Cynead nodded. “Yes, I would be well within my rights to invoke the Fifth Man. Other Emperors have done so for far less. The only reason I have not already is that today has been tumultuous. The Towers are surely going to have a rough adjustment to the loss of their Memoridons. I don’t want to make the transition more burdensome by an alarming proclamation of the Fifth. But if it comes to it, it might serve as a good example just now. How we proceed will depend all on you. But thanks to a well-placed informant, I at least know what my tricky Towers have been up to.”
Mulldoos glared at Soffjian. “Told you the bitch would betray us. Betrayed the whole lot of us.”
Soffjian remained still, eyes locked forward, arms folded behind her back, jaw tight, that throbbing lightning bolt vein in her forehead the only telltale sign that she was fazed in the slightest.
Mulldoos laid his hand on his falchion, for all the good it would do, and seemed ready to stalk forward to his doom attempting to cut her down. “Always told him it was just a matter of time. Your kind can’t be trusted further than I can spit, but you, less than that. Plaguing worst kind of horsecunt alive, backstabbing a brother.”
Soffjian kept her gaze level, lightning pulsing, but didn’t say a word.
Skeelana, however, had no such trouble. “You were right about the betrayal, just wrong about the bitch. Soffjian didn’t know anything about it.”
Mulldoos looked ready to spit on the parquet, Commander Darzaak little better, and Braylar was still looking at his sister curiously, as I took a step back, immediately thinking back to the kiss I shared with Skeelana in my room. Before I could stop myself, I blurted, “Why?”
I felt everyone’s gaze, but ignored it, focusing on Skeelana who was looking at me with a sad smile. “The Emperor hadn’t seized control of all the Memoridons yet. But still, you betrayed us, the Jackals, that is. Why?”
The Emperor allowed the question to hang there, and if the scrutiny made Skeelana squirm, she didn’t show it. Instead, she shrugged her shoulders. “The Emperor demanded an audience with me a while back. And that’s something you can’t say no to, is it? He made it very clear that things were in motion, and soon every Memoridon would be his. I wasn’t sure whether to believe him or not.” She turned to Cynead. “No offense, Your Majesty.”
“None taken.” He smiled, arrogant, at ease, and delighting in having everything play out as he hoped.
Skeelana looked back to me, then the rest of the Jackal Syldoon. “I thought about telling you directly, Commander. And maybe I should have. But I gambled on the Emperor pulling off what he claimed. It just didn’t make sense to throw my lot in with the losing side. So I investigated as he commanded, and reported back when we returned. Had he been wrong, I would have simply been a traitor to the Jackals. But if he was right, well, I would find a place of prominence among the Leopards and Sun Tower. And as it turned out,” she swept her arm up and around at our little assembly, “it was a pretty smart gamble, as far as gambles go.”
“Yes,” Emperor Cynead said, “your diminutive Memoridon told me all I needed to know about your little treasure hunt. And while that alone doesn’t prove you were plotting to use such knowledge directly against me if you happened to obtain it, it is certainly suggestive. And none of that was altogether surprising on your part, though I must admit, did nothing to warm my heart. That is the Syldoon way, to always be on the hunt for an advantage. After all, that is exactly why I was hoping to unearth such secrets myself.”
The Emperor leaned forward, uncrossed his legs. “But no. What I was enthralled to learn about was that peculiar weapon,” he pointed at Blood-sounder and leaned forward in his chair, eyes lighting up. “Yes, now that was entirely unexpected. I’d heard about such things, but assumed they were either myth to begin with, or if they ever existed, had rusted into oblivion. And yet Skeelana has confirmed that this is truly such a find. Now, a weapon that warns, that is tied into memory magic somehow, that could be of service to the Empire… yes, this is something very much worth exploring. Show me.”
Everyone looked at Braylar, and he twitch-smiled, completely at odds with the murder in his eyes as he stared at Skeelana. Very slowly, the captain pulled Bloodsounder off his belt, held it out, chains draped over one hand, the haft in the other.
