by Duncan Lay
“I think we need to hear from these Gaelish as to why he is here and not, as you said, ruling Gaelland,” Durzu said.
Feray could not answer, her eyes and attention were solely on Kemal. “What have you done to him?” she demanded.
“He was struck by a poisoned quarrel and has not woken since,” Durzu said maliciously. “Perhaps he never will.”
“Get them away from him! And get some physicians down here. Now!” Feray ordered. She could sense that everyone in the converted church was watching them closely, wondering which side to support. She turned to Durzu. “This is a trick,” she said urgently. “They are using Kemal to get close to the Emperor—”
“They have no weapons and can do nothing with all the guards around,” Durzu said dismissively. “As for the doctors, they must wait until the Emperor gives the order. Or have you learned nothing in all your years at court? A few moments more will mean nothing for Kemal, for he has been like this, without change, since they arrived on the ship.”
“You will pay for this,” Feray swore, her voice shaking with her anger. She glanced over at the Gaelish, watching her warily and obviously unable to follow what was being said, and glared hatred at them. “He should have been seen by the Emperor’s best men the moment he was on Kottermani land. He is my husband and I should have been told immediately!”
“Why? So you can warn your sailor lovers?” Durzu sneered.
Feray lashed out at his face, a backhand blow that was almost too fast to see. Unfortunately, Durzu was just as fast as Kemal and caught her hand.
“Kemal will have you killed for this!” she snarled.
“I think he will have his own problems,” Durzu said and pushed her away, snapping his fingers at the same time. “I wonder what my baba will think of the message your slave was taking through the city?”
Feray staggered back, not just from his shove but because she saw a miserable-looking Ely being held by a pair of Durzu’s burly guards.
“How dare you touch my servant? I won’t wait for Kemal to wake, I shall have your skin for this!” she snarled at Durzu. “Guards, if you have any love for my husband Prince Kemal, you will strike down those Gaelish now!”
The Emperor’s men tensed, while Durzu’s men drew their swords.
“Peace!”
The word thundered through the church, the perfect acoustics of the space making it echo around.
Everyone looked to where the Emperor stood on the dais before the altar. “Swords down! Approach me!” he ordered, then sat down abruptly.
“You will pay for what you have done,” Feray vowed.
“You will pay first,” Durzu fired back.
“And release my servant. Now!”
Durzu smiled mirthlessly. “With pleasure. I already have the message she was carrying.”
Feray signaled to Ely and the girl ran to her side.
“I will keep you safe. Do not fear,” she whispered. Explaining the scroll was the least of her worries right now but she felt no fear, lost in a white-hot anger.
*
Dina watched with interest and growing pleasure as Durzu defended them from Feray. She could not understand a word they spat at each other but the meaning seemed obvious. Feray wanted them dead but Durzu did not. It looked like a classic power struggle and she could see it going their way. A younger brother, hungry for a taste of power … it was almost as if Cavan and Swane’s struggle was being replayed here.
The more she saw, the more she liked about Durzu. They had planned to let the situation develop naturally but this was too good an opportunity to miss. She eased closer to Finbar as all the shouting went on. The wizard was looking tense, gathering himself to protect them all with a burst of magic and he glanced around wildly as she touched his arm.
“Look for my signal and be ready to bring Kemal back so he can answer questions, but only the questions we want him to answer,” she whispered.
Finbar smiled briefly, as if remembering their plan, then nodded.
She stepped away from him as the Emperor intervened, bringing the room back under control. The two sides shuffled apart and the way down to the altar opened up again. She glanced at Swane and saw the fear on his face and almost laughed. This was when she felt most alive!
Durzu led them almost all the way to the steps up to the altar, before falling to one knee. Dina instinctively did the same, as did the other Gaelish. Swane was a little slower but she grabbed his hand and tugged him down just a heartbeat after the others. She inspected the Emperor carefully while appearing to look at the ground. He was a powerful man running to fat, which she liked. He was used to indulging his appetites, which was exactly the sort of man she had exploited many times over the years. She waited for her moment to make her move.
*
Feray seethed as she hurried down the path to the altar, making sure she got there before Durzu and the Gaelish scum.
“Exalted One. These Gaelish are here to trick you. They are followers of Zorva, the ones who tried to kill your grandsons and me. They have Kemal under some sort of spell and we must destroy them now,” she said urgently.
The Emperor pointed at Durzu. “What do you say, my son? Why have you brought them to me?”
“My father, may I present King Swane of Gaelland, his consort the Duchess Dina of Lunster, and their servants and guards. They have traveled here, at great personal risk, to return my brother to his father,” Durzu said, his voice echoing around the church as the litter bearers approached, laying Kemal down at the foot of the stairs.
The Emperor snapped his fingers and robed men rushed out of the crowd to fall to their knees beside Kemal and begin to examine him.
“Tell me how my son Prince Kemal came to be like this and what you are doing here,” the Emperor demanded.
“Exalted One, they did this to him. This is all a trick. They must be killed now,” Feray insisted.
Durzu jumped to his feet. “They have passed the test of Kotterman’s Hierarch. Do you dare say that I would bring someone before my father who is a risk to his life?”
