Oathbound: The Emperor's Conscience, Book 2

by Michael Combs

  She smiled fondly and drew delicate patterns on my chest with her own finger. “He’s passionate, sensitive, and intelligent—a brilliant tactician and strategist.”

  “The Mata is the one calling the shots, not him.”

  “It’s true. She dominates their marriage like she does everything else she comes into contact with.” Palasia sighed. “She is not the woman he needs. He needs someone who loves him and helps by guiding, not dictating. If she could just let him be himself, he could be great.”

  “It sounds like you love him.”

  “I did, once,” she sighed. “She has him now, and I fear she has broken him. She’ll take you now. She’ll break you, too, I suppose.”

  I raised her chin with a finger and looked into her eyes. “I am far from fragile, my Lady.”

  Palasia smiled.

  She sat up and started gathering her clothes.

  “Leaving so soon?” I asked. “It’s not even morning.”

  Her form in the lamplight was sensuous and smooth as she fiddled with her dress and brooch.

  “Help me with this,” she said. “With your actions tonight, I have to make sure my house is in order. There will be preparations to make. I will need additional guards, for show of course. Then I must make rounds to a few houses that I feel may remain loyal to me when the Mata makes her move against me.”

  “Is all that really necessary?” I asked, though I already suspected the answer.

  “The Mata will take offense at my playing with her toys,” she said. “Though she will not likely target me directly for some time…still.”

  “Don’t you have a husband? Shouldn’t he have some responsibility toward protecting your house?”

  “Ugh, if only. He is boring and weak. I settled when I married him. His family is influential, but he gained none of their backbone.”

  I rose and helped her dress. Her hair had come undone during our exertions, so I retrieved a brush from my dressing table, then pulled her back to the bed. She sat between my knees, and I brushed her hair. Afterwards, she leaned back against me. “I will miss you.”

  “I will miss you, too,” I said. “But this may not be the very end. I am not without my own agenda.”

  “Was I part of your agenda?” she asked.

  “You are now.” I leaned down and kissed her neck. She turned and kissed me.

  Then, suddenly, she spun and bit my nipple, hard. A red welt rose on my chest as I jumped.

  “What was that about?” I demanded.

  Palasia grinned defiantly. “That is to remind the Mata that her Hound does indeed bite on occasion.” She rose to leave and dropped a purse on my nightstand. The door closed with a soft click as she left.

  I needed to relieve myself and wash up before I slept. I went to the privy and returned to my room to find it not wholly unoccupied.

  Love Letters

  I woke to knocking at my door and I was not at all interested in stirring from my warm bed. After two attempts, the knob turned, and the door opened, my visitor apparently insistent on an audience.

  “Gods damn it!” Shani cried. “How could you?” She turned back out into the hall. “Kitty!”

  “What?” came a disgruntled shout from somewhere down the hall.

  “We missed it!”

  “You can’t be serious!” Kitty replied. There sounded the thump of feet on the carpeted floors outside my room. Kitty skidded to a halt, the tie of her giant, fluffy robe was undone and revealed a great deal of the auburn-haired beauty.

  Kitty’s eyes narrowed, and her fists clenched. “You bitch!” she yelled. “I can’t believe you! You promised we could watch!”

  It was only then that Oni moved. She stretched languorously. She groaned as her back arched and the sheets fell away, revealing much of her silky dark skin to the two furious women. She collapsed in a sigh of satisfaction at the end of her exertion.

  “It just sort of happened.” She grinned deviously. “And oh did it happen.”

  Kitty and Shani were beside themselves with anger. Kitty flicked her finger at us as we laid there in bed. “Do it again,” she demanded.

  “If we do that again,” Oni crooned, “I would have to marry the man.”

  “You didn’t ask her to marry you, too, did you?” Shani exclaimed.

  “What? Did Evan ask you to marry him?” Kitty spun Shani to face her. Urgency filled her voice.

