"Good. Let's go."
He couldn't shake the feeling this would never end well for him. No matter what he did.
The mountain of the Burning Island came into view several days before they made it the causeway onto the island. Leviana expected Warden to attempt to fight going there. He had, over the weeks, made himself clear that he thought they were insane to go back there. The center of the empire meant they would all be killed. She tired of listening to him. His cowardice shamed him.
On the island, the midyear festival preparations were underway. By decree, it was a day on which no battles were waged. That had been used against them once, but they destroyed them soon after so there was no longer anyone to fight them on the festival day. There would be drinking, dancing, and drama. Leviana looked forward to it. Midyear in the streets of Arathum meant plenty of distractions available. The Voice would be required to appear before the council and if she timed it correctly, she could make her bid for the throne during that gathering. It would give her the most weight as opposed to taking on the Voice alone. If she appeared before the other councilors, then he could hardly call her an imposter when those who had known her longer could vouch for her. It had been months since he declared her dead. The lockdown of the city was over. She saw traders moving to and from the city.
"I ask you again, are you going with me?"
"Do I have any choice?" Warden asked. He sat on his horse leaned forward until he might be hiding in the horse's mane. "You want to go in there and get yourself killed."
"No, I want to take back what is mine and to do so requires I take a risk. Something you should be familiar with in your line of work."
"Risks are actually a bit of a problem in my line of work. More and more, I wish I hadn't been so greedy as to take a commission against you."
"Too late for such regrets. Even the gods will not turn back time for a mortal."
The group waited close by at the head of the trail which would lead them down toward the city. Leviana trotted over to them and gestured to the commander.
"Are we ready?"
"Yes, we're ready," he said. "Are you certain you want to do this?"
"It is the easiest way to get in and get past those who would dare stop us." She put out her wrists and let him wrap a rope around them. "We need to get to the council chamber with as little commotion as possible. So each of you will do what you can to insure everyone knows I am the imposter sought by the empire and I will be taken to the Voice to be tried."
"What if he sends you for summary execution without a trial?" Warden asked over her shoulder.
"He can't. Treason requires a trial before the council." She rested her hands on the pommel of her saddle. "It's the easiest way to get what we want. As long as you all play your parts, we should be fine."
"I don't like this idea."
"You wouldn't." She shot Warden a glance and shook her head. The commander patted her hands and then took the reins of her horse.
"We're ready," he said again. "Let's go."
They rode down onto the plain before the mountain and made good time toward the city.
The gates to the city were manned with soldiers and they greeted their fellows with warm glances.
"What's this you bring us?" the commander at the gate asked.
"We've caught the impostor the Voice spoke of. We're bringing her to be seen by the Voice in order that she be executed for stirring up rebellion in the provinces."
The gate commander looked Leviana over and said,
"You've done enough, we'll take her from here."
"We should take her ourselves," the commander said. "She has killed several of my men and I want to insure she is tried and punished for her crime. Nothing will insure that more than my taking her into the Voice myself."
"The Voice will see no one. He is in mourning for our true Queen. He has refused all comers."
"Surely he will come out for this. We shall have to see." He made to lead her past.
"Wait."
"For what?"
"You'll be bogged down in the streets if you don't cover her face with a bag or something. Everyone will think the Queen has returned and we just can't have that, can we? Domerk, fetch a bag to put over this one's face." He waved at another of the guards. The guard ran back into the guard shack. Leviana looked around and caught the amused look on Warden's face. She shook her head. The man came back with a bag and she suffered the indignity of having it put over her head. "Now you can take her through the streets. Go directly to the palace. If you get stopped anywhere, things may become hard for you."
"Right," the commander said ducking his head to the other man. "Thank you for thinking more clearly than me."
"It's part of what I'm supposed to do, keep the peace in this city." He waved them through.
Leviana said,
"I'll have him executed."
"Don't speak, Immortal," the commander whispered. "Others may hear."
She did not reply. Having the bag over her head was hot and stifling, but she didn't reach up to rip it off. If she was going to wear it through the streets, then she would wear it as long as they were in view of the citizens. Once they were in the palace, she would rip it off and take her revenge on those who dared to claim her death as a reason for their power.
At the palace gate, they requested the bag be removed so that they could see her clearly. Leviana let them inspect her, even one going so far as to touch her. He exclaimed,
"She's real. I would never believe it. The spitting image of our Queen."
The urge to speak was terrible, but Leviana held her tongue. This would be decided soon.
A new contingent of guards joined them as they entered the palace. Walking through the halls, they passed the servants who looked with wonder at her as if they had never seen her before. It was disgusting. They dragged her into the throne room and forced her to wait there.
"The Voice has been summoned. He will see to getting rid of you. How dare you use the Queen's face to tear apart her empire," one of the guards said. They all snapped to attention as the Voice came into the throne room and took his place on the smaller of the two thrones. At least he hadn't taken to using her throne, Leviana thought. He had no right to it. The Trusted hung around at the doorway.
The look of shock on her face made Leviana smile.
"Who is this?" the Voice demanded. "The imposter I warned of."
