Now, as they rode along the fringes of the Imperial Order encampment, her stomach was in knots, even if her hair was not. From the looks of the turbulent clouds moving in past the mountains to the west, a spring storm would be on them before long. Off above distant valleys, lightning flickered through the dark clouds. She hoped the rain didn't arrive to drench her hair and dress right before meeting the emperor.
"There," Sebastian said, leaning forward in his saddle to point. "Those are the emperor's tents, and those of his important advisors and officers. Not far beyond, up the valley, will be Aydindril itself." He looked over with a grin. "Emperor Jagang hasn't moved to take the city yet. We've made it in time."
The huge tents were an imposing sight. The largest was oval, its tripeaked roof pierced by three lofty center poles. The tent's sides bore brightly colored panels. Standards and tassels hung from the eaves. High atop the three poles, colorful yellow and red banners flapped in the gusty wind, while long pennants streamed out, undulating like airborne serpents. The emperor's congregation of tents stood out among the drab little quarters of the regular soldiers the way a king's palace towered over surrounding huts.
Jennsen's heart raced as they urged their horses down into the thick of the encampment. Both Rusty and Pete, their ears alert, snorted their misgivings about entering such a noisy and busy place. She urged Rusty ahead in order to take Sebastian's hand when offered it.
"Your hand is all sweaty," he said, smiling. "You aren't nervous, are you?"
She was water at a boil, a horse at a gallop. "Maybe a little," she said.
But her purpose stiffened her will.
"Well, don't be. Emperor Jagang will be the one to be nervous, meeting such a beautiful woman."
Jennsen could feel her face heat. She was about to meet an emperor. What would her mother think of such a thing? As she rode, she considered how her mother, as a young servant girl on the palace staff-a nobodymust have felt when she met Darken Rahl himself. Jennsen could, for the first time, truly begin to empathize with the enormity of such an event in her mother's life.
As she and Sebastian trotted their horses into camp, men everywhere peered Jennsen's way. Mobs of men crowded closer to see the woman riding in. She saw that there were a number of soldiers with pikes forming a rough line along their route, holding back the press of men. She realized that the guards were clearing the way and preventing any of the more celebratory men from getting too close.
Sebastian watched her as she took note of the way the soldiers opened a clear path for them.
"The emperor knows we're coming," he told her.
"But how?"
"When we encountered scouts a few days ago, and then sentries this morning as we got closer, they would have sent runners on ahead to inform Emperor Jagang that I've returned, and that I'm not alone. Emperor Jagang would want to insure the safety of any guest I would bring."
It appeared to Jennsen that the guards were meant to keep the great mass of regular soldiers away from the two of them. She thought it an odd thing to do, but by the drunken nature of some of the soldiers, and the rough looks and leering grins of others, she couldn't say that she was sorry about it.
"The soldiers look so ... I don't know ... brutish, I guess."
"And as you are about to plunge your knife into Richard Rahl's heart," Sebastian said without pause, "do you intend to curtsy and say please and thank you so that he will see how well mannered you are?"
"Of course not, but-"
He turned his halting blue eyes on her. "When those brutes came into your house and butchered your mother, what sort of men would you have wished were there to protect her?"
Jennsen was taken aback. "Sebastian, I don't know what that has to do- ~1
"Would you trust dressy soldiers with polished leather and polite manners-like some pompous king would have at a fancy dinner party-to be
the ones to make a desperate last stand protecting your beloved mother against the onslaught of vicious killers? Or would you want men even more brutish to be the ones to stand before your mother, protecting her life? Wouldn't you want men steeped in the most brutal traditions of combat, to be the ones standing between her and those savage men intent on killing her?"
"I guess I see what you mean," Jennsen admitted.
"These men are serving in that role for all their loved ones back in the Old World."
The unexpected encounter with that terrible memory was so chilling, so painful, that she had to work at putting it out of her mind. She felt humbled, too, by Sebastian's heated words. She was here for a reason. That reason was all that mattered. If the men arrayed against Lord Rahl's forces were tough and mean, so much the better.
