The Warrior Heir (42 page)

"I'm not asking you to forgive me." The wizard's hand was extended, something shining in his palm. It was the ring with Susannah's stone. "I think I should return this to you."

She studied him a moment. "A hundred years is a long time to hold a grudge," she said, "for both of us. Carrie and I are asking you to let go of yours, and I will part with mine." She paused. "I have no use for the stone, now or ever. Keep it, and remember me by it. I believe you've learned something since I last saw you."

Hastings looked as if he would say more, but D'Orsay shoved forward. "Why have you brought this army to the Ghyll?" he demanded. "You have destroyed our property and disrupted our tournament."

Susannah turned to him. "Your tournament was already in a shambles before we arrived." She lifted her skirts and climbed into the judges' box.

"It is unlawful for this gang of warriors to come into the Ghyll uninvited. The Warrior Dead are not to cross unless called, according to the rules. You've already murdered a judge," D'Orsay continued. "I hope you understand you will be held to account for this."

Susannah was no longer smiling. "You never minded it when we were murdering each other." She reached for the leather-bound volume of the
Rules of Engagement.
"Are you ready to write some more rules, Master D'Orsay?"

"What are you doing?" he snapped. "Leave that alone."

"We have some amendments of our own to suggest," she said calmly. "Now that you've waked the dragon."

The look on D'Orsay's face was a mixture of incredulity and fear.

"You see, the Rules of Engagement have held us in bondage since 1532. The covenant was written, bound in the bones of the earth—the Ravenshead stone—never to be changed. The rules of the tournament, the relationship between wizards and warriors. Our place in limbo, always waiting to be called to slaughter. But you've opened the book. First you violated the rules by playing a wizard, and then you dared change them. You are the lineal Master of the Games, and you did it here in the shadow of the stone, the lair of the dragon. They must be reconsecrated. That's why we're here." She waved a hand at the assembled army. "We are the dragon."

"It was not our intent to open the rules to amendment. We'll put them back the way they were," D'Orsay said quickly.

"We've decided we don't like the way they were." Susannah slid the book across the table toward D'Orsay.

"This is wizard business," the Gamemaster protested. "The rules cannot be changed without a vote of the council."

Susannah surveyed the wizards present. "I think we have adequate representation here. We'll take a voice vote. However, I must point out that some among us will be very touchy about the outcome." She nodded at the sea of warriors. D'Orsay looked at them, then back at her. His face had lost its color. Susannah smiled. "You must understand that there is a risk associated with maintaining an army, even an army of the dead. There is always the risk of mutiny. Now, Master D'Orsay, the rules?"

Reluctantly, D'Orsay climbed into the judges' box and sat down in front of the table. He slid the book over, flipped to the first blank page, and picked up his pen.

Susannah dictated, "Amendment number one. The tournament system as it has existed since 1532 is abolished."

D'Orsay put down his pen. "That's impossible," he said. "You would destroy our most important tradition. This is the system that has kept us at peace."

"Second," Susannah continued, ignoring him. "All guilds of the Weir are equal under the rules. There are no codified…superior/subordinate   relationships…among wizards, warriors, enchanters, sorcerers, or any other class."

D'Orsay was still shaking his head, but he had picked up his pen and was writing.

Susannah looked out over the crowd, as if thinking. Linda Downey advanced to the edge of the judges' box, leaned forward, and spoke urgently to her.

"Third," Susannah said, "the town of Trinity, Ohio is established as a sanctuary. The Weir are to carry out no killings, kidnappings, mind magic, spellbindings, or other black arts within its boundaries."

D'Orsay kept scribbling, struggling to keep up.

Susannah looked over at Carrie and then at the rest of the assembly, then turned back to D'Orsay. "Fourth. Wizards may no longer call forth the Warrior Dead at will. However, the Warrior Dead will return in force if these amendments are violated."

D'Orsay finished writing. "Is that it?" he asked sourly.

"One more thing. Henceforth, the rules cannot be changed except by majority vote of a council in which all guilds of the Weir are equally represented, each with a single vote."

When D'Orsay was finished, he angrily pushed the book toward Susannah. She read what was written and nodded. "Now for the vote. All in favor say aye."

