The Queen's Executioner

by Christopher Mitchell

  ‘You four,’ Shella whispered to those closest to her. ‘With me.’

  While everyone’s attention was on the palace gates, Shella slipped through the orchard to the left of the main path, and made her way round the side of the palace. She knew the layout well, having designed it while in Silverstream many thirds before, and she found the small postern door by the main audience hall.

  It was unguarded.

  ‘In here,’ she said, opening it. She watched as Polli, Bowda, Kylon and Baoryn went in, and then followed them into the dark passageway.

  She put a finger to her lips, and went through another door. They emerged into the shadows under a large arched balcony which ran around the walls of the main audience hall. Afternoon sunshine from clerestory windows flooded the central area of the chamber. At the far end, Dannu was standing next to the empty throne, Pavu a few steps to her right. Courtiers, advisors and wardens stood to either side.

  The Rahain were gathered before the throne. Three men and a woman were standing out in front of a group of about twenty Rahain soldiers, all armed with the same type of crossbow that Baoryn carried. The four delegates were dressed in rich robes, and were listening as Dannu talked.

  ‘We need to get closer,’ Shella whispered.

  She led her small group through the shadows created by the arched supports of the balcony, until Dannu became more audible.

  ‘…and wish to welcome them into our city,’ she finished, in Rakanese. A young man to her left, dressed as a royal courtier, began translating for the Rahain delegates.

  It was an awkward speech, honouring the visit of the Rahain as if greeting a friendly neighbour.

  When he had finished, one of the Rahain stepped forward.

  ‘Now that the diplomatic pleasantries are over,’ he said, ‘we can get straight to the point. The Rahain Republic, for whom we are authorised to speak, hereby demands the immediate evacuation of all Rakanese illegal immigrants from its territory. We are also authorised to inform you, that if no signal or confirmation is received by us that you fully intend to comply with this demand, then there will be consequences.’

  Dannu stood calmly while this was said, waiting for her translator to begin.

  Shella edged closer, until they were almost level with the delegation. There was a warden in the archway ahead of her, but he was absorbed in watching the Rahain, and didn’t notice them sneak up.

  She watched Dannu’s expression change as the words of the delegate were translated.

  ‘What consequences?’ Dannu asked, her voice calm, but Shella could see her hands shake.

  ‘The armed forces of the republic will redouble the blockade,’ the Rahain replied, without waiting for a translation. ‘To fully encircle the Rakanese encampment. We will declare a state of siege, madam.’

  ‘But why?’ Dannu cried, when the words were translated for her.

  This time the Rahain waited, so they could hear the question. They laughed when the young Rakanese translator spoke.

  ‘You Rakanese,’ the Rahain delegate said, contempt rising in his voice, ‘are a parasitic growth, feeding off the body of the Rahain Republic. Your race does not belong here, your people will never belong here. This is Rahain!’

  ‘Not any more!’ Shella said, stepping out from the shadows, her comrades close behind. ‘You had your chance to make demands,’ she said, pausing as she saw Bowda instruct the courtier to translate her words back to Rakanese. ‘And instead you built a wall and sat behind it for thirds.’

  She circled the delegates, her black robes swaying. She could see them staring at her, and at her retinue, especially Kylon and Baoryn, their tongues flickering.

  ‘And now it’s too late,’ she said. ‘The city is built. We cannot evacuate, for this is our home.’

  ‘You stole the land!’ one of the Rahain shouted, his yellow eyes gleaming.

  ‘You weren’t using it, and now we are. If you threaten us, we will stand up to you. If you attack us, we will defend this city with our lives, and yours.’

  The entire room fell silent. Shella could feel the eye of every Rakanese on her.

  ‘We’re not afraid of you,’ she said, ‘but we need not be enemies. We could be friends, trading partners, allies even.’

  ‘Friends?’ one of the Rahain said. ‘While you openly flaunt a runaway slave and a deserter in our faces? We demand that they are handed over to us at once!’

  Kylon and Baoryn reacted first, both going into a crouching stance, their hands poised by their weapons. The Rahain soldiers reached for their crossbows.

