Working God's Mischief

31. Brothe: Domestica

The six materialized in Anna Mozilla’s drawing room. Red-faced, Titus broke away from the pack. Hecht was too distracted to notice. He felt as though he had visited several new realities while cutting the chord. He did not know why. All memory of the transition fled the moment he returned to the middle world.

Neither Heris nor Cloven Februaren were distracted, though. Heris snapped, “Girls!”

Vali asked, “What?” Lila just frowned.

The old man snapped, “You know better!”

Titus gasped, “It wasn’t them. It was me. I was thinking about Noë.” Consent’s erection was blatantly obvious, though he tried to conceal it. He had been pressed against Lila during the transition.

Hecht growled, “Enough. Forget it. Anna! Where is Anna? Shouldn’t she be here?”

Lila said, “She’s probably at Noë’s house. She helps Noë wrangle the boys. Noë can’t always control them.”

Titus had his composure back. “I’d better go.” He gave Lila an uncertain look, like he ought to apologize for something, decided it was best to let it go.

Hecht said, “Yes. If she’s there, tell her I’m here. If she cares.”

Titus left like he was fleeing from rather than running to.

Hecht eyed Vali and Lila. Both were having trouble keeping straight faces. “Double Great, I’m thinking you and Grandfather have failed to apply the switch to these two often enough. Girls, don’t do that to Titus.”

“We didn’t do anything!” Lila protested.

“I know. But you didn’t let it go once it happened. Let’s forget it, now. All of us.” Because Heris was puffing up, getting ready to preach about taunting the weaker sex.

“All right,” Heris said. “Double Great, it’s time you and me got back to work.”

Blink. Blink.

Hecht was alone with his daughters. He had no idea what to say.

Lila said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t … Titus was … I don’t know!” She blushed ferociously.

“I said leave it. It happens.”

* * *

Anna arrived so fast she must have run. “What the hell are you doing here, Piper?”

He looked at the girls. “You didn’t tell her?”

Vali said, “We thought it would be a neat surprise.”

“I was about to start off for the Holy Lands. I wanted to see you before I left. Misfortune might be waiting out there. I could fall off my horse and drown crossing a river. A fever could get me. You’re important to me. I couldn’t let fate have its way before I saw you again. I can go away if that’s what you want.”

“Don’t be an idiot. You girls will be sorry you didn’t warn me. Piper, you know…”

“I know. I can’t help it. I spend all my time being the Grand Duke of Arnmigal and Commander of the Righteous. It’s hard to be Piper Hecht when I’m not on stage.”

“How about that, girls? I’m the mistress of a duke.”

Hecht felt a twinge of guilt. He was the leman of an empress.

The dalliance with Helspeth gnawed at him, though Anna never expected him to be faithful. Nor did he expect that of her, really, though his expectation was founded on a certainty that Anna Mozilla would not let herself be driven by her appetites.

Why did he feel guilty? He was doing nothing not done by a million other men, every single day.

Anna said, “I’ll deal with these girls later. You’re here now. We’ll do what we always do and enjoy the time we have.” She chuckled. “No doubt Titus has Noë pregnant again by now.”

Cheeks slightly red, Vali asked, “Should we pop over to Grandfather’s townhouse, or go visit the Construct, or something? So you can have some privacy?”

“No need,” Anna said. “We’re much too old for that sort of foolishness, aren’t we, Piper?”

“Speak for yourself, old woman.” He noted that Anna had aged some since last he saw her. She looked a touch more fleshy, too.

She asked, “Where is Pella? You didn’t bring him?”

“He’s with Hagen Brokke in Arnhand, lifeguarding the new king. I’ve had good reports. He arranged a peace agreement with that Connecten madwoman they call the Widow.” He let his pride show but not his concern. Brokke should have returned to Alten Weinberg by now. He and Buhle Smolens would have to represent the Righteous while the Enterprise was operational. Brokke and Smolens would stand shoulder to shoulder with Ferris Renfrow and Algres Drear to shield Helspeth from her fractious stay-behind nobility.

Not something he needed to worry about, now. This was a holiday from being Lord Arnmigal. He told the girls, “Do go see Muniero. He’s probably browned off because you’re missing your studies, anyway. And let the old fraud know I’m home.”

Both girls made faces, then turned sideways.

Anna said, “You really do presume.”

“Not at all. Let’s go into the kitchen. I’ll show you how they prepare roast chicken in Alten Weinberg.”

“I don’t have a chicken to roast.”

“Damn! And the kids aren’t home. Whatever will we do?”

* * *

“How many people knew I was here?” Hecht demanded of Titus Consent. “How is it possible that, the morning after we arrive, I have a request from Addam Hauf for an interview?”

Titus was pale, frightened by Hecht’s rage. “I don’t know! But lots of people would know as soon as we turned up. Noë and the boys. Anna. Your girls. Muniero Delari and the people at his house. And anyone watching any of our houses.”