The Emperor looked at the weapon, several things flickering across his face—greed, lust, triumph, and possibly fear, or at least hesitation. “Yes, Skeelana mentioned the Deserter Gods. Oh, this is a fabulous find. Fabulous. Two or three times, my men in the field thought they had uncovered a weapon that might prove to be something the poets sang of, a piece of legend. Each time, I was skeptical, and each time, proven right. But now… simply fabulous.” He beckoned Braylar. “Come closer. And show me the heads when you do.”
The captain walked forward a few paces until the Emperor raised a hand, stopping him just short of striking distance. Still, all it would take was one step more. Perhaps it was having three Memoridons behind him, but Cynead didn’t seem particularly worried. Rusejenna was the only one who tensed up, and while her arms were at her sides, I noticed the fingers were splayed already.
Braylar took the flail heads in hand, turned them over so the Emperor could see them better. Cynead slapped the armrest. “They are fearsome, for certain. I do hope if we ever see the Gods again, they have a friendlier cast.” He moved forward, hardly on his seat at all, again apparently drawn to take the weapon, but holding himself back as well. “Skeelana says you are wracked with pain when separated for very long. Is that true?”
I gawked at her, remembering all the things I had revealed in confidence, assuming she was beholden to the Jackal Tower.
Braylar replied, “Though I wish it were a falsehood, there is no denying that.”
“So,” the Emperor said, “If you were to hand it to me, just now, would it grieve you?”
Braylar pulled the chains tight, laughing as Rusejenna took a step forward. “Put your hackles down,” he said.
She stopped and replied with a tight smile, “Someday, I will dance to your tears, Killcoin.”
“And I on your grave.” Then he looked at Cynead again. “A little separation would not anguish me. I am happy to hand it over. But I should warn you, Lord Emperor, the bind, the curse, for a lack of a better word, that I am afflicted with. I do not know what will sever it. Nor what might cause it to attach to anyone else. I am hesitant to do anything that might potentially endanger your safety.”
Cynead gave a crooked smile. “Oh, I am certain. Your vigilance is duly appreciated, Captain Killcoin. But no, until we have studied this weapon more, and the binding with you, I am in no hurry to handle it myself. Step back.”
Braylar did as instructed, and Commander Darzaak said, “Studied, Your Majesty?”
The Emperor clapped once, loudly. “Yes, of course. It is a remarkable find, but as your captain astutely pointed out, a dangerous one as well. We would understand it, how it works, why it binds, uncover its secrets and how to make the most use of its power. This could be a great boon to the Empire. But that all requires study.”
Darzaak, as ever, did not disguise his displeasure. “All of my captains are beyond competent—”
“Of course. Or you would not have promoted them. Unless you were myopic and obtuse. Which I know you are not. What of it?”
“Emperor Cynead, I—”
“Commander Darzaak,” he mimicked Darzaak’s tone. “Come to your point.”
“Captain Killcoin can’t relinquish the weapon. Not for long. As you know, and heard.”
“And?”
Commander Darzaak said, “This study would require him then. I wouldn’t willingly turn him over to be experimented on, Lord Emperor.”
The Emperor slowly stood up, and after Hewspear he was the tallest person in the dome. “Your will in this matter is irrelevant, Commander. My Memoridons will study the weapon and its bond to your captain. You can be certain I do not want to see either destroyed or unduly damaged. But when it comes down
to it, Bloodsounder is a prize beyond price, something straight out of misty legends—it is worth a thousand captains.”
Just then one of the acrobats off to the side lost her grip on the long ribbon, fell fifteen feet to the floor. A man tried to catch her, but couldn’t stop her from slamming into the parquet entirely. We all watched as two men helped her regain her feet, and while she could stand on one leg, the other was twisted badly or broken. They helped her toward an exit on the other side of the vast room, one of her arms over each of their shoulders.
Cynead sighed. “You see. We all risk something. They are an investment, with skills that are oh so difficult to replace. Sometimes there are simply accidents or losses. From high to low, we all risk something.” He shook his head and turned his attention back to us. “I appreciate you coming on such short notice, men of Jackal Tower. And willingly. You are dismissed.”
