[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
nothing to do with Rag-
nor's funeral.
Jarrod and Marianna regained their rooms quickly and set about changing their
clothes. They exchanged what information they had, knowing that as the discov-
erer of the unicorns and as Joscelyn's parents, they were doubly responsible.
"Why didn't you tell me about this castle before?"
Marianna asked.
"Because it was none of your business," Jarrod said shortly. "There are only a
handful of people who know.
It was a Discipline project, but even Greylock doesn't know about it. Ragnor
knew, of course, but he's dead."
"Then we certainly shan't tell Arabella," Marianna said, unabashed. "Honest
ignorance is what we have to project. My son appeared suddenly and joined the
cor-
tege saying that they wanted to pay homage to Ragnor.
Josceyin is obviously under the influence of this strange unicorn. We didn't
know that they were coming and we don't know where they went." She looked at
him.
"Well, it's the truth," she said.
Jarrod made no reply and she went took him by the arms and shook him slightly.
"Listen to me. Gwyndryth could lose all influence at Court because of this. If
Var-
odias insists, we are going to be made scapegoats even though we have done
nothing wrong. They can't do much to you, you're a Mage, but they can cripple
Gwyndryth. Our only hope is to be bewildered, but helpful. If we are seen as
part of a possible solution, we may be spared. Just follow my lead."
Jarrod disengaged her hands gently and looked down
THE UNICORN PEACE + 339
at her. "No, my dear," he said firmly. "This is more important than Gwyndryth.
The unicorn was essentially correct in many of the things that he said about
Varo-
dias, but that is beside the point. What we have to do is to make sure that
this does not get blown up into an international incident. Unicorns come
within the Dis-
cipline's purview and this is our problem. Joscelyn may be your, er, our son,
but he is an Apprentice Magician.
You will follow my lead in this. Is that quite clear?"
Marianna looked up into his eyes and whatever she saw there quenched the spark
of rebellion in her own.
"Very well," she said with a little shake of the head.
"But if you put Gwyndryth in jeopardy, you shall an-
swer to me," she added before turning away to com-
plete her preparations for the audience.
They were ushered into the withdrawing room by a gentleman-of-the-bedchamber
who smirked at them as they passed. Bad news travels quickly, Jarrod thought.
Arabella was ensconced in an ornate chair, looking grim. Another, unoccupied,
stood close by.
"I am so sorry, Your Majesty," Marianna said, un-
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bidden, as she rose from a deep curtsy, "that this should have occurred on
this day of all days."
Arabella waved her into silence.
"We need hardly tell you," she said, "that the Em-
peror is exceeding angry. He has been attacked and in-
sulted in front of a gathering of every personage of note on Strand. We have
asked you here because you know more about unicorns than anyone else and, some
way or another, we must get to the bottom of this." She looked at Jarrod. "You
can converse with the unicorn
Nastrus, can you not?"
"Yes, ma'am, and I have done so. He has told me that a number of younger
unicorns have decided to come to Strand. It seems that they are running out of
space and grazing in their current home,"
340 + JOHN LEE
"And what of the challenge to the Emperor?" Ara-
bella asked.
"Nastrus was at a loss to explain. This other unicorn refused to acknowledge
his authority and would tell him nothing."
"And what of the young man? Did your unicorn know him?"
Marianna looked at Jarrod and he nodded. She faced the Queen again. "He is my
son. Majesty," she said
quietly. "Unbeknownst to us he ran away after our wedding and went in search
of a unicorn. Today was the first time that I save seen him since Stronta."
"I see," Arabella said. She looked back to Jarrod.
"Did you send him on a quest?" she asked.
"No, ma'am. It may be that our marriage triggered thoughts of emulation in his
mind. He is at an impres-
sionable age."
"What can you tell us," Arabella began, but was in-
terrupted by the opening of the doors.
"His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor Varodias," the usher announced.
Arabella rose and Jarrod and Marianna turned. The one bowed, the other
genuflected to the floor. They held their positions as the Emperor stalked
across the room, the heels of his boots clacking on the floorboards. He nodded
to Arabella and took his seat. He regarded Jar-
rod and Marianna with undisguised hostility as they rose to face him.
"So," he said, his high, light voice cold, "the author-
ities on unicorns. Tell us, is it possible that the boy was speaking for the
animal, or was he put up to it by those who wish the Empire ill?"
"It is possible, Your Imperial Majesty, for humans to understand the thoughts
of unicorns. It is, as far as we know, extremely rare and the ability to
converse with one unicorn does not mean that we can talk to others.
