{"id":6524,"date":"2026-01-10T10:11:41","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T10:11:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/deryni-chronology-14-the-kings-justice-kurtz-katherine\/"},"modified":"2026-01-10T10:11:41","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T10:11:41","slug":"deryni-chronology-14-the-kings-justice-kurtz-katherine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/deryni-chronology-14-the-kings-justice-kurtz-katherine\/","title":{"rendered":"Deryni Chronology 14 – The King’s Justice – Kurtz, Katherine"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Book Preview<\/h3>\n
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\nTHE KING\u2019S JUSTICE<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\nPROLOGUE<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\nAnd the king shall do according to his will.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u2014Daniel 11:30<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cI tell you, he isn\u2019t <\/span>going<\/span> to change his mind,\u201d the Deryni Bishop Arilan said, slapping the ivory table with both palms for emphasis as his gaze swept the three men and three women seated with him in the vaulted chamber. \u201cNot only will he not change\u2014he refuses to even <\/span>discuss<\/span> it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut, he <\/span>must<\/span> discuss it!\u201d Laran ap Pardyce, wizened and frail-looking in his black scholar\u2019s robes, was clearly appalled. \u201cNo Haldane king has <\/span>ever<\/span> done this before. Surely you\u2019ve warned him what might happen.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In the wan, purpled light filtering through the room\u2019s great octagonal dome, Arilan leaned his head against the high back of his chair and breathed a forbearing sigh, praying for patience.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI have\u2014repeatedly.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cAnd?\u201d the woman to his left asked.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if I continue to press the point, he may cease to confide in me at all.\u201d He turned his head to look at her wearily. \u201cYou may not think that likely, Kyri, but it could yet come to that. God knows, he certainly doesn\u2019t trust us as a group.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The group was the Camberian Council, of course; and the subject of their discussion was the seventeen-year-old King of Gwynedd: Kelson Cinhil Rhys Anthony Haldane, now more than three years on his murdered father\u2019s throne.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nor had the last three years been easy, for Council, king, or kingdom. Any boy-king might have fostered uneasiness among those designated to advise him\u2014and despite the fact that few outside the room even knew of its existence, the Camberian Council considered itself so designated for the House of Haldane. But Kelson, unlike most sovereigns come prematurely to their thrones, had fallen heir to magic: the puissant and forbidden Deryni bloodline of his mother, Queen Jehana, her heritage unknown even to herself before she was forced to use it at his coronation, and the equally powerful Haldane potential for the assumption of magical abilities from King Brion, his father.<\/span><\/p>\n

In anyone but Kelson, the combination might have been deadly, for Deryni were almost universally feared throughout Gwynedd, and hated by many. Before the Haldane Restoration two centuries before, Gwynedd had lain under Deryni domination for generations, Deryni sorcery enforcing the will of a despotic line that had not hesitated to advance Deryni fortunes over human in whatever way was most expedient. So had Deryni magic come to be despised as well as feared; and few knew or remembered any longer that Deryni as well as humans had fought to overthrow the Deryni tyrants, or that a discredited Deryni saint, besides giving his name to the Council that met in this secret chamber, had first triggered the magic of the Haldane kings.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kelson knew, of course. And like generations of Haldanes before him, he had managed to represent that magic as an aspect of his divine right as king, walking a narrow balance between impotence, if he did not use his powers, and heresy, if he did\u2014for much might be overlooked in the protection of people and Crown. Such a ploy was vital camouflage in a land where many humans still sought retribution for the years of Deryni persecution, and where any extraordinary power not demonstrably come of divine favor was regarded with fearful, often deadly, interest by a hostile and jealous Church.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nor had the Church\u2019s suspicion of magic arisen only with the coming of the Deryni. Extraordinary or seemingly miraculous occurrences outside the limits defined by Scripture had always fallen under the wary scrutiny of those whose function it was to guard the purity of the faith; and irresponsible use of magic, either by or in the service of the new overlords, only tended to reinforce the belief that magic was very likely evil. As reaction set in after their overthrow, ecclesiastical restrictions followed close on civil reprisals, and the Deryni themselves came to be regarded as evil, even though there had been Healers and holy men among them. The Church\u2019s hostility toward the Deryni as a race continued to the present, even though civil restrictions had begun to abate in the last two decades. Outside the Council, not a dozen persons knew Bishop Denis Arilan\u2019s true identity as Deryni\u2014and he was one of only two Deryni priests he knew.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nor was that other Deryni priest free of controversy, though his Deryni blood was almost as well kept a secret outside the Council as Arilan\u2019s. Father Duncan McLain, recently become Duke of Cassan, Earl of Kierney, and also a bishop, was Deryni only on his mother\u2019s side \u2014 a half-breed, in the eyes of the Council \u2014 but they held him at least partially responsible for the king\u2019s continued reluctance to accept Council guidance.<\/span><\/p>\n

For Kelson had been assisted to power, both civil and magical, not by the Council, with its emphasis on \u201cproper\u201d training and formal recognitions, but by Duncan and his equally half-breed cousin Alaric Morgan, the powerful but grudgingly respected Deryni Duke of Corwyn, both of whose mastery of their powers had come largely from chance and their own hard work.<\/span><\/p>\n

So might Kelson also have been counted\u2014half-breed and, therefore, outside the pale of Council protection\u2014were it not for his father\u2019s Haldane blood, and the addition that made to his already powerful Deryni heritage. It was the former that concerned the Council today, as rebellion grew in one of Gwynedd\u2019s western provinces and her king prepared to designate his uncle as his heir before going on campaign to quell it, having yet no heir of his own body.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWell, he does no service to Prince Nigel if he <\/span>does<\/span> succeed in what he plans,\u201d old Vivienne said, shaking her grey head in disapproval. \u201cOnce Nigel has tasted even a part of the Haldane potential, he may not be eager to give it up.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cHe will <\/span>have<\/span> to give it up, once Kelson has a son,\u201d Arilan said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if he refuses, or he cannot?\u201d asked Barren de Laney, from Arilan\u2019s right, senior member of the Council and Coadjutor with the older woman seated across from him. \u201cI know you believe Nigel\u2019s scruples to be as pure as your own, Denis\u2014and indeed, they may be. But suppose Kelson can\u2019t reverse the process. Will <\/span>you<\/span> be able to reverse it, if he cannot?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI, personally? Of course not. But Nigel\u2014\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Across the table. Tiercel de Claron yawned indolently and slouched a little deeper in his chair.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cOh, we needn\u2019t worry on <\/span>that<\/span> account,\u201d he said, his voice edged with sarcasm. \u201cIf Denis can\u2019t undo it, and Kelson can\u2019t, I\u2019m sure <\/span>someone<\/span> will find a way simply to eliminate our good Prince Nigel. That\u2019s what will have to happen, you know,\u201d he added, looking up, at several mutters of indignation. \u201cAfter all, we can\u2019t have more than <\/span>one<\/span> Haldane holding the power at once, now, can we?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTiercel, you\u2019re not going to start <\/span>that<\/span> old argument again, are you?\u201d Barrett asked.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not? Tell me what earthly harm it would do if more than one Haldane <\/span>could<\/span> hold the Haldane power at a time. We don\u2019t know that it can be done, but what if it could?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

As Tiercel leaned his head heavily on one hand and began tracing a slow, spiraling pattern on the inlaid table, Vivienne, the second Coadjutor, turned her grey head majestically toward their youngest member.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry if we bore you, Tiercel,\u201d she said sharply. \u201cTell me, is it your deliberate iatention to stir up dissent, or have you simply forgotten to think? You know that the very notion is forbidden, even if it were possible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Tiercel stiffened, and his hand ceased its idle movement, but he did not look up as Vivienne continued.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cAnd as for Nigel, if circumstances demand it, Nigel <\/span>will<\/span> be eliminated. The terms and conditions of the Haldane inheritance were set down two centuries ago by our blessed patron. In all that time, they have not been broken. There were reasons for that, which I cannot expect you to understand.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Tiercel finally looked up at her last comment, his expression eliciting more than one raised eyebrow and indrawn breath. For though it was not unusual for the pair to spar at one another, older generation against new, Vivienne\u2019s caustic retort struck perilously close to Tiercel\u2019s chiefest insecurity: that, having less than half the years of nearly every other member of the Council, his experience, of necessity, must be somewhat less extensive\u2014for he was only a few years older than the king himself. In <\/span>fact<\/span>, his theoretical knowledge was matched by few of them; but that reality did not always enable him to ignore what he perceived as attacks on his personal worth. As genuine anger glinted in Tiercel\u2019s almond-colored eyes, cold and dangerous, the physician Laran laid a warning hand on Vivienne\u2019s arm.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cEnough, Vivienne. Tiercel, both of you, stop it!\u201d he murmured, automatically glancing across at Barrett, even though the man had been blind for half a century.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Barrett, do something<\/span>, he sent mentally.<\/span><\/p>\n

Barrett was already raising the ivory wand of his office in a ritual gesture of warning, his emerald gaze locked sight-lessly on Tiercel\u2019s face.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cTiercel, let it be,\u201d he commanded. \u201cIf we quarrel, we accomplish nothing. Every effort will be made to spare Nigel.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Tiercel snorted and crossed his arms across his chest, though he did not speak.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe must not forget Kelson\u2019s part in this, either,\u201d Barrett continued. \u201cIn sharing his authority with his uncle, he but answers his duty as he sees it\u2014which is to leave his present heir with the ability to carry on, should he fall in battle. Surely you would not have Kelson abrogate his responsibility by failing to make the proper provisions?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Only barely subdued, Tiercel shook his head, apparently still not trusting himself to speak.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you, Vivienne.\u201d Barrett turned his attention to the other. \u201cYou need not be so deliberately cold about Nigel\u2019s fate. It is a solemn duty he accepts when he submits to the power that will be laid upon him. Our duty is no less solemn, should we be called upon to exercise it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe does not bear the blood,\u201d Vivienne murmured, low and petulant.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cOh, Vivienne\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

From across the table, between Barrett and Tiercel, faintly mocking laughter floated like the chime of precious crystal: Sofiana, the one among their number who had not yet spoken, the most recent but by no means the youngest or even the most junior member of the Camberian Council.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

More than twenty years before, when even younger than Tiercel, Sofiana of Andelon had served the Council brilliantly, resigning only on the death of her father without male heir. Now Sovereign Princess of Andelon for more than a decade, her children grown or nearly so, she had returned at the Council\u2019s behest the previous summer to fill the seat of Thome Hagen\u2014threatened with suspension if he did not resign, for his connivance with Wencit of Torenth and Rhydon of Eastmarch in the Gwynedd-Torenth War. A second vacancy, more directly caused by the war, remained unfilled: the seat of Stefan Coram, Vivienne\u2019s predecessor as Coadjutor, who, unknown even to the Council at the time, had chosen to play a doubly dangerous game of deception that eventually cost him his life\u2014though it spared Kelson his crown.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sofiana\u2019s record, and her lack of involvement with the intrigue and internal bickering that had marred the Council\u2019s deliberations increasingly since Kelson\u2019s accession, made her uniquely qualified for the position she now filled. She had also brought a breath of fresh insight and rare humor into the formerly stodgy assembly.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat does that mean anymore, to be \u2018of the blood?\u2019\u201c she asked quietly, leaning her pointed chin on the back of one slender hand, lively black eyes turned on Vivienne in droll curiosity. \u201cAfter two centuries of persecution, perhaps there are very few among our race who can truthfully attest to <\/span>pure<\/span> Deryni lineage, even to the time of Camber.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Flame-haired Kyri, the youngest of the three women, raised her chin toward Sofiana in exception, her resentment at the newcomer\u2019s more exotic beauty only thinly veiled.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>I<\/span> can so attest,\u201d she said haughtily. \u201cAnd for two centuries before <\/span>that<\/span>. Nonetheless, have we not always held that the proof of the blood is in the doing?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI will grant you that,\u201d Sofiana conceded. \u201cHowever, by that definition, Brion himself was Deryni.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cThat\u2019s preposterous\u2014\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Nigel, like Brion, carries the Haldane blood\u2014which may be just as powerful, in its way, as the purest Deryni\u2014 whatever <\/span>that<\/span> is. So perhaps Nigel is Deryni. And Warin de Grey. He can heal, after all,\u201d she added.<\/span><\/p>\n

The ripple of their objection began to appear in outraged eyes, on parted lips, but she stayed them with a gesture of her free hand without even lifting her head from its resting place, coolly regal and assured in her desert robes of silver-shot purple.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cBe at ease, my friends. I am the first to concede that we are not talking about healing at this juncture, though I know that is of abiding interest to our esteemed senior Coadjutor and the faithful Laran.\u201d She smiled indulgently at both Barrett and Laran.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are concerned here with the Haldane potential. What is it that makes this particular family susceptible to having Deryni-like powers placed upon them? For that matter, Wencit of Torenth, for all his villainy, apparently discovered a way to place similar powers upon supposed humans\u2014witness Bran Coris. The late Duke Lionel and his brother Ma-hael also seem to have received this benison. Perhaps what is called the Haldane potential in Gwynedd, then, occurs elsewhere as well, and is actually a lesser degree of <\/span>Deryniness<\/span>\u2014or a greater one.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cA greater one?\u201d asked a surprised Tiercel.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is possible. I say \u2018greater\u2019 because the Haldane power comes upon the recipient full-blown, fully accessible, even if not fully understood. In some respects, at least, that is surely superior to having to <\/span>learn<\/span> how to use one\u2019s powers\u2014 which is what most \u2018pure\u2019 Deryni have had to do, from time immemorial.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Arilan, though more inclined to Sofiana\u2019s reasoning than to anyone else\u2019s, stopped his impatient turning of his bishop\u2019s ring and furrowed his brow.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cTake care, Sofiana, or soon you will be asking us to believe that everyone is Deryni.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Sofiana smiled and leaned back in her chair, silvery ear-rings chiming melodically as she shook her head.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cNever that, my friend, though it would certainly solve many problems\u2014and doubtless create other worse ones,\u201d she added, at Vivienne\u2019s look of horror. \u201cConsider, too, that the Haldane potential could be just such an obscure facet of our Deryniness as Morgan and McLain\u2019s \u2018rogue\u2019 healing talent, both gifts requiring special training and handling, and both sometimes arising spontaneously.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Arilan whistled low under his breath, and Laran glanced at Barrett in astonishment as the others buzzed among themselves. Privately, Arilan himself had examined that very possibility more than once, and felt certain he was not alone in that, but no one had ever dared to voice it in full Council. Laran, as a physician, and Barrett, whose sight might conceivably be restored if the healing gifts could be re-leashed, also would have given the subject ample consideration, Arilan felt sure.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut, that, too, is a topic for another day,\u201d Sofiana went on. \u201cOur immediate concern, if I understand correctly, is that Kelson is about to act against our better judgment. Short of our physical intervention, however, I fear there is little we can do to prevent it, in this particular instance.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI believe you\u2019ll receive no argument on that point,\u201d Barrett said. \u201cBut your choice of words suggests some future remedy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf we are bold enough to take it\u2014yes. If, as we seem to agree, there is no question that Kelson is to be regarded as \u2018of the blood,\u2019 as Vivienne so quaintly put it, then I suggest that we have the means totally within our power to control him\u2014and have had it for several years, in fact. Bring him into the Council.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She ignored their gasps as she raised a hand toward the high-backed chair standing empty between Tiercel and Vivienne.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBring him into the Council and bind him by the same oaths that bind the rest of us. Or are you afraid of him?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOf course not!\u201d Vivienne said indignantly.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe is strong enough,\u201d Sofiana countered. \u201cHe is mature far beyond his years.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe is untrained.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThen, let us take his training upon ourselves, and make sure he receives proper supervision.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe lacks other qualities.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSuch as?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDo not push me, Sofiana, I warn you!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat qualities does he lack?\u201d Sofiana persisted. \u201cI am willing to be persuaded that he is not, indeed, ready, but you must give me a specific reason.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cVery well.\u201d Vivienne lifted her head in defiance. \u201cHe is not yet sufficiently ruthless.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe is not yet sufficiently ruthless,\u201d Sofiana repeated. \u201cI see. Then, would you rather have Morgan or McLain?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAre you mad?\u201d Laran gasped, the first one bold enough to intervene in the exchange.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s absolutely out of the question!\u201d Kyri said, with an emphatic shake of her fiery mane.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThen, elect some other Deryni willing to accept the responsibility,\u201d Sofiana replied. \u201cWe operate at less than our full potential, with our number incomplete. How long must Stefan Coram\u2019s seat sit vacant?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBetter vacant than filled by one unready to wield its power,\u201d Vivienne snapped.<\/span><\/p>\n

Arilan watched and listened in some amusement as reaction continued to run its course around the table: Vivienne and Kyri continuing to challenge Sofiana over the very notion; Laran deeply disturbed; Tiercel excited but thoughtful, not saying anything for once; only Barrett unreadable, sitting still and solitary in his own mind between Arilan and Sofiana.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nor was bringing Kelson into the Council a bad idea\u2014 someday. In the beginning, though the Council quickly agreed to acknowledge the king as full Deryni, no one even tried to argue that he was skilled or experienced enough. But in the three years since truly securing his throne. Kelson had learned many a hard lesson of kingship and of manhood. Arilan was in a unique position to report to them on that. In fact, it was Arilan who had first broached the subject of Kelson\u2019s candidacy; Arilan who had continued to pursue the notion, albeit far more gently than Sofiana\u2019s efforts of late; Arilan who, alone of all the seven of them, had ongoing contact with the king and knew, better than any, just how hard and disciplined\u2014and powerful\u2014the king was becoming. No Haldane king had ever sat on the Council before; but no Haldane had ever displayed Kelson\u2019s abilities, either.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019ve talked around this subject long enough,\u201d Arilan finally said, when most of the outrage had died down. \u201cEven if we were disposed to admit the king today\u2014and you all know my feeling on <\/span>that<\/span> matter\u2014that is not the time, with war imminent and a disputed ritual of magic in the offing for tonight. Nor do I think anyone is seriously arguing that Morgan or Duncan are viable candidates at this time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWell, thank heaven for <\/span>that<\/span>,\u201d Vivienne muttered.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cDon\u2019t worry, Vivienne,\u201d Arilan replied. \u201cI am the first to agree that both of them are still very much unknown quantities. Besides\u2014\u201d he allowed himself a bitter grimace, \u201c\u2014 they still haven\u2019t forgiven me for our apparent abandonment of them, once Kelson\u2019s throne was secure.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cAre you saying they mistrust you, then?\u201d Tiercel asked.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Arilan waggled one hand in a yes-and-no gesture.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201c\u2018Mistrust\u2019 is perhaps too strong a term,\u201d he allowed. \u201cLet us simply say they\u2019re cautious where I\u2019m concerned\u2014 and who can blame them? They resent the fact that I won\u2019t talk about the Council\u2014and of course, I can\u2019t tell them why I won\u2019t.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThree years ago, you brought them here without permission,\u201d Barren said stiffly. \u201cThey already know too much about us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Arilan inclined his head. \u201cI accept responsibility for that\u2014though I still maintain I did the right thing, under the circumstances. I\u2019ve observed the Council\u2019s restrictions scrupulously since then, however.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd see that you continue to do so,\u201d Vivienne muttered.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLet us not stray from the subject again,\u201d Barrett said quietly. \u201cThis is an old, old argument. Let us return to tonight. Denis, if you cannot prevent it, can you at least control it?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Arilan allowed himself a curt nod. \u201cTo the point that any trained practitioner can control the course of the outward ritual\u2014certainly. I can make sure that we\u2019re properly warded, that the forms proper to any serious working of high magic are observed. But what happens on the inner levels is and remains in Kelson\u2019s control.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat of Richenda?\u201d Laran asked. \u201cWill she be able to assist you? Kelson trusts her, I believe.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe does.\u201d Arilan shifted his attention to Sofiana. \u201cAnd we now know that Richenda is possessed of both power and training we had not guessed before, don\u2019t we, Sofiana?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Sofiana gave a noncommittal shrug.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDo not blame me for that, Denis. Had anyone asked at the time, I could have told you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut she\u2019s your niece,\u201d Kyri said. \u201cYou knew she was formally trained, yet you let her marry a half-breed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOh, Kyri, I did not let her do anything! Richenda is a grown woman, and Deryni, fully capable of making her own decisions. And as for being my niece\u2014\u201d she shrugged again, shifting to a more whimsical mood, \u201c\u2014I\u2019m afraid I hardly know her. My sister and her husband decided that Richenda should marry outside our traditions and faith, when they chose her first husband. I did not agree, but I respected their decision. I saw little of the girl after she became Countess of Marley.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut, to marry Morgan\u2014\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Sofiana\u2019s dark eyes flashed ebon fire. \u201cAre you trying to make me condemn him?\u201d she retorted. \u201cI will not. Because he has made Richenda happy and has taken my sister\u2019s grandson as his own child, and has given her a daughter as well, I cannot be but kindly disposed toward him\u2014and curious, make no mistake. And though I have heard that his powers are formidable, if largely untrained, I have met him only once. Needless to say, he was both on his guard and on his best behavior.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAh, then, you do not trust Morgan either,\u201d Vivienne said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHow does one define trust?\u201d Sofiana countered. \u201cI trust him to be a proper husband and father to my kin; I trust my niece\u2019s <\/span>sincerity<\/span> when she tells me of his honor in all that he has done since <\/span>she<\/span> has known him. Beyond that, all else is hearsay. How could I trust him in the way that I trust all of you? We of the Council may often disagree, but we <\/span>all<\/span> have bared our souls to one another in our oath-takings. <\/span>That<\/span> is trust.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Laran raised a silvered eyebrow. \u201cDo you trust Kelson, then?\u201d he asked. \u201cOr you, Denis? Has the king bared his soul to you?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn the sense that Sofiana has just reminded us?\u201d Arilan smiled. \u201cHardly that. He has come to me for confession on occasion, when Duncan McLain was not available, but that is another matter entirely. I <\/span>believe<\/span>, however, that his ultimate goals are the same as our own.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd what of Nigel?\u201d Tiercel asked impatiently. \u201cIn case anyone has forgotten, Kelson is going to attempt to pass on a part of his power tonight.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cAye, we\u2019ve not forgotten,\u201d Arilan agreed. \u201cAnd I know where your argument is headed, Tiercel. Fortunately, the notion that more than one Haldane might hold that full power at a time has not occurred to our headstrong young renegades. But if all of you would like something else to worry about, consider this: Kelson has decided to have young Dhugal MacArdry present tonight. Now, <\/span>there\u2019s<\/span> a one for you. I don\u2019t know where he got it, but he\u2019s at least part Deryni as well; and just because he didn\u2019t know that until a few months ago doesn\u2019t mean he hasn\u2019t been learning since then from Kelson, Morgan, and Duncan.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Kyri made an expression of distaste, and Vivienne muttered something about \u201canother half-breed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then there\u2019s Jehana,\u201d Arilan went on, ignoring both women. \u201cWhen she returns to court. \u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

