Binding Spell (Tales of the Latter Kingdoms) (23 page)

When I entered the suite, however, Tresi trotting along at my heels, it was to see Kadar staring into the hearth, mouth twisted. He looked up as Beranne shut the door behind me, allowing me to be alone with my husband.

I went to him at once, hands outstretched. He wrapped his fingers around mine, drawing me close.

Oh, the divine oblivion of the touch of his lips, the heady sense that he was the only thing of any importance in my world. How I wished I could stay there in his arms forever, forgetting all else, but I knew that was not to be my fate.

We parted, and I was glad to see some light had returned to his eyes, although his mouth was still very grim.

“Althan has just reported to me,” he said. “The news is not good.”

I had already sensed that, but still, hearing the words seemed to awaken a chill at the core of my being. “What
is
the news?”

“Little enough, I fear.” He let go of my hands and made rather a show of poking at the logs in the hearth. “There is no sign of Maldis anywhere — not in any of the likely places, nor the less likely ones. It is as if he has vanished from the face of the earth.”

Which might not be a complete impossibility; I had heard that mages in the distant past had the ability to make themselves disappear, although it was commonly agreed that they had to vanish
to
somewhere. Perhaps I had been overconfident in my belief that he had remained somewhere within Tarenmar’s environs. After all, he did disappear for days when on one of his “hunting” expeditions. It could be that part of that time was occupied with him simply traveling from his lair back to the capital city, or vice versa.

And while I would have liked to attribute his current vanishing to more dark magic, the truth of it was that I had felt none of his twisted spells being worked since he had stolen Ulias, which seemed to indicate that he had simply done too good a job of finding a hiding place for himself. Even a city the size of Tarenmar possessed many places where Maldis could have gone to ground.

“That leaves me little choice, then,” I said, sounding a good deal steadier than I felt.

Kadar’s brows drew together. “I do not like the sound of that.”

“I didn’t think you would. But I must try to reach out to Ulias with my mind, see if I can make some contact in that fashion.”

“I thought you said before you could not reach him that way.”

That was true. At least, I could not reach him in the way I normally had. This was more akin to the way he had trained me to reach out to touch magic, to recognize it, find its source. Surely if he were still alive, I would be able to sense his powers. Knowing there was no way to explain this to Kadar, I said merely, “I am going to try a different approach.”

“But if he is in Maldis’ power, won’t that put you in danger?”

“Most likely.”

“I cannot allow it.”

Perhaps even a few days earlier such a statement would have raised my hackles at once. I knew, however, that he spoke out of worry for me, and so my tone was gentler than I had first intended as I replied, “It is not a question of allowing anything, Kadar. A conventional search has turned up nothing, and while I do not expect you to abandon that completely, I would be remiss if I did not utilize my own resources in trying to locate Maldis. We do not know how much time Ulias has left.”

Faced with these explanations, Kadar lifted his shoulders, seeming to come to a reluctant understanding. “If you must. But do make sure that you are ready to pull away if anything seems wrong.”

“I will. In fact, I want you to sit here with me and hold my hand while I reach out to Ulias. If anything seems amiss to you, then do what you must to bring my mind back here.”

In truth, I did not even know if this would work. But somehow the prospect of casting my mind into the void to find Ulias did not seem quite so frightening if I could perform the task while Kadar held my hand. Surely his touch could only help to bolster my courage.

If he had any arguments left, he kept them to himself. Instead, he sat down next to me on the divan and took my hand in his. His fingers were warm and just slightly roughened with calluses, reassuring,
real
.

He murmured, “Be careful, my love.”

My love
. Surely I could do anything, now that I knew Kadar Arkalis loved me.

I closed my eyes and reached outward, seeing my thoughts as white-winged birds, beating against the darkness. Here and there I glimpsed flickers of light, as if from the minds of those also mage-born, and far off in the distance a shimmering white light that I somehow knew was my father, leagues and leagues away to the south.

In that moment I could only thank God that Maldis was not true mage-born, and so could not see these shimmers in the darkness. He’d had to rely on cunning alone to find his victims.

