“That depends upon the emperor, Lord.”
Pantoleon turned on Diocles. “Do you remember what our emperor did to his former tutor when he arrived on this island?”
Diocles’ throat went dry. “He cut off his feet at the ankles, Lord,” he croaked.
“That’s right, old man. Now if I ask you for something in the future, make sure it happens promptly, or the same thing could happen to you.”
Pantoleon smiled at the ashen-faced Prime Minister and strode out of the palace.
Isaac was greeted by Tamura with enthusiasm, although there was some pouting. After they had made noisy love—with much shamming on her part—that left him gasping for air, he asked her, “Did you have a bad scare with the leopard, my Precious?”
“If you had not left me here alone in this wretched place my life would not have been in danger at all, my Lord.” Her eyes were wide with innocently remembered fear as she leaned on one elbow, looking in his eyes and describing little circles on his hairy chest with her fingers.
Isaac took this to mean the visit by his leopard, but Tamura had in fact meant something else entirely. She was still getting over the incident with the leopard, but the scare that Malakis had given her had shaken her to her bones, and there was still another phase to be carried out before she would feel completely safe. Siranus had left the palace some time ago, but had not yet returned. He would be very discreet, she knew, but it would be an expensive purchase.
“I have decided to have that man Exazenos become my Chief of information,” Isaac stated to change the subject.
Tamura gave a tiny sigh. Pillow talk from the emperor was where her power lay. In this instance she had guessed already; still it was reassuring to hear it firsthand.
“Oh how lovely, my King, my Lord,” she cooed. She knew better than to add that she thought Pantoleon would be far superior to his dead predecessor. Isaac was so fickle that he would probably change his mind in reaction. She had a potential ally there, and she was going to use him. She went back to work on Isaac, and soon he was excited and rampant again. “I do hope the women you took to your bed were clean,” she murmured from under him.
“Don’t fret, my darling. They were all virgins.”
She stayed with Isaac all night, but for one interval when she hastened back to her own chambers, where she found Siranus.
“Well? Did you do as I asked?” she demanded. He pointed to a basket lying on the floor near the window. She was sure that it moved slightly.
His voice trembled. “It is as you requested.”
“Good. Do it tonight, while I am with the emperor,” she said. “You know where it should go?”
“Yes, my Lady. I know where to put it.”
Tamura almost rubbed her hands with anticipation of the demise of her final threat.
The next morning Pantoleon woke to find that yet another disturbance had occurred in the palace, and the emperor was demanding that Pantoleon present himself at the palace forthwith.
He sighed as he struggled into this clothes. “Did you carry out my orders last night?” he demanded of Gabros, who was looking haggard from lack of sleep.
“Yes, Lord. The entire treasure is now on the ship. Nigel is there and a heavy guard has been placed with him.”
“Good. At least something is going the right way. I should be back before too long. It’s probably yet another panic over nothing.”
He arrived to find the guards and servants looking jittery and the emperor huddled in his private chambers looked rumpled and distracted.
“Ah, there you are, Exazenos. I should not have to keep sending for you all the time,” he paused as though he was not sure what to say next.
Diocles prompted him. “The death of Skleros, your Majesty?”
“I was just about to tell him that!” Isaac said, with an impatient wave of his bejeweled hand.
“Death, Your Majesty?” Pantoleon looked his enquiry.
“Yes, Skleros died last night, most horribly. They are saying it was a snake!” Isaac even glanced around as though the creature might even be in the room with them.
“They found the snake, Sire, and killed it,” Diocles murmured with a look at Pantoleon.
“Who, may I ask, is Skleros, Your Majesty?”
“He is, was, the assistant to your future assistant, Asanes, who was the assistant to Malakis, who, as you know, is now departed,” Diocles said, crossing himself and glancing heavenwards.
“Ah, thank you.” Pantoleon was not really the wiser for that. He had no intention of using any of the incompetents in this palace to help him along. Gabros, for all his recent mess-ups, was still his man.
