Lisen had sat quietly as Rinli had defined her outrage at her treatment, but she sensed her daughter had rolled out her last. “Rin, I expect that the Elders’ Council may be the last place you’ll be accepted as an equal. They’re called ‘Elders’ for a reason.”
“I know. But I think I should at least be allowed to sit in, maybe occasionally express an opinion. I mean, I’m the damn Protector of Thristas and I don’t even know what that means. And if I don’t know, how can I expect anyone else to respect me?”
Lisen sighed. “What can I do to help?”
“Tell me what a Protector of Thristas does.”
“All right. What about if we sit down and see if we can work it out together? I’ll check with Chesa for when my schedule is free and put you in there for however much time you need. Would that help?”
Rinli’s entire body seemed to relax, her shoulders settling and her expression loosening up. “Oh, Mother, yes.”
“All right.” Lisen smiled. Even small victories with Rinli were worthy of celebration, and this was not a small victory at all. Her daughter might not be ready for training in the push, but at least she was willing to be taught something. “Shall we head back? Our guards appear nervous so far away.”
“I don’t know what they’re worried about,” Rinli said, also smiling. “I mean, if they don’t tell Fa and we don’t tell Fa, what sort of trouble could they end up in?”
“I’ll race you back.”
“No fair,” Rinli shouted as Lisen rode Pharaoh off at an easy canter. Lisen laughed as the wind raced through her hair. She wouldn’t let Pharaoh run all out, allowing Rinli to catch up, but she’d certainly give the guards a reason to hurry. She did have to find amusement somewhere.
“And the fourth and final judge on the panel will be…”
Nalin watched from his seat on the dais as Lisen placed her hand in the basket of Council member scrolls and pulled one out. This would be the last of the Empir’s duties in this trial until the sentencing, if it came to that. As the victim, she had recused herself from any involvement in the panel beyond the drawing of the names, and Nalin, as her Will, would step in as the panel’s guide and tiebreaker. So far, Nalin saw little hope in the panel. First had come Councilor Idom of Carlasa, an ally of Carlasa’s holder, Tazori Dors, a constant Zanlot supporter. An inauspicious beginning. Then Lisen had drawn Elor Zanlot’s name. He’d seen it on her face before she’d read it out; Elor, barely sixteen, would see any attempt on the life of the person who’d never explained her involvement in his father’s suicide as a heroic deed. Lisen had then proclaimed the third judge with relief—Malaki Mira. Now, Nalin but awaited that final name.
“…Holder Bala Tuane.”
“My Liege,” Bala confirmed and pushed herself up off the bench with difficulty. She was due to unpouch in the next couple of days. Lisen looked to Nalin, her eyes posing a question, and he nodded.
“Holder Tuane,” Lisen said, “are you sure you will be able to complete your duties as a judge? The trial and the deliberations could last up to four days.”
“I am prepared to fulfill my duties, my Liege,” Bala said as she shuffled her way up to the dais. Lisen moved to the edge of the two steps and reached out a hand to help Bala ascend. Nalin watched as his spouse sat down behind the panel’s table and felt a smile broaden across his face at her tenacity.
“I protest!” Akdor Ba said from behind them. As the accused, he sat at the back of the dais, a guard on either side of him.
Lisen turned to him. “On what grounds?”
“Holder Tuane is the spouse of the presiding judge, or whatever Nalin’s title is. There could be collusion between them.”
Nalin pivoted in his chair. “Akdor, I can assure you that my spouse and I both know how to conduct ourselves ethically.”
“She stays, Akdor,” Lisen decided. “And now, as agreed, I hand my duties over to Holder Corday.”
Lisen stepped down off the dais and took a seat in the first row between her daughter and Rosarel, and Nalin rose.
