The Magic Council (The Herezoth Trilogy) (15 page)

Zacry explained about the note. August
turned pale as she listened and dropped in Rexson’s armchair, which he had left
to join his wife and the others near the door.

“What’ll I do?” asked August. “Should I
stay or leave? I don’t want to cause trouble, I….”

“This isn’t about you,” said Zacry. “Your
sister’s using you to get what she wants, because she can, and it’s convenient.
If you happened to be somewhere else she’d blackmail the king a different way,
but her ends would be the same.”

“Still, what’ll I do?”

The king said, “Zacry’s taking my
children to Triflag. I deem that best, Gracia.” He turned to the queen, who
nodded, her lips thin. “August, why don’t you go with them?”

“Triflag?” said August. “In Traigland? I
suppose I could do that. The boys, they might get homesick. It would be good
for me to be there with them.” She paused. “How long will the boys be there?”

The queen spoke for the first and only
time in that impromptu gathering. “Just the boys, Rexson?”

“Melly too. All of them. I’m not taking
chances, not after all that’s passed.” Rexson turned then from his wife to
August. “They’ll be there as long as they must. Hopefully no longer than a
week, though their stay could….”

“It could be much longer,” said Vane, “if
things go ill here. Rexson,
let me help
you
!” Zacry tried to hush him, but Vane said, “At least let me stay to
guard the queen while you go tramping across the kingdom hunting Dorane. That’s
what you’re planning, isn’t it?” The king said it was. “Let me stay, because
Gracia can’t leave. You know she can’t. It would look too odd.”

Gratton rolled his eyes. “Odd? What does
that matter? Ten of my fellow guards witnessed the queen’s reunion with her
sons. You think that wasn’t odd to them? That they’re not talking about it? You
think it won’t draw notice when the princess disappears? Gracia doesn’t need
you to protect her. What makes you think you could? She should leave with her
children.”

Rexson jabbed a hand toward his stack of
papers. “Someone has to manage the kingdom, Gratton, someone who knows what I’m
really off doing. Gracia alone qualifies. She has to stay. I won’t pull my
Chief Adviser into this.

“And Vane…. Vane, I accept your offer,
and I thank you. You’ll be safer at the Palace than with me, and I’ll feel more
at ease knowing Gracia has you here. But be careful. In the Giver’s name, don’t
forget what happened to Kora in this building.”

Vane argued, “Kora couldn’t use her
magic. That’s how a mob trapped her.”

The king leapt forward. He tore the
sleeve off his garment as he went, pushed an unsuspecting Vane against the
nearest wall of books. Volumes clattered against the marble floor, falling from
the shelves, and August let out a little shriek, stumbling back. Rexson forced
the ripped sleeve in the sorcerer’s mouth as, wide-eyed, the boy tried to cast
a spell. Then the king drew a dagger, which he held against Vane’s throat.

“All it takes is a gagging. You have to
voice
your spells. You trust someone
you shouldn’t, or someone takes you from behind, and just like that, your magic
is as useless as Kora’s was to her. Understand?”

The boy couldn’t nod, not with a blade
pressed against his jugular vein. He hardly dared to breathe. A dribble of
sweat ran down his forehead, and the king let him go. Vane let out a gasp of
air that was trapped in his lungs as Rexson said, “Don’t be too confident. And
don’t assume you’ll always have your incantations.”

“I won’t,” Vane said, coughing. While his
heartbeat slowed and August stood shaking with a hand over her mouth, Bennie
sent a startled glance Gratton’s way. She was disconcerted to see he approved
of the king’s shenanigans—or seemed to, based on his wry smile. Zacry
told Vane, “Go help August pack her things.”

“I
don’t have any things,” said the girl.

“Then
help her track down what she’ll need to take to Triflag.”

The
room’s youngest occupants left without a word. As the door eased shut behind
them, Bennie asked, her voice quiet but determined, “Was that necessary,
Lanokas?”

Gratton
said, “The boy has to learn somehow what he’s up against. You’d rather him
figure it out when they attack?”

Bennie
protested, “The dagger wasn’t overkill?”

“Drop
it,” said Zacry, though he too looked disturbed. “It’s done. We have other
things to consider, like where to start this search. Where might they go? Does
anyone
have a hunch?”

