The Charnel Prince (55 page)

“Below the horz?”

“Underneath it, actually. It was very peculiar—I don’t think anyone knew it was there. The entrance to it was far in the back, where the growth is thickest. I was forced to crawl on hands and knees to find it.”

Berrye leaned forward and spoke urgently. “Do you know whose tomb it was?”

“No, I’ve no idea,” Muriele said.

“The cantation—do you remember any of the words? Do you know what saint they were addressed to?”

“The words themselves were too strange. The saint was one I’ve never heard of, Mary-something.”

Berry’s lips parted, and then she put one hand to her mouth.

“
Marhirehben
?
” she said, and her voice quavered.

“That sounds right,” Muriele said. “There were several
h’s
in the name, I remember. I remember wondering how it could be pronounced.”

“Holy saints,” Berrye said weakly.

“What did I do?”

“I—” she trailed off. She seemed terrified.

“What did I do?” Muriele insisted.

“I can’t be sure,” she said. “But nothing can prevent that curse, do you understand? Nothing at all.”

“I don’t understand,” Muriele said. “You say Robert is cursed. From my point of view there’s nothing wrong with that—it’s precisely what I wanted.”

“If you cursed a man in Her name, Majesty, nothing could save him from it, not even death. And if he was already dead when you cursed him . . .” She looked down at the floor.

“It would bring him back?” Muriele asked, unbelieving.

“It would bring him back,” she confirmed. “And there is something about the prince that feels—dead.”

Muriele put her forehead in her palms. “These things, they are not real,” she said. “They cannot be.”

“Oh, they are very real, Majesty,” Berrye assured her.

Muriele looked back up at her. “But why do you suspect that Robert died? After all, it was his plan to assassinate William.”

“Plans go wrong. William had faithful men with him, and there was a fight. In any case, there were plenty of people who hated Robert enough to kill him—and he was absent from the court for an awfully long time.”

“This is still conjecture,” Muriele said.

“It is,” Berrye said. “But it would explain other things I have heard about. Terrible, unnatural things that ought not to be.”

“I only cursed Robert—”

Berrye shook her head violently. “Majesty, if he came back from the dead, you have done more than curse one man. You have broken the law of death itself, and that is a very bad thing indeed.”

“PLEASE,” LEOFF BEGGED THE SOLDIER, “can’t you tell me what’s happened, what I’m supposed to have done?”

“Don’t know,” the soldier said. He was a short fellow with a puffy red face and an unpleasant nasal voice. “Word was left at the gate to grab you if you turned up—and you turned up. That’s all I know. So just keep moving and don’t make my life difficult with a lot of questions I can’t answer.”

Leoff swallowed, but resigned himself to waiting.

They were in a part of the castle he hadn’t been in before—not that that was a surprise, because he hadn’t seen most of the castle. They’d already passed the court, so they weren’t going there. They went down a long hall with high arches and a red marble floor, then into a large room of alabaster. Light streamed in from broad windows trimmed with pale green and gold drapes. The rugs and tapestries were done in similar colors.

When he saw the men who waited in the room, he felt his scalp prickle, and his heart jerked erratically.

“Fralet Ackenzal,” one of the men said, “or shall I call you
cavaor
?
”

Leoff did not know the face, but he knew the disharmonic voice instantly. It was the man from the dike; the one Mery had said was Prince Robert.

“I—I’m sorry, my lord,” Leoff stuttered, bowing. “I don’t know how to address you.”

The other man, of course, was the praifec. “You would not know Prince Robert,” he said, “but he is now your regent. You may refer to him as ‘Your Highness’ or ‘my Prince.’”

Leoff bowed again, hoping the shaking in his legs wasn’t visible. Did they know that he had heard them, somehow? Did they know?

“It is my great honor to meet you, Your Highness,” he said.

“And mine to meet you, Fralet Ackenzal. I hear you performed a great service for our country in my absence.”

“It was nothing, my Prince.”

“And I’ve also heard that you’re excessively modest, a trait I’ve little understanding of.” He stood and put his hands behind his back. “I’m glad you’re well, though I see you’ve been injured.” He pointed at the bandage on Leoff’s head. “You were at the lady Gramme’s ball, were you not?”

“I was indeed, Your Highness.”

“A tragic thing, that,” the prince opined. “It won’t happen again.”

“My Prince, if I may ask, has something happened to His Majesty?”

The regent smiled an unpleasant little smile. “I did not have you brought here, Fralet Ackenzal, so that you could question
me
. You will understand the situation in due course. What I would like to know at the moment is where you have
been
.”

“Wh-where I have been, Your Highness?” Leoff stammered.

“Indeed. You were nowhere to be found when the smoke cleared at Lady Gramme’s and now, five days later, you suddenly reappear at the gates of the city.”

Leoff nodded. “Yes, Sire. As you might expect, I was frightened and disoriented. My head injury made me dizzy, and I became quite lost in the dark. I wandered until I collapsed. A farmer found me and took care of me until I was able to travel.”

“I see. And you were alone, when this farmer found you?”

“Yes, Sire.”

The prince nodded. “You know the lady Gramme’s daughter, Mery, I believe? You were instructing her in the playing of the hammarharp?”

“I was, my Prince.”

“You did not see her at the ball?”

“No, Sire. I wasn’t aware that she was there.”

The prince smiled and scratched his goatee. “She was, and now no one can find her. An attempt was made to kill the lady Gramme and her son when they were in the queen mother’s custody, so we fear the worst.”

Leoff tried to look upset. It wasn’t difficult. “I pray nothing has happened to her,” he said. “She is a wonderful child and a gifted musician.”

