Satine spread her hands wide and shook her head.
Accolon gave a grunt and turned his horse roughly, cantering away down the road. Luca and Anna said hurried farewells to Satine and struggled to catch up with Accolon. He was waiting for them around the bend, but seemed angry. Neither of them had dared to say anything to him for fear of his wrath.
“Why is Satine a spy?” Anna asked carefully as they rode.
“When her father was killed, she wanted her country back. She wanted her throne, and probably most of all, she wanted revenge,” Accolon replied.
“And Satine’s father was killed by Leostrial when he took over,” Anna said. Accolon nodded.
“How do you know her then?” Luca asked.
“I was sent to Lapis Matyr to be schooled when I was a boy, so we grew up together. I was there when it was conquered. When Leostrial slaughtered them.”
They travelled in silence for the rest of the morning. But it was now, on first sight of Amalia that Anna breathed a sigh of relief. A whole day’s riding did not suit her, and she felt sore in places she didn’t care to mention.
They entered the city through a back gate, not wanting to draw attention to the fact that the prince had been absent from Amalia in such a crucial time of change.
Queen Columba was there to meet them impatiently, along with Tomasso and Vezzet.
Anna was surprised when the assistant chancellor leant over to kiss the back of her hand, and only reluctantly pulled her hand away because the others were watching. Giving him a shy smile, she turned to Columba.
Anna watched the queen very closely. It looked as though she had been sobbing hard. But there was no law against that. Indeed, it was expected. So why did she get an odd feeling from the older woman? It was something in the woman’s eyes when she looked at Anna. She seemed insincere about something.
Accolon’s coronation was to take place that night after the king’s funeral.
“So soon?” Accolon asked. “Should we not even wait for an acceptable mourning period to pass before the people must bow to their new king?”
“Don’t be a fool, Accolon. Can’t you see that the people are in a state of unease? They need stability, sturdiness. The sooner they get that, the sooner the land will return to order.”
Accolon’s eyes flashed and narrowed. “I understand what you’re saying mother, but you go too far to call me a fool. Do not forget your place here.”
The queen swiftly checked herself and said, “Forgive me, my Lord. Do as you please.”
It was clear that the power had shifted already.
Accolon sighed and shook his head. “It seems you are right, in any case. The coronation will take place tonight.” The two Strangers and the chancellor and his assistant followed him back to his room, leaving the queen with a smug look on her face.
“Do you have the maps?” Accolon asked Luca once they had some privacy. He searched in his pack for a moment and produced the scrolls, battered and torn from long days in the saddle—he’d been charged with keeping them safe for the ride. Accolon spread them out over a large oak table, and they leaned over to study them.
Anna had never seen anything like the two scrolls—one showed the floor plan of a building, the other showed the same building but from a much wider perspective. Around the latter there were hundreds of dots with lines connecting them. It looked almost like a star chart.
Accolon had no better idea what they were, so Anna was glad when he suggested that they get a breath of fresh air and ponder the problem in the gardens. But they didn’t make it that far, for the queen stood motionless in the hallway with some important-looking people.
There was a man no longer young, handsome and tall despite his age, although his eyes were dull and his hair greying. Next to him was a very young girl, with green eyes too big for her face and severe cheekbones. She held herself tall, with the same carriage as the old man, marking them as family.
Anna started when she heard Columba speak of marriage, and it took her a moment to realise what it would mean. However mature, this child was much too young to be queen! She could be no more than fifteen years old! And what about Satine? Had those words Anna had so rudely overheard meant nothing?
Accolon was required to assist in the plans for the coronation that evening, so Anna and Luca were left alone to wander the gardens. Luca knew them well by now, because he’d spent much time there waiting for Anna to wake from her sick bed, but Anna had only walked through them once before.
“I’ll show you something cool, come on.” Grabbing her hand, Luca lead Anna straight into the heart of the gardens.
***
Luca took Anna to the place he had discovered in his first few days at the palace, in the centre of the grounds, surrounded by rambling plants and trees. In a tiny clearing, bathed in sunlight, stood a beautifully carved basin full of water. He had not brought Anna here on their first walk, because he had wanted it to be his secret. He liked to imagine that he was the first person to discover it.
He remembered his shock the first time he had looked into it. Feeling very alone in this strange world, he had wandered by himself and stumbled across a birdbath. Luca peered into the water and saw his own reflection staring out, gaunt and pale. Thinking to wash his face, he leant forward and touched his hand to the water. As soon as his fingertip brushed the surface, the water shimmered and swirled for a moment, and then settled. But he no longer saw his reflection. Luca watched blurred pictures flash in the water; mere glimpses, but they gave him an uneasy feeling in his stomach, making him want to pull away from the basin. The images slowed and he saw two hands, at first beautiful and familiar, then broken and red, as if they’d been mangled in a horrible accident. Just as Luca couldn’t bear to look anymore, the images suddenly changed into a vision of a young woman, and his mouth dropped open in wonder. He couldn’t see where she was as her surroundings were clouded, but she plucked a harp and sang. He couldn’t hear the music, but watched her float as she played.
