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Chapter 8
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He’s coming for you. Running isn’t going to keep him away. He can find you anywhere. He’s coming for you.
“Shut up,” Marc yelled as he closed the door to the Lord Chancellor’s quarters, located one floor directly beneath the King’s chambers. He moved back to the bedroom and dressing room without looking around at the many rooms that now constituted his home. “I’m not running from anything. You don’t own me, so shut up.”
“Marc?”
He jerked around, shaking from sudden fear, and relaxed only a little when he found Loren watching him from the door. “What are you doing here?”
Her eyebrows rose in surprise over his tone, but she smiled anyway. “I’m just taking a quick look around to see how much work these rooms are going to need. Who were you talking to?”
“No one. Myself.” He pulled in a breath, trying to steady his nerves, turning from her. He wished she’d leave. “I have to get dressed. Do you mind?”
“No, I don’t mind. You go ahead. I still have a few rooms to check.” She turned from the door, glancing down the hallway. “Are you going to the funeral?”
“No.”
“Me either.” She looked back at him, then disappeared.
He dressed quickly in his formal dress uniform, struggling with all the buttons and fasteners, wishing he could think of some way to avoid the reception and the High Bishop. Marc knew who he was without remembering how he found out. The dream, or what ever it had been, was only a reminder, a terrifying one he didn’t understand and didn’t want to think about. The insidious voice inside his mind kept whispering to him, warning him that the High Bishop meant to take him, willing or not.
“Very handsome,” Loren said, standing in the door again, smiling at him when he turned. He shook his head, feeling only sickened by what he felt in her presence. Then she was standing right next to him, reaching for him because she saw that he was upset, if not understanding the reasons for it. “What is it, Marc? You seem afraid to get close to anyone now. I’ve watched you, always walking by yourself, standing apart from a group. You can’t avoid being around other people forever. It isn’t healthy.”
“What I might do to you isn’t healthy either, Loren.”
“Do to me? You mean cause me some kind of harm because you’re standing next to me? How?”
He moved her away from him. “I don’t have time to talk about it.”
She shook her head and moved right back next to him, making matters worse by putting her arms around him tightly. “I think you better take the time, my Lord Chancellor. I’m worried about you. You’ve only been awake hardly a day and already so much has happened. You’re not being given any time to deal with what happened before. I know you’re not alone in that, but in your case it’s probably more important. Please, talk to me. You said you weren’t going to the funeral, so right now might be my only chance. Yours too.”
He pulled in a breath after a moment, aware by the stubborn set to her jaw that she wasn’t going to let him go unless he forced her to. He couldn’t bring himself to do that. “There’s this energy field around you. I don’t know what else to call it. I can see it, feel it when I get too close to you, or anyone, and I can’t avoid taking it when I’m near you.”
“So while you‘re next to me all this is going on and you feel like this is causing me harm somehow?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I don’t feel a thing. What makes you think you’re hurting me?”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s what I thought. You don’t know. So come over here, sit down with me, and I’ll be sure to tell you if I feel bad.”
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”
She took his hand, pulling him after her with surprising strength. She led him into the next room, a small parlor that was in reasonably decent repair. “I’m not going to let you do this to yourself. We’re going to find out right now if this is good or bad. I know that what Maralt did to you has caused this, but I refuse to believe your awareness of this energy field, or what ever it is could ever hurt anyone. Did it occur to you that maybe because it’s outside of me, that it’s something I don’t need? I still feel fine, you know.”
He tried to move away from her, but she wouldn’t let him. She pushed him down on the couch, sat with him, and wrapped her arms around his neck, making it impossible for him to move. “Would you stop?”
“No.” She smiled at him. “Maybe it’s not so much what you see, as what you feel. Is that it?”
“Yes.”
“Does it feel good or bad?”
“Both.”
She nodded then, still holding him. “Bad how?”
“It’s not right.”
“Not right because Maralt showed you this, or not right because it’s going to hurt me? I still feel all right.”
“I don’t know if it’s going to hurt you. I’d rather not risk finding out.”
“I don’t think it hurts me or anyone else. You’re going to have to get used to it since you can’t avoid it. You said you couldn’t help taking it. How does that work?”
