Терри Брукс - Jarka Ruus

«You oversimplify," Pyson Wence said. «Our dislike for the Ard Rhys goes well beyond the way she holds herself above us.»

«Indeed," she agreed. «But inaccessibility and the appearance of isolation will doom whoever stands for the position of Ard Rhys, once Grianne is gone. I need all of you to support me if I am to succeed. You each represent a faction of the order—you, Pyson, of Gnomes; Terek Molt, of Dwarves; Traunt, of Southlanders; and Iridia, of Elves. Not all of each, by any means, but a sizeable number. You are among the strongest of your respective Races, and you can bring support to me as such. I cannot serve as Ard Rhys and achieve what we have decided upon without your help.»

«Why should you be Ard Rhys?» Terek Molt snapped suddenly, his sullen features tightening.

She kept her temper. Speaking out like this was his nature. «Because the order would not have you, Terek. They might have Traunt Rowan, but none of the rest of you. And Traunt is not interested.» She looked purposefully at him. «Are you?»

He shook his head, his lips pursing with disdain. «I have no need to be leader of the order—only to see it set upon the right path, one determined by someone other than her.»

Grianne Ohmsford, he meant, but would not speak her name. In his own quiet way, he hated her most. If Shadea had found a way that would allow him to kill her himself, he would have accepted it without question. She often wondered what he thought things would be like for him after Grianne was gone. What would there be left for him to do after having burned so much energy and devoted so much time to seeing her dispatched?

«Where have you found this potion?» Pyson Wence asked. «Liquid night? If not from this world, if instead from this place you refuse to reveal, how did you come by it?»

She shook her head. «No answers until I have your commitment, Pyson. It is sufficient to say that it will do what is needed.»

«Someone gave it to you?» he continued. «You have a secret ally? Another who serves our cause? Are you keeping other secrets, Shadea?»

She was, of course, but he would never find them out. «No more questions from you, no more answers from me," she told him, told them all. «I want your oath, your Druid oath, your word and your bond. Everything that you hold sacred stands behind it, and we all bear witness to what you say. If I do this, if I rid you of the Ard Rhys, then will you support my bid to be the new leader of the order? Will you stand with me to the death to see finished what we seek to do?»

Iridia Eleri rose, cold eyes sweeping the room. «You have my oath. Let her burn a thousand years in her own magic's fire!»

Terek Molt grunted approvingly. «She's earned banishment a thousand times over, and I care nothing for where she gets banished to. Get it done, Shadea. Put this creature out of our lives!»

There was a long silence. Traunt Rowan was clearly thinking, head lowered, hands clasped. Pyson Wence, sitting beside him, glanced over, then looked at Shadea, frowning.

«If you can do as you say, then I have no quarrel with your effort.» His eyes shifted from face to face. «But if Shadea exaggerates in any way, if the power of the magic she proposes to use is less than what she thinks it is, then I want to be certain she does not exaggerate, as well, her certainty that nothing of this can come back to haunt us.»

«How could it do that, Pyson?» she spit at him. «Would it bear our names spelled out upon its liquid surface? Would it somehow speak them aloud?»

He shrugged. «Would it, Shadea?»

«It is a potion supplemented by a spell. The potion does not originate in this world. The spell is one familiar to dozens and available to all who care to read and study on it. Nothing of either attaches to us. Stop equivocating! If you want out of this business, there is the door that brought you in. Pass back through, and you have your release.»

Not that he would ever live to reach it, she thought darkly, waiting on him. Not that he would take half a dozen steps before she burned him to cinders. It was too late for backing away. Too late for anything but going forward.

Maybe Pyson knew this, for he made no move to rise, showed no inclination to do anything but ponder her words. He was so settled in place, so loose and comfortable with his legs tucked under and his arms folded into his robes that it seemed to her, infuriatingly so, that he might be thinking of a nap.

«I'll give you my oath, Shadea," he said finally. «But—" He paused, cocking his head to one side, his sharp Gnome features thoughtful. «But I think my oath must be conditional on discovering where it is that you propose to send the Ard Rhys. If it isn't sufficiently far away or secure, I intend to tell you so and back out.»

There were murmurs of assent to this, but Shadea ignored them, knowing that what she had in mind for Grianne Ohmsford would please them all. Once they heard, there would be no more mutterings. «What of you, Traunt?» she asked the Southlander.

«You've said nothing.»

«I have been thinking.» He smiled faintly. «Thinking about how much we are entrusting you with. It seems to me that more than one of us ought to be involved in this effort—not just in the planning, but in the execution. It would require a stronger commitment, which is what you are looking for. It would give us all a sense of participation beyond what you have proposed so far.»

«It would also entail a greater risk," she pointed out, not liking where his suggestion was going. «Two stand a greater chance of being detected than one. Whoever administers the potion and the spell must approach the Ard Rhys secretly. Stealth and quickness will determine success or failure.»

«Two can move as quietly as one," he argued, shrugging. «Moreover, if one falters, the other can still act. It offers us a measure of protection.»

«I don't intend to falter," she said coldly, openly angry. «We'll draw straws to see who goes with you," Iridia said, siding with Rowan.

Both Pyson Wence and Terek Molt nodded in assent. Shadea knew when she was up against a wall. She was not going to get them to back off without arousing suspicion. «All right," she agreed. «But only one.»

She rose and walked to a stack of crates containing serving ware packed in straw and drew out four strands. Breaking off three, she evened them between her fingers and offered them to the others. Terek Molt snatched the first. It was short. Iridia drew a short straw, as well.

The other two looked at each other, hesitating. Then Traunt Rowan picked from the remaining two straws. His was the long one.

«How fitting," Shadea sneered, «since taking part was your idea. Now give me your word, Traunt. Your oath and your promise as a Druid to stand with me no matter what.»

He nodded, unruffled. «You always had that, Shadea, from the moment you told me what you intended and recruited me to your cause. I am as committed as you will ever be.»

Perhaps, she thought. But we will never know for sure because there is no way to test such a claim. For her purposes it was sufficient that he was committed to support her as the new Ard Rhys after Grianne was dispatched. Once she held that office, and despite what she had told them to gain their support, they would all become expendable. Her plans were greater than they knew and did not include them.

«We are agreed then," she said, looking from face to face, seeking again any sign of hesitation.

«We are agreed," Traunt Rowan affirmed. «Now tell us where you intend to imprison the Ard Rhys. Where can you send her that she cannot find a way back to haunt us?»

Shadea a'Ru smiled at the looks on their faces when she told them.

Sen Dunsidan was a cautious man. He had always had reason to be cautious, but he had more reason these days since he had more to lose. His life's accomplishments were impressive, but the price exacted in exchange had been severe and permanent. It wasn't the sort of price one could measure in terms of wealth. If it had been only money, he would not have been as cautious as he was. The price levied against him was a piece of his soul here and a part of his sanity there. The price was psychological and emotional, and it left him bereft of almost anything resembling peace of mind.