The King's Sons (The Herezoth Trilogy) (16 page)

“You
couldn’t have,” Francie corrected. “That’s different than saying you wouldn’t
have helped me. You did have the Lifestone, and I wasn’t tortured, not at the
Hall. Don’t torture yourself over this.”

“I’m
trying.”

Francie
grimaced as she raised a shaking hand to her head. “Howar told me what they’re
planning. Why that man did this to me. Those people would have leveled
Partsvale if they’d known who you were. You couldn’t save me openly. It wasn’t
just my life at stake, Vane. You did what you were able. Loathe you? I owe my
life to you.”

“I’m
so sorry, Francie. So horrified this happened. I shouldn’t have brought it up.
You’re in pain.”

“And
you?” she said. “You look ready to collapse. Go eat,” she demanded. “Eat and
sleep. I know you’ve a mission from the king. You can put it on hold for a few
hours. You look as bad as I feel.”

“I’ll
eat something more before sleeping if you do.”

Francie’s
face twisted in disgust at the mention of food. “It’s a deal,” she said. “If
it’ll get you eating, it’s a deal.” With that, Vane headed back to the kitchen
for something light to fill their stomachs.

* * *

When
Zacry Porteg asked his wife outside for a private word, away from the children,
he knew by the straightness of her back she was bracing herself for something
unpleasant. Joslyn was as smart as she was beautiful, and she had seen Vane’s
haggard figure when he first came to the house.

Joslyn
was a Traiglander, with the rich, dark skin native to her kingdom, enchanting
black eyes, and long, ebony hair that always swung loose to as much of a magic
effect as her husband’s incantations. She grew more beautiful with age, Zacry
thought; the difference was one of character, of a strengthened confidence.
Before he could explain, she asked him, “What’s happened, Love? What’s wrong in
Herezoth this time?”

He
told her about Evant Linstrom.

“And
you’re going to help Vane?”

“I
can’t very well leave him on his own to face this.”

“No,”
Joslyn agreed with a squeeze of his hand. He couldn’t say which of them she
meant to bolster by the act. “You can’t abandon him.”

Joslyn,
like Vane, had been raised an orphan. The two had grown close in the years Vane
had lived and trained with Zacry, and Zacry had to imagine she feared as much
for the Duke of Ingleton as for her husband.

“Are
you all right, Joss?”

She
smiled, but the expression wasn’t genuine. “Of course I am. I’m not the one
going to Herezoth to…. At least you have a timeframe. You know who you’re up
against, and how many. The king can call his army to his aid. That’s all better
than when you left to rescue the kidnapped princes.”

“I
suppose it is. I’m glad it comforts you, at any rate, to have specifics. Joss,
I….”

She
hushed him with a kiss, stroked his bristly face. “I don’t need an explanation.
This is simply who you are. I’ve always known that, Love. If sorcerers are
causing the king trouble again, then he needs magical assistance for sure. That
means you.” She sighed. “It always means you. I suppose I must be grateful for the
ten years of peace we’ve had since the last crisis. We made it through that
one, all of us, and we’ll do the same now.”

“Joss,
you realize how much better you’re taking this than the kidnapping?” He pulled
her close, met her eyes. “I tell you, I was a fool not to expect that. You
surprise me so much, and after fifteen years you wouldn’t think….”

He
kissed her this time, and she threw her arms around his neck. When their lips
separated, she maintained her hold, and all Zacry could do was smile. He said, “If
I remember correctly, this is the time when you make me promise you something.”

To
Zacry’s relief, Joslyn smiled too. “It is, isn’t it? I was so… terrified, the
last time you trekked off to aid the royals this way. Love, I’m sorry if that
burdened you.”

“Don’t
be.” Zacry ran a finger down her nose. “Just tell me what you need me to
promise this go-around.”

Joslyn
sighed again. She might have been trying not to cry, but if so, she succeeded
with such grace Zacry couldn’t be sure. She loosened her hold on his neck to
grab his shoulders and said, “One thing. Promise you won’t frighten the
children telling them where you’re going, and what for.”

