The Warded Man (Demon Cycle, #1)(64)

“Why doesn’t he send them away?” Arlen asked.

“Because they’re Royals,” Ragen said, as if that explained everything.

They were halfway to the duke’s throne when a tall woman moved to intercept them. Her hair was kept back in a cloth wrap, and her face was pinched and lined with wrinkles so deep it looked as if wards were carved into her cheeks. She moved with arched dignity, but a little wattle of flesh beneath her chin shook of its own accord. She had Selia’s air about her; a woman accustomed to giving orders and having them obeyed without question. She looked down at Arlen and sniffed as if she had smelled a dung heap. Her gaze snapped up at Ragen.

“Euchor’s chamberlain, Jone,” Ragen muttered while they were still out of earshot. “Mother, Royal, and an eighth breed of coreling. Don’t stop walking unless I do, or she’ll have you waiting in the stables while I see the duke.”

“Your page will have to wait in the hall, Messenger,” Jone said, stepping in front of them.

“He’s not my page,” Ragen said, continuing forward. Arlen kept pace, and the chamberlain was forced to sacrifice her dignity to scurry out of the way.

“His Grace doesn’t have time for every stray off the street, Ragen!” she hissed, hurrying to keep pace with the Messenger.

“Who is he?”

Ragen stopped, and Arlen stopped with him. He turned and glared at the woman, leaning in. Mother Jone might have been tall, but Ragen was taller, and he outweighed her thrice over. The sheer menace of his presence shrank her back involuntarily.

“He is who I have chosen to bring,” he said through his teeth. He thrust a satchel filled with letters at her, and Jone took it reflexively. As she did, the Merchants and Mothers’ Council swarmed her, along with the Tenders’ acolytes.

The Royals noted the movement, and made comments or gestures to those next to them. Suddenly, half their entourage broke away, and Arlen realized those were just well-dressed servants. The Royals acted as if nothing of note was happening, but their servants shoved as hard as any to get close to that satchel.

Jone passed the letters on to a servant of her own and hurried toward the throne to announce Ragen, though she needn’t have bothered. Ragen’s entrance had caused enough of a stir that the man could not have failed to note him. Euchor was watching as they approached.

The duke was a heavyset man in his late fifties, with salt-and-pepper hair and a thick beard. He wore a green tunic, freshly stained with grease from his fingers, but richly embroidered with gold thread, and a fur-lined cloak. His fingers glittered with rings, and about his brow he wore a circlet of gold.

“At last, you deign to grace us with your presence,” the duke called out, though it seemed he was speaking more to the rest of the room than to Ragen. Indeed, the observation had the Royals nodding and murmuring among themselves, and caused several heads to pop up from the cluster around the mail. “Was my business not pressing enough?” he asked.

Ragen advanced to the dais, meeting the duke’s gaze with a stony one of his own. “Forty-five days from here to Angiers and back by way of Tibbet’s Brook!” he said loudly. “Thirty and seven nights slept outside, while corelings slashed at my wards!” He never took his eyes from the duke, but Arlen knew he, too, was speaking to the room. Most of those assembled blanched and shuddered at his words.

“Six weeks gone from my home, Your Grace,” Ragen said, lowering his voice by half, but still carrying it to all ears. “Do you begrudge me a bath and a meal with my wife?”

The duke hesitated, his eyes flicking about the court. Finally, he gave a great booming laugh. “Of course not!” he called. “An offended duke can make a man’s life difficult, but not half so much as an offended wife!”

The tension shattered as the court broke into laughter. “I would speak to my Messenger alone!” the duke commanded, once the laughter faded. There were grumbles from those eager for news, but Jone signaled her servant to leave with the letters, and that took most of the court with her. The Royals lingered a moment, until Jone cracked her hands together. The retort made them jump, and they filed out as quickly as dignity would allow.

“Stay,” Ragen murmured to Arlen, stopping a respectful distance from the throne. Jone signaled the guards, who pulled the heavy doors closed, remaining inside. Unlike the men at the gate, these looked alert and professional. Jone moved to stand beside her lord.

“Don’t ever do that before my court again!” Euchor growled when the rest were gone.

The Messenger gave a slight bow to acknowledge the command, but it looked insincere, even to Arlen. The boy was in awe. Ragen was utterly fearless.

“There is news from the Brook, Your Grace,” Ragen began.

“The Brook?” Euchor burst out. “What do I care about the Brook? What word from Rhinebeck?”

“They’ve had a rough winter without the salt,” Ragen went on as if the duke had not spoken. “And there was an attack …”

“Night, Ragen!” Euchor barked. “Rhinebeck’s answer could affect all Miln for years to come, so spare me birth lists and harvest counts of some miserable little backwater!”

Arlen gasped and drew protectively behind Ragen, who gripped his arm reassuringly.

Euchor pressed the attack. “Did they discover gold in Tibbet’s Brook?” he demanded.