The Eyes Of A God - The Eyes of a God Part 7
Library

The Eyes of a God Part 7

'Beith, stop. There's no need." Akeela kept his gaze on Gilwyn. "I would never abandon this child to the streets. I don't care if he's simple or a genius. Lionkeep is his home. As long as I am king, it always will be."

'Really?" asked Beith. "Will you promise me that, my lord?"

'I promise," said Akeela. He leaned down and laid a gentle kiss on the infant's forehead. "And not just to you, but to this little fellow here. He will always have a place in Lionkeep."

Beith could barely find her voice. "Thank you, my lord. Thank you."

Akeela took the baby over to a nearby chair. He sat down and rocked the child, loving the paternal feeling. Gilwyn's little mouth turned upward. Akeela took the gesture for a smile. He cooed to the baby,speaking softly.

'Little Gilwyn, Luria is going to be a great nation. I'm going to make it special, the way the founders intended. There will always be a place for you here, and for all the other children, too. And you're going to grow up strong and smart, and whatever you can dream, you can be."

J5eith spent the rest of the day feeling lighter than air. The good news Akeela had given her put a smile back on her face, and she bragged to Meri and her other friends about the king's promise, and how her son would grow up in Lionkeep just as she and her dead husband had always planned. For Beith, who hadn't known real joy since her husband's death, the lightness in her heart felt wonderful. Now, with her baby safe, she could begin mourning her beloved properly, without fretting over the fate of her newborn.

That night, Beith slept sound and deeply. She had retired early, putting Gilwyn to bed in his crib and taking a cup of tea before drifting off to sleep. For the first time in weeks, her dreams were unpolluted.

Then she awoke for no apparent reason. Her eyes fluttered open to catch moonbeams slanting through her window. The mist of sleep was on her, and for a moment she couldn't place the time. It was very late; dawn was still many hours away. Realizing this, she listened for Gilwyn. He was a good baby and surprisingly cooperative about sleeping, but she knew it was time to check on him. Desperate for the pillow, she nevertheless rose from the bed and started toward the door, shambling through the darkness in a groggy haze. Then she saw the figure in the threshold.

Beith stumbled backward, about to scream, before an amazing calm overtook her. Unable to move, she merely stared at the figure, enchanted by a strange light emanating from its chest.

'Don't be afraid." The figure took a tiny step forward.

'What is this place?" Beith asked. Vaguely her memory returned, recalling a story she had heard as a little girl.

'It is a secret place, far from here, far across a desert. There are people like me there, and people like your child."

'Magical people?"

The woman's smile dimmed. "Yes, all right. Magical people."

Suddenly a memory bloomed in Beith's mind. She gasped, "You're the Witch of Grimhold."

'No," said the woman. "I am no witch."

'You are," Beith insisted. "My mother told me the story, when I was very young."

'Your mother was mistaken," said the woman. She closed her eyes for a moment and seemed to be concentrating. The awesome calm within Beith increased. As quickly as she had recalled the old legend, she forgot it.

'Now, tell me," the woman continued. "Will you let me take your child? I will look after him for you. I will take him to a place where no one will harm or ridicule him."

Beith struggled to stay awake. "There's no need. Gilwyn is safe here. The king has promised it."

'The new king?"

'Yes, Akeela. He's told me this very day that Gilwyn is safe here. He will always have a place here in Lionkeep. It is the king's promise."

For a moment the woman said nothing. She turned away, considering the moon outside the window.

"I have heard about your new king," she said at last. "I have heard that he is very good; very wise."

'He is good. And he has been kind to me and my baby."

'And he will look after your child, even when he is grown?"

'He will."

'Even if he is crippled?"

'Yes."

'And simple?"

Beith hesitated, but only for a second. "Yes, even then."

There was no sound from the stranger. The light from her amulet lit her face, revealing concern. Beith, still in the hold of the bewitchment, couldn't help but smile at the tiny figure who Everything about it was tiny, in fact. Beith had never seen anyone like her, not outside a carnival. She realized that the strangerwas a woman, and that the woman was a midget.

'Who are you?" Beith asked. "What are you doing here?" The woman smiled. Beith could see her impish face in the red glow of her necklace. "Fair questions, Beith," she said. "But first, your child is safe.

Do not be afraid for him."

To her surprise, Beith wasn't afraid. She knew-somehow-that no harm had come to Gilwyn. She squinted at the little woman and saw her multicolored coat swirling as if it were alive. "Are you magical?"

she asked.

The question delighted the intruder. "Why, yes I am." "I'm not afraid. But I should be. Am I under a bewitchment?" The woman floated closer, until she and Beith were standing face to face. Only they weren't really, because Beith towered over the stranger. The woman looked up at Beith. She seemed to be studying her.

'Let us talk." She gestured toward the bed. "Sit." Beith heard the warnings in her mind, telling her to run and to rescue Gilwyn, yet the voices were very faint, pushed way back in her brain. So instead of running, Beith obeyed the stranger, sitting down at the edge of the bed. She noticed the amulet around the woman's neck, glowing ruby red. The remarkable coat she wore no longer swam with life, yet Beith knew she was in the power of a magician.

