Vanion looked startled. Taken? By whom?
Their original owners.
Youre going to summon ghosts into the throne-room? he asked in astonishment.
They will come unsummoned. Their oaths ensure that. As before, youll encircle the throne with your swords extended. Ill undo the spell, and the crystal will disappear. The rest is up to Sparhawk and Bhelliom.
What exactly am I supposed to do? Sparhawk asked her.
Ill tell you at the proper time, she replied. I dont want you to do anything prematurely.
Sir Perraine escorted the aged Earl of Lenda into the council chamber.
How was the dungeon, My Lord of Lenda? Vanion asked lightly.
Damp, Lord Vanion, Lenda replied, Also dark and very smelly. You know how dungeons are.
No, Vanion laughed. Not really. Its an experience Id prefer to forgo. He looked at the old courtiers lined face. Are you all right, Lenda? he asked. You look very tired.
Old men always look very tired, Vanion. Lenda smiled gently, and Im older than most. He straightened his thin old shoulders. Being thrown into the dungeon from time to time is an occupational hazard for those in public service. You get used to it. Ive been in worse.
Im sure Lycheas and that fat fellow will enjoy the dungeon, My Lord, Kalten said lightly.
I doubt that, Sir Kalten.
Weve made them aware of the fact that the end of their confinement will mark their entrance into another world. Im sure theyll prefer the dungeon. Rats arent all that bad.
I didnt notice Baron Harparin, Lenda said. Did he escape?
Only in a manner of speaking, My Lord, Kalten replied. He was being offensive. You know how Harparin was. Sir Ulath gave him a lesson in courtesy with his axe.
This day is top-filled with joyful surprises then, Lenda chortled.
My Lord of Lenda, Vanion said rather formally, were going to the throne-room now to restore the queen. Id like to have you witness that restoration so that you can confirm her identity in case any doubts arise later. The commons are superstitious, and there are those who might want to circulate rumours to the effect that Ehlana is not who she appears to be.
Very well, My Lord Vanion, Lenda agreed, but how do you plan to restore her?
Youll see, Sephrenia smiled. She held out her hands over the swords and spoke at some length in Styric. The swords glowed briefly as she released the spell, and the knights who had been present during the encasement of the Queen of Elenia stepped to the table. She talked to them briefly in low tones, and then each of them took up one of the swords. Very well, she said, let us proceed to the throne-room.
This is all very mysterious, Lenda said to Sparhawk as they walked down the corridor towards the throne-room.
Have you ever seen real magic performed, My Lord? Sparhawk asked him.
I dont believe in magic, Sparhawk.
That may change shortly, Lenda, Sparhawk smiled.
The old courtier produced the key from an inside pocket and unlocked the door to the throne-room. Then they all followed Sephrenia inside. The room was dark. During Lendas confinement, the candles had been allowed to go out. Sparhawk, nonetheless, could still hear the measured drumbeat of his queens heart echoing in the darkness. Kurik stepped back outside and brought in a torch. Fresh candles? he asked Sephrenia.
Definitely, she replied. Lets not awaken Ehlana to a dark room.
Kurik and Berit replaced the burned-out candle-stubs with fresh tapers. Then Berit looked curiously at the young queen he had served so faithfully without ever having seen her. His eyes grew suddenly wide as he stared at her, and he seemed to catch his breath. His look was one of totally appropriate veneration, but there was, Sparhawk thought, perhaps a bit more to it than simple respect. Berit was about the same age as Ehlana, and she was very beautiful, after all.
Thats much better, Sephrenia said, looking around at the candlelit throne-room. Sparhawk, come with me. She led him to the dais upon which the throne stood.
Ehlana sat as she had for all these months. She wore the crown of Elenia on her pale, blonde head, and she was enfolded in her state robes. Her eyes were closed, and her face serene.
Just a few more moments, my queen, Sparhawk murmured. Strangely, his eyes were filled with tears, and his heart was in his throat.
Remove your gauntlets, Sparhawk, Sephrenia told him. Youll want the rings to touch Bhelliom when you use it.
He took off his mailed gauntlets, then reached inside his surcoat, removed the canvas pouch and untied the drawstring.