It wasn't until they reached the heavily defended compound around the emperor's tents that Jennsen saw other women. They were an odd mix, from young-looking to some who were stooped with age. Most peered curiously, some frowned, and a few even appeared alarmed, but all watched as Jennsen rode, closer.
"Why do the women all have rings through their lower lip?" she whispered to Sebastian,
His gaze swept the women near the tents. "As a sign of loyalty to the Imperial Order, to Emperor Jagang."
Jennsen thought it not just a strange way to show loyalty, but disquieting. Most of the women wore drab dresses, most had unkempt hair. Some were dressed a little better, but only a little.
Soldiers took the horses when they dismounted. Jennsen stroked Rusty's ear and whispered reassuringly to the nervous animal that it was all right to go with the stranger. Once Rusty was calmed, Pete contentedly followed her toward the stable area. Parting from her constant companion of so long unexpectedly reminded Jennsen of how she missed Betty.
The women moved farther into the background as they watched, as if fearing to get too close. Jennsen was used to such behavior; people feared her red hair. It was a rare warm spring day, and it had intoxicated Jennsen with the promise of more such days. She had forgotten to put her hood up as they came close to the encampment. She started, then, to put it up, but Sebastian's hand stayed her arm.
"It's not necessary." With a tilt of his head, he indicated the women.
"Many of them are Sisters of the Light. They don't fear magic, only strangers entering the emperor's compound."
Jennsen realized then the reason for the strange looks from a number of the women; they were gifted and saw her as a hole in the world. Their eyes were seeing her, but their gift was not.
Sebastian wouldn't be aware of that. She had never told him exactly what Althea had explained about the gifted and the offspring of a Lord Rahl. Sebastian had, on more than one occasion, shown a condescending disgust in the details of magic. Jennsen had never felt entirely comfortable talking to him about the specifics of what she had learned from the sorceress, and the even more important things she had figured out on her own. It was all difficult enough for her to reconcile in her own mind, and seemed too personal to reveal to him unless the time and circumstances were right. They never seemed to be.
Jennsen forced a smile at the women watching from the shadows of the tent. They stared back.
"Why is the emperor insulated from his men, and guarded?" she asked Sebastian.
"With this many men, you can never be absolutely certain that one isn't an infiltrator, or even a deranged madman, who might try to make a name for himself by harming Emperor Jagang. Such a foolish act would deprive us all of our great leader. With so much at risk, we have to take precautions."
Jennsen supposed she could understand. After all, Sebastian himself had been an infiltrator in the People's Palace. Had he come across an important man there, he could have done harm. The D'Harans were troubled by such a threat. They had even arrested the right man.
Fortunately, Jennsen had been able to get him out. How she had been able to accomplish such a thing was part of what she had finally come to terms with, but could never find the right time to share with Sebastian. She didn't think he would understand, anyway. He probably wouldn't even be
lieve such a far-fetched notion.
Sebastian's arm circled her waist and drew her onward toward two huge, silent men standing guard outside the emperor's tent. Stepping between the two after they bowed their heads to him, Sebastian lifted aside a heavy doorway curtain covered with gold and silver medallions.
Jennsen had never even imagined, much less seen, such a lavish tent, but what she saw as she stepped inside was far more opulent than even the outside suggested. The ground was entirely covered with a variety of
rich carpets laid every which way. An assortment of woven hangings decorated with exotic scenes and elaborate designs defined the space. Delicate glass bowls, fine pottery, and tall painted vases sat on the polished tables and chests around the room. To the side there was even a tall glass-fronted bureau filled with painted plates displayed on stands. Colorful pillows in a variety of sizes rimmed the floor. Overhead, openings covered with sheer silk let in muted light. Scented candles shimmered everywhere, while all the carpets and hangings imposed a quiet hush to the air. The place felt sacred.
