Lord of the Silent Kingdom

'I thought. You and Principate Doneto don't squabble nearly as much as you should.'

That thin old man smile again. 'Good. You didn't ask for it. So you shall receive. Sublime wants to punish Duke Germa fon Dreasser and Clearenza after all. He's heard that Lothar is sick and not expected to recover. The Imperial court is distracted by succession concerns.'

Hecht kept his opinion behind his teeth. Even Principate Delari operated under serious misapprehensions about the Imperial court. Other than Pinkus Ghort, nobody Hecht knew took Ferris Renfrow seriously. In Delari's case it was obvious why. Osa Stile would have put a swarm of bugs in the old man's ears. And would report everything Delari

learned as soon as he learned it.

Ferris Renfrow would know about Sublime's shift in attitude toward Clearenza before official word came out here.

'Would it do me any good to protest the stupidity of it all?'

'If you argue with Sublime he just gets more stubborn.'

'I know the type. My sister… Sir?'

'Piper? Oh. Nothing. Just surprised. You never talk about vour family.'

'I don't think about them much. And wouldn't mention them at all around anybody I didn't trust.' He hoped he sounded suitably mysterious. He dared not stop not being who he really was.

They reached the Principate's apartment. The old man halted a few steps inside. 'You need to get to work. You'll get your orders in the morning. I'll start sniffing around for this necromancer.'

Hecht glimpsed Osa Stile. The boy had a talent for lurking. If there were a curtain or tapestry nearby Osa Stile might be closer than you hoped.

Hecht said, 'Don't count Lothar out. He's always sick. But he always comes through.'

Delari frowned. He did not want to hear that any more than Sublime did. Probably not for the same reasons.

Hecht ran into Pinkus Ghort before he left the Palace. Ghort said, 'I see you've heard. My boss would be interested to know how.'

'How come you know?' Not asking what Ghort meant.

'My boss is a crony of your boss. And I have friends who get on the eary with anything he says. He talks to himself you know. When he thinks he's alone.'

'As long as he doesn't answer.'

'But he does. He really does. It's kind of spooky.'

'Must be because of all that time he spent locked up with you and me in Plemenza.'

Ghort chuckled.

'So what did you want?'

'To let you in on what was coming.'

'Thank you, then. I appreciate the thought.'

'And to ask about last night. Bad?'

'Worse than you think.' Hecht explained about the dead man found near Anna's house.

'Crap. Sounds like big-time shit. Black fairy-tale stuff.'

'Don't talk it up. We don't want this monster to find out that we've caught on.'

'No problem, buddy. I'm staying far away from that shit. This other stuff with people who want to stir up shit, though. I'm all over that. If I don't see you before you go off to your war, good fucking luck.'

'I'll need it.' He was being paid well not to think but to execute the Patriarch's will, however ill-conceived. If the man distracted himself from his ambitions in the Holy Lands, then the diversionary insanities needed to be nurtured.

Hecht often wondered about Sublime's mental state. He did not know the man. Had been in his presence rarely. Might have exchanged words with him once, on demand. Did not think Sublime would recognize him without an introduction, though he was the Church's top soldier.

He did not expect a more intimate relationship to develop. Orders would be relayed by Bronte Doneto or another of Sublime's cronies, mostly relatives less public than Principate Doneto.

Titus Consent seemed glum. Hecht asked, 'Second thoughts?'

'Not exactly.'

'Really? Then you know yourself better than I know me. Isn't every Devedian in Brothe trying to make you miserable?'

Consent donned a strange expression. 'Sir, who is the last Deve you know of who converted?'

Hecht could not recall one. 'A lot must have. Once upon a time there weren't any Pramans or Chaldareans.'

That's true. The Founders converted. Some of the Founders Those who weren't Devedian to start. Those who started out Devedian never considered themselves anything else.'

'Your point being?'

'That conversion may not be unknown, but it's rare. Brothen Deves can't remember the last time it happened here. So they're sure that it hasn't happened this time, either.'

'I see. That'll be handy.' He placed no faith in Consent's conversion himself. 'That will make my life easier.' Maybe.

From Piper's viewpoint, unfortunately, there was too good a chance that Consent knew all about his shortcomings as a Chaldarean.

'How so?'

'I feared your connections might suddenly dry up. Just when we need them most.'

Consent nodded. 'That probably wouldn't happen even if the Deves did believe I'd converted. It's a tit for tat game, information moving both ways. They really want to know what the Patriarch is thinking.'

Hecht understood. Everyone wanted to know that. 'Why are they staying cooperative? The war is over.' Deve espionage efforts during the Calziran Crusade had bought them immunity from the fury of the invaders there.

'Because they know there'll be more crusades. One after another while Sublime is Patriarch. Maybe longer if his peculiar brain disease transmits itself to his successors. There'll always be Deves who need shielding.'

'I have two things for you. Clearenza is the most pressing. We're going to get orders to march. Maybe within a few hours.'

'I've been on that since right after Duke Germa had his political stroke. You're in good shape. Move fast. The Emperor's people can't react right now. They're tied up with internal politics.'

But Osa Stile was sitting in Principate Delari's lap. 'They'll know as soon as we pull our boots on.'

Consent nodded. Brothe was awash in Imperial spies and sympathizers. 'And the other thing?'

'Somewhere there's a man who really interests the Brotherhood of War. Probably the Special Office. I don't know, who he is. His child has gone missing. The bad guys took her because they want to twist his arm until he helps them with some underhanded plot. I want to know who he is.'

'And that's all you can give me?'

'That's all I've got. I was hiding in a shadow in Sonsa when I got it. Sonsa is where the plot is headquartered.'

'We're out of Sonsa. You must know that. There's been enough crying about how unfair it is that Deves should stand up for themselves.'

Hecht nodded but did not believe Consent. 'At least one of the Three Families, the Durandanti, is involved. They had a relationship with the Brotherhood before. The plotters may be getting orders from the Castella dollas Pontellas. When Ghort and I went up they had us take a courier pouch.'

'If it's underhanded and involves the Castella, then the Patriarch is probably involved, too.'

'The notion has occurred to me.'

Consent bowed slightly. 'I'll do what I can, Captain-General.'

Captain-General Piper Hecht, with two hundred men and two small brass cannons, camped a half mile outside Clearenza's east gate. Two hundred men could not impose a siege. They did interfere with traffic to and from the city, known for its embroidered linens and its exquisitely colored glassware.

Duke Germa chose not to fight. His family were devout Episcopals. He did not want to provoke the Patriarch to the point where he issued Writs of Anathema and Excommunication. But fon Dreasser made no attempt to treat