Mystic and Rider (Twelve Houses) (29 page)

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Authors: Sharon Shinn

BOOK: Mystic and Rider (Twelve Houses)
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Then the door opened, and the white-haired old woman gave Senneth a delighted embrace, and even Tayse could feel the welcome in the air.
Less than an hour later, the horses were stabled, the raelynx was locked in a toolshed, and the six travelers were eating an absolutely wonderful meal as they all crowded together in the small front room.
“No, Ariane has spoken out publicly against Halchon Gisseltess and his persecution of mystics. I don’t think she’s about to turn on us,” Aleatha said as they munched on baked chicken and butter-drenched bread. “For the moment I feel safe. But Gisseltess men ride through all the southern provinces in the dead of night, and they are no respecter of boundaries. I have not heard of anyone living in Rappengrass who has been assaulted in her home. But now and then—there have been stories—of atrocities that have been visited upon mystics traveling on the roads through Rappengrass. They were not protected. Some of them have gone missing.”
“Have these attacks been reported?” Kirra demanded.
Aleatha shrugged. “Not by me. And if they have been—well, what then? Is Ariane ready to start a border war with Halchon Gisseltess over the lives of a few miserable mystics? She is not so rash. Here, Justin, is it? Would you like more of these potatoes?”
“I would, please,” Justin replied, his voice a little muffled by the food still in his mouth. Tayse had to hide a smile. Justin’s instinctive distrust of mystics had been trumped by their hostess’s kindness and excellent cooking.
“She could tell King Baryn,” Kirra said.
“And she may have. But is the king himself prepared to engage in a war over magic?”
“He might be,” Senneth said, “if the war is about more than magic. If it’s about power.”
“And from what I can make out, that’s what you’re touring the countryside to discover,” Aleatha said. “Tayse? Some potatoes? Maybe a little more bread? Or there’s pie in the oven, if you want to wait for that.”
“Bread,” he decided. “
And
pie.”
“It disturbs me that even on Rappengrass land, mystics aren’t safe,” Senneth said.
Aleatha gave her a sharp look from blue eyes that seemed not at all dimmed by the fact that she must be at least eighty years old. “Mystics have never been entirely safe,” she said. “Not in Ghosenhall, not in Brassenthwaite. Not even, till young Kirra here was born, in Danalustrous. And I do not know that even Malcolm Danalustrous would shed blood to protect any of them except his own daughter. That’s the truth of it.”
“What of Coralinda Gisseltess?” Senneth asked. “What do you know of her?”
Aleatha soaked another piece of bread with honey and handed it to Cammon. “Only what everyone knows. She is recruiting young women to join her order. She is spreading to all the Houses her doctrine of the Pale Mother and her hatred of magic. She has not lost any of the force of her personality. I have to admit I fear her a great deal.”
“Where is she basing her new evangelism?” Senneth asked. “Is she living in Gissel Plain?”
“Oh no. There’s the old Lumanen Convent some miles east of here—you must know what I’m talking about—it fell into ruin a hundred years or so ago, but it was quite massive. She restored it sometime in the past few years, and they say it’s quite beautiful now. All this smooth white stone that reflects back the silver light of the moon. There must be more than five hundred rooms in that place, and they say that all of them are full with Daughters of the Pale Mother who have joined the order in recent years. Filled with the Daughters—and their protectors.”
Tayse looked up at that. “She has a civil guard?”
Aleatha nodded. “And not all supplied by her brother, from what I hear. Men cannot join the order, you know, but that does not mean men cannot have strong feelings of piety. They say there is a barracks of soldiers who have styled themselves an army of the goddess. They dress in silver and black livery and wear moonstone pendants around their necks.”
“And perhaps some of these men have carried out the deeds that have been credited to Halchon Gisseltess’s troops?” Senneth murmured.
Aleatha raised her eyebrows. “I had not considered that. But you may well be right.”
“I have a lot of questions to ask Ariane Rappengrass tomorrow,” Kirra said in a dark voice.
Aleatha glanced at her. “You are lucky. She is in residence. But perhaps that is not luck so much as—” She opened her hand palm up in a gesture of uncertainty. “Perhaps she feels now is not a time to travel far from her own lands.”
“I have two favors to ask of you,” Senneth said. “Can you keep my raelynx in your shed while Kirra and I go pose questions to Ariane Rappengrass? I do not expect you to try to control him while I am gone, but I would think a good door and a strong lock are all that are required.”
“My dear Senneth, I will be happy to hold him for you! As long as I don’t have to feed him or try to make him mine.”
Senneth grinned. “No. Just contain him. Second—” She glanced at Cammon. “This one fell under my protection not so very long ago, and I have had no time to train him as he deserves. I don’t know what your plans were for tomorrow, but if you had time—a few hours even—”
“Indeed, yes! I would be happy to see what skill and knowledge I will be able to impart in one short day,” Aleatha exclaimed. “He is a reader, is he not?”
Cammon looked startled. “How did you know that?”
She smiled. “Because I am, too. A very useful talent, I have discovered. I should be able to show you a thing or two by day’s end.”
Cammon with an even greater ability to pick up images from other people’s minds and see right through attempts at deception and illusion. Tayse could not bring himself to be sure that was a good thing.
“So!” Aleatha said, coming to her feet. “Who wants pie?”
CHAPTER 16
 
