Virkan warm, Virkan cold, gentle be till dead and old"
The lutar's chords and Anna's voice slammed through the small, stone-walled room, and, halfway through the song, the pagemaster staggered up as if to reach for Anna, then slumped into the chair.
"You have cursed me...." His voice was instantly hoarse.
"No more than you deserve," Anna said quietly. She could see the desperation behind his eyes as she watched every scheme, every cruelty being weighed and denied by the spell. "You will be kind to everyone. It's really no different from a command from the Prophet or Lord Barjim, except you can't weasel your way around it." She nodded. "Good day, Virkan." Then she turned.
"Skent, you and I will head for the stable. Birke, I forgot the case for the lutar. Would you fetch it, and meet us at the stable?"
"Yes, Lady Anna." Birke bowed and scurried off.
Anna followed Skent back up the steps to the main floor. "You look discouraged, Skent,"
Anna offered as the silence persisted.
"You upset Birke, Lady Anna, maybe as much as Virkan." He paused. "Sorcery is scary."
"I didn't mean to scare you, but I could tell that Virkan would punish you and that neither one of you would admit it.''
"That frightened me, too."
"That's not sorcery. I saw that because I have children. My son is twenty-four, and he got that look every so often." Anna laughed, thinking about how transparent Mario had been.
Skent swallowed as he held the outside door to the courtyard. "Is that true? Really true? You look as young as Lady Cataryzna"
"I take it you like her?"
"She's beautiful. Not as beautiful as you," Skent added.
"I'm sure she is beautiful, and you don't have to worry about flattering my ego, young man."
She almost winced as she stepped into the heat of the courtyard. Why was Birke so upset?
Should she ask, or just listen over the next few days? She decided on listening.
The stables were within the southwest corner of the outer walls, and Anna could smell straw, horses, and manure, although the odors were mild, and the packed-clay floors swept clean.
The page led her to a small room just inside the doors, where he held the door and bowed.
"Tirsik, this is the Lady Anna."
The stable master was probably younger than Anna, but looked older, with short graying hair above a wrinkled forehead. The blue eyes twinkled, and his right arm was shorter than the left and seemed permanently crooked. He bowed as Anna stepped inside, still - carrying the lutar.
"Lady Anna."
"Stablemaster," Anna returned.
"Of sorts." He grinned. "You're the one riding the beast."
"Farinelli? The big palomino?"
"The beast," Tirsik affirmed. "We feed him and water him, but the stall's a mess. Won't let no one in. Hisse got slammed leading him in and unsaddling him, had to scramble up the wall."
"I'm sorry. I'm taking him out today, and from now on, I'll make sure I'm here to groom him and ride him every day. It's taken a little time to work things out. I'm new to Falcor."
"You from Neserea?"
"No. I'm from a distant place, but most recently I've been living in Mencha and Synope."
"She's the sorceress," Skent volunteered.
"Oh... my pardon, lady." Tirsik bowed again. "I did not know. You are the one from the mist worlds?"
"Yes. But I'm still a real person." She forced a laugh. "And I need help, just like everyone else who rides a horse."
"If you ride the beast," Tirsik returned with his own laugh, "I don't know what help I can give."
"You feed and water him." She inclined her head to Skent. "Skent here, and on alternate days, Birke, will be riding with me. They'll need mounts, if that's possible."
"We can do that." The words were slow, not quite questioning.
"I've already met with Virkan and Menares."
"She has," Skent confirmed.
"You have great powers of persuasion, then."
"I appealed to their better nature."
Tirsik raised his eyebrows.
"Virkan, I am confident, will have a much better nature from now on." Of course, he'll hate me to the end of his days, but if the spell holds, he won't be able to do much, and who knows, he might actually find being kind works.
"If that be so, lady, many will be grateful." Tirsik looked at Skent. "Get your boots, imp."
"Yes, Tirsik." Skent grinned and was gone.
"Happiest I've seen him in weeks." Tirsik stepped toward the door. "Let's see to your beast."
Even before Anna reached the stall, Farinelli started snorting and whuffling. She set the lutar carefully on a bale of hay. "Yes, I'm coming," Anna told the gelding as she opened the stall door.
"You must have ridden a lot," Tirsik said, staying outside.
"Not for years until recently. We just get along." She patted the gelding's flank and scratched his forehead as Far inelli turned to her. The gelding whuffed violently and edged her toward the stall wall. Her boot hit something sharp, sharp enough that she could feel it through the heavy leather.
After bending down, she extracted what looked to be a four-pointed metal star, bigger than her fist, with cruelly sharp points. Anna glanced at Farinelli, then called, "Tirsik."
"Yes, lady?"
"Why is this in Farinelli's stall?" She gingerly handed the object to the stablemaster.
"Dissonant bastards," muttered the stablemaster. "Can you check his hoofs?"
"Why?"
"That's a caltrops."
"What?"
"Foot soldiers use them, scatter them around to stop horse troops."
Anna swallowed, then moistened her lips. Why would someone try to lame Farinelli? To get at her? Anna shook her head, then began to ease her way around the stall- carefully with the slippery footing underneath.
