Lady Warhawk (28 page)

"If he is wise--and I like to think my brother is very wise--he will consider the idea.
Now, go to sleep." She sighed. "And I think I need to have a talk with your parents in the
morning. You are growing up far too quickly." Meghianna smiled, and waited until Ynfara
closed the door behind her.

Sighing, her smile faded entirely. She shivered. The chill that filled her chest felt like the
onset of a vision that would not come clear to her inner eyes. A warning of something. A whisper
of prophecy, straining to come true. The only question was whether that would be a good thing,
or cause the greatest sorrow the world and the Warhawk's throne had known yet.

Glyssani liked the idea of pairing Ynfara and Athrar, when Meghianna brought up the
conversation the next day. Ynessa said nothing, but she seemed not at all worried by this sign of
her daughter approaching womanhood. Pirkin joked about the political uproar if a princess with
so much Rey'kil blood tried to marry the Warhawk, giving new life to the old accusation that the
Rey'kil wanted to take over the throne. Meghianna noted that he didn't dislike the notion of his
daughter as queen, or even the gap of nine years between Ynfara and Athrar.

"I wonder if it would be wise," Mrillis said, after the discussion had gone back and forth
between Glyssani and Pirkin, discussing how to counter the political problems. "Consider the
unknown magic embedded in the girl's flesh. Can we dare to put the child, innocent though she
is, so close to the Warhawk? Who knows what magic hides, waiting for opportunity to
attack?"

"Grandfather--" Pirkin's face twisted with horror. A heartbeat later, it transformed to
sorrow, and he nodded. "You're right, of course. We can never be entirely sure."

"All we can do is continue to train Ynfara to be even more sensitive to the workings of
magic around her," Meghianna said, "and to guard herself against such a thing happening.
Nainan and Belissa resisted such evil, and I am free of the Nameless One's taint because of their
battles. If we haven't learned anything else since Endor and Triska, we have learned the value in
discipline and dedication and the power of choosing to do what is right."

* * * *

The two years of peace that followed the death of Indreseen and Ynfara's reunion with
her family worried Mrillis. No one tried to claim Edrout or steal him from Megassa and her
sheltered home in Welcairn. No rumors of any treacherous noble claiming to be the father of
Indreseen's illegitimate son reached the Warhawk's Council in Quenlaque. The fact that no one
tried to center intrigue around Edrout or even accuse Athrar of having Indreseen killed was more
worrying than any new plots by disgruntled nobles.

Mrillis spent his time patrolling the wasteland frontier surrounding the Wayhauk
Mountains, effectively dividing Lygroes. The south was controlled by the Encindi and rebels,
and the larger north belonged to the Rey'kil and their increasingly reluctant, grumbling Noveni
allies. As he repeatedly told the Warhawk's Council, the Nameless One and his minions were
only quiet when they were plotting.

What Mrillis disliked the most was that the longer the peace lasted, the more reluctant
the Noveni nobles were to believe his warnings.

Pirkin's sons shared the governing and rebuilding of Goarlotte, while Pirkin and Ynessa
stayed at the fortress, keeping Glyssani company, acting as overseers of the Valor training
school. Staying there kept Ynfara close so Meghianna could regularly check her to ensure the
magic design did not return to her body. The girl chose to dress in boy's clothes and spent every
free moment watching the Valors. She became their mascot and pet. Pirkin kept Meghianna and
Mrillis both amused by relating stories of his daughter learning trick riding and swordplay,
clattering around in armor too big for her, or sitting around the fire pit with the old Valor
instructors, learning field strategy and discussing old wars.

With their lessons in the usefulness of magic, Ynfara's attitude toward her
imbrose
became accepting and serious, and she grew hungry for more knowledge.
Meghianna knew the girl's ambivalence toward magic had completely died when she joked that
she should declare Ynfara her heir, and the girl considered it seriously for a few moments instead
of reacting in horror.

Then Ynfara laughed. "You will never die, Lady, so what do you need an heir for?
Besides," she continued, shrugging, "I'm not nearly strong enough or disciplined enough."