“I’d
prefer to be honest with them. They’re ten and eleven. That’s old enough to
understand, and….”

“They’d
worry you won’t make it back. Love, I’m sure you will. I know your talents,
your intelligence. I know how you’ve mastered your magic, and how you came back
to me before. They’re too young to understand that. They’d only comprehend the
danger that threatens you. I don’t know what I’d do with them upset. Zacry, if
somehow you don’t come back, I’ll explain everything. I will. I owe that to
them as much as to you. I don’t want to pain them ahead of time if….”

Zacry
kissed the tip of her nose rather than stroke it again. “If you’d rather I
leave them their peace, I will. I promise, Joss.”

“What
shall I promise you, then?”

“That
you’ll let the king provide for you, if something does happen to me. You can’t
eke out a living on your sewing to support three people. Kora and Parker would
do all they can to help you, but they’ve eight mouths to feed, counting my
mother.”

Joslyn
took a deep breath. “What makes you think I’d refuse…?”

“I
know your pride, Joss. You don’t like accepting help from people if you can’t
pay them back. That’s why you give what your needlework brings in to your old
orphanage.”

“That
orphanage raised me. They didn’t just feed and clothe me there, they saw me
taught. I learned to read, to add….”

“I’ve
never had a problem with you giving that orphanage any coin you can. My point
is, you don’t like accepting charity. That’s why I’m telling you, you need to
take whatever pension the king provides you for my service on the Magic
Council. If I don’t make it through….”

Zacry’s
wife bit her lip. He insisted, “If I don’t make it, my years on that council
entitle you to a pension, and you’ll accept it. I know Rexson Phinnean, and I’m
sure he’d cut into his personal wealth to increase the amount legitimately
taken from taxes. You’ll accept his gift and you’ll use it to educate the
kids.”

“Zacry,
I….”

“What
you asked of me wasn’t easy to agree to either. I gave you my word, and I’ll
have yours in exchange. You couldn’t survive without Rexson’s help. I need to
know you’ll be all right.”

“I
know you do,” she said. She pulled him tight, so tight it hurt, but he gave her
no indication of that. He kissed her neck instead. “I promise. You have my
promise, Love.”

When
she finally let go of him, Zacry took her hand. They stood in the same spot on
the lawn where, ten years before, he’d returned from rescuing the princes to
find Joslyn pacing. She had proceeded, through tears of joy, to admit she was
expecting a second child and had refrained from telling him before he’d left.
Now he kissed her with what he knew was an obnoxious smirk, and whispered in
her ear:

“You’re
not pregnant, are you?”

Her
dark eyes lit up with mirth, and she dropped her grip on his fingers to slap
him on the bicep. He held her hand to his arm and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“I
was just checking.”

* * *

When
Kora transported her sons from Zacry’s, she took them to Parker’s smithy. He
was alone in the sweltering building that morning, and dripping sweat despite
having lit just one necessary fire. He claimed he could use a break, and set
his sons, also his apprentices, to organizing a few things in the shop while
Kora took him to the cooler air outside. The summer day was uncomfortably warm
as they stood near the front wall. Behind them, one of four tall chimneys
breathed smoke.

Parker’s
smithy was a long, low building made of brown brick, with every window and door
open to distribute the fire’s heat. Kora, therefore, spoke softly so her sons
wouldn’t overhear. When she first mentioned Herezoth, Parker’s expression grew
serious. When she mentioned having to use her old chain—he knew every
detail about the Crimson League and her time with the resistance—he
pulled her close, in a protective hold that gave her courage to mention their
sons joining her. At that point, he looked beaten. She didn’t care how he was
sweating; she needed to feel his strong arm around her, and he seemed more
determined than ever to keep it there.

“You
still have nightmares from time to time about that chain. Kora, you sure you’re
up to this? Can you…?”

“I
can handle it. I have to handle it. It’s that or let Vane get himself killed as
a spy. I have to go.”

