Behind them, Rix coughed as he tried to eat and drink at the same time.
‘You’re wasted as a sorcerer’s apprentice: the Warden said quietly. ‘Perhaps you would do better working for me.’ Keiro laughed.
‘Oh, don’t dismiss it so easily. You have the temperament for cruelty, Keiro. The Prison is your environment. Outside will disappoint you.’ Into the silence of their mutual gaze Attia snapped, ‘You must miss your daughter.’ The Warden’s grey eyes slid to her. She had expected some anger, but all he said was, ‘Yes. I do.’ Seeing her surprise he smiled. ‘How little you Inmates understand of me. I needed an heir and yes, I stole Claudia as a baby from this place. Now she and I can never Escape each other. I do miss her. I’m sure she misses me.’ He drank from the goblet, a fastidious sip. ‘We have a twisted Love. A love that is part hate and part admiration and part fear. But love all the same.’ Rix belched. He wiped his mouth with his hand and said, ‘I’m ready now.’
‘Ready?’
‘To face it. Incarceron.’ The Warden laughed. ‘You fool! You have no idea! Don’t you see that you’ve been facing Incarceron every day of your miserable, scavenging, trick-playing life? You breathe Incarceron, you eat and dream and wear Incarceron. It’s the scorn in every eye here, the word in every mouth. There is nowhere you can go to Escape from it.’
‘Unless I die,’ Rix said.
‘Unless you die. And that is easily arranged. But if you have any crazy plan about the Prison taking you with it …’ He shook his head.
‘But you’ll go with it,’ Keiro murmured.
The Warden’s smile was wintry. ‘My daughter needs me.’
‘I don’t understand why you haven’t gone before. You have both the Keys …’ The smile went. John Arlex stood, and he was tall and imposing. ‘Had. You’ll see. When the Prison is ready it will call for us. Until then you stay here. My men will be outside.’ He walked to the door, kicking aside the empty plate. Keiro did not move or look up but his voice carried a cool insolence.
‘You’re just as much a Prisoner here as we are. No difference.’ The Warden stopped, just for a moment. Then he opened the door and let himself out. His back was rigid.
Keiro laughed, softly.
Rix nodded, approving. ‘You tell him, Apprentice.’
‘You’ve killed him.’ Jared straightened from the body and stared at Medlicote. ‘There was no need …’
‘Every need, Master. You would not have survived a blow from that axe. And you have the knowledge we all want.’ The secretary looked strange holding the firelock. His coat was as dusty as ever, his half-moon glasses catching the setting sun. Now he glanced round at the men blindfolding Caspar. ‘I’m sorry, but the Prince too must die. He has seen us.’
‘Yes I have Caspar sounded terrified and furious all at once. ‘You, Medlicote, and you, Grahame, and you, Hal Keane. All of you are traitors and once the Queen knows...’
‘Exactly.’ Medlicote’s voice was heavy. ‘Best if you stand aside, Master. You need have no part of this.’ Jared didn’t move. He eyed Medlicote through the dusk.
‘You would really kill an unarmed boy?’
‘They killed Prince Giles.’
‘Finn is Giles.’ Medlicote sighed. ‘Master, the Wolves know that Giles is truly dead. The Warden of Incarceron was our leader. He would have told us if the Prince was placed in the Prison: The shock rocked Jared. He tried to recover. ‘The Warden is a man of great depth. He has his own plans. He may have misled you.’ The secretary nodded. ‘I know him better than you, Master.
But that doesn’t concern us now. Please stand aside.’
‘Don’t, Jared!’ Caspar’s voice was a sharp cry. ‘Don’t leave me! Do something! I would never have killed you, Master! I swear!’ Jared rubbed his face. He was tired and sore and cold. He was worried sick about Claudia. But he said, ‘Listen to me, Medlicote. The boy is no use to anyone dead. But as a hostage he is immensely valuable. As soon as the moon sets and the night is dark enough I intend to use a secret way I know to get into the Wardenry ...’
‘What way?’ Jared jerked his head at the listening gentlemen. ‘I can’t say. You may have spies even in your Clan. But there is a way. Let me take Caspar with me. If the Queen sees her precious son paraded on the battlements she’ll stop the bombardment instantly. You must see that this will work.’ Medlicote gazed at him through the glasses. Then he said, ‘I will talk to my brothers.’ They walked aside and made a small group under he beeches.
Blindfolded and tied, Caspar whispered, ‘Where are you, Master Sapient?’
‘Still here.’
‘Save me. Untie me. My mother will load treasure on you.
Anything you want. Don’t leave me to these monsters, Jared.’ Jared sat wearily in the beech leaves and watched the monsters. He saw grave, bitter men. Some he recognized — a gentleman of the King’s Chamber, a member of the Privy Council. Was his life any safer than Caspar’s now that he knew who they were? And why was he so tangled in this web of murder and intrigue when all he had ever wanted was to study the ancient writings and the stars?
‘They’re coming back. Untie me, Jared. Don’t let them shoot me like Fax.’ He stood. ‘Sire, I’m doing my best.’ The men approached in the twilight. The sun had gone, and from the Queen’s camp a trumpet rang out. Laughter and the ripple of viols came from the royal tent. Caspar groaned.
‘We’ve made up our minds: Medlicote put the firelock down and gazed at Jared through the mothy evening. ‘We agree to your plan.’ Caspar gasped, and slumped a little. Jared nodded.
‘But. There are conditions. We know what you were researching in the Academy. We know you decoded files, and we assume you learnt secrets there, about the Prison.
Can you find a way Out for the Warden?’
‘I believe it’s possible,’ Jared said cautiously.
‘Then you must swear to us, Master, that you will do everything you can to restore him to us. He must be held against his will, if the Prison is not the Paradise we thought, he would never have abandoned us. The Warden is faithful to the Clan.’ They really were deluded,Jared thought. But he nodded.
‘I’ll do my best.’
‘To make certain, I will enter the Wardenry with you.’
‘No!’ Caspar turned his head, blindly. ‘He’ll kill me, even in there!’ Jared gazed at Medlicote. ‘Don’t fear, sire. Claudia would never let that happen.’
‘Claudia.’ Caspar nodded in relief. ‘Yes you’re right.
Claudia and I were always friends. My fiancée once. Could be again.’ The Steel Wolves looked down at him in bitter silence. One of them muttered, ‘The heir of the Havaarnas. What a future we face.’
‘We will overthrow all of them, and Protocol too.’ Medlicote turned. ‘The moon sets in a few hours. We’ll wait till then.’
‘Good.’ Jared sat, pushing damp hair from his face. ‘In that case, my lords, if you have anything a poor Sapient could eat, he would be grateful. And then I’ll sleep, and you can wake me.’ He glanced up, through the branches of the trees.
‘Here. Under the stars.’ Claudia and Finn sat opposite each other at the table.
Servants poured wine; Ralph ushered in three footmen carrying tureens and then supervised the dishes, removing covers and placing utensils next to Claudia.
She sat, brooding over the melon on her plate. Beyond the candles and piled centrepiece of fruit Finn drank silently.
‘Will there be anything else, madam?’ She looked up. ‘No, Ralph, thank you. It looks wonderful.
Please thank the staff.’ He bowed, but she caught his surprised glance and almost smiled. Maybe she had changed. Maybe she was not quite the same haughty little girl any more.