by Robin Hobb
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‘My lord. My lord, may it not displease you that I speak, but if you wish to preserve this creature’s life so that you may have a later treatment of his blood, you must stop now. ’
The healer who gripped the dragon-man’s wrist spoke in a timorous voice. His thumb was on the creature’s pulse. The Duke paid no heed. The healer shot a frightened glance at the older man who grasped the dragon-man’s forearm. Now Ellik noticed that he, too, kept a monitoring thumb on the pulse point inside the creature’s elbow. He met the younger man’s stare, gave his head a tiny shake, and pressed down. The Duke sucked harder for three breaths and then abruptly lifted his head. His voice was stronger, thick with his drink as he demanded, ‘Has he died? The blood has stopped!’
‘No, my duke, he is not dead, but he flutters close to it. ’ The healer spoke in a gentle voice full of deference. ‘Would you finish him now, or send him back to be fed up again for a later treatment?’
Greed and caution warred in the Duke’s face. Abruptly, he pushed the thin wrist away from his mouth. ‘Take him away. Bid my daughter feed my fine blue cow fat again. Whatever Lady Chassim desires for him, she may have! See that she does all she can to bring him to where he can be bled again. Tell her this is my most ardent wish for her, if she would retain the goodwill of her duke. ’
‘My lord,’ the healers chorused. Ellik saw concern in how quickly they bandaged the creature’s wrist. Before they wrapped it, he glimpsed the deep purple bruising all around the wound. The Duke’s teeth had left deep dents in the flesh.
‘I will eat now,’ the Duke declared.
As he leaned back into his pillows with a deep sigh of contentment, the room around him erupted into a frantic bustle of activity. A basket of clean cloths appeared as the used ones were whisked way. Fresh bedclothes were brought, and the servants deftly folded away the soiled ones as the new ones were spread over him so that not even for a moment was he chilled. An array of musicians bearing their instruments trooped in and stood ready against the wall in case he should bid them to play. A narrow table was carried into the room, followed by an ant stream of servants bearing trays of all manner of food and drink. Water beaded on the outside of pitchers of iced wine while other pots steamed fragrantly with hot, mulled drinks. Covered platters stood shoulder to shoulder with steaming tureens. The array would have done credit to a banquet and once again Ellik wondered where the hardy warrior he had once followed had gone.
The Chancellor cleared his throat and the Duke’s eyes turned to him. He waited, watching the Duke count and measure the words he would give him, and knew he was on the cusp of losing all he had gained. ‘Your gift has pleased me,’ the old man said at last.
Ellik waited ten heartbeats. The Duke said no more, and in that quiet, the Chancellor read that he would not keep his promise to him. When a man hopes to live, he does not prepare a stronger man to take his place. It would be more important to him now that he coddle his daughter so that she might keep his blood-cow alive. ‘Lady Chassim’ he had called her. He could not recall the Duke ever granting her both honorific and name when he had spoken of her before. Her status had changed in his mind. He would not again offer his daughter to Ellik. But the Chancellor replied only, ‘Then I am very well pleased, my lord. ’ He lowered his eyes, so that no one might see how his mind seethed with fresh plans to take the reward he had earned.
For the first time in months, the Duke had ordered his servants to open the heavy draperies that sealed all light from his chambers. From his bed, he had watched the pale-grey light of dawn venture across his carpets and then the linens on his bed. He had opened his hand to that light, light he had believed would not touch him again, and smiled as it became the full gold of daylight. He was alive this morning. Still. And as he resolved that he would live, he’d issued his orders. The chief of his healers looked aghast.