THE UNICORN PEACE + 341
The Lady Marianna can understand a mother unicorn, but I cannot reach her. I,
on the other hand, can speak.
as it were, with the offspring, but the Lady Marianna cannot. Neither of us
has ever encountered this partic-
ular unicorn before."
The Emperor sniffed disdainfully. "In your expert"
there was a sneer in the word "expert" "opinion, was this urchin giving a true
report of this creature's thoughts?"
"1 think that it is almost certain. If the boy could not communicate with the
unicorn, he would not have been able to go into Interim with it and thus
disappear from the Burning Ground."
"And what of the threat to our person?"
"Unicorns are as different from one another as are humans," Jarrod said
seriously, "but the unicorns that we have encountered thus far have been
Strandkind's friends. One even gave up his life to enable us to destroy the
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Outlanders. They could undoubtedly be dangerous
if roused those horns are no mere decorations but only in the way that a
cornered boar is dangerous. They have no magical powers as such, though they
can har-
ness certain energies to transfer themselves from place to place."
"Then why, pray, would this creature confront us?"
"I cannot answer that, Your Imperial Majesty. I can only surmise that it was
overcome by the grandeur of the occasion unicorns are sensitive to atmosphere
and felt some need for vainglorious expression. I do not think that it need be
taken seriously."
"Do you not, i' faith?" Varodias' voice was mocking and his hands made an airy
little gesture. "We shall have to wait and see about that. In the meantime,
where did this precious pair disappear to?"
"I cannot say for sure, sire," Jarrod replied. "I can
342 + JOHN LEE
only assume that they are somewhere out on the Alien
Plain."
The Emperor's eyes narrowed and he pursed his lips, weighing alternatives
known only to him. "We suggest that you find them," he said finally. "Unicorns
are crea-
tures of the Discipline and if anything untoward comes of this, we shall hold
the Discipline responsible."
He rose from his chair. "Cousin, we are sure that you will make the
apprehension of this miscreant your chief -
est priority. When he is apprehended, we shall expect that a public example be
made of him." He bowed curtly to Arabella and walked out.
Marianna was white-faced as she rose from her curtsy and she turned a
beseeching face to the Queen. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl exclamation.htw.pl
nothing to do with Rag-
nor's funeral.
Jarrod and Marianna regained their rooms quickly and set about changing their
clothes. They exchanged what information they had, knowing that as the discov-
erer of the unicorns and as Joscelyn's parents, they were doubly responsible.
"Why didn't you tell me about this castle before?"
Marianna asked.
"Because it was none of your business," Jarrod said shortly. "There are only a
handful of people who know.
It was a Discipline project, but even Greylock doesn't know about it. Ragnor
knew, of course, but he's dead."
"Then we certainly shan't tell Arabella," Marianna said, unabashed. "Honest
ignorance is what we have to project. My son appeared suddenly and joined the
cor-
tege saying that they wanted to pay homage to Ragnor.
Josceyin is obviously under the influence of this strange unicorn. We didn't
know that they were coming and we don't know where they went." She looked at
him.
"Well, it's the truth," she said.
Jarrod made no reply and she went took him by the arms and shook him slightly.
"Listen to me. Gwyndryth could lose all influence at Court because of this. If
Var-
odias insists, we are going to be made scapegoats even though we have done
nothing wrong. They can't do much to you, you're a Mage, but they can cripple
Gwyndryth. Our only hope is to be bewildered, but helpful. If we are seen as
part of a possible solution, we may be spared. Just follow my lead."
Jarrod disengaged her hands gently and looked down
THE UNICORN PEACE + 339
at her. "No, my dear," he said firmly. "This is more important than Gwyndryth.
The unicorn was essentially correct in many of the things that he said about
Varo-
dias, but that is beside the point. What we have to do is to make sure that
this does not get blown up into an international incident. Unicorns come
within the Dis-
cipline's purview and this is our problem. Joscelyn may be your, er, our son,
but he is an Apprentice Magician.
You will follow my lead in this. Is that quite clear?"
Marianna looked up into his eyes and whatever she saw there quenched the spark
of rebellion in her own.
"Very well," she said with a little shake of the head.
"But if you put Gwyndryth in jeopardy, you shall an-
swer to me," she added before turning away to com-
plete her preparations for the audience.
They were ushered into the withdrawing room by a gentleman-of-the-bedchamber
who smirked at them as they passed. Bad news travels quickly, Jarrod thought.
