Paul Kemp - Shadowbred

He pushed such thoughts from his mind. He would need to wear a convincing face when he met Selgaunt's hulorn. It amused Rivalen to think that he would be perceived as coming to the rescue, even as he laid the foundation for conquest.

Vees had nearly informed the Nightseer of his suspicions regarding the Hulorn's new counselor, Erevis Cale, but decided to keep it to himself. Rivalen would find out in his own time and it pleased Vees to keep a secret from the Nightseer. After all, the Nightseer had kept a secret from Vees. Had Vees known that a Sembian civil war was the Lady's will, he never would have allowed Tamlin to leave the city for Ordulin. The hulorn was too valuable a pawn.

Vees spoke aloud to his shadow, a habit he'd had for decades.

"Erevis Cale is a shade," he said. "I saw the light dim around him when he grew angry, saw the shadows emerge from his flesh when it seemed he might strike me."

Vees did not understand how it was possible, but he knew it to be true. Like the Nightseer himself, Erevis Cale was composed of shadowstuff.

"How can that be, Lady?" he asked Shar, but the goddess kept her own counsel.

Vees drummed his fingers on the walnut desktop thoughtfully. He sat alone, behind closed doors, in the darkened great room of his family's tallhouse on Galorgar's Ride.

"There is something else about Cale that I dislike. Something… secret," he said, and smiled. He was not certain he could manage Tamlin with Cale acting as the Uskevren advisor. And Vees would need to manage Tamlin with care in the near future. The Nightseer had told him as much-Vees would need to arrange an introduction between Tamlin and Rivalen.

"I think Cale should die," Vees said. He imagined Cale asprawl on his secret altar, screaming, bleeding shadows and blood as Vees gutted him like a fish and offered him to the Lady.

"Yes. He should die. Unfortunately, I cannot allow that to happen just now."

Vees had no choice but to get word to the hulorn that he was riding into danger. Mirabeta could have dispatched troops already. They had made no secret of Tamlin's departure. He held no fondness for Tamlin, but were he to die or be made a hostage in the first blows of a Sembian civil war, the Old Chauncel would take another six months to elect a replacement. Vees could not allow the city to go leaderless for so long, not when Prince Rivalen wanted an introduction. And he knew that the Old Chauncel would not elect him to the office. He had spent far too long cultivating the perception that he was a dilettante.

He rose, walked to the sideboard, and opened a bottle of Berdusk Red, a full-bodied wine that reminded him of blood. A gobletful always relaxed him. He poured some and returned to the desk. He took a mouthful, swished it, and swallowed.

"Much better," he said. He drank the glass down and resigned himself to saving lives rather than taking them-at least for a while-and rang the brass bell for his manservant.

Zend knocked once on the chamber door and entered. The short, gray-haired steward looked overworked despite his finely-tailored vest and pantaloons. Bags hung under his droopy eyes and wrinkles creased his face. He had been with the Talendars for over two decades.

"My lord?" Zend asked.

Vees pushed back his chair and stood. "Send messengers to the head of each of the Old Chauncel families. All are to meet in the great hall in the Hulorn's Palace within the hour. I have grave news. No advisors, Zend. The heads of the families only."

Zend's eyes widened, but he nodded and turned to his task.

"Wait, Zend," Vees said. "Before you do that, send word to Captain Onthul of the Scepters to attend me immediately. You will find him in the city barracks. Alert him and the city grooms that he is to ready fifty of his swiftest riders for immediate departure. They will be gone several days. I will explain when he arrives here."

Zend waited a moment to see if Vees had any further orders.

"Away, man!" Vees said with a wave, and Zend ran off. "Zend!"

Zend returned, a longsuffering frown on his face.

"Have the carriage readied."

Zend nodded, waited.

"That is all, Zend."

Zend waited a moment longer, turned, and hurried off. Vees could hear the steward issuing orders to the rest of the staff in the tallhouse.

While Vees waited for Captain Onthul, he changed from his evening coat and loose tunic to a jacket and stiff-collared shirt suitable for a meeting of the Old Chauncel.

As always, Zend proved efficient. The carriage was ready shortly after Vees finished changing his clothes. Captain Onthul arrived soon after.

The towering, bearded captain of Selgaunt's Scepters wore enough mail to cover two men. He had to remove his helm before entering the great room lest he lose it to the door jambs. A broadsword hung at his belt. Scars laced his hands and forearms. He smelled like a stable, but Vees knew him to be a man who took his duty to the city seriously.

"Lord Talendar? You sent for me on a matter of importance?"

Vees nodded. "Captain, the hulorn is in danger."

Onthul stiffened. "Lord Uskevren is three days gone from the city-"

Vees waved away Onthul's words. "I know, Captain. I know." Vees paused for drama. "But our spies in Ordulin have informed me that dark events have occurred there."

"Dark events? Please speak plainly, my lord."

Vees said, "I do not have details, but it appears that the overmistress has seized control of the city and that the army is rallying behind her. For reasons that remain unclear, Mirabeta believes that Selgaunt has allied with Saerb in an attempt to unseat her."

Onthul's brow furrowed. "Impossible. Raithspur would not stand for it."

Vees nodded. "Captain, the hulorn must be informed and recalled. We can sort out events after he is safely returned."

"We have mages in the city who could-"

"No. The hulorn bears magic items that screen him from scrying. Unfortunately, those same items prevent simple magical contact. We must reach him without magical aid."

Onthul seemed dumbfounded by events. His gaze moved here and there, unfocused. He shook his head and spoke dully. "This is… unexpected. We all heard of Endren's treachery, but this, this is-"

"Captain Onthul," Vees said. "Dispatch riders immediately. They must get to the Hulorn before ill befalls him. Do you hear me, man?"

Onthul focused on him, frowned at Vees's tone, and nodded. "I will dispatch my riders immediately, Lord Talendar."

Vees nodded briskly. "Good man. I will inform the Old Chauncel. The Scepters and Helms should be put on alert. Round up anyone in the city who is on official business of Ordulin or otherwise associated with Mirabeta Selkirk. Off, man. Now."

Onthul nodded and hurried from the chamber, muttering to himself. He hit his helm on the door jamb as he exited, cursed, and continued on without turning around.

Vees poured himself another glass of wine, drank it in a single gulp, whispered a prayer to Shar, and exited his tallhouse.

His carriage rattled through Selgaunt's evening streets-still littered with filth and refugees-to the hulorn's ornate, many-spired palace. Pennons atop the spires whipped in the cold breeze that blew off the bay. The wind carried the promise of winter.

Vees ignored the absurdly grotesque statuary with which the former hulorn, Andeth Ilchammar, had populated the palace. He would have to remind Tamlin to remove it. Assuming the hulorn lived.

The palace chamberlain, Thriistin, met Vees's carriage as it pulled to a stop, and opened the door for him. The middle-aged chamberlain wore formal attire and Vees wondered briefly if he slept in it. He seemed fully dressed no matter the hour. The lacquered carriages of the rest of the Old Chauncel crowded the paved semicircular carriageway that fronted the palace. The drivers stood together in a crowd, no doubt gossiping about the urgent meeting.