by Scott Rhine
“Now you’ve been drinking,” scoffed Bovinia.
Komiko said, “No. She’s right. Imperial warships are covered with old wards, stem to stern. If the field is as big as Master Pinetto predicts, it could work. We would need his notes, as well.”
Bovinia was unconvinced. “We can’t wake the city on her word. We need proof.”
“People, because this is a massive undertaking, we don’t have a heartbeat to lose. We’d have to move huge discs of base material from the zoo to the docks, send messengers all over the island, set up tents, get the wine, the candles . . .”
“Wine?” asked Majah, the newcomer.
“It helps relax us for the ceremony,” explained Komiko.
“You can’t get past three points without it,” said Ember from their room.
“I’ll get the liquor,” said Anna, “Lady Evershade will wake the Council. Komiko, you get the discs delivered and arranged. Nightglow will arrange guards for each cluster of wizards. Majah will get Ember delivered. Bovinia, can you get the tents?”
“If we can get one adult to vouch for Evershade,” said Bovinia.
Komiko complained, “I don’t know where to put the points.”
“He showed me on the map on his dresser,” said Lady Evershade. “I can mark the approximate locations for you. Get a navigation student to map them out exactly; they live for this kind of thing. I’m sure the right kinds of people are awake in the observatory and would even get college credit for the exercise. Oh, and he left his Sacred Amber on the dresser, too. Each cup goes in the center of a ward point, and the bowl goes on the wreck.”
“How do you know what’s in his bedchamber?” asked Majah.
“You haven’t been there since I kicked you out of my room,” Anna noted.
“Dreamwalking,” Lady Evershade whispered. “Queen Sarajah taught us.”
Anna nodded. “So, name one thing in his room that could prove beyond a shadow of a doubt you’re not making this up.”
Niftkin and a few other guards jogged into the hall as Lady Evershade proclaimed the specific list of items they would find under his majesty’s pillow without mentioning their connection to her.
The guard seemed uneasy. “His majesty said I could trespass this way in direst emergency. I will take two witnesses. Lady Anna is the most trusted and Mistress Komiko is the expert on lore.”
The others agreed and followed them to the door into his majesty’s chambers. As soon as the three entered, the others jockeyed for the best eavesdropping position. Nightglow was first, having the foresight to bring a glass to place against the door. Lady Evershade threw on a cloak. She sent runners to Lord Vapordoom and rushed to her cousin Pangborn. Her speed could mean the difference between the emperor’s life and death.
****
When Komiko bent to pick up the map and the Sacred Amber artifact, Niftkin winced. “Please, Mistress, don’t use your bare hands. All the maids have to wear gloves, and none of them is allowed in here.”
He handed her a pair of leather gloves from his waist. “Don’t use your hands,” she said in a high, mocking tone. “Afraid of girl germs?” She sniffed the perfume traces on the soft leather and chuckled, “Clearly, you like girl germs.”
Anna slid on gloves of her own. “His majesty can feel the resonance left on objects. If he touched something from your bare hands, he’d probably have a picture of Ember’s ass burned into his brain.”
“Evershade told you?”
“No, you just did,” Anna said with a grin. “Bovinia complained about thumping on the wall before, and we all suspected.”
Niftkin wrinkled his brow. “How does—”
Komiko interrupted. “Why do men always ask that first? This isn’t show and tell. Make yourself useful.” She handed the Sacred Amber to the guard and placed the map in her pocket. “Anna, you check under the pillow.”
Anna hesitated over the bed, as if a snake hid under the covers. Taking a deep breath, she flipped the plump pillow back. Underneath were all the items described. Komiko chuckled. “That jam stain on the tie tells me it belongs to Lady Evershade. Yum.”
“The feather is from her dress,” Anna gasped, picking up the pillow book.
“The hair looks familiar, too,” whispered the guard. “The dye has rubbed off on the sheets.”
The loose leaf fluttered out onto the floor, and everyone stared.
