The Queen's Blade (28 page)

"I did no such thing!" he denied hotly. "I came to inspect my estate."

She smiled. "Of course you did."

Blade shot a glare at the lurking retainer. "Fetch the lady some wine."

After the man had left, Lilu muttered, "Be careful of him, they say that he poisoned the last lord of this keep."

"Poison." Blade grimaced.

"Not something assassins use, hmm?"

"Some do. There was one who used to give his victims poisoned sweetmeats, and he was successful."

"What happened to him?"

Blade shrugged. "Poison doesn't always work quickly enough."

"His victim killed him?"

"His victim's brother."

"Well, be careful of Vurk, I don't trust him. He's had this place to himself since he killed the last lord, some three years ago, I believe. Made himself rich from the mines."

"Unusual for a man of tortoises to be a killer," Blade mused.

"He doesn't have a familiar."

"Ah. That explains it." He picked up his mug of ale and moved away from her redolence, casting a glance at the silent knot of children, relieved that they were quiet and unobtrusive. Lilu noted his distaste and watched him with sad eyes, biting her lip. Blade leant against the mantelpiece and contemplated the ashes in the fireplace, brushing at them with the toe of his boot. He sipped the nutty ale and raised his head to look at Lilu again.

"I won't be staying here long, this place is depressing."

She nodded, unsurprised. "It's much better in the summer, I've heard. The autumn rains have turned everything to mud, but soon the snows will come."

"I'll be gone before then." He glanced around the room. "But even summer won't cheer this place up, it's like a tomb."

"All it needs is a good cleaning, some new hangings and furniture. It could be quite nice."

Blade looked around as a serving maid entered with wine for Lilu, spying Vurk lurking in the shadows beside the door. Raising a hand, he beckoned to the retainer, and Vurk shuffled over to bow to him.

"My Lord."

"Your services here are terminated, you will pack your belongings and be off my estate within the next two days."

Vurk gaped, then gulped and spluttered, "But - My Lord! I am in charge of this estate, I have been for -"

"I do not care. You will pack and leave. I never want to see you again, is that understood?"

Vurk's sullen eyes spat dull anger, but he bowed. "Yes, My Lord."

"Good."

The retainer marched out, his back stiff with indignation. The serving maid stood frozen, her mouth hanging open in amazement. Blade glanced at her.

"You, go and order baths for myself and the lady. See that her children are fed and scrubbed with your strongest soap, then put to bed, in that order. Is a room ready for me?"

She bobbed. "Yes, My Lord."

Lilu smiled at him as the maid hurried out. "You're getting quite good at this, aren't you?"

He shrugged, sipping his ale. "One problem solved, at least. Do you think you can manage the rest?"

"You... you mean run the estate?"

Blade smiled and shook his head. "No, I'll hire someone better qualified than you for that job. Someone without sticky fingers, I hope. You can have charge of the keep, see to its running and make it a place worth living in. Can you do that?"

"Yes! Of course I can!" Her eyes shone with unshed tears, and she started towards him. "Thank you, Blade."

He quit the fireplace and moved away, avoiding another smelly hug. "Good, that's settled then. I'll see you tomorrow. It's been a long journey, and I'm tired."

Lilu nodded, watching him with a mixture of gratitude and hurt as he banged down his ale tankard and strode from the room without the backward glance.

Blade stayed at the estate for three tendays, during which time Lilu rallied a small army of servants to wash, mop, brush and polish. They tore down the old curtains and musty banners and swept out the ancient rushes. The stuffed trophies fed the kitchen fires, and Lilu supervised the creation of delicious dishes in the massive ovens. After a few days of riding over his estate, inspecting its mines and surveying the woods, Blade grew bored and helped with the work, enjoying the activity. By the end of the first tenday, the soldiers had also joined in, and between them they stripped the castle of mildewed hangings and dirty rushes. Lilu found a trader who sold bright cloths and expensive tapestries, persuading Blade to part with a sizeable fortune to refurnish the keep.

