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CHAPTER FOUR

Guest of the Countess

NEIL SPUN IN HIS saddle, fearing treachery in the sound of steel behind him, but the Vitellian knight and his retainers weren't threatening him. Instead, he realized, they had noticed what he had not'a group of armed horsemen off to the right, riding their way.

They were dressed all alike, in sable surcoats and crimson robes over armor.

None had donned their helms.

Sir Quinte resheathed his sword, and his men did likewise. 'Knights of the Church,' he said. 'The order of Lord Tormo.'

Neil nodded and said nothing, but he kept his hand near his sword. While he trusted the saints, he'd learned the hard way that their human servants were as corruptible as anyone.

They sat their horses and waited for the knights to arrive.

The leader was a giant of a man, with bushy black beard and swell-green eyes. He held up his hand in greeting and spoke in clear Vitellian. Sir Quinte answered, and they seemed to have a brief argument. Then the knight of Tormo turned to regard Neil.

'I am Sir Chenzo,' he said, in the king's tongue now, 'a knight in service of our holy Fratrex Prismo in z'Irbina. Sir Quinte tells me you came in search of this coven?'

'I did,' Neil replied.

'Did you know of its condition?'

'No, sir, I did not.'

'Then for what purpose did you travel here?'

'I am sorry, Sir Chenzo, but I'm afraid I cannot tell you that. But please, I must know'what happened here? Where have the sisters of the coven gone?'

'They have gone to their lady Cer,' the knight replied. 'All were slaughtered.'

Neil felt light, as if he were falling. 'All, Sir Chenzo? None survived?'

Sir Chenzo narrowed his eyes. 'A terrible crime has been committed here. I must ask you again, why did you come to this place?'

'Sir Viotor is sworn to secrecy,' Sir Quinte explained, 'but I will vouch that he is a most gentle and honorable knight.'

'Come, come,' Sir Chenzo said to Neil. 'Tell me generally. Did you come to deliver a message? Did you come for one of the sisters?

A rendezvous, perhaps?'

Neil felt his chest tighten. 'I am sorry, sir. Sir Quinte is right. I have taken a vow.'

'As have I,' the knight replied. 'I have vowed to find the perpetrator of this obscenity. Anything you know may be of use to me.'

'Have you no clues?' Sir Quinte asked.

'A few. It was done by foreign knights bearing no standard or markings, like your friend here. They slaughtered the sisters and then rode off in different directions.'

'As if they were searching,' Neil muttered.

'Yes, as if searching for someone,' Sir Chenzo affirmed. 'But searching for whom, Sir Viotor? That is the question, and I suspect you have some inkling of the answer.'

Neil averted his eyes, trying to think. He could not imagine that the slaughter at the coven and the murder of the royal family in Eslen were coincidence.

Whoever had sent the assassins to slay his beloved Fastia had also sent killers here, to murder her sister.

If Anne were dead, then he could justifiably consider himself released from his vow. He could return to the queen and protect her.

Guest of the Countess

But the queen's conversation with the shade of Erren indicated that Anne was still alive only two weeks ago. Judging from the ruins, the coven looked to have been burned longer ago than that. So she must have escaped the general slaughter, and was being pursued by the perpetrators.

That meant that her pursuers already knew who she was. The secret he was sworn to protect was no longer a secret at all.

If that was so, the only things that remained secret were his identity and what his mission was. He had to preserve his anonymity; if Anne was still alive, he might be her only hope. He could not allow himself to be waylaid.

And so, saying a silent prayer to Saint Freinte, Neil lied.

'I see that I must trust you with my seceret,' he sighed. 'My name is Etein MeqMerlem, from the isle of Andevoi. There is a young lady whom I love, but her parents disapproved of our affections. They sent her to a coven to keep us apart. I know not which coven, but for three years now I have searched for her, from Hansa to Saf-nia, thus far without success.

'Now I have come here, and you tell me of this terrible thing.' He sat straighter in his saddle. 'I know nothing of these murders, but I must know if she was here. If she lives, I will find her. If she is dead, then I will avenge her. I pray that you will help me in my quest.'

'I knew it!' Sir Quinte said. 'I knew your quest was for the sake of love.'

Sir Chenzo studied Neil with one eyebrow upraised. 'What was the lady's name?'

he asked.

'Muerven de Selrete,' he replied. Then, anxiously, 'Please, was she here?'

