I was on the precipice of something far worse.
Conall pulled up short in front of me. “They’re inside.”
We were at a stone enclosure in the castle yard, near the barracks. It was originally a small storage building, but it had been repurposed as a jail cell. During a previous war, I had felt a lack for not having a dungeon, but once peace returned I hadn’t bothered to build one. On the few occasions I needed to lock someone up, I usually borrowed Lancaster’s facilities.
A guard opened the door and inside there were two more, along with Elaine Prathion and Elise Thornbear. Their ‘patient’ lay on a small cot. He was still unconscious, but his hands and feet were chained to an iron ring set in the wall as a precaution.
“What have we learned?” I asked them.
As usual, Elise didn’t mince words. “I think he’s human.”
“He’s got two arms and legs, two eyes, all of that,” I responded, “but beyond that he seems too different.”
Elaine piped up, “He has all the same internal organs we do.”
“So do bears,” I countered.
“It’s more than that,” said Elise waspishly. “I’ve had Elaine examining him carefully, comparing his internal body structures to mine for comparison. While he’s different in stature and proportion, everything else is too similar. Even the patterns of hair growth on his body are the same.”
“Hair?” I mumbled.
Elise raised one brow. “Want me to undress him and show you?”
I gave her a hard glare. “That won’t be necessary. You’re telling me that he’s deformed, like a dwarf or midget?”
“He isn’t misshapen,” said Elise. “And there are seven hundred other bodies out there on the field that are just like him. I think he’s from some race of men that we’ve never encountered before.”
“And they just appear on our doorstep, ready for war?” I muttered. “None of this makes sense. Perhaps we’ll learn more when he’s awake.”
I left, and found Penny and Moira waiting for me outside.
Penny smiled briefly. “Learn anything?” Her expression was normal, trusting, but Moira’s eyes studied me carefully. I could sense her wariness. She was probably still wondering if I was safe, and I couldn’t blame her. I was wondering the same thing.
“Elise thinks he’s human, but other than the fact that they’re very similar to us, we don’t know much,” I told her. Then I added, “I’d like Moira to sift through his mind when he wakes up.”
Penny glanced between me and our daughter, a look of concern showing in the lines of her face. “Is that safe for her?” Though she didn’t understand the particulars of what Moira had done in Dunbar, she knew that messing around in the heads of others was what had gotten our daughter in trouble.
I decided to be honest. “I doubt Moira Centyr would agree, but I am inclined to trust her.”
My daughter’s eyes locked onto mine. “According to her, I’m already a monster.” Deep down I could almost hear a silent addition to her reply, and you might be one too.
“Your choices are your own,” I told her. “I firmly believe that. Monster, human, whatever labels we call ourselves, what matters is our actions. In the end, it’s our actions that define us, not the opinions of others.”
Penny looked back and forth between us. “Dramatic statements like that don’t really do much to reassure me. I hope you realize that.”
Moira’s features softened. “I’ll be alright, Mom.” Then she asked me, “How far do you want me to go with this?”
“I’ll trust you to make that decision. Do whatever you feel necessary, whatever you can do without damaging yourself.”
My daughter nodded, and then without warning she took my hand. I felt the beginning of a tentative link and I allowed it. After a brief inspection she spoke in my mind, Thank you.
What for? I replied.
Trusting me, and allowing me see your mind. I couldn’t be sure you were still you until now.
I smiled. Actually, I was wondering the same thing. You’ve set my mind at ease.
Moira dropped my hand before announcing, “I’ll stay here then. The prisoner is starting to come around.”
“He’s awake?” I asked.
“No,” said Moira. “There are levels to consciousness. When we first brought him in, he was still out cold, and his mind was silent, but I can feel it now. He’s dreaming again. Now he’s like one who has fallen asleep.”
Penny and I left her there, but as we walked back to the keep Penny asked me, “Are you sure she’ll be safe?”
