Warlock - The Warlock Enraged Part 35

Gwen nodded. "Praise Heaven it came no closer to the bone!"

"Lord Warlock!"

Rod looked up.

They were in the Great Hall of Duke Romanov's castle.

It was a vast stone room, thirty feet high, forty wide, and eighty long-and empty, for the moment, since all the boards and trestles had been piled against the walls at the end of the last meal, for the evening's entertainments. The High Table was still up, of course, on its dais, and Rod sat in one of the chairs, with Gwen beside him-though pointedly not in the Duke's and d.u.c.h.ess's places.

An auncient, still wearing Alfar's livery, came striding toward them from the screens pa.s.sage, eyes alight with excitement.

"Did you lock up the traitors?" Rod demanded.

"Aye, milord." The auncient came to a halt directly in front of Rod. " 'Twas that to be said for the sorcerer's having used our bodies for his army, the whiles he lulled our souls into slumber-that when we waked, we knew on the instant which soldiers had been loyal to the usurper of their own wills, e'en though they'd remained wakeful."

Rod nodded. "By some strange coincidence, the ones who had been giving the orders." There had been a few opportunistic knights who had been loyal to Alfar without benefit of hypnotism, too. Rod had had to lock them in a dungeon himself, medieval caste rules being what they were.

One of them had resisted; but after the others saw what happened to him, they went quietly. It was just too embar- ra.s.sing, being defeated by a bunch of children.... A couple of them, quicker to react, had escaped as soon as peasants started waking up all around them. That was all right; Rod 246 had a few thousand mortified soldiers on his hand, who needed something to do to appease their consciences. A hunt was just fine.

But the common soldiers who had allied with Alfar, could be left to the tender mercies of their erstwhile comrades- once Rod had made it clear that he expected them to, at least, survive. "So you found the deepest, darkest, dungeon, and locked them in it?"

"Aye, milord." The auncient's eyes glowed. "We loosed its sole tenant." He turned toward the screens pa.s.sage with a bow, and in limped the prisoner. His doublet and hose were torn, and crusted with dried blood; his face was smeared with dirt, and his hair matted. There was a great livid gash along the right-hand side of his face, scabbed over, that would leave a horrible scar; and he limped heavily, his limbs sodden with inactivity; but his back was straight, and his chin was high. Two knights were with him, blinking, dazed, as disoriented as any of the soldiers, but straight and proud.

Simon followed after, looking perplexed.

Rod shoved himself to his feet, ignoring the searing pro- test from his wounded hip, and the auncient announced: "Hail my lord, the Duke of Romanov!"

Rod stepped down from the dais to clasp his one-time enemy by the shoulders. "Praise Heaven you're alive!"

"And thee, for this fair rescue!" The Duke inclined his head. "Well met. Lord Warlock! I, and all my line, shall ever be indebted to thee and thine!"

"Well, maybe more the 'thine' than the 'thee.'" Rod glanced behind him at the children who sat, prim and proper, on the dais steps with their mother fairly glowing behind them. "When push came to shove, they had to haul my bacon out of the fire."

"Then I thank thee mightily. Lady Gallowgla.s.s, and thee, brave children!" The Duke inclined his head again.

Blus.h.i.+ng, they leaped to their feet and bowed.

When the Duke straightened, there was anxiety in his face. "Lord Warlock-my wife and bairns. Did they...

escape?"

"They did, and my wife and children made sure they reached Runnymede safely." Rod turned to Gwen. "Didn't you?"

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"Certes, my lord. We would not have turned aside from what we'd promised thee we'd do."

"Yes-you never did promise to stay safe, did you? But Alfar mentioned something about a dire fate in store for you...."

"Indeed!" Gwen opened her eyes wider. "Then it was never taken out from storage. I wonder thou wast so merciful in thy dealings with him."

"Well, I never did like lingering deaths." But Rod couldn't help feeling better about it all.

