Abbot Je'howith fell deeper, deeper into the gemstone, fell into the swirl of its magic and down, down, into its depths. There his spirit. found release from the confines of his aged body. To the old abbot, this was the epitome of grace, the closest state one might attain to God while still physically maintaining one's mortal coil. Now he was free of earthly bonds, spirit-walking without physical ailments and limitations,without boundaries.
He saw the woman reclining patiently before him, her hand clutching a sunstone brooch, as he had instructed. Constance Pemblebury was no master of gemstone magic, surely, but with this particular item, she did not have to be. If she felt the battle of wills begin between her and Je'howith, she was to pinch her skin with the enchanted brooch's pin, nothing more, and the antimagic wave would wash the old abbot's intruding spirit out of her,
Je'howith moved closer, fighting the urge to go into her being, to take over her body. That was the danger of spirit-walking-the instinctual desire of the spirit to find a corporeal body, even at the expense of another's spirit.
Je'howith was right beside her now. He reached out his insubstantial hand toward her naked belly-and how he wished he were still of the flesh that he might feel Constance's smooth and delicate skin.
The old abbot washed that impure thought from his mind and focused on the task at hand. He moved even closer, right up to the woman, right into the woman. Now it took all his willpower not to try to possess her immediately. He pushed ahead, searching, searching.
And then he felt it, undeniably: another life, another soul stirring within the woman's womb. Je'howith could no longer resist-his spirit went for the child, joining with the child. It would be so easy to expel this tiny, undeveloped, and unknowing soul! To take the corporeal form! To begin life anew, from the womb, but with the understanding of a previous lifetime's experience!
And then, suddenly, the old abbot was thrown out, expelled so fully that before he even comprehended the change, he was back in his own body, corporeal again, staring, blinking in disbelief as Constance sat up.
"What did you do? " she demanded sharply.
"I-I did as you asked me," Je'howith stammered in reply, and he closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to orient himself.
"You went further," Constance accused, but even as she spoke the words, her expression became perplexed. "You tried ..." she started to say, but she paused and looked up at Je'howith, and a wry smile came over her.
"Yes, dear Constance," the abbot confirmed. "Your alluring wiles have worked their magic. You carry King Danube's child."
Constance clapped her hands together, then brought them up to cover her mouth, gasping with joy. "It is true," she dared to say.
"Why are you so surprised?" Je'howith asked sarcastically. "Is this not what you wanted? Was this not your purpose ever since you saw your beloved Danube's eye wander the way ofJilseponie Wyndon? "
Constance's expression changed to sternness. "And do you disapprove? " she asked, an accusation as much as a question. "For if you did, then why did you not warn King Danube of my intent? "
Je'howith merely chuckled.
"I fear Jilseponie, but you despise her," Constance went on. "I bear her no ill will, yet you would pay the headsman handsomely to take her pretty head from her shoulders."
Je'howith bowed to her, an admission that her reasoning was sound. "I fear her more than you ever could," he explained. "You fear that she will threaten your little place at Danube's side. I fear that she will topple the world of the Abellican Church."
"And what better way to keep her out of the Church than to involve her in the affairs of the Crown? " reasoned Constance, again in that accusatory tone. "Perhaps Je'howith whispers ofJilseponie in King Danube's ear."
The monk laughed. "Because I would be better off by far if Jilseponie came to Ursal as queen of Honce-the-Bear? " he asked incredulously. " No, my dear Constance, never would I desire that. I am glad that the woman has gone north, far out of the way, and is not meddling in the affairs of either Church or Crown."
"And what of Constance, then, and her condition?" she asked.
Again the old abbot chuckled, belittling the whole thing. "This will not be Danube's first child. Nor, I doubt, will it be his last." "It?" Constance echoed. "Boy or girl?" "Most mothers do not wish to be told."
Constance fixed the old man with a devastating glower. "Boy," Je'howith answered, and Constance clenched her fist with absolute glee. "You assume much if you think this will greatly alter your standing," Je'howith said. "You know nothing of my relationship with King Danube," Constance replied. "You, not I, assume much."
Je'howith draped his arm about the woman, fixing her with a disarming smile. "Listen to us," he bade her. "We sound as if we are against each other in this matter, when, truthfully, we both share similar goals. The health of King Danube and his kingdom is to our mutual liking, is it not?"
"And how does my situation affect that health, in Abbot Je'howith's thinking? " Constance asked bluntly.
