Of Limited Loyalty

Chapter Forty-seven

5 April 1768 Temperance Temperance Bay, Mystria

Prince Vlad leaned forward over the map table in his laboratory, supporting himself on his arms. A million things banged around in his head. He should have been rejoicing. He had a second wooly rhinoceros in his pen, a totally new species of creature scattered over a long table, numerous jars, and a drying rack, and his surveying efforts were proving wildly successful.

The problem is that all of those things point to our being on the brink of a devastating war.

Count von Metternin and Gisella stood on either side of the table. A map of the northeastern region of Mystria covered the table. Plentiful appeared a third of the way in from Temperance, and Happy Valley a third further west-southwest. Rivers and lakes had been drawn in blue ink, and ghost rivers in green. The surveys covering them had been by no means comprehensive, so some appeared as shattered wheels with no rim and broken spokes radiating out for short distances.

Vlad straightened up, rubbing a hand over his jaw, clutching his other arm to his chest. “I’m certain Piety was built on a nexus. I’m certain a survey team would find a line between it and the ruins. You’ve also noted that both the summer and winter locations for Saint Luke appear to share ghost river lines. Even the preliminary information from Owen suggests lines which would connect known Shedashee settlements and sacred sites.”

The Count nodded. “You would suggest, then, that Piety was destroyed because it occupied a nexus point?”

“That, or its location on a nexus point made it easier to destroy.” Vlad frowned. “Until Gisella and I discovered that another medium can be used to make magick work, we believed that it worked at touch only. That was one of two constants to magick. The second was that to use magick was to tire and damage the person using it. Experiments suggest that there are magickal currents, energy currents, in the world. They provide a substrate through which magick can move. It is not unreasonable to suggest that if a sorcerer can manipulate those currents, he could produce a bigger effect with less expense to himself.”

Gisella nodded. “So that having Piety on a nexus would have supplemented a Norghaest’s power.”

“Yes.” Vlad squeezed his eyes shut, then shook his head. “So many theories, and so much information to sort out.”

Gisella moved to his side, stroking his right shoulder. “Beloved, you can only work with the things you know.”

“Yes, darling, but there is so much I need to know.” Vlad gave her a smile, then pointed toward the wurmrest. “We have determined that a thaumagraph can send a message between units at a speed of roughly fifty miles a day. I have been thinking that this is the rough speed of magick. In a tactical situation that’s a yard per second. Much slower than a musket ball, but potentially more damaging than a cannon ball. The problem is, of course, that Mugwump flew to Happy Valley, I shall assume, because the use of Norghaest magick attracted him. At the normal speed of magick, it would have taken four days for the magick to reach him, but the only manifestations I can verify happened just hours before we headed off. Have I the wrong speed? I don’t…”

Von Metternin shook his head. “That is not something you will know, not immediately, Highness. Perhaps not ever. What you do know is the speed at which the thaumagraph can function. At fifty miles a day, it is much faster than a man on foot or horseback, and ghost rivers can increase that speed. This is why you have been able to issue summonses to the Rangers, to bring them together so quickly. That is what is important.”

“You’re right, of course. Still…” The Prince moved to the table on which the troll’s bones had been laid out. Some sections were missing because the rhino’s attack had pulverized them. Others had suffered because Nathaniel’s plan for getting the body back without its scent angering the rhino involved freezing it solid in a block of ice. The rhino had no difficulty hauling the block east, but water had seeped into some breaks, had frozen and further shattered bone.

“I am most concerned over the damage, or lack thereof, to the creature’s skull. Even with the help of ice formation, Nathaniel’s bullet only chipped the skull.” He shook his head. “I have no doubt a swivel gun or cannon could kill one, but a musket ball?

Gisella pointed to one of the jars on a shelf. “At least we know Mugwump’s saliva dissolves its tissue, much as it did the demons.”

“If I had barrels of his spit and a way to spray it, this should make me happier.”

His wife nodded. “I’d rather you had an army of dragons.”

“I fear we’ll have to make due with one.” He glanced up at Count von Metternin. “Are you ready to go, my lord?”

“Yes. I have convinced the Steward that he shall come as my aide, and he has agreed to remain disguised. I do not think any of the Rangers will revolt at knowing who he is, but there is no reason to provoke Bumble unnecessarily.” The Count traced a finger along the green ghost river track on the south side of the Benjamin. “A Ranger squad is already at my home, and we shall head out tomorrow morning, find Owen, and push west with all speed. I will have my thaumagraph with me, so I shall send you information to supplement your map.”

The Prince turned and plucked a wooden tile from a shelf. It had burned onto it the figure of a walking man wearing a crown. “You should use this for the thaumagraph I will bring with me. I’ll leave the other one here, and Gisella will relay information. The thaumagraph from Temperance will also travel with us so we have another way to signal if there is an accident.”

“I am packing spare strings, Highness, just in case.”

“A wise precaution. We’ll be following with the rest of the Rangers and a battalion of foresters to build roads as soon as we can. General Rathfield is organizing to join us, but likely will be several days behind. I hope we will travel faster than we did going to Anvil Lake.”

