2 - The Ruby Knight Page 10

  bleak. "I'm afraid we're completely encircled,' he said.

  'A truce, perhaps?' Bevier suggested. "It's customary

  in Arcium to grant safe passage to women and Churchmen

  before pressing a siege.'

  'Unfortunately, Sir Bevier,' •Alstrom replied, 'this is not

  Arcium. This is Lamorkand, and there's no such thing as

  a truce here.'

  'Any ideas?' Sparhawk asked Sephrenia.

  'A few, perhaps,' she said. 'Let me have a try at your

  excellent Elene logic. First, the use of main force to break

  out of the castle is quite out of the question, wouldn't you

  say?'

  'Absolutely. '

  'And, as you pointed out, a truce would probably not

  be honoured?'

  "I certainly wouldn't want to gamble His Grace's life or

  yours on a truce.'

  "then there's the possibility of stealth. I don't think

  that would work either, do you?'

  TOO risky,' Kalten agreed. 'The castle is surrounded,

  and the soldiers will be on the alert for people trying to

  sneak out.'

  'Subterfuge of some kind?' she asked.

  "not under these circumstances,' Ulath said. 'The

  men surrounding the castle are armed with crossbows.

  We'd never get close enough to tell them stories.'

  That leaves only the arts of Styricum, doesn't it?'

  ortzel's face stiffened. "I will not be a party to the use of

  heathen sorcery,' he declared.

  I was afraid he might look at it that way,' Kalten

  murmured to Sparhawk.

  'I'll try to reason with him in the morning,' Sparhawk

  replied under his breath. He looked at Baron Alstrom.

  "it's late, My Lord,' he said, 'and we're all tired. Some

  sleep might clear our heads and hint at other solutions.'

  "well said, Sir Sparhawk,' Alstrom agreed. 'My

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  servants will convey you and your companions to safe

  quarters, and we shall consider this matter further on the

  mOrrOW.'

  They were led through the bleak halls of Alstrom's

  castle to a wing that, while comfortable, showed little

  sign of use. Supper was brought to them in their rooms,

  and Sparhawk and Kalten removed their armour. After

  they had eaten, they sat talking quietly in the chamber

  they shared.

  I could have told you that Ortzel would feel the way he

  does about magic. The Churchmen here in Lamorkand

  feel almost as strongly about it as Rendors.'

  "if it'd been Dolmant, we might have talked our way

  around him,' Sparhawk agreed glumly.

  'Dolmant's more cosmopolitan,' Kalten said. 'He grew

  up next door to the Pandion Mother-house, and he

  knows a great deal more about the secrets than he lets

  on.' There was a light rap on the door. Sparhawk rose and

  answered it. It was Talen. 'Sephrenia wants to see you,'

  he told the big knight. 'All right. Go to bed, Kalten. You're •

  still Llooking a bit

  the worse for wear. Lead the way, Talen.'

  The boy took Sparhawk to the end of the corridor and

  tapped on the door.

  'Come in, Talen,' Sephrenia replied.

  'How did you know it was me?' Talen asked curiously

  as he opened the door.

  'There are ways,' she said mysteriously. The small

  Styric woman was gently brushing Flute's long black

  hair. The child had a dreamy look on her small face, and

  she was humming to herself contentedly. Sparhawk was

  startled. It was the first vocal sound he had ever heard

  her utter. 'if she can hum, why is it she can't talk?' he

  asked.

  'Whatever gave you the idea she can't talk?' Sephrenia

  continued her brushing.

  "She never has.'

  'What does that have to do with it?'

  'What did you want to see me about?'

  "It's going to take something rather spectacular to get

  us out of here,' she replied, 'and I may need your help

  and that of the others to manage it.'

  'All you have to do is ask. Have you got any ideas?'

  'A few. Our •first problem is Ortzel, though. If he

  bows his neck on this, we'll never get him out of the

  castle.'

  "Suppose I just hit him on the head before we leave and

  tie him across his saddle until we're safely away?'

  'Sparhawk,' she chided him.

  "It was a thought,' he shrugged. 'What about Flute

  here?'

  'What about her?'

  "She made those soldiers on the docks at Vardenais

  'and the spies outside the chapterhouse ignore us.

  Couldn't she do that here too?'

  'Do you realize how large that army outside the gate is,

  Sparhawk? She's just a little girl, after all.'

  'Oh. I didn't know that would make a difference.'

  'Of course it does.'

  'Couldn't you put Ortzel to sleep?' Talen asked her

  "you know, sort of wiggle your fingers at him until he

  drops off?"

  "It's possible, I suppose.'

  'Then he won't know you used magic to get us out of

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  here until he wakes up.'

  "interesting notion, ' she conceded. 'How did you come

  up with it?'

  I'm a thief, Sephrenia,' he grinned impudently. "I

  wouldn't be very good at it if I couldn't think faster than

  the other fellow.'

