Crown Of Stars - Child Of Flame Part 60

Pray G.o.d autumn would come soon, with cooler weather. She was sweating freely, had to dab at her forehead with her sleeve. They crossed into the heart of the palace and came to a door set with the skopos' seal, a private audience chamber. Brother Petrus stood aside. Rosv^ta entered alone.

Mercifully, the Tile Chamber was dark and cool, surrounded by thick earthen walls and decorated with pale tiles, set out in geo-, metric patterns said to represent the path of the soul as it ascends through the seven spheres toward the Chamber of Light. The skopos sat in a simple chair notable for its high back carved in a pattern of linked circles. Her ferocious black hound lay at her feet, growling softly as Rosvita approached but not raising its head. The chair, elevated on a low dais, presided over a set of benches, five deep, set in a semicircle facing the dais. A table stood between the foremost benches and the dais step.

Only five people inhabited the chamber: the skopos, Hugh, a servingwoman dressed simply in a pale shift belted with rope, and two elderly people wearing the garb of clerics. One lay on a couch in the shadows, half hidden, silent. Hugh and the other man stood at the table, holding open a scroll. A lit lamp stood at either end of the map, but it seemed to Rosvita that their light did more to illuminate Hugh's handsome face than the faded markings on the scroll.

"Pray approach, Sister Rosvita," said the skopos in her cool Voice, extending her right hand.

Rosvita came forward cautiously, well aware of that huge hound so close that it could rip off her hand with one bite, but it did not react beyond another soft growl as she knelt on the steps to kiss Anne's ring, the seal of her office." Holy Mother, you honor me with your summons."

Not a flicker of a smile touched the skopos' face. She might have been carved in stone. It was hard to imagine anyone more regal sitting in that chair, though. Henry had been wise to grant her CHILD or FLAME the skopos' throne. That way, she could never challenge him for the earthly throne." If you will, Sister, examine the scroll."

Hugh moved aside to make room for her at the table, nodding with what appeared a genuine smile as she took her place beside him. The other man, older, with a severe face lined with old resentments and a more recent illness, examined her disapprovingly.

"It's papyrus," she said, "and so likely ancient. These symbols marked at the border of the map are not of Daisanite origin. I would say they are heathen and probably meant to represent heathen G.o.ds or perhaps the seven heavenly bodies. It is a map." She touched it hesitantly, because something about its markings made a bell chime in her mind." Here are mountains, a river, a forest, and the sea." She pointed at each as she spoke the word." It seems the map represents the placement of seven sites, towns perhaps, or temples. Hard to say. Here are six scattered through the land equidistant from the seventh, which lies in the center, ringed by mountains. Each site is represented by seven marks, like arrow points, which echo the larger design: six in a ring around a central seventh."

"What is it a map of, Sister Rosvita?" asked Anne.

The elder man grunted. Hugh took a step away from the table.

Rosvita had learned in a hard school not to betray surprise, and she did not do so now, as an inkling of what she was looking at lit in her mind." Perhaps the continent of Novaria, Holy Mother. This sea could be the north sea, and here might be the middle sea, and these the Alfar Mountains. It is a crude representation, if so, but I have seen sailors' maps that show a similar outline of the coast. I have myself crossed the Alfar Mountains three times and know that they stand in about this place."

"What do you know about the coming cataclysm, Sister?" asked the Holy Mother." About the attack of the Lost Ones, who wish to regain their empire and enslave all of humankind?"

"Nothing more than what I have heard, Holy Mother. Prince Sanglant spoke of a cataclysm, as did his mother, when they sojourned briefly at the king's progress last spring. But they both left when it appeared to them that the king was not willing to heed their words."

"Did you heed them?"

"I would need more evidence, Holy Mother. I confess it is a difficult story to believe. I have read many chronicles in my time. Many times good souls have cried out to warn the regnant of a coming disaster only to discover that they were mistaken in their reading of the stars, or the omens, or the Holy Verses themselves. G.o.d's will is a difficult book for mortals to read."

"Are you learned in astronomy, Sister?"

"I confess ignorance in such matters. I learned no more than any apt pupil would in a convent. I can recognize the constellations and I can identify the wandering stars in the sky." She smiled slightly." I remember that Aturna takes twenty-eight years to circle the zodiac, while Mok takes twelve, but I confess I cannot recall the periods of the others. Somorhas and Erekes lie between Earth and the sphere of the Sun, so they are often lost in the glare of the Sun. Somorhas appears as both Morning and Evening Star, never at the same time, and sometimes disappears altogether. I pray pardon, Holy Mother. Early in my studies I became enamored of history, and I neglected the other arts in its favor."

