Cascet of souls

CHAPTER 34. A Light at the Theater

WHILE Thero had only come to the theater to meet Reltheus and Princess Elani, as he took his place with the others in the patrons’ box to await the royal arrivals, he had to admit he was impressed. The inside of the theater was beautifully done, with gilt, fine carvings, and an ornate proscenium.

“It is always a pleasure to meet a wizard of the Oreska House,” Reltheus said, extending his hand. “Allow me to present my wife, Duchess Palmani.”

The woman was very beautiful, and much younger than her husband. Her eyes shone as she took in Thero’s rich, silver-embroidered blue robes. “I do hope you’ll show us a bit of magic while we wait.”

“He’s not a performing bear, my dear,” the duke told her with an indulgent laugh.

“Thero doesn’t mind!” Seregil chimed in. “Do you, Thero? You do such pretty magics.”

“Of course not,” Thero replied, resisting the temptation to use a little magic to shove Seregil over the box railing. Looking around, he found a bowl of pears. One of them still had a few leaves clinging to the stem. He held it on his outstretched palm before the young duchess, drew his wand for effect, cast a shimmer of light for show, and turned the pear into a plump wooden rabbit with leaf-shaped ears. It was a simple permutation, transforming a pear to pear wood, but Palmani giggled like a little girl as she held it up for the others to see.

“I heard you were clever,” Reltheus said, and probably meant it as a compliment.

“You’ll like this play, I promise,” Alec said, sitting down beside Thero. “The main character is a wizard, and Atre carries it off well.”

Wine and plates of dainties were served as they waited. Thero nibbled a few and looked around, recognizing faces in the boxes around them.

“This company certainly attracts a fashionable crowd,” he remarked.

“Yes, and to think they were nothing more than street players in the spring,” said Reltheus.

“We have you two and Lady Kylith to thank for that,” Palmani said, then placed a hand on Seregil’s arm. “I’m sorry. Does the memory of her give you pain?”

“More pleasure than pain, my lady,” Seregil replied sadly. “By the Light, I miss her! That’s her chair you’re sitting in. No, no, don’t get up,” he added quickly when Palmani went to rise. “She’d be so pleased you’re here. She would have adored you.”

As the others conversed, Thero paid special attention to Reltheus. The man was a charmer, certainly, and his regard for Seregil and Alec appeared to be genuine. The wizard chanced brushing the man’s mind, but Reltheus was thinking only of his companions and the pleasure of being in the theater.

A few moments later there was a stir in the crowd near the theater doors. A herald in blue and white stepped in and announced loudly, “Her Highness, the Princess Royal, Elani, accompanied by His Highness and Vicegerent, Prince Korathan, and Archduchess Alaya.”

Everyone stood and bowed as the royal party made their way to Seregil’s box to join them.

“Your Highnesses, welcome!” Seregil said, bowing with the others.

“Thank you for your invitation,” Elani replied, kissing Palmani and Reltheus on both cheeks before taking her place in the central seat of honor, flanked by Alaya and her uncle. She was quite lovely tonight, glittering in crystal-spangled sea-green silk that brought out the royal green in her eyes and the sparkle of the diamond pins in her hair. “Mother is having

one of her headaches tonight, so I brought Uncle Korathan instead.”

“Delighted to see you, Your Highness,” Seregil said.

Korathan allowed himself a small smile. “My niece was most persuasive.”

“He hasn’t come to see these players once!” Elani told them.

“He was always pestering his mother to take him to the theater as a boy,” Alaya put in, giving the prince a fond look.

“There wasn’t a war on then, my dears,” Korathan replied.

To Thero’s surprise, Elani leaned forward and smiled at him. “I remember you! You came to Duke Reltheus’s hunt last winter. You’re the one who made the snow catamount for the children, and the golden diadem out of pine tips. I still have it.”

“I am deeply honored, Your Highness.”

“He just made this for me!” Palmani proudly showed off her rabbit.

“Allow me, Your Highness.” Thero picked another pear from the bowl and made one for the princess, this one sitting up on its haunches. Elani and the other women exclaimed over it like delighted children as he presented it to her.