All of them grew apprehensive at that, for the queen mother was of the same bloodline that had produced one Lewys ap Norfal \u2014 a Deryni of enormous ability and training who had defied the authority of the Council nearly a century before. Though Jehana knew nothing of that, and had spent a lifetime denying her Deryni blood, yet she had been able to flex long-unused potentials at Kelson\u2019s coronation with sufficient strength to give serious pause to a highly trained sorceress who sought her son\u2019s life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nor had she yet reconciled that act with her conscience, even after nearly three years in the seclusion of a cloister. Her imminent return to court presented but another unknown factor, for Jehana was still quite hostile to Deryni.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe will have to be watched closely,\u201d Barrett said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Arilan nodded and sat back wearily in his chair, covering his eyes with his hand.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI know that,\u201d he whispered.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the king,\u201d Vivienne joined in. \u201cHe must not be allowed to get the notion in his head that Nigel might keep his powers, once Kelson begets an heir of his own.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI know <\/span>all<\/span> of that,\u201d Arilan replied.<\/span><\/p>\n

But as the Council shifted its deliberations to other matters, Bishop Denis Arilan remained very much aware of the task laid upon him. He alone, of all the seven, must move regularly among the chaotic blending of uncertainties and try to maintain some sort of equilibrium.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\nCHAPTER ONE<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\nWith arrows and with bow shall one come thither.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u2014Isaiah 7:24<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cKelson,\u201d Alaric Morgan said, as he and his king looked down on the bustling yard at Rhemuth Castle, \u201cyou\u2019re becoming a hard, cruel man.\u201d He ignored Kelson\u2019s startled stare and continued blithely. \u201cHalf the ladies of this kingdom and several other realms are pining for you, yet you hardly give them a second glance.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Across the sunlit courtyard, bright as finches in their spring silks and satins and sarcenets, nearly a score of young females ranging in age from twelve to thirty chattered and postured among themselves along an overlooking balcony\u2014 ostensibly come to observe and applaud the men honing martial skills in the yard below, but equally to see and be seen by Gwynedd\u2019s handsome and eligible young king. Admiring glances aplenty there were for others of the keen young men drilling with sword and lance and bow, for practicality recognized that the chance of any single one of them winning the king\u2019s favor was slim, but their wishful glances always darted back to him, nonetheless.<\/span><\/p>\n

Self-consciously, Kelson spared them not only the glance Morgan had accused him of begrudging, but a strained smile and a nod of acknowledgment, eliciting excited twitterings and preening among his admirers. He gave Morgan a sour grimace as he turned back to his own survey of the yard, raising one leather-clad knee so that he could half sit on the wide stone balustrade of the landing.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re not pining; they\u2019re after a crown,\u201d he said in a low voice.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAye, most certainly,\u201d Morgan agreed. \u201cAnd eventually you\u2019re going to have to give it to one of them. Or if not one of these, then someone else like them. Kelson, I know you\u2019re tired of hearing this, but you <\/span>are<\/span> going to have to marry.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cI <\/span>did<\/span> marry,\u201d Kelson muttered, pretending avid interest in a quarterstaff bout between two of Duke Ewan\u2019s squires. \u201cMy bride didn\u2019t live long enough to have the crown placed on her head.\u201d He folded his arms over the somber black he wore. \u201cI\u2019m not ready to marry again, Alaric. Not until I\u2019ve brought her murderers to justice.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Morgan compressed his lips in a thin, hard line and recalled one such bringing to justice: the defiant Llewell of Meara standing with his back to the executioner on a bleak morning in February, wrists bound behind him, chin lifted proudly heavenward in stubborn assertion that his act had been justified. The Mearan prince had declined to make any statement after his sentence was pronounced, disdaining either assistance or the solace of a blindfold as he knelt on the snow-scoured scaffold. Only in that timeless instant before the headsman\u2019s sword rendered final justice did his eyes dart to Kelson\u2019s\u2014accusing and defiant to the last.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhy did he look at me that way?\u201d the shaken king had whispered plaintively to Morgan, as soon as they were out of public view. \u201c<\/span>I<\/span> didn\u2019t kill her. He committed sacrilegious murder in front of several hundred witnesses\u2014his own sister, for God\u2019s sake! There was no question of his guilt. No other verdict was possible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Nor did ultimate guilt rest on Llewell alone. Equal responsibility must be shared by his parents, the pretender Caitrin and her traitor husband Sicard, now leading Meara in open rebellion against their lawful sovereign. Where Kelson\u2019s great-grandfather had sought to unite the two lands peacefully by marriage with the eldest daughter of the last Mearan prince\u2014a settlement never recognized by a large portion of the Mearan nobility, who held another daughter to be the rightful heiress\u2014Kelson had attempted to reassert that union through marriage with a captive daughter of the current rival line: the fifteen-year-old princess Sidana.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Granted, Sidana had two brothers who might have disputed that succession. But Llewell, the younger, was already in custody by then, and the eventual neutralization of Caitrin, Sicard, and the remaining brother would have left Sidana sole heiress of the cadet house. Her and Kelson\u2019s children could have claimed unquestionable right to both crowns, finally resolving the century-long dispute over the legitimate succession.<\/span><\/p>\n

But Kelson had not reckoned on the vehemence of Llewell\u2019s hatred for anything Haldane\u2014or dreamed that the Mearan prince would slay his own sister on her wedding day rather than see her married to Meara\u2019s mortal enemy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thus, of necessity, had Kelson\u2019s marital solution to the Mearan question become a martial one\u2014the campaign for which all Gwynedd now prepared. Llewell\u2019s father and his remaining brother, Prince Ithel, were said to be raising an army in the Mearan heartland west of Gwynedd even now\u2014 and deriving dangerous support from Edmund Loris, former Archbishop of Valoret and Kelson\u2019s bitter enemy, who lent religious zeal and anti-Deryni fanaticism to the already explosive Mearan situation. And Loris, as once before, had lured a number of other bishops to his side, making of the coming conflict a religious as well as a civil question.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sighing, Morgan hooked his thumbs in his swordbelt and let his gaze wander back to the yard below, idly fixing on an archery match in progress between Prince Nigel\u2019s three sons and young Dhugal MacArdry, the new Earl of Transha, since that seemed to have captured Kelson\u2019s attention in preference to the watching ladies. Both Dhugal and Conall, the eldest of Nigel\u2019s brood, were giving an impressive exhibition of marksmanship this morning, Dhugal\u2019s the more remarkable, in Morgan\u2019s eyes, because he shot left-handed\u2014\u201dcorrie-fisted,\u201d as they called it in the borders.<\/span><\/p>\n

That Dhugal had managed to retain this idiosyncrasy was a source of recurrent amazement to Morgan\u2014not because Dhugal was skilled, for Morgan had met skilled left-handers before, but because the young Earl of Transha had received a major part of his early schooling here in Rhemuth, some of it under Brion himself. And Brion, despite Morgan\u2019s repeated objections to the contrary, had held that left-handed swordsmen and lancers wreaked havoc with conventional drills and training formations\u2014which was true, as far as it went, but neglected to acknowledge that warriors in an actual combat situation, if accustomed to fighting only other nght-handed opponents, often found themselves at a distinct disadvantage when faced with a left-handed enemy, whose moves were all backward from what was familiar and, therefore, predictable to some degree.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brion had finally agreed that training should extend to both hands, in case injury forced shifting weapons in midbattle, but maintained until his death that left-handedness was to be strongly discouraged in his future knights. The trend persisted, even more than three years after Brion\u2019s death. Far across the yard, Morgan could see Baron Jodrell putting some of the current crop of squires through a drill with sword and shield\u2014none of the lads unfashionably corrie-fisted.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not so Dhugal, of course. Though fostered to court as a page when only seven, even younger than most boys of his rank and station, he had been recalled to the borders before he was twelve, serving out his apprenticeship in an environment where survival, not style, was important. And survival demanded a far different fighting style than what Dhugal had learned at court. Border conditions dictated fast, highly mobile strike forces, lightly mounted and armored\u2014 not the more ponderous greathorses and armor of the lowland knight. Nor did anyone care which hand the future Chief of Clan MacArdry favored, as long as the job got done, whether meting out the justice of the sword with the patrols that policed the borders against reivers and cattle thieves, or practicing the skills of a battle surgeon afterward.<\/span><\/p>\n

None of that made shooting a bow left-handed look anything less than awkward to Morgan, however, accustomed to more conventional shooting stance. And as he shook his head and glanced again at Kelson, who was still gazing raptly at the archers, he knew it was not Dhugal\u2019s unorthodox shooting that was troubling the king, either. Nor was it their earlier discussion of the necessity for remarriage, though that was sure to bring a rise, even under the best of conditions, whenever the subject was broached.<\/span><\/p>\n

No, today\u2019s preoccupation had to do with what Kelson was \u2014 Deryni as well as king \u2014 and the necessity, this very night, to make Deryni confirmation of the man who would succeed him on the throne of Gwynedd, should Kelson not return from the Mearan campaign. For failing an heir of Kelson\u2019s body, which he did not yet have, the crown and the Haldane legacy of magic would pass to Prince Nigel, Kelson\u2019s uncle and brother of the dead King Brion.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brion. After more than three years, the emptiness of the former king\u2019s loss no longer ached in Morgan\u2019s chest in quite the way it once had, but the uncompromising loyalty once visited on the father now lay upon the royal son\u2014this slender, grey-eyed youth, only now verging on true manhood, who prepared to face yet another test that should have been reserved for one of greater years and experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

At least the physical shell better matched the test. The boy-king who had been was gone forever. Intensive weapons training for the coming campaign had stretched and hardened boyish muscles to more manly proportions, and a winter\u2019s growth spurt had given him another handspan of height, in addition to chiseling the rounded facial planes of youth to sharper angles. He now stood nearly shoulder-to-shoulder with Morgan, and had recently been obliged to employ a razor several times a week to maintain the clean-shaven appearance that he, like Morgan, preferred.<\/span><\/p>\n

But where Morgan still wore his fair hair cropped short for ease of care in the field, as most fighting men chose to do. Kelson had allowed his to grow during the past two years of relative peace \u2014 \u201clike any common borderer,\u201d as Dhugal had laughingly noted, when first reunited with the king the previous fall. For bordermen traditionally wore their hair pulled back in a braid at the nape of the neck and tied with the colors of their clan; no one remembered why.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unexpectedly, however, the whim of a few seasons of peace soon became a political asset, for it had enabled Kelson to sleek his black hair into a neat border braid like those sported by Dhugal and his kinsmen, underlining his own border connections with Dhugal as well as the clan and thereby binding his border allies more firmly to his support. Only after it had served its political purpose did Kelson discover that the affectation was also both comfortable and practical, working as well under a helm or mail as the bowl-shaped cut or the Roman style that most seasoned warriors favored.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since then, many of the younger men and boys had begun to adopt the king\u2019s border braid as their hair grew long enough, though lowland purists and those of a more conservative persuasion still considered short locks to be the mark of genteel civilization. Conall was one such purist, and wore his hair accordingly, though both his younger brothers boasted stubby border braids tied with ribbons of Haldane scarlet\u2014somewhat less consequential than Dhugal\u2019s coppery braid, to be sure, but meant as fervent compliment, both to their royal cousin the king and to his dashing foster brother, who took the time to coach them at archery, and did not laugh when their arrows went wide of the mark.<\/span><\/p>\n

A patter of applause and girlish laughter from across the yard shifted Morgan\u2019s focus back to Dhugal himself, who had just placed an arrow very near the center of the target. The young border lord lowered his bow and leaned on it like a staff as he glanced at Conall, watching in silence as his royal opponent carefully drew and let fly, placing his shot directly beside Dhugal\u2019s\u2014though no nearer the center.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s quite good, isn\u2019t he?\u201d Kelson breathed, gesturing with his chin toward his eldest cousin.<\/span><\/p>\n

As Conall\u2019s brothers, thirteen and eight, moved forward to take their turns, Dhugal giving the younger boys helpful pointers, Conall stepped back from the line and glared sourly at his chief rival.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAye, he\u2019s skilled enough,\u201d Morgan agreed. \u201cPerhaps one day he\u2019ll learn to compete gracefully as well. I wonder where he gets his temper. Certainly not from Nigel.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Kelson smiled and shook his head, glancing instinctively across the yard where his uncle, Conall\u2019s father, was working with a pair of pages under his tutelage\u2014lads too young to go along on the coming campaign. While an old, retired battle stallion plodded a patient circle in the mud, one youngster straddling its broad back behind the massive war saddle while a second attempted to stand and balance on the moving animal\u2019s back, Nigel walked alongside and barked instructions. Jatham, Kelson\u2019s own squire, led the horse.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWatch it \u2026\u201d Kelson murmured to himself, as Nigel\u2019s pupil teetered and started to tumble headfirst into the hoof-chumed mud\u2014only to have Nigel snatch him in midair by his belt and a handful of tunic and boost him back into position.<\/span><\/p>\n

They could not hear what Nigel said to the lad, though his words brought an immediate flush of scarlet to the downy cheeks. Almost at once, the boy found his balance and was standing up, erect if shaky, but moving more and more confidently with the gait of the horse. Lent new bravery by his companion calling encouragement from behind him, he even began to grin as Nigel nodded approval and started slowly backing toward the center of the circle the old stallion trod.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGod, I\u2019m glad I\u2019ve got Nigel,\u201d Kelson whispered, echoing Morgan\u2019s own appreciation of Gwynedd\u2019s Iron Duke. \u201cI suppose kings have always had to ride off to battle not knowing how their heirs will handle things if they don\u2019t return, but at least with Nigel after me, Gwynedd will be in good hands.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Morgan glanced at him sharply. \u201cNo prescience of impending doom, I hope?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it isn\u2019t that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Morgan raised an eyebrow at the note of distraction in the royal answer, but he said nothing, only noting how the king had begun twisting at a gold ring on the little finger of his left hand. Briefly it had been Kelson\u2019s bridal token to the Mearan princess who now slept eternally in the vaults below Rhemuth Cathedral; the ring had a tiny Haldane lion etched on a facet pared from along the top of the band, the eyes set with miniscule rubies. He had worn the ring constantly since the day of her burial. Likewise, when court protocol did not dictate otherwise, he had taken to wearing black. He was so attired today, not even a circlet adorning his royal head.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nor did Morgan know how much the outward symbols of mourning reflected the true extent of the king\u2019s grief. Kelson <\/span>said<\/span> that both gestures were but visible reminders of the vow he had made to bring the Mearan rebels to justice, but Morgan wondered whether the significance might run deeper\u2014 though he would not have dreamed of prying. Faced with a marriage of state to a girl who had been bred to hate his very name, Kelson had let himself retreat to the more comforting fantasy that he was falling in love with Sidana, and she with him. By the time they recited their vows before the high altar, he had nearly convinced himself that it was true\u2014or at least that he eventually could have <\/span>caused<\/span> it to be true.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Her violent death, then, before the fantasy could be tested in the reality of a consummated marriage, had left the young king foundering in a sea of unresolved adolescent passions and shattered ideals. Playing the grieving and aggrieved widower gave him time to sort things out before circumstances forced him once more into the matrimonial sea. Both he and Morgan knew that he would have to marry again, however, and fairly soon. And as before, he <\/span>would<\/span> always have to place dynastic considerations firmly before considerations of the heart.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWell, it\u2019s natural to be a little nervous about tonight,\u201d Morgan said, guessing apprehension rather than grief to be behind today\u2019s mood. \u201cDon\u2019t worry. Nigel will do fine. You\u2019ve been preparing him all winter for this.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cI know.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cAnd <\/span>you\u2019ll<\/span> do fine,\u201d Morgan continued, covering that aspect as well. \u201cWhy, I\u2019ll wager that no Haldane king since Cinhil himself has had so many Deryni to help him designate his magical heir. Your father certainly didn\u2019t. All he had was me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cWhat do you mean, <\/span>all<\/span>?\u201d Kelson snorted, though the protest was a little too quick to be quite as casual as he tried to pretend. \u201cWhy, I\u2019d rather have you standing at my back than any other man I can think of \u2014 no matter <\/span>what<\/span> I was about to do. And as far as magic is concerned\u2014\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Morgan quirked him a quick, lopsided smile and chuckled aloud, knowing he had guessed correctly.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs far as magic is concerned, you might do better with just about <\/span>any<\/span> trained Deryni at your back,\u201d he said lightly. \u201cEven Duncan and I don\u2019t have a full set of training between us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe not, but maybe formal training isn\u2019t that important. Besides, Richenda\u2019s trained. And Arilan.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cArilan.\u201d Morgan sighed and managed not to look as uneasy as he felt. \u201cYou\u2019re aware that he\u2019ll tell the Council every detail, aren\u2019t you?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cPerhaps. Perhaps not.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cKelson, you <\/span>know<\/span> he will. Despite his apparent loyalty to you, he has oaths of far longer standing with the Council\u2014 and far more binding. Even <\/span>I<\/span> know that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWell, they\u2019ll have to find out sometime, I suppose,\u201d Kelson murmured. \u201cBesides, they\u2019ve got access to records we\u2019ll need if we\u2019re ever to restore Saint Camber to his place of honor.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cSo you\u2019ll compromise our security.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cNo, I\u2019ll encourage further dialogue among fellow Deryni.\u201d Kelson smiled. \u201cDid you know that old Laran ap Pardyce has begun to use our library, for example? His scholar\u2019s mind couldn\u2019t <\/span>stand<\/span> not knowing what we had. And as a physician, he\u2019s fascinated that you and Duncan can heal\u2014though he won\u2019t admit that to very many people.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd just how do you know that?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cOh, I\u2019ve met him there, once or twice.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Before Morgan could respond to that new piece of information, a raucous whoop from Rory and Payne, Kelson\u2019s younger Haldane cousins, drew their attention back to the archery match, where Dhugal had just put his last arrow squarely into the center of the target.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

To a patter of appreciative applause from the watching ladies, Conall moved forward to take his last shot\u2014though there was little chance he could even come close to Dhugal\u2019s, much less beat it. Nor did he.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWell, that\u2019s that,\u201d Kelson said, as Conall\u2019s arrow thumped home a full handspan from Dhugal\u2019s\u2014respectable enough shooting, but clearly not in Dhugal\u2019s class.<\/span><\/p>\n

The ladies again applauded\u2014for a prince was nearly as good a catch as a king\u2014but Conall all but slammed down his bow, though he did manage a stiff little bow of acknowledgment before stalking off sullenly toward the stables. Kelson glanced wistfully at Morgan as a subdued Rory and Payne trailed along with Dhugal to retrieve the arrows from the target.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWell, well, well,\u201d he said, sliding to his feet off the stone balustrade, \u201cthat was nearly <\/span>far<\/span> more exciting than anyone would have wished. Let\u2019s go congratulate the winner, shall we? I don\u2019t know how, but he even managed to keep Conall from losing his temper.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cWhich is an achievement in itself, aside from the brilliant shooting,\u201d Morgan replied, as they headed down the stair and into the yard. \u201cPerhaps one may venture to hope that Conall is learning.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cAye. Perhaps the presence of the ladies helped a little.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

They were waiting at the firing line when Dhugal returned, Rory and Payne carrying the arrows in adoring attendance. After the boys had made their duty to Kelson, Payne chattering excitedly about Dhugal\u2019s victory, the young border lord sent them on their way and gave his foster brother his own casual yet respectful salute. In public, at least, he was always careful to give Kelson the deference their ranks required.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cWell shot, Dhugal,\u201d Kelson said, smiling. \u201cAnd a well-managed victory.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Dhugal inclined his head and returned the smile, golden-amber eyes meeting Haldane grey, exactly aware what Kelson meant.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThank you. Sire.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Though still not as tall as Kelson, he, too, had shot up over the winter\u2014to the dismay of the castle armorers, who must even now rush to complete the season\u2019s second alteration of his steel and leather brigandine, before he left on campaign on the morrow. He wore new boots and supple new leather britches of the same russet hue as his border braid, but the linen tunic was old, and pulled across the chest, the sleeve not bound with an armguard for archery hitting well above the wristbone. He had laid aside his plaid in the noonday sun, but no one would have mistaken his rank.<\/span><\/p>\n

