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  He laughed. “Remember, young woman, I did not do it for you.”

  “Yes, so you keep saying,” she said, and put her hands on her hips. “Why did you do it, then?”

  He smiled at her, and she thought the look in his eyes was almost like that of fondness, the way those who knew her well looked at her. It made her straighten up to see it.

  “For the sparkle in your eyes,” he said, and left it at that.

  She didn’t believe it for a moment, but it made her smile.

  “And in the morning,” he said, “the queen will be here.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Scouts,” he said. “We’re more organized than you think. The rebellion that was quashed recently was not the only one — we’re getting good at it, you see.” He smiled at her again, a little more faintly, a bit more distantly. She folded her arms.

  “You play at being outside of all of this,” she said. “But you’re loyal to the throne, aren’t you?”

  “I am loyal to what deserves loyalty,” he said. “I am not innocent in all of the rebellion, I must admit. But I cannot claim the same high loyalties that drive you. Don’t mistake me, Lully — I’m here for my own reasons.”

  She looked at him for a moment, searching through his face, which had so quickly become so familiar, and yet the man behind it was still unknown. After a moment, she nodded.

  “All right,” she said. “Just so long as you are here.”

  In the morning, the Princess Irae came to the camp, as was promised, and with her a silent former guard, and a tall, nervy Forged; and behind them, following far in the distance, a small orange fox.

  11

  Go Oft Awry

  There were too many people for Thorn’s taste, but as it was a rebellion and theoretically the more people the better, he didn’t feel he could complain.

  The actual count, he was told, was only somewhere around a hundred and fifty. This had Irae understandably worried. Though one hundred and fifty people seemed like a rather vast amount to Thorn, who had grown up in the woods and had scarcely spent any time at all around large groups of people, he knew that it was far too few to take the castle by storm.

  He joined Irae as she sat on a large tree stump, puzzling through the problem and making complicated marks in the sandy dirt with a stick.

  “Where do we go from here?” he asked her quietly.

  Her brow was furrowed, and she frowned thoughtfully at her marks for a moment before she answered.

  “Well,” she said, “my loyal people are both more than I had dreaded and less than I had hoped. I had not really counted on taking over the castle, of course, but it would have been an easy answer had thousands rallied to my side.”

  “Perhaps, given more time,” he suggested. “There are bound to be disgruntled, angry settlements all over the kingdom. If you sent messages to all —”

  “I have sent messages. But I cannot afford to wait much longer. Each day draws closer to a permanent hold on the kingdom for my uncle the traitor. Each day, Thorn —” She sat up, waving the stick to illustrate her point. “Each day, another of my people languishes in prison, or is set upon by highwaymen, or has his livelihood taken away because he cannot pay the tax. You haven’t heard the stories, the tales I’ve been told. In the name of law and order, innocents are arrested so crimes may be announced to be solved. My uncle has annexed good farmland and declared it a part of the royal grounds, even hundreds of miles away so that he can get the produce from it, no matter that it belongs to someone who needs it for himself. Accused criminals are held in the jail without a hearing, innocent and guilty alike. My uncle has spread a trail of misery and oppression, while the rich sing his praises for establishing an environment of wealth and prosperity.” She ran out of words, at last, and only shook her head.

  “Let’s not wait, then,” said Thorn, who couldn’t think of anything else to say — he had no particular liking for the king, but then, he had no particular liking for people in general, and even with the list of things gone wrong, he couldn’t quite bring himself to feel a great passion for attacking the castle. Still, Irae was upset, and that made him feel a spark deep within, an angry sort of discomfort. “What are we doing?”

  She pointed her stick in the direction of Karyl, who sat close by, patiently nodding at someone who was asking him simple questions.

  “Karyl knows those in the castle who will still be loyal, given the chance. We will send him in — Lully can get us in the back way, under the guise of visiting her friends she left behind, and no one pays any attention to those in the kitchens. Once inside, we can make our way to the throne room, and if he is alone, you can do your work. If not, we will hold anyone else necessary off until you have Forged him. Either way, that’s how today ends.”

