Aiul snorted in disgust. “I say you’re just weak.”
“If I were weak, I’d kill you for your insults, and her for her crimes. Then I would have a go at seizing the crown myself. Who do you think would stop me?”
Aiul had no answer.
Caelwen continued, “So you understand, now. It would seem neither of us can do anything but accept our fate.”
Aiul searched his mind for the right words to change Caelwen’s mind, but it was pointless. The man was a rigid fool. He knew Nihlos might well be crushed by enemies if Kariana lived, and yet he would not move against her. Aiul would have to find another way.
As he neared the door, Caelwen called after him, “It’s good that I stopped you here, or else you would have interrupted the Empress’s preparations for her orgy. She would have been most displeased.”
Aiul looked at Caelwen in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“Just making conversation.”
“Idiot!” Aiul turned to leave again.
“I hear the orgy is to be a large affair, but I won’t be there, unfortunately. Ordinarily, I would be guarding the doors, but I have a more pressing duty tonight. I must bury my Lieutenant.”
Aiul paused, sensing this was suddenly something more than idle conversation. “Oh?”
“Yes. His name was Kelthas. He was a good man, a father with three children.” Caelwen clenched his fists. “My duty to see him off supersedes all else, you understand?”
Aiul nodded slowly, and Caelwen snapped him a salute, then turned to leave.
Tonight or never. That was the best Caelwen could offer. Aiul intended to take full advantage of the deal.
Kariana woke to what she felt certain was the impact of a sledgehammer against her skull. It was an event worthy of a prodigious scream, but the best she could manage was a slight moan.
She rose slowly to a sitting position, raised her hands to her head with difficulty, and squeezed as if she were trying to hold back an explosion. For a few moments, there was nothing but pain and confusion. She wasn’t even certain who she was, much less where. Then the memories, blurred and hazy, began to trickle in.
Mei! What did I do?
The sledgehammer struck again, and her wounded brain finally processed the fact that someone was pounding on the door. She opened her mouth to scream a curse but thought the better of it as her stomach threatened to rebel.
“Kariana! Open this door at once!”
She knew that voice, one that always made her feel like a stupid little girl. She had first heard it chastising her for entering the palace covered in mud. At the time, she had barely been old enough to understand words at all, and he, an adult, had been quite a terrifying figure. Some things never changed.
Since then, her cousin Sadrik had been her personal critic, a nettling demon who took sadistic pleasure in pointing out her mistakes. He was as bad as Caelwen, though at least he didn’t bother with saccharine pleasantries. Sadrik was and always had been a sour, mean, frightening person. He had probably sprung from the womb with a frown on his face. He was the last person she wanted to see right now.
“I will break this door down, Kariana!” he shouted. “You have ten seconds!”
“I’m coming!” she answered. She had intended it as a roar, but it came out much more along the lines of a sob.
It took her some time to find her feet and shamble across the room, but she moved as quickly as she could, strongly motivated to be done with it before Sadrik resumed his pounding.
Sadrik hovered like a bird of prey, his dark eyes blazing, his raven hair a wreath of black smoke hanging low on his shoulders. Looking up at him was like looking at the larger than life-sized statues of Tasinal that one might see about Nihlos. He had the same sharp features, the same mile-high cheekbones, and commanding jawline. There was, she thought ruefully, no doubt about Sadrik’s lineage. How fortunate for him.
“I am not well,” she said. “What are you going on about?”
Sadrik raised a fist in which he held a crumpled document. “This death list, for starters!”
Kariana blinked in confusion. “What?”
Sadrik clenched and unclenched his hand into fists as if trying to decide whether or not he intended to punch her in the face. “Don’t play coy with me!” He shoved his way past her and closed the door. “Executions in the dead of night when no one sane could breathe a word of objection!”
Kariana felt herself reeling, and steadied herself against her vanity, nearly knocking a large box of face powder to the floor. “I don’t understand!”
“Do you have any idea what you’ve done? Mei! Eighty-seven loyal men, good men!”
