The Crown of the Usurper (The Crown of the Blood)

by Gav Thorpe

  "He's a cunning fucker," said Ullsaard, smiling and shaking his head. "How many of these tokens are there?"

  "Each man we sent out had about three thousand, give or take," said Anasind. "Noran thought that once word started to spread, folks wouldn't wait for the tokens. Across every province, the Brotherhood are about to become everybody's target."

  "And did Noran suggest how we would fulfil the promise he made? The same mob that turned on the Brotherhood will be coming for us if we don't settle up."

  "He said if your coffers were too shallow to hold the balance, at this time of the year every Brotherhood precinct should be bulging with the half-year taxes."

  "Excuse me, my king," said Meesiu. "If there's some money to be handed out, my legion hasn't been paid since we left Salphoria."

  Ullsaard turned back to Anasind, brow creased.

  "The men haven't had their coin since the winter? Did you forget or something?"

  "There is little coin to give," said the general. "You left me in the middle of Salphoria with winter closing in. I cannot create tin or silver from thin air."

  "You risked desertion and mutiny all the way to Askh. I know that a legionnaire will march if he is waiting for his pay, but how did you get them to follow you for so long?"

  "I made them a promise in your name," said Anasind. He drew himself up and met the king's gaze without wavering. "I gave the men rights to final campaign."

  "You offered them all pension rights at the end of the fighting?" It was another of Askhos's old strategies to wean the legions away from their original tribal commanders; to offer all pay and privileges of a pensioned soldier at the end of the current campaign, regardless of time served. It was a drastic measure that meant whole legions would retire at the same time, and one Ullsaard was sure he would regret.

  "It is amazing what men will do, what they will face," continued Anasins, "if they think the biggest payday they have ever seen is at the end of it."

  "We can't lose," said Meesiu, earning himself a scowl from the king. "Look at it this way, king. If we beat Urikh and those spirit-monsters, you'll be more than happy to reward the men who did it for you. And if you lose, you're not going to be around to suffer the consequences."

  II

  Opening his eyes, Ullsaard heard voices at the entrance to the pavilion. Lying on his cot he listened as the sentries explained that the king was asleep and should not be disturbed. He heard Anasind claim that Ullsaard would wish to be woken, and the legionnaires submitted to the general's will. Pushing himself from the bed, Ullsaard wrapped his kilt around his waist and belted it before stepping through the curtained doorway into the main chamber.

  Anasind was just entering and stopped as he saw the king emerge from the bedchamber.

  "A visitor for you," said the general, stepping aside to allow another to enter.

  It was Allenya, a dark blue shawl around her shoulders and head, followed swiftly by two legionnaires hauling a travelling chest between them.

  "Husband," she said formally.

  "Wife," Ullsaard replied, his happiness at seeing her punctured by her cold demeanour.

  They said nothing more as the legionnaires placed the chest in one of the side chambers and left. Anasind darted a worried glance at his king, sensing that this was not the reunion hoped for when Ullsaard had despatched a company to Apili to bring Allenya to the army. Ullsaard nodded his gratitude and the general departed.

  "We have much to talk about," said Allenya.

  "Let me get you a drink," said Ullsaard, moving to a table of jugs and cups alongside one side of the chamber. "Wine? Or I can have something hot brought from the kitchens."

  "I am not thirsty."

  When Ullsaard had left Apili he had been destined for Askh and a confrontation with Urikh. He had hoped to send for Allenya to join him at the capital once the matter had been dealt with. He had also hoped that the distance that had come between them following Erlaan's attack would have been narrowed by separation, but it appeared that this was not the case.

  "It is safer for you to be with the army," Ullsaard said, wanting to breaking the silence. He had said as much in the letter he had sent with the soldiers. "If Erlaan returned or Lakhyri learnt of your whereabouts it would be dangerous at Apili."

  "Your concern for my wellbeing is welcome," said Allenya. "I am tired."

  Despite her words, Allenya made no move from where she was standing just a few paces from the pavilion entrance. Ullsaard guessed her meaning.

  "I shall have another cot brought in, if you do not wish to share my bed tonight," he said, heart heavy.

  "I would not wish to inconvenience you," said Allenya. Her flat tone was infuriating, but Ullsaard kept his temper in check, knowing that harsh words would not help to close the gulf that had opened between them.

  "There is nothing I can say that I have not already said." Ullsaard moved to his large campaign chair and sat down. He gestured to one of the smaller chairs beside it. "Please, come and sit and talk to me like a wife to a husband."

  "If that is your wish," she said, taking a few steps forwards. "You are my husband and king, after all."

  "Stop it," said Ullsaard, unable to bear the accusation in her eyes any longer. "Tell me what is wrong and I will attempt to make it up to you."

  "You really do not know?" Allenya dropped the veil of enforced formality and clenched her fists at her sides. "I spoke to you of being abandoned and hopeless, and what was your response? You left Apili without me. You promised I would never be from your side again and yet only a day passed before you were gone. What am I to think of that?"

