by Sharon Green
“Ah, then she was successful,” Sembrin exclaimed with an odd sort of amusement. “I’d come to the conclusion that the woman was too obsessed to actually accomplish anything, but apparently I was wrong. May I ask what leads you to believe that the poisoning was accomplished through Lady Eltrina's efforts?”
“Aside from the fact that she spurned leaving the city with us in order to remain and continue her efforts?” Edmin said with another faint smile. “I have, in addition to that, the report of an agent who returned to my service after seeing how matters ended up in the city. The fifth of the interlopers was poisoned, and she nearly accomplished the same with the five peasants. She’d apparently taken a position as a servant in the palace, and when her final poisoning effort didn’t work, she attacked the five with a knife.”
“Which couldn’t possibly have gotten her anything but caught,” Lord Sembrin said with a nod. “She would have done better biding her time, but those who are obsessed are seldom rational. May I ask what particular happening in the city caused your agent to return to your service?”
“The happening was rather traumatic for my agent, as he’d hoped to sell his services to one of my peers,” Edmin said, speaking also to his father, who hadn’t yet heard the news. “It seems that the avenging force from Astinda was stopped by the five peasants and their followers, probably due to an agreement that was made. The agreement saw every noble left in the city placed under arrest, and then processed like animals at a slaughterhouse in order for them to be sent to Astinda. Once they reach Astinda, they’ll be put to work as slaves, cleaning up the devastation created there by our armies.”
“You’re joking,” Lord Sembrin said with a small laugh of disbelief while High Lord Embisson turned absolutely pale. “Those of our peers left in the city may not be terribly bright, but they’re still full members of the nobility. Those peasants wouldn’t have dared to do something like that…”
“Not only did they dare, but they acted without hesitation,” Edmin assured his listeners bitterly. “They took people of the highest quality and put them under arrest, and then the Astindans did something to them to keep them from escaping again. The Astindans invaded our empire with an army consisting of Blendings rather than simple link groups, and it’s those Blendings that are doing the dirty work. And on top of that, those five peasants have formed their own multiple Blendings.”
“Those fools!” Lord Embisson exploded, his face now darkened with outrage. “We’ve worked for centuries to keep the peasants of the empire under control, and they throw away all that effort in a matter of weeks! How do they expect to rule an empire where others have the same ability they do? If the peasants are able to protect themselves, why would they need a Seated Blending to do the protecting for them?”
“Obviously they have no real understanding of the proper way to rule,” Lord Sembrin said with a disapproving shake of his head. “But that very lack of understanding could well be their downfall. If there are multiple Blendings available as Lord Edmin’s agent reported, we should be able to find at least one that’s willing to do things our way in order to be Seated themselves. Once they’ve been made to see the light, they’ll be able to eliminate their competition from the safety of anonymity. Then there will be only one Blending again, and it will be to their advantage to keep it like that.”
“Yes, of course, you’re perfectly right,” Lord Embisson agreed as he regained control of his temper with a bit of difficulty. “The doings of the interlopers certainly outraged me, but in fine they were members of our class. To think that mere peasants would have the colossal nerve to do even worse…! Well, as you say, their naivete will turn out to be their undoing. We’ll have to start inquiries at once to find the perfect tools, but we won’t be saddled with them for long. As soon as they’ve returned things to normal in the empire, we’ll replace them with people of true quality – and less potent ability.”
“And I would advise against resurrecting the practice of challenges every twenty-five years,” Edmin put in, looking back and forth between the other two men. “Instead we can simply have the ruling Blending retire, and another take its place. If the peasants dislike the idea, they’ll have to learn to live with it.”
“Yes, I agree,” Lord Sembrin said with a thoughtful nod. “The sop given the peasants turned out to be our undoing, so we’d be fools to reinstitute the practice. And the five peasants may have even done us a favor. Our ranks really were becoming filled with deadwood, and Ephaim was constantly complaining about being pestered by those who had gold and property but nothing of ability to contribute to the general effort. That deadwood is now gone, and we’ll be able to start over again with those who are actually able to accomplish something.”
“I hadn’t considered that, but again I think you’re right,” Lord Embisson said, echoing Lord Sembrin’s nod. “This is a priceless opportunity, and we must take advantage of every aspect of it. Once we’re in control again, we’ll take steps to avoid the mistakes made by those who came before us.”
“I don’t mean to change subjects, but there are two other things you may not know as yet,” Lord Sembrin put in slowly. “The first item is of lesser importance, but really should be counted among our assets. My wife and I have two houseguests, her aunt and cousin. Her aunt is of no consequence, of course, but her cousin is Rimen Howser, who did rather well for himself before the troubles.”
“He also worked for the interlopers,” Edmin pointed out coldly. “My agent filled me in on that, and also the fact that he disappeared rather abruptly. If you’re suggesting that we allow him to join us, I’m afraid I must disagree.”
“Please hear me out,” Lord Sembrin said with a sober expression, holding up one hand in Edmin’s direction. “It’s true that Rimen worked for the interlopers, but he offered his services at the suggestion of the group he was a member of. They were determined to rid themselves of the interlopers, but needed someone on the inside to keep them informed of that five’s doings. He may have worked for them, but what he really worked for was their downfall.”
