“Jelena my pet, I thought we might go riding after breakfast…that is, if you feel up to it,” Sonoe suggested.
“That sounds like a fine idea. My daughter needs to get out and get some fresh air,” the king concurred. Jelena looked hesitant.
“You need to get out,” Sonoe insisted. “You’ve been in seclusion for long enough. We’ll ride down through town and go out beyond the gates for a little way, just to the Meizi Road.” She looked to Keizo for support.
“Yes, excellent. I’ll send for a pair of guards to accompany you.”
Sonoe cursed inwardly, but knew better than to argue. Keizo usually allowed his mistress to come and go as she pleased, unescorted.
He must feel Jelena needs extra supervision due to her fragile state. No matter; I’m more than a match for a couple of guards.
“Yes…yes, it would be nice to get out. I’m sure poor Willow is going crazy for lack of exercise,” Jelena conceded.
“It’s settled, then.” Sonoe lifted a sweet bun to her lips and took a bite.
“What are your plans for today, Father?” Jelena inquired.
“After breakfast, your uncle, your father-in-law, and I will meet. We must finish the last details of our strategies for the upcoming war. A full council is scheduled in two days, and the plans must be ready by then for presentation and review.” Keizo sighed and the benign cast of his face hardened into grimness. “I know it doesn’t seem so now, but spring will be upon us before we know it. We must be prepared for what is to come. Our very survival as a free nation depends on how accurately I and my advisors can predict the Soldarans’ tactics.”
“We have one big advantage over the humans… our magic,” Sonoe added.
“Yes, we do,” the king replied. He reached over to brush a finger along her cheek. “As a member of the Kirian Society, you will play an important role in the planning and execution of our magical defense. I hate to think of you in danger, my love, but there is a good chance you will find yourself on the front line when this conflict begins.”
Sonoe saw genuine love and concern for her in his storm-gray eyes. Her heart skipped a beat and she berated herself for her weakness. She had never intended to allow any soft emotions like affection to cloud her judgment when dealing with the king. But despite her intentions, she found, after so many years living with him, that she had grown extremely fond of Keizo.
Which makes what I ultimately intend to do to him and his daughter all the more difficult, she thought. But not impossible. Any sacrifice will be worthwhile if it means I gain the power of the Key.
She noticed that Jelena had pushed aside her plate. “Are you finished already, Jelena? You’ve hardly eaten a thing,” she chided gently.
The girl glanced at her half-eaten breakfast and shrugged. “I’m just not very hungry right now,” she said in a small voice.
“Well, a nice ride in the fresh air will do wonders for your appetite,” Sonoe replied. “Shall we go?”
After a round of farewell kisses, Sonoe and Jelena left the king to finish his own breakfast in solitude. Two guards waited for them at the stable entrance, as expected. In a very short time, they were mounted up and heading into the town, Jelena astride the gray mare she called Willow, and Sonoe on her favorite bay gelding Susei. One guard rode at the fore to clear the way, the other followed behind his two charges.
The streets bustled with morning traffic. A few of the townsfolk paused to watch as Sonoe and Jelena rode by, but most continued with their business, either uninterested or oblivious. Sonoe often went abroad in the town, so her presence incited little attention, and very few of Sendai’s okui population could identify Jelena by sight. To most observers, Keizo’s daughter looked like just another hikui woman-a bit more well-to-do than most, but otherwise unremarkable.
They had to keep a tight rein on their mounts as they moved through the busy town, but once the little group had passed through the outer gates, the horses eagerly picked up the pace. Sonoe and Jelena urged their mounts forward, and the guards both fell back to a discreet distance.
The two women rode for a time in companionable silence.
Eventually, Jelena spoke. “Sonoe, I know it’s probably none of my business, but why hasn’t my father married you? You’ve been with him for so long, it seems…well, somehow unfair.”
“It’s simple really, Jelena, love. Your father won’t marry me because I’m common-born,” Sonoe replied.
“Oh…I…I couldn’t tell. You’re so…so refined, so noble!”
