The Purple Emperor fw-2

by Herbie Brennan

  He froze. There was a small sizzling sound like frying bacon. A whisp of smoke rose from a junction in his makeshift control. As he watched, sparks began to snake through the wiring of the rat's nest.

  The portal flickered.

  For an instant, Henry's legs refused to function. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt the flicker meant the portal was going to close again, but he could do nothing, absolutely nothing about it. Then his paralysis broke and he flung himself forward.

  The portal collapsed a second after he passed through it. But it didn't matter. He had made it. He was in the Purple Palace.

  And something was very wrong.

  CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

  The old Purple Emperor would never have seen them in the throne room – serious negotiations with serious enemies took place in private. But Hamearis was not even slightly surprised. The Purple Emperor Elect was young and inexperienced. He would see a formal audience as the only possibility with a ranking Duke. Besides, he wouldn't realise how much trouble he was in.

  It was years since Hamearis had entered this chamber. It had been set out for a banquet then and packed with gaudy people. Now it was almost empty and surprisingly gloomy. There seemed to be some sort of glowglobe failure: a brace of sleepy flunkies were setting out banks of lighted candles. The flickering flames caused eerie shadows, which was possibly no bad thing, considering the news he brought.

  He let his gaze drift casually, arrogantly, along the forest of pillars and up to the acoustic galleries high above. Those baroque constructions carried every whisper through the great hall and out into the corridors beyond. Which was no bad thing either. If servants overheard, the word would spread like wildfire – and cause just as much panic.

  At the far end of the chamber, Crown Prince Pyrgus and his sister, the Princess Royal, were seated on two huge elevated thrones. They had clearly chosen their positions in order to impress, but managed only to look like nervous children. They both had their father's aspect in them, Pyrgus even more than his sister. Word had it he was a wild one, as young people often were, but there was intelligence in his eyes and given a few years he might even have made quite a decent Emperor. Almost a pity he would never get the chance.

  Hamearis began to walk towards them. His cloaked companion moved like a ghost three paces behind.

  Blue watched Hamearis stride along the aisle. He walked slowly, almost insultingly so, as if he was on an evening stroll. But that would be deliberate. From everything she had learned, Hamearis Lucina was a master of diplomacy and psychological manipulation, skills that in some ways made him even more dangerous than Lord Hairstreak himself. Although she'd seen many pictures of him and watched some of his view screen appearances, the reality was even more impressive than the image. His body was well-muscled, like a warrior, but there was a deceptive sensitivity about his face. He had the handsome looks of a hero, which doubtless contributed to his enormous public following among the Faeries of the Night.

  Hamearis bowed. 'Greetings, Prince Pyrgus. I must thank you for granting me an audience at so late an hour.' Prince Pyrgus, Blue noticed, not Emperor Elect. He had tawny yellow eyes like a haniel, and now they moved to her. 'Your Serene Highness,' he acknowledged.

  Blue inclined her head slightly. She was glad Pyrgus had had the good sense to bring her to this meeting. Hamearis might be handsome, but he was dangerous as a viper and crafty as a rat.

  Pyrgus said coolly, 'Since it is a late hour, Your Grace, I would appreciate your getting directly to the purpose of your visit.'

  'Of course,' Hamearis said mildly. 'But first, with your permission, sir, I am required to present compliments and greetings from my friend and colleague Lord Hairstreak, who has expressly asked me to enquire after your health and that of your sister.'

  'My health is fine,' Pyrgus said shortly. 'So's Blue's.'

  Her brother would never, ever make a diplomat. 'Please convey our greetings to Lord Hairstreak and express our hopes that he too is fit and well,' Blue put in.

  'Now get on with it,' said Pyrgus, spoiling the effect.

  If Hamearis took offence, he didn't show it. In fact, he actually began to smile. 'As you wish, Crown Prince,' he said.

  Blue had a sudden, gripping intuition that something terrible was coming. It was so strong she wanted to cry out, to stop whatever it was that Hamearis Lucina was about to say. But her terror was so great her tongue refused to function.