Not that it would do to underestimate such cunning. It had served him well enough so far.

And then I saw it, nearer to hand than I would have guessed, a wan flicker that somehow gave the impression of a much greater fire, but banked down.

Ulias!

A weak pulse of thought.
Lark — you must not —
And the unvoiced words broke off, as if he’d not the strength to finish the sentence.

Ulias, where are you?

A long pause. Then, heavily,
I do not know. Dark…stone…

Stone? A house? A cave?

No
.

Damn. I had already guessed that my theory would not be borne out, but even so I wanted to curse. However, giving in to my anger and my despair would help neither of us.
Can you tell me anything else? Please, Ulias. We will come to save you, but we cannot do so if we don’t know where you are.

Must stop him, Lark. Must not let him…

I know. But please…are you still in the city somewhere?

No. That is, it seems too still and quiet here to be in the city. But perhaps that is only another of his spells, blanking out everything around me. Difficult to say…so tired.

It was not like Ulias to complain of weariness — or much of anything else, for that matter. Although I did not wish to think of it, I very much feared that his current lethargic state must be be due to the slow draining of his blood and power. And if he already sounded so spent, I knew we probably had less time than we had even thought.

Heart wrung with worry, I replied,
No, it is good for me to know that. At least we can try to narrow down where you are. But Ulias — how did he even take you in the first place?

Treachery, of course. Foul magic…cursed iron. He fed on two at once to give himself the power.
A pause, then,
And you know what he means to do with me.

Yes.

You must stop him, any way you can. Even if it means killing me before he can go any further.

Ulias, no —

Yes, my child.
Another one of those hesitations, but this time when his mental voice came to me, it sounded somewhat stronger, and perhaps a bit amused.
You spoke of “we.” So the Mark aids you in this endeavor, realizing now that his councilor is not what he represented himself to be.

He does. He’s —
And I hesitated, not knowing how much I should divulge.
— he’s been very helpful.

I am glad you have come to one another at last. Perhaps something good can still come of this evil.

It will. We will find you, and —

But then a pulse of pain, so bright and shocking I could not be certain whether I had felt it myself, or whether it came from Ulias and somehow passed through me, like being hit by a bolt of lightning.

I let out a gasp, and his mind was torn from mine, even as I felt, as if from another world, Kadar’s hand tightening on my fingers. The link was lost for good then, and my eyes snapped open, bringing me back to here and now, to the pressure of Kadar’s fingers against my flesh, the scent of wood smoke, the questioning little whine from Tresi, who had apparently crept from her basket to curl up near my feet.

My husband’s voice, rough with worry, deep and almost grating against my ears after that extended conversation of no true sound but only the shape of the words in my mind. “Lark!”

“It’s all right, Kadar,” I said, and to my surprise my own voice struck me as rough and raw as well, as if I had not spoken for days instead of only a few moments.

“You cried out.”

“Did I?” I shook my head. “Maldis, coming for Ulias again. At least, that is what it felt like. He does not know where he is, but he thinks it is not in the city because it is too quiet, and it is made of stone, and dark.”

“Is that all?” Kadar said, his tone wry. “Considering that almost every building of any consequence in North Eredor is made of stone, that does not narrow it down very much.”

I would not let him discourage me. “It is better than nothing. And besides,” I added, recalling how that pale flicker of Ulias’ presence had not felt all that far away, “I had the sensation that he was actually quite close. So it would be someplace fitting that description but not too far away from the city.”

“I will have to think on it somewhat. In the meantime, though, it is nearly time for supper, and so we must go down.”

As much as I wanted to protest, I knew that we should do as he said. It was important to keep up the appearance of normality, even if the situation was as far from normal as a situation could be. And, as my mother used to point out to me when I lingered over my books rather than come down for a meal, I would do no one any good dropping dead of hunger.

So I let him take my arm and lead me down to dinner. At least I could take comfort in his presence, and the feel of his hand on mine, even if we were still no closer to a solution at the end of this day than we were at the beginning.