“Enough. You’re right. It doesn’t have to be malice.” He suppressed his anger. “Definitely not your fault. The Brotherhood didn’t send the invitation to you.”

“What will you do?”

“Ignore it. I don’t have time. Even though I do owe Hauf for looking after Anna during the troubles.”

“You might put your ear to the ground for a few minutes.”

“What’s happened?” Instantly sure that something bad must have.

“Not what you’re thinking. Mostly foolishness. Like Pinkus Ghort talking Charity into sending an all-Brothen battalion to the Holy Lands.”

“He did that? And, Charity?”

“Your friend Saluda finally picked a reign name. The news from Arnhand tipped him.”

“That silly ass Pinkus. He didn’t want to be left out so he worked his way around me.”

“I expect he’ll be waiting when we get there. Him and a clutter of others who took the sea route because you wouldn’t let them come with you.”

“He’s gone already?”

“Four days ago. With three hundred forty veteran infantrymen, fifty-four horses, plus carts, wagons, and five falcons.” Titus named Ghort’s leading lieutenants. They were men Hecht knew.

“How can you know all this? I’d bet you haven’t been out of bed twenty minutes since we got here.”

“Your opinion of my prowess is welcome but too generous. You’re right. I haven’t been out of the house. But I was your spymaster for a while. Mrs. Spymaster doesn’t get noticed when she’s out. She hears a lot.”

“I understand.” He could not picture timid Noë deliberately eavesdropping. Nor was he comfortable with Noë knowing so much about her husband’s business.

“Change of subject, Titus. Am I arrogant? Am I a controlling know-it-all?”

“You want an honest answer, Boss? Or the one you’re going to like?”

“I think that says it all, right there.”

“Not entirely. You’re on your way but you aren’t there yet. You still listen. You take advice occasionally. But are you controlling? Absolutely. In a huge way, and getting worse every day.”

Hecht stifled his emotional response. “Go on.”

“When we started out you picked people you thought could do jobs, gave them those jobs, then got out of the way and let them do their jobs. You don’t do that anymore. You’re always leaning over somebody’s shoulder.”

There was a reason for …

Exactly the reason he had heard from every out-of-touch senior officer who ever annoyed him by butting in to micromanage.

“Boss?”

“Give me a minute, Titus. I just suffered a bleak epiphany.” He reflected for another fifteen seconds. “I’ve turned into what I loathed when I was a junior officer.”

“The old veterans say you’re not that bad. Yet. If that’s any consolation.”

“It’s not, but it’s noted. Could it just naturally evolve as we advance and get older? A squad is a team. The squad leader is first among equals, the experienced guy who makes good decisions fast. The next level is like that but four or five times bigger. Once you scale it up a couple more steps, though, you’re where you don’t know everybody. The mutual trusts begin to break down.”

“Boss?”

“Musing out loud. Working out why these problems are inevitable. There’s a tipping point somewhere. On the down-below side you trust nobody in charge because they obviously have no idea what the man at the point of the sword is facing. On the up side you can’t trust any of those lazy fools down there to do what you need to get done.”

“Interesting,” Consent said. “I would think that a thoughtful man who didn’t start at the top by right of birth would reach that tipping point later.”

Hecht grunted, alarmed that he was not the ideal commander that he knew he would become back when he led the band that brought the mummies out of Andesqueluz.

Consent said, “Unlike any commander before you, you have the added ego-feeding burden of the Shining Ones.”

That took time to sink in. He was not taking full advantage of the Old Ones? No. Of course he was not.

Hecht told Consent, “Titus, I’m slipping but I haven’t surrendered to the Will of the Night. Not yet.” He thought for twenty seconds. “I could be so much more-of what I’m not sure-if I made better use of the Shining Ones. I bet they mock me when they’re with each other.”

“Boss, they don’t think that way. They’re eternals. That kind of thinking is petty. Meaning mortal.”

“All right.” Hecht thought the Old Ones could be more petty than most humans, considering the myths and folklore surrounding them.

He and Titus were in Anna’s drawing room. Anna was in the kitchen. Otherwise, they were alone. Unless … Hecht was tempted to summon the Choosers, just to see if they would come.

Titus said, “Much as I have enjoyed it, this visit wasn’t a good idea.”

“Titus?”

“The Master of the Commandery knows you’re here. He knows you didn’t ride in or sneak in on foot. He’ll have Special Office help to pry.”

Possibly. But Titus was not taking into account a mundane person’s disinclination to believe in the things of the Night, in any practical sense.

Hecht said, “The Special Office has kept a low profile for years.”

“Had to after they got caught doing what they were doing.”

“Those were rogue Brothers.”

Titus nodded. “Of course. Only a handful understood that they were doing the Adversary’s work. The rest just did what they were told.”

