‘Good point,’ Ulath agreed.
Kanzad, however, did not return. The afternoon inched along, and the knights grew increasingly restless. ‘He’s stalling, you know,’ Kalten said finally. ‘Either he’s got reinforcements on the way, or he’s hoping that we’ll get thirsty.’
‘We’ll just have to wait, Kalten,’ Flute told him. ‘The one who’s going to be joining us is on his way.’
‘It’s a race, then. We get to sit here making wagers on who gets here first – our new traveling companion or Kanzad’s reinforcements.’
‘You can look at it that way if you want to, I suppose.’
It was about two hours after their arrival in Narset when a large party came along the road from Cynestra. The man in the lead wore a rose-colored Tamul robe, and he was riding a spirited black horse. The ones following him were Atans.
‘Whose side are the Atans on?’ Talen asked.
‘That depends on whether or not word from Matherion has reached the local garrison telling them to ignore orders from the Ministry of the Interior,’ Khalad replied.
‘Things could be even murkier than that,’ Vanion suggested. ‘Back in Matherion, there’s no love lost between the Foreign Ministry and Interior. Kanzad was hinting at the fact that he and Ambassador Taubel are very cozy.’
‘That might suggest that our enemies have managed to penetrate Oscagne’s service,’ Bevier added with a slightly worried frown.
‘We’ll find out in a minute,’ Berit said from where he had been watching out the window. ‘Kanzad just came out from behind the building.’
They all crowded around the windows to watch.
Kanzad’s welcoming smile crumbled from his face. ‘What are you doing here, Itagne?’ he demanded of the Tamul on the black horse. ‘I sent for Ambassador Taubel.’
The rose-clad man reined in. His eyes looked almost sleepy, and he had a lofty, superior expression on his face. ‘I’m afraid the ambassador’s been detained, old boy,’ he replied in a cultured, almost deliberately insulting tone. His voice was oddly familiar. ‘He sends you his very best, though.’
Kanzad struggled to regain his composure. ‘What is it exactly that’s delaying the ambassador?’ he asked bluntly.
Itagne turned his head slightly. ‘I’d say it was the chains, wouldn’t you, Atana?’ he asked the young Atan woman who appeared to be in charge of the detachment. ‘It’s deucedly hard to run with chains on.’
‘It could be the chains, Itagne-ambassador,’ the girl agreed. ‘Of course, the bars of his cell might be getting in his way too.’ The young woman was full-figured, and her eyes were bold as she looked at the Tamul official.
‘What’s going on here?’ Kanzad demanded.
‘The Atana and I have become very close friends since my arrival, Kanzad,’ Itagne smiled, ‘but gentlemen shouldn’t really talk about that sort of thing, should they? You are a gentleman, aren’t you, Kanzad?’
‘I wasn’t talking about that.’ Kanzad’s teeth were clenched. ‘What have you done with the ambassador?’
‘There have been a few changes at the embassy, old boy – and in your own offices as well. I really hope you don’t mind, but I had to commandeer your building. We don’t have a dungeon at the embassy – distressing oversight there, I suppose. Anyway, Ambassador Taubel, along with all your grubby little policemen, are presently locked safely away in your dungeon. My compliments on it, incidentally. It’s really very nice.’
‘By whose authority have you imprisoned the ambassador? You’re only an undersecretary.’
‘Appearances can be deceiving, can’t they? Actually, my brother placed me in charge here in Cynestra. My authority is absolute.’
‘Your brother?’
‘Didn’t the similarity between Oscagne’s name and mine set off any bells in your brain, old boy? I knew you fellows at Interior were sort of limited, but I didn’t think you were that dense. Shall we cut directly on through to the significant part of this discussion, Kanzad? It’s beastly hot out here in the sun. My brother’s authorized me to take charge here. I have the full support and cooperation of the Atan garrison, don’t I, Atana?’ He smiled at the golden giantess standing beside his horse.
‘Oh, my, yes, Itagne.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘We’ll do almost anything for you.’
‘There you have it, then, Kanzad,’ Itagne said. ‘I’ve uncovered the fact that you and Taubel are part of a treasonous conspiracy, so I’ve removed you from authority. I have all these lovely muscles to back me up, so there’s really not a blasted thing you can do about it, is there?’
‘You have no authority over me, Itagne.’
