Domes of Fire Part 12

'I hope no one saw you coming up here. I don't think the world's ready for a flying princess just yet.'

'No one saw me, Sparhawk. I've done this before, you know. Trust me.'

'Do I have any choice? Let's get to work. I've still got a lot left to do today if we're going to leave tomorrow morning.'

She nodded and sat cross-legged near one of the huge bells. She lifted her face again and raised that flute-like trill. Then her voice drifted off, and her face went blank.

'Where have you been?' Sephrenia asked, opening Danae's eyes to stare at her pupil.'

He sighed. 'If you two don't stop that, I'm going to go into another line of work.'

'Has Aphrael been teasing you again?' she asked.

'Of course she has. Did you know that she can fly?'

'I've never seen her do it, but I'd a.s.sumed she could.'

'What did you want to see me about?'

'I've been hearing disturbing rumours. The northern Atans have been seeing some very large, s.h.a.ggy creatures in the forests near their north coast.'

'So that's where they went.'

'Don't be cryptic, dear one.'

'Komier sent word to Ulath. It seems that the Trolls have all left Thalesia.'

'The Trolls!' she exclaimed. 'They wouldn't do that! Thalesia's their ancestral home.'

'Maybe you'd better go tell the Trolls about that. Komier swears that there's not a single one of them left in Thalesia.'

'Something very, very strange is going on here, Sparhawk.'

'Amba.s.sador Oscagne said more or less the same thing. Can the Styrics there at Sarsos make any sense out of it yet?'

'No. Zalasta's at his wits' end.'

'Have you come up with any idea at all of who's behind it?'

'Sparhawk, we don't even know what's behind it. We can't even make a guess about the species of whatever it is.'

'We sort of keep coming back to the idea that it's the Troll-G.o.ds again. Something had to have enough authority over the Trolls to command them to leave Thalesia, and that points directly at the Troll G.o.ds. Are we absolutely sure that they haven't managed to get loose?'

'It's not a good idea to discount any possibility when you're dealing with G.o.ds, Sparhawk. I don't know the spell Ghwerig used when he put them inside the Bh.e.l.liom, so I don't know if it can be broken.'

'Then it is possible.'

That's what I just said, dear one. Have you seen that shadow-or the cloud-lately?'

'No.'

'Has Aphrael ever seen it?'

'No.'

'She could tell you, but I'd rather not have her exposed to whatever it is. Perhaps we can come up with a way to lure it out when you get here so that I can take a look at it. When are you leaving?'

'First thing tomorrow morning. Danae sort of told me that she can play with time the way she did when we were marching to Acie with Wargun's army. That would get us there faster, but can she do it as undetectably now as she did when she was Flute?'

The bell behind the motionless form of his daughter gave a deep, soft-toned sound. 'Why don't you ask me, Sparhawk?' Danae's voice hummed in the bell-sound. 'It's not as if I weren't here, you know.'

'How was I supposed to know that?' He waited. 'Well?' he asked the still-humming bell. 'Can you?'

'Well, of course I can, Sparhawk.' The Child G.o.ddess sounded irritated. 'Don't you know anything?'

'That will do,' Sephrenia chided.

'He's such a lump.'

'Aphrael. I said that will do. You will not be disrespectful to your father.' A faint smile touched the lips of the apparently somnolent little princess. 'Even if he is a hopeless lump.'

'If you two want to discuss my failings, I'll go back downstairs so you can speak freely,' Sparhawk told them.

'No, that's all right, Sparhawk,' Aphrael said lightly. 'We're all friends, so we shouldn't have any secrets from each other.'

They left Chyrellos the following morning and rode south on the Arcian side of the Sarin river in bright morning suns.h.i.+ne with one hundred Church Knights in full armour riding escort. The gra.s.s along the riverbank was very green, and the blue sky was dotted with fluffy white clouds. After some discussion, Sparhawk and Ehlana had decided that the attendants she would need for the sake of appearances could be drawn for the most part from the ranks of the Church Knights.

'Stragen can coach them,' Sparhawk had told his wife. 'He's had a certain amount of experience, so he can make honest knights look like useless b.u.t.terflies.'