  Shani panicked and looked at me, then back at Kitty, then Oni. “Kind of? Maybe?”

  “Do it,” Oni crooned. “It would be worth it.”

  Oni left the bed then, and the sheet went with her. It slid from her body in a line as she bent to pick her sheer wrap from the floor. She looked back at me to make sure I was watching.

  I was.

  She smiled her approval and left the room, her wrap dragging behind her.

  Kitty glared at the two of us. “Here I was, stuck down the hall with Lord Limp Dishrag, meanwhile, Oni was riding Evan into battle.”

  Oni smiled broadly. “He is wounded. He might need a bandage…or two.”

  “Roll over,” Shani demanded with an accusatory finger, and I complied.

  Both women gasped to see my back.

  “You used him as a scratching post. I’m supposed to be Kitty!”

  Apparently that was how she got her name, I thought. Noted.

  I rolled back over.

  “And bite marks, too?” cried Shani.

  “That wasn’t me,” called Oni from further down the hallway. “That was there when I arrived.”

  Kitty threw her hands up and turned to follow Oni. “I give up. I’m going to bed.”

  I sighed and looked at Shani, who stood there staring at me from the door as I felt for the blankets that Oni and I had thrown from the bed last night. I pulled them over me. “Did you need something?” I asked.

  Shani smiled. I swear she could break my heart with that smile. “I talked to my client last night. The landlord? He wants to meet today at noon. You do still want to look for a suitable property for a temple, don’t you?”

  “I do,” I said and threw the blanket aside. “Let me get cleaned up.”

  Shani and I walked the streets of Jerea. This time, however, we were shopping for an orphanage. I hoped to provide some measure of succor to Willem, who had slept in the hayloft of the stable last night. Nan had wanted him as far away from the nightly business as possible, but still provide him with shelter. There were entirely too many orphans in Jerea for there to be no place for them to find some semblance of safety. I aimed to remedy that.

  I had a soft spot for the little urchin and had asked him if he would like to come along and perhaps get him a treat. In truth, I wanted him to see the place that I intended for him to call home. I wanted to make sure he liked it before I bought it. Silly as that may sound, it was true. If he approved, it was likely that other children would feel at home there as well.

  He bounded ahead of us, teetering across the elevated fountain walls and splashing in the occasional puddle left over from the early autumn showers that fell the previous night.

  We looked like any family taking a stroll through the city, except our child was tattered and homeless looking. He looked that way because he was homeless, but that was beside the point. I called Willem to me.

  He bounded up to me and squeaked in surprise as I grabbed him and threw him into the nearest fountain. I jumped in after him and started scrubbing his face and arms vigorously in the shallow water. He squealed and fought while Shani and I laughed at his protests. I finished and dragged him, soaking, from the pool. I was no better. I was drenched but still chuckling at my successful ambush of the dirty child.

  “What was that about?” he spat and shook his mane of brown hair.

  “You needed a bath,” I said. “You will at least appear cared for if you are going about town with us. Don’t worry, though. You’ll be able to bathe properly soon.”

  “With real soap?” he asked, face full of understandable distrust.


  “That’s right. Soap of your very own,” I said with an evil smile.

  “No, thanks,” he spat. “That was bad enough.” He tried to wring the water from his worn tunic, but I noticed he had a smile on his face. It was likely the most positive attention he’d had in a long time.

  I pulled the boy to my side and hugged him.

  “We need to go,” Shani said.

  “The landlord can wait a bit,” I said, looking at Willem. “We have a stop to make first.”

  Shani didn’t seem pleased.

  The bell above the door tinkled as we entered the clothier’s shop. It took the better part of an hour, some wrangling with the shopkeeper, cursing from the stubborn boy, giggles from Shani, and threats from me before we emerged with a Willem who looked nearly human and moderately cosseted.

  He wore a short tunic and pants that rode high on the calves. The merchant, having boys of his own, swore it was necessary, as it would allow him to play without destroying his garments. Willem swore that he hated the shoes.