  “Er,” said Thorn, doubtfully, “are you quite certain that depending on Karyl for this plan is such a wise thing?”

  “He is absolutely trustworthy, Thorn. He’s been with me through thick and thin, and you’ve seen it yourself to be true!”

  “Don’t get excited,” he said, “I’m not attacking his loyalty. Just his ability to do what you want him to. He’s not exactly acting normal ever since Braeve got her hands on him.”

  She hesitated and looked to Karyl again. There was a faint smile visible on his face, but his eyes were shadowed. Irae’s mouth firmed, and she gave a short, decisive nod.

  “We can trust in him,” she said. “He may be running slow, and still healing, but I believe that he will come through for us.”

  Thorn clapped his hands on his knees.

  “Your belief is what drives us,” he said, somewhat facetiously. “Very well, then, what are we waiting for?”

  He had his own thoughts about this. But they had come this far, and he couldn’t stop her, not at this point. He had too much invested. Besides which, he couldn’t quite deny that there was a little spark, a tiny flame of excitement in the pit of his stomach at the great plan they were about to embark on — the turning of the world’s stage, and himself a player on it.

  Irae spoke to the assembled crowd and explained the plan. She thanked them in a few simple words, as well, looking nearly as embarrassed as Lully had apparently done when addressing them — but her voice carried well, and her shoulders were square, her arms outstretched, and Thorn could feel the people respond to her. They moved forward almost as a body, swaying towards her, and Thorn was so concentrated and focused on the beats of their hearts, the sound of their breath, the aura of their captivation, that he missed out entirely on what Princess Irae actually said.

  He thought he could imagine it, though, what she must have told them.

  She would have said thank you.

  She would have spoken about faith, and loyalty.

  She would have wished them all courage, luck, and joy.

  He could feel the warmth in her voice, even without hearing the words that were spoken.

  As timing was everything — at least, that’s what Thorn had been told — they left the thickets an hour after dark, in order to make their way to the castle walls before the moon was fully up. They left the burning lights of Victory’s Blight in the distance, and traveled in groups, ranged apart in the fields and staying clear of the roads. Irae had appointed a leader for each group — Lully, the one called Berren, and even Ruben had a group to head up, though he looked vividly nervous at the very thought of it all. The legendarian was strangely nervy about everything, Thorn thought — his ever-present smile seemed to have been misplaced. Still, he was steady enough on his feet, and they believed in his loyalty even though they didn’t quite understand it.

  A two- hour walk to the outer town walls of Balfour. Two hours in the dark, with only the sound of tramping feet and the occasional cough or sneeze, a few quiet conversations as they went. Thorn could hear each and every one of them. The men and women of the rebel army, here to support their ousted queen, were as nervous as the bard was. Most of them had never fought anything like this before,
and they were afraid because they did not know what would happen. Some had fought like this not long before, and they were afraid because they did.

  He was so caught up in listening to them all, feeling them swirl around him like points of light in the darkness, that he stumbled over his own two feet. The weight of his pack, including the Anvil of the Soul which was wrapped up well within it, did not help, and Irae, who had been humming unconsciously at his side, caught at his arm to steady him and keep him moving on. He flashed her a smile of gratitude in the darkness — which she couldn’t see, of course, so that was silly — and she let him go as soon as he was steady again, though he wouldn’t really have minded much if she hadn’t.

  “Are you certain about this?” he whispered to her. “I mean — about me?”

  “A bit too late if it turns out I’m not,” she said, and as he had hoped, she put her hand on his arm again and squeezed, just for a reassurance. It worked, too — he felt very much reassured.

