Harry Turtledove: The Scepter's return

Horsemen and foot soldiers were drawn up in neat ranks on the meadow outside the city. Most of the horsemen were archers. Some foot soldiers also carried bows; others shouldered long pikes, to hold enemy soldiers away from the bowmen.

"Grus!" the army shouted as one man. "Hurrah for King Grus! Grus! Grus! Avornis!" The cry came echoing back from the brown stone walls of the city.

Hirundo smiled sidewise at Grus. "You hate hearing that, don't you?"

"Who, me?" Grus answered, deadpan. Hirundo chuckled. The king raised his voice so the soldiers could hear him. "We're going south of the Stura. The Menteshe have had it all their own way down there for too long. Time to show them that land is ours by right. We've beaten them on this side of the river, and we're going to beat them on that one."

"Hurrah for King Grus!" the soldiers shouted again.

Grus pointed south. "We are going to go forward until we win or until I give the order to retreat. I do not intend to give the order to retreat."

The soldiers cheered again. Guardsmen around him, his general and his wizard and the freed thrall with him, Grus started down toward the Stura.

A dog pranced on its hind legs on a wooden ball. A cat leaped through a hoop. A rooster ran up a ladder and rang a bell at the top. Another dog turned flips on the back of a pony that trotted round and round in circles.

Crex and Pitta clapped their hands. Lanius and Sosia exchanged amused glances. They had to admire the animal trainer's skills, but neither one of them was quite as enchanted as their children.

"How does he make them do those things?" Pitta whispered to Lanius.

"He gives them food they like when they do something he likes," Lanius answered. "Before long, they get the idea."

Pitta shook her head. "It can't be that easy."

And so it wasn't, not in detail. She was bound to be right about that. But Lanius knew he had the broad outlines right. He'd trained Pouncer to come up and sit on his chest that way. It wasn't much of a trick — nothing to compare to what these animals were doing — but the principle couldn't be much different.

When the show ended, the pony lowered its head and extended its right forefoot in a salute. The dogs did the same. The rooster spread its wings while stretching out its leg. The cat… yawned. And the trainer, a big-nosed, bushy-mustached man named Collurio, put both hands in front of his chest and bowed very low.

"Well done!" Lanius called. His wife and children echoed him.

Collurio bowed again, not quite so deeply. "I thank you, Your Majesties, Your Highnesses. Always a pleasure to work for such an appreciative audience." He had a showman's voice, a little louder and a little more clearly enunciated than it needed to be. Lanius had also paid him well to perform, but he was much too smooth to bring up such a tiny detail.

He spoke to his assistant, a youth who, except for lacking a mustache, looked a lot like him. The youngster took charge of the animals and led them out of the audience chamber where they'd put on their show. Collurio started to follow. Lanius said, "Wait a moment, if you please."

The animal trainer stopped and turned back. "Of course, Your Majesty. I am at your service." Though he sounded more than a little surprised and curious, the bow he gave the king now was as smooth as any of the others.

Lanius got to his feet. "Walk with me," he said, and Collurio fell in beside him. When a pair of royal guards started to approach, Lanius waved them back out of earshot. They looked at each other, but obeyed. People mostly did obey Lanius… as long as Grus was away from the palace.

"Like I say, Your Majesty, I'm at your service. But what sort of service can I do for you?" Yes, Collurio was curious. He also sounded nervous. Lanius didn't suppose he could blame him for that.

"First things first," the king said. "Can you keep secrets? Give me the truth, please. If you say no, I won't be angry — I'll just talk to someone else. But if you say yes and then let your mouth run free, I promise you'll wish you were never born."

"I don't blab, Your Majesty," Collurio said. "And I'm not the sort who gets soused in a wineshop and spills his guts without even knowing he's doing it, either."

Did he mean it? Lanius decided he did. "All right, then. Have you ever tried to train a moncat? Would you like to?"

"I never have," Collurio said slowly. "There aren't many outside the palace." He was right about that. All the moncats in Avornis were descended from the pair a Chernagor ambassador had given to Lanius some years earlier. The king had made presents of a few of them to favored nobles, but only a few. Most he kept himself. Collurio went on, "I would like to, yes, if I get the chance."

"If you want it, I think it's yours," Lanius said. "There's one particular moncat I'd like you to try to teach one particular thing."

Collurio bowed one more time. "I am your servant, Your Majesty. What is it that you want the animal to learn?" But after

Lanius described it, the trainer frowned. "Meaning no disrespect, but that is not one thing. It is a whole series of things. The moncat would have to learn them one at a time, and would also have to learn to do them in the right order. I am not sure whether the creature would be clever enough. I am not sure whether it would be patient enough, either."

Did he mean he wasn't sure whether he would be patient enough? Lanius wouldn't have been surprised. The king said, "I want you to do the best you can. If you fail, I will not punish you, though I may try again with someone else. If you succeed, you and yours will never want for anything. I promise you that."

Collurio licked his lips. He was interested — Lanius could see that. But the animal trainer said, "Again, Your Majesty, I mean no disrespect to you, but would King Grus also make me the same promise?"

Even someone as far down the social scale as he was knew that Grus was the one with real power in the palace. "I'm not offended," Lanius said, which was.. mostly true. Though it wasn't completely true, it needed saying; Collurio looked relieved to hear it. The king continued, "Here, though, I think I can tell you that he would. This is also something in which he is interested. I will write to him and ask, if you like."

"No, Your Majesty, no need for that. I believe you," Collurio said quickly. He'd taken his doubts as far as he could — probably further than most men would have dared. "What you just told me is plenty good enough."

'Then I think we have a bargain." Lanius held out his hand. Collurio clasped it. The trainer's fingers, his palm, and the back of his hand bore an amazing number and variety of scars. Not all the animals he'd dealt with had been docile. Eagerness surging through him, Lanius asked, "Do you want to start now?"

"Might I ask to wait until tomorrow?" Collurio replied. "I would like to tend to my own beasts, if you don't mind."

Lanius realized he'd been too impetuous. He nodded. "Of course. Oh — one other thing." The animal trainer raised a curious eyebrow. Lanius said, "For the kingdom's sake, and also for your own safety, don't talk about what you're doing here, not to anyone, not ever. This is the secret I asked you if you could keep."

"Not talk about training a moncat, for my.. safety?" Collurio sounded as though he couldn't believe his ears.

"I am not joking," Lanius said.

The trainer's smile and the way he shook his head said he didn't understand but wasn't about to argue. "I'll keep quiet," he said. "My tongue's not a babbling brook. I told you so, and I meant it."

"Good." Lanius nodded again. "That's part of the bargain we just made."

"For a chance to train moncats, I'd keep my mouth shut about all kinds of things," Collurio said. Lanius liked that. Collurio didn't say anything about the chance to work with the king and under the king's eye. Lanius would have been amazed if that weren't in the animal trainer's mind. But he had the sense not to say it. Maybe training moncats really was more important to him. Lanius could hope so, anyway.