The Magic Council (The Herezoth Trilogy)

by Grefer, Victoria

  Vane was panting. He should go help Zacry, but another transport and he would find himself so winded as to be useless. When the queen came, he told himself: when the queen came, he would go. Zacry wouldn’t grudge him waiting to deliver the boys to their mother. That was just responsible. He knew next to nothing about this girl with whom he would otherwise be leaving the children. Perhaps he had been a fool to leave her with Hune the first time. Besides, Arbora and Dorane were frequent visitors to the Palace. What if they should transport here?

  Rexson had told Vane to stay with the boys if he should find them, not to let them out of his sight. And—he remembered with a jolt, as though the memory were from years ago—Vane himself had promised Kora to obey the king.

  With yet another incantation, the sorcerer turned visible and plopped with a groan next to the girl on Hune’s bale of hay. Vane rubbed his aching back. Valkin and Neslan blinked heavily as they rose from their hands and knees and realized where they were. They hugged each other; neither would let go. Vane smiled to watch them, relieved that no matter what was happening at that mansion, the boys were safe.

  Then Neslan turned his head and saw his youngest brother’s prone figure. He jumped forward with a jerk, but Ursa’s sister put a hand on his shoulder. “Hune’s not hurt,” she said. “He passed out, that’s all.”

  Vane’s complacency left as completely as Hune’s consciousness had, and as suddenly, when he raised his eyes to the girl and saw the swollen, bruising lump above her right eye and the mass of smeared blood that covered it. She saw him watching her, and their gazes locked, and she raised the hand she was not using to comfort Neslan to a lock of blond curls. Vane rose while the two older princes made sure their brother wasn’t injured. The crown prince sighed in relief, and hugged Neslan again; Vane watched the former hostages from the corner of his eye as he asked Ursa’s sister, “Does it hurt much?”

  She touched her forehead gingerly. “Not really,” she said, but she grimaced. Vane felt like a monster as he healed the cut, and even more so when she stumbled back in fear, not knowing what he was doing, as he’d failed to warn her of the spell and of its purpose. There was still some swelling, a bruise, and a fair amount of dried blood, but at least the gash disappeared. Speechless, she touched the lump again. A pathetic explanation tumbled from Vane’s mouth.

  “I thought you were your sister. I couldn’t let you hurt the boys. I thought you’d try to. I didn’t know what you were doing.... I hope it doesn’t throb too much.”

  The poor girl looked at a loss as to what to make of him. “Who are you?” she asked a second time.

  “I’m Vane. Valkin over there’s named for my father.”

  “But Valkin’s named after a duke, that’s what he told me. A noble. The only noble family that had sorcerers was….”

  Her jaw dropped. She looked more confused, more pitiful, than ever. “Was Zalski’s,” Vane admitted. “Zalski was my uncle. I don’t claim him.”

  “I understand,” she said, “I do. I hate my sister: well, my half-sister. We had different mothers. That’s why Ursa has magic and I don’t. Her mother was magicked, but she ran off when Ursa was three.”

  Her voice grew quiet, uncertain.

  “Ursa encouraged me to tend to the boys. Dorane too. I’m not sure why, because they didn’t trust me. Maybe they wanted the boys to be at ease. I like to think that’s the reason, but they didn’t trust me. That’s why Ursa kept the bear on the lawn, even though it frightened Hune. I couldn’t help the boys escape with the bear outside, because I, I don’t have magic,” she repeated, almost whispering. Then she looked around. “I’ve never been to Podrar,” she said, quieter still. “I don’t know what I’ll do now. I can’t go back to Ursa, not after I turned on her. I guess I should thank you for taking me away from there. You didn’t have to.”

  “I know the king,” said Vane. “He won’t turn you out with nowhere to go. He’ll find a place for you somewhere, I’m sure he will. What’s your name?”

  She told him, glancing sadly down at her rent and dusty dress, grabbing her hair again, “I can’t believe I’ll meet the queen looking like this.”

  “It makes no difference,” said Vane. August sighed.