Arabella was ensconced in an ornate chair, looking grim. Another, unoccupied,
stood close by.
"I am so sorry, Your Majesty," Marianna said, un-
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ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
bidden, as she rose from a deep curtsy, "that this should have occurred on
this day of all days."
Arabella waved her into silence.
"We need hardly tell you," she said, "that the Em-
peror is exceeding angry. He has been attacked and in-
sulted in front of a gathering of every personage of note on Strand. We have
asked you here because you know more about unicorns than anyone else and, some
way or another, we must get to the bottom of this." She looked at Jarrod. "You
can converse with the unicorn
Nastrus, can you not?"
"Yes, ma'am, and I have done so. He has told me that a number of younger
unicorns have decided to come to Strand. It seems that they are running out of
space and grazing in their current home,"
340 + JOHN LEE
"And what of the challenge to the Emperor?" Ara-
bella asked.
"Nastrus was at a loss to explain. This other unicorn refused to acknowledge
his authority and would tell him nothing."
"And what of the young man? Did your unicorn know him?"
Marianna looked at Jarrod and he nodded. She faced the Queen again. "He is my
son. Majesty," she said
quietly. "Unbeknownst to us he ran away after our wedding and went in search
of a unicorn. Today was the first time that I save seen him since Stronta."
"I see," Arabella said. She looked back to Jarrod.
"Did you send him on a quest?" she asked.
"No, ma'am. It may be that our marriage triggered thoughts of emulation in his
mind. He is at an impres-
sionable age."
"What can you tell us," Arabella began, but was in-
terrupted by the opening of the doors.
"His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor Varodias," the usher announced.
Arabella rose and Jarrod and Marianna turned. The one bowed, the other
genuflected to the floor. They held their positions as the Emperor stalked
across the room, the heels of his boots clacking on the floorboards. He nodded
to Arabella and took his seat. He regarded Jar-
rod and Marianna with undisguised hostility as they rose to face him.
"So," he said, his high, light voice cold, "the author-
ities on unicorns. Tell us, is it possible that the boy was speaking for the
animal, or was he put up to it by those who wish the Empire ill?"
"It is possible, Your Imperial Majesty, for humans to understand the thoughts
of unicorns. It is, as far as we know, extremely rare and the ability to
converse with one unicorn does not mean that we can talk to others.
THE UNICORN PEACE + 341
The Lady Marianna can understand a mother unicorn, but I cannot reach her. I,
on the other hand, can speak.
as it were, with the offspring, but the Lady Marianna cannot. Neither of us
has ever encountered this partic-
ular unicorn before."
The Emperor sniffed disdainfully. "In your expert"
there was a sneer in the word "expert" "opinion, was this urchin giving a true
report of this creature's thoughts?"
"1 think that it is almost certain. If the boy could not communicate with the
unicorn, he would not have been able to go into Interim with it and thus
disappear from the Burning Ground."
"And what of the threat to our person?"
"Unicorns are as different from one another as are humans," Jarrod said
seriously, "but the unicorns that we have encountered thus far have been
Strandkind's friends. One even gave up his life to enable us to destroy the
Page 174
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Outlanders. They could undoubtedly be dangerous
if roused those horns are no mere decorations but only in the way that a
cornered boar is dangerous. They have no magical powers as such, though they
can har-
ness certain energies to transfer themselves from place to place."
"Then why, pray, would this creature confront us?"
"I cannot answer that, Your Imperial Majesty. I can only surmise that it was
overcome by the grandeur of the occasion unicorns are sensitive to atmosphere
and felt some need for vainglorious expression. I do not think that it need be
taken seriously."
"Do you not, i' faith?" Varodias' voice was mocking and his hands made an airy
little gesture. "We shall have to wait and see about that. In the meantime,
where did this precious pair disappear to?"
"I cannot say for sure, sire," Jarrod replied. "I can
342 + JOHN LEE
only assume that they are somewhere out on the Alien
Plain."
The Emperor's eyes narrowed and he pursed his lips, weighing alternatives
known only to him. "We suggest that you find them," he said finally. "Unicorns
are crea-
tures of the Discipline and if anything untoward comes of this, we shall hold
the Discipline responsible."
He rose from his chair. "Cousin, we are sure that you will make the
apprehension of this miscreant your chief -
est priority. When he is apprehended, we shall expect that a public example be
made of him." He bowed curtly to Arabella and walked out.
Marianna was white-faced as she rose from her curtsy and she turned a
beseeching face to the Queen. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]