CHAPTER NINE.

Pulling away from him, Dathne stared into her husbands apprehensive face, her dark eyes hollow with misgivings. The diary? she said at last. Asher, are you saying Do you mean Barls diary? said Pellen, as she and Asher held each others molten gazes. Asher, you said that was destroyed. To keep Lur safe from the magics it contained, Gar burned the diary to cinders, you said.

Asher shrugged. Aye, well. I lied.

To me! cried Dathne, and wrenched herself off the couch. Asher, how could you?

Jaw stubbornly set, Asher shrugged again. I promised Gar Id keep it safe, didnt I?

And what about keeping Lur safe? Dathne demanded, hands on her hips. You said it yourselffor all the equality that now exists between the Olken and the Doranen there are still mages like Rodyn Garrick who consider themselves superior. Who pine for the old days. Let the brute magic in that diary fall into his hands, or the hands of a mage like him, and Asher shook his head. That aint goin to happen.

You hope it wont happen! she retorted. But in matters of Doranen magic I prefer certainty to hope. You shouldve burned that diary, Asher. You had no business keeping it. You had no right to lie!

Look, said Asher. Im sorry. You werent never meant to find out the diary aint destroyed. But And why isnt it? Pellen asked. You and Gar, of all people, you both knew how dangerous it is.

Cause Gar Asher sighed. It sounds daft, I know, but he I reckon he went a bit soft on Barl, there at the end. Translatin bits and pieces of that b.l.o.o.d.y diary, I reckon heand he was goin to die! He scrubbed his hand across his face. It were his dyin b.l.o.o.d.y wish, werent it, that I keep the diary safe so thered be somethin of her left in the world. How could I say no?

Stony-faced, Dathne stared down at him. You couldve said yes, then burned it after.

Gone back on my word to him? said Asher, his own stare just as hard. I dont b.l.o.o.d.y think so. And if you reckon thats the kind of man I am, Dathne, then I dont know what I reckon, she said coldly. Not any more. After all, until a few moments ago I reckoned youd never lie to me.

Sink me b.l.o.o.d.y sideways! said Asher, close to shouting. I owed him, Dathne, and I And what of your debt to me? she said, tears threatening. Your wife. The mother of your children.

Aye, well, as I recall there were one or two truths you forgot to mention along the road, Dath, said Asher, well and truly fired up now. So mayhap youd best not start flingin mud, my fine lady, seein how All right, said Pellen, as Dathne stalked to the parlour window. Please. Lets everyone take a deep breath. The last thing we need is to say something well soon enough come to regret. Asher What? said Asher, his scowl ferocious. You got a knife you feel like stickin in me too, Pellen?

No. No, of course not, he said, as soothingly as he could. But I cant help wonderingAsher, did you think you couldnt trust us with the truth?

Asher looked at him as though hed lost his wits. Dont be b.l.o.o.d.y stupid, Pellen. I reckoned youd be happier not knowing, is all. Happier thinkin there werent no chance of a Doranen gettin their hands on the sinkin and usin old Doranen magic ever again. I know Id be b.l.o.o.d.y happier thinkin that!

Remembering his nightmares of that battle in the Market Square, of seeing Morg transform helpless men and women into foul, slaughtering beasts remembering the terrifying creatures Asher had summoned from thin air to defeat them, he nodded. Im sure you would.

Ashers eyes were grim. Sometimes I wake up at night, frighted on whats in that diary, he said, his voice almost a whisper. Frighted on what could happen if some of them spells got loose. Think I want that for you and Dathne?

Oh, well Im sure its very considerate of you, said Dathne, icy. But perhaps thats the kind of decision we shouldve been left to make for ourselves!

Dont you be b.l.o.o.d.y stupid either, Dath, said Asher. Once I told you then youd know, wouldnt you? There aint no takin it back after, is there?

Dathne opened her mouth, then thought for a moment. Thats not the point, she muttered. The point is I dont appreciate being treated like a child.

