Lord of Lies (21 page)

'Do you remember standing in that ring?' King Hadaru asked me. He pointed past my shoulder at the floor, where a great circle of red rosewood had been set into the white oak. The Guardians formed their lines behind it. I remembered too well standing in this ring of honor where the Ishkans fought their duels. There Salmelu's sword had pierced my side; there I had wounded him nearly to the death 'You spared the life of him whose name we no longer speak in this house,' King Hadaru said to me. 'You should have slain him. Is this the compassion of a Maitreya?'

I stood with my hand on my sword as I remembered the faces of the dead scryers and the slave girls; I found myself wishing that I
had
slain Salmelu. 'Of course, it's also said,' King Hadaru continued, 'that the Maitreya will be a great warlord. Have you ever led men into battle, Lord Valashu?'

I looked at the rigid faces of Lord Issur and Lord Nadhru and those of the hundred Ishkans pmitioned near the throne. Behind me, lined up by the main doors, stood Lord Jehu and his knights, and their hearts beat with bloodlust and wrath. The Guardians I had led into Ishka trembled to test their swords against these men and take back the Lightstone from King Hadaru's clutching haft. It was possible, I knew, that a battle would break out in this room in another moment. King Hadaru desired this. Some shame burns so deeplf that it seems only blood can wash it clean.

'It's my hope,' I said to him, 'that we will fight no more battles.' He laughed his brittle, humorless laugh and said, 'You would end war, so I've been told.'

'Yes - we Valari were meant to be warriors of the spirit only.'

'Is that so? Then whom are we to war against? And how are we to war against them?'

With the valarda,
I thought.
With all the force of our souls.

'An alliance,' I said to him, 'must be made to oppose the Red Dragon. This is why we're journeying to the tournament.'

I felt the coldness of King Hadaru's eyes touching mine. And he must have felt a little of the fire of the dream that blazed inside me 'An alliance?' he asked. 'Waashians stand with Taroners? Ishkans stand with warriors of Mesh?'

'Even as we stand together in this room, King Hadaru. Even as we stood at the Sarburn three thousand years ago.'

King Hadaru gazed at the little bowl. A soft radiance flowed out of it and spilled over him in a golden sheen. There was a burn in his eyes, and in my own. It came to me then that shame was only a bitter reminder of our instinct to be restored to our inborn nobilty. King Hadaru, I knew, might long for death in battle and the slaying of all his foes. But there was something he desired even more.

'Help me,' I said to him. 'Help me make this alliance.'

'Help you? How?'

'Journey with us to Nar. If the Valari see the Ishkans and Meshians riding together, they'll believe any miracle is possible.'

If
I
saw that myself, I would believe in miracles, too,' King Hadaru said. He paused to look down into the soft, golden curves of the Lightstone. 'You speak of riding together, of sharing this cup. But those who guard it are all of Mesh. Are we of Ishka to follow in your train like dogs hoping for leavings from your plates?'

I exchanged glances with several of the knights framing King Hadaru's throne. Then I said to him, 'All right, then. Choose ten of your finest men, and they will take oaths as Guardians, too.'

These words had scarcely left my lips when a great sigh of surprise blew through the room. Some of the knights about me grumbled their disapproval of my suggestion, but many more seemed pleased.

'Ten knights?' King Hadaru said. 'Why not a hundred? Do think that Ishka is so poor in spirit that we cannot spare so many?'

'No one will ever say that of Ishka, King Hadaru. But it is my intention to journey from Nar into Tria. A hundred knights will be quite enough to alarm the Alonians, as they alarmed Lord Shadru. Two hundred Valari
will
begin to look like an invasion.'

King Hadaru thought about this as he studied the cup in his hand. Then he said, 'Yes, perhaps you're right. Fifty knights would be better.'

'That is still too many,' I said. 'Warders must be found for each of them so that Morjin's illusions won't touch them. And I must be sure of every Guardian.'

'Are you saying that you'll doubt the knights I choose?'

'No, King Hadaru. But the Guardians' first loyalty must be to the Lightstone, and to me. I must know the men I lead.'

'How long, then, would it take you to become acquainted with thirty of my knights?'

'Twice as long,' I said, 'as it would half that number.'