  ‘Stop!’ cried Shella. ‘If you try to take these men, there will be a bloodbath, and none of you will be returning to Rahain.’

  ‘We could kill every one of you in this room in a minute,’ said one of the Rahain.

  Shella narrowed her eyes. ‘Try it.’

  The Rahain delegates stared at her, and she stared back, her teeth bared. One of them gestured to a squad of Rahain soldiers, who levelled their crossbows at Shella’s group.

  ‘Arrest them!’ the Rahain delegate shouted.

  Shella raised her right arm, and swept her hand across the line of soldiers.

  Ten Rahain heads erupted in a roar of blood, as pieces of brain and skull flew across the hall, much of it hitting the delegates. Cries of horror echoed through the air.

  Shella staggered back, nearly falling. She swore as she realised how badly she had misjudged Rahain physiology. She had killed ten soldiers, when she had only intended to give them mild concussions.

  ‘The rest of you,’ she heard Bowda shout, ‘lay down your weapons!’

  The other squad of Rahain soldiers pulled their crossbows off and threw them to the floor.

  The delegates, dripping in blood, stared at her, terrified.

  ‘I am High Mage Shellakanawara, and in the absence of Queen Oblikanawara, I rule this city,’ she said. ‘You will return to your republic, now that you understand how we deal with threats. And now that you’ve seen our power.’

  She gestured for them to leave, and they fled from the hall. As the doors opened to let them out, her own soldiers ran in, fanning out through the room.

  ‘Clean that up,’ she said to a group of palace wardens staring open-mouthed at the corpses of the ten dead Rahain. ‘Kylon, gather their weapons.’ She glanced up at her siblings as she walked towards the throne. ‘Dannu, Pavu, you’re both fired.’

  She turned at the top of the raised dais.

  ‘Obli is still the queen,’ she announced to the room, as a hundred faces gazed up at her, ‘but I’m in charge for now, with Bowda and Polli as my first ministers. Orders have been sent out to organise assemblies and elections, and as my first act I intend to restore democracy.’

  There was a loud cheer from her soldiers, and a few nervous looks from some of the assembled courtiers.

  ‘I also intend to build an army,’ she said, ‘to defend this city from the maelstrom that will soon assail it. This is our home, and I will lay our enemies out in heaps if they try to take it from us!’

  There was another cheer. This time many wardens joined in. As she took in the applause, she noticed Kylon frowning.

  ‘You might have told me you were going to do that,’ he whispered.

  She smiled, her heart pounding.

  ‘Just nod and play along.’

  Chapter 23

  The Woman from the Prophecy

  Rahain Capital, Rahain Republic – 26th Day, First Third Spring 505

  Daphne punched the leather bag with her right fist, her body streaming with sweat. She kept her left arm raised, its skin-tight armour glistening.

  Her feet danced, as she struck again, and again, keeping her focus, allowing just enough battle-vision to weigh and guide her punches. Confident that she had mastered range-vision enough to attempt to free Killop, she had pulled back from the hours of mental practice, and was getting herself fit again, after so many days of physical inactivity. She still ranged out once a day, for thirty minutes or
so each morning, just to check that Killop hadn’t been moved from his cell, and that he was still being reasonably well-treated. She had resisted entering his mind, it seemed like a violation, and had restricted herself to watching him in silence, before checking and re-checking her planned route in and out of the dungeons under the Tyrant’s Tower.

  She had quit alcohol and dullweed, and had cut down on her keenweed intake, smoking just enough to assist with her visions. Without it, she guessed it might have taken her thirds instead of days to learn how to range.

  Or maybe she was just a natural, she thought, as she slugged the leather bag with all her strength.

  Just a few more days, and she would be ready.

  She stopped, her heightened hearing catching a noise coming from the front of the apartment.

  She pulled a towel around her shoulders, and left her makeshift gym. As she made her way up the long hall, she heard a loud banging on her door. She hoped it wasn’t an official visit, dressed as she was in a pair of shorts and a vest, and covered in sweat.

  She opened the door. Outside were three people from the Holdings embassy, a man in consular robes, accompanied by two guards.

