Maig's Hand

by Phillip Henderson

  “Mr Beckett,” Eden said. “I know where the cabin is, so if I could be alone with my sister.”

  “Of course, your highness. I’ll be in the galley if you have need. You only need to ring the bell in the Captain’s cabin.”

  “Thank you.”

  When they reached the door to what she presumed was the captain’s cabin, Danielle glanced back the way they’d come, and seeing that they were alone, she quietly asked, “What’s being said?”

  “Nothing yet. Father was hoping to talk with Lord Cargius before making any public announcements. Bastion will explain.”

  She was pleased Eden was now being discreet. After his earlier lapse in the company of his knightly retainer she had feared it might be otherwise.

  Eden opened the narrow door in front of them and gestured her inside. It was rather warm with the windows along the stern closed.

  James and Bastion were sitting at a table large enough to seat four with a squeeze, and on her arrival they ended their conversation and came to their feet, concerned for her.

  “How is your shoulder?” she said, looking to James and speaking first.

  “Better. A great deal better.” James came forward and they embraced.

  It was nice to have him close and he did look a great deal better than when she had left him just after dawn, but there was no time for preamble, so as soon as they eased apart Danielle spoke before they could pepper her with questions. “What does my father want with Lord Cargius?” She directed the question at her undersecretary as she pulled off her coat.

  “An alliance,” Bastion said, reading her mood perfectly as always and getting straight down to business. “After word arrived that the Arkaelyus had been attacked your father at the advice of the Inner Council decided it would be impossible to fight this threat secretly. If Lord Cargius agrees, your father will announce to the realm the nature of the threat we now face. Though he wants to assure you that they will be discreet about the role you are to play.”

  “We can’t do that.” This was so much like her father it wearied her. He would shout when only a whisper was required.

  “Why not?” Eden asked. Bastion and James were also obviously curious for an answer. The latter two kept looking at the door, and were likely wondering why the tall white haired druid they had met on the jetty hours before wasn’t with her.

  “Cargius won’t agree. He has made it clear to me how this is to be done, and secrecy and haste are absolutely paramount.”

  “Danielle, you don’t seem to understand, Illandia will be ablaze with speculation by this time tomorrow,” Eden said. “The royal barge attacked, the Lady de Brie kidnapped, a visit to Ra’majum in the dead of night, whispers about ancient druid magic turning the oarsmen of the royal barge against the rest of those on the ship. Then there is the destruction of your chambers. Silence is no longer possible.”

  She knew word of all this would get out—gossip regarding her chambers was likely already doing the rounds. “So counter the rumours with more rumours.”

  All three men frowned at her, surprised.

  “Lie you mean?” Eden said, “There have been too many witnesses for that to work. It will only confirm the speculation, fuel more rumours. You know how this works.”

  “No, it won’t. Not if we do this as Cargius has instructed.”

  “So what is this course of action?” James asked. He had taken her coat and now he handed her a mug of warm red wine. Eden pulled out a chair for her and she accepted it gladly. She hadn’t realised until now just how tired she was. The fatigue of too many sleepless nights and the bite of hunger had her exhausted. And then there was what she had been up to with Lord Cargius for much of the morning.

  The three men were watching and waiting for her to speak.

  “I think we should open those windows. And could I have something to eat? This will go straight to my head, otherwise,” she said, holding up her mug of wine.

  She waited as James went to the door and asked Sir Jeffery to go to the galley and see that some food was brought up for their highness, while Bastion saw to the windows. When the door closed and she had their full attention again, she said sombrely, “I have to kill Kane at dawn tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow morning?” Eden said.

  “Yes.”

  “Why the rush?”

  “Eden, would you just listen, please?”

  He grudgingly complied with her wishes and she continued, saying, “Until that is done, and to avoid interference, we have to keep Fren and her ilk blind to our intent for as long as possible and that means hiding what we know and pretending confusion, even peddling lies. It is the safest way.”

  Their looks of disbelief were expected, so she continued quickly, adding, “I’m not going to argue about this. I need to send word to father.”

  “How is this safer?” Bastion asked, clearly confused. “If you are to kill Kane, then we have to legitimate your actions. Otherwise this will technically be an unlawful seizure and execution. Danielle, your father could be impeached and you arrested and executed for murder if the nobles find out.”

  “I know that. But this is the way it has to be. If Fren learns that Father and his Inner Council now believe that my dream is a premonition then they will likely move to take Kane beyond our reach and do everything within their power to kill me. Their days of playing in the shadows will be over and at present we are too disadvantaged to face them on those terms.”

  “Their days of playing in the shadows are already over,” Eden retorted. “I thought that would be obvious.”

  “Eden, we need time, and the longer we can hide what we know, the better.”

  “Why, because this Druid says so?” he demanded.

  “Yes. You need to understand that Kane is about to be anointed the next Hand of Maig. And not just a Hand, but also the Hand. He is of the purple aura.” She saw that meant nothing to them, so she added, “If he isn’t stopped, he’ll be as formidable as Larnius Quintius. So nothing is as important as seizing and executing him, and giving us the best opportunity to see that is so. Do you understand?”