  They assembled in two large groups just out of the sight of the castle, in a very convenient stand of trees that made Thorn’s heart heave a great sigh of relief. He felt that he had been far too long out in the open, and the shelter of the growths, small though they were, was very welcome. The first group was to enter into the city of Balfour in smaller groups and range themselves near the castle, waiting for the call to action. The second group, not wanting to call too much attention by such a large number entering the city walls this late at night, was to wait to be needed as reinforcements. Ruben would wait with them.

  “Though I’m not sure what to do,” he said to Irae, “I mean, if it comes down to it. How am I to know if we are needed? What should I look for?”

  “Look for people running about like madmen,” advised Irae, “and listen for a lot of shouting and screaming. The signals of battle should not be vague, if you’re doing it properly. If things are quiet and you hear nothing unusual, it is probably safe to assume that you are not needed.”

  “Oh, good,” said Ruben, smiling a little at last and seeming to relax.

  “Silence means that either we have been astoundingly successful,” said Irae, “or we have been astoundingly unsuccessful, and are already dead.”

  His smile faded again.

  Irae reached up to clap him on the shoulder.

  “Let us hope for the first, and prepare for the worst,” she said. She nodded past him at Thorn, who waited. “Let’s go.”

  The little group of them went first — Irae, Thorn, Karyl between them, and Lully at the last. Berren, since Lully seemed to trust him so implicitly, would lead the rest of the group into the city once they had entered the castle proper. Though the three were scarcely enough to protect Thorn once they achieved the throne room, Irae had evidently hung her hopes on Karyl’s ability to reach out to the guards who were still loyal, and thus they would have all the protection they needed.

  That was the hope, at least.

  Thorn had never been in Balfour, and as they made their way through the sleeping city streets, he looked about himself in awe. He had been in villages, and he had visited towns — but never had he seen so many buildings in one place, especially not clustered so close together. Not everyone was sleeping, either, though it was the middle of the night now. There were lighted windows and open doors with music spilling out — gambling and drinking could be seen within. Thorn’s experience with public houses was very limited, and he gawked at more than a few of them until Irae pulled him along.

  Behind him, Karyl was moving steadily, though his heart was beating in a slow and irregular way that made Thorn worried to hear it. But he was moving, and perhaps everything would be all right in the end.

  For Irae’s sake, he hoped so.

  Lully behind him, he could only identify by the stifled gasps and starts of her breathing as she hurried along; her legs were much shorter than the rest of them, even Irae’s, and keeping up was a difficulty.

  Irae led them through the city, which stretched out like a maze in Thorn’s mind — he tried to pay attention, to count turns, but there were alleyways and left turns when he least expected them, and once they actually went through a building. Soon he realized that, should he have to traverse the route they took back through the city, he would utterly fail, and be just as utterly lost. He tried to think of the buildings as trees, which helped him to feel a little less overwhelmed, but there were far more stones and bricks than wooden panels here in Balfour, and it didn’t really help that much.

  The castle loomed up over them in the dark. A great number of its windows still showed light, even at this late hour.

  “The castle never sleeps,” said Irae, stopping to let Lully catch up, and looking up at the sheer face of the castle walls. “There is always someone up, to see to my uncle’s requirements. That’s how I’m quite certain that my uncle will still be in the throne room, being entertained or accepting audiences — he’s always awake.”

  “That’s an unfortunate side effect of being immortal,” said Thorn. Irae shrugged a little and took up the path again.

  “I suppose he sees it as a worthwhile price to pay,” she said over her shoulder.

  Thorn thought about that as they rounded the final portion of the castle wall and found themselves next to a small back door. Even this small back door was impressive, made with heavy, weathered wood panels and iron bracing. There was a small bell nailed to a wooden panel outside on the wall, and Lully hurried forward between them, and reached for it.

  She stopped a moment before she rang it, and looked at Irae, who nodded at her, breathing deeply and slowly.

  “For the December Queen,” said Lully, quietly.

  She rang the bell.

