The Shadow Queen

by the guards, whom he blessed as he passed them by.

Nicely done, Hierarch, a voice next to his ear said.

Cam started, surprised. “You really are there,” he whispered.

I am, and at the palace you will speak my thoughts to Lord Jonah, was the reply.

“May I ask who you are, my lord Prince?” Cam inquired, politely nodding and raising his hand in blessing to the woman with the two children who passed him by.

I am Kaliq, the invisible voice told him. Now, do not address me again, Hierarch, for those you meet as you reach the palace will think you mad to be speaking to yourself.

Cam nodded but, as no one else was approaching him, said softly, “Thank you.” Then he walked on until finally he came to the palace.

Recognizing him instantly, the guards knelt for his blessing, and then allowed him to pass by. A servant notified by a runner from the main gate of the Hierarch’s approach hurried forth to greet the Hierarch and lead him to the Lord High Ruler, who was waiting in his privy chamber. As much as it irritated Jonah, he knelt for the Hierarch’s blessing, but feeling a little burst of energy from the hands placed upon his head soothed his pride.

Arising, Jonah invited the Hierarch to be seated in a comfortable chair by the fire. He signaled to a servant to bring Frine and cakes. Then Jonah sat down, asking as he did, “How, my lord Hierarch, may I be of service to you?”

“The High Council must be called into session, my lord,” the Hierarch said. “Summer is half over, and we have much work to do before the Icy Season sets in again.”

“Can you not make a miracle, my lord Hierarch?” Jonah asked him slyly.

“What lesson would you or your people learn from that, Lord Jonah?” the Hierarch asked him. “Hetar has brought itself low. Now you must pull yourselves up by your own efforts even as you brought yourselves down by your own efforts.”

“But what can the High Council do?” Jonah wanted to know.

“It can follow the path that I lay out for it to follow, my lord Jonah. All the council members are currently in The City. Summon them now to the council chamber as I have bid you to do!” Cam was astounded by the words he was speaking and the commanding tone his voice had suddenly taken on, but then he remembered that Prince Kaliq had said it was his words that the Hierarch would speak.

Jonah stood up immediately, bowing to Cam as he did. “At once, my lord Hierarch,” he said. Going to the door of his privy chamber, he opened it and called to Lionel, his secretary, “Summon the members of the High Council to the council chamber immediately. The Hierarch waits upon them!”

“At once, my lord,” Lionel replied.

“We will wait here until they have all come,” the Hierarch said. “I find this little fire pleasant, for this late summer day holds a hint of the autumn in it.” He picked up his goblet and sipped the grape Frine as he closed his eyes in apparent meditation.

Well done again, Prince Kaliq said, but only Cam could hear him.

Jonah sat silent across from the Hierarch, studying the man. He seemed ordinary enough, Jonah thought. And yet…

When an hour had just passed a knock sounded upon the door to the privy chamber, and Lionel stuck his head into the room. “My lord Hierarch, my lord Jonah, the High Council awaits your coming.”

“All of them?” Jonah wanted to know.

“Aye, my lord, all of them,” Lionel replied.

Without a word the Hierarch arose, and, jumping back, the secretary held the door open for him and for his master as they passed through. Then Lionel ran quickly ahead of the pair, slipping into the council chamber by an almost hidden side door so he might take his place behind the chair of the Lord High Ruler where it was his duty to listen, and remind his master of anything he might later forget.

The guards at the main door snapped to attention and flung open the double doors for the Lord High Ruler and the Hierarch.

Cam raised his hand in blessing to them, and smiled as he passed by. Then he took Jonah’s marble seat, relegating him to a smaller chair next to him with a gracious nod. Cam had almost gasped aloud when he felt himself being gently pushed before the Lord High Ruler’s thronelike seat and then held in place as his head was made to nod in Jonah’s direction. He almost laughed at the look of outrage on the Lord High Ruler’s face, which was quickly masked as Jonah nodded in return and took his assigned seat. The council chamber was silent. All eyes turned to the Hierarch.

Cam felt his two hands being raised. “Greetings, and blessings to you all,” he said. “I have asked Lord Jonah to require your presence this day because it is past time we began to plan the restoration of Hetar. With summer almost over we must work to rebuild the infrastructure of both The City and the provinces.”

“And where are the materials to come from for this rebuilding?” the Forest Lord Enda wanted to know. “We will not allow you to deforest our lands as the emperor once did. Our woodlands, with the aid of the faerie Lord Thanos, are just beginning to thrive again.”

“Surely you have certain areas where the trees can be thinned,” the Hierarch said. “Harvest those areas for us, and trim the lumber. As for the rest of the wood we will need, ships are already on the way across the Saggitta carrying lumber for this endeavor.”

“And who is to pay Terah for their lumber?” Clothilde of the General Population wanted to know.

The Hierarch smiled benignly. “Why, the magnates will cover the costs, taking the gold from their outrageous profits. I will personally go to each of them to collect each share. The hovels in The Quarter must be repaired as swiftly as possible. Squire Darah-” and the Hierarch turned to the governor of the Midlands “-can you gather enough thatch and workers from your province quickly?”

“The harvest must be brought in first,” Squire Darah said. “It is amazingly bountiful this year, and we will be able to feed all at reasonable prices.”

“Excellent! But can you spare enough men to teach some here in The City that art of thatching?” the Hierarch asked Squire Darah.

“That I can do, and gladly!” the governor of the Midlands answered.

“We have men to rebuild,” Councilor Mikhail said. “And if the Midlands or any of the other provinces need our aid there are men to spare.”

“And who is expected to pay these men for their labor?” Cuthbert Ahasferus asked sourly.

The Hierarch turned his blue eyes on the man. “Your guild will be assessed their share, as will the magnates. Sir Philip, Sir Anatol, your Crusader Knights have a large treasury that has lain untouched for years. You will bear the cost of the repairs to the Garden District. Everyone in Hetar must have a sound, dry habitation by the start of the Icy Season. Let us cease now for today. You will all be required to remain here in the palace until we have entirely completed our business. Lord Jonah will see to your comfort, and that my wishes are obeyed precisely. Tomorrow we will meet in midmorning to discuss the fair distribution of foodstuffs until the markets can be reopened. There is also a matter of the Mercenary Guild and the Crusader Knights to decide.”

“What matter?” Peter Swiftfoot wanted to know.

“Your futures,” the Hierarch replied mysteriously, and then, blessing them, he disappeared from their sight.

The High Council gasped, astounded at this.

“Where did he go?” Master Rupert of the Midlands wanted to know.

“Can there be any doubt now that he is who he says he is?” Prince Coilin said. “Only someone with great powers could disappear like that.”

Prince Lothair hid a smile, for he had seen Kaliq toss his cloak about Cam and then disappear.

“Well, I for one will be glad to have Hetar get back to normal,” Lady Eres of the Pleasure Women’s Guild said. “Without our former prosperity there is little business these days. Only by the careful management of our Pleasure Mistresses have we been able to survive these last few years.”

“Aye,” Maeve Scarlet from the Guild of Pleasure Mistresses agreed. “I will be happy to see things returning to normal.”

“We must do better than we have in the past century,” Councilor Mikhail said quietly. “It was our own