Michael Foster - She Who Has No Name

Samuel shook his head. ‘You still don’t want them to know about your spell?’

‘Of course not,’ Eric said. ‘As if I don’t have enough trouble without restarting all that prophecy nonsense! If the Journey spell is needed, I will use it, but until then it will only cause trouble.’

Samuel shook his head. ‘As you wish, Eric. Keep your secret. While others die,I hope you will be happy with yourself. The Emperor is dead and the prophecy was realised-remember? There’s no need to continue this secrecy. In all those days you were in hiding,it didn’t cross your mind thatyou could have at least told someone about the Paatin invaders? Defences could have been readied and lives saved. How many towns fell before Anthem returned and gave the warning?’

Eric pulled open the door andstartedto leave, visibly annoyed. ‘I would have if I could, Samuel. It seemed the right thing to do. You should be the one to talk about secrets.’ And with that he stoutly shut the door behind him.

Samuel could sense as Eric descended the tower, the man’s familiar aura growing dim and intermingling with the other energies and life forces within the palace, finally becoming imperceptible. He only hoped Eric was referring to the secrets of the past-his ability to see magic and his invisibility to other magicians-rather than his dependence on the Argum Stone. He shuddered at the thought of anyone learning of his dependence on the ring or,even more, of anyone ordering him to surrender the ancient relic to the Order. It would leave him utterly defenceless and useless as a magician. He would have no reason to even exist.

‘Don’t be so hard on him, Samuel,’ Goodfellow said, pulling his black robes over his head and adjusting them into place over his shirt and trousers. ‘Everyone does something stupid occasionally. It’s just lucky we all made it back.’

‘We made it back. Others were not so lucky.’

‘Come on, Samuel. Don’t be so hard on him. You make mistakes, too. Remember?’

To that, Samuel only scowled and lay back down on his bed.

The two magicians were summoned again the next morning and they traced their route through the many floors and halls of the vast Imperial palace. In previous years, the chambers they passed had been filled with musicians and artists, dancers and artisans,as well as thewives and children of the palace staff and officials-but now most rooms were cold and empty. The war had taken its toll even here and the seat of the Empire had become something of a hollowed shell. The Emperor’s thirty-two wives-all prior to his last marriage with Empress Lillith-and forty-seven daughters were seldom seen, banished away within their rooms for their own safety.

Empress Lillith was seated at the head of the table, resplendent in her blue and gold royal gown, which was tight-fitting about her bust and waist, but surrounded her legs with voluminous skirts. A small boy, the young heir to the Empire, name of Leopold, was standing quietly in the corner holding a small stuffed lion, with the Empress’ attendants all fussing around him. He was dressedin his smart yet snug outfit, so that it looked almost impossible for him to bend down or play. Still, he looked happy enough just standing with histoyand posturing it about.

General Ruardin was seated beside the Empress, looking like a golden-armoured giant upon a minuscule chair-even though his seat was the same size as everyone else’s. Grand Master Anthem was the only magician there, for it seemed a meeting of the decision makers and bureaucrats of the Empire. With two vacant seats beside him, Anthem gestured for Samuel and Goodfellow to approach.

‘Sit, sit,’ the old magician urged the two young men. They did so hastily, for the room seemed to be waiting for them,all eyes following them to their seats. ‘Many of you know of Lord Samuel and this is Master Goodfellow. The two of them were witness to the events around Rampeny. Samuel, Eric-we have asked you to comebecausethe assembly would like to ask you directly about the events. Please answer quickly and succinctly, as there is much to discuss and we have little time.’

The man closest to the Empress, opposite General Ruardin, began. He had large lips and eyelids and somewhat reddened cheeks, giving him something of a foolish appearance but, as he was seated so near to the Empress, Samuel decided that he was not going to judge the man solely on such looks. He had heard many stories of the cunning and manipulative ways of some of the court officials and it would be a mistake to judge any of them on first appearances. ‘What do you two make of the battle at Rampeny? Tell us from the start what happened.’

Samuel looked to Goodfellow for reassurance and then began to relate his story. ‘We were helping prepare Rampeny’s defences when the Gartens attacked-the initial assault was not so bad, but after a few days the Gartens received reinforcements and Captain Adell’s troops were exhausted. He was about to retreat when the three of us-Master Pot, Master Goodfellow and myself-set out to delay the Gartens as well as we could. We were achieving moderate success, when thankfully General Canard came to our aid, along with the Lions. We were doing well at that point, until a second force came at us from the south.’

‘Do you know how they came to be there?’ the man asked, jotting some notes on the pages before him, but Samuel could only shake his head.

‘No. At first, we thought it was General Warren’s men, for they came disguised in Imperial colours. It was only when they attacked that we knew there was something wrong.’

‘We still don’t know what happened to General Warrenand his men, Chancellor Donovan,’ Anthem explained to the gathering. ‘I can only assume they were overcome by these new forces just after we separated.’

‘Perhaps so,’ Chancellor Donovan remarked, ‘but this is not the time for speculation, Grand Master Anthem. We are here to gather what facts we can and make our judgements later, based on such evidence.’

‘As you say, Chancellor. Samuel, please continue.’

Samuel swallowed and wet his lips, feeling the attention of the room bearing down on him. Looking at the men around him,he saw thatnone of them showed the slightest hint of empathy or support. In fact, they each seemed to be casting the look of judgement upon him. ‘Needless to say, we were pinned between the Gartens and the newcomers. In the end, when it became apparent that we could not win, Grand Master Tudor helped us to escape, while Grand Masters Anthem and Gallivan remained behind to battle.’

‘In your opinion, if you had stayed, could you have helped to decide the battle?’ asked another man,who had a tiny sliver of a black moustache sitting under his nose. Samuel had heard him referred to as Councillor Madhaven.

‘Not at all. If we had stayed, I believe the outcome would have been the same, except that we would have died, too. We were tremendously outnumbered. When we climbed to the top of the valley, we could see that the new army had,in fact,two forces. One attacked from the south and the other from the north, driving the Gartens towards us so we were forced to battle on both sides.’

‘And do you know the origin of these forces?’ a third man asked excitedly. ‘Do you know who they were?’

‘Grand Master Tudor believed them to be desert people. Indeed,they had dark skin and looked like some of the merchants I have seen in the markets. I think his judgement was fair.’

‘Do you know what they want or why they attacked us? Did they send any statements or demands?’ Donovan asked.

Again, Samuel could only shake his head. ‘Not at all. I don’t think anyone knows.’

There was quiet in the room while Chancellor Donovan scratched his chin in deep thought. ‘Very well,’ he said finally, with a closing tone.