I didnt treat you like a b.l.o.o.d.y child! he snapped. I treated you like the woman I love best in the world. I was tryin to protect you, Dathne. And you, Pellen. Any road, you know now the diary aint burned, so lets not fratch on it, eh? Whats done is done.

As Dathne breathed hard, subduing her temper, Pellen frowned. So wheres it hidden?

Ha. Ashers lips quirked with brief, wry amus.e.m.e.nt. Gars got it.

He stared. What? You dont mean Aye. Its in his coffin. Aint n.o.body goin to footle about in there.

Thats disgusting, said Dathne.

Why? He wont mind, said Asher. Means hes still safeguardin his kingdom, dont it? Reckon hed smile on it, if he knew.

Asher Pellen raised a calming hand. Peace, Dathne. Hes right. Whats done is done. And what we need to do now is decide whats to be done next. Is the diary even any use to us? We know there are warspells in it, but is there anything else? Anything that can help us now?

Gar translated some of it, said Asher. The lingering amus.e.m.e.nt in his face died out, leaving him sorrowful. But I never read nowt cept the warspells. And after I killed Morg after Gar He shook his head. Never wanted to lay eyes on the b.l.o.o.d.y thing again, did I?

So it is possible, he persisted, that somewhere in that diary is an explanation for whats happening here. Maybe even some kind of spell that cancan heal Lur before even the least sensitive Olken among us realises something is wrong, or someone tells the Doranen, or they notice it themselves.

If there is, and Garland translated it, we could avert widespread panic, said Dathne. Arms folded, eyes brooding, she flicked a glance at Asher. We could save Lur without anyone else having to know it needed saving at all. Without WeatherWorking.

I could live with that, I reckon, said Asher. Aint like I be champin at the bit to start that malarkey again.

Pellen considered him, uneasy even though this was their best hope for averting disaster. So youll retrieve the diary?

Soon as I can, Asher replied. My word on it.

He nodded, feeling strangely comforted. If there was a way out of Lurs new trouble his friend would find it.

Good.

Asher frowned. Pellen, dont you go gettin your hopes up. There aint no surety Ill find an answer in that diary. And even if I do, could be I aint good enough to use the magic. I aint trained and there aint a Doranen I can ask for help. I meanIll try. Ill do my b.l.o.o.d.y best. But I cant promise you nowt.

It wasnt fair, what they were asking. What they expected. Stung with guilt, he tried not to see the fear beneath Ashers customary brusque exterior. I know you cant, he said, trying to smile. Its all right.

Ha, Asher muttered. It aint all right, Pellen. Its just the way it is.

An uncomfortable silence fell then, as they lost themselves in their separate thoughts and separate fears. At last, afraid of letting himself drown in the doldrums completely, and niggled by one last piece of unfinished business, he looked up. Reluctant to mention it, though he did badly want an answer.

What? said Dathne.

He felt his face warm. She knows me too well. Nothing. Sorry. Only you were going to tell me about Rafel.

Rafel, sighed Asher. Aye. He rubbed his chin. The thing is, seems Rafels like me.

Like you, he said blankly. And then he realised what Asher meant. A mage like you? He can wield Doranen magic?

Aye. Asher didnt look pleased about it. His eyes were bleak, his mouth pinched. Which aint what me and Dath were after.

Of course it wasnt. Who knew better than they did, the kind of complications such a talent wrought? Who else knows?

Well, Rafe knows, said Asher, with a kind of grim humour. Ole Pother Nix. And Pother Kerril, as hes retired. And Darran knew.

No-one else? Not any member of the Mage Council?

No, said Dathne, as troubled as her husband. And we want to keep it that way.

Cause the last b.l.o.o.d.y thing we need is Rodyn Garrick and his poxy friends gettin the wind up over Rafel, said Asher. Bad enough they still look sideways at me. I dont need em lookin that way at my son.

And what of Deenie? Is she We dont think so, said Dathne. Shes shown no sign of it so far.

So cross your fingers for us she never does, said Asher, scowling again. My little mouse dont need Doranen magic.

