The Eyes of God (59 page)
Authors: John Marco
And then there was the question of the amulet. Gilwyn frowned as he absently went about shelving books from his cart. He knew Akeela was searching for an amulet, and that was the greatest mystery of all. The idea excited Gilwyn, who had spent a good portion of his young life reading stories. An amulet bespoke adventure and magic, and Gilwyn was desperate to find out more about it. But all the books that might have told him more were in Figgis’ study, jealously guarded by the master librarian. Gilwyn sighed, blowing a fog of dust off the book rack, then glanced down at the pile of manuscripts on his wooden cart. It would take another hour or more to finish shelving the books. Teku looked down at him from the top shelf of the rack, her big eyes drooping with weariness.
“Let’s take a break,” he told her.
The monkey quickly swung down from her perch to rest on his shoulder, and together they made their way toward the front of the library. They had just passed the main entry hall on their way to visit Mistress Della for a confection when the hall rang with the sound of the door knocker.
“Oh, not again,” groaned Gilwyn. He watched the arched doorway, hoping that the visitor would go away, but again the knocker sounded, even louder. It occurred to Gilwyn that it might be General Trager again, so he went to the door and pulled it open, prepared to apologize for keeping the man waiting. Instead, a lovely woman greeted him. Though her head was hidden behind a cowl, Gilwyn could make out curls of dark hair falling over her forehead, streaked with a lightning bolt of silver. Her eyes darted about when she heard the door creak open. A faint smile curled her lips.
“Hello?” she asked uncertainly.
“Good day,” said Gilwyn. He spied her face in the shadows of her cowl. She looked familiar.
“We’re closed,” he told her, continuing to study her. From the whiteness of her eyes, she appeared to be blind. “I’m sorry. There’s a sign on the door, but I guess you couldn’t read it.”
“No,” said the woman. “I can’t see.” Yet her sightless eyes fixed intently on Gilwyn. “I’m blind.”
“Yes,” said Gilwyn awkwardly. “I’m sorry.” Then suddenly he understood. “Oh!” He looked back to make sure he was alone, then said, “I know you!”
The woman put a finger to her lips. “Shhh. You are Gilwyn?”
Gilwyn nodded excitedly. “You’re Megal’s friend, the one from the garden.”
“I am.” Her voice was a whisper. “I must speak with you.”
“How did you make your way here? Are you alone?”
“Yes, I came alone,” said the woman. “Gilwyn, you must listen to me. I have news from Megal.”
Gilwyn stepped aside immediately and opened the door wide. “Yes, please, come in.”
“I can’t. No one must see me. Can you meet Megal in the garden tonight?”
“What? Tonight?”
“It’s very important. And no one must know about it. It’s a great secret, all right?”
“But I can’t just—”
“Please, Gilwyn, you must. Megal will meet you in the garden an hour past dusk. You have to be there.”
“Why? What’s so important? Why can’t she just come to the library to talk to me?”
“I can’t explain,” said the woman. “You just have to trust me.” Her blind eyes looked pleadingly at Gilwyn. “Will you be there?”
Gilwyn’s head was swimming. He wanted desperately to see Megal again. Any meeting, even a secret one, was a dream come true.
“All right,” he agreed. “I’ll be there.”
The woman’s shadowed face brightened. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I’ll tell my lady to expect you.”
“Your lady?” asked Gilwyn.
The woman turned and strode quickly down the walkway. Gilwyn made to call after her but stopped himself. He would have to wait until tonight for answers.
“Teku,” he whispered, “things are getting strange around here.”
Exactly an hour after dusk, Cassandra entered the forgotten garden. She wore the same brown cloak that Jancis had worn to the library and had snuck past Ruthanna and her other servants easily, for they were all involved in a word game that Jancis had arranged and were too loud and boisterous to notice the footfalls of their queen as she passed. The pretext had worked perfectly, and Akeela had been too busy making plans with General Trager to bother her much. As she stepped foot in the overgrown patch of weeds and wildflowers, she was confident her husband wouldn’t come looking for her. The night was clear and Cassandra could see the garden’s broken statues in the feeble light, watching her. Stars were beginning to blink to life, and the moon had settled over Koth in a mid-month sliver. Cassandra’s slippers crushed moss and leaves beneath her as she walked, slowly stalking through the neglected flora. A voice from the right startled her.