Hecht had fallen out of touch with all that. The Brotherhood of War and Special Office had been only marginally involved in his campaigns as Captain-General. They had only a small presence in the Grail Empire. God’s warriors there belonged to the Knights of the Grail Order. The Grail Order carried God’s wrath to the pagans of the east.

“Why are we worrying about this, Titus?”

“We aren’t. You are, because Addam Hauf has shown that he may have supernatural resources.”

“Right.”

Hecht had options. He could send one of the girls to spy. Or he could send the Choosers. He would do that only in extremity. Hauf was not his enemy.

“You look nostalgic.”

Hecht started. His thoughts had drifted to Helspeth.

“Now you look like you got caught with your pants down.”

“Titus!”

“Just reporting what I see, Boss.”

“Addam Hauf. Advise me. Should I see him?”

“He thinks his reason for seeing you is important enough to give away the fact that he has a supernatural connection.”

“I wonder what that could be.”

“He’s sure to let you know. Isn’t he?”

“Titus, you are, truly, a pain in the ass at times.”

“We don’t have a slave to whisper in your ear so I have to remind you that you’re only a man. So far.”

“So far?”

“That dimwit Asgrimmur managed to ascend. In a non-pagan land, in a non-pagan time. Look at the connections you have.”

That was not a fate that appealed to Piper Hecht, Else Tage, or Lord Arnmigal. He was no pagan, however much he consorted with pagan Instrumentalities. Right now he owned no god at all, saving Helspeth Ege.

Anna broke his reverie by appearing with tea and a light lunch. She was so cheerful Hecht’s guilt became self-loathing. “Principaté Delari is hosting a reception for us tonight. Titus, bring Noë and your children. The girls will be there. They dote on your boys. Piper, you can see Addam Hauf there. He can visit Principaté Delari without causing comment.”

“Anna, once again you show me why I count on you. You think and create while I fuss, worry, and waste time.”

“I do what I can.”

Her response surprised him. Her tone was just short of sullen.

Titus felt it, too. He finished his tea. “Will the Principaté send a coach?”

Anna brightened slightly. “He will. Be here before the seventh hour. We’ll ride over together.” She gave Hecht a hard look.

Did she know about Helspeth?

No. Her attitude had to be a reflection of his own. “Titus, we’ll see you then.”

“All right. How will you get your invitation to the Master of the Commandery?”

“I’ll think of something.”

* * *

Titus was gone. Hecht felt oddly distraught. He could not articulate his malaise.

His loathing for Piper Hecht grew.

As Anna cleared lunch’s leavings, he said, “I get the feeling you aren’t happy with me. What did I do? Or not do? And what can I do about it?”

She startled him by stepping close and pulling him into a gentle embrace. “There isn’t anything you can do, Piper. The problem is mine. My wishes have outstripped my expectations, and those exceed the most generous whims of reality.”

Hecht had to admit, secretly, that he had no idea how the female mind worked.

Titus might be right. This visit might have been a mistake. Maybe he was supposed to leave this part of his life behind.

He could not. Abandoning Anna would mean abandoning Lila and Vali, too. It would mean turning his back on the Ninth and Eleventh Unknowns. It would mean leaving Heris behind. It would mean giving up the only family he ever had.

Heris, surely, would tell him to go to hell, even if the others tried to be understanding.

“Piper?”

“Anna, coming here may not have been the best thing to do.”

“Piper!”

“I was almost at peace with being separated. Now I’ll be in torment all over again.” He would miss Anna. Anna Mozilla was the personification of home and hearth, always back there behind him, wherever he went. Anna Mozilla was the sure retreat, always waiting.

He was a selfish man. “But I’ll get through it again. It’s only one more year. Then there’ll be no more crusades.”

“So you’ll just walk away from being a Grand Duke?”

“It isn’t a real title. Well, it is, but without the powers and responsibilities. I get to use the revenues to pay for the Enterprise. If I don’t walk away afterward Katrin’s family will probably kill me.”

“People haven’t had much luck doing that, have they?”

“It only takes once. What do you think of Addam Hauf?”

“A true gentleman. That’s unusual in a member of the Brotherhood. But he is merciless toward God’s enemies.”

* * *

Muniero Delari’s coach was crowded by two couples and three children. Only three? The Consent spawn seemed like several more.

Noë Consent was radiant. Quiet and shy, she never called attention to herself. Hecht was surprised that she had become such a beauty. He told Anna, “Coming back was definitely right for Titus.”

“It was right for us, too. Whatever you think.”

That was wise old earth goddess Anna Mozilla talking. She was an Instrumentality in her own right, to Piper Hecht.

“I bow to your feminine wisdom.”

“There is no need for ridicule.”

He turned on Titus. “Mr. Consent. You’re an old married man. Can’t you keep your hands to yourself?”

Noë turned beet red but Titus said, “I could, but why waste time? I have to compress a year’s worth into a two-day window.” Unrepentant. And far from being as publicly demonstrative as Hecht’s challenge suggested. Three children were underfoot, after all.

