The Emperor's Wolf

by J. C. Owens

  As Rafe and the others raced to meet them, Jaden found himself trailing behind, trying to discover what was occurring. He reached them just as the three men were talking breathlessly to Rafe. Jaden caught his breath at the sight of tears in their eyes.

  “It was as you suspected, Rafe. A trap. The emperor ordered us out or we would have stayed. We would have fought but…” The man looked down at the bundle he carried. “He said the first concern was the child.”

  Child? Jaden tilted his head, puzzled as the man gently set the slight figure in his arms upright. Slender hands clutched at the blanket, and soon the child’s features came into view.

  Jaden almost fainted. “Yamina?”

  He stepped forward uncertainly. So much time had passed, but maybe… The child, a girl of perhaps twelve or so, turned at his voice. Joy suffused her face as she launched herself at him. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she wept.

  Gods, oh gods. At first Jaden could not believe it; he ran his hands over her, stroking her hair, touching her face and her back, disbelieving. Then he felt tears streaking his cheeks, hot and wet.

  “Jaden.” It was only when he heard her voice that it all sank in, and he wept, hugging her tightly, rocking her, unable to speak for all that was in his heart at that moment. So caught up in the intensity of his relief and joy, it took some time for Jaden to hear the men arguing.

  “I say fuck the treaty. We go after him and the others. I am not leaving him there to be tortured!” Lieutenant Yuris’s voice was strident; it pierced Jaden’s thoughts so that he was recalled to the present. Tortured? What in the hells is he talking about…?

  Small hands tugged at him and he looked down at Yamina.

  “Your friend, Dersai, he was shot,” she said. “People came and attacked him when we were leaving. He was really nice to me, Jaden. I don’t want him hurt.” His sister’s eyes filled with fresh tears.

  His friend…

  Realization crashed over him in waves. He had betrayed Dersai in the worst way possible. There had been no planned attack. This was simply the culmination of the plans Dersai had often talked of, the hope that they could find Yamina.

  Dear gods, what had he done? Pain squeezed Jaden’s chest so tightly that he thought he might pass out. He had thought with the machines there… What if it had only been to practice, an opportunity to do training? Or even to protect Dersai? Why had Dersai kept this secret? Why had he not told Jaden?

  “I cannot tell you, Jaden. It is a surprise, so you must wait. I have to make sure—If it does not work…” Dersai’s earlier words came back to haunt Jaden. His lover had told him, but Jaden had been too mired in the past to listen.

  He lunged to his feet, holding Yamina close.

  Tortured. They had his lover. They had his Dersai. The emperors could not be killed by an attacker; they lived until madness took them or they died by the hand of their own people in mercy. These people could do anything to Dersai, and he would somehow live in agony until the demon found a way to break free and destroy his enemies.

  Jaden’s blood began to boil. Dersai had gone there in peace. He had not taken his weapons of war. He had honored the treaty between the two countries, but others had not. Jaden’s own people had not honored their word.

  Holding Yamina tightly to his chest, he marched up to Rafe, not flinching when the soldiers looked at him with sharp disapproval. “Well, when are you going to get him?” Jaden’s voice was clipped and harsh with his own emotions.

  Rafe scowled at him, a sort of desperation in his eyes. “We have strict orders. Under no circumstances are we to cross the border or violate the treaty.”

  “You are going to leave him there?” Jaden had to prevent himself from attacking the captain. Were these people crazy?

  “We gave our word to him. He made us swear.” Rafe’s contorted face told how much he wanted to break his word.

  Jaden lifted his chin. “Well I did not swear to him, and he told me nothing about staying on this side. I have no oath to break.” He whirled on his heel and headed for Dersai’s machine, half expecting to feel a shot from one of the soldiers’ guns pierce him. He held Yamina closer, unable to bear to leave her behind and knowing she would not want to endure that either.

  He reached the massive metal leg and gently told Yamina to climb up. As he took the first step behind her, a hand caught his coat.