I shook my head. “Nope.” Her face turned to worry before I could add, “But it’s the right decision. You convinced me of that.”
“I did?”
“Mm hmm,” I answered. “Your little speech after I came back to my senses.”
“I told you to be more careful with yourself,” she growled. “Not to take more chances with our children.”
“You also told me you trust me, no matter what,” I responded. “I did some thinking and realized I need to apply that same reasoning to others. Matthew and Moira are grown now. We have to let them take risks, or they’ll never be anything more than children.”
“And if they make terrible mistakes?” asked Penny.
“Then we do what parents do. We pick up whatever pieces are left and clean up the mess,” I told her.
Chapter 26
That evening Penny and I sat in the living room of our mountain home, enjoying a moment of peace. We were about to have a second cup of tea when the Queen of Lothion entered the room, surprising us. Well, technically, she surprised Penny; I had seen her enter through the portal down the hall about twenty seconds earlier. Interestingly, she didn’t come alone.
The man that followed after her was above average in height, perhaps five feet and eleven inches. He had broad shoulders and a muscular build that matched his thick mustache and beard.
I jumped up to greet them while Penny scampered out the other door with a strangled ‘eep’ as she sought to find something better to cover herself. It wasn’t that she was exposed in any way, but she must have thought her ratty old housecoat inappropriate for such high-ranking guests.
“Egan!” I cried, before giving the man a bear hug. “I haven’t seen you in ages!”
Sir Egan had once been one of my knights, and though he now paid obeisance to the queen, he was one of the few remaining Knights of Stone. In fact, he was a member of two orders of knighthood, being also a founding member of the Knights of the Thorn. The Knights of the Thorn were an order created by the Queen herself, and they were so named to honor Dorian Thornbear’s sacrifice.
A rough-looking man by all measures, Egan stiffened in my arms. “The Queen,” he hissed in my ear.
I laughed. If we had been at court, my greeting him first would have been a major breach of protocol. I held onto him, winking at Ariadne over one of his shoulders. “Don’t be so shy, Egan! I see little Ari every day almost, but it’s been ages since you came to visit.” I pushed him out to look at him from arm’s length and then used my hands to ruffle his thick beard playfully. “Damn, you look good! Aren’t they feeding you? A man of nearly forty should have little extra around the middle by now.”
Sir Egan stepped back, turning to address Ariadne, who was openly laughing at his discomfort. “My Queen, please forgive…”
The Queen grinned mischievously at him. “Egan, I told you once already. This is an informal setting. Mort’s my cousin, and he’s been sharing his home with me. Let the etiquette and protocols go for a while.”
To emphasize her point, I swept Ariadne into another hug and then kissed her soundly on the cheek.
Sir Egan gave me a thoroughly disapproving look. “I see now why you aren’t encouraged to come to court more often.”
It was at that point at which Penny returned. She still wore a housecoat, but this one was longer, heavier, and embroidered. It wasn’t formal wear by any stretch of the imagination, but it did
at least look like something a noblewoman would wear at home.
Egan’s face lit up at the sight of her and he almost forgot himself. He ducked his head respectfully toward the Queen, who was now standing comfortably next to me, tucked under my arm. “Your Majesty, if I may?”
Ariadne frowned. “I told you to relax.”
The gruff knight nodded, and then stomped across the floor to embrace my wife. “Penny! How have you been?” His demeanor on meeting her was completely different from his manner with me.
Ariadne looked up at me, a question in her eyes, but I merely shrugged, as if to say, How should I know?
Penny seemed equally enthused to see him, and the two of them nearly forgot about us as they greeted each other. They seemed so excited that I thought for a minute they might begin to hold hands and hop around in circles, but they managed to restrain themselves.
Then Egan focused on Penny’s missing arm. “I heard the terrible news. I only wish I could have been there to help,” he told her, half apologizing.
Penny pursed her lips before replying, “What’s done is done. Let’s not talk about it. Would you like some tea?” Then she remembered the Queen. “And you too, Ariadne, of course.”