As Elani admired it, Thero cast a brief spell, looking for any tinge of magic around her or the others. There were just a few excellent protections on Elani and Korathan, cast no doubt by the court wizard, but nothing malevolent.

Presently the house lights were snuffed and the play began. There was a brief prologue delivered by a beautiful dark-haired woman, then the heavy curtains opened to reveal a cleverly painted background and set pieces that were someone’s idea of what a wizard’s workroom looked like. It was a bit overdone, but Thero refrained from saying so.

Presently the handsome Atre appeared in an approximation of Oreska robes and began declaiming his intention to capture the heart of some unwilling woman with magic. Why on earth had Alec assumed he’d like this play? It was an appalling misuse of power! He glanced over at Seregil, who was sitting to Alec’s right, and his friend gave him a maddeningly innocent grin.

Since he couldn’t very well leave, he poured himself a cup of wine and settled in to critique every error. But instead he found himself caught up in the story, which was far more complex than he’d expected, with very good costuming. He was actually enjoying himself when, at the beginning of the second act, a new actor came onstage. He was an imposing presence, very tall, with a long, stern face and red hair. It took Thero a moment to place him but he had an excellent memory for faces, even those he’d only glimpsed, and he certainly remembered that hair. This was the man from Painted Lane, the one on whom he’d thought he sensed magic.

“Who is that?” he whispered to Alec.

“Brader. He plays the second lead quite often. Good, isn’t he?”

“Yes,” Thero murmured, gaze fixed on the actor. “Would it be possible for me to meet him after the play?”

“Yes, of course. We’re dining with them afterward.” Alec gave him a knowing grin. “I told you you’d like it, didn’t I? Though it’s usually Atre that catches people’s eye.”

“He’s quite remarkable. But I think I’ve seen the other one-Brader-before.”

“Really, where?”

“Are you two going to talk through the entire play?” Korathan hissed.

Alec gave the wizard a comical look of embarrassment and settled back in his chair. Thero had to content himself with watching the rest of the play, impatient to get a closer look at this Brader fellow. Gradually the plot recaptured his interest, and by the end of the play he was hoping he was wrong, impressed as he was with the troupe’s talent.

After the actors had taken their bows, Thero and his party waited in the box until the theater emptied, then went down to the stage area. When the actors came out to present themselves to Elani, Brader was not among them.

“Your Highnesses, may I present Master Atre and his company,” Seregil said, doing the honors.

“I’m so happy to see you onstage, after that wonderful performance you gave at Alaya’s that night!” Elani said, clearly

enchanted. She gave Merina a golden ring and Atre a small brooch studded with emeralds. “In honor of seeing you onstage at last. I hope you will keep them as a remembrance.”

“As I do this ring, Highness,” Atre said, showing her a ring set with a large amethyst. He knelt dramatically and kissed her hand while the rest of the company bowed and curtsied.

“Dare I hope you will join us for dinner with the company, Your Highnesses?” asked Seregil.

“No,” Korathan replied, though Elani had for an instant looked hopeful.

Brader came in from the wings just then, and although he was still several yards away, that strange feeling shivered up Thero’s back again, muted, but unpleasant. But it was gone as quickly as it came, and then Seregil was introducing him to the man.

“My lord, we’re honored by your presence,” Brader said to Thero. “This is your first time with us, isn’t it?”

“It is, Master Brader.”

“I hope you weren’t offended by our humble efforts in portraying your vocation?”

The man was quietly charming, but Thero was almost certain he felt another hint of the odd sensation again, though he couldn’t be certain.

After seeing the royals into their magnificent carriage, Thero and the others accompanied the actors to a local tavern that everyone else seemed to be familiar with. The host saw to them personally and Thero found himself seated between the dark-haired beauty, Merina, and the pretty young woman named Tanni, who’d played the wizard’s daughter-another inconsistency, that, since Oreska wizards were always barren. But he soon forgot about such things, as both of them were charming and flirtatious. Brader was quite modest and reticent for an actor, and hard to draw into conversation. Atre, however, fit the mold perfectly, charmingly ruling the table. A very charismatic fellow, this one.

“You must dine out every night with one admirer or another,” Palmani remarked.

“Not every night,” Merina replied. “We’d never get any

work done if we accepted all invitations. But yes, we are in demand lately.”

