The Habit of the Kingmaker

by J J Moriarty

  “I’m going to kill the King of Kings and The Bodyguard, and you’ll be killing Kinzonzi’s heirs”, Hyzou said.

  Shumur bit his lip.

  “What if you fail?” Shumur asked.

  “Hyzou won’t fail”, Safia said.

  Shumur sat back in his seat.

  “You know that once I kill Kinzonzi, you’ll have to murder his heirs anyway”, Hyzou said.

  “That was what I had planned”, Shumur said.

  “You’re just killing them earlier than you had planned. They’ll die by your hand anyway. It’s too late for Shumur Min Daborah to become a conservative man. You’ve placed your money in the pile, now roll your fucking dice”, Hyzou said.

  Shumur shrugged.

  “Very well. When the first bell strikes my mercenaries will attack the CaSuan Dome”, Shumur said.

  Hyzou looked at Safia.

  “Will you be able to tell me when you hear this ‘first bell’?” Hyzou asked.

  Safia nodded.

  “After you’re done, Shumur, you’ll want to be hidden somewhere. Where will you go?” Hyzou said.

  “I’ll have my guards escort me from the Dome. I have a safehouse just two blocks away to the west. It’s got a painting of a snake over the door. Come and let me know if you’ve been successful”, Shumur said.

  Hyzou nodded.

  “I must go then, I’ve got barely an hour to organise this”, Shumur said.

  “See you in a while”, Hyzou said.

  “Goodbye Hyzou. Goodbye Safia”, Shumur said, bowing.

  Hyzou and Safia returned the greetings.

  “Safia, I’ll need you with me. And we’ll need a horse”, Hyzou said.

  “Where are we going?” Safia asked.

  “The Sfaza estate”, Hyzou said.

  Safia began to bite the third finger on her left hand.

  “Have you got your armour?” Hyzou asked.

  Safia nodded.

  “Change, then. Go now to the guesthouse and change. Take one of our horses and wait for me in the plaza nearest the Sfaza estate”, Hyzou said.

  “What are you doing?” Safia asked.

  “I need to prepare for this morning. I’ll meet you there in less than an hour”, Hyzou said.

  “I’m scared”, Safia said.

  “It’ll all be over soon anyway, whatever we do”, Hyzou said.

  Safia nodded and left the room. She was in a rush.

  Hyzou took his time, let her have a head start, then he left too. While Safia headed to the guesthouse, and then towards the gate, Hyzou went deeper into the Daborah estate. There was a deathly silence around the Daughter’s Palace.

  Hyzou receded entirely into his Qi and searched for the other living beings in the perimeter. Orange souls lit up the daughter’s house before him. All were in their rooms, moving around, changing things, pushing things.

  They must be cleaning. Hyzou thought.

  Or something like that, in any case. On the top floor of the palace Hyzou sensed his quarry. He recognised Marrea. She was alone in her room, while at her door an older woman was standing facing the other direction.

  Hyzou took a deep breath, sprinted several steps, and leaped into the air.

  He landed just short of the roof and crashed into the building’s side. He reached out with his hand wildly and grabbed onto the head of a sculpture of a bull.

  He pulled himself up onto the roof in a scramble, and quietly as he could stepped to the other side of the roof. The shutters to all the rooms were open, including Marrea’s. Hanging tightly to the edge of the roof, Hyzou lowered himself, then dropped onto Marrea’s window ledge.

  He was right about the cleaning, Marrea was busy placing all her possessions in order, and on her bed were a set of clothes she was in the middle of folding. Hyzou stepped silently into her room.

  Marrea turned around and jumped. She dropped the heavy vase she was carrying, and though it didn’t break, it made a loud thunk when it hit the wooden floor.

  “Marrea, did you drop another…”

  An old woman entered the room. Her face curdled into outraged disgust.

  “There are no men allowed in this building”, she spat.

  Hyzou forced his will onto her, forcing her to freeze in the spot she was in.

  “You’re very poor at enforcing that rule”, Hyzou said.