The prince nodded. “I had hoped you knew something of her whereabouts.”

“I’m sorry, my Prince.”

The regent shrugged. “How did you escape from the manse? The entrances were well guarded.”

“I don’t remember, Sire,” Leoff said. “I was very confused.”

“Ah,” the prince said. “Ah.” He crossed the room, settled into an armchair, and snapped his fingers. A steward immediately brought him a cup of wine.

“Suppose,” the prince said, “I
tell
you what happened?”

“Your Highness?”

The regent took a sip of the wine and made a face. “You were taken prisoner,” he said, “by the queen’s Lierish guard, and kept in a dank cell for five days, until report reached me that you were there. I then had you freed.”

Leoff frowned. “My Prince—”

“Because if that
isn’t
what happened,” the prince went on, examining the fingernails of his right hand, “I might have to accept the report from a nearby village of a man who looked like you and a girl who looked like Mery traveling together. I would then have to conclude that you had lied to me, which would be a capital offense, even if you did it to protect a little girl you rightly thought was in danger from the queen mother.” He looked back up at Leoff. “I should think you would like my story better.”

“I—yes, Your Highness,” Leoff replied, feeling thoroughly miserable.

Robert smiled and clapped his hands together. “We have an understanding then,” he said. “And if you happen to hear from Mery, or learn her whereabouts, her mother misses her, and she is no longer in danger from the queen mother, so let someone know, would you, please?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Very good. Now, I am given to understand that you were commissioned by the queen mother to produce a musical performance of some sort?”

“Yes, Your Highness. For the Yule celebration, in the Candle Grove. There was to be a feast and general invitation to the people of the city and countryside.”

“A wonderful idea,” the prince said. “Please submit the work to His Grace the praifec for review.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Leoff said.

“Fine. I’m done with you now.” He dismissed Leoff with a wave of his hand.

As soon as Leoff was alone, he leaned against a wall, his limbs feeling like water. What was he to do? If he told them where Mery was, what would happen to her? To him? Did they know or suspect that he and the girl had heard their plot? Were they still looking for her?

But he had to do something, and in this he could have only one ally.

He squared his shoulders and continued walking.

“Yes?” the footman said. “How can I help you, Fralet?”

“I must speak to Her Ladyship,” Leoff said. “It is a matter of utmost importance.”

The footman looked irritated, but he nodded and left. He returned a few moments later. “Follow me, please.”

He led Leoff to a sitting room with an immense pastoral tapestry covering one wall. Shepherds and rustically dressed women picnicked beside a pool, entertained by a goat-legged man with a harp and three nymphs playing flute, lute, and sackbut.

Gramme looked drawn and disheveled, but rather than diminishing her beauty, disorder somehow augmented it.

She didn’t waste any time on her usual pleasantries.

“Do you have news of my daughter, Fralet Ackenzal?” she barked.

“She is alive and well, my lady,” Leoff assured her.

“Are you quite out of your mind?” she snapped. “Do you know the penalty for kidnapping?”

“Please, my lady,” Leoff said. “I did not kidnap her—I was only trying to keep her safe. I was afraid for her life.”

“Well,” Gramme said, looking down and ticking her finger on her armchair. She took a deep breath and let it go before meeting his gaze again.

“You are not a father, are you, Fralet Ackenzal?” she asked.

“No, lady, I am not.”

“Do not become one,” she advised. “It is tremendously annoying. I never wished for a daughter, never once, you know. She has been nothing but a liability to me, and yet, despite all reason and very much against my will, I find I have feelings for her. I thought she was dead, Fralet Ackenzal, and you are to blame for that.”

“Lady, forgive me for the worry I’ve caused, but I think if I had not acted as I did, she
would
be dead now.”

Gramme sighed. “I am distraught, and you have a point. An attempt was made to poison my son and me when we were in the queen mother’s ‘protection.’ No doubt she intended to kill Mery, as well.” She took a deep breath. “Very well, let this be forgotten. The prince wants to tell a different story of you anyway, and I think it unwise to stand in his way on that matter. Just tell me where I can find my daughter.”

“I would prefer to fetch her myself, Your Ladyship,” Leoff said. “If you could provide me with a horse or carriage—”

Her brow furrowed again. “Why won’t you tell me?”

———«»——————«»——————«»———

“It is a marriage, Your Grace, of drama and music.”

“Like the lustspell one hears in the streets?” Hespero asked disdainfully.

“No, Your Grace—and yes. The lustspell are narrated by song, and the actors mime the parts. I propose to have the actors themselves sing, accompanied by the orchestra.”

“That doesn’t sound substantially different to me.”

“But it is, Your Grace. Her M—the queen mother asked me to write something not for the nobility, not for the court, but for the people, to give them hope in these dark times. They are—as you say—familiar with the lustspell. But while the street performances I have seen are vulgar in content and poorly drawn, I intend to give them something that will stir their souls—as you say, uplift them.”

“As you uplifted them in Glastir, by starting a riot?”

“That was an unfortunate event,” Leoff said, “but it was not the fault of my music.”

Hespero didn’t say anything, but continued leafing through the pages.

“This triad is in the seventh mode,” he noticed.

“Indeed, Your Grace has an excellent eye.”

“Triads in the seventh mode are not to be used,” the praifec said firmly. “They have a disharmonious influence on the humors.”

“Yes, yes,” Leoff said. “Precisely, Your Grace. This is a point in the piece where all seems lost, when it appears that evil will triumph. But if you turn the page here, you see—”