The Mage Wars

by Mercedes Lackey

  He held out the Necklace to her, keeping his eyes on her face and nothing else.

  She did not feign surprise, nor did she affect a coy shyness. She was too complex for the former and too honest for the latter. But her eyes lit up with a joy that told him everything he needed to know.

  His heart’s desire had matched hers, and she had kept hers hidden all this time to avoid putting pressure on him. He knew that as if he had been a Truthsayer, to read her soul.

  Her joy was doubled by the fact that she had never truly expected to have that heart’s desire fulfilled.

  “I would, my King,” she said simply, “If you will have me.”

  He raised the Necklace high overhead, then lowered it to place it around her neck as she bent her head to receive it.

  Shalaman spared a glance to his other two Advisors. Leyuet’s hands were clasped in front of him and his face was alive with pleasure—but oddly enough, so was Palisar’s!

  “You have Year-Sons enough to choose an heir, Serenity,” Palisar said, very softly. “Marry now for joy.”

  That had been the final real obstacle; Palisar’s supposed disapproval had fallen like a card balanced upon one edge, and with as little fuss.

  He took Silver Veil’s hand and led her to the edge of the platform. Once again, a complete silence fell over the crowd.

  “To help flush out the murderer, Lady Winterhart posed as my bride-to-be, and honorable Amberdrake feigned madness in a plan to lure the true madman. Let it be known that the honorable leaders of White Gryphon risked their lives and reputations to save Haighlei from murder. Let it be known that the gods themselves have blessed this Palace with a Soul-bonded pair—Lady Winterhart and Kestra’chern Amberdrake.”

  The people were clearly stunned, even after mentally preparing themselves for the Eclipse Ceremony and all that it entailed. “This is the season of changes,” he said into that silence. “And let it begin with the King wedding his beloved Silver Veil!”

  The crowd went insane, cheering and bouncing in place, waving scarves in the air where there was room to move. Even the guards were smiling!

  He had not realized that Silver Veil was so popular with the people—all the more reason to wed her! A King could not do better with his people, if his Consort proved to be a popular Advisor, popular with the people as well as the nobles.

  She moved to the position that Winterhart had held during the first half of the ceremony. Winterhart had already fallen modestly back to a new place beside the weary Gryphon King.

  Shalaman surveyed his cheering, joyous people, as the sun brightened with every passing moment, and his heart filled with a content he had never expected to experience.

  He held up the staff, and they fell silent again, this time in pleasurable expectation.

  “Hear, all ye people, the changes that are to come!” he boomed into the stillness. “We shall ally with the people of White Gryphon, who bring us new arts and new beasts, a touch of the new to every part of our land and life. We add another King to the Haighlei, Skandranon, the Black Gryphon. I take as my bride, my Consort, and my Advisor, the Silver Veil. From this day, it will be allowable that a King may choose to wed his kestra’chern.”

  He continued, enumerating all the changes, great and small, that he and his Advisors had determined would be reasonable and acceptable for the next years. The litany went on, but his real thoughts were elsewhere.

  I have been given my life by these strangers, he thought, And—I have been given awareness of my true love. What more could they have given me? I will be in debt to them for the rest of my life, but it is a debt I will joyfully strive to repay.

  Shalaman felt the supporting presence of his beloved and his friends at his back, and smiled at the crowd. He even smiled at Skandranon’s grumbling.

  “I hope this is over soon. I’m scheduled to fall down and twitch,” the gryphon murmured. “Then I’m due to eat everything in sight and sleep for two days, and then—”

  Shalaman stifled a laugh at the explicit description of what the Gryphon King would be doing with his mate Zhaneel. These people of White Gryphon would shock and delight his Court for a long time.

  Only one shadow still darkened his joy.

  Where was Amberdrake?

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Amberdrake worked the last of his bonds loose, and stood up, hands and feet still tingling. He wished he could ignore the sensation; the best he could do was to keep from making too much noise about it.

