The Ikessar Falcon

by Villoso, K. S.

  “As opposed to you?”

  “I told you that I’m an honest man, Queen Talyien. Honest enough, anyway.” His eyes hardened. “I am sorry, for what it’s worth. What would you have me tell my wife? That I lost our fortune because I let some woman get to me? The blood money I’ve had to cough out for the families of the men who died at the governor’s office, my assets that were confiscated because of my involvement in the first place…”

  “Illegal assets, I was led to believe. Apologies don’t mean a damn thing, Lord Han. And here I thought we were doing so well in our newfound friendship.”

  “Not as well as I had hoped for.”

  “Sleeping with you wouldn’t have changed a damn thing. You know that.”

  He laughed. “A man’s whimsy.”

  “An old man’s whimsy.”

  “You know how to cut into a man’s soul. You really do.”

  “And you of all people know how badly I react to force.”

  “Don’t think you have to remind me. It’s why you’ve got me by the balls in the first place.” He sniffed and fell silent, forehead creased as he continued to watch the bloody burial—if you would even call it that. The bodies were being discarded like animals. To the soldiers, these were carcasses, not people.

  I remembered, with a hint of shame, how much I had admired the way the Zarojo ran their cities when I had first arrived at Anzhao. It was the sort of prosperity that Jin-Sayeng had once enjoyed. Perhaps it was better if we lingered in poverty if this was the price to pay. Every upheaval, every shift in power, seemed to come at a cost. I looked back at the limp bodies, drenched in mud and rain, unseeing eyes staring at the godless skies, and imagined I could feel my father’s hand on my shoulder. His own actions, nearly thirty-two years ago, had resulted in tens of thousands of deaths. This…this would’ve been nothing to him.

  I saw the soldiers parting in the distance, and recognized the straight, narrow-shouldered form of Ino Qun as he strode in. Qun was still wearing the same sombre clothes that I remembered, with the same pencil-thin moustache over his lip—at first glance every bit the government official, the sort people trusted. I made that same mistake in the first place, months ago when I had first sought shelter in his household. He was speaking to the soldiers, heedless of the pelting rain.

  I felt Lo Bahn take hold of my elbow and, with one last snort, led me down the path.

  Qun was still speaking to his soldiers when we arrived. Two guards stopped us in our tracks, spears crossed to block our way. Qun tipped his head forward, rain dripping over his square hat. He looked like he had been expecting us to appear from the darkness all along. “Queen Talyien of Jin-Sayeng,” he said without a hint of surprise on his voice. “You honour us with your presence.”

  It was a thinly veiled insult, especially considering that he was the one who had me brought here. “Well, but how can I miss your promotion?” I asked, responding to smooth affront with my own practiced words. “Well-deserved, I hope,” I added.

  “Why wouldn’t they choose me?” Qun asked. “I’ve served faithfully. There was a vice governor, but he was struck with an unfortunate accident the same week our dear Governor Zheshan disappeared. The gods could be most unkind sometimes.” His eyes darted to Lo Bahn. “Lord Han. I don’t think I’ve ever thanked you for sheltering the Beloved Queen. You’ve done the empire a great service.”

  Lo Bahn spat to the side. “Spare me the pleasantries, Qun.”

  “Lord Han is angry. Rightfully so—the law can be very specific at times. He is, however, lucky to still be alive. The Zarojo Empire rewards good service quite appropriately. You know this, of course, Lord Han. I truly hope that it was a mere slip of the memory that caused you to try to convince us for months there was no Queen of Jin-Sayeng in your safekeeping, that you didn’t even think Jin-Sayeng had a queen, and that, furthermore, if you met her, you would…and I quote, fuck the living daylights out of her first before handing her over to us.” He gave a smile, a true politician’s smile that was better than my own.

  Lo Bahn didn’t even looked embarrassed. “I say things, so do you,” he said. “What of it?”

  I strode forward. “We need to speak, Governor Qun.”

  “We are speaking already, are we not?”

  I gave a grim smile and glanced to my right, where the soldiers were still tipping the bodies into the gorge. “This is all a bit too much, isn’t it? These are my people.”

