Roo pointed.
‘Nothing like that in Ravensburg, is there?’
Erik said, ‘You’ve got the right of it.’
Below the palace, the courtyard was filled with visiting nobles, waiting for the traditional noon start of the Festival of Banapis, Midsummer’s Day. Erik glanced around and felt conflicting emotions; Banapis was traditionally the happiest day of the year, the day when everyone in the Kingdom was counted one year older, a day dedicated to drinking, gambling, making love, dancing, and anything else people could traditionally think of as pleasure. Servants were free to roam after noon and, once the tables were laid out for the nobles, were free to mingle with them or to head into the city to partake of the merriment there.
Back in Ravensburg, things were considerably less formal. The servants worked through the night and morning to prepare the meals, then the town burghers, the members of the local guild, the Growers’ and Vintners’, would leave their hall to signal the beginning of festivities. Everything in Ravensburg was free that day, with those of great and lesser means sharing. Whatever could be was brought to the community table, and at noon the feasting began.
Here there were servants whose part in the festivities wouldn’t commence until the Prince and his family had retired for the night. Some of them would be permitted to leave early, then forced to return to take the place of others, for no matter what the tradition in other parts of the Kingdom, the royal family could never be without servants.
Erik knew from having been involved in the passing of orders that soldiers were warned to limit their imbibing and that any man returning to quarters obviously drunk would be called out for punishment duty the next day. Normally that would have been insufficient to deter some of the younger soldiers, but word had been passed that punishment would consist of a full day beside the convict labor building the new jetty in the harbor.
And that was the reason for the dark shadow that hung over Erik’s otherwise jovial mood. In the back of his mind he couldn’t forget the coming battle, and he fretted over Kitty’s planned escape from the city.
He wrestled with his conscience. He should have gone directly to Lord James and asked him to send Kitty away, but fear of the Duke saying no had led Erik to this implicit defiance of orders. He could claim that because James had not overtly forbidden Kitty to leave Krondor, no one was being treasonable, but Erik knew it to be a petty legalism, and that he was violating the spirit of Kitty’s conditions of service to Lord James, if not the word.
Yet a part of him didn’t care. Her safety was paramount to him, matched only by his fear for his mother and Nathan, her husband. Kitty would carry a letter drafted by Erik to Ravensburg, after Roo gave her shelter. The letter would tell Nathan to take Freida to the east.
Erik understood that should the Kingdom fall, nowhere on Midkemia would prove safe, but he knew that the fighting would eventually reach Darkmoor, and even should the Kingdom prevail, Ravensburg was on the wrong side of the mountains. It would surely be overrun by the invaders.
Roo asked, ‘What’s the matter?’
Lowering his voice, Erik said, ‘Come with me a moment.’
Roo signaled to Karli that he would be with Erik, and she nodded. The children were freshly scrubbed and on their best behavior, as Roo and a score of the most important merchants mingled with the assembled nobles as guests of the Prince, at a private reception of his prior to the general festivities.
Duncan Avery was deep in conversation with Sylvia Esterbrook, and Erik absently wondered if Roo had intentionally inflicted his boorish cousin on the girl to keep Karli free of suspicion.
Roo asked, ‘What is it?’
‘Ah,’ Erik began, then he said, ‘I see you brought Helen Jacoby and her children.’
‘Yes,’ answered Roo. ‘They’re quickly becoming a fixture in my life.’ He grinned. ‘Actually, Helen is a wonderful woman, and she and Karli hit it off. And the children get along like kittens in a litter.
‘Now, tell me what’s really on your mind. You didn’t ask me over here to talk about Helen Jacoby, and you’ve got something stuck in your craw. I know you too well, Erik von Darkmoor; I’m your best friend, remember? You want a favor. You’ve never known how to ask for one, so just say it.’
‘I want you to hide Kitty,’ he said softly.
