Lord Protector (22 page)

Blade cursed, glancing at the young cat who followed like a shadow in the woods. He had lingered too long in the village to care for Rivan's sister when he should have left right after killing the bandits. Someone had betrayed him, perhaps the wandering minstrel who had visited the village two tendays ago, or the travelling rug merchant who had passed through a moon phase ago. Either that, or there was a spy amongst the villagers.

Had it not been for the cats he would not have even come to this town, perilously close to the Contara border. Then again, he had not expected to be found, for who would suspect a lowly assassin in a shoddy village of being the Queen's Blade? Perhaps someone who had spies in the palace at Jondar, and knew he was not there. He wondered who Kerrion had sent to rule Contara after Endor's demise. Whoever he was, he had used the power Kerrion had given him to hunt Blade, and the assassin cursed the Cotti King.

Kerrion glanced up as Jadar came in and approached his desk. The aged advisor held a scrap of paper, and the size of the missive told the Cotti King that a winged familiar had brought it. He put down the document he had been reading and leant back in his chair as Jadar straightened from his bow.

"What is it?"

Jadar hesitated, glancing at the message. "This arrived today. It is from Prince Jovan."

"Not another plea to return to Jadaya? Surely he has learnt the futility of such entreaties? He is banished. It is time he accepted it."

"Of a sort, Sire. He claims to have captured the assassin known as the Queen's Blade, and threatens to execute him if he is not allowed to return to Jadaya."

"Does he, indeed?" Kerrion clasped his hands and leant forward, frowning. "And if I agree, I will be admitting that I care about the fate of this assassin. He will use that as proof, and charge me with treason."

"Undoubtedly, Sire."

"Very clever, if I did care about this assassin. Perhaps a little too underhand for Jovan. You are certain it is from him?"

Jadar glanced at the message again. "It is his signature."

Kerrion held out his hand, and the advisor gave him the missive, which he studied with a frown. "It is, and it is his handwriting. But somehow, I doubt that this is his doing. What news of Dravis?"

Jadar shook his head. "None, Sire."

"Because he is not in Cotti." Kerrion rose and wandered over to the windows to frown at the pale, shimmering city beyond the palace walls. "He has followed Jovan to Contara, or perhaps Jovan offered him sanctuary there. Evidently it was a mistake to banish Jovan to Contara, much as he dislikes the place. It seemed like a fitting punishment at the time, and if not for Dravis, it would have been."

"What will you do, Sire?"

"I cannot do as he demands, and he knows it. This is to taunt me, and to flaunt his triumph. And it is not Jovan's doing. Dravis is behind this." Kerrion returned to his desk and sat down, scowling at the scrap of paper. "I shall order him to send the assassin to Jadaya for execution, and I will send troops to hunt for Dravis. He has given himself away with this threat. I want him captured and imprisoned, and Jovan too, for harbouring him."

"You have no proof that Prince Jovan is harbouring his brother, Sire. The courts will not convict him without evidence."

"Then I will find Dravis!" Kerrion thumped the desk. "I shall go myself."

"Is that wise? What of your wife, Sire? Will she not be in danger if you leave Jadaya?"

"The Queen? No, not any more. None of my other brothers are plotting to kill her, and if they try, they will be guilty of treason. With my new laws, the punishment for trying to kill her is death. They will not risk it. She is guarded by my best men, and they no longer have to obey a prince. No, she will be safe."

Jadar nodded. "But if you go to Ashmarad yourself, will that not be seen as concern for this assassin?"

"I am going there to find Dravis, no other reason. It may not be the most compelling justification, but it is not grounds for any accusations of treason. If Jovan does not obey my order to send the Jashimari assassin to Jadaya for execution, he will be the one guilty of treason." Kerrion looked up with a hard smile. "He has given me an excellent reason to imprison him too."

"If he disobeys."

"He cannot do it. Dravis is behind this, and he wants the assassin dead. He cares nothing for Jovan's unhappiness. In fact, I would venture to say that Jovan has gone behind his brother's back in sending this message. Dravis has captured Blade, and Jovan seeks to gain from it. Between the two of them they have succeeded in outsmarting themselves." Kerrion dipped a quill in the ink pot and drew a sheet of parchment from the pile on his desk. "They will regret this. Summon my commanders."

