Fey 02 - Changeling (9 page)

Nicholas stood at the other end of the Great Chamber, his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes dull and sunken in his face.
 
Jewel stood beside him.
 
She placed a hand over her stomach when she saw Matthias.
 
She had no love for him either, and no trust as well.
 

A table had been placed in the center of the room.
 
At it sat Lords Canter, Egan, and Fesler.
 
Lords Holbrook and Miller leaned against the wall.
 
And Lord Enford sat alone next to the table's head.

Enford.
 
Matthias stared at him for a moment.
 
Enford was covered with dirt.
 
Only his face and hands were clean.
 
His clothing was ripped, and his hair was hastily tied in its queue.
 
Enford was supposed to be with Alexander.
 
A shiver ran down Matthias's back.
 
He glared at Jewel.
 
Now he knew what this meeting was for.

Something had happened to the King.

The door closed behind Matthias and he jumped.
 
No one acknowledged him, an odd thing for this group, since they knew much of the power on the Isle rested with him.
 
But they were silent and somber.

The table, which normally did not belong in the Great Chamber, was made of heavy wood, its legs knobbed and its surface covered with a deep lined pattern.
 
The chairs matched — high, straight backs and arms with knobs at the end, made not for comfort, but for beauty.
 

The lords already seated didn't appear relaxed.
 
Fesler never appeared relaxed though.
 
He was not one of Alexander's trusted advisors, but had become more of a presence since the Fey arrived.
 
Fesler was slender, with hollow cheeks and straight blond hair.
 
His age was difficult to determine, since he never spoke of it, but he had been a lord longer than Matthias had been in Jahn.

Egan sat beside him, his hunched back brushing against the straight chair.
 
Egan crouched to hide his bulk, which never worked.
 
He seemed larger than he had when the Fey arrived, partly because he no longer smiled.
 
Egan was once known as the most jovial of the King's men, but he hadn't laughed since he lost his son in the Invasion.

Canter was studying his well manicured hands, as if he could find no other way to avoid looking at Jewel and Nicholas.
 
His hair was cut perfectly square, his blouse well tailored, his vest matching his leggings perfectly.
 
He must have been riding when the news came, for Canter usually wore a robe more exquisite than any found in the Tabernacle.
 

Matthias took the chair closest to Canter and leaned against its sturdy back.
 
Nicholas watched him as if waiting for Matthias to take control of the meeting.
 
Jewel drifted toward Nicholas's side.
 
She looked as if she were going to guide him.

The others didn't seem to care.
 
Miller was tracing the grooves in the paneled wall, his long fingers dancing over the edges as if they were harpsichord keys.
 
Miller was in his twenties, having acquired the lordship from his father a few years before, much to Miller's upset.
 
He had planned on using his musical talents in the Tabernacle, but the Invasion, and then his father's death, had come in the way.

Only Holbrook stared at Matthias.
 
Holbrook was a tin-lord, a man who had risen in the ranks and was given his lordship as a reward for good service.
 
If the Invasion hadn't wiped out the ranks of the lordly as well as the ranks of the underclasses, Holbrook would not be in this room at all.
 
Still, Matthias was glad to see him.
 
Holbrook was twice as old as the rest of them.
 
He had lived a long and full life, which he wore on his features like an etching, and his counsel was often based on experience, where the counsel of the others wasn't.

Since Nicholas was not taking over the meeting, Matthias leaned forward.
 
He would begin things before the woman did.
 
"Forgive me, Highness," he said.
 
"I came as quickly as I could.
 
The messenger said this was a matter of some urgency."

"Some," Nicholas said.
 
He spoke slowly, something Nicholas had never done in his life.
 
"My father is dead."

Matthias heard the words, but didn't feel their import right away.
 
Alexander?
 
But he had grown up with Alexander, had spent his formative years with Alexander, had just the week before taken a cup of late night mead with Alexander, talking about the fortunes of the Kingdom.

The others hadn't known either.
 
Egan sat up straight and Canter stopped contemplating his nails.
 
Fesler sucked in his breath, and Miller made a small moan.
 
Only Holbrook didn't move.
 
Holbrook, Enford and that woman.

"Sire," Enford said.
 
"If I may."

Sire
.
 
The word focused Matthias more quickly than anything else.
 
Just like that awful day when the Auds came back from the Rocaan's meeting with the Fey, the meeting in which the Rocaan had died.
 
Holy Sir
, they had said to Matthias.
 
Not Respected Sir, the title for an Elder, but Holy Sir, the title for the Rocaan.
 
They had called him Holy Sir even before telling him that the Rocaan was dead.

Nicholas nodded at Enford, then turned his back.
 
Jewel stood in front of him as if protecting him from the others.
 
Nicholas stared at the wall as if it had a window.

"The King was murdered on the road into the Kenniland Marshes," Enford said.
 
