Court Wizard (Spellmonger Series: Book 8) (70 page)

“Oh, a
thousand
little details about the festival,” she said, feigning being overwhelmed.  From the look on the plain-looking girl’s face it was clear that it wasn’t Ishi who was overwhelmed by the event.  “It’s such a
busy
time for us!”

“So I’ve heard,” she said, knowingly.  “Congratulations on putting a stop to the uprising.  I’ve just come from Count Salgo’s department, and he was
quite
grateful for your assistance.”

“Why, it is both my duty and my pleasure to assist His Grace in any way I can,” she said, casting a cloak of false humility over herself.  Her attendants seemed to respond as an extension of her facial expressions, each one sharing some tidbit in reflection of their mistress’ mood.  But they all looked at their mistress adorably as she stated her considered opinions.

“Things have gotten so much better in Vorone since that handsome young man came back to lead us,” Lady Pleasure said, expansively.  “And this festival has
really
given some energy to the local economy.  Inns are booked in advance, the nobility are preparing parties and fetes, and we’ve decided to make the Ball of Wildflowers . . . a
masque!
  With a
woodland theme!
” she boasted, proudly, as if half of the town wasn’t already devoted to depictions of nature.  “I’ve just come from His Grace’s chambers, and we’ve agreed!  Simply
everyone
will wear animal masks for the fete!  I’ve heard that they’ve become
very
popular in Vorone again!”

The oblique reference to the Woodsmen, who were continuing their nighttime patrols through places in town the Guard feared to tread, started a smoldering fire in Pentandra’s belly.  It was insulting, what Lady Pleasure was doing.  It was almost as if she was making
fun
of Pentandra’s efforts.

Several courtiers paused in their errands to watch the two women meet from afar.  Pentandra got the impression that they saw the two of them as rivals.  She affected her friendliest air to the baroness, and did her best to seem enthusiastic about meeting her.  That should utterly
confirm
the idea to the cynical minds of the court.

“Certainly your own business must be doing well,” Pentandra ventured.  It was conversational bait, and she delivered the line cautiously . . . but Ishi took it. 

“Oh, thank the gods,
yes!
My girls are working night and day, bless their twats, and the demand always seems to be more than we can fulfill.  We’re recruiting
twice
as many new girls to help meet demand over the festival.  But the daily revenue is promising, and our reputation for exquisite luxury has spread across Vorone.  Every evening is like a festival at the Hall of Flowers.  Food, wine, dancing . . . romance . . .”

“And all at
very
reasonable prices, I hear!” Pentandra continued, a little more loudly than was appropriate. 

“Well, we
do
charge a premium price for a premium service,” admitted the woman, with a smile, “but there are frequent and generous discounts available, as well.  For members of the Palace Guard, for instance,” she said, loudly enough for several members of that corps patrolling the corridor to overhear.

“And hardly
any
pox among the girls, either!” Pentandra continued.  “
Very
few of them possess Ishi’s Curse, from what I hear.  Isn’t that true?”

“What?”
asked the baroness with a shriek at the idea.  Ishi’s Curse was a catch-all term for a variety of diseases and ailments known to favor prostitutes and their clients. 
“That’s not true at all!”

“So they
do
have Ishi’s Curse?” Pentandra asked in an even louder voice, her tone plagued with scandal, shock and surprise.  “That’s
terrible!
Someone should
do
something!”

“My girls are as clean as any lady of the court!”
Lady Pleasure insisted, not realizing how her outburst sounded to everyone until it passed her lips.

“Oh,
good,
then,” Pentandra said in a quiet voice. 

All around her she could feel the reaction from the passers-by at the declaration.  If Ishi had meant to charm her way into power here, she would have to contend with Pentandra’s ability to confound her.  There were
plenty
of women in the palace who were already upset about the whores running rampant all over the place.  Reminding them, publically, of the dangers implicit in such commerce only served to humiliate the baroness in front of them.  Now the talk around court would involve Ishi’s girls and their alleged state of cleanliness . . . not how they foiled an uprising.

Too late Ishi realized what Pentandra had done.  Her pretty blue eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared. 

“It was
such
a pleasure to see you again, Lady Pentandra!” she continued in her false tones, a hint of mockery in her voice.  “
Do
feel free to stop by the House of Flowers again
any
time – and
do
bring that hunky husband of yours, too.  No doubt he could find some
real
amusement there.”

“He already
has,
” Pentandra assured her.  “He heard that you told someone you were only
thirty years old.”

With that Pentandra left before the goddess could lose patience.  She had no idea of the extent of her powers in this form, but from what the legends said, she could be as vicious in battle as she was in romance.

By the time Pentandra made it back to her chambers, she was exhausted.  And she knew she had to do something about . . .
that woman
before it was too late.

But what? 
How can you get someone in trouble when the only appeal to authority at your disposal involved prayer?  Finding some way to keep Lady Pleasure from flooding the court with sexually promiscuous maidens and dictating policy from behind the bedchamber curtains was rapidly becoming Pentandra’s priority.

The Goddess of Love and Beauty was notoriously capricious, and the lore suggested little that was helpful in the way of arresting her power.  She didn’t have a studly male god around to tempt her, for instance, nor was there a woman whose beauty rivaled the goddess.  

After considerable thought on the subject (while inspecting the parchment files on each of the new candidates for an Adept certification) Pentandra realized that one area in which Lady Pleasure had shown weakness and attachment was obvious:
Minalan the Spellmonger.

