The Eyes of God (76 page)
Authors: John Marco
Before Figgis could answer, Mistress Della pushed open the door. In her hands was a tray of steaming tea and cups.
“Here you are,” she said cheerfully. “Gilwyn, I brought some of your favorite biscuits.” She looked around, frowning at the state of the room. “Look at this place! Why don’t you all come into the kitchen and eat properly?”
Figgis groaned and took the tray from her. “Really, this is fine. Thank you, Mistress Della.”
The housekeeper huffed. “Whatever you say. Gilwyn, you’re welcome to come into the kitchen when you’re done here. I’ll fix you something nice.” She smiled at Lukien. “Your friend, too.”
“What about me?” asked Figgis crossly.
“Drink your tea, old man,” said the housekeeper, then turned and left the room. The grin on her face told Lukien she enjoyed teasing Figgis.
“Well, Figgis?” he asked when the woman was gone. “What about Cassandra?”
“She’s well, or at least I think she is,” said Figgis. “It’s hard to tell. I haven’t heard anything from her since Gilwyn left to find you. I haven’t heard from anyone.”
“Not even Lady Jancis?” asked Gilwyn. He cleared some clutter from the desk so Figgis could lower the tray.
“No, not Jancis, not anyone,” said Figgis. “I think Akeela’s growing suspicious. And Trager’s been keeping a tight rein on things.”
“So they haven’t left for Jador yet?” asked Lukien hopefully.
“No, not yet, but soon.” Figgis looked grave as he sat back down in his chair. “Trager is planning to set out in two days.”
“Two days? You’re sure?”
Figgis nodded. “That’s what Akeela told me. He sent a messenger to the library yesterday, telling me to hurry up with my information because he’s leaving in two days, with or without my help.”
“He knows you’re stalling,” Gilwyn guessed. He took two biscuits from the tray, giving one to Teku and sampling the other himself.
“He knows my opposition,” agreed Figgis. “I haven’t been giving him any new details about Jador or Grimhold, mostly because I haven’t found any. But Akeela’s impatient and Trager’s army is all but ready to march.” He looked apologetically at Lukien. “I’m sorry, Lukien. I can’t stop him.”
“Then we haven’t much time,” said Lukien. “We have to get Cassandra out of Lionkeep as soon as we can. Tonight, if possible.”
Figgis grimaced. “It’s not going to be easy. There’s something I haven’t told you yet.”
“What?” asked Lukien.
“Gilwyn, this is hard for me to tell you,” said Figgis. He reached out and gently touched the boy’s hand. “Warden Graig is dead.”
Gilwyn’s face collapsed. “Dead? No!”
“He slipped and fell on some wine,” said Figgis. “Broke his neck.”
“I can’t believe it,” said Gilwyn. “When did this happen?”
“A day or two after you left, at night.” Figgis shook his head, sighing. “Seems like a stupid way for a man to die.”
Gilwyn gave his mentor a comforting smile. “He was old, Figgis. Old bones break easy.”
“What a shame,” said Lukien, saddened by the news. In the days before his banishment, he’d been close with Graig. He’d even hoped, perhaps foolishly, to see the Head Warden again someday. “But Gilwyn’s right, Figgis. If you take a bad fall and your bones can’t take it, well. . . .”
“That’s not it,” said Figgis absently. “I know Graig was old. It just seems a bit odd, the way he died. I know he had some trouble getting around lately, but he wasn’t a clumsy man.”
“What are you saying?” asked Lukien. “You think something else happened to him?”
“Not just me,” said Figgis. “You know how the wardens hate Trager. Some of them think he had Graig killed.”
Gilwyn laughed at the idea. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it?” asked Figgis. “Lukien, you know how jealous Trager always has been. He hates anyone with access to Akeela. With Graig out of the way, he’d have one fewer person to contend with.”
The notion was dismaying. Lukien thought about it for a moment, knowing full well the atrocities Trager was capable of committing. But murder?
“I don’t know,” he said, shaking his head. “Maybe Graig really did slip and fall.”
“Maybe,” said Figgis. “But the wardens have been on guard since Graig died. They’re not letting anyone into Lionkeep without checking them completely first. There’s just no way to get a message to Cassandra.”
