Soarers Choice (14 page)

While
Dainyl hadn’t known that, it didn’t surprise him in the slightest. He laughed,
softly. “Who are you related to, Alcyna? Or are you?”

“No
one that important anymore. Weylt was my mother’s cousin.”

Weylt
had been Tyanylt’s predecessor as submarshal, a good ten years back. He’d
vanished, supposedly, in translating from Dulka, as Dainyl recalled. “He got
you into the Myrmidons and promoted to undercaptain, and the rest was up to
you?”

“Something
like that. Not quite as laudatory as your background. He didn’t think I was cut
out for the Myrmidons, but my mother badgered him until he supported me. I
still spent three years as a sandox driver on the Alustre to Coren run.”

“That’s
a long run,” observed Dainyl. “Have you heard that Alseryl is complaining that
we want too many of his drivers for trainees?”

“You
were a bit hard on Fifth and Seventh Companies, sir.” Alcyna’s voice was light,
just short of brightly ironic.

“Rhelyn
was hard on Fifth Company. I was hard on Seventh Company. By the way, they’ll
be based at Tempre for now. They’re supporting Ruvryn’s engineers in rebuilding
the Tables in Hyalt and Tempre.”

“I
can see why you would feel that necessary.”

“Wouldn’t
you, in my position?”

“Yes,
sir.” Alcyna laughed warmly. “Even as submarshal I see the necessity. Brekylt
did ask me, before I left, if I thought that Seventh Company would return to
Dulka soon. I told him that I thought it was unlikely to occur anytime soon.
Was I wrong?”

“We’ll
have to see.” Dainyl paused. “Can you tell me what Brekylt really has in mind?
Does he want to replace Khelaryt, or merely gain greater control over Corus
east of the Spine?”

“He
has never said, not directly. He did suggest that the Myrmidons in the east
should be a separate command and controlled from Alustre.”

“With
you in charge, I presume?”

“Of
course.” A warm and humorous smile followed her words. “He will say what he
thinks needful to obtain the ends he wishes.”

As
will you, thought Dainyl. “It would seem that he wants power without controls.”

“Would
not anyone seeking power?”

“What
will he do next?”

“Very
little, I would judge. He will wait for events to unfold, and for others to
make mistakes. He did say that Shastylt had gravely misjudged you.”

“Oh?
In what fashion?”

“He
said that you were as much a son of Acorus as of Ifryn, and that Shastylt did
not understand that.”

That
was an odd comment, reflected Dainyl, since it was patently obvious. Dainyl had
been born on Acorus of parents also bom on Acorus, and those facts had been one
reason — not the only one, but one — why his advancement in the Myrmidons had
been so slow.

“Sir
... if I might ask ... your shields and your Talent are tinged with green, a
green similar to the ancients ...”

Dainyl
laughed, shaking his head ruefully. “Rhelyn attacked me with a .weapon of the
ancients. My entire arm was green, but after I recovered, the greenness
dispersed through my system and began to fade.” He paused briefly, sensing what
he thought was deeply concealed shock and surprise, before continuing. “Then, a
few days ago, in returning from Lyterna, I was in translation when the ancients
filled the tube with green. Chastyl — the recorder in the Hall of Justice —
said that they had gotten wild translations that ended up on the Table all
Talent-green as well. He assured me that it will fade as well... assuming
something else doesn’t happen.”

Alcyna
nodded, a trace stiffly.

Dainyl
had to wonder why the greenness and his story had bothered her. Because it
suggested he could survive aspects of the ancients’ weapons? Or because she’d
been involved with Rhelyn’s weapon? “I don’t know if I mentioned the weapon
Rhelyn used. I had thought it was a dagger, but it turned out to be a sword of
the ancients, the kind that bleeds lifeforce. I was fortunate that he barely
cut me.”

“I
suspect you were. What happened to the weapon?”

“It’s
been removed. No one will ever see it again. I have no
i.e.
where it is.”

Dainyl
could not help but catch the slight relief within Alcyna. “Where did you find
it?”

She
laughed, harshly. “Brekylt said Shastylt underestimated you. I think he has as
well.”

“Near
Scien?” Dainyl asked.

She
shook her head. “Buried near one of their mountain places along the Northern
Pass. Years ago. It disappeared a year or so ago. I’d never shown it to
anyone.”