“Sweet goddess of fertility,” said Komiko. “Steamed off, more like it. He doesn’t need to touch this to see her ass.” She picked up the drawing. “I wouldn’t throw her out of bed for eating crackers.”
“Don’t talk like that, please,” he said, covering his eyes.
“That’s Lady Evershade’s birthmark,” said Anna.
“Something you’re not telling us?” Komiko implied with a smirk.
“She sleeps in her silkies,” Anna explained.
“There are more drawings. They’re amazing!” the witch noted as she opened the book to replace the page. Niftkin turned around and plugged his ears with his fingers. “As a guy, you’ve got to see these.”
“I can’t look at naked pictures of Nightglow’s mom.”
They all heard the glass drop to the floor in the sitting room.
He threw open the door, and a horrified Nightglow was backing away from the bedroom. She was even paler than normal. The guard whispered, “It’s not as bad as it sounds. She was recently named royal instructor in the bedroom arts; it probably has something to do with her job.”
A high-pitched wail was coming from the girl’s mouth. “My mother’s a whore?”
“He’s not paying her,” Anna blurted. “She’s just helping him learn magic.”
Nightglow, who knew exactly what that entailed, ran shrieking from the room.
Niftkin fumbled with his keys, relocking the emperor’s bedroom.
Komiko told Bovinia, “We have less than three hours to get the pieces into place for one of the most complex spells I’ve ever cast. We don’t have time for this girlie shit. Go get her and drag her back to do her duty. Slap her if you have to.”
Bovinia looked excited by the prospect, but Niftkin held her back. Giving chase, he said, “Get the things we need for the ritual. I’ll handle Nightglow.”
“I’ll bet you will,” Komiko muttered with a snicker, remembering the perfume on the gloves. “I wonder whose ass aura is on these.”
“Do you have to be so crude?” asked Anna.
“No, but hypocrisy is funny. Don’t you think so? Lady Evershade paid me her last gold to slip the emperor a pair of her daughter’s silkies. They were really hers.”
“Oh, my,” Anna said. “Don’t tell anyone else about this.”
Majah smiled. “Since Nightglow is gone, I’ll fetch the extra soldiers we need from officers’ training.” She thought her Uncle Ashford would love to hear about this tidbit.
Chapter 32 – Circles within Circles
The members of the magic class rallied admirably. Everyone met down at the Yacht Club to coordinate efforts. Nightglow pouted in a corner, refusing all efforts to soothe her. To make matters worse, one of the wizards was too inebriated from the celebration to attempt the six-pointer. His wife said, “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if I assisted Sir Niftkin. It’s to save the empire, after all.”
“How about it?” joked Komiko. “Willing to take a hit for the team, oh knight of the scented glove?”
“Not with another man’s wife,” the guard said. “The purity commission would shut us down.”
“There still aren’t enough men,” protested Lord Vapordoom. He lent his followers to the spell only because he’d been the one to sign the last rejection letter to the Pretender. His would be the first head to roll if the invaders landed.
“Who says we need a man?” asked Komiko.
“We’ll need approval,” mumbled Niftkin, with his hand in his pocket.
When Lord Pangborn arrived, Niftkin rushed to intercept him. “I need some legal clarifications, if you would,
sir.” He led the aristocrat away from the class as Nightglow spotted her mother.
The guard pulled the powerful council member into a broom closet and closed it behind. “What’s the meaning of this?” demanded the councilman.
“The empire could fall tonight,” said Niftkin, wiping the sweat from his forehead. “Do you agree that this is an emergency?”
“Yes!”
“We’ll do the easy one first. Does the purity commission object to a half-blooded witch bedding a foreign princess to save us?”
Pangborn blinked. “I don’t believe we have a policy on this. Most interesting, though. How do they . . .?”
Niftkin shrugged. “Trade secrets. They won’t talk.”
“Damn.”
“Although . . . I might be able to let you look at their playbook tomorrow.”
“I’ll sign. What’s the other problem?”
