After The Rabbit (Waldo Rabbit Series) Read online

  Grabbing the bird with both hands, Walter brought the meal up to its mouth. Short pointed teeth tore into its neck and ripped the head clean off, spattering blood and causing it to drip down onto the table and floor. Walter noisily began chewing the head, feathers, beak and all.

  Hera was just beginning to spread some butter on her bread as she was forced to watch the vile display. “Must you do that?”

  Swallowing what was in his mouth, Walter grinned at her. There was a bit of blood dribbling down his chin a couple feathers stuck in his teeth. “If it bothers you don’t look.” Walter leaned forward and tore off another chunk of the bird, squeezing as he did so, deliberately causing more blood to squirt.

  “Disgusting!” Hera said. “My father has pigs that are better mannered than you!”

  “I’ll bet they’re prettier, too.”

  Hera’s hands turned into fists, and her shoulders hunched. Her right hand went beneath table, obviously reaching for a wand hidden in a fold of her clothes.

  Lilith rapped the table with a sharp knock and drew their attention. “There will be none of that in my presence. I will not have you using your wand or casting magic in my company without permission.”

  Hera swiftly put her hand back on the table and bowed her head. “Yes, Aunt Lilith.”

  Walter had a wide smile. “That should teach you your place.”

  “Of course,” Lilith continued. “What you do outside of my presence does not concern me.”

  Walter sent his mother a betrayed look.

  Hera was suddenly the one smiling.

  They are like a pair of squabbling two year olds, Lilith thought.

  “Mother, you cannot mean that!”

  “You know better,” Lilith said. “Only children need their parents to protect them. Once you put on the robes, you must be strong enough to defend yourself.”

  If it were possible, the zombie looked ill. It dropped the mangled chicken on the tray and rose to its feet. “If you will excuse me, mother, I think I will go.”

  She gave him a nod. “As you wish.”

  “I will see you soon,” Hera said. There was an eager look in her eye.

  Walter withdrew as quickly as he could.

  Though Lilith gave no outward sign, she was pleased. Walter had been growing arrogant of late. Her son had needed a reminder of his place.

  “That really was revolting.” Hera snapped her fingers at the closest servant. “Remove this mess and bring me fresh bread.”

  The man immediately moved to obey.

  “Remain where you are,” Lilith said.

  The servant halted.

  “It seems Walter is not the only one who is being presumptuous this morning. You can have the servants do whatever you please when I am not about. However, when I am here, I am the only one who will give them orders.”

  In her seat Hera offered a hasty bow. “Forgive me, Aunt Lilith. I was just trying to be helpful.”

  “That dress you are wearing. Did you bring it with you?”

  Hera remained perfectly still and composed. “No.”

  “Where did you obtain it, then?”

  “I told the servants to bring me clothes and other things I might need.”

  “I see. It might interest you to know I recognize the clothes you have on. They once belonged to my daughter Kara. She has been dead eleven years.”

  “If I overstepped my bounds, I apologize, Aunt Lilith. I arrived here with only my robes and small clothes. I assumed my needs would all be provided for. I can return the clothes and have my father send me my wardrobe and other things.”

  She is very calm, Lilith thought. The only time she loses her composure is when she is angry.

  Lilith waved a hand dismissively. “Keep them, along with whatever else you have acquired. But remember you are not my daughter yet, only my apprentice. You keep your position at my whim. Do not forget that, niece.”

  “Yes, Aunt Lilith.”

  “Oh, and you are not to destroy Walter.”

  Both of Hera’s thin eyebrows rose. “But just now…”

  “Walter required a lesson. There is a limit to how much I will put up with. Yet zombie or not, Walter is still my son. I would not be pleased to see my son destroyed.”

  “I understand.” Hera paused. “Can I at least punish him?”

  Lilith nodded. “Certainly, though zombies cannot feel pain, so it may not be as satisfying as you hope.”

  Hera shrugged. “I will take what I can get.”

  Lilith waved to the same servant to clear away the remains of Walter’s meal. She and Hera then settled down and had a peaceful breakfast.

  The meal was nearly done when her steward Hollister entered the dining hall and strode quickly to Lilith’s side. She knew immediately that something must have happened. Hollister bowed low to her. “Mistress, we have just received a message requesting a meeting of the Council of Seven within the hour.”

  Unscheduled meetings were always about bad news. No one ever called for one to announce the birth of a healthy child or the creation of a new spell. “Who has requested this meeting?”

  “The message came from Darius Heartless, mistress.”

  “Wonderful, just wonderful. Well go and prepare my escort.”

  “Yes, mistress.” Hollister bowed once more and swiftly departed.

  “It seems your morning lessons will have to be cancelled, let us hope the interruption is short.”

