With a flick of his wrist, he flung the weapon. A meaty thud and a gasp came from the creeping figure, then it slumped. Blade leapt from his hiding place and hurled the second dagger at the man by the door. Another thud and a loud cry of pain rewarded his throw. The Queen sat up with a gasp, and the man by the door raised his arm, aiming something at Blade. The assassin dropped to the floor as a crossbow bolt hissed over him and ricocheted off the wall.
Blade jumped up as the man turned to flee. Snatching a third dagger from under the mattress, he flung it at the dark form. The intruder cried out again, falling against the door as the weapon struck him between the shoulder blades. The doors flew open with a bang, admitting a flood of light from the torches in the corridor. Blade strode over to the first man he had felled as the Queen tugged on the bell pull beside her bed to summon servants and guards. The strange assassin was dead, and Blade crossed to the man by the door, finding him in the same condition.
Queen Minna-Satu dashed to the cradle and swept up her daughter, who began to cry. Blade went into the corridor, where he found six guards sprawled on the floor, with no sign of how they had died.
"Poison," he muttered, entering the bed chamber again with a torch from the corridor to light the lamps.
Minna clutched the wailing baby and stared at the slain assassin. Blade crouched to examine the man in the light, pulling his dagger from the assassin's throat. His dark grey clothes, made of smooth cloth, betrayed his kind, and Blade glanced up at the pale, shivering Queen.
"A Contara assassin, My Queen."
"And the other?"
Blade went over to the second corpse and flipped it onto its back, retrieving his daggers. "A Jashimari lord, I would say."
Minna gazed at the dead face. "Lord Javare."
"Just as you thought."
"Where are the guards?"
"Dead, poisoned."
She stared at him, horrified. "But how could they be?"
Blade shrugged as a five handmaidens ran in, clad in rumpled nightgowns, their hair loose about their shoulders. They gave little shrieks of horror and alarm when they spotted the corpses.
"I do not know," he said. "Perhaps your guard sergeant would be able to help you."
A maiden took the screaming Princess and hastened out. Another ran to fetch guards and servants while the rest helped the Queen back to her bed and offered her a cup of wine. A minute later a dozen soldiers ran in, and some bent to examine the bodies of Blade's victims while the rest inspected the slain sentries. The assassin washed his weapons in the basin and sheathed them in his belt, then stood back to watch the uproar. The guard sergeant arrived and barked orders at his men, who dragged the bodies out, leaving bloody smears on the floor. Three menservants hurried in, and the officer dispatched them to fetch mops and pails to clean up the blood.
Blade turned to Minna. "If I may, I should like to return to my bed now, My Queen."
"Wait a minute, My Lord," the guard sergeant said. "Would you tell me what happened here?"
"I would have thought that fairly obvious. These two tried to assassinate the Princess, and I killed them."
"But what were you doing here?"
"The Queen asked me to guard her."
The officer glanced at Minna, who nodded, and he bowed to Blade before following his men. Blade yawned and sent an enquiring look at the Queen, who shuddered.
"How can you be sleepy after this?"
He shrugged. "It is not new to me."
"I suppose not. Very well, you may go."
The assassin bowed and headed for the door, then stopped and glanced back when Minna-Satu called his name. She forced a wan smile. "I thank you, My Lord."
He bowed again, and left as the servants returned with mops and pails.
In the corridor, he found the sand cat hurrying towards him, sniffing the air. She passed him with a low growl, trotting towards the Queen's rooms with the loose-jointed gait of her kind.
"You are too late, Shista," he called after her. "Some guardian you are."
The cat paused to spit at him before hurrying on, and Blade smiled as he walked to his rooms. Sitting on the bed, he reviewed the night's events, his blood still thrumming with excitement. His pretence of tiredness had merely been an excuse to leave the room, for the sight of blood made his stomach clench. He was not about to reveal to anyone that the deadliest assassin in the land was squeamish. His usual method caused little or no blood to be spilt, but tonight had been messy and, in his opinion, sloppy.
