Exile's Return (Book 1) (21 page)

Jenn replied with careful precision, ‘I might be entertaining a change of heart.’

‘You mean you never meant to go in the first place,’ Robert clarified. ‘In that case, why did you say you would?’

Jenn’s calm momentarily dissipated. ‘Because I wanted to prevent all-out war between you and Finnlay. Is that so bad a thing?’

‘Finn and I have been at war since he was old enough to hold a sword – and he was a precocious child. That particular discussion would have been no worse than any other we’d had. There was no need …’

‘Oh really?’ Jenn finished tying the last bandage and looked at him directly. ‘And what about the night before? For a man who never gets angry, you were doing a damn good job of faking it. After everything else that had happened, I wasn’t about to let you fight over me as well!’

Micah opened his mouth to say something, then shut it abruptly. She had a point, though it irked him to admit it. On the other hand, she had, once again, neatly shifted the topic from the one they’d been discussing. Flexing his hand against the constraints of the bandage, he asked quietly, ‘So you don’t want to go to Elita after all?’

‘No.’

‘Why not?’

Jenn looked up. ‘I don’t see any reason to.’

‘You mean you don’t believe it,’ he added.

‘Oh please, Micah. Don’t you start, too.’ Jenn looked exasperated and almost flung her equipment into the bag.

Micah shook his head. ‘I only speak out of concern for your welfare. If you don’t want to stay at the Enclave then truly, the safest place for you is Elita.’

‘Why? Why should I worry about being safe? What difference does it make? I’ve not worried about it since I left Shan Moss. I can take care of myself and have been doing so all my life. I don’t see why I can’t continue the same way.’

‘No?’ Robert murmured. ‘And what happens the next time you use your powers, eh?’

‘Well, it’s simple,’ she shrugged indifferently. ‘I won’t use them.’

‘As I recall, that’s what you said after the bridge incident. Not that I don’t believe your sincerity – it’s just that I can’t see you refusing to do anything to help somebody in a similar situation. Like now, with Micah’s arm. You just used Healer’s Sight. Do you think you can stand by and watch somebody die because you don’t want to use your powers?’

‘A fine point, my lord master sorcerer,’ she said with cunning, ‘but what difference would it make whether I was wandering the land – or at Elita?’

‘The difference is, Jenn,’ Robert stood impatiently, ‘that you would be safe with Jacob. He’d never let any harm come to you – and you would have the time and space to get used to your powers. Time when nobody would question what you were doing – nor suspect your actions. Believe it or not, you would have more freedom at Elita than you would ever have wandering the country. I can’t believe you would be fool enough not to see that.’ Without another word, he turned and walked out of the hut.

Micah turned back to Jenn, but she wouldn’t meet his gaze. After a minute, he said, ‘If I were you, I’d go and talk to him.’

‘But you’re not me, are you?’

*

Robert strode into the copse and cast around for more firewood. This whole situation was getting ridiculous. What
had happened to his original plan of quietly wandering back to Dunlorn, unnoticed and untroubled? Where had all these damned problems come from? And what the hell was he doing trying to solve them? Everybody had warned him that danger could come from the King or the Guilde, but this? Jenn? Arlie? Finn? Oliver?

The Key.

It had been years since he’d spoken about what the Key had said to him, let alone considered its significance to anyone else. He’d assumed that everyone else had forgotten about that day, nineteen years ago. But he’d been wrong about that too.

So why, in the name of all that was holy, had the Key chosen that moment to lie to Finnlay? What possible purpose could it serve, other than to hurt his brother? Come to think of it, just when did the Key start developing purposes of its own – was it possible that it was something more than a mere tool?

No. He shouldn’t have left. He should have stayed at the Enclave, spoken to Finnlay, talked it over with Patric. There had to be a reason for all this.

Robert stopped in his tracks. What was he doing? Wasn’t this the very kind of thing he wanted to avoid? No involvement – remember? No involvement, no failure. That was the plan and he must stick to it. The consequences were too terrible to contemplate. But it was so hard to turn his back on them.

‘You’re an idiot, Robert,’ he murmured to the trees. ‘You knew this would happen.’

