you than even the king does at the moment. It pays to be ready for the worst.”
“You’ll be glad to know that you and Dorian are in complete agreement,” I said dryly.
“You can add me to that list,” said Harold, speaking for the first time.
“How would you like to be my new food taster?” I shot back, but I smiled to let him know I wasn’t serious.
Chapter 20
I was sitting in the same private reception chamber I had met King Edward in for the first time, back when James and I had been slightly inebriated. On this occasion I was entirely sober and prepared for the worst. Harold and one of my other men at arms were waiting outside, beside the king’s own armsmen. Weapons weren’t permitted in the presence of his royal majesty, except in the case of high ranking nobility, though I had declined to wear a weapon myself, partly because it was considered respectful and partly because I really didn’t need one.
I had sent a messenger to the palace the day before, after my arrival, to notify his majesty of my presence in the capital. He had sent my man back with a summons to meet him this morning, to discuss the plans for my award and recognition ceremony. Consequently I now found myself facing him across a small table, watching him sip carefully at a cup of hot tea.
“You haven’t touched your tea,” he said mildly, looking at my own cup.
“Pardon me your majesty, my stomach has been very delicate this morning,” I replied before raising my cup to my lips. Rose had assured me that it was highly unlikely Edward would try to poison me at this point, especially under these circumstances, but I still couldn’t bring myself to drink. I tilted the cup as if I was sipping but I never opened my mouth. In fact I even kept a thin shield between my lips and the liquid, lest some contact poison were present. Was I paranoid? Perhaps, but I was beyond caring.
King Edward watched me without concern, though something told me he was well aware of my deception. He smiled before speaking again, “We are pleased that you returned so quickly.”
“I prefer to waste as little time as possible your majesty, especially when it is your time,” I answered carefully.
“Now that you’re here, we would like to hold the ceremony in two days. That should be enough time for most of the local nobility to arrange their affairs so they can be present. Ideally we should like as many of them to see it as possible,” he said.
I would have preferred to get it over with immediately so I could return home sooner, but I had expected this. “I am not very fond of public honors and accolades, is it really necessary to have such a display your majesty?”
“You possess a keen intellect along with your many other talents Mordecai, but questions such as that one serve to remind me that you were not raised among the nobility,” he replied. I started to answer but he held up a hand before continuing, “Public ceremonies and displays are as much a part of ruling as councils and private meetings. In some ways they are more important, for they cement a ruler’s place in the forefront of his subject’s minds. They also serve to reinforce the nobility’s memory of their own standing in relation to the king and to the one being honored. Never doubt the importance of such occasions.”
I found Edward’s lecture condescending and it re-ignited my anger of the previous day. “Was Arundel’s execution also a reminder?” I asked. My tone was even but my eyes held a dangerous light.
His face took on an amused expression, “One would think that you would be more pleased at the news. We were given to understand that there was no love lost between you and the late baron.”
I fixed him with a direct stare before I spoke, “I dislike seeing people used as pawns, to be played or discarded for matters of convenience.”
Edward’s countenance grew red and his brows drew together as he heard my words. “When you have seen as many winters as I have, buried as many friends and allies as I have, been betrayed and manipulated as I have, then you may judge me. When you have grown old and jaded from long years wielding power, then you may debate my relative worth on the scale of good and evil, until then you can keep your damned opinions to yourself!”
I couldn’t help but notice the king had dropped the royal ‘we’ during his tirade and somehow it made me feel as if I had won a small victory. My own anger dissipated somewhat allowing me to think more clearly. “You assume I will live to such an age your Majesty. Considering my position, there isn’t much chance of me reaching a ripe old age.” Our eyes locked as I spoke and I was certain he could see my resolve, as well as my honesty.
His own anger flickered out as he gazed at me, to be replaced by a sardonic expression. “Don’t count on it Mordecai, I once said the same thing, yet I am here still, long past my prime.”
I gave him a grim smile. “Should I be so lucky as to live long enough to judge you I doubt you will still be alive to hear my explanation of your faults,” I said.
“Arrogant bastard!” he exclaimed. “If you do live that long you will have become just as dark and jaded as I am, and wishing you could find my shade that you might apologize for your impertinence.” We glared at each other for a tense moment before we both began to chuckle. It was a dark laughter, born of anger and tension, but it defused the dangerous emotions that lay between us… at least temporarily.
Shortly after that I excused myself. I don’t think either of us really wanted to continue making small talk. Neither of us liked the other, but as long as we could manage a working relationship that was all that mattered.
Later that same day I took the opportunity to do some research in the library. I was hoping to find another book about illusions, or possibly some explanation for how someone could hide from my magesight. The memory of the stranger in Cameron Castle still bothered me. However such a thing was accomplished it should be something the wizards of old would have known about.
I spent a fruitless span of hours looking for the information I wanted before I stumbled across something unexpected. I was replacing books that I had taken down earlier to peruse, when I noticed something odd about the wall behind the bookshelf. The pattern of runes there was different.
Every stone that formed the house was enchanted, which meant that spotting something simply by virtue of the presence of a magical aura was useless. In this case however I could discern a very different pattern to the runes woven into these particular stones. There seemed to be five specific points within the pattern that were unconnected, but I wasn’t sure why.
I studied it for a long time before I decided to do something foolish. I knew Penny wouldn’t have approved, but since she wasn’t there to give advice I figured I’d have to do the best I could. And my best was telling me that the five points were meant to be connected by using the fingertips of my left hand. I really couldn’t be sure what would happen then. Surely it wouldn’t be anything bad… right?
I started laughing softly to myself. “It takes a special sort of fool sometimes,” I said to no one in particular. Then I reached out and carefully placed my fingertips on the appropriate spots. The pattern around the five touch points began to glow visibly, rather than just in my magesight, and I could feel a tingling in my palm. For a second nothing else happened and I discovered I was holding my breath, I let it out with an audible sigh. Then I removed my hand and stepped back.
The glowing faded quickly and I thought I must have done something wrong when I heard a click and the wall began moving silently aside, taking the bookcase with it. Seconds later I found myself staring into a small but brightly lit room, one that had been hidden within the library despite all my previous searches. “Well I’ll be damned,” I said to myself.
I stepped inside and the wall closed silently behind me. That worried me a little, but I hoped that getting out would be as easy as entering had been, otherwise I was in for some fun later.
The room I was standing in wasn’t large, being only around six foot by six on each side. It was brightly lit by enchanted lamps that weren’t too dissimilar to the ones I had created for my workshop at home, though I could tell at a glance that the patterns were slightly different from mine.
