Emperor and Clown (11 page)

Once
Inos and the faun had been reunited under Kadolan’s tutelage, they could all
start giving some thought to the problem of Krasnegar. And if that was
insoluble, then a comfortable estate within some pleasantly civilized corner of
the Impire ought to be within reach of a mage. just like one of the poet’s
romances-the lovers would find a happy ending!

Feeling
extremely pleased with herself-and properly grateful to the Gods, of
course-Kade selected another pomegranate. These tropical delicacies certainly
helped to compensate for the absence of some of her more familiar favorites.

The
two youths ate much faster than she did, but all three seemed to reach their
capacity at about the same time. Thinal belched and pushed his chair back. He
set to work paring his toenails with a fruit knife. Kadolan dabbed her lips
with a linen napkin. Rap poured her another cup of coffee, and one for himself.

Then
he glanced at the door and frowned. “You have a visitor, ma’am. I think I can
keep us unobserved.”

That
seemed likely, after their unremarked return across the palace complex. Before
Kadolan could ask what sort of visitor, Mistress Zuthrobe came hurrying in,
veiled and wide-eyed with fright.

“His
Highness Prince Kar, ma’am!”

Again
Kadolan opened her mouth but was prevented from speaking. Without waiting for
her invitation, Kar strode out onto the balcony, shadowed by two of the
fearsome family men. He came right to her chair and stared down at her with a
sinister little smile, as if he were a teacher and she an errant pupil.

She
had met the baby-faced chief of security a couple of times at the wedding rehearsals,
but even those brief, formal encounters had explained why Inosolan found him so
intimidating. The presence of two obvious interlopers at Kadolan’s table was no
help in this instance, even if Kar did not seem to notice them.

He
turned to regard the Zuthrobe woman, who was fidgeting in the background with
the apparent intent of chaperoning the unorthodox interview. He did not need to
speak-his expression alone was enough to send her fleeing back indoors. Then he
resumed his baleful inspection of Kadolan.

“You
are expecting company, I understand?”

She
plied him with her most innocent smile. “Well, Inosolan called on me last
night. I am aware that she has departed.”

“And?”
A smile so thin on Kar implied a scowl. From the corner of her eye, Kadolan
could tell that the invisible Thinal was making obscene gestures at Kar,
causing Rap to grin faintly.

“And
I understand that the departure is to be kept secret as long as possible. I
thought I could start a rumor that they had eaten breakfast here; muddy the
waters a little.”

His
eyes were chips of pink granite. “His Majesty is touring the northlands this
morning.”

“Oh!”
Kadolan said. “Well, that’s nice. Then I have provided a secondary alibi?”

“You
have weakened a cover story that cost enormous preparation. You did not eat all
that by yourself.”

Beginning
to feel flustered, she waved a hand at the empty air beyond the balcony. “Of
course not, your Highness”

Now
his smile would have frozen the marrow of her bones had she not had a mage
within reach. “I feel that these quarters are inadequate, ma’am. We may be able
to find you something more appropriate and more easily guarded.”

“These
are quite satisfactory. I find the antiques fascinating. Something is wrong?”

“Intruders
are prowling the palace. Guards have been murdered-and the faun has escaped!”

“I
am delighted to hear it,” she said calmly. “If you think I am hiding him, then
I grant you leave to search my quarters.”

“My
men already did.” Kar spun on his heel and strode out, his spurs jingling. His
flunkies followed.

Thinal
grinned and cocked a final snoot at his back. Rap frowned.

“Well!”
Kadolan said, annoyed to find that her heart was beating faster than was
seemly. “I thank you, Master Rap. Your powers are a welcome reinforcement in
Arakkaran!”

The
youth smiled faintly, but he was still keeping his true feelings masked.

“Perhaps,”
she suggested, “we should now compare notes and make some plans?”

He
nodded. “First I must escort Thinal down to the gates and see him safely on his
way. It would not be fair to keep Gathmor in suspense any longer.”

“Gathmor?”

“Another
friend. A good friend. A sailor. You saw him once.”

“I
did?” The conversation was already slipping away from the path she had planned.

“In
the magic casement. He was the third man present when Sagorn and I met the
dragon.”

