The struggle for authori.., p.41
The Struggle for Authority, page 41
“And Ennawi had no way of striking back,” said Will.
“No,” agreed Dahra. “Ennawi had plenty of reason to want to harm Agon, even without the abuse. The king was the one who ordered his hands and his tongue to be cut off. I’m sure Agon wasn’t aware of that when Ennawi joined him, though. Sooner or later he would have said something to Ennawi if he’d known.”
Ignoring their astonishment, she pressed on.
“It happened when he was young. Word reached Agon that Ennawi’s father had spoken against the king, so Agon ordered in a rage that the tongues of everyone in the family should be cut out. He demanded to be told if any further trouble surfaced in the region. Some time later he was told that a child had repeatedly been caught stealing bread, and he apparently ordered the child’s hands to be cut off.
“I imagine that Agon had no way of knowing that the same child had been affected by both actions. He probably forgot even giving the orders. But the first punishment led directly to the second. Once the family had been marked, the father couldn’t work. All of them began to starve, so the young son turned to stealing.
“After the second punishment was carried out, Drettroth somehow found out about it. He took the family in and arranged for them to be cared for, perhaps wanting to make himself look good in comparison with Agon. Then he had Ennawi placed with Agon. A drugged Ennawi would have made for an ideal listener—one with no way of passing on anything he heard. Drettroth had known Agon since childhood, and he must have guessed that Agon could never resist blurting out all his secrets to such a person.”
A look of horror came to Amyra’s face. “So Agon was abusing Ennawi every day. And the whole time Ennawi knew that Agon had been responsible for his condition, but Agon didn’t?” she asked.
Dahra nodded. “That’s a good summary. You can imagine how much Ennawi has been damaged by everything that’s happened.”
The revelations appalled Will. His own newfound happiness seemed almost obscene when seen alongside the relentless and seemingly endless blows that Ennawi had endured.
“How did it benefit Drettroth to place him with Agon?” asked Will.
Dahra turned to Thomas.
Thomas sighed. “It’s one of the first things I discovered from Ennawi,” he said. “Drettroth was quite open about his reasons. One of his greatest ambitions was to acquire the Stone of Knowing. He was anticipating a day when he had taken possession of it. He would be able to read Agon’s thoughts himself through direct contact, but if Agon ever refused to see Drettroth for any reason, Ennawi would provide an alternate way of discovering Agon’s plans. Ennawi did eventually prove useful in exposing Agon’s thoughts and plans, of course, even if not in the way Drettroth intended.”
Will frowned. “And that was all there was to it?” he asked.
Thomas shook his head. “There was more. Drettroth was a subtle and devious man, and I’m not sure I fully comprehend all of his reasons. But the depth of his hatred toward Agon came through clearly in what he said to Ennawi. Agon was cruel to Drettroth from their earliest years, and it came to a head when Drettroth stumbled on the Stone of Authority while they were both still young. Neither of them realized what the stone was at the time, but Agon tricked him into handing it over, and Drettroth never forgave him. When Drettroth later learned about the true value of the stone, he hated Agon even more.
“After that incident, the young Drettroth decided to devote himself to bringing Agon down. He was canny about it. To all appearances he was Agon’s strongest supporter. All the while he was making sure he strengthened himself through everything he did for the king.”
“What did that have to do with Ennawi?” asked Amyra.
“Drettroth told Ennawi all this,” Thomas replied. “He also told him that he was going to arrange for Agon to be killed, but he didn’t provide details. If Drettroth failed and Agon got the Stone of Knowing, Agon would have discovered Drettroth’s intentions from Ennawi. Agon would always be wondering what Drettroth might have planned. And Drettroth arranged that the assassin wouldn’t be hired until well after his own death. By then Agon might have thought he could relax.”
“It sounds bizarre,” said Amyra, a baffled look on her face. “Why would he go to so much trouble for a reason like that?”
“I think I can guess at the answer, at least in part,” said Will. “Drettroth captured me during the Rogandan invasion of Arvenon when I tried to infiltrate his camp posing as a priest. He had plenty else to do at the time, but he found time to taunt me. I think he derived pleasure from taunting his victims.”
Thomas nodded. “I’m sure you’re right.”
“Ennawi might not have known what Drettroth was planning, but we do now,” said Will.
“The assassin,” said Amyra.
“Yes,” agreed Will. “Drettroth might even have made other plans as well that we don’t know about.”
They all fell silent, musing.
“Drettroth must have hated Agon with a bitter passion,” said Amyra finally.
“Yes, he did,” Thomas agreed. “His hatred lasted a lifetime and beyond.”
Dahra shook her head in disgust. “The two of them were as bad as each other,” she said. “Both men were responsible for the years of abuse Ennawi suffered at the hands of Agon. They hurt him so much, and he needs to find a way to forgive them, or he’ll be eaten up with bitterness for the rest of his life.”
Will couldn’t help but be relieved when the conversation gradually turned to less harrowing topics.
Eventually Dahra addressed herself to him directly. “When will you be leaving?” she asked.
