A Crown Imperiled (35 page)

They hurried through the now almost completely rebuilt Villa Beata, passing through large gardens which had been freshly replanted. In the matter of a few minutes they were outside Pug’s office and Sandreena knocked once, then opened the wooden door.

They had both marvelled at how Pug had refashioned his office since the destruction of the original villa. His last office had been small and dark, with only one window, while this one had a large wall made up entirely of panes of the finest clear glass he could find, further refined with some very subtle magic. When sunlight blazed in, it was cool thanks to the combination of clever design – a duct in the ceiling carried the hot air away – and a little more magic.

Pug said, ‘Good morning. I wish I had good news from the Academy, but at best it’s mixed. What did you and Magnus discover on that island?’

Amirantha had taken to wearing less flamboyant clothing since coming to live at Sorcerer’s Isle, and today was comfortable in a loose-fitting white tunic and dark grey trousers. Sandreena always looked surprisingly delicate for a large, strong woman when not wearing armour. She wore a plain but well-made pair of trousers, a loose-fitting blue linen blouse, and a pair of sandals. They took the chairs Pug indicated with a wave of his hand, and Amirantha looked at Sandreena, who nodded, indicating that he should go first.

‘We are not sure,’ said Amirantha. ‘The barrier we call the matrix is something . . . otherworldly?’ He shrugged. ‘It exists within this world, but at the same time, somewhere else. Magnus thinks it’s as likely to be a trap as a means to communication with the Sven-ga’ri.’ He then explained Magnus’s surmise on the nature of their communications.

‘Really?’ said Pug leaning back in his chair. ‘At this point nothing should surprise me, but say on.’

‘I’m not sure I can add much more,’ said the Warlock, ‘but there is something . . . odd about all this.’

Pug turned to the Knight-Adamant and said, ‘What can you add?’

Sandreena said, ‘On matters of magic, I am a novice. What Amirantha said is as Magnus observed while you were away. I spent my time watching them poke at that . . . matrix, and getting to know our hosts.’

‘What can you tell me about these Pantathians?’

‘They were hospitable and welcoming.’ Sandreena continued, ‘despite knowing that you and Magnus had destroyed many of their kin. They seem too, well, gentle is the only way to describe them, though their warriors were valorous when fighting demons.’

‘Even the meekest of creatures will give all protecting their young and home,’ agreed Pug. ‘Did you see any Serpent Priests after I left?’

‘No,’ said Sandreena. ‘They were mentioned, and I left with the impression they visit their kin from time to time, but as to where they base their operations since you and Magnus destroyed their previous headquarters is a mystery; I didn’t feel it politic at this time to ask the one they call Tak’ka for more details.’

Pug sighed. ‘Well, the good news is that we’ve identified the threat. The Serpent Priests are back again.’ He was silent for a moment, then added, ‘But we don’t know where they are.’ He rose. ‘At least we know they aren’t on that island, which is something.’ He motioned toward the door.

They followed him out of his office, through a hallway, and into a large meeting hall ‘Join me as I bring the rest up to date with events in the world.’

‘The rest?’ asked Amirantha.

‘I called a meeting of the Conclave before I left the Academy.’

They entered the newly-finished meeting room, which turned out to be a large covered patio, otherwise open to the daily breezes of the island. A square table had been placed in the middle, one that could be enlarged in any number of clever ways depending on how many people needed to attend a given meeting.

Seven people were already seated when the three entered. The only familiar face to either of the demon experts was Grand Master Creegan of the Order of the Shield of the Weak, Sandreena’s mentor in the Order. They had no idea who the other four men and two women were.

Pug motioned for Amirantha and Sandreena to take the two empty seats and he remained standing. ‘Those of you who know one another need no introductions. If you do not recognize others, it is best it remain that way, given our current plight. You cannot be made to reveal what you do not need to know.’ He took a deep breath. ‘So far we have identified five well-placed agents of the Conclave who are traitors. I am certain there will be more. Continue to conduct your investigations; trust is scarce right now, use it wisely.’ He motioned to the man closest to him on his right and said, ‘What have you discovered in Roldem?’

