„Yes sir."
„Good. We'll see you on the Captures field. Dismissed."
„Thelma, find Sergeant Gales."
„My Lady?"
„Are you deaf, woman? Move!" Inger marched to a window, stared into the storm lashing the city. The thun der had declined in violence, but the rain had not. She shiv ered.
„My Lady?"
She turned. Gales. How long had she been lost in the cruel storm? „Josiah. What's happening?"
„Happening? Nothing."
„Something's in the wind. Where's the King?"
„I hear he went out to the cemetery."
Lightning flashed. Thunder cracked. „That was close. On a day like this?"
„Sometimes he does strange things."
„I don't like it. Whenever he's going to start something, he goes and talks to his dead Queen."
„Maybe she tells him what he wants to hear."
„Don't joke. I'm scared. He could start on us now. Send somebody to watch him."
„In this weather?"
„In this weather, Josiah."
„As you wish." He was trying to remain detached. He didn't need any more heartaches.
„Let me know what you find out."
„Of course." He departed before she became any more unreasonable.
Inger received Gales' note five hours later. He had been unable to locate the King. Ragnarson had not gone to the cemetery. Her level of fright rose a notch. „At least the wizard is out of the way."
Ragnarson wore a heavy, waterproof cape. He leaned low over the neck of his horse. Nevertheless, he was soaked to the skin. He shivered in the chill wind. „Got to be a damned fool to be out here." His words vanished in the wind.
Lightning slammed down. Chunks of an old oak flung through the air. A shattered, steaming branch hit mud a dozen feet behind him. „That could've been me. How bad do I want to win this thing?"
He peered into the downpour ahead. Was that it? Yes. The boundary marker. „Get up," he growled. „Almost there."
His mare maintained her desolate pace. The footing in the woods was treacherous.
A quarter hour later he swung down, tied the mare, took a trenching tool from behind his saddle. He looked for a specific rock. „What a day. But it has to be today." The storm would wipe the evidence away.
The rock was flat, twenty inches across and six thick. He tried to move it, slipped on the slick leaves. He tumbled downhill, into six inches of galloping runoff. The rush tried to drag him away. Sputtering, he took his anger back to the rock.
Once he moved it, he dug. The earth flew into the water. The surge carried it away. Then the hole was big enough. He reinforced it with a few small stones, slid the flat rock back into place, considered his handiwork. „Guess it'll do."
That was one. Four to go. And already his hands hurt. He was going to have blisters on his blisters.
He and his mare were covered with mud before he finished. He was cold and miserable and ached in every muscle. He patted the mare's neck. „Let's go home, Lady." Headed south, she set a more ambitious pace.
„Never seen you this glum, Derel," Ragnarson said. „Got your stuff all packed?" „Sire?"
„Ready to run for it if we lose today?" „I'm more afraid of what they'll do if you win." „Scream and yell and cuss like you ain't never heard." „That too." „Buck up. We'll come up smelling like roses."
„Better start dividing the money," Dantice told the Fat Man.
„We don't know who's going to win."
„Let's assume it'll go our way. Get the King's share ready. We'll have to move it out fast."
„Damned big temptation."
„No shit. Only it's too big. You could never disappear with that much."
„What if the King loses?"
„We have Tolliver start paying off. We run like hell before anybody finds out we bet money we don't have."
Michael did a few jumping jacks to loosen up. He told his mirror, „Rich or broke tonight, son. You fool."
Dahl Haas dismounted before the King's house in Lieneke Lane. Three carriages rolled to a stop behind him. He dashed to the door. „Ready, My Lady?"
„Yes. What's it all about?"
„Just a precaution. Come on, men. Get these chests loaded."
„Precaution against what, Dahl?"
„Against losing the Captures match. If the Guards go down, we're all done for."
„I don't understand. That sounds too melodramatic."
„I'll explain when we're rolling."
Sherilee herded the children onto the porch. Dahl could not conceal his disapproval.
„The road to where?" Kristen asked.
„Sedlmayr first. Out of the country if the news is bad."
Inger summoned her maid. „Thelma, what's going on? Has everybody gone crazy?"
„It's the Captures match, My Lady."
„Captures? People are acting like it's the end of the world."
„It might be for some, My Lady. The King is way out on a limb, they say."
„You mean all the mystery is over a damned game?"
„Yes, My Lady."
Inger dropped into a chair, laughing. „A Captures match! All because of a damned Captures match." The relief drove her to the edge of hysteria.
Thelma decided she was as mad as her husband.
Bragi called, „Slug. Over here. You too, Michael."
The whole team milled around outside the castle gate. Trebilcock kept a hard eye on his teammates. They re sponded satisfactorily.
„Sire?" Slugbait asked.
„Game plan."
They talked all the way out. At the field Ragnarson tried to give a rousing speech about this being the most critical game of all time, claiming much more than a championship was at stake.
„We going to put this off another day?" one of the judges hollered.
Ragnarson snarled, „Blow your damned horns." His gut knotted in fear. This was it. The big one. The do or die.
Bragi sprawled atop the moist leaves. There was barely enough daylight to see Michael's face. He panted, „Even my hair hurts."
„Oh," Michael groaned. „I'm a thousand years too old for this." He rolled onto his stomach, reached over, grabbed the King's hand. „We did it. We really did it. I don't believe it. I really don't believe it."
„Come on. Let's go. I want to see that much money all in one place. Ach!"
„What?"
„Cramp." He laughed. „Know something? Nothing hurts when you win."
„Yeah. Let's go before the wind shifts." He cackled.
„Wonder what happened to those guys, anyway?"
„Who cares? Lucky for us. Oh! Give me a hand. I won't walk right for a week."
The news reached Vorgreberg before the teams. Messen gers had gone galloping after each score. With the sounding of the second Guards capture a rider had gone to Sir Gjerdrum and General Liakopuios. They scattered the King's Own and Vorgrebergers through the city, both to prevent disorder and the flight of losing bettors. The third Guards capture had elicited a great cry of rage and agony from the gallery. All the spread bettors had lost.
Despite manipulations on behalf of the Guards, the game had been in doubt till the last. Somebody stayed bought. The Guards tallied their final capture only seconds before the Panthers.
„Help me get on this critter," Ragnarson growled. „I'm too stiff to swing my leg."
„Who's going to help me?" Michael asked.
Most of their teammates were mounted already, whoop ing and bragging and galloping in circles. They shouted insults at friends slow to leave the field. They were eager to howl their triumph through the streets.
„Man," Slugbait bellowed, „they're going to go crazy in town."
„If they don't lynch us," Snakeman grumped.
Ragnarson kept suffering uncontrollable fits of laughter. They were pure, explosive relief. Never had he played a longer chance and won.