  Now—find those others Hadanelith mentioned. There are probably two; maybe more, but he talked as if there were only two.

  If anyone had ever described Amberdrake to his face as a courageous man, he would have laughed. He had never considered bravery to be one of his chief attributes; that was for others, not for him. He was able to recognize bravery when he saw it, but it was never a quality he would have granted to himself. He was often afraid, and knew it, and did not scruple to show it. Not that brave people weren’t afraid, but they were able to get beyond their fear to act. Amberdrake knew, in his heart, that fear often paralyzed him.

  Thinking on it, he would not have granted himself physical bravery, the kind of bravery that made Skan and Zhaneel fly off and risk their lives, over and over, as if such risk was no worse than a cold bath on a winter morning.

  And right now, he felt as if he were the biggest coward in this whole shattered world. As Skan vanished out of sight, all Amberdrake wanted to do was find somewhere to hide until the whole mess was over. He wished he could find a nice, secure room and lock the door so that no one could get at him. That would be the sensible course, really—what could he expect to accomplish?

  There’s no way I can just hide when the most powerful and dangerous of our enemies are both here, somewhere, wherever that is. Something has to be done about them. They may be engrossed with whatever magic they’re controlling, or they may be confident they’ve already won, or—

  With no real Mindspeaking ability of his own, he would not know whether Skan arrived in time to save the King and Winterhart until long after the fact. The light grew dimmer with every passing heartbeat—and Hadanelith was due to strike at the darkest part of the Eclipse. No one knew he was here except Skandranon and Kechara. Assuming that Kechara wasn’t watching Skan, she would know what was happening on his side of this little battle, but otherwise he was on his own.

  And somehow I doubt she’ll be able to tear her mind away from her “Papa Skan.”

  Was this how Skan felt when he went off on one of those famous solitary missions? Lonely—and deserted—and completely terrified?

  Not terrified, not Skan. He’s been scared, but always confident in himself.

  Kechara might be able to call for help if things went wrong and she was watching him, but that also assumed that she had enough understanding of what she saw to tell the others if Amberdrake was in trouble. She had shown a surprising grasp of abstracts lately, but—well, she was tired, and stressed, and under a great deal of pressure, more than she ever should have had to bear. Little Kechara was more toddler than warrior.

  No. I’m on my own here. His insides knotted up as he acknowledged that. I have to find those so-called “friends” of Hadanelith’s, and I have to neutralize them before they can rescue him. If all that means is that I occupy their attention until he’s secured against magic, then that’s what I’ll do.

  That certainly sounded brave enough. He only wished that it was going to be as easy as it sounded.

  But they were all running out of time; he’d better find Hadanelith’s co-conspirators before the full Eclipse fell!

  He gathered up what “weapons” he could find—the ropes he’d been bound with, and a length of metal bar. He picked them all up so quietly that there wasn’t even a scrape of metal against the floor, even though he knew objectively that the noise was negligible. At least while he was concentrating on keeping quiet, he could convince his body to move, and not freeze like a frightened tree-hare. He crept toward the d
oor, listening with all his concentration after he made each step. His hands shook so hard he nearly dropped the bar. He closed his eyes and swallowed, willing his hands to stop shaking, but they wouldn’t. Finally he reached the doorway; he plastered himself flat against the wall next to the door, and listened again, this time holding his breath.

  Nothing. Not even a distant murmur of voices. No matter how thick the walls were, this close to the door he’d surely hear something if there was anyone out there! Wouldn’t he?

  Carefully, he reached out to the door handle, and eased the door open a crack, his teeth clenched as he waited for the hinges to groan. That would be just my luck. But the hinges were silent, and he heard nothing, and there was no sign of a guard on the other side.

