by Devin Madson
‘A colourful life. How many women have you been with?’
‘Two.’
‘Do you like women?’
‘Yes.’
‘How about boys? Do you like boys?’
‘Yes.’
‘How many have you had?’
‘None.’
‘None?’
‘None.’
‘How about your sister?’
‘She feels good.’
My cheeks reddened, but though General Manshin’s eyes laughed at me I sat straight and still, chin resolutely lifted.
‘You’ve had her then? I wish I could say the same.’
‘Not me. General Hade Ryoji, but I am an Empath.’
I gave General Manshin back stare for stare. He was deliberately digging now, but if he thought he owned me, thought he held every card, then he would fight for me. The shame did not matter, only Kisia.
‘You’re fun, Lord Takehiko,’ Manshin said. ‘We should go out and find you a boy to sate that curiosity of yours.’
I thought to bring him back to the point, but did not speak. Better to let him play out his game, to let him think me vulnerable.
‘So, Lord Takehiko who does not lie,’ he said, swirling the dregs of his tea. ‘Tell me what your beautiful sister is brewing in that stomach of hers. Digestive distress? Or the first pure blood Otako for over a hundred years?’
Endymion touched my surcoat, just beneath my paired sashes. ‘May I?’
‘You may,’ I said.
Fingers splayed, he pressed his palm to the silk. There was no change, no sense of intrusion, nothing like what I had expected. There was just nothing. Nothing but a notch between his patchy brows.
After a time he sat back. ‘She is carrying Kisia’s future,’ he said. ‘And Katashi’s heir.’
Katashi’s heir.
‘That is interesting,’ General Manshin said. ‘And in an ideal world, a pure blood Otako would be worth fighting for. But this is not that world. I’m afraid I cannot help you.’
The words were a slap. My gut twisted.
‘He’s afraid,’ Endymion said. ‘Captain Terran was not expecting us because General Manshin does not even trust his own men. He is as afraid of them as he is of Katashi. We are the only ones he is not afraid of.’
‘You are hardly fear-inspiring,’ Manshin said. ‘Emperor Kin lies on his deathbed and Mei’lian is all but lost. Katashi might be dying, but on his side of the wall I am unlikely to do so myself. It will be a massacre. You have offered me nothing but a greater chance of death.’
‘Marriage,’ I said.
‘Pardon, my lady?’
‘You have a grand-daughter?’
‘I have four, the youngest barely out of the cradle.’
‘And I am carrying Katashi’s son. A pure blood Otako warrior who will sit on the throne when Emperor Kin dies. How many great families in Kisia can claim so close a relationship with the Otakos? Three generations of Chiltaen empresses have left our connections rather thin on the ground, don’t you think?’
An open stare. Hungry and intent. ‘Sichi was born at the beginning of the summer. She’ll be a pretty little thing, like her mother. And wise and strong like my son.’
‘A perfect bride. If you send Captain Terran for parchment and ink, we can draw up the contract now.’
For a time General Manshin did nothing but stare from me to Endymion and back, his gaze eventually coming to rest upon my stomach, his finger tapping the edge of his empty tea bowl. Betrothal to a prince could elevate a whole family.
The air was oppressive, thick with the smell of tea and incense and warmth from the braziers. My head spun like I had drunk too much wine, but I had already done all I could. Now Kisia’s fate rested on this man with his thinning hair and his clever eyes, long fingers tapping on his empty bowl, not absently I was sure, but with all the deliberation Darius brought to such a task. Tapping. Tapping. Then suddenly tapping no longer.
‘Bring wine,’ he ordered. ‘And Terran?’
‘Yes, General?’ The man was by the door, no emotion discernable in his stance or his expression.
‘We need parchment and ink and a discreet scribe.’
‘Yes, General.’
‘And a map of Mei’lian.’
‘Yes, General.’
Captain Terran bowed and went out, and in full view of the general I leant toward Endymion. ‘Can I trust him, brother?’
‘Yes, Takehiko, do tell us,’ General Manshin said. ‘Can I be trusted? Or am I a traitor to the core?’
Increasingly listless and unsteady, Endymion shook his head. ‘No, you cannot trust him,’ he said, the words a little slurred. ‘He is all self-interest. But for now he means to keep his word.’
General Manshin smiled broadly. ‘I really do like this, boy,’ he said. ‘Such honesty is sadly missing at court. Well, my lady? Do we have a deal?’
‘We do.’
‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ Endymion said, his whisper warm against my ear. ‘There are always other ways.’
‘This time there is no other way,’ I said. ‘Being a leader means making hard choices. I can only hope that one day my son will understand that.’
Day Seven
Chapter 28
Back in the street the sun was rising, edging the dark clouds in gold. Again I had hoped that morning would never come, that I could push the sun back below the horizon, but its glow continued to creep across the city.
It was still raining. Water dripped from the palanquin’s rain cover and its saturated carriers, each staring ahead like a statue.
‘It looks like my time is up,’ I said as Tili and Endymion joined me in the street. Thanks to Tili I was once again attired in the shapeless black yiji robe.
