“How many times have you met with this…this specter, sire?” asked Nestar, emboldened by Shobar’s unusually familiar tone.
“Only once at this spot,” admitted Shobar. “But he has appeared many times in my dreams, and each time he has predicted events that came to pass. I am certain he will guide me—guide us—to destroy the Zon.”
ESME FOUND HERSELF in Lady Selene’s office again. She was in her own traveling shift now, freshly laundered. Megara sat beside the Resident. Lady Selene’s handmaiden had just poured out three mugs of steaming katsch, a drink to which Esme was rapidly becoming addicted. Lady Selene waited for her handmaiden to retire before speaking.
“The siege of Aurora has been broken, Your Majesty,” she said. “The besieging Hilson army has been defeated and is streaming back to the Northern Marches in disarray. The routed troops are being set upon by loyal Brigon barons as they pass through their territories.”
“And their commander, my cousin Kantus?”
“Dead,” said Lady Selene without going into details. “His head has just been delivered to us from Aurora. Would you like to see it?”
Esme shivered and drew her cloak around her.
“No,” she said. “He was not my favorite cousin, but I have known him all my life. I mourn his passing.”
“He was a nasty brute,” said Lady Selene. “We are well rid of him. But that is not why I asked you to see me. The time has come for you to demonstrate your commitment to the Zon alliance that was the centerpiece of your husband’s rule. Are you willing to do so?”
“I will do my duty as a Shelsor,” said Esme cautiously. “But I will not be a Zon puppet.”
“We both seek the same outcome,” said Lady Selene smoothly. “The restoration of Harald to the throne of Briga.”
“How can you bring that about? Kantus’s attack on Aurora was a diversion, a test, but it served its purpose. It showed Zon vulnerabilities as well as my father’s capabilities so that when he called up the Brigon barons, most responded. I hear that his army in Dreslin is the biggest ever assembled on Tarsus.”
“You are astute, ma’am,” said Lady Selene. And sharper than I thought, she added inwardly. “We are cognizant of the risk. We have raised Arch Baron Lothar to the throne of Utrea and have forged an alliance with him. He has occupied Karsk, your childhood home. At the moment he is quiescent there, but a word from us, and he will sack the city.”
“Why should I believe you?” Esme asked, but her voice betrayed her uncertainty.
“Have you been out in the courtyard today?”
“Yes, I have seen the great Zon airship above the Residency.”
“That is our airship Thetis, riding on sky anchors out of the reach of barbarian projectiles. Your mother, the Duchess Arsene, is a prisoner aboard, along with her ladies. They will soon be ferried down to the Residency, so you may hear of the fate of Karsk from their lips.”
Esme looked into Lady Selene’s cool gray eyes and knew that she was far too clever to lie about something that could so easily be verified.
“A second airship, the Hydromeda, will be arriving tomorrow,” continued Lady Selene. “She is even bigger and more powerful than the Thetis. Together, the two airships have enough firepower to destroy the army your father has assembled, large as it is.”
“No matter,” said Esme. “He will fight.”
“I know,” said Lady Selene, adopting an earnest tone. “Here is another area where we have common goals. Both of us wish to avoid bloodshed. For if it comes to battle, tens of thousands of Briga’s best warriors will be killed. Then when we restore Harald to the throne, he will preside over an enfeebled kingdom. It may even be weakened to the point of tempting an invasion from Utrea or Daksin…or a rebellion from one of the more powerful barons like Chenak.”
“My father may yet win,” said Esme. “Even with your two airships, you cannot be sure of victory over a host as large as the one he has assembled. There is no precedent for its size.”
“True enough,” said Lady Selene, realizing that the truth would serve her ends better than prevarication. “So we must tilt the balance in our favor. We must reduce the size of this host that your father has assembled.”
“I don’t understand,” said Esme, sounding more confused than she really was.
“I would like you to meet with Red Khalif Alumus and split him from your father,” said Lady Selene, watching Esme carefully. “If he switches back to side with Harald and you, he will sway several barons, especially the more devout ones. If they return to their castles, that will sap your father’s strength.”
“Alumus never cared much for Harald,” said Esme. “Why would he support him now?”