“Stop it!” Kariana slammed a fist against the vanity, knocking bottles over with the force. “I told you I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
“You stop it! You were obviously out of control last night.” Sadrik eyed a half-empty bottle of liquor on her nightstand and shook his head in disgust. “It’s all over town that you arranged a botched attempt to have Aiul’s wife killed, too!”
“What? That’s insane!”
“Oh, yes! Quite insane! He would have likely killed you at lunch if Caelwen hadn’t stopped him, and I wouldn’t count on that to happen again, with you killing his men.” Sadrik’s face twisted in rage. He picked up the bottle of liquor and hurled it against the wall. Glass and liquid exploded; the scent of alcohol filled the room. “You’re power mad, Kariana! You’re going down, and you’re close to dragging all of House Tasinal into the flames with you!”
Kariana shook her head over and over, feeling as if the world had suddenly slipped from beneath her feet. “It wasn’t me! It wasn’t!”
“It damned well was!”
“How could it have been! I could barely move! The only person I thought of killing last night was myself, and I was too drunk even to do that!” She was weeping now, confused and frightened.
He uncrumpled the paper in his hand and considered it closely, then shoved it toward her. “The signature is quite sloppy. I’d expect a forgery to be considerably cleaner. You signed this death warrant, Kariana. Go on, look at it and deny it to my face, so I have an excuse to beat you. I’ve been looking for one since this came to my attention.”
Kariana looked at the signature, feeling ill. It was her handwriting. But how? She stared at the floor in silence and brushed a hand roughly over her eyes to wipe away the tears.
Sadrik nodded, satisfied. “As I thought. Now I will have an explanation, or I will call a meeting of the Elders to have you deposed.”
Kariana shook her head. “I don’t know, Sadrik. It’s my signature, but I didn’t order these men killed. I don’t even know them.”
Sadrik crumpled the paper, furious, then seemed to think the better of it and unrolled the ball as best he could. “You’re not leaving me any options, Kariana.”
Kariana glared at him with bloodshot, teary eyes. “I just don’t see how, if I were so fucked up as to not even remember, if I couldn’t even sign my name properly, how did I get the document written? How did I make arrangements to have someone try to kill Aiul’s wife?”
Sadrik eyed her warily, the rage slowly draining from him. He gave a slight grunt. “I suppose you have a small point.”
“I didn’t do this, Sadrik. I didn’t!”
“Then find me another explanation. You clearly signed the order. If you didn’t draw it up, someone else must have. Who? Did you see anyone last night?”
Kariana shook her head. “I don’t remember.” She paused, thinking. “I left the prison. I went to Narelki’s and made a complete fool of myself. Then I came back here.”
“That much we agree on. Caelwen followed you.”
“He what?”
“And saved your life, doubtless, from muggers. Don’t be an idiot. It’s his duty. Go on.”
“That’s all. I came home. I…” She paused again, as memories slowly revealed themselves. “Marissa came.”
Sadrik’s sco
wl deepened. “Mei! You imbecile!”
“What? She’s my friend!”
“She’s House Prosin, you bleating sheep! They are all serpents! What did she want?”
“I was so tired. She hugged me and told me it would be okay, and she gave me something to help me sleep.”
“And no doubt, you remember nothing after that.”
“I must have passed out.”
Sadrik rolled his eyes. “You were drugged, fool.”
“No!” Kariana was reeling. “She’s my friend! I’ve known her since we were children!”
“It is a common tactic. They have children from their House befriend children in the other houses. It’s usually a source of information, but in this case, your brother’s accident gave them direct access to the ruler of Nihlos! How fortunate for them!”
Kariana stood in stunned silence. Mei! Her brother’s accident, the one she had been accused of engineering, was Marissa? It was unbelievable!
“It can’t be,” she said. “It doesn’t fit. Why would Marissa try to have Aiul’s wife killed?”
