by Ken Hood
"He only wants me so he can claim to be King of England!"
Hamish snorted, still holding her so tight she could barely breathe. "That's what I meant."
"Isn't that using me, politically? What you said he never would do?"
"You want to be my wife or not?"
"Yes, but—"
When he released her mouth the next time, she mumbled, "Will Longdirk make obeisance to the prince tomorrow?"
"I doubt it. If he does, he won't mean it. He's going to pack Sartaq off back to Sarois very promptly. He's been useful, but we don't need him anymore."
"So I'm not the only one he uses? And you?" She refused another kiss, struggling to see Hamish's eyes when he answered.
"Yes, me. He used me, too. But he offers fair payment. You made Toby King of England tonight, darling, but he's going to make you Queen of Europe before winter. When you have children, make sure they look like you."
"What?" That was too much too soon. "Queen of Europe? But... But... Who did I marry tonight?"
"I'll show you who!"
With an unexpected move, Hamish tumbled them onto the bed together.
REALITY CHECK
There has never be anything quite like Renaissance Italy, and nothing I could make up would ever match it. Until now this series has admitted no historical characters later than 1241, but alert readers may have noticed a couple of notable Florentines managed to get themselves mentioned. They would both have been around town at the time, two stars in a galaxy of geniuses.
Longdirk's world is lagging a little behind ours. Mobile cannon were introduced into Italy by Charles VIII of France in 1494. Improvements in firearms soon made armored knights obsolete. The age of the great condottieri, which had begun with the (largely English) White Company in the mid-fourteenth century, ended with the death of Giovanni of the Black Bands in 1526.
In 1527 Florence drove out the Medici family for the third time. This was a serious error, because Pope Clement VII was a Medici, and he arranged for the Spanish army to bring the rebellious city to heel. The siege began in 1528 and lasted a year before starvation forced Florence to surrender. The man who extended the walls to enclose the hill of San Miniato was an engineer named Michelangelo Buonarroti; he also dabbled in sculpture, painting, architecture, and poetry.
Pietro Marradi is loosely based on Lorenzo de' Medici (who was not distinguished as Lorenzo the Magnificent until long after his death in 1492). Lucrezia is based not on Lucrezia Borgia, but on her public image. Personally I do not believe she had any part in the numerous poisonings attributed to her brother Cesare and their father Pope Alexander VI, nor that she bore an illegitimate child by either of them. Her daddy, however... They just don't make popes like him anymore.
TIMELINE
1241-44:
Ogedai Khan's Mongols overran Western Europe, incorporating it into the Khanate of the Golden Horde.
1246:
England conquered.
1500:
England's King Edwin II was at war with France. The Scots rose in revolt under Malcolm V and were brutally defeated at Leethoul. Malcolm died with two of his three sons. So also did Kenneth Campbell, Laird of Fillan. Typical of Edwin's savage vengeance (known as the Taming) was the abuse of six local women by the garrison imposed on Lochy Castle in Strath Fillan.
1501:
(7 Sept.) Meg Campbell died giving birth to Toby Strangerson.
1510:
Edwin died. His successor, Nevil, dabbling in gramarye, became possessed by the demon Rhym, and his own soul was immured in a gemstone. His mistress and fellow hexer, Valda, fled the country. So did Queen Blanche and her baby daughter.
1511:
France attacked England's Continental possessions. Rhym (still known to the world as Nevil) won the war and was crowned King of France. The Scots rose in revolt and were trounced at the battle of Norford Bridge. King Fergan was captured, exhibited in a cage, and carried off to captivity in London. A puppet governor was installed, Eric MacLachlan. Nevil set out to conquer the rest of Europe.
1519:
Demon Sword. Lady Valda came seeking a body to hold the soul of Nevil, but was destroyed by her own demons. Toby was possessed by the Fillan hob. Narrowly escaping capture by Baron Oreste, one of Nevil's hexers, he sailed off with his friend Hamish Campbell and adopted the name of Longdirk. They were shipwrecked in Brittany by the hob's mischief.
1520-21:
Oreste pursued Longdirk and Hamish, narrowly missing them several times. The fugitives gained varied on-the-job experience in numerous occupations, being conscripted on separate occasions into armies on both sides in the continuing war. While members of the smuggler band led by Arnaud Villars, they escaped from Nevil-controlled Aquitaine across the border into Navarre.
1522:
In the village of Mezquiriz in Navarre, Longdirk's first romance ended in disaster. Nevil—now widely known as the Fiend—invaded Aragon and Navarre. Longdirk and Hamish fled south, but the rebel army followed, laying waste. When it laid siege to Toledo itself King Pedro of Castile agreed to humiliating terms. Nevil himself departed from Spain, leaving Oreste as his viceroy in Aragon. Seeking to escape to the north, Longdirk had doubled back and fell into Oreste's clutches at Montserrat, near Barcelona. Demon Rider. In the fall, Longdirk sailed to Genoa and there founded the Don Ramon Company.
1523:
The Company fought for (in turn) Verona and Ravenna in city squabbles.
1524:
The Company fought for Naples and Milan. Thinking Italy would be an easy conquest, Nevil sent an army under Varnius Schweitzer over the Alps. Longdirk was elected commander of the defenders' forces and won a resounding victory in the Battle of Trent, Nevil's first defeat.
1525:
Queen Blanche, a fugitive since 1510, fled from Savoy to Italy, landing in Pisa and proceeding to Siena to seek shelter with local royalists. While all Italy braced for the inevitable arrival of the Fiend himself, Longdirk negotiated a condotta putting the Don Ramon Company at the service of the Republic of Florence. Demon Knight.
Table of Contents
PROLOGUE
PART ONE Journey's End
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
PART TWO March
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
PART THREE April
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
PART FOUR May
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
REALITY CHECK
TIMELINE
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