The Invisible Chains - Part 2: Bonds of Fear (21 page)

the eastern sector.”

Ffindall didn’t react, but he paled visibly.

“Now, now, boys, no quarreling and calling each other names,”

the queen said. “I have a question for you. Does the king plan to send

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the Black Shields to the Northern Marches?”

“We have no intelligence to that effect,” the master said slowly.

“No, of course not,” Emelasuntha replied scathingly. “How could

you? The headquarters of the Black Shields is but a stone’s throw

away from this place, and yet we don’t know what’s happening there,

because you want us to save a few sarths.”

Ffindall Dram looked as if he was searching in the deepest

recesses of his mind for a piece of information he knew was there,

but couldn’t quite put his finger on.

“Take your time, Ffindall,” the queen, who had noticed his facial

expression, said.

“It’s something that was mentioned by a colleague of the eastern

sector. He asked me… Damn… what was it again?”

“Close your eyes,” Emelasuntha said softly. “Now, where was it

that you met your colleague? Don’t answer, just visualize the scene.

Was it before or after midday? Was the sun shining? Was it warm or

cold? What were you wearing? What was he wearing? How did his

voice sound? Calm? Agitated? Worried? Or just curious?”

“Come on, Ffindall,” the master interrupted, “don’t keep Her

Majesty waiting.”

“Shut up, you.”

The queen had spoken in a calm enough voice, but the threat in

it was palpable.

“Ah, yes, I remember,” Ffindall said. “I remember thinking how

chilly it was and that he sounded really intrigued.”

“Her Majesty doesn’t care about how cold you were, Ffindall.”

Emelasuntha turned to him.

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“Megbert, you are relieved of your post.”

“My lady?”

“You are relieved of your post, but not of your oath to the Tribe.

Go downstairs to the kitchens and present yourself to the chief cook.

Tell him I send you to him as a cook’s help. You know, cleaning the

kitchen, washing and cutting vegetables and so on.”

Megbert looked at her with open mouth.

“We must all serve in the capacity that suits us best, Megbert.

Oh, and tell the chief cook that I shall personally ask him about your

performance in your new post. Now go.”

“Majesty,” Megbert said, imploring, “please…”

“Go, Megbert, go.”

Still the former master hesitated.

“Now,” Emelasuntha roared.

Megbert left the room without another word and closed the door

behind him quietly.

Emelasuntha smiled at Ffindall.

“So, master, please take your seat behind your table, and let’s

continue our friendly chat.”

Ffindall nodded, speechless, but hastened to the chair and sat

down. Strangely, he felt immediately at home in the chair of his

former boss.

“You were saying…” Emelasuntha said softly.

“Ah, yes. He sounded really intrigued. He wanted to know if

a certain person had been seen by us in or around the castle. In

my opinion it could pertain to your question. You see, one of his

operatives had noticed a seemingly trivial, but rather curious change

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in behavior in a person they were keeping tabs on. In itself it was

nothing much at first sight, but it kept nagging at him.”

“Very interesting, master. Now stop speaking in riddles.”

“Yes. You see, my lady, Baron Gerrubald of Damydas hasn’t been

taking his grandsons for their daily fishing trip the last few days.”

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“So, Damydas is alive and well, after all. What do you make of

it?” Sobrathi asked when they entered the apartments that were

permanently kept shipshape for a possible chance visit of the queen.

“There could be many reasons why Damydas would leave his

demesne and as many again why he would want to keep that a

secret. But he made a mistake. There was a time when he would have

arranged for a look-alike to take his grandsons fishing. That tells me

he was in a hurry. Anxious even. So, I think he went to the south, to

Tenaxos.”

“Probably to receive a commission to bring order to the Northern

Marches.”

“That might very well be the case. If it is, he will stop here, at

Ormidon, to collect some Black Shields to assist him. Just when that

bloody fool, Megbert, has managed to gouge out our eyes. Damn him

to Murokthil.”

“You already damned him to the kitchen. That will do for now,

dear. It’s plenty warm there too,” Sobrathi shushed. Then she added,

“At least we know what to look out for.”

“Do we? He’s known as the man with a thousand faces and I

doubt he’ll come riding into Ormidon, flags waving and preceded by

a marching band.”

“He was last seen, what, about a week ago? If he went to Fort

Nira that would take at least five days. Take about a day, maybe two,

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to connive with your dear husband, and that would mean that he is

about to leave for Ormidon, well, around now.”

“That seems about right,” the queen mused. “It’s too late to

introduce new operatives into the castle, but we can have it watched.

Watched closely. I want to know who enters and leaves. I want to

know the name of every last mouse that sneaks into that wretched

place. Its name, its surname, its parents’ names, its siblings’ names,

its spouse’s name, and its children’s names, if it has any.”

