Kenleigh spoke up in a soft voice. “I’m not afraid.”
“No?” Will looked up at him. “I bet you’re not. And you know why? Because you’re a good man. You believe in hard work and honesty, right? And you’re here because the king sent for you and your mother and told you that you have a duty to your nation?”
His half brother nodded solemnly. “The prophecy calls, and I am here to do what must be done.”
“Of course you are.” Will sighed. “The problem is that those things that need to be done might just be beyond you.”
Scrainwood hissed. “Some gutterkin telling an Oriosan noble that he is inferior?”
“Inferior? No. He’s just too nice.” Will shook his head, then looked up at Scrainwood. “If you were a coin with your eyes put out, you couldn’t be more blind, could you? Let me suppose some things. Once my father went over to Chytrine, you confiscated the Norrington holdings and wanted to forget the family and the prophecy. My father’s wife and her sons were reduced to poverty. You couldn’t punish Norringtons, so you punished these people. And when I was brought forward as being the Norrington of prophecy, suddenly you wanted me to be your Norrington. You gave me a mask, the lands that should have belonged to them, and you wanted me to be your pet.”
The thief glanced up at Lady Nolda. “You’d always clung to the idea of the prophecy as a way to redeem your life and you assumed one of your boys would be the Norrington. You remained ignored until a week ago, when you were sent for because I would not do King Scrainwood’s bidding. He promised you your lands again if your son would be the Norrington.”
The woman raised her chin imperiously. “It is for the good of the nation.”
Will scrubbed a hand over his face. “No. It’s good for you. It’s also insane.”
Will’s voice rose. Yes, he was angry with Scrainwood for being a greedy manipulative toad, but he was also angry with everyone else for not seeing what Princess Sayce had said: that they were wasting time. Every moment that was not spent fighting against Chytrine only allowed her to grow stronger.
Most of all, though, he was angry with himself. Deep down inside, when Scrainwood had announced that there was another Norrington, Will had felt happy. The burden that had been thrust upon him had been lifted. He was free. He’d had enough adventures to be drinking off them forever. He might have not killed any sullanciri, but he’d survived their attacks. He’d done countless things that would satisfy a lifetime’s desire for adventure.
The problem was, of course, that those things were not enough. Chytrine was still out there. He had to do more, and what he had to do wasn’t going to be pretty, and a lot of folks would die—including folks who never should have been involved.
Starting with Kenleigh.
Will looked past him to his mother. “You want lands and titles? Before I leave Meredo I will sign over to you all the Norrington lands. They’re yours.”
Lady Nolda’s eyes half lidded with contempt. “They are already my son’s.”
“Not for long. The king will only let you keep them if your son proves to be the Norrington.”
“He is.”
“Trust me, Lady Nolda. Your son may be brave and kind and considerate and a hard worker, and he may love you more than he loves his country, but the Norrington he’s not.”
Kenleigh reached out and settled his left hand on Will’s right shoulder. “I know who I am.”
Will’s body tensed. In the blink of an eye he could have plucked the hand from his shoulder, then rotated beneath it, twisting the arm around. A quick wrench and a kick to the back of Kenleigh’s left knee, and the man would have been driven to the floor. Then the thief sighed and let his body relax. He didn’t need to resort to physical violence.
“Kenleigh, I know who you are, too, and that’s why I know you’re not the Norrington. If you were, you’d kiss your mother good-bye right now, because you’ll never see her again. I don’t know how they’ll do it, but they’ll kill her. Ask the king; he knows. Can you imagine it, Kenleigh, standing here, with your mother’s head new-plucked from her body and placed in your hands? Can you see her expression as she stares up at you? Can you feel her blood seeping between your fingers?”
As Will spoke, Scrainwood’s face drained of color. “How dare you!”
Will pointed his left index finger at Scrainwood. “Going to hit me again? I dare because you are a coward.”