  Yuris glared at him. “What the fuck are you doing? Trying to be some great hero now after you destroyed him?”

  Jaden shook the hand off and returned the glare a hundredfold. “I am trying to right a wrong, and by the gods, Dersai is not the one who is going to pay for my stupidity!” His vehemence seemed to startle the other man, who stepped back and allowed Jaden to continue his climb. He reached the cockpit, heart pounding, and managed to smile as Yamina stared around with fascination.

  “You can drive this, Jaden?” The wonder in her voice made him ruffle her hair and take a deep breath.

  “Yes, my sister, I can.”

  He slid into the familiar seat with a pang of loss. For once, Dersai was not there to give him gentle prompting, to laugh at his mistakes… His lips thinned as he started the great engines.

  Dersai…

  At first, after they got moving, Jaden almost had to turn back when he realized he had no idea where he was even going. But when he glanced down at the glowing maps on the screen, he saw the pulsing dot that indicated the vehicle Dersai had taken. From there, it was simple to guide the machine in that direction.

  Jaden’s hands shook with adrenaline. It was all he could do to recall Dersai’s training and keep his mind on the myriad of tasks that must be performed to keep the machine on the move.

  Yamina kept touching him, and he found himself having to do the same, having to actually feel the solidity of her to convince himself she was real. There was so much he wanted to ask her; he feared her answers, but he needed to know. What had she undergone? What mental and perhaps physical scars did she bear, even as Jaden did?

  He shook his head. He must focus now on the task before him. There would be time enough later for that. He had an emperor to retrieve.

  He glanced at the monitors again, his eyes widening as he saw seven dots following him. Were they chasing him or coming to help? He clenched his teeth as he pushed the machine faster. It did not matter; they were damn well not going to stop him now.

  The machine’s long legs ate up distance with swift efficiency, and in no time at all, Jaden stood on a hill overlooking the town that dared to touch the emperor of Tranaden. He took a deep breath as his anger rose. The fact that he had actually been to this town when he was younger meant very little at this moment. It no longer mattered that he was from Astoria. It did not matter that the emperor was a native of Tranaden. It only mattered that he loved Dersai.

  His lips twisted bitterly. To discover that fact now, to have his mind cleared of all impediments, was a cruel joke. He loved Dersai more than life, more than nationality, more than the past. To realize that now when it was clearly too late…Jaden closed his eyes briefly, then turned to look at Yamina.

  “I want you to sit down over there and hold on tight, okay?”

  His sister nodded and went to do as he asked. Jaden hesitated then, realizing that he had created quite the problem for himself by bringing her. “Yamina, I am going to be a little angry as I do this. It is not anger at you, okay? This is at the people who have hurt my friend, but when it gets too much, cover your ears.”

  Yamina tilted her head much as Jaden often did, a faint smile curving her lips. “Are you going to use swear words, Jaden?”

  Damn. Jaden flushed a little. “I might…a few. Maybe.” Oh hells. Jaden swung to look at her firmly. “Just remember, don’t you do this just because I am doing it. It is only because of these people, all right? It is not right to do normally.”

  Yamina nodded, but the amusement was still in her eyes, and she suddenly seemed much too wise for a twelve-year-old. Jaden growled a little under his b
reath. He had forgotten how complicated the brother-parent role could be. He turned back to the controls, trying to set aside his flustered thoughts and set the machine in motion.

  It took the gentle downward slope easily. He could see people on the streets, but the moment they felt the vibration of the coming Tranaden weapon, they fled into various buildings.

  You better run, Jaden thought uncharitably. His lips thinned grimly. He was beginning to understand Dersai’s thoughts more clearly. At this moment, Jaden too would do anything to protect one he loved, just as Dersai protected his country and his people. If this is what the emperor felt, then it made sense that he would do anything, even kill.