“Soon,” he replied. “King Steffan and Queen Essanda need to know what’s happened here.”
Dahra glanced at Amyra. “I imagine you’ll be accompanying Will,” she said.
Her daughter nodded. “We’re planning to get married in Arnost. Once control of the city returns to King Steffan, of course. You will come for the wedding, won’t you?” she asked anxiously.
Dahra grinned. “Nothing could keep me away,” she assured them.
“Would you ever consider relocating to my holdings in Erestor?” asked Will hopefully.
“There’s only one thing that could possibly induce me,” Dahra replied.
“Grandchildren,” said Amyra, rolling her eyes.
Dahra laughed, but she didn’t deny it.
Thomas had been listening to the conversation with open astonishment on his face. Will leaned in close to him. “If you don’t close your mouth soon, Thomas, a bird might decide to make a nest in there,” he whispered. Then he clapped Thomas on the back with a wink.
As they were leaving Dahra’s hut, Will turned back to her. “You said there might be something I can do for you,” he reminded her.
“You’ve already done it,” she assured him with a smile.
The day of their departure had finally arrived. After so long away from his family, Thomas was impatient to be reunited with Elena and Tammi and Rubin. He was also aware that Haldek was barely less eager to see them again, even though his return to Arvenon might well mean his final farewell to the land of his birth.
As for Thomas, his own future was uncertain. He was planning to suggest to Elena that they join the community at Newhaven, along with Rubin and Haldek. They should be able to remain safely hidden there. He also thought they could invite his parents to join them.
It had briefly occurred to him that without the stone there was little reason to hide away anymore. But the people who had been searching for him wouldn’t know he had given it up. Even without Agon paying them, they might decide to pursue him anyway in the hope of robbing him of whatever the king had been searching for. He concluded that Newhaven was a good choice even without the stone.
Now Will and Amyra were to be married, and Thomas imagined they might locate themselves on Will’s holdings in Erestor. Newhaven wasn’t impossibly far away from there; perhaps the two families could visit each other from time to time.
Will had told Thomas that Amyra now held the Stone of Authority and had described what she’d done with it. He also spoke openly of his love for the young woman. Thomas still hadn’t decided which revelation astonished him the most.
Thomas had never glimpsed the vaguest hint of a romantic side to Will, and he was still coming to terms with the relationship between Will and Amyra. It seemed all the more remarkable given the way Amyra had appeared to despise Will. Appearances could certainly be deceptive.
Thomas was delighted for them both, and he had been trying to tell himself that nothing was more important than Will’s news. As they prepared to leave, though, little else occupied his mind except the missing chain around his neck. He hadn’t yet found a way to tell Will that he no longer had the Stone of Knowing. He had decided to wait until they left Aen-irac.
Atae, Rhillyon, and others among the Aen-ur had assembled to wish them well on their journey, and especially to bid their final farewells to Amyra. Thomas noticed more than one young man among the crowd directing dark looks at Will.
At that moment Dahra and Amyra were locked in a tearful parting embrace. Dahra had finally opened up to Amyra, revealing the details of her life before she met her husband, Kalvor, describing their years together, and recounting the events that led to his death. The two women had talked far into the night with many tears on both sides.
Dahra herself had told Thomas about it later. He wondered if he had precipitated the interaction by his comments to Amyra about her father, and he apologized to Dahra for raising the subject. She assured him that he’d done both of them a favor.
Dahra and Amyra might be parting now, but their separation was expected to be short-lived. Dahra intended to travel to Arnost as soon as it was safe to do so, and Will had promised to send an escort when that moment arrived.
None of the travelers had any idea what they might find across the border. Will expected Rellan and Lord Burtelen to be stationed there with an army. The status of the other Arvenian army was still unknown, but Arnost was almost certainly still occupied, and Castel remained to be freed from the influence of Eisgold. However, Agon’s death meant that no further support would flow to either Pisander or Eisgold, and Will was confident that a way would be found to deal with them both. They would be dealt with permanently this time.
Amyra finally mounted, and all of them waved their farewells. As Thomas was about to ride away, Dahra hurried up to him, beckoning him to bend down to her.
Dahra reached for his hand as he did so and pressed a folded piece of cloth into it. Something firm lay hidden within the folds.
“I’m giving it back,” she whispered, a sober expression on her face. “It belongs to you again.”
Thomas was too astonished to reply.
“I never really wanted it,” she told him. “I’ve done what was needed with Ennawi, and I want to be rid of it. After all these years without it, the insights have felt oppressive. You and your admirable wife will be much better guardians of it. I’m very much looking forward to meeting her, Thomas!”
She stepped back into the crowd, giving him opportunity to do no more than wave an acknowledgment.
The moment Thomas found himself riding apart from the others, he opened his hand and unfolded the piece of cloth. Inside he found the chain and the clasp with the stone. Slipping it back over his head, he concealed it once more beneath his clothing.
He took a deep breath, then released a long sigh. With the stone around his neck once more, the familiar feelings of ambivalence had returned in full force.
The situation had changed, though. It somehow comforted him to know that the Stone of Knowing was no longer the only arcane influence in his world. The Stone of Authority was also heading to Arvenon, and in safe hands at last.
