Magic Casement (46 page)

“But
I don’t see how you knew about my dragon silk,” Inos complained.

“Jalon
saw it at the gate. I told you, we share memories.” The old man waited a
moment, as if she were a slow child, then addressed himself again to Kade. “As
soon as I examined Holindarn, I saw that he was not likely to live long. I
think he had already guessed that. I needed medicines, so Jalon had to go south
again. I am old, you see, and the others are growing concerned about me, so
they do the traveling. Jalon decided it would be more romantic to go overland.”

“And
that was where I got involved,” Rap said, remembering the picnic in the
hills.

Sagorn
nodded. “You revealed occult powers to Jalon, and so to all of us. I told
you that we have been trying to escape from our curse. We had two ways to
try-either we could persuade another sorcerer to lift the spell, or we could
seek to learn enough words of power to do it ourselves. I have spent my life in
studies to that end, striving to know more of those elusive words.” He
smiled his thin, cynical smile. “I was the youngest, once. I was ten.
Darad was twelve, I think. “

“But...”

He
shrugged. “But I was smart, and Darad was already big, so Thinal let us
join his gang. We broke into houses-even then, he was a skilled cat
burglar-until we happened to choose the house of a sorcerer. That was not a
wise thing to do! I have not seen them since. “ He paused, seeming lost
in memory for a moment. “Always one of us is, four are not. To live is to
age, of course... I have spent so many years in libraries and archives that now
I am by far the oldest. Darad almost never gets into trouble he can’t
handle, so he rarely has to call for help. He is starting to feel his years,
too. Jalon is easily bored, so he soon calls someone else-usually Andor, for
some reason. Thinal... Thinal never stays for long. He has hardly changed at
all. “

“But
you have occult powers of your own,” Inos said. “Did the sorcerer
give you those?”

He
laughed scornfully. “If you had ever met a sorcerer, you would not ask!
No. I doubt that you wish to hear that tale. “

“Please
do go on, Doctor,” Aunt Kade said brightly. “This is a most interesting
narrative.”

He
flashed her a calculating glance. “Very well, your Highness. In Fal
Dornin I found a woman of middle years who knew a word of power-a single word.
I called Andor.”

“And
he charmed it out of her?” Inos asked acidly.

Sagorn
smiled his sinister smile. “Seduced it out of her. Of course it affected
each of us in turn. I became a better scholar, Jalon a finer singer, and Darad
a more deadly fighter. The next time he existed, he went back to Fal Dornin,
sought out the woman, and strangled her.”

Inos
shuddered. “No! Why?”

“God
of Fools!” Rap jumped up and rushed to the door. He pulled the bolt and
went racing off down the stairs. Fleabag loped in pursuit.

“Rap!”
Inos yelled, too late.

Sagorn
smiled grimly. “He has gone to bolt the lower doors, I imagine. Master
Rap has farsight, you know.”

“Rap
does?” Dull old Rap? Solid, ordinary Rap?

He
nodded. “To a remarkable degree. That was why Andor went out of his way
to befriend him. He must know a word, although he denies it. Either it is a
very powerful word, or elseI have been wondering if the words themselves may
have different properties, and his happens to fit his native talents
particularly well. He has an astounding control over animals and also an
astounding farsight. Yet he does not seem to have any foreseeing ability, and
certainly his mastery does not work on people, as Andor’s does. So he
must know only the one word. Interesting! He has probably seen the soldiers
coming.”

Inos
had almost forgotten their plight. “That was why we wanted you!”
she exclaimed. “How are we going to save Rap and Little Chicken from the
imps? What is going to happen when Kalkor gets here? How-”

Sagorn
raised a slender, blue-veined hand. “You forget, child, that I know your
problems! Andor and Darad were here, so I know. Don’t worry about the
imps. Their leader is dead. Tribune Oshinkono is no great warrior. He will have
absolutely no desire to tangle with the notorious Kalkor. He and his men will
be off down the trail to Pondague long before the jotnar arrive.”

