A Distant Tomorrow

by Bertrice Small

  “Now,” Gaius Prospero said, “unless you wish a brand on your other buttock you will answer my question. Refuse me, and I will spend the remainder of the day watching as you are slowly executed in the most painful ways devised by my torturers. After you are branded a second time there is a lovely metal dildo which is hollow, and can be filled with either coals from the brazier, or ice. I will personally shove it up your fundament, my lord. Where is Terah? I will not ask you again.”

  “Across the Sea of Sagitta,” Arcas sobbed. He was a broken man.

  The emperor came from behind his worktable, signaling the torturers to draw Arcas to his feet. His cold eyes surveyed the man. “Tell me about it,” he said.

  Arcas swayed on his feet. He was very, very pale.

  “My lord emperor,” Jonah spoke softly, “perhaps a sip of wine to restore him?”

  Gaius Prospero nodded. “Give him some.” Then he waited while Arcas gulped down the wine.

  Able to stand on his own two legs again, Arcas shook off the hands of the two torturers. “I can tell you little about Terah, my lord emperor. Not,” he quickly added, “because I do not want to tell you. Because I have never been there. None of our race has. Our vessels meet their vessels at the midpoint of the sea. Or at least what we believe is the midpoint. There we exchange our goods for theirs. They have never permitted us to come farther. It has been that way between our peoples for centuries.”

  “How did Lara get to Terah, then?” Gaius Prospero wanted to know.

  “I gave her to one of their captains for the Dominus. I hoped to curry his favor,” Arcas admitted.

  “What goods do you take from them?” Gaius Prospero demanded.

  “All the luxuries that Hetar loves, my lord emperor. The fabrics, the gold and silver products, the gemstones,” Arcas said.

  “Your people do not create these products?” the emperor asked.

  “No, we trade for them,” Arcas responded.

  “You are no better than the Taubyl Traders then,” Gaius Prospero said, and he began to laugh. “What do your people do, Arcas?”

  “We fish, we cultivate what we need to eat, we compose songs, and of course we manage our trade with Terah,” was the reply.

  The emperor laughed a moment more, and then he grew serious. “For centuries Hetar has revered the Coastal Kings for the beautiful objects they brought to our markets, but it has all been a sham. Your people do little to justify your existence. That, however, will change come the spring. I am told by my Knight Commander who led the invasion of the Outlands that the Coastal province possesses much unused land, land that can be cultivated — and it will be. Your father has already been sent my instructions, Arcas, and he will continue to oversee the Coastal lands. As for you, you will report to my right hand, and obey his every directive. Do you understand me?”

  “Yes, my lord emperor,” Arcas said, bowing in servile fashion. He was too terrified to remind Gaius Prospero again of his promise that he, Arcas, would be the governor of the Coastal province. His left buttock burned cruelly with the brand that had been impressed into his soft helpless flesh.

  “Excellent,” Gaius Prospero said turning away, and returning to his seat. “You are dismissed, Arcas.”

  “Wait for me in my privy chamber,” Jonah instructed the man.

  When they were once again alone the emperor looked to the man he called his right hand. “I am almost sorry he cooperated,” he admitted. “I should have enjoyed shoving that dildo into him, and hearing him scream again. He thought I was weak, and that he could manipulate me, the fool!”

  “In time you will have your amusement with him, my lord emperor. I am sure he would make a nice toy for the lady Anora to play with, don’t you think?”

  “You are brilliant, Jonah! Of course that is just what I shall do. When he is no longer of use to us, Anora and I shall have him. She will enjoy that. It will please her greatly. I hope he will not die too quickly.”

  “As long as you are patient and take your time with him I am certain he will provide a good evening’s entertainment, my lord emperor,” Jonah murmured.

  “But now to Terah,” Gaius Prospero said. “I want you to speak with the representatives of the Shadow Princes when they return from the winter recess. I would have them transport you to Terah. Your eyes will be my eyes, Jonah. First we will open negotiations with them for trade. We will gain the goods we want more cheaply while keeping the price in the markets the same. We shall have a greater profit now that it is no longer necessary for us to purchase these goods from the Coastal Kings. And in time we shall learn the strengths and weaknesses of this Terah. Eventually we will make it a part of Hetar, Jonah.”