  It took a moment before Eden slowly nodded and turned to look out of the stern window at the river beyond. They all knew the stories of Larnius Quintius. “You kill Kane and this is over then?”

  She wished it were that simple. “I kill Kane and the prophecy cannot be fulfilled, yes. But for this to be over, truly over, I have to then destroy the Book of Minion and the Fountain of Rebirth as well. That will take a further six months since I have to complete this ceremony.” She dared not tell him about his part in all this. Then again, she didn’t truly understand it herself for Cargius had not exactly been forthcoming on the subject.

  “Six months? The ceremony is not complete?” Bastion said.

  Eden scoffed as if that was the least of their worries. “Before we get to that, how is this to be done?”

  “I already told you…”

  “No, not how the execution is to be done, but how do we explain it tomorrow, and add to that list the destruction of your chambers, the attack on the Arkaelyus, and this urgent visit to Ra’majum?” Eden said.

  “Like I said; with half truths and lies.” Danielle didn’t like it any more than they, but the alternative was far worse. “First of all, Kane must be taken secretly.”

  “Obviously,” Eden said. “And when it is discovered that he has been murdered? You know how the nobles will react.”

  “They won’t know. They will simply think he has disappeared. By then we’ll no doubt have proof that he is involved in the trafficking of slaves to the Helidon estate, and most will assume he has fled to escape justice. We can reinforce that assumption by offering a bounty for his capture.”

  “And your chamber? How are we to explain that?”

  “Cargius thinks we should be a little more forthcoming, though obviously not completely honest. He suggests that in order to waylay Fren’s fears and suspicions, we explain what happened with the negation of any mention of
the language the writing on the walls of my chamber took or that they mentioned a prophecy. We simply say the words; put there by some arcane magic summoned me to Ra’majum. With regard to the trip to Ra’majum, we say that the writings proved false as nothing was found at the Druid ruin to substantiate what was written, and in fact we are now of the belief that the whole affair was the work of a band of robbers who planned to draw me into the wilds and try and abduct me for ransom, only they did not suspect I’d travel with such numbers in defence and the fog and darkness made them unaware of this until the attack had already started.”

  She could see she was slowly getting through to them.

  “So why six months?” James asked. She knew what was on his mind. It had been plaguing her too.

  “Because I cannot destroy the Book of Minion and the Fountain of Rebirth before this ritual is complete. It takes six months. After that, Cargius believes Fren and her kind will flee, for they’ll have nothing to wield against us of any effect.”

  “So if this ceremony is not complete, I take it Cargius will be visiting you again,” Eden said. “Was it as we feared, a betrothal?”

  “Of a sort, yes.” She looked to James as she said this. “I’m not bound to him once it is complete. James and I will still be married. But I must lie with him again every second week for the next six months.”

  She saw how much that displeased them despite their attempts to hide it from her. When none of them replied she added, “Can I count on your support?”

  Eden nodded, if only reluctantly. “Like we have a choice.”

  But it was James she was looking at.

  His gaze left the table and found her and he gave her an understanding nod. “You know you can.”

  Relieved to be over the first hurdle, Danielle asked Bastion to take down a message for her. He quickly settled at the table and readied his writing equipment. She relayed all that the White Druid had told her over the course of the morning, with several exceptions. It wouldn’t be helpful if they knew that her mother had been a Child of Light before her or that Eden was Cargius’ child and hence, not the legitimate heir to the Arkaelyon throne, or that they had an older sister out there somewhere. They didn’t need to know that anymore than Arkaelyon needed to know that she was soon to murder her twin brother or bare a bastard child in her womb. Then she ended with a request to her father that he move to secretly arrest Kane with all haste and make the necessary preparations for the execution and disposal of the body as Cargius had instructed. The latter drew a muttered curse from Eden’s lips and made Bastion and James look at her with distress.

  By the time she had finished and Bastion had read the message back to her the mood in the cabin was painfully heavy.

  All the same, when she asked Eden for his lord’s ring to seal the message, he willingly obliged and worked the ring off his finger.

  Bastion dripped wax onto the folded letter and pressed Eden’s ring into it, before returning the ring to its owner and excused himself, leaving the cabin to have the message sent by bird back to Illandia.

  They were quiet after Bastion left, each of them lost in their own thoughts. It was a great deal to take in all at once. James was the first to move. He got up and came over to her. His hands rested on her shoulders and he bent and kissed her head. Dee smiled at him as he refilled her glass with wine. She could see he was trying hard to conceal his troubled thoughts behind kind actions. She knew him too well.

  Eden pushed the ring back on his finger, his back to them and his attention diverted to the river beyond the stern windows. He sighed heavily and turned to face her. “I wish I could take this from you, Dee, I really do.”

  “I know.” The thought that she would soon have to swing an executioner’s axe at their brother’s neck still felt oddly unreal. She wasn’t even sure that she could despite the necessity. “At least this time tomorrow the worst of it will be over and done with,” she said, hiding her doubts.

