“Enough,” said the Emperor, his voice quiet. “Arrest her and secure her in our embassy. I will decide what to do with her.”
Claudia watched as the Imperial Guards picked up Caina and carried her away.
Corvalis was dead.
She lowered her face and cried, and Martin’s arm closed around her shoulders.
Chapter 26 - If Not For Her
The next day, after the peace with New Kyre had been sealed, Alexius Naerius, Emperor of Nighmar, sat alone in his study in the Imperial embassy.
Through the windows he heard the noise rising from the Agora of Nations as the merchants went about their business, as the slaves labored to repair the damage from the golden dead.
It was odd. Likely thousands of people had died across the world yesterday, but life still went on. Merchants bought and sold. Men went to their work, and women tended to their families. Yesterday might have been a sorcerous catastrophe unlike any in the history of mortal men, but the children still had to be fed.
Life went on.
Perhaps it was both the strength and weakness of mankind.
A quiet knock at the door captured his attention. “Yes?”
“My lord Emperor,” said a tribune of the Imperial Guard. “They have answered your summons.”
“Good,” said Alexius. “I will speak to them one by one, please.”
The tribune bowed and went to carry out his commands.
And soon Alexius would need to make a decision.
“I demand punishment,” said Lord Corbould Maraeus, pacing back and forth before Alexius’s chair. “That woman murdered my son in front of a hundred witnesses.”
“Evidently he was possessed by the spirit of one of the Moroaica’s disciples at the time,” said Alexius.
“That matters not,” said Corbould, smacking his right fist into his left palm. “She raised a hand against a son of House Maraeus, and she must pay for it.”
Alexius raised his eyebrows. “As I recall, there was little love lost between you and Aiodan.” Though that was true for most of Corbould’s children.
“Indeed,” said Corbould, “but he was still my son.” He stopped pacing. “I will be blunt with you, my lord Emperor. I have always loyally supported you.”
“And I am grateful for it,” said Alexius.
“I know, and for that I owe you candor,” said Corbould. “If you allow that woman to escape punishment, my loyalty may no longer be so unwavering.”
Alexius nodded, and thanked Corbould for his counsel.
Lord Aeolus was next.
“My advice is that you kill her immediately,” said Aeolus.
“Then you think she tried to kill me in the Agora?” said Alexius. “That she truly betrayed the Ghosts and the Empire?”
“In truth, I do not know,” said Aeolus in his emotionless voice. “But if there is even the chance she has been twisted by the magi, or enslaved to another sorcerer, we dare not take the risk. Better to kill her and avoid another potential disaster. We almost lost everything yesterday, and the upheaval from the disaster shall sow chaos across the Empire for years to come.”
“The world was almost destroyed yesterday,” said Alexius. “It would seem Caina Amalas saved it.”
“That may be true,” said Aeolus, “but it has no bearing on the governance of the Empire.”
Alexius thanked him and called in his next guest.
“She has saved your life before,” declared Theodosia of the Grand Imperial Opera, one of the Ghost circlemasters of Malarae. “You recall the downfall of Haeron Icaraeus?”
“All too well,” said Alexius.
“The sorcerer in Haeron’s employ almost worked a spell that would have destroyed Malarae,” said Theodosia. “Caina stopped him before it was too late. She saved everyone in Malarae, and she does not deserve to be accused by that puffed-up fool Lord Corbould.”
“I would trust her with my life,” said Ark, Champion of Marsis. “She saved my wife and son from the Moroaica. When the Istarish invaded Marsis, she rescued my son from their slavers and killed Rezir Shahan. If not for her, my lord Emperor, the Kyracians and the Istarish would rule in Marsis.”
“I have heard that,” said Alexius. “Halfdan told me.”
He felt a pang. Halfdan had been a reliable friend for decades. What would Alexius do without him?