It had been necessary, however, to include one lady-in-waiting, Baroness Melidere, a young woman of Ehlana's own age with honey-blonde hair, deep blue eyes and an apparently empty head. Ehlana also took along a personal maid, a doe-eyed girl named Alcan. The two of them rode in the carriage with the Queen, Mirtai, Danae and Stragen, who, dressed in his elegant best, kept them amused with light banter. Sparhawk reasoned that between them, Stragen and Mirtai could provide his wife and daughter with a fairly significant defence if the occasion arose. Patriarch Emban was going to be a problem. Sparhawk could see that after they had gone no more than a few miles. Emban was not comfortable on a horse, and he filled the air with complaints as he rode.

'That isn't going to work, you know,' Kalten observed about mid-morning. 'Churchman or not, if the knights have to listen to Emban feel sorry for himself all the way across the Daresian continent, he's likely to have some kind of an accident before we get to Matherion. I'm ready to drown him right now myself, and the river's very handy.'

Sparhawk thought about it. He looked at the queen's carriage. 'That landau's not quite big enough,' he told his friend. 'I think we need something grander. Six horses are more impressive than four anyway. See if you can find Bevier.'

When the olive-skinned Arcian rode forward, Sparhawk explained the situation. 'If we don't get Emban off that horse, it's going to take us a year to cross Daresia. Are you still on speaking terms with your cousin Lycien?'

'Of course. We're the best of friends.'

'Why don't you ride on ahead and have a chat with him? We need a large carriage-roomy enough for eight, with six horses probably. We'll put Emban and Amba.s.sador Oscagne in the carriage with my wife and her entourage. Ask your cousin to locate one for us.'

'That might be expensive, Sparhawk,' Bevier said dubiously.

'That's all right, Bevier. The Church will pay for it. After a week on horseback, Emban should be willing to sign for anything that doesn't wear a saddle. Oh, as long as you're going there anyway, have our s.h.i.+ps moved upriver to Lycien's docks. Madel's not so attractive a city that any of us would enjoy a stay there all that much, and Lycien's docks are more conveniently arranged.'

'Do we need anything else, Sparhawk?' Bevier asked.

'Not that I can think of. Feel free to improvise, though. Add anything you can think of on your way to Madel. For once, we have a more or less unlimited budget at our disposal. The coffers of the Church are wide open to us.'

'I wouldn't tell that to Stragen or Talen, my friend,' Bevier laughed. 'I'll be at Lycien's house. I'll see you when you get there.' He wheeled his horse and rode south at a gallop.

'Why didn't you just have him pick up another carriage for Emban and Oscagne?' Kalten asked.

'Because I don't want to have to defend two when we get to Tamuli.'

'Oh. That makes sense-sort of.'

They arrived at the house of Sir Bevier's cousin the Marquis Lycien, late one afternoon, and met Bevier and his stout, florid-faced kinsman in the gravelled court in front of Lycien's opulent home. The Marquis bowed deeply to the Queen of Elenia and insisted that she accept his hospitality during her stay in Madel. Kalten dispersed the knights in Lycien's park-like grounds.

'Did you find a carriage?' Sparhawk asked Bevier.

Bevier nodded. 'It's large enough for our purposes,' he said a bit dubiously, 'but the cost of it may turn Patriarch Emban's hair white.'

'I wouldn't be too sure,' Sparhawk said. 'Let's ask him.' They crossed the gravelled court to where the Patriarch of Ucera stood beside his horse, clinging to his saddle-horn with a look of profound misery on his face.

'Pleasant little ride, wasn't it, your Grace?' Sparhawk asked the fat man brightly.

Emban groaned. 'I don't think I'll be able to walk for a week.'

'Of course we were only strolling,' Sparhawk continued. 'We'll have to move along much faster when we get to Tamuli.' He paused. 'May I speak frankly, your Grace?'

'You will anyway, Sparhawk,' Emban said sourly. 'Would you really pay any attention to me if I objected?'

'Probably not. You're slowing us down, you know.'

'Well, excuse me.'

'You're not really built for horseback riding, Patriarch Emban. Your talent's in your head, not your backside.

Emban's eyes narrowed with hostility. 'Go on,' he said in an ominous tone of voice.

'Since we're in a hurry, we've decided to put wheels under you. Would you be more comfortable in a cus.h.i.+oned carriage; your Grace?'

'Sparhawk, I could kiss you!'

'I'm a married man, your Grace. My wife might misunderstand. For security reasons, one carriage is far better than two, so I've taken the liberty of locating one that's somewhat larger than the one Ehlana rode down from Chyrellos. You wouldn't mind riding with her, would you? We thought we'd put you and Amba.s.sador Oscagne in the carriage with my queen and her attendants. Would that be satisfactory?'

