Tests of Blood - 18. Chapter 18

“When did this happen?” Captain Helgenberger was the first to react in anything other than shock at the news of the death of King Rothar. Dalen’s head was still spinning as he reviewed the line of succession, coming up with several names of who should be in charge right now.

“It happened yesterday morning, ma’am.” The boy said with that nervous tone in his voice as he wrote something on a piece of paper and handed it to someone not visible in the teleson screen. “An embassy from the Black Kings arrived two days ago, totally unannounced and they met with the King that same day. The next morning when the Council was meeting to discuss the peace proposal they offered, the room exploded, killing the King and most of the Council. Herald Dellinar was just outside the room when it exploded and was seriously injured.”

“Who… who is in charge there now?” Dalen asked in a worried tone, barely keeping his voice in control. Was this what his bad feeling had been about? How had the Black Kings gotten all the way to Haven without being seen, and how had they set the bomb so quickly. There had to be extremely tight security.

“Your Lady Mother arrived the day before the Black Kings embassy, my lord.” The boy said, and his voice held a lot less nervousness as he spoke. “Everyone in the direct line of succession was in the room, and well, Prince Dellinar would be next in line, but he’s in a coma. The Princess is running things until someone qualified can take the throne.”

“My mother.” Dalen said flatly with a numb feeling spreading through him.

“Yes, my lord, she has left word that you were to be contacted immediately.” The boy continued. “I believe she sent a special locomotive to Burnham to find you.”

“I’m not in Burnham yet.” Dalen said flatly.

“My lord, someone is here to talk to you.” The boy said and stepped outside the viewer. He was replaced by a very tired-looking Diers.

“Dalen, it is good to see you.” Diers said. “We all thought you were in Burnham and when no one could reach you there, we figured the worst had happened.”

“What is going on there, Diers?” Dalen demanded.

“You’ve been told about the bombing?” Diers asked tiredly.

“Yes.” Dalen said quickly.

“We’re looking into it along with a whole lot of other things.” Diers said in that same tired manner. “Um, I see there are others there with you.”

“Yes.” Dalen confirmed succinctly. Both Herald Nevin and Captain Helgenberger would be visible on either side of him. He’d taken the time before this call to change back to his brown Mage shirt with his Master pin on the collar, and to comb through his hair. It was getting a little long, touching his shoulder.

“Er, I have been given things to tell you and Princess Selenay has directed that you should hear them alone, my lord.” Diers said with a nervous tic pulsing by his right eye. Dalen knew that gesture from working with Diers. It meant the man was truly nervous.

“Herald, Captain, please wait in the next room.” Dalen said to the two of them and thought a little more about the situation. Herald Nevin, please wait just out of view of the Teleson. I want you to hear what is said.

Thank you for the trust, Dalen. Nevin replied mentally, so that Diers would not hear them at all. The teleson wouldn’t pick up those thoughts, the way it was configured now.

“Are you alone?” Diers asked when the Herald and Captain had left his point of view.

“Just a moment.” Dalen said, pausing as the Herald put a hand on the Captain’s arm and guided her to a spot on the other side of the Teleson. She looked at Dalen for confirmation before complying. “Okay, Diers, the room is clear.”

“We think it was the Heralds.” Diers said in a rush and Dalen stared at him with disbelief.

“Why the hell would you think that?” Dalen snapped at the man after recovering from his shock.

“I… at first I told your mother she was crazy, but she has me conducting the investigation.” Diers explained. “Dalen, the bomb was set from inside the chambers, and it was Heralds that swept the place beforehand. Prince Dellinar stepped outside moments before with the other Heralds on the Council. They must not have realized how powerful the explosion was, because it blasted the doors off their hinges and crushed the Heralds. Dellinar’s shields held, but he was hit hard and is in a coma. The Princess is saying that he was probably behind it because he was next in line and he had already spoken opposition to the treaty.”

“What treaty?” Dalen asked sharply.

“The treaty ending the war with the Haighlei Empire.” Diers replied calmly. “I’ll be the first to admit I don’t like it that much, but it’s better than endless war like they’re threatening if we don’t reach some agreement.”

“One of the royal cousins, Gelder was Chosen a few years ago.” Dalen said with a frown. “He’s still a Trainee, so he wouldn’t have been in the Council Chambers at the time. I know Gelder is young, but he’s next in line for the throne if all the others were killed in the explosion.”

“All the Heralds and Trainees have been placed under house arrest during the investigation.” Diers said in a shaken voice. “I’ve worked with Herald Dellinar, you know, and it’s hard to believe he might do this. I know he loved the King, but he’s a Herald first, you know.”