“How...
“ But of course Sagorn knew all that because Andor had made friends with
Yggingi’s deputy on the journey north. Andor made it his business to know
everyone. What Andor had known, Sagorn knew. Confusing! “But what about
Rap? And what about me having to marry Kalkor?”

“Kalkor
I do not recommend! “ For the first time the old man looked sympathetic. “Not
as bad as Darad, but compared to Kalkor, Yggingi would have made a model
husband. He will claim the throne, then force you to marry him to confirm that
claim.”

“Then
what?” she asked glumly.

He
pulled a face, twisting the clefts that flanked his mouth. “Krasnegar
would not contain Kalkor for long-roistering and pillage are his bent-but he
could keep the title and leave a subordinate here to rule for him. He will beat
your word out of you, I expect. Then take a son off you, more than likely. Yes,
that would be about his program.”

“And
after that? “

Sagorn
did not answer but she could guess the answer. “And after that I shall be
of no further use to him! “

The
dog came bounding into the room. Inos rose and crossed to the stair, arriving
just as Rap came running up, flushed and panting. He slammed the door and shot
the bolt. “Should have gone sooner,” he said between puffs. “Only
three doors between us and them.”

“Rap,”
she asked softly, “what’s this about you having farsight, and
magical powers?”

He
flinched as if he were a small boy caught with both hands in the molasses, then
nodded guiltily.

Puzzled
by his reaction, Inos said, “Well, that’s wonderful!” She
smiled encouragingly to put him at ease. “Now I know why we never let you
join in the hide-and-seek games! I’ve always wondered about your knack
for horses-and dogs. I m not surprised to hear that it’s occult.”

He
gaped stupidly at her. “You don’t mind?”

“Mind?
Of course not! Why should I mind?” What was it to do with her, except
that Rap would make a superb palace hostler when he was older? “I’m
supposed to have some magic of my own now, although I don’t know what
sort of powers I’m expected to demonstrate. But magically we’re
both the same, apparently. “

His
big gray eyes blinked several times, then a scarlet tide flowed into his face,
and he looked down at his boots. Of course shyness was quite understandable in
a boy of his age, with no schooling or training.

She
took a quick glance to make sure the others could not hear. “Rap, I didn’t
know that Sir-that Andor had made friends with you when he was here before. “

“Well,
he did! I didn’t sell him horses in bars-”

“I’m
sure you didn’t.” Even to think of Andor still hurt. “But did
he ever speak... I mean, you must have talked... Did he ever mention Kinvale,
or...” Deep breath. “Did he ever talk about me?”

Rap
looked blank. “You mean he knew you before? He told me he didn’t
even know where Kinvale was, exactly! And he certainly never told me he’d
met you already! “ He seemed to be growing angrier and angrier as he
spoke.

Relieved,
Inos gave him another soothing smile. “Come, then, let’s see what
we can do about these imps.” She led him back to the others. Despicable Andor!
Why were men all such liars and cheats? So faithless!

She
went over to Sagorn, who was making polite conversation with Kade. `

“Well,”
she demanded. “What are we to do?”

Sagorn
scratched his chin thoughtfully. “We have four ways out of this, I think.”

“We
do?” Inos found that unbelievable, but he seemed confident, so perhaps
the celebrated sage was about to justify his reputation.

“The
simplest would require a friendly sorcerer. You don’t happen to have one
handy, do you?” He chuckled ponderously, like some wise old grandfather
teasing children.

Inos
felt a surge of annoyance at the mockery. Rap sensed it, also, and rolled his
eyes.

Sagorn
saw that and scowled. “Secondly, then, we could hide in the topmost room
and trust the aversion spell, but that seems to have worn thin now. So we only
have two choices, wouldn’t you say?”

“The
Darad man killed the woman in Fal Dornin to strengthen his power?” Aunt
Kade asked, and for a moment Inos was baffled.

Sagorn,
though, had turned to Kade with surprise and perhaps respect. “Yes. To
tell a word weakens it.”

“Halves
it?”

“Not
necessarily halves it, apparently. It is a great mystery to me why there should
be any weakening at all; if you tell your favorite recipe to a friend, that
does not spoil the next cake you bake. “ He scowled. “Even the most
respected texts do not agree! Perhaps the weakening would be a half if you were
the only person who knew the word. Would telling to a third person reduce its
power by a third? Then by a fourth when you told another? I don’t know,
after a lifetime.”