Arken woke Blade with lunch at midday. When he had eaten and dressed, a deep depression fell upon him as he contemplated his actions over the last year and their consequences. The future had never looked as bleak as it did now, not even when he had been lying half dead in a whore's bed wondering if he would ever walk again, never mind dance. Then his situation had improved, but now there was no hope. When Chiana came to see him, her eyes shining with pride, he eyed her sullenly.
"So you have done it again, My Lord. The Queen speaks your praises to the entire court."
"I trust she has no more titles to confer or spinsters to wed?"
Her smile faded. "Why are you angry?"
The assassin turned to stare out of the window. "It is all so futile. In a few days this city will fall and the Princess may die anyway. By that time, the Queen will be dead and Jashimari will have no ruler. But then it will not matter, because you will all be slaves of the Cotti or Contara and I shall be dead, doubtless by Kerrion's hand.
"I have caused this, by assassinating King Shandor and Lerton. Even the two I killed last night and the lord I slew moons ago have helped to cause this situation. All that I have earned, my lands and wealth, are useless to a corpse. I never even had the time to enjoy them. I should never have come here. I could have slipped away now and lived, but instead, I am the most wanted man in the land."
"I thought you did not care about anything, not even your own life."
"Who told you that?"
She shrugged. "I forget."
"In truth I do not. I have always placed myself in death's way, but it would not take me. Now that it is a certainty, I am starting to doubt its attractions, especially a painful end. A few years of retirement on a quiet estate would have been nice, enjoying the pleasures of food and wine, getting fat and lazy. Now it will not happen."
"You could still flee, disguise yourself..."
He shook his head. "It is too late for that. Why do you think people are pouring into the city? Because they are being slaughtered outside."
"I have heard that the Cotti army have only killed the troops who stood in their way. They have left whole villages unharmed."
He smiled wryly. "Kerrion is no fool. He will make sure I do not slip past him, even in disguise. I will wager that he has his troops pulling the hair of every woman they encounter. Anyway, he will never stop searching for me, and I will not skulk and hide for the rest of my life. I just wish it had not all been for nothing."
"But it was not for nothing! You brought Kerrion here so the Queen's plan was put into action, you placed him on the throne so we could win peace -"
He held up a hand. "I do not mean that. I do not care about politics. I am talking about my reward. Apart from a few brief tendays that I spent at my estate I have had nothing but unhappiness. Living in this mausoleum, bowing and scraping to the Queen, wearing damned foppish clothes and almost being killed by her enemies. I cannot even go into the city and have a quiet drink without a damned bodyguard. Now my death warrant is signed and sealed, by my own hand."
"I did not realise you felt that way."
"Did you think I did it for loyalty's sake?" He gave a bitter laugh. "How little you know me. I did it for the reward and the vengeance, which was, admittedly, sweet. But then I got caught up in all the plotting and pomp, even being sent to Kerrion's city to save his neck from the gallows. I wanted none of that.
"I am an angry, bitter, selfish man. There is not a shred of loyalty in me, I assure you. I wanted
riches and luxury, power and indolence, all from the sweet triumph of killing King Shandor. Instead, I got this."
His voice rose, and he gestured. "Swift was right, I have become the Queen's pet killer. I can get no other work while I am cooped up here and watched wherever I go. I set in motion the future that leads to my death! I changed it, but I did not want this!"
Blade ripped off his silk shirt and flung it across the room. "I did not want any of this! Meaningless baubles! Useless titles! Worthless damned finery!" He strode to the mantelpiece and swept the priceless figurines and vases off it with a crash of smashed crystal. Chiana flinched, stepping back as the shards skittered past her feet.
"I can't even enjoy what remains of my life! I have lost my freedom!" he raged, picking up an alabaster flower bowl and hurling it at the wall. "The only thing I valued more than my pride! I put myself in this gilded cage! I walked in and said 'lock me up'! I gave up my freedom for wealth and honours I did not need! How could I have been so stupid?"
