by Devin Madson
‘That is until now.’ He tried his own silence, but if he expected me to demand an explanation he was to be disappointed. ‘You see,’ he continued. ‘I am capable of discerning subtle changes in the men I deal with, and there is nothing subtle about the Great Fish.’
I had to agree, but said nothing.
‘And nothing subtle about the… magic that infuses him now. Yet despite the fire in his hands there is no fire in his soul. He is silent and broody despite numerous wins and sullen though the war goes his way.’
‘You are very philosophical. It ill becomes you, General.’
‘Almost I might have said I missed your snark, but you have cured me of my nostalgia.’
‘Good.’
We managed half a dozen steps in silence. Back in Mei’lian it would have been true silence, but here the frogs and the birds and the darting of little lizards sabotaged its gravity.
‘You are pulling the strings, Laroth,’ General Manshin said. ‘And he is dancing.’
I let the words float between us, unacknowledged but unfading. He was sharper than anyone gave him credit for.
‘Those men who travel with you can do strange things too,’ he said.
He earned my most weary expression. ‘You are going to get to the point soon, I am sure.’
‘Always, Your Excellency,’ he said. ‘Because, you see, if I am not fighting for him, you will have to give me a reason to fight for you. My soldiers are loyal to me, not Katashi, and they will go where I go. And if I remove my support from your cause, then I think the chances of my good friends Tikita and Roi following are fairly high, don’t you?’
The growing shadows seemed to deepen the lines of his face – half age, half dissipation. General Manshin was the perfect example of a man who was a lot smarter than he looked, but still not as smart as he thought he was.
‘You may leave with my good will, General,’ I said. ‘Although I do wonder where you would go. You see, having been Minister of the Left I am aware just how much a battalion costs to maintain, and while you are a man of means, largely thanks to Emperor Kin, I know you cannot afford the upkeep on your own men for more than a month, two at the most and then you’re running up debts you’ll never be able to repay. That, General, is too much of a gamble for a man like you. And even if you could do it, what would your men do? Soldiers without a purpose inevitably grow bored and find their own purpose. You need a sponsor, General, and unless you plan to try your men’s loyalty by defecting beyond the borders, Kin is your only other option. If you think he will let you keep your head after this treason, you don’t know him, yes?’
There was silence on the hillside. I stopped and turned to face him, causing him to halt a step further down the slope. ‘There you go, General,’ I said, treating him to a smile. ‘I have just given you a reason to fight for me. I’m the only man who has no interest in seeing you dead.’
*****
Malice was restless when I returned. He had been fretting all day, getting so snarky that every Vice kept their distance. Even Hope. The young man was sitting by the side of the track pulling out grass, while Malice sat far away from the horses and the light.
‘Smoke,’ I said, stopping in front of him. ‘We are halting here for the night.’
‘So we might be, but no amount of time will assist me to smoke nothing, yes?’
‘You’re out?’
‘Perceptive.’ Hands restless, Malice tugged his ponytail. ‘You used to carry an extra packet for me.’
‘I did.’ I spread my arms wide and glanced down at the pristine fall of my last robe. So many ruined: one at Esvar, another at the mouth of The Valley, and three in Nivi Fen. They were getting harder to come by, opium even worse. War was taking its toll on the empire. ‘You’re on your own.’
He looked up at me, no scowl on his face though I could feel it in his soul. ‘So I see.’ His stare penetrated deep.
‘Something you want to say?’ I said.
‘No, not me. I don’t keep secrets, yes? I don’t wander off into the forest with Avarice when I think no one is looking.’
I shot him a pitiful look. ‘You’re pathetic when you’re not smoking.’
‘Pride almost caught our rogue last night. Adversity.’ Malice didn’t so much as blink. ‘She appears to be… hanging around, yes?’
‘That might explain why Vices have been going missing,’ I said.
Malice started grinding the tip of his ponytail between his teeth. It was an old habit.