“Even if we do have to perform for our supper now and then,” the old actor named Zell said with a laugh.

“Aren’t you worried about the plague in the city?” asked Palmani.

“If we were still in Basket Street, I would be,” Atre replied. “Fortunately, through the generosity of our patrons, we feel quite safe where we are.”

“Who have you entertained lately?” Seregil asked.

“Let’s see,” said Atre. “Duke Almand, Marquis Dorander, and Marquis Kyrin, to name a few.”

“Don’t forget us!” chided Reltheus.

“Of course not, my dear Duke. Who else? The late Duke Laneus, Lady Ethia… And at a few of the houses in the Street of Lights, too. Your friend Eirual’s among them. Lovely woman, quite the hostess. I saw her at your party, didn’t I, Lord Alec? And with another beautiful young lady, too. Now, what is her name? I’ve quite forgotten it.”

All the merriment fled from Alec’s face. “It was Myrhichia. You visited her at Eirual’s house, as I recall.”

“Did I? It’s all such a whirl!” He paused. “But you said ‘was.’ Did she-?”

“She died,” Alec said tersely, and Thero was surprised at the anger that lay just below the surface of Alec’s restrained good manners.

“She was a good friend,” Seregil said smoothing the moment over. “She passed away recently.”

“I am sorry. We must drink to her memory.”

A toast was raised and Seregil tactfully steered the conversation in another direction. As skilled as Alec had become at playing a role, the sadness stayed in his eyes for some time.

“I’m fascinated by Skalan magic, Lord Thero!” Atre enthused over the apple tart. “Is it true that your powers come from having some other blood mixed with yours somehow?”

“Yes,” Thero replied, rather surprised at the question. Anyone should know that. “Aurenfaie.”

“Atre hasn’t been in Skala very long,” Alec explained.

“He’s from the northlands, like me. No one knows much about Oreska magic there.”

“What sort of magic do you practice, my lord?” asked young Teibo, the brother of the young woman next to him.

“Perhaps Thero would favor us with a demonstration?” said Seregil, giving him a wink.

“Magic! Magic!” the three young children cried, clapping their hands.

Thero smiled as they watched him with big eyes. While he didn’t appreciate being made to perform for pampered noblewomen, he’d come to like amusing children during the long days in Aurenen.

“Let’s see.” Cupping his hands over a leftover slice of bread, he concentrated on the form of a tiny dog and released it to run around the table and sniff at the delighted children’s fingers. Then he levitated the dessert plates, sending them into a complex swirling dance above their heads.

“Those are my best dishes!” the tavern keeper called out nervously, but the rest of the crowd erupted into applause. He brought the plates down again, carefully setting each back in its original place.

“How wonderful!” Merina exclaimed, kissing him on the cheek. Brader didn’t seem particularly surprised.

“Do another!” the little girl cried excitedly.

“Now, Ela, don’t pester our guest,” Brader chided.

“One more,” said Thero, aware that many around the room were watching to see what he’d do next. If he wasn’t careful, he’d develop a reputation for frivolity. “May I have a strand of your pretty red hair, miss?” he asked, meaning to turn it into a ring for her.

Brader clasped his daughter’s hand as she went to pull out a strand. “That’s enough now. We don’t want to tax the good wizard’s patience.”

For a moment the big man looked almost frightened.

“My friend is still superstitious after all our time in the south,” Atre apologized for him. Smiling, he plucked a strand of his own auburn hair and handed it to Thero across the table. “Here, you can use this.”

Thero took it and for an instant he felt another fleeting

wisp of that strange sensation. The strand of hair felt cold between his fingers. But with everyone looking on expectantly there was no way to examine it more closely. Instead, he wrapped it around the tip of his little finger, then hid it behind his other hand and murmured the spell. The hair transformed into a tiny ring of braided gold, which he took from his fingertip and presented to Ela with a flourish, glancing quickly at her father. This didn’t seem to bother him.

Atre hoped the others couldn’t see him sweating. He hated wizards and their prying eyes. Luckily this one wore the robes of his Oreska House, so Atre had seen him from the wings and recognized what he was. He wasn’t always so lucky.

