Keep me updated, sent Kaid. Be safe tonight.
You, too.
He turned to look at Cheelar and M’yikku. “Food,” he said succinctly.
Vartra’s realm
“I’ve done your will, L’Shoh,” Vartra said as he returned to his own realm of the woodland forge. “And I know you can hear me! I arranged to have him seen by two of the harem favorites, so you have your sighting of him as the Zsadhi. Now I will do what I see right by them all!”
Early on Zhal-Oeshi 15th (August)
“My harem they hit this time!” fumed K’hedduk to Zerdish. “This will be kept as quiet as possible, I will not be made a laughing stock! And two of the females said they saw the Zsadhi! Can you believe it? A black-skinned Valtegan, no less! I don’t know whether to believe them or have them whipped for lying!”
“I don’t think they were lying, Majesty,” said Zerdish carefully. “I think they genuinely believe that is what they saw. It’s possible that one of this team of raiders is using something to darken his skin to make him appear to be the Zsadhi of legend.”
“Sounds more believable than that the actual Zsadhi is visiting the city like this,” grumbled K’hedduk angrily. “I want to know how they got in here unseen by any of my security!”
“I’d like to know that, too,” said Zerdish. “I wonder if there is any collusion between them and the security people on duty tonight.”
“Have them arrested for incompetence,” fumed K’hedduk, clutching his dressing gown closed around himself. “Give them to Ziosh to interrogate!”
“Already done, Majesty. We should have some news by morning.”
“Have you got a clean-up crew in there? I want the suite back to normal as soon as possible! And cancel any visits by the Court wives in the meantime, I will not have word of this incursion known outside this room!”
Zerdish bowed. “Is there anything else you want, Majesty?”
“Yes, get Nayash here and have the kitchen prepare some hot food for two at once! I’m not going to get any more sleep tonight, so I don’t see why anyone else should. I’ll be in my room dressing if Nayash arrives before I’m ready.”
“Yes, Majesty,” said Zerdish, bowing again as K’hedduk swept out of the room to get dressed.
* * *
By the time Kusac arrived at the Emperor’s dining room, K’hedduk was a lot calmer and was sitting at a side table eating. Another chair waited there, with a place set and a meal waiting under a warming lid.
“Sit, eat,” said K’hedduk, pointing to the place at his table. “I have a job for you to do tonight,” he said. “I need you to rid me of those Generals you labeled as untrustworthy, and Inquisitor Ziosh. Make it look like this Zsadhi is responsible for it. Might as well get some positive use out of him.”
“Rid you of them?” asked Kusac, taking the lid off a plate of scrambled eggs and some streaky, narrow, fried breakfast meat. He put the lid on a mat left on the table for that purpose.
“You want me to kill them?” he asked carefully, lifting up a fork and scooping up some of the eggs. Having only recently eaten himself, he really wasn’t hungry, yet he had to appear to be.
“Don’t be dense,” snapped K’hedduk, concentrating on eating. “Yes, I mean kill them. The Zsadhi hit again tonight. This time, though, he was seen. I want these murders put down to the Zsadhi’s doing.”
“He was seen?”
K’hedduk looked up at him. “Yes, he was seen, by two of the females in my harem. Somehow this person pretending to be the Zsadhi got into my harem, and he and his gang left scrawled images of the sword over the walls and another one melted into the stone. Obviously,” he said, looking back down at his plate, “I don’t want that news known, but if there are several deaths in the Palace caused by this Zsadhi, then word of a sighting will not be untoward.”
“If I’m to make it look like the Zsadhi has killed all these people, then I’ll need supplies of paints like those they use,” said Kusac.
K’hedduk snapped his fingers, and Zerdish brought over a backpack filled with cans of spray paints in red and blue, the colors that had been used for the Zsadhi raids.
“Use them,” he said, pushing his plate away and getting to his feet. He threw his napkin on the table as Kusac leaped up to his feet.
