Traitor's Moon by Lynn & Ruddell Flewelling & Lynn & Ruddell Flewelling

Author:Lynn & Ruddell Flewelling & Lynn & Ruddell Flewelling [Flewelling, Lynn & Ruddell, Gary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Magic, Fiction, Fantasy, General, done, Epic, Honor
ISBN: 9780553577259
Publisher: Spectra

CHAPTER 25

Nightrunning

Skalan mourning was an austere affair, and fires, hot food, alcohol of any sort, lovemaking, and music were all strictly abstained from. A single candle was allowed in each room at night. Should the soul of the departed visit any of its loved ones, there must be nothing to distract it from its journey.

This was new territory for Alec, whose Dalnan upbringing dictated a quick burning and ashes plowed into the earth. He'd seen death often enough since he'd come south with Seregil, but his friend was neither Skalan nor one to adhere to custom. When Thryis and her family had been murdered, Seregil had set the inn ablaze as a pyre and sworn vengeance on their murderer, a vow Alec had himself carried out when he strangled Vargul Ashnazai. Seregil's grief for Nysander's death had been too deep and silent for mere ritual to encompass. For a time he'd almost stopped living himself.

This time, however, Seregil willingly observed the abstentions, sitting with Klia through the interminable visitations. Alec sensed genuine sadness in his friend, although Seregil said little.

It was Beka who finally drew him out. The three of them had gathered with Thero in the wizard's room on the second night, passing the time in desultory conversation.

Thero was weaving the shadows cast by the candle into fantastic shapes against the wall. Seregil remained unusually quiet as he sat slouched in his chair, legs stretched out before him, chin on hand. Alec studied his friend's pensive face, wondering if Seregil was watching Thero's shadow play or lost to his own inner phantoms.

Beka suddenly nudged Seregil's foot with her own and raised her eyebrows in mock surprise when he looked up.

"Oh, it's you," she said. "And here I'd been thinking it must be Alec sitting there. No one else I know can keep quiet for so long."

"I was just thinking about Idrilain," he replied.

"You liked her, didn't you, Uncle?"

Alec Smiled, guessing that she'd used the familiar term to coax him out of his brown study; she called him

"Uncle" only in private now.

Seregil shifted in his chair, clasping his hands over one updrawn knee. "Yes I did. She was queen when I came to Rhiminee, and did her best to find a place for me at court. It didn't work out, of course, but I might never have met Nysander if not for her." He sighed. "In a way, Idrilain was Skala to me. Now Phoria sits on the throne."

"Don't you think she'll rule well?" asked Beka.

Seregil's eyes met Alec's, acknowledging shared secrets. Then he shrugged. "I suppose she'll rule according to her nature."

The nature of the new queen proved to be a topic of prime interest to the Aurenfaie.

Adzriel had arranged a receiving room for Klia just off the main hall, mixing Skalan and Aurenfaie trappings. A tripod of headless spear shafts supported Klia's inverted shield. Censors clouded the air with the bittersweet vapors of myrrh and stop-blood weed, the soldier's field herb. Delicate Aurenfaie scrolls hung beside the room's

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