An alarmed Arken stuck his head in, and Blade flung a gold candleholder at him, which bounced off the door with a clatter as Arken ducked out again.
"Get out!" Blade bellowed. "I cannot even raise my voice without damned servants spying on me! Go tell the Queen, why don't you? I hate this place!" He grabbed the velvet curtains and tore them from their hooks, then scooped up a beautifully woven rug and hurled it out of the open window. "I cannot breathe here!" He went to the window and leant on the ledge, gasping the fresh spring air. "I cannot breathe."
His voice dropped to a mutter, and Chiana moved closer as he went on, "I'm trapped by my own stupidity, crippled by a Cotti spy's revenge. I cannot even dance anymore. I have lost because I came here, not gained. And if, on top of all else, my stupidity merely costs me my life, I shall be surprised. If Kerrion takes me alive, he will inflict every torture he knows upon me, and I am no lover of pain."
Chiana stopped behind him, unshed tears stinging her eyes. "You are afraid..."
Blade swung to face her, his brows knotted. "Yes, I am afraid! Only a bloody fool would not be! My torture will be simple revenge. Nothing I can say or do will stop it until death takes me, and that it has ever been reluctant to do. Would you not be afraid also?"
She nodded. "Yes, of course, I understand -"
"You understand nothing! You have never known pain. How can you be afraid of it? Even the Queen knows more about it than you ever will. I have seen how the Cotti torture men, cutting out their entrails so that they may look upon their insides, flaying the skin from their bodies little by little, or impaling them on sharpened poles."
He turned away to stare out of the window again, watching a puzzled gardener retrieve the carpet. "And yet I have no one to blame but myself. I allowed myself to become a public figure. I allowed Kerrion to live and tell the Cotti who had slain their King. I even admitted it to them myself! With every act I sank deeper into this mire of damnation."
"You could not know that Jashimari would fall."
"I changed the future. My actions have led to this. Had I not killed King Shandor, Lerton would not have conspired with the upstart Prince to slay King Jan-Durval and the Contara would not have attacked us. Do you know why Jashimari Queens were forbidden to consult seers?"
Chiana shook her head.
"Because when you change the future, you open the door to terrible things. Seers foretell, they say things like 'when a child who is neither Jashimari nor Cotti sits upon the Jashimari throne, there will be peace'. And then you know what happens. The Queen starts to plot towards that future, she assassinates Shandor and bears Kerrion's child, and Lerton unleashes the Contara upon us, bringing about our doom. But I am the instrument of change. Without me none of this would be happening, and it seems the fate of the instrument is the most terrible of all."
Chiana glanced around as the door was thrust open, and Queen Minna-Satu entered, casting a gimlet eye over the wreckage. "What is the meaning of this?"
Blade groaned, "God, is there no privacy in this place?"
Chiana bowed, becoming somewhat alarmed when Blade did not turn from the window. She went over to Minna-Satu. "Please, My Queen, I will explain later. If we could be alone...?"
Minna's brows shot up. "You are asking me to leave?"
Chiana fell to her knees. "I beg forgiveness for my rudeness, My Queen, please -"
"Get up."
Blade swung around and strode over to her. "Yes, get up! My wife does not kneel!" He gripped her hair and dragged her to her feet, making her gasp at his brutality.
Minna glared at him. "I see that you are in a singularly vile mood, Lord Conash. What is the meaning of all this?"
He shoved Chiana aside. "Vile does not begin to adequately describe my mood."
"So it would seem. I still await an answer."
"Do you? I hear you've been singing my praises in court again, for saving your precious daughter from her would-be assassins."
"What of it?"
He glowered at her, meeting her eyes. "Why don't you tell them what I really am? The Queen's pawn! The Queen's pet killer and watchdog! What good are your open coffers to a man who will be dead in a few days, killed by your lover!"
Minna stepped back in shock. "Lord Conash, you do yourself no favours with this behaviour. Nor will I tolerate gutter language in my presence."
"Then leave!"
"How dare you order me?"
"I dare it. What have I to lose?"
