Assassin 3 - Royal Assassin (66 page)

Help me!

From Verity, nothing. Our link was fading like
perfume in the wind as my strength dwindled.

WE ARE PACK!

Justin slammed back against the door of my room
so hard his head bounced. It was more than repelling. I had no word
for what Nighteyes did from within Justin's own mind. It was a
hybrid magic, Nighteyes using the Wit through a bridge the Skill
had created. He attacked Justin's body from within Justin's mind.
Justin's hands flew to his throat, fighting jaws he could not
seize. Claws shredded skin and raised red welts on the skin beneath
Justin's fine tunic. Serene screamed, a sword of a sound slashing
through me, and flung herself on Justin, trying to help
him.

Don't kill. Don't kill! DON'T KILL!

Nighteyes finally heard me. He dropped Justin,
flinging him aside like a rat. He came and stood astraddle me,
guarding me. Almost I could hear his panting breath, feel the
warmth of his hide. I had no energy to question what had happened.
I curled myself into a puppy, sheltered beneath him. I knew no one
could get through Nighteyes' defense of me.

What was that? What was that? What was that?
Serene was screaming hysterically. She had Justin by the shirtfront
and had dragged him to his feet. There were livid marks on his
throat and chest, but through barely opened eyes, I could see them
fading rapidly. Soon there was no sign of Nighteyes' attack save
the wet stain spreading down the front of Justin's trousers. His
eyes sagged closed. Serene shook him like a doll. Justin! Open your
eyes. Justin!

What are you doing to that man? The Fool's stage
voice, expressing outrage and surprise, filled my room. Behind him,
my door stood open wide. A passing maid, arms full of shirts,
peeped in, startled, then stopped to stare. The little page girl
carrying a basket behind her came hurrying to peek around the
door's edge. The Fool set the tray he was carrying down on the
floor and came into my room. What is the meaning of
this?

He attacked Justin, Serene sobbed.

Disbelief flooded the Fool's face. Him? He looks
like he could not attack a pillow. You were the one I saw worrying
that boy.

Serene let go of Justin's collar, and he dropped
like a rag at her feet. The Fool looked down at him
pityingly.

Poor fellow! Was she trying to force herself on
you?

Don't be ridiculous! Serene was outraged. It was
him! She pointed at me.

The Fool looked at me consideringly. This is a
grave accusation. Answer me truthfully, Bastard. Was she really
trying to force herself on you?

No. My voice came out like I felt. Sick,
exhausted and groggy. I was sleeping. They came quietly into my
room. Then ... I knit my brows, and let my voice trail off. I think
I have had too much Smoke this night.

And I agree! There was fine disdain in the
Fool's voice. Such an unseemly show of lust I have seldom seen! The
Fool spun suddenly on the peeping page and maid. This shames all of
Buckkeep! To find our own Skilled ones behaving so. I charge you to
speak of this to no one. Let no gossip about this begin. He turned
back suddenly on Serene and Justin. Serene's face was flooded
scarlet, her mouth open in outrage. Justin pulled himself to a
sitting position at her feet and sat, swaying. He clutched at her
skirts like a toddler trying to stand.

I do not lust after this man, she said coldly
and clearly. Nor did I attack him.

Well, whatever it is you are doing, it were
better done in your own chambers! The Fool cut across her words
sternly. Without another glance at her, he turned, picked up his
tray, and bore it off down the hallway. At the sight of the elfbark
tea departing, I could not contain a groan of despair. Serene spun
back to me, lips drawn back in a grimace.

I will get to the bottom of this! she snarled at
me.

I took a breath. But in your own chambers,
please. I managed to lift a hand and point at the open door. She
stormed out, with Justin staggering along in her wake. The maid and
page drew back in distaste from them as they passed. My chamber
door was left standing ajar. It took a vast effort to rise and go
close it. I felt as if my head were something I balanced on my
shoulders. Once the door was closed, I didn't even try to return to
bed, but just slid down the wall to sit with my back to the door. I
felt raw.