Sometimes we must take heart in the small things, if the larger ones are denied us.

T
he awkward moment
had come again, only this time Kadar gave voice to the tension between us.

“Will you not come to bed, my love?”

I looked past him to the great green-hung bed, and a shiver ran through me. Could I go to him now, even with the specter of Ulias’ captivity still hanging over me? All through supper I had worried at the problem in my mind, chewing at it the way Tresi might gnaw at a bone, and I did not know if I could sufficiently divorce my thoughts from that constant concern to give myself to Kadar in the way I thought he deserved.

“Kadar, I — ”

In answer he moved from the doorway where he had stood and came to me by the divan. He had already changed for bed, and so wore only a heavy linen sleep shirt. I could not look away from the lean, taut muscles of his exposed throat and upper chest where the shirt exposed them, and a wash of heat that had nothing to do with the fire moved through me.

What difference would it truly make, after all? Kadar could think of no place that fit the meager description Ulias had given me, and neither could Althan, although he had murmured to both of us that he would ponder the matter further. It was not as if I would do any good by staying up all night and wracking my brains for a solution when none existed.

And I wanted my husband, wanted to be his wife at last in more than name only. What had Ulias said?

The one good to come from all this evil.

“Yes, Kadar,” I said clearly. “Yes, I will come to bed.”

The shadows of worry seemed to lift from his face as he smiled then, golden eyes lighting with sudden joy. And he bent and kissed me, mouth hot on mine, his fingers finding the cord which held my dressing gown shut and undoing it so I suddenly stood there in only my nightdress, just as I had that one night when he had first taken me. Only then I had feared and hated him, wanted nothing more than to be free of him, and now —

Now I could not imagine a world without him, could think of nothing but how I wanted to lie in his arms, feel his body against mine, be with him in the way a wife truly should be.

And then I was in his arms, lifted up and away, leaving the divan to be what it was meant to be, and not a makeshift bed. We were falling, dropping to the heavy feather mattress in the bedchamber, hearing the ropes creak beneath our weight, his hands undoing the ribbon at the neckline of my nightdress, pulling it loose, his mouth hot against my flesh.

Not that I simply lay there, passively waiting for him to take me. I pulled the nightshirt over his head, flung it away, where it fell somewhere to the floor. Perhaps he felt the cool sting of the air in the chamber, perhaps not. It hardly mattered as we clung to one another, bare skin heating with the strength of our need.

I understood then why he had not wished to wait any longer. In that moment, I thought myself a fool for trying to stop what was inevitable between us. He had known, long before I was willing to admit the truth to myself. And I took him into me, crying out with the realization that I truly was not alone, that no matter what happened, we would face it together.

At length we slept, naked flesh still pressed to naked flesh, our shared heat enough to get us through the long, cold night.

A
cool wintry
sun peeked through the draperies the next morning, catching the side of my face as I turned over in bed. I blinked, and saw Kadar gazing down at me, wearing an expression so foreign to his features that at first I could not recognize it. Then I realized he watched me with tenderness — that, and a certain wonder.

“You’ll make me fall in love with you all over again, staring at me like that,” I said, fighting the blush that stole to my cheeks as I recalled what had passed between us the night before.

“And would that be so terrible?”

“Not at all.”

He bent and kissed me, his heavy hair brushing against my cheek. A fierce wave of desire passed over me then, and I reached for him, pulling him down to me. I could feel his arousal, and somehow that only increased the hungry heat in my body. How delicious, to make love in the morning, with the sun lighting my way so I could see the muscles in his arms as he reached for me, see the flush steal over his face. And then —

“Breakfast, my lord, my lady!” came Narenna’s voice from the outer chamber, and at once Kadar and I broke apart, starting guiltily as if caught at some wrongdoing.

A quick tug on the bedcovers, and at least we were both more or less decently covered, although it would be clear to anyone what it was that we had been up to. And, judging by the quick downward glance Narenna made when she entered the room, she knew all too well.