Isaac’s face was filling up with blood and his eyes were beginning to pop. “I want this to stop!” he shouted without warning. Diocles shifted nervously as Isaac began to work himself into one of his tantrums.
“Assassins! Leopards and snakes all over the place! People are dying everywhere. What is going on? A snake doesn’t just wander into my palace; someone put it there!” he yelled. “You,” he turned on Pantoleon, “will move into the palace. I don’t want to have to keep sending messengers for you! Find out what is going on and be quick about it,” his globular eyes glared at Pantoleon as though threatening him with untold horrors should he fail.
Given that people appeared to be dropping dead all over the palace, Pantoleon was not eager to take up residence, but on second thought he felt that this might suit his plan very well. Where better to gain access to the Lady Tamura and find out what was really going on in this rambling old pile of stones and tiles?
“Yes, at once, Your Majesty,” he said with a smile and a low bow. “I shall see to it immediately.”
“Good. We have two executions in the main square today. I want you in attendance.”
“What was their crime, Sire?”
“Tell him, old man,” Isaac said, almost as though he didn’t know.
“Sacrilege. They were caught drunk and pissing against the wall of the cathedral,” Diocles murmured, cocking an eye at Pantoleon.
“Perfect, Your Majesty!” Pantoleon stated with a smile. He was looking forward to some entertainment.
It had been all over the palace by dawn that one of the kitchen slaves had found Skleros dead in the grubby little chamber that had once belonged to Asanes. Apparently, the newly promoted Asanes had given his room to Skleros, who used to sleep in a cell down in the dungeons, while he moved into the chamber vacated by Malakis. The panic at this new death only abated after a particularly brave slave discovered the snake lurking in one of the darker passages below the kitchens and promptly killed it.
The snake had completed its task, but upon the wrong person. When Tamura heard the news she felt ill. She wondered how long it would take Asanes to put two and two together and come to finish her off. Even he was capable of getting that logic right.
She sat in her own chambers staring off into space, having berated Siranus savagely for the mistake. That hapless fellow was in the other room, weeping and hiding from the wrath of his mistress, alongside her maid Martina, who was on the edge of weeping with fright herself. She had never seen her mistress so angry before.
It was in the early afternoon when Asanes came knocking. He had waited until the emperor had gone off with his new Gatherer of Information, his new chief, Exazenos, to witness the flogging and beheading of the two prisoners. With the palace quiet, he decided that he would have a little chat with the lady whore.
Tamura, Siranus, and Martina at one another in wide-eyed fright when loud banging shook her door. A trembling Siranus opened the door a crack and was promptly shoved aside by the huge man who strode into the room as though he owned it. He stood there, dominating the chamber with his vastness, and gave Tamura an unpleasant grin.
She wished now that she had gone with the emperor, but knew that sooner or later she would have to deal with this new threat to her position. At least he hadn’t had time to report any suspicions to Isaac yet. Even a dunce like A
sanes could work out the facts, and sure enough here he was here to finish her off. Her courage almost failed her as she contemplated his size and determination.
She gave him her best smile, though she was trembling all over. Seated on the bed she looked ravishing, and this was not lost on Asanes. She was making eyes at him and there was a leg exposed that took his attention away from his objective for just a moment.
“I know why you are here, but I am sure we can come to some kind of arrangement, Sir,” she cooed from the bed.
“You sent that snake to get me!”
“As God is my witness I did not. How horrible! How could you think of me like that?” she cried piteously, looking shocked. “I thought you came here because of what Malakis said to Siranus the other day. Didn’t you?”
He looked confused. “You didn’t send the snake?”
She gave a theatrical shudder. “Oh my God! I am terrified of snakes, and that... ” she pointed derisively at Siranus, “he would die if he had to come near one. Was it really a snake, and not a burst spleen form overeating?” she asked innocently.
“It was a snake, and a damn big one too. So you don’t know anything about that?” Asanes asked her. He looked more stupid than ever as he wrestled with the confusion in his mind.
