Empire of the One (Wine of the Gods Book 14)

by Pam Uphoff

  "If this is a deliberate political ploy, we don't want to spook him into doing something more obviously belligerent."

  "Get Endi away from Paer first, if nothing else." She scowled. "And find out whose side he's on. This is insane, not know what a supposed temporary employee is up to. I'll drop in on Poppy tonight."

  Izzo nodded. "Appreciate that. We really need some female investigators for stuff like this, getting women to talk about, umm, private matters. I hadn't realized the Directorates were such a male bastion."

  "They didn't used to be, but Agni in Exterior, and Orku's predecessor at Interior were both a bit rigid about gender roles and talented women sort of drifted away. Other than clerical, of course."

  "Of course." He eyed her. "You look a lot better."

  "Yeah. I was pretty flattened. I've never done that before, not that far, not even in what I thought was rigorous training."

  "I've heard rumors of other ways to raise power."

  "Tsk! Colonial. What have you been reading? I was always skeptical of those claims."

  "We could test it, see if it works. Oh, damn. Still liquid nitrogen. Oh well. Ask Poppy specifically about her test results, and if she's heard of other women's results."

  ***

  She talked to Rael first.

  "Oh, that man! One! All those women are still chasing him. I lost him to two of them at the sale. And he wasn't about to let me catch him. He charmed the hotel clerk into a room with two beds. Turned his back on me and went right to sleep. And even sleeping the shields were up. I finally managed to hook into a couple of dreams and pick up a bit. I know what his old horse looks like, and how much he loved his parents. There was a woman who . . . took advantage of his very earliest signs of puberty. I think he was plotting to kill her at one point. It all gets mixed up with all the War Party Wives that were chasing him. I think he may have taken a bit of misplaced revenge on those older women, when he finally started going all the way." Rael shook her head. "I don't think he thinks of me like that . . . That shield of his bothers me though. He's still Yummy, One is he ever! But he's a lot more complex, more mixed up, than I'd realized. I'll be a bit relieved when he's back on the outside of Palace Security, not inside. Yes, even after he rescued Paer."

  Xiat nodded. "I can't think what he's hiding. Or why. It's not like the rumors don't cover everything. Honesty would give everyone a single thing to adjust to, rather than suspecting him of all of the rumors."

  "Got to be something criminal." Rael frowned suddenly. "I wonder if he did kill that woman? Or a substitute? Yikes! I wish I hadn't thought of that!"

  "Me too. Endi the serial killer, leaving a string of middle-aged female bodies behind him as he travels the World going to horse shows? Give me all the particulars, I'll pass them to Izzo, he can research murdered women—how long ago, do you think?"

  "Twelve years. I caught a memory of him holding a baby and thinking that he wasn't even twelve yet."

  "Eleven! That's extreme cradle robbing."

  "Yeah. No wonder he's so flighty. And commitment shy."

  Xiat widened her eyes.

  "Oh, don't be silly, I'm not insane, I didn't fish for a proposal. But I thought his resistance to seduction might be an old fashioned 'not till we're married' sort of thing. Instead it was just the physical expression of his distrust of women as a whole."

  "Distrust. Hmm. Hopefully that is all it is." She made a mental note to call Izzo and dump that part of the investigation in his lap. "I think he’s a lot magically stronger than we all assume. I don’t understand that, unless he somehow falsified his DNA test to hide Oner status."

  Rael cocked an eyebrow. "Really? That would explain quite a bit about the things he can do—although he’s training the grooms in low level magic use. Hmm. I need to think about this. But who does he work for? Who could give him deep cover, arrange to falsify DNA scans, eh? Not the Ministry of War, that’s the only thing I’m sure of."

  Xiat left her thinking, and headed for Poppy's upscale residential tower.

  Poppy had a houseful of other guests and Xiat was immediately pulled in.

  "I’m not sure we’re celebrating getting pregnant or having a pity party over Endi being persona non grata at our usual parties." Poppy looked a bit nervy. "He’s our favorite toy, but maybe that wasn’t a good idea."

