CHAPTER 36
“Did you have any trouble getting here?” the Prince Bishop asked.
“I came in disguise. Took back streets. Things are tense. There’s trouble in places, but so long as you’re clever, it can be avoided.”
“You bring good news, I presume, since you chose to run that gauntlet?”
“I think so, yes.”
“Interesting,” the Prince Bishop said. He walked to his office window and stood in silence, looking down into the garden.
Solène did her best not to let the awkwardness of the moment get to her. She had seen him do this a number of times now, and had come to realise it was a ploy he used to assert himself. He was free to move about, he had the power to take time to think, he could leave his visitors squirming in silence for as long as he chose.
“So, tell me what you’ve been able to find?” he said, without looking at her.
She had searched late into the night, finally falling asleep at her desk. Her first act on waking was to call on him to make her report. “I’ve searched with all my ability, and I can’t find anything about the temple. I did find mention of nodes, though, where magical energy gathered naturally. The nodes are the only thing I have to go on. There weren’t many of them, and it stands to reason that the temple would have been built on one.”
“A reasonable theory,” Amaury said, turning back to face her. “And you think these nodes will lead us to the temple?”
Lead me, she thought. She had decided she would use his help to find the place, then make sure he could never use it. “It’s a guess, but it’s the best I have to go on.”
“And you can find these nodes?”
“In theory, yes,” Solène said. “There are a lot of variables, not least the fact that no one’s seen or interacted with one in a very long time. If they still exist, I should be able to trace them. That still leaves the problem of finding which one marked the location of the temple, and if there’s anything left of it.”
“A place of such powerful magic couldn’t be completely destroyed,” he said.
The certainty in his voice gave Solène pause for thought. She needed to help him enough to stop the dragons, but not enough to grant him all the power he sought. He was a clever foe, and dangerous. Either he knew more than he was letting on, or the pressure was starting to get to him. She wasn’t sure which worried her more.
“That may well be the case,” she said. “But it will take time to find them.”
“Are you ready to move forward with this plan?”
“Yes,” Solène said.
“I need you for one task before you start. After that, you’ll have every asset you need in your search for this temple, including one of the new bannerets I’ve recruited to do any heavy lifting for you. He won’t have any magic, but he’ll be good with a blade. I don’t want anything happening to you, and even you need to sleep sometimes. It’s just like the old days—a mage with bannermen as bodyguards. I’m coming around to realising that it wasn’t so bad an arrangement after all.”
She opened her mouth to object, then closed it, realising that she didn’t have any say in the matter. She was a Sister of the Order and he was her commander. That was how it worked. She could only hope that she had learned enough to keep her power under control.
“I’ll need a little time to prepare. The rest of the day at least.”
“Fine,” he said. “Be ready to depart in the morning.”
Ysabeau greeted Amaury with a smile when he walked into the salon of his townhouse.
“Has Gaston seen to everything you need?” Amaury said.
“Everything,” Ysabeau said. “I hear there’s trouble in the city?”
“It was to be expected. It will pass as soon as the Order do what I’ve ordered them to.”
“You’re sure this was the right moment?”
“I doubt there’ll be a better one. Which brings me to why I’ve come home early. The trouble has brought us an opportunity. There’s something I need you to do.”
Her smile faded a little, and he wondered why, but was too busy to worry about it.
“Seneschal dal Drezony has become a thorn in my side. She’s become an obstacle to the Order’s future. Now is a good time to remove her. We can do it under the cover of the growing trouble on the streets.”
“That stuck-up bitch?” Ysabeau said, her smile widening. “It’s about time she had a fall.”
“I remember your difficulties with her when you were still in the Order. I thought you might enjoy this job.” He paused. “I have other people who can handle it, if you prefer?”
“No,” Ysabeau said. “This is one I want for myself.”
“Excellent. I need to visit the Priory. I’ll send her on an errand, which should give you ample opportunity to deal with her. Make it look like a random attack, like mob justice.”
“That won’t be a problem.”
“Come back here as soon as you’re done. There’s something else I need you to do, someone I’d like you to keep an eye on.”
Amaury sent word for both Solène and dal Drezony the moment he arrived at the Priory, then went straight to the office that was reserved for his use. He had set out his things by the time dal Drezony arrived. She wore the sullen expression that she seemed to keep at the ready for him these days, and said nothing as she waited to hear what he wanted. He placed his purple leather document case on the desk in front of her.
“The king would like some updates on the Order’s status from you, in person.”
“No longer trusts your word?” she said.
“Quite the contrary. I’m simply busy with other things. I’ve put together some reports that I’ve received from Vachon and others, that you might not have seen yet. Have a read through them before meeting with the king, and please make sure to return them to me at the palace after your meeting. I haven’t had time to have copies made yet.”
“Perish the thought that your records would not be up to date,” dal Drezony said.
Amaury gave her a thin smile. “Indeed.” He hoped Ysabeau made it hurt.
“The king requires your presence at three bells, sharp.”
“The streets aren’t exactly safe for us right now,” she said.
“You have other clothes? Things that aren’t in the Order’s colours?”
She nodded. “I should be able to find something.”
“Then I suggest you wear them. Things will settle down in a few days, but until then, I agree that staying within the Priory’s walls is the best course for the most part, and going out in normal attire is advisable when trips outside the walls like this are necessary. I’ve assigned two platoons of the King’s Guard to bolster the Priory’s defences. They should be here and manning the walls before nightfall.”
“I appreciate your concern.”
“You’re welcome,” Amaury said. “You may go, but before you do, one more word of advice. I’d adopt a more respectful tone when talking to the king, if I were you.”
She took the document case and left. He basked in the knowledge that yet another thorn in his side was about to be removed. He was full of excited energy.