For three years he had travelled knowing the one journey he would never make again was the one that led northwards; home. But then, six weeks ago, the idea had come to him. A cold idea, isolated, but also unshakeable. In quieter moments, and in that haze before he slept each night, it would return to him, plaguing, but each time with an unspoken promise of success. If he stayed away from court, if he refused to involve himself with the Enclave – if he stayed at home – then perhaps he could return to Lusara
and cease this wandering life. More importantly, Micah could return to his family, for he would not do so alone. All Robert had to do was remain strong, withstand the pressure that was bound to come. He’d been so sure he could do it.

He began picking up branches, stacking them on his left arm. There was no doubt that Jenn’s change of heart had something to do with what she’d witnessed at the Enclave. He couldn’t blame her, sorcery was difficult to adjust to. But for her not to return to Elita was simply stupid. There had to be some way to change her mind. Jacob was her only guarantee of safety.

With a sigh, he turned to go back, only to find Jenn standing a little distance away, watching him.

‘I’m sorry,’ she said after a moment, her voice low. ‘I know it’s difficult for you. I know you’re trying hard not to care and I’m sorry because I know I’m a problem you really don’t need.’

All the will drained away from him and he shook his head in defeat. He should be used to her keen perception by this time, but still it came as a rather uncomfortable jab. Problems or no, he had chosen this path and he would have to continue it regardless.

He took in a deep breath and felt his equilibrium return. ‘You’re not a problem.’

‘It’s just that I don’t see why Jacob would want me back. Not now, after all this time.’

‘Oh, Jenny,’ Robert couldn’t help smiling, ‘how could they not want you back?’

She frowned slightly, dropping her gaze. ‘It’s just that I don’t know …’

‘Come inside,’ he said firmly, ‘and I’ll tell you all about them.’

*

‘Jacob was in his late twenties when he married your mother, Elaine. She was a fair-haired beauty from Cor Adarn, in the north. They’d met at court when Elaine was only about seventeen or eighteen. Her brother Melvin, who was also her guardian, was hoping for a match with King Edward’s
cousin, but apparently, the moment Jacob and Elaine met, they had eyes only for each other.’ Robert paused and leaned forward to stir up the crackling fire. Flames leaped up, making weird shadows on the walls behind them and lighting the faces of Micah and Jenn as they sat listening.

‘My father was at court at the time. I remember him telling me years later how angry Melvin was when Jacob approached him for Elaine’s hand. Melvin argued, raged and sulked until eventually he realized his sister was determined. Finally he gave his consent and they were married the following summer. Jacob decided to keep out of Melvin’s way for a while so they returned to Elita and stayed there for the next two years. During that time, Elaine had her first child, a boy, but he didn’t survive his first month. Then, to their joy, a year later she gave birth to a healthy daughter, Bella.’

‘Bella?’ Jenn breathed. ‘Did she survive?’

‘She certainly did – although I haven’t seen her for about seven years. After she was born, Elaine was advised not to try to have any more children for a while – which she obediently did. But when Bella was about five or so, Elaine had another boy, but this one survived only a few hours. Jacob was so distraught at the prospect of losing his beloved Elaine that the subject of more children was completely forgotten.

‘The first time I ever went to Elita was when I was ten. Bella, a year younger than me, took an instant dislike to me and made my life sheer hell.’ Robert laughed. ‘As you can imagine, my father was unimpressed by my pleas to be allowed to return home. He just told me that I had to learn to deal with that kind of thing. Fortunately, my father was recalled to court after only a few days at Elita and I was allowed to go home. You can thank that lucky incident for the fact that your sister is still alive.’

Robert held out his cup as Micah refilled it with the tangy ale they’d brought from the Enclave. He continued, ‘Of course, we didn’t know it at the time, but your mother was already carrying another child – you. You were born in the
winter. Jacob was delighted – and never expressed any regret that I knew of that you were not a boy. As you can imagine, a son and heir would have meant a great deal to him. Still, he treasured your arrival as though you were the heir to the throne itself. I had occasion to visit Elita a number of times over the next two years but I’m afraid we never met, so I can’t regale you with stories of when you were a baby.’