"So it appears," said the skopos, yet by no means did she speak reprovingly, only to note what she had heard. A bell rang softly. The servingwoman hurried to the door, spoke there with an unseen servant, and returned to the Holy Mother.

"The emissary from Salia, Your Excellence."

"Let him in."

A portly man, flushed from the heat, knelt on the steps to kiss the skopos' ring." Holy Mother." He dabbed at his face with a handkerchief, but it might have been fear of the hound and not the heat that made him sweat so freely." I am at your service."

"Here is Brother Severus," said Anne to the emissary, indicating the elderly cleric." You will take him personally to Salia on your return, and see that his every wish is fulfilled. He is my personal representative."

"I am at your command, Holy Mother." He spoke Dariyan with the distinctive Salian accent, the soft "v" hardening, the hard "gn" going soft." I do not know if we can cross the pa.s.s this late in the year. I've gotten word that there've already been heavy snows in the northern pa.s.ses, quite untimely."

"But you have heard no reports from the western pa.s.ses, Brother. I feel sure that if you leave at once, you will have a successful journey."

i He eyed her with a mixture of awe and apprehension. Perhaps he had heard the rumors that she was a powerful sorcerer, exactly the sort of person whose activities had been condemned as recently as one hundred years ago at the Council of Narvone. It was not something ever spoken of out loud and certainly never to her face.

Or maybe he was only afraid that the black hound was going to lunge to its feet and rip his face off.

"As you command, Holy Mother. We can leave in the morning, if that is your wish."

"It is." Anne dismissed him, and the servingwoman escorted him to the door. After a silence, she rose and, with the hound at her heels, came down to the table, smoothing her hand over the ancient papyrus. It had gone yellow with age, flaking at the edges." What evidence do you need, Sister Rosvita, to be convinced of the danger that awaits us all if we do not act?"

"Perhaps it is impossible to convince me, Holy Mother, without hard evidence, but that does not mean I cannot see the purpose to preparing for such an eventuality, in case it comes about. Yet why would Sanglant's mother come to Henry and offer an alliance if her people wish only to enslave and dominate us? Can a dialogue not be started?"

"With whom? Where is the Aoi woman now, Sister? Where is Prince Sanglant?"

"I cannot answer either question."

"The Aoi woman has returned to her people to raise an army, now that she sees that humankind have no will to fight. Prince Sanglant also left to gather an army."

"For what purpose? How do you know this?"

"Surely you know of that skill commonly called 'Eagle's sight'? Eagles are not alone in making use of it."

The wick of one of the lamps hissed as it came to the end of the oil. The servingwoman hastened to refill the belly of the lamp while Rosvita caught hold of her thoughts, for once so horrified that she could not even voice mindless pleasantries to pa.s.s the awkward moment. If Anne could use Eagle's sight, then she could spy on anyone.

Anyone.

Yet even Anne could not spy on people constantly, and then only one at a time, using such methods. Every skopos was known to have spies, clerics moving through the palace in Darre and the courts of far-flung regnants, reporting back what they observed to the Holy Mother. How was this different?

"-Where is Prince Sanglant now, Holy Mother?"

Odd, and troubling, to see annoyance brush its sharp claws across that normally serene face." Well hidden," said Anne, reaching to scratch the hound's ears, and by this means concealing her expression as she went on, "no doubt with the aid of his mother's magic. Why conceal himself if he has nothing to hide?"

"Why indeed?" Rosvita glanced away to see Severus examining the map while Hugh listened with obvious interest." Yet I have not forgotten the Eagle sent by Princess Theophanu, who spoke of troubles at work in the land, including Quman raiders."

When Anne straightened, her features displayed as impa.s.sive a mask as ever." Be a.s.sured that I have looked, Sister Rosvita. I have seen no Quman army."

"You do not think Prince Sanglant might be raising an army to fight the barbarians?"

"I do not know the mind of Prince Sanglant. Wendar is plagued by much unrest in these days, which comes in many guises. A wise mind recognizes these troubles as a sign of the cataclysm to come, for the earth itself shifts and trembles, knowing the dreadful fate that awaits it when the Lost Ones work their terrible magic to force their return."

"It is difficult to argue against you, Holy Mother, considering the extent and depth of your knowledge."

"So it is," agreed Anne. She lifted a hand. At once several servants, previously unseen, hurried out of the shadows. The cleric reclining on the couch was lying, it now transpired, on a litter, which made it easy for the four servants to cany her out of the chamber. Even so, Rosvita could not quite get a glimpse of that person, only that she was small and dark. How strange that she should observe the whole and yet never speak or be spoken to. Yet it was too late to discover who she was now.

