The Desolate Empire Series: Books 1-3

by Christina Ochs

  “Then do it before you leave.”

  “I’ve already mentioned it to Father Landrus, and he isn’t keen on the idea. He feels it’s not the best way he can serve right now. And he thinks the office should be done away with altogether.”

  “He may be right.” Gwynneth tried to appear unconcerned. “But that’s not something that can be decided right now. And if it’s not what he wants, I don’t care.”

  “Gwynneth!”

  “Really, Kendryk. You’ve done everything to protect him and now you are risking your entire kingdom to see his teachings prevail. The least he can do is indulge you in this. It needn’t be permanent. Just someone to displace Julia and keep things running for the time being.”

  “You make a good point. I would feel much better knowing he’s in charge in Heidenhof. I’ll ask again.”

  “Do more than ask. Tell him, as his sovereign, you require this service of him right now. He can’t refuse.”

  “No, I don’t suppose he can.” Kendryk stood, and she rose with him. “I’ll talk to him now. Thank you darling for the excellent idea.”

  She was more excited than she ought to be and the thought of the priest’s glowering presence no longer haunting her filled her with relief.

  Janna

  They’d been riding along a main road in a long column. The flat land seemed to stretch out forever, so monotonous that Janna had stopped looking at it. For a time, she and Karil had tried playing a game, but it involved spotting different shapes and colors and there weren’t any here. Sure, there were the green and golds of the endless grass, but nothing else. No trees, no bushes, and not even a river in three days. Few people lived here, and the few that had, had disappeared. They hadn’t even found a farm to burn in two days.

  Janna didn’t mind. As kind as everyone had been, the sight of farmhouses and barns on fire still made her short of breath. A few times she hung onto her pommel and hoped the black spots in front of her eyes didn’t result in complete darkness.

  It upset Karil as well. “This is wrong,” he said. “These people are not the enemy of the empress. Papa and all of them are far away fighting her.”

  “I know,” Janna replied. “But it’s easier to attack those who can’t fight back. They hope that if they destroy enough farms, the empress’s enemies won’t have the food and money they need to keep their armies going.”

  “They’re wrong. Someday I will show them. Someday, I will find their people and show them how it feels to have everything destroyed around you.”

  “I understand. But it doesn’t help, does it? Everyone keeps trying to destroy each other, and it never ends.”

  “It shouldn’t end,” Karil said. “Until the empress is dead. Then it will be over.”

  “Perhaps,” Janna said. “But what if that makes her children angry, and when they grow up, they’ll try to kill those who killed their mother?” Though it seemed hard to imagine the children of the empress having any love for such a horrid woman.

  “She has children?” Karil looked amazed at the idea.

  “Of course. I think she doesn’t want to make the mistake the old emperor did and leave the succession in doubt.”

  The wound their way along the road. Janna got sleepy and wondered how any of the troopers stayed alert through these endless hours of nothing. She wound her hands through the reins and looped them to the pommel. If she fell asleep, the jerk would awaken her before she fell.

  She was already very comfortable on Zoltan. He was terribly tall, but never did anything sudden. After a few days on his back, she worried much less about falling off. It helped that she wore split skirts, as most of the women here did. Sitting astride seemed much safer.

  Suddenly there was a shout, and Zoltan came to a halt. The air filled with the piercing shrieks that Janna recognized as the Marjatyan battle cry. Familiar panic surged inside her, but she mustn’t black out right now. She counted to five, trying to slow her breathing, which was long enough for the whole convoy to stop. The hussars faced outward. It was hard to tell where the attack was coming from. Both sides, perhaps. Pistols fired all around through shouting and screaming.

  Soon she couldn’t see through the smoke from the guns and the dust kicked up by horses. She heard the whistle of bullets and leaned over Zoltan’s neck. “Keep your head down,” she shouted at Karil. It wouldn’t help if anyone had good aim, but a smaller target was better. Karil hunched over his horse’s neck.