‘My lord, favoured of the gods, beloved of the people, I fear you attempt too much too soon. Your recovery has been swift, but so quick an improvement, if followed by too much activity, may lead to a relapse and—’
‘Be quiet or die. ’ The Duke kept his response short. He knew the wisdom of not taxing himself just as he was starting to recover. But to no one else could he entrust this errand. ‘Carry me to her chambers, set down the chaise, and leave. Stand ready outside the door until I summon you. Do not otherwise disturb us. ’
Last night, after the dragon-man’s blood, he had eaten and drunk wine with pleasure for the first time in months. When he awoke, he could sit up in bed, and could control his bowels once more. He had not soiled himself, nor spat blood today. He knew it was soon to demand to be conveyed to his daughter’s presence, but it was a risk he had weighed well. Beneath the light coverlet, he grasped a knife in each hand. If she saw fit to show her vicious side, he would kill the bitch regardless of the consequences. But if she could be reasoned with at all, there might be great benefit for both of them. He intended to show her that.
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He had sent a messenger ahead, to inform her of the visit. He had no wish to have a vase flung at him. Something almost like a smile hovered at the corners of his withered lips. She got her spirit from her father. Briefly, he considered ordering that all heavy objects be removed from her rooms. No. That was not how to begin with her. She must not think that he feared her, nor know, completely, just how much power she held. This would be a delicate negotiation, one only he could perform.
As he had commanded, the Duke was carried to Chassim’s chambers. The locks were unfastened. ‘Knock!’ he ordered the guard who had begun to open the door. The startled man hesitated, as if questioning his order. Then he hastily rapped on the heavy panel of the wooden door and called out, ‘Lady Chassim, you are honoured with a visit from the Duke!’
A moment of silence stretched almost long enough to be insolence. Just short of defying him, she called, ‘Enter and honour me, then. ’
His guards looked uncertain. Had she mocked the Duke? Were they required to kill her? He found it almost amusing, and he nodded for them to obey.
They carried him into a sunny room with thick carpets on the floor. There was a cage of songbirds in one corner and a table with a silver bowl of fresh fruit from his hothouse. Evidently courtiers had already begun to send her favours. How quickly word spread in his court! He narrowed his eyes and decided to put a stop to it. Nothing must enter this room save that he sent it. To him she must come for any little favour she sought. She must depend on him for every single thing, even a glass of water or a husk of bread. For he knew his life now depended on her.
‘A pleasant room,’ he reminded her as they lowered his chair to a spot before her hearth. A slight motion of his head dismissed his guards and bearers. He did not deign to watch them leave. He would not take his eyes off her. Witches were best watched closely. She had muffled herself most peculiarly, covered her entire body in drapery from head to foot. All he could see was her face, but at the same time he took in the details of the room. He listened to the door close behind them as he met his daughter’s gaze.
A divan in the corner held his dragon-man. He was very still but the sheet that swathed him rose and fell. By the divan were a tray bearing partially consumed food and a glass with the dregs of wine in it. So, she had fed him and the creature had eaten. Good. ‘Plenty of sunlight,’ he added to her lack of response.
‘There would be more, were there not bars on the window. ’
‘That is true. Would you like me to have the bars removed? Or move you to larger quarters that do not have bars on the windows?’
That unbalanced her. The flicker of uncertainty in her eyes warmed him more than her fire did.
She drew a breath, hesitated, then bravely countered, ‘I would wish to go back to my own quarters among your women, free to walk the gardens and use the baths as I once did. ’
‘Impossible, I am afraid, for it would scarcely do for my dragon-
man to be quartered among my women. I do not trust them as I do my only daughter. ’
The uncertainty was consternation now, and she could not mask it. Wariness swam behind her eyes. ‘What do you want?’ she asked bluntly. ‘Why have you come to see me after years of banning me from your presence?’
He stared at her for a time and she held his regard. She looks, he thought, more like me than her mother. I should have seen that years ago. There is more of me in her than in any of the sons who failed me. I have battled my dilemma, and the solution was before me the whole time. A rush of inspiration filled him. He kept his voice low. ‘I know what you’ve done. And I know your ambition. ’
A shadow of fear flickered across her face but she did not speak.