“So was the King.” Dalen snapped. “Valdemar law is clear; you must be Chosen in order to sit on the throne.”

“Princess Selenay is not sitting on the throne.” Diers said. “She is acting as emergency regent, and all the surviving leadership of Valdemar has voted to support her. Valdemar’s Regent demands your immediate return to the palace, Prince Dalen. Valdemar needs you now, not wherever you were, doing whatever you were doing. Your father will be back here tomorrow.”

“Why am I needed?” Dalen asked.

“It’s the Heartstone.” Diers answered in a near-whisper. “Look, we’re trying not to alarm the general populace, but it’s been acting weird ever since the explosion. We know it’s tied to Herald Dellinar, and he’s in a coma, plus he was behind the bombing.”

“You don’t know that for sure.” Dalen snapped, not daring to look up and see the reaction of the Herald and Captain to all this news.

“The evidence is fairly clear, my lord.” Diers said firmly. “Still, when you get here, I am certain you can take over the Heartstone and get it back under control. Then you can take over the investigation. I’ll have the work crews keep it in the same condition except we’ve already removed the bodies of course.”

“Of course.” Dalen said with a sigh.

“Look, Dalen, I know this is a lot to take in at once.” Diers said in a calmer tone. “We’ve all respected the Heralds and the work they’ve done, but this is just unacceptable.”

“It wasn’t the Heralds.” Dalen stated flatly.

“Look, I know you have Heralds there with you.” Diers said cautiously. “Don’t tell them any of this. Just send them back to Haven where we can put them under arrest. Don’t bring them with you either. I assume you’ll be gating directly back now?”

“I just cast a Gate spell today.” Dalen said with a sigh. “There’s a situation down here that I’ve been taking care of.”

“You mean the Menmillith incursion?” Diers asked. “We’re aware of it up here. The Haighlei ambassador assures us that their camp will be dismantled and they’ll be back across the border in a week. You shouldn’t pursue any more hostilities with them. Everything will be fine.”

“Good.” Dalen said and made sure his face didn’t show his disbelief. It was too pat, too neat. He smelled a rotten fish, and part of him wanted to cry that two people he knew and cared about were involved in it, and maybe more.

“When will you be back here?” Diers asked anxiously again.

“Two days.” Dalen said flatly, not seeing any way around travelling back to Haven. He’d go with his original plan, and just hoped that young Blake and his Companion Rad wouldn’t walk into a hornet’s nest in a few days.

“I’ll inform the Princess.” Diers said with a nod. “She will be very happy to hear of your coming. I know she has been anxious about your safety.”

“Give her my love.” Dalen said with a tight smile before breaking the connection. As soon as he’d done that, the Herald and Captain rushed to the table only to scamper back when the teleson started smoking.

“What’s wrong with it?” Herald Nevin asked.

“I destroyed it.” Dalen said. “I don’t want them to be able to trace the connection to this location, or to try and use it for other things.”

“So you’re not buying that load of manure?” Nevin asked with anger in his voice.

“Hell no!” Dalen cried out.

“I’ll have a rescue party of Heralds ready to ride with you before you leave.” Nevin offered.

“You better plan to take the best mounted troops with you as well.” Captain Helgenberger stated flatly. “I think you will need every loyal Valdemar sword you can get.”

“So I am not the only one thinking my mother is somehow involved in an attempted coup against the rightful Monarch of Valdemar?” Dalen asked, wincing at the bald statement in his words.

“I don’t know if I would go that far.” Herald Nevin said cautiously. “Until we retake the palace and can really figure out what is going on there, I won’t take anything for granted. She might be a willing participant, or she might be forced into doing what she is doing.”

“No, she’s going along with it.” Dalen said and felt something inside him dying with those words. He loved his mother, but he also loved Valdemar and now the two were no longer compatible.

“How can you be so sure?” Nevin asked sympathetically.

“I’ve known her all my life, Herald.” Dalen said with a sigh. “Unless someone else closer to the line of succession is alive, Herald-Trainee Gelder is the rightful monarch of Valdemar. It is my intention to set him on the throne, against all enemies whether they be outsiders or Valdemaran.”

“You have my loyalty, my Prince.” Captain Helgenberger said with a sharp salute as she snapped to attention. Dalen returned her salute and looked over at the Herald who was regarding him carefully.

“You would be closer to the throne than him, if the succession rested on blood-line alone.” Herald Nevin said gently.

