A soft snore came from the lordling who had fallen back asleep. "And as he is sleeping naturally, I shan't bleed him.”
I was standing behind the healer and so King Jusson could see me look of horror that passed over my face. He gave a faint smile. "Thank you, we trust your judgment.”
The physician bowed again, gratified, and Laurel offered to show her the officers' mess, "where, honored healer, you can get a decent cup of tea.”
The king waited until Laurel's rumble and the physician's treble faded down the stairs before looking at the captain of his guard. "Shut the door, Thadro," he commanded.
After directing two of the Own to stand guard outside the door, Lord Commander Thadro shut it and walked back over to stand next to King Jusson. Jusson then settled down on the bunk, just as at ease as he had been in his chamber.
"Now, cousin," he said, pinning me with a look. "Tell us everything.” Once more I recited my evening, starting with Lord Esclaur picking me up at the embassy and working through the events at the House of Flavan. And once more it became very quiet when I told of how my sword had shattered. Lord Commander Thadro went over to where the pieces were still on my cape, next to the cudgels and masks, and picked one up.
"Lord Gherat sent you out to the courtyard?" King Jusson asked.
"Well, he suggested it, sire," I said as Thadro broke the blade piece in two, the sound of the snap seeming to echo in the room.
"I see," the king finally said, his glittering gaze showing why he was called "Golden Eye." "This must be investigated fully, Thadro, and the culprit punished. No matter who he is.”
The Lord Commander dropped the pieces back onto the cape and bowed. "Yes, Your Majesty. I will take care of it.”
Suiden had moved over to where Jeff and I stood, and now Javes joined us as we stood bunched together. The king looked back at me. "Please continue, cousin.” If I thought the silence thick when I told Laurel and the captains the rest of my tale, it was absolute while I told the king and his Court. When I finished, Jusson held out his hand.
"Show us, Rabbit.”
I walked to where he sat but a couple of the guards moved in front of him, their hands on their swords.
The king sighed. "We have given someone a command, yet you prevent him from obeying. Tell us, what is that called?”
The King's Own were chosen for their family trees, not their mental capacities, but these guards caught on quick and moved aside. I took one step closer and extended my hand. The king sighed again and, grabbing my hand, yanked me to him. "We haven't bitten anyone. Yet." He traced the rune just as Laurel did, and just as it did for the Faena, it flared warm. He looked up at me, his eyes now completely gold.
"What did Ambassador Laurel say when he heard this?”
"He was very upset that I hadn't allowed Rabbit to be trained," Suiden said.
"Very good, Captain Prince," Jusson said. "But we asked our cousin.”
"He said that it was no wonder that Magus Kareste greatly desired my return, as I should have been reduced to a quivering mass like the assassins," I said.
"Indeed." The king's eyes narrowed into slits. Still holding onto my hand, he stood and spread open my palm. "Come look, everyone." No one moved. The narrow-eyed gold glare swept the room and suddenly I was mobbed. "Do you see anything evil?”
A ragged chorus of "No, Your Majesty" sounded. "Though he did kill a man, sire," a lordling added.
Captain Suiden opened his mouth.
"Do not presume to answer for us, Captain Prince," Jusson said. "While your zeal to protect your charge is commendable, please remember that you are not in Tural." The king turned to Thadro. 'Tell me, Lord Commander, how did Lieutenant Rabbit say he killed his attacker?"
"With a knife, Your Majesty.”
"So he did"—Jusson tapped my palm with his finger— "and not with this. Show us the knife, cousin.” I tried to tug my hand from the king's grasp, but he wouldn't let go. So I pulled the knife with my other hand and started to hand it to him. The guards as one drew their swords.
"No, cousin, not to us." The king indicated Lord Commander Thadro. 'To him, if you please.” I switched directions and handed the Lord Commander my knife, noticing that I hadn't gotten all the blood off.
Commander Thadro took the knife and examined it.
"Well?" said the king.
"It's just a knife, Your Majesty." Thadro hefted it in his hand. "Well balanced and cared for, but still a plain knife. Though you should clean it properly, Lieutenant, before you resheath it." He handed it to a guard.
"An assassin is killed after he and his fellows attack Lord Rabbit," the king said. "Is that evil?" Another ragged chorus denied that it was. Jusson nodded and let go of my hand. "No, of course it isn't. We will tell you what is evil. When guests are invited to fellowship and one is poisoned and the other has to fight for his life."