  “I’m glad the boys are home, very glad. But I can’t help feeling….” Her voice died away as she considered the person she spoke to was an utter stranger. Vane nodded encouragement, and only then did she continue. “I have this feeling—it’s like an awful tingle down my arm, a warm tingle—that I don’t belong in Podrar. That I shouldn’t be in Podrar, and it’s a terrible mistake I made it here at all. And now you’ll think I’m crazy.”

  “No,” he said, “I’ve felt that way before. Not exactly that way, but something close. Back in Traigland.”

  “You’ve been to Traigland?”

  “I lived there the last four years. I’ve been studying magic.”

  Vane watched the girl piece together what he was telling her. Sorcery…. Traigland…. She let out a little gasp. “You don’t know Kora Porteg?”

  It was an exclamation of shock, not an accusation, and there was no defensive edge to Vane’s response. “I do, actually, and I’m fond of her. She treats me like a member of her family, but she wasn’t my teacher. I learned from her brother.”

  August shuddered. “Dorane talks about Zacry Porteg. He doesn’t like his essays much.”

  “His essays must be good, then,” said Vane.

  August almost smiled. “I wouldn’t know. I’ve never read them. I’m not interested in magic or politics, especially not after this month.”

  Her voice turned mousy again, with a touch of a funereal air. “When the boys arrived, Ursa told me I couldn’t leave the mansion. She couldn’t have me running off and letting the army know what she’d done. I never had to worry about the bear before, but she said the bear would consider me an enemy now if it saw me, and attack. Ursa could make it do that, you see. She could control it, so I haven’t been outside in nearly five weeks except for my balcony. I kept thinking, what if there’s a fire, and Ursa’s not around, and I can’t go out for the bear but I can’t stay in for the flames, and the smoke…. But I, well, that’s in the past now, isn’t it? I’m just being stupid to worry about Podrar, about not belonging here. I never belonged in Carphead. I know I’ve been talking an awful lot, I just…. I had nothing to do with the kidnapping, nothing. I’ll swear it by whatever the king makes me.”

  This was a new worry, a profound one. August bit her lip. What if the king thought her an accomplice?

  “I believe you,” said Vane. “I’m the last person in the world who would judge you by your relatives.”

  August whispered, “Was Zalski really your uncle?”

  Vane felt it best not to answer the question. “The king will believe you too. At least, he’ll believe me that Dorane tried to kill you if he didn’t see it himself, and that pretty much exonerates you, doesn’t it?”

  Hune began to stir on the bale of hay. He blinked wide, bleary eyes, and Valkin patted him on the arm. “We’re home,” said the crown prince. “We’re home, don’t worry about anything.”

  “Neslan,” said Hune. His voice was scratchy, like a croak from a young frog. “Where’s Neslan? What did they do to him?”

  Neslan said, “I’m right here, and I haven’t got a scratch. It’s all over.”

  Vane told the youngest prince, “Your mother’s on her way. Take it easy, Hune.” Valkin helped the boy sit up, and Hune smiled when he saw August.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” Hune said. “I would have missed you. You’re the only thing I would have missed, besides Twit.” The boy breathed deeply, pulling in the mixed odor of hay, horses, sweat, and just a hint of manure, the scent shared by all the Palace stables that was one of his favorite smells in all the world. Hune really was home. Nothing could make the moment better, he thought, except for his parents to be with him, and as though his musings hurried her, Hune saw his mother turn into sight from a bend in the cobblestone
path out front. Flanked by a troop of guards, she was running with feet stuffed in jeweled slippers, holding her dress off the ground. Her sons took off to meet her, Hune unsteady at the start but finding his strength and his balance.

  Not wanting to disturb the reunion, Vane transported back to Ursa’s mansion. He appeared outside to take someone, probably Gratton, with him to the basement.

  There was no need. The entire rescue party, Zacry with them, was standing shoulder to shoulder in a tight defensive circle, arms at the ready, waiting for him. Zacry’s shirt had been singed, and everyone held tense expressions. Vane trotted over. They did not break ranks.

  “They transported off when they lost the hostages,” said Gratton. “Lost heart. Took Ursa with them.”

  “One of them could be here, listening,” Zacry warned Vane.

  “I know. The boys are at location A.”