All right, gentlemen, Sephrenia said then to the surviving knights, take your places.
Vanion and the other five Pandions spaced themselves out around the throne, each of them holding his own sword and that of one of his fallen brothers.
Sephrenia stood beside Sparhawk and began to form the incantation in Styric, her fingers weaving an accompaniment. The candles dimmed and flared almost in time to the sonorous spell. At some time during her incantation, the room became gradually filled with that familiar smell of death. Sparhawk tore his eyes from Ehlanas face to risk a quick look around the circle of knights. Where there had been six before, there were now twelve. The filmy shapes of those who had fallen one by one in the preceding months had returned unbidden to take their swords one last time.
Now, Sir Knights, Sephrenia instructed the living and the dead alike, point your swords at the throne. And she began to speak a different incantation. The tip of each sword began to glow, and those incandescent points of light grew brighter and brighter until they surrounded the throne with a ring of pure light. Sephrenia raised her arm, spoke a single word, then brought the arm sharply down. The crystal encasement surrounding the throne wavered like water, and then it was gone.
Ehlanas head sagged forward, and her body began to tremble violently. Her breathing was suddenly laboured, and the heart-beat which still echoed through the room faltered. Sparhawk leaped up onto the dais to go to her aid.
Not yet! Sephrenia told him sharply.
But
Do as I say!
He stood helplessly over his stricken queen for a minute that seemed to last for an hour. Then Sephrenia stepped forward and lifted Ehlanas chin with both her hands. The queens grey eyes were wide and vacant, and her face was twisted grotesquely.
Now, Sparhawk, Sephrenia said, take Bhelliom in your hands and touch it to her heart. Be sure the rings are touching the stone. At the same time, command it to heal her.
He seized the Sapphire Rose in both hands, and then he gently touched the flower gem to Ehlanas breast. Heal my queen, Bhelliom-Blue-Rose! he commanded in a loud voice.
The enormous surge of power coming from the jewel between his hands sent Sparhawk to his knees. The candles flickered and dimmed as if some dark shadow had passed over the room. Was it something fleeing? Or was it perhaps that shadow of dread that followed him and haunted all his dreams? Ehlana stiffened, and her slender body was slammed against the back of her throne. A hoarse gasp came from her throat. Then her wide-eyed stare was suddenly rational, and she gazed at Sparhawk in astonishment.
It is done! Sephrenia said in a trembling voice, and then she slumped weakly down on the dais.
Ehlana drew in a deep, shuddering breath. My Knight! she cried out feebly, extending her arms to the black-armoured Pandion kneeling before her. Though her voice was weak, it nonetheless was full and rich, a womans voice now and not the childish one Sparhawk remembered. Oh, my Sparhawk, you have come back to me at last. She laid her trembling arms about his armoured shoulders, inserted her face beneath his raised visor and kissed him lingeringly.
Enough of that for now, children, Sephrenia told them. Sparhawk, carry her to her chambers.
Sparhawk was very disturbed. Ehlanas kiss had been anything but childlike. He tucked Bhelliom away, removed his helmet and tossed it to Kalten. Then he gently picked up his queen. She put her pale arms about his shoulders and her cheek to his. O, I have found thee, she breathed, and I love thee, and I will not let thee go.
Sparhawk recognized the passage she was quoting, and it seemed wildly inappropriate. He grew even more troubled. There was obviously a serious mistake here somewhere.
Chapter 4
Ehlana was going to be a problem, Sparhawk decided as he removed his armour not long after he had presented himself to his queen the following morning. Though she had never been far from his thoughts during his exile, he found that he had to make a number of difficult adjustments. When he had left, their relative positions had been clearly defined. He was the adult; she was the child. That had changed now, and they were both treading the unfamiliar ground of the monarch and subject relationship. He had been told by Kurik and others that the girl he had raised almost from babyhood had shown remarkable mettle during the few months before Annias had poisoned her. Hearing about it was one thing; experiencing it was another. This is not to say that Ehlana was ever harsh or peremptory with him, for she was not. She felt, he thought and hoped a genuine affection for him, and she did not give him direct commands so much as give the impression that she expected him to accede to her wishes. They were functioning in a grey area, and there were all sorts of opportunities for serious missteps on either side.