  “I can’t even squish snails properly in these,” he said as he high-stepped around in front of the shop. “Can’t even feel them between my toes.”

  Shani made a gagging sound, and I laughed.

  “Come on,” I said. “There are worse things.”

  Willem stomped loudly in his new shoes as we finished our trek to the landlord Shani had arranged the meeting with. My clothes were even mostly dry by the time we arrived in a small square in the business district. I saw a well-dressed man, tall and thin, and looking about in expectation. He saw us approach and smiled.

  “Ah, Shani,” he said. “I had nearly given up our appointment.”

  “I am sorry about the delay, Langdon,” Shani said. “It was unavoidable.”

  He smiled thinly as I approached with my hand out. “I’m afraid it was my fault,” I said. “I am Evan. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Shani has said so many wonderful things about you.”

  Langdon’s eyes widened in sudden panic. I clasped his forearm and shook it as though we were long-lost friends.

  “She tells me you know of some properties we may be interested in,” I said.

  “Um, yes.” he said, gaining control of himself. “I believe I do at that.” He smoothed his clothing and forged ahead. “I have three properties I can show you immediately. Another might open up soon, but I wouldn’t rely on that, as it is stuck in an estate and the results of such a thing can take months to resolve.”

  We followed him through streets and broad alleys, always staying along well-traveled routes. The first was a warehouse. The wooden floors sagged and creaked. There were puddles where there weren’t gaps in the floor to accommodate drainage.

  The second stank of fish, as it was close to the docks and had previously been used as storage for cargo fresh from the fishers and bound for the Empire and beyond.

  Both were unacceptable. These places would require a great deal of work, and I didn’t feel they were worth the effort. I was beginning to suspect this would not be our only foray into the city in search of a suitable home for Hessa and Her children.

  We were headed to the third location when Willem bounded up to Shani and tugged on her dress.

  “I’m hungry,” he pleaded. He looked up to her with huge, innocent eyes.

  Langdon nearly choked on his tongue, and Shani looked at me in panic.

  “U—um, Shani,” he stammered, “you didn’t tell me tha—”

  “I’ll handle this,” I said, pulling a coin from my purse. “Here, Willem,” I pointed, “go get a pastry and catch up with us. Don’t dally now. We wouldn’t want you to get lost.”

  Willem snatched the coin and tore across the square.

  “Boys.” I shrugged. “What can you do?”

  “Yes,” Langdon said, “of course,” and continued down the street. “As I was saying. I don’t know if this place will suit you. Shani said you were looking for something sturdy and roomy. This satisfies the requirement, but it is a bit…old.”

  “Just how old?” I asked.

  “I’m not certain,” he said. “This place exists in the earliest records of the city. None seem to know who built it or why.”

  We arrived at the entrance of an ancient stone edifice. It was well off the beaten trail, so to speak, but not so far that those looking to find it couldn’t manage to. It had wide stone steps leading to a portico that swept along the narrow face of the building.

  “Don’t let the entrance fool you,” Langdon said. “The property extends well beyond what you can see, and to both sides as well. Essentially, it is three buildings in one. The structures to each side were previously housing and storage for the main facility.”

  “What was it used for?” I asked.

  “Its most recent use was as a hospital, I believe.” Langdon approached the large double doors and produced a ring of keys. “Before that, who knows? Even that was a long time ago. More convenient accommodations were needed as the city grew and this property found itself further and further from the main fares. Then it was simply abandoned. It has changed hands many times over the years, but I don’t think it has been used for anything in my lifetime. Thus, the bargain in price.”

  “Well,” I sighed, “let’s see it.”

  He unlocked the doors, and I helped him push the long unused portal open with a squeal of dry hinges. The light that streamed in from the open doors seemed afraid to touch the floor. Narrow shafts of light from five tall, boarded windows vaguely illuminated the main space directly ahead.

  Now isn’t that convenient, I thought as I stared at what could eventually be giant stained-glass symbols of my faith.

