Binding Spell (Tales of the Latter Kingdoms) (22 page)

Anything that would allow me to get there first.

We emerged from the stairs in a corridor I halfway recognized.

“This way, my lady,” Beranne said, moving briskly off to our right, to another, larger hallway, where we turned left and suddenly were confronted by the shallow stairway that led into my apartments.

There was no sign of Kadar, and I let out a little sigh of relief. So the shortcut had worked.

I strode past Beranne and practically ran up the stairs, ignoring the somewhat startled looks of the two men who stood guard outside the large double doors. Grasping the handle on the one to my right, I flung the door open and hastened inside.

Only to be confronted by my husband, who stood next to the hearth, arms crossed. His brows lowered, and he inquired, “And where have you been, my dear?”

I
could do
nothing but stare at him for a few seconds. Somehow I found my voice. “I was — that is, Beranne and I were — ”

Bless her, she stepped forward and dropped a quick curtsey. “Beg pardon, my lord, but I thought her ladyship might be diverted by the new litter of kittens one of the kitchen cats dropped last week. They — ”

She might as well not have been speaking at all. His gaze remained fixed on me. “Lark.”

“Thank you, Beranne,” I said clearly. “That will be all, I think.”

An expression of confusion flitted over her features, but she did not question or contradict. Only another curtsey, and then she was backing away, shutting the door behind her.

Silence fell. Kadar and I stared at one another for a long moment. What had made him so suspicious, I could not say, except that he had suffered a blow this night. It would be easy to be angry with him and say it was his fault for housing a viper in his bosom, as my friend Daris might have described the situation in her somewhat dramatic way, but of course he could have had no idea of the sort of evil Maldis of Purth had brought with him. Whatever doubts I might have had about Kadar’s intentions had been put to rest by that quietly vicious little exchange with his “councilor.” The Mark’s ambitions were great, that was was true, but even he had lines he simply would not cross.

I had no idea what the dark mage would do next, but I was fairly certain Kadar was no longer in his pocket…and perhaps even in danger from him. Despite my worry, something in that realization gave me a surge of hope. Perhaps things were not as broken between us as I had thought.

And oh, I was so weary of the secrets and subterfuges, the lies I uttered on a daily basis. Would it not be better to tell the truth for once? Now might be the perfect time, coming fresh on my husband’s rift with Maldis. Now that Kadar’s eyes had been opened, perhaps he would be better suited to see what was right in front of him.

A little shiver went through me, and I moved closer to the Mark. He might not read anything in my change of position save a desire to be closer to the warmth of the fire. It was a bitter night, snow falling again past the thick walls and poorly glazed windows of the keep.

I wished then for a sip or two of that bracing honey-liquor to strengthen me for what was to come next, but I knew better than to request such a thing. That would surely be a sign of weakness. Instead, I gathered my breath and said, “You asked me where I was, my lord. I was down the hallway and around the corner from the alcove where you stood and spoke with Maldis, and you berated him for murdering a princess of Farendon with some fell magic.”

Silence again, as Kadar stared at me, golden eyes wide, glinting with shock…and something else. Fear?

Not that. I did not want him to fear me.

In the heavy quiet I fancied I could hear the thudding of my own heart as I gazed up at him, willing him to say something…anything.

At last he spoke. “And how is it you could hear this conversation?”

“Magic,” I said simply.

A lift of the expressive brows, and then he went past me, going to the table where the squat bottle of
methlyn
sat with its accompanying glasses. He pulled the stopper from the bottle and said, “A glass, my dear?”

“Yes,” I replied uncertainly. I supposed I could be forgiven for wondering if he’d suddenly acquired the gift of reading thoughts.

After pouring a sturdy measure into each glass, he handed one to me. “That must have been difficult.”

“‘Difficult’?” I repeated.

“Making such a confession.”

Not knowing what else to do, I lifted my shoulders. “Not as difficult as continuing to lie to you.” I drank then, letting the heat of the
methlyn
work its own magic in bolstering my courage.

Again he was silent, staring down into the amber liquid in his own glass, but drinking none of it. “Well, I suppose this would explain some of your antipathy toward Maldis. You knew from the very beginning, didn’t you?”

“I — ” I gathered myself, and went on, “I did feel the darkness of his power when I first shook his hand. But that may have only been because I was warned.”

“Warned?”

I had given him one truth. It was only fair that I should give him all. “Ulias summoned me to see him, and warned me of Maldis of Purth.”

The golden eyes glinted then. “Ah.”

“Even then I did not know the extent of his perfidy. It was only later, when Ulias explained…”

“Explained what?”