He shook his head at her. “By breathing. Something else I can’t avoid. Will you please let me go?”
“No, not yet. Does the same thing happen with Shalis?”
“Yes, only worse.”
“Or better, depending on how you look at it. Just because Maralt made you aware of this doesn’t make it automatically bad. You’re not Maralt. You won’t ever be Maralt. What he did to you was terrible. You have to find some way to live with that and all the consequences. We all do. You’re not alone. He did things to me that I can hardly bear to think about.” She paused a moment, looking at him. “It’s a constant reminder, isn’t it?”
He nodded slowly, wishing she would let him go. He didn’t like the way it made him feel, though he admitted the feeling wasn’t a bad one.
“I still feel fine.” She smiled at his exasperated expression. “You said it made you feel good and bad. We know about the bad part. Maralt did this to you. Now, what about the good part.”
Marc laughed. “You’re a pain, you know that?”
“You breathe in this extra energy of mine and it makes you feel what?”
“Like I shouldn’t be doing it.”
“Come on, Marc. What does it feel like? It isn’t bad at all, is it?”
“No,” he admitted after a long silence.
“That’s something, anyway. Now, think about this. Maralt was not capable of creating anything good, but he knew how to take a good thing and corrupt it to his purpose. What he did to you made this awareness possible, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t ever supposed to be like this. Think of it as something you found out before you were meant to, if that will make it any easier to accept. You can’t avoid breathing and you can’t stop being around other people. Knowing that you aren’t hurting anyone should help too. If anything, I feel better.”
He looked at her, surprised to hear that. “Really?”
“It’s almost like when you walk into the arbor for the first time on board the XR-9, how wonderful it feels to breathe in all that fresh air.”
“You’re not saying that to make me feel better, are you?”
“No. It doesn’t feel any different than the way I always felt after having a chance to sit and have a long talk with you. Perhaps the only difference now is that you’re aware of the effect. That doesn’t make it wrong.”
He looked at her doubtfully, but had to admit he felt better. “I just don’t want to hurt anyone.”
“You’re not, so stop worrying about it.” She watched him for a moment and he finally had to look away. “When I heard you talking, you said you weren’t running from anyone. Who, Marc?”
“I don’t know.”
“Maralt?”
“Maybe.”
“He’s still inside you?”
“No, not the way you’re thinking. Just in my dreams. I’ll never be free of him, Loren. He did something to me that makes me look at everyone differently. It’s not just being near you or taking energy from you. It makes me want more. It makes me want to get inside your mind. Since I’ve done it before, it’s even harder not to think about. I could kill you.”
“I don’t believe that. Everything you did was to save us. You can’t forget that. Your intentions were always honest.”
“But will they always be? Will my intentions always be good?”
“As honest as you’ve ever been. Holding on to your good intentions, being honest and just, have never been easy. Even before we came here, but especially here under the circumstances we face. You managed before. Hold on to that person, Marc, who always seemed to know the right thing to do. I know you’re in there somewhere. Remember who you are, Captain, and you’ll do fine.”
Marc laughed at that, looking at the seal on his uniform. “This is a long way from being the Captain of the Gailorn.”
“Not so far, although I do admit it’s a little hard to equate Dynan with Daryl Bryel, but you know what I mean.”
“I’m sure Dynan would have a thing or two to say about that.” He looked at her. “How are you two doing, anyway?”
Her expression gave him the answer, but he waited her out. “He’s going to ruin himself because of me. He still wants to try and make me his Queen. We hadn’t talked about it until last night. He’s not going to give up and I’m afraid of what will happen when he finds out that he has to. He thinks he can find a way to keep me with him.”
“But you don’t believe it.”
She shook her head. “Alexia and Creal know who I am, or rather, who I’m not.”
“I’d sure like to know how she found out,” he said.
“Maralt told her. Not directly of course, but he made sure she knew.”
“You’re certain?”
“That’s what he said.”
Marc frowned for a second. “Did Maralt indicate to you that he told Alexia about your marriage?”
Loren paused to think about that, but then she was shaking her head. “I suppose he could have, but he gave me the impression that he didn’t think the ceremony was legitimate, as he put it.”
“Does Dynan know this?”
