The month since arrival was hard and the two women rarely left the room till Lolon was ready by his standards. And a spirit always followed them around when he sends them out with one of the men, just as a precaution. Cage didn’t take chances, but the two new lovebirds had to leave sometime. So far the two women were trustworthy, but Lolon has gotten so attached to her woman that she can barely function without her near, transferring an emotional need. An anchor to not get lost. Zafri was more than willing as she too needed Lolon’s love.
He shut the door and blinds while shaking his head. “No, we don’t need to pretend to have sex. Both of you hurry and get dressed. It finally came today. My persona is solidified enough to be called on. You two stay close. Everyone believes you two will be seen in public with me as you have my attentions over the other slaves. This will be your final test Lolon. I know you can do this.”
“As do I, Lolon Love.” Zafri said and eased her woman’s worry with a deep kiss and caress of the arms. “Remember this. When we leave this wretched place, you are coming with me as my sister-mate. My chieftain and mates will take you in and give you babies though love, not rape. Think of the beautiful babies we can share. My daughters and sons will be happy to have such a beautiful mother.”
“I cannot wait, My Love.” Lolon said and threw her dress on.
The warlock went and grabbed his staff and waited as both stunning women dressed, put on sandals and brushed out their hair before coming to the door, dropping their eyes and took a slave’s obedience behind their master. The three walked out and the front door opened. As they rang the bell for the slave powered elevator he said to the guards. “You, come with me. And you, allow no one in or out till I return. There is food enough for two days if the empress keeps me. Should I be gone longer, take from my account to feed yourselves.”
“Yes, Master.” The other guard responded and stepped right in front of the door, taking a comfortable stance to ward off any not allowed away.
The elevator arrived soon after and the four of them boarded. Cage put the letter away and stood tall, wishing he could manipulate his body to its original state. Mennalin’s form was uncomfortable and awkward. But because of it he seemed legitimate. His normal self stood out too much.
“Good Sir!” The front desk manager hurried around carrying a large, simple black umbrella. “Rain is coming. I feel it in the air.”
Judging by how quickly it darkened in the short time since leaving the apartment, Cage knew it wasn’t a lie. This climate reminded him quite like Earth’s Florida where storms build up within minutes at this time of year. To further the observation, there came a low rumble from thunder from far away. “Then I thank you for the hospitality and accept.”
Zafri grabbed the umbrella and their group walked on. Even at the early hour, the storm was only minutes from soaking the city. A mild flash of light drew Cage’s attention up as he knew an explosion was blocked. Attacks on the city were constant, day and night, but everyone was so desensitized it didn’t bother anymore. The attacks were hit hard and run, a standard dragon tactic to weaken barriers over long centuries, which is how it all seemed. His staff clinked on the street as they moved at the brisk pace he set that meant he didn’t want to be out in the coming rain longer than necessary.
A strong gust blew through the street more strongly thanks to the skyscrapers. Heavy moisture in the cooler wind screamed imminent rain. But as it rushed through the city Cage’s gut clenched, his heartbeat increased and a grin formed without anyone noticing it. He was finally excited as everything was coming to a precipice he would jump headfirst into.
The orderly trees in the city were all vibrant shades of red and gold, speaking of Fall’s full arrival. Cage knew the prophecy the Rare Ones, multicolored dragons with scales like a rainbow with so much power in their eyes it was sparking like lightning, were here. Battle had come and as a warlock, he was looking forward to it more than anyone alive. All his hard work and planning was finally coming to a head for the real fun to begin.
Zafri opened the large umbrella mere seconds before it sprinkled. Lightning flashes struck the city barrier, but caused no damage and the thunderclaps were muted so much so by magic that the downpour was two times louder. Few moved in the rapidly pelting rain that turned into a torrent so thick that one could not clearly see the palace. Cage remained dry while Zafri and Lolon were partially out thanks to the large umbrella, but the guard slave was drenched, but complained not. It was common for slaves to dredge without aid from their master and though Cage could make a barrier to keep them all dry, he refrained, especially after noticing an invisibly cloaked figure following.