By the end of the three tendays, Blade judged the place to be quite habitable, and was a little sorry to leave it and return to the intrigues of the Queen's palace. Before he did, he found and appointed a solid, honest-seeming retainer to replace Vurk. The man almost wept with gratitude for his elevation and swore to serve Blade faithfully for the rest of his life. The assassin set Lilu to watch over the new retainer and ordered him in turn to watch over Lilu, content that they would find each other out if either became dishonest, unless they got together and compared notes. Lilu wept on the day he left, much to his disgust and embarrassment, and he scowled at those soldiers amongst the company who dared to smile at her obvious affection for their taciturn lord.

Chapter Sixteen

Blade arrived at Minna-Satu's palace just ahead of the first winter storm, which swept through the city on his heels, depositing knee-deep snow and making travelling almost impossible. Wet and tired, he strode to his room to strip off his mud stained clothes. He had barely shucked his soggy cloak and damp gloves when the door was thrust open. Chiana paused on the threshold, then stepped forward. Blade eyed her.

"Do not tell me the Queen already knows I have returned."

Chiana bowed her head. "My Lord. The Queen knew even before you entered the city."

He sighed. "Of course."

"She wishes to see you at once."

Blade studied the chief advisor, struck by her subdued attitude and air of pent-up anguish. "What is it?"

"That is for the Queen to tell you."

He stripped off his damp tunic, throwing it on the rack. "Something momentous has happened."

"Yes."

Blade frowned. "More plots?"

"No, far worse than that."

The assassin shrugged on a dry tunic. "Very well, take me to her."

Queen Minna-Satu turned from the windows of her morning room as Blade entered, and stepped towards him with a welcoming smile. Chiana stopped just inside the portal and performed her prostration, rising to stand with her hands folded, awaiting instructions. Blade approached the Queen, whose eyes shimmered with something more than mere gladness as he stopped before her and bowed.

"My Queen."

"Lord Conash, welcome back."

"Thank you."

She gestured to the cushions. "Sit. We will have wine."

Chiana left to order it, and Blade sank onto a pile of embroidered cushions as Minna settled on another. She wrung a knot of white linen he assumed had once been a handkerchief, but which now resembled a rag. Her anguish struck him as odd, for he had never imagined Minna-Satu capable of weeping. He waited while she composed herself, glancing around for Shista. The sand cat slumbered in a patch of sunlight, as relaxed as ever, apparently oblivious to the undercurrents.

Minna took a deep breath. "I require your advice. King Jan-Durval has been slain by his son-in-law, Prince Verone, lately a widower. Our kingdoms were bonded by blood, for the son of Queen Jilla-Peru, my grandmother, wed King Jan-Durval's sister Earist.

"Now the bond has been broken. The King and his sons are all dead, slain by the imposter Prince. King Jan-Durval was our greatest ally, and defended our western border from the desert army. No sooner had I heard of his death, I was informed that Prince Verone no longer stands by our treaty." Minna bowed her head. "His army has invaded Jashimari lands to the west."

Blade stared at the red wine in his cup, likening it to the blood that was soon to be spilt in this new war.

Minna took a sip of her wine. "We are beset on two sides now. I have sent troops to our western border, and even now refugees flood from the region, hampered by the snow."

She raised sorrowful eyes that glowed in a pale visage. "We cannot hope to win this war. I have no other allies. The savages to the east are peaceful, but they will do nothing to aid us. Jashimari will be overrun before the year is out."

Blade put aside his cup, frowning. "Is there no hope of a treaty?"

"No. Prince Verone desires conquests. He knows that the Endless War has weakened my kingdom. He knows that Jashimari will be an easy conquest when beset on two sides."

The assassin stared out of the window at the leaden sky heavy with unshed snow and unborn storms. It befitted the bloody war that was coming, as sorrowful as a funeral day. With the Cotti to the south and only icy wastes further north, there was no way out for the Jashimari people, nowhere to run but for the bog-lands of the east, where people, it was said, lived like animals and scratched a living in the mud. He frowned, lowering his gaze to Shista's golden form as he pondered just how much he disliked having weighty decisions thrown into his lap. If not for his elevation, he would have survived whatever befell the kingdom, unconcerned. Even now, he wished only to leave the palace and disappear into the city's back streets to find a good alehouse. His hatred of the Cotti had prompted him to kill King Shandor, but he bore the Contara people no rancour. Aware that the Queen awaited his reply, he glanced at her.

