bother. She would have gotten the last word anyway. A few more pointless exchanges and I pardoned myself to continue my search. This time she let me go without comment.
I wandered for a while, hunting for a woman with dark hair and eyes that could drink the moon. Lady luck didn’t see fit to help me though, damn her. Penny was elusive, like a dream you can’t remember on waking. Finally I gave up and devoted myself to enjoying the last of the show. A particularly impressive red bloom lit the sky above the lake, accompanied by a thundering boom. An idea struck me. Pure genius. I couldn’t wait to try it out.
Forgetting the light show I hurried back to my room to search for the words I needed in the ‘Grammar’. If I wasn’t able to find Penny at least I could prepare myself better for whatever lay ahead.
Penny stood in an embrasure, shadowed by a tall merlon. She was all but invisible there, which suited her just fine. She watched the colorful lights bursting overhead but she found no joy in them. When Mordecai came striding by, she almost stepped out. He had a look of concentration on his face and he walked with purpose. She had seen that look before, and she loved him for it. His mind was constantly in motion, and she could tell something had inspired him. The wind caught his hair, tossing it back, giving him the look of a hawk stooping to find its prey. She wanted to catch him, but her heart quailed at the thought, she couldn’t face him now. It was too soon.
She stood still, till he was past. Then she turned back to watch the last of the show, a forgotten tear slowly tracing the line of her cheek. There were people everywhere but she had never been so alone. A touch on her shoulder startled her and she nearly screamed thinking Devon had found her.
“Oh my! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you my dear.” Rose Hightower was there, with a concerned look.
“Forgive me milady, I was caught up in my thoughts.” Penny self-consciously wiped away the tears that stained her cheeks. “Is there ought that you need of me?”
“Don’t apologize. Not all nobles are so heartless as Lord Devon,” Rose said this with a small grin, hoping to elicit a smile from the troubled maid. To her chagrin Penny began to cry, shoulders quaking with silent sobs.
Rose Hightower had been a lady and a peer of the realm since birth. She had addressed kings and been courted by every eligible bachelor in the realm, but she was much more than that. She was a woman of character and compassion first, without a thought she stepped forward and embraced Penny, “There there, it's ok.”
At first Penny tried to pull away, certain that her weakness would lead to even more trouble for herself. “No, no, don’t worry, I’m a friend,” Rose said, and she meant it. She held onto Penny until the girl relaxed, smoothing her hair and speaking softly to calm her.
Penny hadn’t had anyone to hold her when she cried since her mother died. Even though Rose was nearly her age she was reminded a bit of those days, days when she had felt safe. Eventually she calmed herself and pulled back. “I’m so sorry. Please don’t tell anyone about this… I don’t know what would…”
“Hush girl. I am not so cruel as that. What happened here is between us, and if you’ll let me I will help you as I am able,” Rose’s eyes were sympathetic. “Now tell me why you’re up here weeping while Mordecai searches high and low for you.”
“What? How do you know that…” Penny was startled.
“I spoke to him just a bit ago, he was looking for you and he seemed worried about you.” He hadn’t actually told her that but she had read it in his voice when he had answered her question, very little escaped Rose Hightower’s keen ears.
“I wasn’t hiding from Mort; honestly, I just didn’t want to encounter Lord Dev…” Penny stopped, “He’s been making a lot of demands of the staff. I meant no disrespect milady.”
Rose’s eyes narrowed, “None taken, I know all too well how unpleasant that putrescent man can be.” Rose stared at Penny for a moment, her mind working, she had heard rumors of Devon Tremont’s misdeeds before and she had an idea of what sorts of things he was capable of. “Penelope, do you trust me?”
“I hardly know you milady.” That remark could be construed as an insult, but she was in fact beginning to feel comfortable with Lady Rose.
“Fair enough. Listen to me, I know you are close friends with Dorian Thornbear, do you trust him?” Penny nodded. Dorian was one of the most honorable men she knew, not to mention their childhood friendship.
“I would trust him with anything milady. He’s a true gentleman,” she replied.
“Then accept me in his stead. I would trust Dorian with my life. If I can aid him, by helping you, I would count myself happy.” Rose looked steadily into Penny’s eyes.
“Why are you telling me this?” Penny could sense the other woman’s sincerity but she couldn’t fathom the reason behind it.
“Because I want to help you and before I can do that you have to answer me honestly, as one woman to another.” Rose paused.
“I don’t understand, but if you’re a true friend of Dorian’s I will answer you, if I am able.” Penelope felt silly answering like that, but Lady Rose seemed deadly serious.
“You mentioned Devon Tremont was hard on the staff, but I suspect you meant something more personal.” There was no easy way for Rose to broach the subject, but the look on Penny’s face answered her more quickly than words could have done. “Have you been ill-used Penny? Please tell me true, and if he has I will do all in my power to see that tyrant pay for his crimes.”
“No please, you can’t tell anyone, if anyone finds out he’ll…” Her words were confirmation enough.
“Relax. I won’t go shouting it from the rooftops. I don’t know what I can do, but I’ll make sure he can’t hurt you again. And eventually, I’ll make sure that man pays three times over for what he has done, or I am not a Hightower.” Her voice held a cold steel that made Penny shiver for a moment, yet it gave her hope as well.
“He’s the son of a duke, what can women do to such a man?” Penny was more interested in hope now than dissuading Rose.
“He’s the younger son of a duke, and his late brother Eric, was my friend.” Rose took her by the hand and began walking toward the stairs leading to the courtyard. “And you would be surprised what women can do.” The look in her eye would have given pause to even a king.
Chapter 10
The Dark God
At heart, the gods as we have come to know them are merely powerful sentient and incredibly dense concentrations of aythar. It is thought that many of them formed originally as the result of mankind’s innate need to worship a higher power, but this theory is unproven as some of the gods currently known certainly predate the existence of humanity. Whether they arose as a result of a prior sentient race similar to humankind is uncertain, they might well have developed from some purely natural phenomenon, independent of believers. The real question lies in what their ultimate goals are regarding mortal beings. Some have proven definitively malignant while others still seem benign.
~Marcus the Heretic,
On the Nature of Faith and Magic
The fireworks were of benefit to more than just the spectators. It proved to be a perfect distraction for Devon Tremont to do a little research. The puzzling events in his room the night before had left him troubled. Someone had made a fool of him, and given the circumstances there was only one man that could possibly have done it.
He had shoved the furniture to one side, clearing the center of the room. Using a stick of charcoal he drew two black circles on the floor, one within the other. In the space between the two he traced a row of strange symbols. They glowed subtly as he finished and began his incantation. The summoning took several minutes, and during the invocation he repeated one name at regular intervals. As he finished the light in the room dimmed and shadows began to move strangely within the circle.
A dark form solidified within the center, a shape that moved and twisted like smoke trapped in a jar. “What do you seek of me little wizard? You have not yet paid what you owe.” The voice was deep and coarse, rumbling