“And
the boys? Don’t you tell me the boys have to.”

“They
don’t have to, you’re right, but you’ll never persuade them not to. I swear on
all that’s holy, I wish you could, but they’re too honorable, Parker. Too
determined to help Vane.”

“They’re
too much like you.”

Kora
had no clue what to say to that, so she handed Parker her handkerchief, and he
wiped his face. His neck.

“I’d
go for you,” he said. “I’d do this for you, if there was any way I could. I’d
keep those boys of ours here at the smithy and safe.”

“I
know you would. I swear I know it, and I love you for that. Listen, it’s not
your doing I’m the Marked One. You didn’t know me at seventeen. You didn’t make
the first ruby I ever saw split when I touched it and attach to my face: that
was the Giver. You didn’t make me a sorceress, or give magic to our sons. The
three of us, we were born with magic, and the king needs us.”

“The
king needs
you
, I’ll admit to that.
This is different from that kidnapping. He was dealing with what, three people
then? And this is hundreds?”

“All
with magic,” Kora said. “I have to use that chain. I can get in Linstrom’s
head. It’s the only way we’ll bring him down, the only way we’ll stand a
chance.”

Parker
swore. “It’s not right, Kora. It’s not right you have to do this and I can’t
lift a finger to….”

“Listen
to me.” Kora pulled away a bit. “I’ll keep the boys as safe as I can. Let me
worry about Walt and Wil. I need you to take care of Laskenay and Tressa. I
need to know you’ll be around to care for them.”

“You
know I will.”

“And
that’s why I can say I’m glad you’re staying. That I’m relieved you won’t be
with me. As much of a comfort as I’d find you, you’ll comfort me more keeping
out of danger. That way, I’ll know the girls will have you. No matter what
happens to me, the girls will have you.”

Parker
raised her chin with his hand. “They’ll have me.”

Kora
said, “In Zalski’s day, when Zac went to a safehouse, I found so much peace in
knowing him secure. He was only twelve. I told myself I’d done all I could to
provide for him…. In the worst moments I’d think of Zac, and I’d know my demons
couldn’t touch my brother.

“Now
the girls hold that place. They’re the ones I’ll know protected, and that
knowledge will give me strength to use that chain again. I don’t care how hellish
my past experience with that magic was. I’ll use it as I must, comforted that
you’re here with my daughters.
Our
daughters.”

Parker
hugged her. He kissed the bandana on Kora’s forehead. “If I can’t do this in
your place, it’s good to think I at least can help you do it.”

“You
can and you will, just by staying. You watch out for my Laskenay. My baby too.
If I can’t, make sure they keep up with their lessons. Have my mother teach
them to cook and my brother teach them magic. And make sure, damn sure, the men
who marry them treat them right.”

“You’ll
see all that firsthand.”

Kora
nodded, but she wasn’t convinced of what Parker told her. The death sentence on
her head for returning home weighed too much. She shrugged off that burden and
rose to the balls of her feet to level her face with her husband’s, and hoped
her kiss expressed her gratitude.

She
hadn’t doubted he would support her need to go to Herezoth. That was her duty,
and one she couldn’t delegate. She’d worried more about his reaction to his
sons leaving, but knew now he’d support them as well. Would be nothing but
proud of them for their desire to stand by Vane.

“I
should talk to the boys,” he said.

“Don’t
try to convince them to stay,” warned Kora. “You’ll part with them on bad
terms, and no one wants that. I couldn’t bear to think….”

“Kora,
I’d be a selfish fool to tell them to abandon Vane. They’re sorcerers. That’s a
gift from the Giver, that talent. Their uncle’s helped them hone it. For what
bloody good are they sorcerers if they can’t come to Vane’s aid at a time like
this?”

Kora
blessed him, and then sent him off to Walt and Wil. She leaned against the
brick wall of the smithy, determined not to cry. She managed not to. She wouldn’t
let Parker or her sons see her in tears.