  “Then we’ll go to location B,” said Zacry, “in case someone tags along.” Location B was the spot in Snapperville where the king’s men had arrived that morning, an hour away by foot. Vane nodded and took Bendelof and Hayden to the indicated place. Zacry took the guardsman and the king. There was no one around to see them appear, but they ducked off the road anyway, crouching in the weeds to keep from view.

  “They got away?” said Vane. “All three of them?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” said the king. He looked and sounded, however, as though he meant exactly the opposite. “It doesn’t matter. We have the boys. They aren’t hurt?”

  “They’re perfect, Rexson. A little spooked, but they’re with Gracia now, with Gracia and her guard, more importantly. I waited until the guard showed up.”

  “Like we’d discussed. Thank you, Vane. That role wasn’t supposed to fall to you, but you kept your head.”

  Zacry took him by the arm. “You did your mother proud,” he said. Vane nodded his appreciation. Zacry had known Laskenay: not like Kora knew her, but well enough to make the remark meaningful.

  Vane said, “It’s too bad they got away.”

  “Dorane and company?” said Bendelof. “It’s better they did. The way things played out, the other option was them bringing the battle outside and taking out two or three of us before Zac followed them. They could’ve done that. Maybe they thought we had more men than we did. Anyway, we lucked out. We faced all three of them—Vane faced all three by his lonesome for a while, which was worst-case territory—and we came out with the boys and no casualties to boot. I’d call that a success.”

  “Listen, Rexson,” Zacry said, “we’ll get them. I swore I wasn’t leaving before we make them pay, and I meant it.”

  “Right now,” said Hayden, “your boys are waiting to greet you.”

  “And I doubt they’ll mind the dew and grass stains on your clothes,” Vane added. “If the greeting they gave their mother’s anything to guess on, they might add to them. Just to warn you.”

  So it was. The three brothers spared the queen the discourtesy of ruining a perfectly good gown, but ran so hard at their father when he appeared outside the stables that they knocked the wind clear out of him and brought him to his knees.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Of Spies and Specters

  August sat before the king and queen on the bed in a Palace guest chamber. She had cleaned her face, and the lump above her eye gleamed an impressive shade of navy. Because Gracia would need some days to provide August new clothing, the queen had loaned her one of her plainer gowns. The garment was not plain enough to make August feel comfortable, and did not fit quite right. The sleeves were too large, the waist hit too low by an inch, and August, when she had gazed at herself in a mirror, came away with the distinct impression that she looked like a girl playing dress-up in mommy’s clothes. The sight had destroyed her self-assurance. She stumbled through an account of herself before the monarchs, who stood and listened, the king having washed and put on fresh clothes as well, though he wore no robe. The normality, the informality of his style of dress surprised the girl.

  August explained her background. She pleaded innocent to her sister’s crimes. “My mother was from Yangerton, but she died giving birth, and after that my father couldn’t stand to look at me. He was from Carphead. Both Ursa’s parents were. I share.... We’ve the same father, me and Ursa, but nothing more than that. He sent me to my grandparents, his in-laws, and they raised me. I had to move to Ursa’s when they died three years ago.”

  The king, whom Vane had pulled aside before he went to speak with August, assured the girl she had nothing to fear from any of his family. Then August described her plight as she understood it:

  “The thing is, I’m not sure what I should do now. Where I should go. I have no family left in Yangerton, no family at all but Ursa.”

  The queen was a different woman, controlled and dignified, now her sons had been restored to her. She told her husband, “She’ll have to stay, at least temporarily. Dorane or Ursa might try to punish her. They’ll perceive what she did this morning as betrayal. Bendelof would help her make a life in Yangerton, but at the moment, I fear that would only endanger them both.”

  “Of course she can stay. She can stay as long as necessary, as long as she’d like. We still need to tread lightly, though, Gracia. We’ve a spy yet to force in the open.”

  August’s eyes grew round. “A spy? What do you mean, a spy?”

  The king said, “Dorane had knowledge about my family he didn’t get on his own. Someone passed it to him, someone who works here. Our spy’s likely panicking after the boys’ return, and panicked people do desperate things. Dorane’s actions this morning furnish a prime example. He attacked you out of desperation.

