Exile's Return (Book 1) (26 page)

‘You’ve come out without a cloak, Robert.’

He whirled around to find Jenn standing behind him, her face pale in the misty moonlight. ‘What are you doing up at this hour?’

She shrugged. ‘I’m sorry I startled you, but there’s no need to yell at me.’

‘I didn’t yell. I …’ he fumbled around for a word, ‘I …’

‘You yelled, Robert. Can we change the subject? This one’s exhausted.’

Robert sank back on to his seat with an involuntary chuckle.

‘Oh dear. I seem to have disturbed your sombre mood. I apologize again. What were you thinking about?’

‘Nothing important.’

‘You’re lying. You’ve been standing up here for almost half an hour. I know, I’ve been watching you.’

‘Why?’

‘I thought you might jump.’

‘Oh?’

‘And I wanted to be present when it happened.’

This time he burst out laughing, the dark thoughts of moments ago washed away like cobwebs in the rain.

She waited a moment for his laughter to subside then said, ‘You never told me my father hated you. You never said a word.’

‘No.’

‘Does that mean you won’t be able to come back here? Ever?’

‘Yes, that’s exactly what it means. You’ll finally be rid of me for good.’

‘I see,’ she said firmly, her eyes going out to the lake. ‘And you don’t mind him thinking of you as a traitor?’

Robert shrugged. ‘There’s little I can do to change his mind – and what little I could do, I refuse to.’

‘Like what?’

‘Like waging war on Selar and removing him from the throne.’

‘And tomorrow you leave?’

‘What’s wrong?’ he asked lightly. ‘Not soon enough for you?’

‘Oh, Robert,’ she snapped, turning back to him, ‘sometimes I could just hit you!’

‘Me? What did I do?’

She stared at him for a moment, but, characteristically, he could tell nothing from her expression. Eventually she sighed and said, ‘You have no idea, do you?’

‘About what?’

‘About what I think. About how I feel being left out here, in the middle of nowhere with no means by which to learn
any more about these damn powers. By the gods, Robert, you’re the only link I have – however tenuous – with the Enclave. What am I supposed to do next?’

She had a point and he felt suitably chastised. Still, from what he’d seen of her abilities so far, it appeared she needed little of the usual training a sorcerer required before becoming adept. At the rate she was going, she would be at master level within the year. On that score, she was probably better off without the training.

‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I’m a fool and I know it. You should be used to that by now. Still, I wouldn’t worry about training for the moment. You’ll have too much to do here, learning how to be the daughter of an Earl. But you’ll get time, eventually. By then you’ll be in a position to disappear for a while and go to the Enclave.’

‘But I don’t know how to get there.’

‘Yes you do. You just don’t realize it yet. All you need to do is head for the Goleth and your feet will take you the rest of the way. That too is part of the Sealing process.’

‘Anything else you haven’t mentioned?’

‘No.’ He shook his head and smiled down at her. For all her brave words, she looked very fragile and vulnerable at this moment, but fool though he was, he was not so stupid as to believe that image. However, his voice was gentle as he said, ‘Micah and I will leave before dawn. I don’t want to wait around long enough for your father to realize we’re still here. Would you pass on my thanks to Bella?’

‘You didn’t meet Lawrence, though. Bella’s husband. He’s expecting to see you in the morning, before you leave.’

‘Then pass on my apologies to him also. Believe me, Jenn, it’s best I leave before dawn.’

She nodded slowly, her eyes not moving from his.
And will you say goodbye to Micah for me? Tell him I’ll miss him?

‘Of course.’

She smiled a little and turned to go, then she hesitated. ‘You know, you’ve almost made me wish I’d never said that stupid thing to those Guildesmen to make them come after me. It’s been an interesting adventure, but I’m still not sure
I like the consequences. Still, I suppose that’s what you get for losing your temper.’

She made it as far as the top of the stairs down to the wall before Robert spoke. ‘Jenny?’ She stopped and turned back to face him. Once she did, he didn’t really know what to say. ‘You will be careful, won’t you?’

‘About as careful as you. Goodbye, Robert.’

The stairs took her away quickly, but before he could even move, a last single thought floated into his mind.

And I don’t know where you got the idea I wanted to be finally rid of you. I never said anything of the kind.