Sonoe laughed, secretly pleased. “I’m really just a farm girl from Ayame. When I was still quite young, my parents sent me off to work as a servant on the estate of a local mage. My mother recognized that of all her children, I had the most Talent. I think she hoped my master would see my potential and decide to take me on as an apprentice. Lucky for me, he did.”
Of course, I helped things along by letting him spread my legs whenever he wanted!
“My first master taught me all he knew, but I soon realized it was only the tip of a vast mountain of knowledge. I needed to get to a place where I could receive more advanced training,” Sonoe continued. “Master Bansa recognized that I had surpassed his abilities, so he arranged for me to travel to Sendai where I could enter the mage school run by his order, the Kan Onji, also known as the Red Order.”
Sonoe basked for awhile in the glow of nostalgia. Bansa had been quite elderly when she had come to him, but that hadn’t stopped her from seducing him. He had taken her virginity with surprising vigor, and had proved to be a skilled and imaginative lover as well as a kind master.
“Master Bansa paid for my first few months at the school, but he was not a wealthy man, and so I had to start working for my lessons.”
“As a servant?” Jelena asked.
Sonoe burst out laughing.
“Did I say something funny?” Jelena sounded a little miffed.
“Jelena, my sweet girl. You are just so…so innocent in many ways,” Sonoe replied. “I earned my keep flat on my back! Or on top… or on my hands and knees… however it was required of me.”
“Oh,” Jelena answered in a small voice.
“Don’t look so shocked. There’s no shame in what I did. I chose my first profession freely, and it allowed me to pursue my true vocation. Now, I’m a well-respected member of the Kan Onji, a Kirian, and King’s Companion. I’ve done quite well for myself, and I did it without having the power of a noble family behind me.”
“I…I didn’t mean to give you any offense, Sonoe,” Jelena said. “I was just remembering my own situation back in Amsara. I wasn’t given any choice when my uncle arranged to sell me as a concubine to a much older man. I felt desperate, trapped. I couldn’t imagine spending my life as a slave, so I ran away.”
“And you found love and family. The Goddess has blessed you.”
“Yes, I guess She did. Even though Ashinji and I had so short a time together, I’m still grateful. He is…was the love of my life.”
“And soon, you’ll bear his child…Yet another blessing.”
“Does it sadden you that you have no children of your own, Sonoe?”
“Yes, sometimes. But your father has said he wants no children between us, so I take steps to see to it that I don’t conceive. Perhaps, now that he has you and your child, he will relent and allow me to have a baby of my own.”
They had ridden out beyond the last clusters of houses that made up the suburbs of Sendai and now traveled in open countryside. The road that ran to the town of Meizi, seat of Prince Raidan’s fiefdom, stretched ahead of them, lined on either side by ranks of ancient oak trees. A chilly wind played in their gnarled branches, rattling the old wood with a sound like dry bones.
The screech of a raven echoed from high above. Jelena’s head jerked upward like a startled deer. She peered at the pale sky, frowning.
It is time!
The cold voice of The Nameless One sounded in Sonoe’s head like the faraway whisper of death. She tw
isted in her saddle to note the position of the two unsuspecting guards bringing up the rear, their bodies relaxed and swaying along with their mounts’ strides. She crooked the index finger of her right hand, and her horse tripped and went down on one knee, sending her tumbling from the gelding’s back to the roadway. Jelena cried out in alarm and the guards shouted in dismay.
Sonoe groaned as she raised herself on her elbow.
“Sonoe, are you hurt?” Jelena asked breathlessly, kneeling down on the hard dirt of the road.
How did she get off her horse so fast? Sonoe wondered.
“Lady Sonoe!” the two guards cried as they flung themselves from their horses and ran to her.
“I’m not hurt… Just had the wind knocked out of me! Don’t fuss!” Sonoe grumbled in a show of irritation and hurt pride. She extended her hand to the nearest guard. “Help me up,” she commanded.
“Yes, my lady,” the man replied and seized her hand.