  The old woman didn’t reply. She couldn’t, Hyzou had complete control of all her muscles. Hyzou made her curve her back slightly so her head was jutting out. He made her turn and run, directly into the heavy stone wall. She picked up quite a bit of pace, then crashed into the heavy stone wall. She collapsed in a heap. Whether unconscious or dead, Hyzou wasn’t bothered to check.

  Hyzou turned to Marrea, whose hand was over her mouth in shock.

  “Marrea, do you trust me? If I told you to go somewhere and stay there until I could find you again, would you do it?” Hyzou asked.

  Her eyes were alive with fear, and she didn’t reply. That answered Hyzou’s question.

  “Clever girl. I wouldn’t trust me either. Sorry about this”, he said.

  Hyzou walked towards her and let his will subsume hers.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  He made eye contact with Safia, but her eyes didn’t light up. She was busy in conversation. Two men were gesturing at her, and she was speaking gutturally back at them.

  Hyzou moved quietly among the crowd. The plaza was full and panicked, people trying to do their daily business while the air was electric. Violence seemed so likely to spark into life, and the atmosphere wasn’t helped by the mercenaries everywhere, curved swords at their side.

  Two mercenaries were talking to Safia. Hyzou couldn’t understand what they were saying. Hyzou brushed his fingers against the pommel of his sword and tried to make eye contact with Safia once again. She didn’t look his way. Instead her attention was held entirely by the men in front of her.

  Finally, their interrogation ended, both men bowed to Safia. Hyzou walked up to her.

  “What took you so long? I look so suspicious just standing here”, Safia said.

  “I had some things to take care of”, Hyzou said.

  Hyzou reached over and patted the horse.

  “What’s this great plan then?” Safia said.

  “We need to be on the other side of this here building”, Hyzou said.

  He tapped the building by which they were standing.

  “And facing the Sfaza estate?” Safia asked.

  Hyzou nodded.

  “Why did we need to bring the horse?” Safia asked.

  They walked to the other side of the building.

  “Yesterday, when I was there, I noticed that neighbouring the Sfaza estate on both sides are two particularly tall buildings. From them, I can jump into the estate. You’ll bring me to those buildings on the horse, once I’ve figured out where Kinzonzi is hidden. By then, the Sfaza estate will already have heard of the bloodshed in the Dome. And then, you’re going to ride along these streets screaming of a mercenary army headed this way from the Dome”, Hyzou said.

  “Why?” Safia asked.

  “Then The Bodyguard will think the threat comes from the Dome. That someone, after sending a skilled assassin, is now trying to kill Kinzonzi using brute force. He’ll order his men to stay in the streets, to stay at the gates of the Sfaza estate. It means I’ll be undisturbed”, Hyzou said.

  “How will you know where Kinzonzi is though?” Safia said.

  Hyzou looked up at the Sfaza estate.

  “How long until that first bell rings out as promised?” Hyzou asked. “The signal that Shumur has started the killing.”

  “Any minute now”, Safia said.

  “Then fall silent”, Hyzou said. “And speak only when you hear the bell ring, whereupon you’ll tap me twice on my right shoulder.”

  Hyzou breathed deeply and owned his envy. He receded deep into his Qi and allowed it to control all his senses, then he moved outwards with his Qi. Outwards so that he coul
d sense all the Qis in the Sfaza estate. There were hundreds of them, young and old and bright and dull, the Qis were difficult to parse. Hyzou was searching for groups of people and found more than forty. Some of them could only be places like the harem or the daughter’s palace, but Hyzou didn’t discount any of them. Kinzonzi could be hidden anywhere.

  Hyzou cycled among the groups, checking on each one, until finally his Qi told him that Safia was making noise near him. He sensed her raise her hand and then lightly tap his right shoulder twice. To show he had understood, Hyzou nodded twice.

  Now’s the time, it’ll take a few minutes for the news to filter, but it will filter quickly. So now’s the time. Hyzou thought.

  He cycled among the groups and tried to remember what the Sfaza estate looked like yesterday. Where the buildings were, where the guards had been stationed, that kind of thing. He watched group after group, group after group. Everything was silent. Of course, last night’s murder must have put everyone on edge, but it was just a normal morning on the Sfaza estate. Slaves were already at their posts and doing their duties, and this meant that there was very little movement on the estate.

