The Ardoon King

by Samuel Fort

  Chapter 39: Coup

  Lilian sat for a long time in the dining room, willing herself sober. She could not comprehend what Hobuk had said. A coup? Was the man toying with her? It was just the kind of thing the spiteful bastard would do if she let her guard down.

  Still, she was worried. There was no need for the man to whisper an idle threat. He whispered because he didn’t want to be overheard.

  She left the dining room and went to the command center. She found the door closed, which was unusual. She slapped the biometric plate.

  Nothing happened.

  She slapped it again, holding her hand against it.

  She tried the other hand. Nothing.

  Pinching her nose in frustration, she began beating on the door.

  A Peth named Gruber opened it.

  “Yes, Annasa?”

  “Has there been any word from our expeditions?”

  “No, Annasa. There has been only static.”

  Lilian peered over the man’s armored shoulder. “I wish to send out a transmission. Even if we cannot hear them, they may be able to hear us.”

  Gruber didn’t move. “You must inquire with Archduke Porazo about that. I have orders not to allow anyone into the command center other than those he authorizes.”

  “Such orders do not apply to me, Peth. Move aside.”

  The man did just the opposite, stepping forward. This compelled the queen to take a step back to avoid be pushed backward. “I have been told the orders do apply to you.”

  Lilian growled, “I am your queen, you oaf! Move aside!”

  “I cannot. You must speak to the Archduke. He is in the council’s chamber.”

  Lilian was livid. “You fool! I shall have your testacies for breakfast!” She took some satisfaction in the shadow of doubt that flashed across the man’s face when she made this threat, but it was fleeting. He did not move.

  Angered and frightened, Lilian took the elevator down to the bottom floor and rushed to the large room that served as the council’s chamber. She was bewildered to find the large oval table occupied by nobles. Archduke Porazo sat at one end of the table. The seat at the other end, nearest Lilian was empty.

  “What is this?” she asked, rushing into the room.

  The twenty men and women in the room looked at one another uncomfortably, then at Archduke Porazo.

  “Lilitu,” he said, “I’m glad you’ve come. Please, have a seat.”

  “No,” she said. “Tell me what is going on here.”

  Looking reticent, the Archduke said, “It has been several weeks since your husband and Peth Vedeus were trapped in a cave by an earthquake, and as you know, we have lost contact with the King’s Guard.”

  “I am painfully aware of my own husband’s predicament,” Lilian said sharply.

  Porazo took in a breath. “Of course. You also know that the last radio contact we had with the king’s squadron was rather odd. The radioman said there had been an earthquake and that the Peth had taken heavy losses in an engagement with a…well, he said, ‘monster,’ but we must assume he meant a ‘monstrous force.’ The man was panicked and the transmission broken. I doubt we heard half the words he spoke. In any event, the force must have been sizable to kill so many heavily armed and well-trained Peth.”

  “What is your point?”

  “We have lost contact, Lilitu. We must consider the probability that the force engaged by the king’s squadron regrouped and attacked again, perhaps with reinforcements. It seems very possible that our Peth were overwhelmed. Even before we lost communications, our Peth were making no progress in their dig. They had few tools, aside from small, collapsible shovels, and the cave entrance was buried beneath twenty or more feet of earth and rock, and, I believe, a mountain of vehicles.”

  “The king will be found, alive,” the queen said confidently, but she was worried. No one in the room was making eye contact with her. Every council member stared at the table, or the walls, or the ceiling. “It is the weather that prohibits contact, nothing else. We cannot contact the Reds or Golds yet we have no reason to think they have been in combat.”

  “True, and beside the point,” said Porazo. “It does not really matter whether the King’s Squadron is whole or not. I, and others, have consulted all available materials regarding mine rescues, cave-ins, trench collapses, and the like, and have made the requisite calculations regarding air, food, and water needed to remain alive.”

  Lilian stared at the man. “What are you saying?”

  “The king will not return. It is the council’s intent to declare him dead. The papers have been drawn up.” The man delighted at the shock in the queen’s face. “I’m sorry, Lilitu. We must have continuity. The people are growing restless. The uncertainty is detrimental to the health of the kingdom.”

  Duke Romini, at the far end of the table, dared to speak. “What is the status of the queen if the king is pronounced dead?”