  "Why not play with Endi?" Xiat looked around at the party. Cake, ice cream and women. War Party wives, every one. "He's about as cute as you can get." Izzo's cuter, though. One! Did I just call a sixty-four years old, ambitious, ladder climbing, Withione cute? He's five years older than I am, damn it.

  "Endi's so sensitive." Fauv sighed.

  "Those hands . . . " The whole roomful sighed.

  "I'm surprised he glows like that." Voun looked like a starry eyed teenager.

  "I told you he was really a Withione, didn't I?" Laer smiled.

  Poppy shook her head. "But he can't be a Withione masquerading as a Halfer. No one would do that."

  A middle-aged woman smiled a bit. "Oh, I don't know, it would be an adventure. And no one would hire a Withione as a horseboy. If he was poor. From an impoverished family, maybe an orphan . . . " Sighs all around. Romantic idiots. "Desperation might lead him to lie about his status. Once he's got his own horse, his own stables, he'll come out."

  "Maybe he's an runaway priest candidate."

  Xiat shivered. These women are completely gaga over him. And . . . could he have done something to fake his test? It would explain Poppy's pregnancy. "So, why aren't you all fighting over him?"

  "Oh, he's just a toy. We're all married women, so we're discreet." A matron glanced disapprovingly over at Poppy. "We make decisions based on our cold blooded self interest, not for public revenge. Whatever the thrill of a hot blooded young scamp. Umm, umm."

  "Giog! He's just a bit young for you!"

  "Ha! He's got damn good technique for young pup."

  Xiat nearly choked on her tea. Lady Giog? Oh. Dear. One. "I hear a lot of women are getting pregnant, recently. How many of you are going to . . . all of you?"

  "That's why we're having a party." Poppy said. "And even so half of the wives couldn't come. Next year will just be insane, babies everywhere."

  Xiat counted eighteen. And they were the wives of nearly every single High War Party official. "Did you do it on purpose? I thought the idea was to never use contraceptives, challenge your husband to prove his genetic superiority?"

  Poppy’s smile quivered a bit. "Yes. It just . . . happened. None of us were doing anything different except playing with Endi."

  "Oh surely there are a few other toys out there."

  Heads shook, shrugs were exchanged.

  Giog sniffed. "We aren’t loose, Young Woman. It was just a bit of entertainment I indulged in. My husband and I have a good enough relationship."

  Xiat veered away from pursuing that line, here in public. "I suppose a pregnancy would confirm your husband's superiority, before the elections start up. Is Nock . . . she is? One!" Make that every High War Party Wife. But they aren't surprised to be pregnant, so they obviously also have relations with their husbands. "Are you going to do pre-testing? They can filter out fetal cells at three months, can't they?" What are the odds all these women would get pregnant nearly all at once? Coincidentally just when they had a new play toy? Xiat shook herself mentally. I'm being absurd. Endi probably just made them all feel maternal. One, he's only twenty-four. Looks younger. "No need to wait another six months to find out if it's a girl or a boy."

  "I'll be talking to my doctor about the results tomorrow." Poppy managed to pale even further. "I think I was about the first to go for the test."

  Giog nodded. "Mine should be ready in three days. I do hope I have a girl. I understand girls."

  Xiat wondered if Urfa would allow a breach of medical privacy. She was definitely going to suggest it. However unlikely, this was not something the President would want to be blindsided on. She sipped her tea and asked the occasional question, making her
mental list. And didn't say anything more about Endi.

  The next morning, when Endi pinched his skin in a stiff halter buckle, she wiped it carefully, and bagged the sample.

  ***

  "So, since you're off today . . . instead of hanging around the barn, why don't you teach me how to drain power packs." Rael bounced on her heels, and wished she had enough bosom to jiggle properly. I don't know if I ought to have worn less, or dressed for riding, to attract this man. Actually, I suppose that being married to someone high in the ranks of the War Party would work the best.

  Endi just grinned. "What's this? A sweet innocent Halfer like me knowing enough to teach a princess?"

