Heart of the Staff - Complete Series

by Carol Marrs Phipps

  “That indeed has been our topic of discussion for some time,” said Yann-Ber with a faint smile. Razzmorten and I finally agreed that if I stay and wait for the return of his powers, I'll probably only waste what time I have left and delude myself with false hope, thereby dying before having any real chance of eliminating her.”

  Hebraun looked at Razzmorten.

  Razzmorten raised his eyebrows and nodded. “If you just think about it, don't you reckon that if I thought there was a fair chance that my powers were coming back, that I'd talk him out of his journey? We've been discussing this since we were at the Dragon Caves. I took a very substantial swat from the Heart, pretty much equivalent to being struck by lightning. It's a miracle that I'm alive at all. And it's equally astounding that I retain even the smallest shred of magical ability. I've finally accepted my fate, just as Yann-Ber has accepted his. Now, he has a plan to rid the world of Demonica that I'd allow has a fair chance of success, and it's not wise for us to keep him from trying on the very slim chance that my powers will return.”

  “But, isn't even a very slim chance to have your life back worth something?” said Minuet.

  “Rest assured that that is beyond any shadow of a doubt, Your Majesty,” but compared with what Demonica could do to the world, what good would it be? You know, I've spent my whole life being safe. If I'm ever to live up to my honor, I'm going to have to get started. Besides, now for the first time in my life, I have friends worth dying for. I truly want for my life to mean something, and if I manage what I'm setting out to do, Demonica will no longer threaten the world and I'll also have my life back.”

  Minuet leant back against her great chair with a sigh. “We see your point, actually,” she said as she took Hebraun's hand. “Having gotten to know you sir, we're not the least surprised that this would be your decision.”

  “I thank you for the praise, Your Majesty,” said Yann-Ber, bowing his head to her.

  “Now you have seriously aggravated my curiosity,” said Minuet. “Just how do you plan to get rid of the world's most powerful sorceress in your condition, without any magical ability of your own?”

  “I intend to exploit the only weakness of hers which I happen to be aware of that would make her vulnerable.”

  “Which is...?” said Hebraun.

  “Demonica has quite a weakness for handsome young men with money and power,” said Yann-Ber. “That's how I got involved with her, though that might be hard to imagine since I've not had any of those since you've known me. You see, when she met me, I was heir to the Dark Empire. I was born into the House of Dark...”

  “I'm sorry Yann-Ber, but you've confused me,” said Minuet.

  “I've been disowned, you see,” he said, pausing with a sigh. “I'm Emperor Azenor's eldest son. He cast me out when I married Demonica. That's why I give my mother's house, the House of Penn, if the occasion should ever arise.

  “We had no idea!” she said with a gasp.

  “Well now, it's hardly appropriate for a destitute man to call attention to his lineage of wealth and power, is it? In fact, I don't recall ever even mentioning House of Penn since I've been here. Oh, maybe I did when I was getting off your ship and was obliged to make an introduction at the Dragon Caves.

  “Demonica is a source of both shame and means to the House of Dark, I'm afraid. It has been her arms, ships, minerals and precious metals that have enabled my great-grandfather, grandfather and my father to establish the Dark Empire. There have even been occasions when they have made use of her mercenaries and her strategical acumen. She is shrewdly astute where war and politics are concerned, make no mistake about it. The world would not call it the Dark Continent today if it weren't for her. And over the years, the House of Dark has taken great pains to publicly minimize connections with her. My father in particular has not wanted the world to see that our power and military accomplishments have depended from the beginning upon a fearfully ruthless sorceress with no peerage whatsoever. You can imagine how he reacted to my marrying her.

  “To my ever growing shame, I must confess that I truly loved that demon woman when I defied my family and married her. I knew my father was adamant about all this but I never really thought he'd go so far as to disown me, since we'd been unusually close. He gave me lots of warning. He made himself quite clear, but I was young and wildly in love. In fact, I probably would've married her even if I had expected to be outcast...that is, if she still would have married me. Now that I can see how it all is, I know that she would have dropped me immediately. Oh, she was certainly lustful, but she has not the slightest idea of the meaning of love, and of course what she was shamelessly after was marrying into the wealth and power of the House of Dark. I was disowned the day after we tied the knot. And from that moment on, I lived as though I were chained to the ankle of the Pitmaster himself.

