Hearts in Cups (8 page)

"And you, my
husband? What say you to the duchess' proposal?"

Hollin found herself
being favoured with a singularly appraising look from Lord de Chantalcalm. She
returned his stare with one of her own and was met by a warm smile she had not
yet seen. "I am in agreement with Lady Hollin. She is the best answer that
I can see to our dilemma. If you are willing to do this, we will offer you
whatever aid we can."

"Lord
Percamber?" Hollin turned her eyes to the regent, and grandfather of the
missing prince.

His nod was abrupt, as
if drawn from deep within himself. "I wish to lay down my trust and to
place it in my grandson's hands. I do not like the idea of putting you in
danger, but if it is your will to do this thing, and if Colin and Dinea are
ready to support and aid you, then I will also do what I can for you."
Hollin accepted his compliance with a gracious nod.

"Time grows late.
Let us put into effect the transference now and discuss council strategies
tomorrow. If you will join me at the table?" Colin ushered them to the
table, where Percamber returned the Heartstone to Hollin. "Have you ever
been in an arcane trance before?" Hollin nodded. "Good. What I want
you to do is to put yourself into a light trance, with the jewel as your focus.
Percamber, Dinea and I will work with the crystal, controlling the energies
until we can build a bridge from the crystal into the jewel. You will feel the
energies from the crystal in your mind as we begin to let them flow into the
jewel. I need you to control the receptivity of the jewel. Visualize an opening
in the jewel allowing the energy from the crystal to flow in and be absorbed.
Do you think you can manage that?"

"Yes." Hollin
took a steadying breath and then, focusing on the red gem on her hand, began
the special breathing pattern that was the first step to entering an arcane
trance. Before her eyes the light refracting from the jewel's exterior
gradually changed until it was a light pulsing from within. Vaguely, she saw
Colin, Dinea and Percamber bent over the crystal and heard their combined
breathing. She brought her own attention back to the ring and lightly felt it
within her own mind. She strove to maintain her balance with the jewel and to
resist exploring it. The ring was warm in her hand.

Suddenly she was aware
of a brightness aimed at the ring. She tried to discern whether the brightness
was physical or mental and failed. The brightness grew in intensity and she
prepared her visualization. The image of an opening appeared in her mind and
then was wrenched from it by the jewel itself, which sent out its own energy to
retrieve what was being aimed at it. The intensity of the ring's reaction
startled Hollin and threw her out of the trance. As she put her hand on the
table to steady herself, she saw Colin and Dinea trying to balance themselves
as well. The red light in the ring pulsed brilliantly and slowly subsided. The
crystal had turned cloudy with opalescence.

"Is everyone all
right?" Percamber, the only one not holding on to the table, cried out.

"Yes, yes I think
so." Colin said panting. "My dear? Your grace?" They nodded.
"I've never had that happen before!" he expostulated.

"What did
happen?" Hollin inquired, straightening herself.

"We had gathered
the energy together, and Dinea and I were creating the transference bridge
while Percamber stayed and held the crystal in stasis. We had not even touched
the ring when its energy reached out, completed the bridge and absorbed the crystal's
energies. Tell me Lady Hollin, did you pull the energies to you?"

"No, I stayed in a
light trance as you directed. It was almost as if the ring acted on its
own."

Dinea spoke up.
"There are life-energies bound up with it," she noted. "The odd
thing was to have it take the initiative in that way."

"It's not just an
arcane object like this crystal," Percamber reminded them. "The
Heartstone is an heirloom from ancient times, perhaps even from before the
Pentarchy was established, and is intimately associated with House Sandovar.
Just as the House Powers are little understood, objects like this are also
beyond our knowledge."

"Lady Hollin is
looking tired after tonight's activities, and all this on top of a long day's
ride." Dinea observed solicitously. "I propose that we leave off
tonight and begin again tomorrow."

"Quite
right," her husband chimed in. "We have had a most interesting
evening but it is time to bring it to an end. When you have rested, Lady
Hollin, you may want to begin working with the ring. I suggest that you start
with light trances similar to the one you used tonight. If you have questions
or run into problems, send for one of us to help you. In the meantime, I will
do some research of my own, to see if anything pertinent is recorded about this
ring in the archives."

"Very good,"
Hollin said, stifling a yawn and admitting to herself that a soft bed was what
she wanted in the immediate future. "I will let you know what I discover
as well."

Walking back to her
rooms through the shadowed corridors, surrounded by her escort, Hollin felt the
strain of the day's ride, combined with the night's efforts, overwhelm her and
she stumbled. Instantly, one of her escort's hands was at her elbow as she
recovered herself and acknowledged his help. At that moment, she was astonished
to hear a melody, played on a stringed instrument, drifting from the other side
of the wall they stood next to. The tune was a lovely one, a song that she had
heard before, but changed and reworked into another that was old and yet new at
the same time. She waited, enchanted by the music until it ceased. Then,
feeling refreshed and cleansed by what she had heard, she made her way to her
bed. That night, Hollin slept dreamless with exhaustion.

Waking late the next
morning, she lay in bed examining the events of the previous evening at her
leisure. Unused as she was to dealing with the types of arcane energies
demonstrated to her last night, she wanted time to assimilate what she had
learned. She began formulating her plans for the coming council session and the
possibility of a journey to find the prince, anticipating the problems to be
incurred, not the least being her protracted absence from Langstraad. At length
she stirred from her bed long enough to summon Lady Clowen and order food to be
brought to her room.