"Which ones, Sire?"

"All of them."

Chiana gazed at the autumnal gardens, her sorrow reflected in the yellowing leaves that fell from the trees, just as her tears had dampened her pillow each night since Blade had left. Without even saying goodbye, she reflected bitterly. Why had he dreamt about his familiar's death so many years after it had happened? Why had he left immediately afterwards? Why could she not hate him, as he so richly deserved? Why did he haunt her dreams, and why was he not there when she woke from her nightmare each night? Her heart was turning into a lump of lead, yet a vestige warmth remained in it for him alone. He had returned to comfort her after her father's death, as if sent by Tinsharon himself. A strange thing for a heartless assassin to do. Yet all the gladness had deserted her when he had.

The puffwood trees rained whirling winged seeds with their leaves, and smoke trees seemed to burn with dark embers as their tiny grey leaves reddened. A fire tree dropped black leaves like flakes of ash, as if the fiery flowers it had borne in midsummer had consumed its foliage. Lyric birds gave fluting calls as they prepared to fly south for the winter in bright flocks.

A knock on the door made her turn. Insash came in, followed by Verdan, who looked worried, and carried his healer's bag. The advisor approached and bowed. Verdan remained by the door.

"Regent..." Insash hesitated, wringing his hands.

"What is it?"

"I have grave news."

Chiana sighed, glancing out at the gardens again. "What now?"

"Perhaps you should sit down?"

"Just tell me, Insash. I do not like to be coddled. How bad can it be?"

"Please, my lady."

Chiana shot him a frown and walked over to her pile of cushions, sank onto them and invited him to join her with a gesture. The advisor settled on a cushion and pulled a scrap of paper from his pocket. By the door, Verdan frowned at the floor. Chiana studied Insash as the tension rose.

"I do not have all day."

Insash fiddled with the scrap of parchment. "This arrived today, from Contara."

"What has Prince Jovan done now? And why is it any concern of mine?"

"He..." Insash glanced around at Verdan, then cleared his throat. "It is not from Prince Jovan, my lady. It is from Prince Dravis."

"I thought Kerrion was hunting him for treason?"

"That may well be, but it appears that he has found sanctuary with his brother in Contara."

"Then I shall inform Kerrion. It is foolish of him to give away his hiding place. Why is this grave news?"

Insash looked down at the message. "It is not. But if what this message says is to be believed..."

"What does it say?"

"It may not be true, my lady. I pray to Tinsharon that it is a lie."

Chiana curbed her impatience, irritated by his dithering. "Just tell me, Insash."

"There are only a few words..." Insash drew a deep breath. "It says that... the Queen's Blade is dead."

Chiana stared at him. Her heart seemed to have stopped. It swelled, choking her, and she was aware of Verdan hurrying towards her as a roaring filled her ears, then darkness slammed down.

Insash started forward as the Regent collapsed, his anguished cry unborn in his throat. Verdan reached her side and knelt, picking up her hand to pat it while he gazed at her with deep concern.

"Is she all right?" Insash demanded.

"She has fainted, that is all. She will be fine. Summon her maidens, she must be put into her bed."

Insash jumped up and hurried to the door to bellow into the corridor, and a few minutes later a bevy of handmaidens ran in, twittering with concern.

When they had tucked Chiana into her bed, Verdan sat beside her, stroking her brow, while Insash paced the floor at the foot of it.

"That damned man is nothing but trouble," he said. "Why does he have to go disappearing into the countryside and getting into trouble? He is to blame for this! If he had stayed at the palace, he would be safe. But oh no, he has to run around with commoners, inviting his enemies to kill him. And he has a good many of them!"

Verdan glanced at him. "Yes, he does, and I suspect that it has something to do with the fact that he has killed eight Cotti princes and their king, thereby ending the Endless War and bringing peace to our land. Not to mention the fact that he saved Queen Kerra twice as an infant and again when Endor would have taken her hostage. Indeed, we have much to revile him for, do we not?"

Insash threw up his hands. "I am not denying that he has done good deeds, albeit by killing people. Yes, yes, they needed to be killed, but ending the war and saving the Queen were not his motivations. He did it for money. Now he has gone and got himself killed, and look at what he has done!"