Gods!
“The prophecy was fulfilled?”

“The
first one . . .” The faun frowned suddenly. Looking very uneasy, he added, “And
now I suspect that makes the other two inevitable.”

A
duel with the infamous Kalkor? Torture in the goblin lodge? Horror-struck, she
said, “Surely not! Why?”

“Because
obviously the casement was working correctly. Why did I not see that earlier?”
He shook his head, puzzled. “Some things are very clear to me now, things I
never knew before.”

“The
words bring wisdom?” She took a shaky sip of coffee. “Then perhaps you can
explain something that is puzzling me, Master Rap. My word of power never
seemed to make much different to me, nor to my sisterin-law, when she was
alive. I assumed that it had very little strength, as it were ... that it had
been diluted in the remote past by too many sharings, or that it was wearing
out. Yet it’has produced extraordinary abilities in you. Surely you were not
capable of all this yesterday?”

Again
he shook his head, his gray eyes unreadable. After a moment he said, “I do know
more about that! It ... it isn’t easy to explain.”

“Oh,
we have lots of time.”

“We
don’t, not at the moment. But it isn’t that. I mean, I feel a strong urge not
to talk about such things. The words are secretive by nature(“ He glanced at
Thinal’s ratty eyes. “This must be why nosy mundanes like Sagorn have so much
trouble finding out!”

The
thief nodded and smirked.

“I’ll
try, though.” Rap took a deep breath. “There seem to be three things involved,
ma’am. First, of course, is the mere number of words. One makes a genius, two
an adept. Then mage and sorcerer. All are different. Rarely a genius will have
occult power, as I did, but not often-and so on. The number of words is
important in itself. Everyone knows that.”

“Like
the number of wheels on a coach.”

“Yes(
A wheelbarrow, or a chaise, or . . .” He smiled his diffident little smile. “I
don’t know anything with three wheels( Or a wagon-all different. But the number
of words matters most. My farsight, for instance, is much stronger than it was,
but mainly I have skills now that I never had before. Mage skills. And then the
words themselves can be weakened by sharing. We knew that.”

“I’m
not as good as I was,” Thinal muttered, looking resentful.

“You’re
still the best!” Rap said quickly. He wiped his forehead, as if feeling a
strain. “That sort of comparison is all right when you compare one person’s
power before he tells a word, or after he gets more of the same word ... but it
doesn’t mean much when you compare one person with another. What’s more
important then is ... the third thing ... I never realized . . .” He paused.

“What
third thing?” Thinal demanded.

“It’s
a sort of native talent.” Rap stared unseeing for a moment, a young man
wrestling with great problems. “When I was only an adept I could feel the
ripples. Lith’rian didn’t like that(“

“Ripples?”
Kadolan said, confused. Did he mean Warlock Lith’rian?

“It’s
like a vibration. The world shimmers. I thought I was going to shake my own
teeth out making that ladder. I expect I’ll develop a gentler touch, when I’ve
had some practice. Hope sot I can’t tell within the palace, but I think I could
sense sorcery a great way off now.”

“Sheik
Elkarath is a mage, and he said he couldn’t. Not at all, he said.”

Rap
nodded, then slumped back in his chair, breathing hard. “Then I’m better than
him. It may be our words, but more likely, it’s this third thingus, ourselves.
I’m just more ... responsive. That’s the way I see it.”

Some
people had innate musical ability and could learn to sing, or play any
instrument they chose. Others, like Kadolan herself, had a stone ear for music.
So this nondescript stableboy had another sort of inborn ability, a gift for
magic, something she did not. She felt mildly resentful about that. It
explained Inos, though. Perhaps Inos had no gift at all, or very little, so her
word of power was of no use to her. That seemed most unfair! And there were the
tales of the legendary great warlocks of the past, the Thraine-who had left no
notable successor, so far as she could recall.

She
wondered why the servants were not coming to clear the table, and realized that
the faun might be keeping them away.

Then
he roused himself and glanced inquiringly at the imp, as if ready to leave.

“What
about Inos?” Kadolan said quickly.

Rap
leaned back and studied her unwinkingly. “What about her?”

