“Will you two be staying this evening?”
Cawti looked at me. I nodded. “I still need to check over that list of Baritt’s descendants. Which reminds me, did you find out who might have recommended the Athyra?”
“One of my people is compiling the list. It should be ready by this evening some time.”
“Good. I asked Aliera to find out about the Lyorn. Do you know if she did?”
“She is speaking to Norathar at the moment; I think they’re attempting to determine how to locate this Laris person.”
“Oh. Well, tomorrow, maybe.”
“Yes. I’m having my dinner brought to me in the small dining room. I believe Aliera, Sethra, and Lady Norathar will be joining me. Would the two of you care to also?”
I looked at Cawti. “We’d be delighted,” she said.
“Excellent. And, afterwards, you can join the party in the main dining room and continue your investigation.”
“Yes,” I agreed. “Maybe I can even avoid having any words with your Athyra friend.”
“Athyra friend? I don’t believe there have been any Alhyra nobles present for some time.”
“You know who I mean: the Sorceress in Chartreuse, or whatever.”
Morrolan smiled. “The Sorceress in Green. I’ll admit she looks like one, though.”
Something went off in the back of my head. “She isn’t?” I asked. “What is she then?”
“House of the Yendi,” said Morrolan.
Chapter Fifteen
“I imagine he’s being well paid.”
“What is it, Vlad? Why are you staring at me?”
“I can’t believe what I just heard. A Yendi? Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure. What is it?”
“Morrolan, how many Yendi does it take to sharpen a sword?”
He looked at me through slitted eyes. “Tell me,” he said.
“Three. One to sharpen the sword, and one to confuse the issue.”
“I see.” He chuckled a bit. “Not bad. What has that to do with our situation?”
“I don’t know exactly, but—wherever you find a Yendi, you find a plot. A devious plot. Twisted, confusing, just the kind of thing we’re facing. I don’t know what it’s about, but she—the Sorceress in Green—has been hanging around all of us since things started. She’s been near you, near me, near Aliera, and indirectly near Norathar and Cawti and Sethra. All of us. This can’t be an accident.
“And if that weren’t enough, she looks like an Athyra. We’re sitting here trying to find an Athyra who doesn’t exist, and now we find a Yendi who resembles one and who’s been around the whole time. And you don’t think she has something to do with all this?”
“I see what you mean,” he said. “I think I shall speak to her, and—”
“No!”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Don’t speak to her. Don’t let her know, yet. The only advantage we have is that she doesn’t know we’re suspicious. We don’t dare lose that until we know what she’s after.”
“Hmmm. It is axiomatic that no one but a Yendi can unravel a Yendi’s scheme.”
“Maybe. But to paraphrase Lord Lairon e’N’vaar, maybe I use different axioms.”
He thought about it for a while, then said, “All right, Vlad. What’s your plan?”
“I don’t have one yet. First, I want to think over what we know and see if I can make some sense of it.”
“All right.”
“Cawti, why don’t you find Norathar and Aliera?”
She nodded. Morrolan said, “You might need help,” and the two of them went off.
I sat pondering for about half an hour, until the four of them returned, along with Sethra.
“Well,” said Aliera, “what have you figured out?”
“Nothing,” I said. “On the other hand, I haven’t given up, either.”
“Great,” said Norathar.
“Sit down,” I suggested. They all pulled up chairs around me. I felt like I was back in the office, with my enforcers sitting around waiting for orders.
“Vladimir?”
“Yes, Cawti?”
“Morrolan told Aliera about the Sorceress in Green. I didn’t think to warn him not to.”
“Damn. All right. So either the Sorceress is warned, or Aliera isn’t involved. I’m beginning to doubt that Aliera is behind this in any case. We’ll see.”
I said, “First of all, Lady Norathar, can—”
“You can drop the ‘Lady,’ Vlad.”
I was startled. “Thank you,” I said. I saw Cawti flash her a smile, and I understood. “All right, Norathar, are you sure you can’t tell us how you found out what Laris did?”
