Authors: Fiona McIntosh
‘Pity,’ the second admitted. ‘She looks tasty.’
‘What do you want?’ Lily asked, ignoring the comment, scratching gently at her welts.
‘We’re your new rulers,’ the leader said viciously.
‘So I’ve heard,’ Lily replied, her tone polite. ‘Can we offer you something?’
‘We’re searching for two people.’ He looked over at Gavriel. ‘What’s your name?’
‘I’m Jon Farthing, married to this man’s daughter, Lily.’
‘How do you fuck a leper?’ the second warrior muttered to the third behind their leader.
‘In much the same way you’d fuck one of your women,’ Gavriel said, knowing it was a mistake before the words were even out of his mouth.
The leader struck fast, punching Gavriel’s now stitched and bandaged wound as hard as he could. Gavriel fell to the ground, retching with pain. The barbarians laughed.
‘The next smart comment that comes out of your mouth means I’ll kill the whole family,’ the leader warned.
‘No need for that, sir. Please forgive my son-in-law,’ Greven soothed. ‘He’s in pain and unable to work. He’s angry and he’s stupid for saying what he did.’
‘Who are you seeking?’ Lily asked.
‘A tall young man travelling with a boy. The boy’s about twelve.’
Gavriel, still on the ground, had stopped heaving. The pain was like a white fire in his arm but he had the presence of mind to realise how intensely dangerous their situation had become. Where was Leo? Had the king shared their secret with Lily and her father?
‘I saw tracks yesterday,’ he offered from the ground.
‘Get up!’ the man ordered. Lily helped Gavriel back to his feet.
‘Backaways, opposite direction. We were trapping hares and it seems someone got to my beasts first — one was missing. I think whoever you seek probably took it.’
‘What do you want with these people?’ Lily asked.
‘They’re on the run,’ the man growled. ‘Go check inside,’ he ordered his two soldiers.
‘You’re after a child?’
‘Not an ordinary child, leper-woman. The Valisar heir!’
Lily glanced up at Gavriel, unable to hide her shock. Gavriel took her hand, squeezed it reassuringly.
‘And the other?’ Greven asked, not looking at Gavriel.
‘Your former legate’s son — one of them, anyway.’
The men emerged from the hut. ‘There’s nothing in there,’ one replied. ‘Just the stench of death. Shall we kill them?’
Gavriel’s heart lurched in his chest.
‘I don’t want to get that close to the lepers. Leave them; they can rot out here alone,’ the leader said, his mouth twisted into a cruel sneer.
‘Thank you,’ Greven said, so politely it made Gavriel’s anger flare. Wisely, however, he held his tongue, enjoying seeing the barbarians flinch as the older man stepped to offer his gratitude.
‘Back off, leper,’ one man warned.
‘What does your king want with our prince?’ Lily persisted.
‘Your new emperor, leper-woman, wants him dead.’
‘But this realm is huge. How will you find him if he’s on the loose?’
‘We’ll keep tracking,’ the leader said, making to leave. ‘And if we don’t find him, the Set people will give him to us anyway, especially when the killing begins.’
‘What do you mean?’ Gavriel asked.
‘All sons of the Set aged eleven to thirteen summertides are to be beheaded, starting today. You Set people shouldn’t be so eager to keep records. You’ve made it very easy for us.’
They left the trio standing in a heavy silence that continued long after they heard the men disappear. Finally, Lily broke the awkward impasse.
‘You’re the legate’s son?’
Gavriel nodded. ‘Gavriel de Vis, my lady,’ he said, giving a brief, awkward bow.
‘And that’s the crown prince hiding beneath our hut?’ she asked, incredulous.
‘Not crown prince, no.’ He saw relief briefly flicker in her eyes. ‘King Leonel of Penraven is his title now.’
Gasping, Lily clutched her hand to her throat.
Gavriel rubbed his face, pulling off the false beard in clumps. ‘Thank you for this and for helping us.’
‘Your arm’s going to need re-stitching,’ Greven said, approaching.
Gavriel hadn’t looked at the older man fully until now and didn’t want to stare. Though his disfigurement was hideous on one side of his face, in profile — on the right side — he looked perfectly whole. ‘I’ll fetch Leo and get us well away from here. We’ve put you in enough danger as it is.’
