Lord of the Silent Kingdom

"There are names missing," Heris said. She was alive now, like some vengeful harpy Instrumentality.

Hecht said, "I thought shared knowledge might be a thread linking some of the dead."

Februaren observed, "And it would be right to leave them rambling around sharing that thread with anyone who wants to listen."

"I didn't say that."

"You're thinking it. If only obliquely. Being dishonest with yourself."

"You can't kill everyone who knows about me."

Muniero Delari said, "You can't kill Armand."

"And why not, Muno? He's a spy. A slimy spy."

"I know that. I always knew that. When he was in my household I controlled what he reported to Alten Weinberg."

"A

Heris muttered to herself as she continued to glare at Cloven Februaren's list. "I said there are names missing, double-great-grandpa."

"I'm listening, sweetheart."

Heris named three men and a woman against whom she enjoyed abiding grudges. After questioning her, Februaren concluded, "Only the woman Hasheyda fits. The rest were just slaveholders. They treated you the same as their other slaves. The woman, though, has come up before. She may have helped finance the slaving expedition. Her front man paid his due before she became suspect. She'll be interviewed."

Heris muttered, "I'd like to interview her. For about a year, in a torture chamber."

"You wouldn't come out any happier."

Hecht changed the subject. "Principate. Where have you been since you got back? Everyone keeps asking."

"They don't need to know."

"I wouldn't tell them. But the asking leaves me curious."

"I've been down under. With the Construct. And in the catacombs."

"Staying out of the way?"

"I came up to vote. Twice. And to campaign against myself in the second election. The world is getting harsher every day. I have no time to waste socializing with idiots who can't see what's coming right at them."

Februaren suggested, "If you spent time with them you might open their eyes."

Delari snorted. "The only one out there interested in anything but his own power and pleasure is Bronte Doneto. And he's interested for the wrong reasons."

Hecht said, "I was impressed by Hugo Mongoz. Though our interview wasn't as thorough as it might have been."

"I'll give you Boniface. But the man won't be around long. And most of what he gets done is because people are humoring an old man."

"Fix him up with enough time to do some good."

"Eh?"

Hecht pointed at Februaren. "He's figured out how to hang around forever. Fix it so the Patriarch stays with us for a while, too."

"Nice idea. In theory," Februaren said. "Probably impractical. But I'll think about it. The ring, Piper. Tomorrow. Get shut of it. It's important. The Instrumentalities are about to figure it out."

Hecht nodded. He asked Delari, "Do you know the whole story about Osa Stile?"

The Principate frowned. "Osa Stile?"

"Armand? Osa Stile is his real name."

"How would you… ? He's an agent of Ferris Renfrow, the Imperial spy. He arranged embarrassments for the Church in the Co

"Osa was a gift to Ferris Renfrow from Dreanger. He was made by er-Rashal al-Dhulquarnen. He's almost my age. His first loyalty is to the Rascal, not Renfrow. Nor his lovers. I believe er-Rashal subtly suggested Osa's use in the Co

Delari asked, "You know this for a fact?"

"About Osa Stile? Yes. I'm speculating about er-Rashal's co

"And where does your loyalty lie now, Piper?" Februaren asked. "Since you were sent west to die, and have been attacked repeatedly because you won't stop breathing."

"I don't know. Honestly. Intellectually, I know I've been betrayed by Gordimer and al-Dhulquarnen. They've made enemies of themselves. But I haven't been betrayed by the Sha-lug. My own company, that I commanded before I came over here, were at al-Khazen. And, later, at Arn Bedu. They were betrayed, too. Because of their association with me. They didn't turn on me. Neither, I suspect, would most Sha-lug." Though he had been away so long that few would remember him.

Februaren nodded. "The one called the Mountain. Hiding amongst the Pramans at Arn Bedu. He's in Lucidia, now. Supported by the Kaif of Qasr al-Zed. He's gathering Sha-lug willing to turn on Gordimer and er-Rashal. But he's gotten less sympathy than he expected. He's survived several assassination attempts. He'll need luck to keep on."

"Tomorrow," Delari said. Evidently lost inside his own head.

Everyone stared. He did not go on.

"Muno? You were going to say something." Februaren put an edge in his voice, adult to inattentive youngster.

"Uh? Oh. Yes. Tomorrow. Heris. You start Piper's education with the Construct."

"Piper has to visit the Bruglioni."

"Afterward, then. But tomorrow. We need to get on with it. It can't be that long before he has to go off to the Co

"I don't have time!" Hecht protested.

"Make time, Piper," Februaren said. "Trust your staff. This is important. Muno and I aren't immortal."

"I have no talent for sorcery."

"Talent not required. No more so than to throw a rock. We'll both be there to instruct you. Right, Muno?"

The Principate nodded. But he was drifting again.

"What did you talk about?" A

"Yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Depressing stuff."

"And secret?"

"Naturally."

"Politics?"

"That, too. But you'll get help with the killer in your neighborhood."

"And you have to… ?"

"I have to study something with Delari before I go back to the Co

Disappointed, she murmured, "How soon will that be?"

"Depends on Boniface. He doesn't seem to be in a hurry. Certainly not till all the troops from Artecipea are over and rested and refitted."

A

"I know. But I can't not."

"I know. You can't stop being you."

That was not really it. Or, maybe it was.

"You're the last person I expected to see," Paludan Bruglioni said, looking startled. "You've gotten us out of your life." The man was nervous. He had trouble meeting Hecht's eyes. He had lost hair and gained weight.

"Not at all. I owe you. You gave me work when I was new here. I gave you my best while I was here."

Grudgingly, Paludan admitted, "You did turn us around. You did win back the respect we'd lost." Lost because of Paludan Bruglioni's indifference toward management of the family he had come to head at too early an age.

"But you were unhappy with me anyway. So I hear."

"You say you have something… ?" Paludan lost focus. He stared at a shadowed corner, the color draining from his face.

"I may have found the ring I was so sure I didn't have."

He had a note on paper fixed to his left wrist. Writing never forgot. "If this is it." He handed the gold band to Bruglioni. "I found it with some coins and jewelry I brought back from Artecipea. I don't know if I picked it up there or if I had it all along. All along makes more sense."

Paludan glared as hard as a frightened man dared.

"I showed it to Principate Delari. He said there's a spell on it that makes you forget it. I wrote it all down." He showed his wrist.

Bruglioni studied the ring. "It looks like the one Divino had. And he always claimed that only people who had seen it but didn't actually have it could remember it."

"So what's the point of it if you don't know you have it? What kind of lunatic sorcerer makes a magic ring like that?"