loyalty, — she needed only to know it was understood that she was Ard Rhys in more than name.
Hence, this clandestine meeting with the most powerful of those whose support she required. If Gerand Cera would agree to back her openly, if she could gain his support for her efforts, then the rest would be easier to persuade. The problem was that Cera hated her almost as much as he had hated Grianne Ohmsford. If she was to have any success in gaining his support, she must first find a way to change his feelings.
She paused at the entry to a rotunda that served as a hub for a series of connecting corridors. Light from narrow slits cut high up in the circular walls reflected off the stone blocks, measuring sticks for the single stairway that led upward to the west watchtower and its parapets. She had chosen this remote and private spot to test Cera's resolve. If he feared to meet her there, alone and unprotected by his followers, he was not the ally she needed. If he appeared, it would reinforce her belief that he would serve the purpose she had set for him.
She needed a fresh ally. Terek Molt was dead, Iridia Eleri had abandoned Paranor, and Traunt Rowan and Pyson Wence were beginning to show signs of vacillation. Though the latter two did her bidding, they failed to command the respect and fear of the Dwarf and the sorceress. She was incensed about Iridia, who had simply disappeared after the death of her beloved Ahren Elessedil, but there was nothing Shadea could do about it. Searching for Iridia would consume time and resources. Worse, it would demonstrate weakness. Better to deal with her later.
She thought fleetingly of Traunt Rowan, who should by then have been deep in the Eastland and close to making contact with Bek Ohmsford and his wife. If he succeeded in bringing them to Paranor, she would have new leverage in her search for the boy and his companions should the unthinkable happen and Aphasia Wye fail. She would also have a means for reconfirming that Grianne Ohmsford was safely imprisoned within the Forbidding, where she could cause no further harm. The brother's magic could be put to that use. It was dangerous to use him that way, but it was a risk she felt she had to take. When she was done with him, when she had hunted down the boy and verified that his aunt was dead and gone, it would be easy enough to dispose of the entire Ohmsford family.
But first things first. She must concentrate on the task at hand, the manipulation of Gerand Cera. She glanced around the rotunda, their appointed meeting place. There was no sign of him.
«I am here, Shadea,' he said from the shadows behind her.
She turned with a start. Tall and menacing in his black robes, he was standing just inside the same hallway she had come down. He must have followed her all the way to their meeting place, and she had not heard him do so. It was a clear demonstration of his skill, given so that she would not mistake his coming as an indication of weakness. It was typical of him, — he had survived over the years by making certain no one ever misjudged what he was capable of doing.
«Gerand Cera,' she greeted him, holding her ground.
He came up to her, lean and hatchet–faced, his nose and cheekbones narrow and chiseled, his mouth a thin line of disapproval. His expression was unreadable, as if his mind had emptied of thought and his heart of emotion. He was a formidable opponent, and there were few at Paranor who would dare to challenge him.
«Are we alone?» he asked.
He would already know the answer to that question, she thought. He only wanted to let her think he trusted her not to lie to him. «Of course. What I have to say to you is not meant for other ears.»
«I didn't think so.» He glanced around, as if come for the first time to a new place. «No one is likely to pass down these corridors, I suspect. Nevertheless, we are too much exposed to suit my taste. We should not be seen meeting like this, even by accident.»
She nodded. «Come this way.»
She led him into another of the passageways and from there into an unmanned guardroom fronting the outer wall.
«Here?» she asked. He nodded, and she closed the door behind them. «This should serve our needs.»
He walked over to a bench set against the far wall and sat down. «Let me save you some time and effort, Shadea. You have summoned me because you require my help. Your own allies seem to be disappearing rather more rapidly than I think you anticipated in the wake of what's happened. Some won't be returning, I suspect. You are Ard Rhys in name, but your grip on the title is tenuous. Allies are necessary. I would be the one whose support you covet most. Am I right?»
She was angered by his presumptions, but kept her feelings in check. He was right, of course. That was one of his strengths—the ability to analyze a situation quickly and accurately. «Your support would be welcome,' she acknowledged.
His sharp features tightened. «Why should I give it to you?»
«I could suggest the obvious—that it would be safer for you to have me as a friend than an enemy.»
His smile was bitter. «You could never be a friend to me, Shadea. You could never be a friend to anyone you viewed as a potential rival. I accept that. I don't want you as a friend, in any case. As well, I don't want you as an enemy. Your successful elimination of Grianne Ohmsford demonstrates sufficient reason for that. Such an impressive piece of work. So unexpected. No one knows how you did it. Gone almost as if she never existed. Care to explain how you managed it?»
She shrugged. «As you said, you don't want me as your enemy.» «So, then, I can have you as neither friend nor enemy. Perhaps there is some middle ground?»
«Perhaps. Why don't we try to find it?» She walked over and sat down beside him, taking away the advantage of height to put them on an equal footing. «I do have need of your help. You have read the situation accurately. I have lost old allies, — I need new ones. The Council follows me for now, but it may shift allegiance when the opportunity arises. I can do nothing to further the Druid cause until the problem is safely eliminated. Think what you want of me, but my goal in all of this is to make the order stronger and more effective. Under Grianne, we were wallowing in discontent and ineffectiveness. That has changed already, even in the few days she has been gone.»
Gerand Cera arched one eyebrow. «How so?» «I have gained the unqualified support of Sen Dunsidan and the Federation. That support goes beyond his openly professed acceptance of my stewardship of the order. A deeper understanding has been forged, one that will eventually give us control over him.»
He nodded slowly. «He will crush the Free–born, and you will have the order stand by and let it happen. But how will you then gain control of him?»
She smiled. «What you need to know is that I do not intend to let things proceed in the disorderly fashion allowed by my predecessor. I intend to take action and to take it now. I will change the course of history, and I will make the Druid order the spearhead for that change.»
«How ambitious of you,' he said softly.
«I won't deny it. I am ambitious for both the order and myself. You can join me in this effort or you can continue to oppose me. If you join me, 1 will give you fresh standing in the order, a chance to advance at my side, equal in almost everything.»
He laughed. «Until you no longer have need of me.»
She held his gaze. «Or you of me?»
They stared at each other in silent appraisal, each measuring the other's hidden intent against the possibility of truth contained in the words already spoken. The silence lengthened and Shadea caught a hint of uncertainty in the other's black gaze.
«An alliance, then?» he said.
«A very close alliance. Personal as well as professional.»
He stared at her. «You don't mean for us to become joined inthat way, do you?» he asked softly.
She nodded slowly. «Oh, but I do. Why not? Don't tell me it hasn't crossed your mind. It crosses every man's mind, sooner or later. I see how they look at me. I know how they think. I am offering myself to you. I understand the risk of doing so, of course. But there are always risks. What I seek is an open and obvious alliance that no one in the order will dare to challenge.»
«Well,' he said, pursing his thin lips. «I didn't expect this. Do you find me so attractive?»
She shrugged. «Not in the way you might think. Attractive in a different way. Women and men don't always think alike about these things. Accept my offer, and I might even explain it to you one day.»
He stared at her without answering, looking directly into her eyes and searching for what she was hiding. She let him hold her gaze, patient and unflinching. «You could move into my quarters, of course,' she said. «You