Roo’s eyes widened. Of those not members of the Prince’s court he knew more of what was going on in the Kingdom than any man. He had served with Calis’s forces and had seen the ravages of the Emerald Queen. He knew about the preparations for the coming war, as his various companies were doing more business with the Crown than any other like concerns. He could judge to a fairly accurate degree just what sort of defense was being mounted and where, because it was his wagons that were carrying arms and provisions throughout the Principality.
He also knew Kitty’s status and who she had been before being captured by Lord James, and he knew what it meant to run afoul of the Duke of Krondor. He hesitated an instant, then said, ‘Done.’
Erik’s relief was almost too much. Tears began to gather in his eyes. Getting his emotions under control, he whispered, ‘Thank you.’
‘When do you plan to sneak her out of the city?’
Glancing around to see they weren’t being overheard, Erik said, ‘At sundown. I’ve gotten her some common clothing and a theatrical wig. She will mingle with farmers leaving to return to the nearby villages.
‘I’ve left money and a horse for her at the Inn of the Silent Rooster near the village of Essford. The innkeeper thinks the daughter of a wealthy merchant is eloping with me, and he’s been paid enough not to ask questions.’
Roo grinned. He had borrowed money from Erik to start his enterprises nearly two years earlier, and that relatively little bit of gold Roo had taken had come back to Erik a thousandfold. ‘So you’ve finally found a use for the wealth I’ve made you?’
Erik managed a faint smile. ‘Yes, finally.’
‘Well, I hope you didn’t overpay him. That’s one of my inns and you could have gotten the service for free.’
Erik laughed. ‘Is there anything in Krondor you don’t own?’
Roo glanced to where Sylvia was laughing at something Duncan had said, and replied, ‘Yes, I’m sorry to say there is.’
Erik ignored the reference. ‘When are you leaving for your estates?’ he asked.
‘Tomorrow. Kitty need only spend tonight at the inn. Tomorrow she can come to my home. I’ll put her to work in the kitchen and tell Karli and the rest of the staff I’m doing her a favor.’ He thought about it, then added, ‘I’ll make up some story about her being from one of my other inns, I’ll decide which later, and some business about a squabble.’ He lowered his voice. ‘Then I’ll tell Karli the truth, and she’ll gladly remain silent. She loves the notion of romance.’
Erik shook his head. ‘Whatever, Roo. And thanks.’
‘Come on,’ said the little man. ‘We’d better get back to the pleasures of the day and mix around. I take it you’re heading to the Sign of the Broken Shield?’
‘As soon as it’s politic for me to go.’ Erik smiled. ‘People would wonder if Kitty and I had a falling out if I didn’t go spend Banapis with her.’
Roo had an idea. He whispered into Erik’s ear, ‘Take her to the temple and marry her. If James discovers what’s afoot, he’ll think less ill of you for trying to save your wife from the coming carnage.’
Erik stood dumbstruck. ‘Marriage?’ He looked at his friend. ‘I never thought of it.’
Roo’s gaze narrowed. ‘You’ve been a soldier too long, friend.’
They both laughed, and then Erik turned to find Karli approaching. He said, ‘Mrs Avery, I return your husband to you.’
Karli smiled. ‘Thank you. The children are bored with all the adult talk and we’re taking them down to the courtyard to see the jugglers and jesters.’
Roo said,’ ‘Ware the mountebanks. Don’t buy anything! I’ll be along in a moment.’
Erik saw he was joking, and Karli pointedly ignored him. She and Helen took the children, bade good-bye to the Duke’s wife, and departed.
Suddenly both Erik and Roo felt a stab of panic as the Lady Gamina turned her gaze upon them. Both men were all too familiar with her talents in reading men’s minds, and both instantly knew she had sensed something in what they were doing.
She paused a moment, and a look of sadness mixed with resignation crossed her face, then she approached them. Both men bowed, and Erik said, ‘Duchess, it’s a pleasure.’