No sword hung from the gilded earl\u2019s belt circling his narrow waist, but he wore a border dirk at his left hip, with a water-pale amethyst set in the hilt. The three eagle feathers of a border chief bristled from behind a MacArdry badge on his leather border bonnet.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dhugal grinned as he dropped his arrows into a standing quiver, large, square front teeth flashing bright-white beneath the sparse, silky smudge of mustache that, at sixteen, was all the facial hair he could yet produce.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCare to shoot a round, Sire?\u201d he asked impishly. \u201cWe missed you just now.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Smiling benignly. Kelson picked up Conall\u2019s discarded bow and tested its pull, then nocked an arrow to string and casually drew.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cConall didn\u2019t miss me,\u201d he said, letting fly and holding as he watched the arrow thump precisely into the center of the target. \u201cAnd Conall hasn\u2019t yet learned the graceful art of losing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He ignored the flurry of applause and the sighs of appreciation from the watching ladies as he lowered the bow and took another arrow from the wistful Dhugal, laying the shaft across bow and string and carefully fitting nock to string again.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI see,\u201d Dhugal said, not resentful, but curious. \u201cSo <\/span>I <\/span>get the job of humbling Conall.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Almost lethargically, Kelson raised the bow and began to draw again, closing his eyes and turning his face slightly away from the target as he locked into full-draw.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAt least it was an honest competition,\u201d he said softly, releasing his second arrow after the final word.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Eyes still closed, he held the position as the arrow made its flight, lowering the bow to look at Dhugal only when the arrow had thumped home precisely beside the first, the two shafts touching all along their length, the fletching on the two arrows indistinguishable from one another. The ladies applauded even more enthusiastically, and Kelson half-turned briefly to glance up at them and incline his head slightly in graceful acknowledgment as Dhugal gaped.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m afraid I must confess to taking what Conall could consider an unfair advantage on that one,\u201d the king admitted with a droll smile and a wink in Dhugal\u2019s direction. \u201cBeing Deryni does have its more mundane advantages.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He shifted his attention to Morgan. \u201cAnd you will note, Alaric, that I am not totally insensitive to the interest of the ladies at my court,\u201d he went on. \u201cI am simply cultivating an aloofness in keeping with my eligible status\u2014though I must confess that it seems somehow to have taken on some of the mystery that you yourself used to generate when you were in your darkling phase\u2014and still do, I suspect, known Deryni sorcerer that you are. Perhaps it comes from wearing black.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Any determination on Morgan\u2019s part to maintain decorum disintegrated into delighted laughter at that, for Morgan\u2019s own former penchant for black attire was well known and of only recent abandonment\u2014and affected, in the past, for reasons very similar to those Kelson had just cited. Nowadays, he wore black for practicality, or because nothing else was handy\u2014which was precisely why he had donned it this morning: serviceable black leathers over mail, for a predawn ride. The coincidence made Kelson\u2019s comment a singularly suitable retribution for Morgan\u2019s earlier jesting.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps you ought to go ahead and try a shot,\u201d Kelson suggested, suddenly aware that the bewildered Dhugal was still puzzling over the implications of Deryni advantages. \u201cShow Dhugal how we Deryni do it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean\u2014\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Dhugal broke off in astonishment as Morgan merely raised an eyebrow and took up a bow, casually fitting an arrow to the string. He could not come to full draw with the shorter shaft the younger men used, but nonetheless his shot slammed squarely into the angle formed by Kelson\u2019s first two, even though he deliberately averted his eyes before locking on the target. Nor did he look up as he nocked and drew again, his second shot completing the square formed by the four shafts.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Bloody hell<\/span>!\u201d Dhugal whispered, as sighs of awe and more timid applause issued from the ladies\u2019 gallery.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Morgan laid down his bow and favored his admiring audience with a courtly acknowledgment of his own before herding the two younger men along with him toward the target with vague shooing motions. Dhugal tried hard not to goggle.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cHow did you do that?\u201d he breathed. \u201c<\/span>No one<\/span> can shoot like that! You really <\/span>did<\/span> use magic, didn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Morgan shrugged noncommittally.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSimple enough, when one knows how,\u201d he said, keeping his outward demeanor casual and offhand. \u201cFortunately, our feminine admirers aren\u2019t aware how unusual that kind of shooting is. Nor, I suspect, should we titillate them very often with performances like this. Right now, they are probably only reflecting that Conall and his brothers are rather poor shots by comparison with the three of us. Conall, on the other hand, might have guessed the truth\u2014and been furious.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201c<\/span>I\u2019ll<\/span> say,\u201d Dhugal murmured. \u201cHe\u2019s insufferable enough when he doesn\u2019t win.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Kelson reached the target first, and began carefully pulling the telltale arrows and handing them to Morgan.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd now you know another reason I declined to compete,\u201d he said. \u201cIt would have taken unfair advantage. When you\u2019ve learned how to enhance a skill as Alaric and I have done, it\u2019s a great temptation to use what you\u2019ve learned. <\/span>Your<\/span> skill, on the other hand, comes from genuine talent with the bow\u2014and can become better yet, once you learn how to use your powers more broadly.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean, <\/span>I<\/span> could do that?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCertainly. With practice, of course.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

As they started back toward the line, Conall and a squire burst from the distant stableyard on fractious bay coursers and clattered across the cobblestones toward them, the squire, at least, giving flying salute to the king as they shot past. Conall pretended not to have noticed any of them. The two had to draw aside at the great portcullis gate to let a returning patrol enter the yard, but they were gone as soon as they could squeeze their mounts past the last tartan-clad riders.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAh, look who\u2019s back,\u201d Morgan said, spotting his cousin Duncan among the men bringing up the rear.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bishop Duncan McLain, Duke of Cassan and Earl of Kierney, looked hardly even ducal, much less episcopal, as he urged his grey forward alongside the ordered ranks of men. Besides a mist-pale plume in his cap, only a shoulder plaid of green, black, and white set off his drab brown riding leathers. He grinned and raised a gloved hand in greeting as he spotted king and company by the archery butts; however, he jogged his mount smartly in their direction instead of continuing on toward the stables with his men. A smiling Dhugal caught the horse\u2019s bridle as Duncan reined in, gentling the animal with a word and a deft touch of hands to velvety nose.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGood morning. Sire,\u201d Duncan said to Kelson with a nod, swinging a leg and his sword casually over the high pommel of his saddle and springing lightly to the ground on the off side. \u201cDhugal. Alaric. What\u2019s got into young Conall? One would have thought he was pursued by demons.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOnly the demons of jealousy.\u201d Kelson snorted, resting both balled fists on his narrow hips. \u201cDhugal outshot him, fair and square.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Did<\/span> you, then? Well done, son!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

All three of them echoed his grin at that, for calling Dhugal \u201cson\u201d in that context was one of the few ways that Bishop Duncan McLain could publicly acknowledge that Dhugal MacArdry really <\/span>was<\/span> his son\u2014for Duncan\u2019s heartbreakingly brief marriage to Dhugal\u2019s mother, though consummated long before Duncan entered holy orders, had been irregular in the extreme, so irregular that its existence could no longer be proven except by magic, so irregular that neither father nor son had learned of their relationship until a few short months before, though they had known one another as priest and royal page for many years. The secret was still shared only by the four of them and Morgan\u2019s wife, Richenda, though Duncan was quite willing to acknowledge his son if Dhugal wanted it.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

But both had agreed that the timing was not yet right for that. Public disclosure just now would only brand Dhugal a bastard, undermining his right to the leadership of Clan MacArdry and his rank as earl, as well as weakening Duncan\u2019s credibility as a Prince of the Church. It would also cloud the succession to Duncan\u2019s Cassan and Kierney lands\u2014a factor in the coming Mearan conflict, since Prince Ithel held some claim to the titles if Duncan eventually died without issue, as bishops normally were expected to do.<\/span><\/p>\n

A less immediate but far more dangerous result, in the final reckoning, was the possibility that Dhugal would eventually be branded a Deryni, once Duncan\u2019s Deryni status became a confirmed fact rather than the present whispered rumor. And of the several Deryni at court, Dhugal was the least well-equipped to deal with that accusation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Never having suspected this aspect of his heritage any more than he had his true paternity, Dhugal had never learned to use his magical birthright while he was growing up; indeed, had been hampered at first by rigid shields that were only finally breached by Duncan himself, and still remained resistant to all but the most cautious and delicate probes of any other Deryni. Even Arilan had tried\u2014though before Dhugal\u2019s kinship with Duncan was discovered.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a good contest,\u201d Morgan said, enjoying the interplay between father and son. \u201cDhugal, however, was not aware that one might improve one\u2019s performance with the application of certain\u2014ah\u2014\u2018alternate\u2019 skills, was he. Kelson?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe wouldn\u2019t dare use them with Conall,\u201d Kelson agreed. \u201cHe already rides off in a snit when he loses.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Duncan laughed and pulled off his leather riding cap, ruffling a gloved hand through short brown hair. In preparation for the coming campaign, with its need for long hours spent under arming cap, mail, and helm, he had grown out his clerical tonsure save for a small, token circle right at the crown, no larger than a silver penny. The rest of his hair was barbered in the same martial-style that Morgan favored, in marked contrast to Dhugal and Kelson\u2019s border braids.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I think Conall has a paramour somewhere in the city,\u201d he said with a droll smile quite out of keeping with his clerical rank. \u201cPerhaps that\u2019s where he was in such a hurry to go, when he nearly rode me down just now. I\u2019ve noticed that he isn\u2019t too attentive to most of the ladies at court\u2014and he nearly always comes back with a silly smile on his face. Perhaps our king should take his example?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Kelson knew Duncan was only jesting, but he still was faintly annoyed as Dhugal elbowed him in the ribs, flashing his bright-white grin, and Morgan raised an eyebrow in an amused expression of silent approbation.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Must<\/span> we keep harping on that same tired theme?\u201d he said a little sharply, taking an arrow from Morgan and pretending to sight along it critically. \u201cHow was your patrol, Duncan? Are your men fit?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Duncan\u2019s smile vanished immediately, his blue eyes gone coolly serious as he put on his cap again, once more the restrained and efficient soldier-priest.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAye, fit enough, my prince. However, I fear we did come upon something I think will not please you overmuch. The queen\u2019s party is less than an hour from the city gates.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOh, no!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey must have made better time from Saint Giles\u2019 than we expected. I left eight of my men for escort.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Damn!<\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The expletive was barely whispered, but suddenly Kelson snapped his arrow across one knee and dashed the broken halves to the ground in a brief fit of temper.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cBut, you knew she was coming,\u201d Dhugal ventured, clearly taken aback.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cAye. But not today. She could have waited another day or two\u2014at least until after tonight.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Morgan found himself wondering whether Jehana could possibly know what they planned, and said as much to the king, but Kelson only shook his head and sighed heavily, once more in control.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cNo, I\u2019m sure it\u2019s just poor timing.\u201d He sighed again. \u201cI suppose there\u2019s nothing to do but greet her and hope she\u2019s changed\u2014though I doubt that. Alaric, you\u2019d better make yourself scarce until I find out whether she still wants your blood. She wouldn\u2019t dare <\/span>do<\/span> anything, but there\u2019s no sense asking for trouble.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cI shall become invisible, my prince,\u201d Morgan said quietly. \u201cAlso, we may need to start later tonight than we\u2019d planned,\u201d Kelson went on, gaining confidence as he took charge again. \u201cDuncan, could you please inform Bishop Arilan?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cOf course. Sire.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Kelson sighed yet again.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cVery well, then. I suppose I\u2019d better go and tell Uncle Nigel she\u2019s on her way. I am not looking forward to this.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\nCHAPTER TWO<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\nShall I give my firstborn for my transgressions, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u2014Micah 6:7<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The enclosed horse-chair carrying the mother of the King of Gwynedd swayed and lurched as the lead horse minced around a muddy pothole. Inside, behind thick woolen curtains that filtered the spring sunshine to a safe, anonymous twilight, Jehana of Gwynedd clung to the wooden frame on either side and prayed for a better road.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

She loathed travelling by horse-chair; it made her stomach queasy. But three years without so much as setting toe to stirrup, combined with the austerities she had practiced as a part of her religious discipline, had left her quite unfit to make the journey from Saint Giles\u2019 to Rhemuth in any other way. The pale, well-kept hands clinging to the chair\u2019s polished wood were painfully thin; the golden marriage ring given her by her dead husband would have slid from her finger with the slightest movement, were it not for the white silk cord securing it to her fragile wrist.<\/span><\/p>\n

Her high-necked gown was also white, like the cord: the color of a postulant\u2019s habit, though the fabric was nubby silk rather than the simple homespun wool the sisters wore, and her mantle was lined with miniver. The rich auburn hair that had been her pride and Brion\u2019s joy was concealed beneath a wimple of white silk that also hid the grey beginning to thread the auburn at temples and crown. Her face thus kindly framed, the hollows of cheeks and brow gave an impression of ascetic beauty rather than gauntness, though a pinched look about the eyes betrayed the beauty\u2019s source as internal torment, not contentment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Only the color of her eyes remained as it had been: the smoky green of shaded summer forests, rich as the darkling emeralds Brion had loved to see her wear. She was just thirty-six.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hard male voices jarred Jehana abruptly from contemplation, and then the sound of many riders approaching. As her horse-chair lurched to a halt, she drew in breath sharply and prayed that Kelson was not among them, cautiously parting the curtains on her left until she could peer apprehensively ahead. All she could see at first was the hind end of Sir Delrae\u2019s brawny bay, its thick tail twisted up in a neat mud-knot, and a similar view of Father Ambros\u2019 white mule.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then, as Delrae urged his mount forward to challenge the newcomers, Jehana caught a glimpse of leather and tartan-clad riders beyond him, in green and black and white, too many to count. She remembered seeing the pattern before, but she could not recall the particular clan.<\/span><\/p>\n

She watched Delrae confer with one of the officers of the troop for several minutes\u2014he was senior of the four Bremagni knights her brother had sent to serve as her escort. Then Delrae gave way and allowed several of the men to fall in with his own command. As the rest of the troop rode off, and Jehana started to let the curtain fall back into place, Father Ambros kneed his mule between her and the view ahead and leaned down to reassure her.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been given a guard of honor, my lady,\u201d he said softly, with the smile that would melt the heart of an angel. \u201cThat was the Duke of Cassan\u2019s patrol. He\u2019s left men to see us safely to Rhemuth.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Duke of Cassan. With both Jared and Kevin McLain dead, that would be Duncan McLain \u2014 <\/span>Father<\/span> McLain, Kelson\u2019s confessor of many years\u2014and distant cousin to the Deryni Alaric Morgan. That Duncan was also Deryni had come as a complete shock to Jehana\u2014though she never would have dreamed of betraying that knowledge to anyone not already aware of the fact. God would exact His vengeance upon Duncan McLain for daring to accept priestly ordination in defiance of the Church\u2019s prohibition against Deryni entering priestly Orders\u2014though how He had countenanced Duncan\u2019s elevation to the episcopate was beyond her understanding.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYes, of course. Thank you. Father,\u201d she murmured.<\/span><\/p>\n

She was not certain, as she hastily let the curtain fall, whether she had succeeded in keeping the panic out of her eyes or not, though she thought her voice had not betrayed her. Still, Ambros was a canny judge of character, for all that he was nearly young enough to be her son.<\/span><\/p>\n

But thought of her son was not to be countenanced any more than that of McLain\u2014and Morgan. Time enough, later on, to worry about <\/span>them<\/span>. Clasping folded hands fervently to her lips, she closed her eyes briefly and breathed yet another prayer for courage\u2014then grabbed at the sides of the chair for balance as her procession lurched into motion again.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Reunion with her Deryni son was not the only reason Je-hana was dreading the return to Rhemuth. Resumption of the very public life expected of a queen at court would not be easy, if only because she had grown unaccustomed to seeing anyone other than the sisters of Saint Giles\u2019. Though she had taken no formal religious vows during the three years of her seclusion, she had lived and moved with the heartbeat of the community, performing all the offices and praying for expiation of the terrible taint of Deryni evil she knew she carried in her soul, seeking release from the torment that her self-knowledge carried. Taught from childhood by family and Church that Deryni were evil, she had not yet reconciled the religious and moral dilemmas raised by the discovery that she, too, was of the race she had long believed accursed. Her spiritual mentors at Saint Giles\u2019 had assured her repeatedly that her sin was forgivable\u2014if sin it was to use one\u2019s every resource to protect one\u2019s child from certain death at the hands of an evil adversary\u2014but early indoctrination continued to warn a still-childlike Jehana that she had sinned.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The outward vehemence of her denial had lessened a little during her sojourn at Saint Giles\u2019\u2014for so long as she kept her seclusion, she had been able to insulate herself almost totally from contact with or even mention of other Deryni\u2014 but the dread rekindled and burned ever brighter as she drew closer and closer to Rhemuth and her Deryni son. Only for Kelson\u2019s sake had she left the abbey even now, anguished by the continuing toll his Deryniness seemed to take in human lives. Not even his young bride had been safe.<\/span><\/p>\n

And that was why, ultimately, Jehana had finally chosen to leave the cloistered sanctuary of Saint Giles\u2019; for Kelson, now nearly six months a widower, would need to take another wife soon to secure the succession. Jehana had no idea what the field of likely candidates might be like\u2014only a notion that the right royal bride, chosen according to the standards Jehana espoused, might mitigate the negative aspects of Kelson\u2019s Deryni blood. Only thus might there be a chance to turn Kelson aside from the path he seemed to have chosen, to lure him away from the evil influences of the other Deryni at court and bring him back to salvation.<\/span><\/p>\n

The horses\u2019 shod hooves began to strike more solid footing, picking up the pace as the way became smoother, and Jehana parted the curtains just far enough to glance outside again. Ahead, between the straight figures of Sir Delrae and i tartan-wrapped Cassani officer, she could just see the familiar walls of Rhemuth Castle shimmering silvery and pristine in the spring sunshine, bold against a sky pebbled with tiny white clouds.<\/span><\/p>\n

White sheep<\/span>, she thought fiercely to herself, fighting down a lump threatening to rise in her throat. <\/span>White sheep on a blue hill\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

But the childhood image, intended to divert the double pangs of fear and joy at homecoming, did not have the hoped for effect. Far from the meager comfort she had found at Saint Giles\u2019, she could feel the old emotions welling up\u2014 the terror for her soul, for Kelson\u2019s soul, threatening the composure she knew she must regain before she dared face those who would be waiting.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

And in the yard at Rhemuth Castle, on the landing of the stair that led to the great hall, Kelson, too, was experiencing no small amount of trepidation at what the coming reunion would bring. Only his Uncle Nigel, Archbishop Cardiel, and Nigel\u2019s two younger sons waited with him for the queen\u2019s arrival. He had thought not to overwhelm her with too many people at first.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been so long,\u201d Kelson whispered to his uncle, standing at his left elbow. \u201cWhat do you think she\u2019ll be like?\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Nigel\u2019s smile conveyed a reasonable composure as he glanced aside at his royal nephew, but Kelson knew that he, too, had misgivings about his sister-in-law\u2019s return.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019ll be somewhat changed,\u201d the royal duke allowed softly. \u201cHopefully, the changes will be for the better. God knows, she\u2019ll see <\/span>you\u2019ve<\/span> changed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNot all <\/span>that<\/span> much, have I?\u201d Kelson asked, surprised.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nigel shrugged. \u201cWhat do <\/span>you<\/span> think. Kelson? You\u2019ve become a man in her absence\u2014the magic all aside. You\u2019ve fought a war, you\u2019ve killed\u2014you\u2019ve had to make some very difficult decisions that <\/span>I<\/span> certainly wouldn\u2019t have wanted to make.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m told it comes with the job,\u201d Kelson murmured, managing a brief, wry grin.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cAye, but some men do a better job than others,\u201d Nigel returned. \u201cYou\u2019re one of them. Even now, on the eve of another war, you\u2019ve kept your personal anger in check when most men of far more experience and years would have let vengeance run wild. I don\u2019t know that <\/span>I<\/span> could have kept from killing Llewell right there in the cathedral, if I\u2019d just had my bride butchered before my eyes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Kelson half-turned away and began furiously twisting the ring on his little finger.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf I\u2019d really been in control, she wouldn\u2019t have been killed in the first place.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cAre we going to have to go over <\/span>that<\/span> again?\u201d Nigel replied. \u201cThat\u2019s past. It\u2019s regrettable\u2014but continuing to reproach yourself won\u2019t change things. You can\u2019t do everything exactly right. You <\/span>can<\/span> make a difference for the future, however.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cYes, and my dear, superstition-blinded mother will help things enormously!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s only your mother, for God\u2019s sake. Kelson. You haven\u2019t done anything you need to be ashamed of. If she wants to keep flagellating herself with guilt, that\u2019s between her and her God. Don\u2019t ask me to hand <\/span>you<\/span> a whip to do the same thing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Kelson snorted and started to cross his arms skeptically across his chest, then glanced at the gatehouse, his eyes caught by movement in the shadowed passageway. As the first of the Cassani escort trotted through the opening, he stood a little straighter and tugged nervously at the bottom of his tunic.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cSweet <\/span>Jesu<\/span>, here she comes,\u201d he whispered.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Two pairs of Duncan\u2019s elite lancers rode at the head of the modest procession following, blue and silver silk pennons fluttering gaily from the tips of gleaming metal lances, McLain tartan bright on shoulders and saddles, horses jigging and prancing as they sighted the gate to the stableyard. Behind rode Sir Alan Sommerfield, the seasoned McLain captain, beside a stylish-looking younger knight bearing the black ship and crimson crescent of the Bremagni kings on his white surcoat. Two horse-chairs followed close behind, the first carried by a pair of pale matched greys and escorted by a young cleric on a white mule. Behind the second horse-chair followed three more Bremagni knights and another four Cassani lancers.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cCome, Sire,\u201d murmured Archbishop Cardiel, touching the king\u2019s elbow to lead him down the steps. \u201cShe\u2019ll be in the first chair. We should be there when she alights.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cWhy isn\u2019t she riding?\u201d Kelson whispered to Nigel, as they followed Cardiel and the cousins down. \u201cYou don\u2019t think she\u2019s ill, do you?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a long journey,\u201d Nigel returned. \u201cPerhaps this was easier for her.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The queen\u2019s horse-chair reached the bottom of the steps at about the same time the king and his party did, the priest and the two captains dismounting immediately to attend the chair\u2019s occupant as the other knights lined up to either side in salute. As the Bremagni captain drew back the heavy curtains and opened the tiny half-door, the priest offered his hand inside with a bow. Then Jehana was emerging, all white and in white and looking even paler for the blaze of her eyes in her pinched, wan face.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Mother<\/span>,\u201d Kelson breathed, reaching out to her and seizing her in a fierce embrace when she would have knelt to him on the dusty ground beside her chair. As he held her to his chest, a hand taller than last time they had met, he could feel her heart pounding beneath her silken robes\u2014and was shocked to realize how little there was of her to embrace.<\/span><\/p>\n

