Magician (86 page)

Amos yawned and stretched. “When
we return to Crydee, you can hang me, Arutha, but for now please have
the good grace to keep silent and put out the light. I am getting too
old for this foolishness. I need some sleep.”

Arutha reached over and covered the
wick of the lamp with a snuff. He lay back in the darkness, images
and thoughts crowding his mind. He thought of his father and what he
would do were he here, then wondered how his brother and sister were.
Thoughts of Carline caused him to think of Roland, and to speculate
how the fortifications of Jonril were progressing. He forced aside
the buzzing thoughts and let his mind drift. Then before sleep took
him, he remembered Anita, as she rose up on tiptoes to kiss his
cheek, and felt again a not entirely comfortable churning within. A
faint smile crossed his lips as he fell asleep.

Anita clapped appreciatively as Arutha
turned aside the point of Jimmy’s sword. The boy thief blushed
at his awkwardness, but Arutha said, “That was better.”

He and Jimmy were practicing basic
swordwork, Jimmy using a rapier purchased with some of the gold
Arutha had given him. For a month they had passed the time this way,
and Anita had taken to watching. Whenever the Princess was around,
the usually brash Jimmy the Hand became subdued, and he blushed
furiously whenever she spoke to him. Arutha was now certain the boy
thief was afflicted by the worst sort of infatuation for the
Princess, only three years older than himself. Arutha appreciated
Jimmy’s distress, for he also found the girl’s presence a
distraction. Still in the first years of womanhood, she nevertheless
carried herself with court-bred grace, had wit and education and
showed the promise of mature beauty. Arutha found it easier to turn
his thoughts to other topics than the Princess.

The basement where they worked on their
swordplay was damp and poorly ventilated, so it soon became close and
humid. Arutha said, “That’s enough for today, Jimmy.
You’re still impatient to close, and that can be fatal. You’ve
plenty of speed, and it’s good you learn young, but you lack
arm strength to bash about as many older men do; with the rapier,
that can also prove fatal. Remember, the edge is for cutting—”

“—and the point is for
killing,” finished Jimmy, with a self-conscious grin. “I
can see how you’d have to be cautious against a man with a
broadsword. He could break your blade if you tried to block instead
of parry, but what do you do if one of those alien warriors comes at
you with that greatsword you described?”

Arutha laughed “You find out who
can run faster.” Anita’s laughter joined with Arutha’s
and Jimmy’s. Arutha said, “Seriously, you must stay to
the off-hand side. With the big swords, your opponent gets one swing,
then you’ve got an opening—”

The door opened, and Amos walked in
with Martin and Trevor Hull. Amos said, “The worse damn
luck—begging the Princess’s pardon. Arutha, the worst has
occurred.”

Arutha wiped the perspiration off his
brow with a towel and said, “Don’t stand there waiting
for me to guess. What?”

“News came this morning,”
said Hull. “Guy is returning to Krondor.”

“Why?” asked Anita.

Amos said, “It seems our Lord of
Bas-Tyra rode into Shamata and ran his banner up above the walls. The
Keshian commander had the good grace to mount one more attack, for
the sake of form, then nearly gave himself a ruptured gut racing back
home. He left a handful of minor nobles haggling with Guy’s
lieutenants over the conditions of armistice until a formal treaty
can be drawn up between the King and the Keshian Empress. There’s
only one reason Guy can be hurrying back here.”

Quietly Anita said, “He knows
I’ve escaped.”

Trevor Hull said, “Yes, Highness.
This Black Guy’s a wily one. He must have a spy in Radburn’s
company. It appears he doesn’t even trust his own secret police
overmuch. Luckily we still have people inside the palace loyal to
your father, or we would never have learned of this turn.”

Arutha sat down near the Princess.
“Well, then we must soon be gone. It’s either sail for
home or toward Ylith to reach Father.”

Amos said, “Looking at the
choices, it seems there is little to recommend one course over the
other. Both have dangers and advantages.”

Martin looked at the girl, then said,
“Though I don’t think the Duke’s war camp any place
for a young woman.”

Amos sat down by Arutha. “Your
presence in Crydee is not vital, at least not for now. Fannon and
Gardan are able men, and should the need arise, I think your sister
would prove no mean commander. They should be able to keep things
under control as well as you.”