“I know Alumus. He has always admired your charms, has he not? If you hint that he may enjoy your favors, there is nothing he will not do for you.”
“That is so like you Zon!” Esme exclaimed. “Using feminine wiles to get what you want!”
“Are you saying that you have never done so?”
Esme opened her mouth, but then closed it. She had to admit that there was more than a grain of truth in what Lady Selene said.
“But you are asking me to play the whore,” Esme protested after a pause. “To offer myself in exchange for material reward, like a common prostitute.”
“Oh, don’t be so melodramatic, ma’am,” said Lady Selene. “We seek strategic advantage, not material gain. We are both women of the world. We know how to drape our scarves, bat our eyelashes, swing our hips, and toss our heads to make men lose theirs. I am sure you can have Alumus eating out of the palm of your hand in no time, if you put your mind to it.”
Esme bit her lip.
“You are also asking me to deliver my father’s head to you,” she said unhappily.
“That is not me, ma’am,” said Lady Selene. “You said yourself that you faced a choice between your husband and your father. You made your choice when you stole over to the Residency in the dead of night.”
They sat in silence, sipping their katsch for a few long moments. Eventually, Esme spoke.
“How do you expect me to meet the Red Khalif?”
Megara finally entered the conversation.
“We have it all arranged, Your Majesty,” she said. “We will take you into the Great Stony Keep in Dreslin Center as we did before. But this time we will deliver you to a private meeting with the Red Khalif.”
“It seems I have little choice,” said Esme. “When do you propose to go?”
She was not especially surprised when Megara said, “As soon as possible, ma’am. We have an airboat standing by.”
“Well, I am ready,” said Esme, unenthusiastic.
“This is an important meeting,” said Lady Selene. “It is critical that you dazzle Alumus and secure him. My handmaiden has laid out an ensemble for you.”
She tapped her wrist bracer, and her handmaiden appeared bearing a gown, shoes, and a jewelry box. Lady Selene had ordered the ensemble to be put together on a priority basis. The gown was one of hers, altered to fit Esme’s smaller frame, and the jewelry was from her personal collection. The shoes had been made from scratch, using lasts from the boots Esme had worn on her trek from Dreslin Center.
“You may use my boudoir to change,” said Lady Selene. “My handmaiden will wait on you and escort you to the airboat when you are ready.”
Esme nodded her acquiescence and followed the handmaiden to Lady Selene’s luxurious suite. She was used to wealth and comfort, but the appointments of Lady Selene’s boudoir far surpassed anything she had experienced. The handmaiden quickly and efficiently stripped her, anointed her with soothing lotions, and gave her a light massage. Then she dressed her in Lady Selene’s exquisite garments and dabbed a delicate perfume behind her ears, on her throat, and in some intimate places that caused Esme to gasp. Esme was used to being waited on, but this was a level of service beyond anything she had imagined.
She looked at herself in Lady Selene’s three-dimensional mirror and twirled
on the beautifully fitted high-heeled shoes. The gown was semi-diaphanous, but the cut and fall were such that it did not appear in the least vulgar. It emphasized her pert figure without blandishing it. The ornaments were understated, but Esme knew jewelry and recognized their enormous value. Lady Selene had thoughtfully provided her with one of her tiaras to help her feel queenly. The irony of wearing an Allerand tiara to this meeting was not lost on her.
THE HANDMAIDEN LED her to Residency hangar where a black airboat was waiting with its engines running. It was the same machine in which she had made her previous foray into the Great Stony Keep. Jena stood at the head of the ramp and smiled as Esme hurried up.
Jena’s appreciative look spoke volumes, and Esme colored as she approached her. Esme was handed into the airboat, and the hatch was sealed behind her. The admiration of the attractive huntress boosted Esme’s confidence further.
Jena led Esme to the cockpit where Megara and Felicia sat in the pilot and copilots’ seats. She helped the Brigon queen into an auxiliary seat and snapped on the seat harness before buckling herself in. Megara looked over her shoulder.
“All set? Here we go,” she said, opening the throttles and easing the airboat out of the hangar.
