House of Assassins

by Larry Correia

  Ashok frowned. For once he hadn’t thought of a decision in terms of the Law. Strange.

  The last of the logs had been delivered to the bottom of the falls, and were in the process of being tied together. The casteless had done this so many times that it was a remarkably efficient process. Non-people were supposed to be stupid, but you wouldn’t know that from watching them tie complicated knots. The first raft was nearly complete. It appeared they would be leaving soon.

  “Assuming we don’t get killed by the wizards, or eaten by demons on the way there, I’ll have time to think about what to do after. We’re a long way from home.” They both knew Jagdish was on a dangerous course, but he was too proud to back down now. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to rejoin the men and make sure all our supplies are accounted for.”

  “Very well. Carry on, Risaldar.”

  Jagdish gave him a casual salute, as if they were both in the army of Great House Vadal, and left to see to his responsibilities. Ashok might have struggled with understanding the motivations of most men, but there was no mistaking Jagdish’s commitment to the ideals of his caste.

  When the men saw him climbing down the hill, they greeted their risaldar warmly. He immediately began checking on each one of them, assessing their health and morale. Even though most of them had only known Jagdish for a few days, they already trusted him with their lives. They were wise to do so.

  “It’s too bad you perished while I lived, Angruvadal,” Ashok muttered as he touched a hand to where the black-steel shard was embedded in his chest. “Because I really do think you two could have made a good team.”

  Chapter 30

  “Most people don’t realize it, but the land that belongs to the Capitol isn’t limited to just the city itself. According to the Treaty of Annexation in the year 500, it includes all of Mount Metoro, the lesser peaks around it, and some of the surrounding desert for potential future expansion. Oh, and the aqueduct system which waters the Capitol falls under its jurisdiction as well, regardless of which great house border it may cross.”

  “Fascinating,” Karno said.

  “I know,” Rada agreed.

  “Not really. I was merely humoring you.”

  Karno was a terrible traveling companion.

  Rada was tired and sore. She’d never been one for horseback riding. Her sister Daksha had taken lessons, but Rada had been too busy working at the library to engage in such frivolity. Usually when the first caste needed to travel it was by carriage, in shaded comfort. You climbed in, the workers or slaves took care of all the complicated parts, and then you got out when you arrived at your destination.

  Only it turned out that horses required a great deal of maintenance. They didn’t simply go. You had to feed them, water them, clean them—which was disgusting by the way—and even brush their hair to get all the sand and burs off which would worry into blisters beneath a saddle. Rada had never put that much effort into her own hair.

  Karno expected her to do all this labor herself. He would demonstrate, but he never offered to help, though on the first day he had finally relented and fixed her saddle for her, because in his words “Cinched like that you’re going to slide off the side and die.” Luckily, unlike most women of her status, Rada understood the value of work. Which was why whatever section she was assigned to was always the most efficient and organized part of the library.

  It was cold at night and warm during the day as they rode across the desert, avoiding the well-traveled paths. Sand got into everything. It was annoyingly soft to walk through, yet somehow still hard to sleep on. She had to keep an eye out for snakes and scorpions. Karno had warned her to always shake out her blankets before lying down, and to check her shoes before putting them on. She was a high-status daughter of the first caste. The first caste didn’t normally have to check their shoes for scorpions. This was all new to her, and further proof that adventuring was for fools.

  But she never complained. She listened to Karno’s instructions and did her best to follow them. She’d let a wizard intimidate her into committing a terrible crime once, so as far as she was concerned, this was her penance.

  “Well, Karno, even if you don’t care, I do. Part of my obligation was reading old treaties and preparing reports for the judges about the current ramifications. It was lying about one of those assignments that got me into this miserable situation.”

  “I find the desert rather pleasant this time of year, myself.”

  They rode along in silence for a time, tired horses plodding along, trying to avoid the occasional prickly cactus that had grown along the path. Those nasty plants seemed to leap at you whenever the wind blew. Mount Metoro was to their right, red, brown, and bleak. It was so incredibly desolate here that it was hard to believe that the greatest city in the world was just on the other side.

  This was such a harsh land that the Capitol shouldn’t have existed at all. It had taken a multitude of expensive public works over the years to make the desert bloom. They didn’t just have more fresh water than they needed, they had fountains, pools, and giant public baths to flaunt their excess. And since it was the furthest place in the world from hell, there was no stigma attached to this water. Like most Capitol residents, she’d taken such abundance for granted. It wasn’t until you got out into the rest of the desert that you realized just how unnatural their situation really was.

  She would’ve told Karno about some of the essays she’d read on that topic, about how it was an ostentatious show of wealth so when the representatives of the great houses came to visit, they would understand how powerful the Capitol was, but he’d probably just give her another noncommittal grunt.

  Normally Rada didn’t care for conversation or socializing. People made her uncomfortable. She much preferred the company of a book. Yet out in this terrible wilderness, with no way to read, and nothing to listen to but wind and hooves, she often found herself speaking aloud.