Martin said, “But you must ask
yourself this: what will your father do when he learns Guy does not
simply rule in Krondor as Erland’s aide but holds the city
completely in his power, that he’s sending no aid to the Far
Coast, and that he means to have the throne?”

Arutha nodded vigorously “You are
right, Martin You know Father well. It will mean civil war.”
There was sorrow on his face. “He’ll withdraw half the
Armies of the West and march down the coast to Krondor and not stop
until Guy’s head is on a pole before the city’s gates.
Then the course will be set. He’ll have to turn east and march
against Rodric. He’d never wish the crown for himself, but once
begun, he cannot stop short of total victory or defeat. But we’d
lose the West to the Tsurani in time. Brucal couldn’t hold them
long with only half an army.”

Jimmy said, “This civil war
sounds a nasty sort of business.”

Arutha sat forward. Wiping his
forehead, he looked up from under damp locks. “We’ve not
had one in two hundred fifty years, since the first Borric slew his
half brother, Jon the Pretender. Compared to what this would be, with
all the East marshaled against the West, that was only a skirmish.”

Amos looked at Arutha with concern upon
his face. “History’s not my strong suit, but it seems to
me you’d do best by your father keeping him in ignorance of
this turn of events until the Tsurani spring offensive is finished.”

Arutha exhaled a long, low breath.
“There’s nothing else for it. We know no aid will be
forthcoming for Crydee. I can best decide what to do when I return.
Perhaps in council with Fannon and the others we can work out some
defense for when the Tsurani come.” His tone was one of
near-resignation. “Father will learn of Guy’s plotting in
due time, his sort of news is too hard to keep. The best we can hope
for is he’ll lot hear of it until after the Tsurani offensive.
Perhaps by then the situation will have changed.” It was
obvious from his tone he didn’t think that likely.

Martin said, “It may be the
Tsurani will choose to march against Elvandar, or carry the battle to
your father. Who can say?”

Arutha leaned back and became aware of
Anita’s hand resting gently upon his arm. “What a choice
we have,” he said quietly. “To face the possible loss of
Crydee and the Far Coast to the Tsurani or to plunge the Kingdom into
civil war. Truly the gods must hate the Kingdom.”

Amos stood. “Trevor tells me he
has a ship. We can sail in a few days. With luck, the straits will be
clearing when we arrive.”

Lost in the gloom of his own personal
defeat, Arutha barely heard him. He had come to Krondor in such
confidence. He would win Erland’s support for his cause, and
Crydee would be rescued from the Tsurani. Now he faced an even more
desperate situation than had he stayed home. Everyone left him alone,
save for Anita, who spent silent minutes just sitting at his side.

Dark figures moved quietly toward the
waterfront. Trevor Hull led a dozen men with Arutha and his
companions down the silent street. They hugged the walls of the
buildings, and every few yards Arutha would cast a backward glance to
see how Anita fared. She returned his concern with brave smiles,
faintly perceived in the predawn darkness.

Arutha knew that over a hundred men
moved down adjacent streets, sweeping the area of the city watch and
Radburn’s agents. The Mockers had turned out in force so Arutha
and the others could safely quit the city. Hull had carried word the
night before that for a considerable cost the Upright Man had
arranged for one of the blockade ships to “drift” off
station. Since learning the true situation, including Guy’s
plan to become Prince of Krondor, the Upright Man had given over his
not inconsiderable resources to aid the Prince’s and Anita’s
escape. Anita wondered if anyone outside the Guild of Thieves would
ever learn the mysterious leader’s true identity. From what
chance remarks Arutha had overheard, it seemed only a few within the
Mockers knew who he was.

With Guy on his way back to the city,
Jocko Radburn’s men had increased their searching to a
near-frenzied pitch Curfew had been instituted and homes randomly
entered and searched in the middle of the night. Every known
informant in the city, and many of the beggars and rumormongers as
well, had been dragged off to the dungeons and questioned, but
whatever else Radburn’s men accomplished, they did not learn
where the Princess was hidden. No matter how much the denizens of the
street feared Radburn, they feared the Upright Man more.

Anita heard Hull speaking quietly to
Amos. “She’s a blockade runner, called the
Sea Swift
,
and she’s well named. There’s no faster ship left in the
harbor, with all the big warships out with Jessup’s fleet. You
should make good time westward. The prevailing winds are northerly,
so you’ll have a broad reach most of the way.”

