The Bastard King (39 page)

Iron swarmed up a tapestry toward the ceiling. Lanius cursed as Iron sprang out from the wall, seized the stem of a candelabra, swung up to a cornice - and then discovered he had nowhere else to go.

The king murmured a silent prayer of thanks that Iron hadn't knocked down the candelabra. All those burning candles falling ... Lanius shivered. The whole palace might have gone up.

Iron, meanwhile, snarled and bared needle-sharp teeth at the panting king and the servants who'd brought it to bay. "Easy, there," Lanius said soothingly. Then he remembered the scrap of meat he'd been about to feed the moncat. He looked down. Sure enough, he'd never dropped it. He held it out to Iron. "Here, boy."

"Which it doesn't deserve, not after all the trouble it's caused," Bubulcus said.

"Who helped him?" Lanius retorted. "What wouldn't wait?"

"I just wanted to know what you intended to wear to the reception tonight," Bubulcus answered.

"And for that you turned the whole palace upside down?" Lanius wanted to hit the servant over the head with a rock. "You
are
an idiot."

"Well, how was I supposed to know the miserable moncat would run wild?" Bubulcus sounded indignant.

So did Lanius. "Why do you suppose there's a rule against bothering me when I'm in with any of the moncats, not just Iron?"

"I don't know why you have the stupid creatures in the first place. What are they good for?"

"Thank the gods I don't ask the same question about you," Lanius replied. He held out the strip of meat to Iron. The moncat reached for it with little sharp-nailed hands. Lanius pulled it back out of reach. Iron's eyes flashed. Lanius took no notice. He let Iron see the meat and smell it.

"Rowr?" the moncat said.

Lanius took another step back. Iron jumped down to his shoulder. The moncat's hands and thumbed feet gripped Lanius' tunic. Its nails weren't out. One hand reached for the piece of meat.

This time, Lanius let the moncat have it. He got a firm grip on Iron. The moncat, intent on tearing at the meat, didn't notice till too late and wasn't too upset when it did notice.

"I think that's that," Lanius told the servants. "I
hope
that's that. Thank you all for your help. Well, almost all." He sent Bubulcus a last sour look.

"
I
didn't do anything, I'm sure," Bubulcus protested.

"Yes, you did - you opened that miserable door," Lanius answered. He looked down at Iron. "It's a good thing I managed to lure you down, or Bubulcus would have found out what trouble really is."

The moncat purred.

Grus drummed his fingers on the top of the table behind which he sat. "One of these days," he said, "I have to do something about the nobles. If another count takes it into his head to raise a rebellion like Corvus and Corax's, he'll probably have the men to do it. They all want to hang on to their peasants and keep the tax money that should come in to the city of Avornis."

Nicator and Hirundo both nodded. "That's true. Every word of it's true, by the gods," Nicator said. "Those bastards all think they're little kings. They don't care what happens to Avornis, as long as they get to do what they want."

"True enough," Hirundo said. "But what can the man who really
is
King of Avornis do about it?"

"There ought to be laws against letting nobles buy up small farmers' land and turning the farmers into their own private armies," Grus said.

Even Nicator, normally the most tractable of men, gave him an odd look then. "Who ever heard of a law like that?"

"I don't think anybody's ever heard of anything like that," Hirundo added.

"I suppose not." But Grus kept right on drumming his fingers. "Maybe somebody
ought
to hear of a law like that."

Nicator looked unhappy. "I can't think of any faster way to get nobles up in arms with you. If you sent out a law like that, you might touch off the uprisings you were hoping you'd stop."

"He's right, Your Majesty," General Hirundo said.

"Maybe he is," Grus said. "But maybe he isn't, too. What we have now is a problem, no doubt about it. Maybe we'd have another problem with a law like that - "

"By the gods, you'd have a problem getting the nobles to pay any attention to a law like that," Nicator said.

No doubt he was right there. Still, Grus said, "We ought to do
something,
or try to do something, anyhow. Leaving the fanners at the mercy of the nobles isn't doing Avornis any favors. And if we're going to put in that kind of law, when better than now? After we've beaten Corvus and Corax, the rest of the big boys out in the provinces will be on their best behavior for a while."