“If our nations were still at war,” said Kylon, High Seat of House Kardamnos and Archon of the Assembly, “I would urge you to execute Caina Amalas at once, so that the Empire would be deprived of her skills. Her wit and boldness have saved your Empire from disaster again and again. She killed Rezir Shahan. She stopped Mihaela the Seeker from unleashing glypharmor upon the world. She kept Rhames from using the Ascendant Bloodcrystal to rebuild the Kingdom of the Rising Sun upon the ashes of the Empire. And she slew the Moroaica and saved us all. She deserves your praise and gratitude, not condemnation.”
His final guest came attended by her priestesses, her eyes flickering with a silver glow.
Unlike the other guests, Alexius rose and greeted her. “Thank you for coming.”
“Customarily,” said the Surge in that eerie threefold voice, “we summon petitioners to our Sanctuary. But since our Sanctuary was laid waste, it seemed a wise time to break tradition. Though I am curious why an Emperor of Nighmar would wish to speak with the Surge.”
Alexius snorted. “Are you not an oracle?”
“I am,” said the Surge, “though I wish to hear your reasons from your own lips.”
“Because a grave decision lies before me,” said Alexius, “and I wish to choose wisely. And it is well known the Surge has the power to see potential futures. Will you grant me your counsel?”
“I shall,” said the Surge.
“If I spare the life of Caina Amalas, what will come to pass?” said Alexius.
“Your closest allies will lose faith in you,” said the Surge. “They will not forsake you, but when your span of years is done, they will turn upon each other viciously. Civil war will grip the Empire for years after your death, if you spare the Balarigar.”
“Then she truly is the Balarigar?” said Alexius. “As this sorceress was truly the Moroaica?”
“The Balarigar and the Moroaica are merely titles,” said the Surge. “Names. But we call the flower with a sweet fragrance and sharp thorns a rose, and its nature does not change based upon what name we give it. We call the demon-slayer and the liberator the Balarigar. The title is irrelevant. Caina Amalas has done the things that make her the Balarigar.”
Alexius took a deep breath. “And if I execute her?”
“You will surely die.”
Alexius frowned. “Her friends will take revenge upon me?”
“No,” said the Surge. “But if you execute her, you will die. Malarae will burn, and your Empire shall fall.”
“Do you know why?” said Alexius, shuddering. For thirty-five years he had tried to keep peace in the Empire, and he had been mostly successful. But to hear that one death could undo everything he had worked to build…
But he already knew that, did he not? Even the Emperor of Nighmar could not control the future, and the death of one woman could set off a chain of events no one could foresee.
Perhaps not even the Surge.
“Darkness,” said the Surge. “Candles in the desert, and vials of tainted poison. A broken lock, and a king in exile. That is all I can see. I fear I can say no more.”
Alexius nodded. “Thank you.”
The Surge tilted her head to the side. “You already know what you must do, do you not?”
“I do,” said Alexius, “but that does not make it any easier.” He raised his voice. “Bring her, please. My lady, I thank you for your counsel.”
The Surge and her attendants departed, and a few moments later the Imperial Guards returned with Caina Amalas.
She still wore the clothes of a caravan guard, though they had been cleaned and she had been bathed, her wounds bandaged. Her blond hair was g
oing black at the roots, and her blue eyes held a dull disinterest as they looked at him.
The apathy of grief.
Oh, but the Emperor knew it well. He had known it over and over again during his long life.
“Leave us,” said Alexius.
The Guards hesitated.
“Leave us,” repeated Alexius. “If she wanted me dead, I would have died long ago.”
Caina blinked, a flicker of curiosity pushing its way through the apathy.
The Guards bowed and withdrew, though they did not look pleased.
For a moment Alexius and Caina regarded each other in silence.
“Did Halfdan ever tell you?” said Alexius at last.
Caina blinked. “Tell me what, my lord Emperor?”
“How he joined the Ghosts.”
She almost smiled. “No. It…was a game between us. When I asked, he would tell a different story every time. Sometimes an outrageous lie, and sometimes a cunning story. I would have to find the errors. But he never told me the truth.”
