Conrig’s brief flash of anger vanished and he smiled. ‘Ignore my ill temper. I fret about my poor brother. Although the leeches say he’ll recover, he will carry terrible scars.’
‘Then his sight was spared? I was afraid –’
‘God be thanked, his vision is normal in spite of the burns about his eyes.’ Conrig poured amber malt liquor into his favorite cup, which was silver with a gold-lined bowl and a great amethyst set into the stem as a talisman against poison. ‘Will you drink with me?’
‘I thank you, sire.’ Snudge took a crystal goblet from a sideboard and accepted a small amount of the spirits.
‘Please be seated,’ Conrig said. Both of them tasted the malt, which was smooth and fiery. ‘I have a mission for you, one that will take you far from Cathra.’ He held up his hand as Snudge attempted to speak. ‘No, it has nothing to do with the pursuit of the thieves, although it may be possible for you to join the hunt for them as you journey north on this other matter. I already have three thousand men searching for the fugitives, and pictures of them provided by Vra-Edzal were transmitted by wind hours ago to every corner of Cathra. By tomorrow, the local adepts will have drawn up numbers of posters with images of the two rogue Brothers and nailed them up in every city and town.’
Snudge nodded and waited.
Conrig said, ‘As for this special assignment: there is no other person I can entrust it to, for it involves a challenge to my own perilous secret.’
‘Your talent.’
‘Aye, my accursèd talent, that would deny me my Crown of Sovereignty –’
‘And perhaps give it to Duke Feribor,’ Snudge blurted, ‘unless the Queen’s Grace should be delivered of a normal-minded son.’
Conrig sighed. ‘She carries a normal child, but it is a girl. Queen Ullanoth was kind enough to confirm this fact for me.’
Snudge lowered his eyes at the disappointing news.
‘At yesterday’s feast,’ the king went on, ‘the earl marshal told me of a very disturbing rumor that apparently circulates in north-western Tarn among the local fishermen. It popped up only recently, and its gist is that my first wife may still be alive.’
‘Sire, that can’t be!’ Snudge exclaimed. ‘I windsearched for Princess Maudrayne myself when she flung herself from the parapet at Eagleroost – and for months thereafter. The Brothers of Zeth also combined their talents to sweep the entire island for traces of her. So did the Conjure-Queen, using her Great Stone Subtle Loophole.’
‘Ansel’s sorcery probably could have concealed Maude from all of you with ease. Tarnian shamans are the most powerful natural talents in the world. Consider also the disturbing fact that her personal maid Rusgann Moorcock unaccountably vanished without a trace. The woman was devoted to Maude, as if she were her own sister…And there’s worse, which I’ve never confided to you.’ He took a deep pull of the malt liquor and hesitated.
‘Your Grace?’
‘Ah, shite,’ muttered the king. ‘You must know. Stergos and I found Maude’s diary. In it, she wrote that she knew of my talent and would not hesitate to expose it if I persisted in my amorous attachment to the Conjure-Queen. She also wrote that she had told Ansel my secret. And the diary held still another surprise: Maude was pregnant with my child.’
‘Great God! And yet she said naught to you!’ Snudge was both baffled and horrified. ‘She signed the bill of divorcement. And was willing to take her own life and that of the unborn babe…’
‘A woman of fierce Tarnian passions. How we once loved one another, Snudge! But for six years it seemed she could not conceive, and the shame of it made her anxious and short-tempered. Meanwhile, I was absorbed in the struggle with my late father and the Privy Council, and had small time for the loving attentions that such a high-spirited woman demands of her mate.’
Snudge had only taken a few sips from his goblet, but he now downed a generous swig. A sense of foreboding had begun to grip his heart. He knew Conrig’s terrible dilemma concerning Maude and the child – and feared what his own role might be in its resolution.
The king said, ‘The Princess Dowager is capable of a hatred as deep as her love once was. If she lives, and if her child lives and is a son, he is my legitimate successor. He was conceived in wedlock. The divorce is irrelevant. Add to this Maude’s knowledge of my talent –’ He shook his head, tossed down the last of his drink, and refilled the cup.
Snudge said, ‘You wish me to go to Tarn and find out the truth. But that may be impossible, if she’s protected by Ansel’s sorcery. Even though my windsearching talent is considerable, it has limitations that I’m only beginning to understand. I met Red Ansel Pikan and he’s more powerful than I can ever hope to be. Furthermore, he’s in league with some supernatural entity he calls his Source, who guides him like a puppet. We know so little of the shamans of Tarn, sire! They’re said to be directly descended from the Green Men, who shared this island with other inhuman monsters before Bazekoy’s conquest –’
‘Anent that point, let me tell you something else you may not know!’ the king hissed. ‘Green blood also taints thee and me, Deveron Austrey – and every human being possessed of talent, for this is how our magical abilities were instilled in us!’
‘Oh, sire –’
‘But that matters naught. The only important thing is that you find Maude and her babe – if they do live – before their existence is revealed to the world. And when you find them, do what must be done to protect me and my Sovereignty from the danger they pose.’
Snudge held the king’s gaze. ‘You wish me to slay them.’
‘I did not say that. If you’re able to eliminate their threat in another way, then do so. You are my sworn man, Deveron Austrey. Do you accept this charge?’
Snudge set his unfinished drink on the polished wood of the royal desk and rose to his feet. ‘I will carry it out as best I can, Your Grace.’
‘That’s no answer.’ Conrig’s voice was low and harsh.
‘It’s mine, sire.’
Their eyes remained locked, but the Sovereign of Blenholme was the one who finally blinked and looked away. ‘I fear her more than Kilian and Beynor,’ he whispered, ‘more than Ullanoth, more than all the scheming rebels of Didion and Tarn and the Southern Shore combined.’
‘I know. Let me see what I can do.’
Conrig sat still, staring at nothing. Then he gave a small start and seemed to pull himself together. When he spoke it was with his usual forcefulness. ‘Tomorrow, seek out Parlian Beorbrook and tell him your mission. I trust the earl marshal absolutely – as must you, since he also knows of your talent. Ask his advice. He understands the barbarians of the north country better than any man in Cathra, since he and his family have defended our border against them for nearly three hundred years. He may be able to lend you guides from his troop of Mountain Swordsmen to assist your penetration of Tarn. Whatever else you need, you shall have.’
‘I desire that my friend Sir Gavlok Whitfell may accompany me on this mission, along with our armigers and Vra-Mattis, my apprentice windvoice. Gavlok and Mattis, at least, must know at the outset that we seek Maude and her child. The squires can be kept in ignorance until we reach Tarn. Since Lord Stergos is too ill to receive windspeech from me or Mat, I recommend that Vra Sulkorig, the Keeper of Arcana, relay messages in his place. He will also have to be taken into your confidence – at least partially.’
‘Very well, but none of these people must ever know of my talent, even though we have to tell them about yours. The danger posed by a son of Maude to the Cathran succession is sufficient justification