“Explained how Maldis was getting his power.”

“Is he not a mage, the same as you?”

I shivered. “No. Not in any true sense of the word. He…steals…his power, takes it from those honestly born with it.”

Kadar’s expression darkened. “And how does he manage this theft?”

“By slowly draining the power along with their blood. I know no more than that — Ulias did not give me any more details. I did not need to hear them.”

“Gods.” He passed a hand through his heavy dark hair, his face pale. At last he lifted his glass with his other hand and drained the liquid inside in one long swallow. “And to think I brought him here.”

“You could not have known — ”

“I should have known, or at least guessed. Whenever something sounds too easy, then usually it is.” Without looking at me, he set the empty glass down on the table. At first it seemed as if he would move to refill it, but instead he turned it upside down, the dregs inside dripping, marring the polished wooden surface. At last he looked up, the golden eyes meeting mine squarely. “Tell me one thing.”

“What is that?”

“Why are you still here?”

Mouth dry, I forced myself to maintain his gaze, to not look away. “My lord?”

“Do not play coy with me, Lark. If you truly are a mage, why did you not escape?”

I almost smiled. “I did try. Do you not recall how sleepy your retainers were, back at the hunting lodge the first night I was taken?”

“They did seem somewhat over-weary.” His brows drew down slightly. “I was not, however.”

“Some people do not feel the effects of such minor charms. You seem to be such a one…as I found out, to my dismay. And I tried again, as you should remember. But once again I was caught. And after that…” I lifted my shoulders.

“After that?”

“I found I did not have as much stomach for it as I had thought.”

Kadar’s gaze sharpened. “You did not?”

“I…” I moved toward the hearth, and made rather a show of setting my own empty glass down on the mantel so I could rub my chilled fingers that much closer to the fire. “That is, by then I had felt the magic in this place, knew that something very strange was going on. And then I met Ulias, and…”

“Yes, Ulias. You said he summoned you?”

“He did. He sensed my power, and wanted to take my measure. He knew at once I was not one such as Maldis. And since then, he has been training me, as much as he is able.”

Kadar’s tone sharpened. “Training you? Training you for what?”

“Nothing fearsome, I assure you. Magic doesn’t work that way.” I shifted so my back was to the hearth; somehow the warmth against my wool-clad skin was oddly strengthening, giving me the courage to go on. “My talents lie in detecting magic, knowing how it is being worked, and stopping it if possible. It is a talent that no one save another mage should fear.”

“And does Maldis fear it?”

“He would, if he knew I possessed it.”

The implications of that remark were not lost on Kadar. His brows drew together as he considered what I had just said. “And you trust me with this knowledge?”

“I do now,” I said simply.

“Lark — ” He broke off and appeared to wrestle with his next utterance. “
Why?
”

“Because I heard what you said to Maldis. I knew then that whatever outcome you might have hoped for, it was never to be at the cost of someone’s life…an innocent’s life. And I knew I could not let the man I loved face Maldis’ wrath unaided.”

The words had barely left my lips before I realized what I had just said. I might have thought such a thing to myself, but I had never expected to say it aloud, and so baldly. Surely now he would laugh, or lift a mocking eyebrow, or say something witty and cutting to dispel the tension.

But he did none of those things. For a second or two he stared at me, his expression unreadable. And then he moved so swiftly I could hardly register that he was now next to me, that those were his hands reaching up to cup my face, or that those were his lips pressing against mine, strong and tasting slightly of the sharp honey-heat of the
methlyn
.

And his arms were around me, and all I wanted then and forever was the warmth of that embrace, the taste of his mouth, the beating of his heart somehow merging with mine. This was what a kiss should be, was always meant to be. I had never thought such rightness could be found in Kadar Arkalis’ arms.

We clung to one another for a moment that seemed to last forever, neither one of us wishing to be the first to pull away. The very blood in my veins seemed to pound and pulse with the rhythm of his name —
Kadar, Kadar
.

At last, though, we did pull apart, just the smallest bit, so that we might catch our breath.

He spoke first. “I had hoped…” A rueful head shake. “No, it was a foolish dream, a hope that perhaps you would come to me like this at last. A dream only, though, one I hadn’t dared to think might come true.”

The flush in my cheeks had very little to do with the blazing fire that burned in the hearth. So he did care for me. Of late I had begun to wonder if I had only imagined the beginnings of warmth between us, that I had flattered myself to think we might share anything save guarded courtesy. It was Maldis who had come between us, Maldis filling Kadar’s head with poisoned hopes for a future that would profit no one but himself.

