Baslan clenched his teeth. Atlanteans are not ignorant, but we do not pay attention to stories of lesser lands.
Well, then, how did you enjoy your encounter with Helgira?
Baslan fumed, but had nothing else to ask Titus. Mrs. Hancock returned shortly with Trumper and Hogg, still mostly naked.
There followed a scene of great comedy, at least to Titus. Trumper and Hogg, half-frightened, half-opportunistic, neither quite noticing they were speaking to a phantom projection, accused Titus of not only abduction, but of innumerable acts of violence and perverse cruelty on their persons, and therefore providing incontrovertible evidence that if anyone had killed the Inquisitor, it could not have been Titus.
Mrs. Hancock returned once more, carrying an armload of books. I have His Highnesss collection here, Inquisitor. Will you send a courier for them or shall I?
Titus rose. I will
leave you two to discuss details. Good night, Inquisitor. Good night, Mrs. Hancock. And good night, Messrs. Trumper and Hoggit was my pleasure .
The no-vaulting zone was gone in the morning. And when the princes spymaster returned, reports flew out of the writing ball.
The Inquisitor was indeed dead. As was, apparently, the Banethough no intelligence on whether he had been killed outright by Iolanthes lightning or by the subsequent fall. The double deaths caused both panic and rejoicing in the Citadelwhich turned into ashen fear a short while later, as the Bane walked back into the Citadel looking younger and more vibrant for having been resurrected a third time.
Inquisitory personnel initially accused Lady Callista of tampering with evidencethe blood that came out of the Crucible had all been cleared away by the time theyd arrived. But shed wept over how awful the blood looked on the floor, and all of a sudden everyone agreed that of course she had every right to keep her own home free of such upsetting sights.
The news that mattered most to Iolanthe, however, concerned the punishments that were to be meted out to the boys whod left Mrs. Dawlishs home that night: twenty lashes to Titus, five each to everyone else. What if shed be required, as shed heard rumored sometimes, to lower her trousers in the course of the punishment? Shed lasted this long; she did not want to be found out as a girl for such a silly reason.
But Titus came out of his punishment smiling. Birmingham not only didnt require the removal of trousers, he didnt even hit Titusthe lashes were given to a rug instead. In addition, Birmingham congratulated him warmly on making Trumper and Hogg into laughingstocks before the whole school.
Still Iolanthe practiced her memory and confusion charms. But her time with Birmingham turned out to be very pleasant. They had a cup of tea together and a lively chat on Homerian epicssomething near and dear to Birminghams heart.
The rest of the term passed just as agreeably. The house cricket team did not win the school cup, but it contended for the first time in years. Wintervale made the roster for the school match against Harrow, which thrilled the entire house. Iolanthe, to the princes head-shaking amazement, won ten quid for writing the best Latin essay in the entire school. She promptly spent the money on ices and fancy cakes for everyoneand a very nice monogrammed shaving set for Kashkari, toward which the prince chipped in half of the cost.
The last Sunday before the end of Summer Half, Kashkari finally organized the tennis tournament he had been talking about for a while, in honor of Birmingham and a few other senior boys who were leaving to attend university.
There was one trophy for the junior boys and another for the senior boys. A group of Iolanthes friends watched the junior boys from her room. When it was time for the senior boys to compete, they left en masse, eager to defeat one another.
The prince was the last person remaining.
She tilted her head at the door. Shall we?
He closed the door and took out a plate from her cabinet. Flamma nigra, he said. A black flame crackled into being.
Whats this?
Give me your hand.
He plunged their combined hands into the black flame. The flame was the temperature of a sun-heated stone, licking at her skin with the playfulness of a puppy. After a few seconds it turned purple, then deep blue, then sky blue, then the pale blue of a vein seen through the skin. At last it turned transparent and dissipated.
She stared at her hand, then at him. That wasthat was the blood oath?
He lowered his head, almost as if he were feeling shy. Yes. You are free.
Do you understand what you have done? she asked, her voice unsteady.
How can I not? I have been thinking of nothing else for weeks. The enormity of it is still beyond my understanding.
Then why? Is it because we had made one attempt on the Banes life?
That had been the terms of their agreement, one and only one attempt . But surely that didnt count, since the Bane did not remain dead.
That was part of it.
Whats the rest of it?