All my emotions sank in a sea of pity. "No one will die, Marana. There will be no new empire. I do not want a new empire. It is over before it begins."
Marana frowned petulantly and dropped the Duke's dagger. "No, Nolan, there must be an empire and you must be King. You told me long ago to live for you, and I have. I have built you a kingdom. I did it for you." Her arms snaked around her torso, holding her confusion in.
I licked my lips and tasted my tears. I'd shared the terrible secret of my family, the fact that we were descended from Prince Uriah of Hamis, with a Marana who was so different than the creature standing before me. Only sixteen at the time, I still wanted to avenge my family because I'd not yet realized their deaths were part of the mindless fabric from which all wars are cut, not a deliberate act by King Tirrell to finally destroy the only threat to his House. Indeed, final confirmation of that came as I stood ready to defend Princess Zaria against any ulHamis who might come to oppose her—if all the ulHamis were dead, why would that opportunity for them to reclaim the throne still be part of the ceremony?
Marana's face brightened hopefully. "Are you angry that I did not let you know I lived? I know it hurt, and I wanted to tell you, just like I wanted to tell you I killed Lothar, but it would have spoiled everything." Her fact slackened and she clutched her hands on her stomach. "I wanted everything to be perfect for you, and for our baby. I wanted you to be happy."
I held my hands out to her. "You have pleased me."
Marana drifted into my arms and I hugged her tightly to my chest. She must have felt the dart blade slip into her leg, but she did not react and did not slacken her hold on me until the poison loosened it. I held her up so she'd not flop to the floor, then lifted her in my arms.
I looked to the others. "Please, Your Highnesses, please go to the ballroom. Announce your amnesty, but say nothing of the Duke. Morai, go with them." I looked down at the Duke. "You will remain here until my work is done."
I carried Marana into the King's bedchamber and gently laid her down. Her eyes were closed and she slept with little difficulty. I caressed her cheek, then affectionately pressed my right palm to her forehead. I steeled myself; then I called her soul.
She knew what I was doing and did not resist me. Instead she showed me all she'd done because she loved me, and my chest tightened. Duke Vidor had come to her and had enlisted her aid. Marana knew Vidor had intended to set her up for an ambush by the nekkeht, but her agreement to help him saved her life and put her in a position to restore my family to the throne it had lost centuries before.
I felt her joy as she dreamed of the grand empire we would build together. It would be a spectacular enterprise that would prove that she, too, had value. We would join in creating a dynasty to rival that of Clekan the Just and that led her to imagine, somehow, she had conceived and carried my child even though we had not been together in over six months.
I deflected her into other memories. I watched through her eyes as Lothar turned my unconscious body over at the edge of the Haunted Circle. His right hand pressed to my throat to check my pulse, but Marana thought he meant to strangle me. She threw her ryqril and hit him in the head with the hilt. Both Lothar and the ryqril spilled off the cliff, and Marana chose his blade to replace her own. Then she lifted me to Wolf's back and got me to Talianna before I could bleed to death.
I felt her love for me in all she had done, but her sense of right and wrong had been so twisted by her discovery of her sister that she could not distinguish between them. She did as she was told, and admirably completed her missions, but all the time she sought a way to comply with the first order in her new life: my request for her to live for me. It shaped everything she did.
I forced her back beyond that point. I held her mind so she had time to relive the month we spent together as Sixteens, and the night we again loved beside the pool. I felt the old Marana return with those memories, and I wished I could stop right then and there, but that was impossible.
My tears splashed down on her face. "I loved you, Marana. Rest well." I drew her spirit into me, straightened her limbs, and stood.
I walked back into the King's study. The Duke looked up at me. He laughed. "You will kill me?"
I nodded solemnly. "If I do not you will face a trial for treason. You will be tried in spite of the amnesty offered this evening, and that will anger many of the people in Sinjaria. There will be riots and people will die."
He swallowed. "And if you kill me?"
I smiled. "You will die defending the King from a Lurker assassin. Only your action will have saved the King. You will be remembered as a hero."
He nodded. "I think I would have prefered being remembered as an Emperor."
I summoned my tsincaat. "Settle for being remembered at all."
* * *
Captain Herman waited for me in a Cirhon roughly described by the bare spot in the midst of the tournament field. Torches burned at various intervals around us where the good Captain had thrust them into the ground. A slight breeze toyed with the flames and caused our shadows to flicker.
The Lancer Captain looked at me. "I was sure it was you."
I nodded. "It must have been simple with Marana to identify me."
He laughed unkindly. "She was so crazy we never let her see you. I could not risk her tipping my plan to you. You played the game well." The Captain's horse shivered and stamped. "How did you find me out?"
I urged Wolf forward and stopped just outside the Cirhon. "Someone who knew about the nekkehts had to be behind this. I was told no one even five years my senior knew of nekkehts and every Talion here in your garrison is within that grouping. That left you."
He pursed his lips. "You are correct. It was very sloppy of me to assume you would believe Marana was the traitor. I won't be that careless again."
I nodded in agreement. "You actually believed you could use Hamis as the core of a new Empire?" I shook my head at his foolishness.
