Druid's Bane

by Phillip Henderson

  “As you say, Your Eminence.” Isaac paused, looking out on the lovely city. “And you actually think Lord Kane will agree to this—the throne in return for his sympathies?”

  “I’m convinced he will. If working so closely with him these past six months has taught me anything, it’s that our dear Kane thirsts for power and will do almost anything to get it.”

  “And almost anything to maintain it,” Isaac added. “Even slaughter men of Lord Helidon’s retainer as I understand it?”

  “Only because I allowed it, Isaac. Believe me, He is very much under the thumb. I assure you, when his bill is brought down on technicalities at the council meeting tomorrow and he finds himself without prospects and facing charges that could see him hung, I suspect he’ll jump at the opportunity the church is going to offer him. Particularly when he realises the bill can be revived by his own royal warrant if he accepts the throne.”

  “Or, if he is as smart as we think, sir, he could very well suspect it was we who leaked the information to the Lord Protector, and seek revenge. And it’s a point of concern as to what such a sadistic man as he would be capable of if provoked in the manner we are planning.”

  The Archbishop shrugged. “Why would I rob the church of a third of the profits of the most audacious venture in the history of this realm?”

  “He knows you’d give anything to be the first Archbishop to reside in Amthenium for almost a thousand years, Milord, and when you make your approach, I suspect he’ll guess who was behind his reversal of fortune.”

  The Archbishop smiled. “I suspect he will. I also suspect he’ll see that what I am offering him is far more alluring than all the gold that his slaving venture promises. Kane is many things, my friend, but he is no fool. He’ll see that working with the church is in his best interests.”

  The troubled expression on Isaac Gilmore’s face softened but did not vanish altogether. “The other thing that’s been causing some concern is this book, Milord.”

  The Archbishop had expected this one as well, and he answered sympathetically, saying, “And understandably so, since the thing was thought to be only a myth six months ago.”

  “Yes, Milord. But the main concern is that Lord Kane will think the whole idea absurd, laugh in our faces, then go directly to the king and report this treason we are about to commit. And more so when he discovers that it was we who betrayed him.”

  The Archbishop laid a reassuring hand on his young friend’s shoulder. It was time to reveal to their followers a little more of what the church had been up to of late. “If we were merely looking for the book, I’d agree with you, and Lord Kane would have grounds to laugh. You know how sceptical I’ve been about the myth across the years myself. However, we aren’t just looking, as you know. In fact, we nearly have it in our hands.”

  Isaac’s eyebrows rose at that. “Really, Milord?”

  “Indeed. Let me just say that we now know categorically that it is here in Arkaelyon, and we even know who has it.”

  “Milord, this is good news.”

  “You can tell our followers that I had five reformist priests abducted and tortured during the past week. Men we knew were associated with the Aquarius brotherhood. What they revealed before they died has only confirmed my convictions. I intend to announce the findings to our peers at a small celebration being organised for tomorrow evening. The invitations will be discreetly circulated at the breakfast table before the council meeting tomorrow.”

  The young nobleman nodded, relieved. “That will certainly be a help, Milord.” He paused, looking suddenly uneasy again. “However… there is one other concern I have been asked to bring to your attention. This rumour that the Lady de Brie knows more than she is letting on, and may even be planning to oppose the bill in the council meeting tomorrow. You have no doubt heard it, Milord? The whispering of it is everywhere after all.”

  The Archbishop waved the suggestion away. “All gossip. If our dear little princess knew of the bill, she wouldn’t still be at Fairfax, I assure you. Rather, she’d have called an emergency meeting of the High Council and returned to Illandia immediately.”

  “Be that as it may, many of your followers are worried there could be something to this rumour. Perhaps even enough to upset our plans.”

  “If anything, her involvement would please me.”

  “Please you, Milord?” Isaac looked bewildered by the idea. “If the lady were involved, then I suspect she wouldn’t be satisfied with overturning the bill. You know what a wasp she is. I would wager my father’s lands that she wouldn’t rest until she had the lot of us strung up for conspiracy.”