“You may set the tray on the table, Narenna,” Kadar said, his voice bubbling with suppressed laughter.

“Very good, my lord. Yes, my lord.” She put down the tray and stood there, still, her gaze directed steadfastly toward the floor. “Anything else, my lord?”

“No, I think that will be all for now. You may go.”

The quickest curtsey ever dropped, and then she was gone, fleeing the scene like a startled doe.

“Hungry, my love?” Kadar asked, after a brief pause.

“Oh, yes,” I said, reaching for him again. “Very.”

I
t would have been easy
, perhaps, to try to ignore the situation by spending hour after hour in one another’s arms. But although the desire was still there — sated for the moment, but definitely not gone — we knew that was no solution. After we had finally eaten our now-cold breakfast, and more or less gotten cleaned up and ready for the day, Kadar turned to me, expression thoughtful.

“I have an idea.”

“You do?” I put down the comb. Normally Beranne would have come up to help me dress and do my hair by that hour of the morning, but it seemed Narenna had gone to her bearing tales, and my faithful maidservant had decided to do me the courtesy of allowing me to be alone with my husband for a while. While I appreciated this, it did mean I had to fight my wayward curls on my own. She had a much defter hand with them than I, and I had to laugh at myself a little for becoming so dependent on her in such a short amount of time.

Kadar nodded in reply to my question, and finished his own toilette by buckling on his sword belt, although at the moment he wore only a long dagger at his side. “There were several warehouses along the shore that burned down last year. They were made of wood, of course, but their foundations and cellars were of stone. They are the sort of abandoned place where Maldis might very well have gone to ground.”

I could have kissed him. In fact, I did, rising to my feet and crossing to him so I could reward this notion with a healthy smack on the lips. He kissed me back, with increasing ardor, until I had to pull away.

“My lord, are you going to have me undo all this hard work I just put into my hair?”

A grin, and he replied, “I like it best spread out on the pillow beside me, but I will desist if I must.” That warm golden gaze lingered on my mouth as he added, “I will simply have to wait and dream of better things.”

I answered his smile, but I felt my expression grow sober almost at once. “So you will send someone out to inspect the warehouses?”

“As soon as I leave this chamber, my impatient dear.” His own grin faded. “I know the stakes are very high here, Lark, but somehow I sense that you have a somewhat personal interest in Ulias’ safety. Is there something you are not telling me?”

For a second or two I stared at him blankly, not quite sure what he meant by that, and then I shook my head. “Oh, no, my love. Nothing like that. He is my mentor, and a great and noble soul. I cannot bear to think of him in the clutches of one such as Maldis. And there is — there is something else.”

Kadar did not reply, but watched me carefully, one eyebrow cocked slightly.

No time to stop for a carefully considered explanation. I said, the words coming in a rush, “He is — well, he is my great-great-great…oh, I cannot even count the greats, as he said to me once. Many, many years ago, he and others of his kind came here, and loved, and had children. This is where the magic comes from, Kadar. From him, and from others like him.”

A bit of silence, as he apparently digested that information. Then a look of wonder passed over his features, and he said, “I had guessed he was long-lived, but I had not thought he was that old. So it his blood that flows in your veins?”

“His blood, and his magic.”

“Well, then, all the more reason that we must find him. And when we do, I will make sure he has far better accommodation than he did previously. That was Maldis’ idea, to keep him in the cellars. He said there was too much danger of discovery if he was housed anywhere else in the castle.” Kadar’s expression darkened. “I am sorry to have caused him any discomfort.”

“To be honest, I do not think he was that uncomfortable. I saw the furniture and the furs and the books, and besides, I offered to help him escape, and he declined.”

“He what?”

“Yes. He said he wanted to take your measure, and that he was quite comfortable for the time being. I can tell you were trying to make sure he did not suffer in his captivity.” I hesitated, still not entirely certain of this new intimacy Kadar and I shared. But I also had to know. “What was your motivation, Kadar? What on earth did you think Ulias could do for you — or Maldis of Purth, for that matter?”

