WINDDREAMER (15 page)

Conar witnessed Teal and Jenny take their vows in the garden of Boreas Keep. Beside them stood Brelan and Amber-lea, who only moments before had pledged themselves to one another before the old priest. Conar's dark gaze went to the woman whose hand he held in his own. The tears Liza didn't attempt to hide made him smile. He wiped one runaway crystal from her face, and when their gazes met, he felt the sweet burden of her love lighting her eyes. His heart swelled with pride and he thought he would burst from joy. Lowering his head, he planted a soft kiss on her flushed cheek.

Across the span of the garden, each member of the Wind Force had gathered to bring his own special blessing to the couples. They formed a circle of protection around the four lovers at the fountain. Smiles lit even the craggiest faces, and a tender heart showed among men who vowed they did not have one. A few, especially Roget and Jah-Ma-El, wiped moisture from their eyes, but they swore it was sweat from the infernal heat.

Chand Wynth moved closer to Gezelle. He cautiously reached out for her hand, and when she took his fingers in hers, he smiled, a lump in his throat. He looked sideways and found tears easing down her cheeks. When she looked up at him, her happiness showed in her pretty eyes.

Though Legion was happy for Teal and Brelan, he was sadder than he had ever been. He had no one now. Grice had his lady from Fealst, the banns soon to be posted there. Chand had Gezelle. Paegan talked incessantly about a girl he had met on their last voyage to one of the Inner Kingdom emirates. Shalu, Holm, Sentian, and Storm had been married for a long time. Thom had recently asked a village widow to wife. Roget was enamored of a young serving girl right there at Boreas. Chase and Tyne were both trying to decide between several women, while Rylan had surprised them all by bringing his
secret
wife to the Joining that morn.

Even Ching-Ching had found a lady with whom to keep company; and rumor had it that Bent could usually be found several evenings keeping company with a middle-aged spinster in Boreas town. Jah-Ma-El, though he would not own up to it, was courting one of the girls from Ivor who had come to Boreas to work. And Legion had learned only the day before that Marsh crept out at night to meet a girl from a neighboring village.

Legion had lost his only love and knew he would never love again. The day's beauty was dulled for him as he studiously avoided looking toward Conar and Liza.

A cheer went up as the marriage bracelets were joined around the arms of the two men. It was a moment that signified the beginning of their joint loves--separate, but one. Well-wishers gathered around the couples, patting backs, stealing shy kisses from Jenny and Ammie, both no longer so timid of the rough-and-tough men who towered over them.

"They're lovely, aren't they, Conar?" Meggie Ruck sniffed, wiping her rather bulbous nose with a fresh handkerchief as she looked at the two girls.

"Not as lovely as the ladies by my side." He put his arms around both Liza and Meggie.

"Oh, go on with you!" Meggie spluttered, playfully digging her elbow into his side.

"He knows flattery will get him anything he wants, Meg," Liza remarked.

"How well I know!"

"Let's eat!" Cayn called, clasping his hands. "These young folk need their strength for tonight!"

Escorting his new bride to the banquet Sadie and her womenfolk had prepared, Teal held Jenny's chair as she sat beside Amber-lea. He gazed down at Jenny, his heart aching in his chest. Then he looked across the table where Conar sat and smiled. For the first time, he truly understood the great love between Conar and Liza.

The meal was everything the men could have hoped for and the women planned. Delicacies, many of them only heard about before that afternoon, covered the damask tablecloths. Pheasant and veal, roast pork and beef, baked ham and crisply battered porkchops, fried chicken, roast turkey, mullet, shrimp, lobster, lamb and duckling were heaped high on platters the size of a man's chest. Vegetables and fruits, pastries and cakes, tarts and ices ringed the massive oaken table like dainty decorations. Breads and puddings lay scattered as well as sweet cream and jellies, marmalades, and freshly churned and flavored butters. The men had supplied the wine and ale, beer and hasque--a fruit-flavored brandy--while the ladies had provided lemonade and punch.

