Free Exile by Rowena Cory Daniells Page A

going to be furious. They’ll want to retaliate.’
    Imoshen’s mind raced. ‘Why did Charald do this, when we’ve already agreed to his demands?’
    ‘I don’t care why he did it. What do we do?’
    ‘King Charald holds all the cards. Exile may be our–’
    ‘Don’t say that. Not even in jest.’
    ‘I wasn’t jesting. We need a way to influence him. But he knows not to let us touch him.’
    ‘What if...’ Egrayne’s eyes widened. ‘Have you heard the rumour about the playwright, Rutz? They say he can imbue words with power and sway people’s minds. That’s why he writes under a pen-name to hide his real identity. If the other all-fathers knew who he was, they’d execute him for fear of falling under his influence. Ask All-father Chariode...’ She looked stricken. ‘Rutz may have died the night of the attack.’
    ‘That would be a useful gift right now,’ Imoshen conceded. She happened to know for a fact that Rutz could not imbue his words with power, because Rutz was really Captain Ardonyx, the explorer. He was Imoshen’s secret bond-partner and Umaleni’s father. And even if he could imbue words with power, he was far to the south, on a voyage of discovery. But she did need to find out what had happened to Chariode’s brotherhood. Iraayel was due to join it in less than a year’s time.
    ‘The lad has finally let me ease him into sleep,’ Reoden said, as she reached them. ‘I’m surprised he held out so long. He stole a horse and rode night and day to get here.’
    ‘You need to call an all-council, Imoshen,’ Egrayne urged. ‘The all-fathers will want to hold Charald accountable.’
    ‘Then I’d better call an all-council right away.’ And divert the brotherhoods from doing something stupid.
    By the time everyone reached the empowerment dome, they knew Charald had not kept his word and they were furious. After listening to the leaders of the T’Enatuath argue back and forth, Imoshen raised her hands for quiet. When this did not work, she went over to the singing bowl that was played during empowerment ceremonies, and tapped it. A single clear note rang out.
    Silence fell under the dome.
    ‘I’m guessing King Charald has broken his word to prove he has power over us,’ Imoshen said. It was the only explanation that made sense.
    ‘Do you expect us to sit here and let him decimate our estates?’ Kyredeon demanded. ‘You were elected to negotiate, not capitulate.’
    ‘I have to have something to negotiate with. We need leverage on King Charald. Simply going in and killing him achieves nothing,’ Imoshen said. There had been several offers from young T’En males willing to assassinate the king on a suicide mission.
    ‘My inner circle and I have been trying to come up with ways to influence the king,’ Imoshen said. ‘We need T’En whose gifts do not require touch to work. In the past there were T’En who could take an intimate object belonging to another and use it to influence the owner’s mind.’ She’d been trying this, with limited success. ‘There’s a rumour that the playwright Rutz can imbue words with power. If this is true, now is the time for him – or someone like him – to come forward.’
    No one spoke.
    ‘What happened to the survivors of Chariode’s brotherhood?’ Imoshen asked. ‘Were there enough of them to reform the brotherhood, or has it been absorbed by another...’
    She ran down as the brotherhood leaders turned to All-father Kyredeon. Her heart sank. She did not want Iraayel serving him.
    Kyredeon came to his feet. ‘My warriors saved over two dozen women and children from Chariode’s palace roof. Since the night of the attack, the survivors have taken shelter in my palace. We don’t know if any of Chariode’s brothers will survive out on his estates, so I’m making a formal claim to his brotherhood. Does anyone contest my right?’
    No one did.
    Kyredeon looked pleased. ‘Then I’ll ask around, see if the survivors know who Rutz is, or