3 When Darkness Falls.8 (36 page)

The house looked very much like the one he and Idalia had shared in Sentarshadeen, except for the fact that not only was this one empty, it hadn't even been prepared for occupancy. A carpet had been spread on the floor of the Common Room, with cushions for seating, and several braziers gave the room a pleasant warmth, but except for the stone walls and glass windows, it might have been Kellen's own tent.

As before, Rochinuviel had a companion with her, already seated upon one of the cushions, another Elf garbed almost identically to the Vicereign, but in shades of palest gray. Kellen wondered what the woman's function was. Adjutant? Chaperone? It was impossible to imagine Rochinuviel needing one, any more than it was possible to imagine being rude or boisterous in her presence.

The traditional Elven tea-service was set out in the center of the carpet. Rochinuviel seated herself gracefully upon one of the cushions and began to prepare tea.

Kellen removed his cloak and gauntlets and bundled them neatly, setting them aside before selecting a cushion opposite her and sitting down — passably, but with quite a bit less grace. Shalkan folded himself neatly beside him, still in his saddle and armor.

The silence unfolded. Once it would have bothered him, but now he was content to let matters proceed in their own good time. There was no reason just now to rush things, after all.

When the water had boiled and the tea was steeping, Rochinuviel spoke.

"My heart rejoices to see your company arrived in such good order. When Keirasti came to us a fortnight ago she was most vigorous in her requirements and in her need for haste," Rochinuviel said.

Well, that could mean nearly anything. And it certainly sounded as if Rochinuviel wanted to get right down to business. "I trust all went as you would have it go," Kellen said, after a moment's thought. "Our passage over the Mystrals was not without… moments of unusual interest… and unfortunately we lost several wagons of supplies in the crossing."

"So I was given to understand," Rochinuviel said, with a faint enigmatic smile. "I am not unaware of the needs of an army in the field, nor the disadvantages that come with a winter campaign. You may give your current list of requirements to Sherediel."

The woman in gray held out a slender gloved hand. After a moment's fumbling in his tunic, Kellen produced the scroll. Sherediel tucked it neatly away into a fold in her robe and folded her hands again, apparently content to take no part in the conversation at all.

"I wished to see you so that I might give you news from the south, as Keirasti tells me that you will go to Sentarshadeen," Rochinuviel continued. "But first we will drink tea, and perhaps you will oblige me in telling me the current news of the war, for Jermayan's news was many sennights old when he came here."

Kellen must have looked more confused than he intended, for she explained.

"He was here and gone before Keirasti arrived, to take the women with child to the Crowned Horns, as Andoreniel commanded. I do not say I agree or disagree with his decision. It is what it is. But had any of us been able to see the future, it might have been a different one."

Now this was odd speaking indeed from the Vicereign, and all of Kellen's senses strained to understand what it meant. Rochinuviel seemed to be attempting to tell him something without actually saying it outright, but while her implicit meaning might have been plain as day to another Elf, he was baffled. Maybe she'd speak more plainly soon. Or maybe Shalkan knew what she was talking about and he could ask him on the ride back.

"Not much has changed for us with the army between the time he left and the time I did," Kellen said, both responding to her desire for information and playing for time. "The Allies of the Enemy push against the land-wards to the north. Redhelwar believes they will break through the land-wards, but our forces are not great enough to defend the north and also meet the greater threat the Enemy poses in the south and west. We were able to cast a spell to see into Armethalieh, as perhaps Jermayan will have told you, and we now know that the Enemy has an agent there who is working to open the city to
Them.
"

Rochinuviel pursed her lips. "Indeed, Jermayan said as much. He said you believed
Their
work in the Mage City to be the greater threat to us — and so we must abandon our northern cities to the Shadow."

"If — " Kellen began, but Rochinuviel held up her hand.

"The tea is ready."

It was a tea he had never tasted before — Rochinuviel told him the name was Ironwind — and with the first sip, Kellen wasn't sure he cared for it at all. Unlike most of the Elven teas he'd tasted, its flavor was intensely bitter. But it was also warming, seeming to burn all the way down his throat and into the pit of his stomach.

Cilarnen, he knew, would be able to go on for at least half an hour about its qualities. Kellen thought it was about as close to drinking a sword blade as he'd like to get.

"And with the bitter, the sweet, for balance," Rochinuviel said. She opened a diminutive box containing small round objects in pastel colors.

Following her lead, Kellen took one and put it in his mouth. The candy was creamy and grainy at the same time; it was also intensely sweet — without the tea, it would have been much too sweet — and tasted of honey, flowers, and, he suspected, some of the same spices that were in the tea. He took another sip of the tea — he found that mingled with the aftertaste of the candy, its flavor was much improved — and then selected one of the candies and offered it to Shalkan. The unicorn crunched it greedily, looking pleased.

"I haven't had these in far too long," Shalkan said. "Thank you."

"If they please you, I shall be certain to send a package of them to you," Rochinuviel said, smiling with genuine warmth this time. "But I have interrupted the guest, and for that, I beg pardon."

Kellen wracked his brain to remember what they'd been talking about before the tea had been poured. Oh yes, nothing important. Merely matters of life and death.

"It was nothing. I only wished to remark that if
They
should gain control of Armethalieh,
They
will have a great store of… food… at
Their
disposal, as well as access to wielders of the High Magick. Control of the City will provide
Them
with an advantage that we date not let
Them
have. Further, I believe that
Their
tactics up until this point have all been misdirection, to keep us from seeing that this was
Their
ultimate goal, and to keep us and the Armethaliehans from uniting against
Them
, our common enemy."