Teal had been feeding Jenny some of each dish, marveling at her child-like glee with each new delicacy. He teased her that the shrimp would make her warm and loving, and when she blushed, looking down the table at her father, Teal snapped his mouth shut. But Jenny had loved the shrimp, smiling with delight.

When Teal speared a raw oyster, though, Jenny balked and pressed her lips together.

"Ah, come on, Jenny-love. Try it. They say it is the best aphro..." He stopped, feeling Holm's narrowed gaze on him. "It's--it's good."

"No. It's ugly."

"But it tastes delicious!" Teal edged the fork closer to her lips.

Everyone grinned, nudged each other, even took bets on whether du Mer could coax his new bride into trying the raw seafood.

"I'll give you a gold chain if you'll try it," Jah-Ma-El joked, winking at Teal.

Jenny shook her head. "I have a gold chain Milord Conar gave me, so I don't need another. I won't eat anything that looks like somebody with a bad cold coughed up."

Brelan sputtered, spewing wine over the table. Amber-lea hurriedly wiped at his dripping mouth with her napkin.

"Well, it does!" Jenny defended. "It looks like somebody's booger!"

"It looks like snot on a rock," Chand maintained, obviously not liking the delicacy, either.

Chaos broke over the table, the laughter so real and hardy, nothing could be heard above the din. Some people looked at the empty oyster shells on their plates and held their stomachs. A few clicked their tongues, wrinkling their noses with distaste, while one or two simply turned green and gagged.

Teal didn't offer Jenny an oyster again.

Nor did he eat another.

Conar and Liza walked hand and hand in the fields beyond the keep, ever mindful of the mysterious hulking shadows that darted from tree to tree behind them.

"Have you ever spoken to any of the Outer Kingdom men?"

He shook his head. "I've spoken to them, but they've never answered." He looked over his shoulder, squinting. "I just know they're there."

Stopping by the silver stream that led back to the keep, Conar pulled Liza down beside him on the fragrant grass. He had not worn his normal black clothing, for Liza had told him it wasn't appropriate for the wedding. He had compromised with buff-colored breeches, but had still worn his black shirt. Now it was free of his breeches as he reclined on the grassy bank.

"Remind you of anything?" he asked.

She stretched out at an angle beside him, laying her head on his stomach. "When we first rode together from the Hound and Stag."

He smoothed the flowing black hair from her forehead. "You said you had found your destiny. You were so sure."

"I was." She laughed. "It was
you
who wasn't."

"Well," he drawled in his best Chalean accent, "I was engaged to this wee ogress I had yet to meet, and was loathe to begin an affair with so comely a lass as the one I found myself riding beside. I was afraid I'd fall in love with her and not honor my contract with the Toad."

"Yet you did honor your contract. Are you sorry?"

"Not in the least. The ogress wasn't as bad as I thought."

"The Toad! What a horrible name to have called me."

"Oh, but I didn't know you then," he countered, ruffling her hair.

"What evil nickname do you call me now behind my back?"

His smile faded. "Heart of my heart."

Liza sat up. "As you are mine. Not only my heart, but my soul and my life, Milord."

Conar drew her down to him, raising his head to meet her lips. He savored their sweetness, his tongue playfully forcing its way into the tender cavern of her mouth. As the kiss deepened, their arms found one another. With fierce abandon, they began to make love in the bright wash of day on the green grass of Boreas Keep.

"Look away," a gruff voice ordered.

As one, five shadows turned their backs on the couple.

An hour later, Conar and Liza meandered toward the keep, a bright sheen in their eyes, their skin flushed from lovemaking. With fingers entwined, they ventured past the trees where five unseen men stood sentinel.

"Good evening, gentlemen," Conar sighed, feeling their presence.

They gave no answer, but even though Conar could not see them, he knew the exact moment they fell into step behind him.

