The Queen Maker

by Kristen Gupton

  The vampire gave Jerris a long look and knew if the fight was to escalate that his best friend would most likely be killed. Keiran knew he wasn’t able to confront a dozen men at once, either.

  There remained one last strategy for him to try that might spare their lives. “Jerris, I need you to trust me with what I’m about to do.”

  “All right,” Jerris replied, hesitant.

  Keiran took a few steps forward before throwing his rapier down onto the ground. “General Danier, I would like to request an audience with the Sadori Emperor.”

  Not quite believing the vampire would lay down his weapon without a fight, Danier narrowed his eyes and leaned forward in the saddle. “Excuse me?”

  Jerris looked at Keiran’s sword lying on the ground before tossing his forward to join it. “I believe my king just requested to see your emperor.”

  Danier sat there dumbstruck for a few seconds. “But where is the girl?”

  Keiran gave a smile and met the Sadori’s gaze. “By now, she’s already across the bridge and out of your reach.”

  ***

  Etras and Thana hurried forward, their eyes constantly scanning for guards. They held to the shadows near the storefronts as they tried to stay out of sight. The bridge was visible before them, and there were still a number of people moving across it.

  Hearing horses far behind them, Thana felt the urge to stop and look back, fearing for Keiran and Jerris. Etras, however, kept a hold on her left arm and pulled her forward.

  His family depended on him for their livelihood, and he wasn’t about to get caught in whatever the Tordanians were doing behind him. All he could do was hope they were ahead of any guards who would alert the sentries at the bridge.

  As they moved along, Etras spotted a discarded and damaged bowl-shaped basket in a shop’s refuse pile. He snatched it up as they jogged by before tucking down into an alley.

  “Why are we stopping?” Thana asked, confused since he wouldn’t let them slow down before.

  He held the basket out toward her, sweat running down his face in his fear. “You take this and put it beneath your dress. You will look pregnant.”

  Thana didn’t see how that helped their situation in the least. “…and why would I do that?”

  The guide huffed and looked up at the sky, frustrated. “Pregnant women are the living embodiment of the goddess, Otashe. The guards will not touch you, you will be considered sacred, and they will let you pass without much scrutiny.”

  From her brief time there, she’d already learned the Sadoris were polytheistic, and if catering to his request helped, so be it. She tore the basket away from him, turning around and hastily shoving it up under her loose fitting dress.

  Etras examined her once she turned around, giving a nod of approval. It was at least good enough to get her across the bridge. “We go, now. You will walk just a few steps ahead of me, and we shall go onto the bridge.”

  She nodded and placed her hands against the basket to accentuate it. The long sleeves of her dress did a fair job at covering any imperfections in the shape of her faux belly. She then peeked around the corner before stepping out of the alleyway, Etras directly behind her.

  Thana steeled her nerves and kept her head held high as she approached the sentries on the bridge. She figured if she was considered sacred, she should put out the best proud air she could muster.

  The sentries watched her approach then stepped aside to give her room to pass. They didn’t ask to see her hands, never concerned with that fact when someone was leaving. However, they did ask Etras to stop, and she paused, already several paces onto the bridge.

  The conversation was in Sadori, but Thana was capable of understanding the gist of it. The guards asked if he was accompanying the woman, and he answered in the affirmative. Etras then pulled a few of Keiran’s coins from the pouch he’d been given, and he gave the sentries their expected ‘gift’.

  They accepted it before looking at Thana and offering small bows with their hands clasped before their chests, honoring her. She gave them a faint smile and a nod of her head in return before bidding them a quiet but perfectly pronounced Sadori thank you and goodbye.

  Etras also thanked the guards before hurrying to her side. They made their way onto the bridge, both relieved.

  “Well done,” Etras said once out of earshot of the guards.

  They were near the halfway point when they heard shouting far behind them. Palace guards had finally reached the base of the bridge to tell the sentries to not let anyone else cross. The sentries, in turn, had informed them only one woman had crossed within the past several minutes and still had to be on the bridge.

