Read Online The Magic Council (The Herezoth Trilogy) by Victoria Grefer - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Victoria Grefer
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already,
and that’s enough.”
All
the while the king was yelling and then as Bennie tried to comfort him, Zacry
kept his place against the wall, not stunned by the king’s ardor but unsure how
to respond. He could not indulge his first instinct: to express some rough
variety of empathy as a father himself. Now he said from where he stood,
“Bennie’s right. Pull yourself together. You have to if the queen’s fallen to
pieces. Your sons will be home tomorrow, and if we don’t make the guilty pay
then, I swear I’m not leaving Herezoth ‘til those lunatics see justice. If I
have to bring it to them myself, I will.”
Zacry’s
assurances calmed the king, or numbed him. Rexson squeezed Bennie’s hand and
told the sorcerer, his voice dull, distracted, “I apologize for Gratton. He’s
not a bad sort. He’s suspicious of magic, not of you. He has no problem with
you. He worries spells might backfire, have unintended consequences…. It’s a
legitimate concern.”
The
king went on, “He’s an excellent strategist, and a better swordsman than even
my old teacher, who was an undisputed master. And he’s loyal. He’d just joined
the army when Zalski had his coup, and he turned spy for us, though he was too
young to advance to a useful post. We lost contact with him after the assault
on our headquarters. Couldn’t waste time to track him down again. His oldest
brother, ironically enough, was one of the Fontferry militia who came to our
aid. He died when we took the Palace…. Did Kora ever mention the militia?”
Zacry
claimed, “Kora told me everything.”
The
king, vaguely interested now, leaned an elbow on the desk. “Everything? Even
about the chain?”
The
chain of red gold that had let Kora stalk Zalski from a distance, magically
attending his meetings, hearing his thoughts. “Even about that. Rexson, why do
you look surprised? Is there something I’m missing?”
Rexson’s
eyes had grown wider than was usual. He blinked to shrink them. “I don’t think
you’re missing anything. If Kora told you she revealed the whole truth, then….”
Zacry
protested, “There’s something she never mentioned, isn’t there? Let’s have it.
If she did leave something out….”
“If
she did, it’s not for me to speak.”
“Rexson,
I came to help you, and willingly. I’m not threatening to walk out if you keep
me in the dark. But if Kora hid something, it’s because that something involves
me. She told me how that chain worked, after all. She described how people
died, people I knew. If she’s holding something back, then the secret’s about
me, and I deserve to know what it is.”
Chin
in hand, the king considered Zacry’s argument, or tried to. His preoccupations
lay elsewhere.
“You
won’t tell her I betrayed her?”
“No
matter what you say, I won’t confront her. You have my word.”
“He
should know,” said Bennie. “You know what Kora kept back, if she kept back
anything. We both do, and it’s time he should know.”
Zacry’s
throat went dry. “So what happened? What did she do?”
The
king folded his arms and shifted his chair to face the sorcerer. “Do you
remember when Vane’s mother took Kora to negotiate with Zalski?”
A
fog of insecurity descended upon Zacry. It was not a sensation he deemed
familiar, and not one he knew how to combat. “That was after Kora saved me and
Bennie from Zalski’s tower. Laskenay wanted to discuss Vane’s future.”
“Laskenay
went to discuss her son, that’s accurate. The complete truth is, Kora went to
discuss you: to arrange your safety, amnesty until you came of age, because she
was scared you might try to be heroic. Zalski didn’t make that bargain for
nothing.”
“What
did she give him?”
“Information:
how she’d known where to find you. How she’d learned Zalski kept you in that
tower room.”
Zacry’s
stomach tied itself in knots. “He demanded that in exchange for leaving Vane
be.”
“No,”
said Rexson. “The
and that’s enough.”
All
the while the king was yelling and then as Bennie tried to comfort him, Zacry
kept his place against the wall, not stunned by the king’s ardor but unsure how
to respond. He could not indulge his first instinct: to express some rough
variety of empathy as a father himself. Now he said from where he stood,
“Bennie’s right. Pull yourself together. You have to if the queen’s fallen to
pieces. Your sons will be home tomorrow, and if we don’t make the guilty pay
then, I swear I’m not leaving Herezoth ‘til those lunatics see justice. If I
have to bring it to them myself, I will.”
Zacry’s
assurances calmed the king, or numbed him. Rexson squeezed Bennie’s hand and
told the sorcerer, his voice dull, distracted, “I apologize for Gratton. He’s
not a bad sort. He’s suspicious of magic, not of you. He has no problem with
you. He worries spells might backfire, have unintended consequences…. It’s a
legitimate concern.”
The
king went on, “He’s an excellent strategist, and a better swordsman than even
my old teacher, who was an undisputed master. And he’s loyal. He’d just joined
the army when Zalski had his coup, and he turned spy for us, though he was too
young to advance to a useful post. We lost contact with him after the assault
on our headquarters. Couldn’t waste time to track him down again. His oldest
brother, ironically enough, was one of the Fontferry militia who came to our
aid. He died when we took the Palace…. Did Kora ever mention the militia?”
Zacry
claimed, “Kora told me everything.”
The
king, vaguely interested now, leaned an elbow on the desk. “Everything? Even
about the chain?”
The
chain of red gold that had let Kora stalk Zalski from a distance, magically
attending his meetings, hearing his thoughts. “Even about that. Rexson, why do
you look surprised? Is there something I’m missing?”
Rexson’s
eyes had grown wider than was usual. He blinked to shrink them. “I don’t think
you’re missing anything. If Kora told you she revealed the whole truth, then….”
Zacry
protested, “There’s something she never mentioned, isn’t there? Let’s have it.
If she did leave something out….”
“If
she did, it’s not for me to speak.”
“Rexson,
I came to help you, and willingly. I’m not threatening to walk out if you keep
me in the dark. But if Kora hid something, it’s because that something involves
me. She told me how that chain worked, after all. She described how people
died, people I knew. If she’s holding something back, then the secret’s about
me, and I deserve to know what it is.”
Chin
in hand, the king considered Zacry’s argument, or tried to. His preoccupations
lay elsewhere.
“You
won’t tell her I betrayed her?”
“No
matter what you say, I won’t confront her. You have my word.”
“He
should know,” said Bennie. “You know what Kora kept back, if she kept back
anything. We both do, and it’s time he should know.”
Zacry’s
throat went dry. “So what happened? What did she do?”
The
king folded his arms and shifted his chair to face the sorcerer. “Do you
remember when Vane’s mother took Kora to negotiate with Zalski?”
A
fog of insecurity descended upon Zacry. It was not a sensation he deemed
familiar, and not one he knew how to combat. “That was after Kora saved me and
Bennie from Zalski’s tower. Laskenay wanted to discuss Vane’s future.”
“Laskenay
went to discuss her son, that’s accurate. The complete truth is, Kora went to
discuss you: to arrange your safety, amnesty until you came of age, because she
was scared you might try to be heroic. Zalski didn’t make that bargain for
nothing.”
“What
did she give him?”
“Information:
how she’d known where to find you. How she’d learned Zalski kept you in that
tower room.”
Zacry’s
stomach tied itself in knots. “He demanded that in exchange for leaving Vane
be.”
“No,”
said Rexson. “The
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