Eon - 01 Eon

by Alison Goodman

  He jerked free of my hands. 'Get off me.'

  I backed away out of reach, as he slowly pushed himself upright. He looked over at me, his hand at his throat.

  'That was a low blow,' he said, swaying on his feet. 'You have a woman's sense of honour.'

  His barb bit deep. 'I am trying to keep our pact. Is that not honour?'

  He snorted. 'Mutual survival? You nearly killed me.'

  'As you did me.'

  You're right.' He laughed, the sound breaking into a cough. 'But then, I am your Emperor.'

  'And I am the only hope you have of keeping your throne.'

  His lingering half smile shifted into harsher lines. 'A woman Dragoneye.' His eyes scanned my body and I felt heat rush to my foce. 'My father warned me to watch for men's hidden natures,' he said, 'but I am sure he had not reckoned on something like you. Why should I believe that you hold my interests? You are obviously a skilled liar.'

  I bit my lip. 'I am here, in front of you. I could be halfway to the islands.'

  I le tilted his head in acknowledgement. 'True. But I would say your presence is as much in your own interest as mine. I have no doubt Lord Ido would hunt down a woman who could poach his power.' He paused, his gaze sharpening. 'How did you move the King Monsoon?

  Did you use his power?'

  I clutched the silk of the Story Robe, forcing myself past the memory of Ido's brutal control.

  'Yes.'

  'Then you have made a very dangerous enemy' He motioned for me to stand. 'Which is better for me. I trust the power of your fear and self-interest more than I trust your sense of honour, Lord Eon.' He caught himself. 'But, of course, you are not Lord Eon. What is your real name?'

  I felt my skin flush again. I did not want to be a girl before him. I did not want to become less.

  'It would be easier if I remained Lord Eon, Your Majesty. I will need the rank it gives until...'

  'Until you have your power, or you are dead,' he said. 'Those are the options I give you, Lord Eon.'

  I nodded. 'They have always been my options, Your Majesty'

  He walked over to the table. 'You say Ido has a book?'

  'It is the Mirror Dragon folio. The only record of the dragon. He stole it from the treasures before they came to me.'

  'So Prahn was not mistaken.' He poured wine into another bowl. Even in the dim light, I could see his hand was shaking. 'If Ido has the book, he must already know its secrets.'

  'No. I don't think so.' Hesitantly I walked towards him,

  watching for any sign of his will, but hr did not stop me. 'It is written in Woman Script.'

  He grunted. 'Stands to reason.' He raised the bowl to drink, stopping halfway as he saw my surprise. 'My mother my true mother — showed me a few characters of the script.' He threw back the wine and winced as he swallowed. 'I have always wondered why the Mirror Dragon left the circle. Why she,' he met my eyes in fleeting acceptance, 'was not in any records.

  Perhaps your book will finally tell us.'

  'Your Majesty, I don't know why she left us. But I do know that your uncle and Ido have plans to challenge your claim. We need to move quickly to retrieve the book.' There were no windows in the pavilion to gauge if it was night or day. I quickly estimated the time that had passed. 'The Dragoneyes will be back from Daikiko by now Ido should be in his hall.'

  'Leave the ghost watch?' He looked over at the bier. 'No, you are right. My father would have understood the urgency We must ride to Ido's hall now and demand the book. He will obey his Emperor.'

  I was not so certain. Nor did I want to face Ido again.

  'No, Your Majesty. You must stay safe. I will go, with Ryko.' I paused, realising I did not know if the islander was back from his task or would even agree to accompany me. 'We know where it will be.'

  'You will obey your Emperor too, Lord Eon,' he said coldly. 'I will go to the Rat Dragon Hall and we will finish this business.' He started towards the double doors. 'Come.'

  I took a deep breath. At least we were moving. But towards what?

  CHAPTER 20

  I stepped back as the Imperial guard led the horse around to me. The animal's heavy chestnut shoulder was at the same level as my neck, its tossing head a big wedge of unpredictability.

  Another guard kneeled beside it, blithely ignoring the fidgeting hooves, waiting to boost me up into the saddle. The Emperor turned his own horse, peering down at me in the torchlight.

  'What are you waiting for, Lord Eon?'