‘How tiresome,’ Itagne sighed. ‘Cynestra’s currently under martial law, Kanzad. That means that I have authority over everybody. The Atans control the streets. I know you share my confidence in them.’ He looked critically at the policeman’s stubborn face. ‘You just don’t understand at all, do you, old boy?’ He smiled fondly at the giantess. ‘Atana, dear, what would you do if I asked you to delete this tiresome wretch?’
‘I’d kill him, Itagne.’ She shrugged, reaching for her sword. ‘Did you want me to split him up the middle, or just cut off his head?’
‘Charming girl,’ Itagne murmured. ‘Let me think about it for a while, Atana. Kanzad’s a fairly high-ranking official, so there may be some formalities involved.’ He turned back to the now pasty-faced policeman. ‘I’m sure you see how things stand, dear boy,’ he said. ‘Oh, I suppose you should sort of consider yourself under arrest.’
‘On what charge?’
‘I’m a foreign-service man, Kanzad, so I’m not really up on all these legal terms. I suppose “High Treason” will have to do. That’s the crime they arrested Interior Minister Kolata for, anyway, and I used it again when I had Taubel picked up. It’s an impressive sort of charge, and I’m sure that a man of your standing would be insulted if I had you arrested for loitering or spitting in the street. Atana, love, do be a dear and have this criminal taken back to Cynestra and thrown in his own dungeon.’
‘At once, Itagne-ambassador,’ she replied.
‘Darling child,’ he murmured.
‘You favor your brother, your Excellency,’ Vanion said to the smiling Itagne, ‘not only in physical appearance, but also in temperament.’
‘How is the old rascal?’
‘He was well, the last time we saw him.’ Vanion frowned. ‘It might have been helpful if he’d told us that he was sending you here, though.’
‘That’s my brother for you. Sometimes I think he tries to keep secrets from himself.’
‘Exactly what happened here, your Excellency?’ Sparhawk asked him.
‘You would be Sir Sparhawk,’ Itagne guessed. ‘Your nose is really famous, you know.’
‘Thank you,’ Kalten said modestly.
Itagne looked puzzled.
‘I broke it for him, your Excellency – when we were children. I knew it was a good idea when I did it. He wears it like a badge. I’m a little disappointed in the fact that he’s never once considered thanking me for the service I did him.’
Itagne smiled. ‘As you’ve probably gathered, gentlemen, Oscagne sent me to Cynestra to look into the rather peculiar situation here. The chain of command in the outer corners of the Empire’s always been a little cloudy. The Foreign Office takes the position that the Elene kingdoms of the west, as well as Valesia, Arjuna and Cynesga, are essentially foreign nations subservient to Tamul proper. This would make the ambassadors to those kingdoms the ultimate authority. Interior has always maintained that those kingdoms are integral parts of metropolitan Tamuli, and that puts them in charge. Oscagne and Kolata have been quibbling about it for years now. Ambassador Taubel’s a political hack, and his stunning ability to reach a working accommodation with Interior sort of surprised my brother. That’s why he pulled me out of the university – where I was quite happily putting down roots – and sent me here in the guise of an undersecretary to investigate.’ He laughed. ‘I’ll make sure that he regrets it as much this time as he did both other times.’
‘That one escaped me, I’m afraid,’ Sparhawk conceded.
‘This is the third time Oscagne’s wrenched me out of private life to put out fires for him. I don’t really like being wrenched, so I think I’ll teach him a lesson this time. Maybe if I replace him as Foreign Minister for a while he’ll get the point – if I ever decide to let him have his office back again.’
‘Are you really that good, Itagne?’ Sephrenia asked him.
‘Oh, good God, yes, dear lady. I’m at least twice as good as Oscagne – and he knows it. That’s why my appointments are always temporary. Where was I? Oh, yes. I came to Cynestra, set up a functional apparatus, and found out in fairly short order that Taubel and Kanzad were eating from the same plate. Then I intercepted the instructions Matherion sent to Taubel after the disturbances there. I decided not to trouble him with the distressing news, so I went to the Atan garrison and personally took care of advising our towering friends that the Ministry of the Interior was no longer relevant. They were quite pleased about it, actually. The Atans dislike policemen intensely for some reason. I think it has to do with their national character. I was about ready to move on Kanzad and Taubel when one of my spies brought me word of your impending arrival, so I decided to wait until you got here before I upended things. I must say, Sparhawk, you really upset the people in the local office of the Interior Ministry.’