Bennie
sighed. “The Fist has one more officer, an older man named Crale Bendit. He’s a
firestarter, lives in Yangerton.”

Rexson
said, “I met him once. Only once, last year sometime. He proposed service to
the community via magic as grounds for lower taxes: not a bad idea in itself.”

Bennie
said, “I’m not sure Arbora would stay with him. For one, he knows nothing about
what’s going on, and for another, she knows I’ve met the man as Gretta Yastly.
But she and the others, they might want to be near him: a quiet inn close-by,
where they can lie low and he’d be accessible, and Dorane’s family wouldn’t get
caught in any crossfire, because they live just north of here. Rexson, Crale’s
a mentor of sorts to Arbora. I got that impression strongly. She might stop by
to warn him about us, if not to ask advice.”

“That’s
as good a lead as any,” said Zacry.

“When
do we leave?” Gratton asked.

The
king said, “Two hours. Gracia, you’ll see the children off? They can transport
with Zac from the stables.”

The
queen swept from the library with no farewell gesture. The hem of her gown
scraped the floor, but she did not trouble to lift it.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Of Babies and Blankets

August
found her new dresses when she returned to her room, six of them: cotton frocks
with empire waists and lace embroidery of the style she was used to. They were
folded one on top another, stacked in a hatbox she could use to carry them to
Traigland.

Traigland.
August’s throat thickened to think of the place, as when the king had lunged at
Vane and she had felt a complete and utter helplessness that made her airways
swell. At least in Traigland, she told herself, she would have proper clothing.
No more masquerading in gowns far too luxurious for her, or servant’s clothes
that accentuated how plain her eyes and nose were, how drab her hair could lie.
She would look decent when she met Kora Porteg.

With
that thought, she had to clear her throat. She turned to Vane, who had walked
her to her room and was now staring at the landscape painting on the wall.

“Will
I be staying with Kora Porteg?”

Vane
blinked. “I guess so. You could stay with Joslyn if you like— that’s
Zacry’s wife—but Kora could always use help with that brood she’s got. If
you want to be useful, or keep busy, there’d be more to do with Kora.”

“Is
she nice?”

“You’re
not nervous to meet her?”

“You
have to understand, I spent years listening to my sister rant about how awful
Kora is, what a traitor to the magicked for not supporting Zalski. I know
that’s just Ursa talking, that I can’t set any store by it, but I heard it so
often there’s just no way I won’t feel awkward around the woman. And Arbora,
Arbora went off on Kora once. If you had any idea the things she called her:
royalist pig, the king’s courtesan....”

“Kora
welcomed me with open arms when I met her. She’ll do the same with you.”

August
had to ask: “Her children, whose are they, do you think?”

In
a tone that made the girl bite her lip, Vane responded, “Her husband’s. I don’t
care what vicious people might insinuate. They’re her husband’s.”

August
reached for a spring of curls. She kept on the topic of Kora Porteg, but
changed her angle of approach.

“Is
she mute?” Vane said she wasn’t. “But everyone knows she’s mute, that Zalski
destroyed her voice before he died.”

“Zacry
healed her. He undid Zalski’s spell or something, though I’m not sure how. Kora
never told me, and I don’t ask many questions about her past, or Zacry’s. They
don’t like to discuss it.”

“Does
Kora use magic often?”

“Hardly
ever. Zacry does, all the time, but I think Kora will always associate magic
with the Crimson League: with Zalski and my mother. Zalski she wants to forget
entirely, and who could blame her? My mother, on the other hand, taught her a
lot. Like Zacry’s taught me. Kora usually tears up when I do nothing more than
mention the woman, so casting spells must really bring the past back.

“I
think that’s why she hasn’t finished her book, to be honest with you. It evokes
the past as well, to the point that she can’t bring herself to work on it
sometimes. Zacry mentioned that last part once, to Joslyn, and I overhead. He
didn’t speculate as to why she can’t write some days, and I didn’t think much
of it for a while, but the book’s a history of magic. Kora’s been working on it
since before I met her.”

“Are
her children sorcerers?”

“They
could be. Kora’s line doesn’t have the sorcerer’s mark, even those who can
do magic. One of her ancestors got rid
of it. Her kids would have to cast a spell to find out, and they haven’t tried
yet. Kora says they’re too young.”