“There has to be a way,” Lukien insisted. “I’ve come too far to be deterred now.”
“You can’t just walk into Lionkeep and take her, Lukien,” said Figgis.
“No, but I wasn’t expecting to do that,” replied Lukien, losing patience. “I expected you to have some ideas when I got here! Haven’t you at least thought about it?”
“Don’t bark at me,” said Figgis, getting out of his chair. “I’ve been a little busy trying to come up with a way to keep Akeela from invading Jador! And how was I supposed to know you’d actually show up? You were gone for sixteen years!”
Lukien groaned. “Great.”
“Wait,” said Gilwyn. “Maybe the two of you haven’t considered a way to get Cassandra out of Lionkeep, but I have.” Smiling, he gave his simian companion another biscuit.
After another uneventful night in her chambers, Cassandra retired early to her bedroom.
Since her astonishing meeting with Gilwyn two weeks ago, she had once again been forced into the prison of her own home, unable to touch the outside world. Her two brief encounters with the boy had made her hunger for more, yet she knew she could not risk it. So she resigned herself to waiting, not even attempting to contact Figgis at the library to see what—if anything—was happening. Akeela had come to her only seldom over the subsequent days, mostly to torment her with updates on his progress. As the time for his march on Jador drew nearer, he became more and more aloof and moody, more subtly cruel to her. He had not been the same since their argument when he’d torn the curtain between them. His moments of kindness were fewer now. She could hear the growing agitation in his voice, how impatient he was to find the other amulet. In two more days he would leave, he had told her yesterday. And when he returned he would have the fabled other Eye. No more did he speak of it as a loving promise, though. Now he threatened her with it.
This night, however, Akeela had not come to her bedroom, and Cassandra was glad. She had begun to lose faith in her wild scheme to find Lukien, and now hoped only that Akeela would leave for Jador and that his mad quest would kill him. Surprisingly, her ill wishes for him caused her no guilt. He was insane, she reasoned, and would be better off dead.
It was a shame what had happened to him, though. For that, Cassandra had regrets. She dragged herself into her windowless bedroom, took a sip of cold tea from a cup on her bedside table, then blew out the candle. There was no reason to stay awake and she was tired from thinking too much. Her private wing of Lionkeep echoed with its usual, ruthless silence, making the thoughts in her mind seem louder. Tonight she was plagued with images of Akeela and Lukien, and what she had done to them both. She wanted only to sleep.
Sleep, however, did not come easily. And when it did it was fraught with restless dreams. Cassandra tossed in her sheets for the first hour, trying to banish her phantoms, then heard an insistent voice calling her name. Her eyelids fluttered open to see the dark room and a figure standing over her.
“Cassandra, it’s me,” said the voice. In her stupor it took a moment to for Cassandra to recognize it.
“Jancis?”
“Yes. Can you see me?”
Cassandra sat up in alarm. “Barely. What’s wrong?”
“Look!” said Jancis, holding out her hands. It took a moment for Cassandra’s eyes to adjust. Jancis was backlit by lamplight from the adjoining room. In her hands was something small and round.
“What?” Cassandra asked, reaching out for the object. The thing squealed at her touch, making Cassandra jump. “Great Fate, what is that?”
“The monkey!” said Jancis. She hovered over the bed, still holding the object out for Cassandra. “Remember? From the boy Gilwyn!”
Cassandra blinked uncertainly. “Monkey?” She shook her head, tossed her naked feet over the bedside, and studied the thing in Jancis’ hands. Gradually her sight improved, revealing the furry mass in Jancis’ hands. It was indeed a monkey.
“Where’d you find it?” asked Cassandra quickly. “Is Gilwyn here?”
“I don’t know,” shrugged Jancis. “I was asleep myself when he woke me, just a moment ago! He scared me to death!”
“Teku is a she, Jancis, not a he,” said Cassandra. “Gilwyn must be around somewhere. There was no note with her?”
“Not this time,” said Jancis. “Unless I’m missing it.”
Cassandra studied the monkey, but in the dim light could see nothing. She was excited that Gilwyn was back, because surely only he could have sent Teku looking for her, but without further directions she didn’t know what to do. She thought about going into the other room where there was light, then realized in a flash what needed to be done.
