He shook his head. 'You're needed in Kallarap more.'
'Well, I'm sorry, Lional, I don't agree.' On a deep breath, she folded her arms. 'And I can't — I won't — do it. I won't marry Sultan Zazoor.'
In silence he looked at her. Not raging. Merely… unreachable. 'Then I'm sorry too, Melly' he said at last. 'Because until you change your mind the most you'll be seeing of New Ottosland is the view from your windows. And while you contemplate that view I suggest you contemplate this as well. There are cages much less gilded than this one, far beneath our feet. Don't be fool enough to think I won't use them, and far more swiftly than you'd like. In the meantime… consider yourself my ex-Prime Minister.'
The foyer doors slammed hard behind him. She stared at them, feeling her insides tremble. Fighting to hold back the tears. What's happened to you, Lional? You never used to be like this…
Behind her Gerald's voice said, 'Don't lose hope, Melissande.This isn't over, not by a long shot.'
She nodded, unwilling to turn or trust her voice.
'You listen to Gerald, ducky,' the bird said bracingly. 'You'll be a card-carrying member of the Spinsters' Club a good while yet — especially if you don't engage a decent interior decorator.'
When she was sure she could speak like a princess she said, 'You heard what he said? About the — the polarised lightning?' 'Yes,' said Gerald. Now she turned.'And?'
He and the bird exchanged swift looks. 'And I suppose we'll just have to wait for the etheretic disturbance to subside. Sorry to have bothered you, I know you're busy'
His quite plain face was impossible to read. 'So… you have heard of it, then. This polarised lightning.'
'I think I recall a passing reference in a couple of trade journals. It's… rare.'
'Ah.' She nodded.'I see. Well, you two should go now, in case Lional sends for you.'
Another shared look with the bird. 'Yes. But what about you? Will you be all right? We heard what he said about cages, too.'
If he started getting all solicitous she was going to cry, and she'd done enough crying lately to last the rest of her life.'Don't worry about me,' she said briskly. 'I'll be fine. Just… fix this, Gerald. Please. Fix it.'
Gerald didn't reply, but touched her arm in passing. With Reg hunched on his shoulder he pressed his ear to the foyer door, nodded to himself, whispered something under his breath and waited. A couple of moments later he eased the doors open and slipped outside. Once more, she was alone. 'All right,' said Gerald, having gotten them safely outside the palace and into a section of the gardens full of flowers but not gardeners. 'Have you ever heard of polarised lightning, Reg? Because / haven't!' Reg snickered.'I knew you were fibbing.'
'Yes, well, Melissande's got enough on her plate. So. Have you ever heard of it?'
She clacked her beak thoughtfully. 'I can't say I have, and you know how long I've been around,' she said eventually. 'But the world's a large strange place, Gerald, full of fantastical things. You've only got to look at madam's hairdos to realise that. For all I know, polarised lightning could be a phenomenon peculiar to New Ottosland. It is the only country in the world surrounded by weeks of desert, after all, and who knows what strange things lurk in the sands of Kallarap? It's not like anyone's ever explored them.' She sniffed. 'Not unless you count camels. What do your wizarding senses tell you?'
He stopped and closed his eyes. Breathed deeply for a moment, trying to ignore the hollow pit in his stomach where his breakfast should be, then let his instincts quest outwards. Silence. Stillness. An odd kind of muffling…
'Bloody hell!' he said, and opened his eyes. 'The whole place is dampenedV 'Dampened?' said Reg.
'Like — like — fogged in. There's enough ambient energy to ignite the smaller incants but that's all, I think.' He stared at her. 'You really can't feel it?'
She sighed. 'Of course not. I'm a witch in name only these days, Gerald, you know that.'
As always, behind the tartness he heard the aching regret. 'Sorry,' he said, and reached up to stroke her wing.'I'm a bit distracted.'
She flapped from his shoulder to the back of a nearby garden bench. 'You must be if you didn't notice this before.'
Thoroughly disconcerted, he slumped onto the bench beside her. All of a sudden food didn't seem so important.'Do you think it's a side-effect of this polarised lightning?'
She shrugged. 'I suppose it could be. If such a thing does exist.'
'If it doesn't,' he said slowly, 'then Lional was lying. Why would he do that?'
'Deary me,' said Reg, rolling her eyes. 'Have I taught you nothing? He's royalty, Gerald. As far as royalty's concerned truth is what happens to other people. Unless of course telling the truth will gain us an advantage, in which case we're as honest as the day is long.'
'That still doesn't explain why he'd lie about this.' He drummed his fingers on his knee. 'I suppose the timing could just be a coincidence… me not being able to contact Monk right when I need to talk with him, urgently, the morning after I have a mysterious accident in the woods. If it was a mysterious accident.'
'Trust me,' said Reg robustly. 'It was mysterious. But what of it? If Lional's not a wizard and he isn't trying to kill you, which is what you're saying, how can this sudden communications blackout be anything but a coincidence?'
He looked at her. 'You know, it makes me nervous when you agree with me.'
She snorted. 'But I don't agree with you, Gerald. And I certainly don't believe in coincidence. This entire situation stinks to high heaven. I might not understand the details yet but I do know this much: that Lional's a weed and he needs to be pulled!'
'I know, Reg,' he sighed, and rubbed his aching head. 'The trouble is I'm not a gardener. I'm a failed probationary compliance officer who can turn cats into lions to impress mad kings and in my spare time ruin an innocent woman's life while pushing two entire nations to the brink of armed conflict.' He groaned. 'How long have we got, do you think?'
She stared down her beak at him. 'To do what, sunshine? Avert a war, depose a madman and rescue a princess?'
'Is that the plan?' He sighed again. 'Yes, I suppose it is. The war part, anyway. If I don't stop that the rest of it won't matter.' 'Not a lot, no,' said Reg.
'We're going to have to move fast,' he said. 'The Kallarapi will be back, and in strength, you can bet on it. That show we put on may have fooled Nerim but it didn't fool Shugat, no matter what Lional thinks. And when Shugat pays us a second visit he won't just bring the sultan's gullible brother. He'll come with hordes of Kallarap's fiercest warriors.'
'Which means we'll need reinforcements,' said Reg, and began to march back and forth along the garden seat's back. 'You're a wonderful young man with unplumbed talents, Gerald, but you aren't an army. That Markham boy has to be told what's been happening. He may work in Research and Development but he and his family know everyone who's anyone in wizarding, domestic and foreign. And they've got the clout to cut through the red tape.'
She always was one for stating the bleeding obvious. 'I know that, Reg, but how?' She stopped, tipping her head to one side to stare at him intently. 'You say there's still some etheretic juice in the air?' 'Yes.' 'Enough for an accelerando maxima?
He nearly fell off the bench. 'A Speed-Em-Up hex? Reg, are you out of your mind? No. It's out of the question. We've got some time up our sleeves yet, camels can't run that fast. I'll contact Markham once the ether clears, then — '
'And what if it doesn't?' said Reg, severely. 'What if this dampening effect lasts five days, not three? Or a week? Or forever! With a good strong hex to help me along I'll be back in Ottosland in just over two days. I can — '