*

Micah had the horses saddled and ready for their pre-dawn departure. Robert was already yawning from little more than an hour’s sleep. But before he could mount up, Bella appeared out of the darkness and strode across the courtyard towards them.

‘I thought you’d do something like this,’ she murmured a little acidly.

‘Am I so transparent?’ Robert replied.

‘Sometimes, yes – but then, I suppose I know a different side to you most people don’t see.’

‘And which one is that?’

‘The irritating one.’

‘Ah,’ Robert grinned. ‘Then you will find you have a lot in common with your sister.’

‘May I speak to you before you go?’ Bella moved away from the horses, Micah and the stable boy who held the animals. ‘Tell me honestly. You say she has the Mark of our House. Have you seen it?’

‘I have.’

‘And you are certain she is my sister?’

‘I have no doubts at all. Do you?’ Robert studied Bella, afraid to say more.

‘Oh, I don’t know,’ Bella sighed. ‘But I do want to apologize for yesterday. I didn’t mean to accuse you of anything. It’s just that I was so shocked – and I was afraid of
what it would mean to father – if there should be some mistake.’

‘There’s no mistake. And perhaps your apology would be better served if you made it to Jenn.’

Bella frowned and looked up at him. ‘There’s something that troubles me, however. You insist she was taken during the Troubles? But how? The only children who were taken were boys from the families directly involved in the feuds. My father had no part in that, so why would anyone take his daughter? Who would take her – and why was nothing ever said about it later? And why …’

‘Why would she turn up, years later, alive and well, when the others have never been seen again? I can’t tell you. I doubt we’ll ever know. It’s so long ago now that even if we did find the person responsible, I doubt they would admit to it – or be able to give you a reason why.’

‘No, I suppose not.’

Robert glanced back at Micah then up at the keep. ‘I know we’ve had our differences in the past, Bella, but I want you to do something for me.’

‘What?’

‘Be kind to her. I don’t think she’s had much of that in her strange life. She remembers nothing of Elita. She’s independent, irritating and intensely curious. She also has an extraordinary ability to take change in her stride. She’s very tough but even so, in agreeing to come here, she has made herself vulnerable and she knows it. She’ll resist you and try your patience – but all the same, be kind to her, please.’

Bella studied his face for a moment. ‘I thought the great Earl of Dunlorn cared for nothing.’

Robert held her gaze. ‘Will you?’

She nodded. ‘I’ll try.’

‘Then, goodbye, Bella – and thank you for your hospitality.’

Robert turned and climbed on to his horse. Micah drew alongside him as they rode through the gate. With the castle
receding into the distance, the first rays of morning crept over the cloud-shadowed ridge.

‘Well, my lord, I suppose it could be worse,’ Micah ventured. ‘It could be snowing.’

Robert glanced at him and couldn’t help smiling. ‘Micah, you’re a dear and faithful friend, but timing was never your greatest virtue.’

‘My lord?’

Robert raised his hand and pointed skywards. ‘Look up.’

Vaughn stood on his balcony and gazed down at the lights of the city. In the early darkness of the winter evening, torches lined the causeway leading to the mount, following the road up until it reached the square below him. Opposite the Guilde Hall, the imposing Basilica was ablaze with orange and surrounded by crowds of city folk, waiting in silence.

The Basilica also waited, lit from inside by a thousand candles. Tall pillars and smooth arches dwarfed the statues of saints atop the door and played counterpoint to the castle wall. Beyond, now in almost complete darkness, the keep stood like a shadow against the sky, a stormcloud of grey stone, silent and uncompromising.

Vaughn grimaced up at the sky as the first few snowflakes drifted down. Of course, it was too much to expect fortune to smile on him all the time. This night had its own advantages, both for his beloved Guilde and for himself. After all, it was not every day one was witness to the funeral of a bishop.

He turned and went back inside where it was warm. Osbert, dressed in his formal bright yellow robes, waited on him. Round and soft. That was always how Vaughn thought of this man, that’s how Osbert appeared, but it was far from the truth. Osbert had few real talents but he did have the ability to organize the host who worked for them in secret. Osbert called them his legions and in truth, Vaughn knew very little about them. He didn’t want to. All he wanted from them was results.