"Yet," Meghianna said, patting the girl's shoulder--which was clad in a leather jerkin,
because she had been out on the archery field. "You are not strong or disciplined enough
yet
, but you are dedicated, and you know how to learn. You can be anything you wish to
be, Ynfara. The blood of the Stronghold runs in your veins"

She sighed silently and thought an apology to Mrillis, when a flicker of anguish touched
the girl's eyes. Despite improving relations, the girl retained her trained dislike for Mrillis.

The summer Ynfara turned sixteen, three western Moertan kingdoms declared their
intent to secede from the alliance. The Encindi never entered their borders, star-metal hadn't
fallen on their land in decades, none of their nobility had any
imbrose
, and they were
tired of sending soldiers to keep other kingdoms safe.

Most telling of all, they stated a sentiment that had been growing since before Efrin's
death--they had no desire to be ruled by a throne established in Lygroes.

"It's worse," Athrar said, when he had called a meeting of his most loyal advisors. He
gestured at two empty seats on his right hand--the seats that Lok and Mykil usually occupied.
"They call all Noveni to leave Lygroes, and to cut off all contact with those they accuse of
having tainted loyalties. And my two nephews are at the head of this movement."

He waited until the mixed group of enchanters, Valors, Moertan kings and Lygroes
nobles calmed down after that announcement. Then he laid out what he had learned through
spies and documents sent by the leaders of the new Noveni Alliance.

The good news was that there was dissension already among their leaders. A number of
minor kings and their nobles believed Edrout was Athrar's trueborn heir, but Indreseen had been
accused of being unfaithful because enchanters had determined while he was still in the womb
that the boy had no
imbrose
. The Noveni leaders claimed the Rey'kil were so
determined to control the Warhawk throne that they forced Athrar to deny his firstborn son and
heir, for the sake of putting a 'tainted' child on the throne.

The other side of the split in the alliance wanted Lok and Mykil on the Warhawk throne,
claiming they had just as much right to rule as Athrar.

"Besides," Athrar added, his mouth twisting in a pained grimace, "what kind of a king
can't control his new bride, that she would take a dozen lovers and not know which man had
impregnated her? Which proves I'm less than a man, because I failed to get her with child in the
first moon we were married." He slapped his handful of papers down on the table and dropped
into his chair, after pacing the entire time he'd rattled off the many details of the rebellion's
foundation.

"That's not the worst of it, lad," Captain Ector said, from his place by the door. He
insisted on standing guard, as he had done since the days Athrar was newly recognized as the
heir. Even though he was a valued member of the inner council, Ector chose to keep himself
between the Warhawk and any danger that might come--even if it was just an importunate
intruder into the council.

"What could be worse?" Lady Meerian said with a sigh and a rueful, weary smile.

"There are those who say Edrout is Lady Megassa's son... fathered by the
Warhawk."

Mrillis sat very still and watched the reactions of those around the council table, while
the chill deep inside him expanded and threatened to steal his breath. He was pleased and
relieved to see total rejection of the thought, even amused disgust, and not a glimmer of what he
could only call 'but what if it might be true?' in anyone's expression.

"How can they support that kind of a rumor?" Athrar finally said. "Besides the filth of
incest, Indreseen was visibly pregnant, and my sister was not."

"They say it was all done with magic," Ector said. It was a sign of his agitation at the
news that he left his post at the door and approached the table, to stand on Lady Meerian's right
hand. "She went into seclusion with your queen, to take care of her. Your enemies say that was
done to hide who was really pregnant. When Edrout was born, Indreseen was killed to keep her
from betraying the secret." He shrugged. "The words of the prophecy of the Three Drops of
Blood are their proof, they say, that it is true. They say you are the one who abominates, and that
Princess Megassa is the one who suffers."

"Where are Megassa and Edrout right this moment?" Athrar asked after several seconds
when he sat too still, his head bowed, his jaw clenched, and his eyes distant with thought.

"I will find out," Mrillis said, when no one could come up with an answer. He waited
only long enough for Athrar to look up and meet his gaze, then he left the room. As he headed
for his quarters to pack, he called to Meghianna.