The Captain nodded. "There are prophecies, Justice, that predict it. But they are not the only foretellings about a new Empire. After you are dead, I will just shift my base of operation to another country. This continent boasts many men who wish to be Emperor."
I dismounted and drew a white headband from Wolfs saddlebags. I pulled it on and knotted it over my left ear. "You will never help them. You have offended me, and I, Nolan ra Sinjaria ulHamis do claim of thee a blood debt. In the Cirhon this matter will be settled."
Captain Herman swung down from his saddle, obtained a black headband from his saddlebags, then slapped his horse on the rump and drove it from the Cirhon. He tied his headband on and also knotted it over the left ear. "I, Captain Herman ra Imperiana, do claim of thee a blood debt. In the Cirhon this matter will be settled."
The Lancer drew his sword and struck a guard. I summoned my tsincaat, and also dropped into a fighting stance. The Captain watched my sword and came in slowly. I shifted my tsincaat to my left hand and drew the Princess's stiletto, but the Captain refused to be distracted by my ruse.
I stepped forward quickly and feinted a low lunge at his right leg. He parried and I disengaged to continue the lunge at his stomach. He windmilled his sword around and twisted aside so the lunge missed. He allowed himself a cry of joy at his success.
Then he felt the pain in his back where, with my skull hand, I'd thrust the Princess's stiletto. He stiffened and tried to deny the numbness seeping into his flesh. His knees buckled and, vanquished, he fell forward on his face.
I pulled the dagger from him, but left him lying there in the dust. I left his plans for an empire with him.
Epilogue
Halsted ushered me into the throne room, then closed the side door behind himself, and left me alone with King Tirrell. The King sat on his throne and motioned me forward with an uncharacteristic and stiff formality that made me uneasy. I walked toward him and stopped at the base of the throne-dais.
I bowed deeply and respectfully. "Your Highness wished to see me?"
I cleared my throat and gave him a chance to delay his discussion. "I would, given leave, Your Highness, report to you what I have discovered over the past three days since the Duke's death."
The King waved me to continue and took refuge in my report.
"Captain Herman apparently acted alone in making his arrangement with Duke Vidor. I have elevated his lieutenant, a man named Slade, to brevet-captain until someone can be sent out from Talianna. You will find him a good man. He has already, at his own suggestion, posted his men in conspicuous places and given ample evidence that the Talions support you fully." I looked down at my gloved hands. "The Lancers posted here would have followed Captain Herman's orders to support the Duke, if it had come to that, as willingly as they demonstrate support for you now."
King Tirrell nodded. "I have let it be known that Duke Vidor worked as my agent to determine who plotted against me, and that tale has been widely accepted, especially in light of his death preventing my assassination." The King pulled a sealed letter from his robes and extended it toward me. "This is for your Master."
I took the message, looked at the seal of Hamis outlined in red wax, and tucked it into my tunic. "As nearly as I can tell no one, aside from your family, the Lancers, and those who knew me previously, believes I am a Talion."
The King smiled easily. "What happens to Lord Nolan now?"
I shrugged. "I do not know. He will probably return to Yotan, or perhaps return to the outlaw trail and get killed in the Darkesh. That is up to His Excellency."
Worry seeped back into the King's face. He stood, took the crown from his head, and rested the crown on his throne. He descended to the throne-room floor and looked me straight in the eye. "Nolan ulHamis, take the crown. It is yours, by right and blood." He waved a hand to the throne, smiled and added weakly, "I would be proud to serve as an advisor to you."
I stared at the golden crown sitting before me. The child in me, the Nolan who so ached for retribution, urged me to lunge forward, grab the power, and exact my revenge. The goal I had dreamed of so long ago, the glory my grandmother had insisted we were entitled to, lay glittering just a few feet before me. All the hours and days spent listening to my grandmother describe Castel Seir's secrets, including the passage to the tombs and how the sacred memorial flames could be kindled with a word, could be rewarded with a few casual steps up to the throne. The greatest wrong of the Shattering would be made right.
I shook my head and drew a document from my tunic. "I took the liberty of preparing this last night." I handed it to the King and he unfolded it. I pointed to the "X" at the bottom next to my signature. "That is Morai's mark as my witness. With this document, I, as the last surviving member of Prince Uriah's bloodline, renounce all claims to the throne of Hamis, but I do retain the right for me or my descendants to defend the throne if ever it is imperiled."
King Tirrell nodded as he read the paper, then folded it and tucked it inside his robes. "The throne is still yours, if you want it. I will destroy this document."
I shook my head and waved him to his throne. "A long time ago I would have taken the throne and, with the power it gave me, I would have redressed all the wrongs I felt you had done to my people."
The King's eyes slitted. "Do you not still have that desire?"
I paused, then nodded solemnly. "I do, but over the years I came to realize that, as a Justice, I can help people everywhere. Sitting on that throne, beneath that crown, I could only help the people in Hamis and Sinjaria. I am afraid, my King," I laughed, "my vaunted ambition to aid everyone leaves you your throne."
