Satisfied, he took his seat. Areava, the chancellor and the two priests had not yet arrived. He wondered what could be holding them up. Maybe they were already discussing giving Dejanus command of the new army? That would make sense; they would give the council a decision already made and with the throne's approval, There were two other vacant seats: Prince Olio's and the prelate's. He did not seriously expect Olio to appear, but the prelate had never missed a council meeting. Dejanus had no idea which way Edaytor would vote on the matter, not that it would affect the outcome. Perhaps he was in the same meeting as the queen and Orkid…
Just then Orkid walked in by himself, and the intricate story the constable had made up in his mind evaporated, leaving behind a great and hollow doubt. He could feel his heartbeat quicken. Perhaps he had been telling himself stories all the time. Maybe Orkid would call his bluff and refuse to support his bid for command of the army. Perhaps…
He bit his lip, the pain clearing his senses. This was no time to get carried away with fancies and illusion, Wait and see. Just wait and see.
Soon after Orkid came the primate with his new secretary. What was his name? Father Gown or something. He should know. He should know all these details. He dimly recalled approaching Powl on the night of the great fire and suggesting some kind of alliance, but could not recall how the idea was received. It did not bode well that Powl had avoided him ever since. Still, there may still be an opening there. Dejanus knew he had to increase his power base in the court. He had a lot of catching up to do before he had all of Orkid's connections and easy influence.
He started drumming his fingers on the table. Where was the queen? She was becoming increasingly erratic, he was sure. A sign of trouble. Did she not have some ancestor known for his madness? Or was that some other noble family? He had trouble keeping history straight. A good thing, considering his own secret history. A king slayer, an ex-mercenary who fought against Grenda Lear in the last war, and an ex-slaver to boot. No need to remember that history. Only the future really counted. Especially if the future included command of an army. No! he told himself. Command of the army. Where was that bloody woman?
Areava was standing in the south gallery looking over her great city, the heart of great Grenda Lear, and feeling for the first time in her life that she might lose it all. She had wanted to see Olio, to hold him tightly—even the Olio who thought he was still ten years old and that their mother still ruled over a blessed Kingdom—but when she had not been able to find him had remembered he was on an outing with Edaytor Fanhow. So she stood here looking out over Kendra and held herself instead.
'Your Majesty,' Orkid had said as she was leaving to go to the council, 'I have bad news.'
She hated that phrase: in the last year it had heralded one brutal shock after another to everything she lived for. She had said nothing, but waited for the chancellor to continue. His skin was grey, his eyes deep sunk. She braced herself. It was going to be terrible.
But she had no idea how terrible.
Daavis fallen. Her hated half-brother Lynan was now a conqueror as well as a murderer. He was like a demon from the old myths, but she was no god to counter him. What could someone of flesh and blood do against something like Lynan?
The afternoon sun was always kind to Kendra, its yellow light making it golden. But today the sun made the city look wan, ephemeral, as if it might evaporate leaving nothing behind but Areava with her illusions and callow, impossible hopes for a peaceful future.
'God damn you, Lynan!' she shouted. Startled pigeons fluttered into the air.
Oh God damn, damn, damn you, she said to herself. God damn Mother for ever marrying the General, God damn her for giving you a Key…
She stopped herself, her expression startled. 'No, I'm sorry!' she cried. She had not meant any of it. She just wanted things to be the way they were supposed to be, with Berayma on the throne and her and Olio helping him rule wisely and justly, and with little Lynan kept busy and out of the way.
But what God had given her was the nightmare opposite of everything she had ever wanted. It was Lynan who held power to rival that of the rightful monarch of Grenda Lear. Commoner blood or not, Lynan was fighting against his own, slaying his own, destroying his own. And she would never, never forgive him for it.
I will fight you, brother, she promised.I will fight you until you are dead or I am slain. This Kingdom will have one and only one ruler.
She realised she had made an irrevocable decision. Her course was set, and there was no turning back. With some relief she also realised the decision meant her next action was clear.
She hurried out of the south gallery, swept down the great hall and past her own chambers and burst into the council room, slamming shut the doors behind her. Everyone in the room jumped in their seat. She noted that all were present except Edaytor Fanhow. She nodded once to all of them as she sat down, ignored the tide of well-meant blandishments and slapped her hand on the table.
'We have one overriding item to attend to,' she told them. 'The creation of a new army to combat Prince Lynan. The creation of a great army.'
'Forgive me, your Majesty,' the city mayor, Shant Tenor, said. 'But since the terrible fire that has destroyed so much of the old city many other issues of equal importance—'
'Daavis has fallen to Lynan and his army of Chetts,' Areava said, cutting off the mayor.
Shant Tenor looked as if someone had told him his daughter had run off and married an Amanite sheep herder. His expression would have been comical if the situation had not been so grim.
'How… how can you be so certain?' her uncle, Duke Holo Amptra, asked.
'I do not have final confirmation,' Areava said, 'but the information we have received indicates the worst.'
'What information?' asked Marshal Triam Lief, head of the Kingdom's armed forces.
Areava glanced at Orkid. 'I'm sorry, but that cannot be revealed at this point.'
'Did your information say anything about the knights of the Twenty Houses?' Duke Amptra asked.
For the first time he could remember Areava looked at him with something like kindness. 'I am sorry. I have no word on the knights, nor their commander, your son.'
Holo nodded and looked down at his hands.
'But this is incredible!' the marshal continued. 'How could Lynan take the city? He had been defeated by our army and was in retreat—'
'Obviously he did not retreat far enough,' Areava said harshly. 'We have no other news at this moment. Which brings us back to my first point. The creation of a great army.'
'A great army?' Shant Tenor said. Areava could tell from his tone he thought it sounded expensive. 'What exactly makes an army great?'
'It will be the largest army ever seen on the continent of Theare. It will include soldiers from every province.'
'How will we afford it?' the mayor asked querulously.
'How will you afford the Chetts running Kendra and the Kingdom?' she countered.
The mayor blinked in confusion.
'When will we have more details about the loss of Daavis?' asked Fleet Admiral Zoul Setchmar.
'I have sent messages to King Tomar,' Orkid said. 'He has military posts near the Hume border. Hopefully he will be able to give us a more complete picture of the situation to our north. I would expect to hear from him within two or three days.'