The Emperor started to step away from the chair when Captain Killcoin said, “Are we still speaking directly, Your Majesty? I admit, it is not a tongue I am overly accustomed to, but I would try it just once more today, by your leave.”
Cynead looked both annoyed and intrigued, but nodded once.
Braylar replied, “What if I refuse? To willingly sacrifice myself on the altar of progress and knowledge? I confess, that prospect does fill me with more kinds of dread than I can articulate.”
The Emperor’s eyes narrowed. And while there was still a curl to his lips, it was as warm as a reptile’s. “Oh, I do think you know. But in the interest of being direct and perfectly clear: you will be hung. I imagine that ought to sever the bond nicely.”
Commander Darzaak stepped forward. “I’ll be sure the Captain here makes his way when you call for him.”
“See that you do. Oh, there is one other thing, Commander Darzaak. You will actually be the first to hear it. I planned on revealing the particulars later. But while I understand how having your Memoridons taken from you is no doubt seen as a crippling blow, it is not my intent to be a despot. They all are bound to me now, and answer directly to me or my own stable of Memoridons. But I know they will serve the Empire best by maintaining their day-to-day roles within the Towers. They will function exactly as they always have, yours to command, provided it does not run afoul of my orders or jeopardize the Empire in any way.”
Commander Darzaak turned crimson. “Spies then.”
Emperor Cynead smiled again, broad and superior and again nearly righteous in intensity. “Servants of the Empire, Commander. You are dismissed. Return to your Tower, Jackals.”
We started marching out, the Commander in the lead, his captains and lieutenants following. I was in the rear, and stopped when I felt a hand on my shoulder.
I turned to see Skeelana looking at me, and I wrenched my shoulder free. She said, “You have every right to be angry, but it’s about to get worse. I don’t have to tell you this, but I feel I owe it to you. While the Syldoon cannot run without a Memoridon tracking them, you aren’t exempt from that either. Not anymore.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
She took several steps back, and again offered the melancholy smile that only made me angrier. “It was a lovely kiss though.” Then she turned and headed off after the Emperor.
I stood there dumbstruck until I heard Vendurro hiss-shout, “Come on, Arki!” I hurried to catch up, feeling foolish and miserable.
By the time we left the hall at the entrance to the dome, I was close enough to catch Mulldoos saying, “Got to quit taking private meetings with powerful pricks. Just ain’t working out for us at all.”
Braylar replied, “You are not wrong, Lieutenant. In fact, I would recommend distancing yourself from me altogether, now that I have the Emperor’s very unwanted attention.”
Commander Darzaak shook his head as he led us to the Jackal Tower, bowlegged but still moving fast. “Wrong, Captain. Dead wrong, as it happens. Or might. The Jackals give up no one to the likes of Cynead. Not now, not ever.”
After Hewspear cast a quick glance behind to be sure we weren’t being followed, he added, “They have the right of it, Captain. We are in this together, to the last.”
Vendurro said, “Aye, Cap. And sure as spit, where we go, the men go. Every last one of us. To the last. Ain’t that right, Arki?”
I thought about what Skeelana had told me. Even if I hadn’t thrown my lot in with the captain whole and full, there was no room for reservation or regret now. “I can only vouch for myself, and I am a poor shot, and no Syldoon, but yes, I am Captain Killcoin’s man.”
Braylar nodded twice, then asked, “What would you have me do, Commander?”
The Commander didn’t answer right away, and we walked in silence down the Avenue of Towers. I wondered at all the heated conversations that must have been occurring in each massive Tower we passed as news of the Emperor’s bloodless coup had spread to every corner of Sunwrack by now. It wouldn’t be long before every Thurvacian and Syldoon knew something absolutely unprecedented had happened.
As we passed a large wagon pulled by oxen, Darzaak said, “That whoreson Cynead outfoxed us, for certain. Nothing to be done for that now. But he knows a lot more than I’m comfortable with. Only a matter of time before he uses one of our Memoridons—his Memoridons now, that plaguing cock—against us, roots out our alliance with Thumaar. And when that happens…”
Braylar finished, “The Fifth Man might have been the most generous threat we are likely to get.”