Stars exploded before Will’s eyes and he suddenly found himself sitting on the ground. He looked up at Kenleigh and saw Dranae restraining his half brother. Will blinked; his left eye was already beginning to swell shut. And Kenleigh’s angry expression had already begun to melt into one of horror at what he had done.
“Nice punch.” Will drew himself to his feet carefully, but still staggered back a step. He shook his head again, then snorted a spray of blood. “Really, nice punch.”
“I’m sorry.”
“So am I.” The thief wiped his nose, then flicked the blood on the ground. “You see, King Scrainwood? I insult you, but you don’t dare hit me now. Your son didn’t dare hit me. It took one of your countrymen to do it. If you were worthy of such loyalty from stouthearted men, Oriosa would be a bulwark against Chytrine. Oriosa is not because you are a coward and fool.”
He looked back over at his half brother. “And you didn’t hit me just for what I said about the king, did you? You hit me because you didn’t want your mother to die. You love her and your country so much that you’d become the Norrington if she and the king told you to. And when you learned that she’d die because of it, you were torn, right?”
Kenleigh glanced down, not meeting his gaze.
“Well, here is the thing of it.” Will wiped a bloody smear on his sleeve. “I don’t know if I’m really the Norrington or not, but Chytrine and her sullanciri seem to think I am. They’ve killed my friends because of it. They’ve tried to kill me. So, until we can convince her different, I’m the Norrington.”
He walked over to Kenleigh and patted the man on the shoulder. “You’re a good man, too good for this business. Use the lands well and wisely. Lands and titles don’t make me the Norrington, and they’ll be in good hands with you.”
Scrainwood hissed. “You’re not the Norrington, whoreget, unless I say you are.”
The thief shook his head. “But you have, Highness, time after time. Your denials of it now aren’t going to be taken seriously, especially outside Oriosa, which is where I’m planning on being as fast as possible.”
“You’ll never set foot in my nation again.”
“Now, there is a prophecy I’ll guarantee will come true.” Will turned and looked at Crow. “I can’t imagine why you’d want to be stuck in Oriosa for one moment longer. Princess Sayce says she has horses and supplies, and needs some heroes. I don’t expect fighting for Muroso will pay much, but you’re fresh out of gaol and any job should be welcome.”
Crow laughed lightly. “I’ll bear that in mind.”
“Good, and bring the wife.”
Will looked away before Alexia’s surprised expression had fully formed. He reached up and tore off the lacy courtesy mask, then wiped his nose on it before tossing it at Scrainwood’s feet. “In the future, all they’re going to remember is that Chytrine was stopped by an Oriosan. You, King Scrainwood, won’t be mentioned at all.”
CHAPTER 32
A lyx’s shock at Will’s comment to Crow had not yet worn off as she and Crow had led the way from the palace—with Will, Dranae, and Princess Sayce bringing up the rear. They moved easily through the streets, though Alexia found herself casting eyes back toward the palace. She half suspected Scrainwood would send troops after them, and she did not much like the fact that her great-grandaunt had remained behind.
The journey to the Rampant Panther did not take that long, but before they entered, Alexia stopped, turned, and rested her hands on Will’s shoulders. “A word with you, please.”
He looked up, his grey eyes wide. “I meant no disresp
ect, Highness. I was just angry and kind of flailing about, trying to surprise folks. I mean, I know the truth, and I’m sorry.”
She shook her head. “Will, that did surprise me, but that’s okay. You had your back to her, but that shot took my great-grandaunt right between the eyes. Thank you. However, that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.”
Crow cleared his throat. “Dranae, perhaps you’d stand me to a mug of mulled wine?”
“Wait.” Alexia looked back at him, and then at the other two. “You don’t need to go, because I’ll freely say this in front of you or as many others as can hear. What you did back there, Will, was probably the most ill-considered, irrational, and impulsive thing you could have done. It was dangerous, and before this is all over, it could well be the death of you.”
The thief slowly nodded and glanced down at the slush. “I know.”
Alexia reached out and tipped his face up with a finger. “That’s why it’s also one of the bravest things. It was a heroic act.”
