Part 16 (1/2)

Skent nodded again.

When the door closed, Anna found Hanfor smiling.

Anna raised her eyebrows in inquiry.

”You do not forget kindnesses, lady, and you repay your debts. I am glad I decided to remain in Defalk.”

”So am I,” Anna said. ”But I'm not sure I've repaid all the kindnesses I've received.”

”You will.”

Anna wondered. ”Will you make the arrangements for which armsmen will accompany us?” She paused.

”Lord Jecks and Jimbob will be going with me.”

”Twelvescore, then,” Hanfor said firmly. ”I held back some to protect the young lord.”

”I'll be taking the players. I hope I can do some repairs along the way.”

”You are still determined to travel to Synope after Cheor?” Hanfor asked.

”If I don't have too much trouble. I'd thought about stopping at Arien to see Lord Tybel, but Jecks thought that might not be a good idea, not after dealing with Arkad.”

”He suspects you will have to use sorcery on Arkad.”

”I hope I don't”

”If you really believed that, Regent Anna, you would not have to undertake this journey.” A faint smile creased Hanfor's lips as he stood.

Anna grinned sheepishly.

”I will talk to Mies, to make sure you have two good supply wagons.” Hanfor inclined his head before he left.

Alone, Anna walked to the window and looked down on the courtyard. Didn't the paving stones ever dry in the winter?

Had Madell driven Dalila out? Why hadn't anyone been willing to help her? Synope had to be three weeks by foot, if not longer with two children. Anna could feel herself seething. Every time she thought she'd come to understand and accept Erde, something like this reminded her how much women were looked down upon and abused.

”It's still that way on earth.” she murmured to herself. Some places were worse than Defalk, although she didn't recall anywhere as bad as-where was it?-Sturinn? Where they still chained women? She s.h.i.+vered, hoping that she didn't have to deal with those people anytime soon. That would take more than simple sorcery.

Sorcery . . . that reminded her. She'd need players if she meant to do road and bridge work on the trip to Cheor. She hurried out of the receiving room, this time with Giellum and Lejun following her.

Anna crossed the courtyard, placing her boots carefully on the damp stones. Had she really understood how much rain Defalk had gotten before the Evult's sorcery had created the drought? Defalk in winter seemed more 1ike... parts of Oregon, perhaps? Except it had more sunlight. Already the water level of the Falche where the Fal and the Chean met was two-thirds of what the older armsmen said was normal, and based on the shape of the banks and the traces of old river beaches and the dried-up oxbow lake to the northwest of Falcor, they seemed to be right.

Liende wasn't in the rehearsal room, nor in her own room. Anna finally caught up to her on the top of the north tower.

The player looked out on the grayness that was Falcor in winter, with thin trails of smoke rising from scattered chimneys. Liende turned at Anna's boots-or Lejun's- on the stones.

”Regent...”

”I wanted to talk to you.” Anna turned to her guard. ”Lejun. . if you would wait at the foot of the top stairs.”

Lejun nodded stiffly and eased out of sight.

The sorceress had begun to understand why public figures became recluses, especially those who were more than figureheads. Then, sometimes, when so many things seemed beyond her control, she felt more like a figurehead than a real ruler.

Anna stepped toward the red-and-white-haired player.

”Your wish, Lady Anna?”

At times, especially in dealing with players, Anna wished for a little less deference and a bit more warmth. You'll have to get used to it, she told herself, forcing a smile. ”We will be traveling to Cheor in several days. I would like you and the players to accompany us.

”I can only vouch for the two building spells right now. We might have the third one ready by then.”

Liende did not meet Anna's eyes.

”It's harder than you thought,” Anna said. Liende looked down, ”It's hard because I'm asking more than Brill did,” Anna said quietly. ”I'm asking you to use harmonies, and that makes it a lot harder. It makes stronger spells, but it's not easy.”

”You are not saying that to ease my fears?”

The sorceress shook her head. ”I mean it. I talked to Brill about harmony, but be wouldn't consider it. He said it was too dangerous, but I think that's because he wasn't trained with harmonics. He didn't understand harmony.”

Anna had realized that for most people on Erde, even players, the term harmony had a far more general meaning in Liedwahr-something akin to ”not creating dissonance rather than the earthly technical musical meaning of parallel chords or supporting lines of music distinct torn the melody line. Then, she supposed a lot of people on earth thought of the word in the same way.

”He did understand much,” said Liende. ”And he would use Darksong. Mayhap he had reason to distrust this... use of harmony.”

The sorceress had to remind herself that Brill had been Liende' s lover, and that Liende would hear little about his shortcomings. She paused, then spoke carefully. ”Any sorcerer can only do so much. Lord Brill could do many spells I have not even tried. I have been trained in some he did not know. All the spells I have used with the lutar are based on chorded harmony.”

Liende nodded slowly. ”You risk more than your players.

”Can you have your players ready?”

”We will be ready with those spells, lady.”

”That's all I ask.” That was all she could ask, Anna reflected, and, as usual, it wasn't really as much as she needed. ”Thank you.” She beaded back down the tower stairs.

Instead of remaining in her office in the receiving hall, she stopped there only long enough to reclaim the lutar. She carried it up the main stairs. She felt strong enough to engage in some limited sorcery, although she wanted to be at full physical strength when she began the journey to Cheor.

The smooth waters of the reflecting pool confirmed that she had gained back some weight. Her eyes were no longer sunken, nor her cheeks so hollow.

She took the lutar from its case, fingers caressing the smooth wood. Her eyes burned momentarily as she thought of its maker, poor Daffyd. entombed in lava in the valley of Vult-all because he'd summoned her to revenge his father's death.

With the grease marker, she made the changes to the mirror spell, then hummed through them-without the words. Then she strummed through the chords. Finally, she put it together.

”Water, water, in this my hall, show me now that Konsstin who seeks my fall.

Show him bright, and show him fast, and make that strong view well last,”