  “Demonica desires above all to rule the Dark Continent,” he said as he painfully stood up to shuffle about while he talked. “Marrying into the House of Dark would practically be a decisive final step for her. So. Where I'm going with all of this is that I'm not my father's only son...”

  “But Yann-Ber,” said Minuet. “What's to prevent your father from disowning another son? Surely he'd not mean more to him than...”

  “You're quite right,” said Yann-Ber with a deep and studious nod as he took another step forward. “That would undo everything, wouldn't it? But if I begin with

  Father, it's possible everything would work. Once he has a thorough grasp of the political situation here in Norz-Meurzouar he'll be reasonable. If there is one thing the great Emperor Azenor does not want it is for Demonica to gain control of the Dark Continent.”

  “I must've missed something, Yann-Ber,” said Hebraun with a scowl, as he shook his head. I don't see how a marriage between one of your brothers and Demonica will keep her from getting control of your homeland.”

  “You're quite right, sire. I haven't gotten that far yet. Part of what is behind my father's dismay is a keen awareness that Demonica's share of the power wielded by the House of Dark has grown steadily throughout the three generations we've been dependant on her. He knows that at the rate she's gone, sooner or later she'll have us. He fears the day. So, once he sees how it all is with Demonica, Spitemorta, Heart and Staff, once he sees that this will indeed be where he loses the Empire unless he does something, I'm betting that he'll be right willing to help with my plan.

  “Now, you agreed with Tors when he said that it would be wise to have eyes and ears within Castle Goll. My plan allows for that as one possibility...”

  “You plan to set up the next heir to the Dark Empire as a spy for Niarg!” said Minuet with a gasp of astonishment.

  “Interestingly, I haven't heard my idea put into quite those terms, Your Majesty,” said with Yann-Ber with a laugh that ruptured a pustule on his face, causing him to wince with the pain. He paused to blot at it with his handkerchief. “Of course my goal beyond all else is to get someone into position to kill the witch outright. But meanwhile, there is still Spitemorta, so we must take into account all possibilities. I plan for my brother's mission to be both spy and assassin, if we have the time. I hate to be selfish, but I do want her dead before my year is up.”

  “You seem right certain that she'll go along with this proposed union,” said Hebraun.

  “Oh, she's already tried it herself,” said Yann-Ber, putting his handkerchief to his cheek so he could grin. “The minute I was disinherited after our wedding, she tried to use her wiles on Karl-Veur. That's my brother's name. Her efforts failed of course, but she enjoyed being cruel, even so. When I refused to notice, she told me over and again that she'd always found him far more attractive than me, and had I not been heir at the time, she'd not even have bothered with me.”

  “Are you certain she wasn't just saying those awful things to...” said Minuet.

  “Oh! Sorry to interrupt, but there are things I'm right certain of here. Firstly, cruelty is in Demonica's every single breath and h
eartbeat. Secondly, there is nothing that she would stop at to have total control of the Dark Continent, particularly by way of the House of Dark. And thirdly, she most certainly does lust after Karl-Veur.

  “So what of Karl-Veur, then?” said Hebraun. “Perhaps he'll have a say in this scheme, even if your father agrees to it.”

  “That'll be the hardest part of all, I fear,” said Yann-ber with a sigh. “Karl-Veur is revolted by Demonica, so that part works. He also told me that he thought that she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, but I don't know how that works at all. It's asking quite a bit of anyone to ask them to marry someone and then to turn on them and kill them. And of course he considers spying to be villainy in the same way that you do, sire. However, he's fiercely loyal to the Dark Empire. Particularly if I convince him of her dire threat to the Empire, he'll want to see her dead. Whether he wants to put himself through all this is quite another matter.”

  “I'm sure you know what you're saying,” said Minuet, “but if ruling the Dark Continent is already within Demonica's grasp why should she bother marrying your brother?”

