Katharine Kerr - The Fire Dragon

‘I’ll wager I know who it was,’ Nevyn said. ‘Councillor Oggyn kept a number of your mother’s things. He returned the dweomer book to me, but no doubt he kept whatever else he looted. Do you want the brooch back?’

‘I don’t, but do you think it might be cursed or suchlike?’

‘It might, at that. It’s a nasty thing to speak ill of the dead, but I fear me your mother brings out the worst in me. There are certain workings that can charge an ordinary thing as if it were a talisman. That blasted curse tablet is just such a thing, as no doubt you realize. Your mother might well have set a weaker spell on her jewellery to do harm to any who might steal it.’

‘I see. But I don’t dare ask Decci for it.’

‘Of course not. Leave it to me, but I can’t do it immediately. I’m going to attend upon the prince for a brief while. We’ll be writing out the formal declaration of the summer’s fighting. Tomorrow at dawn the messengers go out to announce the muster.’

‘I see.’ For a moment Lilli felt like vomiting out of simple terror. ‘Oh ye gods, I hope this summer sees the end to it.’

‘So do I.’ Nevyn sighed with a toss of his head. ‘So do I.’

The prince had sent out the call for his vassals to muster for war so often that the meeting went swiftly. Nevyn suggested a final flourish of words, the scribe wrote out the first copy, Nevyn read it aloud, and the prince approved it. Nevyn and Maryn left the scribes at their work of copying the message several dozen times and strolled together out in the ward. The sun was hanging low in the sky and sending a tangle of shadows over the cobbles, and the warm day was turning pleasantly cool. Prince and councillor climbed up to the catwalks that circled the main wall of the inner ward and leaned onto it, looking down the long slope of the grassy hill.

‘I need your advice on somewhat,’ Maryn said. ‘I didn’t want to ask publicly and embarrass the lad, but it’s about young Riddmar.’

‘Let me guess. He wants to ride to war with us.’

‘Just that.’ Maryn turned his head and grinned at him. ‘I like his spirit, but I don’t want him dead before he’s barely grown.’

‘A very good point, your highness. We need him in Cerrmor. In fact, I suggest you tell him just that.’

‘His safety’s too important to the continuing peace in the kingdom? Somewhat like that?’

‘Exactly. It has the virtue of being true. I remember you at about the same age. Whenever someone told you you were too young to do a thing, you wanted to do it three times as badly.’

Maryn nodded, smiling in a rueful sort of way. ‘My old tutor’s still giving me grand advice,’ he said at last. ‘My thanks.’

‘Most welcome, I’m sure. I have to confess that I’m not looking forward to riding out, myself.’

‘Doubtless not. I’ll be glad of the distraction.’

‘Distraction?’

Maryn leaned onto the top of the wall and looked out into nothing. Nevyn waited, considered asking again, then decided that Maryn would tell him about his troubles in his own good time.

When he left the prince, Nevyn went straight to the women’s hall, which his great age allowed him to enter. He was lucky enough to find Bellyra alone, sitting on a chair at the window. She’d put her feet up on a footstool and sat spraddled with her hands resting on her swollen belly.

‘You’re going to have that child soon, from the look of it,’ Nevyn said.

‘The midwife says another turning of the moon, at least – I’d wager on two, myself. It’s so big it must be another beastly son. Do sit down, Nevyn. What brings you to me?’

Nevyn perched on the wide stone of the window sill. ‘Where’s Degwa at the moment?’ he said.

‘I don’t know. If you’ll summon a page, I’ll have him look for her.’

‘No need. I wanted to talk with you about her, you see. Or rather, about that brooch Councillor Oggyn gave her.’

‘You’ve seen that? It’s quite pretty, isn’t it?’

‘It also belonged to Lady Merodda.’

‘Who? Oh, wait – you mean the sorceress who poisoned people.’ Bellyra hesitated briefly. ‘Lilli’s mother.’

‘Just so. I hate to bring Lilli up –’

‘Don’t apologize! I’m truly sorry I got so angry with her. It’s hardly her fault. Maryn’s very charming, and she’s very young.’ She leaned her head against the high back of the chair and seemed to be studying the ceiling beams. ‘Men are just like that, I suppose.’

Nevyn made a non-committal noise.

‘But about that brooch.’ Bellyra looked at him again. ‘Does Lilli want it back?’

‘Not in the least. I’m just afraid there might be a curse upon it.’

‘Like that other wretched thing? The lead tablet?’

‘Somewhat like that. Not as strong, surely, but even a little evil is too much. I can probably break it, the spell I mean, if Lady Degwa will let me have it for a night or so. That is, if it truly is ensorceled.’

Nevyn had his chance to examine the brooch in but a little while, when Degwa returned to the women’s hall with a basket of fresh-baked bread and a bowl of butter for the princess. She curtsied to Nevyn as well as she could with her hands full, then set her burdens down on a small table near Bellyra’s chair.

‘Would you like some of this bread, Lord Nevyn?’ Degwa said.

‘I wouldn’t, but my thanks.’

Degwa drew her table dagger and began to cut a chunk off the round loaf. ‘Your highness? It’s quite warm and nice.’

‘It smells wonderful,’ Bellyra said. ‘Slather on the butter, please. Don’t spare it.’

Degwa smiled and did as she’d been asked. Once the princess had her chunk of bread, Degwa pulled up another chair and sat down, facing Nevyn.

‘Her highness is looking quite well,’ Nevyn said. ‘You and Elyssa are taking splendid care of her.’

‘My thanks, my lord. We do try.’

‘Despite my nasty habit of climbing all over the dun?’ Bellyra joined in, smiling.

‘Er, well, your highness, I wouldn’t call it nasty. Worrisome, mayhap.’

Bellyra laughed and took another bite of bread.

‘That’s a lovely brooch,’ Nevyn said to Degwa. ‘May I see it?’

‘Certainly.’ Degwa unpinned it. ‘It was a gift from an admirer.’

When she handed it over, Nevyn examined it: a flat riband of silver, twisted into a knot and set with two pieces of ruby-red glass. The feel of it bothered him, and while the two women chatted, he opened his dweomer sight. Although metals have no auras, of course, it exuded a faint greyish mist, particularly thick around the glass sets. When he turned it over, he saw a small mark graved at one end of the band: the letter A, the first letter of the word for boar. He’d seen it used before as a clan mark for the Boars of Cantrae.

Although he disliked the idea of spoiling Degwa’s pleasure in the gift, he valued her safety more. He shut down the dweomer sight.

‘How very odd,’ Nevyn said. ‘This seems to have belonged to Lilli’s mother at one time.’

‘What, my lord?’ Degwa leaned forward. ‘How can you tell?’

‘Her mark is on the back. It’s quite small.’

Degwa took the brooch back and made a great show of looking for the mark, but like most women of her class, she’d weakened her eyes with long years of fine needlework. At length she gave it up with a shrug.

‘Well, if you say so, my lord,’ she said, and her disappointment trembled her voice. ‘I do wish it hadn’t. We’ve heard far too much about that woman from the servants since we’ve been here.’

‘I could be wrong,’ Nevyn said. ‘Would you mind if I took it to show Lilli? She’ll know for certain.’

‘If it has the Boar mark upon it, I shan’t want it.’ Degwa held it up, then tossed it to Nevyn. ‘Have the silversmith melt it down, for all I care.’