He emerged gasping and panting in the brilliant sunlight, blinked, and pushed past a line of silent men. And stopped--like them, frozen.
There, certainly, was Shadow.
He was outside the bars--in fact, he was standing on the perching wall, with no safety belt visible, in a gap between the birds, but he was at one side of the gap, right next to Lady Elosa's silver, and he was keeping his balance by leaning a hand against her wing.She was unhooded!
Ninomar felt suddenly sick.
The bird had turned her head to watch the crowd gathering within the cage and was apparently ignoring the vulnerable human being beside her. He looked tiny in comparison; she towered over him.
A line of giant eagles and one tiny man. No hood?
It was impossible--Shadow's head should be inside her crop already.
"Good sky to you, Vice-Marshal," Shadow said. "I see you have a new pretty." The star had fallen out of the tunic.
Ninomar was beyond speech. He could only pant and gape at this miracle. He heard more feet on the stairs behind him.
Shadow was on the darkward side of the aerie, so the sun was shining through on him. He had unfastened the front of his flying suit, and his bony chest was shiny with sweat, but that must be from the heat of the sun only. He was showing no other sign of fear in spite of the terrible danger of his position. He held his helmet in his free hand, and he had a bandage over one ear. There were healing scars on his face, and that face held something that had not been there before: a hardness or wariness. It was not fear. It was perhaps anger or the stain of an ordeal.
Even if the bird did not bite his head off, she could topple him backward off that wall with the slightest movement. Ninomar thought of the drop and shuddered. Ukarres had talked of a table smashed halfway to Allaban.
There was something odd about that flying suit: some object fastened to the back of it and thick straps dangling down the front. Ninomar wondered vaguely what they were for, but mostly he was waiting for that eagle to strike.
The duke had pushed in beside him, and two gasping footmen were setting down Ukarres.
"Come off there!" Ninomar said quietly, not able or daring to shout. "You're out of your mind."
"I prefer to remain, Vice-Marshal," Shadow said. "Thank you." In his brown flying suit he seemed to glow against the dark sky behind him.
"Obviously you have been to Allaban," Ukarres said calmly. Having been carried, he was the only one not out of breath.
"Obviously," Shadow said. "I understand, Keeper, that King Aurolron is dead."
The duke nodded. The stairs were quiet now, but the entire population of the castle must be crowded in behind him, every one tongue-tied.
"He was murdered by King Shadow."
"That story I deem worthy of careful review," Shadow said. "God save King Vindax!"
There was silence.
"I was told you brought a message from...Vindax," the duke said.
Shadow nodded toward one side of the group. "Tuy Rorin has it."
The groom edged sideways toward the duke, unable to take his eyes off Shadow. He held out a parchment. The duke snatched it.
"This should be discussed in private. Come down to my study. I promise you safe conduct."
The younger man shook his head angrily. "Your hospitality is flawed, Keeper. I stay here. Please read that out; it concerns the vice-marshal, also--and everybody, I suppose. I can quote it from memory, if you prefer."
The duke hesitated. "Very well." He raised his voice. "I shall read this document, but you will all understand that I am merely reading it and not making any judgment on it. Whatever it is, it may be total rubbish and a forgery. I quote:
"'Crown Prince Vindax of Rantorra to his cousin, the duke of Foan, etc., and to whomever else it may concern: Greetings. Know that I am alive and in good hands, although I have suffered serious injury from the...'" His voice trailed off.
"Read it, Keeper!" Shadow said. "Or I shall tell them what it says anyway."
The duke glared at him briefly and then continued. "'...serious injury from the attempt on my life, made by a person known to you. Please forward this letter to my royal parents at once, so that their worries may be relieved, and see to it that the would-be assassin is brought to justice. I shall remain here until I am well enough to travel, but this may be a hectoday or longer. I have been assured by the persons exercising authority here that no constraint will be put upon me. I am also assured by them that I shall not be required to recognize in any way their status, nor abrogate nor diminish in any fashion the claims of my mother or my father or ultimately of myself as their heir, in Allaban. Sealed by my hand in Allaban, this nine thousand two hundred and fifty-third day of the reign of Aurolron XX. Vindax P.'"
"God save King Vindax!" Shadow said again, quietly, and again there was silence.
"This proves nothing!" the duke snapped, crumpling the parchment.
"It is his signet," Shadow replied. "At least it proves that I found him. Or his body. Right?"
Ninomar took the crumpled ball from the duke and straightened it. "It is the correct signet," he said.
"I have permission to take a person designated by you to Allaban to meet the prince, the king now," Shadow said. "He will be returned safely within four days and will confirm that Vindax is alive, although still very ill."
"How do you propose to get by the wilds on Eagle Dome?" Ninomar demanded.
"I came that way," Shadow said. "They will be no problem. You agree, Keeper?"
Vonimor suddenly bellowed, "That Karaman! I told you in Schagarn--"
"Silence!" the duke roared.
"I know about Schagarn, Keeper," Shadow said. For the first time his cold expression softened, almost into a smile. "It is suddenly very relevant, isn't it?"
He stood there, glowing against the sky, and it seemed that the whole audience was still holding its breath. Why did the bird not attack him?
Ninomar took a step forward. "King Jarkadon has been proclaimed. He has issued a declaration--"
"Silence!" the duke roared again.
"With respect, Your Grace," Ninomar said firmly, wondering how much of this sudden courage was from the lingering effects of the wine, "these are public matters. Very well! I have orders which do not recognize the status of Vindax as crown prince--"
"Or as a prince at all, I suppose?" Shadow interrupted. A quiet sigh went around the whole group.
"I have orders to take that person to Ramo."
"Go ahead and try," Shadow said.
"I also have, downstairs, a promotion for Ensign Sald Harl to the rank of flight commander."
The lone young man's face turned furious red in the sunlight. "Take that to Ramo and stuff it in his royal ear!"
"Shadow," the duke said quietly, "there is more. King Aurolron had apparently put your parents in the cells. King Jarkadon has released them."
Shadow's eyes narrowed, and he stiffened. "That would be because of you, Keeper, I suppose?" he said.
"I don't know," the duke said.
"How do you feel about tyrants who use family members as hostages?" Shadow demanded bitterly. "If you are suggesting that I should trust Jarkadon, then I can only say that I knew him when he was a small boy. He was a little turd then, and he is a bigger turd now. You know what his father said about him."