by Choi, Bryan
Taki looked up from where he’d squatted in the dirt. Mounted on a coal-black charger and clad in the regal battle dress of an Imperial officer, Aslatiel looked even more imposing than ever. Taki’s heart quickened to see the man and four other Alfa waiting on horseback nearby. Unlike before, however, the sight did not provoke instant visions of death. Instead, Taki felt something else: inspired.
“You!” Hadassah said. She stormed up to Aslatiel. “You made this happen, didn’t you? Can’t you just stop screwing us?”
“I had nothing to do with it,” Aslatiel said. “I have no love for Hecaton Mezeta, and she clearly has no respect for me. We were just here to retrieve Natalis.” He gestured to Taki. “Are you ready?”
Taki took a step forward. He forced himself not to look at his former squadmates. Like roaches, they’d find a way to survive. They had their freedom. Meanwhile, his new life beckoned. He would finally gain what he wanted. “I am.”
“Then, let’s be off. Lucatiel, bring the spare mount…”
“Hold a moment,” Lotte said.
Aslatiel cocked his head. “Captain?”
“Do you know where she is? Mezeta?”
“No. But she is a grave threat to my people if she’s gone off on her own. We will certainly find her. And if needed, we will kill her.”
“I forbid it!”
Aslatiel shrugged. “You’ll forbid nothing.”
“If anyone kills her,” Lotte said, “it’ll be me. It’s my right, you godrotting Imperial swine! I’ll do whatever it takes. I’ll even join your army!”
“Really?” Aslatiel let out a snort. “Will you prostrate yourself before the padishah? Accept me as your superior? Follow my orders? Salute my flag? You’ll really debase yourself that much for revenge?”
“Yes.” Lotte fell to her knees and pressed her forehead on the dirt. “If that’s what I must do to find and kill the bitch!”
“And me too,” Draco said. “Mezeta’s ruined my life. I aim to ruin hers.” He kowtowed beside Lotte.
Hadassah, whose face was streaked with tears and grime, grumbled something unintelligible and did the same.
“I just want my bullets, so count me in,” Karma said. He took his hat off and bowed with a flourish.
“Forgive me, but I highly doubt your sincerity. Fare thee well.” Aslatiel tugged at his reins.
Taki’s hand shot out and grasped the ankle of Aslatiel’s calfskin boot. “Sir Aslatiel, I can vouch for them. I beg you to reconsider.” He locked eyes with his new commander. What the hell am I doing?
“I was under the impression you held them in disdain,” Aslatiel said. “Sending Lucatiel to your room instead of the wench you’d hired was their idea, after all.”
Taki bit the inside of his cheek. Hard. “Please grant me this boon, Oberleutnant.”
Aslatiel chuckled. “Fine, but I’ve only brought one extra mount. They’ll have to walk.”
“So be it,” Taki said, and grinned.
3
Taki was farther from home than he’d ever been. For the last season, he’d evaded death from storms aboard an Imperial carrack, ridden a rusty iron serpent through the sands of a shifting desert, and itched sand from every possible orifice on the human body. Whatever beauty the Imperium’s enormous territories possessed had been overwhelmed by the sheer horror of travel, and there was yet more to come. They headed relentlessly east for a destination deep within the heartland, a place Aslatiel called “Xizhang” but refused to divulge more about.
For the last month, Taki had been tasked with guard duty on an Imperial caravan. With twenty heavy wagons overloaded with supplies, this stretch was the slowest and most monotonous part of the journey thus far. He rode with the crates and barrels, squeezing in wherever he could and sleeping next to the wagons when they made camp for the evenings. He caught himself ofttimes wishing for an encounter with bandits, as there was often nothing to do but watch the sun’s slow arc through the sky while inhaling the stench of horses and dust.
At first, Taki had feared that his former squad would cause no end of ruckus once Aslatiel had announced they’d be traveling to the opposite end of the world. But to his surprise, Lotte and the others simply assented and had even made themselves useful. A shadow seemed to have sapped everyone’s usual truculence, and Taki could not remember a time when he’d exchanged fewer words with any of them. He spent most of his time chatting with Aslatiel, whose time seemed more and more dear with the passing days. The other Alfa were polite but seemed to avoid him.