“A dream I shared, but one I would not admit, even to myself,” I told him.

That was enough to bring him close to me once again, for our mouths to touch in wonder and desire. I felt it then — heat running through my body even as I shivered with need for him. Oh, I had never thought I might feel this way, as if I wanted to crush myself against him so that our separate bodies might become one, if only for a little while.

He pulled away slightly, his gaze questioning as he stared down at me. I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.

Oh, yes, Kadar…make me your wife in more than name only.

My eyes must have told him everything he needed to know. A swift rush of movement, and then I was in his arms, being lifted from my feet so he might bear me to the bedchamber, take me as he had not allowed himself to do all these weeks.

As we crossed the threshold to the sleeping quarters, at once my head felt as if it were being burst asunder by a mighty cry.

Maldis! NO!

I cried out as well, a great gasp of denial and despair. It was as if the space in the world that Ulias had once occupied was now empty, as if he had somehow been torn away, the thread that had tied his mind to mine now irrevocably broken.

Kadar stopped at once, staring down at me in consternation. “You do not want this?”

Somehow I managed to gather my wits enough to shake my head, even as I replied, “No, Kadar — it is not that. Something dreadful has happened.”

At once he set me down on my feet, although he kept a hand on my arm, as if realizing I was none too steady. “What is it?”

I hesitated, trying to form that cry of inchoate horror into words that made some sense. “Ulias — he is — gone.”

Shock roughened Kadar’s tone. “Gone? What do you mean? Not…dead?”

“No. That is, I do not think so.” Again I paused, trying to make sense of the wash of terror that had passed over me. “But something dreadful has happened. Maldis has taken him.”

And as my husband stared down at me, still not entirely comprehending, I forced myself to give shape to the horror building within me, give it a form as hideous as it was terribly, terribly logical.

Blood Maldis must have, to give him the power he needed. And what blood was more powerful than that of Ulias, whose magic had spawned generations of mage-born?

I wrapped icy fingers around Kadar’s strong, warm ones and whispered, “He plans to steal Ulias’ power and take it all into himself.”

K
adar maneuvered
me back to the divan, had me sit down in front of the fire before he went to pour me some more
methlyn
. “Drink this,” he said. “You’ve had quite a shock.”

That was no more than the simple truth. I took the liquor from him and drank it as I had seen him do, but had never dared to do myself — by tossing the contents of the glass to the back of my throat and then swallowing. The fire of it burned through me at once, and I coughed, spluttering, while Kadar held my hand and waited for the fit to pass.

Once it had, I found myself steadier than I had any right to be. I wrapped my fingers around Kadar’s and said, “We must find him. We have to stop Maldis before — before — ”

I broke off then. I did not want to contemplate a world with Ulias gone from it, much less a world in which a demon in human form such as Maldis had somehow appropriated the mage’s powers.

The only thing that gave me any comfort was the knowledge that such a process took time — at least, according to Ulias it did. How Maldis had managed to take him in the first place, I had no idea, but the dark mage must have sucked dry yet another hapless soul — or several — to give him the power to do so.

I breathed in, then out again. “Where are Maldis’ quarters in the city?”

Kadar’s brow darkened, and he shook his head. “I do not know. Maldis said he needed a place of quiet for reflection, and so did not wish to live here at court, even though he had rooms here and did in fact stay in the castle once or twice. I did not pursue the matter, for of course at the time I only thought of pleasing him, and it mattered little to me where he stayed, as long as he was available to me when I needed him.”

Worse and worse. I did not know how much time we had, for Ulias had never said there was a set span required to drain the power of Maldis’ mage-born victims. It did seem that the stronger they were, the longer such an abomination would take…which meant that we might have up to a week to locate Ulias.

A week in which he would be suffering unspeakable horrors.

I shut my eyes and sent out the slightest tendril of thought, questing for Ulias’ presence. The few times I had done this before, his mind had answered mine right away. Now, though, there was nothing, only an emptiness that sent a shiver up my spine.

He cannot be dead
, I thought fiercely.
I would know it. I would…

“Lark.”

As I opened my eyes I saw Kadar watching me carefully, his features tight with worry. “You seemed to…go away.”

“I’m sorry. I did not mean to worry you.” I reached out and took his hand, squeezed his fingers gently, and then let go once again. As I did so I contemplated how cruel it was of fate for us to have finally found one another, only to have our minds and souls caught up in something far more imperative than the tentative regard we had just begun to acknowledge. “It was a way Ulias and I had of speaking with one another, purely through our thoughts. But he is gone. I cannot sense him at all.”

