During his obsequies he tendered an apology. “My stomach refuses to adjust to Brothen cuisine.”
“Is that painful?” as another, smaller burst gained its freedom.
“It is, Your Holiness. It is.”
Serenity seemed pleased. He got to the point. “I’ll be straightforward, Hecht. I’m not pleased with you.”
Without saying so, and without demonstrating defiance, Hecht made it plain that he did not care. He could argue but would not. There was no point. Bronte Doneto’s universe revolved around Bronte Doneto. The rest of the world existed to advance Bronte Doneto’s ambitions.
“You have nothing to say?”
“No, Your Holiness.”
“The Penital is putting it about that you’re transferring your allegiance to the Empire.”
“I find myself unemployed. The Empress has offered me work.”
“I understand she offered you work before. You turned her down.”
“I had a commitment.”
“Suppose I forbid you?”
Hecht shrugged. “I don’t work for you.”
“I’m the Patriarch.”
Hecht shrugged. “The Empress might consider that an inappropriate incursion of the Church into Imperial prerogatives. At a time when she’s under tremendous pressure to return to the policies of her father.”
“Are you trying to bully me?”
Hecht belched thunderously, accompanying that with a toot from the nether orifice. “Your Holiness? No! I’m trying to make you aware of how other people might perceive your actions. And how some might respond. I wouldn’t want to bring up painful memories. …”
“But?”
Hecht waved a hand to hasten the dispersal of gas he had jut passed. “Please recall what happened in the Connec, with other people who didn’t admire you so much as you do yourself.”
Ouch! Not the best way to say that.
Anger floated across Serenity’s face, went away. The Patriarch suspected that he was being baited, probably not intentionally. “There is one other matter. Well, two other matters. One is the disappearance of weapons and equipment belonging to our forces.”
“Your Holiness? Everything was accounted for when I turned over command. My staff kept meticulous records. The kind of corruption you see in most forces wasn’t allowed to take root under my command.”
Serenity did not sound pleased when he admitted, “So I’ve heard. I heard complaints during the Interregnum.”
“People actually complained because I wouldn’t let them steal from the Church?”
“They did. Though they made it sound like something else.”
Hecht released more gas, less quietly. “You Holiness, if you’re having problems with things going missing, you should talk to the people you sent to take over.” Now he passed a long, silent stream of gas, moved to evade the worst of it.
“I was hoping it would be simpler than that.”
“Pinkus has the records.” He hoped Ghort was not stealing. “We had inventory numbers marked on everything. Who had what will be in the records.”
“I’ll take another look, then.”
“The other thing?”
“The relationship you’ve developed with Muniero Delari. I’m curious about that. And I’m even more curious about what goes on inside that town house.”
“You expect me to tell you anything? I owe Principaté Delari a great deal.”
“I gather. He took over sponsoring you when Grade Drocker died. Though Drocker’s interest in you never made sense. Now I hear there’s another villain lurking in that town house. One Cloven Februaren, who styles himself the Ninth Unknown. But Cloven Februaren is supposed to have died before I was born.”
“I assume you’re talking about the old man they found living in a room in a part of the house that hadn’t been used for decades. He claims he’s the Principaté’s grandfather. I don’t know much about him. He’s not around much. When he is, he’s mostly pulling practical jokes. The Principaté doesn’t like him. Talks like he wishes the old man would just go away. I think he’s scared of him.”
Hecht recalled Delari cautioning him not to volunteer anything. Was there something in the air? Something designed to loosen his tongue? “Oh, God!”
“What?”
“My stomach. Oh, Sweet Aaron!” He grasped his gut. This time the fart energy exceeded everything that had gone before. The odor pursuant was the worst ever to grace Piper Hecht’s nostrils. It took only a moment to reach Serenity. It distracted the Patriarch from his rising anger. When Hecht repeated himself, almost immediately, Serenity demanded, “Has this been going on long?”
