245.

"Destroy your record of this meeting. Leave us and do you tell the guard to summon the Lord Malum of Quern."

"As Your Imperial Majesty commands."

The scribe bowed again, sidled away to retrieve his papers and then backed from the Imperial presence to the door.

Varodias sat and waited, staring at the vacant chair, the fingers of his right hand drumming on the arm of the throne. She had threatened him. The insufferable woman had dared to threaten him. His mind fumed, contemplating revenge. She was d.a.m.nably well in- formed. The business about the Discipline was bad enough, but the challenge to the throne was crucial. If her information was right, however, and it mirrored his own, he had larger problems than an overweening priestess. If two of the Electors were plotting against him, there would be others. This operation was too sub- tle for the likes of Ondor and Flaxenholme.

Grandmere of Rotherbach? Possible. He had not been to Court in over a year and he had no kin at Angorn.

Baramia of Augspem? Too old to be an effective plot- ter. He cursed quietly under his breath. Where was Es- tragoth when he needed him? He should never have allowed him to go home. A thought struck him. The younger son had never returned to Court. He shook his head. No, not Estragoth. Nevertheless a pointed invi- tation for his son to resume his post would not be amiss.

There was a rapping at the door and Varodias came out of his reverie. The doors opened and the guard an- nounced Lord Quern. He watched as the little man, dressed all in black, save for a small ruff, advanced across the floor, limping very slightly. Quern came to a stop beside the chair that the Mother Supreme had abandoned and bowed.

"You sent for me, Imperial Majesty?"

246 "We have just received confirmation from an impec- cable source that the Electors of Ondor and Flaxen- hoime are indeed plotting against the throne," the Emperor said in a deceptively placid voice. "Since you have charge of our intelligence, it pains us that we have come by our confirmation from an outside source."

It was intended to shock, but Varodias saw no sign that the young man was disconcerted. A cool customer, he thought, not for the first time. Estragoth had chosen well.

"As Your Imperial Majesty knows, I was aware that the two Electors are supporting the man known as Sim- ian the Hermit, but that is in a crusade against the Mother Church. The Church has extensive estates in both Electorates and it is reasonable to suppose that they intend to annex them when the opportunity arises."

"And did it not occur to you that an attack on one pillar of the establishment can easily be redirected against another? Once the populace has been induced to riot, rebellion can follow. Or had that possibility es- caped you?"

"No, Sire, it had not." Malum's insides were trou- bled, but he kept his voice steady. It was obvious that the Emperor was in a bad mood, and he would have to tread warily. "In fact I have agents in the field who are directing the popular animus against the Electoral Houses." He forced a brief smile. "I thought that the people were most easily aroused against the authorities that were closest to home, those whose actions most directly affected them. Those that have treated their folk well have nothing to fear. The rest will have less time for plotting."

"Indeed?" Varodias sat back and his shoulders re- laxed. The falcon, sensing the change in its master's mood, ruffled its feathers and began to preen. "We trust 247.

that those Electors who are loyal to us will not be dis- commoded."

"The public beast is relatively easy to arouse and to turn, but difficult to direct with accuracy," Malum said with more certainty than he felt. "Those lords who have been good to their people and are perceived as being just should be relatively safe. Those who have op- pressed will be at risk, no matter how loyal they are to Your Imperial Majesty." He shrugged. "Of course," he added, "if the conflagration becomes general, madness sets in and n.o.body is safe. There are, at present, no signs of discontent in Your Majesty's own Electorate and the capital is quiet."

Varodias smiled, the long, thin face warming briefly.

"We are happy to hear that," he said. The face dark- ened again. "Nevertheless, the fact remains that treason is afoot and we wish to know the particulars. Ondor and Flaxenholrne are too light of mind and will to carry it off successfully. There are others involved. We would know their names. With this we charge you."

"As Your Imperial Majesty commands." Malum bowed his head, knowing that he had been lucky. It was obvious that the Emperor's source was the Mother Su- preme; the question was, how accurate was her infor- mation?

"It has occurred to us that both these Electors have kin at Court. It might be well if they were moved from their quarters to a place where they could be more closely watched. What think you?"

"I would advise against it, for the moment, Sire,"

Malum replied. "While it might dissuade one or the other from further action, it would signal our knowl- edge of the plot and that would undoubtedly make the others more cautious and hence harder to detect."

"A good point." Varodias nodded in approval. "We concur." He paused and looked at Malum. The boy

248 t JOHN LEE

had said nothing to him about a secret agreement be- tween the Isphardis and the Discipline. He may not have known about it or may have decided to keep the knowledge to himself. Neither prospect sat well.

Should he reveal his newly acquired information?

No, he decided. Better to hold it in reserve. The right hand came up, forefinger raised. "We should hope that your spies are more efficacious in other areas," he con- tinued, voice neutral and thus, to Malum, infinitely threatening.

Feeling like a novice, even after all these years with Estragoth, Malum dropped his gaze as the Emperor turned and made little mewling sounds to the bird.