  "You're Halfer cover was tissue thin when you started here. You have since blown it completely. Most of us are being polite and pretending we don't notice. Just because we can't figure out which political party, or ministry, branch of the military, or directorate you are spying for . . . stop laughing! One damn it all, you're scary."

  His grin just flashed and he looked around the tack room. Stepped over and collected a portable vet kit. "C'mon."

  She followed him out of the barn and over to a decorative little mound. He sat down cross legged, and opened the vet kit. "A simple scanner. Can you feel the power in it?"

  Two hours later she dragged shakily into the cafeteria to wolf down a sugar laden drink and high protein lunch.

  Mail sat down across from her. "Your version of seduction is certainly unique. Mind you it works better than anyone else's on that wretched horseboy. What were you doing?"

  "That wretched horseboy was teaching me how to drain power sources. I can now, from almost in contact with it, drain a tiny bit of power from a micro battery."

  Mail raised her brows. "You're pretty young for that . . . and he's even younger."

  Rael rubbed her face. "He looks young. But I'm beginning to wonder. Mail, we had a problem with some men in the park. Endi drained seven pistol packs from five meters away, and nobody noticed a thing, until they started trying to shoot us. The One doesn't have any Warriors, any more . . . Right?"

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Paris, European Region

  3 Qadah 1396 yp

  "How come I’m the only woman in the world you don’t haul off to bed?"

  Rael paused at the door between entry and gym, watching Endi’s amusement fade into thoughtfulness.

  "Because I’m just playing the game with those women. Mind you, I’m coming at it from a very odd perspective, and outsiders would probably think I was failing to prosper even though I’ve taken down some very well placed men. But pretending to be those women’s sex toy is just a tactic on the field of battle." He cocked his head and studied her. "You and I are playing an entirely different game. I can’t win it with the same tactics. I want your respect, and I can’t get that by letting you define our relationship as you: master, me: sex toy." He reached out and put a finger under her chin to close her mouth. "Not something you ever heard, or expected to hear from someone so far below your station, Princess? Or should I call you Dancer?"

  "Princess. I don’t work for the One . . . anymore." Rael stalled, trying to get her thoughts in order. "I'm not playing a game."

  "Yes you are. You’re as wary of . . . attachment as I am. I know why I have hangups. Was that assignment of yours so fraught? Was there someone you cared about at the ministry?"

  She blinked, surprised.

  The man on the desk interrupted. "Endi, the farm gate guard says you have a visitor. He says he's your uncle Odki." The man looked bright-eyed and curious.

  Endi frowned. "My . . . Be right back."

  Uncle? Rael bolted for the stairs. The watch on the roof had binocs and she was a good lip reader . . .

  ***

  Endi stopped and frowned at the ordinary car waiting outside the gate. Just one man inside. He felt like a Oner, but not very strong. Darker skinned than most Oners, blue eyes. Endi walked around the barrier and up to the car, reaching out high and feeling the hole in the man's shields. He read him easily.

  A con man.

  With a dark history. An older brother had suicided after his twins tested abnormally. They had been institutionalized in a home that had gone bankrupt, he had no idea where they'd gone, the police had contacted him once, he'd denied all ties . . . they'd be almost eighteen. The boy and girl. Okni and Niek. And being unscrupulous, he'd had a bright idea.

  "So, Nephew, how'd you like a fuss in public? Or would you rather pay me to go away?"

  "I don't know you."

  "You sure do look like my nephew. What ever happened with the police and that child prostitution charge? Were you selling your sister, or yourself?" He grinned nastily.

  Endi grinned right back. Touched his hand. Speak of a gift from the gods. However nasty, this fellow will stop a whole lot of questions people are starting to ask. An Uncle needn't have all that many genes in common . . . ten percent would do. He'd need the same Y chromosome. Without the Mage gene, of course. Endi tossed a spell to engineer the man's Y. The con man jerked back, and Endi reached in and grabbed control. Held him lightly while he worked up a series of spells to bring the man's genetics more in line with his and his sister's. Then he tweaked the man into obedience. "You are going to leave now. If anyone asks, you'll say you were mistaken, that I am not your nephew. You will say that you didn't get any money from me." Endi took out the man's ID and transferred a sizable chunk of cash to him. "But when you're with your pals, you'll say you did. Now go home. Do not come back. You don't want to ever see me again."