Actually, they were more present than underfoot. Only the infant was not hanging out a window, awed by the city as seen from a carriage.

Anna said, “I believe that was, in the lexicon of the soldiering trade, a diversion. Worry not, Piper. It worked. We’re here, now.”

True. Muniero Delari’s man Turking opened the door. He put a portable step in place, then began handing the ladies down.

Anna went first. She left Hecht with a look that told him he was not as clever as he thought.

Principaté Delari himself came out to greet his guests. Hecht got the feeling his grandfather was putting on a show. He looked around for the target audience. Was Delari using him in some political scheme?

Heris and Cloven Februaren came outside, too.

Hecht felt a sudden chill. He turned. The light of an almost full moon revealed a dark silhouette atop one of the Old Empire triumphal columns that dotted Brothe. Most of those had lost the figures that topped them. This was one such.

The figure there now spread fifteen-foot wings.

“Message received.” His dire guardians were with him.

The Ninth Unknown, he noted, had missed nothing.

Muniero Delari enveloped Anna in a huge hug. “So wonderful to see you, dear woman. You have become a stranger.”

“An anchorite, of sorts,” Anna admitted. “It’s age, I think. Most days it doesn’t seem worth the trouble to leave the house.”

Hecht detected a note of melancholy.

He started to shake the Principaté’s hand but the old man swept him into an embrace. He held that for a moment, then turned to the house with Hecht and Anna to either side. “I’m hearing amazing things about you, Piper. Amazing things. Let’s get inside, away from the bugs.”

Vali and Lila waited inside. So did Hourli and Ferris Renfrow, engaged in idle chatter.

Hourli was Raneul. Maybe that meant her prejudice against the Bastard was less virulent. Maybe it was just the times.

Hecht said, “You’ve gotten the place completely restored.”

Delari said, “It’s better than ever. And I’ll be in hock to the moneylenders for two hundred years.”

The girls came to greet Hecht. He said, “Don’t you two look marvelous? Grandfather, I hope you’re riding close herd on these two.”

Anna said, “Really, Piper! Is that appropriate?”

“Look at them! Every randy moron over the age of eleven…”

“Use your head. They’re women. And they’re beyond any control but their own because they can go anywhere they want any time they want.”

Whereupon Lila gave him an arch look that, in essence, dared him to trump that.

Februaren chimed in, “They’re old maids already.”

Vali said, “I see no point to getting married. Or even involved with a man. We have too much fun doing the stuff we’re doing.”

Hecht nodded. Considering the circumstances in which he had found the girls they were sure to have distorted attitudes about man-woman relationships.

Lila said, “I wish Pella were here. I miss that obnoxious little peckerwood.”

Everyone stopped moving. Anna snapped, “Lila! Where did?…” She turned on Cloven Februaren, whose radiant innocence could have redeemed nations.

“As noted, the girls can go where they want, when they want. She may have been hanging out with low characters.”

“There’s no doubt about that.”

Delari’s woman Felske announced dinner, which would be served buffet style despite the status of the guests. The Principaté did not have the staff to serve a formal dinner and refused to bring temporary staff into his home.

Hecht sighed as he began choosing foods. Posted near the long sideboard, Turking seated each guest. Though not consigned to a separate table or room, the Consent dependents ended up as remote from their host as could be managed.

It took everyone a quarter hour to settle, Titus last because he helped Noë. Vali and Lila were down at the foot with Noë so they could help wrangle the little people. Muniero Delari sat at the head of the table, the end, with Hourli to his immediate right and Hecht to his left, next to an empty chair. Anna sat beyond that. Heris ended up next to Hourli with an empty seat beyond her. Titus and Ferris Renfrow each had a seat beside one of the girls. Titus was content but Renfrow seemed a little put out. A third open place lay opposite Cloven Februaren. It featured a place setting but no chair.

Even the little ones looked to the head of the table.

Delari was amused. “Considering this eclectic gathering, the traditional prayer would seem misplaced. Take a moment to commune privately with your own concept of the divine. I’ll use my moment to heap curses on those who didn’t have the courtesy to show up on time. Well. Here is one of them now. Him I’ll only consign to Purgatory.”

Asgrimmur Grimmsson came in from the same side room Februaren, Heris, and the girls used when they transitioned into the townhouse. He had a feather in his hair and was straightening clothing that looked like it had been dragged from a sack. Turking intercepted him, spoke softly, led him past the buffet, seated him next to Heris.

No one said much during the process. Renfrow’s scowl deepened because he had been seated below the ascendant. Hecht watched suspiciously. Grimmsson muttered something to Heris about bad weather over the Jagos.

By then Turking had gone to greet the next tardy guest.

There was almost no talk at the table and little eating, except amongst Titus’s brood.

Hecht focused on his sister and the ascendant. Something was going on there. He would have a hard time minding his own business.

Belatedly, he realized that the evening would betray his real relationship with Delari, Februaren, and Grade Drocker-if those not in the know paid the least attention.