The man quickly recounted the efforts that were underway in Roldem to prevent further leaking of information, and to discover who might be behind the actions taken against the Conclave. He finished by saying, ‘At this time we have no more likely suspect than Lord John Worthington. He is either at the top of all actions taken against the interest of both the Crown and the Conclave, or he reports to the ultimate authority.’

Before Pug could move to the next in line, a man sitting farthest from him interjected, ‘I know I speak out of turn, Pug, but that is almost the identical report that I have put together concerning Great Kesh. The man who stands out as the most likely suspect is a nephew of the Emperor, Lord Harfum.’

Instantly, Grand Master Creegan said, ‘Sir William Alcorn.’ He looked around the table. ‘It is the same in Rillanon.’

Pug nodded. ‘So, our first priority must be to discover what links these three men.’ He indicated that the first two men should depart, but added, ‘Grand Master Creegan, remain if you would.’

The remaining agents quickly provided Pug with more information on issues pertaining to the attempts to identify possible spies within the Academy as well as in various less-critical positions of influence and authority. As each finished delivering their report, Pug nodded and the agent rose and left the table. When the last had departed, Pug turned and looked at the three remaining members of the Conclave.

‘Creegan,’ he said, ‘you’re our eyes and ears in the temples. Anything?’

Sandreena’s former mentor sighed. ‘In truth, not much. If anything the temples are more difficult to infiltrate than even the Conclave, for the gods are very jealous of their domains. Several of the martial orders, however, seem to have been slightly compromised: no ordained member is suspected, but a few key servants, or lay administrators, have been weeded out as being undependable. Those identified are being questioned.’

‘Which orders?’ Sandreena asked.

‘The more active groups: the Warders, the Hunters, the Arm, and the Hammer.’

Pug seemed to wilt visibly at the list, and Sandreena said, ‘If they infiltrated any significant level of those orders, they are dangerous indeed.’

‘Exceedingly dangerous,’ said Creegan. Seeing that Amirantha didn’t quite follow, he added, ‘Of course, you’d know the gods and perhaps those orders by different names in your homeland.’ He held up a hand and began ticking them off on each finger. ‘The Warders of Law serve Astalon the god of law, the Hunters are followers of Guis-wa the god of forbidden knowledge, the Arm of Vengeance serve Kahooli the Vengeful, and the Hammer serves Tith-Onanka, the war god. Many of these, especially the Arm and the Hunters are overt enemies, and would never knowingly work together.’

‘I see, and the Shield?’ Amirantha looked pointedly at Creegan.

‘Our order is one that takes great pains in examining those we employ within the temples; magic is used to determine if those who come to serve have duplicity in their hearts. And unlike some of the other orders, we require our own members to conduct the daily business of the Order, the cooking, cleaning, and maintaining the temples, shrines, and our places of residence. Some of the other orders do not. The Hammer and the Hunters feel that every member must be a warrior-priest, and to concentrate solely on those duties they hire many to serve who are not of the Order. Therein lies their vulnerability. We have been working through the Ishapians, as much as we can, but it got the leadership’s attention and so far no new infiltrators have been found. The other orders listen to the Ishapians, but they do not like it.’

‘They’ll like seeing their world in ruins at the feet of the Dread even less.’

Creegan glanced at Amirantha, nodded to Sandreena, then turned and departed.

Pug said, ‘Now, if you have that orb Magnus gave you, I’d like to return and see what he is doing.’ With a wry grin, he added, ‘I think I could return there from what I remember, but why chance it?’

‘Shall we go back with you?’ asked Sandreena.

‘No, rest for a few days. You’ve been travelling a great deal. I’ll return with Magnus when it’s time.’

Amirantha retrieved the orb from his tunic pocket and gave it to Pug. Pug said, ‘See you soon,’ depressed the switch on the side and vanished.

Amirantha yawned. ‘After that meal, I’m in the mood for a nap. Care to join me?’ he asked Sandreena with a smile.

‘Those days are long over, you fraud,’ she said. Then she smiled. ‘Rest, and I’ll see you for dinner if you’d like.’

‘I would like that a great deal,’ he said, and was surprised to find he meant it. ‘Dinner, then.’

Sandreena turned and walked away and he watched her go and thought to himself that of all the women he had met and bedded, she was the one he could never get out of his head. With a sign of resignation, he turned and headed to his own quarters.

