Oathbound: The Emperor's Conscience, Book 2

by Michael Combs

  “Get off her, you bastard!” she screamed as she tried to choke me from behind.

  I hooked a hand behind the woman’s head and dragged her over my shoulder, cushioning her head so she wouldn’t get hurt as she whomped onto the floor beside Nan.

  “Easy there, psychotart,” I said as Shani skittered backward away from me. She seemed to be struggling to realize who she had attacked. “I’m trying to help.”

  “Evan!” she cried, then scooted up next to Nan and looked at me with tear-filled eyes as I continued my examination. “Is she alright? What happened?” Then she looked around and, finally seeing the dead woman behind me, covered her mouth and lunged away to lose her dinner where it wouldn’t get on Nan.

  Shani gathered her night robe around her as she sat beside Nan’s still form. She smoothed Nan’s hair and spoke soft words until the healer arrived. It didn’t take nearly as long as I thought it would.

  He ran into the office with Mongo hot on his heels. From the look on the Bloodmage’s face, I was certain that Mongo had threatened him with nothing less than dismemberment if he didn’t hurry his ass along.

  I rose from my position next to Nan to make room for the healer. “Mongo, check the rest of the house. Look for open doors or windows. Find out how this bitch got in here. Don’t alarm the girls, but make sure everyone is alright. I don’t think there are any others, but we have to know.” He nodded and left to do as he was told.

  The Bloodmage began the healing and I all but pried Shani from the floor to get her to her feet. She was sobbing quietly, her sweet, youthful eyes puffy and bloodshot. Her cheeks were splotched, and she hiccupped. If the situation weren’t so serious, I would have said it was adorable. I instinctively wanted to wrap her up and protect her. She looked on the verge of panic. I needed to distract her. She needed a task to occupy her mind and hands.

  “Shani,” I said. Her eyes never left Nan. “Shani,” I shook her gently, and she finally looked at me as the Bloodmage worked. “Shani,” I softened my tone. “get Nan’s room ready. She will live. The healer is here and he will fix her up, but she will need a place to rest. Blankets, pillows, that sort of thing. You know her better than I do. See to it that she will be comfortable. Do you think you can do that?”

  Shani wiped her eyes on her sleeve. She nodded and then started for the door, looking back one last time. “I’m glad you’re here, Evan.”

  I smiled at her warmly. “Me too.”

  It was well into the day when Nan finally awoke from her healing slumber. She would have scars, but it was hours, instead of weeks, that saw her flesh mended and the danger passed.

  Her eyes opened in a panic and her hands flailed about her on the bed, as though searching for something.

  “Nan,” I said, trying to calm her. I moved closer so she could see me and held out my hands in a calming gesture. “You’re safe. Here.” I laid her long thin daggers next to her. She placed her hand on the hilts, but didn’t pick them up. She sighed in relief. Shani and I found the second blade in a clever sheath when I carried the unconscious Nan to her room to rest.

  “The danger is passed,” I said. “You’re safe.”

  She opened her mouth to speak but could only cough, so I rose and poured her some watered wine. I hadn’t met a problem yet that couldn’t be solved with a little wine. She took the cup and a healthy drink. I passed her a lace kerchief from her nightstand and she dabbed at the corners of her mouth. Shani said that Nan always kept one nearby. I hadn’t noticed that before. I would have to work on my own observational skills.

  “The girls,” she said once she could speak.

  “They are all safe,” I said. “Healthy and accounted for. You were the only one attacked. We won’t be opening tonight. None were of a mind to work after this morning’s scare.

  “We’ll just see about that,” Nan said and started to get out of bed. I placed a hand on her shoulder and gently eased her back into the pillows. It took little effort. Nan was too weak to contest.

  “You rest. You have at least another day in bed ahead of you. If you feel up to it, you can return to work tomorrow. If not, I will handle the business end of things until you can.”

  “You?” she scoffed. “No, Shani can.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Running the place for one night is well within my skills.”

