'The walls are magnificent. The people behind them are the weakness. Half still believe there's no real danger. The Captain-General does what he wants, when he wants, where he wants. And those people won't do what they must to resist effectively. Their strategy is to wait for you and your brother to rescue them.' He spent a few minutes cataloging the shortcomings of Castreresone's leading men. 'Berto Bertrand drives himself to exhaustion but has no luck getting anyone to listen.'
'God is a cruel practical joker. He could have left us Roger Shale for another half year.'
Brother Candle did not respond. Their views of God need not clash just now.
Isabeth said, 'The situation sounds bad. Count Alplicova.' One of the handsome men stepped forward. 'You know, in general, my thinking, and that of the King, in regard to our Connecten dependencies.'
The handsome man bowed slightly. 'I do, Your Majesty.'
Brother Candle detected a hint of romantic worship. There would be nothing to it. Direcians, always at war and of necessity less relaxed than their Connecten cousins, did not indulge in the courtly love games promoted elsewhere by jongleurs.
The Perfect Master reflected. Count Alplicova. Could there be more than one? Diagres Alplicova was called Sword of the Unbeliever by the warlords of al-Halambra. His blade hammered out King Peter's great victories. Why was he here when there were Praman castles to conquer in Direcia?
'Your Majesty.' Daringly, speaking unbidden. Though the Perfect often flouted such rules. 'The gentleman you've named shouldn't be named aloud-if he's the gentleman famed for that name.' He reminded Isabeth of the invisible intruder in Castreresone.
Isabeth replied, 'I understand your concern. But we've made no secret of our cousin's presence. My husband believes it will give us additional leverage. As to your invisible man, you give the lie to his existence yourself when you report the successful attacks on the Laur bridgeworks. You were the victim of a practical joke.'
'Oh, he was. But not by me.'
The voice seemed to come from amongst the smoke-blackened beams overhead.
Laughter followed. The Queen and her people began muttering about sorcery.
'Oh, yes. Sorcery in the highest. But not nearly so foul as that coming off the island of Artecipea.'
Count Alplicova, Brother Candle noted, had shown no superstitious response. He and his companions studied the shadows while moving to control the exits.
Queen Isabeth yelped. She stared aghast at something in her lap.
The men surged toward her. Blades rang as they cleared scabbards.
Sidelong, Brother Candle caught a glimpse of someone in brown sliding out of the room. The man tossed him a mocking salute. And was not there when the Perfect turned for a better look.
He had seen that man before, in the streets of Castreresone and on its wall, among the watchers. 'He just left.' He described the man.
The others were not interested. They were focused on Isabeth.
The thing in her lap was a hand. With rock salt crusted on it.
'It's the ring,' Brother Candle said. 'The ring is the message.'
'Explain,' Count Alplicova said. With no stress in his voice.
The man had a reputation for being unshakable.
'The invisible man in Castreresone slipped a similar ring to Count Raymone's fiancee. Men from Artecipea were there at the time. They reacted as though they'd just gotten news of a disastrous defeat.'
Isabeth recovered. 'This hand isn't human.'
It was an odd bluish black. The fingers were overly long, with less bluntly shaped nails. The flesh under the nails was yellow. The nails themselves were cracked and broken.
The Direcians were not convinced. One said, 'The Pramans bring strange breeds of men across the Escarp Gebr al Thar.'
Isabeth said, 'It looks like an ape's hand.'
Brother Candle asked, 'Does it matter? It's more likely the hand of a demon incarnated. The invisible man is getting away.' He described the man he had seen. 'I've seen him before, always at the edge of crowds.'
A frantic search enjoyed no success whatsoever.
Once Isabeth exhausted Brother Candle's store of information, she told him, 'We don't want you whispering any Maysalean nonsense in the camp. Take your charge to Khaurene. I'll give you letters to my brother. He'll see to your care. Nag him. His people are being murdered in the name of a God that most of them disdain.'
He smiled gently. Isabeth's faith would not fill a thimble. Even leaned toward his own. But she could not show that to her husband's men. Politics trumped faith. As always.
Brother Candle observed every royal formality. Peter's men watched with faces of stone, fiercely disapproving.
The Perfect departed sure that he had missed something important. An argument started before he left the room. Some of the Navayans were concerned about the invisible man. Those who did not think it was all trickery by the devil-worshiping heretic.
The heretic left with letters to his Duke and a handful of silver to get him and his ward through the forty miles to Khaurene.
His small camp was in a turmoil when he arrived.
Socia babbled, 'The Queen's men arrested Bernardin's foreign friends! They dragged them into the castle! They would've taken Bernardin, too, if one of them didn't recognize him from somewhere before. What's going on?'
'I don't know. We can ask Bernardin. After we're on the road to Khaurene. Which is where we've been ordered to go.'
'Khaurene?' the girl whined. 'Right now? We can't stay for even one day?'
'She wants us gone. From the looks of things back that way, it might be a good idea to give her what she wants.'
Smoke rose to the east. Dark dots moved on the face of a distant hill.
The Captain-General was moving more troops closer.
Socia stared. She lost color. 'You think…' She could not articulate her fear.
'No. Antieux won't fall till they've eaten each other. Until the last man left, Raymone Garete, goes down. Taking a dozen Patriarchals with him.'
That was what she wanted to hear. And it might be true. Unless Raymone fell victim to treachery.
Socia started to say something. She let out a yelp of outrage instead. 'Somebody just grabbed my bottom!'
From the edge of his eye Brother Candle saw that old man in brown. Grinning, the man saluted him, turned, and became invisible.
The days became more terrifying than the nights. Every town and castle had been taken by the enemy. But the people themselves had not gone over. They would hide small parties from the invaders and the Night. But by day Brother Candle's band had to move. They covered little ground. Patriarchal soldiers and Society hounds were everywhere, patrolling every road. They broke up into smaller and smaller parties, till Brother Candle was accompanied only by Socia Rault and Bernardin Amberchelle.
The invaders changed behavior suddenly after abandoning Mohela ande Larges and suffering a severe reverse at the hands of Queen Isabeth's men. Travel became easier.
The Perfect surrendered to the girl's impatience. And had the opportunity to regret that before day's end.
17. A New Dawn and a New Night
Each day the staff selected two promising prisoners. The Captain-General took time to interview them while Madouc and his lifeguards hovered. 'Titus. I'm suspicious.'
'Sir? About what?'
'These prisoners. Are they being chosen to tell me what I want to hear?'