She must have sensed his surprise, for it was she who broke the embrace first, to back off a step and bob in formal curtsey, subject to king. Then she was moving on to Cardiel, bending to kiss his ring in homage, bringing forward the priest and a youngish-looking nun who had emerged from the second horse-chair.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI beg leave to present my chaplain, Father Ambros,\u201d she said softly, not meeting Kelson\u2019s eyes, \u201cand Sister Cecile, my companion. Sir Delrae commands my guard. I have no other household anymore,\u201d she finished lamely. \u201cI did not wish to presume upon the King\u2019s Grace.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c\u2019Tis no presumption. Mother,\u201d Kelson said softly. \u201cUntil I take another bride, you are still queen and mistress of this castle. And you must have a household befitting your rank. Aunt Meraude will assist you to choose new ladies-in-waiting. I pray you to take as many as you need.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYour offer is most generous. Sire, but I have found my needs to be far less in these past three years than one might believe. Sister Cecile shall continue to attend me\u2014and if a place might be made at court for my chaplain, my Lord Archbishop?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Cardiel bowed. \u201cI shall see that Father Ambros is housed in my own palace, my lady,\u201d he murmured. \u201cIn fact, if you have no further need of him for the rest of the afternoon, I shall take him now to begin meeting some of our brethren.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThank you. Excellency,\u201d she breathed. \u201cFather Ambros, I shall not require your services until morning Mass.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs you wish, my lady.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd now. Sire,\u201d Jehana went on, \u201cif we may be shown to our quarters? Sister and I are very weary from our journey.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCertainly, Mother.\u201d He cocked his head hopefully. \u201cMay I tell the court that you will join us at table tonight?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, no. Sire. I fear I am not yet ready for so public an appearance. I would be grateful if my knights could be afforded that courtesy, however. They have served me most loyally.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Kelson inclined his head coolly, not surprised that she had declined his invitation. \u201cSir Delrae and his fellows are most welcome at our table. Mother. Gentlemen, our royal cousin, Prince Rory, will conduct you to lodgings befitting your rank. And now, if I may,\u201d he went on, returning his attention to Jehana, \u201cI\u2019ll take you to your rooms.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThank you. Sire, but I prefer that Nigel escort me, if you do not mind.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Kelson minded, but he was not about to make a further fool of himself in front of so many witnesses, albeit that almost all of them knew what had raised the frosty barrier between Jehana and himself. As an apologetic Nigel set his hand under the queen\u2019s elbow and led her up the stairs. Sister Cecile following meekly behind. Kelson watched them go. Young Payne stood by him, even after Rory had taken away the knights and Cardiel had drawn the young priest Ambros in the direction of the episcopal palace.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe must be really mad at you, Kelson,\u201d Payne whispered after a moment, glancing shyly at his silent cousin as his father and aunt disappeared through the great hall door.<\/span><\/p>\n

Snorting, Kelson laid an arm around Payne\u2019s shoulder and shook his head sadly.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m afraid she is, Payne. I\u2019m afraid she is.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cHe seems so grown,\u201d Jehana murmured, as soon as she and Nigel were out of Kelson\u2019s earshot. \u201cI had no idea he would be so tall.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Nigel glanced at her in surprise, but waited until they had passed a bowing knot of courtiers before answering.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve been away for three years, Jehana,\u201d he said softly. \u201cChildren do grow, whether their parents are there to see it or not. Wait until you see Conall\u2014and I wonder that you even recognized Rory and Payne.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cI would have known them,\u201d Jehana replied, as they passed out of the great hall and headed down a long corridor leading to the residence wing. \u201cThey bear the Haldane stamp. No one could ever mistake a child of yours or Brion\u2019s.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps not. But I might never have recognized <\/span>you<\/span> in a crowd. Jehana, what have you done to yourself?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what you\u2019re talking about,\u201d she murmured, averting her eyes and thrusting thin hands briskly into her sleeve openings as she walked a little faster.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cOh, yes, you do. You look like you\u2019ve been in a dungeon rather than a cloister. How much weight have you lost?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cFasting is good for the soul,\u201d she replied, lifting her chin defiantly. \u201cBut I wouldn\u2019t expect you to understand that, knowing the company you keep.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Seizing her elbow, Nigel stopped in the middle of the corridor and spun her to face him.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cAnd just what is that supposed to mean?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cWell, aren\u2019t they still at court?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAren\u2019t <\/span>who<\/span> still at court?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou know: Morgan and McLain, and God knows what others.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

His expression was so shocked that she could almost believe the thought had not occurred to him before that very moment. Coolly Jehana drew her arm out of his grasp and moved a few steps in the direction they had been headed, gesturing for the silent Cecile to draw nearer.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019ll show us where we\u2019re to go, we should like to rest now,\u201d she said quietly.<\/span><\/p>\n

To her surprise and relief, Nigel did not pursue their discussion. Instead he led her to her old apartments close by the walled garden. She had been expecting lesser accommodations. At Nigel\u2019s knock, a serving girl opened the door and stood aside with a shy, deferential curtsey, but Nigel did not come in. As the door closed behind Jehana and her silent companion, the queen had just a glimpse of the solar beyond the little reception room, and a dozen or so strange pairs of eyes lifted curiously from various stitchery projects. Then Meraude, Nigel\u2019s wife, was darting toward her with outstretched arms, tears of joy streaming down her rosy cheeks.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJehana! Praise God, you\u2019re back at last! Poor thing, you must be exhausted!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Jehana could feel the taut swell of Meraude\u2019s belly against her as they embraced\u2014with child again, after so long!\u2014and she pushed down a brief pang of envy that she herself had been able to bear no more children after Kelson. But on second thought, perhaps that was for the best, lest the taint of her blood be passed on to even further generations.<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, she was not sure she even approved of Meraude having another child\u2014though the chance of it eventually assuming Kelson\u2019s dread heritage was so remote as to be almost nonexistent. If, for some reason. Kelson should not produce an heir of his own, the line would pass through Nigel and Conall\u2014or possibly through young Rory or Payne, if Conall\u2019s line should fail. The baby Meraude now carried beneath her heart would never wear the Haldane crown, or know the curse of the Haldane taint.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMeraude, Meraude, I <\/span>have<\/span> missed you, .she said softly, searching the other woman\u2019s brown eyes as they drew apart to look at one another. \u201cAnd you\u2019re with child again, at last. You and Nigel must be <\/span>so<\/span> pleased.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cHow could we not be?\u201d Meraude countered, grinning merrily. \u201cNigel hopes for a little girl this time, and I confess the thought pleases me as well, after three boys. We\u2019ll know in another month or so. But you, Jehana\u2014how thin you\u2019ve become! Are you well?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cAs well as I may be,\u201d she answered, turning slightly to motion her companion forward. \u201cThis is Sister Cecile. She came with me from Saint Giles\u2019. Sister, this is the Duchess Meraude, Prince Nigel\u2019s wife. May she wait in the solar with the other ladies while we speak for a moment?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOf course. Sister, you are most welcome to Rhemuth,\u201d Meraude said, inclining her head to acknowledge the nun\u2019s bow. \u201cPlease be at ease with my ladies. We shall join you in a few moments.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As Cecile passed on into the solar, Meraude glanced back at Jehana and drew her into the sunshine of a nearby windowseat.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo. What is it that cannot wait until you\u2019ve rested?\u201d she asked, easing her back with one hand as she sank down on a tapestry cushion.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jehana did not sit; only stood in a pool of sunlight and clasped her thin hands nervously, her eyes searching Meraude\u2019s for some sign of sympathy.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAre you safe, Meraude?\u201d she whispered.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSafe?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHave Morgan and McLain corrupted your husband as they did mine?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJehana\u2014\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to his very soul, Meraude!\u201d Jehana went on, sinking down urgently beside her sister-in-law, eyes never leaving Meraude\u2019s face. \u201cYou must keep him from the Deryni taint. Kelson is already in grave danger, but it isn\u2019t too late for Nigel\u2014and maybe not for Kelson, either. That\u2019s why I\u2019ve come back.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTo\u2014save Kelson?\u201d Meraude said cautiously.<\/span><\/p>\n

But Jehana went right on, taking Meraude\u2019s response for an invitation to say more.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe must marry again, Meraude\u2014and soon. He needs an heir of his own. And I feel certain that the right bride could overcome the evil in him. Just as you keep Nigel safe from harm, so Kelson\u2019s queen must bring him back to a life of righteousness. It\u2019s his only hope, Meraude. Say you\u2019ll help me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Wistfully Meraude returned Jehana\u2019s eager smile, letting the queen take her hand.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWell, there are certainly potential royal brides aplenty,\u201d she said noncommittally, \u201cthough I suspect Kelson himself will have something to say about a choice. In any case, I doubt he means to make a commitment until after the campaign.\u201d Her smile brightened hopefully. \u201cBut would you like to meet a few of them? Several of my ladies are quite eligible. In any case, you\u2019ll probably want to appoint a few ladies-in-waiting of your own. Come and I\u2019ll introduce them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Jehana lost track of the names after the first few presentations, but the prospect of involving herself actively in her son\u2019s choice of a new wife even brought a little color to her cheeks. Many of the ladies were quite young, and eminently suitable.<\/span><\/p>\n

She was in growing good spirit until Meraude brought her to a beautiful young woman stitching at a tapestry frame near one of the windows. The woman\u2019s gown was the deep blue of mountain lakes, her heavy, flame-gold hair caught in a net of gold and pearls at the back of her head and circled across the forehead by a narrow golden fillet.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the Duchess Richenda,\u201d Meraude said, as the woman rose to dip in a respectful curtsey.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jehana\u2019s heart leaped into her throat, her entire body stiffening in shock.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDuchess\u2014Richenda?\u201d she managed to whisper. \u201cHave I not heard your name before?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The woman straightened to meet Jehana\u2019s eyes with the bluest gaze she had ever seen, deferential but direct, even sympathetic.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt may well be that you have, Majesty,\u201d she said in a low voice. \u201cMy late husband sat on King Brion\u2019s council. He was the Earl of Marley.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Earl of Marley,\u201d Jehana repeated tonelessly. \u201cBut Meraude said\u2014\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy young son Brendan is Earl of Marley now. Majesty,\u201d Richenda said. \u201cMy present husband is the Duke of Corwyn.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Corwyn<\/span>! Jehana let the name register on a mind suddenly gone numb with dread. <\/span>Sweet Jesu, she is Morgan\u2019s wife!<\/span> <\/span>She married a Deryni!<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cI\u2014see,\u201d she managed to whisper aloud.<\/span><\/p>\n

But she could hardly see as she turned to move on with Meraude, stumbling stiff and half-blind through the rest of the introductions until she could call Sister Cecile to her side and seek the refuge of the little oratory adjoining her sleeping chamber. Prayer brought her some semblance of serenity, but she could not banish the feeling of dull despair that the wife of a Deryni should be so firmly entrenched in the royal household.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\nCHAPTER THREE<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\nFor they have begotten strange children.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u2014Hosea 5:7<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The strain generated by Jehana\u2019s arrival set the tone for the rest of Kelson\u2019s afternoon. Nor was his mood improved by the circumstances dictated for that evening. Already tense about the ritual set for later that night, he could not even escape for a few hours of much needed solitude and relaxation over supper, for even though Jehana had declined his invitation to dine with the court, he felt obligated to sup with her in private. To help keep the affair on more neutral ground, however, he asked Nigel and Meraude to host it, and had the meal sent to their quarters. That arrangement would also prevent Nigel from dwelling overmuch on what was to come. Half spitefully, he deputized Morgan and Richenda to preside at table in the great hall in his absence, since Morgan himself was at least partially responsible for Jehana\u2019s attitude. Duncan and Dhugal could more than handle what few arrangements had to be made.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

And so, he sat that evening with his mother, Nigel, and Meraude in his uncle\u2019s supper chamber and tried to make pleasant small talk while he longed to be almost anywhere else. The chamber was stuffy\u2014or perhaps it was only him\u2014 and he toyed distractedly with Sidana\u2019s ring while his mother\u2019s conversation meandered over half a dozen old themes. Almost all of them returned ultimately to her hatred and fear of Deryni.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo when the news reached me at Saint Giles\u2019,\u201d Jehana went on, \u201cI could hardly believe my ears. Continuing to keep Alaric Morgan around you is perilous enough; but to receive his wife, whose first husband was a traitor and apparently Deryni as well\u2014\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBran Coris wasn\u2019t Deryni, Mother,\u201d Kelson said peevishly, suddenly concerned for the direction this conversation could take if he were not careful.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut they say he stood by Wencit of Torenth in a magical circle\u2014\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Bishop Arilan stood by <\/span>me<\/span>. Does that make <\/span>him<\/span> Deryni?\u201d Kelson countered boldly.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cBishop Arilan? Certainly not! But\u2014\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOf course it doesn\u2019t.\u201d Which was not precisely a lie, but it was sufficiently misleading to redirect any suspicions Jehana might have had about Arilan. \u201cI asked his and Father Duncan\u2019s presence\u2014and Morgan\u2019s\u2014because the trial permitted four persons on either side. It was Wencit and I who were contending. We chose whom we willed to give us company and courage, but the power, if it had come to the Duel Arcane, would have come from Wencit and myself.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cAccording to whose authority?\u201d Jehana challenged. \u201cThose strangers who came on white horses? I heard about them. Kelson. Who were they? They were Deryni, weren\u2019t they?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Kelson lowered his eyes. \u201cI may not speak of them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThen, they <\/span>were<\/span> Deryni,\u201d she whispered. She turned a pinched, desperate face toward her dead husband\u2019s brother. \u201cNigel, you were there. What saw you? Who were they? Are there so many of them that they may walk unrecognized among us with impunity?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Nigel, of course, knew little more than Jehana in that regard, for he had not been privy to the intentions of the Cam-berian Council\u2014only their actual intervention. But his uneasy dissembling was sufficient to lead Jehana back to the old, relatively safe topic of Morgan, whose Deryni proclivities were a secret to no one. As Jehana launched into yet another variation on the old fears, Kelson let his thoughts turn to a delicious contemplation of the Deryni at court that Jehana did <\/span>not<\/span> know about.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

She had not yet made the connection about Richenda, of course\u2014though she had skirted uncomfortably close. And it obviously had not occurred to her to question Arilan. The knowledge that a Deryni had risen through the ecclesiastical ranks unbeknownst and attained the rank of bishop would shake her faith to the core; surely such a deception could only be the work of the Devil, an attempt to destroy the Faith from within. Of course, Duncan had managed a similar rise\u2014 but few outside episcopal ranks were certain that he was Deryni, and much could be blamed on his Deryni cousin Morgan.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Dhugal, of course, was an entirely different matter. Outside Kelson\u2019s immediate circle of close confidants\u2014Morgan, Richenda, Duncan, and Dhugal himself\u2014only Nigel and Arilan even knew that Dhugal was Deryni, much less that he was Duncan\u2019s son; and even Nigel and Arilan did not know the latter. One must assume that the Camberian Council also knew at least what Arilan knew\u2014and that they fretted over Dhugal and the mystery of his powers the same way they fretted over Morgan and Duncan\u2014but other than those few. Kelson doubted anyone even suspected.<\/span><\/p>\n

He took a deep draught of the light, nutty ale Nigel had provided with supper\u2014wine might have blunted their senses for the ritual still to come\u2014and hid a smile behind his cup as he nodded and made noncommittal grunts in response to his mother\u2019s continuing monologue.<\/span><\/p>\n

That Dhugal was Deryni, and Duncan\u2019s son, still amazed and delighted him. The revelation had even eased some of the awful, heart-numbing shock of Sidana\u2019s murder, that terrible Twelfth Night but a few months past. Letting the dull buzz of his mother\u2019s voice carry him back, he set himself to savor the memory\u2014able, from this distance, to let even the echo of his grief lap at his emotions as he anticipated the joy to follow.<\/span><\/p>\n

He had been sitting hunched in a bath before the fireplace in his bedchamber, trying to let the warm water ease the chill that seemed to penetrate to his very soul. He had long since washed Sidana\u2019s blood from his hands, but a part of him still kept going numbly through the motions, as if further ablution could somehow wash her blood from his soul as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

He was vaguely aware of others moving about quietly in the room\u2014Morgan, Duncan, Dhugal\u2014and felt their compassion as a warm, comforting presence intended to ease his pain; but he was too tight-coiled in his own hurt and guilt and outrage to let their caring penetrate very deeply. He still did not know whether he had truly loved Sidana, but ultimate responsibility for her death remained squarely upon him in any case, even though another hand had wielded the dagger.<\/span><\/p>\n

She had been under his protection, and he had failed her. Her marriage ring glinted bright and accusing as his hands continued their vague movement underneath the water. He had slipped it on his little finger as he held her lifeless body in his arms, crouched there in the blood-spattered sanctuary that so short a time before had been witness to their marriage.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think you\u2019ve been in there long enough, my prince,\u201d Morgan said quietly, suddenly appearing out of the shadows from behind him with a thick, thirsty towel. \u201cCome dry yourself. Duncan\u2019s making you a warm posset to help you sleep.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As he obeyed, dully standing to let Morgan wrap him in the towel, he became aware of small sounds in the room: the crackle of the fire, metal clinking against pottery at the small table where Duncan worked by candlelight, his own shallow breathing. Stepping damply onto thick Kheldish carpet, he allowed himself to be guided to a deep, engulfing chair nearer the hearth. When he had settled, Duncan put a warm cup in his hand and sat down on a stool; Dhugal had already taken a similar seat within reach of Kelson\u2019s knee. Morgan remained standing, his back to the fire, one arm resting along the carved stone of the mantel, the firelight limning his golden hair from behind so that he seemed to be haloed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDrink what Duncan\u2019s given you,\u201d his mentor said softly, jutting his chin toward the cup. \u201cIt will help to blunt some of the pain.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He was aware, as he drained the cup obediently, that the three of them were exchanging a curious set of glances, but he sensed nothing but concern for him in their manner\u2014 certainly no reason for alarm. The posset was laced with strong wine, and almost too hot. It was not until Kelson handed the cup back empty that he could detect the faintly tangy aftertaste of something Duncan had given him before\u2014the expected sedative. Dhugal coughed, looking almost nervous as Duncan set the cup aside, and Morgan laced his fingers together, one elbow still resting casually on the mantel.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDhugal and Duncan have something to tell you,\u201d Morgan said softly, the grey eyes dark with compassion. \u201cI wish you could have learned it under happier circumstances, but perhaps it will help to ease your sorrow now. I think you will not be displeased.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Curious despite his grief. Kelson turned his gaze on Duncan, who had laid his hand on Dhugal\u2019s shoulder. The sedative was already blurring his ability to make his eyes focus, but his thinking was still reasonably clear and would remain so for several minutes, he knew.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDhugal and I made a marvelous discovery before we left for the cathedral this morning,\u201d Duncan said, smiling as Dhugal glanced at him and grinned. \u201cIt has to do with the cloak clasp he\u2019s wearing. I believe you\u2019ve admired it at various times?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For the first time Kelson noticed that although Dhugal had changed from border tartans to funereal black, he still wore the fist-sized lion-headed brooch that he said had been his mother\u2019s.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about it?\u201d he asked, glancing back at Duncan.<\/span><\/p>\n