“No. We haven’t had many opportunities to talk about it and when we’re together, well, that’s the last thing we want to think about.”
“He needs to know about this, Loren. Drake too. I thought all along that Alexia might have found out from Maralt. Drake assured me that she wouldn’t use information from him because the penalty for collaborating with a known enemy of Dynan’s was too great a risk for her. If we can find her agent, we might just be able to turn this around.”
“I don’t see how. If we try to stop her, all she’ll have to do is tell what she knows. The other system rulers could use this situation to declare him unfit to rule. The people of Cobalt could react the same way. What difference does it make how she found out?”
“It’s called collusion and it’s illegal. More so than what Dynan did. Breaking the non-interference laws by going to Cadal will seem like nothing next to that. She’s conspiring against another system. Cadal isn’t recognized. That’s the difference.” He stopped, aware of her sudden fear; a hope taken away and returned so unexpectedly. “So Dynan was willing to keep up the appearance without knowing about this? Don’t give up just yet, Princess. I promise you, we’ll do our best to see you crowned Queen at his side.”
“Marc.”
He pulled her into a hug, glad that she had persisted and made him stay. He was calm enough now that he thought he might be able to face the High Bishop, the voice inside momentarily silenced. “Thank you.”
She kissed him. “We’re going to be all right. Both of us. You and I, we have to stay together.”
“Yes we do, except now I have to go. If I want to make it to this reception, there are a few things I need to see to first. Are you going to be there?”
“Yes. Dynan insisted. I think he’s crazy.”
“Don’t hide from them. Now, at least you know you don’t have to. Alexia made a mistake, Loren, and we’re going to catch her.” He stood, pulling her up and walked with her to the hall outside the King’s quarters. She left him there and he started down the long stair wishing again for a lift.
“Marc,” Kyle’s voice came through his receiver, making him jump.
“Go ahead.”
“Tylin is on the move. So is Alse; on his way to the funeral. I’m thinking Tylin is going to pass our message to him.”
“Good. All we have to wait for is Arlon to move and Alse to meet him. Then we’ll have what we need.”
“Are you sure we don’t have what we need now?”
“What do you suppose is in Tylin’s message? I doubt it’s a report on my suspicions. Arlon isn’t going to risk our getting anything that could implicate them. He’s going to tell Alse in person.”
“How do you know that?”
Marc smiled. “Just a feeling. As soon as we have Alse, you can take Tylin. Keep an eye on him and keep me informed.”
In the main hall, a steady stream of people entered the Throne Room. Marc knew the High Bishop was with Dynan and the other Royals in the dining hall parlor. He wondered if he should go ahead and get this meeting over with now rather than later, but he thought doing so might require him to attend the ceremony.
He glanced to his left as he reached the foot of the grand stair. The massive doors leading to the underground caverns of the Hall of Kings stood open. He had no desire to go down there, wondering suddenly how Dain would manage it. He walked on the far side of the hall from the parlor, hoping he wouldn’t be noticed. He didn’t look to see if anyone saw him and made his way through the growing throngs that parted to let him pass. He found Kyle just inside the King’s office, watching the proceedings through the doorway.
“Give me a run down on security,” Marc said, turning to watch with him.
“Again? All right, sorry. There are a hundred guards inside the Throne Room alone. That unit will redeploy to the ballroom after the procession moves into the Hall of Kings, where another hundred guards are stationed. There are fifty out in the main hall now. If you want more than that, we’ll have to pull them off the base. Fifteen Exile troops will walk with the Royals. We have to find a new name for them. They aren’t exiles any more and they’re starting to grumble about the designation.”
“How about Prince’s Guard for now?”
“That’ll do. Tylin has met with Alse. Just in passing, or so it seemed to the casual observer, but a message was delivered.”
“He thinks he so smart.”
“He is smart, Marc. Not to say you aren’t brighter than he, but we shouldn’t underestimate him. I’d still like to know who they’d have on the Throne. There isn’t anyone, unless you count Westiben.”
“Our wayward Admiral,” Marc said. “Where is he being held?”
“Still in the guest wing. Well away from the Royals, but on the same floor. We’ll have to change that fairly soon too.”
