Well of the Damned (11 page)

Excited,
he used his hidden eye to find Daia and the orange, swirling tendril
in the center of her egg-shaped haze — a conduit with which he
could access his full potential for power. As usual when she sensed
him trying to connect with her gift, she extended her tendril and
strengthened his magic.

Returning
his concentration to Feanna and the life within her, he let the
sensation envelop his hands, felt it carry his awareness, his
thoughts, through her body to the center where it fed this new life.
It was so small, no larger than his thumbnail, but big enough that he
could sense the life flow within it. “It’s a boy,”
he whispered, unsure how he knew but certain it was the truth. His
son. He was feeling his son, connecting to him.

Something
changed. Something shifted within the tiny baby forming within her,
and he knew. His son had reached with his own tiny haze to touch
Gavin’s. “Feanna,” he said in a whisper. “He’s
aware. He knows me.”

A
surge of emotion swept through his body, his arms, and his hands. It
was too powerful to contain, and he let it flow into her belly. Gavin
knew at that moment he had never loved anyone more than he loved his
son. His vision blurred, and he blinked it clear, feeling water
trickle down his face. His son, so tiny yet so powerful, able to
bring a grown man to tears with the intensity of his own love.
Slowly, gently, he pulled back, spent yet fueled by what he’d
just experienced.

“What
is it?” she asked, touching his arm.

Gavin
could only shake his head while he grappled with the notion of what
had just happened. Now he understood the bond between mother and
child. It started with the connection of their hazes early in the
pregnancy and grew stronger over time. He was both jealous of what
Feanna would develop with their son, and terrified he would never
again experience what he had today. “I— I love him so
much,” he said in a whisper, laying his hand gently on her
belly. “I can’t describe it. My heart aches not to touch
him.”

She
pulled him back down with her, and they lay together for another
hour, whispering of their happiness and awe in the wonderment of such
beauty and love.

Chapter 13

After
the noon meal, Gavin hunched over his desk in the downstairs library,
skimming his copy of Laemyr Surraent’s encyclopedia. Though his
nephews often teased him about moving his lips as he read, he didn’t
let that embarrassment keep him from his task. No one was present to
see him guide his eye across each line with his index finger as he
scanned the pages.

He
was looking for the word “rain,” hoping some mention of
rain brought about by magic was mentioned. Edan had checked the first
two-thirds, and Gavin picked up where he left off. So far, there was
little to get excited about. Perhaps talking to King Arek was the
best approach. He was startled by a knock on the door. “Come
in.”

Quint
entered with a bow, carrying a tray and a glass of red wine. He was a
slender, clean-shaven man of average height, about forty years old,
who tended to blend into the background. “I thought you might
like a refreshment, sire. Would you care instead for water?”

“The
wine is fine, thanks.”

Quint
set the glass on the desk, bowed and started towards the door but
stopped before opening it. “My liege, if I may have one moment
of your time?”

Gavin
looked back up at him, wondering at the worry lines wrinkling his
attendant’s forehead. “O’course, Quint. What is
it?”

“Sire,
the rumor about Queen Feanna’s condition has spread quickly,
and I wanted to assure you I neither started it nor repeated it.
Whatever I accidentally overhear of your conversations with others
are held in the strictest of confidence.”

Gavin
did wonder whether Quint had helped to spread the news. “I’m
glad to hear it. You have my leave to confirm the rumor if anyone
comes to you to ask.”

Quint
pressed his lips into a smile. “Thank you for understanding,
sire. It pained me to think you might not trust me to keep your
confidences.”

“There’s
no one I’d rather have attending me.”

“Thank
you, my liege. And may I offer my most hearty congratulations.”
Quint bowed once more and started to close the door behind him.

“Wait,”
Gavin said. “Would you find Daia and ask her to come see me?”

“Right
away, sire.”

Gavin
smiled at the closed door. He’d resisted the notion of having
his own personal attendant at first, but Quint had proven invaluable
for simple things like when to wear his formal jacket, which utensils
and glasses to use at the dining table, and seeing that Gavin didn’t
walk around with muck in his teeth after a meal.

A
few minutes later, Daia opened the door and poked her head in. “Did
you need me?”

“Yeh,
come in. I want to try some magic I’ve never done before.”

“Of
course.” She sat in a chair across from his desk, arranging the
sword on her hip. “What magic?”

“If
I can evaporate water, I might be able to save crops.”

She
tapped her chin with one finger. “In a field? That’s an
awful lot of water. Even if you manage to evaporate some standing
water, that doesn’t solve the problem. It’s still
raining. Fields will fill up again.”

“That’s
no reason not to try.”

She
nodded and gripped the arms of the chair. “I’m here to
help you. Pull what you need from me. I’ll let you know if it’s
too much.”

He’d
never known anyone with the gift she had. She’d explained it to
him shortly after they first met, while sitting in a tavern —
she was a mystical conduit. Using her will, she could connect with
and empower people, even without their knowledge, helping them to
reach their highest potential. His first experience with it had been
more than enlightening — it had taken him to what he could only
describe as a different level of consciousness. He’d found
himself on the floor, empty tankards and tipped furniture all around
him, and tavern patrons staring in stunned silence. Since then, Gavin
had learned to use her gift to help him with difficult tasks, and in
fact, he couldn’t have defeated Ritol without her.