  Hamearis said formally, 'Crown Prince Pyrgus, your father, the Purple Emperor, has contracted a pact with Lord Hairstreak, acting in his capacity as representative of the Faeries of the Night, whereby henceforth the Purple Emperor agrees that, due to his recent and ongoing illness, the functions of State shall become the responsibility of his son Comma, who shall, until his majority, be advised in all matters by Lord Hairstreak in the capacity of Royal Regent.' Hamearis drew a rolled scroll from the pocket of his tunic and offered it to Pyrgus. 'I am charged, Crown Prince, to present you with a copy of this pact, struck with the Imperial Seal and signed by the hand of your father, the presiding Purple Emperor, in the certain knowledge and expectation that you and all members of the Royal Family and Household will abide by the detailed terms herein and grant such aid and assistance as may become necessary to Prince Comma and Lord Hairstreak in the pursuance of their various duties.' When Pyrgus made no move to take the scroll, Hamearis dropped it at his feet.

  'Duke Hamearis,' Blue gasped, 'our father is dead!' What the man had just said was appalling, sick, hurtful, despicable, stupid -

  Hamearis licked his lips. 'Your Serene Highness,' he said formally, 'it is my pleasant duty to inform you that your illustrious father is very much alive.' He gestured.

  The cloaked figure behind him took three steps forward and threw back his hood.

  CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

  'That wasn't Daddy!' Blue said wildly.

  Pyrgus said nothing.

  'It can't have been Daddy – Daddy's dead! I saw him dead!' She couldn't stand still. She paced the length of the private antechamber, then paced back again. There were tears in her eyes. 'It wasn't Daddy! It wasn't! It wasn't!' She hesitated. 'It wasn't, was it, Pyrgus?'

  'It looked like Daddy,' Pyrgus told her dully.

  She could still see every movement of the hood, the fold of the cloth as it slipped back. She could see her father's eyes turning towards her. She could see the hasty repairs done to the ravages the Analogue World weapon had wrought on his face.

  'It could be a double,' she said. She was aware of her hands trembling. 'Just somebody who looks like him. Or a magical illusion. Something Hairstreak and Hamearis arranged between them. They'd do that, you know. Hairstreak would stop at nothing to -'

  'I don't think it was a double,' Pyrgus said. 'I don't think it was an illusion either.'

  Neither did Blue, not really. The moment the figure uncloaked, she'd known. It was all there, in the shape of his body, the tilt of his head, even that curious open way he held his left hand. Besides, while an illusion or a double might pass muster for an hour or two, maybe even a day, Hairstreak knew there would be no question of pacts or changes in the way the Realm was run. No fake could possibly stand up to the sort of scrutiny that would bring. What she'd seen had to be real.

  The emotion hit her like a tidal wave. Her father was alive again! She could see his face, hear his voice. She could feel the touch of his hand on her cheek. They could walk together, talk together as they once had. It could be as it was before!

  Then, as suddenly as it came, the wave ebbed. It was not as it had been before. Their father had refused to talk to them, to approach them, refused even to stay in the throne room. He had showed his face, woodenly confirmed the agreement with Lord Hairstreak, then walked out. It wasn't right. Nothing was right. Softly, without warning, Blue began to cry.

  Pyrgus was by her side at once, his arm about her shoulders. 'It's all right, Blue. Everything's going to be all right.'

  Empty words, and they both knew it. 'Do you belie
ve Hamearis?' Pyrgus looked at her blankly. Blue blinked back her tears. 'He said Daddy was never really killed, never really dead. He was only in a coma and when Hairstreak took him out of stasis he… he just sort of woke up. Do you believe that?'

  Pyrgus said very carefully, 'I suppose that's possible. I mean, people do go into comas. Sometimes. I mean -'

  Blue seized him by the shoulders and shook him. 'Do you believe it, Pyrgus? Do you believe that's what happened?'

  Miserably, Pyrgus shook his head. 'No.'

  Blue stared at him bleakly. 'They must have brought him back,' she said. Her words were scarcely more than a whisper. They hung in the chamber like a sentinel of doom.

  Pyrgus said nothing.

  With a huge effort Blue stopped crying and used a corner of her gown to dry her eyes. She shook her head. 'Nothing. Nothing.' For a second she thought the tears might start again, but she forced them back and said briskly, 'Have someone fetch the Gatekeeper.' As an afterthought she added, 'And Madame Cardui. I think we're going to need all the advice we can get.'

