Prophecy (34 page)

“My dear Lady Eltrina, allow me to state the obvious,” Lord Embisson returned, not in the least out of control. “I’ve lived far more years than you have, and I’ve learned one very important lesson: the winner of any particular confrontation is the one who survives it. Whether that survival is brought about by fighting or running makes not the least difference, as long as survival is achieved. If those peasants also survive, which at this point is no foregone conclusion, we’ll then be able to see what might be done about them. If not, then
we’ll
have won without needing to lift a finger. You’reperfectly welcome to accompany Edmin and myself, but if you feel you must remain here in the city, only a blind fool would agree to stay with you.”

Eltrina glanced quickly at Edmin, and caught the faintest trace of a flush of embarrassment in his complexion. She’d learned that the one thing Edmin couldn’t abide was the thought of looking like a fool, and of course his father would know that. By speaking to
her
rather than to Edmin, Lord Embisson had made his opinion a general statement rather than a direct criticism against his son. Edmin could well respond to that, despite the work she’d done to bring him over onto
her
side.

“I’m afraid I don’t agree with your comment about staying,” Eltrina tried, keeping her voice as steady as Embisson’s had been. “Survival is, as you said, the most important thing, but at times one’s survival depends on being in the right place at the right time. Staying here to strike against those peasants could mean the difference between surviving as a potentially penniless outcast, and helping things to go back to the way they were. With that in mind, how can you even consider running away?”

“Rather easily, child,” Embisson replied, standing up from his chair to stretch. “I’ve seen to my business affairs carefully over the years, and to be very frank I’ve enough gold to keep me in comfort even if I live to be two hundred and fifty. Edmin is almost that well off, and once I’m gone he’ll have the balance of my estate to add to his own. Much of our gold is hidden at Bastions, to be handy in an emergency like this one. And there’s one other, very important point to consider.”

Lord Embisson took two steps toward her, and stood looking down with as serious an expression as she’d ever seen him show.

“It would destroy me if anything were to happen to Edmin,” he said, the words simple and open. “There’s no longer a society here to protect him, a society of guardsmen and servants and those who would support him against the rabble. By his own admission he cannot even saddle a horse, so what good would his remaining in the city do? The best-conceived plan in the world would be useless without those to carry it out, and we no longer
have
those to carry it out. Remaining in danger when there’s something one might do is heroism; remaining when one is helpless is not. But Edmin is a grown man, and more than capable of making his own decisions. If he wishes to remain behind, I’ll … somehow find a way to cope without him. I do, after all, have Rishlin and his wife.”

And then the man turned toward the tea service, walking away as though everything had been said on the subject. Eltrina felt the urge to scream and break something, because Embisson had noticed the mistake he’d made and had quickly repaired it. His first comments had shown that he took it for granted that Edmin would join him,
telling
Edmin what he would do rather than asking. That mistake would have done irreparable harm with someone as stiff-necked as Edmin, trampling as it did on his dignity and pride. But now… There was only one possible response, and Eltrina quickly decided to make it.

“Edmin, my dear, your father is right,” she said almost at once, turning to give Edmin a wan smile. “He does need you more than I do, so you really must go with him. I’ll … be quite all right on my own, you needn’t worry about that. If fortune favors me, we’ll certainly see each other again.”

“So you really mean to stay,” Edmin said, gazing at her with that emotionless look that did so well in covering his thoughts and feelings. “No matter what anyone says, no matter what happens, you mean to stay. The situation has turned into an obsession for you, and you’ll sacrifice anyone and anything
to
that obsession. I’m nothing more to you than a means to an end.”

“Edmin, how can you say that?” Eltrina protested, actually rather upset. His sudden comment had startled her, touching as closely as it did to the real truth. “You know how much you mean to me, and haven’t I just proved it by urging you to leave with your father? You can’t believe I just said that for effect, not meaning a word? You can’t really believe
that
of me, can you?”

