LITMIR.BIZ

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will we move to your home, Caleb?’

      ‘Tonight, after the festival, for that’s what it will be – a festival!’

      ‘I have so much to do—’ she began.

      ‘All you must do is be beautiful, and that is already done.’

      ‘Still, if we are to travel this night, I must pack.’

      ‘Pack what? What do you need to bring with you? You have the boys, and nothing in the hut is necessary where we are going. You’ll see. What else is there? A few keepsakes?’

      ‘Some.’

      ‘Then gather those and then spend the rest of this day preparing for your wedding. Find the dressmaker and spare no expense, and find the women you wish to stand with you.’

      She nodded, tears forming. She put her hands over her nose and mouth and said, ‘Here I am crying like a foolish girl.’

      He kissed her and said, ‘Nothing foolish about you, Marie. Nothing foolish at all.’

      She kissed him again, then said, ‘I need to go to the dressmaker now. If I know Bethel ‘Roachman she will kick up a real fuss about having to make something for me between now and sundown.’

      ‘Let her. Just see that it’s done to your liking.’

      She smiled, nodded, and hurried off, holding her hem above the mud, and Caleb watched her go.

      Standing alone he wondered at his sudden need to formalize what had been unspoken between them. He felt a moment of worry, then pushed it aside. He knew his reason: he wanted the world to know that he loved this woman, and cared for her boys as if they were his own. He wanted a priest of a temple to bless their union and he wanted to go to his father with this ready-made family certain in his own mind that he could take no other course of action.

      After a moment, he muttered under his breath, ‘Sun’s hardly up and I need a drink already.’ With doubt gnawing at his stomach, he forced himself to turn and walk back to the warehouse. He had to send a message to his parents and brother, and he needed to do it now.

      Pug and Miranda stood to one side, and watched their youngest son and the woman he loved exchange their vows before Father DeMonte, the local Priest of Killian whose tiny church served the Stardock region.

      Magnus stood a few feet behind his parents, studying his younger brother with a mixture of pleasure and envy. That Caleb could find a little joy in the dark world they inhabited pleased Magnus enormously.

      Pug was impressed by how much had been done in so short a time. Garlands of blooms hung from a lattice of grape-stakes constructed by some local boys under Tad’s direction. Zane had organized the food and drink, and the tables around the town square were loaded. Once word of the wedding had passed through the town, the local women had pitched in with freshlybaked goods and preserves, and by sundown it was – as Caleb had predicted – a full-blown festival.

      Tad and Zane stood on Marie’s side of the square, behind the three women who were standing with her. They glanced at Ellie and Grame Hodover who stood watching silently. Ellie smiled back at the boys who noted her swelling stomach and silently agreed that fate had put them on a better path than they had anticipated.

      Spending a few minutes with Ellie during the course of the afternoon had restored the balance of their lives, and she was once again like their sister. Grame, as always, was a self-important bore, and neither Tad nor Zane could understand what Ellie saw in him, but as she loved him they decided that was a good enough reason to put up with the pompous fool.

      When the priest had finished and the crowd had cheered, Pug motioned for the boys to come over and join them. He whispered something to his wife and she nodded. Miranda turned her attention to Marie, and as Pug led the boys off to the side of the crowd, Pug felt a faint pang. Marie looked older than Miranda. She would grow to be an old woman while Pug, Miranda and probably Magnus would remain unchanged. What would become of Caleb wasn’t clear. There were aspects to his son’s nature that no one else understood, or even suspected, save perhaps Nakor. Pug had realized years ago that it was futile to try and keep anything the Isalani found interesting a secret.

      Reaching a quiet corner of the town square, Pug said, ‘Boys, I suppose it’s a good thing that I decided not to have you drowned when you first came to my island.’

      Both boys looked startled for a moment, then grinned.

      ‘From this moment you are grandsons to me, and with that comes privilege and responsibility. We’ll talk more in the morning, but for the moment, go to the festival and share your mother’s joy.’

      They hesitated, then with a spontaneity that surprised Pug, hugged him fiercely. ‘Thank you, Pug,’ said Zane. ‘We’ll make you proud of us.’

      Pug suddenly found himself flushed with emotion. ‘I know you will,’ he whispered hoarsely.

      They hurried off to the party while Magnus and his mother moved to where Pug stood. Miranda said, ‘You look nonplussed.’

      ‘Just taken by surprise, that’s all.’

      ‘What were you surprised by, Father?’

      ‘That two boys I hardly know could suddenly become important to me.’

      Miranda smiled. ‘You have always allowed people to become important to you, Pug.’ She slipped her arm around his waist. ‘It’s one of the things I love about you, yet which causes me no end of annoyance.’

      Softly, Pug said, ‘They remind me of William.’

      Neither Miranda nor Magnus said anything for a moment. William, Pug’s first-born child, had died years before, but his father still grieved. Magnus rested his hand on his father’s shoulder and the three stood motionless for a long time before they moved back to rejoin Caleb and his wife in the festival.

      As the festival came to a close, Pug joined his younger son for a short walk. When they were out of earshot, Pug said, ‘I’ve just gotten word from home.’

      ‘And?’

      ‘There has been another murder in Kesh.’

      Caleb didn’t need to hear any more. He knew that since Nakor had returned from his visit to Knight-Marshal Erik von Darkmoor, Pug had alerted every agent the Conclave had in Kesh to be on the lookout for evidence of a Nighthawk resurgence. For this murder to have come to their attention so swiftly, the victim had to have been someone significant. ‘Who was it?’

      ‘Just a minor noble, but one linked directly to an important faction in the Gallery of Lords and Masters. I don’t have a completely clear picture of what’s taking place down there, but I think we could be seeing the beginning of a major power-shift in the Empire.’

      ‘A little murder has always been part of politics in Kesh, Father.’

      Pug nodded and said, ‘Yes, but many murders remind me too well of the last time someone tried to seize power down there.’ He grinned. ‘Although that odd set of events also led Nakor to me.’

      ‘I’ve heard the story,’ said Caleb, following his father’s news with a sigh. ‘I had hoped that Marie and I could spend a little more time together to celebrate our nuptials.’

      ‘I’m sorry to say you only have a few days, as I need you down in Great Kesh within a week. Marie and the boys will have to get used to the idea that although you often travel by common means – horse or wagon – you’re just as likely to be whisked from here to there by magic.’ Pug glanced over his shoulder and seeing no need to be cautious continued, ‘I’ve already sent Tal, Kaspar, Pasko and Amafi to the capital. Kaspar looks so different no one will recognize the newly named Comté du Bassillon from the court of Bas-Tyra until he reaches the palace.’

      ‘With all the correct papers, no doubt.’

      Pug nodded. ‘Tal is a well-known former Champion of the Masters’ Court, and his notoriety will help him gain invitations to various

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