Lord of Lies

My father smiled grimly and shook his head. 'Few men have such

devotion for their king.'

'Morjin is no king,' I said, thinking of the whips I had heard cracking in the darkened tunnels of Argattha. 'Men do not follow him out of love.'

'Then shouldn't we consider the Galdan scryer's prophecy?' Asaru

asked. 'She spoke of a ghul, didn't she?'

Could Salmelu truly be a ghul, I wondered? Had he given up his soul to Morjin so that Morjin breathed his fell words into Salmelu's mouth and moved his lips and limbs from afar like a puppeteer pulling on strings? The living-dead, ghuls were called: they who were as corpses inside and were forced to think the very thoughts of their masters.

'No,' I said at last, 'Salmelu is no ghul.'

'But, Val, how can you be sure?'

Because the flames of his being burn with different colors than do Morjin's.

I stared off at the candles in their stands as I said, 'In Salmelu and Morjin, so much malice, so much hate. But the fire that eats away at Salmelu is different from that which consumes Morjin. Its source is different. I. . can feel Salmelu's will to destroy me. It's as unique to him as a knight's emblem or a man's face.'

Asaru thought about this for a moment as a sudden dread came over him. 'But, Val, if Salmelu isn't this ghul, who is?'

Master Juwain, now sitting utterly still, cleared his throat and said, 'A scryer's prophecies are famously difficult to interpret, even those that prove true. Hut we should all give much thought to this one.'

His large, gray eyes fell upon me with the weight of worlds as he continued, 'We see at least one of the Red Dragon's traps within the trap: if Salmelu had failed to goad you into murder, what he brought here out of Argattha could not have failed to make you want to murder him.'

'Many wish to murder Morjin,' I said. 'And his priests.'

'But do they wish it as you do, Val? A fire, you spoke of, a raging fire that blinded you — like one of his illusions.'

'In Argattha,' I said, 'the Lord of Lies lost the power to make me behold his illusions.'

'Yes, but il seems he still has the power to make you hate.'

The brandy in my glass burned my tongue as I sipped it. 'Are you saying, then, that Morjin is trying to make me into a ghul?'

'Trying, yes, with all his might. But your heart is free. And your soul is the gift of the One. It can never be taken, only surrendered.'

'That,' I said, 'will never happen.'

'No, the Lord of Lies has no power to seize your will directly. But how much of your will do you think will remain if you destroy your sell with this terrible hate?'

I had no answer for him. I knew that he was right. For a few moments, I tried to practise one of the light meditations that he had once taught me. But the two blackened orbs inside the box that Salmelu had given me darkened my eyes; and the letter that I had placed down inside my armor was like a crushing weight upon my heart.

I finally brought forth this thick square of folded paper. I held it up toward the candles in their stand. No ray of light pierced the bone-white envelope to show what words Morjin might have written to me. It was sealed with red wax bearing the stamp of the Dragon.

'Is this, then,' I asked, 'another of Morjin's traps?'

'I'm afraid it is,' Master Juwain said.

'Then the trap must be sprung.'

I drew my knife to open it, but Master Juwain held out his hand and shook his head. 'No, do not — burn it instead.'

'But the letter must be read. If Morjin has set traps for me, then his words might betray what these are.'

'I'm afraid his words are the trap. Like the kirax, Val. Only this poison will work at your mind.'

'My father,' I said, looking across the circle at the great man who had sired me, 'taught me that an enemy's mind must be studied and known.'

'Not this enemy,' Master Juwain said. 'Liljana merged minds with the Dragon in Argattha. It nearly destroyed her.'

I thought of this brave woman with her round, pleasant face and her will of steel. Atara had once warned her that the day she looked into Morjin's mind would be the last day she ever smiled. And yet, if she hadn't dared this dreadful feat, none of us would have escaped from Argattha and the Lightstone would remain in Morjin's possession.

I squeezed the letter between my fingers, and said to Master Juwain, ' ''Lord of Light,'' everyone called me. If this is true, how, then, should this Dark Lord called Morjin have power over me with his words?' 'Is this the pride of a prince?'

'It might seem like pride, sir. But I don't think it really is. You see, after being forced to watch what Morjin did to Atara, no help for it and nothing I could do, nothing. . after that, there wasn't very much to be proud of, ever again. No, it is something else.'

Master Juwain's eyes grew bright and sad as he finally understood. 'No, Val — don't do this.'

'Earlier tonight, you made a test of things with your horoscopes. But there are other tests to be made.'

'No, not this way.'

'I must know, sir.'

Master Juwain pointed his gnarled linger at the letter and said, 'I think this is an evil thing.'

I nodded my head to him, 'But didn't you once tell me that light would always defeat the darkness? Either one has faith in this or one does not, yes?'

Master Juwain sighed as he rubbed his eyes. He rubbed the back of his head. He sighed, his troubled eyes on the letter. Then he turned toward my father and asked, 'And what, King Shamesh, do you advise your son to do?'

My father's eyes were like coals as he said simply, 'Open the letter.'

'And you, Queen Elianora?' Master Juwain asked my mother.

Her concern for me hurt my heart as she said, 'Burn it, please.'

Master Juwain asked everyone's counsel. Nona joined my mother and Master Juwain in their desire to see the letter destroyed, while Asaru and Maram agreed wilh my father that it should be opened and read. And so Master Juwain looked at me and said, 'You must decide, Val.'

I nodded my head, then moved my knife toward the letter.

'Wait!' Master luwain called out. 'If you don't fear the poison of the Lord of Lies' words, then at least consider that he might have written this letter wilh a poisoned ink. Do not touch it with your bare hands!'

Again, I nodded toward him. I laid down both the letter and the knife, then removed the riding gloves folded around my belt. I put these on. Then I picked up the knife again and used its sharp steel tip to break the seal of the letter.

'Do you have enough light?' my mother said to me. 'Shall I bring you a candle?'

I shook my head as I drew out the sheets of paper and unfolded them. It was awkward working this way, with my fingers covered in slips of leather. But the gloves kept my sweat from the paper, and the ink from my flesh, even as the small, neat lettering of Morjin's hand leaped like fire into my eyes:

My Dearest Valashu,

I trust this letter finds you in good health, which my friends in your little kingdom assure me has never been better. You will want to know that I have made what could be called a miraculous recovery from the wound to my neck that you must have hoped was mortal. The wound to my heart, however, remains more grievous. For you have taken from me that which is dearer than life itself.