Tamura could sense the big man was finding it hard to put things together. Perhaps she could turn this around.
“You know, Asanes, I have always liked you,” she said in a low tone as seductively as she could, although her throat was dry.
“You do? Er, you have?” His face began to wreath itself into a huge grin of pleasure.
“Oh yes!” she cried. “You’re not like that man Malakis, so crude and ill-mannered. You are so big and strong, and I am sure that... ” she allowed her eyes to drift slowly to his crotch, and a few more inches of soft thigh appeared. Asanes stared as though mesmerized by this apparition half lying on the bed and felt a stirring in his groin. He blinked and stared some more, unable to say anything.
As if on impulse Tamura sat up. “I am desperately thirsty!” she exclaimed. “Martina, you wretched child, bring me a drink of wine and one for my guest, at once! Be sure to use the best wine for my special guest!” Tamura shot her maid a hard look full of meaning, then smiled seductively at Asanes. “You should perhaps make yourself more comfortable?” she asked him, still smiling. She patted the bed next to her.
Martina appeared like magic from the other room and presented her with a silver cup, then handed one to Asanes, who took it without glancing at the maid. She disappeared like a puff of smoke.
Asanes could now smell Tamura’s scent and his heart was beating like a kettle drum in his huge chest. Was this for real? He didn’t want to think about it, simply to react. This was the first time he had been anywhere near a woman of such beauty in his life, and here she was virtually begging him to take her on this magnificent bed with silk sheets. He glanced around the chamber. They were quite alone; the maid and that slimy eunuch had vanished.
She sipped her wine and her eyes regarded him with an open invitation. “Lets drink to our... friendship,” she suggested.
He took a gulp of the wine, then finished it off with a leer, tossed the metal cup away with a clatter on the tiles and reached for her; his nether regions were clamoring for attention. Hurriedly he loosened his trousers, which dropped to the floor. Tamura didn’t know how long the dose would take to have its effect, but was sure of one thing: he was not going to have her nor any part of her. She slithered off the silk bed, exposing even more thigh, and put a hand on his chest, gently but firmly pushing him back.
“You must be patient, my good Sir. I shall do all the work; just lie back and enjoy yourself,” she whispered. Asanes lay half on the bed, his lower legs hanging off. He was beginning to feel slightly wooly, but all his attention was on the woman leaning over him, undoing the cords that held his greasy doublet in place. He tried to reach for her hand but she pushed him away with a smile. “Be comfortable, Asanes. It will happen soon,” she soothed him.
He shook his head, which was now feeling decidedly dizzy, and his stomach was beginning to ache. Suddenly he felt ill and tried to sit up but felt so groggy that his head fell back. An awful realization dawned and he glared up at the apparition still leaning over him. Her face was beginning to swim in front of his eyes.
“Curse you, woman! You’ve... you’ve poisoned me!” he croaked.
With a smile of pure venom Tamura evaded the huge hand that was seeking to grasp her by her throat and stood up. “Siranus!” she called. “Get in here, now!”
Siranus appeared by her side and the two of them stared down at the struggling, moaning man on the bed. To their collective surprise Asanes gave a gargling roar and heaved himself off the bed onto his feet, where he stood swaying as though very drunk before he grunted and almost doubled over with pain. “You whore! I hope you burn in hell!” he exclaimed. “I’m not dead yet. They will hear about this.”
He turned away and began to stagger towards the door. “Stop him!” Tamura exclaimed, but then an idea occurred to her. She snatched Asanes’ dagger that hung off his belt and ran past him towards the door, where she turned to face him. He had fallen to his knees, having tripped over his leggings, and was frothing at the mouth, gasping and groaning with agony as the poison took full effect.
Tamura was amazed that he could still move at all. He sent her a baleful glare that was truly frightening, but she steeled herself. With a cry of her own she stabbed him in the chest with the knife. The blade skidded off his rib cage, however, and did nothing more than to tear through the doublet and made him flinch. He reached for her, his huge arms held wide as though to embrace her, but even in his agony she knew that should he catch her he would crush her to death as he died.