'Fifteen knights,' he muttered, shaking his head. 'Of course, all this is only speculation. Who could think that even fifteen Ishkan knights could ride with Meshians all the way to Tria?'

'Is it easier,' I asked him, 'to imagine twenty knights making this journey?'

'Perhaps. Surely you can understand that my knights would long for the company of their countrymen.'

'Then why don't you choose these knights now, since they stand with their companions?'

'Why
don't
I? Why, I don't because it hasn't been decided yet that the Ishkans will join the Guardians as you propose.'

He gazed at the Lightstone for what seemed an hour. Then he announced, 'It's said that
the
Gelstei is able to find all other gelstei and have power over them. It's also said to give immortality.'

He held out his old, scarred hand and studied it for a long few moments. And then again his fingers closed around the golden cup as if he were loathe to let it go. I of all men, knew how he felt. To surrender the Lightstone to another was like giving up one's heart.

My eyes found his then, and he snapped out, 'What are you looking at? Don't look at me that way!'

All Valari, I remembered, aspired to polish their souls until they shone with the fire of flawless diamonds.

'Maybe you
are
the Maitreya,' King Hadaru said to me. He stared at the Lightstone for a moment before looking back at me. 'Maybe you aren't. But your hope of making an alliance is a good one. I have come to see that Morjin must be opposed, after all. He is like a spider who weaves his webs in dark places to ensnare the innocent.'

He leaned forward from his massive wooden throne as if to stand and give the Lightstone to Prince Issur. Then he seemed to think better of this impulse. He settled back into his seat as he pointed at Estrella. 'Others have suffered worse insults at the hands of the Red Dragon than have I. This girl, perhaps, who has lost her power of speech. And yet I have lost a son to him; it is like losing one's life. The one whose name I will no longer speak was not always a creature of Morjin's. He was hot-headed, yes, and proud - well, we all knew how proud he could be. But he was not born evil. Morjin made him so. Morjin is a stealer of souls, and I will do all that is in my power to make him pay for his crimes.'

So saying, King Hadaru finally rose from his throne. He stepped over to a tall, young knight with a noble face, whose long nose was like a pillar holding up his finely-boned brow. He extended the Lightstone to him and said, 'Sar Jarlath, will you guard this with your life? Will you swear to slay all enemies who would steal this cup from its rightful master?'

Asaru turned to look at me just then, and so did Maram and Lord Raasharu. Their faces seethed with anger and pride. As Guardian of the Lightstone, it was upon me to ask of Sar Jarlath the very questions that King Hadaru was now putting to him. But I did not gainsay him. I stood in silence watching the little miracle that unfolded before me. And so King Hadaru continued, 'Will you agree to ride forth under Lord Valashu's command, and yet never forget that you are a knight of Ishka and carry with you the honor of your king and countrymen?'

Sar Jarlath gave his assent, and we watched with gladness as King Hadaru pressed the Lightstone into his hands. So it went with other knights, King Hadaru walking about the room and choosing out the finest of the men who followed him. Now, it seemed, they would follow me. When all twenty had been selected, they joined the hundred Guardians near the ring of honor. Then Sivar of Godhra gave over the charge of the Lightstone to Sar Jarlath, who would be its next bearer on the road to Nar and Tria.

After that, King Hadaru called for a feast. We all ate much meat and drank much beer. King Hadaru regaled us with accounts of valor of the twenty new Guardians whom he had chosen. Years seemed to fall away from his worn, old face. It was the first time I had seen him happy. I gave thanks yet again that it had been my fate to find the Lightstone. For a great king had touched the golden cup, and it had touched him.

When it came time for bed, Asaru took me aside and said to me, 'You gambled greatly in bringing the Lightstone here, little brother.'

'Yes - but all the other gambles seemed worse.'

'But how did you know that King Hadaru wouldn't try to take it?'

'I
didn't.
But one either believes in men or not.' I smiled to reassure Asaru and continued, 'King Hadaru is presumptuous, arrogant and vain. But he has the soul of a Valari.'

That night I took my rest in a richly furnished room reserved for princes and kings. I slept well, knowing that the new Guardians who stood watch outside my door would lay down their lives to protect me and the Lightstone.