Lady Gamina said, ‘You’ll never make a convincing liar, Erik, so don’t try.’ Glancing at Roo, she said, ‘Don’t attempt to teach him, either. Men as honest as Erik are few and far between.’ She studied Erik’s face. ‘I never willingly intrude on another’s thoughts, unless I’m bidden by my husband for the good of the state’ – her eyes hinted at some regret at that – ‘but occasionally thoughts come to me unbidden, by those who don’t realize they are “shouting” their concerns. Usually, it’s something to do with great emotion.’ She smiled slightly. ‘So why did you suddenly shout “marriage,” Erik?’
Erik blushed furiously. ‘It’s just … I’m going to marry Kitty.’
Gamina looked at him a moment, then smiled. ‘You do love her, then, don’t you?’
‘I do.’
The old woman reached out and gently patted Erik’s hand. ‘Then get married, young man. I don’t know how pointless it is to wish someone happiness in the days to come, but grab what you can.’ Glancing over her shoulder to where her husband stood surrounded by other nobles, she said, ‘Enjoy your youth, and if all ends well, treasure her. I know how hard it is to be one who serves the King. And I know even more what it is to be married to one who serves the King.’
Saying nothing more, she turned away and moved back toward her husband.
Roo glanced at Erik and with a nod of his head indicated they should move out of the crowded reception chamber. In a hallway, relatively empty, Roo whispered, ‘Do you think she knows?’
Erik nodded. ‘She knows.’
‘But she isn’t going to say anything?’
Erik shrugged. ‘I don’t think she’ll lie to her husband, not for you or me, but I think she’s not going to volunteer anything either.’ Erik was thoughtful for a moment, then said, ‘There is something very sad about her.’
Roo shrugged. ‘If you say.’ He glanced into the reception room and said, ‘I’d better see what Duncan is up to.’
‘Right,’ said Erik with a heavy dose of sarcasm. He knew full well it was Sylvia to whom Roo wished to attend. ‘I’ve got a few things to do around here before I can see Kitty.’ Whispering in his friend’s ear he said, ‘Thank you. I’ll tell her to go to your estate tomorrow.’
Roo whispered back, ‘I’ll dress her up as a maid when we travel east, in a month’s time.’
‘That’s cutting it close.’
‘Any earlier and the Duke will find an excuse to arrest me, you can be certain.’ He squeezed Erik’s arm and went back into the room.
Erik walked to his quarters, where he planned on changing out of his black tunic with the crimson eagle on it, preferring to wear common garb on Banapis. He reached his small quarters, and stripped off his tunic. As he folded it, he regarded the red bird sewn on the chest.
What was Calis doing this Banapis, he wondered.
Calis pointed. ‘There!’
Anthony closed his eyes and muttered a series of soft syllables under his breath, and the air before them shimmered. It seemed to bend and contract and suddenly a lens appeared before them, upon which they could clearly see the fleet of the Emerald Queen as it progressed through the Straits of Darkness.
The old magician gasped a bit for breath. ‘That is perhaps the most useful thing I have ever learned to do. It bends the air into a spherical lens to magnify light. Very passive, and we should not be detected at this distance unless the Pantathians are being supremely suspicious.’
The two men stood high atop a peak overlooking the Straits, the southernmost spire of the Grey Towers. ‘Sit down,’ said Calis. ‘You’re short of breath.’
‘It’s the altitude,’ said Anthony. As he sat, he added, ‘And the age.’ He glanced at the morning sun. ‘And being forced out at such a foul hour to climb mountains. Transporting us here was more strain than I thought.’
Anthony was a slender man in his late fifties, his hair faded from pale yellow to grey-white, though his skin was still relatively unwrinkled. He let out a long breath and drew a deeper one. ‘I used to be able to climb around up here without passing out.’
Calis turned and smiled at his old friend. ‘Perhaps you exaggerate? The South Pass is a full three thousand feet lower in elevation than this spire. I doubt you’ve ever been close to any elevation greater than that.’
‘Well, all right, so I exaggerate.’ The brother-in-law of the Duke of Crydee lay back on the rocks, attempting to get as comfortable as conditions permitted. ‘I’m too tired to look. What do you see?’
‘The vanguard is through the Straits and has fanned out in an attack formation. How do I turn this thing?’