"He also implied that the d.u.c.h.ess and her boys didn't stay safe...."

"False again," Gwen said quickly, just as the Duke's anguish was beginning to show anew. "We saw them to Runnymede, where they bide safely, in the care of Their Royal Majesties."

"Yes... what are monarchs for?" But Rod noted the flash of shame that flitted across Romanov's features-no doubt in memory of his rebellion.

"We played with them not three hours agone, Papa,"

Geoffrey added.

The Duke heaved a sigh, relaxing. Then the father and host in him both took over. "Three hours? And thy children have not dined in that time?" He spun to the auncient. "Good Auncient, seek out the cooks! Rouse them from their dazes, and bid them bring meat and wine-and honeycakes."

The children perked up most noticeably.

"Three hours agone." The Duke turned back to the chil- dren with a frown. "Was this in Runnymede?"

The children nodded.

The Duke turned back to Rod. "How could they come to aid thee, then?"

"Nice question." Rod turned to Gwen again. "It was rather dangerous here, dear. Just how close were you, while you were waiting for me to need you?"

"The lads were in Runnymede, my lord, even as thou hast but now heard," Gwen answered. "They could bide there, sin' that they may travel an hundred leagues in the bat of an eyelash."

Rod had notion that their range was farther than that, much farther, but he didn't deem it wise to say so-es- 248 pecially not where they could hear (or mind read).

"At the outset," Gwen continued, "Cordelia and I did bide with them, for we could attend to thy thoughts e'en from that distance, and fly to thine aid if thou didst come near to danger. It did greatly trouble me, therefore, when thy thoughts did so abruptly cease."

Cordelia nodded confirmation, her eyes huge. "She did weep. Papa."

"Oh, no, darling!" Rod caught Gwen's hands. "I didn't mean to..."

"Nay, certes." She smiled. "Yet thou wilt therefore com- prehend my concern."

Rod nodded slowly. "I'd say so, yes."

"I therefore did leave the boys in care of Their Royal Majesties, and Brom O'Berin, and flew northward again. I took on the guise of an osprey...."

Rod rolled his eyes up. "I knew, when I saw that blasted fish-hawk that far inland, that I was in trouble!" Of course, he knew that Gwen couldn't really shrink down to the size of a bird any more than a b.u.t.terfly could play midwife to a giraffe. It was just a projective illusion, making people think that they saw a bird instead of a woman. "If I hadn't s.h.i.+elded my thoughts, I probably would've seen through your spell!"

"An thou hadst not s.h.i.+elded thy thoughts, I would not have had to fly near enough to see thee," Gwen retorted.

"And though thou hadst disguised thyself, I knew thee. Rod Gallowgla.s.s."

That, at least, was rea.s.suring-in its way.

"Then," Gwen finished, " 'twas but a matter of hearken- ing to the thoughts of that goodman who did ride beside thee." Gwen turned to Simon. "I thank thee. Master Simon."

The older man still looked confused, but he bowed any- way, smiling. "I was honored to be of service, milady- e'en though I knew it not."

"And when thou wert taken," Gwen went on, "I did summon Cordelia to me, to bide in waiting, in a deserted shepherd's croft. Then, when thou didst burst forth from thy s.h.i.+eld, I could not help but hear thy thoughts for myself."

"Not that you were about to try to ignore them," Rod murmured.

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"Nay, certes!" Gwen cried in indignation. "Then, when thou didst come unto the tower chamber, I knew the moment of battle was nigh, and did summon Cordelia from her croft to fly to the tower; and when the unearthly device did cease to compel, and did commence to disenchant, I knew the time of battle had come. Then did I summon thy sons, that the family might be together once again."

"Very homey," Rod grinned. "And, though I was mighty glad to see you all, I don't mind saying I'm even gladder to know the kids were safe, right down until the last mo- ment."

"Certes, my lord! I would not endanger them."

Rod gave her the fish-eye. "What do you call that last little fracas we went through-homework?"