  “Does this happen regularly, Aunt Lilith? You seem to be taking this very calmly.”

  “It occurs from time to time, though, Dark Powers be praised, not often.”

  “Are you not at least curious as to the reason?”

  “I already know what this will be about. Darius would only call for a meeting if it somehow involved Avalon. The only question is how severe is the problem.”

  XXX

  Lilith waited half an hour before setting out with her escort. That was deliberate on her part. She liked being the last to arrive. It gave the others the impression they were waiting for her to begin. Appearances were very important. For instance, the Council Hall was an impressive looking building. In the city of Alter, only the castles of the ruling families could compare to it. Many considered the Hall the most imposing building in all Alteroth.

  That Hall was built completely of black stone and was in the shape of seven discs, each one stacked upon the other and each slightly smaller than the one below. Every block of stone had been warded to provide both security and protection from attack. Hundreds of thousands of blocks had been used in construction, it represented a staggering amount of magic. When anyone arrived in Alter their eyes were always drawn here first. The height and shape of the building were unique, and being the home to the Council of Seven gave it gravitas.

  In reality, almost every room above the first floor was empty. Except when it was actually being used for meetings, it served mainly as a residence for the slaves who worked there and a place for storage. A much smaller building would have served just as well.

  But the real purpose of the Council Hall wasn’t simply to hold their meetings. It was to impress, and it did so wonderfully. Its imposing grandeur was impossible to miss or ignore, and that sense of majesty was reflected on the Council and the Seven Houses that formed it. So what did it matter if the rooms inside were gathering dust?

  Lilith could well appreciate how important image was. Very often, what appeared to be true was more important than what really was. One of the reasons her son had been forced to go on his quest was because she had not bothered to protect his reputation. She could have. It would have been difficult, but she might have put on fake demonstrations and spread false rumors. Perhaps even forced her other children to support her claims. Making people believe Waldo was a powerful mage would have been a challenge but not impossible.

  At the time, though, Lilith had still had her other children, all of whom looked to be more likely candidates to succeed her. Had she given Waldo such blatant favoritism, t
he others might have seen him as a threat. He likely would have had an accident as soon as he put on his robes. Lilith had also believed shame would motivate him. It was never her way to be soft with her children. The world was cruel, and each of them needed to be strong enough to find a place in it.

  By the time the situation had changed and it was clear Waldo would have to be her heir, the damage was done and there was no repairing it. The Council had not wanted a weakling to replace her and had forced Waldo on his nearly impossible First Quest. In turn it led her, with Gwendolyn’s aid, to come up with her rather drastic plan to ensure his survival if… when he returned. Taking on Hera as her apprentice, so that she could one day marry Waldo and help guide him, was just one small aspect of her scheme. The message sent out this morning was another. Many other wheels would begin to turn soon.

  Plots within plots, wheels within wheels, I will burn it all down if I must.

  XXX

  As expected, she was the last to arrive. Her usual seat was empty and awaiting her. An unexpected change caught her attention as soon as she entered the inner chamber. Tiberius Blackwater had exchanged seats with Xilos Soulbreaker and was now sitting to Darius’ right. The two of them had their heads together and were having an animated discussion. Darius had his hands flying about as he spoke, while the younger Tiberius gave an occasional nod and comment. Gawreth Wormwood was watching with a stern countenance, not surprising given that he and Darius had been feuding for years.

  Lilith was certain the other members had also noted the sudden shift. If the Heartless and Blackwater families were drawing closer, it represented an important alteration in power. Tiberius was new to his position as head of the Blackwater family, and he was a completely unknown entity. Was he serious about tying himself to Darius? Was this simply for show? Once again the importance of appearances came to mind.

  As soon as she took her seat, Darius rose to his feet to address them. “Now that we are all here I will share with you the horrible news.” As was his habit, he was being brusque and getting directly to the point. “King Doran has closed his border to us! Our merchants and our people will not be allowed into the Kingdom of Dregal. This outrage cannot be allowed to stand!”

  The words caught most of the Council members by surprise. It was common practice throughout the Shattered Lands to allow merchant caravans free access. Trade enriched all those who participated, and Alterothan merchants could be found almost everywhere. Closing a border was extremely rare and considered a great offense. In all the world, only Avalon and its puppets had ever done so.

  Until now.

  Right on the heels of Darius, Dante Poisondagger spoke. “I agree. Such a despicable act cannot be tolerated.”

  Lilith narrowed her eyes. He has been bought. Poisondagger was always hungry for gold, and it was no secret that his support was available to the highest bidder. She glanced about the table. Darius has two votes, perhaps three. Does he have a fourth? If he did, that meant Alteroth was about to go to war.

  Darius nodded. “I am sure all of you feel as I do. This insult must be avenged!”

  “Has Doran actually joined the Alliance?” Gawreth asked.

