Imperial Guards stormed out of the headquarters building and from streets around the plaza. They ran from every direction until they almost filled the plaza. Lyra watched all of the posturing with a strange detached lack of emotion. When some of the Imperial Guards started advancing close to Lyra, she held up her hand for them to halt.
“Stop,” shouted the Star of Sakova. “I have a message for the citizens of Okata. Do not attempt to harm me or Kaltara will strike you down. He who raises a sword against me will lose his sword. He who reaches out to seize me will lose his arm. Citizens of Okata, call forth your families. Hail your brothers and sisters and tell them to hurry here. I have an important message for you.”
The Imperial Guards stood and stared at the Star of Sakova. Lacking leadership, they talked amongst themselves as they tried to figure out what to do. More Imperial Guards continued to stream into the plaza, pushing the citizens back as they gathered around the Star of Sakova. One new arrival, a junior officer, ordered several soldiers to slay the Star of Sakova. Lyra shook her head sadly as the soldiers obeyed. Several of the soldiers swung swords at Lyra. The blades of their swords disappeared as they met the blue cylinder. One unfortunate soldier moved his leg through the perimeter of the blue cylinder as he was attacking. He fell to the ground screaming. His lower leg was gone.
The attacking Imperial Guards fell back, much to the disappointment of the junior officer, who was shouting for the soldiers to attack. Not one of the Imperial Guards obeyed after having witnessed the results of the first attack. Two brave soldiers came close enough to grab the wounded man and carry him off to the healers.
“Gather citizens of Okata,” shouted Lyra. “What I have to say is important to your future. Gather your friends and neighbors. I will wait for them to arrive.”
People began streaming into the area of the plaza, although they could not get into the plaza itself. Over a thousand Imperial Guards had formed a ring around Lyra, and were not letting any citizens get close. Lyra saw a disturbance in the direction of the Imperial Palace. She watched as a dozen Monitors pushed their way through the crowd of Imperial Guards. The Monitors stopped when they reached the inner circle and were able to see Lyra and her blue cylinder.
“That is the Star of Sakova!” exclaimed one of the Monitors. “Do not go near her.”
“We already tried that,” retorted one of the Imperial Guards who had lost his blade. “What are we supposed to do?”
The lead Monitor turned to one of his men and said, “Notify Colonel Zanta about this immediately. Make certain that he knows that it is the Star of Sakova. Also seal the Imperial Palace. Nobody goes in or out except through the front door, and then only after they have gained permission from Colonel Zanta. Move.”
“What about the Katana and the Council?” asked the Monitor. “Should I have them come out?”
“Absolutely not,” snapped the lead Monitor. “That is probably what she is here for. The Council is in session. Let them stay there. Do not even inform them of the commotion out here. Have the Katana isolated and protected at all times.”
The Monitor nodded and ran towards the Imperial Palace. The Lead Monitor stared at Lyra for several moments before speaking.
“You will not have your way this time, Star of Sakova,” he said. “You may hide inside your shields for now, but even you will hunger eventually. You will not leave this plaza alive.”
He turned to leave, and the junior office of the Imperial Guard stopped him.
“That is it?” he bellowed. “You are just going to let her stand there?”
“For now,” answered the lead Monitor. “Your men seem to have her surrounded. Besides, I do not think she plans on leaving the plaza until she kills the Katana. That will not happen this time. I will send some mages out to test her shields. There must be a way to get through them.”
The Monitors retreated with the lead Monitor shouting orders to the others. He instructed them to round up their units and man each and every entrance to the Imperial Palace.
* * *
HawkShadow and SkyDancer listened to the distant shouting coming from the plaza on the other side of the Imperial Palace. HawkShadow was dressed in the uniform of an Imperial Guard. SkyDancer walked before him as if the soldier was guiding her to some destination.
“This is the park,” HawkShadow said softly. “Enter it.”
SkyDancer immediately turned and entered the old park as several Imperial Guards raced by in the street. The park was poorly cared for, its flowers wilted and weeds spreading through the grass. SkyDancer ignored the scenery and headed towards the old potter’s shed at the rear of the garden. With a quick glance around the garden to see if anyone was watching, SkyDancer opened the door to the shed and walked in. HawkShadow immediately followed her and closed the door.
The Sakovan assassin watched as SkyDancer opened the door to the secret passage. He followed her into the dark corridor and closed the door behind him. Moments later they emerged in the office of the First Minister. HawkShadow slid the bookcase to cover the secret passage.
“Anyone pay any attention to you?” asked StarWind.
“No,” answered HawkShadow as he looked around at the others who gathered inside the Imperial Palace. “I don’t think the garden sees much traffic any more. It certainly is not well kept. People and Imperial Guards are rushing towards the plaza though.”
“As they should,” nodded Temiker. “Does everyone have the map memorized? If not, now is the last chance you have to look at it.”
“I’m good,” answered SunChaser.
“Is there a problem if I take the map with me?” asked Goral. “No one is going to search me if I am discovered.”
“Let him have it,” interjected Ukaro. “Goral will not be mistaken for anything other than an intruder. Besides he will be with us.”