Once nourished and
dressed she went out into her private atrium, planted with flowers and shrubs
native to Langstraad, feeling clear-headed and ready to begin working with the
ring. Percamber had mentioned that the first of the other Houses would be
arriving at the end of the week, so time was short. She returned to her rooms
and, issuing the order that she be undisturbed for several hours, retired into
her sitting room. Drawing the curtains, she made herself comfortable on a pile
of pillows, and began the preparatory breathing exercises. With a calm mind,
she extended her intuitive instincts towards the ring and gradually fell into
rapport with it. Exploring the ring she felt a certain disembodiment, as if her
mind was being lifted beyond where her body sat. It was not an unpleasant
sensation but it did leave her slightly disoriented when she eventually
dissolved the trance.

The shadows in the room
indicated late afternoon and cramps in her arms and legs told her that she had
been engaged for several hours. She rang for Celia, who entered quickly with a
tray of food and the information that inquiries from Lord Percamber had come
while she was closeted away. Hollin acknowledged the information and wrote a
brief note to the regent telling him that she was progressing with her
experiment. She wrote that she was still feeling the effects of the journey and
suggested that they meet on the morrow. Celia took the message to be delivered
just as Lady Clowen was announced.

"Your grace has
been a bit reclusive today," she noted with a smile and a curtsey.

"Yes, I have been
rather alone," was Hollin's abstract reply. She stretched her arms above
her head and continued disarmingly. "Once everyone else is in Pentarin I
won't have a moment to myself, so I'm storing up my solitude. Is Benedict
around? Send him to me when he comes to report."

When alone again,
Hollin looked at the ring and smiled. The ring itself was fascinating once she
had ascertained how the rapport with it worked. The essence or energies that
resonated within the ring were most interesting, even overwhelming in some
regards. She found herself speculating on the type of person who would create
such an imprint. She knew that only the surface structure of the ring had been
touched but she was wary of venturing too far, since her training and
experience in this instance were limited. The following day was spent in
similar fashion. After rising and eating, she strolled outdoors for an hour and
then returned to the seclusion of her room to engage the ring in trance. The
message from Percamber that afternoon said that he was committed to meeting
with palace officials and asked to postpone his conference with her. However,
another message sealed with the Treves signet contained an invitation from Lord
Colin and his wife to join them for dinner in their suite. Hollin, inquisitive
about her fellow conspirators sent an affirmative reply.

At past sessions of the
Pentacle Council Hollin had seen and noted Lord de Chantalcalm Viscount and
head of the Minor House of Treves, but until now had taken little opportunity
to become more than passingly acquainted with him. He had succeeded his father
two years ago and usually ventured little during council sessions; seeming
content to merely listen to the proceedings. Social life during a council
session was mostly devoted to banquets and entertainments, not conducive to
intimate conversation. Apart from formal introductions and social pleasantries,
Hollin had really never spoken to the man before this week.

The quarters she was
ushered into lacked the grandeur of those of the Great Houses but were notably
comfortable and well furnished. She was greeted by Lady Dinea who appeared
genuinely pleased to see her. Dinea explained that Colin would be joining them
shortly and took her to a pleasant room with a small balcony that looked over
the palace walls into the city. Below them the city's lights began to appear as
lamps were lit in the grey dusk. Hollin and her hostess sat amicably drinking
wine and talking. Dinea was charming, with a well-informed and intelligent
mind. In a short time her husband arrived and sat down with them. They
continued talking together throughout the meal in a surprisingly easy and
unaffected manner.

To Hollin, used to the
formal and stultifying atmosphere of the royal court in session, this evening
was both unusual and welcome. Neither Colin nor Dinea had ever been to
Langstraad and were interested in descriptions of her duchy. In return, they
told her of the Scholastium Arcana in Dacara, a city of mystery to Hollin. The
subjects of the ring, the council and the missing prince were left aside as
they became better acquainted with each other. It was only after dinner, when
they sat looking out over the city, that Colin inquired as to how she was
progressing with the ring.

"I have an idea,
maybe more of a feeling, about where the prince is and how to get to him,"
she began. "Something or someone is definitely linked to the ring but I
can't see him. There is no picture in my mind. Is that how it should be?"

Colin nodded. "How
deeply have you probed the ring?"

"As far as I dare
at this stage. I have not used my powers in this way before and I still feel
constrained when I am in rapport with the ring."

"But you can
achieve rapport with it?"

She nodded
affirmatively. "Yes, that part is easy. It's exploring the ring that
becomes difficult. There is an enthralling quality to it that is sometimes hard
to break away from."

"If it is as old
and powerful as Percamber hinted, then that is not too unlikely," Dinea
told her. "Would you be uncomfortable if Colin or I tried to link minds
with you to see what you do in the ring? We might be able to help interpret the
information you are receiving."

"How do you link
minds? Hollin asked.

"It's a fairly
simple procedure. We did it the other night with Percamber. The light trance
you were in when we performed the energy transfer is the first step. What we
would do is have you enter into a rapport with the ring, then one of us would
reach our minds towards yours and mentally join you in the ring. It would be a
very surface connection, just within the ring."

Hollin looked slightly
ill-at-ease. "I have always understood mind-linking to be something only
arcane adepts are able to do."

"It is an ability
that is refined at the Scholastium, but many people experience brief instances
of it, especially those that are very close and perceptive to one
another," Dinea explained smiling.

"I am willing to
try," was Hollin's answer as she held up the ring to begin the rapport.
Dinea came and stood behind her, placing her finger-tips on Hollin's temples as
she mentally extended herself. Almost at once she drew back, perplexed.
Breathing evenly she forced her own mind to a deeper level and reached out
again. As before, her hands leaped back and she was out of her trance.

"What's
wrong?" Colin asked as he came around the table to where his wife stood.