  “Except, my young friend, you forget that the bill isn’t illegal in and of itself. The criminality is in the bribes Kane paid to broker its support. And since none of our friends took bribes, you can assure them—again—that they are free from the princess’s sting.”

  Isaac smiled stiffly. “Yes, Milord. I’ll remind them.”

  “Very good, Isaac.”

  At that moment, a door closed behind them. The Archbishop turned expectantly to find Bianca approaching, the hem of her black gown sweeping across the polished stone floor. Her long blond hair was tied up in an elaborate twist at the back of her head and despite the mask of impassivity that graced her lovely face he felt his mood lift. Even after ten years in his service, her tall, slender figure and the jut of her perfect breasts still affected him so.

  “Bianca, my dear,” he said, taking her hand and kissing her cheek as she came out onto the sunlit balcony, a vision of icy beauty. He stopped and frowned as he noticed the tension in her. “Is there a problem?”

  Her cold blue eyes were accusing as they settled on him. He was used to that. She wasn’t exactly in his employment of her own free will. “It seems you may be wrong about the Lady de Brie, Milord.”

  “How so?”

  “She left Fairfax for Illandia earlier this morning. She’s returning for the council meeting tomorrow.”

  The news left a sour taste at the back of his throat. “And…?”

  “I’m afraid that is not the worst of it. It seems Lord Kane got word of her return and intercepted her on the highway. I don’t know what transpired between them, but she arrived at the palace an hour ago, and one of our spies informs me that she looked very stiff in the saddle and had a mark on her cheek, as if she had been assaulted.”

  Isaac looked horrified by the development. “Why would he endanger everything a day out from the meeting? It makes absolutely no sense. This is exactly what is feared, his unpredictability.”

  “Where is Lord Kane now?” the Archbishop asked, ignoring the young lord, and trying to think this through. Of course, Isaac was correct. They needed this like rain at harvest time.

  Bianca handed him a small message. “His new chambers in the south-eastern quarter of the city. Apparently he wants you to know, all is well and you need not fret—the rumours that his sister was going to ambush you in the General Council tomorrow were unfounded,” she said with barely veiled scorn. “He has also asked to speak with you at once. At his residence, Milord.”

  “You’ve instructed Mr. Mandel to ready the carriage?” the Archbishop asked as he looked over the note. The message told him nothing more than she had relayed.

  “I have, Milord.”

  “Your Eminence,” Isaac urged, “the nobles will not be happy with this. They may want her out of Arkaelyon’s affairs, but they don’t want any part of this sort of nonsense Kane would make us party too.”

  The Archbishop gazed out over the city, thinking there could be an opportunity here; a chance to rid himself of a concern that had been nagging at him for sometime. “Be that as it may, Isaac, I think the Lady de Brie’s early return might actually prove advantageous. And if she has learned something, though I know not how that would be possible, it too could prove to be to our advantage.”

  “Meaning what, Milord?” Bianca demanded.

  The Archbishop turned to face them, flashing his high stewar
d a grin he knew she would not appreciate. “I’m going to use her to hurry this matter along.”

  “Yet you promised the peerage that she would not be put in harm’s way?” Bianca said, coolly.

  “The Lady Winter’s has a point, Milord.”

  “And if you would both permit me to finish, you would see that she will not be put at risk.” At that he reached out and patted Bianca’s cheek, before returning inside to prepare for his departure. Isaac and Bianca followed dutifully, both clearly still concerned.