A day from the Xizhang border, rain turned the road to mud, forcing them to camp early. Hunting was out of the question, so the day’s most filling meal was dried jerky and tea under a hastily erected tarp. Silence and boredom loomed, and the moistness and heat of the air threatened everyone’s groins with ulcers.
Taki could take it no more. “Sir Aslatiel, may I impose for a word?”
“Yes, Fahnrich?”
Taki’s rank still sounded grating and unpleasant to his ears. “Will you finally tell me what we’re meant to do in this land of Xizhang? Why we’ve traveled east for so long, when the Ursalan front is to the west? I thought we’d be fighting the Rex.”
Aslatiel swallowed his mouthful of tea and gingerly placed his cup on a nearby pallet. “Yes, I suppose it’s time. You’re right. Our coming task has nothing to do with our war with Ursala. Tell me, Natalis, what do you think of traitors?”
“I…” Hate them? Taki paused and closed his eyes. Bloodshot, lifeless eyes stared up at him from a ditch. “I think it depends on what they’ve done.”
“You still think about that village, even now,” Aslatiel said.
“Perhaps I do.”
“There’s no shame in remembering that. The murders were a grave injustice on the part of the Kosovar Duke. But we, on the other hand, have been ordered to face those with arms and the will to use them.”
Taki nodded. “So we’re here to put them down?”
Aslatiel’s expression turned grave. “We’re to eliminate a group who call themselves the ‘Mandate of Heaven.’ They’re a new organization that probably arose from a consolidation of smaller cells, but they’ve already caused enough trouble to merit our presence.”
“Why have they rebelled?”
“There are always those who hate and fear progress. The Mandate rebels are the remnants of the old, obsolete ways that kept us in darkness for so long. For them, education is a sin, and women are less than slaves. So they targeted a girls’ school at Chumi Shengo and took prisoner any students they didn’t kill.”
“What about the teachers?” Taki asked. “Aren’t they soldiers, too? Don’t they usually fight these raids off?”
“Most of them died,” Aslatiel said. “That in itself is highly unusual and suggests a more dangerous enemy than the territorial garrison can handle, so our kind get called in.”
“So we’re to go in and throw the rebels in the dungeon?”
“No. We’re to annihilate them. The padishah wants every last member of the rebellion killed. We will send a clear message to any who would dare raise a hand against our Way.”
Taki scrunched his brow. “Did you just say we’re killing everyone?”
“Our law is very clear on this,” Aslatiel said. “Those who use violence or coercion against efforts to promote education within the Imperium will be annihilated. Attacking a school is on par with assassinating the padishah.”
“I understand suppressing a rebellion, but isn’t that going a bit far?”
Aslatiel shook his head. “Without the foundation of education, the Imperium crumbles. And trying to make us crumble deserves nothing but death.”
Lotte spoke. “I’d suspected as much. This caravan’s full of weapons and ammunition, is it not?”
“It is, Captain,” Aslatiel said. “I trust you haven’t been opening the crates and allowing moisture to rust the ordnance?”
“I have more sense than that. But you can’t ignore the smell of cordite and ir
on everywhere.”
Aslatiel picked up his cup and refilled it. “You led the Argead legion at Helicarnassus, did you not?”
“A handful of phalanxes. Mostly wounded men dying of fever and unable to lock shields.”
“And with those sorry specimens, you held off three companies of the padishah’s own grenadier guards. You probably saved the life of the old basileus with your actions.”
“And now he’s dead.”
“Do you regret that?”
She shook her head. “No. I only regret that not a man under my command made it to the next year.”
“Captain,” Aslatiel said, “I’ll confess that I’ve never led more than a few squads into battle, whereas you’ve commanded an army. Our small company can’t win against thousands of men on the field, so we’ll need to rely on the territorial garrison. Will you help me command them?”
