Hearts in Cups (46 page)

"An excellent
answer," was his opinion when she had done speaking. "Of course he
will do nothing of the kind, but it will give him a moment's pause to be so
summarily dismissed. I only wish," he continued ruefully, another smile
taking the sting from his words, "that I was of the House line.  Then
I might actually offer him a real threat."

"Why? Your
authority as the dukal regent, is accepted by everyone without regard to your
antecedents. How would your being of the House line be that much greater an
advantage?" She was puzzled.

"Because, if I was
of House Langstraad, I would be able to command the House Gift. I am the ducal
regent precisely because I am not of the House," he explained without
rancor. "I hold this office until the daughter of Hollin's cousin, Lady
Genvra Iscoed, who carries the potential, comes of age."

Angharad frowned and
nodded quickly. "Yes, I do remember being told something about that. The
girl was supposed to be sent to you next spring to be fostered." He
nodded. "But I still do not understand why having the House Gift would aid
you?"

"I don't really
know. I don't know that much about arcane matters, but I know something about
those who we are fighting, and sooner or later they will take the opportunity
to use such forces against us." He stopped and rubbed a hand across his
forehead, sweeping the dark hair back into place.

"Well,"
Angharad began, stepping into the breach. "If it would be of any help to
you, I am a d'Aurilac and a direct heir of House Creon."

He looked at her in some
astonishment. "Do you mean to say that you have the House Gift? Have you
ever used it?"

"I have been told
that all the d'Aurilac's carry the potential, but no, I've never used it.
Usually only the Head of the House wields the power, but I believe that is more
due to custom than ability. Of course the Head of a House undergoes a ceremony
to take control of the House Gift but I don't know whether that is
essential."

"Do you mean that
you might be able to use the power of House Creon?" he asked in amazement.

"I don't know for
certain, but I might be able to tap into the power." A blush of colour
rose up her neck and stained her cheeks.

His face was set and
his eyes grew serious. "And you would be willing to try to use that power to
help in the defense of Castle Lir?"

"Of course!"
Her answer was off her tongue before she knew it. "That is one of the
reasons that I came looking for you: to tell you that I wanted to help if I
could," she added circumspectly.

The smile he favoured
her with was one of admiration and gratitude, but in the depths of his eyes
there lingered an uncertain speculation. Angharad, who was still grappling with
the flood of thoughts and emotions that she had set loose within herself,
failed to read the meaning of his hesitancy. Determined to prove that she was
no longer a child or a doll, she began to interrogate him about those aspects
of the political situation in the Pentarchy with which she was unfamiliar.

For his part, Ian was
content to bide his time. He needed time and breathing room to consider what
had changed between himself and this girl who had so precipitously come to
life. He also needed time to assess his own feelings. Answering her questions,
he steered their talk towards the scope of actions taking place beyond the
walls of this particular room. When they were finished speaking, Angharad had
acquired a good picture of what they were facing and some of the reasons that
had led Ian to this crises where he had begun to feel a loss of nerve.

Having gone far towards
recovering that loss, Ian noticed that the shadows of evening were being thrown
deeply into the room. With a quick and graceful movement, he was on his feet
and stretching cramped muscles. Angharad stayed where she was, sitting on the
hearth, slightly taken aback and suddenly unsure again of her position.
Stepping forward, he bent and offered his hand to her. As she placed her hand
in his, she recognized the sealing of a truce between them. Ian also saw in the
acceptance something more than a simple aid to standing, but his hand was cool
and his touch light and unthreatening. Together, they stole forth from the room
and returned to the mainstream of the castle's life.

"They won't budge
then?" Colin asked with a sigh of resignation.

"No, my friend, in
this matter they will not be moved, cannot be moved," the mage master,
Ciaran, said slowly.

Teacher and former
pupil, the two men sat together beside the balustrade on the roof of one of the
Scholastium's buildings. The weather was cool and there was a hint of rain on
the salt-laden air that was blowing in from the east. Colin and his wife had
been almost a week now at the Scholastium, long enough to recover themselves
and begin planning their next moves. About them the novices went about their routines,
much as they always had, with little outward interest in the visitors. There
was a certain soothing quality that both Colin and Dinea experienced in this
return to the Scholastium with its well-known rhythm and flow of life. Little
was seen of the other mage masters except Ciaran, who had befriended Colin many
years ago and was not unwilling to remember that friendship.

"You must
understand our position of neutrality. It is only because we are so
scrupulously neutral that we are able maintain the balance that we do. Not just
in political terms but in arcane aspects as well. We teach and practice High
Magic, if you will, which has definite good and evil components. While we
encourage the positive and beneficial aspects of this knowledge, we do not do so
at the expense of polarizing ourselves to the darker aspects. If we did, those
who command the darker powers would be inclined to oppose us. Struggle, for us,
can only be avoided by not taking sides." Ciaran sat on his seat and gazed
out into the distance. "Individually, our hearts may be swayed one way or
another, but no one will act independently in this and so, possibly, put the
Scholastium into jeopardy."

"And do you now
run a risk by speaking thus with me?" Colin demanded.

"No, of course
not," Ciaran seemed mildly surprised. "I know you and Dinea from
former days, as do many of the other masters. I know that you will not try to
embroil us, or any within these walls, in actions that have been proscribed to
you."

Colin's face echoed the
truth of this but still he persevered in asking questions, trying to find a way
to gain allies in his struggle to put the Pentarchy back together. He had been
down into the city, to the market area, and visited the wharves the day before.
There he heard that Pentarin was now occupied by the armies of both Mirvanovir
and Tuenth. He also had news of the invasion of Langstraad by the Earl of the
Inner Ward. The north and south of the Pentarchy had fallen and now the west
seemed the only bulwark still standing in opposition to Niall's ambition.