Sadrik shrugged. “Who knows? Perhaps to make it look like you were clearly out of your mind. Perhaps because she’s not quite a perfect spy and had some genuine feelings for you, enough to seek vengeance for you. Does it really matter?” With the toe of his boot, he pushed the broken glass on the floor into a small pile as he thought. “The attempt failed, and he’s out for your blood, and he may well get away with killing you. You are not well liked, cousin, and House Amrath is not to be trifled with. If Aiul manages to end you, Narelki has the clout and the skill to get him off the hook.”
“No! He would never do such a thing!”
Sadrik threw up his hands. “You are Empress, Kariana. It is time you gave up this childish attitude. You’ve seen what Marissa is capable of. Keep it in mind when dealing with others.” He looked at her a moment, letting his point sink in, then reached beneath his robe and produced a small, gilded dagger. “Keep this with you. You may well have need of it.”
Kariana reached slowly for the weapon, feeling sicker than she had since she had awoken. The thought that she might shove this wicked piece of metal into Aiul’s body was too horrific to contemplate, and yet she knew Sadrik was right. It was time to be realistic. She opened her own dirty robe and placed the knife at her belt.
It was all too much. Her life was a horrific nightmare from which she could not wake. She had no friends at all, now, no one to trust. No one except cruel, spiteful Sadrik. She could, she thought, trust him. He was simply too cruel to be manipulating her. He took too much pleasure in mocking her failures.
“I don’t know what to do,” she whispered.
“Eh?”
“What do I do, Sadrik?”
Sadrik suddenly laughed out loud. “Why, I expect you’ll be assassinated in short order, most likely.”
“You’re horrid! I have nothing and no one! Tell me what I should do now!”
Sadrik looked at her, eyes wide, and laughed. “You don’t actually think I am going to serve you like some vizier? I have affairs of my own to manage. I’m simply trying to help my eternally stupid cousin before she gets herself killed. Don’t expect me to be at your beck and call.”
“You have to help me!” she shouted. “My whole life, you’ve done nothing but mock me! But this isn’t just me, it’s House Tasinal! It’s Nihlos! Father never taught me a damned thing about ruling. Mei, why didn’t you take this job and I could have gone on just being pretty and having fun?”
Sadrik’s cruel features wavered briefly with some undefinable emotion. Is he feeling guilty? Good! “I had another path,” he answered, perhaps a bit too sharply. “A more important one.”
“What could be more important than Nihlos? It’s our birthright, Sadrik! It’s our obligation!”
Sadrik scoffed at the notion. “Your obligation. I accept none of it.”
“Selfish bastard!”
“Yes! Exactly!” Sadrik shouted. “I hate almost everyone I know! I despise them for their stupidity, their weakness! I will never accept responsibility for them! I’d be happier if they all dropped dead.”
Kariana swallowed at the lump in her throat. It’s so strange when you’re actually feeling what you’re usually faking. She wiped absently at sweat beading on her temple. Why is it so hot, suddenly? When she spoke, it was difficult to keep her voice steady. “Do you hate me? Would you laugh to see me dead, too?”
Sadrik opened his mouth to speak, appeared to reconsider, and his face softened. “Aye, you have the right of it, and I am sorry, Kariana. I will not give up my own life for you, but I will help you this once.”
“Oh, thank you, Sadrik!”
“Don’t thank me overmuch. I’ll give you some advice, and introduce you to some people, but I have no intention of holding your hand through this. If you can’t find your own way out of this hole you’ve dug for yourself, I’ve my doubts as to whether you deserve to survive, much less rule. House Tasinal and Nihlos could be equally served by your early demise. Do we understand one another?”
Kariana nodded, dispirited and shamed by the rebuke. Sadrik was speaking truth, unpleasant though it was. This was what she most needed right now, cold, hard truth, not some toady cozening favor.
“Very well,” Sadrik continued. “Let’s first consider Marissa. Here is what you do about her: nothing.”
“Just let her get away with this?”
