Shades of Empire (ThreeCon)

by Carmen Webster Buxton

  “What is it?” Thaddeus asked, cautious in the face of his contact’s obvious urgency.

  “I need a weapon,” Peter said in a low whisper. “A lethal weapon, but one that can pass through the scanners at the gate and not be noticed by the guards.”

  Thaddeus stared at him for a second. There could only be one reason the man wanted a weapon in the Imperial palace. “Are you sure you want to do that? This Imperium is doomed. I doubt it can hold out much more than a year or two, from what I’ve seen.”

  Peter stared at him. “A lot of people can be hurt in a year.”

  Thaddeus said nothing, thinking it over. This was a whole new level of skirting the Non-Interference Accord.

  You’re not interfering,” Peter argued, countering the objection Thaddeus hadn’t voiced. “I’m a free agent; I never took any money from you, and you didn’t suggest this course to me. All I’m asking for is the tool I need for a job that needs doing.”

  Thaddeus still hesitated.

  “Don’t forget,” Peter said, “that I don’t actually know who you are. I might well have made a guess from the fact that you approached me on the space station, but I have no evidence of your identity or your allegiance. I’ve taken your motives on faith up to now, and I want you to do the same for me.”

  Thaddeus thought this over. It was true he could swear that he had never actually told Peter who he was or who he worked for. And also true that he wouldn’t mind putting an end to the line of du Plessis emperors. “All right, I’ll get it for you, but it’ll take a few days, maybe even a week.”

  Peter leaned back and sighed with relief. “Thank you.”

  “What will happen if the Empire is left without an Emperor?”

  “I don’t know,” Peter admitted. “But soon there’ll be an heir. This morning at breakfast, Emperor Antonio du Plessis informed me that I was to be congratulated. The Princess is pregnant.”

  “Jayzoos,” Thaddeus said softly.

  “Yes. Antonio intends to name the boy as his heir presumptive. He’s already sure it’ll be a boy, so they must have helped that along. I don’t know what will happen if Antonio dies before he has an heir. Probably Arthur Urquart could answer that better than I could. It may be that the nobles would use it as an opportunity to seize more power. We could well end up with a civil war, or with many pocket emperors. Either way, I think in the long run we’d be better off than we are now.”

  More details. “Urquart? He’s the head of Parliament?”

  “Yes. My late father-in-law made him a baron. He’s done well for himself without ever completely selling out.”

  “You know him?”

  “Only slightly. I’ve avoided politics as much as possible.”

  Thaddeus couldn’t hold back a smile. “Until now?”

  “Yes.”

  Thaddeus shoved his empty glass across the table. He would need to write this up soon, before he forgot any of it. “So, who’s your source for all this information on how the Emperor was killed? Urquart?”

  “No. The head of the Emperor’s Own Corps is a man named Colonel Beaumont. He’s loyal to the Imperium, but he’s a pretty dim bulb. He chats with me because I used to be in the army, and because he thinks I must be in the Emperor’s confidence. He’s the one who told me about Sentinel.”

  “Who?”

  Peter glanced around as if to be sure no one was listening. “Sentinel. It was a code name the rebels used for a renegade guardsman. He was in the Emperor’s Own Corps until he was supposedly executed for trying to run off with one of Lothar’s concubines. Beaumont is congratulating himself because the clever means of execution that resulted in Sentinel escaping was Lothar’s own idea, carried out over Beaumont’s vigorous protests. Anyway, Sentinel’s grudge against the du Plessis must have been the reason he participated in the raid and kidnapped Cassandra Fitzlothar.”

  Thaddeus didn’t have to fake his look of total amazement. It had to be Alex. “You’re serious?”

  “Oh, yes. The Emperor’s Own are hot for this man’s blood now. They’ve got every cop and soldier in Montmartre looking for him.”

  Thaddeus digested this news. Alex was alive, but not likely to remain so unless he was remarkably lucky—or he had help.

  “Here’s the deal,” Thaddeus said, laying money down on the table to pay their tab. “I’ll get you what you want. You do me a favor. If you hear anything more about this Sentinel, let me know about it when I contact you.”