The knight shrugged. 'The records of the coven were burned along with everything else. I'm sorry, but there is no way of knowing.'

'Yet the bodies''

'Long buried, and'you'll forgive me'mostly unrecognizable, in any case.'

'I know that she lives,' Neil said. 'I feel it in my heart. Can you at least tell me the direction the largest group of searchers went in?'

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Sir Chenzo shook his head. 'I am sorry, Sir Etein, I have my own vows and duties. But please, accompany us to the place where we are guested. Take ease for the night. Perhaps you will remember something there that will be of use to us.'

'I'm afraid I must decline,' Neil replied. 'I must renew my search immediately, especially now.'

'Please,' Sir Chenzo said. 'I insist.'

The look in his eye made it clear to Neil that he was not merely being polite.

They rode from fields of yellowing grass and purple thistle into vast vineyards and finally up to a rambling white-walled estate roofed in red tile. By the time they reached the mansion, the sun had set, and only a faint glow remained in the west.

Servants in plum doublets and yellow hose took their horses, and they passed through a gate and into a large inner courtyard. A few servants in the same livery were sweeping it as they entered, and a page led them through another door and into a hall lit brightly by candles and hearth. A few people were gathered around a long table. The most notable of these was a woman of middle years and large girth, who rose from the head of the table as they entered.

'Portate az me ech'ospi, casnar Chenzo?' she said in a pleasant, jovial voice.

'Oex,' he answered, and then he proceeded to make some explanation in Vitellian.

The woman nodded, made various hand gestures, and then looked pointedly at Neil.

'Pan tio nomes, me dello?' she asked.

'I am sorry, my lady,' Neil said, 'I do not understand you.'

The woman shot a mock-angry look at Sir Chenzo. 'You've allowed me to be rude to a guest,' she told him in the kings tongue. 'You should have told me right away that he doesn't understand our

tongue.'

She turned back to Neil. 'I only asked your name, my dello,' she said.

Guest of the Countess

'Lady, my name is Etein MeqMerlem, and I am at your service.'

'I am the countess Orchaevia, and this is my house you've been brought to.' She smiled again. 'My. So many guests.'

'I regret the lack of notice,' Sir Chenzo rushed to say, 'but we met them just now, near the ruins of the coven. My order will of course reimburse''

'Nonsense,' the woman said. 'Do not become vulgar, Sir Chenzo. The countess Orchaevia does not need to be plied with Church silver to persuade her to host travelers.' Her gaze settled on Neil. 'Especially such a handsome young dello as this.' Then she smiled at Sir Quinte. 'Or one with the reputation of Sir Quinte.'

Sir Quinte bowed. 'Countess Orchaevia, the pleasure is mine. I had a mind to pay you a call, being in the region, even before these gentlemen escorted us here.'

Neil bowed, too. He was reminded of the Duchess Elyoner of Loiyes, though physically there was no resemblance. The duchess was dainty, almost a child in size. Yet the countess Orchaevia had something of her flirting manner.

She set as lavish a table, as well. Fruit came out first, and a dark sweet wine, followed by an earthy yellow soup Neil did not recognize, roasted hare, tender flanks of kid stuffed with parsley, roasted pork with sour green sauce, and pasties filled with wild mushrooms. Next came partridge and capon served with dumplings of ground meat shaped and gilded so as to resemble eggs, then a pie of unlaid eggs and cheese and quail glazed with red honey and garlic.

By the time the fish course arrived, Neil was nearly too full to eat any more, but he persevered, not wishing to insult his host.

'Sir Etein is in search of his true love, Countess,' Sir Quinte said as he plucked out the eyeball of a trout and popped it into his mouth.

'How delicious,' the countess said. 'I am an authority on true love. Do you have someone specific in mind, Sir Etein, or is the girl still unknown to you?'

'She',' Neil began, but Sir Quinte interrupted him.

'We believe she was in the coven,' Sir Quinte explained.

'Oh,' the countess said, her face falling. 'So many girls, so young.

What a horrible thing. And just after the Fiussanal, too. They had just been here, you know.'

'Here?' Neil asked.

'Oh, indeed. The sisters of the coven are'were'my neighbors. I held a feast for the girls each Fiussanal. It was that very night''

'The night of the purple moon?' Neil blurted before he could think better. Again he saw poor Elseny, her throat cut ear to ear. He felt Fastia in his arms, her heartbeat no stronger than a bird's. He saw again the greffyn and the Briar King.

