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‘Are all Elene thieves artists?’ Sarabian asked ‘Talen paints, Stragen coifted actor’
‘We do seem to attract talent, don’t we,’ Ehlana smiled
‘Should I explain why there are soat Mirtai and Engessa
She shook her head ‘Never explain It’s a sign of weakness I’ll enter on your arenuflectory prostration, Ehlana’
‘Whatever’ She shrugged ‘When they get up again, we’ll be sitting there with our guards around us That’s when you take over the ot our own agenda today, and we don’t have time to listen to him babble about the prospects for the wheat harvest on the plains of Edoovernment before’
‘Neither have I, actually – unless you count what I did in the Basilica when I appointed Dolmant to the Archprelacy’
‘She didn’t actually do that, did she, Sparhawk?’
‘Oh yes, your Majesty – all by herself She was superb’
‘Just keep talking, Sarabian,’ Ehlana told him ‘If anyone tries to interrupt, shout him down Don’t even pretend to be polite This is our party Don’t be conciliatory or reasonable Be coldly furious instead Are you any good at oratory?’
‘Probably not They don’t let raduation ceremonies at the university’
‘Speak slowly You tend to talk too fast Half of any good oration lies in its cadence Use pauses Vary your voluood show’
He laughed ‘You’re a charlatan, Ehlana’
‘Naturally That’s what politics is all about – fraud, deceit, charlatanism’
‘That’s dreadful!’
‘Of course That’s why it’s so much fun’
The brazen fanfares echoed back fro as each minister entered the throne-room, and they had the desired effect The htly awed by their own subliotten They moved to their places with slow, stately pace, their expressions grave, even exalted Pondia Subat, the Prime Minister, seemed particularly impressed with himself He sat splendidly alone in a crimson-upholstered chair to one side of the dais upon which the thrones stood, looking i in the chairs lining both sides of the broad central aisle
Chancellor of the Exchequer Gashon sat with Teovin, the Director of the Secret Police, and several otheron in the little group
‘That would probably be the opposition,’ Ehlana observed ‘Teovin’s certainly involved, and the others are also ree’ She turned to Talen, who stood directly behind her, wearing his page’s knee-britches ‘Pay very close attention to that group,’ she instructed ‘I want a report on their reactions We should be able to deteruilt by the looks on their faces’
‘Yes, ne appeared briefly at the massive double doors to the throne-roo that all of the relevant officials had arrived
Ulath, who stood to one side of the dais, nodded and raised his Ogre-horn trumpet to his lips
The room seemed to shudder into a shocked silence as the barbaric sound of the Ogre-horn, deep-toned and rasping, reverberated froe doors boohts, one a Cyrinic all in white, and the other a Pandion all in black, placed themselves in front of the entryway
The Pried the butt of his axe on the floor three ti, Sarabian?’ Mirtai asked him
‘Sir Ulath just broke several of the floor-tiles’
‘We can replace theed ‘There should be quite a few bones lying around before the day’s over’
‘Will the council please coed the floor again
Sparhawk looked around the throne-room Everyone was in place Sephrenia, dressed in her white Styric robe, sat with Princess Danae and Caalador on the far side of the room Xanetia, also in white, sat on the near side with Kalten and Berit Melidere sat in a sallery with the nine imperial wives The clever baroness had carefully cultivated a friendship with Sarabian’s first wife, Cieronna, a member of one of the noblest houses of Tamul proper, and the rown so close that Melidere was customarily invited to attend state functions in the co them this time had a serious purpose, however Sarabian had a wife frodoms, and it was entirely possible that some of them had been subverted Sparhaas fairly certain that the bare-breasted Valesian, Elysoun, was free of any political contaan wife, Gahennas, a puritanical lady obsessed with her personal virtue and her staunch republicanism, would probably not even have been approached by conspirators Torellia of Arjuna, and Chacole of Cynesga, however, were highly suspect They had both established what ht best be called personal courts, liberally sprinkled with nobles from their homelands Melidere had been instructed to keep a close eye on those two in particular for signs of unusual reactions to the revelation of Zalasta’s true affiliation
Sparhawk sighed It was all so complicated Friends and eneht turn out that Xanetia’s unusual gift would prove more valuable than a sudden offer of aid from an entire army
Vanion, who had unobtrusively stationed hi the walls, reached up and first lowered, then raised, his visor It was the signal that all their forces were in place Stragen, ith his truement
Then Sparhawk looked rather closely at Zalasta, the unknowing guest of honor at this affair The Styric, his eyes apprehensive, sat a oddly out of place aht-colored silkwas afoot, and just as obviously had no idea what it , anyway At least no one in the inner circle had been subverted Sparhawk irritably shook that thought off Under the circumstances, a certain amount of wary suspicion was only natural, but left unchecked it could become a disease He in to suspect himself
‘The council will now come to order!’ Pondia Subat repeated
Ulath broke some more tiles