"Till one of them decides he can win in spite of everything," Hirundo said. "How long will that take?"

"If we start hitting them with new laws, maybe it'll take longer," Grus said.

"Or maybe it'll set'em off," Nicator said. "That's the chance you take."

Grus sighed. "I don't think I've done anything but take chances since I ended up with a crown on my head. If I hadn't taken chances, I'd probably be dead now. I'm going to take some more."

He didn't try to draft laws on his own. He wanted no room for doubt in them, which meant he needed to deal with Avornis' chief lawmaster, a gray-bearded man named Sturnus. The law-master had big, bushy eyebrows. They both jumped when Grus spelled out what he wanted. "You aim to keep the nobles in check through
laws?"
he said. "How unusual. How... creative."

"Cheaper than fighting another civil war," Grus observed. "I hope it'll be cheaper, anyhow."

"That is what the law is for," Sturnus said. "Letting people do this, that, and the other thing instead of fighting, I mean."

"Let's hope it works that way," Grus said. "I think it's worth a try. If we make a few nobles hurt, maybe the rest will remember the local farmers owe allegiance to me first - and so do they."

"I'm sure stranger things have happened," Sturnus said. "I trust you will forgive me, though, if I can't remember where or when."

"You don't think the law will do what I want, then?" Grus asked.

The lawmaster shrugged. "I don't think it will do all of what you want. Laws rarely work exactly the way the people who frame them intend. This one may well do
some
of what you want. The question is, Will that be enough to satisfy you?"

"We'll find out," Grus replied. "If it doesn't work - and if I win against whatever rebellions it causes - I'll tinker with it."

"That strikes me as a wholesome attitude," Sturnus said. "How soon would you like to see a draft of your proposed law?"

"Tomorrow will do," Grus answered. Sturnus laughed. Grus didn't. "I wasn't joking, Your Excellency. Did I say something funny?"

"You said - tomorrow," Sturnus replied. "I didn't think you were serious."

"I'd intended to ask for this afternoon, but I thought that might be too soon," Grus said. "Why? When did you have in mind giving me the new law?"

"In a couple of months, as I got around to drafting it," Sturnus answered. "After all, winter is coming on. Nothing much will happen out in the provinces till spring at the earliest." By the way he spoke, nothing that happened out in the provinces was likely to matter much anyhow.

"What are you working on that's more important?" Grus held up a hand before Sturnus could say anything. "Let me ask you that a different way. What are you working on that's more important than something the King of Avornis tells you to do?"

Sturnus started to give a flip reply. Grus could see as much. But the lawmaster wasn't stupid. As Grus asked it, the question had teeth - sharp ones. Sturnus saw them before they closed on him. He said, "When you put it like that, Your Majesty, you'll have it before the sun sets tomorrow."

Grus smiled. "Good. I knew I could count on you."

Lanius wished he could be angrier at Grus. The only thing he found wrong with the law protecting the peasantry from the nobles of Avornis was that he hadn't thought of it himself - and hadn't had any share in drafting it. He went to Grus to complain. "Am I of age, or not?" he asked.

"You certainly are, Your Majesty," Grus answered, polite as usual.

"Am I not King of Avornis?" Lanius persisted.

"You wear the crown. You have the title. What else would you be?" Grus said.

"A statue?" Lanius said. "A clothier's mannequin? Something of that sort, surely. Being King of Avornis means more than crown and title. The King of Avornis rules the kingdom. Do I rule Avornis?"

Grus - King Grus - had the grace to look faintly embarrassed. "Well, Your Majesty, you do need to remember, you're not the only King of Avornis right now."

"Yes, I'd noticed that," Lanius said dryly. "Do I rule half of Avornis? The north, maybe, with you ruling in the south? Or the east, with you in the west? No? Do I rule
any
of Avornis? Any at all?"

"You reign over the whole kingdom," Grus said. "You get all the respect you deserve - every bit of it."

"I point out to you, there is a difference between reigning and ruling," Lanius said, his voice under tight control. "Who
rules
the Kingdom of Avornis?"