"I would venture to say that he did not get himself killed, but was slain by his enemies, something he cannot be accused of having a hand in. And Lady Chiana is stricken because she loves him, also no fault of his."

"How can you defend him? He is a damned killer! He feels nothing for her! He scorns her!"

"Of course, which is why he prevented her from killing herself when her familiar was slain, saved her from two Contara assassins, and returned to comfort her when her father died."

Insash snorted. "He did not wish to be Regent, and he probably thought she would try to end her life again when her father died."

Verdan shook his head. "The Regent was not suicidal after her father's death. And the regency is the highest office in the land. I do not think he was as averse to it as he claimed."

"You think he cares for her? Why did he leave after just three days, then?"

"I cannot claim to know Lord Conash's mind, but yes, I believe he cares for her."

Insash walked to the end of the bed and leant on it, gazing at Chiana. "Whatever he has done, or feels, he is responsible for this. Nobles do not go about the country unguarded. They are escorted by soldiers and bodyguards because they are important to the crown and vulnerable to kidnappers and murderers. Of course, the Queen's Blade was a killer himself, but even killers can be slain, it seems."

"Lord Conash had every right to do as he pleased -"

"Not when his death could cause so much trouble!"

Verdan stroked Chiana's brow. "She will be all right. She is stronger than you think."

Insash glanced around as the doors in the sitting room opened, then fell to his knees when Kerra entered, her eyes bright and her cheeks flushed. Verdan started to kneel, but she waved an impatient hand at him.

"Get up. What has happened? I heard that Chiana is ill. What is wrong with her?"

Verdan straightened. "She is in a swoon, My Queen. No need for you to worry."

"Why is she in a swoon? What caused it? Is she ill?"

"No, My Queen." Verdan hesitated, glancing at Insash. "She received some shocking news."

"What news? Why did it shock her so? Spit it out, man."

Verdan gestured at Insash, who stood up, wringing his hands again. "Chief Advisor Insash should tell you."

Kerra studied Chiana for a moment longer, then swung to face Insash, frowning. "Well? What is it?"

"I..." Insash dug the message out of his pocket again, smoothing the crumpled parchment. "It is from Contara, My Queen."

"And?"

"It - it says that the Regent's husband is dead."

"The... what?"

"The Regent's husband, My Queen. It says he is dead."

Kerra paled and raised a hand to her brow, then swung away with a swish of heavy satin skirts. "Impossible."

"I... that is what it says, My Queen."

"Read it to me."

Insash looked at the paper. "The Queen's Blade is dead."

"It is a lie!"

"Perhaps. We hope so, most fervently, My Queen."

Kerra snatched the message from him and read it with a thunderous scowl. "This is a lie! It cannot be true!"

"It is from Prince Dravis, my queen, see..." Insash edged closer and pointed to the bottom of the paper. "That is his signature."

"All the more reason to disbelieve it! He is a lying snake!"

"Scorpion," Verdan muttered.

"Even worse! How could she believe this? It is designed to hurt her, nothing more."

Insash shook his head. "We have no way of knowing if it is true or not. No one knows where Lord Conash is."

"Is he not at his estate?"

"No, My Queen. He was for a few moons, then he left. No one has seen him since midsummer."

"What happened to the spies Chiana sent to follow him?"

Insash shrugged. "They lost him after he left his estate. He is a difficult man to follow."

"I do not believe he is dead. I refuse to believe it! I want troops sent to Contara at once. Prince Dravis is wanted in Cotti for Trelath's murder. Arrest him and hand him over to my father for trial, and find Lord Conash!"

Insash bowed, glancing at Chiana. "I am certain the Regent will order it when she wakes, My Queen."

Kerra threw down the message and turned to the bed, took Chiana's hand and patted it. "Chiana, wake up! Verdan, give her something to wake her up. She cannot sleep now. She cannot believe this nonsense!"

Verdan shook his head. "It is better to allow her to sleep, My Queen. She is extremely distressed."

"She must order the troops sent, at once!"

Insash stepped forward. "I shall make the preparations, My Queen. Allow her to sleep a little longer."