It was a testament to her fortitude that she managed not to call her ‘Your Majesty.’ Over the past week, Ariadne had worked hard at making Penny more comfortable with her presence. She had only partially succeeded, primarily in getting Penny to drop the honorifics.
Both of them nodded affirmatively and my wife started for the kitchen, but Sir Egan quickly followed her, offering his assistance. Ariadne and I were left alone, so we sat down.
“I had no idea they were such good friends,” observed the Queen.
“They fought together through some hard times, while I was—away,” I noted. “Sharing a battle makes close friends of men who’ve fought side by side. I would think it’s the same for men and women.” By ‘away,’ I was delicately referring to my exile as an undead monster. Egan and Dorian had fought shoulder to shoulder with Penny to help extract my family and the Thornbear family from Albamarl while the Duke Tremont had occupied it.
Ariadne patted my hand affectionately. “That’s true, but he didn’t seem nearly as happy with your welcome.”
I sighed. “I don’t think he’s ever been completely comfortable with me after our encounters back then.” In fact, Egan had been guarding my family on two separate occasions, and he had been forced to protect them from me. In one encounter, he had nearly burned me to ash with his sun-sword, and in the second I had wounded him badly, before sucking some of the life out of him to heal my injured son.
Despite the fact that I had been his first liege, and the one to knight him, Egan had plenty of unpleasant memories regarding me. I really couldn’t blame him if he still felt uncomfortable around me.
After a few minutes Penny and Egan returned, carrying a tray laden with cups. They sat and made themselves comfortable, but before the conversation could begin Lady Rose appeared. “Did I smell freshly brewed tea?” She stiffened at the sight of Sir Egan in the room.
Egan stood and bowed respectfully. “Lady Hightower.”
Rose recovered from her surprise almost instantly. She crossed the room and found a chair, but before sitting, she answered, “Sir Egan, I see that you are well.”
I watched her studiously. Rose wasn’t the only one capable of careful observation, though I was far more prone to lapses in judgement than she was. It had been so long since any of Dorian’s fellow knights had visited that I had almost forgotten her dislike for them.
It wasn’t that she nursed an active grudge, but the events surrounding and following her husband’s death had left her with a certain amount of prejudice against them. It had been Egan who held her back when she tried to join Dorian beneath the monolith that crushed him. She had forgiven him for that, but later, when the Order of the Thorn, had been created she had been vehemently against their use of some of her husband’s things as memorials in their chapterhouse.
In particular, her husband’s broken greatsword, the same one her son now wielded after Matthew had remade it, was practically considered a relic. She had refused to let Sir Harold have it, even though the Knights of the Thorn had been named after it.
The most telling sign of her distraction was the fact that Rose was so focused on Sir Egan that she didn’t notice the Queen until she began to sit. Despite the enforced rule of familiarity in my house, she wouldn’t dare sit down before at least addressing her monarch, not intentionally at least. She jerked to a halt as her eyes lit on Ariadne. “Your Maj—Ariadne, my apologies. I didn’t see you there.”
Ariadne smiled. “Don’t worry about it, Rose. Sit down.”
Penny started to rise to fetch Rose a cup, but Egan beat her to the punch. When he returned he took it upon himself to fill the cup before handing it to Rose.
“Since you’re here so early, I’m guessing you already heard of our doings today,” I said, beginning the inevitable conversation.
Rose coughed lightly, and I got the sense I had made a mistake, then Ariadne answered, “Actually, no. We’ve had our own troubles today, but please, fill me in. I’ll share my news afterward.”
I glanced at Penny, and I could see she was just as clueless as I was, but the look in Rose’s eyes held a distinct message. She had already observed something. She had probably known that Ariadne had some news and thought I was foolish for speaking first. It was too late to correct that, however, so I launched into a concise retelling of the events of the day.