‘You sought to stir insurrection against me. Rebellion. Your exhortations were skilled, for a woman. But you sought your alliances in the wrong places. To build a throne, you must build on stone, not flowers. I am stone. ’
‘I don’t understand. ’
He hadn’t intended that she should. He needed to draw her into the conversation, to make her think she negotiated for what he would offer her. ‘You should have come to me with your ambitions for power. Am I not your father? As much of my blood flows through you as through any son I sired. Did you think I would find your craving for power reprehensible rather than true proof you are worthy to be my daughter? To be my heir. ’ He dropped his voice on the last words and was gratified to see her lean forward to catch them.
She swayed slightly; the offer had dizzied her. But she recovered quickly. ‘Mother of your heir, perhaps. Ellik told me the terms of your agreement when he … visited me here. I will be the cow that drops a calf for both of you. ’
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That explained the fading shadow of bruise on her face. Ellik had been quick to take him up on his offer. The Duke rather hoped she was not pregnant. He did not want her mawkish with maternity, not until his own health was fully restored. And that, he was convinced, rested on her keeping his dragon-man alive and well.
‘I will not allow him to “visit” you again, if that is what you wish. I will move you to better, larger quarters where your ward can have a chamber of his own, and there are no bars on the windows. ’ He thought of a set of rooms in a tower not far from his own. Windows set so high in a sheer wall had no need of bars on them. She was staring at him. Recklessly, he enlarged the offer. ‘And you, not Ellik’s child, shall be written as my heir. With the power to choose your own consort, when the time for that is right. ’ He paused. What other female silliness might please her?
‘Why do you come offering me these things?’ She did not even pretend to be anything other than astounded. And cautious.
‘Because you have proven yourself worthy,’ he told her grandiosely. ‘I do not think you really sought to overthrow me,’ he lied. ‘Even you must have seen that you could not come to power in a land torn by civil war. Every warlord beneath me would have risen, seeking to claim my throne, with you the swiftest path to legitimacy. No matter how many women you could rally to your cause, they would swiftly be subdued by their own husbands and fathers and sons. No. You cannot rest your throne on frail flowers, my dear. You must build it on the stone of your father’s strength. ’
He lifted a hand and gestured casually at the dragon-man. ‘I gave you a task, thinking that I would test where your loyalty lay. Would you obey my request, or purposely kill the valuable creature put into your keeping? You knew that I wished him restored to health. And, my Chassim, you have passed my test of you. Last night when he was brought to me, I found his health much improved. And by that I knew that your wishes aligned with mine. ’
‘He was swooning when they returned him to me, his wrist chewed as if an animal had been at him. ’
She spoke the accusation in a low voice. He felt a muscle twitch and thought of killing her. How dared she? Instead, he smiled affably. ‘Another small test. And again, you have passed it. I see that you have made him comfortable, have persuaded him to eat and drink. I do not doubt that soon you will have restored him even more completely than he was last night. You have done well, daughter. And that is why I have come to see you, and to offer you your earned reward. Continue as you have begun. This very day, you and your charge will be moved to better quarters. If there is food or drink you wish, music or books or flowers, make your desire known to the servants I will give you. And it shall be done. ’
‘Freedom to come and go as I please?’
He smiled again but he was wearying of her. ‘In time, perhaps. For now, I think you will be too busy taking care of our special guest. Occupy your time and thoughts with tending to him. As you can see, my health is improving. Soon, I will begin instructing you in the ways of power. Before I can formally declare you my heir, I must show you well groomed for the position. It has been long since a woman has come to power in Chalced. The way must be prepared for you, my dear. ’
He took a breath. Tired. Time to return to his bed, to sleep. Tired, yes, but not sickened with weariness. Only tired as any man would be after having to deal with a witch. She opened her mouth to speak. He lifted a cautioning finger. ‘Later,’ he said. ‘After you have had time to think well, and have shown me, yet again, that you can employ your skills for love of me. ’ He nodded toward the supine dragon-man. Then he lifted his voice. ‘Guards! I wish to return to my rooms. ’
They entered with alacrity. Had they feared for his safety? Good. To his daughter he said, ‘You see. They respect your abilities as I do. ’ As they lifted his chair, he leaned back on his cushions. Let her ponder what he meant by that.
