throwing themselves on the food.

She bowed slightly as Prince Otavas handed her a goblet of juice, ignored the not-entirely-hidden, indulgent smile of the servant who'd poured it, and nabbed a skewer of spiced chicken before any more of it disappeared. At the far end of the room, a low dais made it possible for her to see the Emperor and the Princess Verika involved in a spirited discussion.
Probably about hawking
, Karlene decided, studying the hand motions. It wasn't that difficult a guess as they were both crazy about the sport and could argue for hours over the relative merits of one bird over another.

The prince sighed as he followed her gaze. "They were talking about water rights at the last council meeting and ended up in a shouting match about marsh hawks."

"It's nice that the Emperor has someone to share his interests, Highness."

"It does take the pressure off the rest of us," Otavas admitted with a smile. He turned to face her, smile broadening. "And while I don't mind accompanying them occasionally, I personally have a deeper interest in mu…" A gust of wind tore the rest of the words from his mouth and nearly knocked him over. Fighting for balance, he stared at the bard being buffeted back and forth by a swirling column of air. He tried to reach her, was flung away, and could only watch helplessly as she staggered and almost fell.

Somehow, Karlene managed to get both feet firmly beneath her in spite of the surrounding kigh. Long, pale fingers clutched at her clothing and hair. Above the wind-sketched outlines of elongated bodies, thin and sharply pointed faces wore nearly identical expressions as each of the kigh tried desperately to get her attention. By the time she found her voice, there were ten, maybe twelve pairs of stormy gray eyes trying to peer into hers.

"
Gently, gently
," she Sang although only the kigh could find words in the pure tones. "
It's all right. I'll take care of it. Gently, it'll be all right
."

She continued Singing reassurance as the whole cluster slowed, made one final circuit around her, then sped out through the same window they'd entered, their passage throwing an elderly courtier hard against the tiles and extinguishing the torches that lined the balcony.

A babble of voices rose into the silence that followed. The prince, taking advantage of both rank and proximity clutched at the bard's arm. "Was it the air spirits?"

"What could trap the kigh, Gabris? That's the question." Karlene walked to the window and stared out at a distinct absence of kigh. Three or four kigh— different kigh, the same kigh; no one could tell— usually hung about the windows of the bardic suite. Today the skies were clear. The kigh she'd called had fled the moment she'd released them. "I mean, even the most powerful of bards can't compel the kigh to do something they don't want to."

"Can't or don't?" asked the middle-aged man yawning up at her from behind the scribe's table that dominated the room.

Frowning, the younger bard moved back to the table. "What do you mean?"

"Bards take vows," Gabris reminded her. "The kigh are our allies, not our servants. Except in cases of great emergency, they are not to be compelled. However, if they
can
be compelled, perhaps they can also be trapped."

"Are you saying that it's a bard they're terrified of?" Karlene demanded incredulously. "Because if it is, you're wrong. First of all, I know the Songs they use to name every living bard, and so do you. Secondly, I've heard the kigh identify new talent. Remember when we started testing for Imperial fledglings?" Before Gabris could answer, she continued. "Remember when Ullious showed up? It seemed that with every step he took toward the Capital, a new kigh appeared to tell us he was coming. This
wasn't
the same thing. Trust me." The strides that returned her to the window were jerky and uneven. "This was darker. Older. At the risk of sounding melodramatic, it was unclean."

"I wasn't accusing anyone," Gabris told her gently. "I just want you to keep your mind open to all possibilities."

Karlene shrugged without turning. "All right. It's open." There were still no kigh outside the window. "If it's been around for as long as they say it has, why haven't we run into it before? I can't recall the kigh being afraid of anything." Pivoting on one heel, she returned to the table. "Can you?"

"No. I can't. I didn't." Both bards had spent most of a sleepless night in a light trance, sifting Bardic Memory for precedents. Gabris waved the quill he held toward a chair. "Karlene, please, sit down."

"Sorry." She sank down, shoulders slumped, one hand covering her eyes.

"Better. It's difficult to think with you bouncing all over the room like that." Staring up at the arc of the ceiling, he flicked at his chin with the end of his pen.