  "I did not know that we would be apart for long," Ullsaard replied, leaning towards her in the chair. "You heard what happened at Askh? I am glad you were not there to see such a thing."

  "Glad?" Allenya's voice rose in anger, causing Ullsaard to wince at his choice of words.

  "I brought you here, didn't I? To be with me."

  "An afterthought, I am sure. To keep me safe and ensure that your enemies do not use me against you."

  "Not at all," said Ullsaard. The accusation stung because there was some truth to it, but Ullsaard knew that it was desire for his wife's companionship and concern for her safety that had moved him to act. He stood up and approached Allenya with arms open, palms held up in pleading. "I need you with me, my love."

  "Once more your words and deeds say different things." Allenya took a step back, away from the advancing king. "When dawn comes and your lust has been satisfied, will your whim change? Will you decide that an army on the march is no place for a queen?"

  "No!" Ullsaard took quick steps and grabbed Allenya's arm as she tried to avoid his embrace. The shawl slipped to the floor from her shoulders. "This is my final campaign and I need you beside me."

  "What do you mean?" Allenya ceased struggling against his iron grip. "Why would this be your last campaign?"

  "Because I don't expect to win," Ullsaard answered, his voice a whisper. Speaking the words brought clarity to the fear that had been gnawing at him since the catastrophe at Askh. "Even if I defeat Urikh and the foul monsters he has enslaved himself to, I cannot be king any longer."

  "If you lose, it will be because you are dead," said Allenya. A tear slid down her cheek and she raised a hand to his face. "I cannot bear the thought of it."

  Ullsaard lifted his hand and rested it on her cheek. He bowed his head and placed his brow against hers as she stepped into his embrace.

  "I need you," he said. "I have never been so afraid; afraid for you, afraid for the empire and all of us."

  "But you are still the king, and the strongest of us all," said Allenya. "I am sorry. I thought to quash fear with coldness, but I cannot sit in judgement for your deeds. It is the thought that I will lose you that keeps me awake at night, not dreams of the empire burning. The empire will lose only a king, I will lose a husband. You do not have to be king. I am sure we could slip away, perhaps head coldwards or duskwards, far from the evil of Lakhyri
."

  "If I were such a man, you would not love me," said Ullsaard. Allenya sobbed and buried her face against his bare chest. "Fuck the rest of the empire, but I have friends and family that will be killed or made slaves if I fail."

  Pulling back, Allenya smiled through her tears. She stroked a hand down Ullsaard's arm and looked at him with an affection he had not known for some time.

  "Let us sleep," she said. "Tomorrow brings its own challenges, but so does every dawn bring new hope."

  "All I can do now is wait," said Ullsaard. "I have set a fire in the empire to burn down the Brotherhood, but I don't know if the flames will spread. For the moment, there is nothing else I can do."

  "What is your intent?"

  "Urikh and Lakhyri will know where I am soon enough, and they will come for me."

  "Then we should move on."

  "No, I want them to come. I will draw them onto me and spare the rest of the empire their cruelty while they seek to dispose of me. In fact, I'm counting on it."

  "You offer yourself up as bait? Is that wise, my love? Do not look for death, even though you are prepared for it."

  Ullsaard pulled his wife close again, smelling the fragrance in her hair and feeling the warmth of her against his skin.

  "I've always tried to stay one step ahead of the pyre, but wisdom is the bitch of desperation. These otherworld bastards are going to learn that desperate men make for dangerous enemies."

  NEMURIAN STRAIT, MAASRA

  Midsummer, 214th Year of Askh

  I

  The wind had not yet turned to coldwards and summer's grip still held firm along the coast of Maasra. A break in the cloud allowed the weakening morning sun to reach the bireme Noran had hired two days before. The noble moved to the port rail, out of the shade of the mainsail to catch what warmth he could. From this position he could see out across the Nemurian Strait to the smoke-shrouded horizon. He had not mentioned his intent to land on Nemuria when he had approached the ship's captain, Haukin Maanam, but he had heard that Maanam was something of a maverick and would dare the ban. Noran had a fortune to spend, after all, to persuade the captain that it would be worth his while.

  That would be only the first obstacle to overcome. Noran was not convinced that even if Maanam was willing, the Nemurians would allow any human ship to approach their island. There was, Noran decided, a good chance that they would be sunk or attacked or otherwise stopped from reaching the opposite shore.

  It did not matter, the simple truth was that the Nemurians might prove vital to Ullsaard's defence of the empire and Noran was not about to turn back just because circumstances might turn difficult, even lethal.

  Noran remained at the rail while the crew busied themselves on the ship and quay, casting off the thick ropes and hauling at the lines of the sail to bring it into trim. Three men leaned on the tiller arm as the ship started underway, guiding the bireme away from the dock.

  Wondering if he would see any part of the empire again, Noran glanced back across the ship to Askhira, and the sight jogged a memory of when Ullsaard had been making his claim for the Crown and Askhira had been home to his fleet. In the end the fleet had been nothing but a huge feint, drawing the defenders of Askh away from the Wall to the coast.