'Why are you here?" she asked again.

The woman replied, "For the sake of your child, Beith. I can help him."

'Gilwyn? Gilwyn needs no help."

'Does he not?" asked the woman. "I have heard about him. He is deformed, quite probably crippled.

He is not well, dear Beith. But I have a safe place for him."

'No," said Beith. "Lionkeep is a safe place for him." A sympathetic expression lingered on the stranger's face. "If only that were so," she sighed. "Your child is not like others. He may not be safe here in the castle, or anywhere in Luria. But I know a place where all like him are safe. I can take him there."

was bright and warmed the room. Beith considered what a fine day it would be.

'Oooh, you're a hungry little scholar this morning, aren't you?" she asked.

Gilwyn kept feeding. For some reason, seeing his earnest face reminded Beith of a story she had heard when she was younger. She puzzled over the memory, trying to recall it clearly, deciding to entertain herself with the tale.

'There's a story my mother told me once," she began. She then proceeded to tell Gilwyn about Grimhold, a place where monsters live, led by a witch who steals children.

for some reason was concerned about her little boy. She reached out for the amulet around her neck, but the little woman pulled gently away.

'What is that you wear?" asked Beith.

The woman smiled down at her amulet. "This is Inai ka Vala," she replied. "You would call it the Eye of God."

'God? What god?"

'You are full of questions, Beith." The tiny woman studied her. "I think your son will be like you-inquisitive."

Talking to the woman was like floating in a dream or on a gentle lake of calm water. All the fear had left Beith now, so that there were only questions.

'Will you tell me your name?" she asked.

'Minikin," replied the woman.

'Minikin?" Beith chuckled. "Your name is Minikin? That's funny."

'Yes," said the woman. "The people who named me that thought so, too." She turned from the window, heading for the door. "Follow me."

Once again Beith obeyed, following the woman out of her bed chamber and into the main room where Gilwyn's white crib rested in the moonlight. The woman hovered over Gilwyn, her thoughts unfathomable.

'Very well," she said. "I will trust your new king to help this child." Then she bent over the crib, giving Gilwyn a kiss and speaking a single remarkable word. "Grimhold."

W men Beith awoke the next morning, she remembered nothing of the strange intrusion or of her remarkable conversation with the midget woman. She felt refreshed and hungry, and that was all. She rose from bed at her usual hour and saw at once to Gilwyn's feeding, sitting down at her chair near the window and putting the baby to her breast. Still feeling wonderful over Akee-la's acceptance of her child, she laughed as her son fed, loving the communion of nursing. Gilwyn fed hungrily but gently, latching on without discomfort to his mother. The morning sun gossips. Worse, he had been too close to Cassandra.

Since Akeela''sdeparture, the princess had occupied his every thought, and his proximity to her was irksome. Because he was her bodyguard, he was never very far from her, accompanying her to knitting sessions and tea with her sisters and other mind-deadening activities, all the while trying to avert his eyes from her flawless face and figure. Cassandra had remained aloof, mostly, yet she had insisted that he perform his duties as her protector, making sure he was always nearby. From the moment Akeela had gone, they had shared Castle Hes like two uneasy house guests.

But now they were no longer in Castle Hes. They were in Glain, the seaside estate of Earl Linuk.

Princess Cassandra, evidently a spoiled brat, had wanted a last holiday. She had left behind her overprotective father for the watchful eyes of Linuk, whom Lukien quickly discovered was something of an adopted uncle to the girl. Linuk doted on Cassandra, opening his house to her and her handmaidens and providing them with all the splendor of Glain in springtime. Of course, Lukien had been given no choice in accompanying Cassandra to Glain. Earl Linuk had made it clear they were all going to spend a week at his estate, and Lukien's protests had fallen on the earl's deaf ears. So he had relented, and now sat in warm sunshine as Cassandra indulged herself with a picnic and Linuk's musicians entertained them.

It would have been a good day for Lukien if they were in Koth, if Trager was somewhere else, and the music was Lurian. If Cassandra wasn't so near.

Lukien lifted his gaze from the pond. On the other side of the water, past the narrow bridge that spanned it, Cassandra was with her friend Jancis. The princess had set up an easel and was painting, enjoying the light of the sun. She seemed to be hard at work, occasionally stepping back from her masterpiece and cocking her head, then lifting her brush again to make corrections. She wore a white dress that caught the sun and contrasted with her raven hair. She had dressed well for their picnic and that surprised Lukien, and occasionally she stole glances across the pond. He watched her for a long moment, and when she discovered him staring at her, the princess frowned. Quickly she returned to her painting.

-L,'ukien sat at the end of a pond, absently tossing stones into the water. The sky was bright but his mood was heavy, and as the ripples disappeared he watched them pensively, his mind a hundred miles from his halcyon surroundings. Not far away, Trager sat on a blanket on the green grass, sipping a drink and picnicking on the pheasant Earl Linuk had provided. With him were Durwin and Benn, two Royal Chargers who, like Lukien and Trager, had been left behind in Reec to look after Princess Cassandra.

