Domes of Fire Part 31

'He was brilliant, your Majesty,' Oscagne said enthusiastically. 'He said some things to the Styrics that have needed saying for a long, long time.'

'I have certain advantages, your Excellency,' Stragen smiled. 'My character's so questionable that n.o.body expects me to be polite. '

'Actually, you're exquisitely courteous,' Bevier disagreed.

'I know, Sir Bevier, but people don't expect it of me, so they can't bring themselves to believe it.'

Both Sephrenia and Zalasta had icy, offended expressions on their faces that evening. 'I wasn't trying to be personally insulting,' Stragen a.s.sured them. 'I've heard any number of enlightened people say exactly the same thing. We sympathise with Styrics, but we find these interminable seizures of self-pity tedious.'

'You said many things that simply aren't true, you know,' Sephrenia accused him.

'Of course I did. It was a political speech, little mother. n.o.body expects a politician to tell the truth.'

'You were really gambling, Milord Stragen,' Zalasta said critically. 'I nearly swallowed my tongue when you told them that the Elenes and the Tamuls were offering an alliance simply out of courtesy. When you told them that you didn't really need them, they might very well have decided to sit the whole affair out.'

'Not when he was holding all the rest of Styric.u.m hostage, learned one,' Oscagne disagreed. 'It was a brilliant political speech. That not-so-subtle hint of the possibility of a new wave of Elene atrocities didn't really leave the Thousand any choice in the matter. What was the general reaction?'

'About what you'd expect, your Excellency,' Zalasta replied. 'Milord Stragen cut the ground out from under the Styric tradition of self-pity. It's very hard to play the martyr when you've just been told that it makes you look like a silly a.s.s. There's a fit of towering resentment brewing among the Thousand. We Styrics are terribly fond of feeling sorry for ourselves, and that's been ruined now. No one ever really considered joining with the enemy-even if we knew who he was-but Stragen effectively bludgeoned us into going even further. Neutrality's out of the question now, since the Elene peasants would come to view neutrality as very nearly the same thing as actually joining with our unknown opponent. The Thousand will a.s.sist you, your Excellency. They'll do all they can do if only to protect our brothers and sisters in Eosia.'

'You've put in a full day's work, Stragen,' Kalten said admiringly. 'We could have been here for a month trying to persuade the Styrics that it was in their best interests to join us.'

'My day isn't finished yet,' Stragen told him, 'and the next group I have to try to persuade is much more hard-headed.'

'Might I be of some a.s.sistance?' Zalasta offered.

'I really rather doubt it, learned one. As soon as it gets dark, Talen and I have to pay a visit to the thieves of Sarsos.'

'There are no thieves in Sarsos, Stragen!'

Stragen and Talen looked at each other, and then they burst out with howls of cynical laughter.

'I just don't trust him, Sparhawk,' Ehlana said later that night when they were in bed. 'There's something about him that just doesn't ring true.'

'I think it's his accent, love. I felt the same way until I realised that while his Elene is perfect, his accent puts emphasis on the wrong words. Styric and Elene flow differently. Don't worry, though, Sephrenia would know if Zalasta weren't to be trusted. She's known him for a long, long time.'

'I still don't like him,' she insisted. 'He's so oily he gleams when the light hits him just right.' She raised one hand. 'And don't try to shrug it off as prejudice. I'm looking at Zalasta as a human being, not as a Styric. I just don't trust him.'

'That should pa.s.s after we get to know him better.'

There was a knock at the door. 'Are you busy?' Mirtai called.

'What would we be doing at this hour?' Ehlana called back impishly.

'Do you really want me to tell you, Ehlana? Talen's here. He has something you might want to know.'

'Send him in,' Sparhawk told her. The door opened, and Talen came into the circle of light of their single candle. 'It's just like old times, Sparhawk.'

'How so?'

'Stragen and I were coming back from our meeting with the thieves, and we saw Krager in the street. Can you believe that? It was good to see him again. I was actually starting to miss him.'

Chapter 18.