“Not this bad. Your Holiness.” A cramp shook him. If there was something in the air this gas should overwhelm it.
The Patriarch began barking at his hangers-on: Get a draft moving through the chamber. Bring in candles and torches. Do something!
Nothing helped. It got worse. Serenity wanted to bully and badger his former Captain-General but the disruption was too great. Too much for Hecht, too, who finally begged, “Excuse me, Your Holiness. Please. There’s something bad wrong. I need to find a healing brother.” He failed to stifle the most ferocious rumbler yet. He managed to create an expression of deep suspicion. “What did you do to me?”
The grand toot was the precursor of a parade of lesser expressions. Candles and torches did not help. The Patriarch angrily ordered Piper Hecht expelled from Krois, grumbling something about interviewing him later. He denied any connection with Hecht’s affliction, in the face of Hecht’s growing pain and passion.
The Patriarchal Guards did not seem inclined to believe their master.
Hecht’s digestion was almost normal by the time he reached the south bank of the Teragi. Shaking, he settled on one of the stone benches at the edge of the Memorium, considered the thousand monuments to victories and personalities of antiquity. He tried to stay alert, but the tail end of his suffering sucked his attention inward.
He was unaware of Heris till she sat down beside him. “That was way more harsh than Grandfather intended, Piper.”
“Humh?”
“I watched. I got as close as I could without getting caught in the tangle spells. You were just supposed to have a giant case of the silent farts.”
“You were in there?”
“Sure.”
“They’ll know. Doneto is the most powerful sorcerer in the Collegium.”
“He’s supposed to know that something was there. That it came in when you did and it left when you left. You have a guardian Instrumentality. They won’t look for some other outside agency. We’re just reinforcing what they’re already thinking.”
Gas escaped Hecht. It whipped away on the breeze. “So what have I done?”
“You took a pack of shadow spies into Krois. Inside you. So no one knew that you were smuggling. Very clever of Grandfather.”
“Yeah. Right. Should we be talking here?”
“With the sun so high and bright? Well … Maybe not. Somebody might wonder about us being together.”
“Really?” Heris was not well known. Still, she might arouse some curiosity, juxtaposed with Piper Hecht. “Serenity really wanted to interrogate me about the Principaté, our relationship, and about Cloven Februaren. The gas saved me having to deal with that.”
“For now.” She laughed. That startled Hecht. She had no discernible sense of humor. “He may have you watched so he can catch you in a gas-free mood.” Another snicker. “I was behind a tapestry fifty feet from that room when you all came out. You had me gagging. I’ll let Grandfather know he’s developed a potent new weapon.”
“He wants to use it that way, he’d better feed those mushrooms to people he doesn’t mind losing.” He released a small rumble. “The pain wasn’t worth it. And it feels like it’s coming back.”
“Oh! Let’s travel on. You need to get to the town house, anyway. You need to get your amulet back on. You don’t want to be exposed any longer than you have to be.”
r />
Hecht farted again, gently. He surveyed the Memorium and river’s edge and spied several observers. There was nowhere someone could hide and still be close enough to keep watch. “If us getting together will set off alarms, then the bell is already clanging.” One more look at the Memorium. “I’d rather go around. Bad things can happen in there.” As they walked he told her about having been ambushed by a hidden archer there, and about fighting Calziran pirates among the monuments.
“If the Ninth Unknown is halfway honest, which is questionable, you ought to feel the same way almost anywhere. He had a full-time job keeping you alive, back when.”
“Things should be different now that I’m unemployed.”
***
After questioning Hecht about his Patriarchal audience for twice the time that visit had lasted, Principaté Delari observed, “You might consider leaving town before Serenity pulls you in again.” The old man was very self-congratulatory about having inserted shadow agents into Krois. “If he can’t question you he can’t get answers.”
“You’re probably right. Though I’ll miss my sessions with the Construct.”
“Sarcasm duly noted.”
“Sorry. I am starting to get the hang of using it to communicate.”