  Jaden bit his lip, trying to retain reason in the face of his own anger. He did not want to harm anyone, but there was no reason not to destroy property. The people of this town had no idea who Jaden was and had no reason to believe he held life sacred. They would simply believe what they had experienced in the past—that the pilots of these machines were merciless. Perhaps in this case, that belief might save their lives. Perhaps Jaden could bluff his way through this.

  The huge machine came up to the very edge of the town and stopped, the cockpit slowly swiveling as it viewed the layout of the buildings. Where would they hold an emperor? The vehicle that Dersai had taken sat quite a distance back from the main gates, as though Dersai and the others had gone in on foot.

  No one came out to negotiate, and Jaden realized he would have to make more of an impact than this. He scanned the surroundings and saw a clock tower in a wide-open square. Perfect. He aimed and fired.

  The tower exploded in a satisfying outward plume of stone and mortar. Jaden felt a surge of pride that he had actually hit the damned thing. His training with Dersai had paid off more than he could have imagined at the time, even if he had refused to fire a shot.

  He leaned forward and scanned the controls, looking for a button Dersai had shown him once. There. He pressed it and spoke; his amplified voice boomed out over the town. “I have come for the emperor. Bring him to me. Now.”

  He waited for exactly five minutes, then turned the turret again and choose a new target. It looked like flour mill with a water wheel on the side. He took more time with this target since it was a little more tricky. Moments later, the water wheel exploded into bits, spraying outward in all directions and then splashing into the river below. Jaden pumped a fist in triumph, feeling quite proud of himself.

  He spoke again. “Every five minutes, I will destroy something else. I will take this town apart piece by piece until you bring him and his men to me.”

  He waited another five minutes. This time his target was the beautifully cobbled road that led up to the pretentious town gates. This blast was the most spectacular yet. Dirt and stones and debris cascaded down in a noisy rain over a good portion of the buildings. That should get their attention even if they were deaf.

  Jaden found that he quite liked blowing up things. So far, so good. No one had been hurt, and he was making his point rather well. But still no emperor.

  Finally, just as he was finding another target, a man ran out into the open waving a white flag. Jaden swung the turret back so that the newcomer was staring down the massive barrel of the machine’s main gun.

  He saw the portly man’s face pale, and the flag drooped a little before its bearer remembered his task. That task seemed a little dangerous, though, when one faced one of these monsters so intimately. “We hold your emperor. Back off or we will kill him.”

  Jaden wanted to obliterate him and had to resist the temptation. His determination not to kill seemed a little weak at the moment.

  “You will listen to me,” Jaden roared, his anger swelling. “I am the emperor’s wolf, and I destroy in his name. He will not die, you fool. He is invincible. You will only bring about your own demise in the doing. He came in peace, in good will. Whatever the past may be, you bring death to your door with your actions.”

  The man tried to rally his courage. “You violate the treaty by your presence.”

  “Fuck the treaty!” Jaden’s voice held cold implacability. “You broke that the moment you took him. You have brought the Wolf upon your head, brought this destruction upon yourselves. Give him to me or I will take this town apart stone by stone until I find him.”

  The great gun swiveled and the town gates disintegrated to highlight the reality of the situation. The man ducked and ran as debris rained down around him. Jaden smiled darkly and waited. How much hatred-fueled stupidity were these people capable of? He looked back at his monitors and sucked in a breath as he realized that the other seven machines had crested the hill and now stood in a row, perfectly positioned to obliterate him.

  Jaden closed his eyes briefly, then looked away. His jaw clenched so tightly that the muscles jumped. He could do nothing to influence those men. If they chose to kill him, then he and Yamina would not suffer. Their deaths would be swift. In the meantime, Jaden was going to damn well get Dersai out, with or without the help of Rafe, Yuris, and the others.

  Whether it was because of Jaden’s previous actions or the sudden appearance of seven more destroyers, the people seemed to come to a decision. There was movement outside the largest of the stone buildings, and Jaden saw three of the emperor’s men emerge, cautious and protective in their movements. Then behind them came Dersai, then the last two men. All safe. All alive.