‘What is it you want, Darius?’ he said, snatching the hair from between his teeth and throwing his ponytail back over his shoulder. ‘The throne all to yourself?’
‘I don’t want the throne.’
‘Then what?’
I stared down at the mess of a man I called brother. What had I ever wanted? Control.
When I did not answer, Malice got to his feet. ‘What,’ he repeated slowly. ‘Do you want?’ He gripped my face between his hands, so close I could taste the kiss he longed to force upon me. ‘Where is my brother?’
Every Vice was watching, but I did not care. ‘I’m here,’ I said. ‘Can’t you see me?’
A bestial grunt had always been his response to unsatisfactory answers. Yet another habit long since broken that was creeping back. He let me go. ‘Katashi knows more of your plans than I do. He sees more of you than I do. I am your brother, Darius, yes? Your brother.’
I turned and walked away. He called after me but I did not turn, did not listen. ‘Freedom,’ I said, under my breath. ‘All I have ever wanted was freedom.’
Day Four
Chapter 14
The palace courtyard was full of soldiers, of labourers and servants, of artisans and noblemen. They came to fill their stomachs and sharpen their swords, and to laugh and talk and sing until there was no time left for fear.
General Ryoji was kneeling at a long table with a group of soldiers. None were guards under his command, but all were laughing.
I stepped into the afternoon sunlight. A soldier caught sight of me and bowed, almost spilling his soup on the stones. ‘My lady.’
A nod and I passed on, making for General Ryoji’s table, but all hope of remaining unnoticed died as an uneasy silence spread, bow by bow. I did not slow or lower my reddening cheeks, but by the time I reached his table, General Ryoji had risen and was bowing, along with every other soldier that dined with him.
‘Lady Hana,’ he said. ‘This is a great honour. How can I serve you?’
His formality was for our audience, not for me, yet it almost robbed me of my purpose. I had been so angry. Now I just felt like a sullen child.
I drew myself up, though my full height barely reached his chin. ‘I understand you have given orders to keep me out of the battle,’ I said, pointedly not acknowledging the two Imperial Guards who were following me everywhere.
‘It is His Majesty’s wish that his empress remains safe,’ General Ryoji said, a sidelong flick of his gaze taking in our watchful audience.
‘I don’t care what His Majesty wishes,’ I said, regaining some of the anger that had brought me here. ‘I will fight. I don’t need five guards.’
‘You mean seven, my lady,’ he corrected, and his smile was disarming. ‘Two were instructed to keep their distance.’
‘Knowing you, that probably means there is eight. I don’t approve of this sudden increase in security.’
General Ryoji turned to his companions. ‘A moment, please.’
Each man bowed and silently took their half-finished meals elsewhere. Again my anger was doused, this time by regret. ‘I interrupted your meal,’ I said when they had all gone. ‘I am sorry.’
‘Not at all, my lady,’ the general said. ‘I am entirely at your disposal. But in this I am afraid I cannot help. I am responsible for your safety, but it is His Majesty who gave the order for extra gua
rds.’
Extra surveillance. I could not hold his gaze. If Kin had confided my perfidy to anyone it would be this man.
General Ryoji motioned to a vacated place at the table. ‘If Lady Hana would so demean herself as to eat with commoners, I would be honoured to entertain her at my table. Take a cushion.’
I looked at the rough stones. ‘Cushion?’
‘I like to use my imagination.’
I knelt gingerly, and a fresh bowl appeared on the table before me. The cook bowed, gripping his stained apron. ‘We are honoured, my lady,’ he said, his thick eyebrows colliding between his eyes.
‘Thank you,’ I murmured, cheeks once more burning scarlet. Not so long ago Hana Otako had been dead and Regent beautifully anonymous.
General Ryoji took up his half-finished bowl. ‘This is a fine mountain broth.’
The soup was thick and chunky in an unappetising shade of brown. ‘Doesn’t mountain broth have to be—?’