“Eltrina, your aspect is Earth magic, but mine isn’t Air magic, as I said it was,” he explained, also getting to his feet. “I’m fairly strong in Spirit magic, and I’ve learned that people watch themselves a good deal less closely when they don’t know a Spirit magic user is about. At first I felt I might be betraying something real by not telling you, but then you began to try to sway me by pretending to things you didn’t actually feel. I’ve found our relationship to be … pleasant, but since I abhor people who attempt to use me, you may now consider the time at an end. Do allow me to see you to the door.”

“But where am I supposed to go?” Eltrina demanded as she stood, furious that the man had hidden things from her. “My former refuge must be as empty as your house and this one, and the same is probably true of Grall’s house. If you aren’t here to use your contacts with those peasants you employed secretly, there won’t be anything I’ll find it possible to do!”

“I’m afraid you should have considered that sooner,” Edmin replied smoothly, totally unmoved by anything she’d said. “If you’d kept silent and agreed to go with us, I would have allowed you to do so even though my father obviously had no interest in taking you. Now… As I said, I’ll see you to the door.”

“Don’t bother!” Eltrina snarled, turning her back on him and heading for the door herself. “I’d rather live on the street than stay here, where people
spy
on you without any warning! And I hope that your precious plans fall down around your ears, leaving you homeless and penniless and wishing you’d stayed in an effort to do
something
! If
I
succeed, you’ll certainly never find a welcome in this city again!”

And with that she strode out, caring nothing about whether or not he followed to make sure she actually left—which he most likely would do anyway. She’d wasted her time trying to cultivate him for use in her plans, but maybe not entirely. She
had
met a few of the peasants he’d employed, and they weren’t the sort of men to join what the rabble was in the midst of doing. If she found it possible to locate them, Grall’s gold would buy their assistance and obedience, at least until she’d completed what she now considered her mission in life. That last member of the five vermin had been taken care of, or at least would be seen to soon. But the disgusting peasants who had been the cause of so much pain and humiliation…

Eltrina smiled as she swung the front door wide and walked out, caring not at all about closing the thing behind her. Those peasants would soon be in the city again, and by then she
would
have a plan in place to see to them. If she survived, she
would
see them destroyed…

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Lady Hallina Mardimil woke up slowly feeling vaguely annoyed. It took a moment or two after her eyes fluttered open for her to understand the annoyance fully, and by then she had progressed to being irate. She was supposed to have been awakened precisely at eight o’clock as usual, but something about the morning sunlight told her it was later than that. A glance at the mantle clock told her it was indeed later, eight thirty-five to be precise, which meant that people were going to be punished for certain!

Hallina threw the covers aside and swung her legs over the side of the bed, and then shock held her still for a moment. For all the years of her life, there had always been a warmed pair of slippers waiting to receive her feet in comfort. It was the one service she required every day of the year, even in summer, and the one her staff always knew was most important. Today there wasn’t even a pair of cold slippers, and shock quickly gave way to fury.

“Arwinna! Radli! Sonilin!” Hallina shouted, letting the fury turn her voice shrill. “Get in here, you lazy good-for-nothings! As soon as I’ve had my breakfast, Hafner will be called in from the stables to see to you three, you have my word on that! Get in here this minute, or the beatings will be that much worse!”

Nothing but silence greeted Hallina’s words, nothing of the scrabbling haste she’d been expecting. That was something else which had never happened before, and now indignation settled upon her. If someone had
caused
her servants to be remiss in their duties, it would certainly go ill with whomever the culprit was. She was no peasant who might be trifled with without consequences, and everyone ought to know that. Her servants would still be punished for allowing such a thing, but not until she’d dealt with the fool who had presumed.

Needing to walk barefoot was disgusting to Hallina, even over the softly expensive and exquisitely clean carpeting. Her morning wrap lay draped over a chair arm, a slothful sight which brought back indignation, as did needing to get into it by herself. This entire situation was an outrage, and the sooner it was seen to the sooner she would be able to return to her usual pleasant self. She made a quick stop in her privacy facility, easing herself for the fray, so to speak, and then she marched downstairs.