He realized that everyone at the table was watching him.

'Yes,' the countess said, 'the night of the purple moon.' Her eyebrows descended, and she shook her head. 'I hope you are mistaken, Sir Etein. I hope your love was not one of the girls in the coven.'

'Is it possible'if they were here'that they did not all return?'

'I do not think so,' Orchaevia said softly. 'The sisters were quite strict about such things, and the attack came hours after the party had ended.'

'Bless the saints that their attackers did not come here,' Sir Quinte said, quaffing from a cup of dry red wine.

'Yes,' Orchaevia said. 'Thank the saints, indeed. What was your lady's name, Sir Etein? If she was here, I might have met her.'

'Muerven de Selrete,' he replied.

'Of course they did not go by their given names in the coven,' Orchaevia said.

'Can you describe her?'

Neil closed his eyes, still remembering Fastia. 'Her arms are whiter than thistledown,' he said. 'Her hair as black as a raven's wing. Her eyes were darker yet, like orbs cut from the night sky.' His voice shook as he said it.

'That does not help me much,' the countess said. 'You describe your love better than her appearance.'

'I must find her,' Neil said earnestly.

Sir Chenzo shook his head. 'We've had a few reports of two girls who were seen fleeing with two men. One had hair like copper, the other like gold. Neither sounds like your lady, Sir Etein.'

Guest of the Countess

As he said this, he glanced rather casually at Neil, but something in that glance was searching, watching for him to react.

'I must hope,' he said softly.

But inwardly, he felt a sudden fire. Sir Chenzo had just described Princess Anne and her maid, Austra.

He tried to look disappointed, and thought he succeeded.

After the meal, one of the countess' servants led him to what he reckoned would be a bedchamber, but he was wrong. The room he was shown to was decorated all in tile, with frescoes of leaping dolphins, eels, and octopi. Set into the floor was a huge tub, already full of steaming water.

The servant stood by, expectantly, as Neil stared at it, knowing how good it would feel.

Knowing also how vulnerable he would be. The room had only one entrance. 'I am not in need of a bath,' he said finally.

Clearly puzzled, the servant nodded and led him to a bedchamber. It was as lavish as the rest of the house, but it had a window, and the door could be barred.

The drop from the window was not a long one. He was considering this when a faint sound caused him to whirl about.

The countess was standing there in his chambers. He could not see how she had entered.

'First you refuse the hospitality of a warm bath, and now it looks as if you will refuse my bed, as well,' she said.

'Countess''

'Hush. Your suspicions are well advised. Sir Chenzo plans to take you into his custody this very night.'

He set his mouth grimly. 'Then I must leave at once.'

'Rest a moment. Sir Chenzo is of no danger to you at this instant. This is my house.'

When she said it, all frivolity dropped from her, and for a moment Neil felt a tingle of fear'not of something substantial, but of her very presence. It was as if he stood alone in the dark of the moon.

'Who are you?' he whispered.

'I am the countess Orchaevia,' she said. 'You are something else.'

A wan smile flitted across her face. 'Not all of the sisters of Cer died in the razing of the coven. One lives yet.'

He nodded in understanding. 'Do you know what happened?'

he asked.

'Knights came by dark, mostly Hanzish. They sought a girl, just as you do. The same girl, yes?'

'I believe so,' Neil replied. 'Yes. She is important. More important than you could possibly

know.'

'I know only that my duty is to find her and keep her safe. It is all I need to know.'

'I can see that. I watched you lie, and saw how it hurt you. You are not skilled at falsehood.'

'I have not practiced it,' he said.

'She lives, she and her maid. I believe two friends of mine, swordsmen who know the country, yet accompany them. My servants tell me they went north, probably to the port of z'Espino. I advise you to seek them there. I also advise you to leave tonight, and alone.'

'Sir Chenzo. Is he a villain?'

'Not as such, though he may serve them. He was not involved in the murders at the coven. But mark this well, Sir Neil'someone in the Church was. Someone of importance. The knights that were here were saint-marked, and some were of a very special sort, a sort that the world has not seen in ages.'

'What sort is that?'

'In one of my wine cellars there is a man whose head has been smitten off. He is still alive. He is not conscious, he cannot speak or see or feel, but his body continues to twitch.' She shrugged. 'I think Sir Chenzo knows nothing of this, but his superiors might. He was told to watch for someone like you. Your lies, as I said, are quite unconvincing.'