  She peered through the smoke and noticed a few bodies on the ground. She wondered whose they were. Then there was a gap in the line and the outlines of someone who wasn’t a hussar. She couldn’t be captured by someone else now. To them, she would be the enemy. It occurred to her that Karil considered these his people.

  It seemed it had occurred to him at the same time. He glanced at Janna, and dug his heels into his horse’s sides, making for the gap. Without thinking, she grabbed his horse’s halter and held tight. Zoltan was much stronger than Karil’s mount and dug in his heels.

  Karil looked back at her incredulously. “Let me go!” he shouted.

  Kendryk

  With Arian Orland and Ossian Schurtz close on his heels, Kendryk didn’t slow down for the guards at the doors. He’d brought enough men that there wouldn’t be trouble. At the door to Julia’s study, Kendryk paused. “Wait here. I won’t be long.”

  “You’re sure you want to do this alone?” Arian asked.

  Kendryk nodded. “I’ll send the secretary out. See he stays out.”

  He opened the door without knocking. Count Greylen jumped to his feet, but Julia remained at her desk.

  “You can’t come in here,” Greylen said.

  “Out,” Kendryk said, holding the door open. Arian took one step inside, his hand on the hilt of his sword and Greylen scurried past him. Kendryk let the door fall shut behind him and turned back to Julia. She was standing, but stayed behind her desk.

  “I’m sorry to be unpleasant,” Kendryk said.

  “I fail to see how it could be otherwise.” Julia was as calm as usual. “Don’t worry, I imagine you can do this quickly.”

  “That would be best. And yet, I don’t wish to make you think I am disrespectful of you or your office. You have been a fine Maxima.”

  “What you wish has no bearing on how I feel.” Julia’s voice was flat, but her eyes burned.

  “I understand.” Kendryk took a deep breath. “This is overdue anyway. It has been some months since you’ve had control of the Terragand temples.”

  “I suppose Landrus put you up to this.”

  “Not at all. He doesn’t want this position, but I need him in it.”

  “While you pursue your ill-advised war against the empress and the Faith.”

  “There is no war and I have no quarrel with the Faith. I can’t say the same for all of its leaders.”

  Julia sniffed. “The outcome will be the same.”

  Kendryk sighed. “Let’s not get off track. As Prince of Terragand, I am relieving you of your post of Maxima.”

  “On what grounds?” Julia’s voice was tight.

  “On grounds of failure to fulfill your duties effectively. No priest or priestess in Terragand now follows your directives. I have already sent a letter to Forli to that effect.”

  “I thought you were no longer following the Imperata.”

  “I am not, though I still prefer to do things correctly.”

  Julia snorted. “Only those things you choose, it seems.”

  Kendryk ignored this. “You are removed from your position at once. A carriage is ready to take you to Olvisya. Please be ready to leave in three hours and take no Temple property. All of your travel expenses are covered.” Kendryk put a purse on her desk.

  She stared at him. “You can’t imagine that I would accept anything from you at this point. I will leave, but I will take my carriage and my own guards. And I won’t return until I accompany Teodora Inferrara’s army.”

  “Good enough,” Kendryk said. “Please b
e away before noon.”

  “Might I say a few words?”

  Kendryk wished she wouldn’t, but felt he should allow it. “Go ahead.”

  “I know you are still young, but until now, I did not consider you foolish. In fact, I still don’t find you foolish, just misguided.”

  Kendryk scratched his itching nose. “That’s no secret.”

  “I don’t dislike you; in fact if I had a son, I should be pleased if he were like you. But you have made some dreadful mistakes and will pay dearly for them.”

  “Maybe I have,” Kendryk said. “But not acting as I did would be far worse. “

  Julia came out from behind her desk and stood in front of him, looking up into his eyes. “I cannot wish you success in your venture, but I can hope you will see your errors in time to correct them before it’s too late. And now, if you’ll excuse me, I must get ready to go.”

  She swept past Kendryk and out the door.

  Janna

  Janna gritted her teeth and tightened her grip on Karil’s bridle. Someone ran up to her from the other side, waving a long curved blade. Zoltan reared up and knocked them to the ground. A moment later, hussars filled the gap, and the intruder disappeared.