“I have no desire to be King of Valdemar.” Dalen snapped at the man. “Further, I swore an Oath when I accepted my assignment to Burnham. That Oath was to Valdemar, and I intend to keep that Oath, Herald.”

“I wish you were Chosen, Prince Dalen.” Herald Nevin said and then he snapped to attention and gave Dalen a grave look. “I hereby affirm my own Oath, given when I took my Whites. I serve Valdemar, and Valdemar’s rightful Monarch. So long as you serve the laws of Valdemar, and seek to set its rightful Monarch on the throne, I and the Heralds under my command shall follow you, Prince Dalen.”

“Thank you, Herald.” Dalen said with a brief closing of his eyes as he set his feet on a path from which there would be no turning back. “Now, as for going back to Haven, I am going alone.”

“What?” Captain Helgenberger exclaimed in surprise.

“Dalen, is that wise?” Nevin asked quietly.

“It’s wiser than marching in with armed soldiers and Heralds.” Dalen said with a shake of his head. “Look, we don’t even know for sure that a coup is going on there. Our thoughts are based on a bunch of assumptions. There are a couple of things I do know for sure. One, my father is coming back there and he is a loyal Valdemaran officer. He will not stand for this coup one second longer than I will. We will need his skills as a General if this is really a coup. That is part of why I am going.”

“What’s the other part?” Herald Nevin asked.

“There’s two more parts.” Dalen answered. “Like I said, we’re making assumptions. Going in there alone, I will find out the truth of what is going on there. The other thing is that with Dell in a coma, it is likely the Heartstone is going rogue, especially with Dell’s coma caused by violence. I need to get in there and stabilize it so that it doesn’t harm the people of Haven. They are still our people, remember. Also, if I have the key, well I can lock anyone else out of it. Right now Diers is probably able to still access it, along with any other mage keyed into it already. Once I take control, I can do what Dell can’t right now. I can lock it out so no one can control it or use it, and that will also give me total control over all magical defenses of Haven. As soon as I have the key, I can shield myself so tightly no one will be able to challenge me, magically speaking.”

“Just don’t let it make you think you are invincible.” Nevin warned him.

“I won’t, because the first thing I’m doing once I’ve reached that point is, if it is bad and I need reinforcements – let’s just say your forces need to be ready.” Dalen said.

“You mean you’ll make a gate here and have us ride through as reinforcements?” Captain Helgenberger asked with a nod of approval. “I like it, but there’s a lot of planning that needs to be done before you leave.”

“I am not going to be able to sleep tonight.” Dalen said flatly. “Let’s get the mess of this Teleson cleaned up, and then let’s get your staff in here and do some planning.”

He might not have been able to sleep, but the Captain and the Herald called an end to the meetings two hours after midnight. Dalen found himself alone in his workroom, and fumbling around with some bits and ends on the table when there was the sound of footsteps at the entrance. He looked up and had to suppress a grimace at the sight of Bard Lackley.

“Loishia said you were still awake in here.” The Bard said in his rich voice, and it was full of sympathy, not something that Dalen appreciated from this source.

“I should probably get some rest.” Dalen said, standing and moving towards the cot in the corner. Instead of taking the hint and leaving the Bard stepped into the workroom. Dalen shivered when the Bard’s hand touched his arm.

“Wait a moment, please.” The Bard’s voice was surprisingly soft and gentle.

“What is it?” Dalen snapped at him.

“I’d like to go with you tomorrow.” Lackley stated softly.

“Why, so you can have a front-row seat on the palace intrigues?” Dalen snapped angrily as he pulled his arm out of the Bard’s grip.

“No!” The Bard’s voice was uncontrolled in its vehemence and Dalen turned to stare at the Bard with surprise. It was the first time he’d ever heard the Bard lose control of his voice. “Look, Dalen, that’s not why I want to go.”

“Why do you want to go, Carl?” Dalen asked, filling the man’s first name with as much venom as he could.

“Please, don’t do that.” The Bard asked softly. “I mean it, I want to help.”

“Why?” Dalen asked sharply, turning to look at the Bard, and felt his breath catch in his throat at the look of concern on the man’s face. His own Empathy was telling him the Bard’s look was serious, that he really was concerned about Dalen.

“I care.” Carl said gently, and Dalen felt confusion for a long moment.

“You care about Valdemar?” Dalen asked carefully. “Is that what you’re saying?”

“I care for Valdemar, yes.” Carl said and Dalen let out a sigh of relief at the explanation. It made a great deal of sense. Of course Carl would be upset because as a Bard he wasn’t necessarily supposed to care about Valdemar in the abstract as he was to report about what happened and sing songs about it all. “But, that’s not why I want to go.”