Marc agreed. “Wouldn’t want Alexia to find out she’s being housed with criminals. I’ll be back in my office. Alse won’t be going anywhere until after the reception. I have to attend, but I don’t expect to stay long. Do we have enough men to cover Alse should he move?”
“I can pull two off Arlon’s watch. They’re the best I have and I recommend we use them.”
“Leaving four on Arlon? I don’t feel very comfortable with that.”
“I’d rather send slightly under-trained men as replacements to Arlon, than have inexperienced men following Alse.”
“Do that then, but do it now. As soon as this reception is over Alse will move. So will Arlon. I want to be ready when that happens.”
Kyle shook his head. “I sure hope you’re right.”
“Me too.”
Marc smiled at him and went back to his office to wait. He busied himself with looking over what was expected of him at the Governor’s meeting the next day, groaning at what he saw. The thought of speaking in front of that particular group was more than a little terrifying. Many of the system’s Governors had only heard his name. While today’s reception would change that, he knew they would be judging every word he said. He didn’t have any idea how to go about ensuring that he conveyed everything he needed to. If events with Alse went as he hoped they would, Marc would likely be saying a lot the Governors wouldn’t like. He made a note to inform Commander Morlin of the operation’s current status, hoping at the same time that he wasn’t forgetting something important.
He heard voices approaching and realized at the same instant that Dynan was bringing the High Bishop back to the King’s office. He hadn’t expected that they would enter the Throne Room from there when he should have. There wasn’t anywhere he could go, wishing for a convenient hiding place. He didn’t want to meet the man without a lot of other people around, insurance against the High Bishop doing anything.
He’s coming for you.
Marc forced himself to his feet, trying to breathe evenly, but found it impossible through the pounding fear that shook him. Shalis appeared first, stopping abruptly when she saw him. Her hair showed starkly against the dark fabric of her gown, making her face seem so pale.
“Marc?”
Dain came in behind her, stopping as well. “Shalis, go on.”
“But...”
“Do as I say, please.” Shalis frowned angrily at him, but she listened when Marc had hoped that this time she wouldn’t. “You have got to tell me what’s wrong,” Dain said quietly, moving to stand by him.
High Bishop Gradyn Vall preceded Dynan and he also seemed surprised to find Marc in the office. He seemed older in person, with penetrating eyes that saw through him, into his mind and soul without the slightest difficulty.
Marc took a step back, trying to hide the fact that he was shaking.
Dynan hesitated while he stood at the door looking back and forth from Marc to Dain in growing concern. Marc could tell he was talking to Dain and suddenly heard them without making a conscious effort to do so. “What is wrong with him?”
“I don’t know, Dynan, except that he’s terrified of something.” Dain turned, suddenly aware of him. “He’s also listening. I’ll stay with him.”
“You can’t stay with him, Dain.”
“I think the High Bishop is expecting an introduction,” Dain said, aware that the silence and lack of movement had lasted long enough to become noticeable.
Marc could see that Dynan wasn’t happy with what he saw as an invasion. He tried to block them out and couldn’t, increasing his panic, which in turn kept him from maintaining any kind of concentration.
“Eminence, this is Cobalt’s new Lord Chancellor, Marc Talryn,” Dynan said, with a weary frown in Marc’s direction.
“Yes, I’ve heard quite a lot about you, my Lord.”
The High Bishop moved across the room toward him. Hundreds of voices erupted in Marc’s mind. The weight of a thousand thoughts crushed him. He saw a hand raised, coming toward him.
Dain stiffened and Marc could tell he was trying to block what he heard. Dynan couldn’t. He reached blindly for the doorframe, struggling against the wailing multitude that suddenly struck him. Dain stepped in front of the High Bishop. “We have a slight problem to take care of here. It shouldn’t take us long.”
“Of course,” the Bishop said, glancing at Marc. “I look forward to seeing you again, my Lord.”
Dain smiled tightly as the Bishop turned, but the moment he did, his face twisted in pain. “Marc, you have to stop. Come with me. Please. I can make them go away.”
“I can’t.”
“Dain?” Dynan asked nervously.
“You won’t hurt me. There are nine hundred people in the next room that are causing this. Come with me.”
