Shapers of Darkness (45 page)

Topping the rise, she found Kearney, utterly still atop his great bay. Following the line of his gaze, Keziah felt fear wrap its hand around her throat. Domnall Castle stood in the distance, her towers rising high above the moor and the low buildings and walls of Domnall City. A single flag flew above the castle’s ramparts, bearing the grey, purple, and white sigil of the house. There was no Eibitharian banner, as there should have been, though this was not what made Keziah tremble.

Outside the walls of the city, lining the road on which Kearney and his men were traveling, stood the army of Domnall, a thousand men strong. Before them, in the center of the road, a man waited on horseback, his black and silver hair stirring in the wind. Keziah couldn’t be certain from this distance, but she assumed that this was Seamus, duke of Domnall, who long ago had cast his lot with Aindreas of Kentigern in defiance of the Crown.

“Do you think he intends to fight?” Keziah asked.

The king didn’t even look at her. “I don’t know. If I didn’t know better, I’d say that he intends to offer his sword and his men in defense of the realm.”

“Isn’t that possible?”

Kearney shook his head. “His men are lining the road. If he was offering his aid, they would be positioned in rows for my inspection. He has something else in mind.”

“He wouldn’t fight us, Your Majesty,” said the captain. “It
would be folly even to make the attempt. We outnumber him by more than two to one, our men are better trained, and ours are the better arms. He’d be leading them to a slaughter.”

“I agree, Captain. But if he won’t fight us, and he won’t join us, why is he out here?”

Keziah shifted her gaze back to the lone flag, watching it rise and fall lazily in the wind. “You sent word to Seamus, didn’t you, Your Majesty?” She looked at Kearney again. “You ordered his army north, to Galdasten.”

“Yes. What of it?”

“The messenger would have arrived here days ago, and yet the duke and his army remain. And he’s not flying the colors of the realm.”

“You think he’s making a show of defying me.”

She could hear the pain in his voice. None of the others would have noticed—they didn’t know Kearney as she did—but it was there, unmistakable.

“There’s no Qirsi with them, Your Majesty,” the captain said after a brief silence. “There would be whether they were planning to fight us or join us. I think the archminister may be right.”

“I’ve never known Seamus to be so bold.” A sad smile touched the king’s lips, then vanished. “He must hate me a great deal.”

“They’re traitors,” the captain said. “Every one of them. We should kill them all.”

“We can’t.” Kearney gave a short, harsh laugh. “Seamus knows we can’t. We haven’t the time to fight them, and we can’t weaken ourselves by trying. It’s a coward’s gesture.”

But Keziah could see from the expression on Kearney’s face that it stung nevertheless.

The captain faced him. “So what do we do?”

“We ride past them,” the king said. “Captain, I want you to make certain that the men don’t respond in any way to Domnall’s soldiers. They’re going to be taunted, they may be spat upon. They’re not to retaliate. Not at all. I want them looking straight ahead, I want them silent, and I want their weapons to remain at their sides. Do you understand?”

The man nodded, though he didn’t look at all pleased.

“They’re testing us. They want to see if we’re disciplined enough to prevail, not only against the empire, not only against the conspiracy, but also against Aindreas and his allies. If we lash out at them, even if it’s justified, we weaken ourselves, we weaken the realm.” He looked down at Domnall’s army once more. “Seamus wants to show that he’s not afraid to defy me. Let’s show him that we don’t care one way or another. Give the order, Captain. Return here when the men are ready.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The captain rode off, calling to the other commanders.

“He’s playing a dangerous game,” Kearney said, his voice so low that Keziah had to lean forward just to hear him. “This could get out of hand very quickly.”

“Might we be better off leaving the road, putting some distance between our soldiers and his?”

“Probably, but I think you know I can’t do that. Seamus is looking for any sign of weakness on my part. I’d be giving him just what he wants.”

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

He looked at her. “You think I’m wrong.”

“No. I’m sure you’re right. But I fear for us all. You shouldn’t have to consider such things when marching to defend the realm.”

The captain returned a short while later to inform the king that the men had been given their orders.

“Then, let’s march,” the king said.

Keziah hesitated, wondering if she should return to the rear of the column. “Where do you want me, Your Majesty?”

