“Stand back!” Rosha bellowed. With the snort of an enraged bull he hurled his weight against the barrier and broke it down. The three of them tumbled over one another onto the wet dock in time to see Ligne’s boat slipping out onto the river.
“We’ve lost her,” Pelmen sighed. Bronwynn moaned aloud, and Rosha slammed his heavy hand onto the dock in frustration. Pelmen sighed again, helpless to stop the woman’s escape. He’d pushed his body to its limit.
But the House wasn’t finished. Just as Ligne’s boat slipped out from under its walls, an overgrown pigeon relieved himself on the roof once more.
Enough! the Imperial House thundered and in its rage gave its mightiest shudder yet. The iron aviary had never been bolted to the roof, and it began to rock on its base. The excited House shimmied once more…
Ligne, rowing with every shred of her remaining energy, could hear the tremor, and glanced up the face of her former home in time to see the aviary fail. She had the chance to scream once before the massive cage impacted on the water. Her tiny launch was shattered into splinters as the twisted structure buried itself in the ancient mulch of the riverbed. Ligne was buried with it.
The three figures on the dock stared in shock as they watched the metal sink. Bronwynn and Rosha shouted in exultation, and Pelmen felt a slow smile of relief spread across his face. Then he heard behind him the castle’s windy laughter, as the Imperial House chortled; How fitting, that the welching Queen should be buried under such a weighty dropping!
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
The House Retires
WITH A FEW SHARP COMMANDS, Bronwynn took charge of her realm. In bursts of staccato instructions she dispatched messages to the mayors of all her major cities, reconfirmed most of the petty court lings in their roles at court, and summoned the guards to bring her erstwhile enemies to the gardens to face her judgment. As she and Pelmen made their way through the floating dust up the debris-strewn spiral walkway, she suggested that Rosha might want to dispatch a flyer to Erri. “If there’s going to be a wedding” she smiled confidently “I think we might want him to be present.”
“Since there will be,” Rosha beamed back, “I’d better go summon him. I think I recall that my father wanted to be informed, too…” Then, dropping his studied nonchalance, Rosha bolted up the ramp with a shout of boyish exuberance. Bronwynn turned her head to look at Pelmen, her face a study in regal self-assurance. “How am I doing?”
“Admirably.” Pelmen nodded. “You’ve grown up a lot in these months of suffering.”
Her expression softened, then turned pensive. “Perhaps.”
“Something troubles you, though?” Pelmen asked hopefully.
“Shouldn’t it? I may have been through a lot since we met, but I don’t think anything’s prepared me to reconstruct a country.”
“Then you’ve taken the first step in being a success at it. You realize you need some help. Ligne never got that far.”
“You’ll help me, won’t you? Please, Pelmen, stay on as our Prime Minister!”
He gazed at her fondly for a moment. “Thank you, my Lady. But no.”
“Why not? You know more about this than I do, and ”
“But there’s one who knows far more about it than either of us. And today he saved our lives.”
Bronwynn wrinkled her nose. “Kherda? But he overthrew my father.”
“Which you’ve said yourself probably needed to happen. I’ll not make the decision for you. You’re the Queen.” The two of them stepped out onto the lowest terrace of the garden. With the displacement of the aviary, the sunlight burned down brilliantly on the luscious green foliage, forcing them to stop and breathe the air. It seemed fresher, somehow, and Pelmen said so.
Of course this House smells better! the castle snapped. The birds have flown.
That wasn’t wholly true, for many of the aviary’s occupants remained.
No longer caged, these stayed by choice, for this was the only home they had known in this northerly land. “Not all, evidently,” Pelmen said.
The others will leave with winter, the House said smugly.
“And so will the plants.” Pelmen nodded sadly. “But changes must come.”
“What are you two talking about?” Bronwynn asked.
“Birds and change,” Pelmen said quietly. Then he nodded over her shoulder. Kherda and Joss stood with several others, awaiting the news of their fate. Bronwynn looked at Kherda grimly, then motioned him to her. He cleared his throat nervously, then walked forward. “My Lady, I can ask for nothing save your mercy. While I know ”
“Kherda, can you give me some idea of what’s happening in the provinces?”
Kherda looked at her, puzzled, then rapidly responded, “Drought in the east, though perhaps the rising of the rivers signal some rains have finally come. Insects in the north have ravaged seed stocks, but we have enough in storage here in the city to replenish supplies, once the order is given to move them. It’s been a poor year for farmers the dragon burn of course, and the battle at Westmouth but we’re not facing a major famine, for the fields in the far south produced ”
“Can you prepare the orders to ship the necessary goods?” Bronwynn asked.
“Certainly. They’re in my office awaiting signature. Just let me—”
Kherda started out, but stopped and came back. “However it’s not my office anymore is it?”
“Who moved you?”
Kherda’s wide eyes grew wider. Then he scooped up his skirts and flapped out of the room, shouting, “I’ll be back in a moment.”
Bronwynn glanced back distastefully at the remainder of the group, then settled her gaze on Joss. He was being diligently guarded by a fierce-eyed Gerrig whom he ignored completely. The warrior met Bronwynn’s gaze passively. Bronwynn glanced back at Pelmen.
“Yes?” he asked. “What of Joss?”
“My recent experience as an almost murderess has convinced me that somehow I don’t think a Queen should be one.”
“And?” Pelmen asked.
“And I don’t want to start my reign with a full dungeon.” She gauged his reactions. “Joss has so much experience in affairs of state. Why not make him Ambassador to Lamath?”
Pelmen raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Certainly a creative idea,”
he said appreciatively.
“He’s loyal to Chaomonous, we know that. And it would keep him in a position of responsibility which might prevent him from raising an army against me. He and Kherda would be separated That’s important; those two have been fighting all my life ” She stopped when she saw Pelmen smiling at her. “Besides,” she smiled back, “if he spends time in Lamath, he might learn something. I did.”
Pelmen nodded, still smiling. “You’re the Queen.”
Gerrig led the General to them and turned Joss around to face Bronwynn.
“My Lady, would you have me dispatch him here?” Gerrig asked dramatically.
“Gerrig, this isn’t a play. You can put up your sword and leave us.
But gather the troupe and meet me at the table tonight. I think you’ll like the role I have picked out for you.”
“A new role!” Gerrig said brightly. He stalked out of the garden smiling grandly. Nothing pleased Gerrig more than a new role.
“Now, Joss,” Bronwynn began, “what shall I do with you?”
“I ask no favors, my Lady. I chose wrongly. I’ll accept my death as my due.”
“How about accepting appointment to the court of La-math instead? As my Ambassador?” The General blinked. Then his hard eyes softened. He remembered when this woman had been but a bright-eyed baby girl and she’d stolen his battle-hardened heart with a smile. “Joss,” she continued quietly, “this past year has been a nightmare for all of us.