  “The High Council does not resume its meetings until the spring stars appear in the sky, my lord emperor,” Jonah said. “As you have pointed out, the Shadow Princes will not return until then.”

  “Make haste slowly, Jonah,” Gaius Prospero said jovially. “You must spend the next few weeks making plans to keep the people of the City calm and contented until I can bring this new prosperity into our world. Go now. Both Vilia and Anora are waiting for me. Both will have a litany of complaints, but I am more of a mind to listen to them now that I have gotten what I wanted this day. Go! Go!”

  Jonah bowed to the emperor, and withdrew from him, hurrying back to his own privy chamber where Arcas awaited him. “Good,” he said to the man. “You are ready now, I assume, to accept my offer.”

  “You let him mark me with his brand,” Arcas said resentfully.

  “Did you actually expect me to stop him?” Jonah responded. “The emperor is a hard man, and you have learned a valuable lesson today. Do not cross Gaius Prospero.”

  “Where is this room you have found for me?” Arcas said. “I find I am very weak.”

  “Lionel will take you. Go to Maeve Scarlet’s Pleasure House tonight. She will see your wound is cured of its hurt. She has an excellent healer among her servants. Then relax, and enjoy pleasures with one of her women. I surmise you have not had them in many months now. It is unhealthy to bottle up one’s lusts, and it clouds the judgment, as you must surely have realized after this afternoon. Rest tomorrow, and then you will find the awning designated for you next to the seller of lotions, soaps and perfumes in the main market square. He is very popular with the ladies, and women do gossip quite a bit. Who knows what bits of information you will gain there? You will report to me on the last day of each week in the hour before the sunset. Do you understand? And Arcas, do try to remain discreet. You will be watched.”

  “I understand, my lord Jonah,” Arcas responded. Then he said, “He will not create me governor, will he?”

  “For now it is to Hetar’s advantage that everything remain as it has been,” Jonah said. “You are alive, Arcas, and you are now taken care of. If not in the manner in which you were raised, at least comfortably. You have a purpose, and in time you will, I am certain, regain your status among us. Go now,” he said, and watched as Arcas went slowly from the room. The brand on his buttock blazed bright crimson. “Lionel,” he called to his manservant. “Get him another robe.”

  When he was alone again Jonah considered the afternoon that had just passed. So the emperor wanted him to go to Terah. That was going to present a problem, but he would figure it out in time. And he did have time. And Vilia would help him. Intelligent, she now realized her ambitions would be better served with him than with her husband. Yes, Vilia was a treasure. And while Gaius Prospero did not know it yet, she was Jonah’s treasure, not the emperor’s. The right hand of the emperor smiled to himself. Everything was going exactly as he had hoped.

  Chapter

  17

  MAGNUS HAUK watched his wife playing a board game with Prince Kaliq, and he was jealous. He knew he had absolutely no reason to be, but he was. That in itself added to his anger. He knew the look of intensity on Lara’s beautiful face was brought about by her concentration on the game, yet he found himself wondering if that was all she thought about. />
  The prince reached out with a single finger, and touched the tip of Lara’s nose. “Make your move,” he said softly, a hint of a smile upon his lips.

  “Do not rush me, Kaliq,” Lara responded as she studied the pieces. “You always do that when you think you might lose,” she chuckled.

  “I do not!” he denied it.

  Lara laughed, and moved her game piece. “Aye, you do.”

  “I think you have devised some manner of cheating that I have not yet figured out,” he said. “You have always been wickedly clever.”

  Again she laughed. “I am just better at Herder than you are,” Lara told him. “Vartan and I played regularly.”

  “Did he beat you?” Kaliq wanted to know.

  “Now and again,” Lara admitted, “but women are really better at these games than men are, my prince. We are willing to wait for our reward, and are not so greedy.”

  Kaliq moved his next piece on the board.

  “Oh dear,” Lara murmured.