Duncan\u2019s grin abruptly matched Dhugal\u2019s. \u201cWell, it\u2019s a McLain badge\u2014see the closed eyes?\u2014the McLain sleeping lion. My father had it made for me. I gave it to my wife on our wedding night.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYour wife..?\u201d Kelson murmured, stunned.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTo Dhugal\u2019s mother, as it turned out,\u201d Duncan went on happily. \u201cYou see, Dhugal is my son.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Even now, Kelson remembered few further details of that evening, though later explorations of the happy news brought him a joy that did, indeed, ease a little of the shock of Sidana\u2019s death. But as he flashed on the somber days of her lying-in-state and funeral, and his visits since then to the simple tomb in the crypt where she slept with other of Gwynedd\u2019s former kings and queens, he was jarred back to the present by her name on his mother\u2019s lips.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026cannot grieve forever over this Sidana,\u201d she was saying. \u201cYou hardly knew the girl. You have a duty to take another bride. That\u2019s why I\u2019ve come back from the convent: to help you find one. A suitable wife can help to expiate the curse I\u2019ve placed upon you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cAnd what, pray tell, was not \u2018suitable\u2019 about the bride <\/span>I<\/span> chose?\u201d Kelson said irritably, setting his cup aside with a hollow clunk. \u201cEven by your standards. Mother, Sidana was \u2018suitable\u2019 in every respect: princess of a noble house whose union with our own might have forged a lasting peace; young and beautiful; almost certainly able to provide healthy heirs.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cNor was she either Deryni or in sympathy with Deryni. And her own brother killed her, with a solid, reliable, un-Deryni knife!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cYou know that isn\u2019t what I meant\u2014\u201d Jehana began.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo, don\u2019t lecture me about \u2018suitable\u2019 brides. Mother,\u201d Kelson went on. \u201cI was prepared to do my dynastic duty, and chose my bride for all the \u2018right\u2019 reasons. You must pardon me if I do not seem overeager to leap into the matrimonial sea again, quite so quickly!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Jehana shook her head, lips compressed in a thin line. \u201cNot now, of course. Kelson. But soon\u2014\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNot <\/span>too<\/span> soon. Mother. In case you\u2019ve forgotten, I have a war to fight this summer\u2014one of the little legacies of my brief foray into matrimony. And as if the Mearan rebellion were not already far enough advanced, her family now blame me for Sidana\u2019s death as well as Llewell\u2019s. The dispute over Mearan sovereignty has taken on the added dimension of a blood feud, despite the fact that it was Llewell who killed Sidana\u2014not I\u2014and that Llewell was executed for his crime of murder, not because I particularly wanted him dead.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou would have to have done away with him eventually, in any case,\u201d Jehana said coldly. \u201cSo long as he lived, he would have remained a threat. Any issue of his body\u2014\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMother \u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Pushing himself away from the table with an exasperated sigh and a scraping of heavy chair legs against stone, Kelson stood and glanced at Nigel and Meraude, who had remained notably silent throughout this last exchange.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFortunately, the subject of Llewell\u2019s issue has been rendered academic,\u201d Kelson said patiently, catching Nigel\u2019s eye in signal that it was time to make their escape. \u201cNor have I any wish to discuss the matter further this evening. The commanders of my northern army leave for Cassan tomorrow morning, and there are matters Nigel and I must discuss before then. Uncle, would you please make your apologies to the ladies? We still have work ahead of us before we sleep.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He could only admire Nigel\u2019s coolness as the older man rose to take his leave. Though he knew Nigel trusted him and his Deryni colleagues implicitly, and they him, he must have harbored some apprehension about the \u201cwork\u201d still ahead of them, if only for the fact that he was the object of that work and did not know what would be done to him. Still, he showed no glimmer of anything but relaxed duty as he pulled a cloak around his shoulders and advised Meraude not to wait up.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou know how long Kelson\u2019s staff meetings sometimes last, darling,\u201d he told her. \u201cWe could be half the night. You and the little one need your rest.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Meraude smiled and laid one hand on her swollen abdomen as her husband followed Kelson out, glancing aside at Jehana wistfully when the door had closed behind them. Jehana looked a bit taken aback, as if she could not quite believe how Kelson had managed his escape.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s become quite the young man while you were away, hasn\u2019t he?\u201d Meraude said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jehana lowered her gaze. \u201cI hardly recognize him,\u201d she whispered. \u201cHe\u2019s so stern and warlike\u2014and grown-up.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cChildren do that,\u201d Meraude answered gently. \u201cI\u2019m having to face the same realization about Conall. And Rory comes of age in the fall as well\u2014though fourteen-year-olds still have a little time for being boys yet.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMine didn\u2019t,\u201d Jehana murmured.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTrue. But Kelson was already a king by the time he turned fourteen. For Rory to face a similar circumstance would require tragedy indeed. No, Rory is my little boy for yet a while longer\u2014and Payne, of course. And soon there\u2019ll be the new baby for loving. But I <\/span>do<\/span> hope this one will be a girl.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Jehana grimaced. \u201cA girl, to become a pawn one day for a royal marriage?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA girl, to marry where her heart dictates, if God wills it,\u201d Meraude replied. \u201cWith three older brothers to carry on the line, I see little reason to force her into any marriage she would not want. Or perhaps she will prefer marriage with the Church. I gather that would not displease you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Jehana smiled bitterly, tracing a fingertip through a small spill of ale on the table before her. \u201cWould that my marriage had been with the Church, and saved the passing of the taint I carry within me,\u201d she\u2019 murmured.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd what of Kelson, if you had?\u201d Meraude countered. \u201cAside from the fact that Kelson would not have been Kelson, given another mother, where would he have been without your inheritance and protection when he had to face Charissa?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe might have died,\u201d Jehana conceded. \u201cBut at least he would have been human, his soul unsullied by the Deryni curse I placed upon him by bearing him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Shaking her head, Meraude pushed herself heavily back from the table. \u201cYou won\u2019t let go of it, will you? You\u2019re Deryni, Jehana. Nothing you can do will change that. But perhaps it doesn\u2019t <\/span>have<\/span> to be a curse. Surely it\u2019s possible <\/span>some<\/span> good might come of it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cI fear you listen far too much to my son,\u201d Jehana said sadly. \u201cIt <\/span>is<\/span> a curse, Meraude. It is a canker that festers within me\u2014and here at my son\u2019s court. Nor may I rest until I find a way to exorcise it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Exorcism of a far different sort than Jehana had in mind was underway in another part of the castle, performed by a man who bore the very taint Jehana feared. Murmuring ritual words of purification. Bishop Duncan McLain slowly paced the circumference of the tiny Saint Camber chapel adjoining his study, methodically sprinkling the chamber with water from a silver aspergillum. Incense already hung lightly on the air. From the doorway leading back into the study, Dhugal watched and made the responses, eyes following his father\u2019s every move with reverence and respect. They had finished nearly all the other preparations necessary before the rest arrived. The censing and asperging of the chapel was the final touch, done as much to center and steady the two participants as to cleanse a room long sanctified by its sacred use.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAsperges me, Domine, hyssopo, et mundabor: lavabis me, et super nivem dealbabor.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cAmen.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPax huic domui.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEl omnibus habitantibus in ea.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Peace be to this house\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

And to all who dwell in it\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

When they had done, and Duncan had put aside that paraphernalia of his office, father and son returned to the study, Duncan drawing into place the curtain that normally covered the door. Dhugal lingered a moment, eyeing the curtain with still-awed speculation as Duncan took a seat at the round table set before the room\u2019s fireplace. One candle burned at the center of that table, giving the only illumination save for the firelight. After a moment, Dhugal came and joined his father, though he still continued to glance at the curtained doorway from time to time.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cThe chapel retains quite an impression of power, doesn\u2019t it?\u201d Duncan said, smiling at Dhugal\u2019s startled glance in his direction. \u201cI\u2019m not surprised you\u2019d notice. Saint Camber does seem to make his influence felt. And if you\u2019d had the experiences Alaric and I have had, the difference between this chapel and most others would be even more apparent. Our good Deryni saint can be a very powerful intercessor.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Dhugal shifted a little uneasily. \u201cDo you\u2014really think he intervenes in earthly affairs? Does any saint?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWell, it\u2019s difficult ever to be certain, of course,\u201d Duncan replied. \u201cAlaric and I know that a few of the things we\u2019d ascribed to Saint Camber right after Kelson was crowned seem to have been done by\u2014\u201d He lowered his eyes. \u201cBy someone else,\u201d he finished. \u201cI\u2019m sorry, but I\u2019m not permitted to say whom, even to you. It was a former member of the Camberian Council, but they\u2019ve asked that we never mention names.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t mean to pry,\u201d Dhugal protested.<\/span><\/p>\n

Duncan smiled. \u201cI know you don\u2019t, son. In any case, some of the things we\u2019d ascribed to Camber <\/span>weren\u2019t<\/span> done by anyone we know of\u2014so maybe he <\/span>did<\/span> intervene. Whenever I spend any time in that chapel, I begin to <\/span>believe<\/span> he did.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Dhugal glanced at the curtain again, then back at Duncan. \u201cKelson told me that\u2019s where you and Morgan did the ritual that invested him with power. Is that why we\u2019re doing Nigel\u2019s there?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn part,\u201d Duncan admitted. \u201cHowever, it\u2019s also appropriate that we invoke Camber\u2019s special patronage, since it\u2019s said he was the first to give Deryni magic to any Haldane, more than two hundred years ago. And until his name is vindicated, as I\u2019m certain it will be, one day, this may well be the only chapel in Gwynedd that\u2019s consecrated to him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cOh.\u201d Dhugal thought about that for a moment. Then: \u201cDid\u2014Kelson\u2019s father also receive his power in there?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think so. Alaric had to do with that one\u2014not I\u2014 several years before Kelson was born. He was even younger than you. As I understand it\u2014\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A knock at the door cut off further retelling of that story, and Duncan rose to admit Morgan and Richenda.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cIf Kelson weren\u2019t my king, I\u2019d be tempted to box his royal ears for making me sit in for him at table tonight,\u201d Morgan said, as he and Richenda shed their hooded cloaks in the warm room. \u201cDo you have any idea how boring it was, having to play at being the gracious host while I knew you and Dhugal were already here, making preparations? And why is it so hot in here?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cBecause,\u201d said Richenda, loosening the throat of his tunic, \u201cthe windows are closed and you\u2019ve let yourself get in a dither.\u201d She glanced at Duncan. \u201cI suspect it will be warmer still in the chapel, with as many bodies as we\u2019re going to have generating heat. Is there <\/span>any<\/span> ventilation in there?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Duncan smiled and shook his head as he seated her at the table.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cVery little, I\u2019m afraid. We\u2019ll just have to cope as best we can.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

A second knock at the door heralded the arrival of Arilan, immediately bringing a greater degree of formality to the gathering. He glanced half disapprovingly at Dhugal as he swept past all of them to inspect the preparations in the chapel, calling Duncan to join him for several minutes.<\/span><\/p>\n

When the two bishops rejoined the others now waiting expectantly around the table, Arilan automatically assumed the role of senior, gesturing briskly for them to be seated as he took his seat. He did not seem to notice that Morgan and Richenda had neatly interposed themselves to either side of him, thus shielding him from close proximity to either Duncan or Dhugal. Later on, Arilan would be too busy to notice any hint of the true relationship between father and son, but for now, it had been agreed that they would take no chances.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNaturally, it will be Kelson\u2019s part to direct matters when we actually begin,\u201d Arilan said quietly. \u201cHowever, until he and our\u2014ah\u2014subject actually arrive, I believe a period of meditation would not be amiss for any of us. A great deal of this will be new to young Dhugal, so I suggest we join hands around the table before we begin centering. The physical link will help to balance out the disparities in our levels of experience.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

An expected hint of condescension was in his tone, but even Dhugal sensed Arilan meant well. Without demur they joined hands and obeyed, gazing through the candleflame for focus at first, then gradually dropping, one by one, into deeper rapport; breathing more slowly, eyes closing, even Dhugal easing at last into calm, floating receptivity, passive yet alert, waiting for king and kin. \u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And in the castle, the king led their intended subject into a darkened apartment that had been his own as prince. It was Dhugal\u2019s now. The door was not locked, but even if it had been, that would not have stopped a Deryni of any training whatsoever.<\/span><\/p>\n

Drawing Nigel into the gloom and closing the door behind him. Kelson paused just a moment to conjure handfire. The faintly crimson ball of light cupped in his left palm revealed a tight-jawed and apprehensive-looking Nigel, now that there was no need to maintain the facade of casual competence he had worn all through supper. Concerned, Kelson motioned Nigel farther into the room, away from the door, pausing before the darkened fireplace to turn and glance at his father\u2019s brother with apparent casualness of his own, though his next words came of a far from casual concern for the response he would receive.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t want to back out, do you? Because even if you did, at this late date, I couldn\u2019t let you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Nigel managed a shaky grin and a chuckle. \u201cKelson, I outweigh you by half. What would you do? Knock me out and carry me to\u2014where <\/span>is<\/span> it that we\u2019re going, by the way?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll see,\u201d Kelson replied. \u201cAnd I\u2019m sure you know that I hadn\u2019t in mind to use any physical force.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI hadn\u2019t thought you would.\u201d Nigel took a deep breath. \u201cI <\/span>am<\/span> nervous, though. You don\u2019t begrudge me that, do you?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Kelson moved a step closer, relieved, and shook his head. \u201cOf course not. I can ease a little of that for the time being, though, if you\u2019d like.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDo it, then,\u201d Nigel whispered. \u201cBut I want to be back in complete control before it\u2019s time for\u2014the other.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cYou can depend on it,\u201d Kelson said, raising his right hand to touch Nigel\u2019s forehead as he locked the grey eyes with his own. \u201cClose your eyes and take a deep breath\u2026.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

With a little shudder, Nigel obeyed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNow hold it for a count of five\u2014and let it out. Feel the apprehension drain away as you empty your lungs, until you\u2019ve reached a level of lower tension that you can handle. Have another breath if you need to.\u201d He dropped his hand as Nigel breathed in deeply again. \u201cNow let it out and look at me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As Nigel exhaled with a whoosh, his eyes fluttered open and he blinked.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBetter?\u201d Kelson asked.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nigel nodded bewilderedly. \u201cA little dizzy\u2014as if I\u2019d had a glass of heavy wine on an empty stomach.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat will pass,\u201d Kelson said, turning away and pacing off a few precise steps to the left of the fireplace. \u201cNow I\u2019m going to show you something I first learned from Morgan. After tonight, you\u2019ll be able to do it, too. Are you watching?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He could feel Nigel standing at his right shoulder, far steadier than he had been, and sensed that at least a part of his uncle\u2019s new calm had come as much from his own strength of character and trust as from anything Kelson had done. That was reassuring, for Kelson himself was not without his own apprehensions about the work ahead, though for different reasons than Nigel.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lifting the handfire still cupped in his left hand, he raised his right hand as well to trace a smooth, intricate pattern in the air with his forefinger. A psychic triggering went along with the physical act, but Nigel would receive that along with the rest of the night\u2019s accomplishments.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2014don\u2019t think I caught that,\u201d Nigel whispered, gasping as a section of the wall swung back to reveal a dark stairwell.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kelson smiled and stepped into the opening, turning to beckon Nigel to follow.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t worry. You\u2019ll remember if there\u2019s need. Many of the Haldane powers operate that way.\u201d As he started down the shadowy stairs, Nigel had to scramble to keep up.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn fact,\u201d Kelson went on, \u201cI\u2019m going to try to give you a few limited abilities tonight, even though we\u2019re primarily just setting your potential. Some of mine started coming through in Father\u2019s lifetime, so I don\u2019t see that there\u2019s any conflict. We\u2019d better be quiet now, though. We\u2019ll be passing close to some occupied parts of the castle, and I shouldn\u2019t want anyone to think they\u2019re hearing ghosts in the walls.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Nigel snorted at that, but they traversed the rest of the passage in red-lit silence, halting finally before an apparently blank wall. There Kelson quenched his handfire and peered for a long time through a peephole set at eye level. Then a narrow section of the wall was swinging back silently and a lighter patch of courtyard lay before them in the starlight.<\/span><\/p>\n

The passage closed silently behind them as they emerged. Ahead, the silhouette of Saint Hilary\u2018s-Within-the-Walls loomed black against the dark night sky, the darkness broken by the occasional glint of starlight on shadowed glass. Kelson made no attempt to conceal their passage as he led Nigel briskly across the yard. Not until they had almost reached the top of the steps leading to a western door did Nigel see why.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAll\u2019s well, Sire,\u201d said Sean Lord Derry, stepping from the shadow of a column to give casual salute. \u201cThe others are already inside.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Kelson nodded. \u201cYou\u2019ve posted adequate guards around the yard?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLord Dhugal\u2019s own borderers, Sire.\u201d Derry\u2019s grin flashed in the darkness. \u201cThey have very precise orders.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThank you. I\u2019m certain they have.\u201d Without further ado, he drew Nigel through the postern door and into the narthex.<\/span><\/p>\n

The inside of Saint Hilary\u2019s had changed little since Kelson had come here the night before his coronation, he the subject that night, and Morgan the escort. It seemed, perhaps, a little brighter. To either side of the high altar, in what would have been the transepts of a larger church, racks of votive candles glowed sapphire and crimson before secondary altars to the Blessed Virgin and the church\u2019s patron. Saint Hilary. In the sanctuary itself, the expected Presence lamp burned above the tabernacle set behind the altar, where the Reserved Sacrament kept a place of honor. Nothing moved besides the captive flames dancing behind bright glass, but foreboding washed over Kelson like a wave\u2014Nigel\u2019s as much as his own, Kelson suddenly realized.<\/span><\/p>\n

Time to set things into proper balance and get on with it. Further delay would only make it more difficult for both of them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll pray for a moment before we join the others,\u201d he said softly, leading Nigel resolutely down the side aisle to a pew near the front, where he and his uncle knelt side by side.<\/span><\/p>\n

When Kelson had finished, and composed himself to face the others, he reached out with his mind and released the slight control he had been holding on Nigel. As he raised his head, Nigel looked up with a start.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to leave you to meditate for a few more minutes on your own,\u201d Kelson said. \u201cWhen you\u2019re ready, you can join us in Duncan\u2019s study. We\u2019ll know when you\u2019ve come to the door.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Nigel swallowed and managed a weak smile. \u201cYou\u2019ve let me go, haven\u2019t you?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Kelson nodded.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re sure I\u2019ll come?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cQuite sure.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\nCHAPTER FOUR<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\nThis is the faithful and prudent steward, whom the master will set over his household.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u2014Luke 12:42<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

As the door closed behind Kelson, Nigel let out a slow, apprehensive sigh and slumped back on his heels, letting his back take support from the edge of the seat behind him. In a few minutes, he must also walk through that door.<\/span><\/p>\n

He had hoped never to have to face what would presently be required of him\u2014not out of any fear for his own safety or comfort, but for what tonight\u2019s work implied. To take upon himself the potential for the ancient Haldane power was to acknowledge, in a far more concrete way than hitherto, the possibility that he himself might one day be king. That was what frightened him.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

For he had never sought or even idly wished for the crown. Until Brion\u2019s death, he had lived his life in the pleasant limbo of a much-loved younger son\u2014close to the crown, unshakably loyal to it, whether worn by father, elder brother, or brother\u2019s son, but confident and relieved that he himself should never wear it. <\/span>That<\/span> was for his nephew\u2019s heirs, in the fullness of time; and Nigel was content with that.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

And yet, if Kelson should perish before an heir could be engendered, then the crown <\/span>must<\/span> pass to Nigel or his heirs. That was a grim possibility Nigel had known from the moment Brion died\u2014and something he prayed fervently would never come to pass. But if it did, then Nigel must be prepared to take up the mantle of his royal duty; must stand ready to sacrifice his own wishes for the good of the land. He felt himself a far from worthy vessel, but he must be ready to meet the test, if it was demanded of him. Tonight was the first step toward that readiness.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Still reluctant, then, but resigned, and with a weight of far more than years resting on his shoulders, he rose and dared to approach the high altar, lifting his eyes to the Christus gazing down at him even as he sank to one knee at the foot of the altar steps. He did not often feel the need for a physical expression of his religious feeling. Like Brion, he preferred to witness for his faith through the example of an upright life, rather than spend overmuch time on his knees, in a building that took the place of belief for many folk. Tonight, however, had its special demands, and seemed to demand more formal observance.<\/span><\/p>\n

A little awkwardly, then, he bowed his head and framed his thoughts in far more formal petition than was usually his wont, entreating the Anointed One for strength to endure, should he be called one day to his own anointing as Gwynedd\u2019s king, but praying also that such fate should never come to him. He asked as well for courage to face the more immediate ordeal\u2014but he would suffer that gladly if it might permit the greater cup of kingship to pass.<\/span><\/p>\n

Whatever was given him, he knew that in the end he could only offer all he had, and pray that it would be enough. He would serve his king as he had always served, with faith, loyalty, and love, and he would either live or perish according to God\u2019s will. When he rose to join those who awaited him, turning inward now to draw his strength, his steps were steady and his head was clear.<\/span><\/p>\n