“And the group was headed by Grall Razas before he died,” Lord Embisson put in before Edmin could voice further doubts. “Yes, I’d heard about that, and with all the other things we were involved with, Edmin, I simply forgot to mention it. Are you saying, Lord Sembrin, that Howser walked away when he saw that things were falling apart?”
“Actually, Rimen was carried away,” Sembrin said with a grimace that negated any thought of amusement. “At first that Spirit magic user, Arstin, seemed to be in charge of the interlopers, and Rimen’s ability was put to proper use. Then it was suddenly the Earth magic user, Delin Moord, who was in charge, and Rimen allowed his … prejudices to overcome his good judgment. Moord told Rimen that he would immediately be made a High Lord if he collected the gold due Moord from the peasants, and Rimen actually tried to do that collecting. He ended up beaten so badly that he nearly found it impossible to get home, and his mother was frantic. But she did manage to get him to a healer, and then she took him out of the city. He’s now recovering at my place.”
“If he recovers quickly enough, we should be able to find a place for him,” Lord Embisson said with a nod. “What was the other thing you thought we should know?”
“It’s come to my attention that the interlopers must have ordered home the Gracely army,” Sembrin answered with something of a smile. “I make that assumption for the reason that the army in question is on its way back to Gan Garee and will soon pass through this very neighborhood.”
“Really,” Edmin murmured after exchanging a raised-brow glance with his father. “I was under the impression that the Gracely army had been sent to the west.”
“Either they received other orders, or the leaders of the army decided to make their stand in defense of Gan Garee,” Sembrin replied with a shrug. “Whatever the reason, we’ll soon have an army of our own to use as soon as they’re told that their superiors in the city are no longer in a position to make
use of them. I suggest we send a messenger to them, inviting the officers to sit down with us for a meal and a discussion. Would you rather receive them here, or at my place?”
“Neither,” Lord Embisson said at once, an instant before Edmin would have said the same. “Using them for our own purposes is an excellent idea, but there’s no need to burden them with too much knowledge. We’ll find a house that isn’t being used right now, and that’s where we’ll meet them. Then, if one of them happens to be captured by the enemy, he won’t be able to reveal our true locations.”
“And those of us going to the meeting ought to be masked,” Edmin added. “There are members of our peer group running that army, and we don’t want to be recognized and remembered. Until we’re back in control, the key to our survival will be discretion in all things.”
“And I never thought of that,” Sembrin said with a rueful smile and shake of his head. “As I said, making use of the information I gather isn’t my strong point. Shall I let you know when the army gets close enough that a messenger won’t be days about delivering his message?”
“Yes, do,” Lord Embisson agreed with his own smile. “We’ll get right to choosing an appropriate meeting place, so we’ll be ready when they get here. And don’t forget that we’ll need that list of our peers who expect to be able to hide their heads in the sand waiting for things to return to normal.”
“I’ll prepare the list, and have one of my servants bring it to you tonight,” Sembrin said as he rose from his chair to bow. “High Lord Embisson, Lord Edmin, you both have my thanks for allowing me to join your efforts. You have my word that you won’t regret the generosity.”
“Oh, I’m quite certain of that,” Lord Embisson agreed amiably, remaining seated as Edmin rose to return the bow of courtesy. “Please do feel free to visit here again as often as necessary.”
Sembrin repeated his bow, and then Edmin saw him into the house and to the front door where the man’s carriage waited. Once Sembrin was gone, Edmin retraced his steps to the private garden his father hadn’t yet left.
“I consider that a very profitable visit,” Lord Embisson commented as Edmin reclaimed his previous chair. “The man obviously still has sources of information that haven’t been lost, and we’ll be able to make good use of him and them.”
“And yet I wonder if Noll can be fully trusted,” Edmin said, paying close attention to what his father’s response would be. “Despite all that open friendliness, he is the brother of Ephaim Noll.”
“My dear Edmin, no one can be fully trusted but the two of us,” Lord Embisson pointed out with an amusement that brought Edmin a great deal of relief. “Noll may hope for a position that gives him a say over empire policy once we’re back in control, but there’s no need for us to go overboard. We’ll be the ones to have the say, and he’ll have to satisfy himself with simply being associated with us.”
“Just as he was associated with his brother,” Edmin said with a satisfied nod. “We’ll use him in the same way, and simply give him enough gold and property to satisfy him.”
“Yes, that should take care of the matter,” Lord Embisson agreed comfortably before reaching for his tea. “Now let’s discuss where we’ll hold that meeting with the officers of the army.”
Edmin composed himself for the discussion, briefly reflecting on how pleased he was that his father seemed as sharp as he’d always been. Together they would certainly succeed in their planning, especially if other useful tools happened to present themselves…
When Lord Sembrin Noll arrived home, he immediately went to search out his wife. He found Bensia in her sitting room with a book, which she put aside as soon as she saw him.
“How did it go, my dear?” she asked with one of her marvelous, warming smiles. “Did they take you at your word?”
