“Which are?” Arianna leaned forward.
“There is a story that Rugad’s great-grandfather created a golem for himself, and when his body died, had the golem run the Empire until his grandson—the only one who was competent—was old enough to rule. That Black King was already dead, yet part of him lived on in the golem. So, if someone had destroyed that Golem’s body, would it be murder? And if that someone who destroyed the golem was a member of the Black family, would it bring on Blood against Blood? After all, the original possessor of the soul was dead.”
Arianna nodded. Her eyes were extremely bright.
“But,” Xihu said, “there are many who believe that the Black King had put his entire personality, his entire being, into that golem through a Link, so that what died wasn’t the man only the man’s body. In that case, would the destruction of the Golem’s body decades later be murder? Would it cause Blood against Blood? I do not know.”
Arianna was frowning.
Xihu had to hold her hands tightly together to keep them from trembling. “As to Gift’s golem, this case is even stranger. Gift lives separately from his golem. They haven’t seen each other in years. They have had different lives. The golem is regarded by his family as a person. Does that make a difference? What if it isn’t the destruction of the body or the soul that creates the Blood against Blood, but the intent of the killer? If the killer has set out to destroy a person, then Blood will happen. If the killer wants to ruin a walking stone statue, then no Blood will happen.”
“This must be a conscious attitude?” Arianna asked.
“I think it must be the unconscious one. So even if someone tried to delude herself into thinking that Gift’s golem is just stone, it will not work. She must truly believe it. If she was raised—as you were—to believe the Golem is her brother, then Blood against Blood will occur.”
Arianna grunted and leaned back. “Let me alter the question slightly. What if the golem trapped me outside my own body, in a Link perhaps, and took over the body for himself? If I destroy the golem and not the body is that Blood against Blood?”
“If you destroy the stone, so that the golem has nowhere to go if banished from your body?” Xihu asked, trying to clarify.
Arianna shook her head. “If I destroy the being—the personality—that has taken over my body, is that Blood against Blood?”
Xihu put a hand to her forehead. Her fingers shook and she no longer cared that Arianna saw her nervousness. “Has this happened? Is this why you do not want him here any longer?”
“He tried once,” Arianna said.
There was bitterness in her tone. Bitterness and that sense, not so much that she was lying, but that the truth she told was not what she intended Xihu to understand.
Xihu stood. “If your brother Gift attacked you with a knife, and you killed him in self-defense, that would still be Blood against Blood.”
“I know that,” Arianna said irritably.
“So,” Xihu said, unperturbed by the interruption, “if you were to destroy the body of someone who had taken over your body by crossing a Link, you would bring on the Blood.”
Arianna let out a small sigh. Xihu looked at her, but could not read her expression.
“However, if you shatter a golem without touching its personality, it can—with the proper magick—reassemble. So you can destroy the stone visage without creating the Blood because the golem isn’t really dead.”
Arianna rubbed her chin with her right hand. Her fingers stopped and traced the edge of her birthmark as if it were unfamiliar to her.
“So if you destroy the stone body and banish the soul from yours,” Xihu concluded, “you haven’t killed it and there will be no Blood against Blood.”
Arianna froze. And then she smiled. It was a cold, nasty smile. “You are better than I thought,” she said. “You are a tremendous Shaman. Are you sure you will not serve me?”
Xihu’s skin was still flushed, but she felt a chill run through her. She had done something, changed something, with her answer. “You said you could not trust me.”
“I’ve had advisors I couldn’t trust before.”
Xihu touched the back of the chair. An advisor to the Black Queen. Staying in this strange place for as long as she had to. Living near someone she didn’t trust, someone she actually feared. Leaving Gift alone.
“You are so silent when you think,” Arianna said.
Xihu didn’t acknowledge her. Shaman served as advisors to the Black Family, but there was one other purpose, one they never told anyone outside the Shamanic ranks. Shaman kept an eye on the Black Family. When Kerde returned to Protector’s Village, she had failed in two ways: she had failed her service to the Black Family and she had failed in her service to the Shaman. There hadn’t been a Shaman in close contact with a Black Ruler in nearly a hundred years.