  There wasn’t, until the word arrived. It arrived through a small messenger, just a young boy, who sprinted to the gates. He said something to the guards at the gate, just a few words, but it was enough to signal an emergency. The guards at the gate turned and ran into the estate, giving word of the murders in the Dome to their seniors. The message spread throughout the Sfaza estate like a fire. What was just a minute ago a silent morning became the inside of a wasp’s nest. Hyzou had hoped that the news might be dealt with discreetly and be brought straight to The Bodyguard, but instead the whole estate came alive.

  Still, Hyzou knew exactly what he was looking for, and it didn’t matter that there were hundreds of souls scrambling in every which direction. He just needed to spot the pattern.

  And he did.

  Once that was done, he pulled himself out of his Qi.

  “He’s about two thirds of the way up the estate in a building with just him and forty bodyguards. Take me to the southern side of the estate and I’ll climb the building beside that. Go!” Hyzou said.

  Safia leaped up onto the horse and Hyzou jumped up behind her. She kicked her heels into the side of the horse and they rushed off.

  Hyzou had understood how The Bodyguard must have been guarding the King of Kings. Kinzonzi had to hide, that was the whole point of the decoy system.

  Kinzonzi would be personally guarded by the best of the warriors, but any more than ten men would give rise to suspicion. Such men had to be fed and needed to slop and would get bored. Any more than ten and the slaves around the estate would realise where they were, and the clever slaves may realise that ten unaccounted-for men would likely be hidden somewhere only to guard something expensive.

  That slave may then see a chance to make some money by telling someone important, and that important person may then realise that Kinzonzi was the important hidden thing.

  To prevent that happening then, The Bodyguard could only have a small group guarding the King of Kings at any one time. As it turns out, he had had six men surrounding the King of Kings.

  After last night though, The Bodyguard must have realised that just six men alone would not be sufficient to protect Kinzonzi, no matter how talented they were. So he had had a squad of thirty-four bodyguards on standby. Should someone directly attack the Sfaza family, those thirty-four would flood immediately to protect the King of Kings.

  The Bodyguard led Hyzou directly to the King of Kings. When Hyzou watched the Qis in the Sfaza estate, he saw thirty-four men rush to a small building to join a grouping of seven where they then stood still in formation inside a thick-walled shack. That told Hyzou all he needed to know about where Kinzonzi was.

  Safia was quick with the horse. Hyzou reached the tall building in seconds. She turned around, her eyes set in a way Hyzou had never seen before, her expression one of clear determination.

  “Stay safe. Succeed”, Safia said.

  Hyzou nodded, then leaped from the horse, onto the balcony of the second floor of the building beside where she had stopped.

  Safia rode off into the distance screaming about an army approaching.

  Hyzou began to climb. Three short pulls and he was on the roof, looking up at the Sfaza estate. He breathed deeply, owned his envy, and began to sprint. Powered off with his legs, Hyzou leaped up and managed to land on the wall of the Sfaza estate. It had been nearly forty feet above the roof, but he made it.

  Much like the estate itself, the wall curved and ascended. Hyzou sprinted up the incline. Perhaps those in the estate saw him but Hyzou didn’t care. He knew where Kinzonzi was, and he knew he’d kill anyone who stood between him and the King of Kings. He sprinted and sprinted, the old wall crumbling into gravel beneath his powerful steps.

  Finally, Hyzou reached his destination.

  Kinzonzi was hiding in was the temple to Thanatis, or at least that’s what it looked like from the outside. It was built, the stone was much newer than anything around it. Inside, forty men stood on guard, prepared for Hyzou’s invasion.

  Hyzou looked around then saw what he was seeking. An old man in robes too big for him was staring up at Hyzou, mouth agape. Hyzou sighed, then forced his will onto the man.

  Horror lit up the old man’s eyes, but it was too late, Hyzou had control, and was ready to do what was necessary to save the world. Hyzou dropped to the ground. He landed on something that clinked loudly.

  He looked down. He’d landed on a chariot wheel. The ground was littered with tools.

  Perfect. Hyzou thought.