‘I put the King of Penraven down a hole beneath my hut?’ Lily repeated, dismayed.
‘And saved his life,’ Gavriel said, still pulling at his beard. ‘Strike me, what is this?’
‘Otter fur,’ she answered, glaring at him. ‘We had to make do with whatever we had.’
‘Get the boy out,’ Greven said. Lily headed into the hut, the two men following behind. ‘Tell me what happened,’ Greven ordered. ‘How did you end up here?’
Gavriel gave Greven a shortened version of their circumstances from the moment he had seen his father’s head hacked in two.
Leo emerged from the crawlspace looking defiant. ‘You told them?’
‘I had to.’
Leo looked embarrassed and surprised when Greven and Lily uttered ‘Your majesty,’ in tandem. They both bowed.
Leo cleared his throat, embarrassed. ‘Thank you.’
‘What can we do to help?’ Lily asked, searching Gavriel’s face. ‘They’re going to kill him.’
‘You’ve done enough. You’ve already risked everything. We must leave.’
‘But —’
‘No buts,’ Gavriel replied. ‘I would be grateful if you’d fix up my arm as best you can, and perhaps pack us some food, but we’ve got to be gone from here as soon as possible. They could come back.’
Greven shook his head. ‘They won’t. Lepers scare people.’
‘I’m sorry we lied,’ Leo said. ‘I felt badly because you’ve been so good but we had no choice.’
‘We understand,’ Greven said.
‘Lily, your arms!’ Leo suddenly gasped.
She rubbed at them self-consciously. ‘Nettles. They work a treat and usually fool people — another of my father’s very bright ideas. I’d better find some dock leaves. Resisting the itch is not easy.’
‘My king,’ Greven began. ‘Tell us what we can do. I mean it. We are loyal to the Valisars. Those men alone were terrifying.’
‘And they were nothing compared to the leader of the Greens.’ Gavriel pointed to his face. ‘Each barbarian tribe wears different coloured tatua. No, Greven, we are not leading a rebellion yet. Just now we are merely trying to survive. I gave my word to King Brennus and my father that I would protect Leo with my life. I have to keep him alive, on the run for many years if necessary, until he’s of an age to think about rallying his own forces.’
‘Now is not that time,’ Greven agreed. ‘Our majesty is too young, too vulnerable and the realm is presumably in tatters.’
‘It is,’ Gavriel agreed. ‘But not just ours. Every royal family has been slaughtered throughout the Set. Leo and his adopted brother, Piven, are all that remain of the Set royalty.’ He gestured at Leo. ‘He is precious for all the realms of the Set.’
‘Where will you go?’ Lily asked, anxiously.
‘We’re trying to find a band of outlaws led by a man named Kilt Faris.’
Lily nodded. ‘I’ve heard of him. They say his camp is in the far north.’
‘That’s what we’ve heard too. But I haven’t been able to find out exactly where his camp is.’
‘I suspect if he’s as elusive as the rumours suggest, if he doesn’t want to be found, he won’t be,’ Greven said.
‘He’s our hope, though,’ Leo joined in. ‘We think that, aside from hating the barbarian invasion, he has a genuine interest in keeping the Valisar throne safe.’
‘So he can keep plundering taxes and exploiting the king’s wealth,’ Gavriel explained. ‘We hope to make a bargain with him.’
Lily shook her head with disbelief. ‘Good luck,’ she said wryly. ‘If the right price is offered by the barbarian king I reckon Kilt Faris would sell his very soul. Please don’t tell me you’re counting on Faris having any loyalty to the realm.’
‘No, not loyalty,’ Leo answered. ‘You don’t get to be as successful as Faris without keeping a close eye on the palace and its comings and goings. My father believed Faris not only had spies but that he was never overly greedy with what he stole from the crown. Enough to be irritating, not enough to warrant an all-out price on his head. Father believed he still had some measure of respect for the crown. More, I’m sure, than he’ll have for Loethar, who will not grant him quite the same grace that my father permitted.’
Lily walked away, shaking her head, and busied herself packing food.
‘Go with them, Lily,’ Greven suggested.
‘Are you mad, father? Walk into an outlaw’s den? One woman amongst all those desperates?’