“Holders, Councilors, noble guests, as was outlined in a letter of accusation submitted to you all by the throne, Akdor Ba stands accused of hiring an assassin. This assassin attacked Empir Ariannas in her office, with intent to harm, on the nineteenth day of May, year of Ariannas seventeen. As you all remain potential judges in this matter, attendance at the sessions where testimony and evidence will be presented is mandatory. And now, with the amount of information to be laid out for consideration, we will begin immediately without a break. Empir Ariannas?”
Lisen knew she would testify first, and all those involved in the throne’s case had agreed on the order of witnesses. She rose from her seat and stepped up to the dais. She took her place on her throne, and cane in hand, Nalin joined her there.
“My Liege,” Nalin said solemnly, “please give us your account of the events of the late evening on the previously mentioned date.”
She looked directly out on the Council. “As is our custom, my Will and I toasted the end of Council on the night before his departure from Avaret. When we finished, I saw him out as far as my office door. He left, and I went to my desk to write a few letters. I had just begun when…”
She went on to detail the assassin’s intrusion through the door from her clerk’s office, how the assassin got to her before she could fully react and grabbed her from behind and raised her sword. Lisen spoke in a calm, unemotional tone, a tone she’d been forced to rehearse as her initial recounting of the story a few days back had fairly bled fear. She admitted that she didn’t know how Korin had overcome the woman, only that he’d jumped up on the desk and killed her. When she finished, Councilor Idom spoke up.
“Forgive me, my Liege, but how did your spouse know to come down when he did?”
“You’ll have to ask him that.”
“Did you recognize this person?” Akdor Ba asked. It was his right as accused to challenge any testimony.
“No, I did not. As I said, she was masked.” Lisen continued to look out at the Council, never turning to Akdor as she answered.
“Was this person ever identified?”
“No.”
“No identification,” Akdor said. “So how was this unidentifiable person identified as connected with me somehow?”
Nalin turned in his chair to face the man. “Akdor,” he said before Lisen could feel required to answer, “the investigation will be fully detailed later. Our Empir can only testify now to that which she knows about the attack itself. If you have any further questions regarding that, feel free to ask them.” Nalin returned to the Council and waited. After a few seconds, he determined that Akdor had finished. “Any other questions? Panel?” The four judges sitting at the table on the dais all shook their heads.
“But if we have questions later,” Malaki said, “we can recall a witness, correct?”
“Of course,” Nalin replied. “Any witness can be brought back for further questions but only during the span of the presentation phase of the trial.”
Malaki nodded.
“My Liege, you are excused,” Nalin said. He watched Lisen return to her place on the bench with her spouse. “I declare a break for lunch. There will be a single warning bell.”
Nalin wasted no time getting to Bala and escorting her out through the Empir’s office door. Lisen followed right after, and the three of them stood there briefly in silence.
“Why don’t you two stay here,” Lisen suggested. “I’ll have lunch sent in, and you can enjoy it alone.”
“Thank you,” Bala said. “This son of ours has reached a size where any movement is difficult.”
“I thought as much.” Lisen headed to the hallway door. “I’ll see to your lunch.”
Once she was gone, Bala settled into a chair at the conference table, and Nalin sat down beside her.
“You said you could do this,” he said.
“I can and I will, but I didn’t promise I’d be comfortable doing it.”
“
So it is your contention, is it not, that you were at home in Holding Terane, nowhere near Avaret, at the time of the attack on the Empir?”
Lisen smiled from where she sat next to Korin in the front row of the chamber. On the third day into the trial, with hers and Korin’s testimonies completed, along with those of Tanres and the guards on duty that night, Nalin now began setting Akdor Ba up perfectly for the fall. It was a brilliant tactic, and Lisen thanked the Creators that she had no obligation to reveal any of their evidence to Akdor or his advisors in advance.
“Yes. There is nothing linking me to this heinous crime.”
Nalin turned away from Akdor and hobbled his way to the front of the dais. It was a play for effect. Lisen hadn’t seen him struggle like that since his first days on the wooden leg.
“Any questions from the panel?”