‘And what about later? When the Troubles began?’

‘Ah, that’s different. To be honest, I can’t tell you a lot about where your father stood during the Troubles. By that time, I was heavily involved in learning court politics. My father was increasingly involved trying to keep peace between the Houses and I helped him as much as I could. As a result, I had to take on a lot of his responsibilities at home as well. When the Troubles began and escalated to a serious level, I spent most of my time running from one place to the other, trying to mediate between feuding lords. I was returning from one such attempt when I came to Elita, the day after you went missing. As I said before, Jacob was distraught at losing you and your mother fell quite ill. I’m afraid she died a year later. Jacob never really recovered and left much of the running of his lands to Bella, who was a very capable mistress. Despite the ensuing war and the accident Jacob had, Elita managed to survive, with no little thanks to Bella.’

Jenn looked up from the cup in her hands, her eyes suddenly grave. ‘What accident?’

‘It was at the end of the war. Jacob had thrown himself into repelling Selar – I suppose I should have said before, your family is quite closely related to our royal line, King Edward’s, that is. Back four generations, I think. Anyway, loyalty is in Jacob’s blood and he drew on all his resources to support Edward. In the final battle at Seluth, Jacob and a small group of his men had cornered what they thought was Selar’s private guard. They fought close to a precipice. As each of Jacob’s men were overwhelmed, Jacob fought on until his opponent, with a last desperate lunge, pushed him back over the precipice. Jacob fell about thirty feet but
somebody found him and got him to safety. They took him home and nursed him back to life, but from that day onwards, his legs have been useless.’

‘But that’s awful! How can he bear it?’

‘I don’t know. But he’s a man of enormous courage.’

‘You seem to know a lot about it. Were you there? Were you the one who helped him?’

At this, Robert’s gaze dropped. ‘I wish I could say I was, but I was engaged elsewhere.’

‘Doing … what?’

There was little point in lying to her, even though the truth was known only to a handful of people. ‘I was busy saving Selar’s life.’

‘But …’ Jenn looked in disbelief at Micah and Robert. ‘How could you save his life? Weren’t you supposed to be fighting him?’

‘Not exactly, no. My father and his men were on the battlefield. I’d been sent to round up some reinforcements. On the way back, as I came close to the battle I crossed a river and there I found a man trapped in the current. He was drowning, so I did the only thing I could do, I dragged him to safety. I’d never met Selar at that point, never even seen him. I didn’t even find out until late that night that the man I’d saved in the river was none other than the man who now sits on our throne and who was responsible – in name at least – for my own father’s death.’

Jenn stared at him, her mouth open. After a second she came to herself and said, ‘So he gave you a seal on his Council as reward for saving his life?’

‘It looked that way to some people, but that didn’t actually happen for two years. Two years during which I was a prisoner in my own castle. I was spared execution, I think, because I saved his life, but that was all.’

Jenn frowned. ‘Execution? Then how did my father survive Selar’s reign? Surely if my family were closely related to Selar’s predecessor, Selar would want my father removed – and anyone else who could threaten him.’

‘He certainly would – and did, in most cases. But Jacob
was no threat to him. He was at that point confined to his bed, never to walk again, with only a daughter to succeed him. Jacob has remained at Elita ever since. His only hope now is to secure the safety of Bella. He ignores Selar and Selar ignores Jacob. They’re both content with the situation.’

Robert finished his story and sat back against the wall. It was strange going over all this old history, but somehow telling the story again brought it back to life. He could even remember the laughter in his father’s eyes when he had come to complain about how Bella taunted him. And oh, how things would have been different if he’d not stopped at that moment to save the life of a drowning man. Not that he could have done anything different, even if he’d known who that man was. There was a big difference between slaying a man on the field of battle and standing by as the last breaths of life were dragged from him by a raging river. And after all, letting Selar die at that moment would only have changed things for the worse. Selar’s forces would still have won that battle, Robert’s father would still have died, but instead of the iron-clad hold Selar subsequently placed on Lusara, complete civil war would have broken out. A civil war which would have killed thousands more, and would quite possibly still be raging today.