Again his wife squeezed his shoulder. In asking Nathaniel and Owen to recount their visions, both had provided details that suggested the Norghaest would emerge in the late spring and early summer. The presence of the troll indicated the Norghaest were proceeding on schedule. If the Mystrians were going to locate them and hit them hard before they had raised defenses, they would have to move quickly. But will it be quickly enough?

The Count sketched a short bow. “I shall take my leave of you, as much as I would prefer to stay. I am mostly organized, but I wish to double-check the thaumagraph and make certain it is well packed. You will get reports in short form, and I shall send runners back with more complete documents as needed.”

“Thank you, my friend.”

“It is not just for our friendship or my duty to your wife’s family that I do this, you know.” The man smiled. “I love this land, and I admire your people. The Rangers have come only because you ask, not because you demand or because it is their duty. They are not your vassals; they are your companions. What you have here is unlike anything in Auropa, and fighting to preserve it is a sacred honor.”

Gisella crossed to him, hugged him and kissed him on both cheeks. “Go with God, Joachim.”

“Thank you, Highness. Your smile shall inspire me.”

She closed the door behind, then turned and looked at her husband. “Will you tell him when next you see him?”

Vlad looked up from the map. “Tell him?”

Gisella stroked her stomach with a hand. “That I am pregnant?”

Prince Vlad made no attempt to hide his smile, and even felt the weight pressing on his chest lighten. “I will. I promise he will know before any bullets fly.”

“But you have not told him yet because he would argue that you should stay behind.”

Vlad shook his head. “It’s not that he would argue, it is that I would acquiesce.”

His wife came to him and pressed a finger to his lips. “You would not, and you know it. And, no, I do not take that as a sign that you do not love me. At least, not at the moment, but I shan’t always be responsible for my feelings in this matter.”

He slipped his arms around her and looked upon her smiling face. “It feels as if I am two men jammed together in one body. Part of me knows it is my right, perhaps even my obligation, to choose men like Joachim or Owen or General Rathfield to act in my stead. Were I a Prince in Norisle, my aunt might let me travel with her generals and field marshals, but she would not give me command. They would not allow it. They would be afraid I was just playing at war and that I’d retire when it bored me or frightened me. And part of me might have done that.”

“Not you, Vladimir. You would not be bored or frightened.”

“I would become distracted, perhaps, but I would not serve well the cause nor the men fighting beneath me.” Vlad kissed the tip of her nose. “But as the Count said, the men going west are not my vassals, they are my companions. The second man inside me is one of them. Four years ago we fought together, shed blood together, and were victorious together. I am calling them together to face a foe who, I fear, makes Laureate du Malphias look like an errant child. The Crown gives me nothing-Ian Rathfield will be sacked for bringing his troops along whether we win or lose. We have too few troops. I could call up the militia, but I haven’t funds to pay them or enough brimstone or equipment to provide for them. And, frankly, if we fail in the west, they’ll be needed here.”

“You won’t fail, my love.” She slipped from his arms, then opened hers. “Do you know how I can say that?”

“How?”

“You are one of the rare men who looks for truth. Men like Bumble will never understand that because the truth frightens them. I know, when you started to examine magick, you were afraid, but it was your thirst for knowledge that got you past that fear. Now what awaits in the west also frightens you, but you will learn. You will figure out how and where the Norghaest can be defeated. And you will defeat them.”

“I shall keep you informed every step of the way.”

“My dearest Vladimir, I learned long ago to be patient. There are times when not knowing is fine. I trust you and your judgment. I trust you shall return to me, unharmed.”

“Thank you.”

She cocked her head. “I do wish you would countermand one order.”

“What?”

“You are going off to war. This will be apparent to everyone, and yet Owen is not going to have a chance to say good-bye to Catherine.” Gisella hugged her arms around her middle. “I believe they truly have been working on their marriage, but this stress… The last time Catherine was very nervous. I do not know if she will be here when he returns.”

Vlad rubbed his hands over his face. “That, I’m afraid, cannot be helped. I need Owen out there. Kamiskwa is off gathering the Shedashee. Nathaniel is in Temperance gathering up the rest of the Northern Rangers. Joachim and Hodge Dunsby know the way to Plentiful, but neither has had sight of a troll alive, or of the demons. I don’t wish to cause Catherine or Owen pain, but I cannot spare him. If you think my speaking to her would help…”

“No, beloved, I will do it. I will calm her nerves and distract her.”

The Prince went to his wife, sliding one arm over her shoulder and caressing her stomach with his free hand. “I do feel as if I am abandoning you. That would be because I am.”

“Vladimir, you are going to fight a foe that would kill your family. If you were abandoning us, you would be sailing to Launston to petition your aunt for troops. I understand the difference and respect it. This does not mean there will not be nights when I cry myself to sleep, or that I do not mumble those angry phrases I don’t want our children to learn. I understand, and just because I may not always like it, it does not mean I will think ill of you for the decision you’ve made.”

“I am going to miss you terribly. Every moment.”

She slipped her arms around his waist. “I still have the lock of hair you gave me when you went to Anvil Lake. I shall wear it every day you are gone. And I shall have for you a locket with a snip from your son, your daughter, and your loving wife, such that you can never forget us.”

He kissed her, fully yet gently, holding her close, memorizing how she felt in his arms. “I could never forget you, Gisella, nor my family. I will love you for eternity and will never let you come to harm.”