He frowned. “How do you figure that?”
The princess smiled. “You saved a life in there. Kenleigh Norrington isn’t the fated one. You read him right: he is stout of heart and limb, loves his mother and his country, and would obey her without question. In this battle, though, it’s not enough. While he would do everything he was told to do, Chytrine would gobble him up and spit out bleached bones. In backing him down, you saved his life.
“And that’s the essence of heroism, isn’t it? Every one of us does all we can to avoid death. But a hero knows there are some people who can’t protect themselves, so he steps in to protect them.”
Will grinned. “Or she steps in.”
“Thank you, sir.” Alexia smiled. “The other thing about being a hero, Will, is that it’s not birth makes you one. If it were, Scrainwood would be a hero. So would Kenleigh. Being a hero is something you learn, but it’s mostly something you accept. Back there you acknowledged that being the Norrington is quite a responsibility, and you accepted that responsibility for yourself. That took a lot of courage. So, whether we’re riding north to Caldeo or south or east or west, I’ll be proud to ride with you.”
The thief blinked for a moment, then snorted a laugh. “Me? Responsible? Who would have thunk it?”
Crow smiled and slapped him on the shoulder. “A fitting attribute for the King of the Dimandowns, don’t you think?”
“I guess.” Will shifted his shoulders and Alexia felt a shiver run through him. “Thank you, Princess.”
“You’re welcome, Will.” She straightened up, then slid her left hand to the small of his back. “Now, get in there and warm yourself. Dranae and Princess Sayce, you, too. Order whatever you want and have it put on my account. Crow, I would have a word in private with you.”
Dranae nodded and guided the other two into the building.
Crow looked at her. “Yes?”
“Upstairs, in my room, please.”
He nodded his assent, so she led the way up the stairs to her room. Crow slipped in past her and she closed the door. He turned the wick up on the table lamp. She pointed him to the chairs by the window as she squatted at the edge of the bed and reached under the straw mattress.
“I believe this is yours.” She pulled out a long, slender, cloth-wrapped package and slid it across the blanket to him. “I got it from Resolute and had to tell the Oriosans that you’d given it to me as a wedding gift to stop them from confiscating it.”
Crow smiled as he unwrapped the sword. “Fitting it should be yours. You’ve made better use of it than I. You slew a sullanciri with it.”
“We did that.”
He nodded and slid the blade from the ancient, scarred scabbard. Though the scabbard and belt had seen better days, the sword looked as if it had just come from the forge. The long, straight blade had two edges and a thickened forte. In that reinforced area had been set an opalescent gem. It was shaped like a keystone, and that design had been echoed in the brass cross hilt decorations and the pommel cap. Stained leather wrapped the hilt and Crow’s fingers caressed it lovingly.
She watched him, and something tightened around her heart. He concentrated on the blade, and the shifting fire in the gem flashed little rainbow lights over his face. His eyes grew distant, and she knew well that the simple weight of the blade—the feel of the leather and the cool metal of blade and pommel—could summon up hundreds, even thousands, of memories. She had no idea how much blood it had spilled, how many desperate cuts it had turned, how many gibberers it had cloven and vylaens spitted. Somehow, though, she was certain that Crow remembered only the faces of those he saved and, more sharply, the faces of those he could not.
The lines of that face, the hollows—the way that one lock of white hair fell across his forehead, crossing the scar that started there, then worked down his right cheek—all pleased her eye mightily. She wanted to reach out to brush that lock back into place, not because it needed to be cleared from his face, but because she wanted to touch it, to feel it between her fingers, and then her fingers deep in his hair.
“Princess?” Crow looked at her. “Is there something wrong?”
Alexia blinked, then shook her head and stood. “No, nothing wrong.” She refrained from pressing her hands to her stomach to stop the fluttering there. “I, ah, just wanted to be sure that you had Tsamoc back as we rode north.”
