Harlequin Nocturne May 2016 Box Set

by Susan Krinard

  Once again Hannibal fought to escape, using brute Opir strength, but Daniel held him where he was.

  “You cannot do this,” he gasped, and Isis sensed that he meant Daniel’s unusual capabilities as well as his right to hold and question Hannibal.

  “Why was that list of humans in your office?” Daniel asked.

  It was not a long interrogation. For all his bluster, Hannibal seemed frightened of Daniel, and Isis could see why. There was a ruthlessness in the human’s face and eyes she had never seen before, an absolute commitment to getting answers at any price.

  “You will be executed,” Hannibal said in a strangled whisper.

  Daniel didn’t react. He repeated the question. Hannibal answered—hesitantly, his pale face tinged with green.

  When he had finished, Isis felt sick, and Daniel was grimly silent. Anu and his chosen companions mean ill for the humans of Tanis, the stranger in the elevator had told her. Isis didn’t know what she had expected, but it wasn’t this.

  “What do we do with him?” Daniel asked, his voice as cold as winter sweeping down from the mountains.

  That was the ugly question, Isis thought. They could simply remove his cowl and expose him to the sunlight in the lower city, where the shadow of the dome didn’t reach.

  But she wasn’t ready to kill, despite her hatred. “Where is Anu now?” she asked him.

  “He said he was...gathering his worshippers,” Hannibal said, choking and coughing.

  Daniel looked at Isis. “His worshippers?” he echoed. “The people he mesmerized at the Hall of Justice?”

  “I do not believe so,” Isis said, her gaze turned inward. “That is not worship.”

  “What do you mean?” Daniel asked Hannibal.

  “He’s a god,” Hannibal whispered. “He has...never been satisfied with anything less.”

  “I think I understand,” Isis said. “Where does he assemble these worshippers?”

  “In an abandoned part of the city,” Hannibal said.

  “You’re going to show us,” Daniel said.

  “If Anu sees you, he will kill you both.”

  “And if you don’t take us, I’ll shove you out into the sun.”

  There was no doubt that Hannibal believed Daniel. Isis pulled the Opir’s hood over his head, made certain that there were no observers, and gestured for Daniel to bring Hannibal out from under the shadow of the ramp.

  Keeping to the less traveled streets between largely abandoned buildings under the dome, Isis and Daniel forced Hannibal to lead them, Daniel’s hand locked like a vise around Hannibal’s wrist. After a fifteen-minute walk, they reached the completely deserted east side of the city, deep under the dome and far from the nearest two towers. Hannibal became very quiet. With Daniel’s less-than-gentle encouragement, he led them along a street almost directly under the causeway. The street passed between two cracked pillars, and beyond the pillars was a heavy gate, firmly closed. The gate did not look old.

  “There,” Hannibal said under his breath. “That is where he summons them.”

  “What is this place?” Daniel asked, scanning the door.

  “The old arena,” Isis said, shivering. “The previous Bloodlords and Bloodmasters, the ones we cast out, used to pit humans against each other in combat.”

  “Is there another way in?” Daniel asked Hannibal, his eyes glittering with rage.

  “We must wait a little,” Hannibal said.

  “For what?” Daniel asked.

  “For Anu to set the stage. Only then will you understand.”

  “If you’re tricking us—”

  “Listen,” Isis said. They all held their breaths as the sound of approaching feet broke the silence. The three of them hurried away from the gate and rounded the corner of the wall to hide and watch. Human men and women carrying strange regalia entered the gate. Isis counted over a hundred people. After ten minutes, the last humans entered and barred the door behind them.

  Still, Hannibal made it clear that they should wait until it was obvious no more visitors would arrive. Only then did he lead Isis and Daniel along a passageway between an outer wall and the inner one enclosing the arena, stopping at a smaller side door only wide enough for a single man to pass through at a time. It was unlocked. A stairway set into the wall led to some higher level.

  “The mezzanine,” Hannibal said.

  Shoving the Opir ahead, Daniel began to climb the stairs. Isis followed. She became aware of a droning sound like that of many voices humming or chanting, and when they reached the balcony and peered over the edge, she saw what made the noise.

  More than a hundred humans crouched on the ground facing the balcony on the other side of the arena. Anu sat on a richly upholstered throne while, just below him, men wearing sun and demon masks acted out some kind of ritual on the arena floor. They spoke words of praise and awe, bowing to Anu again and again, while the other humans bent their heads to the ground.

  “Worship,” Isis murmured. “It is what he wants.”

  “These people can’t be here of their own free will,” Daniel said. “It’s no better than slavery.”

  “And this is only the beginning,” Hannibal said. “Do you believe Anu will be content with only a hundred worshippers?”

  “Do you think any of the other Nine know about this?” Daniel asked.

  Certainly not Athena, Bes or Hermes, Isis thought. “If Anu has taken such great pains to hide this,” she said, “they must not.”

  “Then either he believes something bad will happen if his extracurricular activities become common knowledge,” Daniel said, “or he’s not ready to reveal what he’s done.” He stared at the ground. “It all makes sense now. If Anu can provoke humans to fight and then sends the Lawkeepers to arrest them, he can take more humans for himself.” He turned on Hannibal. “You’ve been part of this from the beginning.”