Minna looked at the distraught Chiana. "What is wrong with him?"
"He is -"
"Be quiet!" Blade growled, then faced the Queen again. "Tell me, what is the punishment for striking the Queen?"
She blinked. "Death, of course."
"On the gallows? The axe man's blade?"
"Yes."
"Good." The assassin drew back his hand, but Chiana flung herself at him, sending him staggering back. His heel caught a rug, and he sprawled on his back with Chiana on top of him. He stared at her in surprise, then laughed.
"Foiled by my own wife!"
"Chiana, I demand an explanation!" Minna sounded scandalised. "What is the matter with him? Has he lost his wits?"
"Oh yes, I definitely have done that." Blade chuckled.
Chiana looked up. "No, My Queen. He fears Kerrion's arrival. He thinks he will be tortured."
"I know it!" Blade snarled.
"I see." Minna paled, groping for a chair to sink into as her legs shook. "I have been remiss."
Blade pushed Chiana off and stood up, walking over to his bed, where he flopped down on his back and stared at the ceiling. Chiana glanced between them, uncertain. Minna looked dazed and horrified at the prospect of Blade's torture. She shook her head.
"He may not."
"He will," Blade muttered.
Minna recovered a little of her poise. "I have been thoughtless and selfish, thinking only of myself and the Princess, and not considering the fate of my most trusted friend and loyal subject."
The assassin snorted.
"You could flee..."
"Where to?"
"No, you are right, there is nowhere except the very places I would not have my people hide. What else is there?"
"There is only one escape for me now," he murmured. "Death."
Chiana stifled a sob, and Minna bowed her head. For some time a deep, gloomy silence filled the room, then Chiana sniffed and Minna-Satu looked up.
"Then I will share my cup with you. It is a painless end, quite pleasant, I am told."
Chiana gasped, and Blade sat up. "You accept that I am right then?"
"If you are so convinced of it, you will find a way, as you demonstrated earlier. I would not have condemned you for it, however, since the only witness would have been Chiana. I need you at my side until the bitter end. I would have you with me when I take the Cup. But I will not leave you behind to suffer if that is what you fear. We will go into the Everlasting together, you and I."
"That is generous of you."
"Not at all. All my rewards are worthless to you now. The least I can do is grant you a painless death, poor payment though it seems. I had hoped... But that is of no moment now. I do not believe Kerrion would do such a thing, but perhaps I am wrong."
"His people will demand it."
"Yes, perhaps he will have no choice in the matter."
"He bears me no fondness, that is certain."
Minna sighed, glancing at Chiana. "Then it shall be so." She rose and headed for the door. "Come, Chiana, I would speak to you."
Blade watched his wife follow the Queen with puzzled eyes, then sighed and lay down again. Minna's promise lifted a great burden from his shoulders. The worry had plagued him for tendays, increasing in strength as the enemy forces drew closer to the city. The prospect of pain and humiliation at the hands of Cotti torturers had darkened his dreams of late, and most of his waking time, something he had hidden until now. The Queen's offer had surprised him, but not as much as Chiana's attack to save him from himself. He closed his eyes.
Chapter Eight
In her chambers, Minna turned to regard her chief advisor with pitying eyes. Chiana wiped her cheeks with a handkerchief, unable to control her grief.
"Come, Chiana, stop snivelling." Minna poured a cup of wine, offering one to Chiana with a wave of her hand. "You must have realised that this could happen."
"I had not thought it a certainty, My Queen. I thought he might hide, flee and return when it was safe."
"He has too much pride for that." She sipped the wine. "And too much arrogance. But most of all he fears discovery."
"And torture." Chiana filled a goblet with a pale vintage.
"That is a thing to be feared, indeed. I still do not think Kerrion would do such a thing. He admires Blade, and he had no love for his father or brother. But as you saw, Blade would have found a way to get himself killed if I had not made the offer. A public attack on my person would have forced me to execute him, and I would rather offer him a swift death as a reward, not punishment."
The Queen's Blade II - Sacrifice Page 13