“They have blood magic! They sacrifice children! Kill them!” Feray cried.
“They tell me that Feray is lying and Gaelland is not ours,” Durzu snapped back. “And I have here a message her servant was carrying to the sailors who brought her here, asking them to prepare to sail her back to Gaelland.”
“That is a fake! He attacked my servant in the street and now he plots against his brother. He wants Kemal dead and the title for himself!” Feray shouted, looking around the packed nobles.
“Enough!” the Emperor slapped the arm of his throne. “How can we be sure who is telling the truth, or if the truth lies somewhere in between?”
Silence fell across the church. Then a new voice spoke out.
*
“I can help,” Dina announced, standing and easing into the space between Feray and Durzu. She bowed deeply and straightened up to see the Emperor’s lecherous eyes roaming up and down her body. She smiled broadly. She had bedded more revolting creatures, but not for many years.
“What are you doing?” Durzu stared at her in shock.
Feray was meanwhile saying something in Kottermani, her hands chopping down violently to make her point. Dina guessed it was a request for her head.
“Tell your father that Prince Kemal can solve this riddle. He will speak truth that will make all clear,” she said.
“Are you mad?” Durzu asked, his eyes widening.
“Please trust me, and translate for me. I would not do this unless I knew exactly what Kemal was going to say,” she said confidently, almost arrogantly. “Remember, we have more to lose than you.”
She could see his worry but met it with a serene smile, making it look as if everything was going according to her plans. Which it had been. But now it all depended on Durzu. If he trusted them now, then he was theirs.
Durzu hesitated for what seemed like an age, then he nodded and shouted out something in Kottermani. Dina nodded
to Finbar.
*
Feray put all her fear and anger into a plea for the Gaelish to die, to pay the price for what they had done to Kemal, and to her, when Durzu interrupted.
“The Gaelish have offered an answer. Let Prince Kemal solve this,” he announced loudly.
She was so shocked she stopped in mid-sentence. “What?”
“My brother knows better than anyone what happened in Gaelland and the truth of whether these Gaelish can be trusted. We need to hear from him.”
Feray agreed but could not believe Durzu would suggest such a thing. It had to be a trap. And yet, how could she refuse to hear her husband’s words? She was backed into a corner.
“If he can be woken, then of course we need to hear from him,” she said.
The Emperor clapped his hands together. “It is decided. Our best physicians will work on my son. Everyone else will be confined to houses in the city and watched by my guards until Prince Kemal is awake. Durzu, take these Gaelish to the house where the other Gaelish escaped and make sure they do not leave. Food and drink is to be brought to them but nothing else, understand?”
“Of course, Father,” Durzu said with a florid bow.
‘Exalted One, I wish to stay at my husband’s side, to help him recover,” Feray said, also offering a bow.
For a moment she though the Emperor would refuse, then he nodded. “Agreed. But do nothing to distract my physicians,” he said.
She smiled and bowed again but her mind was racing. What were the Gaelish playing at? She offered a heartfelt prayer that Aroaril could watch over Kemal and bring them all out of this safely.
*
“What is your plan? How can you know what my brother will say?” Durzu demanded as he escorted them through the city.
Dina smiled. The relief at having faced the Emperor and not just survived but set their plan in motion had her almost giddy. “Prince Durzu, I thank you for the way you stood up to the madwoman Feray for us. You showed true nobility and it seems to us that you should be the man most ready to take on the burden of the Empire, not your foolish brother.”
Durzu grunted. “Your flattery is nothing more than I can hear from a score of others. I have risked much to submit to a ruling by my brother.”
“And you will not be disappointed,” she said smoothly. “We shall bring Kemal out of his sleep in a natural-looking way but he will be unaware of what is going on around him and will only reply to questions that you put to him. Should Feray question him, it will be as if she speaks in another language.”
Durzu’s eyebrows rose but his face did not change otherwise.
“He will speak the truth but we shall give you the questions that will make him give answers that will see him disgraced and humiliated. Feray will be imprisoned and you will take his place as Crown Prince,” she said.
Now he smiled. “I like the sound of that. But we need to discuss things further. Nobody gets something for nothing, least of all the throne of the Kotterman Empire. What is it you want in return?”
Dina gave him her sweetest smile. “Let us not make promises now, when we have nothing to offer. We shall give you the questions you need to destroy Kemal and then, when you are the new Crown Prince, let us talk again. We can help you but first let us prove ourselves.”
She felt Durzu’s eyes on her, weighing her up, and she kept her expression light, as if his agreement was not something on which their lives depended.
“Agreed,” he said finally. “So, what are the questions I need to ask my brother?”
Dina smiled gently, although inside she was celebrating. Durzu was hooked, although he did not realize it yet. And just wait until he got a taste of blood magic …
CHAPTER 38
“If we have to listen to another bastard complaining that some noble broke a contract with them and they need a bagful of gold as compensation, I am going to get out my shillelagh and show them how a contract really gets broken,” Fallon snarled.
Bridgit slumped into a chair and rubbed her eyes. “I know our tour did not go as well as we hoped—”
“Didn’t go as well as hoped? It’s like the whole bloody country is against us! It’s like we robbed their children, rather than freed them from a mad King and his Zorva-worshipping nobles!”