  Meanwhile, the logical part of his mind was still worrying away at the problem of who Hadanelith’s co-conspirators were. This is—probably—a suite in the Palace, which means that one of Hadanelith’s friends must belong to the Court. But who could it be? Unfortunately, Amberdrake had no idea who was quartered where; probably only the Chamberlain would know that. He’d been under the impression that this section of the Palace was about empty. The rooms were not very desirable; they were all too near the outer walls, and the sentries and far-off noise of the city disturbed the nights. There were only a few gardens shared among the suites here, and the entire section was a little too damp during the winter. The only people who lived here, so he’d thought, were those too lowly in status to complain about the rooms they were granted. That seemed to fit with someone of low rank, perhaps exacting revenge for being overlooked and slighted, and finding a shortcut to exalted status as well.

  But that didn’t mean that someone who was quite high in status couldn’t commandeer a suite or two, especially if they were empty. The conspirators’ knowledge of the movements of the courtiers seemed to be that of someone familiar with the ebb and flow of the court.

  Then there was Hadanelith’s assertion that one of his “friends” could take the Lion Throne, which also argued for a high status. Yet, all the King’s Year-Sons were in the guard of his fellow rulers, which would make it rather difficult for one of them to be there and here at the same time.

  Unless a Year-Son is using magic to transport himself! Oh, surely that would have been noticed! Or—could he have found someone to impersonate him, and crept back here! That’s even more far-fetched a notion than the use of magic to transport him. Impersonators are less reliable than magic—

  Or were they? He clenched his eyes closed as he thought about Hadanelith impersonating him, closing in on Winterhart, cutting once to the side, again, up—

  Pull yourself together, Amberdrake. Think. Think about what you have learned. Lifebonded pairs can feel each other. If she was hurt, you’d feel—

  He’d feel sick, he realized with a lurch of his stomach. What if it wasn’t fear for himself that was making his hands shake so? What if this was the side effect of feeling his beloved Winterhart die, somewhere far away?

  And what if it isn’t! Think, Amberdrake—alive or dead or dying, would Winterhart admire you for shaking and hiding! You have to act. No matter what happens to Winterhart or you, you have to act for the good of White Gryphon.

  Amberdrake eased the door open a little more; there was still no reaction indicating someone out in the hallway. He turned his intellect back to narrowing down or eliminate possible suspects; he had a particular suspicion of his own, and he devoutly hoped it was wrong.

  But the doubt kept recurring—could it be Palisar!

  It was a horrible suspicion, no matter how you looked at it.

  It was an unworthy suspicion, because he knew very well he would never have entertained it if Palisar hadn’t been so openly hostile to the foreigners. But if the Haighlei had customs and rituals for everything, perhaps the Speaker was prohibited from hiding his true feelings, even if it would mean giving himself away to those he plotted against.

  But he kept wondering… for certainly there was no one better placed than Palisar to know everything about the movements of every courtier in the Palace. Who better to know exactly what was going on, and who better to know which courtier was vulnerable and which was not?

  Add to that the fact that Palisar was a priest, a trusted priest. Who better to ensure that the chosen victim was alone? If Palisar sent messages to each of the women who’d been murdered, telling them he needed to talk to them alone, wouldn’t they have made sure to send every servant off on errands to obey him? He was the King’s Advisor, and it might be presumed that the King had a message he wished to send discreetly. He was a priest, and it might be thought that as a priest he had something of a spiritual nature to discuss. Both of those would require absolute privacy.

  And he’s a mage—there’s another thing. If he’s anything like our mages, he’s been frantic with frustration at the way magic has been rendered unreliable. Our people have tried every way short of blood-magic to bring things back under control, and even Snowstar admitted to me that the temptation to resort to that is a great one after you’ve had your spells abort one too many times. What if Palisar has gotten his hands burnt too many times by the storms! What if he didn’t resist that temptation to resort to blood-bought power!

  Granted, every single one of those arguments could be applied to every single priest-mage among the Haighlei, but still—Palisar disapproved of the foreigners, of change in general, and possessed everything required to be the one holding Hadanelith’s leash.

  I don’t know how the succession goes around here, but as a powerful Advisor, he could have some blood-ties to the King. If he has royal blood, he could see a chance at the throne he wouldn’t otherwise get.