“Of course they did,” Sembrin answered with his own smile as he sat at the side of the lounge she lay on. “It isn’t as if they know me as well as Ephaim did, and even he never doubted my lack of ambition.”
“But Ephaim also never noted the fact that you’re not the only one in the family,” Bensia said with a small, very amused laugh. “These two new allies of ours will work very hard to get themselves to the height of power, intending to keep it solely to themselves. What a shock they’ll have when they find me there ahead of them.”
“In the place you deserve more than they do,” Sembrin murmured as he kissed her hand. “You deserve everything and anything you want, and I’m the one privileged to get it for you. I’m the luckiest man alive.”
“And I’m the luckiest woman alive, having a man of your abilities dedicated to helping her,” Bensia murmured back, putting her book aside so that she might lean forward and exchange a kiss with him. “I’ve also had a few words with cousin Rimen, and as soon as he’s back on his feet he’ll be adding his efforts to ours.”
“He saw the truth, then,” Sembrin said with a satisfied nod. “It was the old guard among our peers who kept him from becoming a High Lord, and who also kept him from doing as he pleased with the peasants. Putting him in charge of the … animals, as he calls the peasants, will keep those people from ever becoming a problem again.”
“Yes, and while he pretends to work for High Lord Embisson and Lord Edmin, he’ll really be working for us,” Bensia said, her smile filled with her own satisfaction. “Not one of those fools who used to run things understands that eliminating High talents is a criminal waste. If you put them under your complete control instead while they’re still children, you have their abject and unswerving devotion once they’re grown. And you also have their ability to use as you see fit.”
“’Waste not, want not,’ as the old saying goes,” Sembrin agreed with a laugh. “If we’d had those High talents supporting us instead of Low talent guardsmen, we’d still be back where we belong. And speaking of children, where are ours?”
“They’re busy practicing,” Bensia told him with a chuckle. “My aunt Faella is an excellent example of the old nobility, petulant, constantly whining, and the next thing to mindless. When the children are able to make her do anything they please without her noticing that they’re manipulating her, they’ll know they can do the same with any of the others who are left. They’ll be invaluable to us as a means of keeping our former peers in line when we take over.”
“It’s too bad there are only four of them,” Sembrin teased the way he usually did. “If we’d had the proper foresight, we would have produced twice their number.”
“You must remember, my dear, that we’re still not too old,” Bensia teased back with that smile that always tingled deep inside him. “Why don’t we take a short while and see what we can accomplish.”
She reached forward to touch his face before kissing him again, and Sembrin was instantly ready for her. She was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, and he really did consider himself the luckiest man alive that she’d married him. If she wanted to run the empire, that was perfectly all right with him. She would have his support and assistance to the day he died.
Sembrin moved closer to take her in his arms, the way she moved against him saying that she, too, was ready for lovemaking. As often as they made love, it was odd that they hadn't had more than the four children. But when her hand touched him intimately, he forgot all about oddness and gave his full attention to nothing but her. He would kill for her or die for her; using those who thought they were using him was really the easiest of it…
Bensia stroked her husband’s desire briefly before rising from the lounge and leading him toward the bedchamber. Rather than protesting as he once might have done, he followed her eagerly and docilely to the place she most preferred to make love. She’d looked around carefully for a long while before she’d chosen Sembrin Noll as her husband, and she’d never regretted the decision. They’d been almost ready to make their move when disaster struck, but that had been a setback, not a defeat. She had more than a few plans for the empire once she was in control, and that aim
could still be achieved. They just had to be even more careful than they’d been…
Sembrin worked quickly to help her out of her clothing, having no idea that her Spirit magic encouraged him to behave exactly as she wanted him to. He also had no idea that they’d had no more than four children because she’d decided she wanted no more and had taken precautions. Sembrin was very old-fashioned when it came to limiting a family size, believing that a woman ought to have as many children as her husband cared to give her. It was the one point she had to slide past him rather than control, but that was perfectly all right. It was the only flaw he had, and one that was easily handled.
It was no more than a moment before Sembrin joined her in bed, and then they began to enjoy each other. It was never hard to encourage him when she felt the need rising, and he was always more than adequate.
But once the empire was safely in her hands, she really would have to start sampling the abilities of other men…
Chapter 7
Zirdon Tal, very important person in the empire of Gracely, allowed the servant to rinse his hands in the scented water, and then he gave a second servant the privilege of drying his hands again. Both servants were nearly beside themselves with awed delight, of course, a reaction which still made Zirdon smile. They were like small children in their innocent enjoyment, and it gave the Fire magic user a warm feeling to watch them in their happiness.
A crystal bell rang just outside the lounging room, telling Zirdon that one of his upper servants needed to see him. Since he wasn’t engaged in anything that couldn’t be interrupted, Zirdon nodded to the servant holding another crystal bell. That servant answered the first ring with another, and the door opened to admit Leesto, Zirdon’s chief servant. Leesto was as short and thin as most chief servants were, and equally weak in talent. The man scurried into the room without raising his eyes to his master, fell to his knees, then touched his head to the carpeting.