General Ryoji pressed a finger to his lips. ‘Please, my lady,’ he said. ‘Don’t spoil my dinner.’
‘More of your imagination?’
‘Every good general has one.’
For a time Ryoji and I ate in silence, while around us more and more men from all walks of life crammed into the courtyard. Along with weapons and food they were served orders and camaraderie, and under the influence of their noise and good cheer, the knot in my gut began to unwind.
‘And how long have you been a general?’ I asked.
‘Only two years, my lady,’ he said. ‘Though I have served His Majesty for nine. I came to Mei’lian for no other purpose, an idealistic boy, you might say.’
‘And now?’
‘Oh, now I am painfully self-aware.’
‘How humbling.’
‘Terribly. Not a day goes by that I do not sacrifice a goat in honour of my good fortune.’
There was laughter in his eyes and I couldn’t help but smile. ‘You are a strange man, General.’
‘I know. I hope you do not object.’
‘No,’ I said, lifting the bowl to my lips. ‘Not in the least. I’m rather strange myself, I think.’
‘Not strange, my lady. Unique.’
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. ‘What nice words you have,’ I said. ‘Is that why you’re so popular with the men?’
‘Soldiers don’t care much for nice words, my lady.’
‘Then perhaps you practice on the court ladies?’
‘No.’
‘Then there is perhaps a Lady Ryoji?’
‘No, my lady, there is not.’
Once my bowl was empty I set it down, only to find him frowning at me. ‘Is everything all right, my lady?’
‘Perfectly fine, general,’ I replied, though there was such concern in his gaze I found I could not hold it.
‘I assure you I would do anything in my power to assist you.’
Face averted, I said: ‘Unless you can stop my cousin, General, there is nothing. I fear we don’t have enough men, not to beat a man who can burn people at a touch.’
‘Burn people?’
‘Yes,’ I said, and found a sort of vicious joy in his horrified expression. ‘Like every one of those scouts.’
‘That’s impossible.’
‘No, it isn’t. Katashi has fire in his blood. He needs no flint and tinder, only anger.’
The general ran a hand through his hair. ‘My lady,’ he said, lowering his voice though amid the rowdy noise he need not have bothered. ‘Katashi Otako is flesh and blood, not an incarnation of the gods come to wreak revenge upon Kisia, whatever the common people might say.’
‘I have seen him do it with my own eyes.’
‘The men whisper, but Master Kenji himself says it is not possible, that the body requires a certain temperature in order to survive. If you cool it, it dies. If you heat it, it dies. Even were it possible for a man to create fire from his hands, the heat would kill him.’
‘That is exactly what Emperor Kin told him to say,’ I hissed under my breath. Katashi had thrust his hand between my legs, his touch so hot the fabric meant nothing. I had not imagined it, no more than I had imagined the silk tent igniting at his touch. ‘Kin does not want anyone to know.’
‘Then you ought not to have told me.’
‘I think he’s wrong.’
General Ryoji winced. ‘His Majesty is a god, not a common man. He cannot be wrong.’
I gripped Ryoji’s sleeve. ‘You know as well as I do that he is flesh and blood the same as you. I am an Otako, but I bleed and eat and piss just like everyone else.’
Across the courtyard the group who had been eating with General Ryoji had finished their meals and each threw a glance at the general before leaving. They were not the only ones watching us.
I let go of his sleeve. General Ryoji lowered his voice still further, said: ‘My lady, the empire survives because people believe he is a god,’ he said. ‘That the Otakos are gods. Kisia almost fell to ruin the day a common man took the throne, but that day General Kin gave up being a common man and became a god. What do you think would happen if every peasant thought themselves entitled to power and wealth? What would happen if they realised they were ruled by someone as fallible and human as themselves?’
