“Yes,” Thalemos said. “Ah, I’m honored that you’ve confirmed me as ruler of Laut, but…”
“My chief of staff Lord Tadai will provide some personnel,” Garric said, “and Chancellor Royhas in the capital will second some of his clerks shortly as well. You’ll have two battalions of the royal army besides, though I don’t expect you’ll have real problems. The Intercessor, Echeus, died recently—”
Carus chuckled in his mind.
“—and there’s been no one in charge since then.”
“Yes, ah…” said Thalemos. “Your highness, what I actually came to ask…”
His voice trailed off and he looked at the girl beside him—Tilphosa bos-Pholial, Garric knew, though he hadn’t seen the lady before this moment.
“Your highness,” Lady Tilphosa said, “you’ll find Laut a loyal bastion of your kingdom henceforth. We have one further favor to ask of you, however: in addition to the troops and staff you’ve offered, will you send Master Cashel or-Kenset with us? I know by experience that Master Cashel is a sturdier support than any number of soldiers.”
Thalemos looked at Garric and tried to smile. He wasn’t very successful. Garric knew from his life as Gar that Thalemos was a brave boy; but Tilphosa was very much a lady, not a girl.
So, of course, was Sharina.
Garric cleared his throat, and said, “Milady, I’m not in the habit of telling my friends what to do. Cashel’s free to come and go as he pleases. If he—”
“I don’t,” Cashel said. He didn’t look relaxed, exactly, but neither did he look like anything short of an earthquake was going to move him from where he stood. His left hand was on his staff, and Sharina’s left hand was on his shoulder.
He nodded to Thalemos and went on, “Mistress—Tilphosa, I mean…I said I’d get you to your Prince Thalemos of Laut if I could. That’s where you are, near enough. And I’m where I belong too, back with Sharina and my friends.”
Tilphosa said nothing for a moment. Then, unexpectedly, she made a deep curtsy to Sharina. Rising, she said, “Milady, I hope you know what you have.”
To Garric she continued, “Your highness, I thank you again for your trust and support. You will not find it misplaced.”
She turned and strode quickly out of the guarded circle. Thalemos followed, a little awkwardly because Tilphosa’s sudden movement had taken him by surprise. He looked greatly relieved.
“An interesting girl,” mused Carus. “Back when I wore flesh, I might have found better use for her than sending her to warm a throne in Laut.”
Fortunately, Garric added in the silence of his mind, your descendent is more focused on the provision of able leadership for the separate islands of his kingdom.
Carus laughed in his mind. “Fortunate indeed, lad,” he agreed.
Sharina watched Thalemos and Tilphosa go, then looked at her brother. “That’s Laut,” she said, her voice a little sharper, a little more challenging than usual. “And from what I’ve seen here, it appears that Count Lerdoc will have no difficulty in ordering matters on Tisamur. What about the other rebels?”
Garric shrugged and wished he hadn’t. “I’m planning to make a progress of Cordin and Haft,” he said, “putting loyal rulers in place. As soon as I can walk without a pair of canes, that is.”
“Will they fight, do you think?” asked Chalcus, the lilt back in his voice. He didn’t sound precisely hopeful; rather, he was interested the way one male dog becomes when another walks nearby.
“They’re fools if they do,” said Garric. “Which, of course, many men are, so I’ll be accompanied by as many troops as I brought here to Tisamur; though the mix will be different. It’s a good chance to integrate the new companies into their battalions.”
Tenoctris had seated herself again, but his younger friends remained standing. After glancing in the direction whence Tilphosa had disappeared, Sharina asked, “Where are you finding the new leaders, Garric?”
“The Tyrant of Cordin ousted the marquis five years ago, Tadai tells me,” Garric said. “We’re reinstating a nephew of the late marquis, under the guardianship of Tadai’s brother-in-law. Here on Tisamur, the Council of Elders will resume the government, with Count Lerdoc’s cousin as their liaison with Valles.”
“What about Haft, though?” Sharina pressed. “What about our home?”
Garric laughed. “Barca’s Hamlet never had much to do with the palace in Carcosa, did we?” he said. “I doubt that will change much, at least at first. Formally the island will be ruled from Valles under a nephew of Lord Waldron as Vicar. I’m giving him an advisor, however; not a local man, exactly, but he lived on Haft for a long time, and I can trust him.”
“You’re making our father the real ruler of Haft?” Sharina said in amazement. Garric smiled and nodded.
“Yes,” said Ilna while the others stood silent. “Reise is a very trustworthy man. Carcosa won’t warm to him, but I think it will learn to obey.”
Cashel laughed loudly. He hugged Sharina, then stepped to Garric and clasped arms with him. Garric braced himself for the pain, but Cashel more than most men knew how to be gentle; he’d have broken other people’s bones all his life if he hadn’t learned that.
“He’ll meet us in Carcosa,” Garric amplified as his friend swung away again. “I’m looking forward to that.”
Garric looked in the direction Thalemos had gone. “Tenoctris,” he said, “Lord Thalemos comes from the future—but in his past, Prince Garric died battling the Count of Blaise and waves of Archai conquered all the Isles except for Laut. His past never existed.”
Tenoctris pursed her lips. Ilna said in the silence, “Events that aren’t on the same thread may be knotted together, Garric. The remainder of their length is separate. Which is just as well in this case.”
“Tilphosa thought that the Intercessor Echea planned it all,” said Cashel. He shrugged deliberately, working the muscles of his shoulders; his hickory staff gleamed softly from its careful polishing with raw wool rich in lanolin. “That she knew everything that would happen when she made the rings.”
“Tilphosa is wrong,” Ilna said, her tone coldly analytical. Garric suspected Ilna didn’t like Tilphosa—putting Tilphosa in with the majority of humanity—but that wouldn’t color her judgment. “The pattern was too complex for any human mind to encompass, let alone plan. The…”
She paused, searching for a word. You didn’t often see Ilna indecisive, even about phrasing.
“The weaver, let’s say, Ilna,” Tenoctris said quietly. “That name will do as well as any other.”
“The weaver, then,” said Ilna with a smile so wry it looked bitter, “of this fabric wasn’t human. Of that I’m sure.”
“I’m not sure there really was an Intercessor Echea,” Tenoctris said in the same soft voice as before. “Someone, something, may have walked and talked in the flesh of a person named Echea, but I don’t believe the animating force was human.”
She smiled and rose. “I think it’s time we leave Garric,” she said. “It’s getting dark, and I suspect I understand better than you younger people how easy it is to become overtired when one isn’t in the best condition. Which I haven’t been for many, many years.”
“Right!” said Cashel, smiling at Sharina. His face sobered, and he said, “Ah, Garric? Want me to carry you to your rooms?”
“I’ll stay here for a moment to think, if that’s all right,” Garric said. “I have a litter to ride in. I feel silly, but it’s better than crawling—which is the choice.”
Laughing, Cashel led them out—Tenoctris between him and Sharina, Merota with Ilna and Chalcus. Ilna looked over her shoulder for a moment, nodded, and walked on.