Brother Severus retreated, as did Hugh, with a smile and a bow, and at last the servingwoman went out and shut the door behind her. The black hound yawned, displaying fearsome teeth.

"Now you will tell me, Sister," said Anne, facing Rosvita, "why you persist in not trusting me. I have served as Holy Mother for only one month. Have I given offense? Have you heard aught of me that leads you to believe that I am plotting evil?"

For an instant Rosvita felt the thrill of panic, but she knew how to think fast." Only this, Holy Mother. Hugh of Austra was sent south to face charges that he had soiled his hands with black sorcery. Now he stands as an intimate in the queen's counsel and you have allowed him exceptional authority within the college of presbyters."

"Most of which he had already earned by his own efforts during the last days of my predecessor, dementia, may her memory be blessed. Is it my trust in Hugh that you do not trust?"

It was hard to judge Anne's age. She might have been about forty years of age, as Rosvita was, or ten years older. Time had not marked her smooth face but neither did she look young; the weight of time, wisdom, and rank cloaked her. She had power, bone-deep and solid, and if she chose to support Henry, then truly there was nothing he could not accomplish. For that, Rosvita was willing to forgive much, if it were true that Anne meant to support Henry rather than merely use him for her own purpose, to thwart the return of the Lost Ones.

Rosvita knew better than to voice such doubts aloud. There were, after all, so many other questions that could be answered, now that she had the opportunity to ask them." I am a historian, Holy Mother. The good abbess at Korvei, where I received my education, said I would be both saved and d.a.m.ned by my curiosity. I confess freely that I have read the chronicles, and I do not entirely understand your genealogy. I beg pardon if what I say appears rude. Pray trust that it is only the sin of curiosity that leads me to ask."

"You doubt that I am the descendant of Emperor Taillefer?" Was that a flicker of anger, or of amus.e.m.e.nt? Impossible to tell. The hound growled rather louder than before. Its whipcord tail thumped once against a table leg, almost rocking it.

"I have in my possession the Vita of St. Radegundis, as you know, Holy Mother." It wasn't easy to keep her voice even, not with that huge hound glowering at her.

"I have seen it." How coolly she spoke those words, considering that the Vita had been written by her own father, a man she had never met." When you have finished the copies your clerics are making, I will gladly take such a blessed work into the library here, Sister."

Rosvita knew how to swallow regret, although it hurt." That would be most fitting, Holy Mother. But although I was blessed by G.o.d as the vessel through whose hands the Vita would pa.s.s on its way to you, I am puzzled by the circ.u.mstances surrounding Fi-delis' marriage. That he was hidden in the cloister and raised as a monk, I can understand. That he succ.u.mbed in his autumn years to temptation, I can understand and in truth I pity him, for despite his great age and wisdom it seemed to me that he still thought of the woman with affection and regretted to the end of his life any harm that might have come to her because of his weakness." It was a long speech, and a convoluted argument. She had to choose her words carefully." But I have never fully understood the ident.i.ty of your mother, or what happened to her after. How were you then raised, and in what secrecy, with what education, to find you awake to your ancestry, so learned and so wise, and yet unknown to those of us who have studied the chronicles for all of our lives?"

"I was raised by Sister Clothilde, handmaiden of St. Radegundis and later servant to Biscop Tallia, my aunt. My mother was called Lavrentia. She was the unwanted child of a n.o.ble family in Varre. It is common for families to place inconvenient children in the church."

Rosvita smiled bitterly, remembering how her brother Ivar had been thrust into the church with no calling and no love for his new position. Count Harl was not a forgiving man, and no doubt rash, impulsive young Ivar had given him trouble one too many times." So it is, Holy Mother. We can only pray that they all come to serve G.o.d with an honest and open heart."

The skopos murmured a blessing in response, fluid and almost mindless, a habit to one raised in clerical surroundings. The hound sat." She died, and in any case she was very young, not more than fifteen years of age. Sister Clothilde knew well what trouble might erupt in Salia should it be known that a legitimate descendant of Taillefer still lived. She knew that the Salians only let women rule as co-regnants, never alone, and she knew that were it known that I lived, some powerful Salian lord would take me hostage, raise me, and marry me to his son so that his son could claim the kingship of Salia through his use of my body."

"Truly," murmured Rosvita, "a barbaric custom."

"Not so different than King Henry's marriage to Queen Adel-heid."

That stung." Adelheid fled to Henry and begged for his help, Holy Mother. It is true that theirs is a marriage dictated by politics and expediency, but there is true affection and respect as well."