“It was over forty years ago,” said Alexius. “The old Emperor was sick, and there was a great deal of upheaval over the choice of his successor. Some of my enemies sent the Kindred after my sister Rhoanna and I, and we fled to a vineyard in Caeria Superior. The owner of the vineyard was a scoundrel, but his young son was a dutiful lad, and Rhoanna charmed him. The owner of the vineyard sold us to the Kindred, but his son warned us and we fled. A few years later the Kindred killed my sister,” the grief of it echoed within him, even all these long years later, “but I was the new Emperor. The son of the vineyard owner came to me, and to repay him for my life, I gave him a place in the Ghosts. Halfdan served me ever since.”
“He told me that, once,” said Caina. “I didn’t think he was telling the truth.”
“I grieved to hear of his death,” said Alexius, “and I am pleased you dealt out justice to his killer.”
“You knew him longer than I did,” said Caina.
“I did,” said Alexius. He sighed. “And I trusted him as I trusted no other man. And he trusted you.”
Caina blinked, a glint of tears in her blue eyes.
“He told me about you often,” said Alexius. “The barren girl who grew up, became a nightfighter, and saved my Empire. We never met before yesterday, Caina daughter of Sebastian, but I know a great deal about you. And I know I owe you a great debt.”
She regarded him in silence for a moment, and he saw the intelligence Halfdan had described in her.
“But you’re going to execute me anyway,” she said.
“I may have no choice,” said Alexius. “Corbould Maraeus is one of the most powerful lords in the Empire, and the Imperial Curia will probably elect one of his sons as my successor once I am dead. Lord Conn, most likely, after his victories in the Argamaz Desert. Yet if I fail to execute you for the murder of his son, Lord Corbould will withdraw his support from my throne. Though he would not do anything so crass as a rebellion.”
“But your rule would be severely weakened,” said Caina, “making civil war a real possibility. And a certainty after you die.”
Alexius nodded. “You understand.”
“Of course, you are the Emperor,” said Caina, “and you could merely pardon me. But it doesn’t work that way, does it?”
Alexius felt himself smile, impressed. She was as clever as Halfdan had said. “It does not. They say the Emperor is the most powerful man in the Empire, but often it does not work that way. I am like a custodian, trying to keep the lords and the merchants and the magi and the provinces from ripping each other apart.”
“Which is why the Ghosts are useful to you,” said Caina, “your unseen hand in keeping order.”
“Such as when you killed the Lord Governor of Rasadda, or exposed Amirzid Asurius,” said Alexius, “before they could cause revolts.” He sighed and rubbed his face. “I am glad you understand. I must do what is necessary to maintain peace in the Empire, no matter how grim. Because if I do not, the cost will be countless innocent lives.”
“Which is why,” said Caina, “you are going to execute me.”
She did not sound upset. Merely…indifferent. He could understand why. In the last three weeks, the man she had regarded as a second father and the man she loved had both been killed in front of her. In her current state of mind, she did not care about her own fate.
Alexius had felt that way, more than once. But he was the Emperor of Nighmar, and the burden of the Empire’s peace and security was upon his shoulders. He had no choice but to go forward.
“No,” said Alexius. “Instead, I am going to give you a choice.”
She blinked in surprise. Clearly, she had not expected that.
“First,” said Alexius, “if you wish, I will have you executed. You may have wearied of life, and I will not deny you the final rest, if that is what you wish.”
A flicker of amusement went over her tired face. “Hardly a compelling argument.”
“I thought not,” said Alexius. “I will be blunt. I do not believe you responsible for Aiodan Maraeus’s death, even if your hand dealt the blow. The blame rests with the renegade Ranarius, not with you. But Lord Corbould does not believe that. And Lord Aeolus thinks that you may have been twisted by the magi or the Moroaica, and he believes the safest course is to kill you. So I must take some action against you, which leads to the remaining three choices.”
“Which are?” said Caina.
“Exile from the Empire, and I expel you from the Ghosts,” said Alexis. She nodded without expression. “You could take up residence in New Kyre. Lord Kylon seems most grateful to you, and I am certain he would give you sanctuary.”
“Though that would cost him,” said Caina, “since the Assembly of New Kyre saw me try to kill you.”