  The Sadoris knew it needed to be investigated, and a pair of guards brought their horses onto the bridge. The sounds of their hooves upon the wooden planks cut through the night, and Thana and Etras didn’t need to say anything to one another before they started running.

  Luckily, the other travelers spaced out on the bridge weren’t expecting men on horseback to come tearing across. As they struggled to get out of the way, the guards were held up at several points.

  Thana and Etras continued to run, weaving between people and wagons. They were fairly certain the guards hadn’t yet seen them, and they’d begun with a significant head start. Still, the guards were gaining on them.

  Etras looked over his shoulder, getting his first glimpse of the guards. Realizing they were palace guards didn’t do his stress any favors, and he turned forward again.

  At the midpoint of the bridge, Thana crossed over the golden plank in one, long stride. There was an audible click from the bracer on her right arm followed by a sudden cutting pain. Thanks to the adrenaline coursing through her veins, she was able to push past it without much thought and continued to run.

  The Sadori guards sharply reined their horses to a halt, their hooves resting mere inches from the gold borderline. They shouted to one another, debating the virtues of going forward and taking Thana and her escort down, but none of them made a move to do so.

  While the Ibianese and Sadoris enjoyed a strong trade alliance, the Ibianese never forgot their neighbors had often expanded their empire into surrounding territories. As such, they had strongly warned the Sadoris never to move any of their military or law enforcement over the border at risk of massive retribution. So, as important as an escaped asashi was, none of the men could overcome their ingrained programming. They simply watched from the apex of the bridge as Thana and Etras disappeared back into the crowd.

  The guide and Thana didn’t realize the chase had been called off, and they still rushed forward for all they were worth. Nearly careening out of control as they made it down the other side, they raced over the last plank of the bridge. The Ibianese guards there paid little attention to them.

  Etras skidded to a halt and bent forward to catch his breath, having moved a short distance ahead of Thana.

  As she crossed the final plank, there was a second click from the bracer, followed by a sickening crack. The pain in her wrist suddenly turned into absolute agony, and her hand beyond her wrist numbed.

  She cried out and collapsed forward, clutching her arm to her chest, frantically trying to claw at the bracer. To her horror, the bracer finally moved and slid off of her wrist, her hand moving with it and falling into the dirt.

  The Sadori guide came immediately to her side, but he froze. He saw Thana’s hand lying on the ground with the unmistakable bracer she’d kept hidden beneath her sleeve beside it, awash in blood. “Oh beloved Gods, what have I done? You are an asashi?”

  Thana rolled onto her back, teeth bared and eyes clamped shut. She brought her injured wrist to her chest, crying out from the excruciating pain. Etras’ words were lost to the rush of white noise starting to overload her hearing. Her head swam, and she knew she was about to die.

  There were others starting to move closer, curious about the commotion taking place. Etras shook himself out of his state and quickly bent down to pick up the bracer. H
e shoved it hastily into his shirt before scooping up Thana’s weakening form into his arms. Though he wasn’t a large man, in his panic he found the strength and energy to rush the woman toward his own tent.

  His wife, Arin, would know what to do.

  ***

  Danier debated for several moments what to do after he’d caught up with Keiran and Jerris. With the men voluntarily disarming themselves, he didn’t see them as an immediate threat. He’d dispatched some of the guards accompanying him to the bridge. Danier hoped the escaped woman hadn’t actually crossed yet, but the optimism within him was already diminished.

  The Tordanian men were thoroughly searched for any other weapons while Danier delayed any real action. Keiran and Jerris had their hands bound tightly with silk ropes, and they were ordered into silence for the time being.

  Jerris was visibly shaking from his fear, though he was doing his best to quell it in front of his friend. Despite the cooler air, his shirt was drenched in sweat, his hair matted down to his head.