Sonoe pounced on the man’s unprotected mind and squeezed. He made a little choking noise in his throat and fell forward on top of her, unconscious.
“What th…” the other guard exclaimed, but before the rest of his words could leave his mouth, he, too, collapsed. Jelena screamed in fear.
Sonoe pushed the guards’ limp bodies aside and grabbed Jelena’s wrists.
“Jelena, hush!” she commanded, and before Jelena could pull away, Sonoe had the girl’s head between her hands. She looked deep into Jelena’s eyes and plunged through their hazel depths, past the girl’s superficial consciousness toward the center of her mind. She saw the Key, glowing like a lamp at the bottom of a well. She encountered no resistance, which surprised her .
What has Taya been teaching her? Why is she not fighting me?
Sonoe slammed against an invisible barrier with enough force to throw her out of Jelena’s mind and rock her back on her heels. Intense pain shot through her head and she groaned aloud through gritted teeth. Jelena slumped forward, moaning.
Damn you, Taya!
The barrier had been so skillfully laid that Sonoe had been unable to detect it. Only an adept of equal or greater skill than her own could have constructed such a beautifully made shield.
“S…Sonoe…wha…wha…”
Sonoe touched two fingers to Jelena’s temple and felt the girl subside into her arms, head lolling. She eased her to the ground.
The flutter of wings alerted the mage to his arrival.
The raven alighted on the roadbed a short distance away and hopped closer until it stood a couple of paces from Jelena’s head. It looked sideways at the girl’s slack face out of one jet-bead eye. This particular bird still appeared fresh and healthy, so Sonoe knew the Nameless One had just recently taken control of it. It uttered a small croak.
“The Crown Princess has been busy,” Sonoe said aloud, disgust roughening her voice. “She has put up a third level shield around the Key. I can’t crack it without killing the girl.”
Then kill her! She has to die anyway!
“I can’t kill her now!” Sonoe retorted. “How would I explain her death? Besides, we don’t have another vessel prepared, and without a proper vessel, the magic of the Key will be lost! Is that not what you told me?” Sonoe had to struggle against her mounting fury. In the part of her mind she kept hidden, she savored the knowledge of the weapon she would use against him when the time came.
A gust of sulky energy wafted through her mind like the fetid odor from a latrine pit.
I grow weary of my prison. It has been a thousand years since I last walked the earth as a flesh and blood man. I long to see, to smell and hear, to taste…everything!
“You must be patient, my lord,” Sonoe said. She held out her arm and the raven hopped onto it. “I’m already working on a way to bring the girl to you. I found an ancient book in the king’s library. It’s a lost chronicle of the Kirians. In it, I found references to a translocation portal somewhere within the precincts of Sendai Castle. If I can find it, I might be able to reactivate it. There is a portal within the ruins of the Black Tower. If both can be reactivated, I can bring the girl directly to you.”
The portal within the Tower remains energized, though the power has waned over the centuries. The last time it was used was over three hundred years ago, when two of your order came to check on me.
“Taya Onjara is Mistress of the Kirians now.”
Though that office should belong to me, Sonoe thought.
“She watches me very closely now, especially since I’ve gained the girl’s trust.” Sonoe frowned. “Amara also keeps a close eye on the girl, and both have had a hand in her training. They are preparing her for the Sundering, though neither has told Jelena the full truth of what will happen. They will send her, unwittingly, to her death and console themselves with the righteous knowledge that they have saved the world! Cowards!” Sonoe spat. “If they had any nerve at all, the two of them would seize the power of the Key for themselves!”
And you, of course, would not dare to entertain such a betrayal!
The black stone pendant hidden between her breasts exploded with a sudden burst of heat, searing Sonoe’s skin and wringing a startled cry of pain from her lips.
“No, Master, no!” she gasped, clutching the stone. “Please, you are burning me!” The stone grew cold again and Sonoe sighed in relief and irritation.
One of the guards stirred. The raven spread its wings and clacked its beak.
“You must go now, so that I can revive them all before too much time has passed and they notice something’s amiss,” Sonoe said.