  Amberdrake touched the door again, easing it open still more. Now it was held ajar enough he could squeeze through it if he wanted to.

  I don’t want to, but I don’t have a choice. He shivered, and clenched his trembling fingers tightly around the iron bar he carried. Even if Skan made it to the Ceremony in time to stop Hadanelith, if Hadanelith got away somehow, things would be worse than they had been before the Ceremony. It would still look as if Amberdrake had been the one trying to kill the King.

  They’re going to want to kill me on sight! The King is going to have orders out to strike first and bring back the body, and I doubt he’s going to listen to anything Skan has to say!

  Not that Amberdrake could blame him, in the abstract.

  What am I doing, just standing here! I have to do something to keep the conspirators from rescuing Hadanelith. Good answer, Drake—and as soon as you magically transform into a squad of mercenaries, it will be no worry at all.

  The room began to darken visibly. The last part of the Eclipse must be starting. His time was running out; Hadanelith would strike any moment now! And what if the mages—or mage—wasn’t here, but was somewhere else entirely?

  For a moment, he panicked, then logic asserted itself. Hadanelith’s not predictable enough to be left unsupervised. He was gloating, so he wouldn’t see a need to lie. He is insane, but he was never known to lie. He implied they were here, so they have to be here, probably scrying the Ceremony to see when to snatch their assassin back again.

  That made good sense. It also meant that he’d better do something now.

  Something physical? Against two or more people? Not a good idea. I’m not a fighter. I do know self-defense, but that isn’t going to help me attack someone. What do I have left!

  Bluff!

  Well, why not! It couldn’t hurt. It could buy time, and as soon as everything is over, Skan can send me help. While I’m bluffing them, they aren’t going to be doing anything but watching me. If Skan can catch Hadanelith, the time I buy could give the King’s people a chance to shield him against rescue.

  Assuming one of them isn’t Palisar—

  He shook his head angrily, with cold fear a great lump of ice lodged just below his heart. If he kept on arguing with himself, he wouldn’t get a chance to do anything! Time was slipping awa
y, and the Eclipse wasn’t going to delay for anyone or anything.

  He pushed the door open, to find himself, not in a hallway, but on the top of a set of stairs. This must be one of the corner towers of Fragrant Joy, where the “suite” was a series of rooms on a private staircase. Very handy, if one was expecting to send an accomplice out over the rooftops at night. And very convenient, if you wanted to isolate a madman in a place he’d find it hard to escape from.

  He stalked noiselessly down the staircase as the light grew dimmer and dimmer, listening for the sound of voices. The hand holding the iron bar was beginning to go numb, he was squeezing it so hard. He passed one room without hearing anything, but halfway down to the ground floor he picked up a distant, uneven hum that might have been conversation. A few steps downward, around the turn, and he knew it was voices. A few more, and he distinctly caught the word, “Hadanelith.”

  He clenched his free hand on the stair-rail, grimly, as his knees went to jelly. It was the other conspirators, all right. Two of them, just as he’d thought, from the sound of the voices. Unless there were others there who weren’t speaking.

  He pushed the thought that he might be struck down the moment he crossed the threshold resolutely out of his mind. If he thought about it, he’d faint or bolt right back up the stairs again. His throat was tight, and his breath came short; every muscle in his back and neck was knotted up. Every sound was terribly loud, and his eyes felt hot. He forced himself onward. One step. Another. He reached the bottom; there were no more stairs now. He faced a hallway, with several doors along it. He knew which one he wanted, though. It was the first one; the one that was open just a crack, enough to let light from inside shine out into the hall.

  The staircase was lit by a skylight with frosted glass at the top; it grew darker and darker in the stairwell, until by the time he reached the door he wanted, it was as dark as early dusk. The voices on the other side of the door were very clear, and it was with a feeling of relief that left him light-headed that he realized neither of the two speakers was Palisar.