Temiker nodded and handed the hand-drawn map to Goral. Goral looked at it briefly and then stuffed it into his pouch.
“When do we move out?” asked SkyDancer.
“Soon,” answered Ukaro. “We have to allow the Monitors time to react first. Relax for a little while. I will go out and see what is happening.”
“Relax?” chuckled SkyDancer as Ukaro disappeared. “I think that is asking a bit too much.”
“Quiet,” admonished Temiker as he peered through the spy hole in the doors to the corridor outside the room.
Nodding his head as he cracked the door open, Temiker watched as the cat darted through the opening. Temiker immediately closed the door.
“How does he do that?” asked SunChaser. “He disappears completely when he does it. I wonder what would happen to him if the spell went wrong during the short period of time when he didn’t exist.”
“I assume that he would cease to exist,” StarWind answered softly. “Is everyone clear on their objectives? We will not get a second chance to do this right.”
The Sakovan spymaster looked each person in the eye and waited for their assurance. Everyone nodded affirmatively. She walked to the large desk in front of the fireplace and sat in the leather chair. She idly opened the drawers and inspected the contents as she waited for Ukaro to return. The wait seemed interminable, but she sat erect when Temiker finally opened the door to admit the cat. Everyone watched as the cat disappeared and the Chula shaman took its place.
“It is as we expected,” reported Ukaro. “Monitors are massed at every exit. They are fully alert and expecting someone to try to gain entry to the Imperial Palace. The Katana’s Council is still in session. There are two Monitors outside the door as sentries.”
“We can handle that,” HawkShadow said assertively.
“Good,” Ukaro continued. “The Katana is currently in his chambers. That has to change for us to succeed. He has a dozen Monitors protecting him.”
“If the Monitors remain true to their practices,” interjected SunChaser, “they will move him if they suspect that any intruders are in the palace. The chambers have too many entrances to be totally
secure.”
“Are you positive of this?” asked StarWind. “This all falls apart unless they react as you have described.”
“I am positive,” nodded SunChaser. “Every time the Katana has been threatened, they have reacted the same way. It is not the Katana who chooses what happens in such a situation. The Monitors will insist on following their own procedures.”
“Colonel Zanta might be a problem,” Ukaro continued when he was sure that the previous question was settled. “He has been moving around the palace checking on the deployment of his men. I crossed his path several times. You may have a problem with that one, StarWind.”
“SunChaser and I will improvise,” promised StarWind. “Colonel Zanta has never met a lure like Cherri.”
SunChaser giggled and grinned. “Actually,” she said, “Colonel Zanta is a nice man. I think that I can get him alone.”
“Alright,” StarWind said with an air of authority, “let’s make this happen. Goral, Temiker, and Ukaro are the first to go.”
Temiker peered through the spy hole as Goral and Ukaro gathered near the door. He inhaled deeply and opened the door. The two mages and the giant slipped out the door and closed it behind them. HawkShadow started counting numbers in his head as everyone else waited for their turn to leave. StarWind and SunChaser huddled by the door. StarWind peered through the hole until HawkShadow announced that is was time for them to leave. StarWind opened the door and left the room. SunChaser followed and closed the door behind her.
HawkShadow continued counting as he moved to the door and peered through the spy hole. He saw no movement in the corridor outside, and when the numbers reached the time for him to leave, he opened the door for SkyDancer. He followed her through the door, closing it behind him.
The distance from the First Minister’s office to the meeting room of the Katana’s Council was not great, but the path passed by the main entrance to the palace. HawkShadow turned away from the front of the building and followed a much longer path. The corridors of the Imperial Palace were deserted. Several times during the walk, HawkShadow saw servants moving about in the distance, but no one ever came close until SkyDancer turned the final corner in their circuitous route.
The path HawkShadow had chosen ended with a long corridor heading directly towards the door of the Council Chamber. The two Monitors standing sentry outside the door saw the two figures approaching. They immediately became alert as they watched an Imperial Guard escort an unfamiliar woman towards them. As it became clear that the visitors’ destination was the Council Chamber, the Monitors subconsciously closed ranks to block the door.
“What are you doing here?” challenged one of the Monitors. “The palace is supposed to be closed.”
“It is closed,” HawkShadow replied as SkyDancer stopped directly in front of the Monitors. “I was ordered to bring this woman to the Council Chamber. I am just doing what I was told to.”
HawkShadow stopped just behind SkyDancer so that only the left half of his body was visible. While he looked one of the Monitors in the eye, a knife slid into his right hand.
“This is not right,” argued the Monitor. “You should not even be in the building. A Monitor should be escorting this woman.”
HawkShadow shrugged and sighed, “I am just doing my job. If you want me to go back and tell Colonel Zanta that you refused me entry, it is no problem to me. Come on, woman. Back the way we came.”
SkyDancer turned slightly as if she was turning around. A knife slid into her hand as she did so, but her own body blocked the movement. When it appeared that the couple was leaving, the Monitors glanced at one another as if silently asking each other if the decision to refuse entry had been wise. In that split second, the Sakovans struck.