  “Now, whoever this spy is, I doubt he poses a physical danger. He’s hoping I never realized there’s a traitor in my midst, and he won’t blow his cover committing murder beneath my roof: unless, as I said before, he feels threatened. As for his letting Dorane in the Palace, the walls are impregnable by magic, and I’ll have all entrances guarded, at all times, by no fewer than five men. You’ll be safe here, but you’ll want to watch what you say. To whom you speak. This spy may attempt to earn your trust.”

  A little gasp escaped from August. Her bruise grew even more prominent as the rest of her face grew pale. She said, “It couldn’t be Vane?”

  “It could not,” said the king, without blinking an eye.

  “But he attacked me, in the basement. He could have lied when he said he mistook me for Ursa. He found the boys before the rest of you did, so maybe he knew where they’d be. He’s a sorcerer, isn’t he? He could have cohorts in the Enchanted Fist, and he encouraged me to talk at the stables. He tried to befriend me.”

  “Vane only returned to Herezoth this week,” said the king.

  “Oh. Oh, I see. If he wasn’t here, he couldn’t have known the boys’ schedules.”

  “Precisely.”

  “Right,” said August. She felt like a fool. “Well, Your Majesty, I’m glad it isn’t him.”

  Queen Gracia told her, “You should take Vane in your confidence. It’ll do you good to have a friend your age while you’re with us.”

  “August,” said the king, “allow me to be blunt. I don’t want you to imagine I would hold you against your will. You’re free to come and go, free to go anywhere you choose, and that includes Yangerton. I’ll provide what you need to make the journey and make a home. But at present, I suggest you pass some time here, at least until the Enchanted Fist no longer poses you a threat. You don’t have magic, you told me?” August shook her head. “Then you’d be hard pressed to defend yourself against Arbora and her stooges.”

  “We’re glad to have you,” Queen Gracia told her, “ever so glad. Words can’t express how I…. The boys told me, all three, how you cared for them. How they didn’t feel scared when you were with them. Hune said that last.”

  “Hune’s a darling,” said August. “They all are. They’re very brave. I’m glad no one hurt them today!”

  The king’s face g
rew grave. “As am I. I never intended a battle like that, least of all near the children. I endangered you as well, August.”

  “I’d say my sister and Dorane endangered the lot of us: meaning no disrespect, Your Majesty, in contradicting you. You were right to come after the boys. They’re your boys, and they had no business being where they were. And you, you’re in the right now to go after my sister. Not that my thoughts matter in a situation like this, but if you do go after her, if you have to kill her even, I can’t say I’d hold it against you. I certainly wouldn’t help her.”

  The queen assured her, “We know you wouldn’t.”

  August lowered her head. “I’m sorry for what she’s put you through, Your Highness, Your Majesty.”

  Queen Gracia, smoothing her gown beneath her, joined August on the bed and took her hand. “You have nothing to feel ashamed of.”

  The king shook his head. He mused, “I wish that people like Ursa Hincken would consider their families before they act. I watched Zalski’s ambition destroy his sister, utterly destroy her. I watched her son come to terms with the family legacy only with great struggle. Dorane has a wife and son who’ll suffer public scorn if his crimes are known. And now you stand here, or sit, just as much your sister’s victim as my sons, offering apologies for the woman. It’s not to be believed.”

  August told him, “I don’t hold myself responsible for Ursa, Your Majesty. I just thought that, well, someone owes you an apology.”

  “I need no apology from the guiltless. I need none from the guilty, come to that. The noose can apologize for them quite aptly. That responsibility does not belong to you, am I clear?”

  “Yes, Your Majesty.”

  The queen returned to her husband’s side and asked the girl, “Have you made a decision? Will you stay here?”

  “I think it’s best if I do. As you, I mean, as Your Highness has been so kind to take me in….”

  Queen Gracia smiled, an unexaggerated, genuine smile that rendered her words unnecessary. “I’m delighted, my dear, and I’ll have you know this is no heroic act on my part. The boys will be overjoyed, simply overjoyed, to have you spend some time with us, and I wish them nothing more right now than peace to enjoy such simple pleasures.