'We simply don't have the time, Sparhawk,' Sephrenia said calmly.

'I'll take time, little mother,' he replied bleakly. 'It shouldn't take me too long. I'll stay here with Stragen, and we'll chase him down. Krager's not a Styric, so he shouldn't be hard to find. We can catch up with you after we've caught him and wrung every drop of information out of him. I'll squeeze him so hard that his hair will bleed.'

'And who's going to see to mother's safety while you're amusing yourself here, father?' Danae asked him.

'She's surrounded by an army, Danae.'

'You're her champion, father. Is that just some hollow t.i.tle you can lay aside when something more amusing than protecting her life comes up?'

Sparhawk stared helplessly at his daughter. Then he slammed his fist against the wall in frustration.

'You'll break your hand,' Sephrenia murmured.

They were in the kitchen. Sparhawk had risen early and gone looking for his tutor to advise her of Talen's discovery and of his own plans to make Krager answer for a long, long list of transgressions. Danae's presence was really not all that surprising.

'Why didn't you rack him to death when you had your hands on him in Chyrellos, dear one?' Sephrenia asked calmly.

'Sephrenia!' Sparhawk was more startled by the coldblooded way she said it than by the suggestion itself.

'Well, you should have, Sparhawk. Then he wouldn't keep coming back to haunt us like this. You know what Ulath always says. Never leave a live enemy behind you.'

'You're starting to sound like an Elene, little mother.'

'Are you trying to be insulting?'

'Did banging your hand like that bring you to your senses, father?' Danae asked.

He sighed regretfully. 'You're right, of course,' he admitted. 'I guess I got carried away. Krager's continued existence offends me for some reason. He's a loose end with bits and pieces of Martel still hanging from him. I'd sort of like to tidy that part of my life up.'

'Can you really make somebody's hair bleed?' his daughter asked him.

'I'm not really sure. After I finally catch up with Krager, I'll let you know.' He nursed his sore knuckles. 'I guess we really should get on to Matherion. Sephrenia, just how healthy is Vanion, really?'

'Would you like a personal testimonial?' she asked him archly.

'That's none of my business, little mother. All I'm really asking is whether or not he's fit to travel.'

'Oh, yes,' she smiled. 'More than fit.'

'Good. I'll be delighted to hand the rewards and satisfactions of leadership back to him.'

'No. Absolutely not.'

'I beg your pardon?'

'Vanion carried that burden for too many years. That's what made him sick in the first place. You might as well accept the fact that you're the Pandion Preceptor now, Sparhawk. He'll advise you, certainly, but you get to make all the decisions. I'm not going to let you kill him.'

Then you'll both be able to come with us to Matherion?'

'Of course they will, Sparhawk,' Danae told him. 'We decided that a long time ago.'

'It would have been nice if somebody'd thought to tell me about it.'

'Why? you don't have to know everything, father. Just do as we tell you to do.'

'What on earth ever possessed you to take up with this one, Sephrenia?' Sparhawk asked. 'Wasn't there any other G.o.d available-one of the Troll-G.o.ds maybe?'

'Sparhawk.' Danae gasped. He grinned at her.

'Zalasta will be coming with us as well,' Sephrenia said. 'He's been summoned back to Matherion anyway, and we really need his help.'

Sparhawk frowned. 'That might cause some problems, little mother. Ehlana doesn't trust him.'

'That's absolutely absurd, Sparhawk. I've known Zalasta all my life. I honestly think he'd die if I asked him to.'

'Has mother given you any reason for these suspicions?' Danae asked intently.

'Hate at first sight, maybe,' Sparhawk shrugged. 'His reputation as the wisest man in the world probably didn't help matters. She was probably predisposed to dislike him even before she met him.'

'And of course he's Styric.' There was a brittle edge to Sephrenia's voice.

'You know Ehlana better than that, Sephrenia. I think it's time we got you out of Sarsos. Some of the local opinions are starting to cloud your thinking.'

'Really?' Her tone was dangerous.