Kadar’s lips thinned. “So Maldis has killed him.”

“No.” I hesitated, then added, “That is, I do not think so. Not yet. But there is something keeping me from reaching him, and that worries me as much as anything else. I had hoped if I could communicate with him at least, then perhaps he could have given me some guidance as to where he has been taken. Now, though…” I shook my head, and blinked back the stinging tears I began to feel gathering in my eyes. “Now I have nothing.”

“That is not true.” Kadar sank down on the divan next to me and pulled me to him, put his arms around me, so I could feel the fierce comfort of his embrace. “You have me, and I am not entirely without resources.”

Perhaps it was weak of me, but I could have wept at those words. So many long weeks I had gone with no comfort, no one to confide in. That the person who finally gave me succor was the one from whom I had spent so much time concealing the truth was perhaps ironic, but I did not care. It only mattered that he was here for me now. I would not have to face this ordeal alone.

I did sniff, once or twice, and Kadar’s arms tightened about me, as if to lend me some of his strength. It did seem to help somewhat, for I could feel the tears retreat, and my thoughts began to clear.

“We will have need of all those resources,” I said, the words quiet but firm. “I think we can at least narrow down somewhat the sorts of places that would be suitable for Maldis’…purposes, but even so you will need to send as many of your men as you can spare to try to hunt him down.”

“And put an end to his miserable life,” Kadar added, a feral gleam in those wolf-like eyes.

I shook my head at once. “I do not think it will be that easy. You must instruct them not to approach him, but only to see if they can locate where he has gone to ground. Unfortunately, I do not know exactly which powers are his to command, but if he can reach across hundreds of miles and strike down an innocent soul such as that poor princess in Farendon, then I do not want to contemplate the damage he can do to those who are much closer to him.”

A grim nod was my husband’s only reply. I guessed that he did not much like my mentioning the princess, who would not be dead if it were not for his ill-directed ambitions, but I could not worry about that now. I only wanted to make sure no one else suffered her fate.

“He needs privacy, so he cannot have simply taken rooms at an inn. Likewise, he would need someplace with some open land around it — a house with some sort of grounds, I think. It would not be enough to let a space above a shop or other establishment, as there would be too many people coming and going.”

“That does narrow it down,” Kadar said, “for there are not so many places as what you describe here within the city’s borders. The nobles whose estates are far enough away that a day’s ride would not bring them home have apartments here in the castle. It is not like Iselfex, where many great houses stand empty for large parts of the year, waiting for the time when their owners come to town to pay court. Then again, North Eredor is not exactly Sirlende. It does not require a ride of many days to go from the capital to the countryside.”

In his voice was still the edge of bitterness at what he saw as his homeland’s lesser state. Ah, well, such things were not cured in a day. I could only hope in time he would see that he should be content with what he had. For now, we had far greater things to worry about.

“But there are still some houses such as what I’ve described,” I remarked.

“Yes, some. Merchants and artisans of the prosperous sort have begun to move eastward, out past the old city wall. The land there on the eastern borders of the lake was never much developed until the past few decades, but now there are some fine houses, each with their own large plots of land. It is the sort of place that might suit Maldis, as new people take up residence there at a greater rate than what you might find in the older districts of the city.”

“Then it is there your people should look first.”

An eyebrow lifted. “And what precisely should they be looking for?”

Good question. It was not as if Maldis would be striding about the neighborhood, his hands dripping blood. No, his evil was far more subtle than that. “I would look for a house that had been recently purchased, or let. And I believe Maldis would want as few witnesses as possible, so if he has hired any servants at all, it would be at most one or two. That should raise a flag or two, I suppose, since most households of any size require at least a few maids as well as a cook and a gardener and — well, more people than what Maldis would want about.”

Kadar wore an expression of some astonishment, as if he were surprised I should be able to conjure such insights. I added, with some asperity, “My mother’s family is quite prosperous, you know. The only reason my household was not as large as those of some of my other relations was that we could not risk any servants discovering my magical abilities…or my father’s.”

“Ah,” he said. “I had wondered about that. Your father’s story always seemed rather odd to me. But if he was born with magical abilities…”

“…then staying in Sirlende was not much of an option for him. We are not quite so close-minded in the South, even though magic there also is looked upon with some suspicion.” I did not add,
As it is everywhere
, for that truth was self-evident enough.

“Some are more suspicious than others,” Kadar remarked, with a rueful curl of his lip.

“True,” I replied, and smiled. “You do not seem to be too disturbed by my own possession of those abilities.”