The silence was back.
"And when a soldier's weapon is made to fail at the time it is most needed."
The silence deepened and I shivered.
King Jusson turned to Suiden. "We will leave the royal physician plus two of our Own for Lord Esclaur here while he is recovering. Please tell Ambassador Laurel that this is only to relieve our anxiety and not to cast any doubt on him." He waited for our bows and, gathering his Court, left the room in the same whirlwind that he entered in.
As footsteps pounded down the stairs, I realized that, in guarding Esclaur, the two Own would also be standing outside my bedroom—and I wondered which way that sword was supposed to cut. I also realized that Lord Commander Thadro had taken my knife.
I was awakened from a sound sleep by a pillow hitting me in my face. I immediately rolled out of bed holding the boot knife that I had under my own pillow, staring about in the gray predawn light as I strained to see who had attacked me.
"Oh, good. You're awake." Lord Esclaur, leaning on one elbow, smiled.
The bunk above me creaked as Jeff looked bleary-eyed over the edge of his bed. Lord Esclaur's smile widened to include him too. I sighed and sat down on my bunk, and began to run my hand through my hair, nearly stabbing myself in the eye. I found my boot sheath and put the knife back.
"Is this the embassy?" Esclaur asked, looking around the room. While the rest of the house was furnished in elegance and grace, the room looked exactly what it was, a soldier's barracks. There were two sets of bunk beds with two foot-lockers, and that was it.
I nodded, yawning.
"How exciting. I can now tell my friends that I spent the night in the cat's den." He threw back the blanket, glanced down, then snatched it up again. "Uhm, I seem to have lost my clothes."
I mumbled at him that they all had been sweat-soaked.
"My goodness, I really must've been sick." He sat up again, making sure the essential parts remained covered. "You don't happen to have a spare robe, do you, Rabbit?"
I rubbed the back of my neck, muttering that I had left all my robes at Freston.
"Well, maybe the trooper has something I can wear.” Jeff grunted "No" and then wondered aloud what sin he had committed to be afflicted with chatter so early in the morning, "my lord.”
"Surely someone in this place must have something I can put on." Esclaur smiled again, ignoring Jeff. "Will you see to it, Rabbit? I can't wander about naked.”
I mumbled that I would see what I could do, then stood up, yawning and stretching.
"Rabbit," Jeff said. "What's that by your foot?”
I glanced down and was suddenly wide awake. I carefully moved my foot away from the spider about to climb on it.
"There too," Jeff said, leaning down and pointing.
I looked and saw another one glowing against the dark blanket on my bed. That was not good. "Uh, maybe you should check your bunks.”
There were squeaks and thumps as Jeff and Lord Esclaur (the lordling managing to keep decently covered) searched around.
"There's one here also," Jeff whispered. He eased out of his bunk, climbing down to stand next to me. At that, Esclaur decided to join us, just on general principle, wrapping his blanket (after shaking it out) around him.
"There's another," I said, pointing at the floor. "Four of them."
"Five," Esclaur said, looking in a corner.
We huddled closer.
All the spiders were the same—long, pale and nasty looking, like the one we'd seen in the garden. The first one moved towards my foot again, apparently fascinated with my big toe, and I reached for one of my boots next to my footlocker.
"Steady," Esclaur murmured. He grabbed the other boot.
"Don't miss," Jeff said softly, somehow managing to contort and get one of his own boots without moving his feet. "We don't want angry spiders running about our exposed parts.” There was a silent count and then we raised our boots and brought them down, again and again. Jeff swarmed up to his bunk, knocking his bed guest to the floor where it was pounded flat. I did the same with the one riding on my blanket. Then we turned berserker, snapping off blankets, flipping mattresses, moving the footlockers, shifting the bunks themselves as we discovered three more spiders. Another spider crawled out from the boot Jeff held and he yelled, shaking it off his hand onto the floor, where Esclaur and I pounced on it, our boot heels coming down in rapid succession.