“I have a work-around. Is there more coffee in that pot, Heris?”
“There is, Grandfather. But we need to find a smuggler. We’re almost out of beans.”
“Tell Turking. He knows the man who knows the man who knows where to get the beans. Here’s what we’ll do.”
***
Hecht’s people started reporting within hours of his having sent out word of his intentions and his hope of getting through the Jagos before bad weather arrived. The Imperial ambassador provided a headquarters suite at the Penital. Unattached staff were invited to move in. Where they got to work eighteen hours a day in return for room and board.
Titus Consent knocked on the frame of the doorway to the little room Hecht had commandeered for his own use. Beckoned, Consent stepped inside. “I think we’ve heard from about everyone who is going to respond. More of them than I expected. Kait Rhuk can’t wait to get going. I let him, Vircondelet, and a dozen others get started this morning. Hagan Brokke is with them. The others are spies or quartermasters. Oh. Drago Prosek says he’s in. Claims the Brotherhood will survive without him.”
“Efficient, as always.”
“It’s a curse. Couple of things came up today. Surprises, sort of. First was a letter from Smolens. He says he made a mistake when he decided to stay and work for Ghort. He wants to know if you’d have a job for him if he quits the Patriarchals.”
“What do you think?”
“I like Smolens. He did good work. But I’d always wonder if he’d come to us just to spy for Ghort or Serenity.”
“And we were sure of him before? He was forced on us the first time. And, like you say, did good work. I hated to lose him. I’ll leave it to you. If you can think of a way to use him that leaves him no chance to cause harm, bring him back.”
“I’ll find a way. Meantime, second surprise. I just got finished talking to Clej Sedlakova. He says he convinced Addam Hauf that the Brotherhood needs to keep somebody close to you. Somebody besides Prosek, who cares about nothing but his falcons.”
Hecht laughed. “I’m not surprised. I know Clej. His real motive is, he wants to skate out of the Brotherhood buildup in the Holy Lands. He’s been there. He lost the arm there. He’s welcome. But I’m really thrilled about Prosek. He is the master of artillery. Both kinds.”
“Don’t let Kait Rhuk hear you say that. He thinks he has that title wrapped up.”
“One is as valuable as the other. Rhuk is more the theoretical guy. Though that was Prosek when we started. How soon can you be ready to travel?”
“Half an hour? No. Make it an hour. I need to go get Noë knocked up before I grab my stuff. Don’t give me that disgusted look. Tell me you won’t give Anna a special goodbye.”
Hecht shuddered, uncomfortable with that kind of talk. “I can’t say for sure exactly when we’ll go. Not before I have a solid idea what I’ll have to get started and what I’ll need to pull together. Mid-level officers, for sure. And I’ll want everybody to travel in small groups. The country can’t stand a big mob moving through all at once.”
With the best of will an army could not prevent disruptions and damage.
“So your plan is, you’ll avoid angering the Patriarchal States till Katrin tells you to jump on them.”
Hecht nodded. He hoped to redirect the Empress into pursuing her father’s old squabbles with the Patriarchy.
Consent said, “I wish I knew more about how her head works. We could build an interesting future if we knew how to manage her.”
Hecht laughed aloud. “Titus, you’ve got to know that every noble in the Grail Empire is thinking that exact same thing. And, so far, she’s been Hansel’s daughter and has manipulated them.”
“Now you mention it. But the idea is still valid.”
“Let’s get things moving.”
***
Piper Hecht’s last hours in Brothe included an intense, possibly ultimate night with Anna Mozilla, and some vigorous discussion with Principaté Delari in the quiet room at his town house. He did avoid further congress with Serenity by contriving to be elsewhere whenever the Patriarch’s messengers came looking for him. Which he managed because Heris seemed to be reading Serenity’s mind.
She said, “They say Krois is haunted. They’re right. I’m the haunt. Along with your fart children.”
Principaté Delari grumbled, “Language, woman. You’re getting as bad as my grandfather.”
