Tumult had risen in the hall again: it died a sudden death, beginning at the door. There had appeared there a tall, thin man of great dignity, perhaps forty, fifty years in age. The silence spread. Kasedre began instead to whimper, to utter his complaints under his breath and petulantly.
And incredibly this apparition, this new authority, walked forward to kneel and do Kasedre proper reverence.
Liell, said Kasedre in a trembling voice.
Clear the hall, said Liell. His voice was sane and still and terrible.
There was no noise at all, even from the bandits at the rear; the uyin began to slink away. Kasedre managed to put up an act of defiance for a moment Liell stared at him. Then Kasedre turned and fled, running, into the shadows behind the curtains.
Liell bowed a formal and slight courtesy to them both.
The well-renowned Morgaine of the Chya, he said softly. Here was sanity. Vanye breathed a soft sigh of relief and let his sword slip back. You are not the most welcome visitor ever to come to this hall, Liell was saying, but I will warn you all the same, Morgaine: whatever brought you back will send you hence again if you bait Kasedre. He is a child, but he commands others.
I believe we share clan, she said, cold rebuff to his discourtesy. I am adopted, kri Chya; but of one clan, you and I.
He bowed again, seemed then to offer true respect. Your pardon. You are a surprise to me. When the rumor came to me, I did not believe it. I thought perhaps it was some charlatan with a game to play. But you are quite the real thing, I see that. And who is this, this fellow?
It is all family, Vanye said, a touch of insolence, that Liell had not been courteous with Morgaine. I am Chya on my mothers side.
Liell bowed to him. For a moment those strangely frank eyes rested directly upon him, draining him of anger. Your name, sir?
Vanye, he said, shaken by that sudden attention.
Vanye, said Liell softly. Vanye. Aye, that is a Chya name. But I have little to do with clan Chya here. I have other work... Lady Morgaine, let me see you to your rooms. You have stirred up quite a nest of troubles. I heard the shouting. I descendedto your rescue, if you will pardon me.
Morgaine nodded him thanks and began to walk with him. Vanye, ignored now, fell in a few paces behind them and kept watch on the doors and corridors.
I truly did not believe it at first, said Liell. I thought Kasedres humors were at work again, or that someone was taking advantage of him. His fantasies are elaborate. May I ask why?
Morgaine used that dazzling and false smile on Liell. No, she said, I discuss my business with no one I chance to leave behind me. I will be on my way soon. I wish no help. Therefore what I do is of no moment here.
Are you bound for the territory of Chya?
I am clan-welcome there, she said, but I doubt it would be the same warmth of welcome I knew if I were to go there now. Tell me of yourself, Chya Liell. How does Leth fare these days?
Liell waved an elegant hand at their surroundings. He was a graceful man, handsome and silver-haired; his dress was modest, night-blue. His shoulders lifted in a sigh. You see how things are, lady, I am well sure. I manage to keep Leth whole, against the tide of events. As long as Kasedre keeps to his entertainments, Leth thrives. But its thin blood will not breed another generation. The sons and grandsons of Chya Zriwho, I know, found no favor in your eyesstill are the bulwark of Leth in its old age. They serve me well. That in hallthat is the get of Leth, such as remains.
Morgaine refrained from comment. They began to mount the stairs. A pinched little face peered at them from the turning, withdrew quickly.
The twins, said Vanye.
Ah, said Liell. Hshi and Tlin. Nasty characters, those.
Clever with their hands, said Vanye sourly.
They are Leth. Hshi is the harpist in kail. Tlin sings. They also steal. Do not let them in your rooms. I suspect it was Tlin who is responsible for your being here. The report was very like her misbehaviors.
Hardly necessary that she trouble herself, said Morgaine. My path necessarily led to Ra-leth. I had the mood to come this way. The girl could prove a noisome pest.
Please, said Liell. Leave the twins to me. They will not trouble you... What set Kasedre off tonight?
He became overexcited, said Morgaine. I take it that he does not often meet outsiders.
Not of quality, and not under these circumstances.
They wound up the remaining stairs and came into the hall where their apartments were. The servants were busy at their tasks, lighting the lamps. They made great bows as Liell and Morgaine swept past them.
Did you eat well? Liell asked.
We had sufficient, she said.
Sleep soundly, lady. Nothing will trouble you. He made a formal bow as Morgaine went inside her own door, but as Vanye would have followed her, Liell prevented him with an outthrust arm.
Vanye stopped, hand upon hilt, but Liells purpose seemed speech, not violence. He leaned closer set a hand upon Vanyes shoulder, a familiarity a man might use with a servant, talking to him quickly in whispers.
She is in great danger, said Liell. Only I fear what she may do. She must leave here, and tonight. Earnestly I tell you this. He leaned closed until Vanyes back was against the wall, and the hand gripped his shoulder with great intensity. Do not trust this and do not trust the twins above all else, and beware of any of Kasedres people.
Which you are not?
I have no interest in seeing this hall ruinedwhich could happen if Morgaine takes offense. Please. I know what she is seeking. Come with me and I will show you.
Vanye considered it, gazed into the dark, sober eyes of the man. There was peculiar sadness in them, a magnetism that compelled trust. The strong fingers pressed into the flesh of his shoulder, at once ultimate and compelling.
No, he said. It was hard to force the words. I am ilin. I take her orders, I do not arrange her business for her.
And he tore himself from Liells fingers and sought the door, trembling so that he missed the latch, opened it and thrust it closed, securely, behind him. Morgaine looked at him questioningly, even offering concern. He said nothing to her. He felt sick inside, still fearing that he should have trusted Liell, and yet glad that he had not.
We must get out of this place, he urged her. Now.
There are things yet to learn, she said. I only found the beginnings of answers. I would have the rest. I can have, if we remain.
There was no disputing Morgaine. He curled up near their own little hearth, a small and smoky fireplace that heated the room from a common duct, warming himself on the stones. He left her the bed, did she choose to use it
She did not. She paced. Eventually the restlessness assumed a kind of rhythm, and ceased to be maddening. Just when he had grown used to that, she settled. He saw her by the window, staring out into the dark, through a crack in the shutters, an opening that let a further draft into their chill room.
Folk never seem to sleep in Leth-hall, she commented to him finally, when he had changed his posture to keep his joints from going stiff. There are torches about in the snow.
He muttered an answer and sighed, glanced away uncomfortably as she turned from the window then and began to turn down the bed. She slipped off the overrobe and laid it across the foot, laid aside her other gear, hung upon the end-post, and cloth tunic and the fine, light mail, itself the worth of many kings of the present age, boots and the warmth of her leather undertunic, stretched in the luxury of freedom from the weight of armor, slim and womanly, in riding breeches and a thin lawn shirt. He averted his eyes a second time toward nothing in particular, heard her ease within the bed, make herself comfortable.