Rowena Daniells - The uncrowned King

'One of Sylion's oratories.'

'Who was there?' Palatyne asked. 'Byren Kingson?'

Piro bit back a gasp. Byren? They were looking for Byren, not Lence?

Could the man on the bed have been Byren? Piro tried to recall his features, but he had been turned away and it was Fyn's face that came to her. Thoughtful, kind Fyn. Sorrow carried on a wave of love swamped her. She told herself she must not give in to despair. They had not found Fyn's body. He may yet live.

'No, I did not see the kingson,' Dunstany admitted. 'It was a Sylion healer exercising her craft on an injured man. Her deep Affinity must have drawn me.'

'Another failure!' the Utlander commiserated, and there was the unmistakable edge of triumph to his voice.

'Ahh, you're useless, the pair of you. I'll have Cyena and Mulcibar's mystics try when they get here!' the overlord growled. The floor creaked as he strode to the far door.

Piro realised Palatyne must have sent the mystics from Merofynia's two great abbeys with the warriors to take Halcyon's abbey. Fight fire with fire.

The overlord spoke again. 'I'm going back to the castle to host the victory feast. You Power-workers needn't bother to attend until you have some real news of Byren Kingson.'

When the door closed after him the Utlander said, 'I'll take King Rolen's finger.'

'Be my guest.'

There was a muffled sound and the Utlander cursed. 'You dropped it!'

'Sorry. Here, let me clean it for you.'

'You keep your hands off it. I don't trust you. You'll wipe out its usefulness with a counter-spell!'

'You wrong me.'

The Utlander made a rude noise and left. There was silence from the room beyond. Soterro and Cook exchanged looks. While they were distracted the kitchen boy's hand cupped Piro's bottom suggestively. She froze in surprise, then drove her elbow into his midriff. He gave a grunt of pain.

'What?' The cook turned around and saw Grysha's pained face and Piro's anger. 'I told you if you stroked that kitten's fur the wrong way she'd scratch.'

Grysha refused to answer and Piro pretended she had not understood his Merofynian speech.

The cook waddled back to the kitchen and poured himself another goblet of wine. 'Master's got his work cut out for him, keeping one step ahead of that jumped-up barbarian overlord and the greedy little Utlander. Thanks be to Mulcibar, the twin is dead. I don't know much about Affinity, but I'm guessing losing one twin more than halves the other twin's power.' He noticed Piro and switched to Rolencian. 'Don't just stand there. Fetch the plates and do the dishes.'

At that moment, Soterro returned, beckoning Piro. 'Lord Dunstany wants you.' He added in Merofynian, 'looks like he's fed one appetite, now he wants to feed another!'

'Didn't know he had it in him.' Cook winked.

Hiding her alarm, Piro went into the apothecary's dining room. Dunstany had poured himself a wine and was swirling it around in the goblet, watching it intently. She waited, shifting from foot to foot, wondering how she was going to escape this. Surely Soterro was mistaken. The noble scholar was so old, he shouldn't want her in that way.

'You rang, sor,' she said, dipping her head in a servant's bow. 'I mean, m'lord.'

His unreadable black eyes met hers. Then he put his goblet aside. 'You make a pretty page boy, Seela.'

Piro decided she would slit his throat if he laid one hand on her, run straight up to the castle and kill Palatyne, then finish off Cobalt.

At least she'd try.

'Are you feeling better now that you've eaten? Here.' Dunstany poured a second goblet of wine and offered it to her.

She was sure slaves were not offered wine by their Merofynian masters, Rolencian servants never were. Perhaps it only happened when their masters wanted to use their bodies. Reluctantly, she approached the table and took a single sip, keeping the chair between herself and Dunstany. She put the goblet down.

'Do you know what happened tonight?' he asked, surprising her.

'No, sor.'

He studied her carefully. 'How long have you had Affinity?'

She drew breath to contradict him.

'Don't waste my time denying it. When I tried to influence you up at the castle you overcame the compulsion to serve my will. Only someone with innate Affinity could break my gaze. Then tonight, when I plunged into the Unseen plane, I unwittingly drew on your Affinity. That's why you passed out, weakened by my journey. Why didn't your family gift you to Sylion Abbey?'

Piro licked her lips. 'Me Da died years ago so I was all me Mam had. I had to support her.

'You served Halcyon's healer. Why didn't she notice your Affinity?'

Yes, why not? Piro drew breath, her mind scrambling. 'I hid it. Pretended the best I could do was stitch and mix herbals.'

'A convincing story,' Dunstany said with a half-smile. And Piro wondered just what he meant by that. 'While I was out of my body, did you sense anything? Be aware that I know when you are lying.'

'No, sor.' She was certain he was bluffing. Well, pretty certain.

'Have you ever had visions?'

Piro debated how much she should reveal. She longed for reassurance and, for a renegade Affinity Power-worker, the noble scholar seemed honourable. 'Before the overlord attacked I had bad dreams, sor. Wyverns running through the castle.' Her throat closed as she recalled her father refusing to heed her warnings. She blinked back tears.

'Most distressing,' he agreed. 'If you have any more visions let me know. They are triggered by nexus points in the possible future paths… I see you don't understand. One day perhaps.'

'They say Affinity leaves you open to evil unless you have an abbey's protection,' Piro whispered.

'Evil cannot touch you while you are with me, Seela. I place protective wards wherever I go.' He slid her goblet towards her. 'Drink up. Did Cook give you something to eat?'

'Yes, thank you.' Piro sipped the wine, looking down into the goblet, watching the dark liquid glint in the candlelight. After everything that had happened today, she just wanted to curl up and sleep.

Piro's heart gave a little double beat of surprise, as she realised Dunstany was trying to trick her again. It was not a frontal attack like up at the castle, but a more subtle strike.

Staring into her goblet, she concentrated on resisting the dreamy sensation. The knife felt heavy in her sleeve. Could Dunstany see the outline? She let her left arm drop from the goblet so that the full over-sleeve fell down covering the inner woollen sleeve. Still the knife weighed on her thoughts.

'Is there something you wish to tell me?' Dunstany asked softly.

An answer almost tripped off her unwary tongue, but she managed to shake her head.

He stood up with a sigh, calling for Soterro. The servant hurried in, standing stiffly to hide the amount of wine he had drunk.

'Lock Seela in her room. I'm making you responsible for her. If she runs away I'll take it out on your hide. Understand?'

Soterro glowered at Piro. 'She hasn't done the washing up, yet.'

'Grysha can do it.' Lord Dunstany frowned at Piro who tried to look innocent. 'You can give it back now.'

She held out the goblet.

'No. The knife.'

Heat raced up her cheeks. Shamed at being caught out, she avoided Dunstany's eyes as she slid the knife from her sleeve and offered it hilt-first to him.

Soterro cursed.

'Just so.' Dunstany smiled as he gave Soterro the knife. 'Return this to Cook and tell him to be more careful. This slave might look as innocent as a newborn lamb, but you mustn't take your eyes off her for a moment.'

Soterro grabbed Piro's arm and dragged her into the kitchen where Cook was tipping the last of the wine into his mug.

'Here.' Soterro tossed the knife. It clattered on the table. 'She had it hidden.'