‘Travel as a leper. You know how to do it.’
Lily gave a sound of disgust just as Gavriel shook his head. ‘Absolutely not. It’s hard enough keeping the king safe without another person to protect.’
‘I don’t remember your doing much protecting last night. I was able to sneak up on you pretty easily,’ Lily snapped, slamming the hunk of cheese from the previous evening into a sack.
‘I didn’t mean —’
‘Lily, go. You know this part of the forest like the back of your hand. And you’ve got a good sense of how to travel the woods silently, quickly. These two are like lumbering badgers by comparison.’
She smiled at her father with genuine affection. ‘Father, I can’t leave you alone.’
‘You can, and you will. I’m not an invalid. I’m a leper, that’s all. More than capable of looking after myself. We have to do this, don’t you see? We can’t stand by and meekly hand over our king to the barbarian invaders. We have to protect him. All of us, not just Gavriel de Vis.’
She looked down.
Glancing from Greven to Lily, Leo began, ‘Listen, I appreciate —’
‘I’m sorry, majesty,’ Greven interrupted. ‘But this is not your decision. You may be royal and you may be king, but you are still a child. Our job, as grown-ups, is to protect our young. And I’ve made my decision and unless my daughter’s a coward — which I know she’s not,’ he added as she opened her mouth defensively, ‘then she will pack herself some food in that sack and set out this very morning to lead you north.’
Silence gripped the room.
Gavriel broke it. ‘It’s up to you, Lily.’
‘Father’s right. We have to protect our king.’
Greven nodded. ‘Good. Let’s see to your arm, and let’s make some porridge — no one should travel on an empty belly — and let’s get you on your way.’
Sergius took a long breath.
Searching for an aegis, eh? Are you sure
they didn’t see you, don’t suspect anything?
They didn’t see me. Everyone ignores me now
.
Very cunning of this Freath fellow. I’m impressed
.
How do you find a stranger with no name, when you don’t even
know what he looks like?
Sometimes they find you. Otherwise you have to know what
you’re looking for. Leonel’s aegis will be within eight to ten anni of his
own age, I’m guessing. It’s not certain but it’s a starting point
.
Was the Vested man right in how he said it must occur?
Absolutely right. To bond the aegis, part of him must be
consumed by the Valisar. That’s the trammelling. It’s not for the
faint-hearted
.
What about Brennus’s aegis? Does he just die?
Well, the aegis is already dead in a way. His spirit is owned by the
king and it is the king’s life that sustains his aegis. So if the king dies, so
does his spirit
.
Ravan thought about this.
What if the king never found his aegis,
never trammelled him?
Ah, interesting question. Then the aegis lives his normal life. He is
never bonded, so he dies only of natural causes
.
Can anyone else trammel him?
People have tried over the centuries but no, only a true heir can
trammel an aegis. Yes, Leonel could bond his father’s aegis but there’s
only one aegis per king. So if that were to happen Leonel’s own aegis
would go free
.
And there is an aegis born for all heirs
.
Of course
, Sergius said, pouring himself a fresh brew.
If one of
Iselda’s other sons had made it past childbirth, he would have had his
own aegis
.
Speaking of Iselda’s other sons…there’s something about Piven
.
What do you mean?
I’m not sure yet. There’s just something about him
.
Brennus assured me he is completely lost
.
He is, but…
What?
Sergius sat forward.
I could have imagined it but when Brennus died it was as though I
sensed something flare within the boy. I wasn’t really paying much
attention to him in truth — there was a great deal happening that night. But the child was paying attention to me. He likes me, recognises me or at least is drawn to me.
When you say ‘sensed’, what do you mean exactly?
It’s hard to describe. It was like an awakening. Piven is always
stroking me or near enough to me that our bodies touch. We were
touching when his father was killed and I felt something pass through
the boy
. As Sergius flinched, Ravan cut off his train of thought.
Don’t ask me what it was, exactly, because I don’t know. It was a
feeling, a sensation … a … a pulse
.
Have you noticed a difference in him since then?
Well, increasingly I get the strangest notion that he’s trying to
actually communicate with me
.
Sergius pushed away from the table and stood. He paced, frowning, arms folded, deep in thought.
What are you thinking, old man?
Ravan flew to his shoulder.