door.
“You’d best go after her. She’s going to need a shoulder to cry on after she speaks to Lexie.”
“Is Johan? . . .” Her heart was pounding. She didn’t even want to give voice to her fear.
“Dead?” Porl shook his head. “No, it’s worse than that.”
“How could it be
worse
than that?”
He glanced over his shoulder to make certain they would not be overheard, before leaning forward to whisper in her ear.
“We think the Lion of Senet has him.”
Chapter 11
The whole town and every soul in the Keep turned out to catch a glimpse of the Lion of Senet’s arrival on Elcast. Everybody, from the duke and his family down to the lowliest beggar, was there to watch.
His ship docked midmorning, but it took a long while to unload the horses and all the other trappings of Antonov’s large retinue. The crowd lining the road waited with growing excitement. If they didn’t love the Lion of Senet, there was not a man, woman or child alive who hadn’t heard of him, and everybody wanted to see him in the flesh.
Marqel and Lanatyne found themselves an excellent vantage on the broad landing at the top of the steps outside the gatehouse in front of the Keep. They could see all the way down the sloping road toward the town, and right into the Keep’s courtyard.
Kalleen had been crowing like a rooster since hearing the news that the Lion of Senet was coming to Elcast. There was also the welcome news that he would stay for the Landfall Festival and was bringing his sons with him. That meant there was a good chance either the prince or one of his brats would see their performance.
There were only two ways to obtain one of the much-sought-after permits to perform in Senet. The first was to purchase the permit from the Mummer’s Guild, which was financially out of their reach. The second was to get the personal invitation from the Lion of Senet himself. The Lion of Senet was renowned for his generosity toward performers, and Senet’s capital, Avacas, was simply the most lucrative audience in the world. An impressive performance in front of the right audience and they could make a fortune.
Marqel fervently hoped that Kalleen was right. If they got a chance to perform in Senet, the troupe would make enough money for her to retire from her career as a professional virgin. She leaned against the warm stones of the castle’s outer wall, and turned her attention back to the steps of the Hall, where the Duke and Duchess of Elcast, their sons and the Senetian Governor waited for the prince to arrive. The larger of Ranadon’s suns shone over Elcast, warming the morning as they milled about, chatting among themselves. Marqel glanced up at the sky for a moment. There had never been any darkness that she could remember. Night simply meant that the smaller sun was shining, casting its red light over the world.
True darkness, she often heard Murry say, was in men’s souls.
When the Lion of Senet finally appeared, Marqel was not disappointed. Antonov Latanya was a big, handsome man, just as people said he was, riding a magnificent white stallion with a high-stepping gait. The prince rode toward the Keep along the steep main road from the town at the head of his entourage, waving and smiling to the crowd, his white-and-gold cloak with its rampant lions catching the sun, making him almost too bright to look upon.
Behind him, on two perfectly matched chestnut geldings, rode the prince’s sons, and beside them on a much smaller white pony, a dark-haired girl with large brown eyes and a rather bemused look on her elfin face. The rest of the large retinue were functionaries, she supposed, although she could not imagine needing so many lackeys.
Marqel paid the little girl hardly any attention. The young princes, however, she studied closely. The older of the two was a young man of about twenty-four. He favored his mother’s side, she heard someone in the crowd remark. He was tall, but his hair was so dark it was almost
“You’d best go after her. She’s going to need a shoulder to cry on after she speaks to Lexie.”
“Is Johan? . . .” Her heart was pounding. She didn’t even want to give voice to her fear.
“Dead?” Porl shook his head. “No, it’s worse than that.”
“How could it be
worse
than that?”
He glanced over his shoulder to make certain they would not be overheard, before leaning forward to whisper in her ear.
“We think the Lion of Senet has him.”
Chapter 11
The whole town and every soul in the Keep turned out to catch a glimpse of the Lion of Senet’s arrival on Elcast. Everybody, from the duke and his family down to the lowliest beggar, was there to watch.
His ship docked midmorning, but it took a long while to unload the horses and all the other trappings of Antonov’s large retinue. The crowd lining the road waited with growing excitement. If they didn’t love the Lion of Senet, there was not a man, woman or child alive who hadn’t heard of him, and everybody wanted to see him in the flesh.
Marqel and Lanatyne found themselves an excellent vantage on the broad landing at the top of the steps outside the gatehouse in front of the Keep. They could see all the way down the sloping road toward the town, and right into the Keep’s courtyard.
Kalleen had been crowing like a rooster since hearing the news that the Lion of Senet was coming to Elcast. There was also the welcome news that he would stay for the Landfall Festival and was bringing his sons with him. That meant there was a good chance either the prince or one of his brats would see their performance.
There were only two ways to obtain one of the much-sought-after permits to perform in Senet. The first was to purchase the permit from the Mummer’s Guild, which was financially out of their reach. The second was to get the personal invitation from the Lion of Senet himself. The Lion of Senet was renowned for his generosity toward performers, and Senet’s capital, Avacas, was simply the most lucrative audience in the world. An impressive performance in front of the right audience and they could make a fortune.
Marqel fervently hoped that Kalleen was right. If they got a chance to perform in Senet, the troupe would make enough money for her to retire from her career as a professional virgin. She leaned against the warm stones of the castle’s outer wall, and turned her attention back to the steps of the Hall, where the Duke and Duchess of Elcast, their sons and the Senetian Governor waited for the prince to arrive. The larger of Ranadon’s suns shone over Elcast, warming the morning as they milled about, chatting among themselves. Marqel glanced up at the sky for a moment. There had never been any darkness that she could remember. Night simply meant that the smaller sun was shining, casting its red light over the world.
True darkness, she often heard Murry say, was in men’s souls.
When the Lion of Senet finally appeared, Marqel was not disappointed. Antonov Latanya was a big, handsome man, just as people said he was, riding a magnificent white stallion with a high-stepping gait. The prince rode toward the Keep along the steep main road from the town at the head of his entourage, waving and smiling to the crowd, his white-and-gold cloak with its rampant lions catching the sun, making him almost too bright to look upon.
Behind him, on two perfectly matched chestnut geldings, rode the prince’s sons, and beside them on a much smaller white pony, a dark-haired girl with large brown eyes and a rather bemused look on her elfin face. The rest of the large retinue were functionaries, she supposed, although she could not imagine needing so many lackeys.
Marqel paid the little girl hardly any attention. The young princes, however, she studied closely. The older of the two was a young man of about twenty-four. He favored his mother’s side, she heard someone in the crowd remark. He was tall, but his hair was so dark it was almost
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