“Aye. Go on about your life as if you know nothing. It can be useful to have a spy, if you are aware of what they are. She’s exposed now, but until she realizes it, she will be your tool instead of the reverse. You can tell her what you like, and she’ll dutifully report it to her masters. When the time comes to strike back at House Prosin, she will serve as an excellent delivery mechanism for misinformation.”
Kariana swallowed hard again. That would be difficult, painful even, but she had always been good at lying. “Go on.”
“You said before you had no one to trust. I know some people. They’re loyal, as long as you pay them on time. Some of them are Housed, but their loyalty lies elsewhere.”
Kariana stared at Sadrik in shock. “Assassins?”
Sadrik shrugged. “Too narrow a term, I should think. They…solve problems. Murder is just one of their methods.”
“How do you know such people?”
“Does it matter? The fact is, you know them too, or you will soon, at any rate. This is not a game, Kariana. This is what it takes to rule. I say again, cousin: It’s time to grow up.”
Yes, she thought to herself. It truly is.
Chapter 7
Treason
The guards at the prison didn’t even look up from their evening meal as Aiul approached. They took no more notice of the silent, hooded figure than they had any other time he had come. Aiul smiled to himself, pleased at having been able to use Kariana’s paranoia against her. He made his way through the cell block and beyond the torture chamber, to the true pits of Nihlos’s prison. There had always been those few prisoners who could neither be killed nor ever allowed to communicate information they carried to anyone else, not even the damned, and a place had been provided for them as well. Aiul only knew it existed because he had read of the design in the Great Father’s private journals.
Little had changed since Amrath had drawn his maps. There was a hidden door, just where Amrath promised it to be, and the passphrase Aiul spoke had the desired result. A vertical seam appeared in the solid rock of the wall, first a thin outline of dull, red light, rising to orange, then searing white. Aiul could feel the magic of the device crackle in the air, warm and cold at the same time, ethereal, the wondrous power the founders had commanded. Within moments, the section separated and slid slowly into the floor.
Aiul was pleased to see that the Great Father had seen fit to care for his progeny so well. He must have known we would come to this, blades at each other’s throats.
A rough-hewn passage lay beyond the door, wide enough for five
men to stand abreast. The corridor was lit by small, glowing nodules that ran along the ceiling, odd devices like nothing Aiul had ever seen. He stepped through quickly and spoke the closing phrase. The section of wall rose once again and merged with the surrounding stone as if it had never come apart.
According to the Amrath’s writings, this section of the prison was designed not to channel sound, but to seal against it. Aiul traveled perhaps a hundred feet, then passed through a series of switchbacks, where the walls changed from unfinished stone to flat, polished, rune-graven surfaces. The mark of House Yorn was etched there as well, as it was in almost every magical device of true power. Yorn himself may have worked these walls.
He paused in the small maze and ran a hand across the intricate patterns, marveling at the construction and the absolute silence it created. Few in Nihlos who could work such bindings as the sound wards now, perhaps none, but in the days before Tasinal had vanished, there were many skilled at such sorceries. Entire guilds had flourished in those times when sorcery had been as honorable a profession as medicine. He felt a great emptiness in his soul that such glory was long gone, squandered in feuds and vendettas until Tasinalt had taken the draconian measure of outlawing not only the craft but the very religion of the founders. Mei was hardly a god of benevolence, but what wonders his followers had brought forth following his creed! There was, Aiul considered, genuine beauty in the narcissism of the Meites.
Reluctantly, he turned from the walls and continued on his way, passing through the silent labyrinth and emerging once again into rough tunnels. Ahead, he heard shouts, and he paused a moment, the enormity of what he was doing suddenly heavy on his shoulders.
I am a traitor, he told himself. It hardly mattered if he carried out his plan or not. Merely being here was enough to damn him, but he saw no other way. Kariana would try to follow through on her threats to Lara and his unborn child, that was a certainty. He was simply playing the game that he had been forced into. Victory or death were the only choices now.
Aiul entered the holding area, making no attempt at stealth. His footsteps announced his coming long before he arrived, and the voices fell silent.
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