For
the first time since she had entered his study, Dainyl sensed no evasion or
equivocation. “Brekylt gave it to Rhelyn, then.”

“I
don’t know. I would judge so.”

“You
may be fortunate that he gave it to Rhelyn before I chose you for submarshal,”
suggested Dainyl. “That is very possible.”

For
a moment, neither spoke. Dainyl saw no point in pursuing the circumstances
surrounding the weapon’s disappearance.

Finally,
he spoke. “The best quarters for visiting senior officers have been prepared
for you, and they’re yours for so long as you may require them. I have a large
stack of reports and materials waiting for you on your desk, but I’m going to
go over briefly the most pressing problems with you here, first.”

She
nodded.

“The
ancients appear to be getting ready to attack in some fashion. It appears as
though they dropped a cliff on a Cadmian battalion and that they unleashed some
new Talent creatures against another battalion in the Iron Valleys....” Dainyl
went on to outline the situations and the initial steps he had taken in
response. “What I’d like you to concentrate on are three matters — following
the progress of the Table repairs in Tempre and Hyalt; seeing what you can find
out about what really happened up in Eastice; and working with Alseryl’s chief
assistant on the matter of getting more trainees from the sandox drivers.”

“You
think we’ll lose more Myrmidons?”

“The
Third Cadmian Battalion has had better fortune against Talent creatures than
any other Cadmian unit, but it’s a question as to whether they can deal with
what the ancients may do. I’d rather not send Myrmidons there unless we have
to.”

“And
not immediately, not while you’re worried about what Brekylt will do?”

“That’s
right.” Dainyl smiled. “I almost forgot. Lystrana has asked that you join us
for supper tomorrow night.”

“That
would be delightful. I’ve heard so much about her. All of it good, of course.”

Dainyl
stood. “I’ll show you your study, and you can get to work.”

Late
on Octdi, Alcyna sat across from Dainyl in the duty coach as it carried them
eastward on the boulevard from Myrmidon headquarters toward Dainyl’s dwelling.
Both wore their duty uniforms of blue and gray.

Dainyl
glanced forward in the direction of the new duty driver. “It didn’t take you
that long to get a replacement for Wyalt. How did you manage that?”

Alcyna
smiled. “I just suggested to Alseryl’s assistant that morale among sandox
drivers might suffer greatly if it became known that the High Alector was
refusing to allow drivers to become Myrmidon trainees, and that, in these
times, it would be a shame if the High Alector had to explain that to either
Duarch, especially if you had to brief the Duarch Khelaryt about it.”

“And?”

“She
left to consult with Alseryl. When she came back, she said that there would be
no need for matters to go that far.” Alcyna shrugged. “I pushed a bit. I asked
if she were certain that you didn’t need to brief Khelaryt. She was quite
definite that it would not be necessary.”

“They
don’t want me near the Duarch, that is.”

“No
more than absolutely necessary, I’d judge.”

AlseryPs
reaction seemed excessive to Dainyl, but he decided to mull that over, rather
than comment further. “Sharua seems pleased to be with First Company and
headquarters.”

“Very
pleased.” Alcyna smiled. “So are the junior rankers who might have had to do
time as duty drivers.”

The
coach drew to a halt.

“Marshal,
sir?” called Sharua. “Is this your dwelling?”

“This
is it.” Dainyl opened the coach door and nodded for Alcyna to precede him. Then
he stepped onto the still damp paving stones of the small front courtyard.
“Thank you.”

“My
pleasure, sirs.” The driver inclined her head.

Dainyl
took the steps and opened the door.

Lystrana
was waiting in the foyer.

“Alcyna,
I’d like you to meet Lystrana,” Dainyl said politely.

“It
is good to finally meet you,” offered Alcyna. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

“And
I, you,” replied Lystrana politely. “I’m glad you arrived in Elcien safely. You
accomplished much in the east, Dainyl said, and there’s doubtless much he has
not mentioned.”

“He
has mentioned very little about you, Lystrana, but I’ve heard much from others,
and all of it is impressive.”

“All
of it is doubtless overstated,” demurred Lystrana. “If you would care for some
wine ...” She gestured in the direction of the dining room and the sunroom
beyond.