D'Orsay and the four judges looked at one another, then out at the army, and hesitated. But only for a moment. "Aye," they mumbled.

"Opposed? No? It's unanimous then," Susannah said with satisfaction. She closed the book with a thud. "We like the rules better this way." She turned and extended her hands to the Weirstone. "We are all heirs of the Weirstone, and submit these mended rules which would govern all of the magical guilds."

The stone flared up, casting a cold blue light over the Ghyll and everyone in it. And deep beneath the star-shaped scar, Jack the wizard heir felt the warrior stone in his breast respond.

Susannah stood for a moment, her arms wrapped around herself, eyes closed. Then she sighed and opened them. "Now it is time for us to cross." She turned and saw Nicodemus Snowbeard standing there, leaning on his staff, the wind whipping the clothes around his gaunt frame.

"That was good work, Susannah," the wizard said, smiling. "I'm proud of you." He embraced her carefully, as if she might break.

"It's good to see you, too, Old Bear," she said, throwing her arms about him in turn. They stood like that for some minutes. Hastings stood nearby, watching, his head tilted, as if trying to work a puzzle that was missing pieces.

Jack drifted into semiconsciousness, but roused himself when a small group of warriors approached him and Ellen. Brooks seemed to be in charge, but he also seemed unaccustomed to making speeches. "Look," he said finally, scratching himself under the collar of his leather shirt, pulling at his ear. "We really appreciate what you two did here, forcing them to change the rules and all," he said. "And if you'd ever like to call us up and have a go, we'd be up for it." He looked at Ellen and smiled a little arrogantly. "I think I could teach your woman here a thing or two. Just for fun, you know, and perhaps a pint or two of ale, to make it interesting," he added quickly, seeing Ellen bristle.

And Jack
remembered
how good a pint or two of ale could taste when a man was thirsty. Part of his varied education in the past six months. "Thank you," Jack said, "I'd like that. But maybe not for a while."

Carrie embraced Hastings once again. Her voice was quiet, her words for him alone. "I can't tell you what this has meant, to see you again. It's time for you to leave behind this obsession with revenge. You must find your own life." She looked at Linda, then back at Hastings. "Remember me, but you'll never find happiness if you live in the past."

Hastings held on to her hands. "I'll do as you say when this business is entirely finished." He nodded at the wreckage around them.

"A thin promise for your sister who loves you." She smiled, but there was already something tenuous about her, as if she were fading. "And now I have to go."

Hastings made as if to capture her with his arms. "Will you come back? Or perhaps I could come see you … where you are."

She shrugged. "Perhaps we shall travel more freely now, both ways. Only, it's hard for me to be very long in the world," she said wistfully.

He looked over her shoulder at Susannah, who still stood next to Snowbeard. "Good-bye, Susannah."

Susannah smiled. "Maybe we'll see each other again. You never know."

The two women stepped back with their comrades. The warrior army shimmered, grew insubstantial. For a moment, it lay like a mist in the Ghyll, and then dissipated in the wind. And with them went the galleries and all the trappings of the tournaments, the crowds and banners, the buildings that had been raised for the occasion. All that remained were the castle and the cottage in the castle garden, the permanent structures of the Ghyll. Even the chairs were gone, and Jack found himself suddenly sitting on the ground.

Jack and Ellen, Hastings and Linda, Mercedes, Blaise, Snowbeard, and Iris seemed to be the only living things in the valley, save a few sheep who grazed on the hillsides. Even the weather seemed to be clearing, and the wizard's mist no longer shrouded the sun, which blazed as it set behind Ravenshead.

"Will and Fitch!” Jack said suddenly. "I left them in the cottage." He tried to scramble to his feet, which he found was impossible. Ellen planted a hand firmly on his chest and pushed him back down.

"I'll go find them," Linda said quickly. She turned to the cottage.

"They're locked in," Jack added.

Linda looked at him curiously. "Well, they must have found a way out."

Two figures detached themselves from the side of the cottage and walked toward them. It was Will and Fitch. They were looking about in bewilderment. When they were close enough to be heard, Will shouted, "Where did everybody go?"

"Back home," Linda shouted back. "The tournament's over."