Lotte sighed. “I told you, Imperial, that I’d do anything to take revenge on Hecaton Mezeta. The faster we eliminate your rebels, the faster we can resume the search. I’ll do whatever you wish.”
“Thank you, Captain. May you walk the Way unopposed.”
Taki fidgeted. “Sir Aslatiel, you keep mentioning the Imperial Way of yours. What is it, exactly?”
“It’s exactly that: a way of life for those who serve the padishah.”
“I figured as much. But I want to know more about it.”
“You wish for me to explain the Way?” Aslatiel raised an eyebrow.
“Yes.” Taki nodded. “We weren’t taught anything about you people.”
“We know a bit, Natalis,” Draco said. Taki was startled to hear him. Ever-ebullient Draco hadn’t spoken in a week. “Common knowledge is that the boys are all gelded and the women control everything. And that’s why we should hate and fear the Osterbrand menace.”
Hadassah glared at him. “And what’s wrong that that?”
“With castration?”
“Don’t play coy! I know exactly what part of that you really object to.”
“I really object to having my tender places put to the knife!”
Aslatiel cleared his throat. “I’ll explain. We want to restore the glory of humankind by uniting all people under our banner. Every Imperial citizen understands this and desires to serve the greater good. Once this world is whole in purpose, there will be no need for war.”
“But you do so through conquest,” Taki said. “Enlightenment borne on Imperial cannonballs.”
Aslatiel nodded. “Force is the fastest way to bring about change. Or do you think the Duke of Kosovo would have stopped his massacres with a polite request?”
Taki’s expression soured. “I’m not that naïve.”
“Sorry, that was unfair of me. But if rumors are to be believed, perhaps you understand this simple fact best of all. You did assassinate your old liege, right?”
Lotte rose abruptly. “We should resume our posts.”
“Please, Captain,” Taki said. “I know you’re trying to protect me, but I hate being the center of rumors. I can’t stand keeping it a secret, and the others already have their suspicions. We’re not in the Dominion anymore. I can be honest.”
“Natalis, don’t be rash.”
“It’s fine. Let them hear. Sir Aslatiel, and hell, Dassa, Emreis, Gillette…the rumors are true. I killed His Majesty.”
Lotte swore under her breath.
Taki cast his eyes downward. “It was an accident. I hit him with a log.” He shut his mouth and waited for the inevitable. They’d curse him. Someone would try to strike him.
Instead, Hadassah laughed. “You brained him with a log? You’re so lame, Natalis. At least dress the story up a bit if you’re going to confess to something so dunderheaded!”
Draco sucked his teeth. “You should’ve let me know a long time ago. Do you know how many women out there would love to fornicate with a real kingslayer? And his best friend and accomplice?”
Taki stared at him in confusion. “Emreis, you weren’t even there.”
“Then you’d better start thinking of how you can add me in. And Dassa’s right, you have to improve your story. This is something that will go in the histories, after all. ‘Log to the cranium’ does not a woman’s smallclothes remove!”
Aslatiel chuckled. “So we have you to thank, after all. When I saw you at the Hot Gates, I thought something had changed about you, but I knew not what.”
Taki threw up his hands. “I didn’t mean to kill him!”
“I know,” Lotte said, and slung an arm around Taki’s shoulder. She stared balefully at the others. “The rest of you are to be silent on this subject. We have enough trouble without miscreants trying to settle scores. And von Halcon, I’ll take it as a personal slight if you or your men spread news of this to your commanders. Am I clear?”
Aslatiel nodded and sipped his tea. The patter of the rain against the tarp wore away, and the sun now bore down again. Though his companions smirked to themselves and the Spetsnaz seemed to watch him constantly from the corners of their eyes, Taki found his breathing easier now. As the lethargy of digestion set in, the old choking feeling that had taken up residence in the back of his throat was conspicuously absent.
Lhasa, capital of Xizhang, was nestled in a large tributary valley flanked by soaring peaks accented with greenery and capped with white snow at their very tops. From far away on the road, it was a filthy jewel nestled in a palm that held up the blue expanse of the heavens with colossal pillars of billowing white cloud. As the caravan rounded a hill and the city came into view, the drivers erupted in a spontaneous cheer. For many of them, it was home.
