Domes of Fire Part 50

'I'm afraid we won't find that out until tomorrow night,' Khalad conceded. 'I disabled about six hundred of those things. If twelve hundred crossbowmen come into the palace grounds we'll know that half of their weapons are going to work. We'll have to take cover at that point. You there!' he shouted suddenly, looking upward. 'Drape that bunting! Don't stretch it tight that way.' He shook his fist at the workman leaning precariously out of a window high up in one of the towers.

Although he was obviously quite young, the scholar Bevier escorted into Ehlana's presence was almost totally bald. He was very nervous, but his eyes had that burning glaze to them that announced him to be a fanatic. He prostrated himself before Ehlana's thronelike chair and banged his forehead on the floor.

'Don't do that, man,' Ulath rumbled at him. 'It offends the queen. Besides, you'll crack the floor tiles.'

The scholar scrambled to his feet, his eyes fearful. 'This is Emuda,' Bevier introduced him. 'He's the scholar I told you about-the one with the interesting theory about Scarpa of Arjuna.'

'Oh, yes,' Ehlana said in Tamul. 'Welcome, Master Emuda. Sir Bevier has spoken highly of you.'

Actually, Bevier had not, but a queen is allowed to take certain liberties with the truth. Emuda gave her a fawning sort of look. Sparhawk moved in quickly to cut off a lengthy, rambling preamble.

'Correct me if I'm wrong about this, Master Emuda,' he said, but our understanding of your theory is that you think that Scarpa's behind all these disturbances in Tamuli.'

'That's a slight over-simplification, Sir?' Emuda looked inquiringly at the tall Pandion Knight.

'Sparhawk,' Ulath supplied. Emuda's face went white, and he began to tremble violently.

'I'm a simple sort of man, neighbour,' Sparhawk told him. 'Please don't confuse me with complications. What sort of evidence do you have that lays everything at Scarpa's door?'

'It's quite involved, Sir Sparhawk,' Emuda apologised.

'Un-involve it. Summarise, man. I'm busy.'

Emuda swallowed very hard. 'Well, uh-' he faltered. 'We know-that is, we're fairly certain-that Scarpa was the first of the spokesmen for these so-called "heroes from the past."'

'Why do you say 'so-called', Master Emuda?' Tynian asked him. Sir Tynian still had his right arm in a sling.

'Isn't it obvious, Sir Knight?' Emuda's tone was just slightly condescending. 'The notion of resurrecting the dead is an absurdity. It's all quite obviously a hoax. Some henchman is dressed in ancient clothing, appears in a flash of light-which any country-fair charlatan can contrive-and then starts babbling gibberish, which the "spokesman" identifies as an ancient language. Yes, it's clearly a hoax.'

'How clever of you to have unmasked it,' Sephrenia murmured. 'We all thought it was magic of some kind.'

'There's no such thing as magic, madame.'

'Really?' she replied mildly. 'What an amazing thing.'

'I'd stake my reputation on that.'

'How courageous of you.'

'You say that Scarpa was the first of these revolutionaries to appear?' Vanion asked him.

'By more than a year, Sir Knight. The first reports of his activities began to appear in diplomatic dispatches from the capital at Arjuna just over four years ago. The next to emerge was Baron Parok of Daconia, and I have a sworn statement from a s.h.i.+p-captain that Scarpa sailed from Kaftal in southwestern Arjuna to Alar in Daconia. Alar is Baron Parok's home, and he began his activities about three years ago. The connection is obvious.'

'It would seem so, wouldn't it?' Sparhawk mused.

'From Alar I have doc.u.mented evidence of the travels of the two. Parok went into Edam, where he actually stayed in the home town of Rebal-that connection gave me a bit of trouble, since Rebal isn't using his real name. We've identified his home district, though, and the town Parok visited is the district capital. I think I'm safe in a.s.suming that a meeting took' place during Parok's visit. While Parok was in Edam, Scarpa travelled all the way up into Astel. I can't exactly pinpoint his travels there, but I know he moved around quite a bit just to the north of the marches on the Edomish-Astellian border, and that's the region where Sabre makes his headquarters. The disturbances in Edam and Astel began some time after Scarpa and Parok had journeyed into those kingdoms. The evidence of connection between the four men is all very conclusive.'

'What about these reports of supernatural events?' Tynian asked.

'More hoaxes, Sir Knight.' Emuda's expression was offensively superior. 'Pure charlatanism. You may have noticed that they always occur out in the countryside where the only witnesses are superst.i.tious peasants and ignorant serfs. Civilised people would not be fooled by such obvious trickery.'

'I wondered about that,' Sparhawk said. 'Are you sure about this timetable of yours? Scarpa was the first to start stirring things up?'

'Definitely, Sir Sparhawk.'