Kadar ran a hand through his hair, even as he frowned and shook his head. “I was a fool, Lark. I dreamed of greater things for North Eredor, for myself. Always this land has been in the shadow of those far greater than it could ever hope to be. You yourself are here because of one of those foolish schemes — although that mistake turned out to be the greatest gift I could have ever received. Then Maldis came to me, whispering of ways in which the North might be strengthened, saying he had powers that could be brought to bear. And I thought only of my ambition, and put aside my prejudices, and allowed him to sway me. When he discovered Ulias, and made him captive, I still thought only of what he could do for me, for this land. It was wrong, Lark, and I can only hope that no one else suffers because of my misguided plans.”

It must have cost him much to make such bald admissions to me, and so I tempered my tone somewhat as I replied, “I cannot excuse your capture of Ulias, of course, but you also had no idea what manner of man Maldis was.” Because I wanted to ease his burden somewhat, I stood on my tiptoes and kissed Kadar’s cheek, adding, “And I do forgive your kidnapping of me, for it brought me to you. Indeed, if I had only known what manner of man awaited me, I would have gone much more willingly!”

He laughed then and kissed me again before saying, “You are balm for my heart, dearest. But now I will see about getting several men out to those warehouses, to see if anything is amiss.”

“Yes, of course.” The glow from the kiss faded somewhat as I thought of what might be waiting for them at the end of their search. “Do tell them to be careful. I still have no clear idea of exactly what powers Maldis commands — it seems as if they ebb and flow, depending on the strength of his latest victim, and since he now holds Ulias…”

“I understand. I will tell them to keep a safe distance, and only to look for signs that someone has passed that way recently.”

I still did not like it, but I also knew that Kadar would never allow me to accompany the search party. All I could do was wait to see what they discovered and hope for the best.

Earlier that morning, as I had risen from bed and put on my dressing gown, I had sent my thoughts forth to see if I could reach Ulias, but I felt nothing. If he were dead, I believed I would have sensed it, but somehow he was blocked. And still there were all those other little flickers in the darkness, the firefly sparks of other mage-born minds, although I did not think any of them were strong enough to reach out and help me, even if I had been able to communicate with them.

My expression must have still been worried, for he bent down and kissed me again, not passionately this time, but a soft brush of mouth against mouth, clearly meant for reassurance. “All will be well. We must trust that we are meant to find him.”

To that I could only nod, and watch him go, and hope that he was right.

B
eranne arrived
some time after that, full of excuses about her sick sister but with a gleam in her eyes that told me she knew all about the alteration in my relationship with the Mark. Luckily, though, she was well-trained enough not to indulge her inclination for gossip, and instead suggested that we go for a turn outdoors, since the sun had reappeared after several days of snow.

Fresh air sounded appealing enough, and so I allowed her to lead me downstairs and out the smaller rear east doors to the castle, the ones that opened on the castle’s gardens. To be sure, these were somewhat meager affairs, nothing like the grand formal gardens I had heard were the fashion in Sirlende, or even the great botanical constructs back home in South Eredor, where specimens from all over the continent were nurtured. No, this patch consisted mainly of a bare vegetable plot, now of course all plowed under during the winter, and several narrow walks that at least had been shoveled but which otherwise had little to recommend them. There was a rather fine stand of aspens at one end that I assumed served as a windbreak during the warmer months, and several rows of naked rosebushes.

All in all, it was rather a bleak scene, even with a bright sun overhead, but perhaps I could ascribe the impression to my mood more than anything else. And it did feel good to breathe in air that didn’t smell of human bodies and wet wool and wood smoke, although I could still almost taste the scent of smoke as it rose from the keep’s numerous chimneys.

Even with the sun out, it was bitterly cold, a chill I felt rising through my boots almost as soon as I stepped on the damp ground. How I longed then for the mild winters of the South, when the rains came but we never saw snow, and the hills turned green rather than dead and brown.

But this was my home now. This was Kadar’s land, and so it was mine as well. It had its own beauty, one I knew I would come to appreciate as the months and then years passed.