Despite the season, the wind was chilled, for they sat atop a peak eight thousand feet in the air. Anthony said, ‘I have to turn it. Which way?’
‘First to the right. I want to see what the bulk of her fleet’s deployment is.’
Anthony held up his hand until it was parallel to the air lens, then he slowly turned his hand in a half-arc. The lens moved in a similar arc.
The two men had been companions on Calis’s first trip to Novindus. Anthony had been the court magician to Duke Martin, and had been in love with Martin’s daughter, Margaret. He had voyaged with Nicholas, Calis, and others in an attempt to recover the kidnapped Margaret and other hostages, and they had sailed halfway around the world.
Anthony said, ‘Have I mentioned that whenever you show up, things seem to get very bad for me?’
‘Coincidence,’ said Calis with a smile. ‘I’m almost certain.’ He glanced at the lens. ‘Hold it there a moment.’ He studied the deployment of the fleet and said, ‘Damn.’
‘What?’ asked Anthony.
‘They’re being very cautious.’
‘How?’
‘They’ve sent skirmishers farther up the coast than Nicky thought.’
‘That’s bad.’
‘It means Nicky’s going to have to fight warships and will do little damage to the fleet even if he wins.’
‘That is bad.’ Anthony sniffed at the air. ‘Do you smell something?’
‘No. Why?’
‘Just asking,’ said Anthony as he sniffed again.
‘Swing this back a little.’ Anthony did as Calis bade, and when Calis again said, ‘Hold it here,’ he stopped. Calis said, ‘The Queen’s got a circle of warships around her craft, and …’ He paused a moment. ‘That’s odd?’
‘What?’
‘Take a look.’
Anthony got up with some theatrical groaning and moved to look over Calis’s shoulder. ‘Gods and fishes!’
‘What do you see?’
‘I see a demon sitting on a throne.’
Calis said, ‘Looks like Lady Clovis to me.’
‘Well, you’re not a magician,’ said Anthony. He took out a bag of powder and said, ‘Sniff this.’
Calis did as Anthony instructed, and suddenly sneezed. ‘What was that?’
‘Sorry, one of the ingredients is pepper. Don’t wipe your eyes.’
Trying to blink away tears, Calis looked through the lens. For a moment he could see two figures upon the dais in the center of the ship, the illusion of the Emerald Queen and the demon. ‘That might explain what happened to Pug.’
‘I’d like someone to explain to me what happened to Pug,’ said Anthony. ‘I’m a simple magician. Truth to tell, I haven’t worked very hard at it since I got my title.’
‘That’s what comes of marrying into nobility,’ said Calis.
‘There’s little call for magic when you’ve got estates to manage.’
‘You’ve filled in for Pug admirably so far,’ said Calis, dryly. ‘Think you could drop down there and dispose of that creature?’
Anthony closed his eyes and incanted a silent phrase, then he made a loud snorting noise as he smelled deeply. He made a face and said, ‘No, and I doubt Pug could either.’
‘Really, why?’
‘Because I may not have as much power as Pug or be as clever as some of those fellows down at Stardock, but one thing I’m very good at is smelling magic.’
‘Smelling magic?’
‘Don’t ask. Secrets of the trade and all that.’
‘Anyway, you were saying?’
Anthony said, ‘I’m serious; I can smell the reek all the way up here, and we’re miles away. Something big went off around that ship, and it could have been Pug. If what I smell lingering is what’s left over, it was a magical exchange of tremendous powers. Given that creature is still there, and Pug’s nowhere to be seen, we can only assume the worst.’
Calis sighed. ‘That seems to be the way things have been working, hasn’t it?’
‘Can we leave? I’m getting cold.’
‘In a while. Move this thing back to the left; I want to look down across the southwestern horizon if you can manage that.’
‘It’s like a glass; you can see only as far as you could with your own eyes from this perspective, if your own eyes could see that far. For what you’re asking, you need a crystal, and I neglected to bring one. Besides, if I had a crystal, which I don’t, the first person who turns it on that creature is likely to get his eyes blistered for trying.’