“Hiding will do none of you any good at all,” she announced in a loud voice once she stood at the foot of the stairs. “You will come out now and tell me what caused this—this—outrage, and once I’ve seen to it I’ll then see to all of
you
. Come out, I say, and take your punishments as people who dare not be dismissed from their positions.”

That particular truth, that they dare not lose their positions, made Hallina smile. It was the source of one of her greatest amusements, and now would be so again. She stood waiting with her hands clasped together, relishing the thought of how hangdog they would look when they crept out to receive her justified anger, but then her smile faded. Those stupid little nothings should have already appeared, and the fact that they hadn’t now turned her anger to twice what it had been.

“I’m going to put an end to this right
now
!” Hallina growled as she stalked forward, heading for the kitchen and pantry, where most of those useless fools often lazed around. It was obviously time to dismiss most of them and replace them with peasants who knew how to keep to their place, and even more importantly, how to value a position. Walking into the dining room brought additional outrage, as not one crumb of breakfast stood ready on the buffet. That was something else the useless rubbish would pay for…

“Now, you listen to—” Hallina began as she pushed through into the kitchen, but the words died on her lips at sight of the emptiness. No one, not one single servant, was in evidence, which was completely impossible. Even if they’d gone insane and had decided not to serve
her
any longer, they themselves had to eat! So where could they possibly be?

Hallina returned to the dining room at a much slower pace, disturbance taking the place of anger. It was beyond belief to think that they’d all deserted her, not when they owed her so much! Most of them had been in her employ for years, and had always been willing to crawl and beg rather than be dismissed. How could they now just pick up and—

The sight of a folded piece of paper on the dining room table halted the ringing questions in Hallina’s mind, and she quickly crossed to the table and snatched up the paper. If this was some sort of excuse for the absences, it would make not one whit of difference in the punishments she would hand out. They would all regret having put her through this, each and every one—!

Unfolding the note and scanning it quickly stopped Hallina’s thoughts a second time, as the contents were completely beyond belief. It simply wasn’t possible, it
couldn’t
be! But reading the note a second time, more slowly, did nothing to change the message.

“Dear Bitch,” it began outrageously. “This notice of termination of our service is being left with the greatest pleasure, and the word ‘our’ refers to every slave in the house. Yes, slave rather than servant, because that was what we were to you. You took advantage of our need to keep our families fed and healthy, and treated us like dirt. For that reason
we
now take great pleasure in telling you what you can do with yourself from now on, only without us. But come to think of it, you probably don’t even know how to do that much for yourself. Well, we’ll certainly think of you in our new positions, picturing you floundering around until you die of starvation, and probably in your nightclothes at that. Most of us don’t believe you capable of dressing yourself, and now we’ll all learn the truth—especially you. We wish you the worst life is able to provide, and after that a painful, lingering death. The staff.”

Hallina let go of the note and just let it drop, too stunned even to be furious. They were
gone
, to new positions? How could that possibly be? No member of the nobility would take on a servant without speaking to his or her former employer, to find out under what circumstances that servant was let go. Because of that, peasants found it impossible to find a new position if they left one for any reason other than a general reduction of staff. It made the service they were given by their staff the best possible, but now… What in the world could have happened?

Suddenly chilled to the bone, Hallina sank down into a chair. This couldn’t possibly be reality, so she must be having a nightmare. Yes, that was it, she was having a nightmare. Of course she couldn’t see to herself, what true member of the nobility could? She wasn’t
meant
to see to herself, not ever, but now…

Hallina’s thoughts … ended there, and how long she sat staring at nothing was impossible to tell. Time had ceased to have meaning, except for the fact that her hunger began to increase. Then a sound penetrated the stunned fog wrapping her around, a distant thumping of some kind. She had no idea what the sound could be, and truth to tell couldn’t have cared less. Her main concern was that she was hungry, and all those miserable ingrates refused to appear to ease that hunger. But she would find a way to get even with them, just as soon as she found out where they’d gone. Having them dismissed from their new employment and then refusing to take them back herself would fix them, that would fix them good and proper—