The guard stood up as straight as he could, mustering courage. “You’re Nightglow’s closest male relative; I researched it.”
“Yes.”
Niftkin wiped back his hair again. “If the emperor didn’t have a claim, would you grant her hand to me in marriage?”
The aristocrat tilted his head. “The girl’s not wearing her veil. She always wears her veil.”
“She doesn’t need it with me, sir.”
The aristocrat placed his hand on the guard’s shoulder. “Son, this is wonderful and terrible news. I take it the girl loves you in return?”
“Inexplicably, yes. In view of her family’s financial straits . . . and the urgent need of the empire, I would be willing to waive her dowry.”
The nobleman raised an eyebrow. “Love, indeed. It would gladden me to grant such a request by a brave lad such as you. However, I’m sorry; the emperor’s claim cannot be broken.”
Niftkin withdrew the decree and placed it in the council member’s hand. “Except by his own decree.”
Lord Pangborn opened the seal. “I’ll be damned. You fox. Find yourself a priest of Osos and this is legal. What’s the hurry?”
“I need Nightglow’s help to cast a ward, and I can’t ask her unless we’re wed.”
“The emperor’s going to fire you after this. You won’t have a bent coin to your names. Are you sure? There are dozens of ladies who would volunteer to help you with a spell.”
“You can’t make it to six points without love and total commitment, sir.”
“Find me a scribe and a priest and we’ll do this before the rest of the family stops you. You get to tell her mother. Lady Evershade was a bit behind me, ordering some surveyors around. She should be here by now.”
Niftkin opened the door to rush out, but it was too late. The entire building heard Nightglow’s blistering tirade. “You wouldn’t let me kiss a boy for fear of my reputation, and I find out what you’ve been doing?”
Lady Evershade stood unmoving through it all. “It was all for you, dear, to narrow the field for you.”
“For me?” she shrieked, slapping her mother across the face.
Both men in the closet winced. “Are you most certain you wish to proceed?” asked Pangborn.
Lady Evershade grabbed the girl’s wrist and twisted, bringing her to her knees.
Niftkin swallowed. “For the empire and glory. I’ll take the skinny one; you get the one who fights dirty.”
Together, they pried the mother and daughter apart. Both women were spitting invectives.
“Ungrateful . . .”
“Round-heeled . . .”
“Where do you think my pearls came from? However, the moment I stopped to care for you and your sisters, your father gave the family jewels to someone else.”
“Slattern!”
“Ladies, we’re in public,” said Niftkin, struggling to hold Nightglow back from clawing her mother’s face. “You can’t do anything in front of half the council.”
The girl calmed, but he held on, fearing an ambush. “Yes, I can do something in front of these noble witnesses. As head of my household, I make an accusation,” the girl said loudly.
The guard released her, whispering, “I will stand with you through anything, but do not mention him.”
Bovinia whispered, “This is so much fun.”
Lady Evershade stood straight. “I am the head of our house.”
“Not so. I hold the keys and signet.”
Her mother blinked. “A technicality.”
“Before these witnesses, I accuse you of immorality. If you challenge me, I will tell them all.”
Lady Evershade knelt before her daughter, choking out the words, “I accede . . . to your judgment . . . lady. What shall my punishment be?”
“I disown you as kin and cast you out into the streets where you belong,” the girl hissed.
The older woman stiffened. Through iron will, she refused to tear up or wail. The hand on her knee quivered.
“This is most extreme,” said Lord Ashford, grinning. “To enforce such a penalty, we would need to hear the crime.”
The former family head, now simply Corrie, bowed. The weight was nearly unbearable.
Only Niftkin spoke in her defense. “Please, let this be in closed session. She has done much good service.”
She clung to the kind words as she concocted a tale they would believe, close enough to the truth to ruin her own reputation while sparing her family and the emperor. “Our family has been paupers of late. I . . . sold a deceased friend’s mansion illegally to buy my coronation gown.”
Nobles all around gasped.