Rochinuviel bowed her head, acknowledging the argument, and poured more tea into the tiny Elvenware cups.

"And here we come to the matter that I wished to speak to you of — a matter that I judge is best held closely and not scattered to the winds of gossip."

Kellen sat up straighter. This was important — important enough that the Vicereign of Ondoladeshiron had made a shrewd guess that he'd be here today and come to meet him, so that they could talk in what amounted to total secrecy.

"I had wished to speak with you to see what news you could give me of the south," he answered, feeling uneasy.

"Perhaps you already suspect what I have to tell. I warn you that it does not make good hearing. My grandfather was General of the Armies also, and fought at the direction of the King when last the Shadow walked the land. And so I know that if the King cannot say what shall be done, it is a grievous thing."

Is Andoreniel dead?
Automatically Kellen reached out a hand and laid it across Shalkan's neck.

"I have said before that there is plague in Sentarshadeen. Now I add what I have just learned but long suspected. The King lies ill — too ill to make the decisions that must be made. Ashaniel cannot speak for him — she lies at the Fortress of the Crowned Horns, with the Crown Prince, who is but a child."

"But — But Andoreniel's Council…" Kellen stammered.

"Counsels the King," Rochinuviel finished. "As do we, when times are otherwise. None of us speak in his name. And those who might, in Sentarshadeen, perhaps lie ill as well. Or judge that it is best to watch — and wait."

Kellen felt as if he had just been hit very hard in the stomach. Andoreniel ill? But the army needed
orders.

Who was going to make the decisions?

"Redhelwar — " he began, struggling to form the sentence politely.

"The Army's General does not know of the King's indisposition. Had I known earlier, I would have sent word with Jermayan. Word has just now reached us, by unicorn rider — they hoped he would rally, but he does not."

"If the King should die — " Kellen said, still trying to grasp the enormity of the disaster.

"Then Sandalon becomes King, and Ashaniel rules for him for many years yet. And we are no better off," Rochinuviel said inexorably. "I do not say what transpires in Sentarshadeen, for I do not know. But I imagine that those of the Council who are still in health are doing what they can to act as they believe Andoreniel would have them act."

Kellen's experiences of Andoreniel's Council had not been pleasant ones. He didn't doubt the truth of Rochinuviel's words, but he also knew that the Council took far too long to make up its mind about anything — and now, more than ever, speed and decisiveness was needed. That, and more — breaking with the traditional Elven way of doing things.

Andoreniel could do it — had done it. But not his Council.

"I thank you for sharing your wisdom with me," he said automatically. "And I am grateful for your words."

"Use them carefully," Rochinuviel said. "For it is in my mind that if Andoreniel's plight should come to be widely known, that knowledge would be more dangerous than plague."

* * * * *

HER words echoed in Kellen's mind as he rode Shalkan — at a sedate walk — back to the Gathering Plain.

Part of him wanted to race there at top speed and start shouting orders, but he knew he needed time to think.

Redhelwar had to be told at once. That was imperative.

He couldn't just send Shalkan with a message — Kellen's Mageprice kept Shalkan with him. And Kellen couldn't go. He had to stay with the army — if he simply took off with Shalkan, no matter what story he gave for doing so, he'd start precisely the kind of panic he needed at all costs to avoid.

And there was still the mission to Halacira and Sentarshadeen. More than ever, Kellen wanted to get to Sentarshadeen and see for himself what was going on there. But if they didn't secure the caverns as a possible refugee camp, there was a strong possibility there wasn't going to
be
any army to worry about.

He groaned aloud. "Leaf and Star, what a mess!"

"To put it mildly," Shalkan said. "What are you going to do?"

The moment Shalkan asked the question, calm settled over Kellen. "I'm going to think," he said quietly.

* * * * *

WHEN he got back to camp (carrying Shalkan's armor, as he certainly couldn't ride Shalkan into camp), he was able to greet his people as if nothing had happened. The short winter day was already drawing toward dusk, and nobody found it unusual for Kellen to go off to his pavilion once he'd checked with Isinwen. Isinwen could run the camp, barring emergencies. As Kellen's Second, that had become part of his job.

But Kellen breathed a deep sigh of relief once he reached his pavilion and pegged the door shut behind him. Instinctively, he knew he'd convinced his Second that all was well and that nothing out of the ordinary had happened, and what Isinwen believed, the others would believe as well. But to keep up that deception — and it was a deception, Kellen acknowledged to himself — he needed to find a deeper measure of peace within himself, and find it quickly.

He lit the lamps and the braziers, took off his armor, and rummaged through his packs until he'd found his three Books.

He hadn't had much time for studying them lately, and he really doubted that the answer to his current dilemma was to be found in any of them — not
The Book of Moon,
which addressed the "how" of the Wild Magic, nor
The Book of Sun,
which mostly addressed the "when," nor even
The Book of Stars,
the most abstruse of the three, which was essentially about the "whether or not" of the Wild Magic — when it was best to intervene, and when it was best to just leave well enough alone.

Although if this is "well enough" I'd hate to see a really bad situation,
Kellen thought with a sigh, opening the third Book. He guessed he was looking for peace of mind and calm as much as anything — he couldn't make any good decisions while he was chasing himself in circles, much less act as if he hadn't just received what was almost the worst possible news the Allies could have gotten. So he might as well improve his mind.
The Book of Stars
always managed to make him feel better, even when he didn't understand half of what it was saying.

What if Andorieniel dies? Ashaniel and Sandalon can't rule the Elven Lands from the Fortress of the Crowned Horns, and they can't come back. So the Council will have to make the decisions. And that just won't work.