“Megal? Is that you?”
Cassandra turned to see Gilwyn emerge from behind a statue. His eager face shone in the moonlight. He had dressed for the meeting, too, wearing the same expensive scarlet shirt he had at their first encounter.
“Yes, Gilwyn, it’s me,” said Cassandra. She glanced around. Sure no one could see, she pulled back her cowl to reveal her face. Gilwyn smiled when he saw her, all his lovesickness on full display. “I’m glad you came,” she whispered.
“You look lovely, Megal,” said Gilwyn.
“Gilwyn, it’s not what you think,” said Cassandra quickly. She took him by the arm and guided him out of the moonlight. When the concealing shadow of Lionkeep fell across his face, she whispered, “I have something to tell you, something very important. I’m afraid you won’t believe me. But you must, do you understand?”
Gilwyn nodded, but Cassandra could tell that he didn’t really understand. And how could she explain it to him? Magic, Grimhold, her immortality—it all sounded like a fairy tale. And Gilwyn was a bright boy, not at all like some of the keep’s stablehands. He would doubt her, at the very least. She led him toward one of the benches, a seat of granite that had been worn by time and weather. Gilwyn sat, looking up at her intently. She sat down next to him and bit her lip.
“Don’t be nervous, Megal,” said Gilwyn. “You can tell me anything.”
Cassandra chuckled. “You’re a nice boy, Gilwyn. But what I have to tell you will make you think I’m mad.”
Gilwyn shook his head. “No I won’t. I promise.”
“You will,” Cassandra insisted. “Because I’m not Megal. Megal is one of my housekeepers, Gilwyn.” She looked at him squarely and said, “My name is Cassandra. I’m the queen.”
Gilwyn looked shocked, but only for a moment. Soon he started laughing.
“Shhh!” Cassandra scolded. She looked around in a panic. “Not so loud!”
“I’m sorry,” Gilwyn managed, “but really, you’re funny!”
“I’m not lying.” Cassandra put a hand to his face and turned him toward her. “I
am
Queen Cassandra. I’ve been locked in this bloody castle for sixteen years, kept young by this!” She pulled the Eye of God from beneath her cloak. It flared an angry scarlet, lighting Gilwyn’s shocked face.
am
Queen Cassandra. I’ve been locked in this bloody castle for sixteen years, kept young by this!” She pulled the Eye of God from beneath her cloak. It flared an angry scarlet, lighting Gilwyn’s shocked face.
“What . . . ?” Gilwyn reached out for the Eye, but didn’t touch it. “I know this. I’ve seen it before. . . .”
Cassandra was stunned. “You have? Where?”
Gilwyn shook his head. “No, it can’t be.” His fingers lightly brushed the amulet’s surface.
“You said you’ve seen it before? Another amulet like this?”
“No,” said Gilwyn, pulling his hand back.
“Gilwyn, please, tell me the truth. If you’ve seen another amulet like this one. . . .”
“The truth?” Gilwyn smirked, an expression that looked out of place on his innocent face. “Why should I tell you anything? Who are you, really?”
Frustrated, Cassandra leapt to her feet. “I’m Queen Cassandra, damn it!”
“Queen Cassandra’s an old woman! She’s a crone, everyone knows that.” Gilwyn frowned at Cassandra. “How could you be her?”
“Because of this amulet.” Cassandra sat back on the bench, shoving the amulet beneath his nose. “This is the Eye of God. It keeps me young, keeps my cancer from killing me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Gilwyn, I’m thirty-two years old. Sixteen years ago, around the time you were born, I was wed to Akeela. We had only been married a few months when I became very ill. It was a growth, a cancer.”
“That’s impossible,” said Gilwyn. “How can it be?”
The amulet dangled from its golden chain. Cassandra let it swing in Gilwyn’s face. “Look at it, Gilwyn,” she said. “It’s magic. It saved me. I didn’t think magic really existed until Akeela brought me this amulet. But it’s very real. And I’m not lying to you. I
am
Queen Cassandra.”
am
Queen Cassandra.”