“Yes, my lord, I have one.”
“Holder Zanlot.”
Elor’s blue eyes sparkled. “At the time of the attack, you had recently been denied what you considered to be your birthright by the victim, correct?”
Leave it to Elor, Lisen thought, to focus on the birthright issue.
“Yes. But—”
“Giving you motive.”
“I admit I spent many a night after that drinking myself into a stupor, but I never once considered revenge.”
“Thank you,” Elor said. “Nalin?”
“Anyone else?”
Lisen waited. Elor believed he’d handed Akdor a gift, but he’d only succeeded in offering Akdor more opportunities to commit perjury.
“If there are no further questions,” Nalin finally said, “we will move on to the next witness. Mutar Ba.”
Lisen heard shuffling behind her as Mutar made his way to the end of his row and then out and down the steps. Akdor’s look of triumph shifted into puzzlement. No doubt he wondered what his brother could possibly say to support the throne’s claims. Just wait, you selfish boy, Lisen thought.
“Thank you, Holder Ba, for agreeing to testify today,” Nalin said as Mutar took the center seat on the dais and Nalin sat down in his chair beside him. Mutar nodded, and Nalin continued. “When did you receive word that your brother had been detained in the matter of the attempt on Empir Ariannas’ life?”
“I believe it was sometime in the second week of August,” Mutar replied.
“And what was your reaction?”
“At first, I didn’t believe it. In my mind, there was no one less likely to do such a thing in all of Garla.”
”At first?”
“Then, I began to wonder if it were possible.”
“What did you decide?”
“That it was possible.”
“What, if anything, figured into your decision?”
“I searched his room in our castle. He’d spent quite a bit of time with me once he’d calmed down a bit after the Empir named me holder. It’s his home, too, after all.”
“Did you do this personally?” Nalin asked.
“He’s my brother. I wouldn’t ask a servant to do it. Not on a possibility.”
“What did you find?”
Lisen watched as the light slowly lit up Akdor’s mind. We have him and he knows it.
“Nothing initially. I thought I knew all his hiding places, and I searched all of those and found only mementos and such. Then, I started looking for loose stones and boards in walls and cabinets. I found a false back in his wardrobe, and when I opened it up, several letters fell out.”
“Letters? To him or from him?”
“To him.”
“And who were they from?”
“All but one were from a person who only signed as ‘Famzar.’”
“And the one?”
“That one was from Tazori Dors.”
“What did you do with the letters?”
Lisen loved the way Nalin and Mutar played tag back and forth. In the interview before the convening of the trial, Nalin had coached Mutar to answer only the question asked and that, briefly.
“I read them.”
“And then?”
“I deemed them potential evidence so I sent them on to Avaret with my best courier.”
“Thank you, Holder Ba.” Nalin turned to the judges. “Any further questions?”
“Where are these supposed letters now?” Councilor Idom asked.
“I don’t know,” Mutar replied.
“I’m establishing their existence,” Nalin explained. “Once I’ve finished with that, I will introduce them as evidence.”
Idom nodded and made a note.
“Questions?” Nalin asked of the full assembly of the Council.
“Traitor,” Akdor muttered. Mutar turned to look at his brother. Lisen understood well how Mutar must feel; his testimony would lead to his brother’s conviction.
“If you don’t have a question, Akdor,” Nalin cautioned, “I must ask that you keep silent. Now, again, questions?” When silence greeted his request, Nalin continued. “Thank you, Holder Ba. You may return to your seat.”
Mutar nodded, stood and resumed his place in the chamber.
“The throne recalls Empir Ariannas,” Nalin intoned.
Lisen rose and stepped up to the dais. She didn’t sit; she wouldn’t be here long.
“My Liege, what happened on the twenty-eighth of August of this year?” Nalin asked.
“I received a packet from Holder Ba.”
“And what was in this packet?”
“Letters, addressed to Akdor Ba, all but one from someone who signed them only ‘Famzar.’”