  “Now, both of you listen to me. There will no doubt be a banquet to celebrate the lady’s return this evening,” the Archbishop said as two attendants helped him slip on his outer robe. “Bianca, you will accompany Lord Fylonius’ son to the event, the lad likes you well enough to easily offer an invitation if you were to cajole him a little. Once there, I want you to seek a private audience with the princess. She is rather generous with her time and will speak with a nameless courtesan as easily as a monarch so you should have no problem garnering her attention. Take along a copy of the bill, and tell our dear Danielle that her brother has a majority to see that the council will pass it tomorrow. Once she has recovered from her outrage, inform her that it can be brought down on a technicality. In short, her brother has secured support using bribes, and a document showing as much can be found in the dayroom of his new residence in the south eastern quarter.”

  “She will want to know whose bidding I do, and countless other things we have not prepared for. And what if I am dragged before the king and Lord Protector? Both could recognise me.”

  “I’m sure you can convince her, my dear, if you put your mind to it.”

  “And how is this superior to our earlier plan?”

  “Because it will ensure there are no delays.”

  “How, Milord? All it does is put the girl in her brother’s way again. The nobles don’t want her murdered. They want her titles legally revoked.”

  “Bianca, enough. Best you remember who you serve, and what I have over you that retains you in that service.” His voice crackled with annoyance.

  The threat silenced her, as he knew it would.

  “Your Eminence, please,” Isaac said. “Our loyal friends will want an explanation. This is a deviation from the plan, after all.”

  “You can tell them I have been worried for some time that by sending the bill to the Lord Protector as we planned we court delays that we can ill afford. The princess’ involvement, or more to the point, her outrage, might actually convince the old goat to move tonight. And I’m quite sure the king will not allow his daughter to be involved, so there will be no risk to her. You can tell them that as well. Now, Isaac, you may accompany me to Lord Kane’s apartment, if you please. Bianca, you know what to do.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Sitting in his dayroom, Kane turned a page in the legal register and continued to read. Since his confrontation with Danielle on the highway some hours before, he felt as if a great weight had lifted from his shoulders. What a relief to learn that the rumours that had made the past six weeks of his life a living torment were baseless! But it was more than that, for on the ride back to the city he had decided finally to do something about his sister—something permanent that wouldn’t cost him his neck. For the past hour, he had been sitting in the dayroom of his new apartment reading and rereading the conditions outlining Danielle’s admission as a member of Arkaelyon’s High and General Councils and figuring a way forward. It had been a productive exercise, and with all the acrimony the nobles held toward her at the moment he was optimistic that he could work it so her privileges were revoked. His only concern was whether he could convince the Archbishop and Lord Helidon to help in the endeavour. For if Danielle’s expulsion from Arkaelyon’s government was to proceed as he wished, he would most certainly need their influence and assistance. The nobles might dislike her more than every of late, but they also feared her. What they needed was a push, something that would turn simmering resentment into action.

  Five minutes later there was a tap at the door to his chamber. “Milord, His Eminence the Archbishop, young Lord Isaac Gilmore, and Lord Helidon are here to see you.”

  “Show them into the library,” Kane replied. “I’ll be down shortly.”

  Closing the heavy volume, he got up and returned it to its place in the bookcase. Then, after slipping on a day robe, he left the chamber. Walking along the hallway, he could hear Lord Helidon downstairs, talking about the idiocy of the incident on the highway and what a world of trouble it was likely to bring.

  Kane stopped at the top of the stairs to listen. Isaac Gilmore was empathising—hardly a surprise. Kane expected nothing less from such men as these. He gathered himself, then went down the stairs and strode into his small library.

  “Your Eminence, gentlemen, please help yourselves to the wine and make yourselves comfortable. I have an important announcement to make.”

  “Perhaps you might start by explaining what exactly you were thinking when you abducted your sister on the highway this morning,” Lord Helidon said.

  The old merchant’s usual gruff manner had returned across the weeks since their battle of wills at the keep, but despite his banter and fire, Kane knew he still had Helidon on a tight leash.

  Kane gave an affable smile as he took his chair at the head of the long table that dominated the centre of the room. “I was merely ascertaining whether we had anything to worry about tomorrow. And I can now assure you all that we do not.”