Hecht met Hourli’s gaze. She arched her right eyebrow. She needed do nothing more to communicate an admonition regarding Heris and Asgrimmur. Just a little reminder about hypocrisy and double standards.

He winced.

Hourli knew things he would rather she did not. That gave her a minor lever.

The Ninth Unknown watched from down the table. That old fox probably knew …

Turking returned accompanied by Master of the Commandery Addam Hauf and the head of the Bruglioni family, Paludan Bruglioni. Paludan was in a wheelchair, still.

Hecht had had little contact with the Bruglioni the past few years-though he had made Paludan’s lifelong best friend Gervase Saluda Patriarch by fiat.

Paludan must be here on Charity’s behalf.

Hecht left his seat, met Paludan at the sideboard. “Let me help.” Turking was behind the man’s wheelchair.

“All right.” Bruglioni told Hauf, “You first, Master.”

Hecht said, “I didn’t expect to see you.”

“Nor I you. I expected a quiet chat with a powerful member of the Collegium who hasn’t been especially supportive of Charity. Imagine my consternation when Hauf arrived as I was getting down from my coach. Now I’m entirely at sea.”

“You’re not unique.”

Bruglioni betrayed a ghost of a frown when looking at the girls and the Consent brood. He then concentrated on choosing foods, mainly rich dishes in heavy sauces. “They won’t let me enjoy myself at home. If I eat nothing but what they let me, instead of what I want, will I live forever? I don’t think so. Do you have any idea what’s going on?”

“No. Though I thought I did before I got here. Same as you.”

“Blindsided, eh?”

“Exactly. Isn’t that enough food?”

“More than. But Delari is paying for it. So. I am here because of my connection with Charity?”

“I imagine.”

“Why are you here? How can you be here? You should be hundreds of miles away, on the road to the Holy Lands. Gervase produced a clever bull proclaiming your Enterprise of Peace and Faith.”

“For which the Empress is grateful. She thinks it appropriate to respond by backing off of some of her father’s more outrageous territorial claims.”

“Really? A little of that would do a lot to solidify Gervase’s seat.”

“I suggested she wait till I get back from the Holy Lands.”

“Too bad. Gervase hasn’t made many friends. Principaté Delari’s threatened displeasure is the main force keeping the Collegium from trying to remove him.”

“Really?”

“I’m sure there are several plots afoot.”

Hecht looked past Bruglioni to Hourli, who met his eye. She nodded slightly. She would do what needed to be done.

She nodded again seconds later. What needed doing had begun.

Hecht said, “Gervase is in a less precarious place than you fear.”

Bruglioni looked up with troubled eyes. “I worry about you. There’s always something askew.”

“If you say so. I’ve always done my best for the people I represent.” Bruglioni grunted.

Muniero Delari asked, “Will you boys stop gossiping and join us? I’m hungry.”

Hecht had been heads-together with the master of the Bruglioni family longer than could possibly be considered casual. “Of course.” He carried Paludan’s food choices while the man rolled his chair.

Hecht slid back into his own seat. Only Bruglioni was not eying him.

Muniero Delari said, “Everyone. Eat.”

* * *

Addam Hauf did not press during the meal, nor even during coffee and brandy afterward. The lower half of the table cleared away. Hecht used that time to state his appreciation for Hauf having sheltered Anna and the children during the troubles.

Delari, though, was intrigued. He asked Hauf, “Will you need my quiet room?”

“No. My news isn’t confidential.”

“But forewarned is forearmed?”

“Yes. Commander, most of this is from Madouc of Hoeles, who used to work for you. He’s in the Holy Lands, now. I think he expected his reports to reach you via Cloven Februaren, whom he seems to think is a sort of supernatural entity.”

“He’s a super something,” Heris interjected. “The common variety of which is found on the road behind a cattle drive.”

Whereupon Februaren suggested, “Asgrimmur, you need to put a smile on that woman’s face.”

“Please!” Hecht snapped. “No vulgarity. Master Hauf, if you will?”

“Madouc is now Master of the Commandery at a fortress called Gherig. You know it?”

“The name came up during planning. A stout fortress, from all reports.”

“It is. But less so in the age of the falcon and firepowder. A renegade Sha-lug named Nassim Alizarin wrecked part of it by igniting smuggled firepowder that set off Gherig’s own secret store.”

Nassim Alizarin. There was a name out of yesteryear.

“The point is, the Dreangerean sorcerer er-Rashal al-Dhulquarnen fled north through the Holy Lands after Indala defeated Gordimer. He’s hiding in the Idiam, in the haunted city Andesqueluz, and is trying to resurrect an Instrumentality known as Asher.”

Hecht said, “I don’t know the geography or mythology but it sounds like he’s up to the same mischief he was into in the Connec and on Artecipea.” He glanced at Hourli. She shrugged.