“That was Sicarion,” said Alexius.
“If Sicarion convinced Lord Corbould,” said Caina, “I am sure his illusion convinced some of the lords of the Assembly.”
“That leads to the third choice I am able to offer you,” said Alexius.
“Which is?”
“Exile, but you remain in the Ghosts, and are banished to Istarinmul,” said Alexius.
She frowned. “Istarinmul? Why?”
“The Ghost circle in Istarinmul was destroyed by the Kindred during the war,” said Alexius, “and we need to rebuild it. I would send you alone to Istarinmul, with a sum of money, in whatever disguise you choose to employ. Then you could assemble a new Ghost circle in Istarinmul as you saw fit.”
Caina shook her head. “I’ve never been to Istarinmul. I speak the language, but I know little of the city.”
“The fourth choice is that I fake your death, give you a sum of money, and allow you to go and do as you please,” said Alexius. “To reinvent your life in whatever form you wish, so long as you leave both Malarae and the Ghosts. But,” he considered for a moment, “from what Halfdan told me of you, I think you might find that intolerable. You are a fighter, and would grow restless if idle.”
“I was ready to stop,” said Caina. “I was going to settle down in Malarae with Corvalis, and run the House of Kularus…”
Her voice broke, and she scowled and looked at the ceiling, rubbing at her eyes.
“But we don’t get what we want, do we?” she said at last. “We never get what we want.”
“Sometimes not,” said Alexius. “What I want is to pardon you and give you a title at my court, for you saved both my Empire and the world. But since that is not within my power, I instead offer you these four choices. Death, exile, a Ghost circle, or a new life and identity in whatever shape you wish. Which will you choose?”
“The star is the key to the crystal,” said Caina. “Do you know what that means?”
“I fear not,” said Alexius, puzzled. “Is it from a poem? A song, perhaps?”
“I know not,” said Caina.
“A matter for another time, then,” said Alexius. “A more immediate matter. Which do you choose?”
&nb
sp; She bowed her head for a moment, and then told him.
Chapter 27 - Closed Circle
The next day, the Imperial Guards walked Caina to the vast harbor of New Kyre, to where the merchant ship waited to take her to Istarinmul.
Her head and heart felt as if they were full of broken glass shards, ready to cut at the slightest touch. She wanted to lie down and sleep forever. She wanted Corvalis, she wanted to hear Halfdan launch into one of his interminable lectures about wine.
Instead she walked between the Imperial Guards, her pack swaying against her back. She wore again the disguise of a caravan guard, a wandering mercenary traveling to Istarinmul in search of his fortune.
And when she arrived…then she would see.
Her mind whispered that it was not too late, that she could return to the Emperor and ask for death. She had looked into the gate to the realm beyond, and she knew that Corvalis and Halfdan and all the others awaited her beyond the threshold.
But she was not ready to lie down and die just yet.
They reached the quay, the massive statues of the ashtairoi rising in the distance, and Caina blinked in surprise.
A crowd awaited her.
“My dear girl,” said Theodosia, “did you really think you could sneak off unnoticed?”
Caina made herself smile. “I had little choice in the matter.”
And then, despite herself, she smiled in truth.
Ark stood next to Theodosia, and so did Kylon and Thalastre. Lord Martin waited next to Ark, solemn in the black coat of a Nighmarian nobleman.
“This isn’t just,” said Ark. “I owe Lord Corbould a great deal, but this is not justice.”
“It is necessary,” said Caina. “Perhaps it is for the best. I did kill Aiodan Maraeus, even if he was possessed at the time.”
Ark growled. “You saved my wife. You save my son, twice. And if not for you, those damned living corpses would have filled the world.”
“Corvalis and the Sage,” said Caina, “deserve most of the credit.”
“You helped save my life,” said Thalastre.
“And you helped not save just the Empire, but New Kyre as well,” said Kylon. “If you ever need a refuge, Caina Amalas, House Kardamnos shall always welcome you with open arms.”
Jonathan Moeller - The Ghosts 09 - Ghost in the Surge Page 29
