Invocation Page 5

  There seemed little else to do then, except return to notify the King’s Guards of the arrangements I’d made for Father Tyrell. That and the matter of the spear. I wondered why they wanted it.

  We strolled to the palace, through the wealthier quarter where large manors lined the streets. Some manors were the semi-permanent residences of nobles and courtiers, those who disliked the constant activity of the court. Others belonged to rich merchants, or men who’d made their fortune via profitable business arrangements.

  The buildings were all two storeys high and boxy in design, entrances protected with columned gates and lined with pretty gardens. Dark windows gave distorted reflections as we ambled past.

  Close to where we walked was Ralleigh House, the largest mansion in the finest quarter of the city and the permanent royal residence for heirs when they lived in Sidem. Its high white walls and gated entry put these buildings to shame. With my father, I had stayed there a handful of times growing up; his preference the large apartment in the palace set aside for his use.

  Two fine carriages rode by and then five men on horses, the clopping sound of their passage loud. Leaves of red, yellow and orange fluttered from branches slowly losing their cover. Birds flew up and around us, scattering in fright when we passed too close to a tree, disturbing them from their rest.

  The warmth of the sun beamed down on my skin, on the houses and street, battling a cold wind coming from the Loffe Mountain Range. I smelt the smoke from a hundred fires, the stench of human waste, and the more pleasant scent of cooking in the air. Sounds of laughter and joy rang out, witnessed in the smiles of the people walking past and the skipping movement of their children.

  “It’s not right,” I burst out, filled with growing resentment.

  Elron looked over at me. “What isn’t?”

  “This city. These people. Don’t they know what happened yesterday? About how Father Tyrell died? Doesn’t anyone else even care?”

  He shrugged a little heartlessly. “Probably not. People die, Red. Life goes on.”

  “Not for him.”

  “No.” Elron hesitated and then said, “But it goes on for you, Red. That has to count for something.”

  “Does it?” A cloud, stretched by winds high above, broke apart into small white wisps and then disappeared into the wide blue. I grabbed at the triquetra tucked under my tunic, using it and the memory of Anais to ground me before I too lost myself.

  The guards let us through the palace gate with relaxed nods. Too deep in thought, I barely noticed. Only Elron’s hand, pulling on my elbow, brought me out of it as we entered the grand hall.

  Emily Rowe, Edmund’s mistress, called to me as she walked down the staircase. “Lord Eadred!”

  The woman was the last person I wanted to talk to. Especially as our introduction the day before had been under less than ideal circumstances. She pushed at the curls of her copper hair, tidying up the strands falling from her pinned bun, and offered a wide smile. Elron stepped between us, into her line of view, and she hesitated, remembering his censure well. “Lord Eadred, I don’t believe we had a proper introduction. I’m Emily Rowe.” She descended the bottom steps and curtsied, spearing Elron with a look of deliberation as if to say she hadn’t forgotten her place this time.

  I inclined my head, eager to get away, but she held out her plump digits, adorned with rings. Despite knowing it would be the height of rudeness to scorn her, I was strongly tempted to do just that. Instead, I listened to the voice of reason and grasped her hand, bringing it to my mouth, an act I undertook with great distaste. My lips barely touched her skin, and I dropped her fingers immediately after. Startled, she let out a small yip of dismay.

  “Lord Eadred, I wanted to ask about the fight you were involved in yesterday. I couldn’t believe it! I mean, who would! A battle in the palace! The King so close by! What happened?” She possessed a way of speaking as if everything were astonishing, each sentence ending on a high note. It grated on me and I stepped past her, pretending I hadn’t heard. Emily gasped and said to my back, “Lord Eadred, I’m talking to you!”

  My cold eyes pinned her until she stood frozen in dismay. “Miss Rowe, you forget your place,” I told her and kept walking. There was silence behind me and, when I glanced around, she was gone.

  I grabbed the spear from my room and carried it downstairs. Unable to bring myself to see his body again, I asked Elron to take it in. He scratched at his head when he came out. “What now?”