  However we manage Ortzel is beside the point,'

  Sparhawk said. 'Our main concern is getting Alstrom's

  co-operation. He might be a little reluctant to risk his

  brothers life on something he doesn't understand. I'll

  talk with him in the morning.'

  "be very persuasive, Sparhawk,' Sephrenia said.

  "I'll try. Come along, Talen. Let the ladies get some

  sleep. Kalten and I have a spare bed in our room. You can

  sleep there. Sephrenia, don't be afraid to call on me and

  the others if you need help with any spells.'

  "i'm never afraid, Sparhawk - not when I have you to

  protect me.'

  "Stop that,' he told her. Then he smiled. 'Sleep wel

  Sephrenia.'

  'You too, dear one.'

  'Good night, Flute,' he added.

  She blew him a little trill on her pipes.

  The following morning, Sparhawk rose early and went

  back into the main part of the castle. As chance had it, he

  encountered Sir Enmann in the long, torchlit corridor.

  'How do things stand?' he asked the Lamork knight.

  Enmann's face was grey with fatigue. He had

  obviously been up all night. 'We've had some successes,

  Sir Sparhawk,' he replied. 'We repelled a fairly seriOUS

  assault on the castle's main gate about midnight, and

  we're moving our own engines into place. We should be

  able to begin destroying Gerich's siege machines - and

  his ships - before noon.'

  'Will he pull back at that point?'

  Enmann shook his head. 'More likely, he'll begin

  digging earthwork fortifications. It's probable that the

  siege wil be protracted.'

  Sparhawk nodded. "I thought that might be the case,'

  he agreed. 'Have you any idea
where I might find Baron

  Alstrom? I need to talk with him - out of the hearing of

  his brother.'

  'My Lord Alstrom is atop the battlements at the front of

  the castle, Sir Sparhawk. He wants Gerich to be able to

  see him. That may goad the count into some rash move.

  He's alone there. His brother is customarily in chapel at

  this hour.'

  'Good. I'll go talk with the baron then.'

  It was windy atop the battlements. Sparhawk had

  drawn his cloak about his armour to conceal it, and the

  wind whipped it around his legs.

  'Ah, good morning, Sir Sparhawk,' Baron Alstrom

  said. His voice was weary. He wore a full suit of armour,

  and the visor of his helmet had that peculiar pointed

  construction common in Lamorkand.

  'Good morning, My' Lord,' Sparhawk replied, staying

  back from the battlements. 'is there somewhere back out

  of sight where we can talk? I'm not sure it's a good idea to

  let Gerich know that there are Church Knights inside

  your walls just yet, and I'm sure he has a number of

  sharp-eyed men watching You.'

  "the tower there above the gate,' Alstrom suggested.

  'Come along, Sir Sparhawk.' And he led the way along

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  the parapet.

  The room inside the tower was grimly functional. A

  dozen crossbowmen stood at the narrow embrasures

  along its front, unloosing their bolts at the troops below.

  "you men,' Alstrom commanded, "I have need of this

  room. Go shoot from the battlements for a while.'

  The soldiers filed out, their metal-shod feet clinking on

  the stone floor.

  "we have a problem, My Lord,' Sparhawk said when

  the two of them were alone.

  I noticed that,' Alstrom said drily, glancing out of one

  of the embrasures at the troops massed before his walls.

  Sparhawk grinned at this rare flash of humour in a

  usually dour race. 'That particular problem is yours, My

  Lord,' he said. 'Our mutual one is what we're going to do

  about your brother. Sephrenia got directly to the point

  last night. No purely natural effort is going to effect his

  escape from this siege. We have no choice. We have to

  use magic - and His Grace appears to be unalterably

  against it."

  "I would not presume to instruct Ortzel in theology.'

  nor would I, My Lord. Might I point out, however,

  that should His Grace ascend to the Archprelacy, he's

  going to have to modify his position - or at least learn to

  look the other way when this sort of thing happens. The

  four orders are the military arm of the Church, and we

  routinely utilize the secrets of Styricum in completing our

  tasks.'

  "I'm aware of that, Sir Sparhawk. My brother, however,

  is a rigid man and unlikely to change his views.'

  Sparhawk began to pace up and down, thinking fast.

  Very well, then,' he said carefully. 'What we'll have to do

  to get your brother out of the castle will seem unnatural to

  you, but I assure you that it will be very effective. Sephrenia

  is highly skilled in the secrets. I've seen her do things that

  verge on the miraculous. You have my guarantee that she

  will in no way endanger your brother.'

  "I understand, Sir Sparhawk.'

  'Good. I was afraid that you might object. Most people

  are reluctant to rely on things they don't understand.

  Now, then, His Grace will in no way participate in what

  we may have to do. To put it bluntly, he'd just be in the

  way. All he's going to do is take advantage of it. He will in

  no way be personally involved in what he considers a

  sin.'

  'Understand me, Sir Sparhawk, I am not opposed to

  you in this. I will try reason with my brother. Sometimes

  he listens to me.'

  'Let's hope this is one of those times.' •Sparhawk

  glanced out of the window and swore.