“Huh?” Dalen asked in even worse confusion as he stared at the Bard who stepped forward until his face was right in front of Dalen’s.

“I want to go because I care about you, Dalen.” Carl’s words were soft, barely audible and Dalen blinked at them, wanting to pull his head back, but he couldn’t. There was something that was pulling him forward, closer, until his lips gently touched Carl’s.

Carl’s hands were on Dalen’s arms as he returned the kiss. The Bard’s lips were hungry against Dalen, and emotions Dalen had not let himself feel for a long time swept through him. He opened his lips ever so slightly and his tongue met the Bard’s halfway between them. Little noises escaped his throat and he could feel his entire body tingling even more than the first time he’d touched a ley-line.

“No.” Dalen managed to gasp as he pulled back. Carl’s hands stopped him from pulling back even more, and both of them were breathing heavily as the Bard stared at him hungrily.

“You can’t say you don’t want this.” Carl’s breath was heavy and uncontrolled as he looked deep in Dalen’s eyes. Those dark orbs seemed to see deep into Dalen’s soul, making him feel uncomfortable.

“I… I can’t do this.” Dalen whispered as tears came into his eyes, and he jerked himself out of the man’s grip, turning to face the far wall of the small cave. Carl stepped closer until Dalen could feel the heat of his body, but they were still not touching. The hardness in Dalen’s front urged him to turn around, but he resisted just as he always had resisted those urges.

“You can’t tell me you don’t want this.” Carl said. “I mean, I could see you knew you were attracted to me, and that was why you kept on biting at me, and I couldn’t help but do the same. There’s no shame about it, you know. It’s not like the old days when people whispered about shaych and made cruel jokes.”

“I know there’s nothing wrong with regular people being schaych.” Dalen growled angrily and resisted the urge to wipe the tears from his eyes. “I just can’t be one of them.”

“Why?” Carl asked with pain in his voice. “Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think you and I would work as a long-term couple, but there’s no reason we can’t be friends.”

“Are you trying to seduce me or not?” Dalen snorted with outrage as he turned around to glare at the Bard. The little smirk on the man’s face didn’t help matters much.

“Are you trying to tell me you think you’re in love with me?” Carl asked gently.

“No.” Dalen snorted. “I… horse manure! You’re damn handsome. Okay, I’ll admit it, and if I could, I’d throw you down on that cot and have my way with you, but I can’t do that.”

“Why not?” Carl asked with a little smirk. “Granted, the cot will probably collapse, but the floor will do just fine in a pinch. No one had taken me and thrown me down so they could have their way with me in a long time. It sounds kind of exciting.”

“Damn it, this is why.” Dalen said angrily. “How can you be so flip about it? No, wait, of course you can be, but I can’t.”

“Why not?” Carl asked with an arched eyebrow that looked too damn good just now. “It isn’t like everyone would be scandalized. No offense, but no one expects a member of the Royal Family to be as pure as the driven snow.”

“It’s not that either.” Dalen snarled at the Bard, turning away so he wouldn’t have to look at the man’s lean figure. Those Bardic Scarlets didn’t hide enough of the man.

“Then what is it?” Carl asked, this time in a soft voice, filled with concern. “I am serious here, Dalen. No, I don’t think we’d make good lovers in the long run, but we can be friends, and if there’s a bit of a physical relationship between us, well I don’t think either one of us are going to be mistaken about where it leads, or doesn’t. You’re one of the most mature damn sixteen-year-olds I’ve met. Believe me; I don’t like immature boys at all.”

“I’m glad to hear that at least.” Dalen snorted again and then tried to get a better grip on himself. He could feel how he was leaking past his shields, and as he’d learned as a youngster, letting his gifts leak was dangerous to those around him. “Look, as much as you don’t think there won’t be any confusion, I think there will.”

“Why do you think that?” Carl asked, and his self-control was back in his voice. Dalen felt it was safe and turned around to find concern in the man’s face, but none of the passion. The man moved to sit on Dalen’s cot and patted the spot next to him. “Come here Dalen, sit down. We can talk.”

“I can sit over here.” Dalen said as he moved towards a chair.

“No, here.” Carl’s voice was firm, and there was a hint of his gift behind it as he spoke.

“You don’t need to use your gift on me.” Dalen snapped.

“Sorry.” Carl said. “Sometimes it helps calm down people who are emotionally overwrought.”

“Are you saying I’m out of control?” Dalen demanded angrily.

“No.” Carl said carefully. “I am saying that you are in a tough place right now.”

