Treasures of Fantasy - Margaret Weis [107]
Time passed slowly and Skylan eventually fell asleep. He was awakened by a stir and bustle. The party was breaking up, time to go home. One of the Legate’s soldiers came to fetch him and Keeper. They joined Acronis in front of the palace walls outside the gate. He was carrying a slumbering Chloe in his arms. He placed her gently in the waiting litter.
“She fell asleep right after the parade of champions,” Acronis was telling Zahakis, who was holding aside the curtains of the litter. “I was going to leave early. You know how I despise these feasts. But Xydis insisted on talking to me. Nothing would do but that we had to speak in private. He hauled me out of the hall and off to some secluded room.”
Acronis tenderly drew a silken coverlet up over Chloe’s shoulders.
“What did the Priest-General want?” Zahakis asked.
Acronis glanced around. One of the soldiers was bringing his horse from the stables. The others were holding blazing torches, preparing to light the way back to the villa. Skylan and Keeper happened to be standing on the opposite side of the litter. The curtains blocked Acronis’s view of them. Skylan raised his finger to his lips, warning Keeper to be silent.
“He wanted to talk about the ogre invasion. He has word that the ogre fleet made landfall at Argon and spent three days there hunting for food and taking on water. Then they set sail again, heading this direction.”
“Argon,” said Zahakis, considering. “That’s forty days sailing with a good wind. What does Xydis plan to do?”
“Pray to Aelon for a bad wind,” said Acronis dryly. “Xydis told me about the defenses he’s planning for the city. Adequate, so far as they go, though it is going to take every one of those forty days to get the job done and they have yet to start! He wants me to block the entrance to the harbor with two war galleys when the ogres are sighted. I almost laughed in his face. Two triremes facing a fleet of over a hundred ships! The man is mad.”
“How did he take your refusal?”
“He took it well,” said Acronis, marveling. “I thought he would be furious, but he admitted that he did not understand naval tactics, said the decision was mine, and so on. He asked me for proposals on how the triremes could be used. He asked my opinion on his plans for the city. He was friendly to the point I couldn’t get away. Whenever I tried to leave, he insisted on detaining me to continue our discussion.”
Zahakis shook his head. “He’s up to something.”
“Oh, yes,” said Acronis. “I just can’t figure out what.”
“Perhaps this ogre threat is a lie.”
“To what end? No, he’s telling the truth about the ogre invasion. He wouldn’t be spending the Church’s gold on building walls and so forth if he didn’t think it was real.”
Zahakis muttered something, then said, “What will you do, sir?”
“First I must make arrangements for Chloe to travel far inland to our country estate. She will be safe there. Then I suppose it will be up to me to find some way to defend the city. I don’t plan to put my trust in Aelon . . .”
The two walked off and Skylan could hear no more. He really didn’t need to hear anymore. He looked triumphantly at Keeper.
“What do you say now?”
“About what?” Keeper asked.
“About what we just heard! About the invasion!”
The ogre shrugged. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
He walked off to take his place behind Acronis, who was mounting his horse. He raised his hand and the small procession moved out, moving slowly and quietly so as not to wake Chloe.
CHAPTER
16
* * *
BOOK TWO
The night was dark. The new moon gave only a feeble light. A thin layer of clouds obscured the stars. The guards were watchful and alert as the procession moved through the empty streets. No light shone anywhere. The taverns had closed for the night. The glare from Aelon’s dome illuminated the rooftops of the buildings but did not descend to street level. Delivery wagons would not be making their rounds until closer to dawn.
The silence