Her face was pretty, but she looked so sad. He had watched her for a long time that day, and returned when he could for hours at a time. Each time he suffered through the horrible visions of the broken, tortured hands, but the image in the basin always turned into the girl again.
Luca couldn’t explain the basin, how it worked, or why he saw the girl. So he had decided finally to share his find, and show Anna. He watched as she peered into the basin.
“Touch the surface lightly, and look closely,” he instructed.
Anna stepped forward and slowly brushed the water with her fingers. With a violent gasp, she tore herself from the basin and collapsed, shaking and breathing hard. Luca rushed to help her.
“Anna, what did you see?”
Anna only shook her head and gestured for him to look. Bracing himself for something frightening, and hoping desperately that something awful had not happened to the girl, he touched the surface and looked in. The hands appeared, scarred and bruised and swollen. Then the water changed again and what he saw was not scary, but lovely. The girl was still there. She was on a ship, facing out to sea with the wind sweeping through her hair.
“What did you see?” he asked again. “Was it ... the hands that frightened you?”
It was now Anna’s turn to look confused. “I saw a beast, a flying beast with black scales and wings. Its eyes were bright red, and it was flying so fast. Its eyes ... looked into mine, and they were so ... evil. I couldn’t look any more, I had to rip myself away. Luca, it was like it was staring straight back into me, and the longer I looked the easier it would be for it to find me.” She shivered.
“Anna, I don’t know what to say. I have no idea why ... I wouldn’t have brought you here if I had known that was going to happen. I’m sorry.”
“What if it’s real, Luca? What the hell is that basin? Is that thing flying around out there?” Anna gasped.
“Anna, stop,” his voice quelled her panic. Luca had a way of calming a situation. So many times back at home when Anna
had been turned down by a boy she liked, or failed an assignment, or gotten into trouble with her parents, Luca would look at her and say simply, “There are worse things in life. At least you have us,” and there was something so reassuring in his voice that she would instantly feel better.
“We’re safe,” he said now. “It can’t come and get us here even if it is real. There is no way it could get into the palace, or even the city, without being stopped.”
She looked at him for a long while and felt her breathing slow. Finally she nodded.
“Come on, I’m taking you back to the palace. All this excitement can’t be good for you.”
“Oh, don’t start that, Luca!” she groaned.
He held up his hands in front of him. “All right, all right. Sorry.”
They walked for a while through the gardens until Anna relaxed again.
“What did you see?” she asked.
He hesitated before opening his mouth. “A girl. Just a girl.”
“What girl?”
He shrugged.
“What about the other thing? The hands you mentioned?”
“Nothing. That was nothing. Can you make it back to the palace on your own?”
“Luca, I’m not a child. I’ll be fine. But where are you going?”
He scratched his arm absently. “I just need to check something.” And with that he turned on his heel and disappeared back into the gardens.
And this time it was not the girl that he went to see. Clenching his jaw, he touched the water. Luca stared hard into the basin, trying to decipher the fast moving images. All he could see was darkness, pierced by a flashing set of laughing yellow teeth, and grey dripping walls. Luca shivered and resisted the urge to close his eyes. Then the hands appeared again. They tried to open and close, as if to make a fist, but the stiff joints wouldn’t move properly.
The girl appeared again, pulling on ropes and running over the deck of a ship. Luca glimpsed her talking to someone, someone he knew. He only just caught the side of her face in the blurred vision, but there was no mistaking the face that he had loved for most of his life. It was Jane.
Chapter 16
He was known for his stealth and his secrecy. It was why he had been chosen. Not because he was important, but because he was reliable. With skills that frightened most, and intrigued some, he was the perfect choice for an impossible job. He had not failed before, so the size of this hurdle didn’t trouble him. Nothing troubled him. His detachment was what made him good at his job. The fact that he no longer truly cared about anything.
Most people would have said that he had carried the job out successfully. But someone else’s arrow next to his was not his idea of a triumph. He may as well have not bothered. It had been a waste of his time. And an arrow.
And to top it all off, he had been refused the agreed payment. It had been an obscene amount of money, but he had planned to barter passage to Cynis Witron with it, and maybe try to face his past. Contrary to what his employers might guess, he didn’t enjoy killing people for a living.
On the eve of the assassination, he was silently making his way through the streets to a particular room, four storeys off the ground. To where his employer slept.
He didn’t know why she had wanted the king killed in a public place. Nor was it his business to know.
Staying to the shadows, he slipped down several roads and turned many corners, coming at last to one of the most impossible places to penetrate. He climbed the wall that no other would have dared tackle, and he entered the palace grounds. It was no easy matter to climb up four storeys, but his young body was agile and strong, and not quite human. He hoisted himself up to the balcony and swung his legs over the railing. Then, after picking the lock to the door, he entered the queen’s bedchamber.
***
Elixia bent down to study the scrolls. Accolon, Anna and Luca had been trying to decipher their meaning for most of the day, but the Strangers had left to take a walk in the gardens.