'Then he contacted the others and enlisted them? Perhaps a year and a half later?' Emuda nodded. 'Where did he go when he left Astel after recruiting Sabre?'

'I've lost track of him for a time there, Sir Sparhawk. He went into the Elene Kingdoms of Western Tamuli about two and a half years ago and didn't return to Arjuna until eight or ten months later. I have no idea of where he was during that interim. Oh, one other thing. The so-called vampires began to appear in Arjuna at almost precisely the same time that Scarpa began telling the Arjuni that he'd been in contact with Sheguan, their national hero. The traditional monsters of the other kingdoms also put in their appearance at the same time these other revolutionaries began their campaigns. Believe me, your Majesty,' he said earnestly to Ehlana, if you're looking for a ringleader, Scarpa's your man.'

'We thank you for this information, Master Emuda, she said sweetly. 'Would you please provide Sir Bevier with your supporting data and describe your findings to him in greater detail? Pressing affairs necessarily limit the time we can spend with you, fascinating though we find your conclusions.'

'I shall be happy to share the entire body of my research with Sir Bevier, your Majesty.' Bevier rolled his eyes ceilingward and sighed. They watched the enthusiast lead poor Bevier from the room.

'I'd hate to have to take that case into any court-civil or ecclesiastical,' Emban snorted.

'It is a bit thin, isn't it?' Stragen agreed.

'The only thing that makes me pay any attention to him at all is that timetable of his,' Sparhawk said. 'Dolmant sent me to Lamorkand late last winter to look into the activities of Count Gerrich. While I was there, I heard all the wild stories about Drychnath. It seems that our prehistoric Lamork started making appearances at a time that coincides almost exactly with the period when our scholarly friend lost track of Scarpa. Emuda's such a complete a.s.s that I sort of hate to admit it, but he may just have hit upon the right answer.'

'But it's for all the wrong reasons, Sparhawk,' Emban objected.

'I'm only interested in his answers, your Grace,' Sparhawk replied. 'As long as they're the right answers I don't care how he got them.'

'It's just too risky to do it any earlier, Sparhawk,' Stragen said later that day.

'You two are taking a lot of chances,' Sparhawk objected.

'It's a hull lot more chancy t' start out earlier, Sparhawk,' Caalador drawled. 'If'n we want t' grab th' leaders sooner, them oz is left could gist call it all off, an' all these traps o' ourn wouldn't ketch no rabbits. We gotta wait 'till they open that warehouse an' start pa.s.sin' out them there weepons.'

Sparhawk winced. 'Weepons?'

'The word wouldn't appear in that particular dialect,' Caalador shrugged. 'I had to countrify it up-just for the sake of consistency.'

'You switch back and forth like a frog on a hot rock, my friend.'

'I know. Infuriating, isn't it? It goes like this, Sparhawk. If we pick up the conspirators any time before they start arming the mob, they'll be able to suspend operations and go to ground. They'll wait, reorganise and then pick another day-which it is that we won't know nuthin' about. On the other hand, once they pa.s.s out the weapons, it'll be too late. There'll be thousands in the streets-most of them about half-drunk. Our friends in the upper councils could no more stop them than stop the tide. The sheer momentum of this attempted coup will be working for us instead of for our shadowy friends.'

'They can still go to ground and just feed the mob to the wolves, you know.'

Caalador shook his head. 'Tamul justice is a bit abrupt, and an attack on the emperor is going to be viewed as the worst sort of bad manners. Several hundred people are going to be sent to the headsman's block. Recruitment after that will be virtually impossible. They have no choice. Once they start, they have to follow through.'

'You're talking about some very delicate timing, you know.'

'Ain, that's easy tuk care of, Sparhawk,' Caalador grinned. 'There's this yore temple right smack dab in the middle o' town. It's more'n likely all fulla cobwebs an' dust, on accounta our little yolla brothers don't take then religion none too serious-like. There's these yore priests oz sits around in there, drinkin' an' carousin' an' sick. When they gits themselves all beered-up an' boistrous-like, they usual decides t' hold services. They got this yore bell, which it is oz must weigh along 'bout twenty ton 'er so. One o' them there drunk priests, he wobbles over t' that there bell an' he takes up this yore sledge-hammer an' he whacks the bell a couple licks with it. Makes the awfullest sound you ever did hear. Sailors bin known t' hear it 'bout ten leagues out t' sea. Now, there ain't no special time set fer when they goes t' whackin' on that there bell. Folks here in Matherion don't pay no attention t' it, figgerin' that it's gist the priests enjoyin' themselves.'

