"Please rise. Father," he said patiently. "My uncle has told me the gist of your message already. We are certain that your n.o.ble Order did all within their power to ensure the former archbishop's safe detention. Did you find no trace of him?"

"None, Sire. And an itinerant preacher calling himself Brother Jeroboam was also missing. We think he may have had some part in it. Archb - I mean Father Loris specifically asked that the man be allowed to hear his confession a few days before. We thought he simply had been moved by the man's preaching."

"Moved right out of Saint Iveagh's," Cardiel muttered. But Kelson ignored the remark.

"I see. And the escape occurred when?"

"Six days ago. Sire - the Eve of Saint Andrew's - sometime after Compline, we think."

"Saint Andrew's Eve," Kelson murmured. "While we were in Ratharkin.

That's been six days," he added, glancing aside at Morgan. "He could be anywhere."

"Would it were in h.e.l.l!" Morgan said bitterly.

Kelson sighed again and started to turn toward Cardiel and Arilan, then remembered the priest still standing before him.

"Ah, thank you for bringing us this news. Father Bevis. We may wish to question you further, but for now you have our leave to wait outside. The pages will show you where."

As his cousins escorted the priest from the room, clearly disappointed to miss what might happen next. Kelson pivoted on his stool to face the fire, waiting while the others found seats. Nigel and the bishops claimed the remaining stools, so Jodrell hunkered down on the edge of the raised hearth. Duncan chose to remain standing, his arms folded across his chest as he leaned against the wall to the left of the fireplace. Morgan, too restless to sit or stand, paced a short, fidgeting path between Duncan and the king.

"Very well, gentlemen. Any ideas where Loris might be headed?" Kelson asked.

Cardiel pursed his lips and exchanged a glance with his brother bishop, who had not yet said a word.

"Toward the source of his aid, of course. Sire. He cannot have acted alone in this - and all Gwynedd knows and understands why he was relieved of his office and sent to Saint Iveagh's. That means his help must surely come from outside Gwynedd. Two possibilities come to mind immediately: Meara or Torenth."

"Not Torenth," Arilan said. "Not while Deryni hold the Torenthi throne."

"Meara, then," Cardiel said, when Arilan did not go on. "The implications, while quite different, are hardly more rea.s.suring, however."

"How so?" Kelson asked.

"Secular and ecclesiastical politics are very closely intertwined in Meara, Sire, as we are all aware. Loris is very much a political creature. He has always found his support among the conservative clergy - and such clergy were very much involved in the dispute over who should be Bishop of Meara. He garners support from rebel factions as well. Two years ago, it was Warm de Grey; today - well, why not the Mearan Pretender? So long as it suits his plans to regain his position, I should think Edmund Loris would support just about anyone."

"A sad commentary on the man who once was Primate of All Gwynedd,"

Duncan muttered.

"Let's talk about Meara, then," Kelson said. "Who in Meara might profit from Loris' release?"

"That's simple," Nigel said. "The Mearan Pretender and her kin."

"Especially ecclesiastical kin," Cardiel agreed, glancing at Arilan, who still was oddly quiet. "Like Judhael. Denis and I had quite a discussion about him after the attempt on Duncan, Sire. My brother in Christ made light of my notion that Judhael might have been functioning as an agent for his aunt."

Morgan, noting Arilan's sullen expression, decided he had best reveal what he had learned.

"He's innocent of that, at least. Excellency," he said quietly. "Or if he is involved, it's without the direct knowledge or a.s.sistance of his aunt. Nor did he know anything about the attempt on Duncan. I - ah - questioned him about it that evening."

Arilan's reaction conveyed both surprise and anger. "You questioned him after I forbade it?"

"I didn't set out to disobey you," Morgan countered, before the other could raise more specific objections in front of the human Jodrell. "Besides, I only Truth-Read him. He wasn't sorry to hear about the attack - which is hardly unexpected, given Duncan's position relative to the Mearan royal house - but he was shocked. When I asked how long it had been since he'd heard from his aunt, he said last Christmastide. I ended the conversation after that."

"A conversation you should not have begun in the first place."

"But one which does not rule out Judhael's political interests in all of this,"

Cardial interjected. "Denis, you surely can't still believe he's totally innocent."

Arilan's lips compressed in a thin, pinched line. "I never said he was totally innocent."

"Let's not wander off the subject," Kelson said patiently. "Just now, I'm far more concerned that Loris may, indeed, have gone to Meara. Uncle, you said the abbot's men found no trace of him in the surrounding countryside, didn't you?"

Nigel nodded. "That may mean he made his escape by sea, then. Jodrell, could he sail around the head of Ballymar this time of year?"

Jodrell, scion of an old seafaring family, wobbled his open hand in a yea- nay gesture.

"It would be risky. Sire - but no more risky than sailing the Kheldish coast to reach Torenth by sea. If he is making for Meara, however, my guess is that he'd not go as far as Ballymar. If I were Loris, I'd land somewhere farther east along the coast, probably in Kierney, and go overland to Ratharkin."

