Page 82 of Valdemar

“I guess this means we aren’t going to try breaking our curse then, are we?” he said, looking defeated. “We only get one chance after all—”

“Nonsense!” Koto replied. “Why shouldn’t we? We still don’t know when or even if this madwoman is going to attack us! What’s changed between now and yesterday? Nothing. We just realized that we weren’t quite as safe as we thought we were.” He snorted, and took the handkerchief he always carried and polished his shiny, bald head. “What does it matter? Better try it! If we wait too long, I might be snake-dog food by the full moon after this one, and then where would you be?”

Rothas blinked at him, bewildered, and obviously unsure what to make of this speech.

“What are you talking about?” Starbird asked, looking at Koto askance.

“The magic binding Rothas and Lythe to day and night is . . . well, a tangled mess is the nicest way to say it,” Koto replied. “We’ve been trying to figure a way to untangle it, and there’s no way. It’s like a hopelessly snarled ball of string. But then, it occurred to me, there’s no reason to try to untangle it! It’s not as if it was a golden thread we needed to have intact! But there’s no brute-forcing it, either. So I created a spell that works like a very patient craftsperson. It makes little snips in the tangle—snip-snip-snip—” he said, miming a pair of scissors. “Make enough little snips and bits start to fall off. Not enough damage to make the spell backlash into anyone. Not enough damage to make it unravel catastrophically. Just little bits falling off over the course of three days and three nights. Optimum time to start it is at the start of the three days of the full moon. The only drawback is I’ll have to seal them into their living quarters for that time. And if they break the shields and the circle to leave, I’m not sure I’ll be able to find another solution, because the research diagram suggests that all those bits will gather the energy of the broken circle and shields and create a new “curse,” just as messy as the last, and probably worse to try and undo.”

“So that’s what you were talking about when we came up here!” Restil exclaimed.

“It wouldn’t be fatal if they broke out, would it?” Starbird asked.

Koto shook his head. “No. Not enough power, for one thing, and for another, I haven’t seen a hint of lethality, and believe me, I looked!” He cackled. “Sometimes these wild-magic curses have minds of their own and I didn’t want it coming after me! No, there’s some hard specifications in there—that Rothas is bound to the day and Lythe is bound to the night—so it would be something incorporating that.” He shrugged. “Other than that, I can’t say. Might bind them more tightly. Might bind them more loosely. Might force them to do something during the day or night. All I know for sure is that it would be worse to try to take apart a second time without hurting them. As I said, wild-magic spells like this seem to get minds of their own. It might be angry about being taken to pieces, and make it impossible to pull the thing off them without killing them or driving them mad.”

Restil did not want to contemplate what damage a mad Bard could do. Rothas continued to stare at Koto, with an expression that suggested he was sure that Koto was going to decide not to remove the curse after all.

“No! I say we do this!” Koto continued. “I can do all the energy-hungry work now, and leave it ready to activate at twilight on the first night of the full moon. I’m sure you two can figure out how to cook a few things over your fire by then. You’ll have fire if you need it, plenty of water, lots of free time to write more songs and practice.” He paused. “You’ll have to have Lythe’s pets stay outside, though. Can’t have them, or anything, crossing the circle. Good thing Lythe has Animal Mindspeech! She can warn everything away except bugs, and we’ve got a good repellant that we can paint around the doors and windows. Some people would call that ‘having a nice rest’!”

Rothas’s expression cleared, and he nodded. “As long as you’re sure . . .”

“I’m never sure of anything! Magic is all about playing the odds and hoping you stay lucky! But I’m determined!” He polished his head again. “You go trot down to the kitchen and have someone teach you how to toast bread and boil an egg or something! I’ll get things started, and when I need to, I’ll show up at your quarters and start laying in the foundation.”

Rothas began babbling thanks, but Koto waved them away. “Just remember, what you heard from Restil is secret! Don’t go making a song about it! At least, not until after we’re sure we’re rid of the problem permanently!”

“And while we are on the subject of songs,” Starbird interjected. “No songs about a Hawkbrother Herald. No songs about Hawkbrother allies. In fact, your only songs about Hawkbrothers should make us sound . . .” She hesitated.

“Stern guardians of the forest, unreadable, unpredictable, and a little bit frightening?” Rothas suggested, one eyebrow raised.

“Yes,” she replied gratefully. “Your songs are far too memorable, and there are many reasons why that is the image we want going into the future.”

He nodded, but looked pleased with himself. Well, he should. There can’t be too many musicians who wouldn’t be pleased to hear, “Your songs are far too memorable.”

Rothas stood up. “If that’s all, I’ll go get some cooking lessons. If nothing else, there is always beer, bread, cheese, and vegetables. It will only be for three days, after all!”

He eased past the Heralds and sauntered off, and was soon out of sight. “All right then,” Koto said into the silence. “Close the door, and I’ll activate the wards on it, the windows, and all the other openings into this place.” He made a face. “And on the fire and the mage-lights. And reflective surfaces. What a nuisance! There are far too many things that could be used to scry.”

They did as he told them. A couple of mage-lights in glass holders on the wall slowly came to life as the light from the open door got cut off.

When Koto was done, he got a couple of giant cushions from a stack in the corner of the room and threw them at the two of them. Old habits die hard, Restil thought, as he and Starbird picked places to sit on the floor and arranged their cushions there. I wonder why the Old Men are so opposed to actual furniture?

The cushions Koto threw them were not as fluffy as the one he took for himself, but . . . well, Restil and Starbird were many decades younger, and Koto had next to no padding on his skinny frame.

“So, I’ve more or less been in charge of helping the Herald-Mages learn how to integrate their powers with those of their Companions,” Koto said to both of them. “Restil has been taking lessons from me, but I’m not sure where your powers and Gifts come into defending this Palace, Starbird.”

He gave her a quizzical look, and one that invited her to say more.

“I’m not sure either,” she confessed. “I’m probably of more use as an archer. I do have some tricks there.”

“Well, what about your Companion?” Koto persisted. “Can Radiant join forces with a Herald-Mage’s Companion and boost their powers further?”

Her eyes widened, as if she was surprised. “Radiant says that she can,” she reported.

Koto looked very pleased with himself for having thought of that. “Well, good! In that case, when it comes to a fight, mount up, find a Herald-Mage, and stick to them! You could just plan on it being Restil! I don’t think you’d find him difficult to work with!” His eyes twinkled a little, and Restil felt himself flushing. “And his specialty is combat magic, after all!”

“And I have been well trained,” Restil replied, happy to steer the subject away from that particular hot chestnut.

Starbird nodded solemnly.