Lord of the Shadows (42 page)

y first sunrise the city was just about under control. Tia prowled the temple restlessly, her mind so overwhelmed by all that had happened in the last day, she was barely able to form a coherent thought. Her close brush with death, the realization Dirk had faked everything, even back as far as Omaxin, simply to bring down the Shadowdancers, was too much for her to cope with. The scope of his plan defied reason. How much more he planned before he was done was too terrifying to imagine. The danger involved, to himself and everyone around him, was insane.

That he appeared to have succeeded so far was unbelievable.

The Lion of Senet was still on his knees near the altar, praying silently to his Goddess. He'd been there all day and nobody had been able to get a word of sense out of him. To have his beliefs so cruelly exposed had shattered the once powerful man.
Antonov Latanya must be torn apart inside
, she thought. The realization the Goddess had turned from him; that his beloved deity had denied the High Priestess…it made a mockery of his whole life. Antonov turned to the Goddess he believed in so ardently for an explanation.

Tia thought he'd be a long time waiting for one.

The sounds of the riot in the city had died down some time ago. Kirshov Latanya was still out there, she knew, along with Dirk's brother, Rees, and a few other noblemen who had rallied to Kirsh's call. It was Kirshov Latanya who was forcing order on the people. There had been reports coming in to the temple all day about the number of killed and wounded. Among them was Prince Baston of Damita, torn apart by the rampaging mob that took his elegantly cut red clothes to mean he was a Shadowdancer.

“My lady?”

Tia turned to the Guardsman who had hailed her. She wasn't used to being addressed in such a manner.

“Are you talking to me?”

“The Lord of the Suns wishes to see you.”

Tia allowed him to lead her to the small anteroom off the main hall where Dirk had been closeted for most of the day. He was alone when she entered, staring out of the window into the red night, his expression pensive. There were several fires burning in the distance, set by looters and other miscreants taking advantage of the trouble to work a little mischief of their own. Dirk had shed the yellow robes of his office and was dressed once again in a simple shirt and plain dark trousers.

“They said you wanted to see me.”

Dirk turned to look at her. “Are you all right?”

“Why wouldn't I be?”

He smiled wearily. “I'm sorry about letting you think I was
going to burn you alive, Tia. I'm sorry about most of what I've done to you, actually.”

“
Most
of it?”

“There were some things that didn't seem so bad at the time.”

She met his eye without flinching. “Go to hell, Dirk Provin.”

“Tia …I just wanted you to know I didn't…I wasn't …” His voice trailed off as if he couldn't find the words he needed to explain himself.

“Was that what you wanted to tell me?” she asked. “That you're sorry you screwed me and then betrayed me, and then almost had me killed? Fine. Can I go now?”

“I didn't mean for things to turn out the way they did, Tia.”

“Really? Then why did you want me in Omaxin with you, Dirk? Why drag me all across Senet with you? You were always planning to betray us. I realize that now. What was I there for? The pleasure of my company? Or did you just like the idea of having an audience to play to?”

“I needed somebody to bear witness to what happened. Someone who would be certain to broadcast the news of my defection. It was the only way to be certain news got back to Mil fast enough.”

“Why me?”

“I meant what I said when I first asked you to go with me, Tia. You knew everything Neris ever said about the Labyrinth. For all I knew, you had the answer without even realizing it.” He shrugged, and smiled a little sheepishly. “Besides, you hated me anyway. I figured there wasn't much I could do to make your opinion of me any worse than it already was.”

“Well, you got that wrong.”

Dirk shook his head, wounded by the anger in her tone. “I had to make it look good, Tia, or Belagren would never have believed me.”

“Oh, you made it look good,” she assured him coldly.

He seemed desperate to make her understand. “You were never in any real danger. I knew I could make Kirsh let you go.

I insisted Belagren bring him along, just so I
could
make certain you got away.”

“And was sleeping with me part of your grand plan, too?”

“Of course not,” he said, looking away. “That just …happened.”

“It just
happened
? You've got a nerve, Dirk Provin, thinking I will ever forgive you for what you did to me.”

“It wasn't all my fault,” he pointed out. “
You
made the first move, as I recall.” Dirk seemed quite hurt that she wouldn't see reason. Stung that she clung to her pain and anger and refused to accept his coldly rational explanation for why he had treated her so cruelly.

“You knew what was going to happen. You could have said no.”

His eyes narrowed impatiently. “Of course. I can see it now. What I obviously should have said when you came to my tent was ‘Sorry, Tia, we can't do this right now because in a couple of weeks I'm going to hand you over to the High Priestess.’ Maybe then you wouldn't have felt the need to shoot me.”

“You deserved it.”

“You're still very angry, aren't you?”

“After everything you've done, I have a right to be angry. Why didn't you tell me about all this in Mil? Why didn't you tell us what you were doing? We could have helped you.”

“That's exactly why I didn't tell you, Tia,” he explained. “The best way you could help me was to believe that I'd betrayed you.”

“Was this your idea?” she asked suspiciously. “Or Neris's?”

“I'm not sure, really,” he shrugged. “We used to talk about how to bring down Belagren and Antonov quite a bit. It just sort of evolved from that.”

She rolled her eyes. “What? So the two of you sat around his cave playing chess one day and decided:
Hey! Let's destroy a goddess
?”

Dirk smiled. “That's surprisingly close to how it happened.”

“You're incredible! I mean Neris was crazy, so I suppose I can forgive him. What's your excuse?”