  “Apparently one of your skills is killing assassins,” she said dryly. “But you didn’t just kill an assassin, did you boy? You executed her. How did you do that? I have seen few move so fast. You beat an armed assassin bare handed.”

  “Would you believe me if I told you I got lucky?” I asked with a hopeful grin.

  “Not bloody likely,” she said with a snort. “Where’s your Finder? I’ve seen a Guardian fight before. Though his eyes were grey. Yours were...wrong. Ugh. Get me some more wine, son. If I’m to lay here and puzzle you out, I should at least be able to get drunk doing it.”

  I chuckled and poured her another cup.

  “I could just tell you, you know,” I said. I had been considering revealing myself to her since I arrived. Tamil insisted she was someone I could trust, but I’d wanted to see for myself. For all I knew, someone had turned her during her long assignment here in Jerea. After working for her for months and observing her, however, I knew she hadn’t been. She was just being careful. I didn’t know the reason for the caution, but I respected it—even more now.

  “Why would you do that?” she asked me, suspicion heavy on her face.

  “Because I have it on good authority that I can trust you.”

  “And whose word would you take over your own eyes?”

  “None. I didn’t say I haven’t verified the claim, just that I received it. But to answer you, Tamil Haran vouched for you.”

  She didn’t blink. “I have no idea who that is,” she said, but her hand casually shifted back to the daggers I had laid by her side.

  I reached into my pocket and handed her a small golden coin.

  She took it from me. “An Imperial Talent?” Her eyes flew wide, and she drew in a sharp breath. “Magister,” she whispered.

  “Uncle Tamil sends his regards.” I smiled at the woman.

  “Uncle?” Her face twisted in genuine confusion. “Tamil has no family.”

  “You are correct. But he raised me, with the help of a few others.” I took the talent back from Nan. “You were close with what you said about the Guardians, however. I trained with them.”

  “But you are not one.”

  I shook my head. “No. I am fully trained, but I never bonded with a Finder of my own.”

  Nan chuckled. “Sounds like something Tamil would do. Raise a boy in the Guardians to become his own personal killer. So, you work for Tamil, is that it?”

  “Not exactly,” I said. “They trained me to be a Guardian and I can do all they can and more. I was trained as a Priest of Hessa as well.”

  “Not exactly? Then that means…” She trailed off. “Boy, the only thing more dangerous than your enemies are your friends,” Nan said. She took another drink of wine and shook her head. “Tamil, you bastard, what have you done?”

  I wasn’t sure what to make of that, but there was history here that I was, apparently, not aware of. I figured I had best leave it alone.

  “He said to tell you it was high time you quit pouting and came home.”

  Nan relaxed into her pillows with a smile on her lips. I wasn’t sure if it was the relief that Tamil was looking out for her or the fatigue from the attack last night, coupled with the healing. Odds were that it was a bit of both.

  “So, I am your second objective. I am guessing that if I was your first, you wouldn’t have been here so long before telling me.” she said. “What is your real mission, if I may ask?”

  “You may,” I said. “In fact, Tamil said that you could likely aid me in my search.”

  “Search? For what?” she asked.

  “Three girls,” I said. I then told her the short version of the tale regarding Duk
e Atroscine and his enterprise of selling children as playthings to the wealthy. I told her I had found most of them already but was lacking three, only one of which did I have a name for.

  “And what name is that?” she asked.

  “Merey Atroscine.”

  She looked completely stunned. “You mean to tell me that the highest-ranking Duke in the Empire sold his own daughter? Why?”

  “It was to fund the purchase of a fleet of ships. He was planning a rebellion,” I said. “It is safe to assume he wasn’t working alone.”

  “Where did you hear that?” Nan asked.

  “From his own lips.”

  Nan gave me a dark look. “You’re the one that assassinated the Archduke?” she whispered.

  “I am.”

