Kushiel's Scion - Jacqueline Carey [274]
I kept my dire thoughts at bay and raised my cup in a toast. "To Eamonn and Brigitta!" I called, and then slipped into D'Angeline. "May Blessed Elua hold and keep you in his hand, and may his Companions grant you mercy and kindness."
Amid the general acclaim, a shadow darkened the doorway.
"What in the name of Hades is this ?" a voice grated.
I got unsteadily to my feet. "Lucius…"
"Lucius be damned!" he roared. His gaze scoured the dining room, the picked-over banquet table. "Did I not give orders? What is this? This excess, this folly! Do you not understand that we are under siege? This is treason!"
The Lady Beatrice emitted a faint sound and fanned herself anxiously. Her husband stared blankly at his empty lap. No one else moved, although Claudia watched me.
"Lucius." I approached him. The sockets of his eyes were bruised hollows, his eyes burning like embers. They were mistrustful, and yet there was something within them I knew. Without thinking, I took his face in my hands. It felt stiff and hard. The skin was taut over the bones of his face, the scowling lines on it were engraved cruel and deep. And yet, unlike my dream, it didn't crumble under my touch. "It's a wedding. Eamonn and Brigitta's wedding."
For the space of a few heartbeats, Lucius surfaced.
I saw it; I saw his satyr's mouth twist in a familiar, wry smile. "Prince Barbarus and his shield-maiden?" he whispered.
"Yes," I said. "Will you celebrate it with us?"
Lucius was there; and then he was gone. He yanked his head back and swatted my hands away. "Jupiter! Get off me, you damned D'Angeline, before I have your balls for juggler's toys." I stepped back, raising my hands in a placating gesture. "Right," he said, breathing hard. "We've a special mission planned for tonight. I'll need you to report early, both of you."
"Gallus Tadius." Deccus Fulvius swung himself off the couch. "I will be taking Prince Eamonn's place tonight that he might spend it with his bride."
"Oh, you are, are you?" Gallus gave him a hard look, but Deccus stood firm. At length, Gallus shrugged. "As long as you follow orders," he said, then jerked his chin at the banquet table. "Clean this up. And don't let me see anything like it again."
With that, he strode away.
"Well," I said. "That could have been worse."
The Lady Beatrice had tears in her eyes. "My poor boy! This is devouring him from the inside out. Is this worth it? Is Lucca worth his suffering?"
"Lucca," her husband murmured vaguely. "Oh, yes."
"I don't know, my lady," I said to her. "I wish I did."
Deccus Fulvius cleared his throat. "Come on, lad. We'd best be off."
"No, my lord." Eamonn rose. "I can't let you take my place. It's not right. Whatever Gallus Tadius is planning, it may be dangerous."
"Bah!" Deccus chuckled. "Do you take me for a milksop, lad? I was holding a sword before you were born. There's fight in the old republican yet. Isn't there, my love?" he added to Claudia. She smiled at him with genuine fondness. Deccus nodded at Eamonn and Brigitta. "Take your happiness where you find it, children, and don't ask too many questions. Life is too short and uncertain to do otherwise."
Eamonn protested; Deccus prevailed. And so it was that he and I reported for patrol duty together that evening.
The square was already crowded by the time we arrived. The usual riders were there, as well as a squadron of the city guard and a handful of the newer conscripts on foot. The latter wore dark clothing and no armor, though they had the scarlet band of the Red Scourge tied around their upper arms.
Gallus Tadius waited until we were all assembled, the riders in a neat double line, the foot-soldiers clustered in front of us. Behind him, the burned hulk of the bell-tower loomed in ominous warning.
"All right, lads!" he shouted. "Tonight we set fire to the fields!"
Almost to a man, they cheered. Deccus and I exchanged a glance. "Surely he jests," he murmured.
I shook my head. "I think not."
He didn't. In a few broad strokes,