‘Oh?’
‘They were running through the halls screaming, “Sparhawk is coming! Sparhawk is coming!”’
‘He has that effect on people sometimes,’ Flute told him. She looked around at the others. ‘This is the one,’ she told them. ‘We can leave here now.’
Itagne looked baffled.
‘In a moment,’ Sephrenia said to her sister. ‘Itagne, how did Interior find out that we were coming?’
He shrugged. ‘I didn’t really look into that too deeply. There are all sorts of disgusting people who work for the Interior Ministry. One of them probably flogged four or five horses to death to bring the news.’
‘Quite impossible,’ she said. ‘No one could have gotten here ahead of us by normal means. Could the news have been brought by a Styric?’
‘There aren’t any Styrics in Cynesga, dear lady. The hatred between Cynesgans and Styrics predates history.’
‘Yes, I know. I think you may be wrong, though. I’m almost positive that at least one Styric passed through Cynestra just before the people at Interior went into their panic.’
‘How did you arrive at that conclusion, little mother?’ Vanion asked her.
‘There’s a Styric working with our enemies,’ she replied. ‘He was in that shadow Sparhawk dissolved back in Edom. Whoever was inside was screaming in Styric, at any rate.’ She frowned. ‘I still don’t understand how he got here before we did, though. He might be a renegade of some kind who has dealings with the Elder Gods. We’ve never really understood the full extent of their power.’
‘Could it be an Elder God himself?’ Bevier asked apprehensively.
‘No,’ Flute said flatly. ‘We imprisoned them all when we overthrew them – in much the same way we imprisoned Azash. The Elder Gods don’t move around.’
‘I seem to be missing about half of this conversation,’ Itagne observed. ‘Aren’t some introductions in order at this point?’
‘Sorry, your Excellency,’ Vanion apologized. ‘We weren’t really trying to be mysterious. The lady is obviously Styric. May I present Sephrenia, high priestess of the Goddess Aphrael?’
‘The Child Goddess?’
‘You know of her?’ Sephrenia asked him.
‘Some of my Styric colleagues at the university mentioned her to me. They didn’t really seem to approve of her. They evidently feel that she’s flighty – and a little frivolous.’
‘Flighty?’ Flute objected. ‘Frivolous?’
‘Don’t take it personally,’ Sparhawk told her.
‘But it is personal, Sparhawk! They’ve insulted me! When you get back to Matherion, I want you to go to the university and issue a challenge to those impious wretches! I want blood, Sparhawk! Blood!’
‘Human sacrifice, Divine One?’ he asked mildly. ‘Isn’t that a little out of character?’
‘Well…’ She hesitated. ‘Couldn’t you spank them anyway?’
Itagne was staring at them.
‘Disappointing, isn’t it?’ Talen murmured.
To say that Oscagne’s brother was shaken would be a profound understatement. He kept staring at Flute with bulging eyes as they rode eastward from Cynestra.
‘Oh, do stop that, Itagne,’ she told him. ‘I’m not going to sprout another head or turn into a gorgon.’
He shuddered and passed one hand across his face. ‘I should probably tell you that I don’t believe in you,’ he said. ‘I’m not trying to be offensive, mind. It’s just that I’m a confirmed skeptic in religious matters.’
‘I’ll bet I can change your mind,’ she suggested with an impish little smile.
‘Stop that,’ Sephrenia told her.
‘He’s a self-confessed agnostic, Sephrenia. That makes him fair game. Besides, I like him. I’ve never had a Tamul worshiper before, and I think I want one. Itagne will do just fine.’
‘No.’
‘I didn’t ask you to buy him for me, Sephrenia. I’ll coax him out of the bushes all by myself, so you’re not in any way involved. It’s really none of your business, dear sister, so keep your nose out of it.’
‘Does this ever get any easier?’ Itagne plaintively asked the rest of them.
‘No,’ Kalten laughed. ‘You get numb after a while, though. I’ve found that drinking helps.’
‘That’s Kalten’s answer to everything,’ Flute said with an airy little toss of her head. ‘He tries to cure winter with a barrel of Arcian red – every year.’
‘Have we finished here in this part of the Empire?’ Sparhawk asked her.