he might well be condemning Tyrion and his brother to death. Or perhaps he simply did not care.
Was it passing through the flame that had done this, Tyrion wondered, or was it simply the responsibility of kingship?
‘May I ask how you can tell, sire?’
‘You may ask – but I am damned if I can tell you.’ Finubar laughed and the simple sea captain was back. ‘I just know, or rather the part of me that was touched by the flame knows and it deigns to communicate its knowledge to me. I can see that there is something about you that is different from others. I could tell you were of the Blood. It was the same in the old days when I was a captain on my father’s ships. I could tell when a storm would be a bad one or whether the wind was about to change suddenly.’
‘I can see patterns on a chessboard that tell me how the game will play out, most of the time.’ Tyrion did not know what it was that made him say that just then. He just felt the urge to communicate with this remote but not unsympathetic figure. He sensed they had something in common and it was something to do with his gift.
Or perhaps he was simply trying to let Finubar know that in him the Curse had come in a harmless form.
‘That must be a very useful gift. I wish I had it. I would not lose nearly so much gold playing against my White Lions.’
‘You lose gold playing against your bodyguards?’ Tyrion was so astonished by the confession that he forgot to use the honorific. The Phoenix King did not appear to notice or to care.
‘Oh yes. I bet on their play sometimes too. Korhien tells me you can beat him. That is quite unusual. You and I must try a game or two sometime. I am curious about this gift of yours. I understand it is not the only one you possess. Korhien tells me you are a natural with weapons, and by this he does not mean merely gifted.’
‘He is very kind, sire,’
‘No, he is not, Prince Tyrion. He is a warrior and a killer and that is not something you should ever lose sight of.’
‘I meant it as a figure of speech, sire.’
‘I know you did. I chose to misunderstand it to make a point.’ Finubar smiled as he said it, but Tyrion was suddenly on guard. He sensed that there was more going on here than he understood, that he was in deeper waters even than he had thought.
‘Good, Prince Tyrion. You have a brain as well as a gift for the blade. That is a useful combination of talents in a warrior. I can always use elves who possess them in my service.’
Tyrion wondered if he was being offered future employ as a White Lion or whether Finubar had something else in mind. Perhaps Tyrion was merely misunderstanding him.
‘Assuming I pass the tests your priests put me through, sire.’
‘They are not my priests, prince. They serve Asuryan.’
‘You are his chosen representative, sire.’
‘I fear you have a lot to learn about politics and elven priestcraft, Prince Tyrion.’
‘I am sure you are correct, sire.’
‘I wish more of my subjects shared your belief,’ said the Phoenix King. Again he smiled, but Tyrion sensed that he was not entirely joking. Of course, there were those who opposed him. There always were. It was the nature of asur politics.
‘What do you think of the rumours of this new terror besetting our land?’
The sudden change of subject threw Tyrion. He considered for a moment.
‘You mean that the daemon N’Kari, Aenarion’s enemy, has returned to take vengeance on the elves?’
‘Precisely so.’
‘I thought the daemon slain by Aenarion, sire.’
‘You think it unlikely to be it then?’
‘I do not know enough about these matters to venture an opinion, sire.’
‘And you are unsure why I have asked you for one and are too polite to say.’
‘Something like that, sire.’
‘You must never be slow to voice your opinion to me, prince. A Phoenix King needs those around him who speak the truth as they see it. It is the only way he keeps any grip on reality at all.’
‘I will bear that in mind, sire.’
‘Well, bearing that in mind, what do you really think in answer to my original question?’
‘I think it unlikely that anyone would call himself by the name of Keeper of Secrets as a jest, sire, although there are some who would