"Why Ratharkin?" Morgan asked. "The Mearan pretender's in Laas."

"Ah, but Ratharkin is the episcopal seat of Meara," Cardiel said, glancing at Arilan and almost daring him to contradict, "and the good Father Judhael is there, just aching to be a bishop. In addition, Ratharkin is only a few days' ride from Laas and the rebel factions, even in the dead of winter - but more than a week's ride for us. Oh, he's picked his ground wisely, if he's gone to Ratharkin,"

he finished bitterly. "The Devil take him for a false and forsworn knave!"

With a dour scowl. Kelson set his balled fists on his thighs and sighed. He was not sure he liked the apparent enmity building between the two bishops. Nor did he understand the reason for it.

"This is getting us nowhere, gentlemen," he said briskly. "Speculation is cheap. G.o.d knows I fear Loris' intentions as much as any of you, but unless we have some direction, any action we take will only be wasted motion. If he's tried to round Ca.s.san, nature may solve our problem for us. The same applies if, by some odd chance, he's headed for Torenth after all."

"I doubt that," Nigel said. "My instinct says ????? - not that we necessarily know he's gone by sea, however. But whether by sea or by land, someone is going to see him and report to us eventually. Loris is too proud a man to hide for long."

"What about Bishop Istelyn?" Duncan asked. "Shouldn't he be warned? If Loris is headed for Meara, Istelyn could be in great danger."

"You're right, of course," Kelson agreed. "Uncle, will you see to it? I think it might also be wise to have Archbishop Bradene join us - and any other of the loyal bishops you think should be involved, my Lord Cardiel. Once Loris'

intentions are known, it's vital that we present a united front, secular and ecclesiastical. I want none of the confusion which marked the beginning of our last campaign against him."

Cardiel inclined his head in agreement.

"It shall be done. Sire."

Kelson sighed and rose. "Very well. Loris has to surface sometime - and until we hear where, I don't suppose there's much else we can do for now. Uncle, please let me know as soon as you learn anything else. Meanwhile, I'm for a hot bath and some dry clothes. Morgan, Father Duncan, would you please attend me?"

The king said little while his bath was drawn, leading Duncan to wonder why they had been asked to come along, but Morgan suspected he knew. His suspicions were confirmed when the three of them sat down before the fireplace in Kelson's bedchamber. Kelson yawned and stretched, propping his slippered feet nearer the fire's warmth, and sipped at a warm posset of milk and honey his squire had left.

"So, what's the matter with Arilan?" he asked after a moment. "He was as sullen as a schoolboy who's been caught in a lie. And don't tell me it was just because you disobeyed him."

Morgan smiled. "He's angry with me because I questioned Judhael against his orders, yes. But he is also angry with himself because he championed Judhael's innocence - or at least he played the Devil's advocate in telling Cardiel and me why we ought not to suspect Judhael in the attempt on Duncan's life. And maybe he's right. But if he isn't, then the powerful and somewhat self-superior Camberian Councillor has made a grave misjudgment of a human's character - and he especially doesn't like having that pointed out by a mere Deryni half- breed."

"Do you think he's right?" Kelson asked. "Or has Judhael played us false? I swear I'll crush him, if he has. I don't need anyone stirring up trouble when Loris is on the loose. And if he helped Loris, then G.o.d help him."

"Amen to that," Duncan said, "if he's guilty. But if he hadn't any part in the attack on me, Alaric, and if he hasn't been in contact with Caitrin - "

"He still would have been glad to see you dead," Morgan interrupted, leaning forward to put another log on the fire. "And simply because he had no literal knowledge of the attack and hadn't heard personally from his aunt doesn't mean he isn't involved up to his ears. That's one of the limitations of mere Truth- Reading: one has to ask the right questions."

Kelson pursed his lips. "Then you think Judhael is involved?"

"I don't know. Someone certainly could have been working in his behalf, though. And Loris - "

"d.a.m.n Loris," Kelson muttered under his breath. "And d.a.m.n the circ.u.mstances that let him escape. It all connects, Alaric, I'm sure of it! He's planning something terrible. I can feel it crawling up my spine! Here it is, noon, and I'm as jumpy as a page listening to ghost stories at midnight. I knew I should have had him executed!"

As he drained his cup and sat back to stare moodily into the fire, fingertips drumming vexedly against the chair arm, Morgan exchanged a concerned glance with Duncan. Casually his cousin rose and came around behind the king, beginning to ma.s.sage Kelson's tense shoulders. Kelson sighed appreciatively and closed his eyes, making a conscious effort to relax.

"That feels wonderful," he said after a moment. "I hadn't realized how tired I was. Don't stop."

"We're all exhausted," Duncan said easily, reaching out a little with his mind as his fingers continued to knead at steel-taut muscles. "Don't let your righteous anger tie you into knots, though."

"If I'd killed Loris while I had the chance, I wouldn't have to worry about getting tied in knots," Kelson said dreamily.

"Indulge your fantasy, then, if it makes you feel better. I'll grant that if you had killed him, things certainly would be easier now."