"I am no imposter," Leviana said. "I am your Queen. The Immortal Leviana."
"Many have claimed that title since she went to join her lover, the Black King, in death. I have executed them all. You will be one more in a string," he said.
"I demand my trial before the council," Leviana said. "You cannot try me for treason without the councilors present. It is the law."
From the way he looked, she was the first to invoke the law in proceedings with him. His face turned red as Burning Island sand and he bellowed,
"Execute her."
"But it is the law," one of the guards said. "She must be tried before the council."
"No," Kendrick said. "She shall be executed without trial. Bringing her before the council will only cloud the matter."
"You are not above the law, sir," the commander said. "She must be seen by the council or you cannot execute her for treason."
Kendrick sat back on the throne as if deflated. "Find what councilors remain in the city and bring them to me. This matter is urgent and will be settled immediately."
Gathering the councilors took hours and Leviana wanted nothing more than to sit, but she stood in the council chamber with the others around her. Her contingent of guards refused to be put away, so they stood as well. At least she did not face things alone. Even the presence of Warden hiding at the back of the group cheered her. The councilors came in and sat. The chair reserved for the Queen sat empty. Kendrick conducted the meeting from the Voice's chair.
"I bring before you a woman charged with treason according to the law," he said. "She is charged
with stirring up rebellion against the proper rule of the Voice through the use of the Queen's likeness."
"I am the Queen's likeness because I am the Queen," Leviana said, looking over those who sat before her. "I have served as the Queen of the empire for three hundred years. I recently buried a dear friend before I elevated you to the chair where you now sit, Kendrick."
The councilors looked around. Kendrick said nothing. Leviana continued.
"Those who should be tried for treason are those who say I am dead in order to empower themselves."
Councilor Elisah stood up.
"I will ask one question," she said. "And with it I will decide if she is who she says she is."
"And what question would that be, Councilor Elisah?"
"What did we speak of after council before you were killed?"
For a moment, the room sat silent. Elisah moved expectantly. Leviana lifted her chin and said,
"We spoke of the inventor I had just seen who wished to show me his long cannon. You spoke of how he had come with you into the city. Then we spoke of the formula for the powder, which comes from Utica."
Sitting down, Elisah said,
"She speaks truly."
"You cannot hinge your entire reading on one question. Someone could have coached her." Kendrick rose from his seat and began to pace. The Trusted sat close by, but said nothing.
"If she has been coached, there is only one who could have and she sits at your hand," Elisah said. "For my part, I say release her and relinquish your place once more. You have had much time to yourself on the seat of power."
"I will not give away this seat to a possible imposter. She has proven nothing to me."
"Then how can it be proved?" Leviana asked. At her elbow, Warden stood uneasy. She sighted him out of the corner of her eye. His movement said he expected treachery. She could not deny she felt the same. Kendrick would do whatever he could in order to keep his power. And beside him sat the Trusted who could no longer be trusted to keep to her oath. Even with the councilors present, Leviana had to wonder if perhaps something would happen which could not be explained.
"Was not the Queen's body recovered?" asked Councilor Sherac, he stroked his thick beard as he considered it. "Certainly if we have the body of the Queen then no one can be her, no matter how close their resemblance."
"The Queen's body was never recovered," the Trusted said. "It was stolen from where she fell by hostile forces."
"You lie," Leviana said. "I stand before you."
"I saw her fall," the Trusted said.
"Falsehood. I sent you ahead of me to insure the city knew I still lived. You did not watch me fall because I did not fall."
"You call the Trusted of the empire a liar?"
"She is not only a liar, but she has interest in keeping you on the throne since she's your lover."
There was no gasp of surprise. A few cast knowing glances, but there was little other response to that accusation. The Trusted did nothing but lift her chin as if she could ward off the blow by ignoring it. Kendrick stalked up until he stood in front of Leviana.
"And how do you know this to be true?"
"I came upon the two of you in the royal bath together. You were discussing your plans for how to cement your power," she said.
When he reached out to stop her with his fist, Warden was there first. He grabbed Kendrick by the wrist and held him from striking Leviana.
"Unhand me."
"I was there for that conversation as well," Warden said. "Quite a pair you made."
A babble rose in the room as the councilors began to talk among themselves. Several things surfaced, misgivings about Kendrick's stewardship and the state of the empire.
"I demand to know what has been done in my absence," Leviana said.
"You are on trial. You can demand nothing."
"Is it not clear to you that this is no longer my trial, but yours?" She leaned into the space between them with bared teeth. He stepped back, but did not retreat far. Instead, he gave her enough space to seem as if she were in control. The Trusted moved from her place at the head of the table and drew her sword.
"There are no weapons allowed in the council chambers," Councilor Sherac said. He gestured widely with his arms that they were to be unarmed. Outside of the room, another commotion rose.
"I have always been allowed to be armed," Versa said. She approached but the commander of Leviana's guard stepped between her and the Queen. "If she is Queen then let her defend herself."
"Trial by combat?" Leviana said. "If you wish."
"You're still injured," Warden said. "This isn't a fair fight."