  Endi turned and walked away. He didn't look around at the sound of the departing car.

  ***

  Rael could only see one man inside. He stepped out of the car and she categorized him. Middle aged, dark brown hair slicked down flat over a bald spot. Dark skinned, but his features weren’t pure African. Too far to see eye color. Dark, she thought. From here she couldn’t get any feel for him, for whether he had power or not. Endi prowled up to the man, looking wary. He stopped with his arms crossed. Not warm and welcoming.

  The visitor broke the silence.

  "So, Nephew, how'd you like a fuss in public? Or would you rather pay me to go away?" He turned slightly, still speaking.

  One Damn it, she couldn't see enough of his face.

  The old man grinned nastily as he finished speaking.

  Endi grinned right back. Not the nice sort of grin, more shark-like. He reached out and touched the face of his putative uncle. "Uncle Odki" stepped back looking like he’d just noticed he was talking to a predator. Endi’s left hand moved. Even at a distance she spotted the flash of a spell. The uncle jerked back. Endi glowed, suddenly, just a flash, then it was gone again. The man stood frozen. Endi just stood there for a long moment, then his glow flashed again, four quick pulses, as he tossed four other spells. And finally spoke, as he prowled a circle around the man. "You are going to . . ." Rael cursed as he turned his back to her. But kept circling. ". . . when you’re with your pals, you’ll say you did." Endi took out the man's wallet, and then his own. He extracted cards. . . bank cards? Was he taking the man’s money? Endi shoved the man’s wallet back into the man’s pants pocket. "Now go home. Do not come back. You don't want to ever see me again."

  Endi turned and walked away. He didn't look around as the man jerked back into motion, scrambled back into his car and threw it into reverse. Rael handed the binocs back to the guard and trotted back down the stairs.

  Captain Onca was leaning on the front desk as Endi came in. "Uncle, eh?"

  "Of a sort. He was hoping he could persuade me he was close enough kin to get a job recommendation."

  "And he didn't?"

  "Nope. That was a walking, talking good-for-nothing." Endi didn't meet his eyes, but Rael saw the flick of a glance, before he walked out. Pretending he didn't noticed the captain picking up the comm as he walked out.

  Rael decided to leave tracing the man to Onca. And Endi didn’t look like he wanted any company. "Drat."
She headed back to the gym. Do I really want to think about what Endi said to me? He wants my respect. And he’s not going to let me make him into a sex toy. That’s . . . going to make things difficult. Because I’m trained, educated and conditioned to think a princess is the pinnacle of humanity. Ohme says he has power—well I hardly need anyone else to tell me that! And Endi is incredibly well trained in the magic department. All those intricate healing spells. Draining power sources. And Endi is incredibly well trained in the magic department. All those intricate healing spells. And he sliced and shielded when Paer was in danger. And I think I just saw him mentally attack that "uncle" of his. Rael adjusted the weights to her usual and laid down for the presses.

  Ten reps. Her arms ached. He’s playing the game, but not with me. He knows a lot about me, and is guessing more. Heh. A Lover in the Ministry? I played off three of them and they all took career ending damage from being associated with me. And I didn’t care. I feel sick, not for what I did to them, but because I didn’t care. That’s why I wanted out. Became a presidential guard. Am I doing it again? Killing a bit of my soul, trying to manipulate Endi, and not care?

  She got up and dialed the weights higher. One Damn my upbringing.I’m not really prejudiced against the Multitude, I just have no interest in dragging one off to bed. Except him, and maybe that’s my subconscious laughing at me for not acknowledging his power?Or maybe I have too much sense to seduce someone I barely know--and know there’s a lot he isn’t telling me.