Michael Stackpole - Of Limited Loyalty

“Always. And if you need help…”

“First on the list.”

Owen shook Nathaniel’s hand, then clasped his hands at the small of his back and bowed toward Kamiskwa. “Bountiful hunting.”

“Thank you.” Kamiskwa returned the bow. “I look forward to our meeting again.”

Kamiskwa and Nathaniel headed off down the hill, splashing through the ford and off up in the wake of the Shedashee. Vlad watched them go and the weight of the world pressed in on him. He could never have denied them permission to go after Msitazi, but their absence would make things far more difficult for him. Not that he wanted them to assassinate enemies-though their offer to kill Rathfield indicated just how dangerous they thought he could be. Their practical sense, as well as their knowledge of Mystria and its various peoples, made them invaluable resources.

Plus, he enjoyed their company.

He turned to Owen. “If you don’t mind, Captain Strake, I’d like to speak with you in private. Shall we visit Mugwump?”

“Of course, Highness.”

Vlad let Owen lead the way. The men entered the wurmrest and Mugwump lifted his muzzle. He sniffed once, then settled back down.

“What is it, Highness?”

“Miss Frost told me of the message which was sent concerning your wife. I believe her when she reports that you said you had not revealed the secret of the thaumagraph to Catherine. I am led to believe two things about the message. The first is that my wife relayed it compassionately, not realizing your wife had tricked her. The second, of course, is that your wife is not pregnant. This leads me to wonder why your wife would have lied to mine, and I must conclude that she was pressured into it.”

Owen frowned, then nodded slowly. “I spend a lot of time wondering who would have pressured her, but shifted my thinking to who could pressure her. I can come up with only one candidate: Bishop Bumble. I fear he connected me with Fire’s escape, and threatened Catherine and my family if she did not cooperate. I have to assume that somehow Bumble guessed that we could communicate more quickly than by runner and used Catherine to confirm that guess.”

“Your thinking parallels mine. I will not, of course, allow you to be blamed for any of this. You will, when questioned, claim ignorance. No, Owen, no protest, that is an order. If there are negative consequences out of all this, I need you in a position to protect my family and to protect Mystria. Do you understand?”

Owen nodded. “You do me a great honor, Highness.”

“No, I do you the lowest of disservices, Owen, because I am saddling you with my responsibilities.” Vlad looked at the ground for a moment. “A message came in early this morning. I transcribed it myself. Catherine reported to my wife that she miscarried.”

Owen gasped, then hugged his arms around himself. “I… I should feel horrible, but I feel, I guess, relief? The child, Highness, if there was a child, was not mine. I didn’t want to think of Catherine as having broken our vows, but…”

“But you allowed for the possibility.”

Owen nodded. “You know as well as I that our relations have been strained, but I’d never let myself think of infidelity. Marriage vows are sacred…”

Vlad grasped the man by both shoulders. “Owen, this is my fault.”

“Highness…”

“At least in part, a very large part, because I asked you to lie to your wife. I told you that I did not trust her, and that led you to question whether or not she was worthy of trust.” Vlad looked him in the eye. “And now you will have to keep more secrets from her, at least until we sort Bishop Bumble out. You can’t ask her who pressured her, but you must be alert for any sign.”

“I understand.” Owen’s eyes narrowed. “If Catherine did have a lover, if she had taken one while I was gone, you would tell me, wouldn’t you?”

Vlad hesitated, letting his hands fall to his sides. “Not without good reason. I would not cause you pain, but neither would I allow you to be humiliated.”

Owen took a half step back. “I guess, in your position, that is what you must do.”

“If you ask me directly, I will not lie to you.”

“Does she have a lover?”

I hope to God I am not wrong. “Not to my knowledge.”

“Thank you.”

“That is not something for which you should be thanking me.” Vlad turned and patted Mugwump’s flank. “The second matter is of the identity of the person who gave the orders to deploy Count von Metternin and the people from Fort Plentiful. There are three possibilities. The Count said the message had come through in my hand, but I know I did not send it. However, I could not discount that by some trick of magick and location that the message might not have traveled to him before it was sent: a journey through time. So, last evening, I took his transcript and transmitted it, in case that was the solution.”

Owen’s jaw dropped open. “I never would have imagined…”

“I’m quite certain that is not the solution. Tharyngians have speculated about temporal translocation for a long time and have dismissed it. I hope they are right, or we should be fighting the same wars over and over again. Still, I had to be thorough.” The Prince opened his hands. “This leaves us, then, with two other possibilities: an unknown but friendly individual who is known to us but chooses to be hidden, or an unknown person who has access to great magicks and, for purposes unknown to us, chose to help us win the fight.”

Owen arched an eyebrow. “Like the woman Kamiskwa saw? Someone who wanted Rufus to fail?”

“Yes. When I spoke with Rufus, he referred to himself as Sun’s Whisper, and suggested unequivocally that he was controlling Rufus. I accept that there was someone else inside Rufus. We cannot discount the idea that this Sun’s Whisper has enemies among the Norghaest, and that his enemies might have access to messages moving between thaumagraphs.” Vlad canted his head slightly. “I do not think this is the solution, but I cannot discount it, nor can I discount the chance of the Norghaest learning of the thaumagraphs.”

“Of course, Highness.” Owen ran a hand over his jaw. “Figuring out who it was on our side shouldn’t be hard. Needs to know magick, have some military training, have access to a thaumagraph, and training on how to use it. And has to know your hand well enough to mimic it. I would think this latter point would be the most difficult.”

“Congratulations, you have defined the problem as I did.” Vlad shook his head. “Unfortunately, I can’t pinpoint anyone who fulfills those parameters.”

A grin spread across Owen’s face. The Prince found it pleasing and a bit unsettling. “I think, Highness, that’s because you are too close to the solution.”

“I must be, because I don’t understand what you’re suggesting.” Vlad smiled. “Who is it?”

“The most dangerous military leader in Mystria, Highness. The individual with the longest history of service to the Crown. He uses magick, and likely knows you better than anyone else in the world.” Owen looked beyond the Prince. “There’s only one possibility. Mugwump himself gave the order to attack.”

20 June 1768 Bounty Trail Temperance Bay, Mystria

While Owen was anxious to get back to his family, he welcomed the leisurely pace of the return journey for a number of reasons. Each day the party shrank as family groups and squads split off for their homes. The leave-taking was bittersweet and different than it had been after Anvil Lake. These people had lost friends and gotten wounded fighting an enemy they’d never heard of before, and likely never would hear of again. Many of them still had no real idea who the Norghaest were, though the impression that they were from the far, southwest deserts had taken hold. While the people had won a great victory-and probably would never understand how great it truly was-there was no sense of history about it.