‘My lady,’ Captain Terran said, bowing as he joined us. ‘General Manshin has commanded me to remain with you for your protection.’
Hoping to appear coldly formal, I lifted my brows. ‘My protection, Captain? Am I not safe inside my own city?’
There was a pause before he replied: ‘I will escort you back to the palace. I have my orders.’
‘If the general is right then it could happen any moment,’ Endymion said, his tone dead flat and his eyes flickering. ‘We can’t be standing here when the gates open.’
‘What?’ I turned on him, but his eyes darted about the street.
‘It’s all right, the walls are tall and strong and the soldiers are here to protect us.’
‘Endymion?’
‘I’m scared. I wish the bad people would go away.’
‘Endymion!’
‘He is coming. He is coming. We have to get out of here. He is coming.’
I gripped his shoulders and shook, glad of the silk between us. ‘Endymion!’
The boy frowned and looked down at my robe. ‘Hana,’ he said. ‘You should not stand in the street. Yijis don’t do that.’
‘To the hells with yijis,’ I snapped. ‘What did you say about the gates?’
‘They are going to open.’
‘How do you know?’
Endymion looked over my shoulder, and I followed his gaze to the fidgeting form of Captain Terran. For a long moment he stared at me and I stared at him.
Then I said: ‘Katashi has men inside the city.’
A nod, the slightest of movements that might have been little more than a twitch, but it was enough for me.
‘One million, three hundred and nine thousand, eight hundred and ninety-one,’ Endymion chanted. ‘One million, three hundred and nine thousand, eight hundred and ninety-one. One million, three hundred and nine thousand, eight hundred and eighty-nine.’
I thrust Endymion toward the palanquin. ‘Get in,’ I said. ‘You have to get out of here. Tili, you too.’
‘No, my lady,
I will stay with you.’
‘The city is about to be overrun, Tili, I—’
‘Yes, my lady, and my place is at your side.’ There was a fierce light in her eyes. I could have ordered the guards to take her back to the palace, but I knew all too well how it felt to be powerless. For a long time Tili had been my only ally. My only friend. She had proved many times she could look after herself.
A nod.
Captain Dendzi stood waiting. ‘Go with the palanquin back to the palace,’ I said. ‘Don’t stop. Don’t let anyone get in your way.’
The captain bowed. ‘My lady, our orders are to protect you.’
‘No, Captain, your orders are to do as I command. Endymion must be safely returned to the palace and General Ryoji must be warned to prepare for immediate attack. Katashi has men inside the city.’
Another bow. ‘Honoured lady, we will take you back to the palace.’
‘Go with them, my lady,’ Captain Terran interjected. ‘There is nothing you can do.’
I turned on him. ‘Damn you, what do you know?’
‘No more than I am told.’
‘And what did Manshin tell you that he didn’t see fit to tell me?’
It was his turn to bow. ‘Apologies, my lady, but there is little to say. His Majesty Katashi Otako does not take his generals into his confidence. All they know is that he is expecting no fight at the gates. It is General Manshin’s belief that the Great Fish may have used old passages to get men inside the city to open the gates. It is my job to ensure you return safely to the palace before that happens.’
‘No, there’s still time to stop them,’ I said. ‘We can lock the gatehouse and double the guard.’
The silk yiji robe tore as I yanked at the fiddly clips and ties like a butterfly pushing through a stubborn cocoon. ‘I gave you orders, Captain,’ I snapped at Ryoji’s guards. ‘Get that palanquin out of here.’
‘Lady Hana, I beg you to reconsider,’ Captain Terran said as I threw the ripped black silk onto the step. ‘It’s too late.’
‘We don’t know that.’
I strode into the rain. It was falling heavily and had made the road slick, its shining surface reflecting the light of lanterns left to burn out on their own. No lantern boy was coming for them this morning.
Mei’lian’s streets were a maze to me, but Tili led the way on quick feet leaving Captain Terran and I to keep up as best we could. From the broad avenue she turned along the wall through a nest of narrow alleys edged in narrow houses. Dozens of water barrels had been dragged here from their corners, a smattering of young boys left to man them. A pair were filling buckets as fast as they could and throwing the contents over each other, laughing.
‘Stop wasting the water!’ another shouted at them.
‘It’s raining,’ said a fourth. ‘The city isn’t going to burn when it’s raining. Lighten up.’
Captain Terran stopped and snatched the bucket out of one’s hands. ‘Quit playing,’ he said. ‘Get out of here.’
‘We’ve been given orders to bring water.’
‘There isn’t going to be a fire.’ He thrust the bucket back into the boy’s arms. ‘Get out of here while you can.’
Tili kept on through crowds of waiting soldiers, making always for the Willow Gate – the grand gatehouse through which the Willow Road entered Mei’lian from the north. Outside, Katashi’s army. Inside a broad thoroughfare choked with soldiers.
A line of city guards blocked access to the gate, but no one was attempting to break through, no one was even close.
I looked at Captain Terran. ‘Where are they?’
‘I don’t know, my lady,’ he said. ‘I am not in Emperor Katashi’s confidence.’
‘The traitor Katashi Otako,’ I corrected him. ‘You’ve switched sides now, Captain.’