  Nan’s cackle devolved into a coughing fit. Her face looked pained and she took another drink once she was able. She dabbed at the corners of her lips with the kerchief before she spoke again. “You, Tamil, the Emperor,” she shook her head, “you’ve all lost your rabbit-ass minds.”

  The Setup

  Many courtesans, contrary to popular male mindset, look downright frumpy on their days off when compared to their appearance on the salon floor. Before taking on this job, I’d had exactly one experience in a brothel and that was no help. I had no idea the energy and effort it took to look that good all the time. Not that they looked bad, or ugly. Hessa’s tits, I didn’t think these women could look ugly. On the whole, they looked comfortable, and I think that was the whole point. They made their living with their bodies, and by necessity decorated those bodies to attract their clients. But they opted for comfort at all other times.

  Shani, with her bubbly personality, was definitely a morning person. She wore a sundress that came to her knees and, like the rest of the ladies at table, no makeup. She looked just like any middling merchant’s daughter perusing the early market stalls before helping her father open his store for the day.

  I was fairly sure that Kitty hated her at that moment. Kitty’s foul mood was a stark contrast to Shani’s exuberance. Kitty hated mornings and all things associated with them, as was evident in the giant fluffy robe she wore. Her long auburn hair was still wet and combed straight down her back. Occasionally, she would glare at Shani over her coffee cup, likely wishing the girl would choke on her food so she would stop talking, or more likely wishing she, herself, could just go back to bed. In fact, she was probably about to do just that.

  I’d once commented on her robe. It was during a day we were closed. She just purred about how soft and warm it was, snuggled deeper into the thick fabric, and shuffled her way back to her room from the bath.

  Oni came in wearing a long, straight, sleeveless dress in beautifully vibrant colors atypical of her style in the parlor. The cut of the dress, while an exotic and accurate representation from her homeland, was not as flattering as the translucent strips of silk she wore when on the prowl for new clients. It was slightly oversized and fit her perfectly. Her hair, usually a kinky, black mane that turned every eye in the room, was wrapped in a matching cloth, a style also common to her Mylean culture. Her smooth, dark skin was a perfect complement to the tropical colors found in the western regions of her homeland. She stood out, even in the port city that was Jerea.

  It was clear she didn't fit in. Oni was much too…colorful. You see, roughly half of the kingdom of Trular was desert, and their earth-toned clothing reflected as much. The nobility was the exception to the rule, however, and as nobility is wont to do, they followed the current trends, wherever they might originate.

  Of the half of the kingdom that was left, numerous oases dotted the land, and beside nearly all of them, a city was built. Jerea was the largest of these, located on the southern shore.

  “Is that a new dress, Oni? Did you get that at Chadri’s?” I asked. Chadri was a merchant that specialized in foreign fashion. He was the one I had paid so handsomely for my own nightwear.

  She gave me an imperious look. “What do you know of Chadri?” she asked.

  “Oh, Evan wears Mylean clothing all the time—well not all the time, just after hours,” Shani said.

  Kitty nodded in support of the statement.

  Oni came closer and looked me up and down. It was much like the look she got in the salon late at night. “Does he now?” she asked. “How many of you are knowing this and none telling me?” Her words sang with her Mylean accent as she waved an accusing finger around the table. Shani got a pleasant but glazed look on her face and Kitty squirmed self-consciously in her seat.

  “Is that so,” she said, turning to me with an accusatory expression. “I suppose it is what I get for going to bed early all the time. You will show this to me, Evan. I will judge if you are fit to wear proper Mylean dress.

  “And if I do not pass your inspection?” I asked teasingly.

  “Then you will take it off,” she said matter-of-factly.

  “And if you approve?”

  She gave me a dazzling smile that filled her eyes with promise as she purred, “Then I will take it off for you.”

  I blushed. Hard.