Still she had to risk it, so she dived in and stabbed again, this time lower, and the blade went in all the way. She ducked but couldn’t quite evade one of the swinging hands that batted her off her feet to tumble in a heap against the wall. She scrambled up and returned with her back to the doorway, shaking as she watched the shock on his face begin to fade into a blank stare. He looked up at her with the beginnings of a hurt look on his face. “I only... ” Asanes didn’t finish. He fell forward onto his face and died.
For what seemed like long minutes Tamura stayed where she was, looking down on the huge body. It was absolutely still, with a pool of blood beginning to form on the floor where the knife was embedded.
Siranus crept trembling up to the body and tried to turn it over. After a huge effort he managed, and the body slumped with a thud onto its back with the arms splayed and the ankles crossed. The whole front of the corpse was bloody. “Oh, my Lady!” Siranus exclaimed. “Oh, my God protect us. What do we do now?”
She eased herself away from the door and made sure it was locked, then knelt next to the body. “He was going to ravish me and then denounce us, and we would have been executed,” she replied in as calm a tone as she could. “I must think, Siranus. Clean up the mess on the floor while I think,” she repeated. “Martina, get in here,” she called.
“Did you hide the bottle?” she asked the trembling girl, who couldn’t stop looking down on the corpse.
“Yes, my Lady. But there was nothing left of the contents.”
“Then destroy it and hide the pieces,” Tamura said. Incredibly, it had taken almost the entire bottle’s worth to kill Asanes. Gabriella had died from a fraction of the poison. Now she had to think, and think hard. How was she to report this to the emperor?
Pantoleon arrived back from the execution exasperated. The executioners were inept and had messed up the beheadings badly. There was something elegant about a good clean execution, but this had been bungled by those shams who called themselves executioners. There were many aspects of this copper pot empire that needed changing, and he was now in a position to make them. Slowly, however; it wouldn’t do to hurry things along. His ultimate objective was to take it all from Isaac at the right moment. For
now he wanted to see the Lady Tamura. As though she had read his mind, the eunuch who served her, a pretty fellow, appeared at his side as he took his leave of the emperor and whispered that Lady Tamura was asking for him in her private chambers.
Knowing that he was stepping out of the bounds of protocol, Pantoleon nonetheless agreed with a nod and follow the man along the long back corridors and up stairs. As he strode along he pondered the request. He would have to take great care; Isaac would not see visitations of this kind in any good light.
The slave stopped in front of an ornate door and paused. “My Lady is very distressed, My Lord. She asked for you and only you because of the nature of this request.” Were there sounds of weeping coming from the room? Silently the eunuch opened the door.
Pantoleon strode into the chamber. The sight that greeted him stopped him in his tracks. Lying on his back on the floor near to the bed, as though he had fallen off it, dragging bed-linen with him, was Asanes. His torso was covered in blood and there was a knife sticking out of his lower chest. His pants were down around his ankles, displaying sizeable genitals. Even Pantoleon was impressed.
On the bed was Lady Tamura huddled in a fetus ball, disheveled and weeping copiously. On hearing the door open she sat up, and he saw the front of her robe had been torn, exposing her breasts which she clumsily tried to cover. There was blood on her dress and even her hands. Her face was streaked and smeared with tears, her hair was unbound and in disarray. She cried out when she saw it was Pantoleon and scrambled off the bed to throw herself into his arms.
“Oh, Exazenos! Thank God you have come!” she cried. “I have been so frightened.” She began to weep again into his shoulder, shuddering as she did so.
“What happened?” Pantoleon said staring down at the body and feeling the warmth of the woman clinging to him. It was very disconcerting.
“He... he charged into my chambers and he, he tried to.... Oh God, what am I to do?” Tamura wailed.
Pantoleon turned to the slave. “What in God’s name happened? Tell me!” he commanded.
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