Hauf said, “Asher was a primal Instrumentality of the region. Typically, all blood and thunder. He could be the father of the God of the Dainshaukin.”

“Wow. That’s scary.”

“Madouc is concerned. So am I. You may have to deal with other players once you get there.”

Hecht glanced at Hourli again. “It’s always that way. Nothing is ever straightforward and simple.” The Shining One had nothing to contribute. “Is that really what you wanted to see me about?”

“Mostly.”

Hecht wanted to find out how Hauf had been alerted to his presence in Brothe. But that was a task better left to the Shining Ones.

“So. I’m glad Madouc is doing well. Master of the Commandery? Who died?”

“The Brotherhood created a new commandery in order to keep a villain named Rogert du Tancret from having the final say at Gherig.”

“We squabbled all the time when Madouc was my chief lifeguard. He took his work dead serious and there was no flex in him.”

“I wish the Brotherhood had a thousand more like him.”

“Pity the world.”

Hauf smiled weakly. “One thing further. In the nature of a personal favor. Take Redfearn Bechter’s effects with you. They’re yours, by bequest, but the Brotherhood hopes you will honor one of its greatest by allowing his few things to be laid down in the soil of the lands to which he dedicated his early life.”

“That seems reasonable.” Hecht flushed slightly. Bechter’s little chest was somewhere in the baggage that followed him around but he had not thought of it in months. He had given up trying to solve the puzzle or message the chest represented.

Hauf flashed a squinty look of appraisal, suspecting that Hecht had forgotten. “Thank you. In time, success permitting, we’ll move his bones to the Holy Lands, too.”

The exchange baffled the others. Hecht said, “I wish we could talk more. Bechter was dear to me but I never got to know him well.”

“He was one of the few who survived the Well of Days. That was so harsh the Brotherhood sent the survivors west. They were oppressed by guilt because they had survived. They were unlikely to stand up to another hard fight.”

Redfearn Bechter never showed any weakness while serving the Captain-General. But he had not been called on to face Indala al-Sul Halaladin, either.

Hecht said, “We need to be sociable.” He announced, “We’re discussing a mutual friend, Redfearn Bechter, who was with me during the Connecten campaigns.”

That helped. Some. Some recalled the sergeant.

Hecht told Hauf, “I hope I run into Madouc early. He should be able to tell me everything I need…”

Hourli’s expression shifted almost imperceptibly. Hecht understood that she wanted a private moment. “I need to step out for some air. I’ll be right back.” He followed Hourli.

A breeze had come up. It had turned cold. Dust and trash hurtled around. “Going to rain,” the Instrumentality said. “Maybe hard.”

“Maybe. What is it?”

“The soldier priest knew you were here because he has a brace of sorcerers hidden in his fortress. They couldn’t tell how you arrived but they knew you had, within minutes.”

“Sorcerers? Not good for a man in his position.”

“His intentions are pure.”

“Aren’t they always?”

“The Night twists men who use it to their own ends.”

“Personal warning?”

“If it fits. There is another matter. The eternal monster beneath the city has arisen again. We annihilated it but it won’t stay annihilated. The people of Brothe must have their diabolical duke of darkness.”

“That’s good. Thank you.”

“You’re wasting time here. Go back to Alten Weinberg.”

Hecht glared, yet saw nothing to suggest that she meant more than what she said.

“You’re right. This was an emotional pilgrimage. It may not have been necessary.”

“We should get back inside.”

“Right again.”

“I’m a goddess. I’m always right.”

“In your own mind.” He rejoined the company thinking he was sadly underutilizing his supernatural allies.

He announced, “People, this has been as much a farewell as a celebration for me. I don’t feel good about my prospects. I do expect the Enterprise to achieve great things. It will shape the world in countless ways, some of them unexpected. But … I do have that bad feeling. Now … it’s time to say good-bye. Noë, don’t cry. Titus will come through fine, probably sainted.”

Hecht gathered his flock. Consent did the same, though baffled. He whispered, “What’s going on?”

“I’m not sure. It’s a feeling. We may have committed more than the obvious error by making a sentimental visit.”

Paludan Bruglioni and Addam Hauf seemed thoroughly confused.

Hourli closed in on Bruglioni. She did not identify herself. She spoke softly and quickly, delivering information the Patriarch could use to consolidate his hold on the Church.

Then she told Hauf, “So long as you keep your hidden sorcerers the darkness beneath Brothe will return to life again and again.”

The Master of the Commandery wanted to ask questions. He chewed on air. Hourli walked out. Hauf went after her. He found no sign outside that she had been anything but a shard of imagination.

He did glimpse a winged thing atop a triumphal column where no figure ought to be.

* * *

The drama had Anna in tears. Noë and her brood had been taken home. Heris and the girls, and Cloven Februaren, crowded around Piper and Titus. Those two faced one another, by Titus’s choice. Piper tried to break the tension with an uncharacteristic wisecrack.