“Finish eating, then gather your men and go forth now in the dark of the night, to kill these threats to my rule of law,” he said. “Return when you’re done. In the meantime, I intend to see to destroying that alien device sitting up in the outer courtyard once and for all!”
He was gone before Kusac could remind him he still had another day to examine it.
“The Emperor will be displeased if you leave the food,” said Zerdish before following his master out.
He sat down again, looking at the food before slowly starting to fork it into his mouth and forcing himself to swallow it. This was going to take some planning. There were only three of the Generals he had labeled as untrustworthy on M’zull at this time; the other two were on the space stations with their fleets. And in the meantime, he could do nothing to stop K’hedduk from blowing up the transformer!
He sent to Kaid, alerting him to what was happening and asking him to pass it on to Annuur in the faint hope there was something they could do to prevent the artifact from being disabled.
Finishing the meal, he picked up the backpack and left, heading for his own quarters, and sending ahead mentally to meet Rezac there in Valtegan form and his two commandos, Noolgoi and Noi’kkah.
They were all waiting for him in his large public lounge area.
“I’ve checked the room,” said M’yikku. “It’s clean.”
“K’hedduk has issued orders for me to kill the three Generals currently on M’zull that he believes are disloyal to him,” he said quietly. “As you know they are Generals Lezhu, Shayaza, and Chaikul. As well as that, he wants Inquisitor Ziosh killed.” He looked round the group. “He wants the Zsadhi, who was sighted tonight, to be held responsible for these executions and has given me paints so we can paint Zsadhi symbols on the walls and doors of our targets. That’s the good news,” he sighed. “The bad news is he is going to the transformer now to blow it up.” He held up a hand for silence as the expected outburst came from his team.
“I have told Kaid and he will have alerted Annuur. As of right now, I don’t know if there is anything they can do to prevent it from being damaged. However, that is not our concern right now. Carrying out the executions is.”
“Two teams?” asked Rezac.
“Two teams,” Kusac confirmed. “You will lead the team taking out the Generals. I will lead the team targeting the Head Inquisitor. Keep it simple, just knock on each door, gain entry to the house and the General, and kill him. Kill anyone who sees you, and decorate the place with Zsadhi swords. It’s night; that and the darkness will be our friend. I’ll take Cheelar and M’yikku with me. Maalash, go with Rezac. He’ll need your help tonight. Noolgoi and Noi’kkah, with Rezac as usual. Can you manage with four of you?” he asked.
Rezac nodded. “We’ll manage. Can you?”
“I should be able to. After all, he isn’t a soldier like the Generals you’re dealing with.”
“But he does have a lot of underlings close at hand,” said Rezac quietly. “My advice? Have Kaid and as many as he can get together ready to transport in at a moment’s notice in case anything goes wrong.”
“You might be right,” he said. “This is another fight that has been coming for some time. Let’s get going. Don’t forget your paint cans,” he said, holding out the backpack for each of them to take a can.
* * *
“Have you formulated any plans on what you’re going to do?” asked Cheelar.
“Not yet. Get him alone and keep him isolated from his priests for a start,” said Kusac, rubbing a hand over his head, thinking how much more com
forting it felt when he had ears and fur.
“Can we get him into a place of our choosing, like the Throne Room?” asked M’yikku. “In his office, he’s at the heart of his little kingdom of priests. Too much chance of one or more of them coming into the office when we’re there.”
“To do that I’m going to need a pretext to get him out of his office,” said Kusac. “He’s been after me to give him information on what K’hedduk is planning for some time now, but I’ve always managed to avoid him. I’m not sure how convenient it would seem if I suddenly turn up wanting to do just that.”
“It may seem convenient, but he can’t afford to miss an opportunity to get information on his rival,” said Cheelar. “You could send one of us with a message for him to meet you in the Throne Room.”