Kade
was still blinking at all that as the old man plunged ahead with his lecture,
waving a bony finger to make his points as if he had been bottling up his
knowledge inside himself for years and welcomed an audience.

“So
not necessarily a half. After all, the words have been around a long time, so
each may already he known by many people, perhaps dozens. One more person may
make no difference or a lot. And how could you compare magic, or weigh it? It must
be as hard to measure as beauty. Can you say that Jalon is twice as fine a
singer as another, or three times? That a poem is twice as lyrical? But a
shared word is weakened-until someone who knows it dies. Then the others’
power is strengthened again. That is why they are so rarely shared, why they
are usually passed on deathbeds-as your father told you his?” He peered
from under shaggy white brows at Inos.

She
hesitated and then nodded.

“You
must guard it well! You have been displaying remarkable endurance for your age,
child. Andor noticed tonight and so did Yggingi. You are of royal blood, and a
very determined young lady, but the words have that effect on people, a sort of
armor. Of course neither could be certain, but they both assumed that you had been
told the word.”

“Everyone
seems to have known about it but me!”

“They
are always kept secret. I found hints of the Krasnegar word in a very old text.
That was why I-actually it was Jalon then, also-why we first came here and met
your father. He was still crown prince at the time. He and I became friends and
did some journeying together. Knowing that he would inherit a word, I made sure
that he met the others, so he would know them if they came after him later.
They all felt that I had betrayed them, of course.” He sighed deeply. “It
is not only the others’ evil memories that are a burden. They have mine,
also, and I can keep no secrets from them. “

Inos
thought about that. Perhaps it was not so surprising that this strange group of
invisible men would strive to be released from their curse.

“But
this word of power that you-Andor-learned from the woman in Fal Dornin? It did
not break the spell?”

Sagorn
stared at the floor sadly, shaking his head. “No. One is not enough.
Probably we need three or maybe even four. And, knowing a word, we dared not
then approach a sorcerer, for sorcerers are always on the lookout for more
power. “ He rose stiffly. “The imps will be fetching axes. I am
slow on stairs, so perhaps we should begin?”

“Begin
what?”

“Begin
our climb,” he said. “We must go to the chamber of puissance at the
top of the tower.”

“Why?”

“Why?”
He bared irregular old teeth in a triumphant grimace. “To consult the
magic casement, of course.”

Faithful
found:

So
spake the Seraph Abdiel, faithful found

Among
the faithless, faithful only he:

Among
innumerable false, unmoved,

Unshaken,
unseduced, unterrified,

His
loyalty he kept, his love, his zeal.

Milton,
Paradise Lost

Insubstantial Pageant

Rap
could tell that Inos had not expected the suggestion, for she colored angrily.
He was managing not to stare at her, for when he did, and their eyes met, he
was sure he started blushing at once, and certainly he felt as if he were all
hands and feet and worried if his hair was a mess-it always was, of course...
So he was pretending not to look.

But
he could not keep his farsight off her. She was wonderful! What fools they
were, all those stupid old men! Why had they not seen what a marvelous queen
she would be? She was a queen to her fingertips, noble and regal even in those
bedraggled old clothes. he had been amazed by her beauty in the forest and he
was still in awe of that, but now he could sense her grace, her royal bearing,
her majesty. Her father’s death had not broken her spirit, nor the
horrible fright and disappointment he, Rap, had been forced to inflict on her
to unmask Andor.

Any
lesser woman would have blamed him for that, would have cursed him and spurned
him. But not Inos! She had royal courage. She was not afraid of his farsight,
like all his other friends had been.

Kinvale
had changed her. She was no longer the girl he had grown up with, the playmate
of his childhood. He felt a little sad about that.

But
he had always known that she would be his queen, not... not anything else. He
had said he would serve her, and so he would, and be proud to. And right now he
was proud of the way she was standing up to that stringy old doctor with his
sneering manner and stupid jokes about sorcerers.