He’d managed to keep his distance from the man at Alec’s party, and Kylith’s wake; now it was all he could do to maintain the protective shield around himself and Brader and still remain in the conversation. He hadn’t had any elixir in days, but Brader had drunk one only yesterday. He prayed that the scent of it or whatever it was that wizards sensed was faint. However, he’d seen something in this wizard’s expression when they were introduced that warned him that the man might suspect something.

“Something wrong, Thero?” Alec asked as they settled into the hired carriage and headed for Wheel Street. “I thought you were enjoying yourself?”

“I did. But there’s something odd about those actors.”

Seregil raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

“There’s a whiff of magic there. Do you know anything about that?”

“Magic? No. Are you sure?”

“I wouldn’t have brought it up if I wasn’t.”

“What kind of magic?” asked Alec.

“That I’m not sure of.” Thero didn’t like it, but hadn’t sensed any threat from either man. Whatever it was, the magic was working only on them. “Do they have any enemies here?”

“None that I know of,” Seregil replied. “Though I’m sure

the other companies in the city aren’t happy with the competition.”

Thero settled back against the cool leather seat, not entirely satisfied. “I wouldn’t let Elani near them again, if I were you. You don’t want anything rubbing off on her.”

“She’s met him twice now,” Alec noted. “You didn’t feel anything bad around her, did you?”

“No, quite the opposite. The court wizard takes good care of her. All the same, better to err on the side of caution.”

Seregil nodded. “Do you think someone means the actors harm? How serious is this?”

“It was very faint,” Thero replied. “Perhaps something passing away.”

“Certainly nothing that’s affected their luck,” Alec observed. “Did you see that brooch Elani gave Atre?”

“A nice bauble for his collection,” Seregil replied. “Honestly, I’ve never seen anyone given so many gifts.”

It was late when Seregil and Alec arrived back at Wheel Street but Runcer met them with the news that “that boy” was in the kitchen again, waiting for them.

Seregil chuckled. “Ah, the poor thing must be hungry. It’s rather like having a stray cat for a pet.”

“Indeed, my lord,” Runcer said, carefully neutral on the subject.

“You can go to bed now. Alec and I are in for the night.”

“Very good, my lord.”

They found Kepi curled up asleep by the banked hearth. Seregil shook him gently by the shoulder and nearly got himself knifed for his trouble as Kepi woke expecting who knew what.

He blinked, apparently surprised to find Seregil gripping his wrist. “Sorry, m’lord. You startled me.”

“My mistake. I assume you have some news for us?”

“I do, if you ain’t already heard it. That Kyrin fellow you had me and me friends watchin’? He’s dead.”

“What killed him?”

“Don’t know, but he’s dead, all right. I seen through a

window him all laid out with coins on his eyes, and women cryin’ over him.”

“Any sign of drysians?” asked Alec.

“Not that I seen and I watched fer a while, figurin’ you’d want to know.”

Seregil paid the boy and sent him off to keep watch through the night.

“Kyrin?” Alec exclaimed as they climbed the stairs.

“If Laneus was murdered, perhaps this is a reprisal. But what in the name of Bilairy is killing them? Not one of them has eaten at the other side’s table before they died. If it is poison, then they’re hiring professionals. I think we should go out, Alec, and do a little gossip collecting.”

Gossip spread quickly and it was soon common knowledge that Kyrin had been found dead in an arbor in his own garden, without a mark on him, or any clear sign of poison or magic, according to the high-ranking drysian who’d been called in. Apparently he’d just dropped dead like the others.

“Kylith, Laneus, Tolin, Alarhichia, and now Kyrin?” muttered Seregil as they rode home. “All cabal members, except Kylith, and Kyrin seemed to suspect her. And no sign of what killed any of them.”

“You really don’t think it was just age with Laneus and Kylith, at least? And Kyrin wasn’t young, either.”

“Too many deaths in one small circle in such quick succession, Alec, and not their wives, husbands, children, and so forth. It stinks of treachery.”

They spent the rest of that day making the rounds of what was left of Kyrin’s circle, offering condolences and subtly probing for more information. There were thinly veiled references to poison and enemies, but nothing definite, even from Reltheus, though he was clearly shaken.