“And he won’t come and will demand I go to him. Then he’ll be on his guard. Dammit, I’m just going to go into his office and shoot him and anyone else who gets in my way,” said Kusac, throwing the backpack to M’yikku and striding out of the room. “I need to try and stop K’hedduk from destroying the transformer!”
* * *
The other two were almost running to keep up with him as he made his way down the final corridor between the temple and the priests’ offices, then stopped at Inquisitor Ziosh’s room. He already knew the head priest was there and alone. Reaching out mentally to silence him, he yanked the door open and entered, the other two filing in after him.
Ziosh sat there, eyes following him as he pulled out his gun.
“You have no idea how pleased I am to end your reign of terror, Ziosh,” he said quietly, aiming at the other. Two short “pops” of sound and the Inquisitor slumped to the desk, most of his head decorating the wall behind him.
“Paint the Zsadhi symbols now,” ordered Kusac. “I’ll keep watch for any of his priests.” He leaned against the door, gun ready, his eyes taking on a slightly distant look.
“Done,” said Cheelar, a few minutes later.
“A group of priests in the Throne Room heading here,” said Kusac. “We’ll take them out and desecrate the room.”
“What about preventing K’hedduk from blowing up the transformer?” asked M’yikku.
“I can’t reach him in time,” he said, opening the door. “We’ll have to hope that Annuur has a fix for it. Let’s do what we can for now.”
“Why’s he hitting out like this at all these people and the artifact, getting it to look like the Zsadhi did it?” asked M’yikku. “I thought he wanted the Zsadhi caught and his exploits suppressed. Now suddenly he wants very public deaths blamed on him? Is he losing it or what?”
“I think our destabilizing plan is working well,” said Kusac with a feral grin, running down the corridor to the Throne Room entrance. As he did, he had a niggling feeling that this was not the wisest thing to do right now. He should be getting back to his apartment and meeting up with Rezac . . .
He shrugged his shoulders, feeling the weight on them vanish as he did. “No,” he muttered. “You do not control me, Vartra! I’ll damned well do it my way from now on!”
Throwing open the heavy Throne Room door, he dived inside, followed by the other two. Several feet away a group of five priests stopped suddenly and began to turn to run the opposite way. It was too late as the beams from the three energy pistols cut them down and finished them off.
“Paint it,” ordered Kusac, getting up from the crouch he’d assumed and heading over to the throne at a run.
It was stone, with a high back decorated with creatures he knew Carrie would call griffins. Kusac put his hand on it, reaching for the nature of the stone. It was softer than the diorite he’d been dealing with and would only take moments to form a Zsadhi sword out of it. “No, I’ll not do it, Vartra,” he hissed, snatching his hand back. “Hit the translocators now,” he ordered. “Time to leave!”
Mountain village, same morning
Carrie had gone to the village with Kaid, T’Chebbi, Banner, and Jo, all of them using the Cabbaran-gifted morphing suits to appear as M’zullians. They were there to talk to Shazzuk about the future they hoped he would be involved in with them.
Leaving the males to chat, Carrie wandered off to the chapel, a bundle wrapped in a piece of blanket under her arm. She was looking for Rhassa, the priestess.
“Greetings, Carrie,” said Rhassa, looking up from where she was arranging flowers on the altar. “What brings you in here today?”
“I wondered if you could tell me anything about this,” she said, unwrapping her bundle to reveal the glittering headdress.
“Ah!” exclaimed Rhassa, dropping the flowers and taking a step back from her. “Where did you come by that?” she asked.
“One of the village females gave it to me the last time I was here. She said it was a replica of Queen Ishardia’s crown.” Carrie held it out toward the elderly female, but she refused to touch it, backing away until she knocked the vase off the altar.
“Burn it! That’s the second vase this month,” Rhassa lamented, bending down to pick up the flowers and the broken pieces of glass. One of the village women came running forward with a cloth to mop up the spilled water from the altar and the floor.