“You
know her well,” remarked August.

“There’s
a lot I’ll never know. A lot she doesn’t talk about, like I said. She’s been
through some real trauma, and she deserves peace and quiet now, if that’s what
she wants. I’ll say this though: she answers every question about my mother.
Anything I ask.”

“I’ve
heard your mother died under Zalski’s reign.”

Vane
said proudly, “She ran the organized resistance.”

“And she was Zalski’s sister? How? How did they
turn out so different?”

“That’s a question for the king. He grew up with
them.”

August pulled on her hair again. “I can’t
believe he…. For I moment I thought he really…. Val, are you all right?”

The sorcerer, unconsciously, raised a hand to
his red neck. “I’m not hurt. You know the king wouldn’t….”

“Be careful, Val. Please be careful! You know
there’s a spy, and the king will be gone, and…. Why do you have to stay? Why do
you want that? Can’t you come with the boys and me?”

“I really shouldn’t leave the queen. What if the
spy comes after her? What if Dorane starts a revolt? She needs someone
with her.”

“She has guards, doesn’t she? Why can’t they
watch over her?”

“Because…. Because look, I have an obligation.
My parents, they didn’t abandon the royal family, and neither will I. I won’t
turn my back on Rexson.”

The thought struck Vane that both his father and
mother had been killed on the Palace grounds, but he dared not mention that.
August looked frightened enough as it was. She said, “You’re not deserting the
royals if you go to Traigland. You’d be watching over the princes, wouldn’t
you?”

“Of course I’d be, but I’m more needed here. You
can watch the boys. They like you more than me anyway, and if they need
protection of a different sort, if they need a sorcerer over there, they’ll
have Kora. She can work magic, believe me. She’d rather not use it, but that
doesn’t mean she can’t. August, if I don’t stay here, whom can the queen turn
to? Zacry can’t stay. He has to account for both Dorane and Arbora. He has to
go with Rexson.”

“You’re right,” said August. “Of course you’re
right. The queen needs you. She’s been awfully kind to me, and it’d be horrible
if something happened to her. I’d rather not go off alone, that’s what it is,
but I’m being foolish. Things will work out somehow. They always have before. I
mean, the boys are home, aren’t they? For the moment they’re home. They’re not
in that basement anymore, that’s what I mean to say, I….”

Vane smiled, and August blushed. He said,
“You’ll have to tell me what you think of Kora when you get back. You’re
different in some ways, but I think you’ll get along.”

“You really think I’ll be able to come back?”

“Of course you will! We’ll get things under
control here, and when it’s safe again, Zacry or I will come for you. You’ll be
back here in a blink. For now, just finish packing. I should probably get some
things together myself. I’ll spend nights in the queen’s antechamber from here
on out, in case anyone unwanted drops by.”

August looked horrified. “You can’t do that! The
scandal!”

“No one’ll know. I can turn invisible, and I can
transport in from any spot in the Palace. I just can’t transport out
the building. A nice system Zalski set
up, eh? Mobility within, security from without.”

“He’d want security, wouldn’t he? His enemies
were pretty powerful.”

“As far as individuals go, I guess they were,
but how they succeeded I’ll never know. They shouldn’t have. Zalski had an
army, had thousands of men. I know every surviving member of the core of the
Crimson League, and I’ll never understand how one of them’s alive.”

“I sure don’t have a clue about that, I…. You
should pack up, Val. Didn’t you say you need to do that?”

“Not pack, exactly. I can’t bring my bag to
Gracia’s quarters, but I’ll need something to bar the door.”

“Just make sure you say goodbye before I leave.”

“You can count on it.”

* * *

Vane was not, in fact, able to see August off.
Zacry came for her much sooner than she expected, a mere quarter of an hour
after Vane left her. She barely had time to wash her face and try on her new
dresses, all of which fit her nicely enough, considering how fast some servant
woman had taken her measurements. The session had been like being caught in a
tornado.