  'Your Majesty, I don't know how...' I jumped back as the horse blew impatiently.

  'I see. You could have told me sooner.' From his high vantage point, the Emperor looked around at the assembled guards. 'I take it your man can ride?'

  'Yes.'

  He motioned to Ryko. 'Take your master up behind you.'

  Ryko strode forwards, his eyes sliding over mine as he approached the horse. When the Emperor and I had emerged prematurely from the Pavilion of the Five Ghosts, I had found Ryko waiting in the square. He'd kept his word and returned to guard me, but we had not spoken beyond orders and his manner

  was still cold. Deftly, he unbuckled and removed the elaborate saddle, then nodded to the guard who was waiting to boost him onto the animal's back. I lc was mounted in a moment, the guard calmly staying in position for me. Gingerly, I Stepped on his offered knee. As I balanced, unsure what to do next, Ryko grabbed my arm and pulled me up, dumping me onto the horse-behind him. I caught the flash of teeth as some of the foot guards struggled to hide their smiles.

  'Hold me around the waist,' Ryko said shortly. And do not dig your knees too hard into the beast.'

  I gripped his shoulder with one hand, trying to arrange the heavy silk of my robe into a workable position. After the days of relentless protocol and sadness, the Emperor had been eager for some action and would not even delay for the change of clothing urged on him by flustered protocol officers. Nor had he offered me a sword from his armourer; already I was less than Lord Eon.

  Ryko reached back for my hands and placed them around his middle. I could smell the tang of his sweat and feel the hard muscles of his body tensing to keep us both seated.

  'Hold on or you will fall.'

  I jerked against him as the horse moved, and tightened the hold of my knees and hands. The only way to manage was to cram myself against Ryko's back. I slid forwards and pressed myself closer, knowing the intimacy was as unwanted for him as it was for me.

  As we fell in behind the Emperor's eight-horse elite escort, I could not bear Ryko's hostility or silent reproach any longer.

  'I am sorry,' I said. 'I am sorry I did not tell you. I am sorry I am not what you wanted.'

  He turned his head, his eyes bright with anger. 'This is not something that can be forgiven with a laugh and a shrug,' he said. 'This land is on a tipping point between enlightenment and the old dark times. You have pushed us back towards that darkness.'

  I felit my own anger build. 'Do you think that was my aim? Do you think that one day I decided to take on a dangerous masquerade...' I looked around at the nearby guards, lowering my Voice, '...a dangerous masquerade to plunge this land into ruin?'

  'I don't care about your aim. It is the result that is my concern.' He turned away

  'The result is not yet decided,' I said. 'What do you think I am doing now? I risked my life to tell the Emperor the truth, and now I risk it again to get the folio back and claim the Mirror Dragon. I am still here and I am doing everything I can. You know 1 have power. I saved your life with it, and maybe I can stop Ido and Sethon with it. At least give me that. At least give me the chance to prove my worth.'

  He was silent then I felt the rise and fall of a deep sigh.

  'Yes,' he conceded. 'You have power. And you are here. But as to your worth...' His shoulder twitched.

  'You think that because I am female, I will fail?' I demanded, close to his ear.

  A female dragon,' he said, the words hardly more than a vibration. I leaned even closer to catch them
. And a female Dragoneye. Gone for five hundred years and then suddenly returned. Lady Dela and the Emperor are both ready to jump on the small hope you offer.' He looked back at me again and his eyes no longer held anger; they were flat with suspicion. 'I am no scholar, but I am not so sure. I cannot help wondering: does such a strange union bring us good or does it bring us evil?'

  'You think me evil? Some kind of demon?' I could not keep the hurt out of my voice.

  'I don't know what you are. But you are not truthful, and I don't think you are telling us the whole truth even yet.' He faced the front again. 'Know that I will be watching you, Lord Eon, or whoever you are. And I will not hesitate to protect the interests of the Emperor.'

  I sat back, winded by his words.

  We were crossing the expanse of the audience courtyard, approaching the huge Gate of Supreme Benevolence. The side Gates of Humility were already cosed to the populace and the night lanterns lit, so only a few lower officials were crossing the large paved area to thcgalleiics on cither side. They fell to their knees and kowtowed as their new Emperor rode past. It would not take long for the news to spread that the Pearl Emperor had abandoned his duties as a son and ridden out with his guards and Lord Eon.

