“That is curious,” Anna observed.
“They said it was because Boniface can’t travel. After the crusade in the Connec, I was better known than anyone else connected with the Patriarch.”
“You were invited when Pacificus Sublime was Patriarch, too. And he wasn’t handicapped.”
“Are you sure? He went way before his time.”
Anna shrugged. “It just seems strange.”
“I won’t argue with that.”
“Pella says you had a private interview with the Empress.”
“I did. She tried to hire me away from the Church. So maybe that explains why I was there.”
“What? Why?”
Lila asked, “You aren’t going to do it, are you?” In a voice so soft Hecht almost missed it.
“No. She wanted me to lead a crusade to the Holy Lands. I don’t want that. I’d have to deal with all those pompous idiots… Never mind. I have a job here. At the moment, to ensure an orderly transition. But let’s don’t talk about that. You girls tell me what you did while I was gone.”
Anna was more than usually demanding that night. She was troubled. It took a while to get her to open up. “I’m afraid,” she said. “All the time, anymore. Not terrified. Just always anxious.”
Hecht held her close. “Any special reason?”
“I worry about the girls. That evil thing is still out there. Principat? Delari keeps saying they got it, but it keeps coming back. Plus, Principat? Doneto has people trying to find out things about us. If he digs deep enough…”
“He’ll get his digging fingers lopped off. The Ninth Unknown has created entire lives for us based on what we’ve told people. Pinkus Ghort’s special spy, Bo Biogna, dug up my service records all the way back to Grumbrag. And in Grumbrag he found a man who says he’s my brother.”
Anna stiffened. “Really?”
“He told me so himself. I saw him in Alten Weinberg. He came by to see Joe.” He did not have to explain. Anna knew about Bo Biogna, Just Plain Joe, Ghort, Hecht, and their shared adventures.
Hecht added, “You’re protected. Never doubt it. Principat? Delari will watch out for you. Cloven Februaren, even more so. I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t have a squadron of Night things guarding your house.”
“Why would they do that?”
“Because they want things from me. And they’re more likely to get them if they look out for you and the kids.” Not to mention, they were basically decent men.
Anna started to ask something, decided against it. Probably about something she knew he would not discuss. “You may be right. Heris visits us at least twice a week. She always prowls around outside like she’s looking for something.”
“There you go.” Heris? Muniero Delari’s granddaughter. Hecht’s sister. Who, like Hecht himself, had no talent for sorcery. But talent might not be necessary with Delari and Cloven Februaren behind her.
Hecht was not sure what his grandfather, and his grandfather’s grandfather, were all about. He was no longer the naive Else Tage who had taken a picked band into the Idiam, to plunder the tombs of Andesqueluz. Piper Hecht, Captain-General of the Patriarchal armies, took no one at face value. Neither his enemies, nor the least of his friends and allies. Saving only Just Plain Joe.
Everyone had a secret agenda.
The children smirked and giggled at breakfast. Hecht ignored them. He was in a good mood. It was a fine day. He had no obligations. He planned to stay right here and do nothing.
Anna was not so cheerful. Looking further ahead, she was anticipating Hecht’s inescapable eventual departure.
Lila made breakfast. Hot bread. Honey. Some fiercely tart little green grapes harvested far too soon. And sausages that seemed to be half fennel. She explained, “This sausage is the kind my mother made. The Artecipean way.”
“Very good. Spicier than I’m used to, though.” And mostly pork. Of course. These westerners seemed determined to cleanse the earth of swine by devouring the beasts faster than they could breed.
“Vali. Now that you’ve learned to talk, why don’t you tell me all about Vali Dumaine? What’s the big mystery? What’s the big secret?”
The girl’s lips twitched and twisted. Habit died hard. But she had known this would come. “I made it up. All of it. I heard some Arnhander crusaders at the Ten Galleons talking to the Witchfinders. We didn’t know they were Witchfinders then.”
“Continue, please.” She seemed to think that she had explained.
“The crusaders had been told to go to the Holy Lands by the Arnhander king. The old one. The one that died. Anne of Menand got him to make them go. They belonged to a count she wanted revenge on. His wife was named Vali Dumaine. I liked its sound. So I made up the story that Lila told you that night in Sonsa.”
Hecht looked at Lila, who stared at the floor. “You believed Vali?”
“Not really. But I wanted to. So I pretended. I didn’t want her to do what I had to.”
Hecht guessed Lila to be fourteen. Even back then, she would have been an experienced prostitute, her virginity auctioned nightly by her mother.
“God will reward you, Lila. I’m sure of that. So. Vali. Who are you, really? The daughter of Bit’s relative from Artecipea? She told one story that ran that way. Another made it sound like you had been sold to the house.”
Lila said, “Mother never told the whole truth. She couldn’t. Not even to herself.”
Hecht thought a woman would have to be skilled at lying to herself to survive in such a hard trade.
“I don’t remember any more, Father. I was too young when I came to the Ten Galleons.”
Hecht did not pursue the matter. It was not crucial. Let the child be what she wanted. Anna would set her on the path of righteousness.
Hecht had another sausage. Vali watched, obviously anxious. He winked. She jumped. “Lila. How are you doing?”
The older girl was surprised to be asked. “Good. Considering. This is an interlude I’ll enjoy as much as I can.”
Hecht’s turn to be surprised. Not because Lila was insecure but because she had assumed a fatalistic outlook so early. Her life must have been harsh indeed. “You have a place here. As long as you like. You’re family, now.” Which could end with one slight political crosswind.
Hecht said, “Everyone listen. Life is unpredictable. Mine maybe more than most. Other people don’t have giant worms come out of the ground after them. If anything happens to me, ever, all of you get to Principat? Delari’s house the minute you hear about it.”
“Why?”
“Anna?”
“Why would we be safer there than here?”
“Because Muniero Delari is who he is.” And because Cloven Februaren made his home there, as well. The Ninth Unknown might be the most powerful sorcerer in the west, if not the world. Though he hid it well.
“I understand that. What eludes me is the Principat?’s motives for caring about me or the children.”
“Ah, I can’t really explain that.”
“Can’t? Or won’t?”
“Fifty-fifty. I know some things. I suspect some things. And I know there’s more that I don’t know. One thing I do know is, the umbrella of the Principat?’s protection casts its shade on this family. Accept it. Enjoy it, the way you will the weather we’ll have today.”
Pella rose. He had not spoken for some time. Not even minimal table courtesies. “We can’t enjoy the weather. We aren’t allowed. Some people aren’t afraid of Principat? Delari.” He left the kitchen. A moment later Hecht heard the front door open. Pella would be staring out into the fine morning and, no doubt, would be incensed because he could not go run the streets.
Hecht murmured, “All life is compromise and trade-off. He can’t run the streets but he isn’t starving.” And he had learned to read. And he had begun to learn a trade.