He held out his hand and Marc took it, terrified he was wrong, and suddenly felt the same fear from Dain as he reached for Dynan too.
The Gailorn opened around them, gulls screeching overhead. Water lapped at the ship and Marc felt safe again. Dain eased Marc down to the deck, pulled in a breath, and let him go. “See? All gone. I have got to teach you how to block.”
Dynan stared at him in disbelief, still a little angry, but afraid as well. Dain turned to him, trying to explain. Marc curled his legs up, wrapping his arms around his knees, wishing he were home.
He looked up and saw the lawn sloping down to the dock from the back porch where he sat. The next instant he was aware that Dynan and Loren sat by the water at the end of the pier and realized what he was doing as Dain appeared beside his brother.
“Marc, you have to stay with me,” he said and started up toward him. “Don’t think. Where we are is fine. Just hold on to this for a minute longer until I can get to you.”
Dain took hold of him the moment he was close enough. Marc felt like shrinking from him, but he was afraid to do anything for fear of what might happen. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. It’s not that you don’t know how to block, really. You just can’t seem to hold onto it once you get there. Dynan had the same problem when he was learning how to do this. If you want to know, he’s the reason you don’t have any control. Every place you’ve brought me has been far too complex for a beginner. Dynan was always in a hurry too, so it’s no wonder that he started you out with places like this.”
He waited while Dynan and Loren joined them, then reached for her, nodding to his brother. An empty room rose around them. Two opaque windows provided ample light. The walls were plain stone that held a yellow cast. It was clean, quiet, and unadorned.
“There. This is what you need to start with, although a chair might be nice for the lady. Keep it simple, Marc.” He nodded, and a plain wooden chair appeared next to Loren. “That’s good. Now, you concentrate on the chair for a minute. Get to know it. Every splinter.” He turned to Dynan.
“All this is a case of his not being able to block?” he asked.
“That’s right. The basic necessity for any telepath, adept or not, is to know how to block.”
“He’s never been able to and nothing like this has happened before. Why?”
“This isn’t a static process. His abilities have grown far faster than his command of this requirement has. It’s like going from riding a horse to piloting the XR-30. I bet you wouldn’t let him do that. I know I wouldn’t. Add a little danger into that picture, or fear, or any other kind of emotion, and what you have is someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing. What happens? They crash. He’s crashing, Dynan. He got scared. No, I don’t know why. It doesn’t matter why. He lost control. He couldn’t stop what happened any more than he could stop the XR-30 from hitting a moon, and I know you remember what an unpleasant experience that is.”
“All right, Dain. What are we going to do about it?”
“Right now, I’m going to get Loren back where she belongs. Then you’re going with the High Bishop and Shalis to get this funeral started. Can you take this room?”
“Yes.”
“All right. I’ll be back in a minute. Marc, stay with the chair. Don’t mess with this, Dynan.” He turned to Loren. “Where are you?”
She was startled by the question. “I’m upstairs in my room.”
“Where, exactly?”
“It’s my bedroom inside Shalis’ quarters.”
“Good enough. Come with me.”
She looked at Dynan first and Dain waited through the goodbyes before he disappeared with her. Marc kept his eyes on the chair, examining the spindle of one leg increments at a time, but he was aware that Dynan watched him.
“What did you dream about?” Dynan asked after a moment. He jerked suddenly when the ceiling rose abruptly and the light changed. “Never mind. Forget I asked that. Think about the chair. Go back to the ... yes, all right. This room is fine, really. I’m just going to sit down here with this nice chair in front of me.”
He slid down to the floor, pulling in an unsteady breath. His nervousness didn’t help Marc keep his own fear from seizing control. He knew Dynan was thinking about what he’d seen in the dungeon cell.
Dynan didn’t move at all, but his breath stuttered through his teeth when that cell enclosed them. Marc felt it start, insatiable and unstoppable, and as pervasive as the putrid odor that rose around them. Dynan struggled to breathe, taking short breaths even as he started easing away. Marc thought it would be wiser for him to get up and run. The effort it took to resist simply dragging him back left Marc shaking. If Dynan didn’t get out soon, he wouldn’t at all and Marc wouldn’t care.
