Born of Darkness (William King) - William King Page 0,8
suits their highnesses.” Jonas picked up a decanter from the table and poured some wine. “I believe the Prince intends to do you a favour. And when a member of the House of Valasa shows his gratitude it is on an Imperial scale.”
Jonas looked at Kormak. “I do not think Prince Taran is used to being talked to as you talked to him.”
“I am not his subject or his servant,” Kormak said. “Nor am I his paid assassin.”
“That touched a nerve, did it?”
Kormak said nothing. Perhaps it did.
“Look, my friends, just remain here for a few days and try to be polite. It will make your lives much easier and by the Light of the Holy Sun you might even enjoy yourselves.”
Zamara nodded, albeit reluctantly. Kormak felt a little sorry for him. The captain did not like agreeing with the priest but he too did not want Kormak or Rhiana doing anything to embarrass him. He had risen far in the past hour.
“I’ll bid you farewell now,” Zamara said. “I must return to my ship and see that my crew are well. I will also make sure your goods are safely delivered to the Palace.”
Jonas bowed too and made for the door. “I recommend you try the wine. It’s really very good.”
***
“This is an odd place,” Rhiana said, once they were alone. She stood on the balcony looking down at the harbour. Kormak could see the treasure fleet at anchor down there. Other ships were came and went, leaving white wakes scrawled on the blue parchment of the sea.
“How so?” Kormak said.
“Come on! We have a king who talks to angels and a prince who looks like a shark. We’re confined to the palace. Everybody around us fawns and scrapes and bows to those two oh-so-important men.”
“We’re not in Port Blood anymore,” Kormak said.
“More’s the pity.”
“You don’t like it here?”
She shrugged and leaned forward to look down. Beneath them an elaborate rose-garden dominated the large courtyard. The scent drifted up. “It makes me uncomfortable. In Port Blood, the captains have power, but nothing like Aemon and his brother. You saw the way Zamara behaved and Jonas. They would have got down on the ground and licked Taran’s boots clean if he asked.”
Kormak said, “Those two have power. Real power. And they are not afraid to use it. The King’s favour could make Zamara rich. It could make Jonas the head of his order.”
“And what could it do for you? Aren’t you afraid that if you stay here, you’ll end up like all the others?”
“Are you?”
She gave him a sharp glance. “Maybe. This place makes me uneasy. It looks like a fortress. It looks like a palace. It’s full of rich, arrogant land dwellers.”
There was a thoughtful note in her voice. “And King Aemon frightens me,” she said. “He radiates power just like the Kraken did, only more so.”
Kormak thought about the way his elder sign had reacted in the presence of the King. “They say the Imperial Line has a gift for sorcery. The Blood of Emperors they call it. Aemon’s great grandfather Pelageus placed the sunstone back in the Tower of Light. When he ignited it with his own hands, all the world saw Siderea had been redeemed from the Old Ones and the Shadow. He was the greatest wizard of the age.”
Rhiana did not seem to be listening. “Aemon has more power than anyone I have ever met and the way he looked when he saw my eyes. He hated me.”
She turned and leaned into Kormak and he saw that she was frightened. If Aemon disliked her, she had every reason to be. Siderea was home of the Inquisition of the Eternal Sun and they did not like those humans whom the Old Ones had altered.
“But enough of this talk, Sir Kormak,” Rhiana said. “We are alone in our chambers. What are we to do?”
She moved close enough so that he could smell the faint salty tang of her skin.
“I am sure we shall think of something,” Kormak said.
***
A knock sounded on the door. Early evening light filtered in through the curtains. The chamber smelled of wine and incense and love-making.
“Yes,” Kormak said, sitting up in the bed. Rhiana lay naked beside him, reading a volume of sea lore she had found on the shelf and laughing at the inaccuracies.
An elderly retainer garbed all in black entered the chamber. He took one glance at them and looked away.
“Sir Kormak, Lady Rhiana. Tonight the King is giving a ball