Pug appeared next to his son. Magnus was obviously in some sort of trance, as he sat ignoring the drizzling rain that had soaked him to the skin despite the best efforts of a Pantathian holding what appeared to be a makeshift umbrella over him. Which meant he had been there for a long time. Knowing his son, Pug judged it had probably been since early this morning. While it was summer in the north, it was winter here and this far south the rain was turning bitterly cold.

At the sight of Pug the Pantathian almost dropped the umbrella and said in clearly-understandable Keshian, ‘Oh, you startled me!’

Pug waved his hand. ‘Apologies. Here, let me take that from you.’

The reptilian creature seemed relieved. ‘He awoke before dawn and has been here since breaking his fast; this is his second day and we are unwilling to disturb him.’

Pug reached out gently with his magic and then withdrew. ‘You could probably hit him on the head with a rock and it wouldn’t disturb him,’ he said, taking the umbrella. As soon as he had hold of it he realized that despite the good intentions of the Pantathian, the gusting wind almost entirely defeated the effectiveness of the thing. Even so, he held it over his son.

‘I am La’th,’ said the Pantathian. ‘I will inform Tak’ka that you are here. I am sure he will wish to welcome you himself.’

As the creature departed, Pug reflected on how ironic it should be to be welcomed by any sort of Pantathian. For his entire adult life all the ones he had ever encountered had been trying their best to obliterate humanity.

While he waited, Pug inspected the tableau. Magnus sat on a soggy cushion facing an oval of energy floating about three feet above the ground. Seeing it and the Sven-ga’ri beyond, he understood why Magnus had forgone the relatively easy task of erecting a shield of magic against the elements. It would have had to be large enough to encompass what appeared to be a massive terraced park atop the largest building in this city, which would have made deploying his other spells more problematic; or if small enough to encompass just himself, it certainly would have distorted any readings or insights gained from that examination.

Gently he sent his mind into the matrix of light before him, seeking out his son’s presence. Finding Magnus was like finding his own hand: as father and son they were attached in a way as Pug have never been to any other in his life. His lifelong friend Tomas and his departed wife, Miranda, were family of his heart, and he could find them almost as easily, but Magnus was his blood, his last remaining child.

For a brief moment that awareness struck Pug as he remembered those children he had lost: William, his first boy, dying heroically in the defence of Krondor, and Gaminia, his adopted daughter in that same struggle. Caleb, his youngest, dying with his wife Marie, at the same time Miranda had been lost. Caleb, so strong and willing to serve, yet always the one without magic.

Pug pushed aside that pang, for he knew it led inexorably to his fear of the curse laid upon him by the Goddess of Death: that he would watch everyone he love die before him. He had foster-grandsons, Tad, Zane, and Jommy, whom he had kept at an emotional distance, fearing that to come to love them as his own would doom them. He could not honestly say if he had succeeded in keeping his affections in check.

Turning his mind away from such morbid turns, he followed his instincts to his son’s metaphorical location within the matrix and intruded slightly to let Magnus know he was there.

Father
, came Magnus’s thought.
I felt your presence when you arrived
.

Pug marvelled at the man and sorcerer his son was becoming. Pug had known other workers of magic: Kulgan, his mentor; Shimon, Hochopepa and other Tsurani Great Ones in the Assembly of Magicians on that now-lost world. Macros and his daughter Miranda. Each had special abilities and in one thing or another surpassed the others. Kulgan was a practitioner of what was known now as the Path of Lesser Magic, a distinction made by the Tsurani. The Great Ones were known to walk the Path of Greater Magic. The Greater and Lesser Paths were pointless labels from Pug’s point of view when it came to Magnus. He was a true master of any magic he sought to learn. Even the most arcane of the arts, such as Amirantha’s demon lore, Magnus had undertaken to understand, and now he could exercise some small control over demons. And then there was his son’s ability for mind-speech, a skill shared with Pug’s adopted daughter, a skill Pug had never successfully mastered.

He said, ‘Amirantha and Sandreena have told me of your work.’ Pug felt another presence nearby and said, ‘I think our host is here. I’ll return shortly.’