David Coe - Bonds of Vengeance

Diani had seated herself just beside her father’s table, facing the door, so that she would have a clear view of his face when he saw her.

“Yes, my lor-”

He hesitated at the sight of her, his eyes widening slightly. “Duchess,” he said, mild surprise in his voice. It was the first time he had called her that; she had rarely heard him address her mother that way. Always “my lady.”

“You didn’t expect to see me, Kreazur?”

“Not here, my lady. The guard who summoned me said only that the duke wished to speak with me. To be honest, I feared that you still hadn’t returned. Your father has been worried.”

“Perhaps you thought your assassins killed me on the moor.”

“Assassins? On the moor?” He glanced at the duke. “Are you saying there was an attempt on your life?”

“You knew nothing of this?” Sertio asked.

“Of course I didn’t, my lord.” He looked at Diani again. “Were you wounded, my lady?”

She raised an eyebrow. “I’m touched by your concern.”

The Qirsi narrowed his eyes, bright yellow in the candlelight. “My lady, I don’t understand. Are you accusing me of being in league with these men?”

“Does it surprise you that I should have figured it out?”

“There is nothing to figure out! I didn’t have anything to do with this!”

He appeared genuinely alarmed, which only served to make his deception that much more galling.

“You deny being party to this conspiracy wreaking havoc across the Forelands? You deny paying these men to kill me?”

“I do! My lady, I have served your house since you were but a child, years from your Determining. I never gave your mother cause to doubt my loyalty. What cause have I given you?”

“Today’s attempt was cause enough.”

“You’re certain it was the conspiracy?”

“Of course it was!” She propelled herself from the chair angrily, gasping at the pain in her shoulder and thigh.

“You were wounded.”

She said nothing, refusing to look at him.

“She was struck by three arrows,” her father said. “Two near her shoulder and one in the leg. The healer who attended her says she’s lucky to be alive.”

Kreazur exhaled through his teeth. “I’m sorry, my lady. Truly. And I swear to you, this is the first I’ve heard of it.”

She faced him, schooling her features. “What if I told you that we’ve captured the men, that they’ve already confessed to working on behalf of the Qirsi, and that they named you as the man who paid them?”

“I’d say they’re lying.” His voice didn’t waver, nor did his gaze. Not that she should have been surprised. He would have had to be an accomplished liar to have managed to fool her mother all these years. Or perhaps he just knew that she was lying.

“You expect us to believe you over them?”

“Yes, my lady, I do,” he said, pride and anger in his tone. “These men have just tried to murder you, while I have served House Curlinte faithfully for nearly ten years. How is it that they’ve earned your trust and I haven’t?”

Because they’re Eandi and you’re Qirsi . She couldn’t say it, of course. She couldn’t even believe she was thinking it. But there it was. With the conspiracy killing nobles throughout the seven realms, she realized that she would have been more willing to trust Eandi assassins than her mother’s first minister.

Kreazur seemed to sense the truth that lay behind her silence. He turned to Sertio.

“And you, my lord. Do you believe me a traitor as well?”

“I don’t want to, First Minister. Please believe that. But the men who attacked Diani used Brugaosan arrows and had their heads shaved like-”

“Father!”

He stared at her briefly, until Diani finally lowered her gaze.

“They had their heads shaved as Brugaosan warriors do.”

Kreazur shook his head. “The Brugaosans wouldn’t risk a war by killing the duchess. They have too much to lose.”

“Precisely,” the duke said. “Which leaves us with the conspiracy.”

“I see. But there are other Qirsi in Castle Curlinte. Why assume that I’m the traitor?”

“Because no other Qirsi in Curlinte wields as much influence,” she said, rounding on him. “Because no one else knows as much about my habits. Because no other Qirsi is paid so well, or is more likely to have allies throughout the Forelands.”

“So it’s precisely because I’m first minister. My reward for serving your mother so well is to be the most suspect in your eyes?” He shook his head. “That makes no sense at all!”

“Perhaps not to you. It seems perfectly reasonable to me. To whom else would the leaders of this conspiracy turn?”

“Even if they had turned to me, my lady, I would have refused them. If you can’t see that, then you’re far less wise than your mother believed.”

She felt her face color. “How dare you!”

“First Minister,” her father broke in, “perhaps you should leave us for a time so that I might speak with the duchess alone. We’ll summon you again shortly.”

“No!” Diani said, her wounds throbbing. Had that healer done anything more than close her skin? “He’s not to leave, at least not alone.”

“Diani!”

“I’m duchess now, Father-such matters fall to my discretion. Under Sanbiri law an attempt on my life is tantamount to an assault on our castle; it is, in essence, a declaration of war, and I intend to treat it as such.”

“A declaration by whom?” the minister asked.

“By the conspiracy. You yourself said that the Brugaosans wouldn’t have done this-and I came to the same conclusion while their arrows were still in my flesh.” She turned toward the door. “Guards!” she called.

An instant later the door opened and two guards entered the chamber.

“Yes, my lady?”

“I want the first minister taken to the prison tower.”

The Qirsi gaped at her. “What?”

She ignored him, keeping her gaze on the guards, who were eyeing the minister with manifest unease. As large and powerful as these men appeared, she knew that they feared Qirsi magic. She also knew, however, that Kreazur posed no real danger to them. Like most Qirsi, he was weak, and though he wielded powerful magic’s gleaning, mists and winds, language of beasts-they were not of a type to harm the soldiers.

“He can’t hurt you,” she said. “He wears a dagger on his belt, but I doubt you’ll have any trouble taking it from him.”

“You can’t do this!” the minister said, a plea in his golden eyes.

Her father took a step toward her. “He’s right, Diani. You mustn’t go through with this. We don’t know for certain that any Qirsi was involved. Imprisoning Kreazur won’t accomplish anything. Indeed, for all we know, you’re punishing an innocent man. That isn’t the Curlinte way.”

“What am I supposed to do, Father? Pretend that nothing happened today? Wait for them to try again?”

“The men who attacked you are lying, my lady,” Kreazur said. “I had nothing to do with this. Don’t you see? They’re trying to weaken House Curlinte by sowing distrust between us.”

Diani and her father exchanged a look.

“You should at least tell him the truth,” Sertio said, his voice flat.

She cast a quick look at the Qirsi.

His entire body appeared to sag. “You were lying. You haven’t captured the men. You’re acting on your mistrust and nothing more.”

She stepped to the hearth, her back to the soldiers and her minister. “Take him to the tower. He’s to be treated well. Fresh food from the kitchens, as many blankets as he needs, and whatever else he requests, within reason.”

“Yes, my lady.”

“You’re making a terrible mistake, Duchess. Even if these men were paid with Qirsi gold, it didn’t come from me. Imprisoning me will only deny you a faithful servant and make you that much more vulnerable when they make their next attempt on your life. I could help you find the traitor in your castle, if only you’d let me. But like a willful child you heed no counsel but your own. I fear for you, my lady. But mostly, I fear for Curlinte.”