Some recent incidents were perfect examples of that sort of thing. In the first place, her request that he sleep in a chamber adjoining hers was, he felt, highly inappropriate, even slightly scandalous. When he had tried to point that out, however, she had laughed at his fears. His armour, he reasoned, had provided some small defence against wagging tongues. Times were troubled, after all, and the Queen of Elenia needed protection. As her champion, Sparhawk had the obligation, the right even, to stand guard over her. When he had presented himself to her that morning once again in full armour, however, she had wrinkled her nose and suggested that he change clothes immediately. He knew that was a serious mistake. The Queens Champion in armour was one thing, and no one with a reasonable regard for his own health would be likely to make an issue of Sparhawks proximity to the royal person. If he were dressed in doublet and hose, though, that would be quite another thing. The servants were bound to talk, and the gossip of palace servants had a way of spreading throughout the city.
Sparhawk looked dubiously into the mirror. His doublet was silver-trimmed black velvet, and his hose were grey. The clothing bore some faint resemblance to a uniform, and the black half-boots he had chosen had a more military appearance than the pointed shoes currently in fashion at court. He rejected the slender rapier out of hand and belted on his heavy broadsword instead. The effect was slightly ludicrous, but the presence of the heavier weapon quite clearly stated that Sparhawk was in the queens apartments on business.
Thats absolutely absurd, Sparhawk, Ehlana laughed when he returned to the sitting-room where she lay prettily propped up by pillows on a divan and with a blue satin coverlet across her knees.
My Queen? he said coolly.
The broadsword, Sparhawk. Its completely out of place with those clothes. Please take it off at once and wear the rapier I ordered to be provided for you.
If my appearance offends you, Your Majesty, Ill withdraw. The sword, however, stays where it is. I cant protect you with a knitting needle.
Her grey eyes flashed. You she began hotly.
My decision, Ehlana, he cut across her objections. Your safety is my responsibility, and the steps I take to insure it are not open to discussion.
They exchanged a long, hard stare. This would not be the last time their wills would clash, Sparhawk was sure.
Ehlanas eyes softened. So stern and unbending, my champion, she said.
Where Your Majestys safety is concerned, yes. He said it flatly. It was probably best to get that clearly understood right at the outset.
But why are we arguing, my knight? She smiled whimsically, fluttering her eyelashes at him.
Dont do that, Ehlana, he told her, automatically assuming the tutorial manner he had used when she was a little girl. Youre the queen, not some coy chambermaid trying to get her own way. Dont ask or try to be charming. Command.
Would you take off the sword if I commanded you to, Sparhawk?
No, but the usual rules dont apply to me.
Who decided that?
I did. We can send for the Earl of Lenda if youd like. Hes well versed in the law, and he can give us his opinion on the matter.
But if he decides against you, youll ignore him, wont you?
Yes.
Thats not fair, Sparhawk.
Im not trying to be fair, My Queen.
Sparhawk, when were alone like this, do you suppose we could dispense with the Your Majestys and My Queens? I do have a name, after all, and you werent afraid to use it when I was a child.
As you wish, he shrugged.
Say it, Sparhawk. Say Ehlana. Its not a hard name, and Im sure you wont choke on it.
He smiled. All right, Ehlana, he gave up. After her defeat on the issue of the sword, she needed a victory of some kind to restore her dignity.
Youre so much more handsome when you smile, my champion. You should try it more often. She leaned back on her pillows, her face thoughtful. Her pale blonde hair had been carefully combed that morning, and she wore a few modest but quite expensive pieces of jewellery. Her cheeks were prettily rosy, which was in quite some contrast to her very fair skin. What did you do in Rendor after the idiot Aldreas sent you into exile?
Thats hardly the proper way to speak of your father, Ehlana.
He wasnt much of a father, Sparhawk, and his intellect wasnt exactly what youd call towering. The efforts he expended entertaining his sister must have softened his brains.
Ehlana!
Dont be such a prude, Sparhawk. The whole palace knew about it the whole city, probably.
Sparhawk decided that it was time to find a husband for his queen. How did you find out so much about Princess Arissa? he asked her. She was sent to that cloister near Demos before you were born.