“That,” said Halfdan, “is quite a tale.”
Caina shrugged. “I would not believe it myself unless I had seen it with my own eyes.”
“Still, it ended well,” said Halfdan. “We have nothing further to fear from Taldrane, and his crimes have been avenged. Hulagon will return to the Kagari steppes, and we’ll hear nothing from him. And Aetius has enough money to restore his family fortune. The new Count of Eastwarden will be more prosperous than the lords of House Valdarion have been for generations.”
“And the Sword?” said Caina.
Halfdan smiled. “Count Aetius will present it to the Emperor.”
Caina frowned. “It’s dangerous.”
“Quite,” said Halfdan, “but only when it is drawn, and the Emperor is not a fool. He will thank Aetius, and our young Count will gain a great deal of prominence. The Sword will go on display as a relic of the Empire’s past in the Imperial Citadel. In time, it will become just another dusty relic, and the secret of Nicokator’s tomb will be forgotten once more.”
“By all save the Ghosts,” said Caina.
“Yes,” said Halfdan. “Quite tidy, don’t you think?”
“I do,” said Caina. She considered for a moment. “Count Aetius Valdarion will enjoy a rise in wealth and status.”
“He shall,” said Halfdan.
“He will owe us, won’t he?” said Caina.
“Yes,” said Halfdan. “Would you like to tell him?”
###
Later, Caina walked through the vast stone hall of the Praetorian Basilica, the vaulted ceiling far over her head, the pillars rising in soaring arches. As a friend of the Emperor, Count Aetius Valdarion had been able to use the Praetorian Basilica, one of the largest of Malarae’s basilicas, to marry Lady Doriana Koramus, and to host the celebratory banquet.
Caina walked through the guests, wearing a rich gown of gold with black trim, along with appropriate jewelry and makeup for a wedding feast. She spotted Aetius speaking with some of his friends, resplendent in formal black and white, and waited until they broke apart.
“Lord Count,” said Caina, gripping her skirts and bowing. “Congratulations to you on this fortuitous day.”
“Thank you,” said Aetius, blinking. “That is very kind. Ah…I don’t believe we’ve met…”
Caina hid a smile. He didn’t recognize her.
“We met only very recently,” said Caina. “I believe our first acquaintance was at your father’s final banquet. Then again at a wine shop in a poorer part of the city, where you had a disagreement with a Kalgri tarkhan named Hulagon…”
Aetius frowned, and then his eyes grew wide. “Master Sebastian.”
Caina smiled. “You can call me that.”
“You certainly don’t look it,” said Aetius. He laughed. “Peculiar. Looking at you now, I would never guess that you were Master Sebastian. Gods, you’re easy upon the eyes now…but maybe that’s as much an illusion as Master Sebastian.” His smile faded. “I suppose I owe you and your…associates…a great deal.”
“You can choose to view it that way, yes,” said Caina.
“And you will need a favor in the future, I assume,” said Aetius. “I owe you that much.”
“You saw what Taldrane wanted,” said Caina in a low voice. “Assume that he had been right, that there had been a great weapon in the First Emperor’s tomb. How many people would have died if, say, he had been able to command that animated colossus? That is the work my associates and I do, my lord Count. To prevent war and death on the scale that men like Taldrane dream of working.” An inspiration struck her. “Nicokator did the same, when he constructed his tomb as a trap for the ambitious. He sought to preserve the peace of the Empire. We carry on his legacy. Your father would have aided us as we worked to carry out the work of the First Emperor.”
Aetius was silent for a long moment.
“I see,” said the Count. “Yes. You speak wisdom, Master Sebastian. Very well. Call upon me in your hour of need, and I shall aid you if I can.”
“Thank you, my lord Count,” said Caina. “Now go to your bride. Else she shall wonder why you are talking with another woman on your wedding day.”
Aetius laughed. “If she had seen you disguised at the wine shop, she would have no cause for jealousy! May the gods watch over you, Master Sebastian.”
“And you, Lord Count,” said Caina.
Aetius departed, crossing the floor of the basilica to rejoin his bride, and Caina felt a twinge of jealousy. Not for Doriana, of course – she did not find Aetius in the least attractive. Rather, she was jealous of what Aetius and Doriana had, of what they would have. Aetius was married, and soon if all went well he and Doriana would have children, perhaps many children.
That was something Caina would never know.
Yet she was a Ghost of the Emperor of Nighmar, and her task was to ensure the stability and peace of the Empire, to protect the commoners of the Empire, so that men and women and their families and children could dwell without fear of tyrants and mad sorcery.
So that others could have the life that Caina never would.
She smiled to herself as she left the Praetorian Basilica.
Men like Taldrane ought to fear the shadows…for in the shadows waited the Ghosts.
THE END
Thank you for reading BLADE OF THE GHOSTS. If you liked the story, please consider leaving a review at your ebook site of choice. To receive immediate notification of new releases, sign up for my newsletter (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=1854), or watch for news on my Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jonathan-Moeller/328773987230189). Follow this link to read Ghost in the Flames (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=1265), Caina Amalas's next adventure.
***
Other books by the author
The Demonsouled Saga
MAZAEL CRAVENLOCK is a wandering knight, fearless in battle and masterful with a sword.
