Free Queen of Stars by Dave Duncan Page B

afternoon. Tyl was not on the Star of Truth now, but he seemed sincere, and she could not imagine Rigel arranging to have his praises sung this way. The testimony was genuinely felt, if not necessarily correct. The constant reminders of Rigel’s youth were just to keep her from changing her mind about the late show.
    “He seems very loyal to the queen,” she said.
    “Ha! The rumor has it that the court mage, Fomalhaut, has prophesied that he will die very soon if he remains in the Starlands, but he won’t leave Talitha.”
    “How does she feel about him?”
    Tyl’s leer was answer enough. He took a sip of champagne. “She certainly keeps anyone else’s hands from getting too close to him.”
    The hints were coming at her like snowflakes in a blizzard. “She’s the queen, isn’t she?”
    “Yes, but even queens can’t indulge in gross indecency, which is what balling a halfling would be. The starfolk can accept him as Izar’s bodyguard, because they all know why the imp needs a bodyguard and why an elf would be no good. They are deeply resentful that she made him marshal of Canopus, but most of them can see that he’s doing a good job. The sphinxes and centaurs worship him. But not in a thousand years will the starborn ever tolerate a half-breed as the queen’s gigolo.”
    “His mother was the previous queen?”
    “Yes, but she only confessed to copulating with a mudling when she was minutes away from dying. It was the scandal of centuries, and it has made them all watch Talitha that much more closely. And since the guilt curse doesn’t apply to killing halflings, very soon it will be bye-bye, Rigel Halfling. I think that today the court mage tried to fulfill his own prophecy.”
    Then the loyal, lovesick superman in question came trotting back, closely followed by laden waiters, and conversation took a backseat to the best food Avior had ever tasted, bar none. They finished the champagne, with her doing most of the work, and Rigel ordered another bottle. When talk resumed, it was about travel plans that needed to be postponed because court would be held on the morrow. Avior had gathered by then that Tyl and the unseen Thabit were Rigel’s deputies in guarding Izar, and that the starling’s instructors were educating Rigel as well.
    “He’ll throw a tantrum at missing the buffalo roundup,” Tyl remarked.
    Rigel grinned. “So will I. Let’s tell him that someone’s going to tell lies on the Star of Truth. That’ll reel him in.”
    “Or that he may be called as a witness. The little terror would love the attention.”
    Avior waited for some discussion of her future. It did not come, so she asked.
    “You haven’t told me the real reason why you rescued me, and what you want of me.”
    “Just like I told you; we try to save all the halflings we can find.” Rigel was not a good liar.
    “Stack of bibles?”
    He grinned. “Small stack. That was reason enough, I swear.”
    “But…?”
    “But I have to kill Prince Vildiar. On Earth he would be called a psychopath. He’s a serial killer with a private army, and he’s also the strongest starborn mage alive. I’ve done quite well in the past against his goons, but Vildiar himself is in another class altogether. I had my sword at his back once and his defenses were too strong even for Saiph. Maybe if he were to attack me—because Saiph is a defensive amulet, not an assassin’s weapon…”
    “Why you?”
    He grinned. “I’m a megalomaniac. I know it has to be me.”
    “What happened to the person who was windsurfing, the one the queen mentioned?”
    “Her prime minister, Chancellor Haedus,” Rigel said, pulling a face. “Elves don’t die unless they meet with nasty accidents, and they do tend to take risks that would be absurd for humans. But they can be murdered. The queen and I have been wondering what Hadar’s next move will be.”
    Tyl said, “Oh, crap! You think Hadar’s starting in on the cabinet?”
    Rigel emptied his glass. “We