He heard no sound as he passed through the doorway where Kelson had gone. A short corridor lay beyond, and as he closed the door behind him, another door opened ahead and to the left. Duncan inclined his head in silent greeting and stood aside to let him pass, both reassuring and vaguely alien in his episcopal purple.<\/span><\/p>\n

The room Nigel entered was strange to him as well, of fair size, but lit only dimly by the light of a low fire immediately to the right and a single candle on the table before it. Weapons lay on the table: several daggers, a narrow stiletto Nigel thought he remembered seeing in Morgan\u2019s hand from time to time, and a sword in a scabbard set with cairngorms that was definitely Morgan\u2019s. Dhugal stood behind the table, his own sheathed sword cradled in the crook of one arm, the baldric wound loosely around the scabbard. There was no sign of Kelson or any of the others he had been expecting to see.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll relieve you of your cloak first of all,\u201d Duncan said, already reaching for the garment as Nigel unsnapped the clasp and let it fall away from his shoulders. \u201cI\u2019ll also ask you to leave your weapons here. The others are in a small chapel through that door,\u201d the bishop went on, nodding past Dhugal with his chin, \u201cbut only Kelson\u2019s sword is permitted inside.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He draped the cloak over a chair that already held several others as Nigel began obediently unbuckling his swordbelt, and caught the weight of the weapon as the belt came free. He coiled the white leather around the scabbard and laid it on the table with the others as Nigel produced a sheathed dagger from the small of his back and a stiletto from a narrow sheath in the side of his boot.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAny more?\u201d Duncan asked, with a faint grin. \u201cYou and Alaric are two of a kind when it comes to sharp, pointed things. Incidentally, I suggest you take off any outer layers you think you can spare; the rest of us have already done so. It\u2019s going to be a little close in there, with so many people.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Managing a snort of appreciation at the attempt to lighten the mood, Nigel removed a belt of metal placques set low on his hips, ducked out of the heavy, linked collar of his princely rank, then began unbuttoning a long, wine-colored overtunic with running lions intertwined around hem and cuffs. Now he noticed that Dhugal had already stripped to shirt and trews and boots, though Duncan\u2019s concession to undress appeared to be an open collar and the omission of his cincture.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhy do I get the distinct impression that it\u2019s going to be more than \u2018close\u2019 in there?\u201d he said. \u201cI thought you Deryni could do something about such things.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe can,\u201d Duncan returned. \u201cBut it would take energy we\u2019ll need for other things tonight. Besides, <\/span>you\u2019re<\/span> not Deryni.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cI take your point, t don\u2019t suppose you considered a different chapel?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNot for tonight\u2019s work,\u201d came the reply. \u201cWe\u2019ll be working under the protection of Saint Camber. I trust that doesn\u2019t surprise you?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cSurprise me? Hardly. I can\u2019t say it reassures me, but it doesn\u2019t surprise me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

He knew he was talking to cover his persistent nervousness\u2014and that Duncan knew it. Impatient with himself, he tugged loose three more buttons\u2014enough to let the tunic fall around his feet\u2014and stepped out of the pool of wine-dark wool. He would be well rid of it if it was going to be as warm as Duncan hinted. Beneath it he wore close-fitting britches of burgundy wool, midcalf boots dyed to match, and a full-sleeved shirt of fine linen. He untied the laces at the throat as he bent to pick up his discarded tunic, making a calming little ritual of folding the garment and laying it neatly atop his cloak before looking back at Duncan again, aware that he could delay no longer.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cI suppose I\u2019m ready, then,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Duncan lowered his eyes, obviously aware of what Nigel was feeling.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou can have a few more minutes, if you\u2019d like.\u201d He glanced to his right, where Dhugal had taken up a guard post beside the chapel door. \u201cThere\u2019s a prie-dieu there in the corner. You\u2019re welcome to use it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Deep in the shadows, Nigel could see two red votive lights burning before a small ivory crucifix, the vague outline of a kneeler before them, but he shook his head.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cI\u2019m as ready as I\u2019ll ever be, Duncan,\u201d he murmured. \u201cYou know I\u2019ve never been much on ceremony.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCome, then,\u201d Duncan said with a smile, taking him by the elbow and leading him toward the door Dhugal guarded. \u201cAs you know, you\u2019re going to have to bear with <\/span>some<\/span> ceremony tonight, but we\u2019ve tried to keep things reasonably informal. It could be worse.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt could?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cOf course.\u201d Duncan gave him a reassuring smile. \u201cYou\u2019re an adult, coming into this of your own free will, able to give us your conscious cooperation. If you were a child, things would be totally out of your hands.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Nigel snorted at that, wondering whether it had <\/span>ever<\/span> really been in his hands\u2014then flashed for an instant on the sudden realization that one day it might be Conall or Rory or Payne approaching the ordeal he himself now must face. The thought chilled him\u2014it should be <\/span>Kelson\u2019s<\/span> son walking toward the door he now approached with Duncan; not himself or his own sons\u2014but all of that was academic in the immediate reckoning. For now, there was no turning back.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nigel had to duck a little as he followed Duncan past the curtain Dhugal held aside. The chamber beyond was dim and close\u2014half the size of the room they had just left, and almost crowded even before they entered. Arilan and Morgan stood against the walls to left and right, Richenda, all in white, immediately to his right against the back wall, but it was Kelson who caught and arrested his attention immediately.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

His nephew\u2014no, the king\u2014<\/span>the king<\/span> stood with his back to them in the precise center of the room, raven head flung back and hands hanging easily at his sides. He was more than human or Deryni in that moment of Nigel\u2019s first beholding, sacred kingship lying upon his shoulders as puissant and apparent as any physical mantle he had worn since his coronation day\u2014though he, like Morgan and Nigel himself, had stripped to the basics of shirt and britches and boots, putting aside all weapons or other tangible insigniae of his rank.<\/span><\/p>\n

The object of his attention appeared to be a very ornate crucifix of ebony suspended above an altar set hard against the eastern wall\u2014or perhaps it was the wall itself that held his gaze, painted all around the altar and above it like the midnight sky, spangled with bright-gilt stars that caught the light from six honey-colored tapers. The stars shimmered through the heat rising from the candles, and the air tickled at Nigel\u2019s nostrils with the faint aroma of beeswax and incense.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCome stand beside me. Uncle,\u201d Kelson said softly, turning slightly to beckon with his right hand, quicksilver eyes drawing him even if the gesture had not.<\/span><\/p>\n

Without hesitation Nigel obeyed, taking the proffered hand and bobbing briefly to one knee to press it to his forehead in homage before straightening at his sovereign\u2019s side. Duncan passed to Kelson\u2019s other side and approached the altar\u2014but a few steps in the confines of this tiny chamber\u2014 and Nigel dared a glance at Morgan, back pressed against the southern wall and\u2019 arms folded across his chest, almost close enough to touch. As their eyes met, Morgan inclined his head slightly in a nod meant to be reassuring, then turned his gaze deliberately toward the altar, where Arilan had joined Duncan in the preparation of a thurible. Dutifully Nigel turned his attention that way as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

They would ward the chamber first; he knew that. He even knew a little about warding. He had seen Morgan ward a circle once, long ago, when Morgan helped Brion assume his full Haldane powers before the battle with the Marluk. Nigel had been nineteen, Brion twenty-five, Morgan not yet fourteen.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many years later, there had been another warding as well: in a tent at Llyndruth Meadows, the night before the final confrontation between Kelson and Wencit of Torenth. He had seen only the beginnings of that warding; that was the night he had learned that Arilan was Deryni. He remembered little else besides black and white cubes and Arilan\u2019s hand touching his forehead\u2014and Kelson\u2019s eyes boring into his until he thought his very soul must be sucked out of his body.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since then, he had learned not to fight or fear that kind of mental touch. Something akin to that would happen again tonight, but he put that knowledge from his mind for the moment and set his attention on the two bishops. Arilan was beginning: censing the altar and the East and then moving to his right toward the space between Nigel and Morgan.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

They would cast a triple circle first. As they trod the circle, they would invoke the protection of the four great Archangels who guarded the Quarters and ruled the elements. Duncan was already aspersing the East with holy water, preparing to follow Arilan in the second circle. Morgan would cast the third with a sword.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The South was Nigel\u2019s especial favorite, however: first of the Quarters to be saluted after the East, where Morgan still stood and Arilan now paused to bow\u2014for the South was the realm of Saint Michael, familiar to Nigel as the patron of warriors long before he learned the Prince of Heaven\u2019s other, more esoteric attributes.<\/span><\/p>\n

To Saint Michael had Nigel pledged a special devotion those many years before, as he kept his knight\u2019s vigil before receiving the accolade from his brother. God willing, perhaps his son would conceive a like devotion. Before another year was out\u2014if they all lived that long\u2014Conall, Kelson, and Dhugal would keep their own knights\u2019 vigil, and receive the knightly accolade from his hand. He suspected that Kelson and Dhugal would reserve their special devotion to Saint Camber\u2014which was certainly fitting\u2014but he knew they reverenced Michael as well. He was surprised to realize that he did not know his own sons\u2019 feelings on the matter.<\/span><\/p>\n

That realization so occupied him for the next few seconds that he was not aware when Morgan moved from South to altar\u2014only that Morgan was suddenly there, drawing the fine-wrought scabbard from Kelson\u2019s sword\u2014Brion\u2019s sword, his father\u2019s sword! Spellbound, he watched Morgan raise the blade in reverent salute to the East, candlelight flashing down the polished steel and taking on a life of its own\u2014remembering another Morgan, another Nigel, a Brion still alive, as Morgan leveled the blade at eye level and slowly began to retrace Arilan\u2019s and Duncan\u2019s paths.<\/span><\/p>\n

Light streamed from the tip of the blade as Morgan walked, scribing a ribbon of blue-white brilliance a handspan wide along the wall behind the altar. It floated with substance of its own where the tip of the blade bridged the southeast comer of the room, curving in a blue-white streak to follow all across the South.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nigel watched Morgan\u2019s progress on toward the West until he could no longer follow without turning his body as well, catching just a glimpse of Richenda stepping closer to him, away from the West wall, so that Morgan could pass between it and her. The chamber was growing uncomfortably warm, as Duncan had warned, but he thought he could feel cold radiating from the ribbon of light. He shivered a little despite the sweat trickling between his shoulderblades and plastering his shirt to his back.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the altar, their circuits completed, Arilan and Duncan replaced thurible and aspergillum on the altar, and backed off to stand directly in front of Kelson and Nigel as Morgan continued past the North and closed the ring of the circle in the East. The ribbon of light clung to the walls like a physical thing, pulsing slightly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Saluting again, Morgan laid the sword back on the altar beside its sheath and came to stand behind Nigel, at Richenda\u2019s right. Nigel suddenly wondered what the circle looked like to Dhugal, standing just outside, in the doorway to the chamber\u2014whether it floated across the doorway the same way it arched in the comers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe stand outside time, in a place not of earth,\u201d Arilan said quietly. \u201cAs our Ancestors before us bade, we join together and are One.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAmen,\u201d the others responded.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nigel could feel the faint breeze of a flowing sleeve brush his back, and sensed the shadow of Richenda\u2019s hand raised between him and Kelson.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBefore us \u2026 <\/span>Ra-fa-el<\/span>\u2026\u201d Richenda intoned, chanting the syllables of the name with an odd inflection and holding the last note.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

As the note died, he sensed her hand moving and saw a circle of black appear in the ribbon of light stretched above the altar. He stifled a little gasp, but the others seemed unperturbed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGod has healed,\u201d Richenda said in a normal tone.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cGod has healed,\u201d the others repeated.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Confused, he let himself be turned to face the south. Morgan was beside him now, Richenda behind Morgan. Again she stetched forth her hand.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBefore us \u2026 <\/span>Mi-ka-il<\/span>\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Again, the prolonged note, the movement of her hand as the note died\u2014only this time, a red glowing triangle pierced the ribbon of light, pulsing like a heartbeat.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cWho is like God,\u201d Richenda said this time.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cWho is like God,\u201d the others repeated.<\/span><\/p>\n

Again they all turned, now facing the west. Beyond the ribbon of light, which did hang in midair where it crossed the recess of the doorway, he could just see Dhugal, looking very solemn.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cBefore us \u2026 <\/span>Ji-bra-il<\/span>\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

A crescent of white light for the West.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGod is my strength,\u201d Richenda said.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cGod is my strength,\u201d Nigel repeated with the others. He had suddenly realized that the phrases were translations of the names of the Archangels being invoked, the symbolism doubtless drawn from Richenda\u2019s eastern origins.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

On to the North.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBefore us \u2026 <\/span>Au-ri-el<\/span>\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A golden square here.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cFire of God.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cFire of God,\u201d came the response.<\/span><\/p>\n

He started to turn again to the east, but Morgan pulled him back a step instead. Kelson also took a step away from him before turning, so that all at once everyone was facing toward the center. Richenda, her loose-fitting shift a luminous white by circle-light, spread both palms before her at waist level and closed her eyes.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cAt our center and foundation is Spirit\u2014that which endures.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

As she moved her hands slightly apart and tilted them toward one another, a five-pointed star appeared in the air between them, etched in violet light. It floated to the floor as she parted them still farther, pulsing against the stone as she threw back her head and stretched her palms heavenward this time.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cAbove us, the circled cross: defining and containing, unity of all contained within One.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

As the symbol appeared, green fire hanging above their heads, she swept her arms to either side and held, eyes closing, but it was Arilan who spoke.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNow we are met. Now we are One with the Light. Regard the ancient ways. We shall not walk this path again.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201c<\/span>Augeaturin nobis, quaesumus, Domine, tuae virtutis operatio<\/span>\u2026\u201d May the working of Thy power, O Lord, be intensified within us. \u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cSo be it. Selah. Amen,\u201d Richenda responded.<\/span><\/p>\n

And as she lowered her arms, bowing her head over hands joined palm-to-palm in an attitude of prayer, the ribbon of light around the room quickly broadened and extended upward and downward until its edges met in the symbols above their heads and beneath their feet. Then all six symbols vanished. Glancing surreptitiously toward the doorway, Nigel could no longer see Dhugal except as a vague, shadowy form.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201c<\/span>Lumen Christi gloriose resurgentis sissipet tenebras cor-dis et mentis<\/span>,\u201d Kelson intoned steadily, signing himself in ritual gesture as the others did the same. May the light of Christ rising in glory scatter the darkness of our heart and mind\u2026.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The motion seemed to release them from a former immobility. Suddenly Kelson was smiling at him, Arilan and Richenda withdrawing slightly to stand against the northern and western walls. Morgan took his elbow.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cWell, that\u2019s done,\u201d Kelson said softly. \u201cThe warding was drawn partly from the tradition that Richenda grew up in. Other than the Moorish elements that have crept in over the years, it\u2019s supposed to be fairly close to the form Camber might have used. Not that we\u2019ll ever know for certain, I suppose.\u201d He glanced at Morgan, at Duncan, who had moved to the altar, then back at Nigel.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAre you ready?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Nigel only inclined his head, afraid to speak.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll get on with it, then. Come with me, please.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Three steps brought them to the altar. Duncan\u2019s small surgical kit lay open there, Duncan doing something with a wad of cotton wool and a small flask. As Morgan assisted Nigel to kneel, Kelson reached to his right ear and removed the great ruby fastened there. For the first time, Nigel noticed that Kelson also wore the Ring of Fire, the gamet-studded seal of Brion\u2019s power, great central cabochon surrounded by a dozen lesser, brilliant-cut stones that fractured the cold light of the circle like summer lightning. He did not think he had seen it since Kelson\u2019s coronation.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cSo far as we know, the Eye of Rom has always played a part in the setting of the Haldane potential in Haldane heirs,\u201d Kelson said, handing the earring to Duncan for cleansing. \u201cIt and a ring seem to be important and constant elements in the power rituals of all Haldane kings. Because you aren\u2019t my heir in the usual sense, we\u2019ll only involve the ring marginally tonight, since it usually seals the ritual after the old king is dead, but I do want you to wear the Eye. I\u2019ll leave both in a place of safety here at Rhemuth before I go to Meara\u2014just in case you should need them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Nigel swallowed and managed a faint nod, eyeing the jewel as it was passed back to Kelson, and Duncan moved closer with the wad of cotton wool. As Morgan held his head steady from behind and Duncan swabbed his earlobe with something cool and pungent\u2014welcome relief in the heat\u2014Nigel braced himself for the bite of a needle, but it came as only a slight pressure and popping sound. He wondered whether Morgan had blunted that sensation for him. Intrigued now despite his apprehension, he watched Kelson remove the Ring of Fire and bring it close to his ear for a few brief seconds\u2014marking it with his blood, he sensed\u2014then lay it on the altar. Next, the Eye of Rom was brought close in a similar manner, though Kelson\u2019s hand came away empty this time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nigel felt a brief sting as Duncan threaded the earring\u2019s wire through his flesh, faint weight of the stone as adjustments were made to its fastening, but then Duncan did something else and the sting became a tingle and then nothing. As the bishop withdrew and Morgan released him, Nigel brushed the earring lightly with his fingertip. He was surprised to feel no discomfort.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve healed that for you,\u201d Morgan murmured, helping him to stand.<\/span><\/p>\n

Somehow that did not surprise him. Nor did the piece of parchment lying on the altar, inscribed with all his royal names.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am told that the Deryni have a tradition of Naming their children by means of a brief magical ritual,\u201d Kelson said quietly, drawing the parchment nearer the edge and reaching for the tip of the sword with his right hand as Duncan steadied the hilt. \u201cThe child\u2019s mother generally performs this ritual between the ages of four and eight, depending upon the maturity of the child. Besides confirming the child\u2019s bloodline as Deryni, it is also the first formal ritual in which most Deryni children are involved.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He met Nigel\u2019s eyes briefly and managed a quick, nervous grin. \u201cI daresay, I am hardly your mother, and you have a few more years than eight. Still, this <\/span>will<\/span> be your first true ritual experience. And it <\/span>does<\/span> provide a useful framework in which to shift the succession to your bloodline\u2014if only for the present. As one might suppose, a shedding of blood is required.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

He ducked his head at that. Nigel suddenly realized that Kelson was as nervous about the whole affair as he was. Holding the end of the blade over the parchment, grasped firmly between the thumb and first two fingers of his right hand, Kelson drew the tip of his left ring finger along the edge until blood welled from a fairly deep cut. His jaw tightened at the sight, whether from pain or some other emotion Nigel could not tell, but he made no sound, only touching the blood to the parchment beneath Nigel\u2019s name with solemn deliberation. He held the wounded finger curled into the palm of his hand as he surrendered his place to Nigel.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cNow yours,\u201d he said softly.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The blade itself held no terror for Nigel; as a soldier, he had sustained far greater wounds than was required now. Grasping the blade as Kelson had done, he drew his fingertip along the sharpened steel in a brisk stroke, letting the slight burning sensation of the cut help keep him from thinking about what might come next. When he had smudged his blood alongside Kelson\u2019s on the parchment, the king pressed their wounds together briefly in further symbolism of the joining of the two bloodlines.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cBy this mingling of blood do I acknowledge thee Haldane: Nigel Cluim Gwydion Rhys, son of King Donal Blaine Aidan Cinhil and only brother of King Brion Donal Cinhil Urien, who was my father and king before me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

There was a bowl for rinsing off the blood after that, linen for drying, then Morgan\u2019s hand enclosing Nigel\u2019s wound briefly while Duncan ministered to Kelson. When Morgan released him, the wound was gone as if it had never been. As Nigel stared at his finger in the candlelight, Duncan wiped the sword clean with a linen cloth, then handed it off to Morgan, who reversed the blade and took up a guard position immediately behind Nigel, hands resting on the quillons. Nigel heard Kelson give a little sigh as Duncan pulled the thurible closer, still smoking slightly of incense, and opened it to the smoldering charcoal within.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cBe thou blessed by Him in Whose honor thou shalt be burnt,\u201d Duncan murmured, tracing a cross in the air over the incense boat before offering it to Kelson.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kelson bowed over the incense, hands joined before him in an attitude of prayer, then took the spoon and carefully sprinkled a few grains of incense onto the charcoal.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWelcome as incense smoke let my prayer rise up before Thee, O Lord. When I lift my hands, may it be acceptable as the evening sacrifice.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The chamber was so still and silent, Nigel could hear the faint hiss of the resin beginning to melt. As sweet smoke started spiraling upward. Kelson took the parchment and creased it loosely into quarters, then touched one corner to the glowing coal.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMay this offering blessed by Thee ascend to Thee, O Lord,\u201d he said, laying the parchment full on the coal as it caught and began to burn. \u201cAnd may Thy mercy descend upon Thy servants, both present and to come.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