  “If they won’t let me attend Father Tyrell’s funeral, then I should at least hold a wake for him. And I’m thirsty.” Not one to argue, especially not at the offer of a drink, Elron gave his first smile of the day. “You don’t think it’s too early, do you?”

  “Not a chance,” he assured me.

  Before we escaped the palace, a servant, her expression a little vacant, found me on the steps of the grand entry and handed over a letter. I recognised the seal and stuffed it into my pocket. There it would remain undiscovered; until I broke the wax, no one else would even see it. The woman shook her head, trying to remember what she’d been doing. Soon she would forget the entire encounter, as Father Tyrell had promised.

  We found an establishment near the palace, but unlikely to be frequented by anyone from the court. Small, more like a hole in the wall, with steps leading below street level into a dingy room with some tables and chairs arrayed before a short bar. A young barmaid served us, hovering close to our table, her eyes often falling on me. Three men played a card game nearby, and Elron glanced their way.

  “Go,” I told him. “Just don’t lose all your money like last time.”

  He shook his head. “You know I can’t leave you.”

  “I’m not going anywhere, and you can protect me just as well from that table as from the seat right next to me.” I tapped the hilt of my sword. “Besides, it’s not as if I can’t look after myself.”

  By the time I finished my second drink, I could see the game was progressing well for Elron and no one was paying me any attention except for the barmaid. I stood by the small fire against the rear wall and rubbed my hands before it as if trying to get warm. When the young girl moved away to serve the men, I pulled Anais’s letter from my pocket.

  It was short and carefully written, as if she still were not sure how safe it was. She’d soon see when my next missive was delivered. In it she gave thanks for both gifts and the means of communication, expressing her doubt about how it all worked without ever saying it directly. But it was the way she finished it that made me smile.

  I once had a dream where I held the hand of my dearest friend. We laughed as we stumbled, a little lost, yet sure of our way. The best kinds of dreams are the ones we share.

  God go with you, my dearest friend - always yours, Anais

  I kissed where she had written her name and then glanced up to find the barmaid staring. “Letter from your sweetheart?” she asked.

  “No.” I threw the paper into the fire, watching it burn, and her mouth fell open in surprise. “A letter from my queen.”

  “Queen? Well, we don’t have one of those. Not so far as I’m aware.”

  She stepped closer, smiling at me. I saw in many ways she was still a child. I couldn’t imagine she’d hold on to her innocence for much longer, only hoping she didn’t lose it in the worst way. That there was someone out there who was ready to protect her, as I wished I could Anais.

  I smiled and pressed a coin into her palm. “Soon you will.”

  Elron realised I was leaving and stood, revealing his hand and collecting his share of the winnings. There were groans from the other players who threw in their cards. He lifted his brows challengingly, and they decided it was better to complain no more than that, eyeing his size and weapons. He counted his money and grinned when he discovered he’d come out ahead.

  On our way back to the palace, we stopped at a few
different bars until the day ran away from us completely. We found an establishment where musicians were playing and danced with the women who dragged us, ignoring our half-hearted protests, into the spaces between tables. One woman dared to undo the leather tie on Elron’s braid and his black hair streamed past his shoulders, bouncing in time to his thumping steps.

  The barmaids came around with eager frequency, topping up our beer at the expense of my purse, but I didn’t mind in the least. I yelled to Elron, “He would have liked this, don’t you think?”

  “Who?” he shouted back.

  “Father Tyrell.”

  “I guess. I didn’t really know him, Red. Not like you. He was always a little strange. A bit too much of the priest in him.”

  “That was the point.” I gave a soft laugh. “But he was a good man. A kind man. And the way he died …” All happiness leached away. I peered into the tankard, morose. “It should have been me.”

  “What was that?”

  “It should have been me,” I repeated, raising my voice, angry now.