He knew that these followers were the empress’s city spies, the only ones permitted to go invisible outside so as to get to where others can’t and bring news of any dangers. Only with his ascended eyes could he see the circulating magic as nothing gave this spy away, not even the tingling sensation the entire city gave off. From his balcony he knew there were less than a hundred of these mages and their Familiars who were permitted the access as an experiment outside on the balcony of his room to hide a pea on his plate was stopped. Only inside the privacy of one’s home could you hide things invisibly. Outside, on the streets or in public places, it wasn’t permitted. Still, he didn’t alert the empress’s follower know he knew.
Just as quickly as the sheets of rain came, they passed, after fifteen minutes. For now the air was clean, cool and shady, but wouldn’t last too long as once the sun came and the wind dies it would get humidly hot again.
Fifteen minutes later they approached the palace’s inner gate where ten soldiers guarded and guided the four. Zafri held the closed umbrella in both hands, head down, just like Lolon while the personal guard kept eyes alert.
“State your business and name!” Challenged the lone wizard behind the ten soldiers.
“I am Mennalin. The Empress’s interrogator, summoned here by her.” Cage said directly without stopping.
“I have been notified. Proceed.” The wizard stepped aside along with the soldiers to allow the four in.
Cage still thought the palace like a giant screw twisted out from below the land’s surface, even with the wider base. His perfect memory didn’t notice a single minor change in the pattern while his eyes still looked at the energy rushing through it all. If he were anyone else and looked upon nothing like it before, he would be in actual awe. Only the idiots who ran the empire dampened the effect of extreme engineering it took to make it.
Slaves were out sweeping off the excess water as well as the leaves that fell in the storm. Water went down into gutters while the mesh grates collected the leaves to be hand scooped into wheelbarrows to be carted off.
Before going inside Cage said “Hold still all of you. I’ll not have you embarrass me my looking like wet dogs.” He snapped his fingers and all the moisture from the rain tinkled out of their clothes and hair to fall to the ground.
“Thank you, Master.” Lolon said meekly, her braided blonde mane falling over her shoulder in her bow.
“I see my former slave shows proper manners.” Said a singsong voice.
Lolon froze and Cage heard her heart hammering. He stayed calm and went down to both knees in the entrance to the palace. He knew Empress Vika was close as he saw her swirling, clear white mana before entering. He was still excited to have been the first to find they had near equal power. But despite her power, her mind couldn’t do massive amounts of information all at once. She could only multitask like a normal woman. Only finding a way to change the color of his unused energy that swirled powerfully around him, and having his hidden black diamonds suck up enough mana to make him seem like a third class sorcerer, deceived dragons and the empress, who he notice could also see energy by how she studied him in that first initial meeting. His excitement was mistaken for fear, but Vika surely couldn’t tell the difference. The only difficult and dangerous part of acting as Mennalin was he had to lower all his wards in his hands so it didn’t get d
iscovered his internal gems were ready and waiting, his staff taken and him seeming defenseless. He wasn’t afraid at the moment either, merely anxious to drop his ruse and rip her heart out with his bare hand.
Nevertheless, Cage knew Lolon’s test had come sooner than expected. Her mental and physical abuse was deeply buried like a cancer. It was now time to see if it had been removed entirely.
The empress wore another exquisite dress that showed off her figure while strands of platinum and gold enhanced her regal appeal. But it were those beautiful violet eyes that held such madness that nothing could heal it. Hers was a beauty of the body, a camouflage to trick the ignorant and give them nothing but pain in return. There was no love, no hope or redemption there. Only greed and power to get more… No matter the price.
Lolon and the other two followed their master and Cage mentally sighed when he knew Lolon had indeed passed, overcoming what was done to her. If she failed she would have rushed to the empress and spilled every detail she learned in the past month.