  Qun shook his head. “Drop the false concern. These aren’t yours anymore. The Empire gave them full citizenship and allowed them to live as if they were born Zarojo all along. They, unfortunately, chose to conspire against our beloved Governor Zheshan. This manner of death is pretty lenient, as it stands. We could’ve rounded them all up and cut them to pieces in front of a crowd.”

  I wasn’t sure how he could say such things with a straight face. The difference between an elected official and one like me who had no choice, I suppose: he was a lot better at pretending. “Perhaps Lord Han is right,” I said. “Let’s get to the point, Governor Qun. You and I both know what’s going on. I’d like to find a solution we can both benefit from. My precarious situation prevents me from offering too much to you right now, but as soon as I’m able…”

  Qun held a hand up. “Queen Talyien, I don’t think you are aware of what’s going on.”

  I rubbed rain from my eyes. “What do you mean?”

  Qun clicked his tongue. His soldiers parted, revealing two bound men on their knees. I looked back at Qun in confusion. “You probably don’t know them,” Qun said, a faint smile on his face. “So let me introduce you. Jien Hatzhi, and a son. I’m not exactly sure which one. The other one err, died resisting arrest.”

  I thought I felt my heart stop. “You…”

  “Mmm,” Qun said. “Did you think you could slink around Anzhao City without your activities being documented? Come now, Queen Talyien. Surely you can’t be that naïve. But we can’t have you leaving the city, now, can’t we?”

  “This is a personal matter between my husband and me. It has nothing to do with Anzhao’s politics.”

  “I beg to differ, Queen Talyien. Your husband was last seen on a ship leaving the docks with a retinue of Governor Zheshan’s finest soldiers. A thing like that, happening so soon right before dear Zheshan was found missing? Suspicious, mighty suspicious. Of course, we had to know where they were headed. It was a chartered ship; it left no schedule.”

  A thought drifted into my head. Let him catch Rayyel. Let him take care of him, and be better for it. But I quickly realized the danger of such an arrangement. Did I want them learning about what my husband was trying to do? About troubles that were better kept behind Oka Shto’s doors, where they belonged?

  “Rayyel didn’t conspire against Governor Gon Zheshan, you bastard,” I found myself saying. “He…” I felt Lo Bahn’s hand on my elbow. I turned to him. “The man committed suicide, Han!” I snapped. In the same moment, I heard a cry. One of Qun’s soldiers had stuck a spear into Jien Hatzhi’s son. The father was knelt over the crumpled body.

  “We told you everything!” the man screamed. “The Ruby Grove featherstone mines! That’s where the merchant was sending his wares! What more do you want?”

  Qun nodded. Another soldier killed him on the spot, a spear right through his neck. He fell on top of his son.

  “Cleaning up is such a messy business,” Qun said. He seemed amused by his own observation. He turned to me. “We have, of course, sent men to bring your husband Rayyel to justice.”

  “He didn’t kill Zheshan,” I said. “If you’ve been watching us this whole time, then you’d know…”

  “Woman!” Lo Bahn warned.

  I took a step towards Qun. “You don’t really believe that about Rayyel and Zheshan, do you? It was Lo Bahn who attacked the office. Yet despite dragging Lo Bahn in for questioning—torture, even—you haven’t tried to arrest him. Why not? Is it because an arrest will mean an investigation, and an investigation may lead y
ou to Zheshan’s body, the one we hid in his garden in a jar?”

  Lo Bahn began to swear. I ignored him. A flaw in my personality, I suppose—I felt very little remorse for people who betrayed me first. A loyal friend, a bad enemy—all I did was borrow a bit of his poison. Just like he said, I had to look out for my own.

  Qun stared at me. His eyes were cold. Hard.

  I smiled. “Such an investigation would be bad for you, Qun. Confirmation of Zheshan’s death will mean a re-election. It’ll mean—”

  A guard grabbed my shoulder and struck me on the jaw before I could finish speaking. I tried to strike back, but another had his hand on my wrist and twisted it, driving me to my knees.

  “Enough,” Qun said. “I don’t know why you think you have the upper hand.”