The short winter day had faded, and dusk was turning into a deeper darkness as they rose above the Residency. Megara had the engines in quiet mode, so they moved slowly. Megara flicked some switches and picked up the feeds from the Zon bugs in the Great Stony Keep. She rapidly scanned through a number of different feeds until she found the ones she wanted. Esme’s eyes opened wide as she saw corridors in the Great Stony Keep on some of the viewscreens. The corridors were empty and quiet, with flickering light from wall-mounted torches.
They reached an altitude of two thousand meters, and the gray bulk of the Thetis appeared on their port quarter. Megara opened a comm channel to the seignora of the deck on the airship, identified herself, and explained why she was flying without running lights. The seignora acknowledged, and then to Megara’s amusement, flashed “good luck” on the airship’s running lights.
Imperceptibly they drifted over the walls of Dreslin Center. Megara concentrated on flying the airboat while Felicia and Jena both monitored the viewscreens with the feed from the Great Stony Keep.
“The Red Khalif should be coming any minute,” said Jena to Esme. “We have been monitoring his movements. He always prays in the small chapel at this time of day. Do you know where that is?”
“Yes,” said Esme in a low voice, recalling her last interview with Alumus in that very room.
Their previous flight to the Great Stony Keep had been stored in the airboat’s data banks, and Megara cued it up into the autopilot. The airboat drifted in to the wide balcony of the royal palace where they had landed before, and Megara gently set the airboat down. Megara and Jena escorted Esme to the main hatch, and Felicia remained at the controls. They draped a heavy cloak around Esme’s shoulders before hitting the hatch release. The two huntresses went down the ramp first and looked around, visually confirming what they already knew from the airboat’s bio-scanners—the balcony was untenanted.
Megara returned to the ramp where Esme stood and whispered, “It looks clear.” It was a cold night with light flurries. The sentries on duty were doubtless warming themselves at their watch fires.
“Escort me to the balcony door,” said Esme to Megara, surprising her with her commanding tone. “Once in the Great Stony Keep, I will find my way to Alumus’s chapel. You need not wait for me. If I fail, my life is forfeit; you cannot save me. And if I succeed, I will be safe here, for the throne is mine.”
Megara nodded and relayed the command to Jena. The two huntresses escorted Esme to the heavy balcony door. It was secured, but Megara produced a tool from her weapons belt and unlocked it. The door was heavy, and they opened it with an effort. They made sure the interior corridor was clear before allowing Esme to enter. They watched her disappear down the torch-lit passage and then returned to the airboat to monitor the streaming feed from bugs planted throughout the Great Stony Keep.
Esme hurried down the corridors, finding her way unerringly to the small Thermadan chapel within the royal palace. The door to the chapel reception room was open but guarded by two Red Sentinels holding spears adorned with the Thermadan Triangle.
Dressed in her finery, with a tiara on her head and in the royal palace that she knew so well, Esme felt supremely confident. She approached the Sentinels and ignored their surprised expressions.
“I am here to see Red Khalif Alumus,” she said. “Announce me immediately.”
They bowed deeply, recalling her penchant for punishing those who displeased her.
One entered the reception chamber of the chapel and announced her, while the other trailed her as she entered.
Alumus sat in an armchair in the reception room, sipping a glass of Brigon apple wine and nibbling on a tart. Hearing Esme announced and then seeing her in the flesh made him start, his piggish eyes growing round.
“Your Highness!” he exclaimed. “We have been worried sick about you. Where have you been?”
“Why, Red Khalif,” said Esme. “I am touched that you were so concerned about my welfare. It makes me realize why I have so valued your company all these years.”
Alumus bustled to his feet, snapping his fingers at his Red Sentinels. “Call my stewards immediately! Ask them to bring some refreshment.” He turned to Esme with a smile that bordered on a leer. “You must bear with my limited provisions here at the royal palace, ma’am. In my own palace, I would be able to receive you as befits your exalted station.”
Spurred by her sweet tone, he bowed more fulsomely than was his wont and then led her to a comfortable sofa, where she sat and gracefully crossed her legs. She arranged the skirt of the gown, luxuriating in its beauty. The Zon have such exquisitely feminine things, she thought enviously. When she looked up, she caught Alumus staring at her low-cut bodice. He quickly averted his eyes as his stewards entered, bearing trays of delicacies and a decanter of apple wine. She accepted a glass of wine but waved the food aside. The stewards set it on a side table and withdrew.
