Wolf's Blood (94 page)

“Third, the sea monsters who are currently making your vast fleet completely ineffective were kind enough to raise clouds that occluded the stars. Thus. when we did lower the shield, those who were on guard did not notice the change.

“I am not going to waste time on details. The gates have been taken, and we now hold them. Most of the injuries and loss of life during the active fighting was to your forces. Your armed forces were encouraged to surrender. Those who did not were killed. The injured are being treated by your own medical corp, under appropriate supervision.”

Ynamynet paused, glanced down at her notes, and then said, “Any questions?”

King Bryessidan of the Mires, seated in the center of the row of chairs, said angrily, “I don’t believe it!”

Ynamynet gave one of her wintry smiles. “We rather thought you would not. However, as we are not inclined to take you for a tour, you will have to settle for our word augmented by the testimony of one of your own. Talianas of Tishiolo, would you care to report what you saw when you came through the gate shortly before dawn?”

Talianas spoke Pellish, the language in which the meeting was being conducted, with an accent that reminded Firekeeper somewhat of what she had heard in New Kelvin.

“I made the transition,” she said, her hands folded in her lap tightening so that the knuckles whitened, “and found myself faced by four soldiers in unmatched livery holding bows on me. Their leader, a dark-skinned man I have since learned is General Skea, demanded the surrender of myself and my companion. As it would have been foolish to do otherwise. I surrendered.

“General Skea took custody of myself and my companion, and after ascertaining that no one was expected to follow, took us on a short tour of the gateway hillside. What we saw was, to say the least, disheartening. All the gates were firmly in Nexan hands, each with its own group of archers standing ready. More troops patrolled the hillside itself, ready and at call. Birds of various sorts perched where they could maintain a ready line of sight between all points. General Skea demonstrated how an alarm could be raised and relayed within moments.

“Our own troops had been disarmed, and forced to relinquish their armor. They had then been ushered down to a beach where their only options for flight were rock-filled waters or the maws and claws of the Beasts that stood watch. These Beasts were augmented by a scattering of archers, so that should some contingent decide to take the chance of rushing forth, at least some would be picked off.

“General Skea told me that those in the beachside encampment were infantry. The infirmary was separate, and the Once Dead are being held elsewhere as well, apart, not only from the troops at large, but from each other. Iron has been used to limit their magical abilities.”

Talianas had delivered this report in something of a monotone, hands folded, but now she unlocked her hands to show that her own wrist was encompassed by an iron bracelet.

“The Nexans have not been unduly cruel,” Talianas said. “There is fabric between the iron and my skin. Nonetheless, I would find performing even the slightest spell difficult, and I must assume the same is true for the other Once Dead.”

Talianas signaled the conclusion of her report by settling back in her chair and lowering her hands.

Before Ynamynet could say any more, Kynan of Hearthome snarled, “What did they promise you to tell us all that? It can’t be that bad! I refuse to believe it. My soldiers are trained warriors. Even roused from sleep, they could not be defeated by a handful of animals and makeshift soldiers.”

Talianas did not deign to reply. Derian, his lips pressed tight to hide a smile at this first sign of dissension between the allies, rose and addressed Kynan.

“We have received reinforcements since you last saw our armies. Did you think you knew all the secrets of the Nexus Islands? You did not expect the shield. What else do we have at our disposal that you did not expect?”

Kynan bit his lip, but did not reply. Firekeeper permitted herself a lazy grin and rubbed the fur at the edge of Blind Seer’s nearer ear.

“Kynan has been bragging that his soldiers, at least, would not be defeated, no matter what tricks were played on him. This news has bitten him hard.”

“Now Ynamynet prepares to bite them again,”
Blind Seer said, angling his head so that Firekeeper could better reach an itchy spot.
“She smells of pleasure at the thought.”

“Many of you already know that General Skea, commander of our army, is my husband. He is coordinating our force, and has asked me to speak for him.”

“Likely because you can’t spare even a single man,” Fromalf of Tavetch muttered through swollen lips.

Firekeeper doubted whether Fromalf thought anyone could overhear this little bit of defiance, but once again he had underestimated the yarimaimalom. She waited until Fromalf’s gaze passed over her, and touched her bow in warning. Blind Seer panted a smile that showed all his teeth. Fromalf, fairskinned after his kind, visibly paled.

Ynamynet, unaware of—or possibly ignoring—what Fromalf had said, continued to speak.

“Skea said you should be aware that our earlier precautions were meant to keep loss of life on your side to a minimum. If you consider those precautions, you will realize the truth in that. Why would we have caged those who came through the gates and then sent them back intact if we were your enemies? We refused you access to the gates, true, but we had our reasons, and as the Nexus Islands are ours, our reasons should have been enough.”

Several of the commanders stirred at this, but they held their words until Ynamynet had finished speaking.

Already,
Firekeeper thought gleefully,
they are learning who is One, and who is the least of the least.

Ynamynet’s expression, neutral to this point, became stern.

“Skea says to tell you that our tactics will no longer be geared toward keeping intruders alive. Any who come through the gates will be given one chance to surrender. After that, the arrows will fly. We have ample arrows, now, and ample bows, taken from your own forces. Doubtless, in a few hours, our appearance will not present the motley nature that so offended and confused Commander Talianas. We are in command of the Nexus Islands, and we will continue in command of the Nexus Islands. Your own actions have assured that this will be so.”

Aurick of Pelland made sign that he would speak, but waited until Ynamynet acknowledged him.

