The Wizard lit Waiting
Jl
“When he refused to believe I was about to overthrow him, you mean?”
she supplied, still smiling.
“That is correct, my Lady.” Joss nodded, his discomfort growing. Ligne was a capricious woman with a taste for cruelty. He had no intention of crossing her.
“I’ve been pleased with your performance, Joss, ever since you saw the futility of resisting me. You may relax. Your marvelous military talent which Talith so wastefully misused has proved much to my liking.
I feared you as an enemy, Joss. I feel far more secure with you as a servant.” She turned away from him, scattering seed with a wide sweep of her arm. “But I cannot seem to shake this tiny whisper of doubt that nags at me whenever I consider your service.” She spun around to face him, her blue eyes suddenly hard. “I mean your continued affection for Tal-ith’s daughter Bronwynn.”
Most men would have flinched under Ligne’s gaze. Joss merely acknowledged it with one of his own. Then in deference to his Queen, he dropped his eyes and inclined his head. When he looked up at her again, his expression was humble, but frank. “As I’ve stated, it would be a lie for me to say I feel no lingering sense of shame regarding my break with the late royal family. But I must simply remind my Queen that it was I who duped the Lady Bronwynn into believing I would lead her army of rebellion, and who then brought her to you, bound in a criminal’s chains. My Queen should examine only my actions to determine my faithfulness. My feelings are a private matter, which I never allow to interfere with the business of state.”
“Never?” Ligne demanded, shouting in his face.
Joss blinked, but did not draw back. “Never,” he murmured tonelessly.
Ligne continued glaring for a moment, then her eyes softened, and she turned away. “I believe you,” she said at length. “If you suddenly protested that you hated Bronwynn, I would certainly doubt your sincerity. After all, I always considered her a likeable child, didn’t you?”
“I did,” Joss answered, very aware of those eyes fixed on his,
“Regrettable that I’ve been forced to confine her to the dungeon, don’t you think?” Ligne didn’t blink.
J2
“If my Queen feels it is so, yes.”
“And what do you feel?” she snapped.
He hesitated briefly, then breathed heavily, “I never allow my feelings to enter into the affairs of state.”
“Good,” Ligne snarled, suddenly angry, “for I’m going to need your absolute loyalty to return her there!”
“Return her?” Joss barked, his body cocking rigidly to attention. He realized now that he had just passed a very serious test. He realized, too, he was now facing a stiffer one.
“She’s gone,” Ligne spat. “Stolen from my hole. My foremost rival, the only threat to my security in this position, and she’s vanished!”
“I heard no alarm.”
“No guard was fool enough to give any. Nor did I call for one when the warder finally made it known to me in my chambers, some hours ago.” She gazed at Joss, and motioned toward a sparrow that glided overhead.
“When the bird has flown, is there any point in screaming in anger?”
“None, my Lady,” Joss acknowledged curtly.
“Of course, the guards say they didn’t see a thing.” Ligne sneered.
“So I’m having their useless eyes extracted. But though their cries might soothe my temper, they won’t change the situation. Oh!” she seethed, balling her fist and shaking it above her head. “I ought to wring Kherda’s neck for keeping me from killing her while I had her!”
Then she glared at Joss accusingly.
Joss cleared his throat “My Queen, I have no love for Prime Minister Kherda, as you well know, but I did agree with that policy. To assassinate the Lady Bronwynn publicly would certainly build no confidence among your subjects ”
“Don’t lecture me!” Ligne shouted, pointing her finger at Joss. Then her voice softened. “How can you expect me to consider public confidence when a free Bronwynn presents a clear and present threat to my reign? I am no longer concerned with appearances. I want Bronwynn dead, and I want you to kill her.” She moved to him again, shoving her face into his. “I’m satisfied that your feelings will not be allowed to interfere.” Her eyes left no room for objection. Joss offered none. “I have given this assignment before, I think you’re aware.”
“Yes, my Queen. To Admon Faye.”
“There are few men in this land capable of stealing a captive from my prison. Admon Faye is the only one who comes to mind.”
“Yes, my Queen.”
t(When you find the man, put an end to him as well. We did not part on good terms.”
“Yes, my Queen.”
Ligne looked up at him. “Well? Go!”
Joss turned to leave the aviary, pushing a peacock aside with his boot.
“Oh, one more thing,” Ligne called, and Joss turned to listen. “I’ve had the warder gutted. Display his body in the armory for several days. I want the palace defenses to have something to think on.
Consider it yourself, Joss won’t you?” She clapped her hands together to rid them of the last of the bird seed, then turned to walk swiftly down the garden path. Joss walked just as swiftly down the interior stairway to the lower levels of the castle. The further he got from the woman, the cleaner he felt. But duty was duty, and she was right.
Chaomonous could not afford two Queens.
Bronwynn gingerly fingered her eye and the swollen flesh surrounding it. She longed for a mirror. Not that anyone was going to see her down here thank goodness. The way she looked now, a rescuing Rosha would probably gag and just leave her behind! But a mirror would have been nice. There was something comforting in knowing exactly how ugly she looked. In her imagination, the whole right side of her face was twice its normal size, and as black as a ripe avocado. Admon Faye had punched her hard. But it was the memory of his pointed finger, and the threat implied in it, that made her shiver. Understandably, she didn’t leap for joy when she heard his boat mooring outside her door. She fixed a sneer on her bruised features, but he ignored her as he stepped inside and tossed her a linen bag. “Put them on,” he muttered, then he left the cell, slamming the door and locking it behind him. She heard him get into his boat. She waited, listening.
“Put them on!” he ordered through the door, and she decided she’d best comply. She opened the drawstring of
J4 The Wizart? in Waiting the linen bag and dully examined its contents. Her interest grew suddenly sharp.
It held a new pair of suede boots, well-made by the look of them; a pair of soft leather trousers, styled like a man’s but tailored to fit her; a shirt woven of wool and dyed a dark green, and a tan waistcoat to go over it; and a floor length cape, fur-lined within and coated without with pitch, to keep her both warm and dry in harsh weather.
“Where are you taking me?” she shouted.
“Are you dressed yet?” he yelled back.
“Not yet ”
“If I have to come in and strip you myself, I guarantee you won’t like what follows.”
Bronwynn got dressed. She was more than happy to abandon the rag she’d been wearing for months, and the quality of these new clothes convinced her that Admon Faye’s sewers were indeed lined with gold. The cape felt especially good. She hadn’t been warm in weeks. “I’m ready,” she called, and Admon Faye flung open the door and grabbed her by the wrist. He moved too quickly for her to resist him effectively, binding her arms behind her with an expertise born of years of slaving.
“I thought you were going to make me a Queen!” Bronwynn cried,
“And I will. If I don’t skin you first. Get into the boat.” Bronwynn obeyed without argument, and Admon Faye poled them away from the wall.