Tad Williams - Shadowrise

“Remember, you are not quite real in their eyes,” her father had often said. “You are a mirror in which people, especially your own subjects, see what they wish to see. If they are happy then they will see you in that light. If they are unhappy they will see you as their persecutor. And if a demon is in them they will see you as something to be destroyed.”

If the gods only touched people in dreams, as Lisiya had said, then could they sow lies there as well as truth? Had an evil god set Ananka and the king of Syan against her?

Listen to me! she chided herself. Isn’t it bad enough that I take pride in the number of soldiers sent to shackle me and drag me back to Tessis? Now I flatter myself that the gods oppose me as well. Stupid, prideful woman!

But whatever happened, she would give no one the satisfaction of seeing an Eddon weep and beg for mercy. Not even if she went to the headsman’s block.

When they reached a large pavilion near the center of the camp the captain dismounted and helped her from the saddle with silent and ungracious efficiency. Now that she could see the emblem on his surcoat more clearly she saw that the red hound was almost skeletal, its ribs showing so clearly that they resembled a lady’s comb. It sent a shiver across her skin.

The captain steered her past the sentries outside the pavilion. Once inside, he squeezed her arm hard enough to make her wince to stop her. At the center of the room several more soldiers, all in armor, were bent over a bed covered in maps. Nobody seemed to have noticed the visitors.

“Your pardon, Highness… ?” the captain said at last, clearly unwilling to wait to share his good news and receive his praise. “I have found her—the northern princess—and made her prisoner.”

The tallest of the armored men turned and his eyes widened. It was Eneas, the king of Syan’s son. “Briony… Princess!” An instant later he turned on the captain. “You have done what? What did you say, Linas—made her prisoner? ”

“As you ordered, Highness, I found her and captured her.” But the captain’s voice, so firm and proud only a moment before, now sounded less certain. “You see, I have brought her… brought her to you ...”

Eneas scowled and came toward them. “Fool. When did I ever say ‘make her a prisoner’? I said find her.” He extended his hands to Briony, then to her astonishment dropped to one knee before her. “I crave your pardon, Princess, please. I have confused my own soldiers and that is nobody’s mistake but mine.” He turned to the man who had brought her in. “Be glad you did not put her in irons, Captain Linas, or I might have had you whipped. This is a noblewoman and we have already treated her dreadfully.”

“My… my apologies, Princess,” the captain stammered. “I had no idea… I have wronged you ...”

She did not like the man but she did not want to see him whipped. Or at least not too badly. “Of course, you are forgiven.”

“Go now and tell the others to call off the search.” He watched as the chastened captain hurried out of the tent, then turned to the other armored men, who were watching with amused interest. “Lord Helkis, you and the others may leave me. I would speak to the princess alone.” He thought about it. “No, stay. I do not want this poor woman’s reputation any further besmirched—she has suffered enough at the hands of my family, and quite unfairly.”

The handsome young noble bowed. “As you wish, Highness.” He retired to a stool in the corner of the pavilion. Briony felt almost as though she floated in a dream. One moment she had been wondering whether she would be executed, the next moment a prince was kneeling before her and kissing her hand.

“Please,” said Eneas, “I cannot expect you to forgive my family, or even hope for such a thing—it is not deserved, in any case—but I can apologize again. I was sent away soon after we returned from Underbridge. By the time I found out what had happened and returned to Tessis you were already gone.” He squinted at her. “This is strange, but I could swear that is my old traveling cloak you’re wearing. Still, never mind.”

The prince went on to explain how he had only learned the truth because Erasmias Jino had sent a messenger who had caught up to him as he led his troops south along the southern Kingsway, toward the border. Briony found herself wishing she could thank Jino, whose goodwill—or at least his loyalty to Eneas—she had clearly underestimated.

“When I read the letter, even though it was the middle of the night, I called my Temple Dogs to fold their tents and we turned back to Tessis,” Eneas said.

“Temple Dogs?”

“You see them all around you. They are my own cavalry troop,” he said with more than a little pride. “I picked each one of them. Do you remember how I asked you questions about Shaso and his teachings? The Temple Dogs are modeled after Tuani horsemen. Do not let Linas and his foolish error mislead you—they are the best Syan has, trained to move quickly and efficiently, both on the road and in battle. I am sorry you had such a bad first meeting.”

Briony shook her head. “It was by no means all bad. They saved us from bandits.” She remembered Dowan Birch’s bloodless face and half-opened, unseeing eyes. “Most of us ...” Her joy at having been spared turned into something cold and heavy. “Can we send for my companions, the players? They do not know what has happened to me. They probably think I am going to be beheaded or dragged back to Tessis.” She stopped in confusion. “Am I going back to Tessis? What will happen to me now that I am your prisoner, Prince Eneas?”

He looked startled. “Never my prisoner, Lady. Never. Do not even think such a terrible thing. Of course, you are free to go where you will… although, yes, I pray you will let me take you back to Tessis. We can clear your name of these offensive, baseless charges. It is the least I can do.”

“But your stepmother, Ananka, hates me ...”

For a moment Eneas’ expression hardened. “She is not my stepmother. With the grace of the gods my father will soon end this unseemly relationship.”

Briony doubted it would be so easy. “Still,” she said, “Two people close to me were poisoned by someone trying to murder me.”

“But you would be at my side,” Eneas said. “Under my personal protection.”

The idea of letting someone as kind and strong and competent as Eneas take charge of her was certainly tempting—Briony had been on her own a very long time. Her father was gone, both her brothers were gone, and it would be such a relief just to rest… “No,” she said at last. “I thank you, Highness, but I can’t go back to Tessis.”

He did his best to smile. “So be it. Still, whatever refuge you choose, Princess, I hope you will let me escort you there safely. That is the least I owe you for your harsh treatment in my father’s court.”

“Then take me back to the players—your captain knows where they are. And tell me everything you’ve heard and seen since we last spoke,” said Briony. “But I think no matter what I hear, I’ll still want the same thing—to go back to Southmarch. My people are in sore need.”

“If that is your choice,” said Eneas solemnly, “then I will take you there, though the legions of black Zmeos himself block my way.”

“Please, don’t talk about the gods, especially the angry ones,” Briony said in sudden alarm. “They are too much with us already.”

When it happened, it happened quickly.

Many days had passed as the fishing boat on which Qinnitan was a prisoner followed the coast of Syan into lower Brenland and into the straits that separated Brenland from Connord and the many smaller, rocky islands surrounding it. As a young woman who had spent most of her life in the Hive or the Royal Seclusion Qinnitan would have known none of this, but she had discovered that during the morning hours after he had swallowed his potion or whatever it was, Daikonas Vo would now sometimes answer questions. Clearly, something of his iron control was slipping, but Qinnitan did her best to speak to him only sparingly for fear of this unlikely spring of knowledge suddenly drying up.