  “Daniel,” Isis said, touching his arm, “we must not remain here any longer.”

  His gaze met hers, hard and ruthless. “You’re right. Anu knows you’ll oppose him with all your strength. I’m going to get you out of Tanis.”

  She shook her head. “Few Opiri in Tanis will be sanguine about Anu setting himself up as a true god. They will see—”

  “But will they act?” Daniel asked. “Or will they simply let themselves fall back into the old patterns?”

  As Isis began to answer, Hannibal jerked free of Daniel’s hold and darted away. Daniel made a move to follow, but Isis held him back.

  “You will never catch him now,” she said. “And he has betrayed Anu by showing all this to us. I think he will hide until he knows what will come of this.”

  “And what will come of this, Isis?” Daniel asked.

  “You are wrong about the Opiri here. They will not accept what Anu has done. You have met Bes, Athena and her companions, and you know they are not—”

  “I’ve also met the Opir who tried to kill that girl.”

  Isis and Daniel stared at each other, painfully at odds in a way Isis could hardly bear.

  “I believe that Anu will kill you without hesitation as soon as he learns that you know about the missing humans,” Daniel said. “I can hide among Hugh’s Underground. You can’t.”

  “And will you tell the rebels about the disappearances?” Isis asked. “You will only create more chaos that could play right into Anu’s hands.”

  “They have to know, Isis.”

  “Then we must agree on a strategy that will not make things worse.”

  Isis touched Daniel’s fisted hand, sick with regret and grief. “You must go, Daniel. But I must stay.” She stopped his protest with a fingertip against his lips. “Listen to me. I will determine a safe time to approach my allies and explain the circumstances. If it comes to a direct confrontation, some
of the Nine will stand with me.”

  All Daniel’s feelings were in his eyes. “You know I can’t leave you,” he said.

  “I fear for you, Daniel.”

  “I can’t let you do it. Your life is the most important one in this city. You know it.”

  Isis was silent, realizing that she would never convince Daniel to change his mind. She had to play along, see him to safety and then do whatever must be done.

  “There is a way out of the city which only a few know of,” she said, “a small, unguarded gate within my ward, off one of the lanes behind the Immigrant Center. That does not mean that it will be easy to access. But it will be simpler than confronting guards who may have been instructed not to let us leave Tanis.” She paused. “We will wait until dusk.”

  “We’d better find a place to hide until then,” Daniel said.

  Though it wasn’t much of a plan, they made their cautious way toward the front of the city. There, in Bes’s ward, they found an empty building to wait out the remainder of the day. The streets were quiet now, and no one disturbed them. A little before dusk they emerged and walked with casual confidence toward the Immigrant Center.

  Shouts arrested them in their progress, and Isis turned to look toward the depository. Another protest was in progress, but this time a much larger one, attended by fifty or more men and women with signs, chanting slogans and harassing the few Opiri who emerged from the building. One of the Opiri paused to argue, and a human struck him in the face. Other humans dragged the Opir down, crying out with animal-like voices.

  Immediately the other Opiri came to his aid, and there were cries of pain and terror. Isis smelled blood. She knew she had to intervene, even at the risk of compromising her plan to get Daniel to safety.

  “Wait here,” she said to Daniel before she ran toward the melee. She heard Daniel curse behind her, his low voice gradually lost amid the angry howls of the mob.

  A mob that had become a monster. Other Opiri had found their way to the fight, and their greater strength was beginning to leave its mark on the struggling humans.

  A few moments later Daniel was there beside her, speaking to the humans in the calm voice of authority she had heard him use before.

  This time the humans didn’t listen. Isis knew that her influence might stop them. But Anu had demonstrated how easily that power could be turned to evil. If she gave way again...

  She had no time to think. As Daniel tried to intervene, Isis fought to save human lives from Opiri whose predatory instincts had been fully aroused, even placing herself physically between one of her people and his prey. More humans arrived, greatly outnumbering the Opiri, and the tide turned again. Opiri’s cowls were pulled from their heads, exposing vulnerable skin to the open sky overhead.

  Before Isis could move to their aid, a dozen Lawkeepers were surrounding the roiling crowd, grabbing Daniel as they stunned the other humans. Isis cried out for them to stop, but they ignored her, bound the humans—including Daniel—and herded the dazed captives toward the Hall of Justice.

  “He had nothing to do with this!” Isis shouted, striding alongside them.

  Once again they ignored her, and she had no choice but to follow them to the jail at the rear of the hall. The Lawkeepers blocked her from entering, and she considered her options. She could rely on her authority as one of the Nine, but that might provoke unwanted attention from Anu.

  If Daniel faced only the relatively minor charge of participating in the protest, he might simply be ejected from the city. Then, Isis thought, he would be safe. But she couldn’t be sure what would happen after a long night and day of protests and fighting. Anu might see this as a perfect opportunity to be rid of a potential troublemaker and rebel once and for all.

  There had not been an execution in Tanis since the day it was founded, but if Anu wished to arrange it...