My brother. Are you dying?

No. But it hurts.

Rest. I will stand watch.

I cannot explain what happened next. I let go of
something, something I had clutched all my life without being aware
of gripping it. I sank down into soft warm darkness, into a safe
place, while a wolf kept watch through my eyes.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO

Burrich

LADY PATIENCE, SHE who was queen-in-waiting to
Chivalry's king-in-waiting, came originally of inland stock. Her
parents, Lord Oakdell and Lady Averia, were of very minor nobility.
For their daughter to rise in rank to marry a Prince of the realm
had to have been a shock to them, especially given their daughter's
wayward and, some might say, obtuse nature. Chivalry's avowed
ambition to wed Lady Patience was the cause of his first difference
with his father, King Shrewd. By this marriage, he gained no
valuable alliances or political advantages; only a highly eccentric
woman whose great love for her husband did not preclude her
forthright declaring of unpopular opinions. Nor did it dissuade her
from the single-minded pursuit of any avocation that caught her
fleeting fancy. Her parents preceded her in death, dying in the
year of the Blood Plague, and she was childless and presumed barren
when her husband, Chivalry, fell to his death from a
horse.

I awoke. Or, at least, I came back to myself. I
was in my bed, surrounded by warmth and gentleness. I didn't move,
but cautiously searched myself for pain. My head no longer pounded,
but I felt tired and achy, stiff as one sometimes is after pain
passes. A shiver went up my back. Molly was naked beside me,
breathing gently against my shoulder. The fire had burned low,
nearly out. I listened. It was either very very late, or very
early. The Keep was near silent.

I didn't remember getting here.

I shivered again. Beside me, Molly stirred. She
pulled closer to me, smiled sleepily. You are so strange sometimes,
she breathed. But I love you. She closed her eyes again.

Nighteyes!

I am here. He was always there.

Suddenly I couldn't ask, I didn't want to know.
I just lay still, feeling sick and sad and sorry for
myself.

I tried to rouse you, but you were not ready to
come back. That Other One had drained you.

That Other One is our king.

Your king. Wolves have no kings.

What did ... I let the thought trail off. Thank
you for guarding me.

He sensed my reservations. What should I have
done? Turned her away? She was grieving.

I don't know. Let us not talk of it. Molly was
sad, and he had comforted her? I didn't even know why she was sad.
Had been sad, l amended, looking at the soft smile on her sleeping
face. I sighed. Better face it sooner than later. Besides, I had to
send her back to her own room. It would not do for her to be here
when the Keep awoke.

Molly? I said gently.

She stirred and opened her eyes. Fitz, she
agreed sleepily.

For safety's sake, you have to go back to your
own room.

I know. I shouldn't have come in the first
place. She stopped. All those things I said to you a few days ago.
I didn't-

I put a finger across her lips. She smiled past
it. You make these new silences ... very interesting. She pushed my
hand aside, kissed me warmly. Then she slid from my bed and began
to dress briskly. I arose, moving more slowly. She glanced over at
me, her face full of love. I'll go alone. It's safer. We should not
be seen together.

Someday, that will- I began. This time she
silenced me, small hand on my lips.

We will talk of nothing like that now. Let us
leave tonight as it is. Perfect. She kissed me again, quickly, and
slipped from my arms and then out the door. She shut it silently
behind her. Perfect?

I finished dressing and built up my fire. I sat
down in my chair by the hearth and waited. It was not long before I
was rewarded. The entrance to Chade's domain opened. I went up the
stairs as quickly as I could manage. Chade was sitting before his
hearth. You have to listen to me, I greeted him. His eyebrows rose
in alarm at the intensity in my voice. He gestured at the chair
opposite him, and I took it. I opened my mouth to speak. What Chade
did then put every hair on my body on end. He glanced all around
himself, as if we stood in the midst of a great crowd. Then he
touched his own lips, and made a gesture for softness. He leaned
toward me until our heads were nearly touching. Softly, softly. Sit
down. What is it.