“My slaves were trained well when I bought them, Your Majesty.”
“You suspected something different?” She inquired as ten first class blademaster sorcerers took position around her, even if she needed no help. She’d most certainly sacrifice them if odds were not in her favor.
“I just never had such a good life before. These two have milked my lance more this month than I’ve had in my entire life.”
The empress actually laughed lightly. “So I’ve been told.”
“You’ve been told? By who, Your Majesty.” He faked genuine surprise, even lifting his head up to look upon her.
She waved her guards from striking him to look upon her without permission. Two immediately returned to position. “I’ve had you constantly watched, Mennalin and reports do tell you’ve been taking every advantage to… breed.” She added tactfully while the generous corner of her mouth quirked. “Rise, Mennalin.”
He did so, slowly, eyes focused on her feet after noticing the royal guards grip their magic-breaker blades. She continued. “Do you know why I summoned you?” he shook his head. “I have a task not even my best interrogator can do, a rather strong willed guest who won’t talk. I called on you as none in my lands have gotten such timely information from my enemies quite like you. It is good you arrived while I walked my palace. We may speak. Walk with me.” She turned around and started moving, high heels clicking on the polished floor.
Cage said “You three walk behind her majesty’s slaves.”
“Yes, Master.” All three said in unison as he walked just behind her casual gait.
“Mennalin, were you surprised I knew your every move?”
“Quite so. I did not seem to be important to you after bringing the heads of each king.” Now that he stood up and looked down on the woman, he noticed a glittering tattoo of a dragon’s claw on the side of her neck, just barely. He knew her mark was likely Shakka. “And since the assassin students have yet to learn how to properly and consistently do the light frequency without killing themselves, I could not come to you with any news you would want to hear. And it is even worse for those trying to shadowwalk. I keep telling them it takes time and patience. I’m sorry many have died.”
“I do not care.” She said it as if someone had spilt milk. “My greatest teachers all verify the book you wrote is viable. The figures do not lie. Even they say it would take a year to regulate the specific energies and survive. The light frequency is a more viable tool in the short term. Be not disheartened, Mennalin.” Her creepy gaze glanced at him. Cage knew at this distance he could snap her neck and kill all her guards before they could draw steel, but he didn’t. Even Daku kept mentally quiet. “And I see you also have taken full advantage of my offer for drinks. I’m told you are like a fish.”
Mennalin smiled and gave a chuckle. “I’m anything but a liar, Your Majesty. I’ve taken a liking to the ale from Lamra.”
“That drink is the strongest from my entire empire. Most cannot even remember their own name after a glass. It is said it is the best drink you ever had or the last you ever will.” She lightly laughed. “And I hear you can stomach an entire bottle before your slaves have to carry you back to your room. By the next morning you are clear minded enough to do any task.”
“Purging does help, Empress. Look at my liver. It is still healthy only because I purge toxins every morning and flush it down the pit.”
Power went into him to sense. “So it is. In truth, I too purge after a fine wine. A four thousand year old woman must.”
“You do not look a day over a single millennium.”
“You flatter me.” She laughed. “It is such a shame your class is too low to have me bear you a child during my next fertility cycle. You are an effective man and few have made me laugh… especially when you are truly involved with your work. I especially enjoyed it last week when you made the man eat and swallow his own lance after cutting it off with a heated blade. I personally watched how you interrogated and no two are alike. It was true entertainment. But what was it you called it when you chained them flat to the table, put a cloth over their face and poured water over the cloth”
“Water boarding, Your Majesty. Everyone fears drowning and that is what it feels like. You cannot breathe, your choking and no matter what they do, there is no escape. It doesn’t do much harm, but at least I don’t need to heal my patients all the time so they don’t die like the ones I must rush on. Sleep deprivation is also fun. I’ve got a man in a closet who has been up for ninety two hours. He’s delirious and easy to manipulate. As soon as I’m done with your guest I’ll go home and get what I need. May I ask a question?” She gave a dismissive gesture. “My chemical that makes the mind speed up decades every second, have you decided to produce it?”