  'What is it, Sir Sparhawk?'

  'is that Gerich standing on top of that knoll at the rear

  of his troops?'

  The Baron looked out of the embrasure. "It is.'

  'You might recognize the man standing beside him.

  That's Adus, Martel's underling. It seems that Martel's

  been playing both sides in this affair. The one that

  concerns me, though, is that figure standing off to one

  side - the tall one in the black robe.'

  "I don't think it poses much of a threat, Sir Sparhawk. It

  seems to be hardly more than a skeleton.'

  "you notice how its face seems to glow?'

  'Now that you mention it, yes, I do. Isn't that odd?'

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  '"its more than odd, Baron Alstrom. I think I'd better go

  and talk with Sephrenia. She needs to know about this

  immediately. '

  Sephrenia sat beside the fire in her room with her

  ever-present teacup in her hands. Flute sat cross-legged

  on the bed, weaving a cat's cradle of such complexity that

  Sparhawk pulled his eyes away from it lest his entire

  mind become lost in trying to trace out the individual

  strands. "we've got trouble,' he told his tutor.

  "I noticed that,' she replied.

  "it's a little more serious than we'd thought. Adus is

  out there with Count Gerich, and Krager's probably

  lurking around somewhere in the background.'

  "martel's beginning to make me very tired.'

  'Adus and Krager don't add that much to the problems

  we've already got, but that thing, the Seeker, is out there

  too.'

  'Are you sure?' She came quickly to her feet.

  'it's the right size and shape, and that same glow is

  coming out from under its hood. How many humans can

  it take over at any one time?'

  "I don't think there are any limits, Sparhawk, not when

  Azash is controlling it.'

  'Do you remember those ambushers back near the

  Pelosian border? How they just kept coming even

  though we were cutting them to pieces?'

  "yes.'

  If the Seeker can gain control of Gerich's whole army,

  he'll mount an assault that Baron Alstrom's forces won't

  be able to withstand. We'd better get out of here in a hurry,

  Sephrenia. Have you come uP with anything yet?'

  "there are a few possibilities,' she replied. 'The

  presence of the Seeker complicates things a bit, but I

  think I know a way to get around it.'

  "I hope so. Let's go and talk with the others.

  It was perhaps a half-hour later when they all gathered

  again in the room where they had first met the previous

  day. 'Very well, gentlemen,' Sephrenia said to them. 'We

  are in great danger.'

  "The castle is quite secure, Madame,' Alstrom •assured her.

  'in five hundred years it has never once fallen to

  siegers.'

  "I'm afraid things are different this time. A besieging

  army usually assaults the walls, doesn't it?'

  "that's the common practice, once the siege engines have

  weakened the fortifications.'

  "after the assau
lting force has taken heavy casualties,

  they normally fall back, don't they?'

  "that's been my experience.'

  "Gerrich's men will not fall back. They will continue

  their attack until they overwhelm the castle.'

  "how can you be so sure?'

  "you remember the figure in the black robe I pointed

  out to you, My Lord?' Sparhawk said.

  Yes. It seemed to cause you some concern.'

  With good reason, My Lord. That's the creature that's

  been pursuing us. It's called a Seeker. It's not human,

  it's subject to Azash.'

  Beware of what you say, Sir Sparhawk,' Patriarch

  ortzel said ominously. The Church does not recognize

  the existence of the Styric Gods. You are treading very

  close to the brink of heresy.'

  just for the purposes of this discussion, let's assume

  that I know what I'm talking about,' Sparhawk replied.

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  "setting Azash aside for the moment, it's important for

  you and your brother to understand just how dangerous

  that thing out there really is. It will be able to control

  Gerich's troops completely, and it will hurl them against

  this castle until they succeed in taking it.'

  'Not only that,' Bevier added bleakly, 'they will pay no

  attention to wounds that would incapacitate a normal

  man. The only way to stop them is to kill them. We've

  met men under the Seeker's control before, and we had

  to kill every last one of them.'

  "Sir Sparhawk,' Alstrom said, 'Count Gerich is my

  mortal enemy, but he's still an honourable man and a

  faithful son of the Church. He would not consort with a

  creature of darkness.'

  "it's entirely possible that the count doesn't even know

  it's there,"'Sephrenia said. 'The whole point here, however,

  is that we're all in deadly peril.'

  "why would that creature join forces with Gerrich?'

  Alstrom asked.

  'As Sparhawk said, it's been pursuing us. For some

  reason, Azash looks upon Sparhawk as a threat. The

  Elder Gods have some ability to see into the future, and

  its possible that Azash has caught a glimpse of something

  he wants to prevent. He's already made several

  attempts on Sparhawk's life. It's my belief that the Seeker

  is here for the express purpose of killing Sparhawk - or at

  the very least preventing his recovering Bhelliom. We

  must leave, My Lord, and quickly.' She turned to Ortzel.

  I'm afraid, Your Grace, that we have no choice. We're

  compelled to resort to the Arts of Styricum.'