Blood and Honor by Simon R. Green

Author:Simon R. Green
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Fantasy, FForest Kingdom
Publisher: Jabberwocky Literary Agency
Published: 1993-12-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 5

* * *

Sanctuaries and Damnations

Prince Dominic sat alone in his private quarters, slumped elegantly in an ivory throne carved from the skull of a sea creature long since extinct. The room was dark and gloomy, lit only by a dull blue glow from the wall of water before him. Dominic stared into the endless depths with brooding, unseeing eyes. His water attack had failed, and Dominic wasn’t used to failing. It had only been a simple spell, but it should have been more than enough to take care of some overambitious actor pretending to be a prince.

Dominic had watched intently as the man staggered back and forth, slowly drowning … and then Viktor had destroyed the spell with his fire magic. From now on Viktor would be constantly on his guard, and his death would be that much harder to arrange. Moreover, Dominic had been made to look a fool. He frowned, and gestured sharply with his left hand. The air stretched and split open, and the man with no face appeared before him. He sank down onto one knee before the ivory throne, and bowed his blank head.

“You told me the man in my brother’s apartment was an impostor,” said Dominic. “You told me you had arranged an opening in the protective wards, and that this actor had no magic of his own. But my water spell failed, dispersed by fire magic. Why did you lie to me?”

The faceless man jerked silently as long hairline cracks appeared in the skin of his blank face. Blood ran sluggishly from the cracks, and dripped from his chin. He raised his hands to Prince Dominic in supplication, and more blood ran from hairline cracks in his palms and fingers. “I didn’t lie, sire. I swear, I didn’t lie to you. The impostor is a conjurer, and very quick of mind.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

“It didn’t seem important, sire.” Blood ran down his face in a steady stream, and his unfinished features twisted in agony.

“From now on,” said Dominic, “tell me everything. I’ll decide what’s important and what isn’t. How long before you can arrange another opening in the wards?”

“A few hours, sire. Maybe more.” The wounds on his face slowly began to close. The last of the blood began to dry on the blank face. He remained kneeling before Dominic, head bowed.

“Viktor’s death isn’t really important,” said Dominic finally. “He’s no threat to my position, as long as I have you to tell me his plans. And the poison will kill him soon anyway. But this actor annoys me. He has intruded into a situation where he doesn’t belong, and he seeks to meddle with my life, my destiny. And the low-born scum actually has the nerve to play at being a prince. His presence in my home offends me. I could kill him easily, but that’s not enough. I want him broken and publicly humiliated first.”

“There is a way,” said the faceless man. “There’s a Testing scheduled for tomorrow, before the Stone.

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