The old man's smile seemed genuine. "Why, Milady Pemblebury, it would not pain me to call you my queen."
Constance returned the smile and nodded, then dressed and took her leave.
Abbot Je'howith, whose world had just been turned upside down in Palmaris, whose position in his beloved Church had been severely strained by his association with the man who lost the battle for the Church, watched her every step. Was she carrying the future King of Honce-the-Bear? Oreven more relevant to old Je'howith, who would not likely outlive young King Danube, would this situation elevate Constance to her coveted position as queen?
"So be it," the old abbot said aloud, and he nodded, unconcerned. He had never truly been at odds with Constance-often he had considered her as Danube's most reasonable secular adviser. He didn't think it likely that Danube would take her as his wife anyway-if he meant to do that, he would have done so long ago.
But still, despite all of his logical arguments telling him that this situation was neither unexpected nor damaging, it nagged at Je'howith until he finally discerned his source of distress.
Again he nodded, his understanding of his own fears coming clearer. Might this situation push King Danube to other action? To the active pursuit ofJilseponie, perhaps, that he might sire a more acceptable heir?
Constance had gotten her wish, the culmination of her pursuit and treachery, but old and wise Je'howith wasn't sure that the woman fully understood the consequences.
A boy, a son for King Danube Brock Ursal! The news should not have surprised Constance, who had been working so long to just that end; and yet, from the moment Je'howith had told her about the child, all the world had seemed to slip out of focus.
She went immediately to her room, to her bed, and reclined there, deep in thought and steeped in joy. She would mother the future King of Honcethe-Bear! This child within her would rise through the ranks of nobility to the very highest level, would bring the name of Pemblebury the stature it had once known, many generations before.
Once, before the unification of the kingdom under King Danube's greatgreat-great-great-grandfather, the Pembleburys had been the lords of WesterHonce, an independent fiefdom. When King Bendragon Coelyn Ursal had unified the kingdom, subjugating Wester-Honce, the Pembleburys had remained an important family; but over the generations that stature, along with the population and importance of Wester-Honce itself, had gradually diminished, to the point where Constance's grandmother had chosen to become a courtesan in order to retain any ties at all to the Throne. Constance's mother, a bastard child of a duke, a distant relation to the family of Targon Bree Kalas, had followed suit, and had taught Constance in the family's new profession.
Constance's child would be the first male in the family for three generations and, given its pedigree, held the promise of restoring all that the Pembleburys once were, and more.
Along with the hopes Constance fostered that morning were more than a few doubts. She understood, even more clearly now that her efforts had worked, that she had forced upon King Danube a delicate and potentially devastating situation. She had played her hand, had taken a great risk, in the hopes that King would remain loyal to her.
Constance took a deep and steadying breath, considering again the potential consequences, the risk that she would be forced from the city, into the circles of lesser nobles, as had both women who had previously become pregnant with Danube's children. A moment of sheer terror gripped her, the sudden certainty that her actions to secure a greater role had thus doomed her to a minor position in a minor court.
It was a passing fear, though, for Constance reminded herself of how badly she had wanted a child. Her childbearing days were nearing their end, but Danube showed little movement toward formalizing their relationship, and so she had been given little choice.
Of course, she could have sought out a different sire, a less complicated union with a lesser noble-many of whom would have been thrilled to take her as wife. But Constance didn't want just any man's child, and had no intention of settling for another whom she did not love. No, she loved Danube, and had loved him since before his wedding to Queen Vivian two decades earlier. He was her friend and her lover, the only man who had ever seemed to genuinely understand her. And now he was the father of her child, and to Constance, nothing in all the world could have been more appropriate.
And so, as she settled in for a long morning's rest, her joy overcame her fears, and she became at ease with the reality of her situation, very pleased that her child, Danube's child, was growing within her.
"Kalas continues to hold the Abellican Church in check in Palmaris and all the northern reaches," King Danube said happily to Je'howith when the old abbot came upon him, later that same day, reclining in his study, sipping fine brandy, and surrounded by the most extensive library in all the world, greater even than the collection of tomes hoarded at St.-Mere-Abelle.
Danube's smile was genuine; he was in fine spirits, and not because of the drink. He was happy to be home again, in the bright summer, and with his kingdom finally settling back into its previous state of calm. He was happy that he could again go riding in the fields around Castle Ursal, that he could enjoy the balls and parties with the many nobles and courtesans. It seemed that the pall of the demon dactyl was finally lifting from his kingdom, and that the upstart brothers of the Abellican Church, often his most bitter rivals, would soon again be huddled within their dark walls.