“Yes,” she said.
“All right. But think about it. If it was the Sorceress in Green—”
“It wasn’t.”
“Whoever it is, that person might be working with the Sorceress in Green, or perhaps is being used by her. I wish you could tell us who it is.”
“Sorry. But I don’t think it would help.”
Cawti said, “Do you really think the Sorceress in Green is behind it?”
“Let’s just say it’s a real good guess. We won’t know for sure who’s behind it until we know what they’re after.”
Cawti nodded.
I continued. “Let’s try to put the events in order. First, just before the Interregnum, someone decides that he doesn’t want Lord K’laiyer to take the Orb. Maybe this someone is the Sorceress in Green, or the Sorceress in Green is working for him, okay?”
There were nods from around the room.
“Okay, the first thing he—or she—does is make it look like Norathar is a bastard. Of course, when confronted with this, K’laiyer fights, and, naturally, when fighting Sethra, loses. During the battle, they make sure K’laiyer ends up dead. This makes Adron the heir. So far, so good. Either that is what they wanted, or they didn’t have time to deal with him. Because then we have Adron’s Disaster, and two-hundred-some years of Interregnum. Still, nothing happens. Afterwards, Morrolan is the heir. Still nothing happens.”
I looked at them again. They were watching me closely. I continued. “For over two hundred and forty years after the Interregnum, nothing. So whoever is behind it, if he is still around, doesn’t object to Morrolan. But then, three years or so ago, Aliera shows up. Within a year Baritt, who is probably one of the conspirators, is assassinated. Two years after that, Norathar is set up, killed, revivified, and is suddenly going to be the heir. That’s where we are as I see it.”
Either Aliera hadn’t caught any implication against her, or she was a fine actress. She seemed deep in thought, but not otherwise affected by what I’d been saying. Norathar said, “Vlad, is there any chance that the Sorceress in Green could have known Aliera well enough to know that we’d be brought back?”
I said, “Uh . . . you mean, then, that even that was part of her plan? I don’t know.” I turned to Aliera.
She chewed her lip for a moment, then shrugged. “Anything is possible with a Yendi,” she said.
“Not that,” said Morrolan. We turned to him. “You are forgetting that I was there, too. If you are supposing that she set it up so that Aliera would kill, then revivify, Norathar, then she must have known that I would be with Aliera. I will not believe that she could predict exactly where we would have been standing when we teleported, and if I had happened to be closer to Norathar than Aliera was, I’d have attacked, and I’d have used Blackwand.”
Norathar paled as he said this. I swallowed and felt a little queasy myself. If Norathar had been killed by Blackwand, nothing and no one could have revivified her, nor would she have been reborn, as Dragaerans believe happens to anyone who isn’t brought to the Paths of the Dead, and some who are. I wondered if Aliera could have arranged that. Or was Morrolan in on it too?
“You’re getting paranoid, boss.”
“Occupational hazard, Loiosh.”
I cleared my throat and said, “I think we can safel
y assume that Norathar was expected to die permanently.”
The others agreed.
“Now,” I said, “let us turn to Laris. He may be well hidden, and well protected, but he is certainly losing money and taking big chances by not killing me. Why?”
“I imagine,” said Cawti, “that he’s being well paid.”
“He’d have to be paid a lot to take that big a risk.”
Cawti shrugged. “Perhaps he owes her a favor, or something.”
“A big favor. Besides, I’m guessing that he killed Baritt as repayment of . . . wait a minute.”
They all looked at me. Finally, Morrolan said, “Yes, Vlad?”
I turned to Cawti. “What do you know of Laris’s history?”
“A fair bit. When I was studying you, I came across references to him from time to time, back when you both worked for Welok the Blade. And of course, I hear things now and then.”
“Did you hear that he ran the war for Welok against the Hook?”
She and Norathar nodded.
“I was involved,” said Norathar.
“Why did Welok let him run the war? And how did he win? He didn’t have any experience at the time.”