“Bad omen, and today of all days!” the woman exclaimed. “It’s one of the inauspicious days of this month, bad things happen on such a day. This is only the beginning, mark my words!”
“Enough! You let your tongue do your thinking instead of your brain.” chided Rhassa, flicking the blanket over the crown before throwing the broken pieces of the vase into a waste bin. “Go back to your children and leave us to the chapel,” she ordered.
Sniffing and complaining, the other female left.
“What can you tell me about this crown?” asked Carrie, uncovering it again.
“We have no such replica of the crown in our village,” Rhassa said quietly. “Let me show you something else,” she said, reaching out to take Carrie by the arm and lead her to where the wall frieze was missing a figure.
“Until the day you last came, there was a figure in this space—the figure of a female wearing that crown. But she wasn’t Queen Ishardia the Gentle; she was her evil sister, Tashraka.”
Carrie’s face paled as she reached out a hand to touch the rough stone of the frieze. Beneath her fingers, it felt so cold it almost burned. She looked up suddenly, eyes blazing. “You lie!” she hissed. “It was Ishardia that was there on the wall, not Tashraka!”
“I speak the truth,” said Rhassa, folding her shawl more closely over her chest. “Until you left that day, the carving of Tashraka wearing that crown was there.”
“I will not consort any longer with liars,” Carrie said coldly. “You are not fit to be a priestess when you cannot tell the truth from a lie! Leave this chapel and never darken its doors again!”
Rhassa stared at her, mouth open in shock until Carrie took a threatening step toward to her. “Leave!” she shouted, placing the crown slowly on her head. The fit was loose at first, then like that night in her dream, she felt the wings tighten protectively around her. A feeling of power suffused her body.
She looked to where the priestess had stood, but she was no longer there. Good, she had much to do and not much time to do it in. First, she needed to reach the Palace. Once there, she would find this K’hedduk and make him Captain of her Guard. It was time that the proper order of things was restored to this world. Males were not fit to rule.
She left the chapel, drawing the shadows of the afternoon around her so that none saw her leave.
M’zull Palace, Kusac’s apartment
Kusac had just materialized in his bedroom with his two aides when suddenly his link to Carrie changed radically. No longer was there the closeness; now there was only a coldness and disdain, and a sense of distance.
He staggered, catching hold of Cheelar to steady himself, and reached mentally for her. Anger and hatred floo
ded back along their link to the point he had to drop it.
“What is it?” demanded Cheelar as Kusac pushed himself to his feet.
“Something is wrong at the den,” he said. “Keep a watch for me, I’ll be back.” With that, he tuned his translocator to their mountain base and vanished.
Materializing in the main cavern, he discovered they were all at the village. He reached out for Kaid, sending a wordless request for an update.
It came back instantly. Carrie’s vanished. She was carrying the crown of Tashraka and went to the chapel to ask about it. Said she got it from a female on her last visit, but that’s impossible. There is no crown and there was no female. What there is you won’t believe—a missing figure on that damned frieze—that of Tashraka wearing her armor and that crown.
I know about the missing figure. My link to her has gone, he sent back. I can only sense anger and her hate of me. She sees me as her enemy.
She would—you’re the Zsadhi to her Tashraka, sent Kaid. The villagers are convinced she is heading to the city to help K’hedduk, and that she’ll tell him all about you and about the village helping you. We have to stop her.
We’ve more problems. K’hedduk has blown up the matter transformer. Annuur says it can’t receive the signals from the nanites or activate them when they are ready.
Crap, sent Kaid. You get back to the city, I’ll tell Annuur and start a hunting pack to find Carrie. Be careful of her, by the way. Apparently, she was some kind of a sorceress in her time. And before you rubbish that, she put on that crown and it changed her utterly, even down to her looks—she now is Tashraka to all intents and purposes according to Rhassa, who saw it happen.
Has she any advice?
Beyond saying she told you so? None. She says we have to let the legend play itself out one final time.
Circle's End Page 39