  Although Madame Cardui was staying at the palace, she was not in her quarters according to the servant sent to fetch her. Fortunately Gatekeeper Fogarty found her somewhere. At least, the two of them arrived together. Blue thought they looked smug about something, but had too much on her mind to find out what. She told them what had happened.

  'Hairstreak can resurrect the dead?' Mr Fogarty put in the moment she drew breath.

  'Necromancers can,' Pyrgus said. He had a shamed look, as if he was talking about an obscenity. 'Some of them. A few of them. Most of them can only talk to the… to the… '

  'But some of them can?' Fogarty pressed him. 'Some of them can actually do it?' From the intensity of his expression, he seemed to have a personal interest.

  'If… you know, if the… if the… if things haven't too far gone.'

  'You mean if the corpse hasn't started to rot?'

  Pyrgus swallowed painfully. 'Yes.'

  'Why didn't you do this right away?' Fogarty asked.

  Pyrgus stared at him in astonishment. 'Me?'

  'You and Blue. Yes.'

  'Resurrect Daddy?' Blue was looking at him wide-eyed. She seemed stunned by his question.

  'You liked him, didn't you?' said Fogarty. He looked from one to the other, clearly bewildered by their reactions. 'Come to that, how come everybody isn't resurrected? After battles and so forth?'

  After a long moment, Blue said gently, 'It's forbidden, Mr Fogarty.'

  'Forbidden by who, for God's sake?'

  Blue swallowed. 'Law,' she said. The distress was evident on her face. 'And the Church of Light.'

  Frowning, Fogarty asked, 'Is that the only reason?' He sounded incredulous.

  Pyrgus was staring at the floor. He looked as if he was going to be sick. Blue shuddered. 'It's just wrong, Mr Fogarty!' she blurted.

  But Fogarty wouldn't leave it alone. 'Suppose I died and you put me in stasis, would you be able to have me resurrected then?'

  'It's forbidden,' Blue said again.

  'By your religion? I'm a Presbyterian.'

  Long seconds ticked away. Fogarty thought Blue might be going to cry, but eventually she said almost crisply, 'Gatekeeper, the necromancer would have control of you.'

  So that was it! That was why they were so upset. Fogarty leaned forward. 'So it's a zombie deal?' They thought their father had been raised from the dead and now he was some sort of shell commanded by Hairstreak. 'Let me get this straight,' he said. 'Lord Hairstreak stole your father's corpse, then animated it?

  And now it's his slave? Doing anything he tells it?'

  'Not Hairstreak personally,' Blue said. 'It would have to be a necromancer. Somebody who knows how to do it. But he'd have been working on Hairstreak's orders. Or maybe -' she swallowed again and closed her eyes briefly,'- maybe it was somebody who… who just did it and sold Daddy to Lord Hairstreak afterwards. That's happened sometimes: I read about it in the history books. But it doesn't matter what exactly happened. The thing is, Daddy's soul is trapped and he has to do what Lord Hairstreak tells him. That's why he signed the pact. That's the only way he would have signed that pact.'

  Mr Fogarty was frowning fiercely. 'If it's a zombie deal, people will know he didn't sign of his own free will. Nobody will take the pact seriously.'

  'Ah,' Pyrgus said, but then looked too close to tears to continue.

  'That's why Lord Hairstreak is claiming Daddy was only in a coma,' Blue said. 'If there was no death, there was no resurrection. Hairstreak will say Daddy is acting of his own free will.'

  'Is he still here?' Mr Fogarty asked suddenly.

  'Who?'

  'Your father.'

  Blue shook her head. 'No. I don't think so. I don't know. He came with Duke Hamearis, but left after he told us to honour the pact.'

  'What about Hairstreak's sidekick? This Duke person?'

  Blue glanced at Pyrgus, who shook his head. Pyrgus said, 'He went off half an hour ago.'

  'Pity,' Fogarty said. 'We might have kidnapped him. We need a little leverage over Hairstreak.'

  Madame Cardui spoke for the first time. 'I'm afraid this has gone beyond simple solutions, Alan.' Blue glanced at her in surprise. She'd never heard anyone call Mr Fogarty 'Alan' before. 'This is a very emotive issue, my deeahs, and a truly dreadful situation. How long before that wretched little man makes the pact public?'