Cawti and Norathar studied me. “The Sorceress in Green?” asked Norathar.
I said, “It sure looks like he had something on Welok, or else knew how to get around him. What if our friend the sorceress maneuvered for him, and helped him with the war?”
Cawti said, “You think she’s running the war against you, too?”
“Maybe. I met Laris, and he impressed me. I don’t think he’s a dupe, but I could be wrong. On the other hand, it’s possible that the sorceress has something on him and can make him do what she wants. Especially if she can arrange for him to win in the end anyway, or tells him she can.”
“If she has something on him,” said Norathar, “why doesn’t he just kill her?”
As a Jhereg, she was still a Dragon.
“Any of a number of reasons,” I replied. “He might not know who she is. The hold might not disappear with her death. Maybe he can’t reach her. I don’t know.”
“Any idea what that hold might be?” asked Cawti.
I frowned. “Could be anything. My first guess is that he’s the one who finalized Baritt, and the sorceress has proof—easy enough if she had him do it, say as a favor in exchange for her help against the Hook.”
“I can see it,” said Cawti. Norathar concurred.
“This speculation is quite entertaining,” said Morrolan, “but I fail to see where it helps.”
“We’re trying to understand what they’re doing,” I said. “Every detail we get helps put it together.”
“Maybe,” he said. “But I should like to hear your opinion on why the Sorceress in Green would do all this.”
“Do what?” I asked.
“I’m not certain precisely what she’s doing—”
“Exactly.”
He nodded, slowly. “All right. I see.”
I turned to Sethra, who hadn’t said a word the entire time. “Have you any ideas, or guesses?”
“Not exactly,” she said slowly. “But I’m beginning to suspect that the answer lies mostly before the Interregnum, the first time this conspiracy acted. What were they after, exactly?”
“Yes,” I said slowly. “We should at least look into it.” I glanced at Norathar; she looked like her teeth hurt. Well, I could hardly blame her.
“The motive for that one,” said Cawti, “seems clear at least: it was an attempt to gain the Orb.”
I shook my head. “I’ve been told that no Dragon wants the Orb.”
“What about Adron?” she asked, looking at Aliera.
Aliera smiled. “A point,” she said. “But my father didn’t really want the Orb, he was forced to make a try for it out of a sense of duty.”
I stared at her. “Wait a minute. Did your father know the Sorceress in Green?”
Aliera looked startled. “I . . . believe they were acquainted, yes. But if you’re thinking that my father was the one behind the whole thing—”
“I wouldn’t say I think so; I’m just checking into it.”
She glared at me, and her eyes turned to steely gray. “If you feel you must.”
“I feel I must. How well acquainted were they?”
“They often saw each other, and Sethra, at Dzur Mountain. Ask Sethra. She knows better than I.”
I turned to Sethra. “Well?”
“I doubt,” she said, “that Adron was behind a conspiracy of this type. It isn’t his style. Besides, he and Baritt got along quite well.”
“That proves nothing,” I said. “Or, if anything, it makes the case stronger against him. How well did he get along with the Sorceress in Green?”
Sethra closed her eyes, as if having trouble remembering. Then she said, “We all got along in those days. Adron was never especially close to the sorceress, though.”
“So,” I said, “if Adron felt it his duty to take the Orb, he might have felt it was his duty to make sure he was the next Dragon Emperor.”
“I don’t believe it,” snapped Aliera, becoming more angry by the minute. I started laughing. She stood up, glaring. “Mind letting me in on the joke, Vlad?”
“I just can’t help but see how funny it is. We’re talking about a guy who, trying to take the Orb, blew up half the Dragaeran Empire, created a Sea of Chaos where the biggest city in the Empire used to be, killed I don’t know how many millions of people, and you’re upset because I’m wondering if he faked a bit of evidence to make his path a little easier.”
Cawti started laughing, too. None of the others seemed to think it was funny. That made it even funnier, and, for a moment, I almost had hysterics. Aliera said, “That’s different. This involved tricking Sethra, who was a friend. There is such a thing as honor in the House of the Dragon.”