I
n the morning, everyone assembled in the lane in front of the palace. King Hadaru, wearing a red tunic emblazoned with the great white bear* of the Aradars, sat astride a big gelding. His standard-bearer held aloft a fluttering banner with the same charge. Prince Issur and Lord Nadhru rode next to the king. Fifty knights, King Hadaru's private guard, took their places behind them, followed by a considerable baggage train. Asaru and Yarashan chafed at having to trail after this company, but protocol demanded that we yield precedence to a king in his own realm. And so the Guardians and I lined up much as before, only now there were twenty more of us. I went among these Ishkan knights learning their names and those of their fathers. In appearance, they were little different than the knights of Mesh. They wore diamond battle armor glittering in the morning light. Their surcoats and shields, bordered with white bears, showed their various charges. I noted the black lion against the white field of Sar Kimball and the gold sunburst of Sar Ianashu, a slender and hirsute young man, who was Lord Solhtar's second son. As marks of cadence, to each of their charges, had been added a small golden cup. I considered letting the new Guardians ride together as a single squadron within our company. But they must become used to us, and we to them, and the sooner the better. And so I positioned Sunjay Naviru next to a Sar Avram and Sivar of Godhra next to Sar Jarlath, and so on. It would be many long miles, I thought, before these proud knights accepted each other in companionship, much less love. In truth, we would be lucky if we didn't tear into each other with mistrustful eyes and words - or even our swords.

The first hour of our journey took us down through the houses and shops of Loviisa, the largest of Ishka's cities, though still quite small. The cool air smelled of baking bread and coal smoke from the many smithies. The armorers here made good steel - though not quite so fine, I thought, as did my countrymen in Godhra. Our route led through winding streets back to the North Road, which gave onto a stout bridge spanning the raging Tushur river. Just beyond this dangerous water, in a square lined with several inns, we came to the intersection of the King's Road. This was a well-paved band of stone wide enough for six horses to ride down it side by side. It curved east through Ishka into Taron, all the way to Nar. King Hadaru led his knights onto it. And we who guarded the Lightstone followed them.

We had a fine day for travel, with many drifting white clouds to steal some of the heat from the bright spring sun. It was noisier than I would have liked, however, as the hooves of so many horses sounded a continual percussion of iron against stone, and the wagons' iron-shod wheels ground particles of grit into dust. It pleased me to hear the knights in my company keeping up a low hum of conversation or even singing one of the battle songs that all the Valari know. In truth, there were moments when both Meshians and Ishkans became too intoxicated with the passion of these old verses, and then their voices seemed to vie with each other in loudness and stridency rather than harmonizing. There were moments, too, when I thought I caught a rumble of discord or a brief flurry of heated words from the knights behind me. But that was the worst of things, and I gave thanks for that. The hours and miles passed uneventfully as we all kept the peace.

But later that afternoon, a quarrel broke out and threatened to turn into a brawl. We had stopped to water the horses at one of the little rivers that flowed down from the low range of mountains to the north of Loviisa. As I watched Altaru drinking his fill of the icy water, a shout rang out behind me; I turned to see Skyshan push the heel of his hand against Sar Ianashu's chest and nearly knock him off his feet. Then Sar Ianashu reached for his sword even as Tavar Amadan grabbed his arm to restrain him and Sar Jarlath knocked his shoulder into Tavar.

'Hold!' I cried out. I saw, all in an instant, that the Ishkans of King Hadaru's guard on the road ahead of us were all gripping the hilts of their swords. And so were Baltasar, Sunjay Naviru and other knights of Mesh. 'Hold, now, before it's too late!'

I ran down the road and threw my body between Sar Ianashu and Skyshan. 1 pulled them apart and shouted, 'Are you Valari knights? Are you Guardians of the Lightstone?'

My fury, if not my words, cut into them like a sword and seemed to empty them of breath. Tempers cooled,, then. I stood listening to these men's explanations. It turned out that their quarrel was ancient. The ancestors of both of them had lived along the Diamond River, on opposite sides. Once a time - 939 years ago to be precise - one of Skyshan's great-grandsires had fought a duel with one of Sar Ianashu's over a woman who had both Meshian and Ishkan blood. Both men had been killed. The resulting feud had lasted a hundred years until the Diamond shifted its course, and Sar Ianashu's ancestors had been forced to move to another site higher in the Shoshan range of mountains. For reasons that I was not able to determine, both Sar Ianashu and Skyshan had decided to renew this feud after all these many centuries.