  Peter Barranca looked surprised at this request, but he nodded. “All right, I will.

  “Good. I’ll contact you once a day just in case there’s anything further to report. I should have your package within a week at the latest.”

  They shook hands and left separately.

  • • •

  Antonio du Plessis leaned back in his chair and studied his chief adviser. “Well? Have you come up with anything?”

  “In a way I have, Excellency,” Paznowski said. “We have two problems, both of them logistical in nature. Lady Cassandra currently resides in the family part of the women’s quarters. You can’t send for her like a concubine, because she’s your sister. You could require her to visit you, but people would be suspicious if you were alone together for any length of time, either here or in her quarters.

  “In addition, we have to render Lady Cassandra temporarily sterile so that she doesn’t become pregnant from your, ah, attentions. We could ask her doctor to do that, but she’s not married so it would look suspicious. It would make you susceptible to blackmail if the doctor suspected the reason, and that’s not good. He may well be curious about why your revered mother had the Princess programmed as she did, and the fact that you had him remove the programming immediately after your mother’s death, even before the Princess’ engagement was announced. We may have to deal with the doctor if there’s any sign he’s inclined to gossip.”

  “Why can’t we just do the same thing we did for Vinnie?”

  Paznowski tisked impatiently. “It wouldn’t do to repeat the pattern precisely, Excellency. That would be suspect in itself, and not just to the doctor. Besides, how could we find another noble with a rebel in the family? If Barranca’s sister hadn’t been under a death sentence, he never would have agreed to the marriage.”

  “So what do we do?” Antonio demanded.

  “Well, the short term is not the problem, Excellency. You could simply have Lady Cassandra come here so that you can question her about her kidnapping. I can remain in the sitting room while you enjoy yourself in the bedroom, with no one the wiser. Should we be unlucky enough to find that Lady Cassandra had become pregnant, we can always claim that the rebels raped her and have the pregnancy terminated.”

  Antonio smiled in appreciation and sat up. “You’re a genius, Sergei. I knew I could count on you.”

  Paznowski bowed profoundly. “I’m glad that Your Excellency is pleased, but I am unhappy that I have not yet come up with a long-term solution to satisfy your needs.”

  “We’ll worry about that later,” Antonio said, getting to his feet. This was going to be sweet. It was a shame his mother couldn’t be here, but at least there was no way for Cassandra to escape him this time. “No time like the present, eh?” He pressed the com switch on the desk and in a moment, a face appeared on the panel.

  “How may I serve you, Excellency?” a young man said earnestly.

  “I need to speak to my sister Lady Cassandra, immediately,” Antonio said, his tone solemn. “It’s urgent that she come to my rooms right away, while Counselor Paznowski is still here. Arrange it for me.”

  “Yes, Excellency.”

  Antonio pressed the switch and threw himself back into his chair with a smile. “I’m going to enjoy this tremendously, Sergei.”

  “I hope so, Excellency,” Paznowski said, and he went on to bring to Antonio’s attention several matters relating to army conscription figures. Antonio listened impatiently, and let his adviser make the decisions.

  It didn’t
take more than a quarter of an hour before the door chimed. At Antonio’s request, Paznowski opened it.

  “Cassandra!” Antonio cried. “Come in, come in! Sergei has an idea about your kidnappers, my dear. We must discuss it with you right away.”

  Cassandra entered the room slowly, her eyes downcast. As soon as the door had closed behind her, Antonio came up to her and wrapped his left hand in her hair while her grabbed her waist with his right hand.

  “Now, Cassandra,” he said softly, “I’m going to claim you as I should have done weeks ago.”

  Cassandra didn’t struggle or speak, but only looked up at him with frightened eyes. Antonio bent over her and kissed her, forcing her mouth open and probing it aggressively with his tongue.

  She made a small sound of disgust, but she did nothing to fight him off.

  Antonio smiled down at her when he ended the kiss. “Perhaps you’ve learned something from being kidnapped? Come along, Cassie. Sergei will wait out here and provide a counterfeit chaperon.”

  He half dragged his sister into the bedroom, and shut the door behind them. “Now, Cassie, take off your clothes.”