“We should start collecting our own little band, dear. I have a

feeling we’re going to need some assistance.”

“Yes. I also want a second unit for a special mission.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“I was just wondering,” Emelasuntha said dreamily, “how well

protected those grandchildren of Damydas are.”

“They’re about seven and eight, Ffindall told us,” Sobrathi said,

shocked.

“So what? Really, Sobrathi, he can’t very well expect me to deem

his nearest and dearest sacrosanct while he is plotting the downfall

of my son. If that hell hound is going after Anaxantis, I’ll exterminate

his whole family unto the seventh degree to keep him from doing so

if I must, be they two or a hundred years old. And I’ll see to it that the

howling screams of his very slowly dying grandsons will ring in his

ears until his last hour.”

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“So, this is where you have been disappearing to lately.” Ambrick

of Keyld smiled, flaunting his crooked teeth.

Lorcko looked up and smiled back.

“Found it all right, I see.”

“It wasn’t too difficult, given your very clear directions, but what

attracts you in this place is a mystery to me. It’s cold, for one thing,

with this infernal wind blowing almost through you. Though I admit

that the sea is a majestic sight.”

“Sit down,” Lorcko said, patting a knoll of dune grass beside him.

“You’ll be protected from the wind by the dunes.”

Ambrick followed his suggestion.

“Well, what do you know? It’s almost wind free, down here. Not

exactly warm, but better at least.”

“I have something to keep your blood from freezing,” Lorcko said

while he retrieved a flask and two little beakers out of a bag that

stood beside him.

He handed one beaker to Ambrick and filled it with a golden

liquid.

“Easy now, that’s heady stuff,” Lorcko admonished him.

Ambrick looked at him with an amused twinkle in his eyes.

“You’re not trying to get me drunk, are you?”

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“To have my wicked ways with you?”

His perfect teeth flickered in the bleak winter sun.

“I know they say a lot of things about me,” he continued, more

seriously. “None of them are very flattering, but forcing myself upon

someone shouldn’t be one of them. If it is, it’s a lie.”

“I suppose you never saw the need,” Ambrick replied, also in a

more thoughtful vein.

Lorcko looked at him with hurt in his eyes.

“Meaning, that I would resort to it the very instant I met some

resistance?”

“No. No, of course not,” Ambrick said. “Although, well, you can’t

be very used to hearing the word no,” he added after some thought.

Lorcko sighed and sipped from his beaker.

“There’s no way I can win this one, is there?”

Ambrick followed his example and took a careful, exploring swig.

It made him tingle all over.

“Strong stuff this,” he said. “Listen, Lorcko, I didn’t mean to make

you uneasy.”

“It’s all right,” Lorcko answered despondently. “I suppose I’d

better get used to it.”

“Oh, come on, you almost make me feel sorry for you.”

He nudged Lorcko in a jocular way.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he is tearing up. Nah. He

probably has this don’t-hate-me-because-I’m-beautiful-routine

pat down. Impressive performance, though. And, Gods, he really is

handsome. Nobody has a right to be that handsome.”

“I mightn’t have read the signals correctly, but I was under the

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impression that… that you wanted something from me,” Ambrick

said softly. “If so, I must warn you that I am fairly new at this. If not,

just forget it.”

Lorcko had been staring between his knees at the ground. He

looked up.

“Do you mean that you are a virgin?” he asked innocently. Then

his face became red. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

Ambrick laughed out loud. Lorcko thought there ought to be a

special word to describe something not quite beautiful, but very,

very pleasing nevertheless.

“A virgin? Gods, no, I haven’t been one for a long, long time.”

He saw Lorcko looking at him dreamily, with his lips ever so

slightly parted.

“Look at us. Me not meaning to make you uneasy, you not meaning

to embarrass me. Maybe we should tell each other a little bit more

about ourselves. Just enough to chase the awkwardness away.”

“I would like that very much,” Lorcko whispered.

“All right. I’ll go first then. What made you think I was a virgin?”

Lorcko became red all over again and began sweating as he tried

to find an non-offensive way of explaining what he had been thinking.

“Let me guess,” Ambrick said, trying to save him from his

predicament. “It’s because the way I look, isn’t it? Well, looks aren’t

everything, you know. There’s also status. After all I’m the count’s

son, and one day I’ll be a count myself. Then there’s money.”

“Money?”

“Yes, money.” Ambrick laughed. “Don’t look so shocked. I pay

them. Handsomely, too.”

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Lorcko really didn’t know how to react to that unexpected

divulgement. He couldn’t help staring at his companion.

“Oh, don’t look so startled. It’s perfectly reasonable. I realized

from an early age that nature hadn’t particularly favored me in the

looks department. With time I figured out that one’s appearance

isn’t all that important when you love somebody, and when that

somebody loves you back. They matter a great deal when you’re