  ‘Good morning, Dale,’ Daphne said.

  ‘Ah, Miss Holdfast,’ he replied, looking her up and down. ‘I was about to give up. Are you well?’

  ‘Much better, thank you,’ she said, remembering she had told them that she was sick. ‘Just getting back into shape before reporting for work.’

  ‘Good, good,’ he nodded. ‘Secretary Joley will be most pleased. I apologise for coming round uninvited, but I’m afraid the ambassador has requested your presence. If you are fully recovered, of course.’

  ‘What for?’

  ‘I’ll explain on the way.’

  ‘Come in, then,’ she frowned. ‘I’ll need to take a quick shower first.’

  ‘Of course, miss,’ he said, entering her apartment. ‘We can wait.’

  ‘Tell me what you know of the Rakanese, Miss Holdfast,’ Dale asked her, as their carriage lurched through the tunnels of the city.

  ‘Not much,’ she said, ‘except there’s a third of a million of them squatting by a river to the east. And that we have an agent with them.’

  ‘Who told you that?’

  She looked away. ‘Getherin.’

  Dale nodded. ‘Of course,’ he said. ‘I never got the chance, miss, to ask how you were feeling after that unfortunate business.’

  ‘Still angry that I didn’t see it,’ she said, continuing to look out of the window.

  ‘Not to worry, miss,’ Dale said. ‘You weren’t the only one he fooled.’

  ‘Yes, but I was the only one sleeping with him.’

  ‘I suppose,’ he said. ‘You know, we never did discover who his contact was among the Rahain…’

  ‘I’ve already told Joley everything I know.’

  ‘Of course, miss,’ he spluttered. ‘I wasn’t implying…’

  ‘Anyway, Dale, the Rakanese?’

  ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘Getherin was correct, we do have an agent working with the Rakanese leadership, which means that the Rahain also know. Of course, we’d never admit it, or let them know how we keep in contact with him. Officially, we have had no dealings with the Rakanese. Until now.’

  ‘What’s changed?’

  ‘There was an incident,’ he said. ‘And now, talk of war.’

  ‘War?’

  ‘A couple of days ago,’ he said, ‘some representatives of the High Senate went out to the Rakanese camp, to present their terms…’

  ‘They have terms?’

  ‘Hmm, quite,’ Dale replied. ‘Basically, leave or else, that was the sum total of it. And that’s when it got ugly, according to the delegates. The initial reports are a little confused, but it seems that the Rakanese were harbouring some deserters or fugitives from the Rahain army, and when the senators demanded that they be handed over, the Rakanese refused.’

  ‘Was there a fight?’

  ‘If so,’ he said, ‘it was a little one-sided. It turns out the Rakanese have a high mage, and she killed ten of the Rahain guards with a wave of her hand.’

  Daphne gasped.

  ‘The Patriots are calling it an act of war,’ Dale went on, ‘and the Conservatives look likely to back them if they call for sterner action to be taken. A full-blown siege looks certain at this stage. The ambassador decided that a final attempt to secure peace should be made, and offered his services to the Rahain as an intermediary. Somewhat to his surprise, they agreed.’

  Daphne noticed that the road they were taking was leading to the surface, away from the central caverns.

  ‘Where are we going?’

  ‘Winged gaien are standing by, ready to depart,’ he said. ‘We shall be leaving as soon as both of us are on board.’

  ‘We’re flying to the Rakanese camp?’

  ‘We are, along with the ambassador.’

  Her heart sank.

  ‘Why me?’ she said. ‘What good will I be? I’m not a negotiator, and I know nothing of the Rakanese.’

  ‘The ambassador requested you specifically.’

  ‘Yes, but why?’

  Dale shrugged. ‘To be honest, miss, I think the news of their high mage has put everyone on edge. You’re coming along to watch the ambassador’s back in case they try anything. You’re the most skilled operative we have in that respect.’

  She scowled at him.

  ‘Don’t take offence, miss,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘Only a very few in the embassy are aware of the extent of your abilities, and what use you’ve put them to. The Rahain did discover that you were an agent, thanks to Getherin, but they remain ignorant of what you can do. Luckily, you didn’t confide that to him.’