I spared little as I recounted the details, other than summarizing my victory over the invaders as a major feat of magic. Ariadne would probably get a grislier account later from others, but I had no stomach for it. I included the fact that we had a prisoner who spoke no known tongue and Elise Thornbear’s speculation about his humanity.
Ariadne’s face was graven with disapproval when I finished. “I know we’re being informal here, but I’m sorely tempted to put my crown on and make a formal decree after hearing that.”
“Am I not allowed to defend my citizens and holdings?” I asked sincerely.
“That’s not the problem, Mordecai, and you know it!” declared my cousin, the Queen of Lothion. “How would you feel if I went to war and led the charge against an army?”
“I’m not the Queen, Ari, you are,” I replied sharply. “It’s not that uncommon for noblemen to take the field.”
“You aren’t some lowly knight or small baron,” stated Ariadne.
Leaning back, I answered in a dismissive tone, “That may be true, but it isn’t unheard of for even the greater lords to take the field.”
Ariadne’s eyes took fire. “I don’t need a history lesson from you, Mort! And you weren’t leading an army, you went out to parley—alone! And then you fought a major battle by yourself.”
“I had some help,” I insisted, but Penny ruined my statement by punching my shoulder.
My wife gave Ariadne a sympathetic look. “I agree with you. He took almost no support with him.”
Ariadne smiled at her. “I should probably command him to stay off the battlefield if this happens again.”
Penny nodded enthusiastically. “You should!”
I glanced between the two of them, and then at Rose and Egan. There wasn’t a sympathetic face in the room. “You can order whatever you like, but I’ll do as I see fit according to the situation,” I said defiantly.
Sir Egan choked on his tea, and after a fit of coughing he spoke out, loudly, “That’s open contempt for the crown!”
The Queen stared him down. “Egan, don’t make me repeat myself again. This is a meeting of friends and family. Don’t ruin it for me.”
Rose sniffed. “Politics is a poor topic for family and friends, but if we’re going to speak of it, I think there are a few things you should consider, Mordecai.”
I took a deep breath. “I’m listening.”
Rose looked at the Queen. “You’ll forgive m
e if I speak frankly?” Ariadne nodded, so Rose continued, “Mordecai, while your rank as the Count di’ Cameron puts you in the lower upper end of the peerage, you are in reality the most powerful nobleman in the kingdom. You are very nearly as important as the Queen herself.”
Egan choked again, and Ariadne began pounding on his shoulders as if to help him, though I suspected she was also hoping to cut off his outraged response.
“You’re overstating things, Rose,” I argued.
Rose’s brow went up. “No, I am not, and I believe the Queen agrees with me. What do you think would happen to Ariadne’s position if you were to die suddenly?”
“Not a damn thing,” I declared confidently.
“Her position as the first ruling Queen in Lothion’s history would be in jeopardy. It was never a popular decision to put her on the throne. It was merely the least distasteful option. She has been in power long enough now that most have grown accustomed to it, but dissent could grow quickly if you were to disappear,” explained Rose.
“I am not the only wizard in Lothion anymore,” I countered. “And every wizard in Lothion is firmly in her camp. Not only that, but Matthew would support her. No matter what happens to me, she will have Cameron behind her. And she has a dragon. The lords wouldn’t dare turn against her.”
Rose dipped her head deferentially. “I’ll grant that the dragon was a masterful stroke, and it does indeed strengthen her position, but your son is an unknown in the world of politics. He does not command the same respect. You are the most feared man in Lothion. Your mere existence does more to silence the Queen’s critics than every other factor combined.”
I chuffed, “I doubt they fear me that much.”
“Then you’d be wrong,” said Egan honestly. “Your deeds are the stuff of legend.”
More like the stuff of nightmares, I thought, but I was grateful for Egan’s tasteful wording. I leaned forward. “Even so, Egan, you make a point in my favor. Today was yet another of those deeds. Once the story gets out, they’ll be reminded that I haven’t lost my teeth.”