  “What?” he demanded nervously.

  “I should not have done that if I were you,” Lara said, and then she moved her final piece from the board. “I win.”

  He grimaced. “I thought I had that piece blocked,” he grumbled.

  “Would you like to play another game?” Lara inquired sweetly.

  “And be humbled again? Nay, my love, I believe once a night is more than enough for me,” the Prince said ruefully.

  “As you wish, my lord Prince,” Lara replied.

  “It is late,” Magnus Hauk said loudly. They had been speaking as if he were not even there. “We should get some rest. I have been considering that it is past time we went home to Terah. I have been gone far too long.”

  “Yes,” Lara agreed, not recognizing his pique. “I should pay a visit to the new Outlands to see how they are all getting on there. The rest of Hetar can wait.”

  “You have other duties, Domina,” Magnus said sharply. “There is the small matter of an heir for Terah that should come before anything else.”

  “I told you that I would give you an heir when I deemed the time right,” Lara responded. “I am not some brood animal, my lord Dominus.”

  Kaliq felt sympathy for Magnus Hauk. He was hopelessly in love with Lara, but he was also filled with jealousy. Until he could gain a mastery of himself he was going to have difficulty with her. And Lara, the Prince thought, also needed to consider that for now, and perhaps for always, she was this man’s wife. Her destiny had not yet been fulfilled entirely, but neither was it going to be any time soon.

  Lara, he spoke to her in her thoughts. He is jealous, poor mortal. While you and I know he has no reason to be, he does not know that. Be patient with him.

  She looked directly at the Prince, and a flick of an eyelash told him she had heard. Rising from the game table she walked over to her husband. “You are right, Magnus, it is time we returned home to Terah. But a babe takes time to make. Before we set to work at such a pleasant duty I really should visit the new Outlands to be certain all is well. It is not just for myself, but it is for Terah. I have convinced you to introduce these new folk into your lands. I must be sure they have resettled well, and will be no bother to you, for that is what I promised you, Magnus, my husband. And, too, I have Vartan’s children to see. I need to know all is well with them.” She put a gentle hand on his muscled arm, and gave him a small smile. “I promised you a son, and I will give him to you in due time.”

  Kaliq could sense the jealousy draining from the Dominus’s heart. His turquoise-blue eyes grew misty as they looked down at Lara. His stern features softened. Kaliq almost laughed aloud, but he kept his own handsome features blank. Lara was indeed magical, especially in her ability to cajole an angry man. But Magnus Hauk had a strength that she was going to need in the times to come. She might be cleverer, and more aware where the world around them was concerned, but Kaliq could see that the Dominus of Terah was learning quickly.

  Lara turned back to the prince. “We bid you a good night, Kaliq,” she said.

  He nodded, and bowed formally to them both. “When you are ready tomorrow to be transported I shall be happy to oblige you both,” he told her, and then watched as they left him. Kaliq sighed. Tomorrow he would tell them what his spies in the City had reported to the Shadow Princes today. The emperor had forced the foolish Arcas into telling him about Terah. He wanted Jonah to be transported to Terah by the Princes in order to open up direct trade negotiations. Thanks to Arcas, the Coastal Kings had now lost their monopoly on the trade with Terah.

  When the next day dawned hot over the desert outside of the cliff palaces, he saw that Magnus Hauk was in a much better frame of mind. Obviously Lara had spent the night pleasuring him, and restoring his good humor. They joined him for the first meal of the day in his small private garden. The silent servants brought in bowls of ripened golden apricots, pale green grapes, and tiny yellow bananas along with individual cups of fresh yogurt. The delicate round loaf of bread with its crisp crust was fresh from the ovens and filled with berries and raisins. A dainty silver dish held sweet butter. Another contained honey in its comb. In deference to the Dominus, who ate a heartier first meal of the day, there were hard-boiled eggs in a bowl set by his place along with a plate of meat. The servants filled the goblets with fresh mixed juice.

  When the meal was well underway the Shadow Prince told them of what they had learned from their informants in the City. “What do you want us to do?” he asked Magnus Hauk.