He was right. The survival of Kisia balanced on its emperor. If the emperor was strong, capable and infallible, then so too was the empire. Kin could never apologise, never rescind and never change. He would never come to me. If I wanted to fix this, I would have to go to him.
‘I’m sorry, my lady,’ General Ryoji said, bowing his head. ‘I should not have spoken with such vehemence.’
‘Perhaps not, but you are right, General,’ I said. ‘His men must trust him, but they will see soon enough what we are up against.’ I rose on the words. ‘Excuse me, General, but there is something I must do.’
*****
The Crimson Throne reached toward the fretwork ceiling, its lacquer the dark red of dried blood. Although it was but a replica of the one in Mei’lian, my father would once have sat upon it with the empire’s wisdom surrounding him.
The double doors slid open and Kin strode in, his dragon war mask bouncing against his leg.
‘Lady Hana,’ he said, halting mid-floor to maintain the distance between us. ‘It is usually I who does the summoning. What can I do for you?’
He had left his guards outside with mine, and for that at least I was grateful. But there was no friendliness, only stiff pride, and the flickering light of the brazier served only to make the stern lines of his face more severe.
‘Your Majesty.’ I bowed.
‘What do you want, my lady?’
And that was it, no smile, no loving glance, nothing but the irritation of a busy man. ‘Something to do,’ I said. ‘I want to fight.’
‘Then I expect you shall whatever my orders are,’ he said. ‘No consideration for me has ever stopped you before.’ It was like a slap, the words sending my pulse racing. But he was already turning away and that was it, there were no words on my tongue and no way I could tempt him back. I didn’t even want to.
‘No.’ Kin spun back around. ‘There is something you can do. Talk to Lady Kimiko.’
‘Why?’
‘I need all the leverage I can get,’ he said. ‘She’s Katashi’s sister and Darius’s lover. She’s carrying his child, there has to be a way we can use her. She won’t talk to me but she’ll talk to you.’
Sister. Lover. Child. The words washed over me. Child. Child. How different that word made the world. My blood turned to steel. ‘No.’
Kin’s brows rose. ‘No? An emperor does whatever is necessary.’
‘Yes, and I’ll talk to her, but not until I get what I want.’
‘Bargaining?’
‘I have to, because an empress a
lso does whatever is necessary.’
The twitch of his eyebrows registered the hit. ‘Very well. What do you want?’
‘I want to know why it matters so much that I have no virtue to give you?’ I said. ‘No, don’t look at me as though I’m filthy and should not speak of it. I want to understand why you’re turning your back on me. Why one mistake has worn out your love so easily.’
‘I will not talk about this.’
‘Then I will not speak to her.’
His hands clenched tight. He was dressed for battle, but this was not the battle he had expected tonight.
‘Look at me,’ I said.
‘This is ridiculous.’
‘Look at me.’
‘Hana—’
‘You can’t even look at me. Why?’
‘Why?’ He stared at the brazier, his jaw working. My hand longed to caress the scowl from his face, but when I reached out he gripped my wrist and pushed me away. ‘Go.’
‘Not until you look at me.’
Challenged, he did as I bid, turning not to search my features as he had once done, but to stare straight into my eyes so directly he would not see me at all.
‘Satisfied?’
I shook my head, fighting back tears. ‘No. You’re looking but you don’t see me.’
‘That’s absurd.’
And that was so like him, stubbornly intractable. Kin was Kin, like a rock –one I had thought to smooth, to shape, gently, as the tide does to all within her embrace. But now he would not even look at me.
Again I tried to close the space between us. He let me stand there, let me into the circle of his warmth where his breath made my hair dance, but the moment I looked up to his face he pushed me away. ‘You belong to him,’ he said. ‘You’ve always belonged to him, and now every time I look at you, I see Katashi, owning you as I never have and never will.’
‘Never will?’
His features twisted. ‘Go! Leave before I say something we will both regret to our dying days.’ He flung me toward the tall doors, bordered in scrolls of ancient wisdom.