Taki peered out from a gap in the canvas of his wagon and spied Aslatiel perched at the head of the convoy, surveying the roadway with binoculars. He turned his attention back to the others who shared the cramped confines with him.
Elsa Rana, a fahnenjunker in Alfa, rode in the back with Draco and Hadassah. She’d crossed blades with Taki at Vergina, then again in Pristina, and then at the Hot Gates. None of those times had afforded him a good look at her features, though. Up close, she almost resembled Hadassah, with a heart-shaped face and wavy, willful hair. Elsa’s was kept gathered up in a high bun and was shot through with streaks of gold. So far, Taki had taken her for an aloof type.
“We’ll probably hit the city in the late afternoon,” she said. “Can you smell it?”
Taki shook his head. “I can’t tell. It all seems the same to me.”
“I hope you’re right, Mistress Elsa,” Draco said. “It would be a relief to get off the bumpy road.”
“Be careful,” Elsa said. “The air’s thin here, different than in your land. Using sutra will be much more difficult. You’ll lag much easier.”
“That so? Explains why I’ve been feeling tired lately.” Hadassah yawned. “Thought it was just my period.”
“It’s because of the elevation,” Draco said. “The land generates air from deep fissures within the earth, and that’s why we can breathe. But as you get higher and higher up, the heavens suck more and more of the air away to dissipate into aether.”
Elsa seemed to perk up at this. “How did you know that? Most foreigners aren’t aware.”
“I’ve read the entire Corpus Historicus Baudolinum Mundi. All of the knowledge of the old world, or at least all of it that’s worth writing down.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Hey, wait a second. If you’re lettered, why are you on the front lines with us? Did you screw up and impregnate some general’s daughter?”
Draco flushed. “No, nothing like that. I just like to read in my spare time. It’s not the manliest thing ever, but…”
She gave him a quizzical look. “I think it’s pretty impressive, actually.”
“I, uh…well, thanks.” He looked away.
She poked him on the arm. “Did the book you read say anything about my homeland? It’s the Himal Kingdom, just a few days south of here.”
“Yes, actually,” he said. “I was most fascinated
with the fauna, you know. Giant unicorns with meter-long tusks and snake tails, and men with their faces in their chests. Giants, ogres, and the lost cities of Prester John!”
She grabbed him by the shoulders. “What did the book say about the unicorns? Is it true that they take virgins back to their caves and turn them into nymphomaniacs?”
“Absolutely! That’s why you can’t let one create a burrow around any village with a surplus of young people, or around a nunnery. Suddenly, babies everywhere.”
Hadassah poked Elsa’s arm. “Before you get too excited, remember that most of what he spouts was written by drunkards and sinners. They always write the most entertaining things—you know, stuff you want to hear.”
“Dassa, please,” Draco said. “We’re having a discussion about unicorns. This is important.”
Hadassah rolled her eyes in disgust.
Taki chuckled to himself at their exchange. One of the unforeseen advantages of such a long and tedious journey was the chance to talk with the individual members of Alfa Gruppe. Once, Elsa had been a vicious adversary, and now she had struck up a strange sort of friendship with Draco—a friendship based on lies written down hundreds of years in the past, but there were more tenuous things to base a relationship on.
With the sun less than two fingers away from the horizon, the caravan finally entered the city. For Taki, the entire place smelled of yak butter. It was a sour smell, just shy of rancid, that seemed to suffuse every breath. The smell, combined with the musk of actual yaks, made his nostrils fill with mucus. Now that he was inside, however, he could see that this was really no different from most other cities he had been in. He considered investigating whether he could find grilled harspud on a stick.
“Natalis, we’re getting off here,” Lotte said as she slapped the wooden side of the wagon with her palm.
Taki stepped over the rear grate and carefully hopped onto the packed dirt of the boulevard. It was good to finally be on his feet.
“The wagons will take a longer route to the headquarters, but we’ve got to make haste and meet their leader before too long,” Lotte added.
