22.7

Dirk had not been seen outside his quarters in more than forty-eight hours. The servants brought him food occasionally, though he left it mostly untouched.

Cai knocked at his door softly, daring to disturb the ill-humored king only because he had no choice.

The answer came quickly: "Stay out!"

"My lord, it's urgent. I would not disturb you otherwise."

Cai heard the lock mechanism move a moment later, and the door opened just enough to permit him to enter. Inside, the chamber was lit only by embers in the room's hearth. Not a single candle had been lit.

The seneschal avoided the temptation to stare at Dirk. One look was enough to see that the man was despondent. Dark circles under his eyes betrayed his sleeplessness. His expression had settled into a grim, brooding glare. Cai had already heard from Portia what had happened. He had sense enough not to antagonize Dirk with an expression of sympathy.

"What is so urgent?" Dirk snarled.

"This," Cai replied, pulling a neatly folded copy of the Lyrian Liar from his black doublet. "Yesterday's edition. It was circulating this evening in the market in Geshna. I already ordered every copy burned and had the peddler hanged."

Dirk snatched it from the seneschal's hand, a knot of anxiety already forming in the pit of his stomach. The front page bore a very large picture of Zyrdicia. She looked as though she were just exiting from some large building with ornate, carved metal doors. She had a wistful, melancholic expression, as though she wished the crowd gathered would leave her alone. Magnus was at her side, holding her hand. He looked as though he were trying to pull her away from the throng.

Dirk grimaced at the sight of the assassin. He had been told that the man was dead. Seeing Magnus with Zyrdicia was infuriating. He wondered now whether the story about Zyrdicia slaying the assassin under Baal's influence had been an elaborate ruse to prevent him from suspecting that they were still involved.

In enormous black type, the page's headline blared, "ZYRDICIA TO LYR: 'I COULDN'T CARE LESS'." It continued:

"At three o'clock this morning, the city's Governing Council convened for the first time in nearly two months. Zyrdicia unexpectedly returned to Lyr after several months in Karteia, the snow-covered, barbaric wasteland that is home Dirk Blackpool, the warlord she allegedly wed in November.

"Despite growing chaos in every quarter, the Council has long been unable to meet. Earlier meetings had been foiled by rules requiring a quorum of seven council members. A quorum had been impossible in Zyrdicia's absence. So long as she was playing house in an igloo in Karteia, the Council had but six members.

"Presently, no one is at the helm of the Magic Guild, which means that guild's Council seat remains vacant. The Assassin Guild's seat also stood vacant for several months, as no one had yet been named to replace Magnus after he died.

"The city has been eagerly awaiting a new leader in the Assassin Guild. Tonight we learned that the new leader is the old leader. Magnus is back in charge. He emerged in the city as a vampire several weeks ago, though until now, it was unclear whether he would succeed in regaining control over his guild. Several key challengers turned up dead in recent days, leading many to speculate that a resolution to the leadership challenge was imminent.

"Tonight Magnus asserted his claim to the Assassin Guild's council seat. Although the Council rules have no provision permitting the undead to hold office, his motion was uncontested. Zyrdicia's presence virtually guaranteed Magnus' claim would prevail.

"The Council's first item of business was putting an end to the magic battles that have plagued the city recently. The Magic Guild is enmeshed in a power struggle for the position of guildmaster. Several dozen sorcerers are now vying for it. The death toll from the intra-guild war presently stands at over seven-hundred, with property damage exceeding fifty million plats. For weeks, civilians have not dared to cross into the Dark Quarter for fear of being caught in the cross-fire. Last week, the magical upheaval even spilled into the Red Zone, with a pair of sorcerers exchanging lightening volleys in an crowded nightclub. When security tried to intervene, one of the offenders summoned a six-armed Kintatsu demon and fled.

"The chaotic situation has had its greatest impact on the businesses who depend on guild sorcery for their livelihoods. The great agricultural fields in the central part of the subcontinent report that their crops are withering without the agrimancy spells supplied by the guild. Rumors have even circulated recently that Lyr's great sea barricade in the harbor will vanish if not replenished with magic soon. The Magic Guild has long been under contract with the Merchant's Guild to look after the harbor's defense. Without the barrier, the Harbor District could be vulnerable to sea raiders.

"While the Council met, several thousand people filled the square to await the news of the plans to restore order to the city. To everyone's great disappointment, no announcements ever came.

"Less than three-quarters of an hour after the meeting began, it ended abruptly. Zyrdicia, who had not spoken a single word during the course of the meeting, stood up and announced, 'I can't stand this. Do whatever the fuck you please.'

"Several astonished Council Members asked if they had offended her. She reported that they bored her, that the new problems in the city bored her, indeed, that everyone in Lyr bored her. When asked for her opinion on an appropriate solution to the Magic Guild problem, she said, 'I couldn't care less. About that. About any of you. Bother me about it again and I will solve your problems by annihilating the whole fucking city.'

"She departed from the meeting then, leaving her fellow Council members stunned. Magnus was seen rolling his eyes and shaking his head in frustration before hurrying after her.

Just below the article, a smaller piece in the newspaper read as follows:

"MYSTERY HUSBAND IN KARTEIA DUMPED - ZYRDICIA SOLO AGAIN

"After the Council meeting, Zyrdicia refused to answer questions about the status of her rumored marriage.

"The secret marriage was never officially announced in Lyr, leading many of her fans to suspect it was a sham. The Lyrian Liar confirmed through its Geshnan bureau in the Karteian snow-lands that Zyrdicia had, indeed, wed Dirk Blackpool in a small, closed ceremony. Zyrdicia herself, though, has never publicly acknowledged her change of marital status in Lyr. Her purported 'husband' has been seen here only once, and never with her.

"A source close to her, speaking on condition of anonymity, has revealed that her infatuation with Dirk Blackpool is now over. She left him.

"The source explained, 'She's always been too embarrassed of the man to be seen with him in Lyr. It's obvious to her friends that she was just using him for the arcanium. Everyone who knows her understands that a guy like that could never, ever hold her attention. The amazing thing is that this man was stupid enough to think that a woman like her could possibly fall for him. Seriously, what would make him think he could compete with Azriok?"