She has been agitated,
Meghianna reported, when Mrillis roused her from sleep
on the far eastern coast of Lygroes.
That is all I have been able to detect, and very faint, only
when I concentrate. I hadn't thought to check with her.

I pray she is being used, and she is not at the center of this new trouble,
Mrillis
said.

Which is better? To be our willing enemy, or a mindless tool in our enemy's hands?
I am leaving now to join you. A trip to Moerta is in order, before we can determine the
truth.

* * * *

The star-metal embedded in the walls of the tunnel under the sea blocked
communication with the rest of the world while Mrillis and Meghianna traveled. The thought of
going two days without being able to hear from allies on either continent made Mrillis
nervous.

"I must admit, I welcome the reprieve," Meghianna said, when he voiced his uneasiness
over the silence. "No more catching whispers of communication in the Threads, from people
who never learned the discipline to communicate directly, but just sort of shout so their intended
target and half the World can hear." She shuddered, but a sparkle of mischief in her eyes muted
her complaint.

"What would I ever do without you?" Mrillis said, surprising them both with a
chuckle.

"You got along just fine before I was born and before I grew into my power."

"Yes, but your mere presence halves my burden. You can't imagine how bleak the most
beautiful sunrise can be if there is no one to share it with."

"Why Lord Mrillis, if I didn't know better, I'd think you were courting me." Meghianna
laughed, her voice echoing around them, raising sparks of reaction from the star-metal.

Mrillis caught his breath, stunned by her words. Courting? Him?

And what's so wrong with that?
he mused.
We're both adults. I haven't
thought of you as a child in a very, very long time.
He sighed.
And we're both too busy
saving the world, as always, to do more than play with the thought.

Still, in idle moments during their long journey under the sea, when they dozed in their
saddles, Mrillis' mind returned to the idea. Someday, when there was peace in the world and their
enemies had been destroyed, maybe there would be a chance for more? Would she see him as a
man, her equal and not her mentor and teacher? It was something to think about, a precious
dream to cherish.

Then an hour before they were due to reach the Moertan end of the tunnel, he fell out of
his saddle, reaching for Ceera in his sleep.

"Lady Ceera?" Meghianna said, as stunned as Mrillis after she had leaped from her
saddle to help him up off the sandy tunnel floor. "Here? You saw her?"

"No. Impossible." Mrillis shook his head, which pounded so fiercely he groaned and
pressed his fists against his temples. He wondered if he had landed on his head. The fragments of
the dream churned and made his heart race with a terror and sorrow he didn't understand.

"You called to her, your eyes were wide open, but you were asleep. And you weren't
having a vision. Your eyes weren't white." Meghianna stretched out her hand. Her water skin
detached from the saddle and flew to her.

Mrillis gulped water while he tried to untangle his thoughts. "She was Ceera, but she
wasn't my Ceera. If that makes any sense."

"No, I don't think so."

"She was..." He shuddered. "She was how I imagined she would have been if she had
listened to Endor and let him court her. Still beautiful, but pride in her eyes, no serenity. She
smiled at me and I held her in my arms... And there was blood everywhere. So much blood, it
locked out all sound and light and air." He shuddered. "Nothing but the sound of you, calling for
me. I couldn't respond. You couldn't find me. And you wept."

"Well of course, who wouldn't weep when the only hope of the world vanishes?"
Meghianna slapped his hand, her face wrinkled in a scowl that he was sure was meant to tease,
but failed miserably.

"Forgive me for frightening you, dearest Meggi. I swear, I will never leave you, never
betray you. I will endure for your sake and never leave you alone."

She shuddered. "This place is having an ill effect on me, too."

"I recommend we find some place a little less thick with magic, to get some true rest.
Then we will see what your sister is up to." He pulled all his inner resources together, handed the
water skin back to her, and got to his feet. Mrillis wanted to kiss away the forlorn little girl look
from her face, but it took all he had to pretend he had completely recovered.

While they rode, he gnawed on the image of blood everywhere, caging him, blinding
and deafening him, and making him invisible to the world. The strange, perverted blending of
imbrose
and blood magic sometimes managed to make itself invisible to all detection.
Could that be at work now, preparing to rise up? Was his dream a warning?