Proximity to the throne, he thought, was intoxicating, but it was also unnerving. Estragoth, secure in himself and older than the Emperor, had been immune, but Malum had been living on the edge for some months now and it was playing havoc with his digestion.

"The Elector of Estragoth had a number of excellent sources. Sire," he said cautiously, "but they do not have the contacts with the younger generation and there are those who, quite naturally, do not trust me in the same way that they trusted my Lord of Estra- goth. I have some of my own men in place now, but it takes time."

Varodias turned his attention back from the hawk.

"It would be well, given the changing circ.u.m- stances"-his left hand described a vague circle in the air-"if we had intelligence of Isphardel. In my pre- decessor's day, traders sufficed, but we think it wise now to know what the Oligarchs are planning. It is our opinion that they intend to make Isphardel into a major power and, since we share a border, it behooves us to know what is in the minds of their Council."

Here is his chance, he thought. If he knows he will tell me now.

249.

Malum smiled to himself, but allowed no trace of triumph to show. "I have made a start in that direction, Sire," he said. "Unfortunately the Isphardis are a venal lot so it is an expensive undertaking. The good in that is that their venality makes them relatively easy to sub- orn. I have an informant placed high in the household of one of the Oligarchs."

"A good beginning," the Emperor allowed, "and you shall have money as you need it. What says this man?"

"That the Council is taken up with the logistics of road building," Malum replied, not bothering to inform his sovereign that his informant was a woman.

A peal of disconcerting laughter rang out, startling both the hawk and Malum. The Emperor's gloved hands beat together like a child's. "And think of the cost," he crowed. "If a couple of setbacks occurred, it could end up bankrupting them." He has failed, he thought be- hind the facade of mirth. He needs another test.

"Your Majesty is most wise," Malum said, making a mental note.

The Emperor allowed his good humor to subside. The long, mobile face became stem once more.

"There is a commission that we would have you per- form for us," he said. "The Mother Supreme is, as you know, here at Angom. She is an old woman and un- healthily obese. We should not care to have the Church in the throes of change if there are severe problems in the realm. It is our opinion that the lady's time has come. Better now than at a more inappropriate date. It would be fitting if she ate something that disagreed with her, or mayhap choked on her food. It must appear an entirely natural death. Do we make ourselves clear?"

"Absolutely, Sire."

"You may go then."

Malum bowed once more and retreated. Varodias turned to the gyrfalcon. He hummed to himself as he

250 stroked the fierce head. An interesting session. What was obvious was that the Mother Supreme had an ex- cellent network of spies and that meant that there would be some in the Imperial household. He would root them out. Their deaths would be slow and painful. He smiled at the thought-

chaptCR 22

ie Oligarchs of Isphardel were gathered to discuss policy. It was as discreet a meeting as could be ar- ranged, given the fact that Belengar was a place where no secret was safe and that it was impossible to disguise the fact that every Oligarch was out of the city at the same time. There was no regulation that forbade it, it was just that it went against mercantile self-interest and that was enough to provoke comment.

That the Oligarchs should seek relief from the heat and odors of the city during the Season of the Moons was not unexpected. It was the rainy season and the coastal regions were always the hardest hit. Dark clouds rolled in off the Inland Sea and disgorged torrents of rain on a daily basis. Ships rode high in the harbor and the culverts that ran down the streets overflowed. There was a rumor that the Magicians of the western realms were going to control the weather, but there were few who believed that they could harness the daily down- pours. Even if they did manage to drive the clouds north so that the rains fell on Songuard, it would only mean that the Illuskhardin would burst its banks and drown the city. Kadif, kadaf, as the locals said. If not one thing, then the other.

The roads leading north were all paved, but the wise and wealthy always added extra horses to their teams at this time of year when business called them away, or when their families escaped Belengar's pervasive damp

252 for the drier uplands. The absence of their families not- withstanding, only an outbreak of plague could drive all of the Oligarchs out of the city.

The meeting was being held at a summer villa on the sh.o.r.es of Lake Grad. though ''villa" was an ingenuous word for the sprawling, honey-colored, stone mansion set in five acres of gardens and surrounded by a further three hundred acres of carefully maintained parkland.

Clouds moved slowly overhead, but every now and then shafts of sunlight speared down between them and danced on the leaden surface of the lake.

Inside the house the fires were lit, even though the rest of the world would consider the temperature balmy.

In the main withdrawing room, the furniture had been moved back to make s.p.a.ce for a broad table. There was food and drink on smaller tables, but there were no servants. There were eight people in the room, all of them Oligarchs.

Isphardis tended toward olive skins and brown eyes and these heads of the old mercantile houses ran true to type. The general population tended to be dark- haired, and most of those about the central table had been dark-haired when young. Only one, Torrant Lar- ridan, was black-haired now, and everyone knew that he dyed it. There were five men beside Torrant; Calliost of the Grandons, Marwin of the Pintarels, Asphar of House Urcel, Rully of the Narboresa and Festin Man- yas, son of the former amba.s.sador to Arundel and host to this gathering. All were dressed finely in the samites and light velvets considered proper to the season.