“I think you’d better stay with me, just in case.”

They started down the gentle slope, Kearney, his youthful face grim, leading the way.

Seamus remained in the center of the road, a smirk on his thin lips. As they drew nearer to Domnall’s army, Keziah could see that the duke’s men stood at attention, but with their swords sheathed.

The king seemed to notice this as well. “At least he has
sense enough to keep weapons out of their hands,” Kearney murmured. A moment later, he added, his voice still low, “Archminister, I want you to follow my lead. Do what I do, and stay close at hand.”

Keziah nodded, her heart hammering at her chest and her mouth dry.

As the road leveled out and the king’s army drew ever nearer to Domnal’s men, the duke steered his horse off the road, though he halted just beside it, and close to the first of his men.

“At ease!” he called in a clear voice.

Immediately, Domnall’s soldiers relaxed their stances and started shouting insults at Kearney’s men, calling them cowards and butchers. Keziah glanced back at the soldiers and saw that though they continued to face forward, already the nearest of them were reddening.

“Stop looking back,” Kearney said quietly.

She obeyed, but gave a small shake of her head. “This isn’t going to work.”

“I know. Just follow me.”

As he reached Seamus, Kearney steered his mount off the road as well, so that he was positioned just beside the duke. Keziah did the same, taking her place on the other side of Seamus.

“Lord Domnall,” the king said, as his men began to file past. “How kind of you to greet my men. You honor us.”

Seamus frowned. “That wasn’t my intention.”

Kearney’s sword was in his hand so swiftly that Keziah didn’t even see him reach for it. Apparently the duke didn’t either. He looked utterly shocked to find the tip of Kearney’s blade pressed against the side of his throat.

Immediately Kearney’s men halted and a hush fell over the duke’s army.

“Continue the march!” the king said, his voice pitched to carry. “Eyes straight ahead!”

After a moment, one of the captains barked a command and the king’s soldiers started forward again. Seamus’s men, however, kept their silence.

“What did you think to accomplish here, Seamus?” the king asked, speaking softly again. “Surely you didn’t think that I’d allow you to mock me and my men in this way.”

When the duke said nothing, Kearney pressed harder with his blade, until Keziah wondered how the skin on Seamus’s neck didn’t break.

“Well?”

“No matter what I’ll say, you’ll kill me as a traitor.”

“If I wanted you to hang, I’d already have cause enough to give the order. I ordered you to Galdasten. Under the laws of the land, your house is already in rebellion.”

Seamus said nothing, though the color fled his cheeks. It seemed he hadn’t considered this.

“I’m not going to have you executed.”

“Then you’ll imprison me in my own dungeon.”

“I won’t do anything to you, Seamus. I have more pressing matters to which to attend. To be honest, you’re not worth even this much trouble. But I want an answer. I want to understand this.”

The duke eyed him briefly, his mouth set in a thin line, his angular face ashen. “I can speak freely?” he finally said. “Without fear of punishment?”

“You have my word.”

“Your word. Very well, Your Majesty. I suppose I have little choice. If you mean to kill me, there’s little I can do to stop you, so I might as well speak my mind. I don’t believe you deserve to sit on the throne. I have nothing against Glyndwr, nor did I have any reason to distrust you, until you granted asylum to the Curgh boy. But I believe that you and Javan have contrived to take the throne from Aindreas.”

“Then you’re a fool, Seamus. If Javan had wished to do such a thing, he would have done so in a way that enabled him to keep the crown for himself and his line. Remember, he abdicated, just as Aindreas did.”

“He had no choice in the matter. Had he attempted to take the throne after what his son did, it would have led immediately to civil war.”

“The boy didn’t do anything! We hold in the prison tower
of Audun’s Castle a Qirsi woman who admits to hiring the assassin who killed Brienne. Demons and fire, man! Didn’t you even bother to read the missive I sent?”

“One more Qirsi deception. They’ve shown time and again that they can’t be trusted, and yet you’re so ready to believe this woman who came to your castle. You would seek any evidence, no matter how weak, to justify your faith in the Butcher of Curgh.”

