The Element of Fire by Martha Wells Read Free Book Online Page A

well."
    "Lord Aviler, the old Lord Aviler, not that young puppy of a High Minister, had great faith in Dubell. Despite his past disgrace." She sighed. "But I've kept you long enough."
    Thomas stood up, took her hand, and kissed it. She said, "Oh, and I'd almost forgotten." She rummaged in her sewing case, and pulled out a ribbon-tied packet of letters to hand to him.
    "What is it?"
    "An annoyance for you to deal with."
    He accepted the packet with an expression of distaste. "And I was afraid I might have to sleep tonight."
    "Oh, it isn't urgent. At least not to me." She smiled. "Enjoy."
    Stepping out into the Guard Room, Thomas turned the packet over curiously. Ravenna never forgot anything; it must be something she didn't want to discuss. Before he could untie the bound letters, he saw that Galen Dubell was waiting for him. "A moment, Captain?" the old sorcerer asked.
    "Yes?"
    "Forgive me if the question is intrusive, but Lord Aviler does not care for you?" The High Minister had already gone, though Renier was still in the Guard Chamber, speaking quietly to the two Albonate squires.
    "Lord Aviler is like that." Dubell's expression held nothing but mild curiosity. After a moment, Thomas found himself saying, "He doesn't approve of favorites. He's studied enough history to know what damage I could do if I were inclined to it."
    "I see." Dubell smiled. "Does Queen Falaise still have her entourage of poets?"
    Falaise had been a princess of Umberwald when Ravenna had chosen her to marry Roland a year ago. At eighteen she was four years younger than the King, and if Ravenna's motive in choosing her for a daughter-in-law had been to pick someone she could teach and influence, she had made one of her few mistakes. Falaise might have been the quiet studious girl that the ambassadors had described when she was a third daughter with few prospects, but once here and safely wed to Roland she had taken to palace life like a beggar child let loose in a bakery. "Yes, she does. City gossip reaches you all the way out in Lodun?"
    "City gossip is a treasured commodity. The servants bring it in with the milk every morning. The general opinion, I gathered, was one of relief that she had chosen to turn her attentions to harmless poets, considering what else she could have done."
    "She could have had guardsmen."
    "Or sorcerers." Dubell's expression turned serious. "I owe you a great debt, Captain."
    Thomas looked at him sharply. "I think you've already repaid that debt."
    Dubell gestured that away. "Nevertheless, if I can help you in any way, do not hesitate to call on me."
    As the sorcerer turned to follow the servants waiting to take him to his rooms, Renier intercepted Thomas. "There's something I have to show you." He looked worried.
    Resigned, Thomas followed Renier to a quieter corner of the Guard Room. "What is it?"
    "A letter. It arrived today in a packet of dispatches from Portier. The courier's a trusted man who swears he never let the packet out of his sight." The big man unfolded a square of paper. "This is a translation I had a priest do."
    Thomas took the paper. "What language was it in?"
    "Old Church Script."
    Thomas read the first scribbled sentence aloud, " 'O Best Beloved'?" He looked up, puzzled. "To whom was it sent?"
    "Roland. But the priest said that's the proper way to begin an old riddle-song, which is what this is."
    Where the music is not heard,
    There was a light not seen,
    There are barren hills home to multitudes,
    And dry lakes where fish are caught above a
    city's towers. Catch the incantation, solve the song.
    "The answer is a simple one: the Fay," Renier said.
    There was only one person acquainted with Roland whose feelings would naturally express themselves in poetic forms of the past. "You know who this is from," Thomas said, looking up at him.
    "The country folk are calling her Kade Carrion now." Renier shrugged, uneasy. "I suppose we're lucky; she could have sent something that exploded or told the secrets of