And he was going home. With Elena’s help he had always found a way to deal with the unnerving predicaments presented by the stone. New challenges would not be long in coming, of that he was certain. When they did, he and Elena would face them together.
Thomas was startled out of a dream by a weight that squeezed the breath from his lungs. A rag covered his mouth, and a knee was pressed hard against his chest. Thomas struggled to open his eyes.
“Get up! Quietly!” whispered a harsh voice.
The knee was removed, and he was hauled to his feet. The fire at their campsite flickered low, and everything around him was quiet. He glimpsed the motionless forms of Will and Haldek, apparently soundly asleep. He couldn’t spot Amyra, but he knew she was sleeping nearby, on the other side of the fire.
Bustling him away from the firelight, his captor pulled him to a halt among the trees.
“Agon wanted you badly, Thomas,” growled the voice. “Badly enough to drag me to Rog to put some kind of spell on me. And you actually left Varas and went to him! I never reached him in time to tell him. And now he’s dead.”
Thomas’s heart raced as a blade pressed against his throat, cold on his skin.
“I’m my own man again now,” the intruder continued. “And I didn’t go through all this for nothing. You’ve got his heirloom, or whatever it is, and I’m not leaving without it. Hand it over without a fuss, and I might even decide to kill you quickly.”
“Let him go!” commanded a woman’s voice. Thomas’s eyes flicked up to see Amyra poised at the edge of the campsite.
“Come a step closer and he dies immediately!” warned Thomas’s captor. The pressure of the knife increased at Thomas’s throat. “Hand it over, Thomas,” snarled the voice, “then I can go kill her too.”
Thomas’s mind spun, his body frozen.
Before he could respond, a screech shattered the night. Something dark glided above them, descending rapidly toward the two men.
The intruder cried out in alarm as dark wings beat about his face. “What is that?” He crouched low, slashing his blade wildly above his head.
Finding himself suddenly free, Thomas stumbled hastily away from his captor.
A knife flew through the air, burying itself in the body of the writhing man. He went down hard, falling directly onto the knife. He didn’t get up.
Haldek appeared, rolling the intruder over to retrieve his knife. He grimaced as he examined the body. “He was going to kill you,” he said to Thomas. “And her next,” he added, jerking his head toward Amyra.
The young woman stood rooted to the spot, her face pale.
Will hurried to her side, not relaxing until he had assured himself she was unharmed. “You used the stone,” he said softly.
She nodded unsteadily. “There was nothing nearby I could call on apart from the owl.”
Thomas was struggling to master the trembling that shook his body. “You saved my life,” he breathed. “Thank you.”
Amyra shook her head. “It was nothing,” she protested dully.
Haldek had returned to the fire and built it up again, and soon all of them had gathered around it, staring silently into the flames.
They were still huddled there when dawn broke. Working distractedly, Thomas helped Will and Haldek pile rocks over the body of his attacker. Even with the threat behind him he couldn’t relax. Not with the fresh memory of the knife at his throat.
His would-be killer had been sent by Agon, and he had even known Thomas’s name. The man’s words echoed hauntingly in his mind.
“I imagine there’s a story behind him,” said Will.
“I don’t want to know it,” Thomas returned emphatically.
He felt nothing but relief when they mounted up once more and rode away from the campsite, continuing their journey toward Arvenon.
Thomas’s mind was numb. Once again the stone had almost cost him his life.
Would it never end?
45
Lord Mardone watched covertly as Lord Eisgold stumbled along a corridor of Castel Citadel. Hidden in the shadows beside Mardone stood Count Gordan.
“Something’s happened,” Mardone ventured. “Eisgold is blundering about as if he’s in a fog.”
“The time has come,” Gordan responded. “It will be too late for the king if we don’t act soon.”
“How many of the others are with us?” Mardone asked.
“We can count on two or three of them,” Gordan told him. “The rest are still wavering. We’re wasting our time pursuing them further.”
They continued to observe Eisgold until he disappeared from their sight.
Mardone turned to his friend. “So we move tonight?”
Gordan nodded. “Tonight.”
King Rupert lay in his bed, groaning softly. The pounding in his head and the twisting in his gut had prostrated him once more. When would it end? He was only seventeen years old, much too young to die.
At first he failed to notice the four men who burst into his bedroom. He became aware of them when they appeared at his bedside and began lifting him bodily from his bed. When he opened his mouth to protest, they thrust a gag into it.
Every fiber of his being cried out, “Treason!”, but the gag in his mouth prevented him from uttering a sound, and he was too weak to struggle. They bustled him out the door of his bedchamber—a door that should have been secured by his royal guards. No guards were anywhere to be seen.
He was hurried along an empty corridor, only to scramble down another corridor and another, until he had lost all sense of direction. All he knew was that they were traveling through rarely trafficked corners of the castle.
He had the presence of mind to recognize that they could have knifed him at any time, with no one to witness it. He could only conclude that they didn’t intend to kill him. Not yet, anyway. That was some consolation.