  She stared out of the window, not replying.

  They reached the surface, where a cloudy spring morning greeted them. A large cylindrical carriage was on the grass, its flying beasts tethered and hovering above. Dale escorted her across the grass and up the ramp. She saw Ambassador Quentin seated by a table next to Shayba, one of his closest aides. She noticed that the two guards from before had not come aboard, and there was no one else present in the carriage.

  ‘Miss Holdfast,’ Quentin said, ‘so good to see you well again. Take a seat, we are about to depart.’

  She and Dale took the bench opposite the ambassador and Shayba, and strapped themselves in. They were positioned next to a large, circular window, and they watched as the craft lifted into the air.

  ‘Has she been briefed?’ Quentin asked Dale, as they soared upwards.

  ‘She has, my lord,’ Dale replied, ‘concerning where we are going, and why. She is also aware we have an agent working for us there.’

  ‘Good,’ he nodded. ‘It’ll be a long trip,’ he said to Daphne. ‘We won’t reach the Rahain lines until past nightfall. We’ll rest there, and visit the Rakanese settlement tomorrow.’

  ‘Shall we see their high mage?’ she asked, her annoyance starting to give way to curiosity.

  ‘I sincerely hope so,’ Quentin replied, ‘as she appears to be in charge for the moment. Fortunately for us, our agent has long been close to her, and is now one of her nearest and most trusted advisors. He has vouched for our safety, as long as we make no threatening gestures.’

  ‘Is she dangerous?’

  ‘Very, it seems,’ he said. ‘She eliminated half of the Rahain delegation’s guards in a second, which is why I felt it prudent to leave ours behind when we visit. From what we know of this mage, Shella as she is called, is that until now her mage powers have been reined in by her sister, the queen. However, the queen is currently with child, and the high mage has taken control in her absence.’

  ‘Is she their only mage with such powers?’

  Quentin looked around the table.

  ‘Absolute secrecy is required here,’ he said to them all. ‘The Rahain must not be allowed to discover the truth in this matter. As far as they are concerned, I am happy for them to believe that the Rak
anese have a whole company of such mages. However, the plain truth is that she’s the only one left.’

  ‘What happened to the others?’

  ‘The queen had them executed,’ Quentin said. ‘They were becoming too powerful, too dangerous.’

  ‘If they can kill ten soldiers with a flick of the hand,’ Dale said, ‘she may have had a point.’

  ‘Maybe so,’ Quentin replied, ‘but, for whatever reason, she didn’t execute her own sister, and now she’s the only one remaining.’

  ‘The Rahain will go for the siege, then,’ Daphne said. ‘They won’t want to risk a frontal assault if they fear there may be Rakanese mages waiting for them.’

  ‘Exactly,’ Quentin said. ‘A siege buys us all a little time. I’m under no illusions that the Rakanese will leave this land willingly. From what our agent has said, they suffered enough getting here. No, the best we can hope for is that the Rakanese sit tight, and do not provoke the Rahain to attack.’

  ‘Why are the Holdings getting involved?’ Daphne asked.

  ‘New directives from the Realm,’ he said. ‘The church and crown wish for there to be peace and unity among the peoples of this continent, and have instructed us to make every effort to that end.’

  ‘Noble of them.’

  ‘The Creator wishes it so,’ the ambassador said.

  ‘I’m sure he does.’

  The stop-over in the Rahain fortress was awkward and uncomfortable, with troops and supplies bustling through the crowded area behind the walls and ramparts of the blockade.

  Another forty thousand soldiers were in the midst of arriving, as the Rahain prepared to extend the lines of their siege closer to the city. The traffic moved all night, and none of the Holdings delegation got much sleep. In the morning, a gaien wagon was prepared for them, and they set out across the flat grasslands beyond the Rahain lines.

  After a few hours they came to a river on their left, and found a barge waiting for them.

  A Holdings man was standing on the bank, gesturing to the crew on the boat. He turned as he saw them approach.