  Jaden could have wept, but he kept his head and kept the gun of his machine trained on that building. Dersai was limping and bleeding from several areas, and at least two of the men were wounded as well, one in the right arm and the other clutching his side. Even from this distance Jaden could see the way Dersai’s eyes glowed. His face was frozen into cold, harsh lines.

  It was evident that none of his men dared touch their emperor, despite his wounds. He walked alone in their midst, the darkness around him almost a physical thing. The demon was back.

  They made their slow and painful way back to the vehicle. One of the men got behind the wheel. As the motor started and it swung round to head home, the other seven machines moved down to surround it protectively, while Jaden stepped behind it, putting himself in the line of any expected attack.

  It seemed the town was not completely stupid, only mostly because they did not try to retaliate. No doubt they were still trying to cope with the dust of destruction that hung like a pall over the area. Jaden felt a vicious satisfaction. He hoped they damn well remembered this, though he hoped Dersai would never have to set foot in Astoria again. The only reason for returning would be war itself, and that Jaden never wanted to experience.

  He had done it. He had gotten Dersai out, and no one had been injured or killed. He had not betrayed his people, although doubtless they would not think that way if they had known that the emperor’s wolf had been one of their own.

  Jaden shrugged off the faint guilt with irritation. It had been the right thing to do.

  The remainder of the trek back to the palace seemed never ending. He could clearly see the open vehicle, could see the back of Dersai’s head, but the emperor never looked back, never made any acknowledgment of Jaden’s presence at all. Perhaps he did not know Jaden was in the machine. Maybe he thought one of the other pilots…

  Jaden’s mind went round and round, his thoughts becoming increasingly panic stricken as they drew nearer to their destination. He had no distraction from his imaginings; Yamina had fallen asleep on her blanket, expression peaceful and trusting in her brother’s presence.

  Jaden only hoped he could live up to that trust. His future, and therefore his sister’s future as well, was extremely uncertain. Certainly he could see no hope of remaining within Tranaden. After what he had done, he could hardly expect forgiveness from any who had witnessed it, let alone the one it had been directed at.

  Dersai might have mercy in his heart, but the demon did not. If it had taken umbrage at Jaden’s words, seen his actions as a threat, then it may well turn upon him, destroy him once they reached
Tranaden. If that was the case, Jaden could only hope that someone would have mercy and take care of Yamina. She at least was innocent in all this.

  His despair and fears made for an unpleasant trip. He just wanted it all over. Whatever might happen, he just wished for this encompassing and overwhelming guilt to end. Even if it was by death itself.

  He could never repair what he had torn asunder.

  Finally, the palace grounds came into view. With a weary, aching heart, Jaden followed the other machines into the hangar and carefully parked before he lowered the behemoth onto one knee. It was difficult to rouse the deeply sleeping Yamina. She was so drowsy that he had to carry her over his shoulder down the ladder. He reached the ground and carefully slid his sister down into his arms, where she simply whimpered a little and tucked her head against his shoulder.

  So trusting in his ability to protect her, Jaden thought bitterly. If only she knew.

  Turning, he saw Rafe approaching, face grim. Jaden’s heart sank. Still, his chin went up, and he faced the other man proudly, refusing to be cowed. He was a slave no longer, and he was damned if he would let any man treat him so again.

  Rafe stopped before him, silent, his eyes hard. Jaden did not speak but waited, trying to control his breathing into something approximating calm. Finally Rafe took a deep breath and turned away, gesturing Jaden to follow him. “I have ordered a room for you and your sister…”

  Jaden’s breath hissed out. So they were not going to get thrown out just yet. “Dersai. How is he?”

  Rafe’s lips thinned, but he would not look at Jaden. “He was shot with a dose of medication that would have killed an ordinary man to try to keep him down. They must have come up with something just for this incident to attempt to contain him. He had two gunshots through his left leg, but he will not let anyone tend him.” He paused and his whole face tightened. “The demon is in control now. I have seen no sign of Dersai yet.”