20.7

"They're asleep," Cai informed Portia glumly.

"They can't be at this hour. Zyrdicia will be awake even if he isn't. I need to talk to her."

"Forget it. The past three days they've slept like the dead. I went in to wake him to hold court a couple of days ago. He didn't even stir. They wake up when they wake up."

"When's that?"

"When they call for food, right before they disappear into the dungeon. Then they stay there until it's time for them to sleep again."

"So when can I catch her to talk to her?"

"That's the million kolna question," Cai smirked bitterly. "If I could figure that out, my life would be much simpler."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I can't even get five minutes with him to get the new coin design approved. The royal mint is ready to commence production of the new plats, but without his approval, nothing can proceed. They aren't deigning to deal with the outside world - at all."

Portia stared at him, dumbfounded. She had not spoken to Zyrdicia in many days. The accounting nightmare in Lyr was done. She wanted to return to Karteia. More importantly, she had important news about Lyr - the Council was in chaos, three local wars between outlying city quarters had broken out over recent rampant inflation, and there were rumors about a naval force gathering just outside the waters patrolled by the Lyrian navy. Balthus, the Magic Guildmaster, had been murdered by a rogue vampire, and his assistant, Klex, had tried to seize control of the guild. A full-fledged guild-war was underway as sorcerers vied for his seat on the Counsel. Without Magnus, the Assassins Guild was embroiled a power struggle of its own, leaving anyone and everyone in the city free to murder without a license. The end result was that two seats on the Council were vacant, and with Zyrdicia gone, the Council lacked a quorum to do anything to end the chaos. All of this needed to be relayed to Zyrdicia immediately.

"I have to get through to her!" Portia resolved, heading for the door.

Cai grabbed her wrist, stopping her. "He won't let you. She's off-limits."

"Why is he doing this?"

"Because he can."

"Is she OK?"

"Splendid, to hear the chambermaid tell it."

"Is she really sleeping?"

"A lot."

"Eating?"

"Apparently. Meredith spies for me. From what she tells me, he tells her to eat, and she eats. She isn't giving him any trouble at all. They haven't fought at all in over a week."

Portia had expected to find Zyrdicia a wreck - plagued by sleep deprivation, refusing to eat, annoying Dirk with irrational mood swings. She was certain the experience with Baal and Azriok had eroded her mistress' tenuous grip on sanity, leaving her mentally fragile and volatile. Portia had been terribly worried the entire time she was in Lyr. She had no faith in Charles or Anthony to take care of Zyrdicia. She had even less faith in Dirk. Portia was almost disappointed to hear that she was not particularly needed here.

She demanded, "Can Anthony get her a message for me?"

"Since this started a few days ago, Anthony isn't allowed to see her or talk to her. Dirk now requires that he bring her clothes and drop them off in the antechamber to his quarters."

"This isn't right. He can't keep her trapped like this."

"It's none of our business."

"What happens when they're alone in the dungeon?"

"No one knows. I only know that they produce a shocking number of corpses for me to arrange disposal of. Do you know what a hassle that is this time of year? They can't be burned because of the weather. They can't be buried because the ground is frozen. The only convenient option is tossing them down the cliffs to the Plains of Death for the wolves to find." Cai rolled his eyes in frustration. "At the rate they are going through prisoners, I'll have to send a squadron out to the villages to round up more warm bodies for the dungeon."