  I turned in a circle, admiring the worn stone floors and thick columns that held aloft a ceiling, lost in the gloomy interior.

  We explored the chamber, and Shani held to my hand as though frightened she would lose me. I felt at home. The shadows seemed to sing to me, and I lost myself in the familiarity of the structure. I held Shani close with one hand and traced faded sigils in the stone walls with the other as we moved though one building, then to the others. Throughout it all, I felt a stirring within me…or the opposite. It was as though the building were lulling me to sleep.

  When we arrived back at the central chamber, the door glowed in the sunlight visible ahead. I smiled broadly.

  “It’s perfect. I’ll take it.”

  “You haven’t even heard the price,” Langdon sputtered.

  “Well, how much is it?” I asked. He told me, and Shani choked at the amount.

  Shani dragged me away from the landlord, who looked upon her longingly and me warily. No doubt he thought we were a couple.

  “Can you afford this?” Shani asked. “You hinted that you were not hurting for coin, but this?”

  “It isn’t an unreasonable amount considering how much we’re getting,” I said, gesturing around us.

  “You could buy The Pearl for that price.”

  “I had considered it,” I said. “But that would make me your boss.” I leered playfully at her in her floral sundress and slippers. “What kinds of perks would that come with, I wonder.” I rubbed my hands together. “Oh the possibilities!”

  “Ugh. I’m done with you,” Shani said, tossing up a hand and stomping away.

  “What is this place, anyway?” Willem asked. He was eating a sweetroll and had another clutched in his other hand.

  “Your new home,” I said. “Do you like it?”

  “Are you kidding? This place is great!”

  I smiled at his enthusiasm. “I am certain Brother Balinar will appreciate it as well. He will need help, though. This place needs a lot of work. Can I count on you to help him?”

  “Brother who?” Willem asked.

  “Balinar,” I said. “He is a Priest and will take care of you when I leave here.”

  Willem became concerned then. “You are leaving?”

  I squatted down before the boy and looked him in the eye. “Willem,” I said, “I was nev
er supposed to be here at all. I am just lucky that I got to meet you.” I paused. “You are smart, and I would bet you are strong as well. Brother Balinar will need someone of your obvious talent to see him through the difficult task of setting up a whole temple by himself.”

  “But if I am helping him, he won’t be by himself, will he?”

  “I said you were smart,” I said, “but he is smart, too. He just knows different things than you do. You will learn a lot from each other, I think. You will need to learn things like reading and writing, maybe even scripture if you want. But he will need to learn things you know also.”

  Willem nodded his eyes filled with wisdom beyond his years, despite the sugar that glazed his face. “Right. Like about those merchants that say they have a special price just for you.” He snorted. “They don’t have no special prices. They just want to make as much as they can. They’re nobody’s friend.”

  “Precisely what I mean. Brother Balinar might need to know those sorts of things,” I said. “I can count on you, then?”

  “We’ll see,” Willem said with no little amount of distrust. I couldn’t blame him. He would have to meet the brother. I hoped once he did it would ease his hard-earned fears.

  I scruffed the boy’s head. “Fair enough, Willem. I am sure you two will get on fine.”

  The boy beamed at the attention and bounded toward the door, stuffing his face with sugary treats as he went.

  I rose and turned to find myself facing Shani.

  “You’ll make a good father one day,” she said.

  I opened my mouth to reply, but she turned and walked away, back toward the landlord. They held a brief but animated conversation. No doubt she was trying to convince him I was not her husband and Willem was not her child, despite appearances. As she turned from him, I heard her say, “I’ll see you next week?”

  Langdon looked at me warily, and when I turned away and headed for the door, he said, “Until then, Shani.”

  She caught up to me as I descended the steps of our new temple, making a beeline for me and Willem. She aimed a finger at Willem. “You nearly cost me a regular customer...talking to me like I’m your mother or something…” she scolded the boy.