Strangely, that sobered me up. It wasn’t any less funny, but, in a way, it was sad, too. Presently Cawti got the better of her mirth. I said, “All right, Aliera. Maybe he didn’t do it himself, but the Sorceress in Green could have done it without his knowledge, couldn’t she?”
Aliera sat down again and sniffed. “I doubt it.”
“All right, then, how did Adron and Norathar’s father, K’laiyer, get along?”
Aliera shrugged and looked away haughtily. I turned to Sethra. She looked uncomfortable, but said, “They had disagreements, I remember. They weren’t bitter enemies, by any means, but they did disagree.”
“Of course they disagreed!” said Aliera. “My father felt the Dragons had to take the throne, K’laiyer didn’t.”
Sethra nodded. “That was pretty much it,” she said. “They didn’t agree on how immediate the problem was.”
“What problem?”
“The decadence of the Emperor. Phoenix Emperors always become decadent at the end of their reign, except every seventeenth Cycle, when we have a reborn Phoenix, such as Zerika. Since that was at the end of the Great Cycle—seventeen Cycles—it was especially bad. The Empire appeared to be falling apart, there were Easterners making encroachments on the eastern border, and Adron felt the Emperor should either step down or be removed.”
“And K’laiyer didn’t?”
“No. I remember him pointing out to me that the ‘encroachments’ were into territories where most of the population was made up of Easterners anyway. He said that it was basically their land, and he saw no reason why they shouldn’t have it back.”
“I think I would’ve liked the guy,” I said.
“Maybe,” said Sethra. “He was likeable enough. And he would have made a good Emperor, I think.”
“It sounds to me,” I said, looking at Aliera, “as if Adron was—”
“I believe it is time to dine,” said Morrolan. “Perhaps we should continue this after the meal?”
I smiled a bit, nodded, stood, and offered Cawti my arm. She took it, and we headed toward the small dining room. I hoped this meal would be easier to di
gest than the last one with this crowd.
Which set me to remembering that meal. Which set me to remembering the days I had spent in Dzur Mountain. Most of the memories were quite pleasant.
But I remembered one conversation . . . That couldn’t have anything to do with this. Could it? The whole thing, just to accomplish that? But then, Dragaerans are Dragaerans.
“Wait a minute.”
Morrolan sighed and turned around. “Yes, Vlad?”
“I just—”
“Can it wait?”
“Uh . . . let’s go in and sit down while I think about it.” My mind was racing like a cat-centaur. I think I bumped into a few people and walls as I found my place.
I noticed that we were sitting in exactly the same positions that we’d been in before. A servant brought wine. I drank some without tasting it.
“All right, Vlad,” said Morrolan, in a resigned tone of voice. “What is it?”
“I think I might have just figured out who’s behind this, and why.”
I suddenly had everyone’s attention.
“Go on,” said Morrolan.
“Verra, but this is convoluted. But, with the Sorceress in Green doing the planning, how could it not be?”
“Well, who is it?”
“Let me put it this way: I’m going to guess that, between two and three years ago, the Sorceress in Green had a falling out with a certain individual she’d been friendly with up until then.”
I turned to Sethra. “Am I right?”
She looked puzzled. Then, suddenly, her nostrils flared and her eyes widened. After a moment, she nodded.
“That’s it, then.”
“What, Vlad?” said Morrolan, still calm.
“You’re enjoying keeping everyone in suspense, aren’t you, boss?”
“Shut up, Loiosh.”
“Okay, I’ll put it this way: Suppose Norathar has just been killed. By Morrolan and Aliera. End of problem. So, the correct heir to the throne is out of the way, right? Who’s next?”
“Aliera,” said Morrolan.
“Right. But information comes out that she was involved in a Jhereg war. Then what?”
“Mmmmm,” said Morrolan. “The council might—”
“Assume further that the council is being manipulated. Maybe just a bit, maybe a lot, but there are strings being pulled.”