“The garden!” She reached out and gently touched the monkey, patting its furry head. “Teku, is Gilwyn in the garden? Will you take me to him?”
The sound of her master’s name made the monkey bob her head.
“Put her down, Jancis,” directed Cassandra.
Jancis replied, “With pleasure,” then spilled the furry creature onto the floor.
“Is Gilwyn near, Teku?” Cassandra asked softly. “Is he in the garden?”
The little monkey chattered and moved toward the door.
“What’s it doing?” asked Jancis.
“She wants me to follow!” Cassandra took a step toward Teku to test her theory and was rewarded with another movement toward the door.
“It understands you?” asked Jancis incredulously.
“I think so. Gilwyn told me she was smart, and obviously she knew enough to find you. I’m going to follow her, Jancis, see if she takes me to Gilwyn.”
“Cass, you can’t go to the garden now. You’re not even dressed!”
“I have to, Jan.” She started toward the door. “Gilwyn’s probably waiting for me. Lukien might be with him.”
“Wait!” cried Jancis, stumbling after her. “Take slippers at least!”
Cassandra groaned in frustration, located her slippers beside her bed, and hurried into them. “Don’t follow me, Jancis. I don’t want to make any more noise than I have to. And if Akeela comes looking for me. . . .”
“I’ll tell him you’re sleeping,” sighed Jancis. “Go. But be careful!”
“I will,” said Cassandra, then hurried after Teku. The monkey led her from the bedroom into the main chamber, then out toward the open hallway. She moved quickly but with silence, letting Cassandra skulk after her as she scurried through the corridor. Cassandra mimicked her silence. She was chilly suddenly and regretted not bringing a shawl, but she was too intent on reaching the garden to think much about it. She followed Teku to the end of the hall, near the kitchen where Freen worked. Luckily, the cook had long since gone to bed and neither Megal nor Ruthanna were around. Both Cassandra and Teku kept to the wall as they rounded the kitchen. They were approaching the edge of Cassandra’s private wing now, and for a moment Teku looked confused. She studied her surroundings, sniffed the air then looked at Cassandra, her yellow eyes full of concern. Cassandra squatted down beside her.
“Are you lost, Teku?” she whispered.
The monkey merely grunted.
“The garden’s the only place he could be,” Cassandra mused aloud. “Is that where Gilwyn is?”
Teku headed toward the door again. This time, though, Cassandra caught the monkey, scooping her into her arms.
“It’ll be quicker this way,” she explained. Teku seemed to agree, climbing onto her shoulder. Cassandra smiled as she plunged further into the dark corridor. “Just tell me if I’m going the wrong way, all right?”
She knew the way better than the monkey, and soon found herself near the scullery again, where on that first night she had ventured out into the free world. The hall was dark, as always, and a chill crept beneath her nightgown. Her ears picked up some far away movement, but she was free of her servants now and knew they wouldn’t discover her. All that was left was to reach the garden.
The last few moments were the worst as she pushed through the unlit scullery hall, where the rusted pots and pans hung like dead men from pegs and the unseen spider-webs surprised her skin. Searching for the door, she reached out. . . .
“Cassandra?”
Cassandra gasped and fell back in alarm. At the door was Gilwyn, almost invisible in the blackness.
“Gilwyn, you scared me!” she cried.
“Shhh,” scolded Gilwyn, coming forward. “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t risk being seen.” He beamed at his pet, taking the monkey from Cassandra’s shoulder. “Good girl, Teku. You found her!” He kissed Teku and hoisted her onto his own shoulder. “I was worried she couldn’t find you. I sent her out almost an hour ago.”
Other books
The Discovery of America by the Turks by Jorge Amado
His Bacon Sundae Werewolf by Angelique Voisen
Cameo the Assassin by Dawn McCullough-White
Destroying Angel by Alanna Knight
A Perfect Knight (Knights of Passion Series 2) by North, Evie
Autumn Thorns by Yasmine Galenorn
Betrayal Foretold: Descended of Dragons, Book 3 by Jen Crane
The Heart Is Strange by Berryman, John
Blind Arrows by Anthony Quinn