  “Red.” I looked up. “No, never you. I would have taken that spear for you.” Confused, I squinted at him with a crooked smile, shaking my head in denial. “That’s what I’m here for. To keep you alive. Not because I’m in your father’s employ, but because you’re my friend.” He snorted and took a long drink. “My only friend.”

  In a dark humour, I lifted my tankard, hand unsteady and tipping beer all over the floor. “Cheers to that! And thank God for you!”

  “What? You’re not going to say the same?” he protested, scowling.

  I smirked, sensing a way to get a rise out of him. Keen to be heard over the noise of the music and groups talking, I yelled, “Elron, you know I’m in love, don’t you?”

  He’d just taken another sip, and it sprayed from his mouth as he choked. “Red,” he said in grave warning, staring about the bar, at all the people around us.

  Undeterred, I bellowed, “I love you, you big lug!”

  “Dear God.” He grimaced and took the beer from me. “I think that’s more than enough for you.”

  I blinked, trying to focus. When the pretty woman with laughing blue eyes asked me to dance again, I was more than happy to oblige. By the time the tempo changed with the next tune, she was giggling and clinging to my arm.

  “You’re a handsome one, aren’t you?”

  She grabbed my head and pulled down on it until my nose smashed against hers, smacking a great, wet kiss on me. The room spun for a second, going out of focus. I swayed, not fast enough to avoid her next kiss, this one a little more serious.

  The music picked up pace and we danced with boisterous vigour, spinning with elbows entwined, laughing all the while. For a time I forgot everything but what was happening around me. The soaring notes of the fiddles. Drums laying out a lively beat. Sweaty smells from all those dancing, the sawdust under our feet kicked up with every turn.

  The patrons broke into raucous cheers when the music stopped; weary musicians putting down their instruments for a brief break. The loud swell of voices returned, filling the void. My dancing partner wrapped both arms around my waist, kissing a line up my neck. Her lips settled on mine. “Sorry, milady. Not interested,” I slurred, extricating myself from her embrace.

  The burp that followed emerged without warning, wafting yeasty breath into her face. I grinned, crudely amused. She shrieked and slapped me hard across the cheek.

  I fell back, crashing into one of her friends. The large fellow shoved me off and took a swing, punching low into my spine. Knees buckling, I grabbed at my dancing partner but she thrust out her palms and I bounced once more into the range of her angry friend. Elron, proving once and for all that he handled his liquor far better than I could, caught the blow intended for me with his left hand and knocked the man out cold with a sharp jab from his right.

  The fight rippled out, the entire room descending into scenes of chaotic brawling. Something smashed into my ear, sending me staggering to the floor. It churned up all the beer in my gut. On all fours, unable to stop the heaving, I vomited and then tried to crawl from the mess.

  I collided with the legs of my dancing partner and she tripped, dragging a friend to the ground with her in a tangle of limbs. They landed in the unsavoury former contents of my stomach and screamed in horror. A little clearer headed now a good quantity of beer was gone from my system, I scrambled up to escape their accusing glares, dodging the wild punches coming from every direction to find a safe place to wait out the brawl.

  I vaulted onto the bar, standing with unsteady feet on the narrow strip of wood, trying to spot Elron. Beside me, the proprietor crossed his arms and scowled at the chaos. He wisely ducked under the bar when a glass was thrown across the room, smashing against the wall behind us.

  Screams and bellows filled the place, yells of pure delight sounding as fists slammed into noses, followed by howls of anger and cries of pain. Women were caught up in it too. They clawed at their rivals, crouched over screaming with big fistfuls of hair violently pulled this way and that, or smashed tankards over the heads of men who’d been groping them all night, shrieking that they’d had enough.

  Elron, right in the thick of it, catapulted a man onto a table, breaking it to pieces, with glass and crockery raining to the ground in wet explosions. He sidestepped a punch and the blow meant for him bloodied the nose of a fellow sneaking up from behind. He took advantage, pummelling the man in front with a fast succession of violent jabs until his opponent, bleeding and dazed, collapsed.