"Oh, nay! 'Twas far too great a delight!" Geoffrey cried.

"Homework's delight," Gregory lisped.

"Papa!" Cordelia cried indignantly; and Magnus's chin jutted out a quarter-inch further. " 'Twas scarce more than ch.o.r.es."

"We'd fought each of them aforetime," Geoffrey re- minded him, "and knew their powers-save Alfar, and we left him to thee."

"Nice to know you have confidence in me. But there could've been accidents...."

"So there may ever be, with baims," Gwen sighed. "Here, at least, they were under mine eye. Bethink thee, husband, what might chance an I were to leave them in the kitchen, untended."

Rod shuddered. "You've made your point; please don't try the experiment." He turned to the Duke. "Ever begin to feel redundant?"

"Nay, Papa," Magnus cried. "We could only aid thee in the ending of this campaign."

"Truly," Gregory said, round-eyed, "we knew not enough to bring the sorcerer to bay."

But Rod had caught the sly glance between Magnus and Geoffrey. Under the circ.u.mstances, though, he deemed it wiser not to say anything about it.

"Now, mine husband." Gwen clasped his hands. "In this last battle, I did hear thy thoughts at all times. Thine anger was there, aye, but thou didst contain it. Hast thou, then, 250.

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so much ta'en this goodman's advice to thine heart?" She nodded at Simon.

"I have," Rod confirmed. "It worked this time, at least."

"Dost thou mean thou wilt not become angry again. Papa?"

Cordelia cried, and the other children looked up in delight.

"I can't promise that," Rod hedged, "but I think I'll have better luck controlling it. Why-what were you planning to do?"

Whatever they would have answered was forestalled by the cooks, stumbling in with dinner. They set down the platters on the table, and the children leaped in with joyful cries. Magnus got there first, wrenched off a drumstick, and thrust it at his father. "Here, Papa! "Tis thy place of right!"

"Why, thank you," Rod said, amused. "Nice to know I have some rank around here."

"I shall have the other." Cordelia reached for the other drumstick.

"Nay; thou hast never favored the legs of the fowl!"

Geoffrey's hand darted out, and grabbed the bone before hers.

"Loose that!" Cordelia cried. " 'Twas my claim was first!"

"As 'twas my hand!"

"Yet I came to the bird before either of thee!" Magnus laid a hand on the bone of contention. "My remembrance of our father, doth not bar me from this choice!"

"Uh, children," Rod said mildly, "quiet down, please."

"'Tis mine!"

"Nay! 'Tis mine!"

"I am eldest! My claim is first!"

"Children!" Rod hiked his volume a bit. "Cut it out!"

Gwen laid a restraining hand on his arm. That did it; his temper leaped.

Cordelia turned on her brothers. "Now, beshrew me an thou art not the most arrogant, ungentlemanly boys the world hath ever..."

"Wherefore beshrew thee? Thou art a shrew already!"

And the discussion disintegrated into wild shouts of ac- cusation and counter-accusation.

Rod stood rigid, trying to contain his soaring anger. Then Simon caught his eye. Rod stared at the older man's calm, level gaze, and felt a measure of strength that he hadn't known he had. He took a deep breath and reminded himself that their bickering might make them look childish (as it should), but not him-if he didn't start shouting with them.

The thought checked his anger and held it. He was himself, Rod Gallowgla.s.s-and he wasn't any the less himself, nor any less important, nor any less in any way, just because his children didn't heed him.

But he did know how to get their attention. He reached out, grasped the last drumstick, and twisted it loose.

The children whirled, appalled. "Papa!" "Nay! Thou hast no need!" "Thou already hast one. Papa!"

" 'Tis not justice," little Gregory piped, chin tucked in truculently over folded arms.

"But it does settle the argument," Rod pointed out. He turned to Gwen, presenting the drumstick with a flourish and a bow. "My dear, you saved the day. Your glory is as great as mine."