Pendant of Fortune (2 page)

It could be
, Volle argued to himself. But he knew he missed that as much as the palace, and that even if everything else were exciting, there would still be that voice inside him that spurred him to new conquests and new experiences. It would remind him of the way that wolf’s tongue had caressed him under the table of the bar, of the softness of Richy’s paws, the force of Xiller’s embrace (and that was always a dangerous place to look, though time had hardened the wound somewhat). And mostly, he could keep that voice quiet. Mostly, it didn’t bother him.

Mostly.

They were curled up together, still sticky, as the moon shone down through the windows of the small house. Volle had slid out of Streak and now held the wolf in his arms, half-dozing to the slow rhythm of his breathing. He couldn’t fall asleep, though, and after an indeterminate time, he found the moon in his eyes. He extricated himself carefully from the embrace, wincing at the tug of sticky fur, and slid from the bed. The room was chilly with the approaching winter, but Volle was quite comfortable in his fur. Naked, he padded over to the desk and found Tish’s letter.

His eyes could see the words clearly in the moonlight that suffused the room.

My dear Lord Vinton
, Tish began, as though he really were still taking on that role or had some legitimate claim to it.

I hope this finds you in good health. Tika and I are still well despite our advancing years. The company of our son and his mate is at once a blessing and a trial.

Volle shook his head. The old wolf might be aged in body, but in spirit he was still a bright-eyed pup. He was sure he had no trouble keeping up with his son.

As you know, it is the King’s custom to spend two weeks a year relaxing at the estate of one of his lords. Some of the kings choose only their favored nobles; others choose the estates with the best climates. Our King Barris, as befits his species, is more equitable, and this year the lot has fallen to your friend Lord Ikling to host the royal retreat…

Volle smiled at Tish’s didacticism, creeping into even a brief letter, and then his thoughts turned to Helfer, the weasel who ruled the Ikling lands, and his best friend in Tephos. He remembered Helfer agonizing about the royal retreat when Vellenland was chosen for it, and that had been three years ago. He smiled at the memory of the weasel’s frenetic paw-waving as he protested his unsuitability for hosting the King, while Volle knew the weasel was just annoyed at the trouble he would have to go to.

…
(though I am not sure that climate did not play a part, given that for the last two years the royal retreat has been in northern climes). The King often takes advantage of this vacation to address pressing or sensitive matters, ones that either require more than the usual attention or which would be better handled outside the rather porous walls of the palace. This year, it seems you have provided him with an issue that meets both criteria.

I admit, it took a little persuading to convince him to hold your hearing at Vellenland. I used both the above arguments, and still he hesitated. Your friendship with Lord Ikling is well known, and I believe he feared some partisan influence might be brought to bear. I reminded him, however, of Lord Ikling’s equally well-known aversion to politics, and pointed out that only in such a friendly environment might we have any hope of producing you in your own defense.

This was the part that Volle read over and over again. Tish was unmistakably saying that Volle’s presence was desirable, but he backed off from explicitly telling him to attend.

The royal retreat this year will be over the midwinter holiday, a week on either side. I expect your hearing will take place after the holiday itself, as the King has a few other matters to attend to. I will be in attendance, of course, as will Tika. I do not believe that your wife has plans to leave Vinton, perhaps for fear of what will happen to her should the hearing be decided against you. Lord Fardew will be in attendance, but none of his assistants are scheduled to make the trip.

That was a relief, at least. Dereath had worked his way up to being first assistant to the old wolf in charge of defense, and Volle had been sure he’d have to contend with the rat again if he returned to Tephos. In fact, he thought for the first time, since Dereath had all the evidence against him, it was odd indeed that the rat wouldn’t be making the trip to the hearing where he would have the chance to use it. Maybe he’d given it all to Lord Fardew to present. That didn’t seem like his style, but Tish had made a point of saying that Dereath wouldn’t be in attendance. Volle felt he was missing something, and that worried him, because Tish’s information was always layered, and to read simply the surface was to miss some of the more important points.

By the beginning of Ursal Days, we should know definitely what your status in the kingdom is. I still hold out hope that the hearing will turn out favorably, especially as there are no direct witnesses to be presented against you. It seems to be an even chance at this point, but the outcome can be affected by so many variables that I don’t dare predict any further than that.

There, again. He seemed to be hinting that Volle himself could affect the outcome of the hearing by appearing in person. Certainly such a move would argue his innocence, making it seem as if he had nothing to fear; but then again, such boldness might be construed as desperation as well. Volle tapped the paper thoughtfully.

Give my best to your companion, and may Canis guide your path,

Tish

Volle set the letter down and gazed over at the window, at the bed where the moon cast Streak’s profile into bright relief. His fur, already stark white, seemed brighter still in the moonlight, and Volle felt a surge of love for the young wolf. Streak had trusted him, had allowed Volle to take him away from everything he’d ever known. What would it do to him to be left behind, alone?

He was adapting to farm life better than Volle, at least. He’d grown up on a farm and he knew what had to be done. He even helped the servants around the farm, although the five of them were more than adequate for the chores, especially now that harvest was over. Streak just enjoyed the work, and the servants enjoyed his help and company. Volle suspected that Kaylei, one of a pair of otters they employed, was slacking off because of Streak’s help, but Kaylei’s brother, Kayman, was a good worker, and Volle didn’t want to lose Kayman by dismissing Kaylei.