Slowly the King climbed the steps back to his throne, but instead of putting his crown back on, he set it on the chair beside him. "I will miss you, Lord Nolan. As you requested I have sent a wheel of cheese to Talianna for your friend. I have also written out a pardon for Morai, though I am curious why you asked for it to come into effect only after he reached the border of Seir province?"
I shrugged and laughed. "That was his request, I merely relayed it. From what I know of him, though, he's taken gross advantage of both of us in it."
The King joined my laughter, then grew more serious. "And you are certain Morai will not reveal you are ulHamis?"
I nodded. "He gave me his word, and I accept that. Besides, that information would only benefit Sinjarian nationalists who might want to use Lord Nolan as a rallying point for rebellion, and Morai wants nothing to do with them. We still have not determined which of them kidnapped him. On that basis alone he's decided none of them are worthy of his aid."
A grin spread across the King's face; then he looked more seriously at me. "I realize we went through this before when you rescued me from the warren. I wish you would let me reward you for what you have done."
I smiled. "You have. You mentioned yesterday that you intended to renovate the tombs and install a crypt for Prince Uriah's remains. That is my reward. I could ask for nothing that would please me more."
Again the King descended from the throne and offered me his hand. "I will regret your departure, and look forward to any visit you have a chance to make."
I took his hand and shook it firmly. "I will miss you and your court. Please remember me to the others."
King Tirrell nodded. "My daughter is waiting for you in the garden."
I smiled and walked from the throne room, through the ballroom, and into the gardens. The sun shone brightly from the colorful blossoms lining the crushed-stone walkways. I made my way through the flowers and found the Princess staring out at the sea.
I gently cleared my throat. "I will be leaving before noon."
The Princess turned. She wore a light blue gown and a blossom of matching hue held her midnight hair back over her right ear. She extended her right hand toward me and opened it. The gold ring I'd given her outside the tomb rested there. "My Champion cannot leave without his ring." As I reached out and took it from her, she added, "Remember me as your Princess."
I sighed heavily. "I am a Talion, Your Highness, not Lord Nolan ra Sinjaria, I..."
She stepped forward and gently laid her right hand on my lips to stop me. "I know who you are, Nolan ulHamis, and what you are. I know you are a rare man, and I take pride in your service to me." She lowered her hand. "I do not want you to ride from here and forget me."
I shook my head slowly and chuckled. "You underestimate yourself if you think I could do that, Your Highness. You do both of us a disservice, if you think I would want to forget you." I hesitated, thought, then continued. "But I have no idea where I will be sent in the future and I have ghosts I must lay to rest."
The Princess set her hand on my left forearm and squeezed. "You must have loved her very much."
I nodded. "Perhaps too much. She would have been happier had she died long ago."
The Princess eased my guilt with a shake of her head. "She lived on the love you gave her. What could be a happier life?"
I took her right hand from my arm, raised it to my mouth, and kissed it. "The light of your wisdom makes the storm passable. Your nation is blessed."
She smiled. "That wisdom will not let me surrender you, my Champion, to distance or your Talion Master's wishes. I will reach you."
I bowed and withdrew respectfully. She turned to watch the sea, and I turned back, throughout my retreat, to gaze at her until the garden finally stole her from my sight.
* * *
Adric held Wolf's reins for me in the Castel's courtyard. I mounted up, then thanked Adric for his service to me and rode from Castel Seir. Wolf, anxious to be back on the open road, hurried through the city despite the uphill climb. Regardless of his sense of urgency, however, I stopped at the valley rim and looked back down at the city and Castel Seir.
"You'll not
see her from here, Talion," Morai laughed as he rode from a thicket at my right. "She left the garden after you did and watched you from the Wolf Tower until you left the city."
My eyes narrowed. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
The bandit shrugged. "I felt a need for a change. Besides the roads are dangerous and I thought I'd be safer traveling with a Talion."
I laughed, reined Wolf around, and invited Morai to join me on the road west. "Why didn't you wait and travel with Selia?"
Moral hesitated momentarily, then shrugged with a little too much forced ease. "She and Count Patrick are working on ballads about the Dhesiri warren and the brave death of Duke Vidor. I'll wait for her in Jania." He smiled at me broadly. "They have a much better class of people there, you know."
I flashed a smile at him. "I'll have to visit and find out, won't I?"
"I'll tell them you're on your way." Morai yawned nonchalantly. "By the way, on that matter of the pardon."
I patted my vest. "The King signed it, as per your instructions, my friend."
"Excellent." The bandit smiled distractedly. "How long will it take before we reach the border?"
Suddenly I remembered the particulars of his pardon. "Of Seir province?"
He looked back at the dust cloud on the horizon behind us. "Yes, at the closest point."
I squinted and looked northwest. "Four hours at our current pace."
Morai looked shocked and disappointed at me. "What, ride slowly and delay a Justice's return to pursuit of horrid, unpardoned criminals? I'll not hear of it!" He spurred his horse to a gallop.
Laughing as a golden bauble on a chain hung around his neck flopped from beneath Morai's tunic, I set Wolf to match his horse's gait. And, despite the added weight of the Star of Sinjaria, we raced across the border before Keane could catch us.
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