“You are actually considering this, despite your love for my brother.” Arianna sounded both pleased and surprised.
The Shaman who guarded the Black Ruler had an obligation to make certain the ruler remained on track. If the ruler did not, the Shaman was to contact the other Shaman and find a solution. Kerde had done that, but the Shaman had agreed there was no solution.
Xihu had a sense this Black Queen needed watching. But Xihu had no idea whether or not she could do anything, should extreme action be needed.
She took a deep breath and faced Arianna. Arianna had her head tilted up. She was smiling. Her features had softened. She looked intrigued.
“I will serve you,” Xihu said, “if you do not banish Gift.”
“No. I will not bargain for your services. You will work for me on my terms or not at all.” Arianna pushed herself out of her chair. “Let’s forget that last interchange. I will think of it as a reflection of your love for Gift, and you will think of it as a sign of our future relationship. Gift will be on his own, as he should be. You already heard my reasons for that, and I believe you understand them. If you can serve as my Shaman only, not the Black Family’s; if you can think in terms of the Empire and not in terms of Gift, you are welcome to stay.”
Xihu knew where her duties lay. If she had a choice, a real choice, she would stay with Gift. But he needed her less. Something was wrong here, something she might be able to correct if she stayed.
“I’ll have to let Gift know my decision,” she said softly.
“Of course,” Arianna said. “I expected no less.”
TWENTY-THREE
BRIDGE HAD NEVER felt like a supplicant in his life. He had always had a place to go, a job to do. Even when he had come to Blue Isle, he felt as if he were in charge of something—maybe not as important as the Empire, but a leader, nonetheless. Now he stood beside Lyndred at the base of the ramp and stared at Gift’s ship.
Over Bridge’s shoulder he carried some of his possessions. The rest were being stored by the loyal members of his crew. His ship had been confiscated by Arianna, and his crew dismissed. If things worked the way he hoped, he might get them work on Gift’s vessel.
Bridge had never expected to be thrown out of the palace. He had thought that Arianna might send him back to his position in Nye. He’d never expected to lose that position completely.
Perhaps he should have. Lyndred had told him that Arianna had brought an Assassin into the North Tower while Lyndred was there. The message was clear: Arianna could find a way to destroy them if she wanted to. That she hadn’t was evidence that she still thought them useful somehow.
“I’m going, Daddy,” Lyndred said. “You can do what you want, but I think we’re better off on the ship.”
He stared at the masts. There were more than he was used to. “I think we should just leave Blue Isle and go back home.”
He had never referred to Nye as home before, but he guessed it was the closest thing he’d ever had. He hated the place, but he felt safer there. And his daughter would be safer too.
“What can we do on Nye?” Lyndred asked. “At least here we might have a chance.”
/>
“A chance for what, honey?” He had his hand on the rope railing. The deck of the ship looked very far away. “A chance to overthrow a Black Queen we don’t like? A chance to be banished just like Gift? What sort of chance do you see?”
“I think Gift might find a way to force her to step down.”
“And what if he does? Are you hoping that something will happen to him? Are you hoping that you’ll be able to step into his place?”
Lyndred gave him a withering look. “I’m worried about the Empire.”
“So am I.”
She ignored him, starting up the ramp instead. It shook beneath her weight. She didn’t look back, and the implication was clear. He could do what he wanted. She was going onto this ship.
He sighed and followed her.
A Nyeian met them on the deck. Bridge thought it odd that Nyeian sailors would be on a Tashil ship. Then he remembered the Co clothing of the woman Gift had introduced as his guide. This was a diverse crew, filled with people from all over the Empire. In some ways, Lyndred was right. Gift knew more about the Empire than Arianna ever could. Gift, at least, had traveled across the length and breadth of it, and understood there were a hundred different cultures, co-existing uneasily under Fey rule.