Both men wore broad smiles and greasy smudges on their shirts. Trager was talking and laughing too loudly. The lieutenant had been over-enjoying his wine; Lukien had seen him empty more than one bottle over the course of the afternoon. The Bronze Knight suppressed a sigh and flicked another stone into the lake.

For two weeks now he had been in Reec, missing home and enduring Trager's company. He had been treated well by his Ree-cian hosts, but he longed to return to Koth, and every day he waited impatiently for word from Akeela, summoning him back. So far, word had yet to come. Akeela had warned him that it could be at least a month before he would return, and the wait was interminable.

Castle Hes had been a prison for Lukien, a very pleasant place to die slowly. With only Trager and a handful of Chargers for company, Lukien had been forced to bear the stares of Reecian soldiers and stableboys and the whispers of the castle I appearing. Trager didn't thank the man but commenced pouring. Lukien glanced down at his food, his appetite gone.

'You've been very quiet today, Captain." Trager handed him a glass of wine. "Are you unwell?"

The question irritated Lukien. "I'm fine," he replied.

'Then why not enjoy the day?" Trager gestured to their beautiful surroundings. "I know you don't likethis duty, but there's nothing we can do about it, so why be bothered? There's wine, music..." He glanced across the pond. "And pretty ladies to enjoy."

Lukien looked up. "What does that mean?"

'It's just a pretty day, that's all." Trager sipped at his wine. He let out a grotesque belch and leaned back on his elbow. "Eat, Captain," he urged. "It's very good. Earl Linuk certainly knows how to care for his guests."

'I thought you said you wouldn't drink with Reecians," Lukien reminded him. "Or have you changed your mind?"

Trager shrugged. "Change of heart, I suppose. Free food and drink. Only a fool would pass that up."

The answer reminded Lukien why he disliked his lieutenant so much. Inwardly he cursed Akeela for leaving Trager behind with him. He was a jealous, petty man, and had been since their war college days.

He held grudges longer than anyone Lukien had ever known, too, and had never really forgiven Lukien the good fortune of being King Balak's favorite. Though they had graduated together, posting almost identical grades, Lukien had become Captain of the Chargers. Some, like Trager, thought it was because of his closeness to the king. To be honest, Lukien suspected there was some truth in that theory. But it was also because he was the best soldier the college had ever produced, and because he had proven himself in battle many times. But Trager never considered that.

'It's very nice here, don't you think, Captain?" Trager continued to sip his wine as he studied the area, swaying to the strains of the music.

'Yes, it is," Lukien conceded. He began picking at the food on his plate, nibbling at the meat of a pheasant joint.

'I'm grateful to be out of Hes," said Trager. "The castle air To Lukien, Cassandra was an enigma. She was barely more than a child, but she had the body of a woman and a keen look in her eyes that belied her innocence. In his many campaigns, he had met women like Cassandra before, those with iron under their soft skin, who longed for a wider role in life. Cassandra was like that, Lukien guessed. After only two weeks with her he knew why she had accepted Akeela's proposal. She was bored with life in Castle Hes. She was tired of being King Karis' daughter. The princess wanted to be a queen.

'And of course she will be," muttered Lukien. That was how it was for royalty-they always got what they wanted. Akeela had blundered into a beautiful wife, and Cassandra, not satisfied with one castle, would soon have two to call home. Lukien leaned back on his palms, a scowl forming on his face. Why was it then that men like him desired things they couldn't have? Being called a "brother" by Akeela simply wasn't enough. Women of refinement-women like Cassandra-were kept from him.

'Captain?"

Lukien heard the word as soon as the shadow crossed his face. Over him stood Trager, looking down with a queer smile. The lieutenant had a plate of food in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other.

It was plain from the dullness in his eyes that he was drunk.

'You haven't eaten anything," said Trager. He handed the plate down to Lukien. "I thought you might be hungry."

Lukien hesitated. Taking the plate might invite Trager to sit down. Since he was indeed hungry, he took his chances by accepting the food-and lost the gamble. Trager sat down immediately, letting out a giant sigh as his rump hit the grass.

'Two glasses," he called to one of Earl Linuk's servants.

'Just one will do," said Lukien.

The servant hesitated. Trager smiled wickedly, then held up two fingers.

'You heard me," he said.

The servant scurried off. In a moment he returned with a pair of crystal goblets, which he handed to Trager before quickly dis was getting stale." He took a deep breath. "This is how a man should live. You can smell the sea here."

'Very nice."

'It will be good to get back home to Luria, though. I miss it."

Lukien nodded. Trager's voice was tiresome. 'I suppose King Akeela's wedding will be quite an occasion," the lieutenant went on. "He seemed excited about it. You'll be there, of course, his steadfast man."

'I suppose."

'And it will be tournament season. He'll have it at the same time, I suppose, to celebrate the occasion." Trager looked at him. "Some jousting perhaps?"

'Oh, I'm sure," said Lukien. He returned his lieutenant's sharp smile.