Lord of Lies. David Zindell

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       7

      That afternoon the bodies of the scryers and the slave girls were laid to earth on a grassy knoll on the slopes of Telshar above the castle. There I buried as well the box that Salmelu had given me. I stood with my family and friends beneath a cloudy sky and listened to my father vow vengeance toward the one who had so defiled his kingdom. Never again, I thought, would he extend hospitality toward the emissaries of Morjin.

      Late the next day, a messenger brought word of the Red Priests. It seemed that they had managed to keep ahead of the knights that my father had sent in pursuit of them; they had ridden straight across Mesh and into Waas before the kel keep that guarded the frontier could be alerted. Thus they made their escape. For the Waashians would allow no knight of Mesh into their realm, nor even suffer them to tell of Salmelu’s infamy. This was according to King Sandarkan’s command. Only a few years before, at the Battle of Red Mountain, we of the Swan and Stars had badly defeated the Waashians, and King Sandarkan still held great bitterness toward Mesh.

      Neither did the search of the castle uncover the ghul. But then, that is a ghul’s nature, to remain hidden inside another’s mind or dwell deep within the flesh of a faithful nurse or a groom or even a friend. Now that it had come time to prepare for the Nar tournament, I was relieved to be putting behind me the castle’s many residents and the many more town-dwellers who journeyed back and forth from Silvassu every day. It gave me some small comfort that I could choose my companions from those I was certain could not be a ghul. Baltasar and the hundred Guardians I trusted with my life – and more importantly, with the Lightstone. Lansar Raasharu, of course, was beyond reproach, as were my brothers, Asaru and Yarashan. Master Juwain would be riding at my side, as he had on the great Quest. And it turned out that Maram would be coming with us, too.

      ‘Well, Val,’ he said to me after a long day of laying in supplies and attending to the many details of organizing an expedition, ‘you didn’t really think I’d let you go off alone on another adventure, did you?’

      ‘You’re the most faithful of friends,’ I said, clasping his hand. ‘But your decision wouldn’t have anything to do with another wedding postponement, would it?’

      He smiled at me knowingly and said, ‘Well, perhaps just a little. Let’s just say that a journey to Nar will give me a little more time to make sure that Behira is truly the one meant for me.’

      ‘But what did she say when you told her you were going away?’

      ‘Ah, well, she wept, of course, too bad. But I believe that I was able to make her understand that duty called me to your side in your time of need. I promised her that if I were to win any of the competitions, I would bring back the gold medal and give it to her.’

      I nearly coughed in astonishment. ‘Are you really thinking of entering the tournament?’

      ‘I? I? Go galloping about trying to cross lances with Valari knights? Do you think I’m mad? The point is, Behira believes I will be competing. This will soothe her. If I’m kept busy, you see, I’ll have less time for dalliances. But when we actually reach Nar, I can always, ah, be incapacitated with a bad back or the flux, do you understand?’

      I did understand, and I promised Maram that I would keep secret this little dishonesty. He seemed very happy with his plan, and gave thanks that fate always seemed to rescue him from Lord Harsha’s wrath just when things looked darkest for him. But this one time, fate betrayed him. At the evening feast, when it came time for the rounds of toasting, Lord Harsha stood upon his game, old leg and called out, ‘Tomorrow Lord Valashu and Mesh’s finest knights will leave for the tournament in Nar. My daughter has just told me that Sar Maram Marshayk will be joining them and competing as an honorary Valari knight! We should all honor his courage! Let us all drink his health!’

      Maram, sitting at Lord Harsha’s table beneath Lord Harsha’s upraised goblet, cast me a quick, sharp look from across the room as if to ask me if I had divulged his plan after all. I shook my head at him. And he shook his head at me in silent resignation and drank his beer even as two hundred lords and knights cheered him and wished him well.

      Lord Harsha had yet another surprise for him. He was not an especially clever or imaginative man – except perhaps when it came to protecting his daughter. So it vexed Maram greatly when Lord Harsha clapped him on the back and announced, ‘As many of you know, Sar Maram is to be my son-in-law. Since it is distressful for my daughter and me to see him ride off at this time, we’ve decided to journey to the tournament as well. We’ll see to it that no harm befalls this brave knight!’

      At this, Maram choked on his beer. His fat face reddened as he groaned and looked across the room at me for help. But it was all I could do to keep from laughing at this much-deserved plight that he had brought upon himself.

      And so it seemed that all preparations for the expedition to Nar and our roster were complete. Yet one more addition remained to be made. Later that night, I met with my father and my family in his rooms. Estrella, whom my mother had practically adopted, took warm milk while the rest of us had brandy. When I told her that I would not be returning to Mesh for perhaps several months, she threw her arms around my legs and would not let go. She СКАЧАТЬ