  Karil slumped over his saddle, crying. Janna held on, just in case.

  It was over a few minutes later. The attackers were better-organized this time, but still no match for the disciplined, well-armed hussars.

  “You should have let me go.” Karil sobbed. “Those are my people. They would have helped me.”

  “They don’t know who you are. Do you think every Marjatyan peasant knows what you look like?”

  “No.” Karil wiped his face. “But I would tell them, and they’d take me home. Don’t you hate the empress too? I thought you would help me.”

  “It was too dangerous. You saw how quickly the hussars defeated them. They might have killed you if they caught you getting away.”

  She could tell he hadn’t thought of any of those things. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I don’t want you to be the empress’s prisoner any more than you do, but trying to escape in the middle of a fight is too dangerous. Even if you end up with the empress, you’ll survive it. And that’s the main thing. You just have to stay alive long enough to get through all of this.”

  “If I’m dead, she can’t use me as a hostage.” Karil wiped his nose. “I couldn’t bear it if my father stopped fighting because of me.”

  “I doubt he will. I’ve heard you Marjatyans are most stubborn.” She smiled at him, showing she was teasing.

  “We are.” Karil sat up straighter. “It’s our best quality. No one can defeat us because of it.”

  “Good. Then the empress won’t defeat you, will she? You’ll outlast her.”

  “I will,” Karil said.

  They moved ahead slowly. After a time, she spotted Braeden and Captain Torresia coming back down the line. They were on their way to the baggage train. The raiders often went after the wagons holding food and other supplies. To Janna’s surprise, she was happy to see the two of them. She already knew Captain Torresia was kind in spite of being dreadfully loud. And Braeden seemed a decent fellow who looked more frightening than he was. While he was fierce in battle he was always gentle with her, his voice soft. She’d watched him treat skittish horses in similar fashion.

  She wondered if he was looking for her and Karil, so she waved. He looked relieved when he saw Karil. No doubt he’d been worrying about the same thing she had. He lifted a gauntleted hand in response. Blood ran down the steel, but she was sure it wasn’t his. Perhaps she should have been glad to see any of the empress’s creatures hurt, but she couldn’t bring herself to wish him harm. He had been good to her and to Karil when he didn’t have to be. He might have left her in the woods, or worse.

  The column was moving at a normal pace again when Janna felt a sharp pain in her stomach. She gasped and doubled over, holding onto the pommel.

  “What’s wrong?” Karil asked.

  “Can you pass the word for Signora Torresia?” she gasped.

  There was another sharp pang and Janna gritted her teeth to keep from crying out. Suddenly Senta was by her side, pulling on Zoltan’s reins.

  “You must get down,” she said, her voice urgent.

  Senta pulled Zoltan behind her own horse as they left the column. When they reached the grass by the side of the road, Senta slapped Zoltan on the rump and he laid down. Janna half fell out of the saddle with the next painful jolt. Senta laid her down in the grass, making soothing noises in a language Janna didn’t understand.

  The horses blocked the view from the rest of the column, and Senta pushed Janna’s skirts up a little. “As I thought.” She turned and shouted something at the column, then turned back to Janna. “It’s all right. It will hurt a bit, but should be over soon.”

  “What’s happening?” Janna gasped as another pain hit and she felt something warm run down her leg. “Is that blood?”

  Senta nodded. “There will be quite a lot, but it’s all right. It’s happened to me a time or two. Did Zoltan jump during the attack?”

  Janna nodded.

  “That will do it. That’s why it’s best not to let pregnant women ride warhorses.”

  “Oh. So that’s the end of it?”

  “Yes,” Senta said, smoothing the hair back from her face. A horse thundered up in a swirl of dust and Trisa jumped down holding something.

  “Here are the bandages, Mama.” She shoved something into Senta’s hand, then knelt next to Janna. “Will she be all right?”

  “She will. It happens sometimes.”

  “I’m glad,” Janna said, in a small voice.