  Keiran looked at him and hoped he was making the right decision. They were alive for the time being, and that was all he could really hold onto. He whispered occasional quiet reassurances to his companion when the guards weren’t paying attention. Whether it filtered down into Jerris’ brain or not, he gave no indication.

  Nearly an hour later, the guards Danier sent forward returned. There was a short but heated discussion in Sadori as they told the general the girl had made it across the bridge.

  Danier knew what would have happened to any asashi that left the confines of the empire. He hung his head and nearly wept. Thana might as well have died the moment she crossed the border if the brutal amputation her bracer performed hadn’t killed her outright. Now, his only shot at redemption would be to present the vampire-king of Tordania to the emperor.

  “By sending that girl across the border, you have killed her. I hope you understand that,” Danier growled, lifting his head to look down at his captives.

  Keiran felt a sick sensation writhing within, but he didn’t know if it was because Danier spoke the truth or from the anxiety of the situation. There was an element of dread in his heart, though, the uncertainty of what was happening to the woman he loved cutting through him with a shock.

  He swallowed hard and found his voice. “If so, perhaps it is better than living as your captive.”

  “Says the man who held her captive!” Danier shot back, his leather gloves creaking around the reins as he squeezed them tight. “I will take you to the emperor to tell him you cost our nation a treasure. Actually, two treasures. I don’t know if you took part in the Quitam Asashi running away or not, but you might as well bear the blame for it.”

  Again, Keiran was hit with words he just didn’t understand. He simply gave a shrug before straightening up to stand tall. “Then take me to him.”

  Jerris glanced between the general and the vampire before mirroring Keiran’s pose and puffing out his chest. He’d be damned if he wasn’t going to be as brave as his friend.

  Inwardly, however, Keiran was absolutely terrified for everyone involved. His anger was stirring, though not as distinctly as it had in the days following his drinks. His fangs ached above his canines, but they weren’t yet visible. In fact, he was putting in the conscious effort to keep them from coming down. He didn’t want to scare Danier in any way that might prompt him to summarily execute both of them.

  Danier jerked the reins in his hands, pivoting his horse back toward the palace. Silken nooses were slipped over the heads of the Tordanians, the opposite ends being gripped by other palace guards on horseback. They started to follow Danier, forcing both men to jog along, lest they be strangled by the tension around their necks.

  By the time they passed through the palace gates, both Keiran and Jerris had been run beyond the point of exhaustion. Jerris fell into a gasping heap once they stopped, and Keiran dropped to his knees beside his friend.

  “I’m not certain how this plan is helping,” Jerris managed out as he struggled to catch his breath. His lungs ached, the air itself harsh within them. He blinked his eyes hard, trying to alleviate the sting of the sweat that had run into them. “They will kill us, and like you said, beheading will be just as fatal to you as it will be to me.”

  Keiran’s eyes scanned the courtyard, counting no fewer than twenty men amassed around them with their weapons drawn. He knew Jerris had followed him out of his loyalty, but he regretted getting him into the situation. Though the guard wouldn’t have been kept away for anything, Keiran still suffered a good deal of guilt over the way it had played out.

  “At least I tried, and you proved yourself beyond anything anyone else would have done for me,” he said.

  Jerris writhed for a moment before he managed to get into a sitting position. He opened one eye and frowned at Keiran, seeing the expression he wore wasn’t exactly reassuring. “It’s not as though I had much else going on.”

  Keiran started to respond, but two guards came over and rudely jerked the two men up to their feet. The nooses were removed from their necks, and they were immediately prodded in the back to start walking. Danier walked in front of them, heading up and through the tall doors to the palace.

  Had they not been exhausted and fairly confident they were going to die, the Tordanians might have been as impressed with the palace as Thana had been. As it was, they couldn’t care less and kept their gazes moving between their way forward and one another.

  It wasn’t a long walk to the emperor’s throne room. Once inside, they found the portly old man sitting in his place, his face and posture looking absolutely crushed. His tired eyes panned up toward Danier, his mouth not giving any hint of the usual smile he wore.