Dainyl
and Alcyna followed her into the sunroom.

Dainyl
poured two goblets of wine, and then added less than a finger full to the third
goblet. After extending the near-empty goblet to his wife, he offered the tray
with the two full goblets on it to Alcyna. “It’s a Vyan Argentium, not quite up
to the standards of the Argentium Grande from Elcadya, but very nice.”

Alcyna
laughed. “He forgets very little.”

“Very
little,” Lystrana agreed, “but unlike many, he’s not a slave to his memories.”
She settled into a straight-backed chair.

Dainyl
let Alcyna have the settee and sat in the other straight-backed chair, the one
that left his back to the window out into the courtyard.

Alcyna
sipped the wine. “It is quite good.”

“We
enjoy it, but one has to be careful on a Myrmidon’s pay, even when he’s married
to an important special assistant.”

“You
two are a remarkable pair,” said Alcyna. “How did you meet?”

Dainyl
and Lystrana exchanged glances. Lystrana raised one eyebrow. Dainyl nodded,
almost imperceptibly, before taking a sip of the Argentium.

“At
an administration of justice.” Lystrana offered a smile somewhere between
mischievous and amused. “He was an undercaptain and had the guard detail. I was
the most junior assistant to the High Alector of Trade at the time.”

Alcyna
glanced from Lystrana to Dainyl. “That is unusual. What else is there that no
one knows?”

“I’m
sure that there’s a great deal,” Dainyl replied, “as there is for most pairs.
We like gardens and flowers, and neither one of us is that good a cook — and my
mother decidedly approves of that. Cooking turns the brain to mush, she once
said.”

“Your
mother is Alyra, isn’t she? The one who turned down the post of — “

“Everyone’s
heard of that, I think,” replied Dainyl, with a tone of humorous resignation.
“Arts administrator of Elcien, the post was titled. She said no one could or
should administer the arts, and then she proceeded to do so for fifty years,
without the title and only a minimal stipend. She thought that I had so little
artistic ability that I might as well become a Myrmidon. I think I had one of
the least rapid rises in Myrmidon history.”

“That
may have provided you with great advantages,” suggested Alcyna.

He
shrugged. “For a long time, no one paid any attention. That is useful,
especially if one has a great deal to learn.”

“I
hope you like fowl,” said Lystrana, looking at Alcyna. “I’ve had the girls
prepare a family recipe, cider and honey-roasted, with nut-crusted long beans
...”

Dainyl
got the message — no more about Myrmidons or anything serious.

After
morning muster on Londi, Mykel sat at the table in the officers’ mess, the only
large table in the compound besides those in the main mess, writing up his
weekly report to Colonel Herolt. He had another day and a half before the next
sandox coach run through Hyalt, but he hated to wait to write his reports. He’d
always disliked leaving things to the last moment.

Rhystan
stepped into the room. “Majer?”

Mykel
looked up. “We don’t have any orders yet, Rhystan.”

“Yes,
sir. That wasn’t why I came in. There’s a Myrmidon captain, landed on the
pteridon square — the new one they just finished. She’s asking for you.”

“Frig...
that can’t be good news.” Mykel slipped the sheets of paper into his leather
case, then stood, and tucked the case under his arm.

“They
can’t always bring bad news, sir.”

“Close
enough.” As he left the mess, Mykel strengthened his shields, in an effort to
conceal his Talent from the Myrmidon, although he did not know how much Talent
the officer might possess.

The
pteridon squares were in the open area of the courtyard at the far north end,
and Mykel walked quickly across the newly paved area. Only a small section in
the northwest corner of the compound remained to be paved, but Poeldyn’s men
had stopped working and were watching the Myrmidon and the pteridon. A faint
haze covered the southern third of the sky, and a hot breeze blew out of the
southeast, suggesting even warmer weather to come later in the day, and
possibly for several days to come. Mykel found himself blotting his forehead
with the forearm of his tunic.

Several
of the stonewdrkers glanced at Mykel as he approached, but their eyes returned
to the pteridon square.

“Majer
Mykel? I’m Captain Lyzetta, Seventh Myrmidon Company out of Tempre.” Standing
beside the pteridon, the captain looked tall, even for an alectress. ‘The
Marshal asked me to deliver your orders to you personally.” She extended an
envelope.