  “Yes, it is for the best. Now Trisa, help me stop the bleeding.”

  There was some lifting and arranging, and Janna stopped feeling the blood. The sharp pains had abated, but her abdomen was still sore. At least the column kept moving; the last thing she wanted was everyone looking at her.

  Senta and Trisa were both helping her sit when Braeden galloped up with Karil in tow. “I heard Miss Kronek was hurt,” he said, jumping down and lifting Karil to the ground.

  Karil ran to Janna and took her hand. “Are you all right?” he asked.

  “I felt a little sick.” She didn’t miss the glance Senta exchanged with Braeden.

  Braeden frowned. “She shouldn’t have been riding Zoltan. Put her in a wagon for the rest of the day.”

  “But I love Zoltan,” Janna burst out. “He was protecting me. Besides, I’m glad this happened.”

  She hoped she wouldn’t need to elaborate, especially in front of Karil and Trisa.

  Braeden’s frown didn’t leave his face. It was the first time she’d seen him look so grim.

  With Karil and Trisa each holding an arm, she struggled to her feet. “I’m all right,” she said, then almost fell over from light-headedness. “I’ll ride in the cart for a while. But please, I want to keep riding Zoltan later.”

  “We’ll see,” Braeden said. “Let’s get you into that cart.” He scooped her up and carried her over to a baggage cart that had pulled off to the side. Someone had piled blankets onto sacks to make a bed for her. It was nice to be cared for like this. Tears sprang to her eyes, but Janna held them back. Maybe she really was getting tougher.

  Kendryk

  Kendryk waited until the next morning to make sure that Julia was far away, in case the mood turned ugly. After breakfast, he and Gwynneth set out with a large party for Heidenhof. Gwynneth had felt it would be best to turn it into a celebration. It would be a happy occasion for Kendryk to show himself to his people. He rode next to Landrus all the way.

  “How things have changed, since last we took this road,” Landrus said.

  “In the other direction.” Kendryk grinned. “I remember it well. It was the day everything changed.”

  “You are right in requiring this of me. I cannot expect you to do everything. Someday this post will no longer be needed, but until then, it’s fair I take on
some of the burden.”

  “I’ve tried to lighten it. Mother Leiza is coming to help with day-to-day Temple administrative tasks. She’s done wonders with the Engelstein temple and you won’t have to worry about a thing.”

  “She’s in Heidenhof?”

  “Not yet. I sent for her yesterday after Gwynneth heard the Duchess of Kaltental singing her praises. I don’t want you distracted with clerical tasks since you must continue your work on the Scrolls. Though if you like, you can lead some of the temple services.”

  “I don’t mind doing that. I’ve missed having a large congregation.” He had been leading services at the Birkenhof chapel, but that was for a small group of family and servants.

  “They’ve missed you, too,” Kendryk said.

  And it was true, the crowds in Heidenhof were considerable. News of Julia’s removal had spread and everyone was excited about Landrus returning. The procession made its way to the main square where a hastily erected podium stood ready.

  Kendryk spoke first. “This is an important day for Terragand,” he said, once the cheering had died down. “Yesterday saw the end of the old, improper version of the Faith. Julia Maxima did her job well, but her time is over. With the help of Father Landrus, of you and countless others in Terragand and around Kronland, we will overthrow the old, corrupt ways and begin something new.

  “Upon my request, Father Edric Landrus will take the office of Maximus of Terragand.” The crowd roared. Kendryk waited. “Though most temples have already taken on the changes he has requested, he will make sure that all of Terragand now worships the Holy Family the way the Scrolls require. Priests and priestesses who refuse will be replaced by clergy that teaches the truth. Anyone refusing to worship in the new way will be asked to leave the kingdom.”

  This was a sore point for Kendryk. He did not like to force belief on anyone; in fact he didn’t think it possible. But under the circumstances, he had little choice. If he allowed some to worship the old way, temples would spring up in opposition to what Landrus was teaching. In the current climate that could quickly lead to instability. Once Teodora’s threat diminished, they could work this out.