The human ball rotated out of existence. Air whooshed in to replace it.

Anna wondered if she would ever see Piper again.

* * *

Hecht wakened confused and groggy. He did not know where he was and was not entirely sure who. He was alone but that lasted only moments.

Rivademar Vircondelet shoved into the room. A team followed. One man carried a tray with bread, tea, and soup. A barber and a tailor followed. Two boys lugged a big copper tub. Other boys carried a carpet for the tub to stand on. Yet another carried towels, soap, and fragrances.

Vircondelet said, “Lieutenant Consent said you were ill.”

Hecht heard an unspoken, wary, “Again.”

“Bathwater should get here about the time you finish eating.”

Hecht punched himself on the side of the head. “I had the most bizarre dream. It seemed so real.”

“Yes?” With genuine interest.

“It was one of those ones that you know can’t be true but is still so strong you can’t ever quite convince yourself that it wasn’t.”

“Never had one of those. Except when I was four or five I dreamed there were two moons. I argued with my parents about it for days.”

“How long?” Hecht asked. “I mean, this.”

“Six hours since Consent said there was something wrong. You were running a fever. You talked but you didn’t make sense.”

“Where is Titus?”

“Getting ready to travel. It’ll be sunrise in an hour. You wanted to hit the road today.”

“Don’t look like that’s going to happen.” He felt drained. The confusion would not go away. He rubbed his forehead and scalp with his left hand. “Titus makes mountains out of molehills.”

“You’re not sick?”

“I’m just bone tired. Let’s get on with this. Maybe we can move out today.”

“The Empress wants to see you.”

“Oh. Sure. So much for heading out today.”

* * *

Helspeth was not pleased. “Have I grown tedious already, Lord Arnmigal?”

Lady Hilda’s expression was strained. She did not flirt when she brought coffee.

They three were alone in the quiet room.

“Your Grace?”

“You haven’t been to evening prayers since you came back.”

He had not. And had not thought of it, either. “I was unconscious.” Would she be unreasonable?

“I know. You went off somewhere with Titus Consent and those … beings. Did they turn you into a eunuch?”

“I was sick.”

Daedel tried to help. “Lord Arnmigal must be dreadfully tired, Helspeth.”

“But able to consort with devils.”

Logic would be wasted. Helspeth felt neglected. That was that.

Lady Hilda topped Helspeth’s cup. From behind the Empress she moved her lips exaggeratedly, warning him against defending himself.

He did not. He was interested only in sleep.

That concerned him. Being ready to nap at any moment was outside his experience. Nor could he get useful advice from his people. Nobody had any idea what was happening.

Hourli said bear with it, sleep when he felt like it, and time would cure it.

Helspeth fixed him with a fierce gaze. “I won’t be discarded like some camp-following trollop.”

Again Daedel signed for silent suffering. She tipped a hand, suggesting he sip his coffee.

It was a way to temporize.

He worked it out. Helspeth was scared. Change was in the wind. He would be gone a long time. She would be without the shield of the Righteous. Maybe she tasted his premonition, too. And he was doing nothing to still her fears. His excuses, however valid, carried little emotional weight.

“I have delayed departure a day already. I will join you tonight.”

That, of course, threatened to set her off again. If he was going to show up only because she nagged him …

Lady Hilda whispered something Hecht could not hear. Helspeth stopped being contrary.

* * *

“What did she want?” Titus asked, worried about last-minute meddling.

“She was upset because I didn’t report in and didn’t go to chapel. She knew we’d been away.”

“Then somebody has been talking about things he shouldn’t.”

“Maybe. It doesn’t matter, now. We’ll be on the road. We won’t have to answer to anyone but ourselves.”

“God might quibble. Otherwise, I’m looking forward. Tomorrow for sure, right? The baggage is already moving.”

“As soon as there’s light.”

* * *

Helspeth was especially demanding. And she wanted to pray, too. Hecht suspected she was moved more by despair than desire.

* * *

Titus said, “That took a while.”

Hecht hid the time candle. “She wouldn’t stop talking. I couldn’t just walk away.”

“I’ll find you a ride so you can sleep as we go. Oh. Pella and Brokke showed up.”

“Really? They’re finally done out there?”

“Anselin finally felt comfortable. And neither Hagen nor the boy want to be left behind.” Brokke was scheduled to stay in Alten Weinberg, though.

“Anna will cut me if I let Pella come.” Hecht headed for his quarters, eager to see the boy and hear his stories.

Anna would have to deal. The boy was old enough.

* * *

Helspeth and her ladies came out to watch the Commander of the Righteous depart. It was a cold, damp day, not unusual this spring. Some less venturesome staffers whined about the possibility of snow.

Once the party left Franz-Benneroust Plaza Lord Arnmigal deserted his mount for a place in the vehicle Titus had prepared. Consent called it a coach but the level of luxury was substantially lower. The vehicle was actually a wagon with a mattress tucked in amongst onion sacks and wooden boxes.