‘Well, as far that way’ – Calis pointed – ‘as you can manage.’
Anthony did as he was asked, and heard a satisfied, ‘Ah,’ from Calis.
‘What?’ asked the magician.
‘The Queen sends a skirmish line up the northern coast toward Tulan. But she only lightly guards her southern flank.’
‘Well, there’s a lot of deserted islands and the Trollhome Mountains to the south of the Straits. I doubt she fears a troll navy, as they haven’t evidenced one in recent memory.’
‘No, but Keshian Elarial is but a week’s sailing down the far Keshian coast, and Li Meth is only two days’ travel to the west of her vanguard. And those deserted islands are just the place for pirates to hide.’
Anthony was silent a moment. Then he said, ‘James?’
‘Most certainly. He’s been spreading rumors for months of a treasure fleet from a fabled land coming this way.’
‘He is a sneaky bastard, isn’t he?’
Calis said, ‘I think I see sails.’ He extended his hand to the southeast. ‘Please move the lens that way.’
‘I get a headache every time I do.’
‘Please,’ Calis repeated.
‘Very well.’ Anthony did as he was asked, and Calis said, ‘It’s a raiding fleet from Durbin and Li Meth! Must be a hundred warships!’ He laughed. ‘It must be every Keshian pirate between Elarial and Durbin.’
Anthony looked. ‘And a few of them appear to be irritated to discover they have neighbors visiting.’
‘The captains of Durbin are not exactly what you’d call welcomed guests in Li Meth, as often as not. Move the lens over there, please.’
Calis watched as the lens swung around to an orientation slightly north of west. ‘Ah, the Quegans!’
‘How far?’
‘Two days, maybe, if I judge the magnification.’
Anthony waved his hand and the lens vanished. ‘Good. Now can we go home?’
‘Yes. I need to see my father. If something has happened to Pug he’s the most likely to know about it.’ Silently he thought that his father would also know if something had happened to Miranda. Nakor had indicated that Pug and Miranda were together, and something about the little man’s silence after he said that set Calis’s mind to worry.
Calis reached into his cloak and pulled out an old-looking metal sphere. He motioned for Anthony to stand next to him and the magician put one hand upon his friend’s arm and activated a lever in the side of the sphere with his thumb.
Instantly they passed through the void, and found themselves, feeling slightly disoriented, standing in the rear courtyard at Castle Crydee. Three figures stood waiting.
‘What did you see?’ asked Duke Marcus. He was a man nearly equal in height to Calis, and once he had been powerfully built, but while age showed little on the half-elf, on the fifty-year-old Duke it was starting to take a toll. Marcus was still a robust man, but some of his muscle had turned to fat and his hair was now completely grey.
Beside him stood two women, one obviously Marcus’s sister by the family resemblance. She had a straight nose, like her brother’s, and her eyes were even, unblinking, and despite the lines of age and sun, a striking brown. She was also a strong-looking figure for her age. Lady Margaret, the Duke’s sister and Anthony’s wife, said, ‘Anthony?’
He smiled as he said, ‘It’s cold up there, dear, even at this time of the year.’
Marcus smiled. ‘So you got where you wanted to go?’
‘Let’s have a drink and we’ll talk,’ suggested the magician.
The third person greeting them, the Duchess Abigail, said, ‘There’s a meal waiting. We didn’t know how long you’d be.’ Marcus’s wife lacked his or his sister’s outward signs of vitality, but her step was quick and her slight figure hinted at a dancer’s lithe strength. She smiled quickly as she motioned for Calis and her brother-in-law to come through the rear entrance to the castle.
‘Wasn’t much to see, really,’ said Anthony. ‘The battle’s not yet begun.’ Glancing toward the height of the sun, he added, ‘It will not begin until tomorrow. How far away did you say the Quegans were? Two days?’ he asked Calis.
‘Quegans?’ asked Margaret.
‘We’ll explain everything inside,’ said Calis.
They mounted the steps to the central keep. For Calis, Crydee had been his second home. His grandparents had lived here, years before, and his father had spent his childhood working in the kitchen and playing in the courtyard of the castle.