“Her
accident. The burns?”

He
nodded glumly. “I was responsible for that, I suppose, in that I killed the
sorceress. If I can find Inos, I shall try to repair the damage. The curse on
the sultan must be a sorcery, though, and I can’t do anything about that.”

“And
her marriage?”

“What
about her marriage?” the faun asked coldly. Suddenly concerned, Kadolan said, “It
was all a terrible mistake!”

His
face was so infuriatingly wooden!

Rap
said, “I asked her if she had married of her own free will. She said she had.
She was not lying, ma’am! I can detect lies; I could even then. It was her
choice.”

“But
... But ... But she thought you were dead! She had seen your ghost, she
thought!”

He
shivered, very slightly. “And I saw her ... But she knew I was alive when I
asked the question.” A trace of pain showed, and vanished again. “Has Inos ever
said she loved me?”

Probably
her face was telling him no before she could open her mouth. “Well, she spoke
often of your childhood. She was very upset by your death.”

“And
she was very angry at me for interrupting her wedding.”

This
was awful! “Of course Inos was upset! It was a disaster! She had not had time
to think, to remember the God’s words, to work out the implications.”

He
did not comment, just looked at her.

“Free
will is a nebulous term, Master Rap! Under the circumstances, she had no real
choice but to marry the sultan. It is often easier to lie to oneself than to
admit unpleasant truths.”

“She
did not he to me, ma’am. I am certain of that.” Horrors! This was not at all
what Kadolan had expected!

“And
she stayed silent when the sultan ordered me thrown in jail.”

“That
was for your good!” Thinal guffawed.

“I
mean,” Kadolan said stiffly, “he is insanely jealous! Anything she said would
have only made him angrier.”

Rap
shrugged, slightly.

God
of Love!

“And
you? How do you feel about her?”

“With
respect, your Highness, that is not relevant.” Kade wrung her hands, searching
for an argument, an excuse, an explanation.

“I
beg you,. Master Rap! I beg you to rescue my niece from an inappropriate and
unwanted marriage!”

“She
is a married woman!” Rap exclaimed, shocked. “Your Highness, you cannot mean
that!”

“You
must see-”

“No
I don’t! I won’t even consider it!” He set his jaw.

“You
are being very difficult!”

“You
are making improper suggestions.”

“But-”

“I
won’t listen!”

“Stubbornness
is not an attractive trait.”

“So
Inos always told me.”

Thinal
snickered. Doubtless he also was recalling what Sagorn had said about this
mulish faun. Kadolan stopped drumming fingers on the table and composed
herself. “I think you must ask her again ... er ... sir. About free will.”

Again
he shrugged slightly, and again moved as if to rise.

“Now,”
she said hastily, “Inosolan and the sultan have not long sailed. If we hurry
down to the harbor-the three of us and your other friend, if you wish-then
surely we can find a ship heading west? If money is a problem, I have some
brooches and things I can sell. Then we can overtake them at the next port, or
even chase them all the way to Qoble, if necessary.”

Rap
shook his head.

No?
“Then what do you plan to do?”

The
big gray eyes studied her. “I plan to remain in this palace for some time. A
week, at least, perhaps longer. With your permission, these quarters would be
good, or I can find others. I need to complete my healing. I must also learn to
control my powers--here, where I am shielded. Otherwise I shall just give
myself away to some warlock or sorcerer and be enslaved. Also, my friends need
time to rest, all six of them.”

Reluctantly
she concluded that it was not an unreasonable request. She nodded. “You are
most welcome here, and they also, if you can hide them.”

Thinal
snorted. “I wouldn’t rest here. Pickings’re too good. Got my eye on a
well-stocked little whorehouse down by the docks.”

Kadolan
regarded him with distaste, but the technique that worked so well on underlings
at Kinvale and Krasnegar seemed to be ineffective on him. She turned her
attention back to the mage. “And when you are ready, you will take me with you
when you go after Inos?” She heard an unpleasant whine in her voice, but now
she was wondering if he might just desert her, and the prospect was terrifying.
The rest of her life in Arakkaran?

“I
will not abandon you, ma’am. Not after what you did for me.”