The captain took a gulp of tea, wiped his greying beard with his uniform sleeve, and returned Meralda’s smile. “Man’s got to eat,” he said. Bright blue eyes glinted beneath bushy white eyebrows. “Are you calmed down yet?”
Another waiter popped out behind the captain, then darted around him, and vanished through a door behind Meralda.
“I’m better,” said Meralda. “Why don’t you bring your supper up to the laboratory and tell me why you’ve been looking for me.”
“Indeed, I shall,” he said, motioning Meralda forward with his chicken leg. “After you, milady.”
Meralda hurried for the stairs, mindful of the doors on either side. The captain followed, munching contentedly. “So you heard about the Tower’s shadow?” said Meralda.
“I hear everything, Thaumaturge,” said the captain, between bites. “By the way, you can thank that skunk Sir Ricard for bringing the Tower’s shadow to the king’s attention.”
Meralda felt her face flush. “Oh, I’d like to thank Sir Ricard,” she said, softly. “I really, really would.”
The captain chuckled. “Maybe someday you will,” he said. “I’d pay dear to see that.” The captain bit the last bite of meat off the leg, drained his tea, dropped the chicken bone in the tea glass, and set both in the crook of the elbow of the fourth-century suit of armor that guarded the foot of the west wing back stair. “Sir Ricard aside, though, I have a surprise for you, Thaumaturge,” he said, mounting the stairs beside Meralda. “You do love surprises, as I recall.”
Meralda half-turned as she climbed and lifted an eyebrow at the captain. “I detest surprises,” she said.
“Quite right,” said the captain. “My mistake.”
Meralda reached the second floor landing. The copper-bound double doors to the Royal Thaumaturgical Laboratory were just ten paces away, but in place of the mismatched suits of armor that had flanked the laboratory doors since the days of King Esperus, a pair of gangly, red-shirted palace soldiers stood at attention, right hands on sword hilts, eyes straight ahead.
Meralda stared.
The soldiers were twins. Both were blond, fair skinned, blue-eyed, and freckled. Both avoided Meralda’s gaze with a terrified determination, further evidenced by the sheen of sweat on their faces and their futile attempts to remain absolutely still to the point of excluding breathing and swallowing.
“Thaumaturge,” said the captain, “I present to you Tervis and Kervis Bellringer, Guardsmen of the Realm. They are to serve as your bodyguards for the duration of the Accords.” The captain shook his head. “By order of the king,” he said, before Meralda could protest. “All members of the court are to be assigned bodyguards. No fewer than two, no exceptions, no discussion.” The captain turned away from the young soldiers and lowered his voice to a whisper. “They’re good lads, Sorceress,” he said. “Twins, fresh in from a horse ranch halfway to Vonath. I won’t waste them on toads like Sir Ricard and I don’t trust them to hooligans like Ordo or Thaft. Give them a chance. This isn’t their fault.”
The captain’s half-smile vanished, suddenly replaced by a grimace of barely contained fury. He turned and stamped up the last few stairs. “You there!” he bellowed at the right-most lad, not halting until he was a hand’s breadth from the boy’s face. “Guardsman Kervis!”
“Sir,” said the left-most boy. “Pardon, but I’m Kervis. He’s Tervis.”
“You’re Kervis if I say you are!” shouted the captain. “You’re Kervis, your boots are Kervis, your hat is bloody well Kervis if I say it is! Now then.” The captain stalked over to the face of the boy on the left. “Do you see this woman, soldier?”
The boy glanced at Meralda, looked away, and nodded frantically.
“Do you think your brother Kervis sees her, soldier?”
The nods came faster. The captain leaned down and stepped close to Kervis. “You and your brother are the lady’s bodyguards, soldier,” said the captain, his voice fallen to a whisper. “What does that mean, bodyguard?”
“Sir,” said the boy, his eyes wide, “We are to protect her, um, body, from, er-”
“Enemies, sir!” croaked the other Bellringer. “Enemies, foreign or, um, domestic. Sir.”
The captain glared. Kervis shook. “That’s correct, soldier,” he said. “So if you’ve got to take on the whole of Vonath single-handed with a dull butter knife then that’s what you do. Because if anything happens to the sorceress it won’t be the army or the crown you’ll answer to. It’ll be me.” The captain’s voice rose to a bellow. “Me!”
The captain whirled, winked at Meralda, and stamped off down the stairs.
The Bellringers, sweating and wide-eyed, watched him go.
Meralda shook her head. “Guardsman Kervis,” she said, when the captain’s footfalls died. “How old are you?”
The boy cleared his throat. “Eight and ten, ma’am,” he said. “Soon be nine and ten.”
“Me, too,” said Tervis. “Ma’am.”
“I surmised as much,” said Meralda. “Well, gentlemen, let me make one thing clear, here and now. The king has decreed that you shall dog my steps. But it would not do for you to be too much underfoot.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Meralda sighed. Somewhere in the palace, a clock began striking the ninth hour, and with every bell toll Meralda felt the weight of the day settle heavy in her bones.
“Guardsman Kervis,” she said, stifling a yawn. “Are you familiar with the palace?”
Guardsman Kervis leapt to attention. “Yes, ma’am,” he said.
“Then you know where the basement kitchen is.”
“Down the west stair, left at the Burnt Door, right and two doors down from the Anvion Room. Yes, ma’am,” said Kervis.
Meralda stepped off the last stair. “Very well. Go there, at once. Tell them the sorceress wants a pot of coffee.”
Kervis beamed. “Yes, ma’am,” he said. “Right away.”
“And get three mugs, too,” said Meralda. “You gentlemen do drink coffee, I assume?”
The Bellringers nodded. Tervis’ helmet threatened to fall off, despite the strap cutting into his chin.
“Good,” said Meralda. “We’ll all need a cup, tonight.” Then she stepped to the door, fumbled in her pocket for the big black iron key, and put it in the lock.
The door crackled faintly, and the short-cropped hair on Tervis’ head tried to stand up below his helmet.
Meralda whispered a word, and pushed the door gently open. “Knock, when you return,” she said to Kervis. “And, gentlemen, I don’t need to warn you against ever opening this door yourself, do I?”
“No, ma’am,” said the Bellringers. “Not ever.”
“Good,” said Meralda. “Good.” Then she removed the key, dropped it back in her pocket, and closed the door gently behind her.
“Nineteen days,” she said, to the shadows. “Nineteen days to shrink the Tower or move the Sun.”
“Ma’am?” spoke a muffled voice from beyond the door. “Were you speaking to me?”
“No, Guardsman,” said Meralda. “I wasn’t.”
“Just checking,” said Tervis. Meralda couldn’t see the young man, but she was absolutely certain that he had snapped to full attention before speaking. “Ma’am.”
Meralda shook her head, shrugged out of her coat, rolled up her sleeves, and went about switching on her spark lamps.
Chapter Two
Bright morning sunlight streamed through the kitchen window. “Good morning, Mistress,” said Mug, as Meralda shuffled out of her bedroom, barked her shin on a chair leg, and made slowly for the cupboards. “Did you sleep well?”
“Mmmph,” said Meralda, squinting in the daylight. Her bathrobe, belt trailing loose like a train, hung lopsided from her shoulders. Her slippers were mismatched, right foot blue, left foot yellow with tassels.
Mug regarded the Thaumaturge with a dozen shiny eyes. “Perhaps I should be asking if you slept at all,” said