As the night wore on, Shalu and Jah-Ma-El sat in companionable silence before the smoldering fire. Coolness had invaded the keep, and the fire felt good to their bare toes, stretched toward the flames. In their hands, they held snifters of brandy and little black Ionarian cigars Chase had brought from his homeland. A platter of cold meats and cheeses sat on a table between them.

Jah-Ma-El laid down his cigar and took up a half-eaten turkey leg.

"He will want to go to the Monastery alone," Shalu said. "Occultus has expressly forbidden that."

"Why wasn't the Master at the Joining today?" Jah-Ma-El asked, grease slathering his chin.

"Perhaps the man does not like such flipperies." Shalu frowned. "Joinings are not warrior gatherings."

"But it was nice."

"Aye," Shalu said grudgingly, clearing his throat of the day's sweet memories. " 'Twas well enough, I suppose."

"You enjoyed it."

" 'Twas all right, I said!" Shalu looked at his companion; his lip curled. "Wipe your chin, Jamie!"

Jah-Ma-El laid down the turkey leg and swept the sleeve of his tunic over his mouth. "What if Coni finds out what we're planning?" he asked, burping.

Shalu made a disgusted face as he watched Jah-Ma-El's lack of manners, but for once, he made no comment. "He won't find out. Every precaution has been taken. We'll guard his back, the six of us--Tyne, Rylan, Chase, Grice, you, and me. Holm and Paegan will stay with the ship, anchoring it off the coastline above the monastery where it can't be seen. Sentian, Bent, and Thom will go with Brelan and Roget up the other side of the monastery where it sits into the mountainside. Belvoir knows the way through that hidden place. Ching-Ching and Occultus will be leaving for Chrystallus on the
Boreal Queen.
The Master doesn't want to be where Kaileel can find him easily, should we fail at the first attempt." Shalu frowned. "I suppose we could use that Duncan fellow to guard the rendezvous point."

Jah-Ma-El looked up. "You don't like him, do you? Is there a reason?"

Shalu shrugged his massive shoulder. "Nothing I can name...just a feeling that he isn't what he seems. You have not told me why he originally left Boreas."

After tossing the turkey leg into the fire, Jah-Ma-El wiped his hand on his stained breeches. He wiggled his toes and threw his hands over his head, stretched and yawned. "What do you want to know?"

"All of it."

Casting his friend a tired look, Jah-Ma-El sighed. "You have to understand, these are things I've gathered from Legion, Conar, and Brelan. Some from Cayn. I was at Norus with Galen, then, who had been sent there with a couple of Tribunal priests to be Regent. The twins were fourteen, I think when Queen Moira died. She had been slowly declining in health for a few months. Cayn had been doing all he could for her, testing her even for poison, but there was no indication that such was the case."

Shalu's gaze narrowed. "But you aren't sure."

"There are poisons and then there are poisons. No trace of any such potion was found in her system, but her illness was too vague. She had lost a great amount of weight and her hair had fallen out in patches. She had horrible cramps and moments of delirium. The King was so worried, he let nearly everything in the kingdom go to rot and ruin. He had no time for his sons. Had he noticed his heir's moodiness, he might have been able to help Conar cope with what had been done to him by Tohre and the Domination."

"Do you think the Domination was behind the Queen's illness?"

"I've no way of knowing, although I would not put it past them. Conar came home from the Monastery and tried to kill himself before her illness. The Tribunal looked upon Conar's suicide attempt as a stubborn refusal to go about princely duties. They insisted the King send him back to Tohre, but Queen Moira would not allow it. I believe she knew something bad had happened, although I'd wager Conar did not tell her. She even went before the Tribunal to ask for an inquiry, and as I understand it, soon afterward she became ill."

"The Domination controlled the Tribunal," Shalu remarked. "Her interference would not have been tolerated."

"Precisely."

"So they may well have rid themselves of a troublemaker. It fits, doesn't it?"