Grus had never been a man to back away from saying what he thought. Today proved no exception, for he replied, "Who rules Avornis? I do, Your Majesty. We've had this talk before, you know, though you likely didn't understand what it meant quite so well back then. But I'd say I've earned the right. I was the one who drove the Thervings back into their own land - "

"Till they come over the border again," King Lanius broke in.

"Yes, till they do." Grus, to Lanius, sounded maddeningly calm. "I was the one who put down Corvus and Corax. You helped some there, and I thank you for it, but I was the one who did most of the work. If the Menteshe turn troublesome down in the south - and there's always the chance they will - who's going to lead the fighting there? I will. Of the two of us, I'm the one with the experience. Are you going to tell me I'm wrong?"

However much Lanius wished he could, he knew he couldn't. But he didn't try to hide his bitterness as he answered, "How am I supposed to get experience if you hold everything in your own hands? The more you do that, the less chance I have to win any experience, and the more you'll be able to blame me for not having it."

"I don't blame you," Grus said. "You can't help being young, any more than my son can." He sucked in an unhappy-sounding breath; he wasn't blind to what Prince Ortalis was, though he didn't seem able to change him. "No, I don't blame you a bit. But that doesn't mean I'm going to climb down off the horse and hand you the reins. Avornis, right now, is mine, and I intend to keep it."

"You
are
blunt, aren't you?" Lanius said.

"It saves time," Grus answered. "In the end, time is all we really have. Suppose you tell me what you think of this whole business, and then we'll go on from there."

If I told you what I thought, I'd end up in the Maze, probably in whatever sanctuary's housing Corvus these days,
Lanius thought. On the other hand, how could Grus not already know what he thought? He said, "I don't like it a bit. Would you, in my place?"

"Probably not," Grus said. "If our places were flip-flopped, I'm sure you'd keep as close an eye on me as I do on you."

Sometimes Grus could deliver a message without coming right out and saying it. He'd just done that now, or so Lanius thought. And this message was something like,
Don't try overthrowing me, because I'll know what you're up to before you get well started.
Lanius wondered how true that was. He decided he didn't want to find out - not right now. "I think we're done here," he said coldly.

"Yes, I expect we are." Grus sounded cheerful. Why not? He had the power Lanius thought should be his by right of birth. "Any time you've got troubles or worries, Your Majesty, don't be shy. Bring'em to me. I'll help you if I can."

"I'm sure of it," Lanius said. "You certainly helped me here."

"'If I can,' I told you," Grus replied. "For some things, there's no answer that makes everybody happy. That's where we are right now, I'm afraid."

"Yes. That's where we are. Your Majesty." Lanius stalked away. He listened hard, wondering if Grus would laugh out loud as he left. Grus didn't. As far as he could be, he was sensitive to Lanius' pride. Sometimes, that stung worse than outright contempt.

What can I do to Grus
? Lanius wondered.
How can I pay

him back? Can I pay him back at all?
When Grus first took his share of the throne - and took over the whole job of running Avornis - he'd warned against trying to unseat him. He'd just done it again. And he'd shown himself a man whose warnings deserved to be taken seriously. Most of the time, Lanius kept that in mind.

Now ... Now he was too furious to care. He stormed into his own living quarters and glared at Sosia for no more reason than that she was her father's daughter. She, fortunately, had enough on her mind not to get angry at him. "I'm glad to see you," she told him. "I've got news."

"What is it?" he growled.

Even his tone didn't faze her. He wondered if he were altogether too mild-mannered for his own good. Then she said, "I'm going to have a baby."

"Oh," he said, and no doubt looked very foolish as he said it. "That's - wonderful," he managed, and then, "Are - are you sure?"

"Of course I am," Sosia answered, as indulgently as she could. "There are ways to tell, you know. Now - what were you all upset about a minute ago?"

"Oh, nothing," Lanius said, and discovered he meant it. How could he stay furious at the other king when he'd just gotten Grus' daughter pregnant? He supposed some men could have managed it, but he wasn't one of them. He hugged Sosia. "That
is
wonderful news - especially if it turns out to be a boy."

She nodded. "What if it's a girl?" she asked, worry in her voice.

"In that case, we just have to try again," he replied, and grabbed her as though he intended to do that there and then. Sosia laughed. Maybe that was happiness, maybe just relief.