“And the other one?”
“From Tazori Dors.”
“Are these the letters?” Nalin held up a packet of letters tied with string, the same string that had tied them together when she’d received them. He handed them to her. She didn’t untie the string, just lifted up the corners of a few of the folded missives making it look like she was confirming that these were the letters she remembered. She knew they were; she’d prepared them for today.
“Yes.”
“Thank you, my Liege.”
Lisen stepped back down to sit with Korin, and Nalin made his way back to Akdor, letters in hand.
“Akdor Ba, these letters are addressed to you. Do you recognize them?”
“No,” Akdor blurted out.
“Let me show them to you. Perhaps that will serve to prod your memory.”
“I’ve never seen them before. My brother must have fabricated them.”
“Well, why don’t you read one to us? What about this one?”
The letter Nalin appeared to pull from the pile at random had been specifically chosen for its damning content. He tried to hand it to Akdor, but Akdor adamantly refused to accept it.
“They are not my letters.”
“But they’re addressed to you,” Nalin said, feigning confusion. They had anticipated Akdor’s denial.
“They’re not…my…letters!”
“All right, all right. Then allow me to read one of them, leaving the rest for the panel to study. They will also be made available to the Council for the remainder of this hearing during the hours when the panel is adjourned. Now, let me see.” Nalin fumbled a bit, unfolded the “chosen” letter and began to read.
“I have found a way in and a place to hide and will wait there until it’s time. When you’ve heard the deed is done, I will expect payment as negotiated. Famzar. Sixteenth day of May, year seventeen.” Nalin paused, then looked up to the Council. “Dated three days before the attempt on our Empir’s life.” Again he paused and then moved on as though what he’d just read had no effect on him. “We will adjourn for lunch after which the panel will be instructed and will begin deliberations.”
As the Council rose, the mumbling began. Caught up in various conversations, the members slowly made their way up the stairs to the public entrance.
Lisen turned to Korin. “Join us for lunch in my office.” He nodded, a smile tickling at the corners of his lips.
“He p
layed it well,” he said, and with a nod, Lisen left him, patting Rinli’s shoulder as she departed. Korin was right; Nalin had played it well indeed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
MANTAR’S CHILD
Tinlo sat, his hands bound in front of him, tight, with a leather thong. He should have done what he’d gone to do. He should have forced his way through it and done it. His situation couldn’t have been much worse than it was now—a prisoner for life in a tiny cave guarded by the new Thristan “Defenders”—the physically and mentally strongest members of the Tribe recruited as military aides shortly before Korin and his lying daughter had left for Avaret three weeks ago. While Madlen walked around free, he would pay for his foiled folly for the rest of his nights.
“Tinlo, did you hear the question?”
He looked up at Elder Rostor, his grandfather, who was the only one in the room who showed him any kindness. After finding him guilty of attempted assassination of the so-called Protector of Thristas, the Elders’ Council had brought him into their chamber tonight to speak to him about his own accusation against the Garlan interloper.
“No, I’m sorry. I didn’t.” He felt tears burning at his eyes, but he denied them freedom.
“You said in your testimony during your trial,” Elder Hozia tried again, “that you felt like you’d been pushed. You claimed that young Rinli pushed you, that she used hermit powers, likely inherited from her mother, to stop you from killing her. Please describe what you felt.”
He’d included this in his first emotional outburst when he’d come directly from the kitchen. He’d just spewed the words out, offering no consideration to the consequences. Then Korin, then Madlen and finally, Rinli had testified reasonably, completely negating everything he’d said. Except this. Not a one of them had spoken of what had truly stopped him, and since he’d already backed away when Korin arrived, one of the other two—Madlen or her Garlan pallet mate—should have mentioned it or, at the very least, alluded to it somehow. The fact that they hadn’t had failed to save him from the Elders’ Council’s wrath, but it had brought him back into their chamber tonight.
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