The two Red Sentinels remained in the chamber, and Alumus glanced at them impatiently.
“Take your stations outside,” he said. “Close and door and see that we are not disturbed.”
They bowed and withdrew. As soon as they were alone, Esme bowed her head as though weighed down by a tremendous burden. When she looked up at him again, her eyes were moist.
“Red Khalif,” she said tremulously, batting her eyelashes. “You are the only one I can trust. So I have come straight to you.” She indicated the vacant place on the sofa next to her. “Please sit with me. I need a strong shoulder to share my burden.”
Alumus did not need a second invitation. Her inviting look completely overpowered his natural caution. He took the seat she indicated before she changed her mind. She put a hand on his arm and looked admiringly into his eyes, stifling the small warning voice in his head.
“Red Khalif,” she said. “I come to you as a devout woman, one who has always supported the Thermadan Mission and its goal of becoming the universal religion. When I was queen, the Brigon treasury was always placed at the service of the Mission, was it not?”
And as the Thermadan Mission grows, so does the power of the Red Khalif, thought Esme. I am sure that even you see that, Alumus.
“Indeed it was,” admitted Alumus, patting Esme’s thigh. To his delight, she did not recoil from his touch as she always had in the past.
“You see, Red Khalif,” continued Esme, looking very worried. “You and I have two common dreams: bringing the light of the divine Thermad to all of Tarsus and throwing off the yoke of the Zon. We thought that these two endeavors were mutually compatible. But, my lord Khalif, my recent experiences have convinced me that this is not so.”
This was far too confusing for Alumus, and he looked perplexed.
“What experiences do you speak of, ma’am?
” he asked. He squeezed her thigh through the fine gown, growing increasingly distracted by the intimacy she was allowing him.
“I have spent long hours speaking to my father,” said Esme, patting the hand on her thigh but not discouraging it. “And I find him quite uninterested in the goals of Thermadan evangelization. He plans to stop Brigon subsidies to the Mission, diverting all spending to the military. He is drunk with power and seeks only personal aggrandizement. I say this with disappointment, since he is my father.”
She paused for effect before continuing.
“What I tell you now is for your ears only, Red Khalif. I have made a secret expedition to the Zon Residency. I have met and negotiated with Lady Selene. If Harald is restored to the throne, she will continue the Zon policy of noninterference in our religious affairs. We will be able to continue crown funding for the Mission—and perhaps even increase it.”
Steeling herself, she squeezed his hand and leaned closer to him. She wore Lady Selene’s fragrant perfume and it went to Alumus’s head like a drug.
“Alumus,” she said throatily, using his name for the first time. “You were right about Harald. He is weak, and now he is blinded. Do you recall that seated in this very chamber, you asked me if I wanted a man of vision and ambition by my side?”
She submitted to his lustful scrutiny, her eyes wide and guileless.
“Indeed, ma’am, I recall that as though it were yesterday,” he said thickly. He opened his mouth to continue, but Esme cut him off.
“Help me restore Harald to the throne, and I promise you will not be sorry.”
LOTHAR LEFT PINNAR in command of the bulk of his forces in Karsk. He rode from Karsk for Nordberg with a small escort of two hundred mounted men-at-arms, with Bradar by his side and Greghar immediately behind him. Nitya rode by Greghar’s side on a fine chestnut mare from the Thetis’s stables. A Zon groom had brought it to her before the airship departed, telling her it was “a gift from Cornelle Diana.”
They rode hard, making good time. The soldiers were impressed by Nitya’s skill and fortitude. She rode well and made no complaints, even as it grew colder and snowier as they pushed northward. They bypassed the Matalus stronghold of Firsk and then regained the main north road. They climbed into the Fire Mountains and entered Utrea through one of the many border passes. The snow was very deep here, and it was slow going. Many times they had to dismount and lead their horses with gangs of men-at-arms taking turns clearing a path through the drifts.
The Empire of the Zon Page 64