When he was sure it was burning well, he turned once more to Nigel. Arilan had joined them at the conclusion of the prayer, and now took from the altar a thumb-sized brass container and a small ivory spatula.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBishop Arilan has offered to provide you with a little assistance for the last part of the ritual,\u201d Kelson said, as Duncan pushed back Nigel\u2019s right sleeve to expose the inner forearm and Arilan unscrewed the lid of the container. \u201cThe drug is sometimes used in the early phases of formal Deryni training to enhance psychic response. It also has a slight sedative effect.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Wordlessly Arilan set aside the lid and dipped out a miniscule amount of viscous, butter-colored unguent with the spatula. This he spread in a thin film over a thumb-sized area of Nigel\u2019s inner arm, which Duncan then bound neatly with a strip of linen bandage.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe drug is gradually absorbed through the skin,\u201d Duncan explained. \u201cWhen we\u2019re done, we wash off the residue and the effect stops soon after. That makes it far easier to control than if you had taken a specific dose by mouth.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Nigel cradled the bandaged forearm close to his chest and fingered the linen nervously. He was beginning to sweat profusely, whether from the drug or not, he had no idea.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt tingles a little,\u201d he said. \u201cSweet <\/span>Jesu<\/span>, it\u2019 s hot in here!\u2019\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cYou\u2019re feeling several effects already,\u201d Arilan replied, handing him a towel and watching him closely. \u201cHow\u2019s your vision?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Nigel wiped his face on the towel and blinked several times, feeling slightly befuddled, then closed his eyes briefly and opened them again.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cI\u2019m having trouble focusing,\u201d he whispered. \u201cI feel a little\u2014dizzy, too.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cLook at me for a moment,\u201d Arilan commanded.<\/span><\/p>\n

Swaying a little on his feet, so that Duncan and Morgan had to steady him on either side, Nigel obeyed.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cHis eyes are dilated,\u201d he heard Kelson murmur.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cAye. Get him down before he falls down,\u201d came Arilan\u2019s low reply.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nigel needed no encouragement to collapse to all fours. Light-headed and rapidly losing all sense of balance, he let them help him to a sitting position on the floor. His arms and legs seemed to have no bones in them. The stone floor was cool and soothing, and he wanted to lay his forehead against it, but Morgan knelt behind him and made him sit upright, providing a backrest for him to lean against.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

He could not focus even as far as his toes. His hands lolled useless at his sides, but at least he could press the backs against the stone for relief from the heat now pulsing through his body with every heartbeat. The added warmth of Morgan\u2019s body against his back was almost unbearable until he felt the sword slip between them, the blade chill as ice along his spine. As he turned his head blearily to see what Duncan was doing, he glimpsed one quillon above his head and to the side.<\/span><\/p>\n

Duncan had the thurible as he knelt to Nigel\u2019s right. Kelson was on his knees as well, but he loomed in Nigel\u2019s vision like a darkling giant, forbidding and austere. Far more slowly than seemed right. Kelson\u2019s reached into the thurible to crush a pinch of ash between thumb and forefinger, free hand burning Nigel\u2019s shoulder where it touched to steady him.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNigel Cluim Gwydion Rhys,\u201d Kelson breathed, touching Nigel between the eyes with a sooty forefinger and tracing a cross, \u201cI seal thee Haldane and confirm thee as Heir until such time as I may produce an heir of my body.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Nigel trembled beneath his touch, tears welling in his eyes as Kelson reached again to the thurible to take another meager pinch of ash. The left hand shifted to his jaw, pressing his cheeks to make his mouth open\u2014and he could offer not a shred of resistance.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTaste of the ashes of our mingled blood,\u201d Kelson went on, sifting some of the ash onto Nigel\u2019s tongue. \u201cBy blood art thou consecrated to the Haldane legacy. If it should come to thee, <\/span>be<\/span> The Haldane. Then shall the power come upon thee.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The ash was bitter\u2014bitter as the cup Nigel prayed he would never have to drink\u2014and as the consecrated royal hands lifted slowly toward his head, Nigel felt a primal terror of the power latent there. In that interminable instant, the king seemed limned in fire\u2014dread sovereign and master of all the power in the universe, not merely king and lord of the lands of their fathers\u2014and Nigel feared that if Kelson touched him, he would die.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

He had neither strength nor will to resist it, though; this cup, at least, must be drunk to its dregs\u2014and the dregs were already bitter on his tongue. As the royal hands embraced his head, the thumbs pressing lightly on his temples, he closed his eyes with a shudder and surrendered any last resistance. The hands were hot, searing his flesh, making his fear boil up within him like molten lead, threatening to explode inside his brain.<\/span><\/p>\n

But he did not explode. Not then, at least. The fire remained, but now another pressure began to build within him like a great wind, relentless and strong, scouring away the last vestiges of his will, pounding again and again in a rhythm a part of him only vaguely recognized as his own heartbeat.<\/span><\/p>\n

The wind became a firestorm then, raging inside his mind and licking at his body, so terrifying that he was sure the very flesh must melt from his bones.<\/span><\/p>\n

Water, then, quenching the fire but sweeping him away, out of his body, whirling and tumbling him in total disorientation, slamming him at last upon a stony beach where he seemed to lie and gaze numbly at a grey, fog-shrouded sky.<\/span><\/p>\n

Until a face appeared against the fog: a kindly compassionate face framed by soft, silver-gilt hair; the eyes like windows to the fog beyond, calling him, drawing him, as a hand reached out to gently touch his forehead.<\/span><\/p>\n

The touch sent him plummeting into nothingness.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\nCHAPTER FIVE<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\nHe shall direct his counsel and knowledge, and in his secrets shall he meditate.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u2014Ecclesiasticus 39:7<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Nigel\u2019s vision stunned Kelson, but he kept both his reaction and the very fact that he had perceived the vision carefully shielded from the others for the balance of the ritual. He suspected that Morgan and Duncan might have glimpsed it as well, being part of the primary link, but if they had, they followed his lead and gave no indication of it. Some instinct warned that Arilan should not learn of it, so Kelson forced himself to shutter away the information while he completed what he had started. With the unconscious Nigel now open to his will, it was the work of only a few minutes to finish keying in Morgan and Duncan, then to add Arilan and Richenda to the chain that would enable them to trigger Nigel\u2019s Haldane potential in the event of Kelson\u2019s premature death.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The process took energy, and the heat and closeness of the room were taking their toll, but Kelson was not really tired by the time he was finished. Still, he set Morgan to take over monitoring Niger s vital signs, himself standing apart to watch in silence as Duncan and Arilan unbandaged Nigel\u2019s arm and carefully washed off the residue of Arilan\u2019s drug. He hoped that Arilan, at least, attributed his silence to fatigue and the need for introspection that often came after a powerful working, for neither the vision nor his reticence to tell Arilan of it had faded.<\/span><\/p>\n

But Arilan seemed unaware. As soon as he and Duncan had finished. Kelson dropped heavily to his knees once more beside the still unconscious Nigel and bade the others close the circle. If Arilan read that as confirmation of fatigue, so much the better, for it might forestall further questioning later on; and in the meantime, the ritual kept Arilan too busy to pay close attention to him.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kelson tried to keep his mind mirror-still as Arilan and the others wound the ritual to its proper conclusion, and he began shooing them out as soon as the last glimmer of the wards had died. He doubted anyone had much inclination to linger in the chapel overlong, for the hour\u2019s working in so close a space had made the temperature most uncomfortable, but he especially did not want to be left alone with Arilan. A chapel sacred to Saint Camber was no place to try to hide a vision of that saint from a high adept like Arilan.<\/span><\/p>\n

With that in mind, then, he signed for Arilan and Richenda to precede him out, himself lingering only long enough to help Morgan and Duncan get Nigel on his feet. He trailed behind them as they half walked and half carried Nigel back into the study, giving Dhugal a fleeting smile and a brush of hand on shoulder as he emerged from behind the curtain his foster brother held.<\/span><\/p>\n

Arilan was waiting just beyond, Richenda moving with Morgan, Duncan, and Nigel toward the chairs by the fireplace. Fortunately for Kelson, passing into the relative chill of the study set him to sneezing before Arilan could do more than open his mouth. At once, Dhugal was laying a cloak around his shoulders and insisting that he join the others by the fire, solicitous and almost a little alarmed. The grateful Kelson played the scene for its full distraction value, making a show of bundling the cloak around his body and wiping his sweaty face on the sleeve of his shirt. By the time he had huddled down in the chair next to Nigel\u2019s, he was not having to feign shivering.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAre you all right?\u201d Morgan asked, turning from Nigel long enough to lay the back of a hand against Kelson\u2019s forehead.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kelson nodded, gesturing back to Nigel with his chin.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about him?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019ll be coming around in a few minutes,\u201d Duncan said, gently peeling back one of Nigel\u2019s eyelids. \u201cThe drug\u2019s almost worn off. He\u2019s going to want a lot of sleep, though.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Arilan grimaced and pulled his cincture from one of the piles of clothing shed earlier. The grimace became a scowl as he began wrapping it around his waist.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDoes that surprise you?\u201d he muttered. \u201cWhatever he experienced, it hit him like a wall. I don\u2019t suppose any of you can tell me what happened in there?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Kelson shrugged noncomittally. \u201cWe did what we set out to do.\u201d He glanced at his uncle again. \u201cAnd frankly, I would have been surprised if it <\/span>hadn\u2019t<\/span> hit him like a wall, as you so aptly put it. I suspect it\u2019s distinctly Haldane. Having been through it myself, I doubt anyone can appreciate the full impact unless he\u2019s also been through it. You can tell that to the Council if you like. That is where you\u2019re going when you leave here, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Arilan\u2019s mouth twitched in annoyance, though he tried to make it look like a grimace of frustration as he did up the collar of his cassock.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t sound so accusatory, son. We may not have spoken of it directly, but surely you realized that I\u2019d have to report on what you\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cForgive me if it seems a lot like spying,\u201d Kelson countered. He nodded thanks as Richenda handed him a cup of pale wine. \u201cThey can\u2019t have it both ways indefinitely, you know. They\u2019ve been vacillating for more than two years now, trying to decide whether I\u2019m fish or fowl\u2014and if <\/span>my<\/span> status is still in question, then Alaric and Duncan must still be in the insect category. God knows what they think of Dhugal!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As he gestured curtly with his cup toward his foster brother, who was trying to become invisible before this increasingly heated exchange between king and bishop, Arilan glanced in Dhugal\u2019s direction, smiled wryly, and pulled his cloak from a chair.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf we continue this discussion, we shall quarrel. And I\u2019d have you at a distinct disadvantage, fatigued as you are.\u201d He slung the cloak around his shoulders and glanced around the room speculatively as he tied the ribbons at his throat.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNow, I seem to recall that you have a Portal here somewhere, Duncan. I should like to use it, if I may. I <\/span>am<\/span> going to the Council now, Sire, but I assure you that I shall be as objective as possible in my reporting.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Kelson still had distinct misgivings, but there was no point belaboring the issue. Whether or not Kelson liked it, the Council was going to know about Nigel before the night was out. He had known that from the moment he even considered asking Arilan\u2019s assistance. And at least if Arilan left now, Kelson would not have to risk him learning about the Camber vision.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cShow him the Portal,\u201d he said to Dhugal.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

He turned his head away at Arilan\u2019s sardonic little bow of thanks, knowing it would irk Arilan just a little that even Dhugal knew of the Portal, where Arilan did not.<\/span><\/p>\n

Arilan said nothing\u2014merely acknowledged Dhugal with a curt nod and stepped onto the Portal when Dhugal had pulled aside the tapestry that covered the doorway; then he was gone.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Kelson sighed explosively and tossed off his cup of wine, stretching out his legs toward the fire to rest his boots on the raised hearth.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBloody Camberian Council!\u201d he muttered.<\/span><\/p>\n

Morgan raised an eyebrow, a little surprised at the king\u2019s outburst\u2014though he quite agreed with the assessment.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCome, now. This is hardly the first time Arilan has gone running back to the Council to report what we\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo\u2014though in all fairness to Arilan, he\u2019s made no real secret of it, at least to me. In his way, I suppose he\u2019s trying to be open-minded.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs an individual, that may well be,\u201d Morgan said guardedly. \u201cYou\u2019re certainly in a far better position to know about such things than I. From my own observation, however, I can\u2019t say that the apparent attitude of the Council as a whole has been anything but disturbing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d rather not talk about them,\u201d Kelson said quietly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Morgan and Duncan exchanged glances, and Richenda withdrew unobtrusively to perch on a low stool beyond them and Nigel. Dhugal, still a little rattled by Arilan\u2019s comments and departure, took up a cautious post to Kelson\u2019s right.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cKelson, we know you\u2019d rather not,\u201d Morgan said quietly. \u201cUnfortunately, your reticence to do so of late has hardly helped to reassure Duncan and myself. They may be courting <\/span>you<\/span>, but\u2014\u201d\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know that I\u2019d exactly call it courting,\u201d Kelson countered. \u201cI may have made some progress with a few as individuals, but as a body they\u2019re still very, very conservative.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI fear narrow-minded is nearer the mark,\u201d Duncan said. \u201cI can only agree with Alaric. As far as we know, we\u2019re still half-breeds and outcasts where the Council is concerned\u2014 and as you yourself have pointed out, God knows what they think of Dhugal.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cDhugal is a cypher,\u201d Kelson said, almost shortly, \u201cand I intend that he remain so.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cAnd Nigel?\u201d Richenda asked, speaking up for the first time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kelson set aside his cup, shaking his head. \u201cNigel himself can\u2019t have been any surprise to the Council. After all, they or their predecessors have been coping with Haldane heirs for two hundred years. Thank God that Arilan wasn\u2019t in the primary link, though.\u201d He shivered and looked up at Morgan and Duncan. \u201cYou do know what I\u2019m talking about, don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The glances the two exchanged told Kelson that they knew precisely what he was talking about. Clearly Richenda did not\u2014which meant that Arilan probably had not caught any inkling of Nigel\u2019s experience either. Dhugal, who would not have been expected to read much detail from outside the circle, even if trained\u2014which he was not\u2014looked predictably mystified.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Richenda\u2019s expression of speculation turned to comprehension as she laid a hand on her husband\u2019s forearm to share his memory of the experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAh, Saint Camber,\u201d she breathed. \u201cI should have known.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Dhugal gulped and looked aghast at all of them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSaint Camber? What is she talking about?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNigel had a\u2014vision during the ritual,\u201d Morgan said, dragging his eyes from Richenda\u2019s to look at Dhugal. \u201cDuncan and I caught a little of the spillover from Kelson.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA vision? Of Saint Camber?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Duncan nodded. \u201cWe\u2019ve\u2014ah\u2014come into contact with him before. I must say, I certainly wasn\u2019t expecting him tonight.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA\u2014saint?\u201d Dhugal only just managed to swallow.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kelson sighed and gestured wearily toward Duncan. \u201cDo you want to show him, Duncan?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhy can\u2019t <\/span>you<\/span> show me?\u201d Dhugal asked plaintively, before Duncan could respond. \u201cUnless you\u2019re too tired, that is. But I\u2019m never going to learn if I only work with my father.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The request could not have been made a few months before, for it was only with the new year that Dhugal had learned to lower his shields even for Duncan. He had grown far more adept since then, working with Morgan, Kelson, and occasionally Richenda, but rapport with anyone besides Duncan still required far more effort on his part than he thought it should. Kelson knew that. So despite his fatigue, he smiled and held out his hand.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

As soon as their fingers met, he could feel Dhugal\u2019s shields collapse\u2014saw the sun-amber eyes go a little glassy as Dhugal slipped firmly, if not easily, into rapport.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

He did not spare him, though. Cementing the link, he bore deep into Dhugal\u2019s mind and began to filter the memory through, beginning with Nigel\u2019s sensations as the drug took effect and his eyes began to go out of focus, and not letting up as the pain began to build along with other sensations.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Dhugal gasped and closed his eyes as the feed became more intense, inadvertently drawing back just a little, but Kelson merely shifted his hand around to grasp Dhugal\u2019s wrist and held the contact. As the link steadied, he fed the last set of images: the face against the fog, compassionate and kind; quicksilver eyes, silver-gilt hair; and the hand whose touch brought oblivion. With them he sent a montage of the other times he had seen that face, and the images of Morgan\u2019s and Duncan\u2019s sightings.<\/span><\/p>\n

When he let the link dissolve, though not the physical one of hand to hand, Dhugal exhaled in a long, slow sigh and did not move or even open his eyes for several seconds. When he did raise his head to look at Kelson, his eyes were moist with tears.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2014had no idea,\u201d he murmured, after a few more seconds, finally raising both hands to wipe surreptitiously at his eyes. \u201cDo you\u2014really think it was Saint Camber?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Duncan smiled sympathetically and exchanged a glance with Morgan.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWell, at least we know it wasn\u2019t Stefan Coram this time, don\u2019t we?\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I don\u2019t think it was Arilan, either.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGod, no!\u201d Kelson said, sitting back with an explosive sigh and crossing his arms on his chest. \u201cI don\u2019t think he caught any of it. Richenda didn\u2019t, after all. And after it was over, I was terribly anxious that he not pick up something about it from me or the two of you, before I could get rid of him. Somehow, I didn\u2019t want him to share that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps because you knew he was going to the Council after he left,\u201d Morgan ventured.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps.\u201d Kelson shook his head and sighed again. \u201cWhat do <\/span>you<\/span> think, though? All of you. Was it Saint Camber?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cWhy not ask the man who saw it firsthand?\u201d Duncan murmured, laying a hand on the forehead of the reviving Nigel. \u201cNigel, are you with us again? How do you feel?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