The castle had been gutted in the sacking of the Far Coast, thirty years earlier, when Calis had taken his first trip to the distant continent. Then he had been a simple observer, on behalf of his mother and father, but he had returned since several times, much to his sorrow and regret.
They moved down the long hall to the dining hall. A table long enough to seat a score of dinner guests formed the top of three sides of a square, in the old court fashion. The Duke and his wife would dine at the center of the top table, while guests and court officials would be seated in descending order of rank from there to the farthest seat.
Calis glanced around the hall. Brightly colored banners hung where once ancient and faded ones had been displayed. Calis remembered them from his childhood. They had been the war trophies of the first three Dukes of Crydee.
‘It’s never the same, is it?’ asked Marcus.
‘No.’
‘How’s Father?’ asked Margaret.
‘He’s fine,’ said Calis. ‘At least, he was the last time I saw him, which was more than a year ago. But his life is easy and I expect he’s unchanged. Had anything happened, Mother would have sent you word immediately.’
‘I know,’ Margaret said. ‘It’s just we miss him.’
Marcus said, ‘Yes, but it’s better to have him there, happy and living, than here, in the burial vault.’
Calis said, ‘Well, when this business is done, you could go visit. Mother and Tomas would certainly welcome you.’
Marcus smiled and Calis said, ‘Do that more often; it makes you look like Martin.’
A corner of the left and head tables had been set, at Marcus’s instructions, so the five of them could gather close. Wine, ale, hot food and cold waited.
Anthony said, ‘Ah, a little wine will warm me up.’
Abigail said, ‘It’s still early, so not too much, else you’ll be asleep before the festival is half-over.’
Marcus indicated they should sit. ‘We need to hurry, for I need to be in the courtyard at high noon to see things started.’
‘There’s not much to tell,’ said Calis as he broke off a hunk of bread. ‘Things are pretty much as we expected, with one change.’
‘What?’ asked the Duke.
‘Where the Emerald Queen was supposed to be sitting, in the middle of the biggest ship in the fleet, a very ugly demon squatted. Looked like he had some sort of mystic chain of control around the neck of all the “advisers” who surrounded him … or it … whatever.’
‘A demon!’ Marcus’s face showed surprise.
‘Well, we knew there were some involved, after that last business down in Novindus I told you about.’
‘But we thought they were destroying the Pantathians, not controlling them.’
Anthony sipped his wine. ‘Maybe there are different demons.’
‘Maybe so,’ said Calis as he took a gulp of wine. ‘Humans certainly come with enough politics to keep the world at war eternally. Who says demons can’t have politics?’
‘Not I,’ said Marcus.
‘Well, I’m off. I’ve got to talk to Mother,’ said Calis, rising. ‘And you have a festival to start. If my sense of timing is right, it’s nearly noon and the populace will not be pleased if you’re late.’ He stuck out his hand. ‘Thanks for the help, Marcus. Can I have the loan of a horse?’
‘Aren’t you going to use that Tsurani transport thing to get to Elvandar?’ said Anthony.
Calis tossed it to him. ‘You keep it. You know how to use it better than I, magician. And use it you must. Rest tonight, then back to that peak we used first thing in the morning. Take Marcus, and observe the battle. If you need to get word to me in a hurry, send a runner to the banks of the river Crydee. I can be back here in a week.
‘I’ll ride, and if Pug or Miranda is at Elvandar, they can get me back to Krondor. If not, I’ll return this way and use that thing.’
Marcus said, ‘Good-bye, Calis. Your visits are far too rare.’
Margaret and Abigail both kissed him on the cheek, and Anthony shook his hand.
Marcus signaled for a squire to escort Calis to the stable and give him whichever mount he chose. Then the Duke of Crydee and his family hurried to the main entrance of the castle to begin the Banapis festival for another year.
At sundown, farmers and citizens who lived outside the walls of the city began to trickle through the gate. The guards stood idly by, watching only with cursory attentiveness. Erik held Kitty in a close embrace, deep in the shadows of a nearby alley.