'And Sir Quinte?'

'I don't know if he has any part in this, but it would be foolish to chance it.'

Guest of the Countess

'He has been a help to me. I do not know the language here. I was lost when he found me.'

'Perhaps you were. Perhaps he merely convinced you that you were. I have a servant I will send with you. He is utterly trustworthy, and will act as your guide and interpreter. He will provision you, as well.'

Then she smiled. 'Go. You may leave by the front door. You will be neither seen nor hindered.'

'What of you?'

'Do not fear for me. I can settle any trouble that may arise from your leaving.'

Neil regarded her for a moment longer, then nodded.

As the countess had promised, he encountered no one in the halls or manse other than her own servants, who only bowed or nodded politely, always in silence.

Outside, in the courtyard, Hurricane was waiting, along with a smallish black mare and a brown gelding strapped with provisions. Near them stood a boy in brown breeches and white chemise with long black waistcoat and a broad-brimmed hat.

'If you please, sir,' the boy said. His language was slightly accented king's tongue. His tone seemed ironic.

'Thank you''

'You may call me Vaseto.' He nodded at the horses. 'All is ready. Shall we leave?'

'I suppose so.'

'Good.' He swung onto his mount. 'If you will follow me.'

The land was pale gold where the moon kissed it, but where she did not, the shadows were strange. Some were spread like dark rust, others like bronze blackened in flame or the green of rotted copper. It was as if a giant had wrought the world of metal and then left it too long to the weather. Even the stars looked like steel, and Vaseto' when his face came into view from beneath his brim'was red gold etched in deep relief.

Neil had never known such a night. He wished he could appreciate it, but the many colored shadows seemed to bristle with deadly quills, and nocturnal sounds parted around them, leaving space to hear something else'something following them. 'Do you hear that?' he asked Vaseto.

'It is nothing,' the boy replied. 'It's not your friends the knights, that's for sure. They would each be as noisy as you.' He smiled thinly. 'But you have good ears.'

A few hours later they stopped at an abandoned house hidden by a copse of willows and took turns sleeping. Neil glumly stood guard, watching the shadows shift as the moon went down, now and then seeing one move in a way it shouldn't.

Dogs bayed in the distance, as if mourning the moonset. A little after daybreak, they resumed their journey northward, Neil with weary eyes, his companion seeming cheerful and rested. Vaseto was a small, dark lad with large brown eyes and hair cropped in a bowl just above his ears. He rode as if born to the saddle, and his mount'though small'was spirited.

Midday they crossed a small river and passed a town on a hilltop. Three large towers stood up from the jumble of roofs, and fields spread to the road and beyond. Houses and inns became more frequent, until the road was nearly bounded by them; then they thinned again. Woodlands crept around the trail, sometimes forming dark, fragrant tunnels of cedar and bay.

'How far is z'Espino?' Neil asked restlessly. 'Ten chenperichi. We should reach it tomorrow.'

'What did the countess tell you?'

'You're looking for two girls, one with red hair and another with golden. They might be with Cazio and z'Acatto.'

'Who are Cazio and z'Acatto?' Neil asked. 'Former guests of the countess,'

Vaseto answered. 'Why would they be with these girls?'

'Cazio was courting one of them. The night the coven burned, Cazio and z'Acatto vanished, as well. I found some sign of their trail.'

'You did?'

'Yes,' Vaseto answered. 'I did.'

'And you think they were together?'

Guest of the Countess

Vaseto rolled his eyes. 'Three sets of tracks, two small, one large, all pursued by mounted men. They met at some ruins where a third man joined them'z'Acatto, by the torn sole of his boot. They fought the horsemen, and won after a fashion.

All four left together.'

Neil regarded Vaseto for a few moments, considered the authoritative ring of his voice.

'You're older than I thought,' he said.

'Probably,' Vaseto replied.

'And you're not a boy.'

Vaseto gave him a small smirk. 'I wondered if you would ever work that out,' she said. 'They must make you thick, up north. Not that men down here are generally any smarter.'

'You're dressed like a boy. Your hair is cut like a boy's. And the countess called you male.'

'So I am, and so it is, and so she did,' Vaseto said. 'And that's plenty of talk on that subject. Anyway, we've other things to worry about at the moment.'

'Such as?'

For answer, an arrow thumped into the trunk of an olive tree, just a yard from Neil's head.

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