Circe's Gifts

Chapter 39

When Pela came back to the room, the hour after the dawn, she looked harried and beyond all hope of ever sleeping again. Kalliope watched her move around with the nervous energy of a creature penned against her will. Interesting to watch her: this was the first time she'd seen a human who seemed so wild.

"The townspeople are starting to gather at the gate," Pela said. Kalliope had started hearing their voices, a rising din of noise that didn't seem to be helping anything. "They're turning to us for help, of course."

"They think there's something you can do?" Kalliope dared ask.

Pela stopped and looked at her with a little shrug.

"We have at least a little magic," she explained. "That's what they're hoping will help, though there doesn't seem to be much hope there. Not that we're telling the citizens that, of course. They rioted enough last night. I don't want to have to turn the archers on them if they try to break into the fortress."

"So what will you do?"

"King Gelban is preparing to talk to them. I don't know what he'll say, but let's hope he says it very well."

The hope that words could calm the people seemed a very strange idea. Words, laws, civilization -- there was so little here that could actually hold back the tide of anger.

Pela and Druce seemed to decide that Kalliope might go off with the guard. She didn't argue, though she wondered what brought them to this decision. Maybe she'd started looking too much like a caged animal as well.

She wanted to see what was happening elsewhere, though leaving Dylan and Petkin behind made her nervous. Kalliope had to remind herself that they were not helpless.

Thinking about Tiernan was not much better. She looked toward the sky whenever she passed a window, walking beside Pela down through the dark cavernous halls. People seemed to crowd into every corner. A few wore bandages and bruises. By those signs, she knew they had been in the feasting hall the night before.

Most glared and backed away. That told her something else.

"They still think that we brought the evil with us, don't they?" Kalliope dared asked as they passed another red-faced Lord.

Pela looked toward the man. There was a moment when she must have considered what to say. Then she shrugged. "They think that there was no trouble until you came, ignoring that Lord Rolin probably cast magic on everyone. They don't want to admit that they were under his control."

"Why?" Kalliope asked. "Surely it makes no difference now."

"It's admitting to a weakness that they don't want to show," Pela said. They'd paused by another hall as guards went past.

Kalliope looked back at the red faced Lord. "Magic does not care for strength or weakness. It makes a cat, a wolf, and mouse equal. What can that mean for men?"

The Lord blinked and frowned again.

"Fight evil. Forget your own pride. You shall rue your failure if you ignore the real enemy because my friends and I are more convenient."

The man turned away, but she thought there was a more thoughtful look on his face. When she turned back to Pela, Kalliope was surprised to see the woman grinning.

"You did that very well. It's all I wanted to say to them but didn't dare."

"Not dare?"

"I am in a precarious position. I am a member of the King's guard, which is a powerful position. Here in the capital, I have more power than they do. However, they are lords in their own lands and hold more power than I do outside of this place. I am their servant, in many ways. I dare not say my mind."

"How do you people survive such madness?"

"Dumb luck, most of the time," she replied, and Kalliope feared she meant those words. They started to walk down the hall again. "But honestly, they do know how to fall into line when they're lives and power are truly at stake. When the enemy comes, they will stand with us and take orders. It's this time between that is making everyone nervous. None of us know what we are facing. That darkness out there does not answer any questions."

They passed another window. Kalliope looked to the sky and to the dark. She nodded and even understood a bit better.

King Gelban entered the hall from his talk at the gate. He looked grim but nodded to Pela, who bowed her head in return. Kalliope copied the move as best she could, despite knowing that it meant some show of subservience. It didn't settle well with her, having not seen anything that this man had done to deserve her homage.

"The people are going home," he said. "They'll listen to reason for a while longer."

Well, maybe that was enough of a reason to bow after all. Kalliope knew that she couldn't have talked the people into walking away, not with the darkness on their horizon.

"Is there any sign of him?" King Gelban suddenly asked.

"No, sire," Pela answered. "Nothing yet."

He nodded, turned and walked away. It was a moment before Kalliope realized that he had been asking after Tiernan. It made her feel -- odd. Sad and happy that he cared for his lost son so much.

She went with Pela out into the daylight. Part of the sky appeared too bright, and the darkness stood too obvious on the horizon, even with so many buildings and walls in the way. She couldn't tell if it had come closer, but that hardly mattered. Its existence was enough to change the world.

They reviewed the troops, walking along the walls while Pela explained the weapons, the positions and the trouble spots for what would be a normal attack. She admitted that little of this would be a help against the kind of magic that they'd faced the night before.

Kalliope almost asked why they bothered to work so hard then, but she soon realized the truth. Getting people would and preparing was better for them than sitting and doing nothing. The only other choice they had was to wait.

She looked to the sky. Nothing but bright blue and black, and not a single bird in the sky.