‘I love you,’ Kitty whispered into his chest.
‘I love you, too,’ Erik said.
‘Will you come for me?’
‘Always,’ said Erik. ‘No matter what, I’ll find you.’
As the lamps were lit and those shops still trying to conduct business opened their doors to reveal the light inside, the sound of traffic increased. While the celebration would last long into the night, there were more sober souls who knew that come dawn there would be work to be done, and that to be at their best the next day would require a good night’s sleep.
Erik held Kitty away from him a moment. A dark wig peeked out from under the plain hood of a farmer’s cloak of homespun. The dress she had selected was equally nondescript. To any who failed to inspect her closely, she looked like nothing more than another common farmer’s daughter on her way home with her family. A small bag was clutched under the cloak, and in it Kitty carried a modest fortune in gold coins, as much of Erik’s personal wealth as he could put his hands on in short order. She also carried a pair of daggers.
‘If something goes wrong, get to my mother in Ravensburg.’ He grinned. ‘Just tell her you’re my wife and stand back.’
Kitty put her head on his chest again, and said, ‘Your wife.’
Neither of them could believe it. They had simply walked into the temple of Sung the Pure and joined a line of other couples who had come to be wed. Impulsive marriages on Banapis were hardly uncommon, and after the priest had asked pointedly if they were intoxicated and how long they had known each other, he had consented to marry them. The ceremony had been brief, less than five minutes, and they had been hustled outside by an acolyte seeking to make room for the next pair.
Erik said, ‘You have to be ready.’
‘I know,’ said Kitty. She understood that at any instant a group of farmers was likely to come through whom Erik judged appropriate and she would have to act without hesitation. ‘I don’t want to leave you.’
‘I don’t want you to leave.’ Then fiercely he said, ‘But I don’t want you to die, either.’
‘I don’t want you to die,’ she answered, and he could feel her tears fall on his bare arm. ‘Damn. I hate crying.’
‘Then stop it!’ he said lightly.
She started to say something, but he said, ‘Now!’
Without even a kiss good-bye, she turned and walked out of the side street, up to a young woman who was walking next to a hay wagon, upon which rode a half-dozen children. An old man drove the wagon, and behind it walked another three men and a woman.
Kitty said to the young woman, ‘Excuse me?’
As the wagon rolled up to the gate, Kitty was hidden from observation on one side, and had her back turned toward the guard on the other as she appeared lost in conversation with the young woman to whom she spoke.
Erik listened as she said, ‘You’re not from Jenkstown, are you?’
‘No,’ said the young stranger. ‘Our farm is only a few miles from here.’
‘Oh, I thought you might be someone I knew a while back in Jenkstown. You look a great deal like her, but prettier.’
The girl laughed. ‘You’re the first to call me that,’ she said lightly as the wagon rolled through the gate.
Erik strained to hear what was said next, but the voices were drowned out in the sounds of celebration. Soon he could tell that Kitty was safely through the gate and beyond the scrutiny of the guards. He waited another full minute, half expecting the sound of alarm to be raised. But all he heard was the city at play, and he forced himself to take a slow, deep breath, then turned back toward the palace. He decided his best course of action was to be seen around, and should anyone ask about Kitty, make up some plausible excuse, that she was in another room, or off visiting the jakes. There would be enough traffic through the palace that he might get through the entire evening without anyone asking after her.
As Erik vanished into the crowd, two figures who had been hiding in the shadows across the street emerged. Dash turned to his brother and said, ‘I’ll follow the girl.’
‘Why bother? We know she’s heading either for Avery’s estates or to Ravensburg. Those are the only places he’d send her.’
‘Because Grandfather wants to know,’ said Dash to Jimmy.
Jimmy shrugged. ‘Very well, but you’re going to miss the height of the celebration.’
Dash said, ‘It’s not the first time I’ve missed out on some fun because of Grandfather. If Father asks about me, make up some excuse. If the girl’s bound for Ravensburg, I won’t be back for a week.’