Too stunned to speak, Gilwyn’s eyes darted between the amulet and her perfect, unblemished face. The incredible tale had slackened his jaw. When he finally spoke, his voice was toneless.
“That’s why your blind servant was with you,” he mused, seeming to understand. “That’s why she called you her lady.”
“Right. And that’s why I had to meet you here alone. I couldn’t risk Akeela or anyone else finding out about me.”
“I don’t understand,” said Gilwyn. “If you’re the queen, surely you can go wherever you like.”
“I wish that were true,” said Cassandra with a sigh. “But I’m not free. This amulet holds me captive.” She glanced up at the tower that was her prison, deciding that Gilwyn needed to know everything. “Do you have time for a long story?”
Gilwyn nodded uncertainly.
“Good. Then listen and don’t interrupt.”
So Gilwyn listened like a loyal terrier, wide-eyed in the starlight as Cassandra began her impossible tale. She told him of her brief courtship with Akeela and how she had been anxious to marry him and be away from her domineering sisters. And she told him how she had been sick even before meeting Akeela, and how she had hidden her illness from him. But she had grown horribly ill in the following months, nearly dying. There had been no hope for her, not until Figgis had come to Akeela with his remarkable news.
“Figgis?” blurted Gilwyn. “What’s he got to do with this?”
“He found the amulet,” said Cassandra, hefting the Eye on its chain. “He learned of it from one of his books, and when he told Akeela about it my husband agreed to let him search for it.” She let Gilwyn study the amulet again. “It’s called the Eye of God,” she explained. “It’s what keeps me young and alive. There were supposed to be two of them in Jador, but Figgis only found one. Akeela has been looking for the other one ever since. And now he thinks he’s found it.”
Gilwyn grimaced. “So that’s why Figgis has been so busy. He’s trying to find the other amulet.”
Cassandra nodded. “A few days ago Figgis came to Lionkeep. He told Akeela that he’d found the other Eye. He thinks that it’s in Grimhold.”
“Grimhold,” echoed Gilwyn, nodding. “Now I get it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Megal . . . I mean, Cassandra.” He flushed. “My lady.”
Cassandra smiled. “Go on, Gilwyn, tell me what you know.”
“My lady, General Trager came to the library a few days ago. He wanted to speak to Figgis. I overheard them talking about Grimhold and some invasion. Figgis was upset, but he wouldn’t tell me anything about it.”
“No, I’m sure he can’t,” said Cassandra. “This mission is too important to Akeela. He won’t risk anything going wrong. He’s obsessed with finding the other Eye.”
“But why?” asked Gilwyn. He gestured to the amulet. “Is it like this one? Will it keep him young?”
“Yes, but that’s not all.” Cassandra’s voice grew melancholy. “Akeela is mad, Gilwyn. Do you know that?”
Gilwyn shrugged. “I’d heard that. But Figgis says he’s a good man.”
“Well, yes, I suppose he is. Deep down, Akeela has always been a good man. But he’s changed over the years. His obsessions have maddened him. He wants to find the other Eye so that he can be with me forever, just the two of us.”
“I still don’t get it,” said Gilwyn. “He is with you, isn’t he? I mean, he’s your husband.”
Cassandra smiled. She had almost forgotten the curse. “You are half right, Gilwyn. I am Akeela’s wife, true enough. But he cannot look upon me, because he thinks that the amulet is cursed.”
The boy’s eyes grew wide again. “Cursed?”
“Yes,” laughed Cassandra, “the great and dark curse of the Eye. The biggest farce ever perpetrated on anyone!”
Gilwyn stared at her, clearly unnerved.
“Oh, don’t be afraid of me. I can’t hurt a fly and neither can this damn amulet. But that’s not what everyone believes, you see. I’m not supposed to be looked at by human eyes. To do so breaks the power of the amulet, supposedly. That’s the curse!”
“Not looked at? But I’ve looked at you,” said Gilwyn. “That first night I saw you.”
“Yes! Don’t you remember how happy I was? That’s when I realized the curse doesn’t exist. But I can’t tell anyone. If I did, Akeela would want to be with me, and that’s something I simply cannot bear. You’re the only one who’s looked at me in sixteen years, dear Gilwyn.”
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