‘You are awake. ’
He opened his eyes. The room seemed very bright and he quickly lidded them again. He felt her hands on him. They were light and cool as she felt his brow and then slipped her fingers down to his throat to touch his pulse.
‘Don’t go back to sleep. Not until you’ve eaten and drunk. ’
‘To make me strong. ’ He could manage no more than a hoarse whisper. ‘So your father can bleed me again. ’
She didn’t deny it. ‘I knew you were awake and listening. And yes, for now, that is what we must do, to buy time for ourselves. ’
‘I must live, waiting for him to want to use me again? That is why I should get better?’ He did not have the strength to put the full outrage he felt into his voice.
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‘Not so different from what I have had to do, and more than once,’ she hissed back at him. ‘Do you think that to be kept in a pen and fed like a fattened bullock is so different from being confined until you are bred like a cow for the calf you may drop? Yes. It will be hard for you. It has been hard for me. But we are both still alive. And that is what it will take for both of us to remain alive long enough for us to make a different plan. ’
‘What plan?’ He hated that her words made sense to him. He wanted her to be wrong, wanted to be offered a future that did not include the ghastly old man’s withered lips sucking at his wrist.
‘If I knew already, we would not have to make it. Here. Let me help you to sit up a little. I want you to drink some wine, and eat something. It seems you can have whatever you wish to eat or drink now. Is there anything you would fancy? Anything that would tempt your appetite?’
‘Meat. Fresh meat,’ he demanded. He spoke the words without thinking and then fell suddenly silent. He looked up to find her staring at him quizzically.
‘Just a touch of the dragon speaking,’ he said, meaning it as a jest. But he wondered.
Day the 12th of the Plough Moon
Year the 7th of the Independent Alliance of Traders
From Sealia Finbok, of the Bingtown Traders
To Hest Finbok, of the Bingtown Traders
To be held at the Cassarick Traders’ Hall
My dearest son, how can you leave us in such suspense? All matter of strange tidings have my friends received fro
m the Rain Wilds, and yet not a word from you! My dear, it is humiliating that I must hear tales of dragons sighted, and the mysterious and sudden departure, upriver, of the very impervious ship that you were on! I am told that it set off without a word to anyone, and that several very important Traders appear to have departed with it! If you know anything of this delicious bit of gossip, I implore you, send me tidings by bird at your earliest possible opportunity! All my friends are boiling with curiosity. Some are saying it was an incredible trading opportunity that led the boat to depart immediately, and others that it has to do with the other ship that followed the Tarman upriver.
My friends are speculating that you have dashed off on a mad adventure to find your missing Alise. They imagine all sorts of romantic reunions and rescues, but I will tell you again, I have always found her an unsuitable match for you. I do hope you will not put yourself into any danger or great inconvenience for her sake.
I am trusting that you will contact me almost immediately, by the swiftest messenger bird that can be hired!
Your loving Mother
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Hostages
‘We’re wasting our time, Cap,’ Skelly said. She stood squarely before Captain Leftrin as she spoke. ‘It’s too dark down there, the drop is too long, and the Silver too shallow. We’ll never bail up any Silver dropping that bucket. It lands wrong every time. Weight it to tip on its side, and it’s going to stay tipped on its side, spilling out any Silver it might take in as we haul it back up. ’
She paused to draw breath. All around the well mouth, the few keepers who had gathered remained silent. Three fruitless days of fishing for Silver had brought them only discouragement. Carson had insisted today that regular work be resumed. So some had gone to the hunt to add meat to their stores while most of Tarman’s crew was back at the docks, tending Tarman or working on reinforcing the docks. Thymara and Tats had returned to the well to see if any progress had been made.