  On the ground, I laughed. “Qun, you snake. Anything happens to me, word will get out of what really happened to Gon Zheshan. Once his body is discovered, you’ll lose this cushy position of yours.”

  “Did you think such a thing worries me?” Qun asked. He turned to the soldier behind him. “I want both of them detained.”

  Lo Bahn roared and charged the guard nearest to him. The blow barely rattled the armoured man, who brought an elbow down the back of his neck. More guards stepped forward, crowding him.

  I lifted my head towards Qun. “You fool. You think you can hide this and somehow pin the blame on Rayyel? He is a Jinsein monarch from a respected clan. You’d risk stirring the wrath of every warlord in Jin-Sayeng and bring war to your doorstep?”

  “War will happen, Queen Talyien, whether we want it or not,” Qun said in a low voice. “My only concern is preserving what little I can.” He turned around. “Send a messenger,” he told his attendant. “We know where Prince Rayyel is. Interesting that he would choose such a location, but all the better for us. He’s heading straight to his death.”

  Chapter Four

  Rivers of Blood

  I barely had time to process what he said. A soldier came with iron manacles, jerking me to my feet to snap them on. “We’re all aware of your penchant for violence,” Qun said easily. “But I wouldn’t try anything if I was you. You’d just hurt yourself again.”

  My first instinct was to tell him I didn’t give a damn, but the lump forming in my jaw made it difficult to open my mouth fast enough. Qun clicked his tongue and stepped towards me, hands folded behind his back. “The queen and I will take a walk,” he called out.

  A few guards appeared to escort us away from the gorge. I limped after him. The rain had stopped. Over on the horizon, the sky was turning red, with a slight purplish haze that crested along the city’s silhouette. I could already see the faint impression of a few stars appearing behind the clouds.

  “So is this normal around here?” I asked, raising my voice. “Kill people for a few pesky votes?”

  “No one will miss them,” Qun said simply.

  I made a sound.

  He smiled. “Protesting. You? Considering who your father was?”

  “My father never…”

  He lifted his head up high, a smug grin on his face as he waited for me to finish my sentence. I trailed off, mumbling under my breath. Yeshin had, actually. More times than I cared to find out. Never people he was responsible for, of course—always the enemy’s—and he never crowed about it. But I supposed that someone like Qun wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

  “You could’ve made this so easy,” Qun continued. “If you had just let the assassins kill Prince Rayyel and Governor Zheshan in the first place. We would both have what we want now, without the fuss.”

  “What do you mean what I want?”

  He sniffed. “You wanted to get home, didn’t you? With a husband? So you can go back to ruling your despicable, backwater nation?”

  “You meant Yuebek,” I said dryly. “I didn’t know you liked jokes, Qun.”

  “A prince who could trample your pathetic nation with a flick of his little finger is hardly a joke,” he said.

  I shrugged, chains and all. “Perhaps. Too bad he’s dead.”

  “You know who else is dead?”

  We stared at each other for half a heartbeat. I knew what he was getting at. I smiled—slowly. “You order the death of hundreds of innocents, but you’ll hold the death of your wife against me? Come now, Qun. You play the game—you must know the stakes.”

  “Do you know yours?”

  I licked my lips.

  “Do you know,” Qun continued, his voice dropping an octave, “how often I’ve dreamt of tearing you to pieces, limb by limb, over the last three months?”

  “I’ve been told that obsession isn’t healthy. You should try meditation.” I gazed up, realizing he had led me back to Shang Azi. We were standing right in front of Lo Bahn’s gates.

  “We’ll see if you can learn to keep your smart mouth shut.” He turned to his men. “Burn it down!” he cried. “Kill them all!”

  “What do you want, Qun?” I snapped, straining at my chains. His soldiers were marching ahead, drawing their swords as they met Lo Bahn’s guards. It wasn’t even a fair fight—the soldiers had them pinned to the ground in mere moments. I reeled back from the scent of blood and tried to slam into Qun. A soldier pushed me away.

  Qun wiped his hands in distaste. He nodded at the soldier, who dragged me through the gates.

