26 #2
a??But you, Mirana, I had believed you would be different.
Aye, I had feared you, for there is something dark in Einar, something that confuses me, and I thought it was you there, in the shadows of him, lurking and hidden from sight, holding him from me.
But now that I see you, I can laugh and be certain of myself again.
You are nothing save a possession to be used to gain him more power, more wealth.
You are no part of his darkness, no specter to obscure what he is to me.
He merely praises you to make me jealous.
He speaks of you with affection because he knows it will but make me love him more. And soon you will be gone.
a??I had to see you alone, see your face close to mine. Now that I have looked my fill of you, I will return to Einara??s bed and I will know that I have nothing to fear from you.a??
The boy Lella laughed again, dressed quickly, and walked to the doorway of Miranaa??s small sleeping chamber.
He turned to face her, but she forestalled him, saying in a lazy, taunting voice, a??You think not, boy?
Now that I am returned, you will learn the meaning of true fear.
Forget not, Einar is my brother. Think you we are so different from each other?
You dona??t yet know the meaning of fear, little man.a??
He paled, she saw it clearly, but then he laughed, an uncertain laugh, turned on his heel and was gone, no more words spoken. She heard him singing in a voice high and pure as a womana??s.
Mirana lay back, her heart pounding in loud, slow thuds. Shea??d come home to a nightmare. No, not home. Hawkfell Island was home. Mirana shook her head. She would probably never see Hawkfell Island again. Or Rorik. There was no home for her, not now.
She lay back, closing her eyes. The boy Lella was there again in front of her, laughing, then looking fearful.
Shea??d perhaps won that small exchange, but it was she who feared him, deep down, she feared him for hea??d shown her just how little shea??d really known her half-brother.
She laughed then, softly, because she realized the boy was nothing. It was Einar to be feared, no one else.
She wondered again, as she had so many times before, if Rorik believed her dead.
Rorik and Kron stood alone in the shadows of the kinga??s fortress in Dublin. Hafter, Aslak, and Raki were hidden some thirty yards away.
Kron said quietly, a??Yon is the private entrance to the kinga??s chambers. As I told you, Rorik, there are three guards, berserkers all of them, very dangerous.a??
a??Aye, we must kill them and it must be done quickly and quietly. Are there others we must worry about?a??
a??Early each evening a woman is brought to the king.
If she fails to stir his rod, then she is sent away and Aylla is brought to him, always Aylla.
She is the woman who sleeps with him, cradles him like a babe, his wrinkled old face against her breasts.
She is the one who feeds him a nightly potion, prepared by Hormuze.a??
Rorik made a sound of disgust.
a??Aye, a??tis true,a?? Kron said. a??I discovered all this from one of the womena??s slaves. She said that whilst the king sleeps, this Aylla recites an incantation over and over again, one to renew the kinga??s vigor, to push away the demons that age him and shrivel his rod.a??
a??Who gives her this incantation?a??
a??Ah, Hormuze again, the kinga??s own advisor and physician.
Hea??s an old man like the king, but hea??s wily, smart, and dangerous.
He is not one of us. His name is strange.
I have heard it said he comes from a land even farther to the south than Miklagard, a land of deserts and vast burial monuments that go back hundreds upon hundreds of years.
He speaks a strange tongue, this from a servant I bribed who said she heard him speaking to his daughter in this alien language.
I heard it said that he controls the king, though I cannot testify that it is true.
Few see the king, but enough to swear that he lives and gives the impression that he makes the decisions and gives the orders.
He says to those familiar to him that Hormuze is his physician and advisor, and thus he is willing to trust him in matters of his health and in matters that need advice.
Then he laughs his old mana??s laugh and says that in matters of the marauding Irish chieftains, it is he who commands and who rules.
However, as I told you before, Rorik, I heard it said that both Hormuze and the king will come to fetch Mirana from Einar.a??
Rorik nodded, saying, a??And what do the kinga??s people and his warriors believe about Hormuze?a??
a??They believe what the king says, that he is his physician and advisor, and yet they are wary of him.
They fear him, for his hold on the king is a strong one.
Hormuze has told them that once the king has wed Mirana, daughter of Audun, on the first day of September, he will be reborn, he will be vigorous and young again, and he will give his people heirs to rule them forever.
On that day he will appear to them and all will see that he has spoken the truth.
On that day, he claims, the Irish chieftains and all their forces will be as insects underfoot.
The people cling to this. They even now begin to dream of a vigorous man emerging from his bridal chamber, renewed and somehow young again and ready to lead them to undreamed-of glory.a??
a??What kind of blank-brained fools are these?a?? Rorik said, and spat into the bushes. a??Why did he choose Mirana of all women? She is of no great house, her birth isna??t royal. Why her?a??
Kron shook his head. a??I dona??t know. No one does, save Hormuze and the king.a??
Kron had already told Rorik most of this, but there were more details hea??d thought to add this time. Rorik smiled. He had an idea. He said to Kron, a??Tell me, is there someone close to this Hormuze? A wife? A son or daughter?a??
a??Aye, there is a daughter. She is but ten years old if I remember aright.a??
a??And he is an old man himself?a??
a??Aye, he appears beyond old, an ancient relic.a??
a??Odd that he could sire such a young child. Is he attached to her?a??
a??Aye, my lord. Hormuze worships the girl. She is a sweet child I have heard it said even though he treats her like a princess. There is no wife. I believe she died well before Hormuze came to the court.a??
Rorik rubbed his hands together. a??Excellent,a?? he said. a??That is excellent. We havena??t much time, but we have enough.a??
* * *
Hormuze was a careful man, very careful.
He trusted no one and he never would. Slowly, meticulously, he pasted down the gray beard that covered his face and hung down past his neck.
He patted the woven mat of gray hair over his own thick black hair.
With the skill of long practice, he lined his face, taking care not to use too much walnut oil.
He did not believe people to be stupid as the king did.
But he believed people saw what it was they expected to see.
They believed Hormuze an old man. Thus he was an old man.
When he finished he rose from his rosewood chair and fastened the three layers of soft feather padding, belting it about his lean belly.
He dressed himself, then looked at himself again closely, as was his wont, in the polished brass mirror.
He was pleased. He looked as he was expected to look.
The long straggly beard covered the strong cords of his neck.
The door opened and Eze stood there, her head cocked to one side, staring at him.
a??You are a true graybeard, Papa,a?? she said, then came to him and lightly kissed his wrinkled cheek.
a??Quietly, Eze,a?? Hormuze said, as he stroked her soft black hair. a??Ah, you are so beautiful, my little one. Just like your poor mother. It wona??t be long now. You are keeping your own council?a??
a??Aye, Papa,a?? the child said, and kissed him once again. a??Be careful, Papa.a??
a??Aye, always.a??
Outside the small window, Kron drew back, stunned by what hea??d seen.
Lord Rorik had been right, but only in a part of it.
By all the gods, this was strange, this young man who made himself old.
Ah, and the little girl. Kron shook his head.
And theya??d spoken the strange language between them.
Kron quickly pulled the guarda??s body from sight.
He stole the mana??s boots and his beautiful pounded silver armlet.
A robbery, all would believe it a robbery.