He returned my gaze candidly enough. “Ah, well, if I was willing to enlist Maldis’ aid to my own ends, I would be a hypocrite if I spurned you simply because you are a user of magic as well. At least you seem inclined to put it to good use, while I cannot say the same for my erstwhile councilor.”

That was stating the matter mildly. Even with all the tales of cataclysm and horror that had survived the fall of the mages, I had never read an account that described a perversion of magic such as Maldis now practiced. No, his seemed to be a depravity peculiar to him. I supposed I should be thankful for that; one dark mage with his dubious “gifts” was quite enough.

“Let us hope so,” I said briskly. “For I do not know how much time we have, and we must set your people to their task at once.”

“Consider it already done.”

W
ell
, that was a slight exaggeration. Since by then it was already quite late at night, nothing much could be done until the following morning. Suspicions would have only been aroused if there was a wholesale knocking on doors in the middle of the night. And what an awkward night it was, for while Kadar and I had admitted our feelings for one another, I was far too on edge to continue what we had started. Sensing my unease, he did not press the matter, but allowed me to retire to my divan as I had always done. And though I ached for him, I knew that spending the night in Kadar’s arms would be a pretense, a diversion to keep me from thinking of Ulias and what he might be suffering at that very moment. It would not be fair to either one of us. All I could do was hope that this ordeal would be over soon, and we might finally have the consummation we both desired.

Of course the truth could not be given to those enlisted in the search — instead, Kadar had Althan put it forth that Maldis had stolen several valuable items, including pieces of jewelry that had once belonged to Kadar’s late mother, and absconded with them. However, the former advisor was not to be approached if located, for the Mark wished to apprehend the villain himself, given the personal nature of the thefts. And because we did not wish to attract any undue attention, those tasked with the search were not merely the most trustworthy of the men-at-arms, but also several of the maids, the under-cook, the hawk-nosed master of the stable…all of whom had relations who worked at one or other of the houses in question, or at least knew someone who did.

If anyone in that motley group found the fabricated tale of Maldis’ petty theft at all questionable, they kept their reservations to themselves and set forth at Althan’s command, fanning out through the city. I wished I could have been among them, but Maldis knew me on sight, and I could not risk being seen. Perhaps I could have attempted to put a glamour on myself, to hide my identity, but I had received no training in such spells and worried that I would not be able to maintain the spell in the presence of Maldis’ dark powers. At any rate, his measure was clear enough to me now. I doubted he would recognize any of the servants now searching for him, since they were beneath his notice.

Waiting for them to return was almost unbearable, but there was very little else we could do. Beranne was, thank goodness, not one of those sent forth to hunt down Maldis’ lair, and so I did not have to worry about her safety. However, her presence was still somewhat intrusive, as I wished I could be alone with Kadar to discuss our situation further. But since we did not want to deviate too much from our normal routines, he left our apartments in the mid-morning to attend to his usual tasks, and I was left with nothing much to do than play half-heartedly with Tresi, and do an even more lackluster job of attending to my much-neglected embroidery. My thoughts darted here and there, worrying at the problem, and I wished I could be doing anything but sitting there and acting as if nothing terrible had happened.

“I always knew he was no good,” Beranne remarked at one point during that hideously long day, attacking her own darning with far more enthusiasm. “Not that I’m one to criticize the Mark, as he does know what’s best for his people, but even so, if he was wanting an advisor, he should have chosen one from his own subjects, and not brought in some stranger from the gods know where. Shifty eyes, that one has, and I for one am not surprised to hear he had light fingers to go along with those eyes of his.”

Oh, if only that lie were the truth. But the reality of Maldis’ perfidy was so much worse, and I knew I could say nothing of it to Beranne. No, once again I must speak fabrications and falsehoods, although at least this time Kadar and I were allies instead of enemies.

And if only…

No, I could not allow my thoughts to stray that way. There would be time enough for Kadar and me when all this was over and done, once Maldis had been disposed of.

If
he were disposed of.

How precisely I was supposed to accomplish that particular task, I did not know. What I did know was that I could do nothing until we discovered his whereabouts, and so I fought with my continually knotting embroidery thread as Beranne rattled away about this and that. Her chatter did help somewhat to keep my thoughts from moving down ever-darker pathways, although I couldn’t help brooding over what might be happening to Ulias as I sat here safely in my little tower room. Somehow it seemed wrong for me to be doing nothing. But for the moment there simply was nothing to be done.

Midday gave way to afternoon, and then to the sudden dusk of early winter. It was time to return to my apartments, and, I hoped, to some news of Maldis’ whereabouts.