  “Well, perhaps there is a need, Your Majesty,” said Yann-Ber. “She is a keen manipulator. For all her ruthlessness, she is incredibly restrained and calculating. She likes power, she likes vengeance, but she also likes the shadows. She likes getting her way by manipulating forces already in place, and she always prefers to kill two birds with one stone. Firstly, make no mistake about her fierce desire for Karl-Veur. His shunning her advances only aggravates her desire. She may even vainly enjoy the idea that it still torments me. Who knows? Be this as it may, what we can be absolutely certain of is that she keenly understands politics. She knows that if she slips into the seat of power peacefully, the populace will accept her and even embrace her, whereas if she were to take over by force, toppling the power which has ruled for generations, they'll have to be kept from rising up against her.”

  “Please don't be offended by this, Yann-Ber,” said Minuet, “but when Demonica has a substantial foothold here on the Northern Continent, why should she still want control of the Dark Continent? The Northern Continent is altogether more well developed and prosperous.”

  “I take no offense in the least. That is indeed how it has been over the years. However, there have been major mineral discoveries made there in recent years which in the long run will probably change that. Unfortunately though, Demonica has controlling interest in most of it.

  “Are you speaking of those odd scrying globes?” said Hebraun.

  “I have no idea what you're talking about,” said Yann-Ber with a frown.

  “The last time King James's retainer was here, he brought us a scrying globe that ordinary people could see images in...”

  “Oh yea. I remember the discussion. You all felt quite wary of his appearing with it, and of course I would be too. But I'm lost. What's the connection here?”

  “It was speculated that it was taken from one of Demonica's mines on the Dark Continent.”

  “I'm not surprised, but I know nothing of it,” said Yann-Ber carefully sitting on his chair again.

  “Well, we certainly hope your plans work,” said Minuet. “You'd be able to recover and we'd be left with only Spitemorta to deal with, though she'd be quite evil enough by herself.”

  “Yes, especially after being tutored by Demonica,” said Yann-Ber. “However, if Demonica's out of the way, you have a better chance of surviving until the twins are old enough.”

  “Well, perhaps we should all freshen up for supper,” said Minuet, patting Hebraun on the arm and standing up.

  “Mother,” said Rose, “you're too quick. Fuzz and I were going to announce something.”

  “Oh?” she said as she and Hebraun sat back down.

  “Fuzz and I will be going to the Dark Continent with Yann-Ber.”

  Minuet grabbed Hebraun's hand. “Somehow, I had a feeling that was coming,” she said. “And you, Father?”

  “No,” said Razzmorten, shaking his head, “not this time, Minuet. I think it's time for this old wizard to stay by the fire for awhile.”

  Minuet gave him a look of heartfelt gratitude. Razzmorten grinned.

  “I expect we can continue with this over supper then,” said Hebraun as he escorted Minuet along the carpet down the center of the dais.

  ***

  Spitemorta stepped out onto the deck with the Staff and shivered in the raw wind under the solid ceiling of snowy grey clouds as she drew her polar bear skin more tightly around her. A small bevy of gulls hovered for a moment beyond the rigging before vanishing. The sinking sun made the entire west flare brilliant orange, pink and blood red before slipping out of sight, leaving isolated cobblestones of cloud overhead tinged with failing pink.

  “Sailor's delight,” she thought with a shudder from the wind, as she watched the first of her Marooderyn Imshee appearing on deck to take their customary places, staring at her with beetle-browed adoration. More appeared. Now they were covering the deck in the failing light to stare at her in reverent silence.

  “Fools,” she muttered with a heady smile as goose-flesh prickled her arms. There were moments when she dearly loved being Fnadi-yaphn. She raised her arms. “My glorious Dyrney!” she boomed. “Some of you came on deck in time to see the white birds. Land is just out of sight, yonder. Before very long, perhaps by the time I'm finished speaking, land will appear. We are just beyond the mouth of the River Loxmere. We will sail into the river, and a few score of the strongest of you will take ropes and tow the ships upriver. In three or four days, you shall have your first feast of Elf flesh.”