She’d been invited to have tea with them on the afternoon before the crowning. The same afternoon she’d met them. She didn’t really think it was just to chat. It was so the prince could get the measure of his new queen. The Chancellor and his assistant sat with them, of course and Kha~dim, leader of the El~ariah stood by the door, alert and ready—the three were known rarely to leave the king’s side—but did not say a word throughout the affair.
“How do you like the palace so far?” Accolon asked her. He seemed distracted, and kept looking over at the table where the scrolls lay.
“As palaces go, this is certainly an impressive one,” she smiled.
Accolon looked at her. They sat in the sunlight, and she was consumed by the look of him. She wondered if he smiled much. She had yet to see him do so.
“Tell me, with what do you amuse yourself?” he asked.
“I like to ride, Highness.”
“Most like to ride,” he said. “Most men.”
She shrugged. “Yes. I would be surprised if they did not.”
They gazed at each other.
“You style yourself as different to other women, then?”
“I style nothing. I like to ride because I like to be outdoors, and it gives me a sense of freedom,” she admitted honestly.
He leant forward and rested his elbows on his knees, looking at her closely. “You were born into a difficult family with which to enjoy freedom.”
Elixia smiled. “The curse of royalty. The weight of responsibility. I am familiar with it, certainly.”
He sat back and shrugged. “What is freedom anyway?”
“Simply a choice on how to spend your own time,” she answered without hesitation.
The prince stared thoughtfully at her for a time, and then said, “You show courage in expressing your opinions. It is a good quality.”
“Thank you, but I did not come here for compliments. What else would you ask me?” Elixia was not really in the mood to be interrogated, but it was a way to find out more about her future husband. The questions people ask reveal a lot about who they are.
He blinked in surprise and then said, “I would like to ask you about your political views, but I fear it might be rude to do so, so soon after your arrival.”
Elixia shrugged. “Not rude, but perhaps a little hasty. We will have plenty of time to discuss politics, no doubt.” She paused, and then said quietly, “My Lord, one thing, we might address now. Would you not ask me what I think of the taxation tactics being employed in your own country?”
He frowned. “How did I not guess you would bring that up? Gods, I cannot escape the subject. I can imagine what you think of such things, but you’re obviously going to tell me anyway, so go ahead.”
“Killing entire families for not paying their taxes is not something I can comprehend, my lord.”
“Well, Elixia, thankfully you do not need to comprehend such things, seeing as it is I who am left to deal with my father’s monstrous actions,” he said roughly.
“You do not condone the killings then?” she asked slowly.
Accolon looked at her carefully again, and appeared to be about to reply, but at that point there was a loud knocking on the door.
“Enter,” Accolon called, and was not surprised to see the two Strangers.
“Oh, sorry if we interrupted, we just wanted to have another look at the scrolls, if you don’t mind?” Anna asked uncertainly. She looked slightly pale, and Elixia wondered what she had been doing.
“Anna’s had a thought,” Luca added from behind his companion.
Accolon glanced quickly at Elixia, and then said, “Of course. On the table.”
They crossed the room and bent eagerly over the maps. Accolon joined them.
“Is it permitted for me to look at them? I might be of use to help you identify what they depict,” Elixia asked formally. Accolon looked at her for a moment, and she shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.
“You must not tell anyone about them.”
&nb
sp; He gestured to the five people already in the room—his two chancellors, the head of the El~ariah, and the two Strangers—and said, “There are very few people I trust with a matter like this, and they are already in this room.”
Elixia nodded. “I understand.”
Then, as she stared at the maps, she came to her dilemma. She knew where this place was, knew it very well. It was imprinted in her brain.
“As none of you could recognise this place, I had the idea that maybe it was part of our world,” Anna suggested. “And then I had another idea. These marks could be stars.”
Elixia drew in a breath.
“Why is it so important that you must decipher these scrolls?” she asked casually.
“They were in the possession of someone very dangerous,” Accolon said shortly.
Elixia sighed inwardly. She supposed they seemed trustworthy, however inadequately she knew them. He was going to be the High King. If there was anyone that might need to know, undoubtedly it would be him. And if the prophecy was true ... perhaps this had something to do with the Strangers too ... Elixia bit her lip, still hesitating. It was such a huge thing to explain. Anything she said would lead to more questions, and then how was she to escape revealing herself?
She took a deep breath and said, “I know where it is.”
All eyes turned to her. “You must understand that to tell you this I am breaking an oath. This isn’t information to be bandied about. It is imperative that you do not tell anyone you cannot trust about this. Do you give your word?”
“First,” Accolon said, “it may not be possible to keep the information solely within this room, but of course we would not bandy it about.”
“You give your word?”
“Yes. I give you my word.”
“Me too,” Luca agreed.
“And me, of course,” Anna added.
Elixia looked at Tomasso and he nodded. Then she looked at Vezzet, and he too nodded instantly and said. “I give you my word.”
Elixia took a deep breath.
“The maps that you are looking at depict the grounds of the one true star remaining, the evening star of Elendial, where the Gods meet.”