Hecht did not care. It took only moments to fall asleep. He slept all day and still had no trouble sleeping that night.

Some staffers were not happy about having to camp out. They wanted to hop from inn to inn. Lord Arnmigal wanted everyone hardened now. Neither the Pramans nor the Holy Lands would be considerate of their comfort.

There were no serious problems. His staff handled routine well. They needed no close direction. And just as well. Ten days out of Alten Weinberg Hecht was sleeping twenty hours a day.

Which suited his people fine. They never knew which Lord Arnmigal they would get when he was awake.

Sometimes he was the Piper Hecht they had known for years. Often, though, he was cold, remote, intolerant of error or imperfection. In that character he seemed clairvoyant, too. He knew what had to be done before it needed doing. That created efficiencies but also worried men already troubled by the oddities of their commander.

After those ten days, though, Piper Hecht began sleeping less.

He met the King of Hovacol on the bridge that had featured in their first encounter. He told Stain, “You’ve had it all from the Empress already but I wanted to deliver my own appeal. Helspeth and I want you to lead the next wave into the Holy Lands. We had to turn away thousands this time.”

Stain was no longer belligerent. He was not looking for a fight, even sanctioned by the Church. He accepted the role reluctantly.

“Hourli, I want to see you,” Hecht told the air once he returned to his wagon, exhausted. Stain had kept him up for hours.

The Instrumentality materialized. She planted her behind on a box. “Yes?”

“Stain was different today. Why?”

“The supernatural wasn’t involved anymore.”

“I like your style. You’re straightforward.”

“All salesmanship, Commander of the Righteous. Most mortals hate the gods because of our disdain for clarity. We will avoid ambiguity where we can-though that will irk some clients, too.”

She might be trying to irk him now, on some level.

She continued, “Stain was possessed by a regional Instrumentality that might have been a deity in pagan times.”

“One that took off after mixing it up with me?”

“Apparently, Godslayer.”

“My life keeps getting stranger.”

“Should I resent that?”

“See things from my perspective.”

“I do try. And I do so, better than you suspect.”

“Is it likely to be a nuisance?”

“It’s damaged, hiding, hoping to be forgotten.”

“No longer a threat, then.” Hecht found himself not caring already.

“No.”

He was done, then. He was ready to sleep. But Hourli had something on her mind and wanted to be coaxed.

He asked, “Is it important?”

“Judge for yourself.”

“So?”

“Despite observing your rules of the march your advance columns are meeting resistance in the Antal hinterland, not just from Pramans. Eastern Rite and Antast Chaldareans have been belligerent without genuine provocation. That has not served them well. Your lieutenants smash resistance where they meet it because of the remarkable intelligence they enjoy.”

“Attempt to elicit a compliment duly noted.”

“Thank you, Commander of the Righteous. The work is more difficult than you think. We are now operating at our extreme limits, well beyond our range in olden times.”

“Really? I thought you were feasting at the Wells of Ihrian.”

“You did?” Her expression betrayed real disbelief. “Where did you get that idea? No. Of course not. Much as we would love to streak in and feed till we’re too fat to move, we can range only so far ahead of our nearest believers, with that distance dwindling as we as we get farther from the Realm of the Gods. To actually reach one of the Wells we may require the assistance of the Bastard, the ascendant, and your whole family. Once we do get to a Well, though, we’ll get healthy fast.”

Hecht questioned none of that. It made sense despite confusing him when he considered specifics.

Almost sad, though, that the Old Ones were dependent on the belief of people who followed other religions.

“Your situation will improve as I get closer myself?”

“You in particular, yes. In a reverse exponential sort of way.”

“Which means?”

“Each ten miles closer you move will advance our reach by two or three miles.”

“I see.” No wonder the Old Ones made themselves useful. “I should be traveling faster, then.” Though he was gaining on the big mobs quickly. His group had more flexibility.

“That would be good. A situation is developing on the eastern route.”

Once across the Antal Land Bridges the Enterprise main body split to follow three separate routes through the central mountains, easing the strain on local populations. The easternmost route passed through small Praman states nomad tribes had hacked out of the Eastern Empire. That force would emerge from the mountains to threaten northern Qasr al-Zed and Shamramdi.

“What is it?”

“There’s the rub. We don’t know, exactly. We can’t quite get that far. We think the regional princes are gathering a host. They might outnumber us substantially. The ground is not well suited to western-style warfare, nor can the Shining Ones get there to help.”

Hecht knew that country only through travelers’ tales. Nevertheless, he could picture it. And he knew the tribal style of warfare. The allied princes would deploy their horse archers first, hoping the heavier western cavalry would chase them and wear themselves out.

“Kait Rhuk is out there. Here is what he should do-though I expect that he has seen to it already. First, he must make sure that he is in complete control, in my name.”

Hourli listened. “As you wish. Though getting your orders through will mean walking the last twenty miles.”