The Dragon Nimbus Novels: Volume III: Volume III

forgiveness.
    “Queen Miranda,” Marcus gasped. “What in the name of the Stargods is she doing here, dressed as a peasant and in the company of a Rover? I thought the SeLenese did not acknowledge outlanders as human.”
    “They don’t,” Lanciar confirmed. “It seems some changes are happening in SeLenicca.”
    “Rise up, all of you,” Queen Miranda said. She blushed and looked to her escort. “I am queen no longer. SeLenicca is in ruins. I have no government. Today I am no more than this trader’s partner. I make lace for a living.”
    Katrina smiled brightly. “So do I, Your Majesty.”
    “You will have a government again,” Jack affirmed. “King Darville is committed to helping you rebuild your country.”
    “With what? The land is bankrupt. My people are scattered and disillusioned.”
    Rejiia seemed to have been forgotten in this new development. Lanciar spared her a probing glance. She raised her wand as if to strike Zolltarn on the head with it. Did she have any magic to accompany the blow? Her emotions were out of control and so must her magic be. She reeked of Tambootie.
    Lanciar guessed the dragon weed was pushing her into insanity, just as it had Krej and Simeon before their downfalls.
    “We have a vast hoard of gold here, Milady Queen,” Zolltarn announced with all the enthusiasm of a minstrel at an Equinox Festival. “You have only to claim it.”
    “No!” a dozen or more voices protested. “The gold is mine.”
    And then the ghost of Ackerly erupted from the library. His misty white form flew broad circles around the courtyard, slashing with his sacrificial knife at all who held his gold.
    Rovers and armed guards alike in both realities beat at the wraith with daggers and cook pots and anything else made of cold iron that came easily to hand. One Rover slashed the sleeve of another open with a dagger. He received a fist in his jaw in return. Another dozen brawls erupted, spilling over to the newcomers who had not yet had a chance to claim any of the hoard.
    Still the ghost circled the compound, screaming and slashing with his dripping ritual blade. Two men fell to the ground screaming, dripping blood from scalp and back wounds.
    Lanciar waved his hands at the being. Just as it flew past him, knife aimed at the great vein of his neck, Lanciar dove beneath a sledge. The wraith howled his disappointment but kept circling, seeking a new victim.
    “Maija, if you love me even a little, you will help me make sure Rejiia does not escape justice this time,” Lanciar pleaded with whoever might hear him. A second later the weight of a gold coin rested firmly within his palm.
    Black stars clouded his vision and his head felt as if it floated somewhere around the tower roofs. The ground beneath him seemed to slant sideways.
    He braced himself to keep from sliding out from beneath the sledge and into the extended brawl. Quickly everything settled and Maija lay beside him, eyes wide and moist.
    He kissed her lips lightly. “Thank you, Maija. Now help me make certain none of these people leave until we sort this all out. We have to stop Rejiia from stealing my son or reanimating her father. Stop her forever.”
    “I knew you loved me,” Maija cried, throwing her arms around his neck and returning his kiss most soundly.
    “Later, Maija. I promise that once this is over we will marry and I will stay with you. We will raise my son together with any other children we happen to have.” He held up the coin she had given him and smiled. “What happens if we drop a coin deep in the undergarment pockets of all these people?”
    Maija returned his grin. “I have listened to all these people argue. The gold is what traps them here in a ghostly existence.”
    “Then we must keep them all here for a time. Especially Rejiia. She must not leave, and she must not liberate her father from the statue.”
    “With your promise to marry me, with my clan as witness, we are already married and bound to each other for all time.” Another kiss with her body pressed tightly against his distracted him a moment.
    “Then we must work together for the safety of the clan. Help me keep all these s’murghin’ people here.”
    “Watch your language around the children!” Maija’s eyes, sparkling with mischief, belied her stern frown.
    “Will you please help me keep everyone here?”
    “Even the gadjé nobles and their retainers?”
    “Especially the s’mur —um— gadjé nobles and their pregnant daughter.