  Eden crossed the cabin and also kissed her head. “I hope so.” He glanced at James and added, “I suspect you both have much to talk about. I’ll leave you be.”

  Danielle saw her brother to the door. She was also still struggling with the notion that they might not share the same father. And odder still, that she was likely to bear a child that could possibly be Eden’s stepsister. When the door closed she took a moment to prepare herself and turned to face her fiancé. James had to know the whole truth; there had never been any question about that. Not in her mind anyway.

  James had climbed out of his chair and now he came over and embraced her with his free arm, holding her close. “Nothing’s changed as far as I’m concerned.”

  “There are things you need to know before you say that.”

  “Dee, there’s nothing you can say or do that will change the way I feel about you or make me renege on the commitment we have made to wed. I’m just relieved to hear that it’s still possible. We should be pleased for that at least, even if we must wait six months. You still want to marry, right?”

  She nodded emphatically, and smiled at the absurdity of his question. “Yes, very much.” She ran a finger down his jaw to his lips and he promptly bit it, making her laugh. She pulled her finger free from his playful nip, cupped his cheeks in her hands and pressed her lips to his. Cargius had not kissed her and would not and she was pleased for that. Her lips at least would be James’ alone.

  She gently eased back from his wonderful mouth least the feeling he was rousing in her got the better of her. “It does not bother you that we can not be together for eight months?” She wasn’t sure how she was going to endure that.

  “With what is at stake I think you know the answer to that question. Besides, he’s a thousand years old, he might be able to teach us something,” James said with a half grin.

  “I doubt it. The whole thing was very awkward and thankfully quick.”

  James’ smile faltered a little and he moved away to pour himself a drink. Danielle immediately wished she had held her tongue. He didn’t want to hear what another man was doing with his fiancé however necessary the liaison. “There’s something else, but you must promise to keep this secret.”

  “Of course.”

  She went over to him, took the cup out of his hand and put it aside and laced her fingers between his making him look at her. She needed to see his face when she told him this.

  “More often than not …” She faltered and looked down at the floorboards, trying to find the words and then forced herself to look at him and say it, “More often than not this ritual ends with the conception of a child. A daughter. If it proves so, will you … will you still marry me?”

  She searched his face for a reaction and was pleasantly surprised when that easy smile spread across his face and he lifted her hands to his lips and kissed them. “Of course. There is nothing in this world that can change the way I feel about you, or stop us being together. You hear?”

  “It doesn’t bother you? The child will not be of your blood.”

  “Was I of Wyatt or Glomar’s blood, yet they loved me as any true father could. If you come to be with child, she will be ours as much as his. And know that I will treat her as if she were my own.” James bent and kissed her and she knew he meant what he said: every word of it.

  “You really think I would let your reputation be tainted or allow your position as the realm’s future madam protector be placed in danger when I could prevent it?”

  She smiled under his mouth and had begun to return his kisses when a knock came at the door interrupting them.

  “It’ll be a servant from the galley.” James let her hands go and walked away to answer it. He returned with a platter of fruit and bread and a little cheese and placed it on the table. When he pulled out a chair for her, Danielle noticed his curious expression as she sat down. “What?”

  He sat down opposite her, his gaze on her face. “I was just wondering about what you said.”

  “What in particular?” She took a bite of an a
pple, put it aside and began to cut the bread. It smelt so good.

  “I know it is none of my business but was your mother Druid’s Bane before you?”

  Danielle stopped cutting. She opened her mouth to lie, but it was clear James had already guessed. “You can’t say anything.”

  “I wouldn’t.” He rocked back on his chair, looking a little stunned by her admission. “That is quite something.”

  She glanced at him as she cut some cheese and placed in on the thick slices of bread. “In truth, there probably is no harm in you knowing.”

  “So if pregnancy is part of this ritual… is Eden…?”

  “Cargius’ son, yes. But he was not mother’s first, apparently. If Cargius is to be believed we have an older sister.” Danielle handed him his bread and cheese and took a bite of her own.

  “By Cargius?”

  Danielle nodded as she swallowed her first mouthful. “He would not elaborate, but what he did say was that Eden is to protect the legacy of the White Druids once all this is done. Whatever that means.”

  “And your sister?”

  “Apparently she is of no consequence. Though she is a Child of Light as well apparently. Just not aware.” Danielle took another bite of the bread. She wasn’t sure she liked the look of disquiet growing on James’ face or the fact he had not touched his food.

  “Why is she of no consequence? Surely two Children of Light would be better than one?”

  “He wouldn’t elaborate.”

  “I see. But you are going to tell Joseph about this?”

  “James will you not give me that look, please. Cargius said I shouldn’t say anything. It’s better if Eden comes to know his role in his own time and way—and with the distrust between the White Druid’s and the Aquarius brotherhood. Honestly it would be more trouble than it was worth sharing this too widely.” She took a sip from her cup before saying, “Besides, how did you guess about my mother?”