"Assassinate this Prince Verone."

Minna smiled and shook her head. "He has five grown sons and scores of grandsons. Even if you killed them all, there are cousins and nephews, three brothers, four sisters and numberless in-laws. King Jan-Durval was old and ailing, his people had grown tired of his puritanical ways and iron-fisted rule. They have embraced this new prince. They welcome the war and the spoils it will bring."

She turned to stare out of the window. "We need a great and powerful army to survive, but I do not have that. I have a war-weary people whose sons, brothers and fathers have been slaughtered on the desert border, and now face a new threat from the west. Already I have weakened the desert border by sending troops to the west, for it is easier to defend.

"Soon I shall be sending raw recruits, boys barely out of their teens, to the front to be slaughtered like sheep. When they are all gone, Prince Verone will invade, slaughter and rape our women, plunder our land. The desert armies will invade from the south, and perhaps the two will strike a bargain to divide the remainder of my land, and Jashimari will be no more." She bowed her head to hide her despair.

Blade jumped up and strode over to the window. "What would you have me say? I am not an advisor, merely an assassin. I have no solution to offer you."

"You are no fool, either."

The assassin placed his hands on the window ledge and gazed out at the spires visible beyond the palace's garden walls. "Does Kerrion know about his child?" He looked around to find her staring down at her twisting hands.

"No."

"If this child is meant to bring peace, why wait? If you can make peace with the Cotti, it will leave you in a position to fight the Contara."

"Kerrion has yet to be crowned. My spy in his palace tells me that he faces a blatant challenge from his brother, Prince Lerton." She looked up and forced a wan smile. "Oddly, it is your doing. He is accused of colluding with a whore to murder his father. If Lerton convinces the judges, Kerrion will be deposed and face execution for treason."

Blade snorted, suppressing a chuckle.

"It is a serious matter," Minna admonished. "If Kerrion is deposed, my plans also fail. There is no hope of peace with Lerton."

"Is there much with Kerrion?"

"Shamsara predicted it."

"Yet he did not predict the Contara invasion."

"He made no mention of it, no."

Blade pushed himself away from the window and turned to face her. "I see no solution to this problem, My Queen."

"You do, just as I do, but you will not admit it." She gestured to the cushions in front of her. "Sit, My Lord."

Blade returned to sink down on the cushions, studying the embroidered hem of her skirt to avoid her gaze.

She sighed. "I wish there was another way out of this, but I see none. Look at me."

Surprised, he raised his eyes to meet hers.

Minna shivered, as if a chill had shot through her. "The fate of Jashimari rests with you, Blade. Kerrion must ascend the throne if we are to survive."

"You are ordering my death."

She looked away. "Perhaps not. I have sent a message to my spy. He will conduct you to the Cotti oasis, and Kerrion's palace. Once you have testified to the judges, make good your escape, and he will bring you back to Jashimari."

"Make good my escape?" His brows rose. "From a Cotti courtroom where I have just testified to assassinating King Shandor? I will be slaughtered on the spot."

"Perhaps Kerrion will help you to escape."

"Kerrion hates me, and if he did, he would be accused of treason again."

Minna gazed at him. "You refuse?"

He sighed, looking out at the sky once more, where a flock of robber ravens drifted on the cold wind. "I am an assassin, My Queen. I have always said that I care about nothing, therein lies my strength. If you would send me to Kerrion's city, let it be for the reason of my trade, not to save Kerrion from the gallows. At least give me the honour of dying as an assassin, not as a helpless pawn caught in the machinations of two rulers. Order Lerton's death, and I shall leave for Jadaya tonight."

Her smile was filled with sorrow. "I am sacrificing a priceless weapon. I need you here to aid me when the time comes, and those who wish to thwart my plans will pit themselves against me. But this is even more important. Killing Lerton alone will not save Kerrion. You must testify as well. But yes, I order Lerton's death."

"Then you shall have it. What will my payment be, should I survive to collect it?"

"Name your price."

Blade smiled, knowing that it twisted her heart like a silver dagger of pain. "I will think on it. Do you wish his death to be quick or slow?"