Sovereign

Powl lowered his gaze. He, the primate of the Kingdom's church, could not even get through to God. What chance did he have with Areava? He sighed deeply then nodded. 'I will try.'

'What exactly did you and Prince Olio do with the sick?' Orkid asked.

'Healed them,' Magiker Prelate Edaytor Fanhow answered.

The two men were sitting either side of Orkid's large, plain desk.

'Through the Key of the Heart?'

'Yes. At first his Highness needed a magiker to help channel the power of the Key, but the more he used it the more attuned the Key became to Olio's own presence. In the end he could use it by himself.'

'And what happened on the day of the fire?'

'He was being escorted back to the palace from the docks where he'd been helping those fleeing the fire in the old quarter of the city; on the way he came across the ruins of an inn where the worst of the injured were being cared for. He told his guards to wait outside. We're not sure what happened afterwards. That he healed many people there is no doubt, but how long it took for the Key to completely use him up is not known. By the time I got there he was as he is now.'

'The Key damaged his brain?'

Edaytor shrugged. 'No one knows. The theurgia know less about the Keys of Power than the Rosethemes themselves. I don't think any of the Keys have ever been used as extensively as Olio used his in the last year.'

'The theurgia know no way to reach him,' Orkid said; a statement, not a question.

'That's right.'

'Do you?'

Edaytor looked up sharply. 'What do you mean?'

'You were closest to the prince during this time. Is there anything you can think of that might help bring him back?'

The prelate shook his head. 'No.'

'Are you sure?'

'What do you think I've been doing these last three days!' Edaytor snapped. Orkid recoiled in surprise, and Edaytor gasped at what he had done. 'Chancellor, I'm sorry—'

Orkid waved him quiet. 'No, I am sorry. You answered my question the first time.' There is more in this man than Harnan knows; perhaps more than any of us know. And then he understood that among all at court, only Olio himself had truly seen the prelate for the man he was. That explained a great deal about the relationship between the two. 'I need your help.'

'My help?'

'More accurately, the queen and the Kingdom need your help.'

'Anything.' .

'Stay with Olio. Try and find a way to heal him. Use whatever resources you need.'

'Me? But surely Dr Trion, or one of the more powerful magikers, would be better suited. I can recommend a number—'

'No. I do not think any within the theurgia will be able to help, or maybe it's that they are afraid to dabble with any of the Keys; you yourself just told me their power lay beyond any magiker's ken. And this problem is certainly beyond Dr Trion's experience. You were closest to Olio. You knew him better than anyone, except perhaps the queen herself.'

'Then the queen, surely, should have the task.'

'The queen has other duties. The Kingdom needs her. Her responsibility to all her people outweighs her responsibility to her brother.'

'But she has lost so much in the last three days,' Edaytor said reasonably. 'Her husband and child as well as Olio. Surely the Kingdom can give her some time to herself.'

'She might yet lose the Kingdom,' Orkid said sombrely.

Edaytor stared at the chancellor in amazement. 'Surely not!'

'Our army is still in the north, victorious—if we can believe what Queen Charion wrote us—but battered. The outlaw Prince Lynan has crossed from the Oceans of Grass to the east with a Chett army, and his next move will no doubt be to organise support against Areava.' He pursed his lips. 'And of course against Olio, being Areava's brother.'

Edaytor was lost for words. He knew the situation in the north was troublesome, but the Kingdom had been secure for so long under Usharna it was hard to believe anything could seriously threaten it, even her renegade son Lynan who had never been anyone of significance within the court while Usharna was alive. There were many things that mystified Edaytor, but one of the most troubling was why Usharna, on her deathbed, had given Lynan one of the Keys of Power.

'So you see,' Orkid continued, 'it is vital that Areava's attention be diverted entirely to the welfare of the Kingdom as a whole.'

'Yes. Yes, I see.'

'Shall we go, then?'

'Go?'

Orkid stood up. 'To Areava's chambers. She is looking after Olio there.'

Edaytor realised then he had surrendered already and there was no point in arguing any further. In something of a daze he followed the chancellor, feeling a mixture of dread and anticipation. Maybe, just maybe, a part of his mind was saying, I can do something. He wished he felt more convinced.

They reached the royal chambers the same time as Father Powl; Edaytor thought the priest looked on the edge of nervous exhaustion, and wondered if he looked the same way. Between the three of them, only Orkid gave the impression he was still in control of something, even if it was just his own destiny.

'I can come back later,' Father Powl said, and seemed glad to have the excuse to leave. Orkid quickly reached out to hold him.

'Please, Father, stay. Perhaps all three of us together can turn the queen away from her grief.'

Powl looked uncertain but nodded. Orkid signalled for the guard at Areava's door to leave them alone, and when he was gone called out: 'Your Majesty, there is someone here to see Prince Olio.'

'Who would want to see my poor imbecile brother?'

Orkid looked at Edaytor. The prelate took a deep breath. 'Your Majesty, it is Prelate Fanhow. Your brother and I were close—'

He was interrupted by a low wail. 'You! It is your fault my brother is lost!'

Edaytor visibly wilted, and his skin paled to the colour of chalk. He opened his mouth but no words came out. How could he answer such an accusation? Deep in his heart he knew there was some truth in her charge. If he had not supported Olio's crusade to heal the sick and dying children of the city of Kendra, he would not have succumbed to the magik of the Key of the Heart. When he and the prince had started their crusade to help the poor and the ill in Kendra, their hopes had been so high. And now all was brought low.

'He was your brother's closest friend!' Orkid said quickly. 'If anyone can help him it is the prelate.'

'I can help him,' the queen countered. 'No one knew him as well as I.'

'But your Majesty, your Kingdom has need of you!' Orkid pleaded.

'My Kingdom can do without me—' Areava began.

'Enough!' Father Powl shouted, and both Orkid and Edaytor jumped.

For a shocked moment there was complete silence. The guard reappeared but Orkid waved him off furiously.

'How dare you!' Areava returned, her voice round with anger. 'I am your queen, Primate!' She made his title sound like an insult.

'And I was your confessor!' Powl said quickly. 'As you know Olio, I know you. I know that the one thing that has remained constant in your whole life has been your sense of duty!'

'You know nothing about me!'

'I know that ever since you were a child your greatest wish has been to serve the Kingdom as well as your mother did.'

Orkid and Edaytor tensed, expecting another blistering reply, but there was only silence. Father Powl was making signs at Edaytor, and the prelate finally caught on: it was his turn to add to the pressure on her.

'Your Majesty, I know you blame me for your brother's illness, but as I love him as a friend I will strive all I can to marshal the combined theurgia to find a cure for whatever ails him.'

Again silence reigned, and then, from the darkness, came the almost ghostly figure of Areava. She was dressed in nothing but an undershirt. Her hair was dishevelled, her skin blotched, her eyes red-rimmed. She stared at Edaytor for a long time, and the prelate made sure his own gaze did not waver from hers. Then she glanced at Orkid and Powl, but did not even try to match with them. Edaytor thought there was something of shame about her expression.