'Did you want me to kiss the ground you're standing on, Sparhawk?'

'Oh, that won't be necessary, your Grace. All you really have to do is sign the authorisation for the carriage. This is urgent Church business, after all, so the purchase of the carriage is fully justified, wouldn't you say?'

'Where do I sign?' Emban's expression was eager.

'A carriage that large is expensive, your Grace, Sparhawk warned him.

'I'd p.a.w.n the Basilica itself if it'd keep me out of that saddle.'

'You see?' Sparhawk said to Bevier as they walked away. 'That wasn't hard at all, was it?'

'How did you know he'd agree so quickly?'

'Timing, Bevier, timing. Later on, he might have objected to the price. You need to ask that sort of question while the man you're asking is still in pain.'

'You're a cruel fellow, Sparhawk,' Bevier laughed.

'All sorts of people have said that to me from time to time,' Sparhawk replied blandly.

'My people will finish loading the supplies for your voyage today, Sparhawk,' Marquis Lycien said as they rode toward the riverside village and its wharves on the edge of his estate. 'You'll be able to sail with the morning tide.

'You're a true friend, my lord,' Sparhawk told him. 'You're always here when we need you.'

'You're exaggerating my benevolence, Sir Sparhawk,' Lycien laughed. 'I'm making a very handsome profit by outfitting your vessels.'

'I like to see friends get on in the world.'

Lycien looked back over his shoulder at the Queen of Elenia, who rode a grey palfrey some distance to the rear. 'You're the luckiest man in the world, Sparhawk,' he observed. 'Your wife is the most beautiful woman I've ever seen.'

'I'll tell her you said that, Marquis Lycien. I'm sure she'll be pleased.'

Ehlana and Emban had decided to accompany them as they rode down to the Marquis' enclave on the river, Ehlana to inspect the accommodations aboard s.h.i.+p, and Emban to have a look at the carriage he had just purchased. The flotilla moored to Lycien's wharves consisted of a dozen large, well-fitted vessels, s.h.i.+ps which made the merchantmen moored nearby look scruffy by comparison. Lycien led the way through the village which had grown up around the wharves toward the river, which sparkled in the morning sun.

'Master Cluff!' the voice was not unlike a fog-horn.

Sparhawk turned in his saddle. 'Well strike me down if it isn't Captain Sorgi!' he said with genuine pleasure. He liked the blunt, silvery-haired sea captain with whom he had spent so many hours. He swung down from Faran's back and warmly clasped his friend's hand.

'I haven't seen you in a dog's age, Master Cluff,' Sorgi said expansively. 'Are you still running from those cousins?'

Sparhawk pulled a long face and sighed mournfully. It was just too good an opportunity to pa.s.s up. 'No,' he replied in a 'broken voice, 'not any more, I'm afraid. I made the mistake of staying in an ale-house in Apalia up in northern Pelosia for one last tankard. The cousins caught up with me there.'

'Were you able to escape?' Sorgi's face mirrored his concern.

'There were a dozen of them, Captain, and they were on me before I could even move. They clapped me in irons and took me to the estate of the ugly heiress I told you about.'

'They didn't force you to marry her, did they?' Sorgi asked, sounding shocked.

'I'm afraid so, my friend,' Sparhawk said in a tragic voice. 'That's my wife on that grey horse there.' He pointed at the radiant Queen of Elenia. Captain Sorgi stared, his eyes growing wider and his mouth gaping open. 'Horrible, isn't it?' Sparhawk said with a brokenhearted catch in his voice.

Chapter 8.

Baroness Melidere was a pretty girl with hair the colour of honey and eyes as blue as a summer sky. She did not have a brain in her head-at least that was what she wanted people to believe. In actuality, the Baroness was probably more clever than most of the people in Ehlana's court, but she had learned early in life that people with limited intelligence feel threatened by pretty, clever young women, and she had perfected a vapid, empty-headed smile, a look of blank incomprehension and a silly giggle. She erected these defenses as the situation required and kept her own counsel. Queen Ehlana saw through the subterfuge and even encouraged it.

Melidere was very observant and had excellent hearing. People tend not to pay much attention to brainless girls, and they say things in their presence they might not ordinarily say. Melidere always reported these conversational lapses back to the queen, and so Ehlana found the Baroness useful to have around. Melidere, however, drove Stragen absolutely wild. He knew with complete certainty that she could not be as stupid as she appeared, but he could never catch her off guard.