“I have no instructions to allow you aboard,” the Nyeian was saying to Lyndred.
“You don’t need instructions,” she said. “I’m the Black Heir’s cousin. I should be—”
Bridge put a hand on her arm. She had never dealt with Nyeians who weren’t used to following her orders. “I’m sorry. My daughter can be rude. Would you please let Gift know that we’re here? I’m his Uncle Bridge and this is my daughter, Lyndred.”
The Nyeian glared at her before nodding to Bridge. Then the Nyeian snapped his fingers, and another Nyeian hurried to his side.
“See that these people don’t get on board,” the first Nyeian said. “I’ll be right back.”
He headed to the deck house. The second Nyeian stood in front of them, arms crossed. He was muscular, and it wouldn’t take much for him to toss both Bridge and Lyndred into the river.
“Why did you do that?” Lyndred whispered. “I can handle it.”
Bridge just looked at her. After a moment, she looked away.
A movement on deck caught his eye. A Gull Rider, sitting on the railing, peered at them. The Rider looked familiar. Bridge squinted, saw the tiny Fey face on the torso on the Rider’s back, and realized he was looking at Ace. Was that the reason Lyndred wanted to come here? Because she hadn’t given up on her Gull Rider?
He hoped it was more than that.
Lyndred didn’t see Ace. But Ace realized that Bridge was looking at him. Ace took a small running start and flew off the ship.
The Nyeian returned. “You can come aboard.”
He opened the small gate built into the deck—another Tashil feature—and Lyndred walked through it like she was the Black Queen. As Bridge walked through, he thanked the man.
Gift was watching from the door to the deck house. His face was drawn, his eyes rimmed with shadows. He looked thinner than he had two days before.
“I didn’t expect to see you again,” he said to Lyndred.
“We’ve been thrown out.” She sounded proud. Bridge looked at her. She wanted to impress her cousin.
“I don’t believe you.” Gift’s arms were crossed and he leaned against the wooden housing. His posture said that he didn’t want anything to do with them.
“It’s true,” Bridge said. “Arianna knew Lyndred had visited you.”
“Of course she did. It’s the perfect set-up. She warns me that I’m being watched, then she sends Lyndred here to talk with me, then she pretends to throw Lyndred out, so that you can come here, and find out what our plans are.”
“Arianna banished you,” Lyndred said. “I think she knows what your plans are.”
“My daughter has a point. Unless Arianna is worried about something else, something I don’t understand, then she should have no real interest in what you’re doing.”
Gift sighed and leaned his head back against the wood. He seemed very tired. For a moment he said nothing. Then he brought his head down again. “What do you want?”
Bridge turned to his daughter. This had been her idea. She had to speak for them.
She looked at him and raised a shoulder. He knew the gesture. You tell him, Daddy. Only Bridge wasn’t going to say anything.
Gift stared at her. He was very still. Bridge had the sense that Gift would wait until one of them spoke. It had to be the Shamanic training. Most Fey didn’t have that kind of patience.
“Um,” Lyndred started, then glanced at her father again. “We were hoping—”
Bridge cleared his throat.
She stopped, licked her lips, and started again. “I was hoping we could go with you.”
“Why would you want to do that?” Gift asked. “Have you been banished as well?”
“Kind of,” Lyndred said.
She was still trying to impress him. Bridge had no patience for it. “We’ve been ordered to leave Blue Isle. We can go anywhere we want in the Empire, but we’ll never have any status. Arianna wants us as far from her and as powerless as possible.”
“Without forcing you to leave the Empire.”
“I would see it as a compliment to you,” Bridge said. “We’re an annoyance. You’re a threat.”
“Oh, I’m supremely honored. I can’t think of a higher honor I’d rather have her bestow.” Gift pushed off the wall he’d been leaning on, and stood up straight. “Take your ship and go back to Nye. No one will bother you there.”