A
S it turned out, when they headed toward Rappen Manor the following day, they left behind not only Cammon and the raelynx, but Donnal besides. Senneth had decided that Tayse and Justin would ride into the city in their full Rider regalia, and Tayse was not willing to have Donnal pretend to be one of them. And Kirra, for once, seemed willing to travel a few yards without Donnal at her side. And the young man himself seemed perfectly willing to spend the whole day lounging around the mystic’s house, eating rich food and dozing away the afternoon hours.
Thus only four of them rode into the city around Rappen Manor fairly early in the morning. It was a fine city, clearly enjoying its reputation for wealth and sophistication, and it was too large for Tayse to easily determine where all the roads ran and where all the trouble spots might lie. A broad scrollwork gate protected the road that led into town, and a contingent of maroonsashed soldiers guarded the gate. But on this bright, cool morning, the metal doors were thrown back, and the soldiers themselves looked cheerful and at ease. They scrambled to attention to salute the King’s Riders, and they made quick bows to serra Kirra, who rode behind them. They might have puzzled a bit over the lady’s companion, who neither dressed like gentry nor behaved like a servant. Perhaps they took her for a scholar, or an advisor to Malcolm Danalustrous. In any case, she swept in behind the Riders and beside the serramarra, and managed to look both intriguing and mysterious.
Which, Tayse thought, was no more than the truth.
There was no need to ask for directions to their destination, he realized almost instantly. Rappen Manor itself sat on high ground at the center of the city, an imposing fortress of gray stone and narrow turrets, the maroon flag of Rappengrass flying at all four corners. Tayse admired the choice of location, which had to give the heirs of Rappengrass a view of all approaches to the manor. It did not look like a place that would fall easily to treachery or stealth.
“Should we send a message first, or ride straight up to the gates?” Kirra asked.
“Straight to the gates,” Senneth said. “I don’t think she’ll turn you back unheard.”
Tayse was in front of them, so he could not see Kirra’s expression, but the tone of her voice was cautious. “And how do you plan to introduce yourself?”
Senneth’s voice was underscored with a wry laugh. “Oh, Ariane knows me from way back. I plan just to enter the room as myself.” A short silence. “But I think it is
your
name that will get us inside the walls.”
Indeed, at all the checkpoints they encountered, this proved to be true—and there were quite a few checkpoints. Soldiers barred the way at yet another gate, this one set into a seven-foot-high wall that appeared to encircle the manor grounds. But Kirra’s greeting and her request got them waved through with alacrity.
There were more soldiers at the outer door—more inside—and an army of servants who guarded smaller and smaller circles of sanctuary within the manor itself. Finally they were turned over to a tall, stooped, graying man who peered at them from a face of acute intelligence.
“Naturally, marlady Ariane will wish to speak with you,” this individual said in a smooth voice. “But it may be a moment or two before she can free herself from other responsibilities. Will you wait here? I will have refreshments brought. Is there anything else I can do to make your wait more pleasant?”
“No, Ralf, thank you so much for your kindness,” Kirra said in her warm voice. “It is good to see you again, looking so well.”
He smiled and gave her a small bow. “And it is always a pleasure to see you, serra.” He flicked one quick look at Senneth but did not address her by name. Perhaps he didn’t know her as his mistress did. His face showed neither recognition nor puzzlement. He bowed again and went out.
“Guesses,” Kirra said as soon as the door shut. “How long we’ll be left here. I say two hours.”
“Till nightfall,” Justin said pessimistically.
Tayse shook his head. “Sooner than that,” he said. “A daughter of a great House accompanied by two King’s Riders? She’ll be here inside the hour.”
Senneth smiled. “Tayse is right.”
Indeed, Ralf was back in the room before the tray of refreshments had even arrived. “The marlady is most desirous of seeing you immediately,” he said. “Could you follow me?”
Kirra and Senneth stepped forward, the men at their heels. Ralf gave them a doubtful look. “I would prefer,” Kirra said in a soft voice, “that they accompany us at least to the door of the room where we will meet with your mistress. I have seen things on the road that make me wish to have my friends always close about me.”
Again, that small bow from Ralf. His acquiescence must mean the whole hallway was crawling with soldiers, Tayse thought—enough that Ralf believed they could overcome even two Riders who might suddenly go on a rampage. Ariane Rappengrass, it would appear, did not feel entirely safe these days.
So the four of them followed the steward—or whoever he was—down graceful stone corridors and through lovely arched doorways. Tapestries on the wall and stained glass in the window embrasures did not entirely conceal the fact that Rappen Manor had been built as a fortress. Tayse glanced out through one window that featured clear glass and found himself overlooking what appeared to be a training yard. At least fifty men were practicing maneuvers and testing each other with their swords. No, whatever trouble brewed in the kingdom, Ariane Rappengrass was not about to be caught unprepared.
They finally came to the end of a long, ornate hallway, lined with an array of weaponry and guarded by at least ten men. It ended in a wide door of dark wood and ornate brass handles. Ralf gave Tayse and Justin a cool look.
“You may wait out here,” he said.
Tayse nodded, and he and Justin fell back, one to either side of the door. The guards eyed them but made no greeting or show of hostility. Ralf pulled open the door, and the women followed him inside.
The next hour passed in unrelieved tedium, though Tayse was careful to always appear entirely alert. Across from him, Justin never wavered from a watchful stance, his arms at his sides, his hands resting on the hilts of his weapons. The guards around them seemed similarly vigilant and far from bored; they did not engage in casual conversation and made no move to try such distractions with the newcomers. This was a council of war, and all the fighting men knew it. And respected it.

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