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chattered like best friends who hadn t seen one another for years.
Mist took a seat near the head of the huge table which filled half the room.
Nepanthe studied her. Exile had made of a once savage conspirator a quiet,
gentle woman. A knitting bag lay open before her. A small, two-headed,
four-armed demon manipulated her needles at an incredible pace. Its legs
dangled off the table s side. Occasionally one head would curse the other for
making it drop a stitch. Mist would shush gently.
The door opened. A splendidly attired young officer entered. Nepanthe
remembered him as Dahl Haas, the son of a mercenary who had followed King
Bragi into Kavelin during the civil war. For an instant she wondered if Dahl
had had babies who would follow Bragi in their turn.
Stand by, Haas said. He s on his way.
Nepanthe moved nearer the door. The King pushed through. His gaze met hers.
He winced slightly, then enfolded her in a gentle, uncertain hug. How are
you? he asked. And, I m sorry I couldn t see you last night. This wart of a
kingdom don t give me time to catch my breath. Hello, Varthlokkur.
King Bragi was a tall, powerfully built man. He wore the scars of nearly
three decades of soldiering. Nepanthe noted grey in the shag at his temples.
Time was gnawing at him too.
He whispered, I ll try to put on a private supper tonight. You ll want to
see Fulk. Fulk was his six-month-old son, whom she had never seen.
How is Inger?
He gave her an odd look. Her tone must have betrayed her thoughts. She could
not get used to his having remarried. His first wife, Elana, who had died
during the war, had been her best friend. Fine. Full of pepper. And Fulk is
just like his mother. He moved away, shaking hands, exchanging greetings.
Finally finished, he said, I hope this thing hasn t gotten anybody fired
up . . . I see it hasn t. Just a roll call, anyway, so to speak. I won t
really need you for a few days yet. For now, let me just say that we ve had
word from Derel.
He explained that his personal secretary, Derel Prataxis, was in Throyes,
east of the Mountains of M Hand, negotiating with Lord Hsung, the commander of
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Shinsan s army of occupation there. In the three years since the cessation of
hostilities not one trade caravan had crossed the mountains. The easterners
had kept the one commercially viable pass, the Savernake Gap, locked up tight.
Now Prataxis reported a dramatic shift in attitude. He expected the
negotiations to be brief and their outcome to be favorable.
The discussion was prosaic and dull, and Nepanthe didn t pay much attention
till the King asked Sir Gjerdrum for his guess as to why Shinsan would
suddenly alter its policy.
Hsung over there is a hard-liner, the King said. He wouldn t do anything
that would help Kavelin more than it would his own team.
Gjerdrum flashed his scowl. Maybe the legions are up to strength again.
Maybe they want the pass open so they can run spies through.
That doesn t make sense, Mist countered. They have the Power. Anyway, if
they did have to have an agent physically present, they d send him in over the
smugglers trails. Her glance flicked to Aral Dantice. He d set up a
transfer portal so he could bring in any help he needed.
All right, Bragi said. Then you give me a reason that does make sense.
I can t.
Nepanthe became aware of a subtle tension in the room. There were
undercurrents here sensed only by a few.
King Bragi stared into infinity. Why do I feel like you re not telling me
everything? Can t you guess out loud?
Mist stared at her knitting. The imp s needles became silvery blurs. I don t
feel Lord Ko Feng anymore. There may have been a coup. Cautiously, she
admitted, A few old supporters got in touch last summer. They thought there
was something in the wind.
Trebilcock snorted. Something in the wind? Crap! Ko Feng got his butt thrown
out. They stripped his titles, his honors, and his immortality. They as much
as accused him of treason because he kept his army intact instead of trying to
finish us off at Palmisano. A corps commander named Kuo Wen-chin replaced him.
Anybody who had anything to do with the Pracchia got swept out along with
Feng. All reassigned to Northern and Eastern Armies. What amounts to internal
exile. Ko Feng vanished completely. None of the new bunch were involved in the
Great Eastern Wars. Trebilcock s glance flicked from Aral Dantice to Mist, as
if daring contradiction.
Michael is a strange one, Nepanthe thought. Dantice and Gjerdrum are his best
friends, andthey say he s weird. Only Varthlokkur seems to understand him.
She wasn t sure what her husband saw in the younger man. She did know he
liked Michael, and found him intriguing.
The King asked, Mist?
Michael s connections are better than mine.
Bragi made a slight gesture. Nepanthe caught it. She watched Michael respond
with a tiny shrug. The King said, Varthlokkur, don t you have anything to
contribute?
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I haven t been watching Shinsan. I ve been busy.
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