‘Indeed, my lady. My apologies. I have fought for so many different causes of late that I am fast losing track.’
The arc of gate guards eyed us as we approached, our weapons sheathed to show we were no threat. Some recognised me and bowed.
‘Who is in charge here?’ I asked.
‘Captain Hakuri, my lady,’ one of the guards said, bowing again.
‘Where is he? I must speak to him.’ I looked around and my gaze skimmed past a soldier in conversation with a guard further along the line. Familiarity gnawed at the back of my mind.
‘The captain is in the gatehouse,’ the guard said. ‘But we have our orders not to let anyone pass.’
‘Then I will see him here.’
‘Yes, my lady.’
Tili had joined me. She too stared at the other soldier. ‘Tika?’ she said.
My head snapped around and in my mind’s eye the man’s imperial garb melted away to Pike’s black. Tika. Shin had once put his dagger through the man’s hand.
‘You!’ I said. ‘Arrest him!’
Tika grabbed Tili, and when at first she did not struggle the mad thought came that she had betrayed me again, that she had brought me here on someone else’s orders.
‘Damn little cunts,’ Tika snarled, a small sword appearing in his hand. ‘Always getting in the way.’
My grip on my sword hilt was slippery. ‘Let her go,’ I said, aware of guards shifting around the edges of my vision.
‘Open the gates and I’ll let her go,’ Tika said, taking a step back and dragging Tili with him. His knife hovered, its tip dancing back and forth.
‘You know I can’t do that,’ I said.
Tika sneered. ‘See that?’ he said, gesturing at me. ‘That’s what you get for all your service, Tili. The bitch won’t lift a finger to save you.’
‘Killing her isn’t going to get you anywhere, Tika,’ I said.
‘No, but it will give me great satisfaction. No Shin around to save you this time.’
Tili’s fists were balled, her back straight. ‘Don’t do it, my lady,’ she said, wincing as he tightened his grip.
‘We fought for what was right, Tika,’ I said, edging a step closer. ‘Not just to see the world bleed. Don’t let Katashi do this to you.’
He said nothing. I couldn’t tell if Tili was crying or it was just rain running down her face, but she set her jaw and did not speak again. Behind Tika archers were moving along a sheltered balcony, arrows nocked.
‘You have one last chance, Tika.’
‘No, my lady, you do. Order them to open the gates.’
I looked again at Tili. She stared back at me. But an empress could not bargain. An empress could not compromise. The archers were waiting for an order, but even with his back peppered with arrows there was no guarantee she would be safe.
There was anger in Tika’s eyes and a cruel lilt to his lips. ‘Tick tock, Regent,’ Tika said. ‘Too late. Long live Emperor Katashi!’
He thrust his sword into Tili’s back. It went in with a grunt all too much like pleasure.
‘No!’ I cried, darting forward. A soldier swung at me from the crowd. Instinct moved my feet and threw up my blade, but it was Captain Terran who ran the man through. Blood sprayed. More concealed soldiers charged the line of gate guards, felling one with a mace. Another didn’t move in time and took the backswing of his comrade full in the face.
With no difference between theirs and ours the fight descended into chaos.
‘It’s a diversion!’ I yelled at Terran. ‘Get to the gate. Stop them opening it!’
Captain Terran did not move. ‘No. My orders are to protect you.’
‘Stop them opening the damn gate or I will run you through myself!’
‘Then you will have to run me through. I will not disobey my general.’
‘Damn you!’
The captain gripped my arm as I turned to the gate. ‘It’s too dangerous. We need to get out of here.’
His grip was too strong. I swung at him, but h
e caught my blade on his. ‘Stop this!’ he said. ‘We need to get out of here or you’ll be as dead as your maid. And what then? If you die General Manshin won’t fight for you and Katashi wins. Is that what you want?’
‘Damn you!’ I hissed again.
In the desperate scuffle before the gates no one had eyes for the dead. Soldiers, both friend and foe, trampled Tili’s body, stepping on her arms, her legs, her hair, her face. There was no dignity, only blood and dirt and mangled limbs. And still the rain fell. She deserved better.
‘The gates!’
A deafening creak screamed out over the fighting.
‘They’re opening the gates!’
Captain Terran held out his hand. ‘We have to get out of here, my lady. There is nothing more you can do.’
I wanted to stay and fight, to sate my fury with blood, but he was right. Manshin would only fight for me. For my child.
With one last look at Tili, I willed her to get up, to brush off the blood like it was no more than fallen leaves. But she did not rise. Did not smile. Did not tell me that my sash was askew and needed to be fixed else I would look dowdy.
‘Now, my lady!’
‘Yes,’ I said, numb. ‘Yes, I’m coming.’
Chapter 29
It was getting harder to hold in my Empathy. The inner palace was too quiet, the gardens too still. Footsteps. Hushed conversations. No clue to what was happening beyond these walls.
I had left an Errant game unfinished. It wasn’t working anymore, my legs too restless to sit, my thoughts too restless to scheme. This room had once been my sanctuary, but now it was my cell.
Rain ran down the rippled glass window.
‘What is it with men and their violent amusements?’