Crow nodded. “Thank you. You know that this stone is from the Radooya Bridge? We destroyed the bridge before we came to Svarskya. Actually, the bridge’s weirun destroyed the bridge for us. This stone is all that is left of him. His name was Tsamoc. Once he removed this gem from his chest, he came apart, and so did the bridge.
“A friend of mine, Naysmith Carver, made Tsamoc and gave the sword to me. It saved me in Boragul and after, running from Chytrine’s hunters, and countless times since.” He resheathed the blade. “Tsamoc asked Nay to let him help destroy Chytrine. I’ve been doing all I can to help him since.”
“And you’ve done very well.”
“Thank you.” Crow set the sword on the bed, then looked up at her. “And I owe you an apology.”
“For what?”
“For spurning your effort to save my life. Scrainwood would have had me killed had you not come up with this solution.” Crow twisted the gold band on his left ring finger. “For years I’d all but forgotten the sentence of death. Compared to how badly Chytrine wanted me dead, and then the trouble locating Will, it just seemed unimportant. I avoided Oriosa, grew this beard for a disguise, became Resolute’s aide, and spent most of my time off in the middle of nowhere killing Aurolani troops. The Vorquelves knew who I was—many of them anyway—but they didn’t care.
“When I was found out, the sentence crashed back down on me and . . .” He hesitated, then frowned and fell silent.
Alyx slipped forward and knelt on the bed. “What? Don’t be afraid . . .” The seconds the words were out of her mouth, she realized her mistake. “Forgive me, I didn’t mean to intrude.”
“No, no, it’s fine.” His eyes flicked up. “I gave up. They had me, and I realized I was tired. Tired of all of it.”
“But, Crow, you were tired. Your leg was broken and you didn’t let Kerrigan heal it and we had been riding hard for days, of course you were tired. And then they beat you and left you naked and cold down there in that root cellar and . . .”
“Shhhhhh, Princess, please.” Crow sighed. “All you say is true, but none of it mitigates the fact that I wanted to quit. And I would have given up, save for one thing.”
He slid the ring off his finger and tossed it between her knees. “This. The elaborate measures you went to in getting it on my finger. You could have just broken me out of Tolsin. We could have been on the run, but you chose another route.”
“You were the one who pointed out that running would have been difficult.”
“Yes, but your action reminded me that this war with Chytrine is more than just a personal thing. Princess Sayce is right—time
was wasted here, but good things did happen. There isn’t a war between Oriosa and Alcida. You’re not an outlaw, which might cause some countries to reconsider their support of the Okrannel campaign. This was the right way to do things, though what happened is hardly what we anticipated.”
Alexia picked the ring up and flicked it back and forth against her thumb and index finger. “It was something you would have seen, given time, a lack of beatings, and rest.”
“Perhaps.” He smiled. “But now I don’t feel tired anymore. I am ready to ride north, to deal with Chytrine and her people. You gave me the chance to catch my breath, and for that, I can’t repay you.”
“Sure you can.” She tossed him the ring. “Keep wearing this.”
“Princess, this charade . . .” His voice shrank painfully.
“Crow, listen to me. We are friends. I wish for you to have that ring.” She listened to herself and found that what she was saying didn’t come easily. The words were describing the truth, or at least a portion of it. A fragment of it.
“I dare not, Princess.”
She arched an eyebrow at him. “Why not?”
“This ring, the way Kerrigan made it has all the same links as it would if we were married. If I fall . . .”
“I would know?”
“Probably not.”
She felt a tightness in her stomach. I would know.
“If I fall, and war is a younger man’s game, someone could take this ring and use the magick to trace it back to you. They could find you and attack you because I had failed.”
A coldness pooled in her belly, then bled into her voice. “And the reverse would be true?”
“Yes, they could find me using your ring.” Crow gave her a smile. “The chances of you falling, however, are remote.”
“You mistake my question, Crow.” Alexia shook her head. “If you fall, my ring would still be linked to yours. With magick, I could find the one who took it from you. I could hunt them.”
He looked at her for a moment, then nodded and swallowed. His voice still came hoarse. “Yes. And I would do the same.”