"I do miss Duke Kalas," the King admitted, and he laughed again when Je'howith, who had never been a friend to the fiery and ultimately secular Duke, frowned deeply. "Perhaps I will be able to invite him home soon enough."
"Do not underestimate Abbot Braumin Herde and his intentions," Je'howith warned.
"Word from Kalas says that Jilseponie has left for the northland," the King replied. "Without her, our friend Braumin will prove much less formidable. And as the darkness recedes, so too will the influence of the Church. The people of Palmaris remember well the oppression of Bishop De'Unnero, I assure you, and his reign of terror suited Duke Kalas well."
"Because Duke Kalas was ever such a gentle man," Je'howith said with obvious sarcasm.
King Danube only laughed again. "It is a fine day, my friend, with the promise of many better days yet to come," he said, hoisting his glass in toast.
Abbot Je'howith assumed a pensive posture; and Danube lowered his glass, looking hard at the old monk, finally catching on that the man's arrival was more than a casual visit.
"I met with Constance this morning," Je'howith remarked.
"And ..." Danube prompted. "If there is trouble in my court, then speak it plainly."
"She is with child," Je'howith informed him. "Your child. A son, I believe, who will be born next midwinter, unless there are complications."
Danube swallowed hard. "Impossible ..." he started to say. "Constance is well versed in methods of preventing ..." He paused there and considered the information, wondering immediately if the conception was accidental or deliberate. Constance had long been his trusted friend and his off-and-on lover for decades-and once she had questioned him directly about his intentions toward her, if he had any beyond their liaisons. ... But to think that she had purposely tricked him . . .
"These things do happen, my King," Abbot Je'howith said. "You have sired two before-have you forgotten? Many of the courtesans find themselves with child, I assure you, though they do not carry through with the pregnancy."
"Children of mine?" Danube asked, his eyes widening in an accurate reflection of his shock.
Abbot Je'howith began patting his hands in the air to calm the man. "It happens," he said quietly. "They consider their condition and their future. Their places at court, after all, are ones reserved for the most beautiful and the most talented . . . and the ones least burdened. Many courtesans understand well the complications that a child will bring to their lives, a situation that might send them back to a life of poverty and without position."
King Danube settled back in a chair that seemed suddenly not so comfortable to him, and took a hearty swallow of his potent liquor. He didn't like being told of the seedier side of his life, but neither could he deny the truth of Je'howith's observations. When he compared that truth to Constance's present situation, though, he took some comfort. "Constance will not do that," he remarked.
"No, she will not," Je'howith agreed. "I doubt that she views carrying the child of King Danube Brock Ursal as a burden or a cause for tears, unless they be tears of joy."
His tone as he finished made it clear to Danube that the old man fully believed that Constance had become pregnant on purpose; but strangely, to Danube, even that possibility did not invoke his wrath. How many years had Constance Pemblebury stood steadfastly beside him? How many times had she been there to comfort him in days of distress, to reassure him on those few occasions when he was faced with momentous decisions: the pardoning of a condemned criminal or the portioning of rations among communities where starvation seemed inevitable?
"Perhaps she has earned this child," Danube muttered, speaking more to himself than to Je'howith.
"And what, exactly, is this child? " Je'howith asked bluntly, drawing him from his private contemplations. The king looked up at the old man. "You have sired two before, and have done well by the mothers, awarding them comfortable positions and even minor titles for your children," the abbot reminded him. "Yet at the same time, you invoked Refusal of Acceptance, separating them forever from the ruling line, denying them for all time any claims to the throne of Honce-the-Bear. Will you follow the same course with the child of Constance Pemblebury? "
Danube started to reply Of course, but the words got stuck in his throat as he considered the reality of the situation, of this woman. He gave no answer, then, but merely blew a deep and contemplative sigh.
"Do you love her? " Je'howith asked.
Danube shook his head, but at the same time, he answered, "I do not know." "Do you love the woman Jilseponie? " the surprising abbot went on, and how that question widened King Danube's eyes!
"How could you ask such a question? " he responded loudly, but again, Je'howith was patting his hands in the air, motioning for a calm discourse.
"I saw the look in your eyes when you gazed upon her," the abbot replied. "She is beautiful beyond question, a sight to stir the loins of any man, and by deed alone she has made herself fit for the throne-indeed, I would reason that there is no woman in all the world more suited to sit by your side than Jilseponie Wyndon."
