time of torment .
He stilled his fury, knowing better than to give in to it. She could kill him before he laid a claw on her, such were her enchantments. No. It was better to endure her, then retire and make his plans.
'Tell me, Your Majesty.'
'Leave now for Sleeto. Take twenty troops and establish a base. Five hundred will soon be on their way to you. I want that fortress built on the border with Callibeen. No work has been done on it for months. The local lord has not cooperated as he should have.'
'Sleeto, Your Majesty?'
'Immediately.'
Wargrach felt as if he had fallen in mud but found a gold coin in it. Being sent to the Eastern Peaks was no punishment, not when he still wielded power in the region. Sleeto would do very nicely, very nicely indeed.
'Thank you, Your Majesty.'
'Leave now, through the garden gate. I don't want you limping through the palace.'
* * *
Queen Tayesha stared at her once-proud general as he retreated through the cycads and ginkgo trees of the garden. Evening was settling, and the shadows looked as if they were reaching out to embrace him.
Who would she confide in now? Wargrach had been the only one who had understood her dreams for Thraag and for all of Krangor. She knew he had treachery in his heart but, being aware of this, she felt she had Wargrach's measure.
She had planned to use him to further her ends, then discard him. Queen Tayesha straightened. Great sacrifices must be made, for the good of all.
She turned away from the window and walked to the small writing desk she had had brought to the Morning Room. She unlocked the drawer, quelled a guardian spell she had placed on it, and removed her journal.
A careful worker does not discard a useful tool, she wrote, even when it has been badly damaged.
Rather, the worker turns the tool to other uses – ones for which it is still fit.
Of course, the worker then obtains newer, better tools to replace the old.
Twenty-one
The day after they had found the treasury, Adalon watched from a balcony as Targesh wobbled on the giant brass riding beast. The Horned One was grinning like a tot with a new toy.
It had been Simangee who suggested that Targesh try mounting the largest of the three brass beasts. Targesh was often slow to come to new things and Adalon had been surprised when he agreed.
After a few hours, Targesh had managed to trot the riding beast around the courtyard. Adalon noted how the steed shifted underneath Targesh's uncertain seat, ensuring he never fell.
'Adalon!' Targesh waved with one hand, a measure of his growing confidence. 'Ride with me!'
Adalon waved back and shook his head, laughing. 'I have other things to do, Targesh.'
Such as plan what we're going to do next , he thought. Absently, he patted his pockets. One held the magic pipe and another held the set of magic keys. Once they had found that the brass beasts only needed a key to be summoned to life, Adalon had decided to keep the keys together. He'd never carried so much enchantment in his life.
He waved again to Targesh, then turned and went back into the room he had made his own.
They were safe. Adalon knew this should have been enough to make him happy, but it wasn't. A single day in the Lost Castle and he was chafing, looking for an outlet for his Clawed One energy.
He could leap down and run around the courtyard. He shook away that idea. It would only make things worse. It would make the Lost Castle seem like a prison, not a refuge. What good is running if bound by walls?
Adalon walked to the other balcony and gazed across the wall and over the river. The trees were deep and green, beckoning to him.
He knew he could swim the river, then run through the forest, feeling his muscles work and enjoying the wind on his face. He could weave between trees, leap fallen trunks and race through the countryside, head down, tail outstretched for balance.
He sighed. Fun though that may be, he would still be in the Hidden Valley, hemmed in by mountains. He
He stilled his fury, knowing better than to give in to it. She could kill him before he laid a claw on her, such were her enchantments. No. It was better to endure her, then retire and make his plans.
'Tell me, Your Majesty.'
'Leave now for Sleeto. Take twenty troops and establish a base. Five hundred will soon be on their way to you. I want that fortress built on the border with Callibeen. No work has been done on it for months. The local lord has not cooperated as he should have.'
'Sleeto, Your Majesty?'
'Immediately.'
Wargrach felt as if he had fallen in mud but found a gold coin in it. Being sent to the Eastern Peaks was no punishment, not when he still wielded power in the region. Sleeto would do very nicely, very nicely indeed.
'Thank you, Your Majesty.'
'Leave now, through the garden gate. I don't want you limping through the palace.'
* * *
Queen Tayesha stared at her once-proud general as he retreated through the cycads and ginkgo trees of the garden. Evening was settling, and the shadows looked as if they were reaching out to embrace him.
Who would she confide in now? Wargrach had been the only one who had understood her dreams for Thraag and for all of Krangor. She knew he had treachery in his heart but, being aware of this, she felt she had Wargrach's measure.
She had planned to use him to further her ends, then discard him. Queen Tayesha straightened. Great sacrifices must be made, for the good of all.
She turned away from the window and walked to the small writing desk she had had brought to the Morning Room. She unlocked the drawer, quelled a guardian spell she had placed on it, and removed her journal.
A careful worker does not discard a useful tool, she wrote, even when it has been badly damaged.
Rather, the worker turns the tool to other uses – ones for which it is still fit.
Of course, the worker then obtains newer, better tools to replace the old.
Twenty-one
The day after they had found the treasury, Adalon watched from a balcony as Targesh wobbled on the giant brass riding beast. The Horned One was grinning like a tot with a new toy.
It had been Simangee who suggested that Targesh try mounting the largest of the three brass beasts. Targesh was often slow to come to new things and Adalon had been surprised when he agreed.
After a few hours, Targesh had managed to trot the riding beast around the courtyard. Adalon noted how the steed shifted underneath Targesh's uncertain seat, ensuring he never fell.
'Adalon!' Targesh waved with one hand, a measure of his growing confidence. 'Ride with me!'
Adalon waved back and shook his head, laughing. 'I have other things to do, Targesh.'
Such as plan what we're going to do next , he thought. Absently, he patted his pockets. One held the magic pipe and another held the set of magic keys. Once they had found that the brass beasts only needed a key to be summoned to life, Adalon had decided to keep the keys together. He'd never carried so much enchantment in his life.
He waved again to Targesh, then turned and went back into the room he had made his own.
They were safe. Adalon knew this should have been enough to make him happy, but it wasn't. A single day in the Lost Castle and he was chafing, looking for an outlet for his Clawed One energy.
He could leap down and run around the courtyard. He shook away that idea. It would only make things worse. It would make the Lost Castle seem like a prison, not a refuge. What good is running if bound by walls?
Adalon walked to the other balcony and gazed across the wall and over the river. The trees were deep and green, beckoning to him.
He knew he could swim the river, then run through the forest, feeling his muscles work and enjoying the wind on his face. He could weave between trees, leap fallen trunks and race through the countryside, head down, tail outstretched for balance.
He sighed. Fun though that may be, he would still be in the Hidden Valley, hemmed in by mountains. He
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