With a shake of the head, he returned to his current problem. The other variable in the letter was Tish’s discussion of his son. He’d mentioned two letters ago that his son and daughter-in-law had come to stay at the palace, and that his son was learning about palace life. The implication was that Tish was planning to retire soon. He’d wanted Volle to take his place as the main Ferrenian contact inside the palace, and either he had another plan or he thought that goal was still attainable. Certainly, if the King decided that Volle was innocent of spying charges and was still worthy of the Vinton peerage, Volle could return to the palace as Lord Vinton. He rather doubted that Dereath would allow that to happen, though, and if it did, what would become of Streak?

He looked at the wolf again and his ears twitched when he saw that one eye was open, dark in the shadow cast by the moon, watching him.

“
Hi,” he said softly.

“
You’re going, aren’t you?”

He sighed, put the letter down, and padded back to the bed. Streak shifted over, letting him slip under the covers. “I have to go.”

The wolf’s paw rested on his side. “Let me go with you.”

He wavered. He would be going to Helfer’s estate, not the palace, and Dereath wouldn’t be there. “I don’t know if I’d be able to protect you.”

“
Let me worry about that. I’m supposed to protect you, remember?” Streak sensed his advantage and pressed, verbally and physically.

Volle resisted, trying to seem light-hearted about it. “Who’ll look after the farm?”

“
What’s to look after? It’s winter. Kayman can manage the chores.” Streak’s muzzle pushed against Volle’s, licking at his whiskers and neck. “You’ll miss me.”

“
I will?”

“
Yeah.” The playful eyes sobered. “And I’ll miss you.”

Volle looked back for a long moment. Love and concern and frustration warred in him, and at the end of it, he didn’t know what to do, so he said, “All right,” more because it would end the discussion than because he could see a good reason to give in. The problem was, he couldn’t see a good reason not to give in, either.

Streak sighed happily and snuggled into him, and Volle ran his paws through the wolf’s soft white fur. He hoped he wasn’t making a big mistake.

In the morning, they sat down with Kayman and told him they would be gone for a month, and discussed the things that needed to be done. Volle let Streak handle most of the conversation; although he was getting a feel for farm life, he didn’t have the years of experience that Streak did. The young wolf was used to a farm in a slightly colder climate, but his knowledge was thorough and he’d only made a couple mistakes.

When they were done, Kayman nodded, and Volle felt the farm would be left in good paws. Streak apparently agreed, because he patted the otter on the shoulder and smiled. The otter, older than Volle and much older than Streak, returned the smile tolerantly and bowed his head before returning to the cottage where all five servants lived, behind the main house.

“
We’ll leave in a week,” Volle said when they were alone. Streak munched on a bit of root left over from the previous night’s dinner, and perked his ears to listen. “We’ll need to check in with the Duke in Caril, and I’ll need to get appropriate clothes. I left all my clothes at the palace when we escaped. And we’ll have to get clothes for you, too.”

“
All right,” Streak said, in the same attentive tone that Volle often used when Streak was teaching him about farm chores.

Volle smiled. “After that, we’ll book a carriage to Vellenland.” His eyes drifted past the white wolf, looking out the window to where the haze of morning was just lifting over the hills. “And then…we’ll see.”

The Duke of Westermarch was visibly older than when he had sent Volle to Tephos for the first time. His muzzle had greyed, and he no longer had the timbre to his voice that had once made Volle tremble—though Volle was older, too, no longer a young fox going on his first assignment, cocksure and scared all at the same time.

Duke Avery’s eyes, though, still glowed with the same fire they always had. “You’re very lucky,” he told Volle. “I’m not at all sure we should be pressing your luck, despite what Duke Geris says.”

“
The Foreign Minister? Why is he involved?”

“
Tephos has initiated a dialogue that he thinks may lead to an exchange of ambassadors. You were right about them abandoning their plans, but we didn’t expect things to go so far in the other direction.”

“
I didn’t know there was a dialogue.” He bit his lip. “When did this start?”

“
A month after you returned. Only a few people know. It is very preliminary and is intentionally being kept very private.” The wolf stared fixedly at him. “So. Do you think you’ll be declared innocent?”

Despite the fact that he had more confidence and more success to his name, Volle still found himself squirming under the Duke’s scrutiny. “Tish thinks the chances are good. He says there are two arguments we can make: first, that I didn’t steal the plans at all. There are no witnesses to the theft; even Dereath only saw me come out of the office. If that fails, then I can claim I was just trying to delay an aggressive movement I’d learned of, because I wanted peace between the countries. If I were a spy, I could’ve just looked at the plans and reported their contents.”

“
Not a good defense. Stealing the plans sends a message, which was in fact your intent, that their element of surprise was gone.”

“
That’s what we discussed beforehand.”

“
So that could also be a motive for a spy.” Avery tapped the papers on his desk. Volle recognized the report they were talking about, the one that had started all this trouble. “Doesn’t the argument that you didn’t steal the plans at all rather preclude you using the other argument?”

“
Not the way Tish sees it. He says that we can maintain my innocence of taking the document, even if the King doesn’t believe it, but justify the taking of the document without admitting my part in it.”

Avery stroked his muzzle. “It still sounds risky. On the other paw, you’re not doing anything for us now but sitting on your tail at a farm. So if you want to go ahead with it,” he shrugged, “go ahead. We’ll support you.”

“
Thank you,” Volle said. “Nice to know I’m cared about.”