"Stop arguing with him," replied the invisible Zenka. "He's obviously not here for the reason you thought. Make him tell you what he's up to!"
"Randro," she said, pulling up a stool, "you must realize that this is a great shock to me. You'd better tell me what it's all about. You owe me that at least."
"As if you knew nothing?"
"As if I knew nothing."
"Very well: since you seem to want to act the simpleton, Maia, I'll go back to the night of the barrarz. You remember we made love, I suppose? You've not forgotten that?"
She compressed her lips with annoyance. Her head was beginning to ache.
"And you may possibly recall that you promised me that if I got Sednil freed, you'd spend another night with me next time I was in Bekla?"
"Well, if that's all you want, why can't we get on--"
"Wait a minute! Of course it is--I never stop thinking about you--but just now there are more important things to be done. You'll remember, too, that Seekron came to see you. I know, of course, what he told you. I'll remind you, shall I? He told you that the whole of Lapan was ready to declare for you as Sacred Queen. He gave you the names of several Leopard councilors who were ready to join us; and he gave you forty thousand meld." Randronoth paused a moment and then repeated it. "Forty thousand meld. Didn't he?"
"Yes," she whispered.
"And you took it, and you sent me back word that you'd do all you could to help me?"
The reckoning day, she thought. Oh Cran, the reckoning day!
"Randro, I'll give you back the money--half of it now, this very minute! If only you'll let me alone--"
He held up his hand.
"Oh, Randro, you can go to bed with me all you want! Only please, please leave me out of--"
"Well, as it's turned out, you see, events have moved rather faster than we expected. In this life one has to be able to seize opportunities."
Opportunity is all, she thought. Opportunity is all. O Lespa, save me!
"The long and short of it is that the Leopards are ripe for destruction. Sencho's dead, Durakkon's a puppet. Kembri's no more than a murderous ruffian and his son's a proved coward. As for Forms--"
She burst out, "So you're working for Santil--"
"For Erketlis?" he said. "Never in a hundred years, my love! I'm working for myself--and for you! I'm the man, not Kembri, that's going to save Bekla from Santil-ke-Erketlis."
"You must be out of your mind, Randro! Have you thought about this, really and truly? You'll only be throwing your life away; oh, and mine too, Randro! Please--"
"Indeed I've thought about it," he answered. "Listen and I'll tell you. Erketlis has defeated--shamefully defeated--the force the Leopards sent against him; and I can tell you that the force are in very poor heart now. Kembri's reinforcements, I'm told, are just about the sorriest bunch between here and Zeray. If I'd joined them I'd have been a raving lunatic. Meanwhile Durakkon's been sent out against Fornis with orders to try to hold her up until Kem-bri gets back. But Kembri never will get back. The plain truth is that Bekla's lying here under Mount Crandor like a dropped purse. Who's going to grab it first, Santil or Fornis? Neither; I am!"
"You mean you've got enough men--"
"Yes; Bekla will be in my hands by tomorrow evening; by this evening, I ought to say, since it's getting on for morning. When I got Kembri's order to call up every man in Lapan, I obeyed it, with his full authority behind me. But we didn't go anywhere near Elvair-ka-Virrion's lot; no fear! I've got four thousand men, under Seekron, marching up to Bekla now. That's not a great many, but it'll be enough."
"But Randro--"
"The plain truth is, there's no one here to stop us; only Eud-Ecachlon and a handful of second-rate troops. Seekron will be here by this afternoon. We shall simply take the place over."
"Well, just you leave me out of it! I don't care what I said!--"
He ignored her interruption. "But it's not enough just to take a city, Maia. It's got to be held, too. If you've ever fed those ducks out there" (he jerked his thumb towards the Barb) "you'll know what happens when one of them manages to grab a big bit. The inhabitants--we're going to need their support and goodwill if we're to hold the place." He laughed. "Of course the best thing for us would be if Santil and Kembri were to destroy each other and Fornis and Durakkon were to do the same. But something tells me that won't happen--things are never so simple. One or other of them will be coming against us; perhaps more than one. That's why I'm here tonight; to talk to you. The people of Bekla are going to be united behind their new Sacred Queen; the Serrelinda."