“I believe all we have been told.” he said. “Clearly, there has been a severe and life-wasting misunderstanding between our peoples. Might we know why we were refused the use of the gates?”

Ynamynet pressed her lips together, and Derian took over speaking. Firekeeper knew this had been planned in advance, to make her seem the more stern, he the more lenient, and she was impressed by how well the two played their parts.

“As you must already know,” Derian said, “I and several of my companions—including Plik, who sits here to my right, and Firekeeper down there on the floor—are from the New World. That is where the yarimaimalom come from as well. Since we know you have spoken with Tiniel, you probably have heard some version of how we came to the Nexus Islands and why.

“I will not waste time on finer points of that story. Suffice to say, we came here almost by accident, but when we had come, we realized we could not leave open a way into the New World without having some say in how it was used. Learning that querinalo, a legend in our own land, remained alive and dangerous in the Old World greatly influenced our choice.

“We did not know how querinalo spread, or if we permitted commerce between the New World and the Old whether we would also be trading in the Plague. We decided to work out the details of how to handle these matters, and that while we did so trade through the gates must be slowed.”

Merial of Azure Towers said, “Why didn’t you explain this?”

Derian gave her a long look. “Commander Merial, it is a great deal to explain. Moreover, why should we do so? Are you in the habit of explaining the policies of Azure Towers to, say, Hearthome, or of asking Tishiolo for permission to regulate your internal business?”

“Of course not!” Merial snapped, stung as Derian had intended her to be, by the reference to two of the lands with which Azure Towers shared a border.

“Then why should the Nexus Islands explain while regulating matters of its own internal trade?” Derian said reasonably.

“But,” bellowed Bryessidan of the Mires, rising to his feet, “the Nexus Islands exists precisely because it agreed to provide trade through the gateways. If that trade is refused, then surely the Nexus Islands forfeited some of their rights.”

Ynamynet cut in as Derian began to speak. “I was there when those agreements were made, King Bryessidan. I knew your father, and served him in his war. Don’t tell me about our right to exist. The Mires would not exist for you to lord over if we Once Dead had not agreed to support King Veztressidan. We have not forgotten that, but it seems that you may have done so.”

She had risen to her feet as she spoke, her frosty coolness become a blast of wintery storm. Derian put a hand on her arm, and she took her seat with reluctance.

“That last,”
Blind Seer said, gnawing at the side of the pad on his right front paw,
“was not all performance. Ynamynet holds anger at the Mires that Bryessidan would take care not to forget. Nor should those of her homeland forget that they drove the Once Dead into exile in Veztressidan ’s court. She and the Old World Nexans have not forgotten
,
not for a moment.”

“I think they will not,”
Firekeeper replied,
“now.”

Indeed, King Bryessidan had retaken his seat with the haste of a pup rolling before the Ones. Merial of Azure Towers had gone motionless. Perhaps they were remembering what Tiniel must have related to them about how the Spell Wielders who had challenged Firekeeper and Derian had lost that challenge. Perhaps they were only remembering that, for all the courtesy the Nexans were showing them, they were prisoners.

Derian gave Ynamynet an anxious glance that was only partly show. Firekeeper caught the horsey scent of his sweat, and knew he was hoping that Ynamynet was willing to let old injuries be left out of new negotiations. Last night, when the Nexan leaders had conferred after the gates had been retaken, many of the Nexans had not been in the mood for forgiving.

Ynamynet gave him a thin-lipped smile and said, “You were explaining to the seven here the situation as it stands.”

Derian nodded and turned to face the commanders.

“We of the Nexus Islands do plan to resume trade, and had been of a mind to recompense your rulers for losses that had originated from our refusing early spring transits. Needless to say, we are no longer interested in providing recompense, nor do we intend to do so. However, we are willing to resume transits—eventually and on our terms.”

From the small side-to-side motions of the seven commanders’ heads. Firekeeper knew that each wished to see how their associates were reacting, but that they were too proud to check.

She waited. Would they remember that the situation had changed, that the Nexans no longer needed the Old World now that they had contact with the New?

Seven faces stilled to immobility of which an owl might have been proud. Derian permitted himself a small smile.

“Of course, we would not expect you to agree without hearing what we intend, and having time to think about it. The matter is more complex than you might imagine. Indeed, it is more complex than I imagined until it was explained to me. My suggestion is this. We will take a short break to enable you to consider what you have learned. and to perhaps speak among yourselves. When we resume, I will have our senior statesman, Plik of the maimalodalum, explain the situation to you, and hopefully show you that our terms are to your own best advantage.”

XLVI

  PLlK STOOD ON his chair behind the table. He saw the seven commanders studying him, and knew from the expressions of interest but not shock that Tiniel had probably told them something about him.

He smoothed his chest fur with both his front hands, and began: “I am Plik of the maimalodalum—the beast-souled, for those of you who do not speak the language of Liglim. We are descended from creatures created by the mishandling of magic. Given what we are. you should not be in the least surprised to discover that one of the main topics of discussion among the adults of our community is the ethics and responsibilities that should ideally rule the use of magic. They were largely theoretical discussions, for we had no more magic in our community than is found generally.

“I realize that, strange as I am to your eyes, you have no idea how old I am. I am over seventy years old. In my early life I knew many, maimalodalum and Beast alike, who were alive in the days before querinalo removed magic as a ruling force in the world.”

Plik paused, but the seven commanders were listening intently, and not a one, not even King Bryessidan of the Mires, who had shown himself so impulsive and temperamental, made a move to interrupt.