Jah-Ma-El nodded. "This was also about the time that Raja began to take interest in the young men of the keep. She had quite an influence on Conar, and soon afterward, he told the King he would have nothing more to do with the Priesthood. No matter how hard his father tried to get him to finish his instructions, Conar refused, supposedly telling his father the Lady Raja said he need not be a priest to be a good King."

Shalu whistled. "That must have gone over well with Gerren."

"Because of it, Conar got his first whipping--or that's what his father thought. If only the King had known how accustomed Conar had become to beatings."

"Tohre has a lot to atone for," Shalu mumbled. "Then what happened?"

"At that time, Duncan was living here. His mother was a highborn lady, sister to Rylan and Paegan's mother, I think. He had been training, like most of the King's sons, with Hern. He was supposedly good with his fists and had that remarkable thatch of black hair the ladies seemed to find quite thrilling. Since he was so much bigger for his age than most of the other boys, he worked part time with the stonemason. He also seemed to have a flair for sculpting. At any rate, it didn't seem all that strange when Kaileel commissioned Duncan for a small statue of Alel for the sacristy. Thinking back on what Legion told me, though, I wonder..."

"About what?" Shalu pressed.

"Well, obviously Kaileel had other things in mind for the boy, although for the life of me I don't understand why. Duncan didn't have the blond, blue-eyed look Tohre fancies. Legion said Duncan spent a lot of time at the Temple, sketching from the large statue there. That meant he was around Tohre a great deal. On the day Duncan left home, he'd been at the Temple with Tohre. He came home crying, running to Legion, who was in his early twenties, as I recall. He said Tohre had raped him, but he didn't want Legion to tell their father, since the King had enough on his mind with the Queen's illness. Legion vowed he would not until the Queen was better."

"But the Queen never got better."

"No. As a matter of fact, she died that very night with Conar at her bedside. Coron and Dyllon were too young, still in the nursery, and Galen was visiting Norus, where he would be taking regency when he turned sixteen."

"Did Galen love his mother?" Shalu asked abruptly.

"I really don't know. He was always cold. He probably cared as much about her as it was possible for him. Why?"

Shalu shrugged. "No reason. Go on..."

"Duncan went to the Queen, paying his respects as he did each day. Whatever had passed between them had obviously upset her, for when Conar entered her room, his mother began to sob wildly, holding him to her as though never to let him go."

"You think Duncan told her what had happened? What must have happened to Conar?"

"That would be my guess. Later, a maid told the King that her mistress had rung for her. She supposedly passed Duncan, leaving the Queen's room. The maid said the Queen shouted for her to go after her two boys, meaning Conar and Galen. The maid met Conar outside the room, telling him to hurry to his mother, while she went in search of a messenger to send for Galen."

"Where was Gerren while all this was going on?"

"No one seems to know. During that time, he was never that far from his wife, but he may have gone to the Temple to pray. I understand he was a very religious man. At any rate, when he returned to the room, he found his wife dead in Conar's arms. When the King found out that Duncan had caused her such distress, he sent guards after him, meaning to punish him for causing her death."

"The boy couldn't have been held accountable," Shalu said. "Surely Gerren wouldn't have hurt him."

"Duncan believed he would have, for he ran away. No one heard from him again--until now. After the burial, the King came to his senses and sent men to find Duncan, to no avail."

"How old was he?"

"Eighteen or nineteen. Why?" Jah-Ma-El sat forward and stretched his hands toward the fire.

"Don't you find it strange that a boy of his age would just disappear? I would have wanted to clear my name if someone thought me the cause of my stepmother's death. Maybe I'm looking at it from my own viewpoint, but I don't think Gerren was such a tyrant that his own flesh and blood would be so scared. Unless..."

"Unless, what?"

Shalu stared into the fire, his thoughts dark and troubling. "Unless Duncan had reason to fear his father's wrath."

"You think he
was
the cause of her death?"

"And I think he might have been put up to doing it."

"By Tohre?"

Shalu nodded. "Or Tolkan."