SkyDancer stepped to the right and plunged her knife into the chest of one Monitor while HawkShadow skewered the other. Both men died instantly. Each Sakovan grabbed a body and supported it. HawkShadow used his free hand to open the door and then kicked it hard. The door flew open, and SkyDancer swept into the room, tossing the body to the floor. HawkShadow immediately followed, dropping the body he was carrying and closed the door.
The assembled Councilors gasped as the Sakovans entered the room. An overweight man at the far end of the table leaped to his feet and started shouting for help. SkyDancer whirled and threw her knife. The knife hit the man in the face and the shouting stopped as the Councilor’s body fell to the floor, knocking his chair over.
“Any more noise, and I will eliminate the one who makes it,” SkyDancer said sternly. “You are to sit quietly until I decide otherwise.”
“While I do not speak to draw attention to this crime,” another Councilor said softly, “I would like to know what is happening. I will remain quiet.”
SkyDancer glared at the man for a moment before nodding.
“Fair enough,” SkyDancer said. “We are here to seek an end to this madness that you call war. This Council has backed the Katana’s call for war. As such, you are all guilty of murder. Sometime in the past, you backed another Katana’s call for war only to later find out that he was a false Katana. You do not learn very well. Once again you have followed another false Katana, but you have allowed this one to go too far.”
“So you are Sakovan?” sighed the Councilor. “I should have suspected as much, but why do you say that our Katana is false?”
“Because he is,” answered SkyDancer. “Larst died the night before you selected him to be Katana. The mage that now inhabits his body was known to you as a historian. It will be revealed to you shortly.”
“So you are not here to kill us all?” the Councilor asked with a twitch in his eye. “Will this be like the last time when your Star killed the Katana and left the city?”
“Hardly,” SkyDancer shook her head. “This time you have gone too far. You have sent your armies into the Sakova to annihilate us. While I will not kill any of you without reason, your tenure on this council is over. We are here to demand the surrender of Omunga.”
“You can’t be serious?” questioned another Councilor. “You expect to seize this Council and declare the war over? It takes more than that to conquer Omunga.”
“There is little left of Omunga,” SkyDancer said. “The only cities that you control now are Okata and Tanzaba. By the end of the day, only Tanzaba will remain.”
“What are you saying?” asked the Councilor. “We have heard about the eastern provinces, but surely the west is still secure?”
“I see that the Katana does not confide in you,” retorted SkyDancer. “Gatong and Fortung fell over a week ago. Campanil was not far behind.”
“Preposterous,” scowled another Councilor. “General Kapla has taken his army to protect those cities.”
“General Kapla has surrendered,” announced SkyDancer. “So has General Romero, and General Valdey is dead. You only have General Didyk left, and he is in no position to save his country. Now, I have answered your questions. I demand that you remain silent until I give you leave to speak again. If you speak, you die.”
SkyDancer let her eyes rest on each of the Councilors as she scanned the room. HawkShadow stood silently, his face an unemotional mask.
“Now that you know that my aim is good,” declared SkyDancer as she nodded towards the body of slain Councilor. “I am going to walk around the table and prepare you for the moment of discovery. When I tap your shoulder, you will rise and follow my instructions. If you do not rise and follow instructions, I will slit your throat and move on to the next. I would advise you to be cooperative. If you do, you will survive this day.”
* * *
The Monitor strode purposely along the corridor looking for Colonel Zanta. As he passed the Council Chamber, he halted and stared at the door. He was sure that he had heard orders given that the Council was to remain in session, yet there were no sentries. He put his ear to the door to listen. At first he heard nothing, but then he heard sounds of movement. A frown fell over his face as he spotted a drop of blood on the
floor. He bent down and touched it. Slowly, he rose and backed away from the door.
The Monitor moved swiftly through the corridors of the palace. When he saw Colonel Zanta in the distance, he shouted. The colonel halted as the Monitor ran towards him.
“Something is amiss,” reported the Monitor. “The sentries are missing from the Council Chamber. There is movement inside the room and blood on the floor outside the room.”
“Did you look inside the room?” asked Colonel Zanta.
“I did not,” the Monitor replied promptly. “Regulations say that we should not disturb anything if a crime has been committed. We are supposed to report it immediately.”
“You did right,” replied the colonel. “A lone Monitor opening the door could easily have informed the criminals of our knowledge. I must believe that we have intruders. Head to the Katana’s Chamber, and notify his guards. They must put him in isolation immediately. Tell them that I have ordered it. I will take care of the Council Chamber.”
The Monitor saluted and ran off. Colonel Zanta strode to the nearest exit from the palace and ordered twenty men to follow him. He ordered another man to visit each exit and explain that there are intruders in the building. No exit was to be left unguarded.
Colonel Zanta led his group of Monitors to the Council Chamber. He used hand motions to indicate which Monitors would be archers, and which would storm the room. The archers moved back until they stood away from the door. They spread out in the corridor so that they would have the widest spread possible when it came time to fire. Those chosen to storm the room crouched down in front of the door so that the archers could fire over their heads.
When everyone was ready, Colonel Zanta kicked open the door and dove into the room. The storming Monitors immediately followed while the archers held their fire. Colonel Zanta rolled to a crouch and looked for his first target.
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