  He reached down and picked up a bronze crowbar. He forced the old man follow him to the door of the temple. The door was locked, but not barricaded. Hyzou kicked the door exactly where the lock was. It flew open. Hyzou jumped aside and rolled.

  It was just as well, as four javelins came flying out to where Hyzou had just been standing. They were followed by a persistent flurry of stones.

  They must have slings inside. Hyzou thought.

  Hyzou made the man step in front of him, and Hyzou crouched right behind the old guy, and placed his hand on the small of the old man’s back.

  He made the old man walk forward, into the doorway. The stones flew and connected with the old man. Blood spattered, and bone shattered, but Hyzou made his human shield keep walking.

  They walked together into a very narrow passageway, and Hyzou had to physically push the old man forward as his ward lost the use of his legs. Finally, Hyzou was through the doorway.

  Hyzou turned around and shut the door, plunging the building into pitch blackness. He jammed the door shut with the crowbar. Now no one could get in unless they broke the door down.

  Inside the building the bodyguards must have realised that their missiles weren’t working, so they rushed the old man and cut him down.

  Even better. Hyzou thought.

  He had been worried about how he would fight forty trained fighters. But they were advancing onto him. This meant the most they could throw at him was four at a time.

  Hyzou pulled out his sword and took his Servant’s stance. Finally, all the intrigue was finished, and all the planning too. All that was left was the battle, and this was something Hyzou knew how to do well.

  The Nukhba Guardsmen jabbed forward with their spears, hoping to keep Hyzou at a distance. They thought Hyzou could only use his eyes and therefore had an impaired vision, they hoped that Hyzou would blindly walk forward and impale himself on the phalanx formation.

  Hyzou let them press forward, then ducked underneath the ranged blades, allowing him to come up just inside the first line of spearheads, and just outside the second. Using his reach, Hyzou lunged forward and cut the quad muscle of one of the assailants into ribbons. This bodyguard collapsed, and brought the bodyguard behind him down too, just enough so that his spear no longer pointed at Hyzou. This made an unprotected gap right at the front of the p
halanx.

  Hyzou stepped into the gap. Now he was inside the phalanx, and there was nothing they could do to stop him. Using the simple moves he had been taught by Sparrow, Hyzou cut the bodies of his adversaries. Mostly he stabbed them in the stomach and kidneys, but upon occasion he contacted the throats of the Guardsmen. They tried to react, to hassle and attack Hyzou, but he was just too quick, and they were trapped in too narrow a space to get out of the way of the plunging sword.

  Twenty-five dead, and Hyzou stayed low. Next were the missiles, who hadn’t just yet realised that all their comrades had been cut down. They were watching, wondering if their services would be required again.

  Sparrow always told Hyzou that missiles were the Servants greatest weakness in battle, and so Hyzou knew not to be calm. He rushed them, any semblance of technique gone, and cut them down before they could react.

  Then Hyzou stopped to reassess. He had left the passageway behind and was in the centre of the Temple. There was a compressed centre where worshippers could gather, and beyond that there was the altar. Hyzou sensed that his prize was there. Kinzonzi Min Daborah was curled up in a ball. Directly in front of him was The Bodyguard, standing tall and strong, glowering at Hyzou.

  In front of The Bodyguard were six Nukhba Guardsmen. They stood in formation, all holding curved blades rather than the spears their compatriots used. Even by their stance, Hyzou could tell that these were well trained fighters. Hyzou formed his own stance, waited for the Guardsmen to approach him.

  They didn’t. They stood in their formation.

  Very well trained. Hyzou thought. I’ll rush them.

  Hyzou thought of finally catching his quarry, and it made his heart flutter. Hyzou growled, then he sprinted forward to tackle the man at the head of the formation.

  Crack

  It took a second for him to understand. A second where his Qi was shattered in hideous physical pain. A second where a horrified scream escaped his mouth. A second where the enemies rushed him and begun to swing. A second where, behind him, Hyzou heard the door to the temple smash open, as reinforcements arrived to finish him off.

  Hyzou didn’t need to look down to know he was in trouble. He didn’t need to look down to know he’d stepped in a trap. He knew well enough his right leg had been snapped clean in two.