The Floodgate - Elaine Cunningham [82]
Matteo rose slowly to his feet, his hands clenched into fists. It was bad enough that a jordain should submit to such a thing! The peasant who'd taken his place had no part in Halruaa's laws of magic and power! "Do you know what became of this man?"
"No, but if you value his life, you should not seek him out," Iago pointed out.
"On the other hand, if you value yours, perhaps you should. There would be an inquiry if he died while answering questions, and perhaps the spell could be traced back to the spellcaster."
"Are you suggesting that some might suspect me of arranging this travesty?"
"You were released from prison with ample time to ride back to the college, yet you came a day late. Another man rides in on your horse just in time. At whom, logically, will the fingers point?"
"Kiva, of course."
"Therein lies the problem," Iago said grimly. "Kiva is nowhere to be found. If a magehound examined you, he might find you innocent, and he might not."
"That's absurd!"
"Is it? Now that you know the nature of the purification ritual, would you return to the Jordaini College and willingly submit to it?" “Would you?" Matteo countered.
Iago smiled thinly. "There you have it. A magehound's magic would discover your rejection of jordaini rule. Guilt or innocence is often a matter of tone. The details are like pieces in a strategy game-they can be used by either side, to very different result."
Matteo could not dispute this. "Does anyone else in the college know of this?"
"I don't intend to tell anyone, if that's your concern. Just…be careful."
Matteo placed a hand on the jordain's shoulder. "Thank you for telling me this. You are a good friend."
"Just get me out of this stable and onto a horse's back, and we'll call the debt paid," Iago said with a faint smile.
The stable lights flickered on, responding to the approach of twilight. "Lord Procopio will be in shortly," Matteo said. "We'll speak again as soon as I've news."
He hurried to the wizard's tower. Procopio received him at once with a grave face and without the formulaic courtesies demanded by Halruaan protocol. He ushered Matteo into his study and shut the door firmly behind him.
"You're not going to like this," he said bluntly. "I've no idea what to make of it."
Matteo swallowed hard. Never had he heard Procopio make so bald an admission-the wizard prided himself in reading all things clearly. "Go on."
The wizard's hawk-black eyes bore into Matteo's. "The ice building where you and the girl were attacked is owned by Ferris Grail, headmaster of the Jordaini College."
Chapter Sixteen
Matteo hurried to the queen's palace, his mind a whirl of confusion and anger. He had no reason to doubt Procopio. He fervently wished he did.
His belief in the jordaini order had long been eroding. Now it was crumbling under him. Zephyr had been turned by Kiva. Matteo had tried not to dwell overmuch on Andris's disappearance, but as time passed and Andris did not surface, Matteo had to face the very real possibility that his friend had turned traitor. The possibility -he would not accept it as truth unless he saw Andris at Kiva's side. Was it also possible that the headmaster of the Jordaini College might have employed thugs to silence a jordain's search for truth?
He strode toward the heavy doors that separated Beatrix's court from the rest of the palace, determined to receive the queen's permission to leave the city.
If she did not grant it, he would do as Tzigone had advised and leave anyway.
Several men and two women, all of them carrying crafters' tools, waited by the outer door while the sentry loosed the magical wards. Judging from the clatter and bustle within Beatrix's rooms, the sentry had been kept busy with the various comings and goings. There were three doors, all of them carefully locked and warded.
Again Matteo recalled a jordaini proverb:
Precaution is the grandchild of disaster. Such careful measures would not be taken to isolate the queen's