While Pentandra didn’t know the extent and level of intimacy of the relationship, she knew Minalan.  If he had a shot with Ishi, not even his precious marriage vows would stop him from acting on his desire for her . . .
or any man.
That was implicit in Ishi’s phenomenology.

But it did suggest that Minalan had
some
sort of authority – or at least leverage – over the wayward goddess. 

Pentandra realized, depressingly, just what she had to do: call on Minalan for help.  Feeling annoyed, she contacted the Spellmonger.

Min, we’ve got problems
, she began, as soon as she made contact with him mind-to-mind.  She knew he was busy – by all accounts he was forming a full-fledged
bouleuterion
to oversee his many endeavors into enchantment.  He sounded tired and a little argumentative.

What kind of problems?
he asked, complainingly
.  Alka Alon?  Royal?  Ducal?  Military? Cultural? Economic?

Take your pick,
she sighed, realizing that any of them might be involved. 
But those aren’t the problems I need help with.  Those are real problems that can be solved by real people doing real work.  Our problem has big boobs and the meanest perspective on human mating I’ve ever seen.

Ishi.

Yes Ishi.  Or Lady Pleasure, as she’s calling herself.  Which is the tackiest pseudonym I’ve ever heard.  You’re
certain
she’s a goddess?

I’ve recently gotten confirmation.  That’s her.

First, I want to know how you know that. The way she said it told me that there was no room for dissembling . . . and the price of dishonesty would be high,
she added, warningly.  She expected Minalan to tell her everything, just like he always did.  But he surprised her by telling her up front that he wasn’t going to tell her everything.

Pen, I have to be honest – there are some things I
can’t
be transparent about.  For your safety, among others.  All I can say is that yes, I have had divine encounters in the past that have aided our various causes.  Some of these bore amazing fruit.  Some produced . . . well, ‘Lady Pleasure’.  Believe it or not,
it’s not my fault.

He made it all sound so
casua
l, as if associating directly with divinities (as opposed to the more regular sort of worship) was a curious hobby of his, not a bit of momentous news.

You’re consorting with gods, and it’s not your fault . . . you think?  Minalan, do you have
any
idea how dangerous it is to mix magic and religion?
she asked, pleadingly.  He should damn well know better than that!
Shall I list all the horrible, horrible ways it can go wrong from history?  Shall we start with the collapse of the Magocracy, or shall we confine our discussion to early Perwyni history?

Pentandra, I told you it
wasn’t my fault!
  A lot has happened, since you went to Alshar, and I’m doing my best to manage it without complicating your life.  That doesn’t mean I’m trying to keep secrets, it’s just a bit . . . awkward, at the moment,
he complained.

It
had
to be Ishi.  Very well, then, since you unleashed this beast on me, you can help me contain it.  Duke Anguin is holding a masque in a few weeks, and half of Lady Pleasure’s enchanted minions will be slobbering around the palace.  I know you aren’t supposed to be away from your estates, but I think you should take the chance to slip away and come see what I’ve been dealing with.

Is it really that bad?
he asked skeptically.

Of course it’s that bad!  She’s got every woman in town tarted-up and every man following them!  The cosmetics makers and the dressmakers are among our most prosperous businesses, now!  The inns and taverns have enjoyed an explosion of business, because of all the courting, and . . . and . . .
She tried to come up with more damning examples of the woman’s insidious nature, but couldn’t.

It doesn’t sound like much of a problem,
Penny,
Minalan told her gently.

That’s because you aren’t
here, she shot back bitterly
.
Gods, how could a man not see an impending political disaster when he was staring right at it?  Perhaps because he
wasn’t
staring right at it, she reasoned. 

That cinched her plan.  She
had
to get Minalan here, in Vorone, and set him against Ishi.  She changed her tone to one more conciliatory and persuasive. 

If you come and see it, you’ll see what I mean.  How can the Duke make policy when a flick of a skirt will change it?  How can a woman keep her husband happy at home when every maiden inside the walls believes herself to be breathtakingly beautiful?  Things are under strain, Min, in ways I never thought I’d see, because of that selfish bitch!

All right, all right, I’ll come!
Minalan finally agreed, sounding highly reluctant. 
But you realize, after my last encounter I’m not particularly eager to face her?

I can see why, Min,
she said, understanding perfectly.  If she made the women of the palace continuously doubt themselves and find fault with everything about themselves, she could only imagine the effect Ishi’s presence would have on an ordinary man.  Even an extraordinary man like Minalan.  She was sympathetic.
  She’s utterly intimidating, to man or woman.  That’s why I need you here.

What about Arborn?

Keep him out of this!
she insisted. 
I have him doing . . . other things, things better suited to his talents.  Things that will keep him out of that bitch’s claws.  Cleaning up the underworld here, for one thing.  I may have turned him into a murderous assassin, but I’ve kept him away from her and her nasty little—

What does Duke Anguin think about all of this?
Minalan interrupted, brusquely.  Pentandra suppressed a snarl.  Did he honestly think she could not contend with this challenge without oversight?  From a fifteen year old boy?  She took control of her emotions and tried to give an objective response.  It didn’t come out well.

Anguin?  He thinks it’s great, of course!  Within months of his return to the summer capital, everyone is getting laid and making money.  As far as what the people think, they see him as a savior.  And now whatever it is she’s done has spread to
him
. . . he’s got mistresses falling all over the place.  Which is all very well and good for the lad’s disposition – don’t get me wrong – but in a generation that’s going to play havoc with the succession!