  I had been working in this brothel for months and had seen all the women that worked here in various stages of undress on countless occasions. Sure, I knew they were beautiful. Sure I was attracted to each and every one of them. More than once I had considered reaching for my purse on a day off to elicit their services, especially Shani, but I never did. They would occasionally flirt with me, but I thought that was out of habit rather than attraction.

  These ladies made their living selling intimacy. That was another thing I had learned working here. In the Empire, brothels were touted as sex dens by the ignorant and the prude. Trular’s culture was much different.

  In Trular, brothels were as much of a legitimate source of entertainment as the theatre. Many people, men and women alike would often conduct business in public bathhouses much like having lunch at a trendy café.

  Even though the culture was so drastically different, I didn’t shop here. In my mind, that intimacy would undermine my friendships with these women and make it harder for me to do my job. I was responsible for their safety. They had to know, without doubt, that I was here to protect them and that I would, even from myself. I could not be intimate with them. I needed them to see me as safe, without conditions. I couldn’t do that if they also served me as a client. They were my friends, and I loved them.

  “I think he liked the idea of that, Oni.” Kitty grinned.

  “I couldn’t,” I said.

  “I did not think I was your type,” Oni said.

  “You too good for us, Evan?” Kitty asked.

  I looked at Oni, still blushing furiously. “You are all my type,” I said, then looked to Kitty. “And no. You are too good for me.”

  Oni’s face softened at the compliment and Kitty purred, “Oh, he’s good.”

  Shani’s head quirked to the side. “That wasn’t a line.”

  Oni chuckled, shook her head, and turned back to making her breakfast.

  “We know, hon,” Kitty said, patting Shani on the arm. “That’s what makes him so good.”

  A perplexed look came over Shani’s face, but she was interrupted when Nan swept into the kitchen looking none the worse for wear.

  “Hurry up, girls,” Nan said. “There is still much to do. I hope you enjoyed your vacation yesterday, because you’ll damn well be on your backs tonight making up for lost coin.”

  All three rushed Nan with hugs and exclamations of how glad they were that she was up and about. Shani had been in to see to her needs a few times, but the others were told that she was fine and just needed to rest. Everyone in the house was worried about her. Mongo had even sat outside her room all night, making sure that no one else tried to do her harm. I sent him to bed this morning to make sure he was fresh for tonight.

  After the greetings were finished, Nan shooed them out of the kitchen. As they left, she called for Shani to stay behind. I stayed put. As far as I was concer
ned, Nan’s comment didn’t apply to me. I wasn’t going to be on my back tonight unless a client knocked me there, and I doubted that would happen.

  Nan came in and sat while I poured her a cup of coffee from the still steaming pot on the table. She sagged somewhat when I placed it in front of her. She’d looked hale when she entered, but it was clear now that it was a front put on for the girls. She really needed another day’s rest to be back to full strength.

  “I told Shani who you were,” she said without preamble.

  “Why would you do that?” I asked.

  “So, it’s true?” Shani asked, “You’re an Imperial Magister?”

  I nodded and looked hard at Nan, who just shrugged. “She’s my second. You said you were to extract me. I have been training her for the last few months to replace me in the event I couldn’t run the place any longer.”

  “You’ve been expecting this?” I asked.

  “When you do what I do for a living, you expect it will happen eventually.”

  “Can I see it?” Shani asked, “Your Talent?”

  I passed it to her.

  “I have heard of these, but I’ve never seen one,” she said, staring at the gold coin.

  “What did she tell you?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at Nan.

  “Only that you are a Magister, here on some mission, and you are to take her home when you leave.”

  “Does it bother you?” I asked.

  Shani looked confused. “Does what bother me?”

  “That I deceived you.”

  “I don’t think you have ever lied to me. If you have, you are better at it than I am, and I doubt that,” she said with a smirk.

  It was my turn to look confused.

  Shani studied me carefully, likely replaying our interactions and reassessing those with her new knowledge of my identity.

  “Tell me when you figure it out, child,” Nan said, patting Shani’s hand.

  “Who sent the assassin after you?” I asked.