  “You must think that I’m weak and soft, Karno. Well, maybe I am by Protector standards, but who isn’t? You people tug of war with elephants for fun. I don’t know how to fight, or ride, or live off the land. But I am very good at what I do. There’s no one better in fact. I don’t care what you think about the first caste, because I’m not like most of them. I didn’t care about the parties or the dances. I didn’t care about the nice clothing, or the concerts, or the banquets. I found the people who gravitated toward such activities to be vapid bags of noise, always talking just to hear their own voices.”

  “You don’t say.”

  That made her laugh. “Point taken.”

  Karno actually seemed amused. “If it makes you feel better, I’ve guarded many members of the first over the years, and you whine far less than most. You’ve not yet annoyed me by breaking down in tears. You don’t continually beg me to stop and rest, or bark at me like I’m a servant. Truthfully, you strike me as one of the least useless members of your caste that I’ve met.”

  Coming from Karno, that was quite the compliment.

  “That does not count first-caste children who are obligated to the Protector Order, obviously. We toughen those up right quick…But I believe I understand what it is Devedas sees in you. Though, he’s a fool to let feelings get in the way of his obligation.”

  Rada felt an instinctive need to defend her lover. “Devedas is a good man.”

  “I never said otherwise. Yet good men can be foolish. In fact, it is common. The best man I’ve ever known has turned into a criminal. The man who taught me to fight became a religious fanatic. And now my Lord Protector has fallen in love with a librarian.”

  Him putting it so…well, bluntly, made her blush. “Then what foolish thing are you guilty of, Blunt Karno?”

  The Protector thought that over for so long that for a moment Rada thought he was purposefully ignoring her, but then he said, “Loyalty, I suppose.” Karno pointed toward something in the distance. “There’s the observatory.”

  Rada shielded her eyes from the sun an
d squinted, but she couldn’t make it out yet. She needed glasses to read, but she’d always been able to see far away things just fine. “How can Protectors see so well?”

  “Trade secret.”

  As they got closer, Rada was able to get a better view of the mysterious structure. It was simply a big rectangle with a single tower, exceedingly plain by Capitol standards. There was a small settlement around it, which Rada only knew by its odd reputation. It was said they allowed no lights after dark, not so much as a candle, so that the Astronomers could see better in the dark.

  They continued onward. After a time, Rada went back to regaling Karno with the various facts she’d read. “The Astronomers are one of the smallest, and probably the most secretive Order in the Capitol. They’re located here because they need to be shielded from the lights of the city to better look at the night sky, but still be close enough to report back to the judges when necessary. Otherwise, they’re completely autonomous.”

  “I like looking at the stars. I could have been an Astronomer.”

  “It sounds terribly boring to me.” Books were far more interesting than stars. You could learn things from books. Stars just sat there, twinkling. “Nobody really knows what the Astronomers do, and they only report to a few select judges, and never during an open session in the Chamber of Argument.”

  “The man we’re looking for isn’t part of that Order though. Why’d he build a home here?”

  “I think Vikram just hates people.” Rada could actually understand that. Karno even nodded at the sentiment. “He’s a Historian. We Archivists deal with them often. We’re supposed to cooperate, but that Order is a stuck-up bunch. We get the written materials, they get the artifacts, at least whatever the Inquisition decides isn’t dangerous and in need of destruction. If someone discovers a carving, we claim it because it has words on it, but they’ll get it because it’s a rock…Can you believe that? You could say that we’re political rivals. Sort of like you Protectors and those horrid Inquisitors. Only in our case everyone knows the library is superior to the museum.”

  “Clearly.”

  * * *

  Compared to the vast stone structure of the observatory just a few miles away, the estate of Vikram Akershan was rather humble. It wasn’t very big, and had been built right into the rocky mountainside. There was an outer wall made of clay bricks. Vikram may have been a high-status man, but his home had more in common with the goat farm Rada had recently fled than her father’s nice estate.

  The surrounding scrub brush had been cleared away to make room for vegetable gardens, some olive trees, and pens for livestock. There were servants tending the gardens. When they saw Rada and Karno approaching, they immediately stopped what they were doing and went inside the wall, not at a run, but at least a brisk walk. Once they were all in, a heavy wooden gate was swung closed behind them.

  “They must not get many visitors out here,” Rada explained. “I’ll handle this. My father is a very respected man.”

  Karno just grunted.

  There was a tarnished copper symbol of the Historians Order mounted on the wall. When they reached the gate, Rada raised her voice so that she could be heard on the other side. “Hello. We wish to speak with Senior Historian Vikram Akershan.”

  A woman on the other side shouted back. “There’s no one here by that name. We’ve got no time for beggars.”

  “Beggars! How dare you? We are both of the First!”

  “You don’t look it! Go away. You’re trespassing.”

  “I can’t be trespassing. This land belongs to the Capitol. I know this is Vikram’s estate. I’ve been here before. I’m Senior Archivist Radamantha, daughter of Durmad Nems dar Harban, Lord Archivist of the Capitol Library.”

  The woman on the other side of the gate actually booed when she mentioned the library. “This is a Historian’s holding. We don’t want your kind here, librarian snob!”

  “How rude!”

  Karno seemed amused by the exchange. “May I?”