  The Way of Heavenly Conduct, the massive centre gateway reserved for His Majesty, was already being opened. To the right, the porters in charge of the Judgement Gate hurried to open the elaborate gilded grilles, while the men keeping the two smaller Gates of Humility were being roused by the cries of the foot soldiers. As the Emperor and his elite guard rode through the central vaulted passageway, Ryko steered our horse through the Judgement Gate in deference to my rank. The horse's hooves clattered on the tiled floor and for a brief moment I caught the magnificence of the painted dragons on the gold stuccoed walls and the etched red lacquered ceiling. Then we were out on the other side, taking our place amongst the columns of horsemen and foot guards behind the Emperor and his elite.

  There was no delay Even as the last men were marching through the Gates of Humility, we were riding along the avenue that cut through the Emerald Ring gardens and led to the Dragon Circle and the twelve Dragon Halls. I clung on to Ryko as the horse quickened into a trot, my rump bones thudding into its back in the wrong rhythm. In the absorbed minute or so as I tried to synchronise my movements with the animal's stride, I missed the tiny event that sent a ripple of unease through the company All I knew was that Ryko's back suddenly tensed and, ahead, the captain of the guards halted our progress. Around us the men stopped, hands immediately going to their bows, eyes watching every shadow in the lush gardens to our left and right.

  'What is it?' I whispered as Ryko reined in the horse.

  He nodded to the horizon. A faint glow brightened the night sky, 'Fire.'

  It was close enough to be in the Dragon Circle precinct. A hall?'

  The nearest was the Ox Dragon Hall, were Lord Tyron and Hollin all right?

  The captain had already turned his horse to come alongside the Emperor. They spoke in voices so low that only the sibilance reached us. Then the captain nodded and motioned us forwards. Ryko manoeuvred our beast past the elite guard who were already surrounding the Emperor in a protective formation.

  'Lord Eon,' the captain said, briefly bowing his head. For a Shadow Man he was very lean, his authority and experience etched deeply in the lines around his eyes and mouth. He turned his attention to Ryko. 'You saw?'

  Ryko grunted.

  'It is in the opposite direction of the Rat Dragon Hall,' the captain said. 'His Majesty has commanded us to continue.'

  Ryko stared over at the strange light again. 'I don't like it,' he said. 'It reminds me of the Bano Pass.'

  The captain nodded, rubbing his chin. They obviously had some shared history. 'My thoughts exactly. But we cannot gainsay the Emperor on a phantom from the past. I'll send scouts and we will continue, but the first sign of something amiss, we will put the safety strategy in place.'

  'Understood,' Ryko said. 'But whatever the case, Lord Eon and I will be going on to the Rat Dragon Hall.'

  The captain nodded and urged his horse along the column of silent men. At his signal, four foot guards broke away from the group and headed into the gardens, avoiding a curved walking path lit with white mourning lanterns.

  'What do you think it is?' I asked Ryko as we moved off again.

  'Quiet,' he ordered. His head was tilted, listening. We rode on, unease building with every step, I'inally, the intersection of the Dragon Circle appeared over n slight rise,

  Ryko straightened. 'Do you hear?'

  I strained to find something above the hooves and footsteps and muffled jangling of our troop.

  A faint sound, more a disturbance in the air, finally separated out from the background noise.

  'What is it?' I whispered.

  I felt the tension in Ryko's body grow. He bundled the reins into one hand, dropping the other to his sword. We had arrived at the junction, the broad paved Dragon Circle curving to our left and right. Kicking more speed from the horse, Ryko took us around the corner level with the two rear guards of the Emperor's escort.

  Without the buffer of the gardens on either side, the disturbance suddenly hardened into faint but unmistakeable metal clashes of combat. Ryko reined in the horse just as one of the scouts broke out of the garden to our right and ran along the edge of the green, his hand held up in a signal.

  Ryko squinted into the dim light. 'Army' he breathed. He leaned forwards as the man came closer, the signal changing into a closed fist. Attacking.'

  The captain pulled his horse up beside us, the brutal stop curling the animal's head to its chest.

  Army attacking the Dragon Halls? It can't be.'