  “Not yet,” Darius scowled. “But it’s obvious where his heart lies.”

  “If we only traded with the folk who loved, us we’d have no partners at all,” Gawreth said.

  The two men openly glared at one another.

  Lilith found the animosity reassuring. Gawreth would not support Darius even if he put forward a motion to give children milk.

  “Do we have any merchants in Dregal?” Baldwin Blooddrinker asked in his usual, regal tone. “I stopped sending caravans there three years ago, when the harassment and price gauging became too much. Do any of you have merchants there?”

  Eyes glanced all around. No one spoke or raised a hand.

  “Well, then,” Baldwin said. “How does this change anything?”

  “It changes everything!” Darius said. “It’s a sign of contempt and cannot be ignored! If we let them get away with it, other countries will see us as weak!”

  Tiberius Blackwater nodded. “If we do nothing, it will badly damage our reputation.”

  “We cannot respond to every little provocation,” Gawreth said.

  “You think this little?” Darius demanded. “This yellow slug of a king is telling us that we may not set foot in his worthless country. To ignore that would be cowardly. Are you a coward, Gawreth?”

  Gawreth Wormwood shot to his feet.

  “I agree that we must act,” Lilith said. She saw surprise on Darius’ face, followed swiftly by satisfaction. “We must retaliate immediately. I say we close our border to Dregal’s merchants and people, as well.”

  “An excellent suggestion,” Baldwin said. “I was leaning the same way.”

  Darius twisted about as though he had been stabbed. “What good would that do? None of their people are in our territory!”

  “It seems the appropriate response,” Lilith said.

  “I agree,” Gawreth sat back down. “A perfect answer.”

  “It makes us look weak,” Dante said.

  “Well, you would know all about that,” Lilith said, unable to resist getting in a dig.

  “As would your son.”

  Lilith stared at the despicable old man. That was a better retort than he usually managed.

  “Closing the border is sheer stupidity!” Darius waved his arms about. “The only answer is war!”

  “Your answer for everything,” Gawreth said.

  “Because it is the only answer!”

  “Give it up Darius,” Lilith said. “We all know what you are aiming for. You are just using this as an excuse.”

  Baldwin nodded. “Your true agenda is a war with Avalon and the Alliance.”

  “It’s not like you have ever kept it a secret,” Gawreth said.

  “So what?” Darius slammed both hands on the table. “Why will none of you understand? We must go to war with them!”

  “They are our enemies,” Tiberius said.

  “War seems the only answer,” Dante said.

  “Were this a war with Dregal alone, I think we would all support you,” Baldwin said in a calm manner. “I believe we would even agree if it meant fighting all three of the northern kingdoms. Going to war when Avalon would almost certainly intervene is another matter. There is no guarantee we could defeat the Alliance, and even if we were to triumph, they are too far away for us to occupy. The best we could hope for is a costly victory which would still leave our enemies intact.”

  “We cannot avoid fighting them, and the longer we delay the stronger they become! Visit any court in a hundred different lands, and what will you find? White Mages spreading their lies, winning converts, and turning countries against us. Every day we do nothing they spread their poison. Now, Dregal is in their camp. Tomorrow it will be Lothas, then Wylef, and before too much longer we will be encircled by Alliance armies! Every day they grow stronger, and we grow weaker! War is inevitable, and for us the sooner the better!”

  Tiberius and Dante nodded, while Lilith, Baldwin, and Gawreth looked on stonily.

  Lilith glanced at Xilos Soulbreaker. He was the only member of the Council not to have spoken. Xilos simply sat passively. He had never been in favor of war with the Alliance. Had Darius brought Xilos into the war camp? It would be difficult; Xilos could not be easily bribed, and he was not new to the Council as was Tiberius.

  Whether he had or not would soon be evident.

  Darius put his shoulders back and lifted his chin. “I declare we should go to war with Dregal and punish their impertinence. Let the Council of Seven speak.”

  “I say no,” Gawreth said.

  “I say yes,” Tiberius said.

  “No,” Baldwin said.

  “Yes,” Dante said.

  “No,” Lilith said.

  Six sets of eyes turned to Xilos. He leaned back and chuckled. “Well, this is a rarity. I usually don’t get so much attention.”r />
  “Side with me,” Darius said. “Think of the spoils! All the land and slaves each of us will take.”

  “Consider the cost of a defeat against the whites and if the gain is worthwhile,” Baldwin said.

  Xilos held out both hands and alternately lifted and lowered them like scales. “You both make excellent points. If only there were something to tip the balance.”

  Lilith scowled. House Soulbreaker was wealthy enough and could not be easily bribed, but Xilos had no issue with twisting the situation to his advantage. It was at moments like these that Lilith wondered if their system of government might be flawed.