  The wretched little man was clearly Lord Hairstreak. Pyrgus said, 'He wants me to step down as Emperor Elect. The pact will be published as soon as I do so.' 'How long can you stall him?' Fogarty asked. 'It will have to happen before my Coronation.' Madame Cardui said, 'Then we must draw up our plans without delay.'

  Blue nodded. She wished Henry were with her. Why on earth hadn't he followed on as he had promised?

  CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

  The Facemaster sighed. 'Mr Chalkhill, will you please try to concentrate?'

  'But I'm improving,' Chalkhill protested. 'I'm definitely improving.'

  They were alone together in the vast Practice Hall of Hairstreak's Assassins' Academy, with its highly-polished oakwood floor and mirrored walls. Their images extended to infinity. The Facemaster was a dark-haired man with a lean, muscular body and a cool, professional air.

  'Improving?' he said. 'Yes, slightly. But there is still a way to go, Mr Chalkhill. Frankly, if you were to attempt your mission tomorrow, you would fail. And then where would we be?'

  I'd be dead, thought Chalkhill. And you'd be trying to explain to Hairstreak why you failed to knock me into shape. The Facemaster knew all about his mission, only one of four to do so, as far as Chalkhill was aware. The remaining three were Chalkhill himself, Lord Hairstreak and the wizard retained to cast the transformation spell – a Halek-trained ninny called Puderow, Plumduff, Psodos… something of that sort. Everyone else involved with the Coronation had been told Hairstreak himself would be attending. There was not so much as a hint abroad that Chalkhill would be taking Hairstreak's place. Assuming Chalkhill ever got beyond his basic training.

  Of course, if he didn't get beyond his basic training, Hairstreak would have him murdered. Something slow and painful, no doubt.

  'I don't see why all this is necessary,' he said petulantly. 'The illusion spell will make me look exactly like His Lordship.'

  'Yes it will, Mr Chalkhill, but it will not help you move like him, which is what we're working on now. You realise what the problem is, of course – it's your bulk.'

  'My bulk?' Chalkhill echoed, appalled. He was a little overweight certainly, perhaps enough overweight to be called cuddly, but he hardly thought anyone in their right mind would refer to him as bulky.

  'You're a bigger man than Lord Hairstreak,' the Facemaster frowned, 'so you move differently. I'm not criticising you, but it's something we have to change. I'm bigger than Hairstreak too, but watch -'

  It was positively creepy. As the Facemaster set off across the room again, he seemed to shrink. His right shoulder dropped
in a characteristic Hairstreak posture. His features composed themselves into a grim, unforgiving mask. But most of all, his walk became an arrogant, insectile scuttle. There was no transformation spell, no physical resemblance at all, but you could almost imagine you were watching Black Hairstreak himself.

  'Now you do it,' Facemaster Wainscot told him.

  Chalkhill tried. Oh how Chalkhill tried. He dropped his shoulder, scrunched his body and made sortie after sortie across the polished floor. He studied his reflections in the mirrored walls. He tried to think himself into Lord Hairstreak like an actor taking on a part. He walked and walked and tried and tried until his feet began to ache.

  'It's no good,' the Facemaster said at last. 'We'll have to use the worm.'

  CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

  Brimstone was puffed by the third circuit of the fire, but thankfully the priest signalled them to stop. 'Stand side by side,' he instructed loudly. Then, dropping his voice, he whispered in Brimstone's ear, 'And try to look as if you're enjoying it.'

  Too breathless to answer, Brimstone contented himself with delivering a cutting look. Then he turned to smile briefly and hypocritically at his bride. She smiled back cheerfully. Five husbands! If she really did put them all down, she must have a fortune squirrelled away. This wedding could prove an exceptionally profitable enterprise.

  'Friends,' announced the priest in the general direction of the down-and-outs who looked as if they hadn't a friend between them, 'we're gathered here for blah-de-blah etcetera rhubarb and etcetera, ah-hummmm.''

  Brimstone looked at him in astonishment.

  'Full ceremony costs extra,' the priest whispered. 'Bride won't pay, but I can charge it on to you if you like.'

  Brimstone shook his head firmly. 'Get on with it,' he hissed.