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will have failed in my duty. Or I can shame myself and give them a chance to
live. History is full of honorable dead men who failed to protect those under
their care. He looked straight into her eyes this time and said,  I must
choose dishonor. But I hate myself for being the kind of man who can do so.
Molly considered that for a moment. Then she said,  I don t hate you. And I ll
join you in dishonor. You re doing the right thing. My parents believed in
your cause. The man I thought was my father believed in it so much he let a
man from another world father his wife s second child. I m here I was born to
be here. And I belong here. She sighed.  I ve never belonged anywhere
before.
She could see the relief in Seolar s face, in his body, even in the way he
breathed.  If I can have your willing aid in our cause, I will ask for nothing
else.
Molly felt her heartbeat pick up. She smiled at him nervously, and said,  You
could ask. I think I might say yes.
For a moment, he looked bewildered. Then his expression cleared as he realized
she referred to some possible shared future for the two of them.  If I could
have the honor of your love, what other honor would I ever need? he said at
last.
 We ll figure that out as we go.
Copper House, Ballahara
Seolar did not permit Molly to be present when he paid off the traitors. The
traitors did not know why he wanted a host of captive Sentinels, and they
didn t care and he didn t want them to know about Molly, who would surely be a
matter of some interest to them if they discovered her presence. Fortunately,
the three humans focused entirely on their own desires; they wanted their
castle, their servants, and their rights and privileges as landed masters of
their own realm and that they got.
 Are any of them injured? Seolar asked.
The youngest of the three said,  No. Unconscious, at least for another few
hours, but all healthy. We were careful.
 I will inspect them with you and make sure each is confined adequately, and
then you will receive your lands and titles.
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 And the castle, right? Cold Starhold.
 You have already been using it, Seolar said.  I wouldn t think of changing
the terms of our agreement at this late date.
He rose and signaled his guards, and the guards took up their places to the
front, sides, and back of Seolar and the traitors. He might have allowed the
massive amounts of copper that lined walls, ceiling, and floors of Copper
House to serve as his protection, but with these humans, he did not think
magic would be the only threat they might offer him should they decide to
betray him, too.
The men made him nervous. Any number of times Seolar had thought that he could
order them killed when the moment came; that traitors who would betray their
own people and their own world deserved nothing better. But what little honor
he could still lay claim to would not permit such facile excuses; he had given
his word, and he would keep it even with men whose own oaths clearly meant
nothing.
He would, however, make sure that he kept his back covered at all times.
If the traitors objected to the overwhelming presence of the guards, they gave
no sign. They merely marched with Seolar, following him to the suite that
Molly had once occupied.
In it, unconscious men and women lay on the floor. All clearly breathed, none
bore any signs of hurt.
 How have they come to be in this state? he asked.
 We gave them a& medicine, the oldest man said.  They will recover from it in
several hours. They may be a bit sick at first sometimes people vomit or
complain of confusion or dizziness, but that passes quickly enough.
 Very good, Seolar said.  When they are all awake and demonstrably in good
health, I will give you the deeds to your land, and the servants who will
accompany you to your new domain. In the meantime, you ll receive
accommodations in a fine suite, and we will see to your every comfort.
The third man, who had said nothing until this point, said,  I thought we were
going to be on our way as soon as we gave you the people.
Seolar said,  Our agreement was that I would receive them in good health. They
may or may not be in good health I cannot verify this while they lie like the
dead in my chambers.
 We tell you they re healthy.
 You also told them you served the same cause. I must know that they will wake
and live and be able to do what I want them to do. Some of them may have
reactions to the medicine they were given that would require your intervention
or at least your assistance. Until I can be sure that all of my& property& is in
our agreed-upon condition, I would prefer for you to be my guests.
 We don t want to be your guests. And I would remind you that we will be your
neighbors our goodwill in the future will matter greatly to you.
Seolar considered that for a moment.  Indeed, he said,  the goodwill of my
neighbors has always mattered greatly to me. He studied the three traitors,
bowed slightly so slightly that any veyâr would have been mortally
offended and said,  Let us gather your servants. Your word will, after all,
suffice.
He turned to the captain of the guards and said,  Please take them to the
Great Hall, and introduce them to Tonnil. Tonnil is head of the servants who
will accompany you to your new domain, he added, glancing at the oldest
traitor. He told the captain of the guards,  Meanwhile, I will gather the
deeds and seals of the land. I will join you in the Great Hall with the rest
of the servants, and formally invest them with their new domain.
The captain said,  This way, please, and he and the rest of the guards
reformed their column around the traitors. The three humans moved down the
corridor.
Seolar did not for a moment believe that they would honor any promise of
goodwill. They had no honor they were wild dogs, and he would have to watch
them the way a man watched such creatures.
But he had his own secrets in his dealings with them. Their domain lay just on
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the near side of the most recent influx of rrôn. Once the traitors took up
permanent residence in their new abode and started stirring things up, they
would discover that they had bigger problems than any dislike they might have
acquired for him. He thought they would serve as a good buffer for him three
oath-breaking Old Gods and the larger part of the prisoners from Seolar s
dungeon standing between his good land and his worst problem.
Birra, who had the duty of watching the Sentinels until they regained their
health, joined him as he headed for the library. Birra waited until humans and
guards were out of earshot, then said,  You re sending Tonnil with them?
 They re taking Blackleg House, right at the edge of the new troubles. They ve
named it Cold Starhold. I should have sent you into that place?
 Gods forfend! But& Tonnil?
 He will keep track of the rest of the prisoners. Each prisoner who
accompanies those traitors volunteered for the position in order to win a
reprieve from execution. If they do us other services, they may win full
pardons.
Birra smiled faintly.  And do our three future Imallins know they ll be served
by the basest and most evil of criminals?
 No. But the criminals know they ll be serving traitorous wizards, and that
they ll be serving them in Blackleg House. They know that any misbehavior on
their part is likely to see them turned into little smoking spots on the
floor, and that at all times they will be in the power of the basest and most
dishonorable of Old Gods. And that, should they consider fleeing, they will
flee into the hunting grounds of the rrôn. I informed each man and woman who
requested this opportunity of the inherent dangers. Quite a few were willing
to take a chance on the rrôn and& well, worse& and on the whims of treacherous [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ]