by Joe Jackson
“Because contrary to so-called common knowledge or what the Overking would have you believe, Emanitar is far from a coward. He’s been labeled such for surrendering to the Overking and becoming a vassal, but there really was little choice. The fight was lost, but that’s not to say he never fought. As for the spots, well, that should be obvious.”
At last they reached the entrance to the palace. Morduri didn’t even have to identify himself: the guards greeted him by his Lord Irrasitus title and opened the doors for him. Kari was still a bit surprised that he was given such free rein in a realm that wasn’t his own. Clearly his relationship with Emanitar was as genuine as Kari had heard. Emanitar had been like an uncle to Morduri when the elestram king was growing up, and now it made Kari really wonder what Morduri’s father had been like, and what his relationship with Emanitar entailed.
They received no escort as they entered the palace, but it was apparently unnecessary. Morduri knew where he was going, and led Kari down a side passage and then through a wide double-door into the audience chamber. He walked around like he was the prince and not just a visiting king, but no one reacted poorly to it that Kari could see. When they entered the audience chamber, the guards just inside the door – the only pair of erestram Kari had seen in the city thus far – nodded respectfully to the elestram king.
The throne room was much cozier than Koursturaux’, large enough for a few dozen people to meet before King Emanitar. Kari suspected he had a larger state room somewhere else where he held more public meetings. At present, he was holding court, much like Koursturaux had been doing when Kari arrived at the female demon king’s home. Unlike King Koursturaux, however, Emanitar held a hand up to stop the proceedings when he noticed the visitors.
“Ah, Lord Irrasitus has graced us with a visit,” he said in infernal with a welcoming gesture toward the elestram king. “Please, my friend, have a seat, and I will be with you and your guest as soon as I have resolved this issue.”
Morduri nudged Kari and gestured off to the side, and they took seats among the gallery of people watching and listening to the proceedings. Kari’s mouth twitched with a suppressed smile as she considered them people. On her first visit, she had still believed all of the people of Mehr’Durillia were demons of various kinds. Her perceptions had and continued to change, but at the same time, she did warn herself not to become too familiar with them. While some of them were not her enemies in a straightforward sense, she had to treat them with at least a touch of skepticism to avoid being duped or drawn into a web of lies.
Kari couldn’t understand much of what was being said. She knew certain phrases and a few complete sentences in beshathan, but had otherwise no knowledge of the language. Those few things she knew, however, pointed to the current issue before the king being a dispute over hunting territories, or something to that effect. The two mallasti males petitioning before the king were cordial to each other and certainly to their monarch, but they had clearly brought some dispute before him. After a few minutes, Kari turned to Morduri.
“Any idea what they’re arguing about?” she asked quietly, doing her best to not interrupt the proceedings.
“An inter-realm marriage, if I’m not mistaken,” he answered in hushed tones. “It’s not something that happens often, but with the more nomadic nature of the mallasti, sometimes it’s unavoidable. The one with the lighter fur is from my own realm, actually, and his daughter has apparently taken to the other fellow’s son here in Tess’Vorg.”
“But they can’t migrate across borders, can they?”
“Oh, for the sake of a marriage it is usually allowed. Certainly, I would have little input on the subject as long as both families are well-satisfied. If this was an obvious attempt by one family or the other to slip wholly into another realm, it would face stiff resistance and possibly civil or even criminal penalties under the Overking’s law. But for one child or the other to go and be with their new spouse’s family, it is often allowable.”
Whatever the outcome, a decision was soon reached and the mallasti were escorted from the audience chamber. The two mallasti males who’d been petitioning continued to speak as they left the chamber, and seemed satisfied with the outcome. With a gesture, King Emanitar cleared the room, whether by sending the other petitioners away permanently or just for a short while, Kari couldn’t say. Once it was just the three of them in the throne room – even the two erestram guards had left – the mallasti king gestured his two guests forward. Kari let Morduri go first, and she followed him to stand before the throne. To her surprise, Emanitar didn’t stay seated.
Once on his feet, the mallasti king opened his arms, and after only a brief pause to bow politely, Morduri embraced his “uncle.” Morduri was taller than Emanitar, but the mallasti king was pretty tall for one of his kind so far as Kari could tell. They spoke for a minute in beshathan, leaving Kari out of the loop. When they split apart, Morduri turned and gestured toward Kari.
“This is Lady Karian Vanador, the Avatar of Vengeance.”
Emanitar took Kari in silently, but she bowed respectfully toward him while he inspected her. “Yes, I remember seeing her at the Council session several times when you first worked with her,” the mallasti king said in the Citarian common tongue with only a slight accent. “I understand she also passed through the city here on her way to treat with Sekassus, though she was not here long enough for us to be introduced. I welcome you to my court, hunter. I am King Emanitar Te’Mordrin, lord of Tess’Vorg.”
“Son of Be’shatha?” Kari prodded.
Emanitar grimaced. “This one is going to be a problem, Morduri.”
“Yes, I’ve been trying to impress upon her the necessity of keeping such matters quiet, but she does take a bit to learn, clever as she may be.”
“I just need to know who I’m dealing with,” Kari offered with a semi-apologetic gesture.
“Speaking of things that would get you killed most anywhere here on Mehr’Durillia will serve no one’s purpose,” Emanitar said with a stern gaze. “To answer your question: yes, I am Be’shatha’s son, but that status means next to nothing in this age. Now, I am a vassal of the Overking, one who would be expected to turn you over for judgment for even speaking of the Great Mother openly.”
He approached and began to walk a slow circle around Kari, but she kept facing forward while he completed his inspection. “It should be no mystery to anyone, especially our peers, what you are about when you come here. Still, there is being covert, and there is being openly rebellious. One will get you watched and threatened, the other will get you killed. Or, perhaps, simply stretched out on a stone bed in the dungeon of my former kast’wa.”
Kari shuddered at that. There was facing death bravely, and then there was the prospect of being sliced up and hurt, endlessly, at the hands of Koursturaux or her surgeon. “Can I ask you one question about her, Your Majesty?”
“You may.”
“Is there any hope of ever bringing her back?” Kari asked, turning to meet the golden-eyed stare of the mallasti king.
Emanitar tilted his head to the side. “Are we speaking of Koursturaux or my mother?”
Kari made an effort not to scoff. “Your mother.”
The mallasti turned to Morduri. “What exactly did you bring her here for, my friend?”
“To talk about the unrest among the mallasti after Sekassus’ latest vulkinastra murder. But I’d advise you not to talk about her as though she’s not here. She is headstrong, but she is honest, and when she asks blunt questions, it’s because she is truly curious about our world and its workings.”
“Hopefully not as headstrong as her Order’s Turik Jalar,” Emanitar said, turning back to Kari. “I do not expect the Overking would suffer the indignity of Jalar’s Folly a second time. The first time, it was a curiosity and somewhat amusing. Follow not too closely in his footsteps, Lady Vanador.”
“Please, call me Kari, Your Majesty.”
“Be’shatha is dead and has been for
more than ten eras. It is best to look forward and not back, Kari. As it stands, we have much of a mountain to climb to ever claim back even a portion of what we had before the Overking’s conquest. To sit and pray for a miracle, to be saved by a goddess long dead, is pointless.”
So he has just about given up, Kari thought, keeping the emotions from her face. “Well, if you want to look forward, let’s talk about what Morduri called me here for.”
Emanitar turned to his “nephew” and smirked, and Morduri gave Kari a cool gaze. She had called him by his first name casually again, something she thought wouldn’t be a problem in front of his “uncle.”
“King Morduri. No, Lord Irrasitus. Sorry.”
“She’s learning,” Morduri offered, and Emanitar laughed. “I brought her here because I see an opportunity in the wake of what Sekassus has done.”
“This will be best addressed in the state room,” Emanitar said, and he gestured for them to stop speaking and follow him.
He led them deeper through the castle, and Kari was impressed with the design and décor. Surely if this palace was anywhere near as old as the being who ruled from it, the fact that it wasn’t dilapidated or at least in need of constant repair was surprising. But its stone walls were smooth and reflected a portion of the scattered torch- and brazier-light to keep the shadows at bay, even away from the windows. It smelled lived-in, but in a good way, lacking in any of the musty or decrepit scents that marked old places. The scent of the beshathan people was present in the air, but it was pleasant even to Kari’s nose, which wasn’t used to it just yet.
The state room was more of a wide, open study with a fireplace and large, south-facing windows that let in a great deal of warm sunlight. The walls were lined with paintings, mostly of mallasti, and Kari suspected they might be old acquaintances or family of Emanitar’s, likely long passed. There were well-stocked bookshelves, and a few deep, cushioned chairs in front of the fire. It was such a familiar scene to her, and yet a bit alien and odd in light of where she was. It was just one more thing that pointed to the Mehr’Durillians having much in common with her, no matter how different they might be from her own people.
Emanitar had Kari and Morduri take seats by the hearth, unlit in the warmth of the day. He had the good grace to pour and serve something alcoholic to his guests, which was quite a gesture coming from a king, especially one of his age and power. Kari sniffed the contents of her crystal cup, and was pretty sure it was something akin to bourbon. A short sip confirmed it, and she sat back, held the drink up, and nodded to the king in thanks.
Emanitar smiled and sat down with his guests. He took a short sip of his own drink and settled that golden stare on Morduri. “So, tell me, my friend, what you have in mind.”
“Well, as you know, Sekassus recently killed another vulkinastra. What I’m hearing suggests there’s been a great deal of unrest, and that it is escalating toward open rioting,” the elestram king answered, and Emanitar nodded. “I have also heard that Prince Amnastru has been sent forward to quash any rebellion, and I brought Kari here to take advantage of the opportunity to leave Sekassus without his crown prince.”
Emanitar sat forward in his seat. “You have my full attention.”
Chapter V – Considerations
“I am not certain this scheme of yours will work,” Emanitar said. “With the relationship I have with Sekassus, I cannot imagine his children would be anything less than hyperaware of the exact location of our border. It seems more likely to me that Amnastru would simply cease pursuing you at the border, and then turn his anger on the mallasti people – a result none of us want, if I understand your intentions.”
“No, that’s certainly not what I want, Your Majesty,” Kari confirmed. It felt odd for her to be sitting in a stately room having a discussion with two demon kings, but she tried not to dwell on that now. “I just thought that after my final words to Amnastru when I met him, and the fact that people think I called him whatever a kaeshmor is, he might be tempted to chase me even to the gates of Anthraxis.”
The mallasti king laughed grimly, glancing at Morduri. “This is the first I have heard of that tall tale. The initial reports I received from Sorelizar have been embellished more and more with each retelling that circulated. I suspect you were surprised at how thoroughly Sekassus combed his lands for you? You should not have been; it was doubtless his intention from the moment he began to barter with you.”
“Wasn’t he risking trouble with the Overking by violating the Seven Days’ Grace?”
Emanitar made a dismissive gesture and took another sip of his spirits. “Trouble? Only of the most minor kind. His hunters likely were ordered to delay you without causing any actual harm. As you got closer to escaping and then when you reached the border of Si’Dorra, they became panicked, and very nearly brought more damning consequences upon their king.”
“So you know what happened at the border?” Kari asked, and the mallasti nodded. “So those elestram that tried to help me…were those your spies?”
There was a glint in those golden eyes, and the faintest trace of a smile on that hyena-like countenance as he sipped slowly at his drink again. “I know nothing of what you speak.”
Kari was expecting such an answer, but not the reaction that marked it as false. She wondered how many spies each king had in each of the other realms, and just how much influence they could exert in each other’s holds. “Of course you don’t, Your Majesty. What can you tell me about The Vandrasse? If you know what happened at the border, then you know I had a run-in with her, and that she tried to kill me as vengeance for killing the White Serpent.”
Emanitar put down his crystal glass and stared at Kari for the better part of a minute. “So you truly did kill the White Serpent?” he asked rhetorically, sparing Morduri a glance. “We had heard as much at the Council session after her death, but there seemed to be skepticism whether you had killed her, or if the Overking’s slave did so and used you as a scapegoat.”
“Well, I beat her in combat, Your Majesty, and a friend of mine killed her because she thought Turillia was too dangerous to take captive.”
“That could complicate matters, certainly. The Vandrasse on her own would be a bit of a challenge for one such as yourself, but one you could likely handle. Together with Amnastru, though, you would face daunting odds.”
He trailed off when Kari turned her gaze to Morduri. “Care to speculate?”
The elestram’s ears perked up. “On what?”
“The odds I could kill the two of them.”
Morduri shook his head. “No, I don’t.”
Kari chuckled and turned back to Emanitar, and the mallasti king continued his thoughts. “I have to confess, this whole situation reeks of a trap to me. Sekassus is too crafty and devious to send his son out to quash a rebellion without considering the consequences. He must know that grinding the mallasti along his southeastern border would agitate my own subjects, and be trying to draw our two realms into a war.”
“I thought you were going to say he suspected I’d come hunt his son,” Kari said.
“No. That, I expect, is something he will not see coming. Still, this is not to say that his son will be alone or unprotected. If you are to make a strike at Amnastru, you will need to pass among the mallasti of Sorelizar and learn as much as you can in preparation to attack. As a rir, you will stand out among them, but if your intentions are made clear, they will likely shield you from Sekassus’ eyes, and help you to make your strike. And then there is always the possibility you receive other help.”
“From the Ashen Fangs?”
Emanitar bobbed his head. “Indeed. It has been ages since they have taken the initiative to strike against a noble or royal. This may be the chance they have been awaiting. Such a kill would bring them great prestige among the malcontents of the realms, and would leave Sekassus in a precarious position.”
“Losing his crown prince, you mean?”
“Not just his crown prince, but his
firstborn son, his most important progeny, and a prince old enough that he has been considered for a position as a king himself before.”
Kari felt her gut cramp at that. If Amnastru was strong enough that he was considered fit to become a king, then she wasn’t sure how powerful he might be. Kari knew how hard he could hit after he slapped her in Sekassus’ throne room, but that said nothing of his supernatural power. If he was considered nearly ready to be crowned and given his own realm, attacking him might not even come down to a contest of physical prowess. Kari could find herself torn in half like Uldriana was on that fateful day she visited King Sekassus.
“And you two think I could best him in battle?”
“You’re the Avatar of Vengeance now,” Morduri said.
“What do you know about that, though?” Kari prodded.
“You are no longer just an incredibly proficient fighter, Kari,” Emanitar explained. “You now have the power of a deity flowing through you, such that you should be able to counteract the power of a prince or even a minor king. Your spiritual strength might not be sufficient to stand against someone like myself or my former kast’wa, but against Prince Amnastru? I think you will find that your strength more than matches his. You might even be strong enough to give my nephew trouble.”
Morduri’s ears twitched, but he actually smiled.
“Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that I can’t beat him. If I can get him to cross the border, you’d be free to kill him, right?” Kari asked the mallasti king.
“Oh, yes. He and his father would expect nothing less, and they would get nothing less. In fact, I think I would have his carcass dragged behind my coach when I went to the upcoming Council session. Then I would hang it from the terrace of my personal chambers, and leave it for the valirasi to pick at if they happened to fly by.”
Kari blinked a few times. “I take it you don’t like him very much.”
“Prince Vassiras is the sole member of that family I can tolerate on any level,” Emanitar said, his voice a little colder than it had been. “I suspect he is just as vicious and spiteful at heart, but he plays the game of politics much better than his siblings or sire, and at least he has the decency to be respectful when we meet. The rest of that family would be best utilized by being disemboweled and used as latrines.”