Treasures of Fantasy - Margaret Weis [94]
“I am sorry, my love,” she said meekly. “Please forgive me.”
He forgave her with a kiss and they walked to the Shrine of Aelon together.
The doors to the Shrine swung open. Raegar drew Treia close and said softly, “Bring Aylaen to the Spirit Priestesses at sunset this night. Remember, my love, if we summon the Vektan dragon to defeat the ogres, we will be the saviors of Sinaria. Nothing will be too good for us!”
After the service, the Priest-General summoned Raegar to meet with him in his office. Raegar waited a short time for Xydis to conclude a previous appointment, then he was ushered inside.
Xydis gestured to a chair. Raegar had barely seated himself when Xydis said, with his customary abruptness, “We must do something about Acronis. The Empress informed him of the threat posed by the ogres, how they intend to attack Sinaria. I sent a request that due to the emergency, he hand over command of his triremes and his private army to me, as the law of Aelon requires in time of crisis.”
“And he refused,” said Raegar.
“Not only did he refuse, he had the unmitigated gall to tell me that his men would refuse to serve under my command! I told him they would be under your command. He said that his men had even less respect for you than they did for me.”
Raegar flushed in anger. “Tell the Empress he flouts the law. Have him arrested.”
“I cannot,” said Xydis. “I will need his army in this battle. His soldiers are better trained, better equipped than ours. If I had his wealth, the men would fight for me.”
He made an impatient gesture. “Acronis sails off on voyages fraught with danger, yet never fails to return unscathed. Sometimes I wonder what Aelon is thinking.”
“I don’t see that we would gain much if Acronis died,” said Raegar. “His estate would go to his daughter and, from what I hear, she is as obdurate as her father.”
Xydis was amused. “Unlike you barbarians, women cannot inherit property in Oran. And since Acronis has no male heirs, the estate would come to the crown. And from the crown, to the Church.”
Raegar was angry at the insult. He let it go, however, as he let go a thousand others. He considered Xydis’s words and wondered, suddenly, if the man was hinting at something.
“Acronis does not need to sail the ocean to find danger,” Raegar said, feeling his way forward tentatively. “He could easily fall victim to a thief or run afoul of one of the city’s gangs.”
“We are working hard to find a way to rid our city of such criminal elements,” said Xydis mildly. Then he added, “But, yes, the Legate falling victim to a murderous gang would be a shame. We should pray to Aelon to keep him safe.”
Xydis paused, then added, “Especially tonight. The Legate and that cousin of yours, Skylan, and the ogre, Keeper, have been invited to the Palace for the celebration of the opening of the Para Dix games. He will be returning to his villa well after darkness falls. . . .”
“Let us pray,” said Raegar, with a smile.
CHAPTER
12
* * *
BOOK TWO
The first training session for the Para Dix took place the morning that Raegar and Xydis met. The Torgun were marched to the playing field by the Tribune’s soldiers, who ordered them to sit on the ground and keep quiet. Aylaen arrived shortly after, escorted by Zahakis. All Aylaen could think about was Garn and the claim that Aelon could bring her lover back to life. Garn had attained what every warrior longed for—he had died a hero’s death. He would be in Torval’s Hall. If she dragged him away . . . Unhappy and troubled, warring between doing what she longed to do and doing what she knew she should do, she sat apart from the others, her head bowed.
Skylan, keeping an eye on the guards who were talking to Zahakis, managed to slide closer to Aylaen.
“Did you find out anything about Wulfe?” he asked.
Aylaen gave a start and stared at him as if she had no idea who he was.
Skylan eyed her. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, of course,” she said shortly.
“Are you sure? You