Rex Regis

27

After a quiet dinner in their quarters, Vaelora set down the glass of red wine that she had barely touched and asked, “What did Tyrena say about Myskyl?”

“That he inspected the hold at Ryel like a tariff inspector…” Quaeryt went on to relate that short conversation word for word, at least as he recalled it.

“So Myskyl has just been sitting a few hundred milles away for two seasons, doing nothing?”

“Nothing except drilling his troops, meeting with lots of High Holders, and living off the land, collecting tariffs … and not telling your brother anything. That doesn’t make sense unless he’s planning something.”

“Because he knows that you could destroy him if he were to try something like Rescalyn did, you mean?”

Quaeryt nodded. “But he hasn’t done anything overt. He could claim that he is carrying out Bhayar’s wishes, meeting with High Holders, obtaining the token tariffs, and keeping his regiments in fighting shape.”

“But he hasn’t sent any dispatches.”

“No. We don’t know that. We know Bhayar hasn’t received any.”

“You don’t think Deucalon is keeping them from Bhayar? That he’s the one planning something?”

“I don’t know what to think. I’ve never trusted either one, but I trust Myskyl less.”

“What if it’s all a ploy to get you and the imagers away from Bhayar?”

“To set up something like what happened to Skarpa?”

“That’s possible.”

Quaeryt frowned. “I could be wrong, but … Aelina and Clayar are in Solis. If anything happens to Bhayar, Deucalon and Myskyl would know that we and the imagers would support Clayar.”

“Unless you’re not around to support him,” Vaelora pointed out. “Most of the senior officers are beholden to Deucalon, except for Pulaskyr and Paedn…”

And one is in Antiago, and you’ve recommended Bhayar send the other to Solis.

“… Half your imagers are elsewhere. You’ve only got the youngest and those that aren’t that strong. Without you, with the imagers scattered…”

“That would mean that there’s a plot against Bhayar and me.”

“Possibly just against you, dearest. What options would Bhayar have without you and the imagers? Would he not have to treat with Myskyl and Deucalon?”

“So … what do I do if Bhayar asks me to go see what is happening with Myskyl? I can’t exactly charge Myskyl and Deucalon with plotting. There’s no evidence of that, and I don’t think we’ll find any here in Variana, even if they’re up to their necks in something. And I’m the one who suggested I might have to go look into Myskyl’s lack of action.”

“Take all your imagers, first company, and Eleventh Regiment.”

“There’s no point in taking Horan or Baelthm. Baelthm isn’t that good a combat imager, and he can be helpful here. And you know I promised Horan…”

Vaelora frowned.

“What about you? Who will protect you?”

“If they’re plotting against you, dearest, they’ll have to leave Bhayar’s family alone … for now.”

Except in time, “accidents” and illnesses would befall you all. “You’d think they’d wait. Khel hasn’t agreed to terms.”

“Do you think they care?” retorted Vaelora disgustedly. “Myskyl and Deucalon would prefer a campaign that crushes Khel. They feel that you and Bhayar are making things too easy for the Khellans. An all-out war would make them feel better … and they could pit the remaining imagers against the Khellan Eherelani and Elani in a way so as to remove the threat of the imagers.”

“What should we tell Bhayar, then?” asked Quaeryt.

“Just what Tyrena said.”

“There’s not that much, but I’d like to see his reaction. He has a good feel for things, and he knows Deucalon far better than I do.”

“But not Myskyl.”

“I’m not sure anyone truly knows Myskyl, maybe not even Myskyl himself.” But then, do any of us truly know ourselves? Quaeryt paused. “Now … what did you two really talk about? You and Tyrena?”

“Her petition, of course.”

“Just her petition?”

“That was what she was there for.” Vaelora smiled mischievously.

Quaeryt sighed. Loudly.

“We talked over the petition. As I told you, I suggested she add the words about remarrying.”

“And then what?”

“A little bit, just a bit, about you. She wanted to know if you were the commander who defeated Kharst.”

“And you told her?”

“I said that you were the one who defeated Kharst twice and Aliaro once and forever. She said that she thought it had to be you because no one else would dare speak for Bhayar.”

“Except you. What else did she say?”

“She was surprised that you knew who she was almost as soon as she spoke.”

“I was fortunate that I remembered…” Quaeryt broke off his words as he recalled what Skarpa had said about his using phrases containing the word “fortunate.” He was right about that … and many other things.

“What is it, dearest? You had the strangest look.”

“I just remembered how Skarpa told me how he distrusted my statements that I was just fortunate. Sometimes, I just was, but he was doubtful.”

“His death still bothers you, doesn’t it?”

“Yes.” It likely always will. “Was there anything else?”

“She said that being at Ryel was like being in a large prison, but better than being executed. That was about it.”

“Did she say any more about Myskyl?”

“Not directly. She’s tried to avoid getting involved with anyone in anything more than a cursory fashion since she came to Bovaria. I got the feeling that she and Ryel weren’t getting along that well. She did say that all the tales about Kharst were true, and that there were worse. Ryel sometimes told her horrible stories about the man. He seemed to find them amusing, she said. She said there was one about an imager … and a chastity belt, but she just shook her head. She didn’t tell whatever it was.”

“So there was at least one imager.”

“I asked if she knew what happened to the imagers. She doesn’t know. She never met any of them.”

“I still wonder who else might know anything.”

“Knowing isn’t enough. We have to know who they are, and it would be helpful if they were inclined to talk to us.”

“Who else…” Quaeryt froze. “Taelmyn D’Alte, Mistress Eluisa’s father … and her younger sister Rhella.”

“I didn’t know you knew her family.”

“I don’t. Rather, I didn’t. That was in the dispatch from Straesyr that Gauswn brought. I read it moments before I got the dispatches from Alazyn and Voltyr about Skarpa’s death. I’d forgotten about that.” Quaeryt offered a rueful smile. “I was somewhat distracted, you might recall. Anyway, Straesyr wrote that Eluisa had sent her best and asked us to contact her father and sister … if they survived Kharst and the battles.”

“Where would we start? We don’t even have a complete listing of High Holders.”

“There have to be some High Holders who would know. Even some factors. Taelmyn had to have had a house or holding around Variana, because Eluisa’s sister had to have been close enough for Kharst to notice her.”

“Not necessarily.”

“You’re right … but he had to have a holding close to Variana … or on a river. Those were the only ones Kharst visited, and Taelmyn wouldn’t have presented them unless he had to, meaning that Kharst already knew of them. That wouldn’t be the case if the holding were hard to get to. That should limit the possibilities.”

“I can have the clerks go over the records and have them make a few inquiries.”

“I’d like to meet Taelmyn and Rhella before Bhayar sends me off.”

“He might not do that immediately.”

“And he might.”

Quaeryt didn’t have an answer for that.