“I don’t think it’s that simple,” Bridge said.
“Oh? Afraid you might have to work with the people you mistreated all these years?”
“My father didn’t mistreat anyone,” Lyndred said. “If you’d come to Nye, you would have known that.”
Gift studied her as if he hadn’t expected her to come to anyone’s defense. “I’m not in the position to take on two additional mouths to feed. I am not sure what I’m going to do with my own crew.”
“You’ll need us,” Lyndred said.
“Oh?” Gift raised his eyebrows. “You can sail a ship?”
“No,” she said. “But I’ve—we’ve—been with Arianna a long time. I might know some things you don’t.”
“You seem to assume that I’m going head-to-head with my sister.”
Bridge noticed that Gift didn’t deny it while at the same time making it sound improbable.
“I think you’d be foolish not to. She’s Blind. Besides, as your friend said, you might try to get her to leave without resorting to violence.” Lyndred sounded enthusiastic. For the first time in his memory, Bridge was embarrassed for his daughter.
Gift shook his head. “This isn’t natural. No one should be talking about a Black Queen this way.”
“Then maybe you should see it as a sign—” Lyndred started, but Bridge grabbed her arm.
“Shut up,” he said.
She did. He never spoke to her that way.
“I’m sorry, Gift,” he said. “My daughter has been struggling with Arianna for the past six months. Arianna thought she could rely on Lyndred’s Vision. Lyndred has gotten it into her head that Arianna is Blind. It’s created quite a conflict.”
“And now you want me to take you in, conflict and all.” Gift didn’t sound too eager.
“No,” Bridge said. “My daughter hoped you would. She believes in you, although she’s not showing it well. Frankly, I’m not sure why. Your options are limited and any path you take is dangerous.”
“I know that.” Gift ran a hand through his dark hair. He looked amazingly like Arianna, but his face was softer, and his blue eyes lacked the cruel edge that made Arianna seem so formidable. “What do you think of my sister?”
“She wasn’t what I expected,” Bridge said.
Gift let his hand drop. His gaze was on Bridge now, and it was intense. “What did you expe
ct?”
“Someone who was more compassionate. Someone who had a commitment to peace. I expected her to be more like my sister, Jewel, only without the warrior’s stance. And I thought she’d act more like a Shifter—emotional, a bit mercurial on the surface, strong and solid underneath.”
If anything, Gift’s eyes grew bluer. He stared at Bridge. “You just described my sister.”
Bridge shook his head. “No, I didn’t. Your sister is nothing like that. She stands like a warrior. She calls peace a rest between battles. She is harsh and has no compassion at all.”
“I know,” Gift said. “But what you expected, the woman you thought you were going to meet, that is my sister, Arianna.”
“They say she went through quite a change just before we got here,” Bridge said.
Gift glanced over Bridge’s shoulder. Without turning, Bridge knew where he was looking. The palace. There was no longing in his face, only a sadness, as if Arianna had died. “What do you think happened to her?”
“She says she finally came to her senses and understood what ruling was all about.” Bridge shrugged. “I have to admit, one of the reasons I came here was because I disagreed with her policies. In Galinas, bands of young warrior Fey roam in the countryside. They’re hard to control when there’s no war. Our people aren’t meant for peace.”
“So you agree with her new policies.” The intensity left Gift’s eyes.
“No,” Bridge said, and even Lyndred looked at him. “I thought perhaps she hadn’t considered the effect of peace on the warrior class. It’s not that they’re bored by lack of fighting, it’s that they’re born to fight. It’s in their blood and not to provide it means their magick tortures them. I wanted her to find a solution for that. I thought maybe going on to Leut might be good, but I wasn’t sure. I was willing to talk with her.”
Gift’s face was impassive. He was watching Bridge closely.
“But when I got here, she wanted nothing to do with family. She didn’t want to see anyone, and she only admitted us into the palace when she found out that Lyndred had Vision.”
The Black King (Book 7) Page 26