  The trolls stamped and cheered.

  She waited for quite a while before raising her arms. “It is very likely that as we sail the length of the Loxmere, you will get glimpses of Elves on the southern bank. You must stay silent and make not the slightest movement. Alerting them would be a mistake. I will lead you to a village where you will be able to take the choicest Elves. Wait for my word and you shall feast.”

  The trolls erupted into thundering merriment as Spitemorta stepped astride her staff to make her delivery to each of the other six ships. On the last ship a cry arose as land was sighted. She quickly flew back to the first ship and addressed the trolls again.

  “Now my people,” she cried, “we must have hushed silence as we sail into the mouth of the River Loxmere! Well into the mouth of the Loxmere we will dock and we will choose from amongst you those who will tread the path along the bank, towing the ship. You must remain silent while we do the choosing. You may have to be silent for four or five days, but remember that when we get upriver, you will hunt and feast.”

  The Marooderyn Imshee knelt in reverent silence. Spitemorta glanced aside with a smirk at Demonica where she stood with a look of disgust as she leant against the railing.

  “Just what's your problem, Grandmother?” she said, stepping close enough to hiss and murmur. “This was all your idea, remember. Had it been left up to me, I'd be enjoying my life in Goll while my army destroyed Niarg and the Elves. Then, after I'd enslaved the dragons, I'd use the Heart and the Staff to take over the rest of the world.”

  “The problem is, dear, that this keeps coming up,” said Demonica with a piercing squint. “And you brought it up. But it's related. Absolutely, because I was watching how utterly inebriated you become with just the merest bit of power. Makes you dangerously blind, sweetheart. These trolls are daft. If you swaggered around in front of so many human beings, sooner or later one of 'em would step up and stick you in the ribs. And then to top it off, you come right up to me with the very thing I've been warning you about for months and try to stick it in my face. It takes alert and shrewd planning to wield an army. You have to see where you're going. And the minute you go tramping out across the world in plain sight with the Staff and the Heart, you'll be a target. There'll be someone who won't mind chancing death, just to rid the world of you and take his place in some bard's tale. I am dismayed, furious... I don't know what
I am...to have a granddaughter who has learnt no more than this after all this time.”

  “So just give me the Heart and return to your little rock off Head. I'm sick of your know-all attitude, Demonica. I'm queen. Maybe it's time for us to part ways.”

  Demonica threw back her head with a two note bark of laughter, then siezed Spitemorta's eyes with a steely fix. “I will decide when I go home,” she said with a chorus of voices like a basket snakes dropped on the floor. “And I will give the Heart to you only when wise and prudent to do so. And with behavior like this, Rouanez Bras, it won't be anytime in the near future.”

  “You keep the Heart, then. You keep the Heart and go home. I have the Staff. It's not a bad trade. And I'll have you out of my hair.”

  “Your outrageous vanity blinds you Spitemorta. You don't know who you are and you don't know who I am. I've worked very hard to set you up for the very thing you crave, yet you're willing to stand on the brink and throw it away so you can go scurrying back to your safe little world in Goll where you can pretend that you have power and control. Ironic it is that you turned up your nose at what your mother did in the Chokewoods. At least she did the most she could do with what she had to work with. You wouldn't be half as inventive in the same spot.”

  “You always said Ugleeuh was an impotent fool, Grandmother.”

  “Oh I stand by that. She merely deserves more credit for what she did than you deserve for what you do. She had very little knowledge and even less opportunity. However you are defiantly managing to turn your back on both. Ugleeuh would never have been that blind.” She turned on her heel then paused before going below. “So dear, when I leave, just what are you going to do about being a troll?”

  ***

  Minuet hugged Rose one more time and ran the back of her hand along one eye. It seemed to her that her life had become nothing but one goodbye after another and she was not bearing it well.

  “Don't worry Mother,” said Rose, as she caught a glimpse of herself doing practically as Lukus had, “we'll be back before you know it and we'll bring the future Emperor with us. Just think of our little journey as a mission to bring back hope for our world. That should make you feel better.”