The hound growled, yipping once, threateningly. The skopos mounted the steps and sat, placing her hands on the arms of the chair, which were without any decoration except the polished l.u.s.ter of gold leaf enveloping the wood. She gave a soft command, and the hound at once lay beside her." Sometimes I wonder, Sister Rosvita. Does G.o.d come first in your heart, or does the king?"

"I serve the regnants of Wendar and Varre, as I was raised to do, Holy Mother."

"And I serve humankind, as I was raised to do. Biscop Tallia and Sister Clothilde learned of the threat posed by the Lost Ones, so I was raised to follow in their path, to save humankind by casting the Lost Ones back into the Abyss. Will you aid me, or will you be an obstacle, Sister? The king heeds you. You are well respected, and it is obvious that the king's schola and much of his court will follow your lead, should you chose to speak in my favor. Or against me."

Pray G.o.d that her face and voice betrayed nothing. Pray G.o.d that no hint of suspicion should fall on her." Then that is why you were raised in the arts of the mathematici, Holy Mother. That is why your daughter was raised to know those arts as well. Yet such arts still remain condemned by the church you now preside over."

"Condemned because of envy, directed at my aunt, Biscop Tallia, the wisest and most selfless of women. Yet I understand your meaning, Sister Rosvita. I must move cautiously so as not to arouse anger and fear. What we fight, we have fought for long years in secrecy, seeming to sleep and yet remaining awake. It has been our fate and our duty to prepare while humankind slept, oblivious to the approaching danger."

Curious, but never a liar. Rosvita had prided herself for all these years on her honesty, yet was it not said in the Holy Verses that pride was first to fall? "It is a solemn charge, Holy Mother. Pray do not suspect me of ever placing any obstacles in the path of righteousness."

Anne raised a single eyebrow, although it was difficult to tell whether she was surprised, pleased, or skeptical." As long as we work together as allies, we are therefore in harmony. You may go, Pray be at your leisure to attend me when I next call for you. There is also this matter of reports of heresy in the north to consider. A council must be called, and I am minded to command you to preside over the proceedings."

"I am yours to command, Holy Mother." She was offered the holy ring. With some trepidation, she mounted the dais and kissed it. This time the hound did not even growl, but she could feel the weight of his presence so close beside her. Thanking the Lady for small mercies, and glad to see that she still had all her fingers, she made her own way to the door.

Hugh waited outside in the anteroom, leaning on a windowsill and examining the courtyard beyond, a small garden yellowed with summer's heat. A fountain in the shape of a phoenix trickled at the center, with a fruit-bearing tree growing at each, corner. Pears, figs, and apples drooped from weighted branches, awaiting harvest. Smiling amiably, he turned to greet her.

"Sister Rosvita. I was about to walk back to the royal palace. May I escort you?"

"The honor would be mine."

They strolled along shaded arcades. Brother Petrus followed ten steps behind, carrying an unlit lamp.

"I am sorry you could not attend Her Majesty yesterday. We went outside the city to oversee the grape harvest at one of the royal vineyards."

"It is well for Queen Adelheid to get out more," agreed Rosvita." I am happy to see that she is recovering her health at last."

They spoke for a bit of inconsequential things: Princess Mathilda, Aostan architecture, the rituals of the grape harvest. What game was Hugh playing? Yet at times like this, she wondered if he had truly changed. By all reports, and by her own personal observation, he was pious, discreet, benevolent, eloquent but gentle, grave in his authority and yet as humble as a beggar, affable to every person yet with such an elegance of manners that he never seemed common. Surely if he were irretrievably stained by the evil inclination, then that mark must somehow show in his outward form. But it did not. It had become something of a joke in the schola that when queen and presbyter rode out into the streets of Darre, folk gathered to acclaim her authority and to marvel at his beauty.

They stepped out from a colonnade to cross a courtyard on a graveled path, white stones crunching under their feet. Afternoon shadows drew long across the neatly raked garden and crisscrossing paths. Above, parapets rose, visible beyond the roofs of the palace." The Holy Mother means to appoint you to oversee a council on this heresy that troubles the north."

"So she has given me to understand. I fear I am not qualified to lead such an investigation."

"Nay, Sister, do not say so. You are respected by all. It is well known that your judgments are made without any regard to your own personal inclinations. I cannot think of any person in the church who is as widely trusted as you are." They stepped onto the portico that framed the entrance, three monumental arches, that led from the skopos' palace into the forecourt of the royal compound. Rosvita had never gotten used to the speed with which the sun set here in the south; no long, lingering twilights common to summer days in the north. Darkness was already falling, drowning them in shadow beneath the heavy arches. She could barely make out the elongated figures of saints carved into the facade, pale forms looming above them, stern but merciful.