Miller started to interrupt, but Enford held up his hand for silence.
 
"He was shot through the heart with a single arrow.
 
No one else was injured.
 
The assassin had to wait through the advance guards and the lone Danite sent to protect the King.
 
The assassin's shot was swift and sure.
 
None of us knew that an arrow had been launched until the King toppled over."

The phrase was so stark, so casual, as if they were speaking about an animal instead of a man they had all known.
 

"Who killed him?" Miller asked.

"We don't know," Enford said.
 
"Monte and Lord Stowe are still there, hoping to find something."

"What do you need to find?" Holbrook said.
 
"You have an arrow, so you have an archer.
 
Archers work within a certain range and distance.
 
There isn't much to conceal a man in those marshes.
 
If you had conducted a search right away, you would have found your killer."

"There were trees," Enford said.
 
"We sent guards there."

"But these were marshes, right?" Jewel said.
 
"Couldn't someone be hiding in the water?"

"We searched the surrounding area.
 
They wouldn't have gotten away without us seeing them."

"But they did."
 
Fesler's voice was soft, but accusatory.
 
"Who was in your party, Enford?"

"Besides Lord Stowe and myself, only some guards and a Danite.
 
And Monte, of course."

"Of course," Fesler said.
 
"All trusted.
 
Like Stephen."

Stephen.
 
Matthias leaned heavily on the chair back, the wood cutting into his forearms.
 
Stephen had been Nicholas's swordmaster.
 
A Fey doppelgänger had taken Stephen's place, nearly killed Nicholas, and had access to the King.
 

"We have a treaty," Jewel said tightly.

"And the Fey are well known for keeping their agreements," Matthias said.

Jewel glared at him from across the table.
 
"I was not in that kirk when your Rocaan was killed."

"No," Matthias said.
 
"But you knew about it."

"I keep my agreements."

"As well as a Fey can."

Nicholas turned around.
 
"Leave her, Matthias.
 
She has kept our agreement from the moment we made peace."

Everyone in the room turned and looked at Nicholas, all with surprise on their features.
 
But Nicholas didn't even seem to notice his insult.
 
He had never failed to use the proper term of respect for Matthias before.
 
But Matthias would have to let it pass.
 
Nicholas was King now.

"I would rather think that a Fey killed our king than someone in his own traveling party," said Canter, in an obvious attempt to break the awkward silence.
 
He inclined his head toward Jewel.
 
"With your pardon, milady.
 
But someone committed the deed."

She nodded at him.
 
"It would benefit all of us to find this killer as quickly as possible."

"As if, milady, you have no knowledge of this," Matthias said.

She raised her head.
 
The look made her almost as tall as he was, and gave her an imperial quality no one else on the Isle could match.
 
"Are you suggesting that I would murder my husband's father?"

"I am suggesting that you had knowledge of this, just like you had knowledge of the 50th Rocaan's death."

"And where would I have gained this knowledge?"

"Don't your people confide in you any longer, milady?
 
Aren't you supposed to know all that happens among the Fey."

"Holy Sir," Holbrook said softly.
 
"We have no proof as to who committed the killings."

"It happened in the Marshes," Egan said.
 
"There are no Fey in that area."

"And Fey have other weapons," Miller said. "They don't use bow and arrow."

"But they disappear quickly and without a trace, don't they, milady?"

"Yes they do," she said.
 
She took a step toward him, but Nicholas grabbed her arm.
 
She shook his hand off, but remained where she was.
 
"But if we wanted your King dead, we could have done so a dozen different better ways.
 
I could have slit his throat in his sleep many a night.
 
He was only up the stairs from me.
 
Any one of my people could have attacked him during the marriage feast.
 
Or you, for that matter,
Holy
Sir."

"Jewel —" Nicholas began.

"But we did not.
 
We have kept our side to this agreement.
 
I stay here, in a place that treats women like cattle, because I made a bargain for my people's lives.
 
How do we know that you didn't assign one of your little minions to assassinate the King?
  
You want the war back badly enough.
 
You could then blame it on us."

"The Holy Sir would never do that," Miller said, his voice shaking.

"The Holy Sir already has the blood of hundreds of Fey on his hands.
 
What's one more life?"

Matthias could feel himself flush.
 
Always their arguments ended like this, with him accusing her of the murder of the Rocaan and her accusing him of all the deaths caused by holy water.

"Jewel," Nicholas said softly.
 
"This will not help us."

"Neither will his accusations.
 
I am part of your family now, whether he likes it or not.
 
Losing Alexander threatens my people as well.
 
We have a fragile truce here, no thanks to men like your religious leader over there.
 
He would like to shatter it altogether."

"Is that true, Holy Sir?" Enford asked quietly.

Matthias stood, unwinding himself to his full height.
 
"The Fey made an agreement to meet the Rocaan in a peaceful situation.
 
They broke that agreement and murdered him."