Yet he has a dark secret. He is Demonsouled, the son of the ancient and cruel Old Demon, and his tainted blood grants him superhuman strength and speed. Yet with the power comes terrible, inhuman rage, and Mazael must struggle to keep the fury from devouring him.
But he dare not turn aside from the strength of his blood, for he will need it to face terrible foes.
The priests of the San-keth plot and scheme in the shadows, pulling lords and kingdoms upon their strings. The serpent priests desire to overthrow the realms of men and enslave humanity. Unless Mazael stops them, they shall force all nations to bow before the serpent god.
The Malrag hordes are coming, vast armies of terrible, inhuman beasts, filled with a lust for cruelty and torment. The Malrags care nothing for conquest or treasure, only slaughter. And the human realms are ripe for the harvest. Only a warrior of Mazael’s power can hope to defeat them.
The Dominiar Order and the Justiciar Order were once noble and respected, dedicated to fighting the powers of dark magic. Now they are corrupt and cynical, and scheme only for power and glory. They will kill anyone who stands in their way.
To defeat these foes, Mazael will need all the strength of his Demonsouled blood.
Yet he faces a far more terrible foe.
For centuries the Old Demon has manipulated kings and lords. Now he shall seize the power of the Demonsouled for himself, and become the a god of torment and tyranny.
Unless Mazael can stop him.
Read Demonsouled (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=880) for free. Mazael's adventures continue in Soul of Tyrants (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=911), Soul of Serpents (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=1287), Soul of Dragons (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=1727), Soul of Sorcery (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=1845), Soul of Skulls (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=2808), and Soul of Swords (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=3599), along with the short stories The Wandering Knight (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=30
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The Ghosts Series
Once CAINA AMALAS was the shy daughter of a minor nobleman, content to spend her days in her father’s library.
Then sorcery and murder and her mother’s treachery tore her life apart.
Now she is a nightfighter of the Ghosts, an elite agent of the spies and assassins of the Emperor of Nighmar. She is a master of disguise and infiltration, of stealth and the shadows.
And she will need all those skills to defend the Empire and stay alive.
Corrupt lords scheme and plot in the shadows, desiring to pull down the Emperor and rule the Empire for their own profit and glory. Slave traders lurk on the fringes of the Empire, ready to seize unwary commoners and sell them into servitude in distant lands. Yet both slave traders and cruel lords must beware the Ghosts.
The Magisterium, the Imperial brotherhood of sorcerers, believe themselves the rightful masters of the Empire. With their arcane sciences, they plan to overthrow the Empire and enslave the commoners, ruling all of mankind for their own benefit. Only the Ghosts stand in the path of their sinister plans.
And the Moroaica, the ancient sorceress of legend and terror, waits in the shadows, preparing to launch a war upon the gods themselves. She will make the gods pay for the suffering of mankind...even if she must destroy the world to do it.
Caina Amalas of the Ghosts opposes these mighty enemies, but the cost might be more than she can bear.
Read Child of the Ghosts (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=1057) for free. Caina's adventures continue in Ghost in the Flames (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=1265), Ghost in the Blood (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=1383), Ghost in the Storm (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=1931), Ghost in the Stone (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=2520), Ghost in the Forge (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=3181), Ghost in the Ashes (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=3932), Ghost in the Mask (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=4231), and Ghost in the Surge (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=4637), along with the short stories Ghost Aria (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=3243), Ghost Claws (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=3930), Ghost Omens (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=4235), The Fall of Kyrace (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=4258), Ghost Thorns (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=4639), Ghost Undying (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=4662), Ghost Light (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=5653), and Ghost Dagger (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=2371), and the prequel novel Blade of the Ghosts (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=6220). Get the first three books bundled together in The Ghosts Omnibus One (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=4484), and get the first four short stories bundled together in a World of the Ghosts Volume One (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=5669).
The Ghost Exile Series
Caina Amalas was a nightfighter of the Ghosts, the spies and assassins of the Emperor of Nighmar, and through her boldness and cunning saved the Empire and the world from sorcerous annihilation.
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RACHAELIS MORULAN is an Initiate of the Conclave, the powerful order of mighty mages. But to become a full Adept of the Conclave, she must first survive the Testing. Those who survive the Testing never speak of the trials they endured.
Those who fail the Testing are never seen again.
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MAZAEL CRAVENLOCK has prevailed over terrible foes and now rules the Grim Marches with firm justice. Yet ancient evils are stirring in the shadows, freed at last by Mazael's own hand. Unless Mazael fights with all his strength, the world will fall.
SIGALDRA is the last holdmistress of the Jutai nation, the final defender of her people. Now the darkness comes to devour the final remnant of Sigaldra's home and family. Even Sigaldra's courage may not be enough to turn aside the darkness.
Read Mask of Swords (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=5429) along with the short stories The Ransom Knight (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=5446) and The Serpent Knight (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=5856).
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THOMAS WYCLIFFE just wants to finish his dissertation in peace and quiet. So when a man in a black robe appears in his closet, claiming to be the last of the Warlocks, Wycliffe figures it is a bad joke.
Blade of the Ghosts Page 14