"I am troubled, Sister," said Hugh softly. Brother Petrus waited obediently behind them, just out of earshot. In the forecourt beyond, torches were being lit, placed in sconces around the court, light flaring and smoke streaming toward the heavens. A dozen grooms hurried out from the open gate that led in to the stable yard. Distantly, from the direction of the road that led down into the city, she heard shouting and cheers.

She said nothing, only waited, and after a moment Hugh went on." What would you do if you discovered an ancient text in whose words you read an account of the very heresy that even now pollutes the kingdom?"

"What do you mean? It's well known that the Arethousan church remains in error on certain matters of doctrine. At least one of these-these arguments over the nature of the human and divine substance of the blessed Daisan-are part of the heresy as well.

Everything I have heard indicates that the heresy comes out of the east."

He stood in profile, visible in the twilight only as a shade, like a man caught between the living world and the dead." I do not know where to go. I believe I have found an account written by St. Thecla herself in which she describes the flaying and redemption of the blessed Daisan, just as it is said to have happened in this poisonous heresy."

"A forgery." But she could barely force the words out. That such a statement should come from Hugh, of all people, set her completely off-balance. She was either a fool, or he was a consummate actor, but he seemed to her eyes, and to her instincts, to be truly distraught.

"I have labored to prove exactly that, but I fear- "Make way for King Henry!"

Soldiers raced to stand at attention in the s.p.a.cious forecourt. Cries of acclaim rose from the city below as the king and his retinue neared the gate.

"This is unexpected." She had to yell to be heard over the clamor.

"Come." He drew her forward by the arm.

Queen Adelheid appeared, framed by the huge bronze doors that opened onto the entryway of the great hall, just as the first hors.e.m.e.n rode into the forecourt. They bore the banners of Henry and Adelheid. Behind them came the king himself and his Closest companions: Duke Burchard of Avaria, d.u.c.h.ess Liutgard of Fesse, Margrave Villam, several Aostan n.o.bles, and of course his stalwart Eagle, Hathui. No man there, nor woman either, outshone Henry. He was hale and healthy, not one bit the worse for the wear after a summer campaigning in Aosta's brutal heat. He dismounted, handed his reins to a groom, and hurried to greet Adelheid. But even as he led his entourage into the hall, he spotted Rosvita.

"My good counselor!" Thus summoned, she cut a path through the crowd to his side, Hugh trailing modestly behind her." Come, Sister, you will sit at my left hand while we eat."

Supper was laid at the feasting tables, nothing magnificent, but sufficient for soldiers ridden in from the field. Adelheid sat at Henry's right hand in splendid robes she had somehow contrived to be wearing-as though she had known he was coming. Maybe CHILD or FLAME she had. The king could have sent a courier, but if he had, then why, Rosvita wondered as she took her place at the king's side, had she and the schola not heard the tidings?

Had Hugh stopped her on the portico so she could witness the king's arrival and understand that she had less power than he had, in his graceful speech, claimed for her?

Nay, she chided herself, you are grown too suspicious.

A steward brought a basin of water and a cloth so that Henry could wipe the dust of the road off his hands and face. Servants hurried in with a clear broth, followed by roasted game hens basted in mint sauce. When the first bite of hunger had been calmed, Adelheid rose with cup in hand." Let there be an accounting of the summer's victories!" she cried, to general acclaim.

Hathui recited a clear if undramatic account of the army's successes: three packs of Jinna bandits put to the sword; seven sieges brought to a peaceful conclusion, although Lord Gezo was still holding out in Navlia; emissaries from Arethousan potentates who were not eager to fight the Wendish king's army despite the fact that they were usurping lands in the south that belonged to the Aostan royal family; feasts and triumphal parades through a host of towns in central Aosta.

Henry remained somber throughout this recitation, and he left the feast early, taking a small coterie with him as he walked to his private apartments. They stopped to view the sleeping princess. As Henry leaned over Mathilda's bed, admiring how much she'd grown, Rosvita bent close to speak softly in his ear.

"I sense that all is not as you wish, Your Majesty. Be sure that I am ready to listen, should you desire a counselor's ear."

He stroked Mathilda's downy soft brown hair. The baby stirred, slipped her thumb in her mouth, and with a snort fell back to sleep." Aosta is a thornbush, and the news from Wendar has not cheered my heart. Was I mistaken to leave Theophanu as .regent?"

"You could not have known the Quman would invade, Your Majesty."