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A Stroke Of Midnight :: Гамильтон Лорел
Страница: 188 из 293Sitting here in open court I didn’t feel safe. What had driven me from faerie three years ago was happening all over again. There was too much death, too many attempts. Eventually, if enough people want you dead, they will succeed. It’s simple mathematics. We had to survive every assassination attempt. They had to succeed just once.
Gwennin was not an ally to any of the lords we had “arrested.” I couldn’t imagine a plot that could hold all those before me. Was there more than one plot against me? And what did any of it have to do with the murders?
“Gwennin,” Andais said, sounding puzzled, “you are no friend to those here.” She said aloud what I’d been thinking. I wondered if that was a good sign or a bad one. Was I getting better at the politics, or was she getting worse?
“He says he acted alone. That he resented the princess inviting in the human police. That it was beneath our court to take their help. So he set a spell that would have rendered them useless, or even killed them, if we had carried it to them.”
“Carried it?”
“He put it on Biddy, for she is half-human, and everyone of human blood she touched was contaminated.”
Gwennin found his voice, even flat on the floor between Usna and Cathbodua. “That the spell was able to work on the princess proves she is human.”
Cathbodua gave him a back-handed slap. “Speak when you are spoken to, traitor.”
“Yes,” Andais said, “they are all traitors. So many traitors. But none of them tried to take Meredith’s life. They tried to take Galen’s, they tried to stop the humans from entering our sithen, but they have not tried to kill Meredith. Interesting, that.”
I thought about it, and realized she was right. I looked at Doyle, and he met my look with one of his own. It was interesting, and puzzling.
“Why would Cel’s guard be more interested in killing your green knight than in killing you?” Andais said conversationally.
I tried to keep my voice as casual, and almost succeeded. “If any of his people try to kill me, Cel’s life is forfeit, but killing my allies is not an automatic death sentence for their prince.”
“But why Galen, Meredith? If I were going to strip you of your allies it would be Darkness or the Killing Frost.”
“Or Barinthus,” I said.
She nodded. “Yes, that was well done.” She looked at Kieran and his wife, who still had Hawthorne’s knife at her throat. “If I kill Barinthus, then one of my most powerful guards is dead.
Gwennin was not an ally to any of the lords we had “arrested.” I couldn’t imagine a plot that could hold all those before me. Was there more than one plot against me? And what did any of it have to do with the murders?
“Gwennin,” Andais said, sounding puzzled, “you are no friend to those here.” She said aloud what I’d been thinking. I wondered if that was a good sign or a bad one. Was I getting better at the politics, or was she getting worse?
“He says he acted alone. That he resented the princess inviting in the human police. That it was beneath our court to take their help. So he set a spell that would have rendered them useless, or even killed them, if we had carried it to them.”
“Carried it?”
“He put it on Biddy, for she is half-human, and everyone of human blood she touched was contaminated.”
Gwennin found his voice, even flat on the floor between Usna and Cathbodua. “That the spell was able to work on the princess proves she is human.”
Cathbodua gave him a back-handed slap. “Speak when you are spoken to, traitor.”
“Yes,” Andais said, “they are all traitors. So many traitors. But none of them tried to take Meredith’s life. They tried to take Galen’s, they tried to stop the humans from entering our sithen, but they have not tried to kill Meredith. Interesting, that.”
I thought about it, and realized she was right. I looked at Doyle, and he met my look with one of his own. It was interesting, and puzzling.
“Why would Cel’s guard be more interested in killing your green knight than in killing you?” Andais said conversationally.
I tried to keep my voice as casual, and almost succeeded. “If any of his people try to kill me, Cel’s life is forfeit, but killing my allies is not an automatic death sentence for their prince.”
“But why Galen, Meredith? If I were going to strip you of your allies it would be Darkness or the Killing Frost.”
“Or Barinthus,” I said.
She nodded. “Yes, that was well done.” She looked at Kieran and his wife, who still had Hawthorne’s knife at her throat. “If I kill Barinthus, then one of my most powerful guards is dead.