The King's Sons (The Herezoth Trilogy) by Victoria Grefer Read Free Book Online

bulky, and he’s waiting
for some help. Linstrom’s cronies meet almost nightly at an ill-reputed tavern
called The Dancing Drake. For secrecy, they leave from there to transport to
the Hall of Sorcery.”
    Vane
blinked. “The Hall of Sorcery?”
    The king
noted, “Linstrom must have been curious about his father. He made the same trek
to the Hall that I did with Kora, which means he’s found the old library, Vane.
The entire collection of magic the ancients compiled.”
    The Duke of
Ingleton gulped air. He hoped Gratton and the king failed to notice, and gave
no other signal of the dread that had descended upon him. Anyone who knew a
thing about sorcery knew it had degraded through the years, that ancient spells
were more powerful as well as more daring in their focus.
    Vane
observed, “This is a full-blown crisis, then. How many men did you say
Linstrom’s gathered, Gratton?”
    “Two
hundred, a few more than that. All empowered.”
    “How many
sorcerers?”
    “Twenty.”
    Vane cursed.
“Should I go for Zacry, Rexson? Bring him with me?”
    The duke
would have liked his teacher’s help in this. He hated to involve Zacry Porteg,
but the thought of doing so calmed his nerves a bit. Wishful and selfish
thinking, all: the king was right when he reasoned, “The subtler our
infiltration, the less likely Linstrom is to suspect it. Does the scoundrel
have a date in mind for his assault, Gratton?”
    “Two weeks.”
    Vane swore
again. “We have to stop them. Before they do anything violent.”
    “Before,”
Rexson agreed. “Even should we beat them back, if they attack, all the advances
we’ve seen in Herezoth since I took power are undone. Your school would close.
I could well have to disband the Magic Council.”
    Gratton
said, “We’ll stop the son of a bitch. Between Ingleton and your army….”
    Vane felt
like vomiting. Instead he said, “I’ll be in Partsvale first thing tomorrow.
Gratton, I’ll meet with your soldiers there, no?”
    “Afraid not.
Far too risky. I can give you a full briefing, because my men shouldn’t know
what you’re doing. No one should but Howar. No visits even to the Duke of
Partsvale, you got that? Your cover can’t be blown. Linstrom won’t only slit
your throat, he’ll know the king’s aware of him and launch his assault the
following hour.”
    Vane muttered,
“Damn it. Damn it to hell, I thought I had a rough time of it joining the Magic
Council….”
    Rexson put a
fatherly hand on Vane’s shoulder. “You can manage this, son. I would never let
you try if you couldn’t manage this, understand?”
    Vane nodded.
He said, “It’s got to be done, and it will be. Let’s leave it there, no?”

 
    *
* *

 
    The crown
prince had never seen Vane so stoic, so expressionless, as when the man walked
into the library to fetch Kansten. The duke’s air confused Valkin more than
anything else; the king’s son began to worry when he saw all color had drained
from his father’s face, and felt queasy when he recognized the gray-haired man
in uniform who followed Rexson two steps behind, like one of Hune’s dogs.
    “Gratton,”
said Hune, his voice doubtful. He shook the soldier’s hand. “What are you doing
here?”
    Rexson told
his sons, “We’ll talk tomorrow. First thing. Right now, I need to fetch your
mother from her sister’s. Vane and Kansten are going to Oakdowns.”
    Valkin’s
shoulders tensed, because something was wrong, all right. Exceedingly, horribly
wrong, for the king to speak of taking a carriage to the outskirts of Podrar
after dark to get his wife. The queen had planned for a weeklong stay with a
sister she rarely saw.
    Vane left
with Kansten. The duke made no acknowledgment of anyone beyond the fraternal
arm he slung around her shoulder. With the girl gone, Valkin looked to his
brothers, but they both displayed the same unease and exasperation that plagued
him. Neslan echoed Hune’s question, and the king repeated, “In the morning. I
promise,