‘I’m beginning to lose patience, Osbert,’ Vaughn grunted. He picked up his fur-lined cape and drew it across his shoulders. ‘How long am I to wait before you bring me this
evidence? All I’ve had so far are vague reports, suspicions and your assurances that you can get me what I need. If you cannot, why am I wasting my gold?’

‘My lord,’ Osbert began carefully, ‘I did warn you at the outset that it might take some time. The situation is very precarious. My man can’t get messages to me every day. He would be suspected. I hope by summer …’

‘I can’t wait until the summer!’ Vaughn snapped. ‘Have you no idea how important this is? Especially now that Domnhall is finally dead! After all the work we’ve done, the depth to which we are involved – something like this can easily destroy all our plans. Domnhall is gone, yes, and we have our new law, have the hospices officially under our jurisdiction, but the Church tarries. It could take years for them to pass the work on to us fully. In the meantime, there are demands on our resources that must be recompensed. And if we are to support the King further …’

Vaughn didn’t finish the sentence. This was not the time to be telling Osbert of their future plans, their future glory. No. First he needed Osbert to complete this one mission.

‘I need firm evidence by spring, Osbert. I will wait no longer. Something is going on at Dunwyn. Blair is playing a very dangerous game and I must know what he plans to do. The King must know. Do you understand?’

‘Yes, my lord.’

Vaughn nodded. It was time to go; Lewis was waiting for him in the concourse. Together they made their way across the square.

The chant of monks in the quire filled the Basilica with a gentle harmonious glow, like a thick warm carpet on a stone floor. It softened the arches above and the booted feet of those arriving to pay their final respects. Before the altar a priest bowed to the wood-carved image of the Trilogy, famous throughout Lusara for its fine workmanship. Both candles and incense burned and filled the Basilica with a cloying scent of honey and myrrh. They took their familiar places to the left of the quire and sat alone, in the stalls set aside for the Guilde.

Placing his hands on his lap, Vaughn glanced at the dome above and followed its lines down to the altar. He’d never much liked this Church; it was always dark and serious, deliberately trying to invoke the mysterious spirit of the gods. It was pathetic. The Church had long ago lost its connection with the deities. Now it was just an empty tradition, a worthless shell in which the people still held overwhelming faith.

Well, no more.

Tomorrow evening, the clergy would gather within the chapter house and elect the man who would take Domnhall’s place. A man who would help his people and join together once more with the Guilde. That at any rate was what Vaughn hoped. Despite the fact that all his plans rested on the outcome of that election, he was powerless to control it.

Vaughn clenched his hands into the soft folds of his robe. He was not sorry Domnhall was dead. For the last thirty years, Domnhall’s primacy had blocked every move Vaughn had made to advance the Guilde. But now the time had come for change. Domnhall had been a reformer, trying to bring the Church back to its former glory. But reformer or not, his intransigence had driven a wedge between Church and Guilde.

Yes, time indeed for a change. It was time for the Guilde to rise once more. They had the sacred trust given them by the gods themselves. The trust to care and hold knowledge, to teach and learn, to record and witness. These were not light burdens, but the backbone on which society depended. Without the caretaking of the Guilde, mankind would never have survived the Dawn of Ages, never have passed through the barrier of time, and certainly never have lived through the following thousand years.

Vaughn took a deep calming breath and settled in as much comfort as this bleak place would allow. The only obstacle was tomorrow’s synod and the man the Church would choose as the new primate – but no matter what, Vaughn would find a way to ensure success!

As the clergy formed two lines before the altar, Vaughn pondered. He would find a way, no matter what.

*

Osbert opened the door to the study and Vaughn flew past him. ‘By the blood, two hours of that dreary mass – and for what? So we can all sit there and pretend we’re sorry Domnhall’s no longer with us? Come inside, Lewis, and shut that door!’

He loosened the ties around his throat and snatched the cup of wine Osbert handed him. ‘Thank the gods that’s the end of him!’

Lewis’s sallow face turned to him. ‘There are plenty who will miss him.’

‘Not nearly so many as he would have liked, I’m sure!’ Vaughn snapped. Two hours sitting in the maudlin confines of the Basilica while his hands and feet froze had done nothing to still his agitation. Seeing Hilderic handling the ceremony had only made it worse. Now if he should take the primacy …