Kelson yawned hugely and relaxed even more against Duncan's touch, mental as well as physical, tipping his head back to loll against the priest's chest and glance up.

"You aren't supposed to agree so readily," he murmured. "I'm sitting here contemplating murder. What kind of a conscience are you, anyway? If Loris has a conscience like you, I don't wonder that he strayed." Kelson turned his gaze toward Morgan. "What do you suppose did make him stray?"

"Pride," Morgan replied. "The belief that his notion of truth was somehow superior to anyone else's."

"So he sold his honor to serve his pride."

"It's said that every man has his price, my prince," Morgan said. "Some are simply too high to be met."

"And is yours that high?"

Duncan faltered just an instant in his ministrations, but Morgan merely smiled.

"High enough that no man could ever pay it but you, my prince," he replied without hesitation. "I am your man, as I was your father's before you. You have bought me with your love. Nor can I ever be resold."

Chuckling delightedly. Kelson yawned and closed his eyes once more, aware that Duncan was urging sleep on him and not fighting it.

"You always know the right thing to say, don't you? Here." Kelson handed his empty cup to Morgan. "And Duncan, you needn't nag; I was planning all along to have a nap."

"That's one of the more reasonable things you've said all day," Duncan replied. "You ought to go lie down in your bed, however. You'll get a crick in your neck if you fall asleep here."

"Nag, nag, nag," Kelson whispered around another yawn. But he smiled as he rose to obey. He was asleep almost as soon as his head touched the pillow.

Duncan pulled a fur coverlet more snugly around him and closed the bed curtains, then returned to the chair the king had just vacated.

"He's in quite a mood," Morgan observed. "Anything we should worry about?"

"I don't think so. He's just tired. And shocked far more than he wants to admit, over Loris' escape. What do you think he's up to, Alaric?"

"Loris?" Morgan shook his head and glanced into the dying flames.

"d.a.m.ned if I know. As Kelson said not long ago, however - something terrible."

"And Judhael?"

"The same, I fear."

Even as Morgan and Duncan spoke, Loris was making good their suspicions in Ratharkin. Bishop Istelyn, after celebrating the noon Ma.s.s, was seized by armed men wearing the livery of the Bishop of Culdi and, still vested, was conducted to the chapel adjoining his apartments. Creoda and Judhael waited near the altar. A third man wearing the same episcopal purple as Creoda knelt close by the altar steps with his back to Istelyn, who could not see his face.

Something in the line of the shoulders and bowed head struck a cord of both familiarity and danger.

"What is the meaning of this?" Istelyn demanded, approaching the three as the guards released him and withdrew.

Creoda and Judhael moved diffidently to either side as the stranger rose and turned.

"h.e.l.lo, Henry," the stranger said.

Istelyn froze in the center of the aisle and blanched nearly as white as his alb.

"Loris!"

The renegade archbishop folded his hands complacently across his narrow waist and gave a thin smile.

"Why, Henry, you seem surprised," he said softly. "But I would have thought that after so many years in Orders, you would know better how to greet your Primate."

"Primate?" Istelyn's jaw dropped. "You must be mad! How did you get in here? You were at Saint Iveagh's, the last I heard."

"Obviously, I am no longer at Saint Iveagh's," Loris said in a low, dangerous voice. "Nor was I pleased at my accommodations there - accommodations which you had a part in forcing upon me."

For the first time, the true danger of Istelyn's situation registered. Calling for the guard would do no good, for the men "loaned" him by his supposed benefactor, Creoda, were the same who had brought him here. Nor was Judhael's presence rea.s.suring. The Mearan priest who had sought the office which Istelyn now held would have no reason to champion his former rival.

He was totally in their power, with no way to summon help or even to distinguish whose help could be trusted. e supposed that the men left by Bradene were still loyal, but they were probably under guard by now as well. He hoped they had not been harmed. And Loris' reference to himself as Primate bespoke a far greater treachery than simply the escape of an imprisoned ex-archbishop and his exaction of vengeance against a man who had helped to unseat him from his previous glory.

"What do you want of me?" Istelyn said carefully. "Your pretense to the Primacy is treasonous and your very presence in Ratharkin illegal. And Creoda - "

He shifted his gaze to the betraying bishop. "You and Father Judhael also tread on extremely dangerous ground if you harbor this man. Was all your offer of a.s.sistance merely a sham to gain my confidence until this fugitive could join you in your betrayal of Mother Church?"

Judhael said nothing, though his jaw tightened in resentment, but Creoda smiled pleasantly and inclined his head.

"We perceive no betrayal of Mother Church," he said amiably. "Rather, we perceive the actions of the consistory and the king as a betrayal of the Mearan people. Father Judhael should have been bishop here - not you. It's as simple as that. And Archbishop Loris ought never to have been relieved of his office and imprisoned like a common felon. We feel that the time has come to rectify the error. Henry."

"What error?" Istelyn demanded. "His own brother bishops p.r.o.nounced judgment on him, Creoda. You were there. Nor do I recollect any outbursts of righteous indignation on your part at the time."

Creoda raised an unconcerned eyebrow. "I was ill-informed."