Amos said, “Trevor, I’ve
sailed the Bitter Sea a bit I know how the winds blow this time of
year as well as any man.”

Hull snorted “Well then, as you
say. Your men and the Prince’s gold are all safely aboard, and
Radburn’s watchdogs don’t seem to have a notion. They
still watch the Wind of Dawn like a mouser a rathole, but the
Sea
Swift
is left alone. We’ve arranged for false papers to be
posted with a broker, announcing she’s for sale, so even if
there was no blockade, they’d not imagine she’d be
leaving harbor for some time.”

They reached the docks and hurried
along to a waiting longboat. There were muffled noises, and Arutha
knew the Mockers and Trevor’s smugglers were disposing of
Radburn’s watchmen.

Then to the rear, shouts erupted. The
clamor of steel broke the still of the morning, and Arutha heard Hull
shout, “To the boat!”

The pounding of boots upon the wood of
the docks set up a racket as Mockers came swarming out of nearby
streets, intercepting whoever sought to cut off the escape.

They reached the end of the dock and
hurried down the ladder to the longboat. Arutha waited at the top of
the ladder until Anita was safely down, then turned. As he stepped
upon the top rung, he heard the sound of hoofbeats approaching and
saw horses crashing through the press of Mockers, who fell before the
onslaught. Riders in the black and gold of Bas-Tyra hacked down with
swords, to break free of those seeking to slow them.

Martin shouted from the boat, and
Arutha hurried down the ladder. As he reached the boat, a voice from
above shouted, “Farewell!”

Anita looked up and saw Jimmy the Hand
hanging over the edge of the dock, a nervous grin on his face. How
the boy had managed to join them when everyone thought him safely
back at the hiding place, Arutha couldn’t guess. Seeing the
unarmed boy gave the Prince a momentary start. He unbuckled his
rapier and tossed it high. “Here, use it in good health!”
As quick as a striking serpent, Jimmy caught the scabbard, then
vanished.

Sailors pulled hard against the oars,
and the boat sped away from the docks Lanterns appeared upon the
wharves as the sound of battle became louder. Even in the predawn
hour, many cries of “What passes?” and “Who goes
there?” came from those set to guard ships and cargo in the
harbor. Anita watched over his shoulder, trying to see what was
occurring behind. More lanterns were being brought, and a fire
erupted on the docks. Large bales of something, stored under canvas,
exploded into flames.

Those in the boat could now clearly see
the fight. Many of the thieves were escaping down city streets, or
leaping into the icy water of the harbor. Arutha couldn’t see
the grey-haired figure of Trevor Hull anywhere, or the small one of
Jimmy the Hand. Then clearly he saw Jocko Radburn, dressed in a
simple tunic, as before. Radburn came to the edge of the dock and
watched the retreating boat. He pointed at the fleeing longboat with
his sword and shouted something lost in the clamor.

Arutha turned and saw Anita sitting
opposite him, her hood thrown back, her face clearly visible in the
blaze of light from the wharf. Her gaze was caught by the spectacle
on shore, and she seemed unaware of her discovery. Arutha quickly
pulled her cloak hood about her face, snapping her from her glamour,
but he knew the damage was done. He looked back again and saw Radburn
ordering his men after the fleeing Mockers, retreating down the
docks. He stood there alone, then turned away, vanishing in the gloom
by the time the longboat reached the
Sea Swift
.

As soon as they were all aboard, Amos’s
crew cast mooring lines and scrambled aloft to set sails. The
Sea
Swift
began to move from the harbor.

The promised gap in the harbor blockade
appeared, and Amos set course for it. He was through before any
attempt to cut them off could materialize, and suddenly they were
outside the harbor, in the open sea.

Arutha felt a strange elation as it
struck him they were free of Krondor. Then he heard Amos swear.
“Look!”

In the faint light of the false dawn,
Arutha saw the dim shape where Amos pointed. The
Royal Griffin
,
the three-masted warship they had seen when coming into the harbor,
was at anchor beyond the breakwater, hidden from the view of any in
the city. Amos said, “I thought her out with Jessup’s
fleet. Damn that Radburn for a crafty swine. She’ll be on our
wake as soon as he can get aboard.” He shouted for all sails to
be set and then watched the retreating ship behind. “I’d
say a prayer to Ruthia, Highness. If we can steal enough time before
she gets under way, we still may be free. But we’ll need all
the good fortune the Lady of Luck can spare.”