‘You think this was a serious threat to my life?’ Malekith growled.
‘Perhaps not this time, but the danger will grow when Morathi learns that you have taken up the Phoenix Crown, your majesty,’ Caradryan said, his expression stern.
‘I do not need two hundred shadows dogging my footsteps, getting in the way.’
‘We are resolute on the matter, my king,’ Kouran added, literally standing shoulder to shoulder with Caradryan. ‘Shadowblade tried to kill you on the Blighted Isle, and his whereabouts have been unknown since. There are too many people that want you dead, my king – we will not be refused on this.’
Malekith was stunned by the insolence, even as he was unsettled by the accord between the two captains. They could not have been more dissimilar in temperament and ambition but they now presented a united front.
‘You are right, there will be others,’ the king snapped. ‘You can have your guard of two hundred warriors, but I want a thousand more out there in the city, in the towns, scouring for signs of rebellion before they take root. Cut out any disease, eliminate potential threats before they become a problem.’
‘Yes, my king,’ said Kouran. Caradryan seemed uncertain, but said nothing in protest.
When they had gone, Malekith walked through the palace, coming to the high tower that rose needle-like over the east wing. Finubar’s Point it was called, raised by the previous Phoenix King, where he would retire and think. At the summit was a crystal-domed observatory, for Finubar had been known as the Seafarer and even after his voyages had ended he had spent many days looking out at the stars, charting their course across the heavens, gazing towards distant horizons only he could see.
The doors had been broken in, the enchanted planks split apart by many heavy axe blows. Malekith stopped at the threshold, disturbed by the last words Finubar had said to him.
The starlight beyond the dome was reflected in the still scrying pool on the raised dais at the centre of the room, like a sheet of inky blackness dotted with tiny diamonds. A ripple disturbed the water, which in turn disturbed the watcher, for Finubar had not moved for many hours and there was no breeze to cause such a thing.
The Phoenix King straightened in shock as he saw a face at his shoulder reflected in the settling water. He spun, the punch passing through the apparition of a dark-haired, lean-faced elf.
‘So it’s true what they say,’ Malekith’s spirit said lightly, stepping through the scrying pool. He stopped at the centre and turned, one finger tracing a line in the water though the rest of his projection was as insubstantial as thought. ‘Sailors, always ready with their fists!’
Finubar stepped back, eyes narrowing, a glance directed towards the door.
‘The wards… They are not broken. How did you pass them?’ The Seafarer stopped his retreat as his legs met the edge of a cabinet by the wall. ‘The loremasters assured me the barrier was inviolable.’
‘Magic can be a tricky thing, my friend,’ said Malekith. ‘But you are right, my mother and I tried for many years to breach the warding spells on this tower without success. Trickery, brute strength, nothing we tried worked. A shame we didn’t have an earlier opportunity to exploit treachery.’
‘A traitor.’ Finubar had recovered some of his composure, comporting himself again as ruler of the elves. ‘A traitor amongst the loremasters of Hoeth? Who could gain by such a thing?’
‘Not quite a loremaster, not really.’
‘Teclis?’
‘I’ll grant you this, you are one of the cleverer Phoenix Kings I have killed.’
‘So, you intend to kill me. It will not help – my death will bring you no closer to the Phoenix Throne.’
‘Actually, it will. Or so I have been told, from a reliable source.’
Malekith strode out of the pool and looked up at the stars, marvelling at the way the rays of light seemed to pass through his not-quite corporeal body.
‘Teclis again? It was a moment of weakness, assisted by wine, the night I confessed to feeling guilt at our deception.’
‘Deception? Confession?’ Malekith smiled, or at least the representation of him did. ‘Please continue.’
‘You know of what I speak. The coronation to become Phoenix King, it is a sham. I no more passed through the flames of the king of kings than you did.’
‘I knew it!’ Malekith snapped his fingers, his smile broadening to a grin. ‘There had to be something that made Teclis seek me out. He thinks the Rhana Dandra is coming, you know? He needs the true heir to Aenarion to sit on the Phoenix Throne, to save elvenkind.’
‘His brother T–’
‘Tyrion is useless, a vacant slave to his lusts for the Everqueen, cursed by the taint of Khaine as pronounced by Caledor Dragontamer. Have you not been paying attention? He even has a child from his rutting, a dirty secret to keep from the court.’
‘Alarielle has borne only my child, Aliathra.’
‘Save your lies – you know that she is not yours. What a noble spirit Tyrion must be. To cuckold the Phoenix King and sire the next Everqueen? That must be why you never named him as successor, but always spoke well of Imrik though the prince of Caledor despises you for the most part.’ Malekith was guessing much of this, but he enjoyed the look of pain that twisted Finubar’s face as each accusation was made and took it as further proof. ‘It gnaws at your heart, doesn’t it? To think that the Dragon of Cothique is lauded so highly when in truth he is nothing more than an adolescent, getting into fights and bedding your wife. Even you, noblest and most worthy of all the princes, even you cannot swallow that shame and accept that failure in your heart.’
‘Many times has the marriage and consummation between the Phoenix King and Everqueen been purely… ceremonial.’
‘More sham, more guilt?’
Finubar bowed his head, averting his gaze. He mumbled something that Malekith did not quite hear.
‘Was that an apology or a prayer?’ said the Witch King. ‘Neither will be heard.’
‘You cannot harm me here,’ Finubar announced, suddenly emboldened. He waved a hand back and forth between Malekith’s left and right shoulder and then up through his face. ‘You could not transmaterialise yourself within these walls, even with Teclis’s assistance. He has opened a window for you, nothing more. In fact, I would think that Teclis does not want me dead, not yet. He is right, I have seen in the heavens that the Rhana Dandra is upon us. The gods of the stars fall back to the world and the gate in the north opens. The daemons will be upon Ulthuan in a matter of days and Teclis knows that our people need my leadership.’
‘I cannot say for sure what Teclis intended, but rest assured I have not hidden my motives.’ Malekith’s apparition started to make signs in the air, weaving jagged rune-shapes with the tip of a finger. ‘Well, not for this night. I will, however, dispense with his alliance as soon as it becomes unnecessary. Once he has handed me Ulthuan’s keys, he will find me a less pleasant companion. You are correct in your assertion that I cannot lay physical hands upon you, much to my pity. There are other ways in which I can extend my reach.’