Even Caalador could apparently tire of the exaggerated dialect. 'That's the beauty of it, Sparhawk,' he said, lapsing into normal speech. 'The sound of that bell is random, and n.o.body takes any special note of it. Tomorrow night, though, it's going to be profoundly significant. As soon as that warehouse opens, the bell's going to peal out its message of hope and joy. The murderers sitting almost in the laps of the people we want to talk with will take that as their orders to move. We'll have the whole lot rounded up in under a minute.'

'What if they try to resist?'

'Oh, there'll be some losses,' Caalador shrugged. 'You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs. There are several dozen people we want to pick up, so we can afford to lose a few.'

'The sound of the bell will also alert you, Sparhawk,' Stragen pointed out. 'When you hear it start ringing, you'll know that it's time to move your wife's party inside.'

'But you can't do this, your Majesty.' the minister of the interior protested shrilly the next morning as tons of water began to gush into the moat from the throats of the huge pipes strewn across the lawn of the imperial compound.

'Oh?' Ehlana asked innocently. 'And why is that, Minister Kolata?'

'Uh, well, uh, there's no sub-foundation under the moat, your Majesty. The water will just sink into the ground.'

'Oh, that's all right, Minister Kolata. It's only for one night. I'm sure the moat will stay full enough until after the party.' Kolata stared with chagrin at a sudden fountain-like eruption of air and muddy water out in the centre of the moat. 'My goodness,' Ehlana said mildly, looking at the sudden whirlpool funnelling down where the eruption had taken place. 'There must have been an old abandoned cellar under there.' She laughed a silvery little laugh. 'I'd imagine that the rats who lived in there were very surprised, wouldn't you agree, your Excellency?'

Kolata looked a bit sick. 'Uh, would you excuse me, your Majesty?' he said, and he turned to hurry across the lawn without waiting for a reply.

'Don't let him get away, Sparhawk,' Ehlana said coolly. 'I strongly suspect that Lord Vanion's list wasn't as complete as we might have hoped. Why don't you invite the minister of the interior into the castle so that you can show him our other preparations?' She tapped one finger thoughtfully against her chin. 'And you might ask Sir Kalten and Sir Ulath to join you when you get around to showing his Excellency the torture chamber. Emperor Sarabian's excellent minister of the interior might want to add a few names to Vanion's list.'

It was the cool and unruffled way , she said it that chilled Sparhawk's blood the most.

'He's beginning to feel more than a little offended, Sparhawk,' Vanion said soberly as the two of them watched Khalad's workmen 'decorating' the vast gates of the imperial compound. 'He's not stupid, and he knows that we're not telling him everything.'

'It can't be helped, Vanion. He's just too erratic to be let in on all the details.'

'Mercurial might be a more diplomatic term.'

'Whatever. We don't really know him all that well, Vanion, and we're operating in an alien society. For all we know, he keeps a diary and writes everything down. That could be a Tamul custom. It's entirely possible that our whole plan could be available to the chambermaid who makes up his bed every morning.'

'You're speculating, Sparhawk.'

'These ambushes out in the countryside weren't speculation. '

'Surely you don't suspect the emperor.'

'Somebody pa.s.sed the word of our expeditions along to our enemy, Vanion. We can apologise to the emperor after this evening's entertainment is concluded.'

'Oh, that's just too obvious, Sparhawk!' Vanion burst out, pointing at the heavy steel lattice Khalad's workmen were installing on the inside of the gates.

'It won't be visible when they open the gates all the way, Vanion, and Khalad's going to hang bunting on the lattice to conceal it. Did Sephrenia have any luck when she tried to contact Zalasta?'

'No. He must still be too far away.'

'I'd be a lot more comfortable if he were here. If the Troll-G.o.ds put in an appearance tonight, we could be in very serious trouble.'

'Aphrael can deal with them.'

'Not without revealing her true ident.i.ty, she can't, and if that comes out, my wife's going to find out some things I'd rather she didn't know. I'm not so fond of Sarabian that I'm willing to risk Ehlana's sanity just to keep him on his throne.'

The sun crept slowly down the western sky, moving closer and closer to the horizon. Although he knew it to be an absurdity, it seemed to Sparhawk that the blazing orb was plummeting to earth like a shooting star. There were so many details-so many things that had yet to be done. Worse yet, many of those tasks could not even be commenced until after the sun went down and gathering darkness concealed them from the hundreds of eyes that were certainly out there watching.

It was early evening when Kalten finally came to the royal apartment to announce that they had gone as far as they could go until after dark. Sparhawk was relieved to know that at least that much had been completed on time.

'Was the minister of the interior at all forthcoming?' Ehlana asked from her chair near the window, where Alcan and Melidere were involved in the extended process known as doing her hair.

'Oh, yes, your Majesty,' Kalten replied with a broad grin. 'He seems even more eager to talk than your cousin Lycheas was. Ulath can be very persuasive at times. Kolata seemed to be particularly upset by the leeches.'

'Leeches?'