Surprisingly, to her, Farinelli let her lift each foot. Each appeared uninjured. "His hoofs are fine;"
"Good. None of my people would do that. Not to any animal, and certainly not to one this fine." Tirsik's voice was edged. "We'll check all the stalls."
Anna began to brush the gelding.
"Looks like some armsmen coming," commented Tirsik. "Oh.. . I'm supposed to have an escort. Menares doesn't want someone to attack his prize sorceress. I told him a small escort."
""That's a caltrops."
"What?"
"Foot soldiers use them, scatter them around to stop horse troops."
Anna swallowed, then moistened her lips. Why would someone try to lame Farinelli? To get at her? Anna shook her head, then began to ease her way around the stall- carefully with the slippery footing underneath.
Surprisingly, to her, Farinelli let her lift each foot. Each appeared uninjured. "His hoofs are fine;"
"Good. None of my people would do that. Not to any animal, and certainly not to one this fine." Tirsik's voice was edged. "We'll check all the stalls."
Anna began to brush the gelding.
"Looks like some armsmen coming," commented Tirsik. "Oh.. . I'm supposed to have an escort. Menares doesn't want someone to attack his prize sorceress. I told him a small escort."
"Subofficer walks like he's got a burr under his saddle."
"He probably does. Proud warriors don't like protection details." Anna snorted, looking for the saddle blanket. She patted Farinelli, hoping he wouldn't throw off the blanket, and eased out of the stall.
"Subofficer Spirda, Lady Anna." The words seemed forced out of the stiff young officer's mouth. His tanned face registered disapproval, even to the blond hair and brush mustache.
"I am pleased to meet you, Spirda." Anna inclined her head gravely. "I'll be a few moments, since I'll need to finish saddling Farinelli." She could see the thoughts in his mind-She names horses; what am 1 doing here?
"Naming horses is one of my many peculiarities," the sorceress added. "Along with carrying my own weight." She stepped back into the stall, where she slipped the saddle off the rack and onto Farmnelli, who whuffled. "Easy ... you'll get some exercise, plenty of exercise before we're done."
"That one's not what she seems, officer," said Tirsik wryly. "Not a one of my men that beast will let near."
"A disguised unicorn? I doubt that," said Spirda.
"You want the bay mare, boy?" asked Tirsik, looking at Skent who had hurried up.
"If you please, ser."
"The page is coining?" asked Spirda.
"Yes, ser," Skent said. "The sorceress said I had to."
"Sorceress..."
"Ser," offered Skent politely, "she filled the middle hall with light in instants, and she turned useless cloth into the finest gown, and her room is cooler than the deepest cellars of the hall."
"You saw all this, boy?"
''Yes, ser."
''Hmmmm..." .
Behind the stall wall, as she tightened the saddle cinches, Anna frowned. Spirda sounded like another man who needed both cultivating and watching.
As she led the big palomino out of the stall, Birke appeared, breathless. "Here's your case, Lady Anna."
Tirsik offered, and Anna handed the reins to the stable-master. 'Easy, Farmnelli."
The gelding whuffed, but remained planted as Anna quickly retrieved the lutar and put it in the case, then strapped the case to the empty saddlebags. She took the water bottle, and handed it to Birke. "I'm not as organized as I should be. Can you fill this quickly?"
"Yes, lady." The redhead dashed off.
Anna frowned. Fear from the youth, she didn't want. She turned to Spirda and smiled. "I'm pleased to meet you, Officer Spirda. I apologize for imposing on your time, and that of your men, but the Prophet's counselor felt.. " She shrugged.
"The instrument? I understood this was to be a ride."
"It is." She glanced down to his belt and the rapier he wore. "You are an armsman, and you wear your weapon on your belt. I'm a sorceress. I'd prefer not to use mine. That is why you are here, and why the lutar is in its case. I will use it if I have to."
Spirda frowned, and Anna wanted to sigh. Had she gotten the biggest dunce in Behlem's forces? Probably, and that meant explaining.
"What the sorceress means," Tirsik interjected with a smile, "is that sorcery's often not too.. .
particular-like, I'd guess you'd say, officer. I heard that this lady killed at least a couple thousand Ebrans. I don't suppose that the Prophet would want her having to kill a few thousand folks just to fend off a few brigands."
Anna could see the light dawning, dimly. "Officer Spirda," she said gently, "we are just going on a ride. I need the exercise. The Prophet is convinced I need a certain amount of protection.
For me to do what I can, I need to see more of Defalk. Right now, that means Falcor." She smiled again, feeling that she was smiling too often, as she had at Ames, and before, until her face felt like it would fall off. Why couldn't she just spell out the situation? Because she was dealing with people, and people didn't like truth. Once she'd thought it was only women-before she met Dieshr-but women were just as bad, and often more vicious.
"All right, lady. We will accompany you. Let us get our mounts."
You don 't have any choice, but if that's the way you want to save face, for now, we'll leave it like that, Anna thought, saying, "Thank you. Skent and I will wait for you in the courtyard."