“True enough. We’ve got less time than we thought, too. Would have been bad enough, him stealing all our Memoridons, but learning we were scuttling around in the shadows plotting the same thing ourselves? No, time is not our friend. We’ll convene the captains. Immediately. I’d like to get word to Thumaar. Could be we don’t even have time for that, especially with Whoreson Cynead keeping eyes on us.”
A few steps later, Mulldoos said, “Going to sound bereft of sense, I know—”
“First admission of that sort you’ve ever made,” Hewpsear said.
“Plaguing goatcock. But you’re right, Commander. Cynead will figure out what we been up to. By torturing Cap here, most like, but could be he just has a memory witch snatch up me or Hew or some other poor bastard, plumb what we know, hang us all for traitors. No time and less. So maybe it’s time we pull stakes and break camp. Move to the hills with Thumaar.”
Hewspear asked, keeping his voice low, “Are you suggesting seceding? Moving the entirety of Jackal Tower out of Sunwrack?”
“I am, you wrinkled bastard, and you know it.”
“You are right,” Hewspear said. “That does sound bereft of sense. Entirely. The Emperor is suspicious and no fool. He will have eyes on us, and within us once the Captain’s sister and her sisters are back in the fold, reporting every move to Cynead. We could not possibly move our troops without him detecting it and utterly destroying us before we even had half of them to the gates. And even if we somehow managed to get thousands of troops out of Sunwrack, we would be branded deserters, traitors, and enemies of the Empire.”
Before Mulldoos could offer a surly rebuttal, Braylar said, “It is a mad plan. But there is one reason it could work. Emperor Cynead is exceedingly clever, but he is also exceptionally arrogant. He has just pulled off the greatest seizure of power in Syldoon history, and is basking in his triumph. While he was suspicious of us before due to our known allegiance to Thumaar, and is doubly, so now having learned of our own efforts to seize the Memoridons ourselves, he also is entirely too confident in his position.”
“Meaning?” Commander Darzaak asked brusquely.
“Meaning, my lord, he could not truly conceive of anyone moving against him just now, not after he publicly stripped the Towers of what was inalienably ours for centuries. We might have an opportunity.”
Hewspear nodded slowly, but said, “That is so, Captain. But it would be fraught with risk. We have thousands of troops in the middle of the most fortified city in the world, and our sovereign now has weapons o
n his side on a scale never before seen. If we failed to make it out, we would be obliterated.”
Mulldoos replied, “Aye. And if we hold here, we’re back to what the Commander said—time ain’t doing us any favors just now. We stay, it’s not a question of if Horsecunt Cynead figures us out, just when. Better to make a break before he’s got the witches stuck in like leeches, reporting our every move. Too late then.”
Hewspear started to respond when the Commander held up a hand. “Enough. We’ll convene tonight, once we have some walls around us. And I’ll hear you all out in full before settling on a course. But make no mistake—every path is slick with a precipice on either side. Only question is which is the widest.”
We reached the Jackal Tower. The guards saluted their Commander as we started up the stairs on the outside, spiraling up, and they didn’t give any obvious sign that they’d heard anything usual, so maybe the other captains had held their tongues.
But time was assuredly not any ally of ours.
As we ascended, Vendurro broke off first, followed by Hewspear and Mulldoos, and Commander Darzaak bid us farewell as he continued up to his solar.
Braylar closed the door to his room behind us. I avoided his gaze, still feeling guilty over allowing myself to confide in Skeelana, much less kiss her. But also strangely hurt and acutely disappointed.
The captain said, “The Commander will send for me soon. I will be gone some time. Possibly hours. Continue translating. Throughout the night if need be. I want to know if there is anything else in those texts beyond what you already discovered or Henlester confirmed, yes? Particulars about what Cynead has achieved, or even hints. Any reference to how it could be undone. Weapons like Bloodsounder. Any of it.”
Veil of the Deserters Page 51