  “Certainly.” She fully expected Karno to take his fearsome hammer and smash the door into kindling, and frankly, at that moment Rada would have approved of such violence.

  But instead, Karno spoke politely. “Please convey to your master that there is a Protector here as well. I wish to warn him that the Inquisition is offering a secret bounty for his capture. He can either speak with me now to clear this up, or he can wait for them to put a sack over his head and drag him to the dome for torture. I care not either way.”

  “What? There’s got to be some mistake.” The woman seemed really surprised at the mention of the more dangerous Orders. “Just a moment.”

  “Take your time,” Karno said to her, before muttering to himself. “They’re only Inquisitors.”

  A minute later a head appeared over the top of the wall. He was at least Rada’s father’s age, but with sharp hawklike features, skin that had been burned by the sun and wind, and long hair that had turned stark white. He looked at them rather suspiciously. “You say you’re a Protector. I see no shining silver armor.”

  Karno nodded toward their pack horse. “In those bags. It chafes on long rides. But I have this.” He reached into his shirt and pulled out a medallion bearing the face of the Law. Karno held it up to sparkle in the sun.

  He squinted at it. “That could be fake.”

  “A forgery is possible, because criminals are stupid. However the penalty for impersonating a Protector is death.” Karno shrugged. “Do I seem concerned to you?”

  “You should leap over the wall and show it to him up close,” Rada suggested.

  The old man turned his attention toward her. “Wait…Salt water. Can it be? Rada? Is that you?”

  “It is.” She waved. “Hello, Master Vikram. It’s been a long time.”

  “Ten years I think! Luckily you grew up to look like your lovely mother instead of your potbellied hunchback of a father. You, down there, open the gate. Come inside, and please forgive my wife’s earlier rudeness.”

  “There’s no offense taken.” To be fair Rada couldn’t blame them. If she had her own fort, she’d stock it full of books, and then probably never go outside again.

  * * *

  Vikram’s slaves had warmed a bath for her. It was wonderful to be clean of travel dust and horse stink for the first time in days. A clean house robe had been left out for her. A Historian’s symbol had been embroidered on the arm, but it was so clean and comfortable that she pretended not to notice that little indignity. While she had bathed, lunch had been prepared, and once she was dressed she had been invited to join them in the dining room.

  It was a comfortable home, with large windows to let air flow. Gauzy curtains moved in the breeze. After a brief apology—the lady of the house obviously still held some lingering animosity toward the library—they ate. She must have wanted to make up for her earlier discourteous behavior, because the food was wonderful. Either that, or Rada’s standards had slipped after weeks of unseasoned goat meat and handfuls of nuts eaten from a saddlebag. While she waited for the master of the house and Karno to arrive, Rada made polite and inane conversation with Vikram’s family. He had two sons and a daughter, all far younger than she was, and all they wanted to know about was what was new and exciting in the Capitol. It was only on the other side of the mountain, but might as well have been on the other side of Lok for how little they seemed to know about it.

  “Is your strong man really a Protector?” asked the youngest boy, who was probably only five or six. “I want to be obligated to the Protectors when I am older! How many people have you seen him kill?”

  “Pranesh!” shrieked his mother.

  Distracted, Rada answered their questions as best she could. “I’ve only seen him kill a couple, but each was very dramatic.”

  Again, Vikram’s wife tried her best to apologize. “I still feel bad about my earlier outburst, but my family has long been Historians, and in the distant past they had some bad dealings with librarians. It was an
instinctive reaction.”

  “Such things happen.” Rada tried to dismiss it. She knew that everything in the Capitol was about politics. She’d always tried to avoid such things, but she’d been dragged into the worst of it anyway.

  “Unfortunately for us, this is a first-caste grudge. When the lesser castes have a grudge they find a way to settle it. Warriors duel. They even make a big ceremony of the whole thing. Workers, being simple creatures, just brawl in the streets until they get the aggression out of their system.”

  “What do the casteless do, Mother?” one of the children asked.

  “How should I know? Eat fish and breed like rabbits I assume. Regardless, the lower castes settle their grudges quickly and efficiently so they can go back to their duties. But not us. Oh no. The first caste never forgets a wrong. We savor our grudges. We pass them down to our children and grandchildren like family heirlooms. We walk around in a state of perpetual offense knowing that the great grandson of someone who once wronged our great grandfather is out there right now, not suffering for it, and that thought is simply unbearable.”

  Rada tried to say something polite. “I’d hope that those of our status could learn to set aside our differences so as to work together for the good of all the people.”

  “A noble sentiment, Senior Archivist. I hope such idealism works out for you.”

  As befitted his nickname, Karno had skipped the bath and spent the time speaking with Vikram about the bounty instead. When the two of them arrived in the dining room, the Historian seemed very grim.

  “Everyone, please, leave us. I must speak with both our guests privately.”

  The children obediently complied without argument, which Rada actually found rather impressive. His wife briefly stopped by his side. He whispered something in her ear. She touched his hand gently, nodded in understanding, and then she left without another word.

  Vikram sat on the cushions across from Rada. “Your friend has brought dire news. I’m very sorry to hear about your current situation.”