  Lady Scree, an ancient woman with a bitter face and black eyes, said, “We are exploring all possible legal options to preserve Lilitu’s life and ensure that her standard of living is maintained at a level commensurate with her family’s rank.”

  “You mean,” seethed Lilian, “that you will either have me killed or thrust back into the gilded cage my father’s enemies built for me as a girl.”

  “It would be better than death,” offered Scree.

  “What would you know of such things?”

  Porazo said, “No, no, let us not lose our tempers. Are we not Nisirtu?”

  “This talk is treasonous,” seethed Lilian. “This is a coup!”

  “Not at all. The council recognizes the right of Annasa Fiela to assume the throne, now that the king is dead and you have been stripped of your title. We are doing what the law requires and no more. You, on the other hand, would suspend the law indefinitely to preserve your own life and status. The kingdom must move forward, however much that inconveniences you. As the senior Nisirtu present, I have the right, and the duty, to ensure that happens.”

  Hobuk, the Duke of the Ordunas, said, “Archduke, while I praise your leadership in these difficult times, I must insist that Lilitu’s life be preserved until Annasa Fiela returns. I’m afraid that is a requisite for my faction’s support.”

  Surprise registered on Porazo’s face. “I did not think you a friend of the Sargons, Duke. But as Lady Scree has said, every attempt will be made to preserve Lilitu’s life.”

  Hobuk shook his head. “Lady Scree said all legal options are being explored. How long shall these options be explored? A day? A week? An hour? When shall a decision be made? I do not like the ambiguity. Have you consulted with Wilfred Barnum as to what the Code requires?”

  “Not just yet,” replied Porazo. “To be candid, he is a known ally of the Sargons and I am not convinced he can be impartial.”

  “I know Barnum, Duke. He interprets the Code very strictly, I assure you. He must be consulted. This must be done legally. I require assurances that Lilitu’s life will not be taken until Annasa Fiela has had ample time to reach her husband’s grave and return. If Lilitu were killed before then, who would fill the void?”

  Porazo shrugged and scratched his fingernails across the surface of the table. “I would, of course. Merely as an interim measure.”

  “Interim? What if Annasa Fiela does not return?”

  “Why should you think she will not?”

  “Because her death would serve the interest of more than one person in this room.”

  “You accuse me?”

  Hobuk’s smile was thin. “I accuse no one. I doubt many. I hope you are right, of course, that the girl queen returns safely to Steepleguard. However, if she returns and finds Lilitu dead, she will assume there has been a coup. And this, so soon after her dear husband’s death. She will not only reject the throne, she will kill whoever is in it, and probably dozens of others. She will wreak havoc on Steepleguard. She might destroy it altogether.”

  Porazo laughed. “Dest
roy it, Duke? Has the girl harnessed the powers of the gods?”

  Hobuk glowered at the man, as did everyone around the table. Shifting in his chair, the newcomer managed a weak smile. “I see. Very well, she is a terror, apparently. But surely you overestimate her zeal for wanton destruction.”

  Hobuk shook his head. “Never mind that. My point is that Annasa Fiela will only assume the throne if directed to do so by Lilitu.”

  He turned toward Lilian. “If the mark against you requires your execution, you will direct Fiela to assume the throne, will you not? Is that not the proper thing to do? I remind you that Fiela is, by marriage, a Sargon. Even were she to remarry, she has the right to retain the Sargon name. I am asking you to consider not only your husband’s legacy, Lilitu, or yours. You must consider the legacy of your father.”

  Lilian stared at Hobuk, her face riddled with confusion. At length she said, “As you say, Duke. If I am sentenced to die, I will instruct my sister to take the throne.”

  Hobuk nodded and returned his gaze to the archduke. “You are a witness to this, as are all members of the council. For the purposes of continuity, and to preserve the peace, Lilitu’s life must not be taken until Annasa Fiela has had an opportunity to return.”

  “How much time do you desire?” asked Porazo, who looked extremely annoyed.

  “Two weeks.”

  Romini nodded. “I agree with Duke Hobuk. Allow two weeks or you will lose my faction’s support, also.”

  Scree scowled at the man. Romini blew a kiss at her.

  Porazo pursed his lips and looked to one side. “Very well,” he mumbled. “Does anyone contest the fact that the king is dead? Might we at least have progress on that front?”

  Lilian waited. No one spoke.

  “Then may his memory live forever. Schedule the dance.”