  The scout ran up to us. 'Captain, High Lord Sethon's army has taken the Ox Dragon Hall and the Tiger Dragon Hall,' he panted. And I saw one battalion at the north entrance to the inner precinct.'

  'What about Lord Tyron?' I asked.

  The scout shook his head. 'Dead, my lord. I saw him beheaded on the roadside. And his apprentice.'

  Lord Tyron. And Hollin? Killed like traitors and left on the roadside? The scout had to be wrong.

  'No,'! said.'No.'

  The scout bowed. 'I saw it, my lord. The Tiger Dragoneye and his boy too. But it was not Sethon's men who killed them.'

  'Who, then?' I demanded.

  'They wore no colours.'

  The captain scanned the dark road behind us. 'Sethon must have circled the inner precinct.'

  'He is not waiting for the formal challenge,' Ryko said. 'He is going to take the throne by force.'

  'With Ido's help,' I said.

  The captain hissed out a breath. 'Then they'll only be attacking the Dragoneyes loyal to the Emperor.' He looked down at his scout. 'Take your best and get to the palace and warn them.

  And any of the halls that are not breached.' The man nodded and ran to his waiting men. The captain dragged his horse around. 'I'm getting His Majesty out of here. Do you come with us?'

  Ryko shook his head.

  The captain gave one quick nod. 'Good luck, then. You know where we will be, Ryko.' He kicked his beast forwards, calling the command.

  For a moment, I saw the pale face of the Emperor look back at me, and then his horse was herded along the road by his guards, the group breaking into a gallop.

  Something about the scout's report seemed wrong. He'd said Lord Elgon was dead too, but the Tiger Dragoneye was Sethon's man. Why would Ido kill Elgon? My lingering unease mushroomed into horror. Ido was killing them all; he was building the String of Pearls.

  I clutched Ryko's arm. 'It is not Sethon killing the Dragoneyes loyal to the Emperor,' I said. 'It is Ido. He is killing all the Dragoneyes.'

  Ryko turned to stare at me. 'All of them?' he echoed. 'Why would he do that? It would be madness.'

  It was madness. The madness of a man who would be Emperor.

  'The black folio we saw in his library — it holds the secret to a terrible weapon. Ido thinks thai if h
e kills all the Dragoneyes he will have that weapon.'

  Ryko grabbed me by the from of my robe, his sleeve falling back to show the knife snapped to his arm. 'Is there anyihing else I need to know, Lord lion?' he said through his teeth. Our horse sidled nervously across the paving, he tightened the reins and his grip on me, holding both of us in rigid control.

  'He thinks I am the key to the weapon,' I gasped. 'He will come looking for me. I must have my power to hold him off. That is the truth, I swear.'

  He released me, his face tight with disgust. 'Always half the story Never the whole.' He pulled the horse around. 'We will go through the Ox hunting forest.'

  'What about Lord Tyron?' I said. 'What about Hollin?'

  'You heard the scout,' Ryko said. 'They are dead. And if you are right, then Ido's assassins will be in every other hall.' He gave a short bitter laugh. 'It seems the Rat Dragon Hall is the safest place to be.'

  He angled his body over the horse's neck, the animal responding with a jolting lurch into speed. I wrapped my arms around Ryko's waist, praying I would not fall. The stretch and bunch of the horse's body beneath me was grinding my rump bones up through my spine. I closed my eyes. We would not be on the animal for much longer — the Rat Dragon Hall was the next in the Circle.

  A change in gait forced my eyes open. We had dropped to a walk and were heading into the dense shadowy cover of the hunting forest. Only a few weeks ago, Ryko was carrying me through the same forest on his back, his friendship and support a steadfast mooring in the treacherous court, the retrieval of the folio a bright hope. Now, here I was again; Ryko more foe than friend, and that bright hope worn down by doubt and desperation. We were heading towards the end play, and I was

  either going to walk away with the Mirror Dragon's power or I was going to die. With Sethon's army marching on the palace and Ido's men murdering the Dragoneyes, the latter seemed more likely. The bleak thought settled in my gut like a midwinter freeze.

  The horse pushed through the low outlying scrub into the thick undergrowth and trees. Ryko reined it in behind a dense copse of bushes.