Dain stepped in beside him, recoiling sharply as he saw where they were. “This is not ... What happened to the damn chair? What did you say to him?” Dynan was hardly able to shake his head, but Dain was more exasperated than afraid. He’d been here before. He understood, more than his brother did anyway. “I think it might be a good time for you to leave, Dynan,” Dain said, gesturing to the open door. He held his hand up when he started to protest and shook his head. “Go back. The High Bishop is starting to wonder what’s taking so long. You might want to close the doors to Marc’s office while you’re at it.”
“I can’t leave you here.”
“I’m not in any danger. Marc isn’t going to hurt me. I know that but you don’t, and that makes it hard for him to believe it.”
“Dain.” Marc looked up at him, feeling what little control he maintained start to slip away. “Go with him.”
“I’m not leaving you in here alone. Not here, Marc.” He looked at Dynan expectantly, shooing him away, and finally he disappeared. His faith in Dain surprised Marc and helped restore some measure of his own. “Sorry. This is my fault. I took longer than I expected. I knew he wouldn’t be able to hold that room long. He’s about as bad as you are. Come on, Marc. We don’t need to stay here. The door is open.”
Marc looked up at him when he held down his hand. He knew what would happen and what could follow quickly after. Fear that he wouldn’t be able to stop kept him from moving, but Dain wasn’t worried at all. He just wanted to get out of the cell. Marc took his hand.
The moment he did, Marc felt his teeth, the two canines elongate. He couldn’t stop it or what came next. The room with the chair appeared around them. The next instant he had Dain, pulling him back into the corner, teeth sinking into his neck.
Dain jerked once, then willed himself to relax, as his ability to stand evaporated. Marc followed him down to the floor.
Abhorrent, sickening revulsion grew at the same time as engulfing power flooded through him. He wanted more at the same time he wanted to die.
“Marc,” Dain said, “You’re not hurting me, all right? It’s just ... a little fast, so maybe you could stop for a second ... Let me catch my breath here. Just for a minute.”
He discovered it wasn’t so hard to do, but only because he knew he could take him again and drain what strength he needed whether or not Dain was capable of giving it. The driving desire to do so was still there, voracious.
Dain looked at him and Marc could tell he was afraid, could feel it, and that only served to heighten the desire to take more from him. But Dain just nodded, holding up a finger.
“Wait. All right? I think ... I’m ... Marc, wait. Please. Just a minute. There’s a pattern here. A sequence of steps that leads to this place. First, you get tired. You don’t get over the kind of mental and physical exhaustion you experienced with just two, three days of sleep. I’ll make sure Dynan knows that and everyone else too. You’re tired. You need to rest just like he does. I can guarantee that after this reception, he’ll be in bed the rest of the day. Wait, Marc. Just let me finish. Second, something unexpected happens. You had half a day to peel your eyes open and then we get Arlon, Alse, the Governor’s meeting, everything landing at about the same time. On top of all that, you have to deal with this realm of existence, and you don’t know how to block. This is not a good line-up for sane management.”
He pushed himself up off the floor, straightening enough to sit in a more vertical position. He still seemed to be trying to catch his breath though. Marc stood over him and forced himself to listen.
“Now, this room is a damn sight better than that hole, and I think if we can avoid going there we’ll both be better off for it. We have a few advantages we didn’t have before, namely that Maralt isn’t chasing us around the house. We thought then that there was another way to do this. We have a better chance of finding that out now. The more we can change what was done to us, make it different, the more control we have. I have this idea that still gives you what you need, just not the way you’ve gotten used to taking it.”
“Get to the point,” Marc said, reaching for him.
“Wait a minute, Marc. That’s the part I’m talking about.” Dain rolled away from him, pushing himself up to his feet. The chair disappeared, but was replaced with a table. A cup and a knife appeared. Marc began to see what he intended. He needed to hurry though. “What’s it been now, four days? You’re doing pretty good, you know, since you got used to doing this more often.”
“Dain, shut up.”
“Right. I’m sorry. I talk too much. Nerves, you know.”
“Afraid I won’t stop?”
“No, not at all. Well, all right. A little.” He took up the knife and slashed it across his arm, then quickly held the cup under the open wound. “Just trying to stack the odds a little more in my favor, that’s all. Here.”