  Her stomach churning with dread, Isis set out for the tower.

  CHAPTER 21

  Three hours later, Isis stood before the Nine in their meeting hall, fighting a battle she was very much afraid she would lose.

  “Daniel must be permitted a jury of his peers,” she insisted.

  The Nine gazed at her with expressions ranging from distaste to sympathy, but Isis knew the odds were against her. She felt extremely lucky that Hannibal, whatever had become of him, had not appeared at Anu’s side again, and nobody knew of her searching his apartments.

  Anu didn’t bother to conceal his suspicion of Isis. Somehow he knows I have guessed that he is the cause behind the trouble in the city, she thought.

  “Why should we change our customs for this newcomer?” Ereshkigal asked, her fringed robes draped over her chair. “He was caught with the protesters, infringing upon the rights of Opir citizens. He has been seen among other humans involved in the fighting—”

  “Trying to stop them,” Isis said, pressing her hands flat to the table. “And I was there during the protest at the depository. He was only speaking to the humans, attempting to calm them, when—”

  “So you have told us,” Anu said, his voice heavy in its softness. “But you have favored this human since the beginning. You would claim anything to save him.”

  “If you will not accept my word, then give him a chance to defend himself. You can surely find enough trustworthy humans to—”

  “Humans will not judge one of their own fairly,” Hephaestus said. “If any are sympathetic to these troublemakers, they will favor him.”

  “Hephaestus is right,” Ishtar said. “Humans are incapable of objectivity. A jury such as you suggest is a human invention, and no part of Tanisian law.”

  “But you believe the Council will be objective, when they have already condemned a dozen humans to expulsion from Tanis?” She tried to gather her wits. “Can you blame the humans for doubting the way we dispense justice?”

  “Expulsion is not death,” Hermes said, not meeting her eyes. “Your human was resilient enough to survive in the wild, and he can do so again.”

  Isis sensed that she had come to the end of her argument. To push it further would be to provoke Anu to radical action.

  Still, when the meeting was over, she risked stealing an antique dagger from among the displays and hiding it in her robes. After she left the tower, she made an attempt to see Daniel, but the human prisoners were locked away from visitors. There were no protesters on the steps of the Council building or Hall of Justice; Lawkeepers stood guard, discouraging anyone from approaching.

  But they could not stop the tension from growing in the city. Even those humans who’d had no part in the protests were beginning to react, if very quietly. In her own ward, men and women slipped away when they saw her. Any sense of trust was gone.

  Isis made many attempts to visit Athena and Bes in their suites or their wards to discuss what they had seen in the arena, but they were either absent or fully occupied in monitoring and reassuring their humans. She had no better luck with Hermes, though his words at the meeting had aroused her doubts about him. It was almost as if they feared to speak with her.

  Anu continued to leave her alone, but she knew she couldn’t afford to attract his attention. Instinct told her that he was watching to see what she would do; he still didn’t seem to know about her presence at the arena, and whatever his suspicions about her, he had no proof to lay before the other Nine. Even his power could not guarantee that the others wouldn’t turn on him if he exposed himself while speaking against Isis.

  The following day, at the hour of Daniel’s hearing, she sat apart from those of the Nine who were present. Athena and Bes were missing. She tried to catch Daniel’s eyes, but he stared straight ahead in the witness box facing the Council’s table, his expression coldly defiant and as far from humble as any human’s could be.

  There was never any question in her mind that he would be found gu
ilty. He was sentenced to permanent exile from Tanis.

  On the morning of the prisoners’ departure—and after several more unsuccessful attempts to speak with her allies among the Nine—Isis was finally able to see Daniel, though the Lawkeepers guarding the prison were reluctant to let her into the holding area. She had prepared to accompany him part of the way out of the city, and wore a loose day coat over practical traveling clothes. She also carried a hidden bundle that included food and a change of clothes for him.

  Daniel was pacing slowly back and forth in his cell, his hands clenched behind his back. He paused when he saw her.

  “You shouldn’t have come here,” he said. “Associating with me now could be deadly for you, Isis.”

  “Are you well?” she asked anxiously.

  “They don’t let us starve,” he said. “Though it’s not as if they’ll be feeding us much longer.” He moved up to the bars. “What about you?”

  “I spoke to the Nine on your behalf. I tried to convince them to show mercy, but Anu—”

  “You should never have tried,” he said, resting his clenched fists against the bars. “Anu had you right where he wanted you.”

  “But he did nothing to me. There have been no threats. He has not even attempted to speak with me alone.”

  “And Hannibal?”

  “Still no sign.” She lowered her voice. “I have been thwarted in every attempt to tell my allies about Anu and his worshippers. But I have no intention of—”

  The barred door to the corridor swung open behind them, and two Lawkeepers in day coats respectfully asked Isis to step aside while they opened Daniel’s cell, cuffed him and took him out of the holding area. Sunlight shone into the city, and Isis was surprised that the humans had been given the benefit of being released during the day.

  She was glad that she’d made preparations to travel when she saw that the escort would include not only Lawkeepers, but Opir guards armed with both shock sticks and actual firearms.