  Her eyes were huge as she stared at him, but after a moment her hands moved slowly to the fastenings of her dress, and she began to disrobe.

  Antonio watched hungrily, commenting on her body as she removed each garment and let it fall to the floor.

  “You have much fuller breasts than Vinnie. Perhaps that’s why she’s so jealous of you? On the other hand, she has a nicer ass—small, and soft, and round. Yours is just a little too big.”

  Cassandra didn’t speak, and finally she was naked.

  “Lie down on the bed,” Antonio ordered.

  Cassandra obeyed, lying down on her back in the middle of the bed.

  Antonio moved to the corner of the room and opened a cabinet in the wall. “This is something I arranged once I knew I’d have this chance.” He pressed some switches on an electronic console, and there was a faint hum from the cabinet. In that corner of the room, a holographic image of Thalia du Plessis appeared. It came from an official portrait, so while she looked quite regal, she didn’t move at all.

  “Mother wanted very much to see this,” Antonio said, coming back over to the bed. “Since she can’t be here in person, I thought it would be nice if we had her symbolically watching over us while I violated you.”

  Cassandra said nothing. Her eyes flickered to the image in the corner for a second, and then she looked away.

  Antonio slipped off his shoes and stockings, and then his trousers. He was intensely aroused, and Cassandra stared at him in consternation. Antonio saw it and laughed.

  “It’s too bad you’re not a virgin, but I can still make it hurt, Cassie. Spread your legs and let me look at you.”

  She obeyed him without protest, and he stared at her for a moment and then climbed on top of her.

  “I told you I’d do this one day,” he said jubilantly. “Didn’t I tell you?”

  She didn’t answer, and he put one hand on the wound he had made with his laser and pressed hard. Cassandra bit back a scream.

  “Yes, Antonio,” she said quietly. “You told me.”

  Her meekness annoyed him. Where was the struggle, the challenge to tame her? “Stupid bitch.” Antonio put his hands on her breasts and leaned all his weight on her. When she gave a faint cry of pain, he thrust into her as hard as he could.

  Cassandra clenched her teeth as he continued to hold her down and thrust again and again, but she didn’t move or even scream. When Antonio climaxed, she closed her eyes, and it seemed to him that she looked almost vindicated, as if in some peculiar way he had given her what she wanted.

  After Antonio had caught his breath, he looked down at her in annoyance. “You damned little bitch! You spoiled it for me.”

  She opened her eyes briefly and then closed them again. “I’m sorry, Antonio.”

  He climbed off of her, and then literally kicked her out of the bed so that she slid onto the floor. “Put your clothes on and get out of here.”

  She scrambled to her feet and dressed much more quickly than she had undressed. Antonio turned off the holographic projector and slipped on an ornate brocade dressing down as he watched her. When she was ready, he opened the door and followed her through it.

  “Sergei,” he ordered, “see that my sister goes back to her quarters immediately, and then come back here.”

  Paznowski bowed deeply and waited for Cassandra, who went out the door without a backward glance at her brother.

  Antonio was pacing the floor with rage when Paznowski returned.

  “Is anything wrong, Excellency?” Paznowski asked in concern.

  “Yes, something’s wrong,” Antonio snapped. “That damned little slut ruined the whole experience. She didn’t fight me—she didn’t even scream. I hardly enjoyed it at all.”

  “Surely Princess Vinitra doesn’t oppose you, Excellency?”

  “It’s not the same thing,” Antonio said, waving a hand in exasperation. “Vinnie is devoted to me. Her adoration is sweeter to me than any opposition.”

  “I see. I’m truly sorry I wasn’t able to provide what you needed, Excellency.”

  Antonio looked up at him and saw the fierce, fanatical light in the older man’s eye. He threw himself down in his chair and let his dressing gown come open. Underneath the gown, he was still naked. “Come here.”

  Paznowski moved closer, staring down at Antonio as if he were mesmerized. Antonio smiled and pulled his dressing gown open even wider. Paznowski’s eyes seemed glued to the dark, hairy region between Antonio’s legs.

  “Kneel,” Antonio said.

