When the bard finally finished, a new figure came forward, the young magician whom Hirizjahkinis had addressed as Dorneng. Bowing, he plucked a silver apple from the fruits embroidered on the draperies of the king’s throne, and cut slices for the king and queen. Then he dropped the apple core into a goblet and made it grow into a full-size tree. At his nod, it exploded into bloom.
Nora had seen something like this before, performed by the ordinary, sleight-of-hand magicians of her world. It was even more impressive when you knew actual magic was involved. If only Dorneng had kept it simple. Instead, the apple tree began to sing. A chorus of sugary voices rose from the blossoms, singing an anthem in honor of the king and queen. It was not as long as the bard’s song, but long enough.
Finally the song was over. The tree grew heavy with silver fruit. Ceremoniously, Dorneng picked an apple and placed it back on the drapery.
“I’ll take care of the tree, Dorneng.” Hirizjahkinis had joined him in front of the dais. Was every magician present expected to perform? Nora wondered. She glanced apprehensively at where Aruendiel stood.
Hirizjahkinis put one hand on her breast, touching the leopard skin she wore, and smiled at the crowd. Nora began to feel a throb of physical anxiety in her own body. Either part of her dinner disagreed with her, or there was strong magic going on nearby.
At first it was hard to say exactly how the room was different. But the candle flames in the silver chandeliers flickered. The same draft ruffled the leaves of the apple tree.
Nora turned and saw that the door and wall behind her had vanished, replaced by heavy, aromatic darkness. A pale green moth fluttered toward the candles. Looking up through leaves and branches, Nora could see the moon and a spill of stars. This night had a humid, tropical feel, alive with the trilling of insects.
She turned back to the assembly, still lit by chandeliers suspended from God knows what, since the ceiling was gone. The king’s and queen’s thrones looked faintly absurd, their carved legs sunk in green grass. The courtiers murmured uneasily.
The king cleared his throat. “Lady Hirizjahkinis, this is indeed a marvel. May we ask what you have done with our palace?”
“Your palace is perfectly fine, Your Majesty,” Hirizjahkinis said politely. “I have taken you and your court out of it for a few minutes, that is all. We are in the land of my birth, in the forest just outside the temple precincts of Gahz. It is only a short walk to the temple itself, a very beautiful sight by moonlight. The hunting here is also very good.” An animal’s scream cut through the darkness, not far away.
The king looked hard in the direction from which the scream had come. “Thank you,” he said. “Very interesting indeed. We prefer to return to Semr now.”
“Of course,” Hirizjahkinis said. The paneled walls of the banquet hall took shape, blocking out the night sky and the shadowy foliage. The smell of candle smoke, perfume, and overheated, overdressed bodies returned to Nora’s nostrils. Everyone seemed to start talking at once, their voices loud with relief. The apple tree was gone.
The door behind her opened, and someone slipped in beside her. “Have I missed dinner?” he asked.
Nora turned to look at him: A man about her own age, ginger-haired, with lively eyes and a face that comfortably occupied the middle ground between ordinary and good-looking. Wearing a blue tunic and a short gray cloak, he was more plainly dressed than most of the courtiers in attendance.
“I just rode in from Luerwisiac, and I’m completely famished. Is it too late for me to get a morsel of food?”
“I’m afraid so,” she said. “They finished dinner some time ago.”
“Ah, the only thing keeping me going those last dozen miles was the thought of a nice slab of roast beef.”
Nora smiled back at him. “It was roast goose, oysters, and venison tonight.”
“Please don’t make it harder for me. Where else can I find some food?”
“You can try the palace kitchen.”
“I’ll do that. And what is happening here? They don’t seem to have started the dancing.”
“No, some of the magicians have been performing magic.”
“Oh, Bouragonr?” the man asked carelessly. “Did he do the fire maiden again?”
“Not Bouragonr,” Nora said, emphatically enough that the ginger-haired man looked curious. Then she felt obliged to tell him of Bouragonr’s capture and rescue, although she left out her own part in the events because it seemed too complicated to explain. The man listened with deepening interest.
“Now I’m even sorrier that I was late. I’ve never seen a Faitoren. Is the Faitoren queen as beautiful as they say?”
“She’s all right,” Nora said. “Oh, I don’t mean to sound sour. If you like them beautiful and deadly, she’s the woman for you.”
After an instant, the man laughed. “Thank you for the warning. Well, she must be as old as a rock by now, if what I’ve heard about her is true. And you say it was the wizard Lord Aruendiel who freed Bouragonr?”
“Partly, yes.” She wished now that she had mentioned her own role. She would have liked to impress this young man a little.
“Is he here tonight?”
“Yes, right over there. The tall man with dark hair—the black woman is talking to him.” Hirizjahkinis was nodding for emphasis. Aruendiel’s crooked back looked especially stiff and unyielding, as though he were annoyed at what she was saying.
On the dais, the king turned his broad face toward the two magicians. “Lord Aruendiel,” he called out. “We have admired the wonders these other magic-workers have conjured. Now we would be pleased by a demonstration of your art, as well.”
Aruendiel hesitated, then stepped forward—propelled in part, Nora saw, by Hirizjahkinis’s hand on the back of his arm. As he made his way into the center of the gathering, the room grew quieter.
“Your Highness, I fear that I would make only a poor showing after the remarkable and intricate spells worked by my colleagues. They have done magic with an artistry few could match. I beg Your Majesty to be content with the magic that I have performed earlier today in your service, as well as the delightful enchantments that the magicians Hirizjahkinis and Dorneng have so brilliantly wrought.”
It was a surprisingly graceful speech for Aruendiel, Nora thought, but it lost some of its effectiveness by being delivered in a tone of rapid-fire contempt. The king leaned forward.
“Lord Aruendiel, you are too modest. We will judge for ourselves the artistry of your magic. Please commence.”
With a wooden bow, Aruendiel replied: “Then I will do my best to please. What sort of magic does Your Highness wish to see?”
The queen spoke up quickly. “Lord Aruendiel, I have a great curiosity to speak with the dead. I have always wondered what life is like for the dead.”
At the back of the room, someone tittered. Aruendiel’s face was immobile. “Many others have wondered the same thing,” he said simply.
“Then let us find out the answer!” There was a bright, challenging smile on the queen’s young face. “Bring back one of the dead, and let us ask what lies after death. Do the dead eat? Do they sleep? Do they marry? How do they amuse themselves?”
“Your Highness, each of us will find out the answers to these questions in good time.”
“I would like to know now,” said the queen. Aruendiel was shaking his head, but she went on: “I would like to speak with my aunt, the Lady Mirigian of Akl. We were always very close. I am sure she would be very happy to speak with me. I am also curious to hear how she came to fall down the staircase, because she was not a clumsy woman, and no one saw her fall, not even my uncle, who was in the next room. So I want you to summon her.
“Except—” The queen paused. “Well, if she is very frightful-looking now, perhaps her voice would be enough. It would be a great pleasure for me to hear even her voice again. You can do this, can you not?”
“Your Highness, I will not. I am sorry. I will not raise your aunt, nor any of the dead.”
“You are afraid to do this,” the queen said. “Or you cannot.” The king made a move as though to intervene, but Aruendiel spoke first.
“It is a perilous thing to raise the dead. They may not wish to be raised. But you have given me an idea. I