  “Are there likely to be any untoward consequences to this regrettable little jaunt of yours, sir?” The Archbishop asked.

  “If she were fool enough to speak of it—which I’m sure she is not—then it would be merely her word against mine, and I’m sure that on that account there will be no trouble. Kane leaned forward in his chair, his hands flat on the table. “Now, gentlemen, to the purpose of this meeting. My sister. There is no secret that I think her to be a significant threat not only to our personal interests but also to the interests of the entire nobility of this realm. And I know that in the past—”

  “With all due respect, Milord,” Isaac Gilmore interrupted, “I do think that the lady poses no more threat to our interests than does your father or Lord Fairfax, or any other reformist Goddian, for that matter.”

  “Yes, yes, I’m well aware of your fondness for my sister, Isaac; however, I beg to differ. Danielle is an entirely different animal from my father and his lackeys. They, for one, understand the meaning and wisdom of compromise. And while their collective heart and soul is reformist to the core to be sure, neither my father nor the members of his Inner Council would ever lead Arkaelyon into civil war. However, mark my words gentlemen, if Danielle is left to operate freely, civil war looms on the horizon—and I expect a free republic to follow shortly after. She is impatient and hot-tempered, and already she is become frustrated beyond reason with the councils and the difficulties my Father has faced there these past ten years. And we all know she is already seeking alternative route to her objectives, contrary to my father’s will and much to the nobles’ trepidation of late. And you all know that she would only have to give the word, and the common masses would flock to her banner.”

  “Aye, popular she is, and yes, no one doubles that she is a serious concern,” Lord Helidon replied, “but it is likely just a phase. I’m sure you would agree with me, Your Eminence that once the lady finds herself a suitable husband, things will be different. There’s nothing like the marriage bed to turn a woman’s mind back to pondering things more appropriate to her sex.”

  “Besides, her wayward behaviour of late seems to be keeping her father and his inner council diverted, and hence less able to counter the nobles’ endeavours,” Isaac added. “And it’s not as if she were ever going to be Queen.”

  Kane chuckled at the man’s naïveté. “Crowned or not, she will be the next ruler of Arkaelyon unless we do something about it. And if you think my sister will give up her passion for the com
mon rabble of this realm so that some nobleman can bed her, then I fear you are all badly deluded.”

  Lord Helidon was about to retort when the Archbishop cleared his throat and leaned forward. “Gentlemen, gentlemen, please…” His perceptive grey eyes settled on Kane. “If you would be so good, young sir, I’d like to know what exactly you have in mind—in fact, I’m sure we all would.”

  Kane smiled genially and sat back in his chair, relishing the expectation in the faces of his guests. He could see that they anticipated the worst. He also knew they were not adverse to his ultimate goal.

  “Gentlemen, I want my dear sister removed permanently from Arkaelyon’s political affairs.”

  “Don’t we all. Unfortunately that is easier said than done,” Isaac put in, his podgy face made more so by a distasteful frown.

  “It’s the ‘permanently’ bit I’d be more concerned about,” Helidon added, making no attempt to hide his unease. “If you are talking about what I think you are, then I want no part of it. Killing royals, particularly one as dangerous and powerful as your sister, is a fool’s game.”

  “I’m afraid I absolutely agree,” the Archbishop said. “The church will not involve itself in such an endeavour, either, young sir. If, indeed, that is what you have in mind?.”

  Kane had expected this response and couldn’t help but chuckle. “Gentlemen, you needn’t fear. There are ways of getting my sister out of the way without personally wielding the blade—though in truth I would prefer that option if I could get away with it. However, the writ outlining the conditions of her admission to Arkaelyon’s councils gives three circumstances that could lead to her expulsion.” He counted them off on his fingers. “One, if she weds a foreigner, two; if she becomes with child out of wedlock, and three; for serious misconduct.”

  “Milord, really!” Isaac began. “These measures have been considered before, and there are no grounds for any of them.”