With a little moan, Nigel opened his eyes and turned his head toward Kelson, not fighting the light control Duncan extended to block any residual pain.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cKelson,\u201d he murmured. \u201cGod, what an incredible experience! I had no idea. \u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Kelson grinned and laid his hand on his uncle\u2019s, glancing briefly at Duncan to shift control.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cI know. You weathered everything well, though. Do you remember any details?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Nigel\u2019s lips parted in a slow, lazy half-smile, the grey Haldane eyes dreamy and still a little focused in some other world.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cI thought I was going to die,\u201d he said softly. \u201cAnd then\u2014you\u2019re not going to believe this\u2014I think Saint Camber saved my life. Or at least my sanity.\u201d He turned his head to look at the rest of them searchingly, then back at Kelson. \u201cHe did. And I am <\/span>not<\/span> going mad now\u2014am I?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Slowly Kelson shook his head. \u201cNo, Uncle, you\u2019re not going mad. I saw him too. Alaric and Duncan\u2014have seen him before.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSomehow that ought to alarm me,\u201d Nigel replied, \u201cbut it doesn\u2019t. Your doing?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cIn part,\u201d Kelson admitted. \u201cBut in part, I think it goes along with what else has happened to you. Camber seems to have an affinity for us Haldanes. Now, perhaps, you understand better why I want to know more about him\u2014maybe even restore his cult here in Gwynedd.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI shan\u2019t argue that,\u201d Nigel answered, around a yawn. \u201c\u2018M too sleepy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe expected response,\u201d Kelson replied, giving the hand a squeeze and getting to his feet. \u201cAre you ready to go back to your quarters?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Nigel rose without help, if a trifle unsteadily, and gave another enormous yawn. \u201cI think I\u2019ll sleep for a week.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo, only until morning,\u201d Duncan said, grinning as he laid an arm around Dhugal\u2019s shoulders. \u201cDhugal and I leave for Kierney tomorrow, and you must see us off.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOh, aye,\u201d Nigel mumbled.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMeraude\u2019s going to think he\u2019s drunk,\u201d Morgan muttered under his breath.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThen, best she have reason to think he\u2019s been drinking,\u201d Richenda replied. Quickly she poured a cup of wine and put it in the swaying Nigel\u2019s hand. \u201cDrink it down, Nigel. You\u2019ll sleep the better for it, too.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Nigel obeyed without hesitation, setting the empty cup back in Richenda\u2019s hand when he had finished. After he and Kelson had gone, Morgan sat down in the chair Kelson had vacated and pulled his wife down on his lap. She laughed lightly, and Duncan poured wine for all of them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThank God that\u2019s over,\u201d Morgan said, lifting his cup in salute when everyone had wine. \u201cShall we drink to Saint Camber, King Kelson, and our fine Haldane heir?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTo Camber, Kelson, and Nigel,\u201d Duncan agreed, raising his own cup as Richenda and Dhugal did the same.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut how much will he remember?\u201d Dhugal wondered, when the toast had been drunk.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s unclear just how much he\u2019ll remember,\u201d Arilan was saying at that very moment, addressing the other members of the Camberian Council. \u201cHe knows me as Deryni, of course, from the Portal construction at Llyndruth Meadows, but Kelson and I agreed at the time that a block should be placed to prevent him disclosing my identity to anyone else. That\u2019s held, of course.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Old Vivienne, even more irascible this evening than was usually her wont, allowed herself a sour smile. \u201cThank God you had the good sense to do that\u2014and to erase that Warm person\u2019s memory of the incident altogether. I could have told you he would bolt again, once the immediate crisis of the war with Wencit had passed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cIt\u2019s true we\u2019ve not heard much of Warin in the past year,\u201d Laran said, tapping his fingertips lightly together. \u201cAs a physician, I would like to have explored his healing gifts more thoroughly. Unfortunately, no one seems to know what\u2019s become of him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGood riddance, if you ask me,\u201d Kyri said with a toss of her flame-colored hair. \u201cHealing by the power of God, indeed! We don\u2019t need <\/span>that<\/span> kind of superstitious nonsense!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cHowever he does it, he does it,\u201d Arilan said dryly. \u201cIn any case, I hardly think Warm de Grey is the issue here. We came to discuss Prince Nigel, as I recall. I suspect that our Tiercel, at least, is bursting to hear more of the new Haldane heir\u2014<\/span>though he will keep his peace until I have finished telling you of it, I feel certain,<\/span>\u201d he concluded emphatically, flashing a brief but adamant glance of warning across the table.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tiercel, on the brink of an objection, thought better of it and subsided, to the obvious relief of more than one person seated at the table.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cSo,\u201d said blind Barrett, after a measured sigh at Arilan\u2019s right, \u201cwhat is your understanding of what was done to Nigel? We must surmise that the Haldane potential was set, but was the king able to make the patterning reversible?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSuch was his intention. However, since only Morgan and Duncan were included in the primary link, I have only Kelson\u2019s word on that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Sofiana cocked her head to one side and studied Arilan thoughtfully. \u201cDo you have reason to doubt him, Denis?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNot\u2014exactly.\u201d He lowered his eyes, idly following the pattern he was tracing with a fingertip along the gold inlay of the table, his bishop\u2019s ring glinting in the chamber\u2019s dim illumination. \u201cOh, I don\u2019t doubt that the pattern was set. And we expected a powerful working. The Haldane rituals almost always are.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAre you saying there might have been a transfer of power as well?\u201d Tiercel asked, no longer able to contain his curiosity. \u201cSome actual awakening of ability, I mean.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Vivienne glanced at him sharply. \u201cWhy <\/span>do<\/span> you insist upon belaboring the issue? Only one Haldane may hold the power at a time. We have gone over this time and again.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cAnd have never, ever truly answered the question!\u201d Tiercel retorted.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd <\/span>shall<\/span> not meddle in forbidden things!\u201d Vivienne snapped, now openly glaring at the younger man. \u201cNow, <\/span>will<\/span> you keep your peace, or must I invoke an official censure?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Tiercel looked as if he might have been considering further defiance, but Sofiana, seated to his left, touched two fingers lightly to his lips in restraint.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cEnough, Tiercel,\u201d she murmured. \u201cNow is not the time.\u201d She glanced back at Arilan, watching stoically a few places away. \u201cWhat further can you tell us, Denis? By your expression, one might almost think Kelson <\/span>did<\/span> give his uncle at least a taste of power.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Arilan folded his hands carefully before him and shook his head. \u201cIt would have nothing to do with being Haldane, of course\u2014and there are definite limits to what could be bestowed upon a human. We know of several such cases in recent years.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAre you thinking of Bran Coris?\u201d Laran asked.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cAye\u2014though one must almost wonder, in retrospect, whether he might not have been at least part Deryni himself. It hardly seems likely that Wencit would have bothered, unless there were something more to work with.\u201d He cocked his head at Sofiana in sudden speculation. \u201cDo you know? <\/span>Was<\/span> Bran Coris Deryni?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Sofiana gave an odd little smile that might have betokened either disdain or secret knowledge.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf he <\/span>had<\/span> been, what does it matter, now?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt matters,\u201d Barrett murmured, \u201cbecause he and Ri-chenda had a son, your sister\u2019s grandson\u2014a child who would be full Deryni, if Bran was. How old is Brendan now?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cHe will be seven in June,\u201d she replied quietly. \u201cUnfortunately, his father was <\/span>not<\/span> Deryni.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Kyri sat back with a perplexed sigh. \u201cYou could have said as much. He\u2019s another rogue, then: Brendan, little Briony\u2014 young Dhugal MacArdry, from an even less explainable bloodline. Incidentally, Denis, how did the MacArdry boy behave? Have you any further speculations on that account?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cNone. He was door warden for the actual working. He never entered the circle. He seemed to keep his composure, so far as I could tell, but I <\/span>was<\/span> rather preoccupied.\u201d He frowned. \u201cCome to think of it, he managed <\/span>not<\/span> to be next to me during our meditation time before things got started\u2014 whether by chance or design never occurred to me at the time. I had Morgan and Richenda to either side of me. He was between Richenda and Duncan.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Tiercel shrugged and gave an impatient sigh. \u201cI hardly think that matters, since we\u2019re really supposed to be talking about Nigel,\u201d he said. \u201cTouchy as Dhugal\u2019s shields are, I suspect he merely opted to minimize possible clashes. Kelson probably told him to. You certainly wouldn\u2019t have wanted that kind of distraction during the ritual.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cThank you for bringing us back to the subject,\u201d Barrett said.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cAnd for refraining from your usual line of discussion,\u201d Vivienne added. \u201cDenis, is there anything else that you can tell us about Nigel\u2019s reaction?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Arilan shook his head. \u201cVery little, I fear. As planned, Richenda and I were keyed in as facilitators on the secondary level\u2014and what we were permitted to See seemed quite in keeping with what I expected.\u201d He raised an eyebrow wistfully. \u201cNaturally, I can\u2019t give you any details of the actual process.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cNaturally,\u201d Vivienne said cynically. \u201cHe bound you by oath.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cI would think less of him if he had not,\u201d Arilan replied.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPray to every god in heaven that you are never forced to choose among your oaths,\u201d Kyri murmured. \u201cWe can accept your judgment that all was done properly for now, but if things should change, I do not think I should like to be in your place.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cFortunately for all of us,\u201d Arilan said dryly, \u201cnone of you shall ever have to worry about that possibility.\u201d He shifted position in his high-backed chair and sighed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNow, is there other business for tonight, or may I go home and get some sleep? I must confess that keeping up with a seventeen-year-old king becomes increasingly difficult, even if he were not Deryni.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\nCHAPTER SIX<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\nThou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u2014Psalms 60:4<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Keeping up with a seventeen-year-old king was enough to tax far younger men than Arilan. Though Kelson could have gotten little more sleep than any of the rest of those involved in the previous night\u2019s work, he was up at first light to see that Duncan\u2019s escort had begun to assemble in the castle yard, and summoned his bleary-eyed chief advisors to join him at table before another hour had passed.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Granted, it was the table in the great hall rather than the council table, for the still growing Kelson rarely missed a meal of late, but he seemed to take perverse delight in the yawns and long-suffering expressions of his lords of state, many of whom made no attempt to disguise their irritation at the early morning summons.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nigel alone seemed to match the king for mood and freshness\u2014which surprised Morgan and Duncan, given the ordeal Nigel had undergone only a few hours before. Even Dhugal, nearly two years Kelson\u2019s junior and by no means as involved as the others, propped his elbows on the table and occasionally leaned his chin on one hand while he ate and listened to the king\u2019s briefing. And Dhugal was eager for the day, for he and a handful of his clansmen rode with Duncan at noon to join the other MacArdry levies and the army of Cassan in the north.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Morgan studied king and prince as he and Duncan paused at the edge of the yard where the ducal escort was mustering. Dhugal had gone ahead of them to be with his borderers, and the two Haldanes were inspecting the mounted men-at-arms, both resplendent this morning in Haldane crimson. The prince regent moved among the men with the same easy grace that had been his brother\u2019s trademark and was now Kelson\u2019s, even managing, with Kelson\u2019s connivance, to bring an occasional smile to the lips of Dhugal\u2019s dour border scouts.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cGod, he\u2019s good,\u201d Morgan murmured. \u201cSometimes, watching him is like watching Brion at his very best. I think the men would ride to hell and back for him, if he asked.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cOh, they would\u2014though God grant that they never have to,\u201d Duncan agreed, tugging at the cuff of a gauntlet embroidered with the sleeping lion of Cassan. \u201cHe certainly seems to have weathered last night in good form, though. One would think he\u2019d had a full night\u2019s sleep\u2014which is more than I can say for myself. Do you think Kelson helped him with a fatigue-banishing spell?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Morgan shrugged and smiled as he returned his attention to Kelson again, now examining a new battle standard that Dhugal and Jodrell were unfurling.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know. He may have done. It will be fascinating to see how much Nigel begins picking up on his own this summer, once you and Kelson and I are away.\u201d He sighed. \u201cIt\u2019s also going to be strange, having you and Dhugal off in the north.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cAye. God grant that the war will be quickly won, and all of us soon reunited.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

He did not reiterate\u2014nor did Morgan\u2014that grim possibility that every fighting man must eventually face, at least in some deeply buried, secret part of him: that for some of those who rode out on campaign, even on so glorious a spring day as this, there would be no reunion, at least in this life. That was an unspoken \u201cgiven\u201d that soldiers almost never voiced, lest the speaking invite the very thing they dreaded. As a bishop, Duncan might laugh off such a notion as superstition; but the soldier in him was more cautious. He was very much the soldier today, in appearance as well as demeanor.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

No cassock or cope or other ecclesiastical accoutrement proclaimed his episcopal rank. The plain silver cross hanging from under his gorget might have belonged to any pious man, and his bishop\u2019s ring was hidden under its embroidered gauntlet. Over close-fitting trews of deerskin and knee-high boots, Duncan had buckled a trim, buff-colored jazerant of quilted leather studded with steel, the edges bound in bright McLain tartan and the McLain device picked out in silken stitches on the left breast. A sword and crozier crossed in saltire behind the embroidered shield gave hint of his dual status, but only at close range.<\/span><\/p>\n

There was a helm that denoted his double rank more obviously, circled by a ducal coronet, and with a steel cross splayed above the eyes and extending down the nasal, but that was still hanging on the saddle of his palfrey: a cloud-grey mare chosen for stamina and smoothness of gait. A squire held her, over near Dhugal and Jodrell. The big, battle-trained destriers were with the baggage train and sumpter animals, along with the heavier armor, none of which would be needed for the swift dash across the plains to the Mearan border.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe summer will fly; you\u2019ll see,\u201d Morgan said quietly, after a beat. \u201cRichenda has promised to continue working with Nigel, and to send us progress reports. And when we exchange dispatches, I shall send you more of that excellent wine we drank last night, and you shall drink to all our very good health!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As he clasped Duncan by the shoulder, he forced a smile which Duncan returned dutifully, then glanced past him to the men mounting up in the yard.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut, I see the archbishops coming out to bless the troops. I suppose we\u2019d best rejoin our respective contingents.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAye. You <\/span>are<\/span> still riding out with us (he first few miles, aren\u2019t you?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCertainly. But this blessing is for <\/span>your<\/span> lot\u2014unless you\u2019d care to give <\/span>me<\/span> a blessing before you go\u2026.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Duncan raised one eyebrow in surprise, then grinned unabashedly. \u201cI\u2019m flattered, Alaric. You\u2019ve never asked before.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe last time we left on a major campaign, you weren\u2019t a bishop.\u201d Morgan flashed him a quick, self-conscious grin. \u201cNor were you even a priest in very good standing, as I recall\u2014at least so far as the Church was concerned.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cMere technicalities,\u201d Duncan muttered, quickly pulling off his right gauntlet and glancing around to see whether they were being observed. \u201cI\u2019m still flattered. I don\u2019t suppose we should call undue attention to ourselves, so you needn\u2019t kneel\u2014but do bow your head.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Kelson and Nigel were returning to the great hall steps beside the archbishops, so most attention was focused on the king\u2014which was fortunate, because the flash of sun on Duncan\u2019s episcopal ring triggered potent memories in both Deryni as he raised his hand slightly between them. Morgan caught his breath in an echo of the old awe, then as quickly dipped his head and averted his eyes. The memory was too intimate, too precious, to share with anyone but Duncan.<\/span><\/p>\n

The ring had been Bishop Istelyn\u2019s until six months before: hacked from his hand at the orders of Edmond Loris and sent, still circling Istelyn\u2019s finger, as an earnest of Loris\u2019 intention, with his Mearan allies, to wage total war against the Deryni Kelson. When Kelson did not capitulate, Istelyn\u2019s head followed; and Duncan had declared he would be made a bishop with no other ring than the martyred Henry Istelyn\u2019s.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the ring held power beyond the mere symbolism of a bishop\u2019s office; and as Duncan\u2019s consecration approached, the presumption of wearing a martyr\u2019s ring weighed increasingly on his conscience\u2014until, on the morning of the ceremony, Morgan insisted he face his fear. Together they had used their Deryni abilities to read the psychic impressions the ring carried\u2014and had experienced what they could only describe later on as a vision of Saint Camber, not the first nor the last of many.<\/span><\/p>\n

Camber\u2019s magic was in the gold itself\u2014which had been a communion vessel of some kind, before it was Istelyn\u2019s ring\u2014and the metal seemed to have retained some whisper of its earlier sacramental nature, even through the fire of crucible and forge and the metamorphosis from holy cup to consecrated ring. A measure of that special magic surrounded both of them as Duncan lightly touched Morgan\u2019s bright gold hair.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMay Almighty God bless and keep you safe, now and forever,\u201d he murmured, tracing a cross on Morgan\u2019s forehead with his thumb. \u201cIn the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Then the moment was past, and they were moving on into the yard, Duncan striding toward his waiting men and Morgan bounding up the steps by twos to join Kelson, a bright splash of green riding leathers against grey stone. Archbishops Bradene and Cardiel, Bishop Arilan, Nigel, and a handful of courtiers also waited to witness the departure. Not surprisingly, Queen Jehana was not present.<\/span><\/p>\n

As Duncan neared the center of the front line, one of Dhugal\u2019s border drummers did a brisk drumroll. At that signal, Baron Jodrell brought forward the new battle standard, bright as a cardinal in his color-bearer\u2019s surcoat over mail and leather, the silk of the standard spilling down the cross-tipped staff and billowing over his gloved hands. Duncan caught a handful of it as he and Jodrell continued to the foot of the stairs and knelt on the bottom-most step, holding the silk clear of the stone when Jodrell lowered the staff in salute to the two archbishops coming down to bless it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Omnipotens Deus, qui es cunctorum benedictio et trium-phantium fortitude<\/span>\u2026\u201d Bradene prayed, he and Cardiel laying their hands on the standard as Duncan and Jodrell bowed their heads.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Almighty God, Thou Who dost bless all men, Who dost give strength to those who triumph in Thee: in Thine infinite kindness, hear our humble prayers and with Thy heavenly blessing deign to bless this standard, meant for use in battle, so that it may be a source of strength against aggressive and rebellious peoples. Armed with Thy protective power, may it strike terror in the enemies of Thine anointed. King Kelson\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

As Bradene continued, Duncan fixed his gaze on one of the red roses scattered over the particolor of blue and white that formed the tails of the standard. The roses symbolized the McLain commitment to the coming venture, as the Hal-dane lion on its red field, next to the hoist, signified Kelson\u2019s support as king and overlord.<\/span><\/p>\n

Duncan touched the silk to his lips as Cardiel aspersed the standard with holy water, and remained kneeling as Kelson came down to join the archbishops. As the king laid his own consecrated hands briefly on the standard, half a hundred lances dipped in salute, swallow-tailed pennons of blue and white almost brushing the ground.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cReceive this standard, blessed with the blessing of heaven,\u201d Kelson said, helping Jodrell raise the weight of the staff as the latter stood. \u201cMay its sight strike terror in all our enemies, and may the Lord grant all who follow it grace to break through the ranks of the enemy with it safely and without harm.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAmen,\u201d Bradene and Cardiel respondeo.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Haldane lion danced in the breeze as Duncan released his handfuls of silk, and the azure and white of the standard\u2019s tails cloaked his shoulders in a mantle of McLain roses. Gravely he ducked his head to receive the flat-linked chain of gilt that Kelson laid around his neck, then offered the king his joined hands in token of his homage.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBe our Captain-General in the North, Duke Duncan,\u201d the king said, clasping the ducal hands between his own and thereby raising him up.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI will, my Liege, and shall serve you faithfully, upon mine honor and my life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCassan!\u201d shouted Duncan\u2019s men, rattling lances against shields as the two exchanged a formal kiss of peace.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then Duncan was escorting Jodrell back to their waiting line, bracing the standard against his hip while Jodrell swung up on a mean-tempered blood-bay that had to be sharply curbed before it would move close enough to take the banner back. Beyond, Dhugal waited on a rust-colored mare that matched his hair and brigandine, the reins of Duncan\u2019s grey in his hands.<\/span><\/p>\n

He grinned as Duncan mounted, raising a hand toward Kelson and Morgan, who were heading down the steps toward where their own horses and a small escort waited for them to accompany the troops for the first few miles. Behind them on the landing, Nigel had been joined by his three sons. They, the bishops, and a handful of lesser nobles watched attentively as king and champion fell in with Duncan and Dhugal, wheeling to follow the Cassani lancers already eddying out of the yard through the gatehouse passage.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWell, then. They\u2019re away,\u201d Nigel said to Conall, who was looking very tight-jawed and upset. \u201cHere\u2014what\u2019s this gloomy face? I thought you were going to ride out with Kelson and Alaric for a way.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe can\u2019t,\u201d said the thirteen-year-old Prince Rory, smiling primly. \u201cPayne hid all his riding boots.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRory! You said you wouldn\u2019t tell!\u201d Payne blurted, kicking his brother sharply in the ankle and then ducking hastily between him and his father as Conall whirled on him with fratricide in his eyes. \u201cPapa, don\u2019t let him hit me!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cConall!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

At Nigel\u2019s warning, Conall reluctantly lowered his fist, but to be sabotaged by a nine-year-old was no mean affront to his adolescent pride. Several men who had overheard Rory\u2019s announcement were fighting to control snickers, and one had already walked away to keep from laughing. Conall could scarcely contain his anger.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019d better thrash him. Father,\u201d he said through clenched teeth, \u201cbecause if you don\u2019t, I will. I swear it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll thrash <\/span>no one<\/span> without my leave, sir!\u201d Nigel retorted. \u201cYou\u2019re a grown man, for God\u2019s sake! You\u2019re almost twice Payne\u2019s age and size. I\u2019m sure it was only a childish\u2014 Here now!\u201d he barked, as Payne poked his head from between Rory and his father long enough to stick out his tongue at his eldest brother. \u201cStop that before I <\/span>do<\/span> thrash you! You\u2019re not innocent in this matter, y\u2019know.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

As Nigel grabbed him by the upper arm and gave him a shake, Payne paled visibly and deflated, all the defiance draining out of him as Nigel went on.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t say I blame Conall for being angry, if you\u2019re going to act like a spoiled brat. Perhaps I <\/span>should<\/span> let him thrash you. Now, why did you hide all his boots?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cIt isn\u2019t fair, Father,\u201d he whispered. \u201cWhy does <\/span>Conall<\/span> get to go on the campaign with Kelson? Why can\u2019t I go, too?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Nigel sighed and released the boy\u2019s arm, and even Conall looked a little less angry.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been over all of this before, son. Conall needs the battle experience. He\u2019s going to be knighted next spring. Your time will come.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cBut Duke Alaric is taking Brendan, and he\u2019s not even seven!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBrendan will be serving his stepfather as a page,\u201d Nigel said patiently. \u201cI need you and Rory to be <\/span>my<\/span> page and squire. You <\/span>know<\/span> I\u2019m to be regent while Kelson is away. Do you understand what that means?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Payne fidgeted and studied the toes of his pointed court boots, trying to hide his sniffles behind a scowl.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cLots of boring courts,\u201d he muttered.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Nigel smiled. \u201cI\u2019m afraid that\u2019s a major part of the life of a prince, son. And it\u2019s a very necessary one. When a king has to go to war, it makes his job far easier if he knows that the \u2018boring courts,\u2019 as you put it, are being taken care of by someone he can trust. If you ask Kelson, I\u2019m sure he\u2019ll agree. Rory understands that, don\u2019t you, Rory?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Rory, the thirteen-year-old, managed a grimace of a smile. \u201cYes, sir. It isn\u2019t going to be nearly as exciting as being with Kelson, though. <\/span>I<\/span> could go with him. I\u2019m almost as old as he was when he became king. And it <\/span>will<\/span> be glorious, won\u2019t it, Conall? You\u2019re going to have <\/span>all<\/span> the fun!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Conall, mellowing as he realized what had sparked this minor rebellion on the part of his younger brothers, decided he could afford to be gracious.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAh, so it\u2019s <\/span>glory<\/span> you\u2019re worried about, is it?\u201d he said, feigning amazement as he planted both hands on his hips and looked down at the two boys. \u201cAre you afraid you\u2019re going to miss out?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

At their shy, grudging nods and murmurs of agreement, he glanced at their father and gave him a broad wink.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cWell, then, little brothers, if that\u2019s all that\u2019s bothering you, I promise to win enough glory for all three of us! Perhaps it isn\u2019t quite as exciting as actually coming along on the campaign, but it\u2019s better than nothing, isn\u2019t it? And Father <\/span>will<\/span> need your help while I\u2019m away.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey can help me right now, if they\u2019re interested,\u201d Nigel said, laying an arm around both boys\u2019 shoulders and flashing Conall a look of gratitude as he tousled their hair. \u201cGentlemen, did you know we\u2019re to receive a Torenthi embassy in the next few days?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cSo what?\u201d Payne muttered under his breath, as Nigel began walking him and Rory back into the hall.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cWell, young King Liam of Torenth is coming to reaffirm his fealty to Kelson as overlord,\u201d Nigel went on. \u201cHis brother is coming, too. Liam\u2019s ten, as I recall, and Ronal\u2019s six. They\u2019ll probably be as bored as you are. Perhaps you can help me plan some interesting things for them to do while they\u2019re here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

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Book Preview THE KING\u2019S JUSTICE \u00a0 PROLOGUE \u00a0 And the king shall do according to his will. \u2014Daniel 11:30 \u201cI tell you, he isn\u2019t going to change his mind,\u201d the Deryni Bishop Arilan said, slapping the ivory table with both palms for emphasis as his gaze swept the three men and three women seated with … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6523,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[427],"class_list":["post-6524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-katherine-kurtz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6524"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6524\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}