At the first
shunk, shunk, shunk
, Karlene straightened, lowered her hand, and glared across the table at him.

Shunk, shunk, shunk
. Whether deep in thought or half asleep, he didn't notice.

He'd been doing it all morning, off and on, and the sound of the goose feather against the short, gray bristles of his beard was driving her crazy. She couldn't take it anymore. Teeth clenched, she snaked a long arm across the table, grabbed the older bard's wrist, and forced his arm down flat against the wood. "Please," she ground out through clenched teeth, "don't do that."

Gabris stared at her, confused, and, as she released him, the feather rose. "Don't do what?"
Shunk
.

"THAT! With the feather! Don't do it anymore." She leaned forward, fingers curled into fists. "Or I'm not going to be responsible for my actions."

"I think you're getting a little too worked up about this, Karlene." His voice rough with fatigue, Gabris very carefully set the pen to one side while he spoke.

"You weren't there. You didn't feel their terror. I am
not
getting too worked up about this!" She surged to her feet. "The Emperor is demanding to know what the kigh are frightened of, but all we've managed to get out of them is that they're afraid of being trapped, they don't want to talk about it, and could we
please
get rid of it for them."

"The Emperor is a lot more reasonable than he appears," Gabris pointed out, smothering another yawn. "When you've been here a little longer, you'll realize that his bark is much worse than his bite."

"It's not the Emperor I'm worried about." Arms folded, she paced back to the window and stared out at the city beyond the walls of the Imperial Palace. It was probably only her imagination, but the shadows seemed darker, defying the light. Something was very wrong.

"May I come in?"

Imperial princes didn't
have
to knock. Karlene swung around and leaned against the sill as Gabris welcomed the Emperor's youngest son and invited him to be seated.

"Thank you, no." Prince Otavas politely acknowledged the older bard, then directed all of his attention at Karlene. "I just stopped by to see if you've discovered what caused the air spirits to act so strangely last night."

In spite of a miserable morning, she had to admire the way he made it sound as though that was his only concern. His expression rather ruined the effect, but for a young man not yet eighteen with no bardic training it was an excellent effort. "I'm very sorry, Highness, but the kigh aren't cooperating."

He spread his hands, the dozen or more narrow gold bands he wore adding drama to the gesture. "I wish I was one of the nine, then I'd be of some use to you."

It had taken years to convince the Emperor to allow his citizens to be tested for the ability to Sing the kigh, but nine Imperial fledglings now studied at the Bardic Hall in Elbasan—the first five would return to the Empire some time before Third Quarter festival, ready to Walk their own land. Eventually, there'd be a Bardic Hall built in the Capital.

All at once, Karlene wondered if the prince's infatuation with her masked a hidden pain. It had to be difficult for him; the youngest in a family dynastically secure three Imperial children before he was born. Perhaps he was desperately searching for a purpose, a purpose represented by the individual freedom and power of the bards. Had it hurt him to see others given that chance?

"Tell me, Highness…" She used a gentler tone than she usually dared use given how little encouragement the prince needed, and ignored the startled look Gabris shot her because of it. "… do you really wish you were one of the nine? Do you want to be a bard?"

"I'd rather be a prince." He shrugged, not at all embarrassed by the admission. If he was hiding pain, it was obvious that he didn't realize it. "Besides, I was tested. No talent. Couldn't carry a tune if I got the servants to do it for me. I
would
like your ability to Command others to tell me the truth, though."

"You're a member of the Imperial House, Highness," Gabris interjected. "You
can
command others to tell you the truth."

"Not really." Otavas flashed a slightly rueful smile over his shoulder at the older bard. "Everyone tells me what they assume I want to hear." Then he ducked his head and shot a smoldering look at Karlene from under the fringe of thick, black lashes. "Well, almost everyone."

Karlene sighed.
Twenty-eight shouldn't feel this old
. "We haven't really got time for that this morning, Highness."

"You're right, of course. I am sorry." Settling down beside her on the broad windowsill, he smiled expectantly from one bard to the other. "What do we do now?"