“Well, there was a precedent, you know. The whole Shadowdancer cult started much the same way.”

She shook her head, staggered at the thought of what Dirk had undertaken on such a flimsy foundation. “Did Paige Halyn know what you were planning?”

“He knew what I was trying to do, but not the details.”

“Yet he trusted you enough to name you his heir. How did you manage that?”

“The same way I get most people to do what I want, Tia. I offered him something he wanted. I promised to destroy the Shadowdancers and restore the Goddess to what she had been before Belagren came along. I promised I'd build the schools he always wanted. Everybody has their price, you know. Even the Lord of the Suns.”

“Why promise him that? You know there isn't a Goddess.”

“Actually, I don't,” he disagreed. “I'm certain there's no Goddess making the second sun disappear at whim, and I promise you, those fires died today not because the Goddess willed it, but because I'd soaked the wood in sinkbore before the pyres were lit. But I have no idea if there is a deity out there somewhere, looking down over Ranadon.”

“Sinkbore? The stuff they use to clean mold?”

“Magical stuff. Wood just won't burn if you splash enough of it around. Neris told me about it.”

That's what she had smelled when they tied her to the stake. That's what they'd been pouring out of those urns. Not oil. Just ordinary, everyday, blessedly flame-retardant Sidorian sinkbore. Tia stared at him in wonder. “Then you never intended to burn me alive?”

“Of course not! What do you take me for?” He smiled suddenly. “On second thought, perhaps you shouldn't answer that.”

“You're almost as bad as Belagren,” she accused. “You're going to allow the world to believe a lie, just to suit your own purposes.”

“You can't destroy everyone's belief and just hope they'll move on, Tia. People need something to believe in. If Paige Halyn's benign version of the Goddess is what it takes to rid the world of Belagren's version, then I'm quite happy to let people worship that. It's easier than trying to convince them they're fools for worshipping anything at all.”

“And you were willing to throw everything away for it?”

He shrugged philosophically. “Every
one
has his price, Tia. And so does every
thing
. Sometimes you have to weigh up the cost and decide if it's worth it. That's what Johan did.”

“He thought the cost was too high.”

“He had other people to worry about. The only thing I had to lose was me. That's why I never told you what I was doing. You or anybody else.”

“You're unbelievable.”

“And no matter how spectacularly I succeed in bringing down the Shadowdancers, you'll never forgive me for it, will you? Just as you've never forgiven me for killing Johan.”

“Is that what you want from me, Dirk? Forgiveness?”

“I don't think I know myself.” He shrugged as if he was tired of arguing with her. He squared his shoulders and looked at her, the Lord of the Suns again. “In the meantime, I need you to do something for me.”

“What?” she asked suspiciously.

“I want you to bring Misha back to Avacas.”

“I don't know where he is.”

“Don't lie to me, Tia. You know exactly where he is. I need him.”

“Why? Have you an even grander plan in mind?”

“I need him as insurance. I don't want Kirsh ruling Senet.”

“That would imply Antonov was no longer around to rule it. Are you going to kill him, too?”

Dirk shook his head. “Of course not. Believe it or not, Tia, I don't want anybody to die if I can avoid it. But he's a broken man. I don't want Kirsh stepping into the void.”

“I thought he was a friend of yours.”

“That doesn't mean I think him capable of ruling Senet at a time like this.”

“And what makes you think Misha will be any more cooperative than his brother?”

“Misha's got a better head on his shoulders, for one thing. And he's not in love with the High Priestess of the Shadowdancers, either, which might prove very awkward if Kirsh decides to step into his father's shoes.”

They were interrupted by the door opening. Alenor entered the anteroom, followed by Alexin. The queen had not let the captain out of her sight since they'd taken refuge in the temple.

“Tael said you wanted to see Alexin,” Alenor said, glancing curiously at Tia before fixing her attention on Dirk.

“I'm sending him away.”

“I won't let you,” the queen declared.

“I'm not asking for your permission, Alenor. If you want Alexin to live, then we have to get him out of Senet. Tonight. I told you once before to send him away and you didn't listen to me. This time I'm not giving you a choice.”

“Where are you sending him?”

“He's going with Tia Veran to bring Misha back.”

“I haven't agreed to do anything of the kind,” Tia objected.

“Then go back to Misha and tell him what's happened,” Dirk suggested. “Let him decide.”

Tia frowned, thinking Dirk knew Misha better than she suspected. There was no way she would be able to keep Misha from coming home once he learned what had happened here today.

“I'm sending you back through Avacas with an escort of Sundancers,” he told Alexin, as if the matter was already decided. “I'll see you have travel warrants and enough money to get you safely out of Senet. After that, Tia will have to tell you where you're going. Don't stop for anything. Or anyone.”

“Why Sundancers?” Tia asked.

“Today is merely the start of a long and laborious process, Tia. There is doubt now, where once there was blind faith, but
it's only the beginning. I'm sending the Sundancers to Avacas. I want Madalan Tirov confined, and possession of the Hall of Shadows.”

“You've still got big ambitions, haven't you?” she accused. “Even when you're supposedly doing it for the right reasons.”

“I've got an idea to kill, Tia, and that takes more than one grand gesture.” He turned to Alexin. “Once you're out of Senet, I suggest you stay out. But don't go back to Kalarada. There's a place in Oakridge on Bryton where you should be safe until this is sorted out. One way or another.”