The Diamond Throne (The Elenium 1)

‘You’ve been here too long, Voren.’ Sparhawk laughed. ‘Rendor’s starting to sour your disposition.’

‘I can’t abide stupidity and filth, Sparhawk, and Arasham’s followers believe devoutly in the sanctity of ignorance and dirt.’

‘You’re starting to develop a fine flair for rhetoric, though.’

‘Contempt is a powerful seasoning for one’s words,’ Voren admitted. ‘I can’t say what I think openly here in Rendor, so I have plenty of time to polish my phrases in private ‘ His face grew serious. ‘Be very careful in Dabour, Sparhawk,’ he advised. ‘Arasham has a couple of dozen disciples – some of whom he even knows. They’re the ones who really control the city, and they’re all as crazy as he is.’

‘That bad?’

‘Worse, probably’

‘You’ve always been such a cheerful fellow, Voren,’ Sparhawk said dryly

‘It’s a failing of mine I try to look on the bright side of things. Is anything happening in Cippria I ought to know about?’

‘You might want to look into this,’ Sparhawk said, plucking at the grass beside him. There are some foreigners going about there trying to encourage the belief that the peasantry in the Elene kingdoms in the north are on the verge of open rebellion against the Church because they support the goals of the Eshandist movement.’

‘I’ve heard some rumours about that,’ Voren said. ‘It hasn’t gone very far here in Jiroch yet.’

‘It’s just a question of time until it does, I think. It’s fairly well organized.’

‘Any idea of who’s behind it?’

‘Martel, and we all know for whom he works. The whole idea is to stir up the city dwellers to join with Arasham in an uprising against the Church here in Rendor at the same time that the Hierocracy is gathering in Chyrellos to elect a new Archprelate. The Church Knights would have to come here to put the fire out, and that would give Annias and his supporters a free hand in the election. We’ve passed the word to the militant orders, so they should be able to take steps.’ Sparhawk rose from the grass. ‘How long is your servant likely to take to run his errand?’ he asked. ‘It might be better if we were gone when he came back. He may not be too bright, but I know Rendors, and they like to gossip.’

‘I think you’ve got a little time left. Jintal’s fastest pace is a leisurely saunter. You’ll have time to eat something, and I’ll give you some fresh supplies.’

‘Is there any safe place to stay in Dabour?’ Sephrenia asked the sardonic man.

‘No place in Dabour is really safe, Sephrenia,’ Voren replied. He looked at Sparhawk. ‘Do you remember Perraine?’ he asked.

‘Lean fellow? Almost never talks?’

That’s him. He’s in Dabour posing as a cattle buyer. He goes by the name Mirrelek, and he’s got a place near the stockyards. The desert people need him – unless they want to eat all their own cows – so he has more or less the free run of the city He’ll put you up and keep you out of trouble’ Voren grinned a bit slyly ‘Speaking of trouble, Sparhawk,’ he said, ‘I’d strongly advise you to get out of Jiroch before Lillias finds out that you’re back.’

‘Is she still unhappy?’ Sparhawk said. ‘I thought that she’d have found someone to comfort her by now’

‘I’m sure she has – several, probably – but you know Lillias. She holds grudges.’

‘I left her full title to the shop,’ Sparhawk said a bit defensively ‘She should be doing very well by now if she pays attention to business.’

‘The last I heard, she was, but that’s not the point. The whole thing is that you said your farewells – and left your bequest in a note. You didn’t give her the chance to scream, weep, and threaten to kill herself.’

‘That was sort of the idea.’

‘You were terribly unkind to her, my friend. Lillias thrives on high drama; when you slipped out in the middle of the night the way you did, you robbed her of a wonderful opportunity for histrionics.’ Voren was grinning openly

‘Do you really have to pursue this?’

‘I’m just trying to give you a friendly warning, Sparhawk. All you’ll have to face at Dabour are several thousand howling fanatics. Here in Jiroch, you’ll have to face Lillias, and she’s much, much more dangerous.’

Chapter 21

They left Voren’s house quietly about half an hour later. Sparhawk looked closely at Sephrenia as they mounted their horses. Although it was scarcely past noon, she already looked weary. ‘Could this thing that’s after us stir up a waterspout on the river?’ he asked her.

She frowned. ‘It’s hard to say,’ she replied. ‘Normally, I’d say no, there’s not enough open water. But the creatures of the underworld can overcome some natural laws if they choose.’ She thought a moment. ‘How wide is the river here?’ she asked.

‘Not very,’ he replied. ‘There’s not enough water in the whole of Rendor to make a wide river.’

‘The river banks would make it very hard to direct a spout,’ she said thoughtfully. ‘You saw how erratically the one that destroyed Mabin’s ship was moving.’

‘We’ll have to chance it, then,’ he said. ‘You’re too exhausted to ride all the way to Dabour, and it’s going to get hotter as we ride south.’

‘Don’t take unnecessary chances just for my sake, Sparhawk.’

‘It’s not entirely for your sake,’ he told her. ‘We’ve lost a lot of time already, and going by boat is faster than riding. We’ll stay close to the river bank in case we need to get off the boat in a hurry.’

‘Whatever you think best,’ she said, slumping slightly in her saddle

They rode out into the teeming street where black-robed nomads from the desert mingled with the more brightly garbed city dwellers and the merchants from the northern kingdoms. The street was filled with noise and with those peculiarly Rendorish scents spices, perfumes and the pervading odour of smoking olive oil.

‘Who’s this Lillias?’ Kurik asked curiously as they rode down along the street towards the river.

‘It’s not important,’ Sparhawk replied shortly

‘If this person is dangerous, I’d say that it’s fairly important for me to know about it.’