The door was flung open but we ignored the royal guards standing there with their swords drawn and their mouths open. "Were you bit, Jeff? Did it bite you?" I asked. Breathing hard, Esclaur and I clustered around Jeff, staring at his hand. I grabbed it and moved it closer to the window, straining to see in the light. "It doesn't look like it, but maybe I should get Laurel—" I turned to go and came face to face with Groskin and Slevoic standing just outside the bedroom door. I raised my hand to push my hair out of my face and Groskin slammed down to the floor while Slevoic, after a moment's hesitation, took a step back. I scowled at Groskin. "Oh, get up. My hair was in my eyes.”
"You threatened him," Slevoic said as Groskin slowly rose and straightened his tabard, keeping his eyes on the floor. "You saw," Slevoic said to the two guards. "Rabbit threatened Groskin.”
"Go away, Slevoic." I said as I made to go past him, but he pulled a knife and stepped in front of me. I sighed. "Yeah, right.”
"Heavens, is that you, Slewy?" Lord Esclaur said, coming to stand beside me, his blanket still wrapped around him, and carrying his quiz glass. "What on earth are you doing lurking outside Lord Rabbit's door?" He raised his glass, peering at the lieutenant's knife. "Comparing weapons with your friends?”
I watched Slevoic, who was staring in blue-eyed amazement at Lord Esclaur. "A little Border healing," I said.
Slevoic recovered fast. "It was probably a little Border poisoning to begin with, puke.”
"I was poisoned?" Esclaur's voice rose to a squeak, his quiz glass forgotten.
"Yeah. See what happens when you hang out with freaks?"
"But your mother wasn't there, Slevoic," I said.
The two royal guards blocked the lieutenant, one catching his arm and pushing his knife hand down.
"Why are you up, my lord?" The royal physician had come up on us from the stairs and, to her credit, only blinked at my smalls. And in that blink I was behind the door. I felt a presence next to me and looked. Lord Esclaur had beaten me inside the room and was also peering around the door, his head just below mine. There was a snicker and Esclaur and I opened the door so that Jeff was in the healer's line of sight. There was a thud as he dove for a bunk, forgetting about spiders at the double threat of a woman physician.
The healer didn't miss a beat. "Why do you have a knife out, Lieutenant?" She listened to Slevoic for a few sentences. "Stuff and nonsense. Lord Rabbit had nothing to do with Lord Esclaur's poisoning and I'm sure he has better things to do than to threaten you. Put it away before you hurt yourself and make more work for me." She swept up to the door, which I had closed again to a narrow slit, and addressed my eyeball. "Open the door, my lord, so I may attend to my charge.” There was a breeze and then another thud as Lord Esclaur ran and jumped into his bed. Furious whispers were exchanged as he made Jeff find another hiding place.
I made a diving leap for my own bunk, snatching up the blanket to fling around me (after snapping it very hard—I hadn't forgotten the pale beasties). "Come in—" I stopped and tried for a few octaves lower.
"Come in."
Lord Esclaur slid down in his bed until only his eyes showed over his blanket as the physician approached him, and another bout of whispers started as she tried to get Lord Esclaur to release the cover.
"It isn't enough that we've had excitement and alarms all through the night. You have to create more, before the sun rises," Suiden said from the hallway, wearing a beautifully brocaded robe, its gold threads winking in the weak dawn light. Groskin and Slevoic, taken unawares, spun around while the royal guards snapped to attention. The captain's green-eyed gaze, though, was aimed in the room, and Groskin tried to sneak down the stairs. "Where are you going, Lieutenant?" Suiden said, without turning around.
"To the mess, sir!”
"I see. As you and Lieutenant Slevoic are both so full of energy, you will put on your dress uniforms and guard my office door. Now. And Slevoic"—the captain held out his hand as the lieutenants turned to go—"give me your knife.”
Slevoic paused, then finished resheathing his knife. "No, sir."
Silence fell hard in the hallway.
"What did you say, Lieutenant?" Suiden's voice took on a basso rumble.
"I said, no, sir." Slevoic looked over the captain's shoulder. At me. All along the hallway, doors opened and heads popped out, and he raised his voice. "I refuse to go unarmed while Rabbit is not under restraints. Lord Esclaur was poisoned last night while in his company and he has just now tried to attack Groskin.”
For the first time in two days, Groskin met my eyes, ashamed. "That's not true, sir. I overreacted—”
The captain rumbled over Groskin, flames leaping in his eyes. "You refuse a direct order, Lieutenant?”