Again, Danube found no rebuttal against the sound reasoning. He carried it one step further, though, and reminded himself that perhaps the second woman most fit to be queen would be none other than the woman now carrying his child. The confusion inspired by that realization showed clearly on his face.
"I have delivered stunning news to you, my King," Je'howith said with a bow. "There is no need to make any decisions at this time."
"Soon enough," Danube replied. "The seasons will pass quickly, and Constance's condition will be known before summer's end. Many will whisper and ask questions."
"You need not marry her, obviously."
" But I will need to make a decree concerning her status and that of the child," Danube reasoned. "To invoke Refusal of Acceptance would wound Constance profoundly, something I do not wish to do."
"But something, perhaps, that she has brought upon herself," Je'howith reminded him.
Danube's stern expression showed that he wasn't ready to accept that notion, that he understood that whatever Constance's actions to prevent or allow conception had been, he, too, had played more than a minor role.
"There is also the matter of your brother," said Je'howith, quickly changing the subject.
"And if I do nothing? " Danube asked, for he recognized that Je'howith, as abbot of St. Honce, was among the most knowledgeable men in the kingdom of the affairs of court. " If I simply let events take their place-let the child be born and do not invoke the Refusal, nor openly claim the child-then will the boy become heir to the throne above Midalis? "
Je'howith hesitated a moment, then nodded. "If you die before Midalis and it is commonly accepted that this child is yours, and by a woman who remains at your side, then the child will indeed have some claim to the throne. It will be no easy ascent, I expect, but rather, one strongly contested by writ and, perhaps, by sword. Wars have begun for lesser reasons, my King."
"Then I need to choose, and soon," Danube replied. "Do I wound Constance or enrage Midalis? For either way, it seems as if I am about to bring pain to a friend." "There remains a third option," saidJe'howith.
"I would never ask her to be rid of the baby," Danube insisted.
"No, not that," saidJe'howith. "Never that!"
Danube tilted his head, studying the man, convinced that if, as the abbot had remarked, other women had been rid of their unwanted children, then hypocritical old Je'howith, or some other gemstone-wielding monk, had likely played a role in the process.
"You can use a delaying tactic," the abbot went on, "a way for you to let the situation go on and let the passage of time guide you to more decisive and definitive action. This is not without precedent-you can issue a decree of Denial of Privilege, a technical term and legal maneuver that will not deny the child's claim to the throne forever, as you have done with your other bastard heirs, but will, rather, maintain the present status, keeping Constance's child outside the line of succession and keeping your optionor that of Midalis should he succeed you and die childless-for recognizing the child as rightful heir at a future date."
"Denial of Privilege?" Danube echoed.
"A temporary measure that has been used in centuries past," Je'howith answered. "And it is possible for you to even include contingencies that will lift the injunction against the child's becoming king. Let us suppose that you outlive your brother, then die unexpectedly."
"A truly inspiring supposition," Danube said dryly.
"In that case, had you so specified, Constance's child would assume the throne," Je'howith explained.
"And if I decree a Denial of Privilege and Midalis outlives me? "
"Then the child will have no claim to the throne above your brother, and it would be up to him to either assign rights to the child in the event of his childless demise or deny them outright with a formal Refusal of Acceptance."
King Danube settled back again and put his hand to his chin, trying to digest all of these options.
"How much easier it all would be if you, and your brother, had both married and sired proper heirs," the abbot lamented.
Danube glanced up at him, eyes narrow, a poignant reminder to the old abbot that he had indeed been married to Queen Vivian, who had died despite Je'howith's efforts to save her. And those efforts-or at least, the lack of their effectiveness-had in effect split the court of Ursal for many years and were the source of the lingering hatred between Je'howith and Duke Kalas.
Je'howith prompdy bowed and turned to leave.
And King Danube Brock Ursal, who had been happily celebrating what he thought would be a return to normalcy, found himself full of questions and turmoil. The delaying tactic sounded most promising, both for sparing Constance the pain and for placating Midalis, who had never really been close to his brother, the King, but had never been his rival either.
Yes, the Denial of Privilege seemed a promising course; and, in truth, when he looked at things that way, this all didn't seem like such a momentous problem.
However, there was one other complicating factor, an image of another woman, a warrior, a gemstone witch. It was an image King Danube could not shake out of his head.