Zacry’s haste in leading her to the stables made
August’s head spin in just the same way as the woman with the measuring tape.
The princes were puffing when they arrived, having run to keep up, and August,
holding a napping Melinda, fell behind because she refused to trot and wake the
baby. The travelers formed a circle, and after a brief stop at the Herezoth
shore, August found herself standing on the cobblestone walk to a
homey-looking, brick-fronted cottage. The closest neighboring house stood some
fifty yards to the left. To the right was a field and fishpond. When August
looked back to the cottage from the surrounding landscape, a woman had appeared
in the window, a woman still young, with thick chestnut curls pulled away from
her face by a bandana that hid her forehead.

That’s
her. That’s Kora.

Kora drew back from sight and threw open the
door with a relieved expression on her face. She hugged her brother, who was at
the front of the group. “You’re home,” she said.

“Not for long, I’m not.”

“What does that mean? Did something go wrong?
Who…?” She looked at August and at Rexson’s children as though she had not
noticed them before. “Who are they? Are those Lanokas’s kids?”

Zacry told August, “Watch the children for a
minute,” and hurried his sister inside. He slammed the door without thinking of
the baby, and the noise woke Melly, who began not to cry as much as to shriek.
Trying not to weep herself, August rocked the little girl and made hesitant
hushing noises that helped nothing. Her arms trembled. Valkin kicked a patch of
cobblestones and spoke over his sister’s wailing.

“We just got home,” he complained. “We just got
home, and now Father sends us here.”

“At least Dorane can’t find us here,” said
Neslan. “No way he will. Do you think that’s why Father made us leave? Does he
think they might try to kidnap us again?”

Valkin grumbled, “How should I know what Father
thinks?”

“August, do you know?”

“I’m no confidante of your father’s, Neslan.
Goodness! Why would the king confide in me?”

August felt awkward all around, and guilty, because
she knew more than she let on. Unable to quiet Melinda, she jolted the girl
with a startled jump when the front window creaked open, the window Kora had
peered through earlier. Kora stood again before it, looking troubled this time.
She said, “Come in, all of you.”

Poor August was desperate now, trying and
failing continually to hush the baby. Rocking and more rocking—the only
thing August could think to do—accomplished nothing. Kora lifted the
child from August’s arms once everyone was inside, and Melly fell silent.

“It’s confidence,” said the sorceress. “Babies
sense insecurity, every one of them.” And Kora disappeared with her brother
into the kitchen.

August stood in an entrance hall that was tiny,
and seemed tinier because of the dolls, slates, and assortment of books and
wooden blocks that littered the floor. The kitchen, two rooms over, was equally
cluttered with pots and pans. It was also sweltering, since Kora was baking
bread. The smell made Zacry’s mouth water.

“Lanokas gave the boys false names?” Kora said,
continuing their previous conversation and shifting Melly from her right hip to
her left. “He’s that worried?” She grasped a dirty teacup with her free hand,
out of nervousness, and spun it back and forth on her tabletop.

Zacry said, “He thought it best. It’s just a
precaution.”

“His father took precautions too, and a lot of
good they did. You’re going back, then?”

“I’m not letting those monsters get away with….”

“Don’t make this personal, Zacry!”

“This has nothing to do with me. It’s for those
boys. You’ll take good care of them, I’m sure, but they belong with their
parents. We’ll get this figured out, and I’ll come back for them.”

“Why you? What about Vane?”

“Vane’s fine. He’s staying behind with Gracia.”

“Thank the Giver,” said Kora, finally letting
herself relax some. She still gripped the cup with white knuckles, but it
stopped rotating, ceased grating against the table.

Her brother said, “He’s brave, that boy. Acts
just like I imagine his mother did in the heat of battle. Kora, the king’s not
about to let him repeat her fate.”

“The king has no problem letting you….”

“He doesn’t know I have a kid.”

“Mm-hmm,” said Kora. “And why would that be?”

“I won’t tell him. He’d feel guilty as sin.”

“You can handle two sorcerers?”

“I’ve already handled them, during the rescue.
Vane took the boys out of danger, so I was left.”

Kora spun the teacup again, but did not bother
responding. Her brother was still just as stubborn as he’d been at age eleven.
He was going back to Herezoth, that was that, and she, she could only pray he
would make it out of this scandal alive, only hope he wouldn’t decide after his
adventures to relocate his wife and daughter. Herezoth was so gripping, so full
of life. It had a way of calling back its own. It summoned Kora every day, each
time the sea breeze came from that direction, each time she marked her
husband’s Yangerton accent or her children’s lack of one.