The Shadow's heir

scrap. Canran did well but Withypool got the upper hand somehow, an’ in the end Canran’s Eyrie burned, an’ most of their griffins went over t’Withypool. That was a while ago, though, Sire. By the time Dad an’ me came t’live in Sturrick, Withypool owned that land, but it was all disorganised, Dad said. They couldn’t rule so much land from all the way over on the coast, so they was buildin’ a new Eyrie further West.”

Arenadd leant forward over the table. “Where?”

“Dunno, Sire, but I’d say somewhere where Eagleholm lands used t’be. Probably halfway between Withypool an’ where Canran was. Best place to control the lands all around. Sire.”

He blinked. “Did you work that out all on your own?”

“Yes, Sire.” Laela looked away. “I thought it made sense. . It was only a guess, like.”

“It was a bloody good one,” said Arenadd, and the offhand Southern accent and phrasing caught Laela off guard.

“Thanks, Sire. Is that. . is that everythin’?”

“You tell me,” said Arenadd. “Is that all you have to say?”

“I ain’t heard nothin’ about no plans to attack yeh, Sire,” Laela said with sudden boldness. “If that’s what yer wonderin’. They ain’t strong enough; they’re spread all over the place. Too much buildin’, too much reorganisin’, an’ they got no slaves now t’do the work for ’em. An’ besides, no-one’d attack you, Sire. They ain’t mad. They know what yeh can do-they know about yer powers. They’re too scared, Sire. I would be,” she added.

Arenadd stared at her, apparently nonplussed. Then he burst out laughing. His laugh was a harsh, humourless thing-one that sounded like it hadn’t been used in a long time. “Ye gods!” he exclaimed. “What a find I picked up off the street last night! Traveller, fighter, master negotiator, political strategist, and now a tactician!” He laughed again. “Next I suppose you’ll tell me you’re a griffiner as well.”

Laela gaped at him. “I ain’t. . well, it was just. . I shouldn’t’ve. .” Suddenly, his mocking laughter made anger flare in her. “I’ve given yeh all the information yeh wanted, Sire, so now yeh’ve been repaid for yer trouble. Can I go now?”

He stopped laughing. “I wasn’t making fun of you, Laela-I was laughing at myself. I wasn’t expecting payment, but it was kind of you to provide the information, and I appreciate the free advice. And of course I’ll let you go. But there’s just one last question I wanted to ask you.”

“Yes? Sire.”

Arenadd rubbed his broken fingers. “I just wanted to ask. . does the name Aeaei ran kae mean anything to you?”

Laela stared. “What, Sire?”

“Aeaei ran kae,” he repeated. “It’s griffish, in case you’re curious.”

“I, uh. . no, Sire,” said Laela. “I don’t know any griffish.”

“Obviously. Well, then, have you ever heard tell of someone called the Sun’s Champion? Gryphus’ Warrior? The Chosen One?”

“Oh. Yeah,” said Laela. “Of course. Everyone knows about that, Sire.”

“What do they know?”

Laela hesitated. “Well. .”

“Go on. I’m listening.”

“Well, uh. .” she plunged on. “They say yer. . that the Night God chose yeh, Sire. T’fight for her.”

Arenadd’s eyes were as cold as ice. “I was her assassin and her warlord, yes,” he intoned.

Laela drew back. “Yeah. . yeah, that. Chosen. So they say Gryphus. . the Day God. . chose someone, too. A Southerner, t’fight for him against. . well. .”

“Against me,” Arenadd supplied. “Continue.”

“Gryphus’ Chosen was like a warrior meant t’fight yeh, Sire,” said Laela. “His name was Erian Rannagonson. Erian the Bastard. From Eagleholm. An’ he. . they say Gryphus came t’him in a vision an’ gave him a special weapon what he was supposed t’use to kill yeh.”

“Hah. And then what?”

“Well. .” Laela took a deep breath. “So he met yeh in the Sun Temple here at Malvern when yeh came here with yer followers. He fought yeh, an’ yeh killed him, an’ so the Night God won.” She stopped there, having left out the part of the story in which the Dark Lord Arenadd had stabbed the sun’s champion in the back.

Arenadd snorted. “I killed him, all right. He put a nice hole in me first, mind you. So that’s it, then, is it? The Chosen One found the magical weapon, fought me with it, and died for his trouble? That’s all they say?”

“Yes, Sire,” said Laela.

“Nothing else to the story?” Arenadd persisted. “Nothing about a new champion, or about how the sun shall rise again some day and banish the darkness forever and so on and so forth?”

In fact, there were several such stories, but Laela had recognised them as the wishful thinking they were and shook her head. “No, Sire.”

Arenadd stared at her for a long moment, silent and expressionless-as if he were waiting for something. Laela couldn’t meet his gaze and kept her eyes on the table instead.

“Well, then,” Arenadd said abruptly. “If that’s all you have to tell me. .”

“It is, Sire,” said Laela, daring to look up. “I mean. . I think it is.”

“It’s enough for one day, anyway,” he said. “And I’ve got other things to attend to, so I’ll let you go.”

She shivered with relief. “Thanks, Sire.”

Arenadd stood up. “I’ve made arrangements,” he said briskly. “There’ll be some new clothes waiting for you in your room, and one of the servants will fill a bath for you.”

Laela didn’t know what to say. “Thanks, Sire.”

“No need to thank me,” said Arenadd. “Consider this your reward. You can stay in my Eyrie for as long as you want, and I’ll see to it that you have everything you need.”

Laela opened her mouth to ask why, but all she ended up saying was, “Yes, Sire.”

Arenadd nodded formally to her and left the room.

Moments later, she found herself being escorted back to her quarters, where a bath was indeed being filled for her. The servants left soap and a bottle of something they said was for washing her hair, and left her to her own devices.

The sight of the hot, steaming water was more than enough to cheer Laela up, and she lost no time in stripping off her old clothes and getting in. The water embraced her, soaking warmth into her like a blanket that had just been dried in front of a fire.

She sighed, a long, blissful sigh that released all the tension that had been tying her stomach into sick knots, and finally let herself relax.

By the time she’d luxuriated in the water and washed herself as well as she could, she felt much better. And some fresh clothes had been laid out on the bed-a plain but well-made woollen dress, dyed pale blue, and even a new pair of shoes. She put the dress on very gratefully, and sat on the bed, absent-mindedly running her fingers through her wet hair.

So that’s it, she thought. That’s why he brought me here. For information. He just wanted t’ask me a lot of questions about what’s goin’ on in the South, because no-one he knows has been there in yonks. Mystery solved.

But she didn’t seriously believe that.

Still. . looking around at her new home, and still enjoying the feeling of being clean and well-fed for the first time in months, Laela’s practical side took over. It didn’t matter why she was here-her host obviously had no interest in hurting her, and she had everything she needed. She could recover from her journey, take advantage of everything being offered to her, and consider her next move when she was ready. Simple.

As she got up and went in search of a comb, something else occurred to her.

Holy Gryphus, I just gave information to the Dark Lord Arenadd. I betrayed my own birthplace.

She snorted. As if anyone in the South would know, let alone care about what she did. It had never occurred to her to feel loyal toward her birth-nation, and she didn’t feel it now. Anyway, she added to herself, I’m nobody. I’d never make a difference.