She flung herself at his feet, clasping his ankles.
"No, Randro, no! Oh, please don't try to make me! I won't do it!"
He raised her to her feet with an air of genuine bewilderment.
"But Maia, my darling, you said you would! You told Seekron. You took the money, too."
"Oh, I didn't realize, Randro! I never thought it would come to this! I didn't mean it--"
"Well, there's four thousand men marching on Bekla now who are quite sure you did, and they're not going to be all that pleased if you back down, I tell you."
He took her face between his hands, tilting it up and gazing down into her eyes.
"You're essential to us, Maia! My men know me, but the people of Bekla don't. You they do know--to say the least."
"But you can't make me do it against my will! You can't!"
"This is the first inkling I've had that you weren't entirely with us, Maia. What's happened to make you start jibbing now? Are you a coward---like your friend Elvair-ka-Virrion?"
" 'Tain't a question of being a coward; though I don't mind telling you I'd be scared stiff--if I was going to do it. But I won't do it! I'll give you back the money!"
"Haven't you used any of it as I said?"
She shook her head. "I'll be honest. Some I've spent, but most of it I've still got. I'll give it back to you and the rest as soon as ever I can."
He was silent, sitting bent f
orward, elbows on parted knees tapping his scabbard on the floor between his feet. At length she said, "Will you please leave now, Randro? I want to go back to bed."
"The comet's waning," he said. "Have you noticed? That's a sign the gods mean the Leopards to fall."
"Will you only go?"
He looked up sharply. "I'm sorry, Maia," he replied, "but the answer's no. Seekron has orders to report to me here as soon as he enters the city."
"Randro! Here?"
"So I'm afraid I can't let you leave this house until Seekron comes: until we've taken the city, in fact. Then I shall have you proclaimed queen, publicly, from the Scales. And no one's going to like it very much, Maia, if you're taken up on the Scales crying and making a fuss, in front of the whole city. Can you imagine it? What it comes to is, I'd say you haven't much choice."
At this she leapt up and was already at the door when he said, "There are two of my soldiers out there, with orders to stop anyone leaving the house. Better keep your dignity, Maia!"
"This is insufferable, Randronoth! In my own house?"
"As insufferable as taking forty thousand meld and doing nothing in return? I'm sorry, Maia: I thought we were friends. Yes, and I thought we were lovers, too: it was you who made me think so. But I'll tell you, I'm not going to be thwarted now. Things have gone too far. If you didn't want to play this game you should have told Seekron in the first place."
"You're holding me a prisoner, then?"
"I wouldn't call it that, Maia. Let's hope we can reach a better understanding during the next few hours. I love you, and in that I'm perfectly sincere."
"Can I go back to bed now?"
"You can; but I'm afraid I shall have to join you. Your bedroom window isn't very high and I wouldn't put it past a girl like you to jump out or climb down."
"If I promise not to?"
"Promise? You promised to do all you could to help us."
Once upstairs, however, he made no attempt to make love to her, but merely dozed in a chair. She lay in her bed, at first feigning sleep, yet falling asleep at last from sheer weariness and nervous exhaustion.
When she woke it was daylight. For some time she lay unmoving, with closed eyes, reflecting on her plight. For the moment, clearly, there was nothing to be done. Later, perhaps, there might be a chance to escape. Meanwhile, the most prudent course seemed to be not to fall out any more with Randronoth, but to try to smooth things over and pretend to assent to his plans: in that way she might even be able to create an opportunity. Still without mov-ing, she prayed long and earnestly to Lespa and at last felt in her heart some stirrings of comfort and reassurance. If I die, she thought, I shall have died for Zenka's sake. I could have gone to Quiso with Nasada: there was nothing to stop me. I'm here, and that must be Lespa's will. Surely she'll protect me.