Without warning, the raven lunged at her face and sliced her cheek open with its razor-sharp beak.
Sonoe screamed and flung the bird from her. Cursing, she pressed a hand to the bleeding wound. “Why did you do that?” she cried.
So that when you gaze upon the scar that mars the beauty of your face, you will be reminded of who owns you .
The raven launched itself into the air. It turned on a wingtip and sped off in the direction of Sendai, leaving Sonoe sobbing with rage.
When she had at last mastered herself, she reached over and tapped each of the guards on their temples. They groaned as they regained consciousness. Sonoe lay down on the ground and brushed Jelena’s forehead. As the girl’s eyes fluttered open, the mage slipped into her mind and sponged away all traces of her intrusion.
The two guards climbed to their feet, looking bewildered.
“My lady!” they cried in unison.
“Are you hurt?” the older of the two asked, bending over Sonoe, his face a mask of concern. He seemed to have no idea that he had been unconscious.
“I’m just bruised,” Sonoe snapped.
“My lady, your face is bleeding!” the other guard exclaimed.
Jelena sat up and looked around, clearly puzzled.
“How did I end up on the ground?” she asked to no one in particular. Her gaze alighted on Sonoe and she yelped in alarm. “Sonoe, are you all right? Your horse fell!”
“Yes, yes, I’m fine. Just a little cut on my cheek is all. I must have fallen on a rock. Help me up,” she commanded, holding her hands out to the guards. “It’s not like Susei to be clumsy.” She walked over to where the bay stood, tail swishing.
“He’s got a scraped knee,” the younger guard commented. “Must have stepped in a pothole or something.” He began scanning the roadbed as the other guard helped Jelena to her feet.
“You should let me wash that cut for you,” Jelena said, coming up behind Sonoe.
Sonoe turned to face Jelena and forced a smile. “Thank you, pet,” she said. She stood still while Jelena ministered to her, all the while seething with anger.
You’ll be the slave, and I shall be your mistress! You think you rule me now, but what you don’t know is that I possess the tool which will give me complete power over you! All I have to do is speak the word when the time is right!
She had stumbled across it quite by accident. While digging through a chest
of old scrolls she had found in the dustiest, dimmest corner of the library storeroom, her hand had encountered a tiny book.
Its leather binding was crumbling with age and the ink upon the parchment pages had faded almost to illegibility, but she’d instantly recognized the hand of Master Iku Azarasha himself. How the book had survived so long, she couldn’t fathom. She had taken the book, realizing she’d discovered a treasure of immense value.
She had worked in secret for many days, and after much effort, she managed to raise the faded ink enough to read the contents of the book. What she read astounded her.
The little book turned out to be a personal account of the last battle between the sorcerer king Onjara and his daughter and successor, Queen Syukoe. It also described the Ritual of Sundering that broke the king’s power and sent him down to defeat and undeath. Master Iku had meticulously recorded everything about those events, including the names of everyone who had taken part.
Sonoe had unwittingly found the only weapon she would need to subjugate the ancient spirit.
His true name.
Chapter 25
Ashinji’s Choice
Mistress de Guera! Always a pleasure to see you!”
Marcus placed his clasped hands to his heart and bowed his head in greeting as a woman and three men approached.
“Marcus. I got your message, and I was intrigued. Where is this extraordinary merchandise you wish to show me?”
“He is right over there, Mistress, sitting against that post… Ashinji! On your feet, now!”
Upon hearing his name, Ashinji looked to where Marcus and the woman stood waiting, but couldn’t bring himself to move. The trauma of his situation had momentarily paralyzed him.
“You heard the boss!” snarled Lacus. He aimed a kick at Ashinji’s ribs, but a sharp word from Marcus halted his foot in mid-swing. Slowly, Ashinji climbed to his feet. He moved to stand before Marcus and the woman, pushing tendrils of wet hair out of his face with his shackled hands.
The woman gasped and her eyes widened. “Is this…is he…?”
Marcus bobbed his head. “Yes! He is, indeed, Mistress.”
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