I sat, in my old place on the hearth. My heart
was hammering in my chest. Of all places in Buckkeep, I had never
expected to have to use caution in what I said here.

All right, he breathed out to me.
Report.

I took a breath and began. I left out nothing,
revealing my link with Verity so that the entire story would make
sense. I put in every detail: the Fool's beating, and Kettricken's
offering to Bea
rn
s, as
well as my service to the King that evening. Serene and Justin in
my room. When I whispered of Regal's spies, he pursed his mouth,
but did not seem overly surprised. When I was finished, he regarded
me calmly.

A whisper again. And what do you conclude from
all this? he asked me, as if it were a puzzle he had set me as a
lesson.

May I speak frankly of my suspicions? I asked
quietly.

A nod.

I sighed in relief. As I spoke of the picture
that had emerged for me over the past weeks, I felt a great burden
lifting. Chade would know what to do. And so I spoke, quickly,
tersely. Regal knew that the King was dying of disease. Wallace was
his tool, to keep the King sedated and open to Regal's whisperings.
He would discredit Verity, he would strip Buckkeep of every bit of
wealth that he could. He would abandon Bea
rn
s to the Red-Ships, to keep them busy
while Regal acted on his own ambitions. Paint Kettricken as a
foreigner with ambitions to the throne. A devious, disloyal wife.
Gather power to himself. His eventual aim, as ever, was the throne.
Or at least as much of the Six Duchies as he could gather to
himself. Hence his lavish entertainments for the Inland Dukes and
their nobles.

Chade nodded unwillingly as I spoke. When I
paused, he injected softly, There are many holes in this web you
say Regal is weaving.

I can fill in a few, I whispered. Suppose the
coterie that Galen created is loyal to Regal? Suppose all messages
go to him first, and only those he approves continue to their
intended destination?

Chade's face grew still and grave.

My whisper grew more desperate. What if messages
are delayed just enough to make our efforts to defend ourselves
pathetic? He makes Verity look a fool, he undermines confidence in
the man.

Wouldn't Verity be able to tell?

I shook my head slowly. He is powerfully
Skilled. But he cannot be listening everywhere at once. The
strength of his talent is his ability to focus it so tightly. To
spy on his own coterie, he would have had to give off watching the
coast waters for Red-Ships.

Does he ... is Verity aware of this discussion
right now?

I shrugged ashamedly. I don't know. That is the
curse of my flaws. My link with him is erratic. Sometimes I know
his mind as clearly as if he stood beside me and spoke it aloud. At
other times I am scarcely aware of him at all. Last night, when
they spoke through me, I heard every word. Right now ... I felt
about inside myself, a pocket-patting sort of thinking. I feel
nothing more than that we are still linked. I leaned forward and
put my head in my hands. I felt drained.

Tea? Chade asked me gently.

Please. And if I could just sit for a bit
longer, quietly. I don't know when my head has throbbed this
badly.

Chade set the kettle over the fire. I watched
with distaste as he mixed brewing herbs for it. Some elfbark, but
not near as much as I would have required earlier. Peppermint and
catmint leaves. A bit of precious ginger root. I recognized much of
what he used to give Verity for his Skill exhaustion. Then he came
back to sit close beside me again. It could not be. What you
suggest would require blind loyalty from the coterie to
Regal.

It can be created by one strongly Skilled. My
flaw is a result of what Galen did to me. Do you remember Galen's
fanatical admiration of Chivalry? That was a created loyalty. Galen
could have done it to them, before he died, when he was finishing
their training.

Chade shook his head slowly. Do you think Regal
could be so stupid as to think the Red-Ships would stop at
Bea
rn
s? Eventually they
will want Buck, they will want Rippon and Shoaks. Where does that
leave him?