S. Farrell - A Magic of Twilight

Dhosti ca’Millac

The packet came the morning of Gostidi: the morning of Estraven’s funeral service, a gloomy day mirrored in the clouds that promised rain. Kenne, who had brought the envelope, glanced at the banked fire in the hearth. “It’s a cold morning, Archigos,” he said.

“Would you like me to send an e’teni to attend to the fire?”

“Thank you, Kenne, but no,” Dhosti told him. “A little discomfort I can offer up to Cenzi, eh? If you would, make certain that the staff is ready to go to the Old Temple as soon as I come down. Oh, and Ana should be on her way here. Bring her up as soon as she arrives.”

Kenne nodded and gave the sign of Cenzi before he left the room, closing the doors behind him. Dhosti looked again at the stiff, creamy paper of the envelope in his hand, at the ornate handwriting that addressed it to him, and the insignia pressed into the red wax of the seal: a trumpet flower. The Kraljica’s flower. The seal was intact-Dhosti made certain of that before he opened the envelope and took out the folded parchment leaves inside. He shivered in his robes as he moved to the windows where the light was slightly better. The letter was signed by Greta ca’Vorl and the tiny, careful handwriting was hers-or an excellent imitation of the example that the Kraljica had given to him. Dhosti made a small, sure pattern with his left hand, closing his eyes and calling out a short spell at the same time. He felt the Ilmodo rise within him and he released it toward the paper. In the lower left corner of the first page, where there had been nothing before, five small trumpet flowers glowed yellow, gradually fading back to invisibility.

Dhosti began to read slowly, paying attention only to every fifth word.

Archigos: I write to you as the Kraljica had told me I should if I ever learned that she was dead. The news I must relay is not good. The Hirzg has taken the army, and I believe that he may be intending to threaten Nessantico. He is plotting with ca’Cellibrecca. You are in danger. If I learn more, I will write you again, but I am watched closely in Brezno. Be careful.

Dhosti sighed. Someone knocked at the door and he folded the papers. “Enter,” he said. The door opened, and Kenne let Ana slip through before closing the doors behind her. She bowed, more deeply than she needed to, and he smiled, though it did nothing to erase the frown she wore. “Good morning, Ana,” he said. “You’re ready?”

“For U’Teni ca’Cellibrecca’s funeral?” she asked. “Yes.”

“And for the Kraljiki’s luncheon afterward?”

Her shoulders lifted and fell. “How should I prepare for that, Archigos?”

“I don’t know, quite honestly, but I thought we might discuss possibilities.” He shivered again. “It’s terribly cold this morning. Could you start the fire for me, Ana?” He saw her glance at the hearth, then reach for the tools to the side to poke at the coals. “Not with those,” he told her. “With the Ilmodo.”

She stared at him, almost as cold as the draft that billowed the curtains behind him. He could see her considering a reply, then she turned her head to the side. “I don’t know that I can do that,” she said.

He nodded, pleased with the honesty. He walked past her to the fire and threw the letter onto the coals. It curled, blackened and smoked before finally igniting. They both watched it. He turned back to Ana.

“Give me your hands,” he said. She hesitated, drawing back a half step. “I’m not going to hurt you, Ana,” he told her. “I’m not your vatarh.”

She grimaced, but she held out her hands and he took them in his own wrinkled and small ones, marveling at the smoothness of her skin against his own. You are an old man, and you haven’t much time. . He shoved the thought aside and opened his mind to the Ilmodo, his lips mouthing a hushed sequence of words. He let go of her, his hands shaping the air between them. The Ilmodo rose again, much stronger this time, and he let the energy wrap about her extended hands. When it glowed bright, he took her hands once again, both their hands caught in the bath of Cenzi’s power. He let his attention drift out from himself, down from his hands and into hers. His eyes closed, he gazed outward with the illumination of the Ilmodo. The light reflected from the pool within her soul, and he found himself filled with mild jealousy at what he saw there.

He released her hands. The light faded. He felt himself dizzy suddenly, and he seated himself on the nearest chair. “So tiring,” he said.

“The Ilmodo becomes easier to shape as you age, but the demands on the body are worse.” Ana was watching him, but her hands were still held out. She seemed to notice it belatedly, dropping them to her sides.

“I felt you,” she said. “Like you were looking at me from the inside.”

“I was,” Dhosti answered. “And I can tell you that Cenzi hasn’t taken His power from you, even if you’ve lost the path to find it. He has indeed blessed you, Ana. And His blessing remains. It is there. Still.”

She had caught her upper lip in her teeth as he spoke, and he saw moisture gathering at the corners of her eyes. “Archigos-”

He raised his hand wearily, slumping back against the cushions of the chair. “Say nothing,” he said. “I know. I know you went to see Envoy ci’Vliomani after the Gschnas. I know you were with him when he was arrested, and that you went to see him at the Bastida. You are perhaps lovers. Ca’Rudka has told me.”

“We’re not lovers,” she said quickly, then dropped her head again.

“Not. .”

“Not yet,” he finished for her. “You find yourself drawn to him?”

She nodded.

“He’s handsome enough, charming enough, and intelligent enough,”

Dhosti said. “I was impressed by him the few times I met him, and the Numetodo chose well when they sent him to represent them to the Kraljica, even if he never had the chance to plead his case to her. I’m also told that he is betrothed to a woman back on the Isle of Paeti. Did he tell you that?”

Her eyes widened.

“I thought perhaps he had left out that bit of information,” the Archigos continued. “Her name is Kaitlin Mallaghan; beyond that I know nothing about her; after all, she doesn’t even have a ranked name, so it’s obvious who would gain the advantage from any marriage between them. But that name might be enough for you, eh? — to mention to Envoy ci’Vliomani when you see him next.” He stopped and pulled a chair alongside around so that it faced him. He patted the cushions.

“Sit, Ana. You look pale.”

She obeyed, moving as if he’d struck her. “Do you think. .” She swallowed hard. “. . that the envoy killed the Kraljica?”

Dhosti shook his head. “No, I don’t, no matter what ca’Cellibrecca says or what Numetodo trinket was found on ci’Recroix’s body. I don’t believe that any more than I believe U’Teni Estraven ca’Cellibrecca was also killed by Numetodo, as A’Teni ca’Cellibrecca is claiming.”

She took a long breath; he could see that she wanted to believe him. “Then who?”

Now it was Dhosti who shrugged. “I don’t know. I do know that I find it convenient that ca’Cellibrecca’s daughter would be without a husband just at the time that the Kraljiki takes the throne without a wife. I know that Justi and ca’Cellibrecca have views in common when it comes to the Faith and the Divolonte.” She was looking away, as if lost in her own thoughts. “Ana,” he said sharply, and her head turned back to him. “You’re caught in the middle of this, whether you like it or not, and the choices you make now are going to be important: for you, for the Faith, and for Nessantico. You have to realize this. I need you here with me.”