informants agree that's the day. Half the city will be drunk, and they know the king will have to be out on the field to reward the winners of the tourneys and tilting.'
'So what's your plan?' Isak's question cut to the point and silenced the room.
All heads turned to the king as he stood and leaned heavily against the desk. His head was down as if scanning a map or battle plan. Slowly, he lifted his cold eyes. 'An educated guess would put their numbers at one and a half thousand men. The normal strength of the Kingsguard in Narkang is five hundred. This has been doubled over the past few days, carefully enough that I doubt they have noticed. This still leaves us at a disadvantage, for all that their mercenaries should be inferior to my Kingsguard.
'I have a man who should have reached Brodei Castle by now. Reinforcements will arrive sometime around the end of the fair. What we have to do is be ready for the assault and fight a running retreat to the palace. Once inside, they'll not have the time, nor the skill to break us.'
'Jex is an arrogant man,' added Antern severely, 'but he's no fool. He knows the running retreat will be our instinctive reaction; the king is never unguarded. We expect him to divide his force with the bulk attacking the king, and perhaps a third at the city gates to cut off any break-out we might be planning.'
'What if they close the gates? Barricade them? Even with troops in the city you'd be dead before they fought their way through and opened the gates again.' There were murmurs in support of Isak's objection, but Emin merely smiled evilly.
Then they will have a deeply unpleasant surprise. For the duration of the fair the gates remain open. This is, of course, to encourage the debauchery and excess that my people expect and require. While I can hardly be enthusiastic about that, it is convenient that the Gatekeepers do not have to be in residence, as they would normally. I don't know whether our little traditions are known to the Farlan, but the opening and closing of the gates are normally accompanied by a small ceremony. Nothing overly complicated, but significant nonetheless.'
'And the point?' interrupted Isak.
'And the point, my Lord, is that it is merely a pleasant little tradition that the folk of the city have grown fond of over the years. Without one of the Gatekeepers there the ceremony will naturally be omitted and the reason for it will become apparent.'
'A magical lock?' All heads turned to Mihn at his suggestion. Emin shook his head.
'Not quite. I must admit the inspiration came from tales of the black gates of Crafanc, though we have employed the idea in a different way. I must admit I'm keen to see how well it works, since we've not really been able to test it out. What isn't public knowledge is that the Gatekeepers of the city have all been ordained Priests of Death. If a priest opens or closes the gates, all is well. If anyone else does so, the daemon bound within the shrine above the locking mechanism will be released.'
A gasp ran around the room. Even the two men of the Brotherhood, Sir Creyl and Marshal Tohl, looked shocked. The Chief Librarian shuddered. Isak had to suppress a chuckle. It was just the sort of evil idea he was beginning to expect from Emin.
'Please, calm yourselves. It is perfectly safe for the citizens. The daemon is restricted to the gatehouse and we will have none of our people inside for the entire fair. Watchmen will be guarding the gate, of course, but I believe the duty is known as a retirement post since it is essentially ceremonial. They will surrender before pointlessly laying down their lives.'
Isak looked around at the men in the room. Mihn had a thoughtful expression on his face: but he was quite as calculating and dispassionate as King Emin. Antern and Coran had obviously heard nothing new, but the others were completely unsettled.
'What role can I play?' Again Isak brought a sudden hush to the room.
A smile crossed Emin's face. 'I appreciate the offer, my Lord. At the risk of sounding crude, you are the most effective killer in our midst. While your men are few in number, each and every one would have an honoured place in the Kingsguard, and that would make a nice surprise for Jex – but it would also make you as important a target as me. I would be more than grateful if you did find an opportunity to
kill Jex, but please remember that there are witches and mages within the White Circle. Keeping yourself alive might prove complicated enough-'
He broke off as a clatter came from the cupboard. Coran immediately pushed away from the wall he was leaning against and advanced, hand on hilt. Isak shifted his body so Eolis was in an easier position to draw, but as the door crashed opened it was a panting Veil who tumbled though. He held a lamp in one hand. It was clear from his gulping breaths that he'd sprinted the length of the tunnel.
'Your Majesty, you must return to the baths!'
Emin, apparently ignoring the urgency in Veil's voice, reached leisurely for his sword as he asked, 'What's happened?'
'Herolen Jex, my Lord. He's challenged Lord Isak's man to a duel.'
'So tell me what happened,' Isak said quietly. They were sitting in his apartments at the palace, large, airy rooms that were sumptuous even by Farlan standards. The style was almost opposite to what they were used to: smooth white walls instead of the grey stone of Tirah. Highly polished stone, inlaid marquetry and etched metal decorated almost every piece of furniture, even the candelabras, and doors and panels were beautifully carved into intricate designs.
Carel stood with his head low and hands clasped together. 'My Lord, it was my fault. I'm not used to being around noblemen. In the barracks, things are simpler-'
'No.' Tila placed herself between the two men and glared up at Isak. 'It was that man Jex at‹fault. He was insulting me and Carel stepped in to stop him.'
'And Jex took offence at what he said and challenged him to a duel?' the king asked. He was lounging on a long sofa, a thin cigar clamped between his lips.
'Well, the Marshal was not wholly tactful, but Jex was looking for an excuse.'
'So now you have to fight him?' Isak did not shout, but his friend still shrank back. 'Carel, in case you've forgotten, you retired from the Ghosts years ago. You can't fight a man like Herolen Jex at your age.'
His companions looked back at him, confusion on their faces.
'How do you know him? I'd not heard of the man.' Vesna put down the empty glass he'd been restlessly turning in his hands.
The king told me.' Isak turned back to his ageing friend. That's hardly the problem now. Carel, you're not going to fight this man.'
'He doesn't have to,' answered Vesna before Carel could speak. 'I am.'
'And he accepted? I suppose he would,' mused Emin. 'He'd not have heard of you. Jex is too arrogant to refuse a duel without good reason. Well, there is at least a little good to come out of this. I assume you asked for a full joust when given choice of weapons?'
Vesna nodded. A man with a long-standing reputation as an adulterer didn't survive long without being a good duellist – with any weapon. Vesna was not just a master adulterer, he was a hero of the Parian Army, and his reputation both on the battlefield and on at a formal tourney was well deserved. With any luck, the pirate Jex would probably have never tilted in his life,
'Unfortunately, it also creates a problem. I assume the duel is to be in the morning?'
'No, my Lord,' said Tila. 'I'm afraid 1 couldn't think of anything fast enough to stop the duel, but for what it's worth the duel will happen
'What?' To Tila's surprise, the king's face lit up. As she looked at Isak she saw similar excitement.
'It was the only excuse I could think of to put off the duel. I hoped it would give you time to find a way to stop it. I told Jex that you and the king had already made a wager on the fair, five hundred gold emins that Vesna would win the tilt. I banked on betting law being the same as in Tirah: since his duel puts a wager of yours at risk, if Jex wants to fight immediately, he has to provide the money, because he's forcing you to default.' She blushed. 'He didn't look like he had five hundred emins to hand.'
'My dear,' purred Emin, rising and taking her hand, 'if I were not a married man I would be on my knee to you this minute.' He kissed her palm with affected reverence. 'I could not have asked more of you if I'd orchestrated the whole thing myself.'
He stood up and craned his head around Isak's massive frame to attract Coran's attention. 'Go to Herolen Jex,