Marc took the cup and drank its contents, while Dain tried to cover his arm. It wasn’t enough to satiate desire. Dain quickly took the cup away from him, backing into the wall as his strength failed him again. Marc hunched down right beside him, watching while the cup slowly filled, thinking it wasn’t fast enough, feeling himself slip another notch. He started shaking.
“Not fast enough, right?”
“Not exactly.”
Dain took the knife again and widened the original cut. Again, Marc took it the moment it was full, drinking greedily. He did that three times, going for a fourth when he realized he didn’t need to. By then, Dain was curled on the floor.
Marc looked down at him, watching while fluid still poured from the wound. It pooled briefly on the floor beside him before evaporating. A waste, he thought, and clamped his hand over the cut. Dain started when he touched him, hardly aware of anything but the sensation. He blinked a moment later and while Marc held his arm closed, he seemed to regain his strength.
“What are you doing?”
“I don’t know.” Marc let him go and saw that the wound had sealed. Dain was able to sit up again a moment later.
He smiled. “I’d say that’s a definite improvement.”
Marc looked at him, himself again, no longer filled with need. The fangs had retracted. At that thought, he bowed his head, despising what he’d done. “I’m sorry.”
“Why? You can’t help this. I knew it was going to happen again anyway. I don’t want you to be sorry. I want you to remember this, because it’s a huge improvement over the other way. Don’t you think?”
Marc had to admit it was far less revolting and nodded.
“Next time, don’t wait so long. It seems the longer you go without, the harder it is for the guy on the other end. Maybe we should just make it a point to do this every day. Better for you and easier on me. All right?” Dain watched him while he shook his head. “That’s the next hurdle for you to get over, Marc. You know I’ll do anything I can to help you, which makes it completely unlike what Maralt did. That’s the difference between you. You’re basically a good guy and Maralt never was. I’m not saying we shouldn’t keep trying to find out what that other way is, but for now, this is a step in the right direction. Are you ready to go back now?”
“I think so. Are you?”
“I’m fine. I’m a little tired, but otherwise I feel all right.” He smiled brightly at that and Marc couldn’t help but share in that happiness. He felt like he’d just conquered something hideous that lurked inside him.
“Thanks, Dain.”
“What I’m here for. Besides, you spared me going down into the tombs. I’ll take doing this over that place any day. Let’s go.” He pushed himself up and helped Marc stand. He looked down at his arm, inspecting the wound site. It wasn’t visible any longer. “You don’t have any idea how you did this?”
“No.”
Dain grunted and held out his hand.
When Marc opened his eyes, he realized immediately that a number of hours had passed. He also saw that he wasn’t in his office any longer, but lying on the couch in the King’s office. Memory jerked him up. He turned sharply, relaxing only a little when he found Dynan watching him from his desk.
“Feel better?”
That Dain must have told him what happened made Marc uncomfortable. He could see that Dynan wasn’t entirely happy about it either. Marc didn’t know what to say to him, wanting to assure him that this would never happen again, but he couldn’t. He didn’t know if he would always be able to maintain control. If Dain hadn’t appeared when he had, Marc would have taken what he needed from Dynan. He suspected Dynan knew that. Not having had the greatest trust in him before this, Marc wondered how he could contemplate keeping him as his Lord Chancellor. It seemed unreasonable to expect that he would.
Dynan shook his head, stood and turned to look out the window. “What did you dream about?”
“Maralt.”
“Dain said you should be able to show me this time without anything happening. Is he right?”
“I think so.”
He turned to look at him. “You think so? Either you can or you can’t. Which is it?”
“I can,” Marc said softly, hoping Dain was right. He couldn’t be sure about anything any more.
Dynan nodded after a moment. “Let’s get this over with then.”
With some reluctance and a great deal of fear, Marc took Dynan. The dream seemed different though. The hall wasn’t the same and the High Bishop never appeared. Marc realized that he wouldn’t be able to show Dynan anything to do with that man. Maralt was there though, holding him while the dead paraded before them.