  Noran was forced to consider that his mission to Nemuria was also a diversionary tactic. Certainly there was little enough chance of success, but his presence in Askhira would surely have been noted and reported by the Brotherhood. He had laid low as best he could, but the Brothers had ways of knowing things, just as they had strange ways of communicating across the length and breadth of the empire. It was entirely possible that Ullsaard had no confidence at all that his emissary to the Nemurians would succeed, but that the act of trying to establish contact with the Nemurians was part of a greater plan, timed to inconvenience Urikh and his unnatural allies.

  It reminded the nobleman of how much Ullsaard had changed. He remembered a time on another ship, on the Greenwater, when Ullsaard had been asking about the nature of politics. A smile crept across Noran's lips as he also remembered Ullsaard's pledge to stay out of politics altogether. It made Noran reconsider everything he had known about the man who had befriended him in Askh so many years ago.

  Ullsaard had been made first captain of his beloved Thirteenth and had come to Askh to receive orders from Lutaar, and to receive the praise of his sponsor, Aalun. Noran had no doubt that Ullsaard had been genuine at that time, and his claims to have achieved his ambitions truthfully spoken, but all the while he had unknowingly been a child of the Blood. How much had the Blood been responsible for Ullsaard's rise to power? Had it been driving him for his whole life, and secretly affecting those around him, projecting his innate power in a way that others could feel but not identify?

  A quiet word from a sailor moved Noran away from his place at the rail, so that rope could be stowed. The nobleman moved to the aft deck, where Haukin Maanam was overseeing his crew. The captain was about the same height as Noran, and a little younger. His black hair was cropped short – unusually short for a sailor, Noran thought – and his open shirt revealed a tattoo of a reclining harlot across his lightly haired chest. She held a snake in her arms, which wound up around Manaam's throat and under his ear, so that its forked tongue seemed to lick at his right eye from the captain's cheek. It was an impressive piece of body art, and was matched by numerous smaller images across his arms and stomach.

  "Fair wind for coldwards," the captain said, glancing up at the sky. "We'll make the Askhan coast in four days, I reckon."

  Noran was not sure whether to speak now about their true destination, or wait until they were further out to see. If he spoke now, Maanam could easily turn the ship about and put back into Askhira; if he waited too long they would waste time heading coldwards and be forced to travel back against the wind to reach Nemuria. He was not sure whether days were so tight yet, but Noran had no desire to eke out this journey for longer than necessary.

  "Captain, there is something I need to discuss with you," said Noran, speaking quietly. "Concerning our route, I mean."

  "Really?" There was a disconcerting half-smile on Manaam's lips. "What would that be?"

  "I apologise, but I may have misled you somewhat when I told you it was my intent to travel to Askhor." Noran found a piece of dirt under the nail of his right middle finger. He fetched out his knife and began to pick at it intently, avoiding the gaze of the ship's captain.

  "Is that right?" said Maanam. "And why would you feel the need to, er, mislead me about our destination?"

  Noran ceased his fidgeting and looked the captain in the eye. The nobleman took a deep breath, preparing himself for scorn or derision.

  "I need to get to Nemuria," he whispered, glancing at the men manning the tiller.

  "I see," Maanam said slowly. The captain looked to his left and right conspiratorially and nodded. "Well, we best go down to my cabin for the rest of this discussion, hadn't we?"

  "I'm willing to offer you triple the rate…" Noran realised that Maanam had not objected outright. "Of course, down in your cabin. Yes, after you."

  He followed Maanam down to the main deck and then under the aft deck. The captain's cabin was located right at the stern of the ship, running almost the full width of the ship. A cot was attached to the port hull and a table and chairs affixed to the floor on the starboard side. A chest of drawers formed a chart table in the middle, but there were no maps on display.

  Along the aft bulkhead, small windows overlooked the white froth of wake cutting through the waves. Peering out, Noran saw the coastal buildings of Askhira almost directly behind them, the bay of the harbour curving to the left and right along the shore. It struck him as odd that they were putting out directly into the strait for what was normally a run along the coast to Askhor.

  Realisation dawned as Noran thought about this and Manaam's casual attitude to the change of plans.

  "You already knew we were going to Nemuria!" he said accusingly, turning to co
nfront the captain.

  Maanam shrugged, laughed and leaned against the edge of the table.

  "It was not the greatest of mysteries to solve," said the captain. "When I told you the price for heading up-coast, you didn't even haggle a tin about it. That told me that you were expecting to pay a lot more than you were saying. Also, I can tell by your luggage that you've come from Okhar. Nobody travels all the way from Okhar to Askhira to get to Askhor; you travel right up the Greenwater and go via Narun. The only place worth going to from here is Nemuria."

  "I stand humbled by your deductions," grumbled Noran. "Although, I must point out that only a fool would travel to Narun at the moment. All right, but I have to tell you that I am not planning at stopping at the one-mile limit. I mean to go to Nemuria itself."