“What do you mean?” Dalen asked and sighed when Carl patted the spot next to him. With a reluctant shrug, he moved over and sat down, barely wincing when the Bard put his arm around Dalen’s shoulders, pulling him into a partial hug.

“Your whole world is coming apart right now.” Carl said gently. “You’re worried that your mother has betrayed Valdemar and that you might have to oppose her. Just yesterday, you were fighting for your life, and saw people you know die.”

“I’ve seen death before.” Dalen said firmly. “I know how to deal with the loss.”

“You know what the books and other people have told you about dealing with the loss.” Carl said sharply. “Yes, you’ve seen death before, but have you lost people you cared about like Corporal Talen?”

“No.” Dalen admitted as the sadness he’d been feeling every time he thought about Talen swelled up in him again. Damn it all, Talen’s enlistment was almost over! He had such a future ahead of him, and those kids that had been killed at the farm! Every time he let himself think about him, he wanted to cry, like now…

“Let it out.” Carl said gently, hugging Dalen tighter. “It’s not just about dealing with the emotions, or controlling them. It’s about experiencing them and letting them run their course.”

“That’s too dangerous for me.” Dalen said quietly. “You don’t understand.”

“What don’t I understand?” Carl asked in that same, gentle and understanding tone.

“My gifts, I’ve got just about all of them, and even the weakest are still strong enough to cause damage if I let them run loose.” Dalen sighed. “When they first started showing up, before my teacher got there, I was a wreck. Every time I lost control of them, I had half the people in the keep crying or in a rage. This one time, I got mad at Louis and his brother almost brained him because of the anger he got from me.”

“What happens when you put weak metal under high pressure?” Carl asked and Dalen’s anger spiked.

“Are you saying I’m weak?” Dalen snarled, trying to pull away.

“Okay, maybe that was the wrong choice of metaphors.” Carl said with a hint of a chuckle in his voice. “Still, even the strongest of metals can fail if the contents inside are under too high of a pressure.”

“Yes.” Dalen agreed cautiously. “That’s why I’ve been trained to deal with these things, and to process them and get them out of the way.”

“How can you process an emotion without letting yourself feel it?” Carl asked gently and Dalen stared at him in confusion.

“I don’t get it.” Dalen said aloud after Carl remained silent.

“Dalen, you can’t process emotions like it was something on a factory assembly line.” Carl said sternly. “You have to experience it, and frankly, I have an opinion that you are not used to letting yourself feel things.”

“It… emotions are largely a waste of time.” Dalen said. “You have to look at things objectively, analyze their strengths and weaknesses and base your decisions on the cold, hard facts.”

“Spoken like a natural-born artificer talking about his machines.” Carl said with a sad shake of his head. “Unfortunately, you’re forgetting one thing with that.”

“What’s that?” Dalen asked with a slight curl of contempt in his voice.

“We’re humans, not some machine made in a factory.” Carl replied simply, calmly.

“I… I… it’s hard feeling so much.” Dalen said with a sigh.

“Is this why you’ve been fighting the attraction between us?” Carl asked gently. “I’ll admit, you’re a damn handsome man, and you’re a good person on top of that for all that you keep a tight rein on yourself.”

“I can’t be shaych.” Dalen felt like he was repeating himself. Why was everyone from Rothar to this damn Bard insisting he be shaych?

“Why not?” Carl asked gently. He must have realized he’d already won the argument about emotions. Dalen could see how the Bard was right whereas Mikus, his old instructor had been wrong. Maybe it would have worked for Mikus, but Dalen knew he felt things too much, cared too much to just ignore his own feelings.

“If I’m shaych everyone is going to start comparing me to Vanyel for sure.” Dalen said with a long sigh. “Then they’re going to expect me to pull off miracles like he did, saving the kingdom and spending seven hundred years as a spirit on the border, protecting Valdemar instead of resting in the Havens like all the others who served and died.

“I’ve got news for you, Dalen.” Carl laughed softly, and Dalen wondered that the laughter actually relaxed him instead of setting him on edge. Like everything else about the Bard, there was a hint of good, untainted humor in it and faint musical tones.

“What’s that?” Dalen asked.

“Everyone already expects that of you, whether you’re shaych or not.” Carl laughed and Dalen felt a laugh building in his chest. The Bard was right. He’d seen it tonight when working with the Heralds and with Captain Helgenberger and her officers. They expected him to do everything his ancient ancestor had ever done, and probably more besides.

What did it matter if he was now resting his head on another man’s chest while they both laughed at his situation?