The Sapphire Rose. David Eddings
block.’
‘Or out of my noose,’ Kalten added grimly.
Vanion smiled. ‘Lenda’s suggestion had the desired effect on Lycheas,’ he said. ‘The Prince Regent became a gold mine of information at that point. He said that he can’t actually prove it, but he’s picked up some strong hints that Annias has been in contact with Otha, and that he’s seeking his aid. The Primate has always pretended to be violently prejudiced against Styrics, but that may have been a pose to conceal his real feelings.’
‘Probably not,’ Sephrenia disagreed. ‘There’s a world of difference between western Styrics and Zemochs. The annihilation of western Styricum would have been one of Otha’s first demands in exchange for any assistance.’
‘That’s probably true,’ Vanion conceded.
‘Did Lycheas have anything at all solid to base his suspicions upon?’ Tynian asked.
‘Not much,’ Ulath told him. ‘He saw a few meetings taking place is about all. It’s not quite enough to justify a declaration of war just yet.’
‘War?’ Bevier exclaimed.
‘Naturally,’ Ulath shrugged. ‘If Otha’s been involving himself in the internal affairs of the western Elene kingdoms, that’s cause enough to go east and do war upon him.’
‘I’ve always liked that expression,’ Kalten said. ‘“Do war.” It sounds so permanent – and so messy.’
‘We don’t need a justification if you really want to go and destroy Zemoch, Ulath,’ Tynian said.
‘We don’t?’
‘Nobody ever got around to drawing up a peace treaty after the Zemoch invasion five hundred years ago. Technically, we’re still at war with Otha – aren’t we, My Lord of Lenda?’
‘Probably, but resuming hostilities after a five-hundred-year truce might be a little hard to justify.’
‘We’ve just been resting up, My Lord,’ Tynian shrugged. I don’t know about these other gentlemen, but I feel fairly well-rested now.’
‘Oh, dear,’ Sephrenia sighed.
‘The important thing here,’ Vanion went on, ‘is that on several occasions Lycheas saw one particular Styric closeted with Annias. Once, he was able to overhear a part of what they were saying. The Styric had a Zemoch accent – or so Lycheas believes.’
‘That’s Lycheas, all right,’ Kurik observed. ‘He’s got the face of a sneak and an eavesdropper.’
‘I’ll agree to that,’ Vanion said. ‘Our excellent Prince Regent couldn’t hear the whole conversation, but he told us that the Styric was telling Annias that Otha had to get his hands on a particular jewel or the Zemoch God would withdraw His support. I think we can all make some fairly educated guesses about which jewel he was talking about.’
Kalten’s face grew mournful. ‘You’re going to be a spoilsport about this, aren’t you, Sparhawk,’ he lamented.
‘That one escapes me.’
‘You’re going to tell the queen about this, I suppose, and then she’ll decide that the information’s important enough to keep Lycheas’s head on his neck or his feet on the floor.’
‘I’m sort of obliged to keep her advised, Kalten.’
‘I don’t suppose we could persuade you to wait a while, could we?’
‘Wait? How long?’
‘Only until after the bastard’s funeral.’
Sparhawk grinned at his friend. ‘No, I’m afraid not, Kalten,’ he said. ‘I’d really like to oblige you, but I’ve got my own skin to consider. It might make my queen cross with me if I start hiding things from her.’
‘That’s about all Lycheas really knows,’ Vanion told them. ‘Now, we need to make a decision. Cluvonus is almost dead, and as soon as he dies, we’ll have to join the other orders at Demos for the ride to Chyrellos. That’s going to leave the queen totally unprotected here. We don’t know when Dolmant’s going to send us the command to march, and we don’t know how long it’s going to take the Elenian army to get back from Arcium. What are we going to do about the queen?’
‘Take her with us,’ Ulath shrugged.
‘I think you might get quite an argument there,’ Sparhawk said. ‘She’s only recently been restored to her throne, and she’s the sort who takes her responsibilities very seriously. She’ll definitely get her back up if you suggest that she abandon her capital at this point.’
‘Get her drunk,’ Kalten said.
‘Do what?’
‘You don’t want to just rap her on the head, do you? Get her tipsy, wrap her in a blanket and tie her across a saddle.’
‘Have you lost your mind? This is the queen, Kalten, not one of your blowsy barmaids.’
‘You can apologize later. The important thing is to get her to safety.’
‘It may not come to any of that,’ Vanion said. ‘Cluvonus might hang on for a while yet. He’s been on the brink of death for months now, but he’s still alive. He might even outlive Annias.’
‘That shouldn’t be too hard for him,’ Ulath said bleakly. ‘Annias doesn’t have much in the way of life expectancy just now.’
‘If I could persuade you gentlemen to curb your bloodlust for a moment,’ the Earl of Lenda interposed, ‘I think the important thing for now is to get someone to King Wargun down in Arcium and to persuade him to release the Elenian army – and enough Pandion Knights to keep the general staff in line when they get here. I’ll compose a letter to him advising in the strongest terms that we need the Elenian army back here in Cimmura just as quickly as they can get here.’
‘You’d better ask him to release the militant orders as well, My Lord,’ Vanion suggested. ‘I think we’re going to need them in Chyrellos.’
‘You might also send a letter to King Obler,’ Tynian added, ‘and to Patriarch Bergsten. Between them, they can probably prevail on Wargun. The King of Thalesia drinks too much, and he enjoys a good war, but he’s still a thoroughly political animal. He’ll see the necessity of protecting Cimmura and taking control of Chyrellos immediately – if someone explains it to him.’
Lenda nodded his agreement.
‘All this still doesn’t solve our problem, gentlemen,’ Bevier said. ‘Our messenger to Wargun could very well be no more than a day’s ride away when word reaches us that the Archprelate has died. That puts us right back into the same situation. Sparhawk will have to persuade a very reluctant queen to abandon her capital with no visible danger in view.’
‘Blow in her ear,’ Ulath said.
‘What was that?’ Sparhawk asked.
‘It usually works,’ Ulath said. ‘At least it does in Thalesia. I blew in a girl’s ear in Emsat once, and she followed me around for days.’
‘That’s disgusting!’ Sephrenia said angrily.
‘Oh, I don’t know,’ Ulath said mildly. ‘She seemed to enjoy it.’
‘Did you pat her on top of the head too, and scratch her chin – the way you’d have done if she’d been a puppy?’
‘I never thought of that,’ Ulath admitted. ‘Do you think it might have worked?’
She began to swear at him in Styric.
‘We’re getting a little far afield here,’ Vanion said. ‘We can’t compel the queen to leave Cimmura, and there’s no way to be absolutely certain that a force large enough to hold the walls can reach the city before we’re