"Is there nothing
or no one that could move the Scholastium to help us preserve the
Pentarchy?" There was a measure of desperation in Colin's voice as he
searched the mage's face.

Ciaran shook his head.
"It is remotely possible that the archmage would consent to grant
assistance if he were personally petitioned by House Sandovar itself, but that
is a slim hope, failing to no hope since you say that the crown prince is
lost."

An inspired thought
crossed Colin's mind and he sat pondering it for several minutes before
offering it to Ciaran. "Do you think that Kyledyr might entertain a
petition from a corollary of House Sandovar?'

"I don't quite
follow you..."

"Prince Brian was
the only son of King Gwydian, but Lord Gervase Iscoed is a direct descendant of
House Sandovar through his mother, Bronwyn Cordella ap Gryffyd. In fact, it may
even be possible that Gervase actually carries the potential to assume the
powers of House Sandovar." He stopped to ascertain Ciaran's response.
Ciaran was looking uncertain but not discouraging. The longer he took to
consider, the more heartened Colin began to feel.

 At last Ciaran
replied, "I do not wish to give you false hope, Colin, but I think that
there might be a chance that Kyledyr would listen to a petition from that
corner. However," and here his face and voice became stern, "do not
assume that this is a course that I can champion for you. It is an option that
is open to you and if you wish to pursue it then you must run its risks
yourself."

Colin agreed but went
on to add, "There are few enough avenues for me to follow in this matter.
I am not much of a fighter and even if I were, Mirvanovir's troops are holding
my lands fast from me. Though you and your colleges do not seem to think that
arcane energies will be unleashed, I know that Rashara is an extremely able
adept and she will not refrain from using her powers to gain her
objective."

Ciaran was troubled by
this but it still did not sway his judgment. Just as he had an individual
liking and interest in Colin de Chantalcalm, so might another mage view Rashara
de Sharonnara. Balance was the key. So long as the House Powers were
undisturbed, the sway between dark and light arcane energies could take place
without their interference.

Dinea hid her own fears
when Colin returned from his private meeting with Ciaran and outlined his plan
to have Gervase Iscoed petition the archmage to intervene. He went on to
explained that, since the armies of Tuenth, Mirvanovir and, now, the Inner Ward
lay between Dacara on the eastern coast and Gervase's barony on the western
coast of Langstraad, he thought to hire a small ship to take him around the
main peninsular of the Pentarchy.

"But Colin,"
she said quietly wringing her hands. "You know how reclusive Gervase is.
What if he refuses? There you'll be, trapped in Iscoed! At least let me come
with you."

"No, my love. The
voyage will be a long and arduous one, but it is not solely because of the
danger that you must remain, or that I know how ill sea-travel makes you."
His smile was fond. "Cerwen will be bringing the children here as soon as
she knows of our whereabouts. I realize that it is aggravating to feel that you
are being left behind, but nothing can be gained by risking both our lives, and
you know that you will want to be here when Cerwen arrives. "

Aware that Colin had
already made his mind up and would not be dissuaded, Dinea gloomily yielded.
Privately she felt that he was going on a fool's mission, but she could offer
no alternative. Like her husband, she viewed the mage masters as the
Pentarchy's last hope against the collapse that was threatening it from within.

"One last
thing," Colin said after giving her a hug. "Ciaran made reference to
the fact that, just as he has formed a particular friendship with us, there may
be one or more of the masters who feel likewise towards Rashara. I think that
it would be prudent if you could somehow find out if there is sympathy for her
and Mirvanovir's cause within the Scholastium, while I am away."

Dinea agreed, and
brushed her hand lightly over his temples and through the sleekness of Colin's
hair. Silver was beginning to vein the gold, she noted tenderly. At once a
premonition of fear grabbed at her. Despite their many years together, there
had been far too few of them and she was unwilling to be parted from him. To
keep her own fears from inhibiting him, she pulled his mouth towards hers and
kissed him feverishly. As he returned her kiss, she knew that he had followed
her thoughts and understood her fears. Slowly her tension and dread drained
away and were replaced by a peace that was one part acceptance and one part the
knowledge that where one of them resided, the other was always near.

Chapter 21

The army that
approached the Gannerly Vale of Langstraad was not as large as the army that
the Earl of the Inner Ward had brought down from the north, but then, the young
duke at its fore had not had as much time to recruit and train an army, being
engaged in securing his coronet while Lord Brescom practiced field maneuvers. Be
that as it may, the army was not inconsiderable and its potential threat was
much greater. So thought a disdainful Blaise ap Halberstad, Duke of Tuenth, as
the van of his army began its trek up the peaceful seeming valley to the
mountains where he knew the enemy was waiting for him.

His time alone with
Rashara in Pentarin had been immensely profitable. In addition to the
pleasurable aspects of being that lady's lover, Rashara had helped to unlock
those powers of his House which had hitherto lain dormant within him. It had
not been easy, but the first time that the earth moved at his command made up
for the pain, physical and mental, he had suffered during her attempts to find
and loose that power. The exhilaration of it overwhelmed him. Rashara had been
both impressed and, he noticed, slightly alarmed at the magnitude of his
abilities. Together they worked to gain a measure of control over his gift. It
had been frustrating for both of them to part before knowing the full extent of
his powers, but he left promising that he would not be away for long. Their
last night had bound him closer to her than ever before, a craving in him that
defied satiation. The look that she had lavished on him when he left that
morning still burned in his mind.