Will spotted Jack and Ellen sitting side by side on the grass. "I don't get it," he said slowly. "One of you is supposed to be dead." He glared at Ellen, daring her to defend herself. She made no such attempt. She lifted her shoulders, dropped them again, and looked away.

"Ellen could have killed me,” Jack said quietly, "but she didn't. She saved my life."

"How come?" Fitch demanded. "After all this?"

Ellen turned scarlet and stared at the ground. "Maybe none of my opponents ever gave me flowers before," she mumbled.

Hastings knelt next to Jack. "Would you like me to look at your leg?" he asked, "or would you rather I took you into Keswick?"

"If you can treat it, go ahead,” Jack said. "The arm, too, while you're at it." He lay back on the ground, closing his eyes to stop his head from spinning.

Hastings put his hand over the break and spoke his charm. It felt as though cold water were flowing over Jack's leg, carrying the pain and swelling away. A few more minutes, and the wizard went to work on his arm. Soon all pain was gone, and he was floating, comfortable, but unbelievably weary.

Hastings turned to Ellen. "Are you all right?" he asked.

Ellen didn't answer immediately. She untied the sling from around Jack's leg, using her teeth to free the knots. She draped it over her shoulder and restored the knife to the sheath on her back. Then she stood and jammed her sword back into its scabbard. "I'm fine," she said. "I'm sorry about all the trouble." She hesitated, then leaned down again and kissed Jack on the mouth, pressing him into the ground. "Good-bye, Jack. I need to get a few things from the castle, and then I've got to be on my way."

"What do you mean? Where are you going?" Jack demanded, struggling to sit up. Linda was on one side of him now, helping to support him.

Ellen shrugged. "I have no idea. At least I'm on my own now. Hey, don't worry," she added hastily when she saw Jack's face. "This is a way of life for me. Don't know where I came from, don't know where I'm going. I've always wanted to go back to Scotland. Maybe I'll go there." She glanced up at Hastings and the others warily, as if they might attempt to stop her.

"Come back to Trinity with us," Jack urged. "You said you liked it there."

Ellen laughed. "I'm sixteen years old, Jack. I have no family and no way to make a living. I can't exactly rent an apartment. And the thing I know best how to do is kill people. I think I'm sort of a high-risk individual, if you know what I mean." She was matter-of-fact, not asking for sympathy.

Surprisingly, it was shy Will who came to her defense. "You'll be fine," he said. "You have friends. We'll help you find a place to stay. I'll bet you could even learn not to kill people." He grinned. "And you're a cinch to make the girls' soccer team in the fall."

"Maybe Trinity would be the safest place for you," Linda said. "Now that it's a sanctuary. Who knows how the Wizard Guild will react to what happened today? You might be a target. Besides, you have no money and no camping gear. And you can't exactly hike through Britain carrying a sword."

Ellen hesitated. "I don't usually stay in any one place for very long."

Hastings had been staring down the Ghyll, the expression on his face unreadable. Now he put his hand on Ellen's shoulder, and she flinched under his touch. "Why don't you finish the tour with the Chaucerian Society?" he suggested. "I can spend a little time debriefing you. We'll determine just how high risk you are. Then we can make a plan."

As always, there was no resisting Hastings. And so it was agreed.

Chapter Eighteen

Trinity

More and more, there were no revelations, but simply the uncovering of truths long known but dimly remembered. Everything had been written long ago. There was nothing truly new in the world, but only the slow, circular march of time that revealed the old things once again.

"Way to skunk Jen DeBrock. She didn't even know you were there until you blew past her with the ball." Will grinned happily and signaled for the waitress. "But if it's anything like last season, you'll be seeing Garfield again in the playoffs. You only get one free one."

Jack counted some money out onto the table. "Too bad Slansky can't clone you, Ellen," he said. "That way he wouldn't have to choose. You could play goalie and forward at the same time."

Nothing got through Ellen when she was in front of the goal. Trinity girls' fall soccer season had been a long series of shutouts for the opposing teams. It was the talk of the conference.

Soccer was a good outlet for Ellen's natural aggression. Which was a good thing, since she had little use for the social intrigues of a small-town high school.