as one.”
“This is too much!” said one of Kearney’s dukes, a stout man with yellow hair and dark eyes. “It was bad enough when you made us spare Numar’s men. But now you want us to make peace with Harel’s invaders? I won’t do it!” He turned to the king. “I beg you, Your Majesty! Don’t listen to this man!”
Diani had to agree, and she was pleased when others spoke against the Qirsi.
“Lord Labruinn is right, Your Majesty,” said Marston of Shanstead. “This is not some border skirmish we’re fighting. This conflict wasn’t caused by some minor land dispute. The empire invaded our realm and until its soldiers are driven from Eibithar, there can be no talk of peace.” He pointed a finger at the tall Qirsi. “This man speaks of the conspiracy as if he’s the first to bring its perils to our attention. He’s not, of course. All of us have suffered for its treachery, including our friends from Sanbira. And in Eibithar, no one has spoken against the Qirsi renegades more strongly than I. There has been no greater threat to our land in my lifetime. But to weaken ourselves in the cause of fighting the Qirsi threat makes no sense at all.” He faced the Qirsi. “I find myself questioning this man’s motives. If he truly cares about this realm, why does he speak only of accommodating our enemies?”
The young man with the scarred face stared at the thane, shaking his head. “Are you really that stupid?” he asked at last.
“Tavis!”
“I’m sorry, Father, but this has to stop!” He faced the thane again. “Grinsa is no traitor, Lord Shanstead. The king can tell you so, my father and his first minister can tell you so, I can tell you so. If it wasn’t for him, I’d be dead by now, or at best, still a prisoner in Kentigern. He’s saved my life time and again, and he has spent the last year fighting the conspiracy at every turn.”
“I’ve heard all of this before, Lord Curgh. And I’ve always wondered how he knew to find you in Kentigern in the first place. As I understand it, he was a mere Revel gleaner before he ‘saved’ you.”
“He knew because he gleaned for me.”
“How convenient. It seems to me that this man contrived your rescue, just as the Qirsi have been contriving wars and murders for the past several years.”
“You’re wrong, Marston.”
This man Diani knew, not only because she had overheard his conversation with the king the day before, but also by reputation. Aindreas of Kentigern was the largest man she had ever seen. Tall, broad-some might have called him fat, as well. But she thought the name by which he was known in Sanbira-the Tor atop the Tor-fit him best. He was a mountain; solid, immovable, enormous.
All were looking at him now, and from the reddening of his face, it seemed that he regretted speaking at all.
“You agree with the Qirsi, Lord Kentigern?” Marston asked, as if unable to believe what he was hearing.
“I’m not saying that. I don’t know what we should do about the invaders. But I do know that Tavis’s escape was not contrived by the conspiracy. If they were responsible for my daughter’s … for what happened to her, then the last thing they wanted was for Tavis to be free, trying to prove his innocence.”
“This is quite a change for you, Lord Kentigern.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Would you care to explain how you’ve come to feel this way?”
The duke faltered, his gaze darting from face to face. “No, Your Majesty. I wouldn’t. At least not just now.”
Kearney narrowed his eyes. “Very well.”
“Forgive me, Your Majesty,” the queen said, “but I’m interested in hearing more of what this gleaner has to say. You tell us, sir, that an army of Qirsi approaches, led by a Weaver. Yet you tell me that you haven’t gleaned this. How then do you know?”
The gleaner took a long breath, then glanced at the king, who nodded, as if to encourage him. “I know, Your Highness, because I spoke with him last night.”
“What? He’s that close?”
“No, Your Highness. He and his army are still two days away on horseback.”
“Then how-?”
A gasp stopped her. Turning toward the sound, Diani saw that Abeni was gaping at the man, her mouth open, her cheeks as pale as Panya, the Qirsi moon. “You…,” she whispered. “You’re one, too!”
“What is this nonsense, Archminister?” Olesya asked, sounding petulant as a child. “He is what?”
“A Weaver, Your Highness. I’m a Weaver.”
Silence.
Soldiers laughed in the distance. Horses whinnied, and a soft wind rustled the grasses of the moor. But no one in their circle spoke. They stared at him, some with open curiosity, others with distaste, all with some measure of fear.
“You realize,” Marston finally said, “that by admitting as much, you give us little choice but to execute you.”
“I’ll grant, Lord Shanstead, that were you to follow the ancient laws, putting me to death would be your only course. But to say that you have no choice simply isn’t true.”
“The law is clear.”
“The law is asinine,” Tavis said, “as are those who would follow it blindly! Don’t you understand the gift we’ve been given? We’re about to go to war with a Weaver, and we have among us the one man in all the Forelands who can defeat him.” He gave the thane a look of utter contempt. “And all you can think to do is call for his head.”
“A Weaver,” Aindreas muttered, eyeing the Qirsi. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.”
“You spoke to this other Weaver last night,” Marston said, defiant as ever. “Why? And for that matter, how?”
“I entered his dreams. A Weaver can do that with other Qirsi. I tried to kill him by using his own magic against him, but I failed.” He looked at the rest of them. “This other Weaver is coming, and he has far more Qirsi on his side than I do. That’s why it’s so important that we have as large an Eandi army as possible. Now I’m asking all of you to put your hatred aside and make peace with the empire’s men before it’s too late.”
“You’ve known of this Weaver for some time, haven’t you? How else would you have known to seek him out this way?”
“You’re right, Lord Shanstead. I’ve known about him for several turns.”
“And why haven’t you told anyone?”
The gleaner gave a thin smile. “I have, my lord. I just haven’t told you.”
“I’ve known for some time now, Lord Shanstead,” the king said. “I’ve also known that Grinsa is a Weaver. He kept these matters from the rest of you with my consent. If you wish to take issue with that, address your concerns to me, not the gleaner.”
“Am I then to understand, Your Majesty, that you intend to follow this man’s counsel?”
“He’s placed his life in our hands, Marston. He’s offered to wage war against the Weaver on our behalf. And if you had seen what the Weaver did to the woman this man loves, then you’d know, as I do, that he has as much reason as anyone to hate the conspiracy.” Again, he glanced at the others. “As much as I would like to see the empire’s army crushed, I’m inclined to do as the gleaner suggests. But I won’t impose my authority on the rest of you. I’ll leave it to my dukes to vote on the matter, and of course, Your Highness, you and your nobles must do as you see fit.”
“How many Qirsi does this man command?” Olesya asked.
“Two hundred, Your Highness. Perhaps a few more.”
“Two hundred?” Aindreas said, incredulous.
“Do you recall the wind we raised yesterday, Lord Kentigern?” the gleaner asked. “I wove that gale with the power of only two other Qirsi. Imagine what I could do with the shaping power of ten, or the fire magic of fifty. They may be few, but their power is greater than this army alone can withstand.”
“That raises another matter,” Shanstead said. “If Weavers are so powerful, why haven’t you used your magic to help His Majesty win this war? Our realm has been in peril, yet you’ve done little to protect it. You could have ended this threat a long time ago.”
Tavis shook his head again. “Not without revealing to all that he’s a Weaver. And not without destroying the