  Speaking in Sadori, he asked, “General, the asashis? Where are they?”

  Danier narrowed his eyes and looked to the side, ready to say whatever he needed to. “I’m afraid they’ve fled over the bridge.”

  Emperor Betram lifted his hands to his mouth, giving a gasp. Like Danier, he knew the Quitam woman could be replaced but not Thana. The joy he’d felt in welcoming the only living Aroothi woman home was replaced with an equal level of disappointment.

  He slouched back into his throne and shook his head. “Then there is nothing to be done.”

  “There is this, however,” Danier said, stepping aside and motioning toward the Tordanians. “I present to you the one guilty of both holding the Aroothi woman in servitude and of stealing her from the palace along with the Quitam Asashi. This is the King Keiran Sipesh. As the rumors state, he is a vampire.”

  Keiran and Jerris understood none of it until they heard the king’s name clearly pronounced. They looked toward Betram, Keiran doing his best to project a respectful attitude toward the emperor, despite the situation.

  “An honor, Your Eminence,” he said, with a shallow bow.

  The emperor felt an initial spike of fear, never before faced with a vampire. He pushed himself up from his seat to have a look at the two men. While they were dressed as though they might have been from the Tordanian court, he needed evidence. He’d long thought Danier was something of a weasel and needed validation.

  He moved right up before Keiran, looking him over. He spoke in Tordanian, sure the man couldn’t understand Sadori. “Vampire? You don’t look so frightening standing here bound. How do I know you are the king?”

  Keiran tipped his head to the right. “I bear my royal brand on my upper arm if you care to examine it, and I wear a ring with my seal, as well.”

  The emperor nodded toward one of the guards, demanding the man’s sleeve be pushed up to allow him a view of the brand.

  Jerris found Betram looking at him as the guards worked to get Keiran’s brand exposed. “I’m just his guard, nothing special here.”

  The emperor’s hand came up, and he twisted it into Jerris’ red hair. He’d never seen anything like it before, and it made him smile. His hand then reached down to touch the guard’s even brighter orange goatee.<
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  “What an unnatural looking man you are,” Emperor Betram said.

  “Back in Tordania, I’m considered extremely handsome,” Jerris countered, his hurt pride outshining the gravity of their predicament.

  Keiran scoffed at his friend, the arm of his shirt finally hiked up enough to show his brand. “That, Jerris, is being a little over-generous, you know.”

  Emperor Betram was struck a little off guard by the levity the men showed under the circumstances. He moved to scrutinize Keiran’s royal brand. Tordanian birth inks were notoriously complex, and the raised burn scar in the center of it attested to Keiran’s identity.

  Appeased, the emperor moved away and back to his throne. “You look like a normal man, King Sipesh. Is the tale of your vampirism just a rumor? Danier said you were a fierce monster, slaying all of his men in the mountains of your country. He was lucky to survive and escape with those he’d left in charge of the ships.”

  Keiran actually smiled, no fangs visible in the least. With his strength curtailed due to his lack of blood, he looked just as tired as his human companion.

  He gave a deep sigh, looking toward the general with a humored expression. “Your Eminence, your assessment of me looking like an ordinary man is correct. As you can see, I’m hardly the monster he’s claimed me to be. As for his men, he ran like a coward and abandoned them. Many of them are quite alive, and I intend to have them delivered back here as soon as I have a ship at the docks in Lodain.”

  “A lie!” Danier yelped, pointing one of his ringed hands toward the Tordanians. “Surely, you don’t believe the words of this mountain heathen over me!”

  The emperor simply waved a hand toward Danier, something not having sat right about the general’s claim from the outset. He’d been overjoyed with the return of the Aroothi woman to the point of dismissing the unauthorized invasion. Now that she’d been removed from the equation, his distrust for Ahman Danier resurfaced.

  “Quiet, Danier, you’ve already given me a thorough recounting of your version,” Betram said.