Kalten nodded. 'It was right after Ulath offered to stuff him head-down into a barrelful of leeches that Kolata developed this burning desire to share things with us.'

'Dear G.o.d!' the queen shuddered.

It was the general opinion of all the guests present that evening that the Queen of Elenia's party was absolutely the crowning event of the season. The lanterns illuminating the mother-of-pearl battlements were spectacular, the gay buntings-several thousand yards of very expensive silk-were festive, and the orchestra on the battlements, playing traditional Elene airs rather than the discordant cacophony that pa.s.sed for music in Sarabian's court, lent a pleasantly archaic quality to the entire occasion.

It was the barges moored in the moat, however, that drew the most astonished comment. The idea of dining out of doors had never occurred to the Tamuls, and the notion of floating dining-rooms ablaze with candle-light and draped with brightly-coloured silk bunting was quite beyond the imagination of the average member of the emperor's court. The candles caused the knights no end of concern. The thought of open flame so close to the hidden cargo of the barges was sufficient to make strong men turn pale.

Since the party was taking place around the Elene castle, and the hostess was herself an Elene, the ladies of the Emperor's court had quite nearly exhausted the creative talents of every dressmaker in Matherion in their efforts to 'dress Elene.' The results were not uniformly felicitous, however, since the dressmakers of Matherion were obliged to rely on books for inspiration, and many of the books in the library of the university were several hundred years old and the gowns depicted on their pages were terribly out of fas.h.i.+on.

Ehlana and Melidere were in fas.h.i.+on, however, and they were the absolute centre of attention. Ehlana's gown was of regal blue, and she wore a diamond and ruby-studded tiara nestled in her pale-blonde hair. Mellidere was gowned in lavender. It seemed to be her favourite colour.

Mirtai was defiantly not in fas.h.i.+on. She wore the blue sleeveless gown she had worn at her owner's wedding, and this time, she was visibly armed. Rather surprisingly, Sephrenia also wore an Elene gown-of snowy white, naturally-and Vanion was obviously smitten by her all over again. The knights of the queen's escort wore doublets and hose, much against Sparhawk's better judgement. Their armour, however, was close at hand.

After the members of the imperial court had made their appearance and had begun to circulate on the barges, there was a pause, and then a brazen Elene fanfare.

'I had to offer violence to the musicians to get them to greet the emperor properly,' the elegantly garbed Stragen muttered to Sparhawk.

'Oh?'

'They were very insistent that the emperor should be greeted by that dreadful noise they call music around here. They became much more co-operative after I sliced the smock off one of the trumpeters with my rapier.' Stragen's eyes suddenly widened. 'For G.o.d's sake, man!' he hissed at a servant placing a large platter of steaming beef on one of the tables, 'be careful of those candles!'

'He's a Tamul, Stragen,' Sparhawk pointed out when the servant gave the Thalesian a blank stare. 'You're trying to talk to him in Elenic.'

'Make him be careful, Sparhawk! A single tongue of fire in the wrong place on any of these barges could broil us all alive!'

Then the emperor and his nine wives appeared on the drawbridge and came down the carpeted steps to the first barge. Everyone bowed to the emperor, but no one looked at him. All eyes were locked on the radiantly smiling Empress Elysoun of Valesia.

She had modified the customary Elene costume to accommodate her cultural tastes. Her scarlet gown was really quite lovely, but it had been altered so that those attributes Elene ladies customarily concealed and Valesian ladies flaunted were nestled on two frilly cus.h.i.+ons of snowy lace and were thus entirely, even aggressively, in full view.

'Now that is what you might call a fas.h.i.+on statement,' Stragen murmured.

'That it is, my friend,' Sparhawk chuckled, adjusting the collar of his black velvet doublet, 'and everybody's listening to her. Poor Emban appears to be quite nearly on the verge of apoplexy.'

In a kind of formal little ceremony, Queen Ehlana escorted Sarabian and his empresses across the bridges that stepped from barge to barge. The Empress Elysoun was obviously looking for someone, and when she saw Berit standing off to one side on the second barge, she altered course and bore down upon him with all sails set-figuratively speaking, of course. Sir Berit looked at first apprehensive, then desperate, as Elysoun more or less pinned him to the tail of the barge without so much as laying a hand on him.

'Poor Berit,' Sparhawk said sympathetically. 'Stay close to him, Stragen. I don't know for sure if he can swim. Be ready to rescue him if he jumps into the moat.'

After the emperor had been given the grand tour, the banquet began. Sparhawk had judiciously s.p.a.ced out the knights among the diners. The knights were not really very interesting dinner companions, since they all concentrated almost exclusively on the candles and the lanterns.

'G.o.d help us if a wind comes up,' Kalten muttered to Sparhawk.

'Truly,' Sparhawk agreed fervently.