It had been another fruitless trip to eastern Gaelland. It seemed each time they held a Petition Day, it had been swamped by ridiculous complaints from petty merchants and the like, with scarcely an ordinary person in sight.
“We knew it was going to be difficult. Berry was different because the people had a chance to know you, and Aidan told them you were a hero. He had you get rid of the Snatchers and the last of Swane’s men and make out that you had saved them. Of course they believe in you. But the rest of the country has never heard of any of us. They are going to be suspicious,” Bridgit said soothingly.
“It’s more than that,” Fallon insisted. “I smell the hand of Swane in this. Somebody is hiding him and he has stirred up what’s left of his father’s supporters. All those blood-sucking bastards who have lived off the sweat of others, who are terrified we are about to end their cozy little world, are trying to make us look bad.”
“Are you sure? The chances are Swane is dead and we shall find his frozen body when spring comes and the snow melts,” Devlin said. “After all, the trail has gone cold. Really cold!”
“This is not the time for jokes,” Fallon said from between gritted teeth.
“Perhaps we need to pray to Aroaril for guidance. He might well reveal where Swane is. Once we subject Swane to the church’s justice, the protests will calm down,” Gallagher suggested.
“Honestly, we are going to have to kick you off this Ruling Council if you don’t stop blabbering on about Aroaril all the time. This is the same God that you said could not be trusted to organize Midwinter drinks for the ale-brewing Guild,” Devlin said.
Gallagher thumped the table with his fist. “You mock Aroaril at your peril. I opened my heart to him and my life has changed—”
“Oh for Aroaril’s sake, will you two shut up!” Fallon roared, then pointed a finger at Gallagher as the fisherman opened his mouth. “And I know I shouldn’t have said that. But we have bigger issues. I think we need to impose our rule on those towns properly.”
“And how do we do that? The way you went looking for Swane in Meinster, with ropes and swords?” Nola asked pointedly.
“We have men from all over the country in my army. We go around and discover which ones came from the different towns and then send them back there to keep order. We can also trust them to keep an eye on things,” Fallon said.
“What about the training? We have to get ready for the Kottermanis to arrive in the spring. Those men hold the key to preparing our new army,” Brendan said.
“And who guards the city? You will leave us very short here in Berry,” Riona said. “And you know what happened last time.”
“We have to find Swane and stop what he is doing,” Fallon growled. “If we have men in every town, they can keep eyes and ears open for word of Swane and Dina. It will be a long winter, someone will talk in exchange for food or gold. And if they have Kemal then we have a weapon to use against the Kottermanis. True, the training will take longer but if we find Kemal we can use him to buy us more time. And then we can throw everything back into getting an army ready. Meanwhile, Berry is safe,” Fallon added. “The city is behind us. They are accepting the rations we have given them and, after all, it is winter. People don’t want to roam the streets looking for trouble when the frost is trying to freeze their noses off.”
“Still, it is a risk. We could send everyone out and still not come across a trace of Swane or Kemal and find ourselves with a mob of half-trained fyrd, not an army, when the Kottermanis arrive,” Nola said doubtfully.
“We have to take risks. We need Kemal and I want Swane. Everything else is just talk,” Fallon said harshly.
“We need to trust in Aroaril. He will show us the right way,”
Gallagher said complacently.
“Will you listen to yourself for a moment?” Brendan roared, thumping the table. “Who are you and what have you done with Gallagher?”
“He’s shagged all his brains out, that’s what the problem is,” Devlin observed.
“You will show some respect, or you will be punished,” Gallagher warned.
“How? Fiery lightning bolts from your arse? You’re not the bogging Archbishop, you’re just married to her!” Brendan snarled. “If you can’t offer us anything beyond praying, then you need to piss off, Gall.”
“Brendan!” Nola exclaimed.
Gallagher scraped his chair back and stood. “I understand your pain, Brendan. But I beg of you, open your heart and—”
“So help me, I will knock your teeth out if you finish that!” Brendan snarled.
Gallagher walked across to him. “I am not afraid of you, Brendan. My faith is my shield,” he said calmly.
Fallon jumped up and stopped the fisherman before he could get close.
“Gall, please leave. This is not helping,” he said.
“Maybe we need to get everything out in the open,” Gallagher argued.
“No, you need to go. Now!” Fallon said forcefully.
For a moment Gallagher looked as if he would argue more, then he turned and walked away, shutting the door behind him.
“That’s right. Run away back to church,” Brendan rumbled.
“Stop it! Stop it!” Nola cried. “Could you just stop it? That is your friend and you chased him away!”
“He ran away himself. Nothing to do with me. He wasn’t fit to be part of this Ruling Council anymore. And others could do well to heed that message.”
“And who’s that?” Bridgit asked sharply.
“Devlin never says anything serious. He needs to stop the jokes,” Brendan said, slapping the table.
“And you threatening to hit everyone all the time is better?” Devlin sneered.
“That’s enough!” Fallon cried but they ignored him.
“Do you want me to punch you?” Brendan threatened.
“Stop it!” Bridgit shouted but it was too late.