Heris did not argue. Neither did she appear chastened. Delari said, “I wish we’d had more time with the Construct, Piper. But what time we did have will pay dividends. Heris. Break out the medallion.”
She brought a pendant, gold and amber with inlays of jade and lapis lazuli, presented it to Hecht. “Heavy,” he observed.
The metal portion took the form known as an Ihrian knot, very complex. It had a turban shape at its center and four equal arms surrounding it. The Ihrian knot was one of the earliest symbols of the Chaldarean faith.
“Show him,” Delari said.
“You’re connected to the Construct now. No matter where you are. Use that to touch it back. Tap the inlays in the right order, you can send a message one character at a time. Here. These are the code sheets. I tried to write them down so it isn’t obvious that the code is connected with the pendant. Someone who gets hold of the sheets will look for letters written in the same substitution cipher.”
Hecht examined the pages, considered the inlays on the medallion. “I see it. I can memorize this.”
“Good.”
“Just for fun, why don’t I send my messages in Church Brothen?”
Ignoring that, Delari said, “Be careful, Piper. You’ve never been as vulnerable as you’ll be the next few weeks.” Mainly because of the need to travel in small bands. “Heris has caught whiffs of several potentially unpleasant schemes.”
Heris said, “People you’ve never even met want to get you just because you’re you, Piper.”
“I’ll become caution itself. We’ll disguise ourselves and take a route that stays mostly in the Imperial territories. We’ll be all right once we get to the Remayne Pass.”
“Be wary of false friends. Serenity is wooing weather vanes like Germa fon Dreasser.”
“I know who I can’t let get behind me, Grandfather. And I’ll go armed with all the legal instruments the Penital can provide.”
“So va Still-Patter has developed an affection for you.”
Heris sneered. “He hopes Piper will help him achieve his own ambitions.”
“An understandable basis for an alliance.”
It was not yet light out. Hecht said, “Titus is outside. He’ll be getting impatient. I’d better get gone before Serenity finds me and has me dragged in. What’s his problem, anyway?”
br /> Heris said, “He’s really worried about his falcons and firepowder. Ghort says he can only find a few falcons. Most of those are damaged. Serenity counted on having scores to use against Antieux.”
“He won’t let that go, will he?”
“Not as long as he lives.”
“I couldn’t help him with the falcons. I told him to take a closer look at his own people. There are always crooks around our homegrown Patriarchs. Plenty would sell military stores and equipment to line their own purses.”
Delari said, “I’ll start a rumor, give it a few days, then raise the question in the Collegium. We have the right to insist on an accounting of where the Church’s money is going. That will put him on the defensive.”
“Add a little pressure by insisting on being told where it’s coming from, too.”
“Anne of Menand?”
“She’s always in the mists somewhere, isn’t she?”
***
Fourteen riders left Brothe with Hecht and Consent, a larger party than Hecht wanted. His men would not let him travel with less protection.
Heris quickly developed a habit of turning up when nobody was looking, like her remote ancestor before her. She kept Hecht posted on wickednesses hatching inside Krois. As had been the case with Sublime V, Serenity had almost no idea what those around him were doing in his name. He might not want to know. He refused to hear what the Collegium had to say. He was almost completely fixated on next spring in the Connec.
“And what would be the plan for today?” Titus Consent asked, the fifth morning. He became more surly and suspicious daily. Hecht was too obviously shutting him out of the secrets.
“Your choice today, Titus. Either road will bring us to the Remayne Pass day after tomorrow.” They were crossing the rich farmlands of the Aco River floodplain, well east of the direct road from Brothe to the pass. Heeding Heris’s warnings, Hecht was directing his company out of harm’s way. He had not explained. Not in detail. “By now the villains will have decided to catch us at the mouth of the pass.”
“I won’t ask how you know. You wouldn’t give me a straight answer. But I am interested in why you’re determined to avoid these villains. There are sixteen of us. None of us virgins.”