"Versa is a gifted swordswoman, but she is not enough to take me," Leviana said. "I agree. If I win, then I resume my place as Queen of the empire. If I lose, then my life is forfeit."
"I will not allow you to return to the throne. If you win, you will be released, nothing more," Kendrick said. "You will not be hunted as a criminal under the imperial banner."
"I will not accept that and I call upon the council to make a decision regarding what will be done."
"She is the Queen as far as I am concerned," Elisah said. "She has proven herself to me."
"You are only one among a multitude. What of the others?"
"If Elisah is convinced, then I am convinced. I remember the commotion regarding the long cannon coming to the capital that occurred just before the Queen disappeared," Sherac said. Other councilors nodded along with him. Only one seemed to be unsure and even he started to nod not long after the others.
"Do you all think she should be crowned if she succeeds?"
"The crown is hers. It has been hers for three hundred years. Only you seem to be unable to accept that."
Kendrick grimaced. Whatever help he had was lost against this onslaught.
"Then she will be restored to the throne if she survives. Nothing less." He seemed resigned to the fact, though he hardly let his facial expression change.
If Versa knew fear in response to the decision, she hid it well.
"In the morning, before all, we will have a trial by combat. Until then, she will be jailed as a criminal should be along with all those who came with her," Kendrick said. "I will not allow them time to gather more forces and perhaps circumvent this process."
"I accept this," Leviana said. Warden stepped into her shadow and said,
"I don't want to spend my night in jail."
"You don't get much choice," she said.
The commander and the others looked around, but they didn't protest. Guards led the group away and day closed on them locked away from human contact.
Locked away in the dungeon, Warden and Leviana stood across the small hall away from each other. From the bars, he watched her as she sat away from her cell door. He reached out to her, but she seemed not to notice. For the first time in his life, he was caught in a prison. Warden spent much of his life avoiding being jailed. His choices kept him just barely on one side of the line; however, he had done his best to stay far enough away from the law that he could keep his freedom.
Now he had lost it and for the woman across the hall from him. Part of him wanted to hate her for that. Hanging his arms out of the bars, he swung his hands back and forth. He couldn't reach the lock, not that it would have helped if he could. Unlocking it and letting himself out would possibly get him executed before the time of their trial by combat. His future laid now on her ability to wield a sword.
He knew her to be quick. She had fought him to a standstill without breaking a sweat and he was good. Versa, the Trusted, was her pupil. Certainly the teacher had every advantage over her student. He skimmed her with his eyes. Even caged she carried her own power. He wondered if he looked the same to her.
"Leviana," he called. At first, she did not move. Then she came to the front of the cage and looked at him. "Are you sure about this?"
"I am," she said. "You doubt?"
"Doubt is a good way to keep one's skin."
"Then
doubt away. I will prove your doubt worthless tomorrow."
Footsteps drew Leviana's attention. They stopped in front of her cell door, an old woman and a guardsman. The old woman held several small stones in her knobby hands. She looked at the guard with rheumy eyes and waited.
"You may leave us," Leviana said.
The guardsman hesitated, looking first from the old woman to the Immortal and back again. Finally, he stepped away.
"This is unexpected."
"I came to remind you of my warning," the old woman said. The seer had come some distance through the city to show herself at the palace dungeon. Leviana did not stop to wonder why. Instead, she pressed closer to the bars and whispered to the woman.
"Seer, it would seem as if it has all come true."
"Perhaps." She shifted the stones in her grip making a soft crunching sound. "However, the Devourer is not through with you." For several breathes, she said nothing letting the words sink as they would. "You still have things left to lose, but I have seen more since we spoke. Your redemption maybe be at hand. Take these."
She passed the stones, gray with yellow and blue veins, through the bars. Nearby someone grunted, but no one attempted to stop the exchange. Leviana stashed the stones away on her person.
"They will be necessary when the time is right."
"What are they?"
"Time will tell you."
Across the corridor, Warden stepped up to the bars as the woman shuffled away.
"What was that about?" he asked.
"Perhaps nothing or maybe everything," Leviana said returning to her seat. "I know not which."
Night came mostly in the movement of the men. One set changed for another. Warden eased away from the bars and onto the small bed of rags laid out on the floor. Sleep did not come to his eyes, but he felt a heaviness in his limbs which said sleep awaited him if he closed his eyes. Drawing his knees up to his chest, he waited for something approximating supper to be brought. It seemed hospitality was not the strong point of their jailers.
By the time dinner came, slight as it was, Warden had shut his eyes. Clanging brought him back to wakefulness. The cell door slammed shut leaving behind a full bowl with a spoon in it. He crawled over and sniffed it. The smell struck him as slightly putrid and toxic under its meaty scent. Picking up the spoon, he stirred the concoction to see if it would become better or worse. The color strengthened to blood and then settled back to a red tinged with gray. As if one had decided to stew meat in the wash water. Appetizing. He clunked the spoon in the bowl and wrapped up against the chill invading from the hall. Looking across the expanse, he saw Leviana with the bowl in her lap. She ate slowly, but she at least ate.
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