“It was a very nice gown,” admitted one woman.
The three council members conferred briefly. Pangborn walked up to his cousin. “I have to do this.” He spit on Corrie’s shoulder and decreed. “This woman is no longer of the Evershade family.” She closed her eyes and pretended to be a statue.
While people were still murmuring, the head of the purity council added, “The emperor knew of this disgrace. To spare the throne from scandal, he left a letter asking the council to release Nightglow from the dance if proof ever came to light. I am sorry to say, girl, you’ve just accused your way out of a home. The bank loans were taken out with her as head of cosmetics. I will assume the debts, but you, Nightglow, are out on the street as well.”
The girl glared at her mother. “Now see what you’ve done?”
Niftkin seized the moment and knelt before Nightglow. “Lady, in exchange for saving his life, the emperor granted me the right to name my own bride.”
“I have seen this grant,” said Pangborn.
“So you do not have to live with the shame of the Evershade name even one night, I ask you to marry me.”
The girl covered her face with both hands. “I suppose . . . I must.” A hint of a smile peeked out from the corner and she ran from the room.
Niftkin tapped Scribbles and said, “You; can you perform the ceremony?”
“My priesthood is more administrative rather than pastoral . . . but in my office as royal assistant . . .”
“Yes or no? I have an invasion to stop. We’re the sixth ward.”
“Er . . . Yes?”
“Come along.”
Anna said, “I’ll witness. Pagaose is less likely to get angry at any of you if I’m involved.”
“Thank you, lady,” said Niftkin.
“All you’re getting for a gift is a bottle of wine,” she said.
He smiled, happiness bubbling up from inside. Then he saw the older woman huddled on the floor, and his smile faded. The guard knelt beside her. “The emperor made provision for you, lady, with a stipend and the whole of the dome. I would honor you as mother-in-law, despite Nightglow’s temporary anger. If you wish, I will insist on your attendance at the ceremony.”
Corrie put an arm around him. “Please stop, or you will make me weep. And we have far too much to do to save Pagaose.”
“What can I do?”
“Let me coordinate from the center.”
“That’s the most dangerous place.”<
br />
“I am the most expendable.”
“The emperor would disagree,” the guard whispered.
She gripped the bird carving hanging from the gold chain around her neck.
He jogged over to Komiko. “Give Lady Corrie the amber bowl. She’ll wait for the emperor there. He will finish the spell. I think he is the only one who can.”
The witch nodded, handing him an amber cup holding a scarf and a string of seven pearls. “Have Nightglow wear this necklace through the entire ceremony. Tie the scarf to her ankle. The cup goes in the center. Place one pearl at each point as you light it. When your part comes, hold the string between your teeth. When you complete your ward, take the last pearl to the shipwreck and place it on his majesty’s ward in the spot with Nightglow’s name—the same as your place in the outer circle. Place the scarf under the bowl at the center.”
“Why?”
“Sympathetic magic. His majesty will tie all six events together from all the couples. I’ll draw an oval on the ground representing each woman—her head facing outward and her feet in the middle. According to the book, he gathers the energies of each, forms the final shape in his mind, and adds his own prana to activate it.”
“Why not use our rings? It would be a better symbol and the metal holds the imprints more clearly,” said the bodyguard.
“I suppose. But Ember and I don’t have them. Also, the emperor couldn’t fit them over his fingers.”
“Topknot bands don’t make proper contact.”
“Bracers might hurt. What about armbands? I know it’s girly, but would the guys wear some of the golden snake bracelets Rensalier sells? They’re one-size-fits-all for the Dance”
“Name something a man wouldn’t wear to have sex.”
Komiko gave a dirty chuckle.
Uncertain, Niftkin whispered, “’Miko, what if it doesn’t work?”
“Then you’ll have one hell of a last night. Either way, we’re going to change the face of war as we know it. Recruiting will be a breeze.”
It was his turn to laugh. Clasping her hand in the fashion of soldiers, he said, “For empire and glory.”