Thinking of Charis, and how hed feel were he to find she was blighted like Rafel, he frowned. No. And then the implications of this news began to stir. Rafel knows, does he, how important it is that he not Aye, said Asher. Me and Dath, weve told him.

Looking closely at his friends, Pellen could see his own unease reflected in their tight faces. Saw more than unease, and felt his nerves jump. Ahjust how powerful is he?

Asher and Dathne exchanged guarded glances. Then Dathne sighed. Powerful enough that wetook precautions when he was still small, she admitted, reluctant. With Nixs help weve hobbled him so he cant do himself or anyone else a mischief.

Does he know?

Asher shook his head. Tell Rafe that and like as not hed see if he could unhobble himself. Gets easy fratched over not bein able to magic as he pleases, does our Rafe.

That didnt surprise him. Asher and his boy had so much in common. Thank you for telling me, he said, feeling oddly formal. Of course Ill not breathe a word.

After that there seemed nothing left to say. As he saw Asher and Dathne to his mayoral homes front gate, Charis returned from her playtime at the Tower. The maid whod brought her back let go of his daughters hand, bobbed a curtsey to him, then Asher and Dathne, accepted a silver trin in thanks and went on her way.

Dadda! Dadda! Charis squealed, flourishing a sunflower. Look what I grew!

s.n.a.t.c.hing his daughter up in his arms, he buried his face in her frothy black curls. Love was a battering storm within him. I see it! Whos a clever puss, then?

Wriggling, Charis flashed a smile at Asher and Dathne. Deenie grew one too, but mines bigger, she said proudly. And Meister Rumly didnt help me one bit.

You had lessons with Meister Rumly? he said, and shook his head at his friends. Not because he minded her learning to use her magic, Ibbys gift, but because the Olken mage charged handsomely for his tutoring and neither Asher nor Dathne would countenance him paying part of the fee whenever Charis joined in Deenies lessons.

Dathne dropped a kiss on Chariss head. Its a beautiful sunflower, Charis.

Aye, said Asher, smiling. You be the queen of sunflowers, poppet.

Pellen squeezed his daughter tight. No, shes the queen of the tub. Come along, little gardener. Bath-time for you. AsherDathne The smile died out of Ashers eyes. Well talk, by and by.

Good, he said, and let his voice snap, just a little. No more secrets.

Secrets? said Charis. What secret, Dadda? Whos got a secret?

Ah, Barl save him. Children. I have, he said, turning away from the front gate, and his friends. And Ill bet you never guess what it is.

I will! I will! she said, pouting. I can guess, Dadda. I can!

Laughing at her vehemence he took her inside, closing the door on the world and its troubles. Letting himself pretend, for the last sweet time, that they were safe, and Lur was safe, and bad times were nothing but stories from the past.

Leaving behind the leafy residential district where the wealthiest Doranen and Olken lived, and Pellen lived for as long as he was mayor, Asher and Dathne made their unspeaking way into the commercial district so they could wander along the high street up to the palace, and home. With the weekly markets still four days away, the Citys streets were only moderate busy. A few ridden horses. A handful of carts and carriages. Some folk trudging, wearing out their shoe leather. Doranas inhabitants, well-used to seeing them out and about on foot, did nowt more than nod and smile as they pa.s.sed. Sometimes not even that, if they were Doranen.

The sun was starting its long, slow sink, gilding the brightly coloured buildings walls and tiled roofs. With afternoons shadows lengthening, some shops were starting to close their doors and shutter their windows. Asher felt himself frown at that. He and Dath had lost nearly the whole day to Lur and its troubles, yet they were still no closer to solving them. Instead theyd piled more strife onto their plates, what with dratted Fernel Pintte and his foaming hatred of all things Doranen, and Pollys unwelcome opinion that his resentments were widely shared.

Chewing on that news, not liking the taste of it one little bit not liking either the thought of digging up Barls b.l.o.o.d.y diary he let the heavy silence drag on until he and Dathne reached halfway to the Tower. Then he took her hand in his, possessively, and tugged her a step closer.