'It's very easy to dismiss any sort of animosity as simple prejudice, and that's the worst form of sloppy thinking. There are other reasons for disliking people too, you know. Do you remember Sir Antae?' She nodded. 'I absolutely hated that man.'

'Antae? I thought he was your friend.'

'I couldn't stand him. My hands started to shake every time he came near me. Would you believe I was actually happy when Martel killed him?'

'Sparhawk.'

'You don't need to share that with Vanion, little mother. I'm not very proud of it. What I'm trying to say is that people sometimes hate us for personal reasons that have nothing at all to do with our race or cla.s.s or anything else. Ehlana probably dislikes Zalasta just because she dislikes him. Maybe she doesn't like the way his eyebrows jut out. You should always consider the simplest explanation before you go looking for something exotic.'

'Is there anything else about me you'd like to change, Sir Knight?'

He looked her up and down gravely. 'You're really very small, you know. Have you ever considered growing just a bit?'

She almost retorted, but then she suddenly laughed. 'You can be the most disarming man in the world, Sparhawk.'

'I know. That's why people love me so much.'

'Now do you see why I'm so fond of these great Elene oafs?' Sephrenia said lightly to her sister.

'Of course,' Aphrael replied. 'It's because they're like big, clumsy puppies.' Her dark eyes grew serious. 'Not too many people know who I really am,' she mused. 'You two and Vanion are about the only ones who recognise me in this incarnation. I think it might be a good idea if we kept it that way. Our enemy-whoever he is-might make a slip or two if he doesn't know I'm around.'

'You'll want to tell Zalasta though, won't you?' Sephrenia asked her.

'Not yet, I don't think. He doesn't really need to know, so let's just keep it to ourselves. When you trust someone, you're putting yourself in the position of also trusting everybody he trusts, and sometimes that includes people you don't even know. I'd rather not do that just yet.'

'She's growing very skilled at logic,' Sparhawk observed.

'I know,' Sephrenia sighed. 'She's fallen in with evil companions, I'm afraid.'

They left Sarsos later that morning, riding out through the east gate to be joined by the Church Knights, the Peloi and Engessa's two legions of Atans. The day was fair and warm, and the sky intensely blue. The newly-risen sun stood above the range of jagged, snow-capped peaks lying to the east. The peaks reared upward, and their soaring flanks were wrapped in the deep blue shadows of morning. The country lying ahead looked wild and rugged. Engessa was striding along beside Sparhawk, and his bronze face had a somewhat softer expression than it normally wore. He gestured toward the peaks.

'Atan, Sparhawk-Knight,' he said, 'my homeland.'

'A significant-looking country, Atan Engessa,' Sparhawk approved. 'How long have you been away?'

'Fifteen years.'

'That's a long exile.'

'It is indeed, Sparhawk-Knight.' Engessa glanced back at the carriage rolling along behind them. Zalasta had supplanted Stragen, and Mirtai, her face serene, sat holding Danae on her lap. 'We know each other, do we not, Sparhawk-Knight?' the Atan said.

'I'd say so,' Sparhawk agreed. 'Our people have many different customs, but we seem to have stepped around most of those.'

Engessa smiled slightly. 'You conducted yourself wel during our discussions concerning Atana Mirtai and Domi Kring.'

'Reasonable men can usually find reasons to get along with each other.'

'Elenes set great store in reason, do they not?'

'It's one of our quirks, I suppose.'

'I'll explain something about one of our customs to you, Sparhawk-Knight. I may not say it too clearly, because I am clumsy in your language. I'll rely on you to explain it to the others.'

'I'll do my very best, Atan Engessa.'

'Atana Mirtai will go through the Rite of Pa.s.sage while she is in Atan.'

'I was fairly sure she would.'

'It is the custom of our people for the child to relive the memories of childhood before the rite, and it is important for her family to be present while that is done. I have spoken with Atana Mirtai, and her childhood was not happy. Many of her memories will be painful, and she will need those who love her near while she sets them aside. Will you tell Ehlana-Queen and the others what is happening?'

'I will, Engessa-Atan.'