  Four muscular men surrounded Elron, all keen to claim victory over such a formidable fighter. Not a one chose to draw their sword or dagger, eager instead to pit their combat skills against his in a display of brute force. Somehow their corner of the brawl became a contest.

  Enjoying the show and Elron’s singular style of fighting, hands half-fisted, I struck the air in time with his punches and fast blocks, cheering when he landed solid blows. With so many opponents, his guard failed a few times and I winced in sympathy at the hard hits to Elron’s gut, feeling every low strike and kick they aimed at him.

  I jumped down, intending to enter the fray and elbow my way to his side, but the queasiness returned and with it the dizziness. I slid down against the bar, nursing my head, and decided to just wait it out.

  When the fight was over, with bruised egos and faces, the men did that odd thing we sometimes do, helping the other stand and thumping shoulders, as if thanking each other for a spot of rousing fun. The women handled it differently, some crying, others staring about in numb shock, attempting to straighten their dresses and pin back messy hair.

  Those involved in the ruckus volunteered to pay for the damages, a fact the livid bar owner accepted with grudging thanks. The musicians were quick to escape, and there was no reason to stay.

  By the time we reached Rougeulf Court, the square before the palace, it was dark, but I couldn’t be sure just how deep into the evening it was. I staggered a little as I walked, Elron grabbing my elbow in support. Somehow he’d shaken off most of his drunkenness and showed no signs of fatigue or injury.

  “I can’t let you go in like this,” he said, shoving my head into the waters of Vera’s Fountain.

  I sputtered at the shock of freezing liquid against my skin. The frigid sensation of the chilly night air on my wet face and hair soon exceeded even that. It sobered me a little, not completely, but enough to remember why we’d gone out drinking in the first place. I sat on the edge of the fountain and told him, “I’ll miss him.”

  He patted my shoulder and let me sit there for a while, watching the stars above and thinking about how swiftly an existence could end.

  “Red, what happened yesterday?”

  I sighed at the crushing burden of all those terrible events. “Elron, I wish I knew what to tell you. I’m only sure of one thing. Someone, I don’t know who, wa
nts to kill me, and for the life of me, I can’t work out why.”

  “I won’t let it happen.”

  Heartened by his promise, I smiled and continued to stare at the stars.

  His ability to sit still in the freezing cold was limited, and soon he was pacing. Elron threatened to dunk my head again if I didn’t move. He dragged me, protesting, to the gate and rolled his eyes as he tried to explain to the guards who the laughing fool was.

  He guided me up the stairs, preventing me from losing my balance and bumping into the sides. I laughed at his pained expression as we rounded the corner before my room on the third level, only to find the smile freezing on my face. Before us, Edmund shoved a sobbing Lady Vivica against the wall.

  Her loose nightdress was ripped, the strap over her right shoulder torn, exposing an intimate stretch of skin, and Vivica grabbed at the material, trying to pull it up.

  There was a stripe of blood on his cheek, possibly from her nails. But it was her face that drew my eyes, seeing past the tears to the utter terror. Thrust into the memory of that old vision, it was as if I was dunked in the fountain all over again, stripping away every hint of inebriation.

  “Lady Vivica!” I raced to stand between them and placed her protectively behind me. She cowered against my back, hiding from the King.

  Edmund snarled wordlessly and then swore, seeing Elron also bar his path to the Chartel woman. “How dare you! Get out of my way!” His pants were loose, the ties undone, and I only hoped it hadn’t gone too far.

  I prayed he was drunk, to provide him with some small scrap of an excuse for such abhorrent behaviour, that he didn’t realise what he was doing. “Your Majesty, this woman is engaged to marry Prince Willem. She is a guest, her honour ours to protect. Please return to your apartment and I’ll …”

  “She’s no lady.”

  Dismay swept through me. Everything I’d feared happening was coming to pass. God help me, Edmund in his arrogance thought it was his right to take her. It fell on me to correct him. “Lady Vivica is a woman of noble blood. You cannot do this.”