  There were a few moments of silence while they stood and fidgeted; waiting was almost unbearable, after everything they had done to get this far. But at last Thorn heard the sound of footsteps coming rapidly towards them on cobblestones, and the door creaked open. A lean elderly footman peered out.

  Lully gave him a quick curtsey.

  “Hullo, Tom!” she said. “I’m sorry about how late it is. I’ve only just got into the city this moment, and Calara promised she would put us up for the night.”

  Tom the footman eyed her.

  “Who are you?”

  “Don’t you remember me, Tom? I’m Micera, Calara’s cousin. I worked in the kitchens for over a year, I did!” Lully pouted at him. “I can’t believe you don’t remember me, Tom.”

  Tom clearly did not remember her, but he also clearly did not want to make her sad. Shifting uncomfortably, he opened the door a little wider.

  “Well,” he said, “if you’re going to stay with Calara, I suppose that’s all well and good. But I can’t very well let all of you in. There’s no room in the dormitory.” He gave Thorn a piercing glare, which rather hurt Thorn’s feelings.

  “No, no, no need for that,” said Lully dismissively, waving her hand. “The rest have a place to stay and need only to say hello and then be on their way. Calara is expecting me, I believe, unless — did I tell her I was coming tomorrow?” She put a finger to her lips, thoughtfully. “I may have done. So perhaps that’s why she didn’t warn you that I would be here late. Silly me, I forget the days of the week something terrible. I’d forget my own head if it wasn’t nailed on, it’s ridiculous, you know. I can scarcely stand myself. Still, here we are, and Calara will vouch for me if need be, since you can’t remember who I am.” She gave him a smile, which still somehow managed to look like a pout. Tom wavered.

  “Well,” he said, “I’ll take you and your sister there in to see, and we can sort the other two out later. I can’t say any fairer than that.”

  “Oh, surely not,” Lully enthused. “Thanks ever so much, Tom, you truly are a treasure. Wasn’t I just saying so the other day, Sussie?” she said to Irae, who nodded emphatically but did not speak. “I said that Tom is a treasure. Well, come along, then, let’s go and see Calara.” She bustled off through the door, following Tom the footman,
and Irae followed her, turning only to mouth, “We will be right back for you!” at Thorn. The door closed, but not entirely — Thorn wasn’t sure whose foot it was that caught it, so it stayed ajar, but he had a fairly good idea. He rubbed his hands together against the chill of the night, feeling suddenly both hot and cold simultaneously, and began to pace back and forth. He felt like nothing more than a bundle of nerves and said so.

  Karyl said nothing in reply, but Thorn thought he saw his massive head go up and down, once, in acknowledgment.

  “It’s ridiculous,” Thorn went on, “it isn’t as though we haven’t been doing things just as dangerous as this, or perhaps even more so, regularly for the last few weeks. In fact, ever since I met Jelen, this has been happening.” He shook his head and tugged at the ends of his hair with both hands. “Perhaps that’s the problem. Perhaps it’s just such a sudden change from the nothing of my life previously that I can’t quite wrap my brain around it all.”

  Karyl continued saying nothing, and Thorn continued to pace.

  Another few moments went by, and he folded his arms, rubbing at them.

  “After all, it’s only our lives on the line,” he said eventually. “What have we got to lose? Apart from everything, of course.”

  Karyl still said nothing, and Thorn stopped next to him, at last, and managed to smile upwards at him.

  “And if you have everything to lose, then you conversely must have everything to win. Irae believes in us. That’s got to be worth something, hasn’t it?” He nodded to himself. “Worth everything. Yes, indeed. We can do this.” He had the oddest, most exhilarating feeling that for once what he was saying was the truth, and on the strength of it he clapped Karyl heartily on the back. With a strange little sigh, the big man folded up into little pieces, like paper, and slipped to the ground.

  Thorn looked down at him.

  “Karyl?”

  Karyl still said nothing. Thorn listened and heard only a vague stuttering in the space in the air where his heartbeat should have been, like an echo.