Kearney closed his eyes briefly, shaking his head. “Why would she lie about this? The conspiracy wants you and Aindreas and the others to believe in Tavis’s guilt. They have no reason to offer proof to the contrary.”

“The Qirsi have been lying to us for too long, deluding us with false counsel, striking at us with hidden blades.” The duke’s eyes flicked toward Keziah. “We can only guess at what their purpose might be. Our only recourse is to stop relying on white-hairs entirely. Nothing they say can be trusted, and that includes this woman in your prison tower. Perhaps she seeks to save herself by telling you what you wish to hear. Or maybe she’s been ordered by her leaders to say these things. I don’t know. But I will not believe in Tavis’s innocence simply because a traitorous Qirsi says that I should.”

“Is that why your first minister isn’t here, Seamus? Have you lost faith in all your Qirsi?”

“Yes. To be honest, Your Majesty, I’m surprised and disappointed to find that you haven’t.”

Kearney opened his mouth, then stopped himself, glancing at Keziah with an apology in his green eyes. She knew that he wanted to defend her. “I still don’t understand this show of defiance,” he said instead. “Why not remain in your castle, and let us march past?”

“That,” the duke said, his eyes meeting the king’s, “would have been an act of cowardice.”

It seemed that Kearney didn’t know what to say. For as long as Keziah had known him, he had prided himself on his honor, his refusal to compromise his principles under any circumstance. Though Seamus had committed treason, and then had chosen to flaunt his defiance, there was a certain perverse dignity in this display. At last the king shook his head once more,
a bitter smile on his lips. “You’re an ass, Seamus,” he muttered, and sheathed his sword.

The duke’s face reddened, but before he could answer, they heard voices raised in anger at the front of the column.

Kearney leveled a finger at Seamus. “Any blood spilled here is on your head!” Then he kicked at his mount and raced toward the commotion, Keziah and the duke following in his wake.

Near the front of the column, two men were wrestling on the ground, one wearing the colors of the king, the other obviously from Domnall. They had their daggers drawn and the duke’s man bore a deep gash on his shoulder. A large group of men, many of them with their swords drawn, had formed a ring around the two combatants. Kearney’s captains were shouting for the king’s men to stand down, but they had done nothing to separate the two who were fighting, and already other men were pairing off, preparing for combat. It wouldn’t take much for the confrontation to escalate into a full battle.

Reaching the ring of soldiers, Kearney didn’t hesitate. He swung himself off of his mount, pushed his way through the bystanders, and, drawing his sword, plunged the blade into the earth just beside the men’s heads.

The two fighters froze, twisting their necks to stare up at the king. All other conversations stopped.

“Get up!” Kearney said, his tone a match for the ice in his eyes.

Slowly, the two soldiers untangled themselves and stood, both of them looking as sheepish as chastised boys.

“Captain!”

“Yes, Your Majesty?”

“Didn’t I tell you that these men were not to respond in any way to the duke’s soldiers?”

“You did, Your Majesty.”

“And did you convey those orders to the men?”

“Of course I did, Your Majesty.”

“Did you think that your captain’s commands didn’t apply to you?” Kearney asked the soldier.

“No, Your Majesty! But this man called you a milksop and—”

“I don’t care what he called me, and neither should you. This man and his duke intend to hide in their castle while we
fight to defend the realm.” Kearney grinned and looked up at Seamus, who remained on his mount. “Why should it matter to us what any of them say?”

The soldier grinned in return. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Get these men moving again, Captain. We’ve wasted enough time here.”

Seamus’s men were glaring at the king, but none of them said a word, nor did any dare to raise a weapon against him. Still, Keziah wished that Kearney would take to his mount again; he’d be safer in his saddle. The king appeared unconcerned.

“Lord Domnall,” he said, allowing his voice to carry. “I hereby declare you and your house to be in rebellion. I’ll take no action against you so long as your army remains in the dukedom, but any effort you make to journey beyond your lands will be considered an act of war against the realm and will be met appropriately. With one exception. You may march with us now to meet the invaders at Galdasten. If you do so, all this will be forgotten.”

The duke stared at him a moment, then clicked his tongue at his mount and steered the beast away, back toward his castle. He called out to one of his commanders, who began to shout commands at Domnall’s soldiers. Soon all of them were following their duke.