  The servants fled at first sight of the soldiers, who mercilessly bore down on them, hacking and stabbing like they were nothing but stalks of wheat. Some of them stared at me as they died, pleading for me to do something. Anything. I was Queen, wasn’t I?

  “Governor Qun,” I started.

  The man smiled from the corner of his lips. “Are you going to beg me to stop? Do well enough, and I might consider it.”

  I jerked my head back. “Why are you doing this?”

  “You said it yourself,” he said. “An arrest will mean an investigation. So I’m getting rid of all the evidence.”

  “You can just let us go.”

  “Your persistence is astounding.” He pushed back on his heels as his soldiers appeared, carrying two of Lo Bahn’s sons and his youngest daughter. They deposited them in front of us. The children’s faces were streaked with dirt and tears.

  “What,” I repeated, “do you want?” My voice had risen.

  He smiled. “You’ve got one of your own, too, don’t you? Ah. I can see it in your eyes. That panic. I knew you were a mother, but to see the Bitch Queen of Jin-Sayeng raise her hackles over something like this is…surprising. You showed your hand far too easily, Queen Talyien.” Qun snapped his fingers.

  “Stop!”

  I didn’t expect him to listen to me, and steeled myself for the sight of the children’s heads rolling along the dirt with the rest of them. But then he turned halfway, his lips pulled into a grin. “Show me where you buried Gon Zheshan,” he said.

  I didn’t even hesitate. I led them deeper into the garden, down into the orchard of star-apple trees in the furthest corner, near the fences. “Over there.” I indicated a spot between two benches, half-hidden in the shadows.

  A soldier arrived with a shovel. Qun took it from him and held it towards me.

  “Dig him out,” Qun said, teeth gleaming.

  I realized something at once: that he had no intention of killing me, but wanted to, and that the best thing he could do at the moment was humiliate me. It was a chilling thought. But the joke was on him. His Zarojo propriety didn’t understand Jinsein pride. I took the shovel from him without a word and sank it into the soil, pushing it down with my foot. It was awkward with the manacles on, but I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of complaining about it.

  Three months of rain had done its share of packing the earth down. I sweated in silence while the soldiers watched me in confusion, wondering, perhaps, why a queen would sink so low. What would their own officials have done? Went down on their knees and begged out of fear of getting a little dirty? I would’ve laughed if I wasn’t exerting myself. The dar
kness didn’t help, and I struck my own toes more than once, but I soon unearthed the lip of the clay jar. Fingers shaking, I worked at the soil around it until I uncovered the lid.

  “Open it,” Qun said. He was enjoying this too much.

  I struck at the lid once, and then another time. It shattered.

  The stench of rot exploded in the air. I staggered back, my arms burning, and caught sight of the tip of the corpse’s head, stiff with dirt. Qun wrinkled his nose as he took a few steps forward to peer into the jar.

  “That’s the bastard all right,” he said. “Poor Gon. Bit off more than he could chew. I warned him this was too much for someone like him.” He whistled to the soldiers. “Take the corpse and throw it in the gorge with the others.”

  Sweat poured down my face. “The children—” I began.

  “How old is your son, Queen Talyien?”

  It was my turn to smirk. “Threaten my child, Qun. That’s right. Give me a reason to make you bleed. Not that I don’t have enough already.”

  “Biala and I never had children,” he mused. “Probably for the best. She wasn’t fond of them—thought they screeched too much. And they can be such unnecessary complications, don’t you think? How much does your son screech?”

  “Fuck you,” I told him.

  He broke into a wide grin before he glanced at the soldier behind him. “Do you have her men?”

  “Not yet, Governor,” the soldier replied. “They escaped.”

  Qun’s eyes flashed. “Incompetent fools.” He took a deep breath. “Consider yourself lucky, Queen Talyien. Since I need your compliance, Lo Bahn’s children may live for now. Do try not to make this needlessly difficult for us.”

  ~~~

  I was dragged back into the city, straight to the dungeons of the governor’s office. Lo Bahn was sitting in the cell next to mine. He stared at me, eyes hard. He must’ve heard the rumours.

  I slumped down, feeling like I’d been dragged between horses. “Your children are safe,” I said.