“Thanks.” He closed
the encyclopaedia and went around the desk to sit beside her. Closing
his eyes, he used his hidden eye to see her haze, clear blue with a
yellow ring near the top. A swirling tendril of orange, the source of
her gift, reached towards him from her abdomen. With his own haze, he
grasped it.

He
never failed to be astonished at how tapping into this conduit made
him feel stronger, sharpened his hearing and vision, cleared his head
and made his thoughts crisp and fast. Along with the gems in Aldras
Gar, her power also honed his magic ability. It felt like drawing on
everything within him — his past, his future, every bit of his
strength and spirit and will — and focusing it on one task.

When
he opened his eyes, he set his gaze upon the glass of wine on his
desk and concentrated on watching the volume of liquid go down.
Nothing happened.

“Are
you heating it up?” Daia asked.

Heat.
Right. He thought of his gaze as a flame shooting at the glass, like
a fire breather at the fair. After a moment, the wine began to
bubble, and a fine red vapor rose from its surface.

“It’s
working,” Daia said.

The
wine boiled for several minutes, and when the level of liquid in the
goblet was visibly lower, he stopped, letting the bubbles dissipate.

Edan
knocked twice and poked his head into the room. “May I
interrupt?”

Gavin
beckoned him in with a hand gesture. “If I’m not taking a
shit or tumbling my wife, don’t bother asking, Edan. Just come
in.”

“One
doesn’t simply barge in on the king, Gav. Get used to it.”
Edan entered carrying a rolled paper in his hand.

“I’m
learning how to evaporate water. If I can dry the fields, maybe we
can save the crops. Watch this.” He repeated his experiment,
boiling the wine in the glass.

Edan
nodded approvingly. “Well done, but perhaps you should consult
the weather scientists.”

“Why
bother? I can see there’s less wine in the glass now than when
I started.”

“Well,
notice the steam rises. What if the steam you create returns to the
clouds, only to fall down again as rain?”

“Oh
hell,” Gavin said, slumping into his chair.

Edan
shrugged. “I’m just guessing. I’ve only studied two
science texts in my entire life, so don’t be discouraged until
you talk with the experts. The magic is worth practicing, even if you
only use it to dry out your boots. While your heart is in the right
place, you can’t very well boil the water in a field. That
would kill the crops.”

“You’re
just a ray o’sunshine, aren’t you?”

Edan
grinned, patting Gavin’s shoulder. “Be of good cheer,
Gav. I promised I’d be nothing but honest with you. You get
what you ask for.”

“What
do you have there?” Daia asked.

“Celónd
has replied to your query.” Edan unrolled the message and
scanned it. “He heard about two women spreading rumors that you
aren’t the rightful king, that someone named Brodas Canton is.”

“We
need to apprehend those women,” Daia said. “I’ll
have our First Royal Guards and the city watch search Tern for her.”

“I
don’t think we should bother,” Edan said. “The
lordover writes that he, too, tried to find them and detain them for
questioning, but they haven’t been heard from since the day of
the coronation. It appears they’ve either stopped talking about
it or left the city.”

“Well,
we know they haven’t left the city,” Daia said.

“If
Adro saw what he claims to have seen,” Edan said, “and if
those two women were the Cantons. What do you want to do about it?”

Gavin
put his head into his hands.
What would a king do?
At this
moment, with the problems weighing on his shoulders, he didn’t
feel kingly enough to answer that question.

Chapter
14

Adro
was sitting on his bed, lacing his boots in preparation for his
mission. The king had asked him to retrieve the prisoner from the
Lordover Tern’s gaol, which, in Adro’s mind, was one more
way to prove his loyalty and worthiness. He imagined himself standing
before the king and queen, being named Queen’s Champion.
Perhaps the position would come with a new sword, for his current
blade was one he’d pried from the cold grip of a dead warrant
knight killed by beyonders several years earlier.

His
reverie was interrupted when one of the kitchen boys stuck his head
into the barracks. “The queen’s with child!” He was
gone again before Adro was even sure he’d heard it right.

With
child? His hands continued to work his laces while his mind whirled.
It was joyous news. He was glad. That was what he would tell anyone
who brought the matter up. A part of him was numb with shock and
something else. Maybe a little jealousy, maybe disappointment. He’d
never actually believed Feanna would leave Gavin to be with him, but
he realized he’d dared to dream, and now that dream was all but
destroyed. She was having Gavin’s baby.

That
was how it should be, he reminded himself as he donned his mail
shirt, a gift from the king for Adro’s pledge of service. He
grabbed his cloak from the hook on the wall, hung it across his
shoulders and pulled the hood up, and then tramped through the rain,
head down, to the stable. This was good news. Great news. If the king
somehow met his end, an heir would take his place. The two hundred
years Thendylath had gone without a king wouldn’t be in vain.
It was up to the king and queen to ensure that never happened again.
Adro spat the bitter taste of disappointment from his mouth into the
wet straw and mounted his steed, glad he could spend some time away
from the palace before having to offer his congratulations to the
joyous couple.