Come on, Dath, he wheedled. You know you cant stay fratched at me forever.

She snorted. I can try.

Mayhap it werent right I never told you about the diary but I didnt hold my tongue cause I dont trust you.

He felt her fingers relax. Heard her release a long, slow sigh. I know, she said. Sounding like she did when she wanted to be fratched with him, and couldnt. But that doesnt stop me wanting to slap you.

Ycan do more than slap me after lights out, he suggested. Ycan have your wicked way with me, woman, and I wont try to fight you.

Another snort. Youre impossible.

Aye, he said, grinning. Its why you love me, I reckon.

A third derisive snort. Who says I love you?

Heedless of anyone who might be watching he halted, swept her to him and bent her over his arm to plunder a breathless kiss. I do.

Blushed bright red, she beat a small tattoo against his chest. Asher! she protested, as Olken pa.s.sers-by whispered and giggled. What are you doing?

He raised an eyebrow. Practisin for lights out.

And she laughed, just like he knew she would. Hand in hand they kept walking up the sloping High Street.

Asher said Dathne, breaking the brief silence. About Fernel Pintte He squeezed her hand. Dont you go fratchin yourself on him, Dath. Reckon I put that fool straight.

You scared the daylights out of him, is what you did, she retorted. And me.

Didnt mean to, he said, surprised. Not you, any road. Him I meant to b.l.o.o.d.y terrify. Stupid b.a.s.t.a.r.d. Whats he thinkin on, eh, wantin to stir up that kind of trouble?

Dathne chewed at her bottom lip. Asher, what if its true? What if some Olken are as unhappy as he and Polly claim?

Dath, I aint heard that kind of claptrap from a single Olken I know. You let him rattle you, is all.

Just because people arent saying things doesnt mean theyre not thinking them.

And what if they are? You said it, Dath. We cant kick the Doranen out. There aint no place for em to go. So if there are more stupid Olken like Fernel Pintte and that biddy Polly, theyll have to face facts, eh? Cause aint nowt going to change. The Doranen be in Lur to stay, just like us Olken.

She sighed. Oh, Asher Dath, you can Oh, Asher me into the middle of next b.l.o.o.d.y week. Im right, and you know it. He squeezed her hand again. Dont fret. Once we got the earth settled again, everythin else will settle too. Youll see.

Lapsing into friendly silence, they left the city behind and entered the palace grounds. Strolled the wide, djelba-lined carriageway towards the Tower, nodding and smiling at the visitors whod been paying their respects in the Garden of Remembrance. A few times they stopped to chat, pretending all was well, because it was expected of them. They werent Lurs royal familybut they were its next best thing.

At last they pa.s.sed through the gates that kept their privy grounds safe from the public and saw their grubby son sitting cross-legged on the gra.s.s beneath a sheltering tree. When he saw them he leapt up, hands fisting by his sides.

Da. Mama. Rafes lower lip jutted, a sure sign he expected trouble. We got to talk.

Last thing before bedtime, every night less he were sick, or in trouble, Rafel padded his way downstairs and out to the stables to give Stag an apple for his supper. Even on winters coldest nights he did that. It made him feel warm inside, knowing the pony wouldnt go to sleep until theyd had their whispering moment.

The dimly glimfired yard was hushed, all the lads and Jed in their dormitory over the stables where once upon a time Da used to sleep. In their snug stables the horses made sleepy night sounds, straw shifting beneath them, hooves clinking on the bricks. There was a lamp burning in Stablemeister Divits privy quarters above the feed room, and a shadow flickering against his drawn curtains that said he was safe in there, minding his own grown-up business.

Stag looked out over his stable door, ears p.r.i.c.ked, head tossing up and down. His pony way of saying hurry up, hurry up. Rafel clicked his tongue and Stag whickered, deep in his throat, so it sounded like he was laughing. Pleased to see him. Greedy for his apple.