“No, it is too dangerous to be allowed common knowledge. Only you, me and General Adair know the compounds. It is good not even Twilight uses it after you discovered the formula soldiers experience in battle that makes time seem to slow. In such concentrations you used on the man in my hall, if it were commonly used it could be dangerous, especially as a drug that is addictive. Just as pain is felt for seeming centuries, so does pleasure. The test subjects, after a second dose, go mad without it.”
“That is why I warned you any repeats must have ten to twelve months for the mind to recover.”
“Nevertheless, in a few days I’ve given authorization of ten thousand gold to be placed in your account to keep quiet and as a gift for bringing the formula to me. Is that acceptable?”
“Immensely. Now I can purchase that platinum slave who can make other women’s fertility cycle come sooner. She costs that much and I don’t know the spell personally to give it to one of my slaves so I can finally have an heir.”
“Ah, yes, I know the spell to be placed on a magician. They have but a two year lifespan, but are expensive. It only works on the unenlightened though.” The empress said nothing further as they reached the inner pillar and rooms. They climbed the steps, not speaking for twenty more minutes till stopping in front of a door that muffled screams of anguish. A guard opened it and allowed only them and four guards in.
“Ah, welcome to the dungeon, Your Eminence!” a hunched dungeon master with a greasy, sweaty appearance said while grinning with two missing front teeth. “Right this way.”
They followed the dirty man into a spacious cave where hundreds of men and women were being tortured at the same time. Towards the center stood a pure white marble throne, cleanest thing there was. Pillows lay upon it for comfort and the empress went right to it and sat down with a childlike grin as she relaxed to the sounds of anguish. Her roving gaze eagerly took in the horrors, her mask of madness being dropped completely in here. Cage saw her magic shielding against the odors of blood, sweat, urine and bowel, but she was at home here.
To her this was paradise.
He wasn’t bothered by the people dying, but he didn’t relish it at all like her.
“Not too shabby
for a dungeon.” Cage commented casually as he stroked his braided beard.
The dungeon master said “It isn’t quite like yours, Master Mennalin, but I must do many more guests to the empire than you. I will bring your guest right out.”
The man left and entered one of the pens where waited those to be killed after spilling their guts, some literally would. A chained man, haggard by someone’s attentions already, was pulled out and just as soon as he met Mennalin’s gaze he shrieked “King Killer!” and ran with energy, the very last shred he still commanded. Cage move first and struck the butt of his staff on the ground, creating a minor ripple that caused the chained man to fall and give the dungeon master time to get a firmer grip on the leash and slapping the man before hanging him in front of the empress’s throne for her enjoyment. He dangled inches off the ground.
“I take it you two know each other?” the empress asked curiously, but had noticed Mennalin’s reaction and swift use of magic.
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Cage said, unable to lie as the royal guards were close enough to hear his heartbeat and would notice a disruption, if he were anyone else. Cage was trained enough to pass any lie detection test at sixteen. He still lied through his teeth while adding a bit of truth. “He is Lieutenant Moro Telim. I know him only by title and a tavern in Emroc Castle called the Blazing Trail who serves a decent swill. But we do not know each other well enough for him to remember me except if my picture has been passed around for my head. But I dooo… remember one night when he was drunk saying he helped the warlock and griffin bring home three boats of slaves after Bepop was attacked. Poor bastard got caught again huh?” “Sonofabitch, Daku. When did he get captured?”
“King Skylar says recently in a battle where his dragon partner was killed. Says five days ago from the report his mate sent. Lieutenant Moro still believes you killed his king. Act on it.”
Empress's Endgame (Book 5 and final of the Death Incanate Saga) Page 47