Dynan came and stood over him when he’d finished. Marc couldn’t look at him. He didn’t want to see the disgust Marc was sure he must feel. “Are you sure this is just a dream and Maralt isn’t real?” Marc nodded and Dynan sat next to him. “You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
Dynan shook his head. “That wasn’t all of it, was it?”
“I can’t show you the rest and I doubt I’ll be able to tell you about it either.”
“Can’t. Those people again. I think it’s time we found out who they are, Marc.”
“I know who they are,” he whispered.
“But you can’t say. Carryn told me once that they were doing everything they could to stop Maralt, so I shouldn’t fear them. They trained them both. Are they training you?”
“They tried.”
“Tried? And failed? What?”
“They told me about Maralt being alive in Dain and they showed me what I had to do.” He frowned, trying to remember and couldn’t. “Except I forgot half of what they said and then Maralt got a hold of me.”
“And twisted everything you’d learned into his way of doing things. Dain said the same thing. You were with me. I can’t remember it now except to know that it happened. You did something to me. Not in a bad way, but it was something they didn’t expect.”
Marc glanced at him, nodding because he remembered the same thing. “I didn’t want you to die.”
Dynan smiled at that. “You don’t remember what you did.”
“No. Some things are given. Some aren’t.”
“Some? Try none in your case. Makes it a little difficult to understand what they want of you.”
“I know what they want.” He shuddered because he couldn’t help it.
“Really? What?”
Marc didn’t want to tell him, didn’t want him to know. He was suddenly afraid Dynan might want to make him face this sooner than he was ready to. “I was told that if I used the same methods as Maralt, and I did, against anyone other than him, and I did that too, then the same thing...”
He stopped, unable to say it, unwilling to face what he knew was waiting for him. Dynan watched him again. “They’re going to do the same thing to you?”
Finally, Marc nodded, dread shaking through him again. “And I have to let them.”
Dynan shook his head, stood, and paced the room for a moment. “That doesn’t seem very fair. I mean, after everything you did to keep us alive and stop Maralt, taking you the same way isn’t exactly a reward.”
“They aren’t too interested in what’s fair, Dynan. Only what’s right.”
He stopped pacing. “That means you’re going to die.” Marc nodded. “Is that why you’re staying away from Shalis?”
“Partly. It’s hard for me to be near her.”
Dynan sat with him again. “Do you know when? I mean—”
“Not exactly. Probably after you’re crowned.”
“No. This has to ... This is only if you can’t get yourself under control. Right? They just don’t want another Maralt on their hands, and well, they’re right about that, but if you can learn what you need to, they won’t do this.”
“I don’t think it’s going to work that way.”
“But that isn’t fair. There’s no justice in that. It isn’t right.” He stood up again to resume walking the room. “I’m going to find out who these people are and talk to them, or something. I’m not going to let this happen. You don’t think I can.”
Marc shook his head. “I don’t think they’ll listen.”
“Maybe not now, but once I’m crowned? Regardless of who they are, they’re still subject to my laws. You learn what you need to, Marc. Once I’m crowned, you, Dain, and I can decide whether or not what they have in mind is necessary. All right? Can you do that?”
Marc didn’t think it would matter really, but he wanted to believe it was possible, that Dynan could somehow save him. He knew what Dynan wanted of him, which meant he now had two judges instead of one. He nodded.
“When Dain gets back from town, you should take the rest of the day and get some rest. He told me not to let you over extend yourself, so you can consider that an order.”
Marc looked up at Dynan sharply. “Back from town?”
“I sent him to take care of something for me. Relax Marc. I checked with Kyle first. Alse is still here and Arlon hasn’t moved. He couldn’t know Dain is even there.”
“He’s got a comterm, Dynan.”
He smiled at him. “Yes, but Allie has been monitoring that comterm with the access code Randel gave you.”
“What if he has more than one code?”
He looked at him then and Marc saw the first touch of worry start in his eyes. “Loren is with him.”
“Loren? Why?”
“She wanted to buy some fabric and probably a few new gowns. Shalis, Bronwyn, and Neithia Bairing went with her. Garan too.”
Marc groaned. “Like we can afford that. Tell Dain to come back. Now.” He touched his crest pin, but before he could contact Kyle, he heard one of the guards.
“Arlon is moving.”