  “Can you refuse to transport them?” the Dominus asked.

  “The more you refuse Gaius Prospero the more he will want to come,” Lara said. “We cannot hazard that they discover the Sea of Obscura on the edge of this desert. Hetarians are not explorers by nature, but we cannot take the chance. You do not want them coming at us through the new Outlands.”

  “What do you suggest?” the Shadow Prince asked her.

  Lara turned to her husband. “This is your decision, Magnus, but now that they know more than we were willing to tell them, they will come. But we are still in a position to control their coming.”

  The Dominus considered for several long minutes. Then turning to Kaliq he said, “What if you told them we knew that they were coming in the next year, but that we wanted them to come across the sea? To send word to us through the Coastal Kings when their ambassador was ready so we might meet his vessel, and escort it with due honor to Terah. Do you think Gaius Prospero would honor our request?”

  “Aye, he very well might,” Kaliq responded. “For now he cannot go to war with you, for he is too busy in the Outlands. And he has also discovered how much land is unused within the Coastal province. He intends confiscating it for his own cultivation, I have not a doubt. That way he can control the price of food in the markets.”

  “And by controlling the price of food he can control the people,” Lara murmured.

  “So his only interest in Terah for the interim is to open a negotiation with us,” the Dominus said. “He’s a wily fellow, and in the end we shall have to deal with him.”

  “But for now,” the Shadow Prince said, “you have time to prepare your people and your defenses against Hetar.”

  “Could we not create a vacuum within the leadership of Hetar if Gaius Prospero were no longer there?” Lara wondered aloud.

  “The difficulty with Gaius Prospero’s ambitions is that they have roused the ambitions of others as well,” Kaliq responded. “As long as each province was governed by its leaders and all had an equal say in the High Council, Hetar could remain at peace. But nothing remains the same forever, my friends. Ambition rises with the changing times. Hetar is overpopulated in the City and the Midlands. The rest of us have remained isolated, the Foresters because of their foolish insistence for their racial purity, the Coastal Kings because of their great distance. And we because of our magical abilities, which are not for the common folk. But all that is changing now, and we must change with it. Hetar believes it is the only world he
re, but it is not. And it will soon learn otherwise. Terah has known better for centuries, but there is even more here than Terah can imagine,” Kaliq told them. “It is Lara who is bringing about these changes, whether she realizes it or not. Your wife, Magnus Hauk, is very important in the scheme of things.”

  “What is she to do?” the Dominus asked curious.

  “Exactly what she is doing,” Kaliq replied, and Magnus looked confused.

  Lara laughed. “It is the Prince’s duty to be oblique, Husband,” she told him.

  “My destiny seems to unfold slowly like a bolt of heavy rich cloth. If you have told us all we need to know, Kaliq, then perhaps it is time for Magnus and me to go home to Terah.”

  The Shadow Prince turned to the Dominus. “When we are requested to transport Hetar’s emissary to Terah we will refuse, and suggest the more formal route you have presented to us. The emperor will be impatient and irritated by the delay, but we will see he acquiesces for if the truth be known he has no other choice. And we will warn you well in advance of their request and their coming,” he told them.

  “Keep them from your desert, Kaliq,” Lara said. “They have already encroached along its scrublands, I am told.”

  “No longer,” he replied. “They found it too inhospitable, and besides now they have the Outlands in which to expand. It is a far more pleasant land,” Kaliq chuckled. “We seemed to have an unusual number of sandstorms and ferocious heat waves in the scrubland in recent months. Those poor Midlanders could not take it. They fled back to the overcrowded farms of their families very quickly. The emperor then sent a delegation at the request of the Squire. They came back declaring the scrubland useless and uninhabitable even for goats and scorpions. The emperor will not intrude upon us again. He sees no profit in our desert, and believes we spend all our time tending to the horses we sell into Hetar. He told me himself it must be difficult work, given the sandstorms and the lack of useful vegetation.”

  “Does he not know of your palaces, and that magnificent fertile valley between the cliffs?” Magnus Hauk asked, surprised. “Where does he imagine you live?”