Jimmy nodded and slipped into the crowd. His younger brother turned and made his way through the gate, keeping sight of the distant hay wagon.
The next day dawned on two fleets locked in combat, skirmishing in the pre-dawn gloom. They had caught sight of each other as the darkness had lightened in the hours before the sun finally climbed into the sky. Now, as the sun lay still hidden behind the distant mountains, yet illuminated the morning, the battle was almost decided.
Nicholas cursed and shouted, ‘Order Belfors and his three to sail to windward! They’re attempting to hold us into the coast!’
A signalman high above shouted, ‘Aye, aye, Admiral!’ and began waving signal flags. He soon shouted back, ‘Orders acknowledged, Admiral!’
The battle was going badly. If he lost any more ships, Nicholas was going to have to withdraw, and while he had no doubt he could outsail his opponent, the failure of his plan put a sour taste in his mouth.
Of all his father’s sons, Nicholas was the most like him when it came to achieving a stated goal, and he had intended to maul the Emerald Queen’s fleet. She knew the Far Coast well enough to understand that the risk to her fleet would come down the coast from Tulan. Nicholas’s only hope for some benefit to his Kingdom came from the hope that James’s plan was working and flotillas from Kesh and Queg were hitting the fleet as well.
It rankled him that he was only engaging warships, without even sighting the troop convoy, and the sole comfort that afforded him was the thought that should either the Quegans or Keshians intercept this fleet, there were that many fewer guardians to protect it.
Seeing no benefit in dying or taking his command with him, Nicholas shouted, ‘Word to the fleet! Withdraw!’
A red banner was run up while the lookout frantically signaled orders. Two ships were engaged in boarding actions and could not withdraw safely.
Nicholas weighed his options and ordered them left to fend for themselves. Each of his ships was rigged with a dozen barrels of fire oil down below, and if they were taken, the captains were ordered to put them to the torch, in the hope they’d take along an enemy ship grappled alongside as well as deny them a Kingdom prize.
The fleet off the Far Coast were the best deep-water sailors in the world, and their ships the most nimble. As soon as the order was relayed, like a finely practiced team the ships turned up wind and took a following reach, disengaging themselves from the slower ships of Novindus design. A few of the war galleys could stay with the Kingdom ships for a short burst, but as the slaves below became exhausted, they were no match for the Kingdom warships.
Nicholas saw his fleet moving away successfully, and said, ‘Captain Reeves, what’s the count?’
His second in command, the son of the Baron of Carse and a lifelong sailor, was officially the captain of the Royal Dragon, though he knew he would never give orders as long as the Admiral was aboard. He said, ‘Seven of the enemy sunk, three burning, five more severely damaged.’ Both men wore the duty uniform of the Kingdom Fleet – blue jackets and white trousers, newly instituted by Patrick’s order – but even the Prince of Krondor couldn’t make Nicholas wear the new fore-and-aft hats the Eastern Fleet wore. He instead affected a broad-brimmed black hat with a very faded red plume, a legacy from his first voyage as a boy with the legendary Amos Trask. No man who sailed in the fleet made sport of that hat.
‘And of our own?’
‘We lost six, and five more are limping up the coast to Carse.’
Nicholas swore. At least sixty-five ships had sailed north against his own sixty, and this had been little more than a sparring match.
Nicholas looked at the morning sun. ‘Orders, Captain Reeves.’
‘Yes, m’lord?’
‘Signal the fleet to head west. Let them think we’re running to the Sunsets.’ He gripped the railing on the quarterdeck. ‘At sundown, we turn south. Before dawn tomorrow, we’ll turn east and hit them while they’re outlined against the rising sun and we’re still in darkness.’
‘Understood, sir!’
Nicholas watched the ponderous ships of the Emerald Queen fall away behind, finally turning southward as they gave up their attempt to overtake the Kingdom ships. Nicholas looked to the east, where he was leaving one of his ships crippled and sinking slowly, while his other boarded ship burned.
‘This one is far from over,’ said Nicholas to no one in particular.