  Paznowski knelt wordlessly in front of Antonio’s chair. Antonio stared at him silently for a moment. The man worshipped him every bit as much as Vinnie did. It would be interesting to test the limits of that devotion. And Paznowski would be less conservative in bed than Vinnie, more willing to be experimented upon.

  Antonio took the other man’s face in his hands, tilted his head back, and kissed him ruthlessly, penetrating his mouth with an almost savage exploration.

  Paznowski closed his eyes and yielded completely, neither offering resistance nor attempting to hold back his own reactions. He was breathing rapidly when Antonio released him.

  Antonio looked down at his adviser with smug satisfaction as Paznowski opened his eyes and looked up at him.

  “Have you ever been to bed with a woman, Sergei?”

  “No, Excellency.”

  “I thought not,” Antonio said, pleased at his own acuity. “I’ve never buggered a man before, but I’m in the mood for something different. Go into the bedroom and remove your clothes but don’t get into bed. I want to look at you before I decide how to take you.”

  “Yes, Excellency,” Paznowski said, his eyes alight with a glad, fierce joy.

  Antonio smiled to himself, and went over to the cabinet by the wall and poured a small drink. He tossed it back in one gulp, and then he walked to the bedroom and opened the door.

  • • •

  Some time later, Antonio du Plessis lay on his side and studied Sergei Paznowski’s naked body.

  “You need to get more exercise,” he chided. “You’re not at all fat, but you’re letting yourself get soft.”

  “Yes, Excellency.”

  “Still,” Antonio said lazily, as he stroked the other man’s back, “I enjoyed it. You have a surprising tenderness to you, Sergei. Do you always call out like that when you climax?”

  “No, Excellency. It was a surprise to me, too.”

  “I quite liked it. You called on your Emperor instead of your god. That pleased me.”

  “I believe in my Emperor, Excellency. I don’t consider it at all likely that there is a god.”

  Antonio smiled and slid his hand down to Paznowski’s buttocks. “Don’t you?”

  “No, Excellency.”

  “Well,” Antonio said, caressing with his voice as much as his hand, “you must be sure n
ot to tell anyone about this, or you’ll find out all too quickly whether you’re right. They won’t even find your body if you betray me, Sergei.”

  Paznowski rolled over so that he faced Antonio and looked up into his face adoringly. “I would die before I betrayed you, Excellency.”

  Antonio began to stroke his companion’s torso, enjoying the novelty of masculine muscles. “I believe you. Do you have anyone who takes the place of a spouse to you, Sergei?”

  “No, Excellency. There’s a young man who lives in my house and sees to all my needs, but I care nothing for him. I’ll dismiss him at once.”

  “Why?” Antonio asked in surprise.

  “Because,” Paznowski said, deference in his voice, “after Your Excellency has honored me by making use of my body, it is inconceivable that I should give it to anyone else.”

  “I see,” Antonio said, pleased. “Rather like my father’s concubines, dismissed to live in reverent solitude after his death?”

  “Something like that, Excellency.”

  “Except I’m not dead. I shall have to reward you by making use of you, as you put it, when you’ve been particularly clever. Would you like that, Sergei?”

  “Yes, Excellency.”

  Really, this situation had tremendous potential. An adviser as devoted as Sergei came along once in a lifetime. All at once, a plan popped into Antonio’s head. “Ah!” he said, sitting bolt upright. “I’ve just had an idea—an idea worthy of you, Sergei!”

  “What is it, Excellency?” his adviser asked, sitting up beside him.

  “I’ll make you a baron—Baron Paznowski! Would you like that?”

  “It would be an honor, Excellency, but it’s not necessary.”

  “No, no, let me finish! I’ll ennoble you as a reward for your loyal service and then I can give you Cassandra to marry. You won’t touch her, of course, but you can bring her to me whenever I want her. Isn’t that a wonderful idea?”

  Paznowski frowned as if he were debating the plan, and then he nodded. “It is clever. I can see no obstacle, except that I shall have to arrange to keep Lady Cassandra closely confined. That might be difficult, as among the nobility, married women are not usually limited in their movements.”