There were women inside, each wearing the ring through her lower lip, busily going about duties. While most appeared absorbed in their work, one of the women, polishing a collection of tall, delicate vases in a measured, methodical manner, coolly watched Jermsen out of the comer of her eye. She was middle-aged, broad shouldered, and wore a simple floorlength dark gray dress buttoned to her neck. Her gray and black hair was loosely tied back. For the most part, she appeared unremarkable, except for the knowing, self-satisfied smirk that seemed enduringly etched in her face. That look gave Jennsen pause.
As their eyes met, the voice stiffed, calling Jennsen's name in that haunting, dead whisper, calling for her to suffender. For some reason, Jennsen was momentarily suffused with the icy sense that the woman knew that the voice had spoken. Jermsen dismissed the odd notion, deciding that it was merely due to the woman's expression, which exuded a demeanor of stark superiority.
Another woman busied herself brushing at the carpets with a small hand broom. Yet another was replacing candles that had guttered. Other women-some sure to be Sisters of the Light-hurried in and out of rooms beyond, tending to the collection of pillows, lamps, and even flowers in vases. One thin young man wearing only baggy cotton trousers worked with a comb ordering the fringe of the carpets set before openings into back rooms. Except for the brown-eyed woman polishing the tall vases, they were focused on their work and none paid any particular notice that visitors had entered the emperor's tent.
Sebastian's arm held her securely as he guided her deeper into the dimly lit room. The walls and ceiling moved and billowed slightly in the wind. Jennsen's heart could have pounded no harder were she being led to her own execution. When she realized that her fingers were tightening around the hilt of her knife to check if it was clear in its scabbard, she forced herself to let her hand drop away from it.
Near the back of the room sat an ornately carved and gilded chair draped with streamers of red silks. Jennsen swallowed when she finally made herself look at the man sitting there, his elbow on the arm of the chair, his chin held by his thumb, his forefinger resting along the side of his face.
He was a thick-necked bull of a man. Flickering candlelight reflecting off his shaved head lent the illusion that he wore a crown of tiny flames. Two long, thin braids of mustache grew down from the comers of his mouth, and another braid grew from the center of his chin. Fine gold chain connected the gold rings through his left nostril and ear, while a collection of much heavier, jeweled chains rested in the cleft of muscles on his powerful chest. Each meaty finger was studded with a large ring. The lamb's-wool vest he wore had no sleeves, revealing his hefty shoulders and brawny arms. While he didn't appear tall, his muscled mass was nonetheless imposing.
But it was his eyes that, despite Sebastian's cautionary description, had her holding her breath. No words could have prepared her for being in the presence of the real thing.
His inky eyes had no whites, no irises, no pupils, leaving only glistening dark voids. Yet somber shapes shifted across those dark voids, like thunderclouds at midnight. Despite his having no irises or pupils, she was certain beyond any doubt that he was looking directly and intently at her.
Jennsen thought her knees might buckle.
When he smiled at her, she was sure of it.
Sebastian's arm tightened, helping hold her up. He bowed slightly from the waist.
"Emperor, I am thankful that the Creator has watched over you and kept you safe."
The smile widened. "And you, Sebastian." Jagang's voice matched the look of him, husky, powerful, menacing. He sounded as if he were a man who brooked no weakness or excuses. "It has been a long time. Far too long. I'm glad to have you back with me."
Sebastian bowed his head toward Jennsen. "Excellency, I have brought an important guest. This is Jennsen."
Despite Sebastian's arm around her waist, holding her, she slipped free and went to her knees of her own accord and before trepidation imposed it. She used the occasion to bow forward until her head nearly touched the floor. Sebastian hadn't told her that she was supposed to do so, but she felt an overwhelming fear that it was what she must do. If nothing
else, it momentarily relieved her of the obligation of looking into those nightmare eyes.
She supposed that a man like this, a warrior who hoped to prevail against the invading force from D'Hara, had to be a man of brute strength, iron command, and grim tenacity. Being the emperor of a people hoping to be saved from the threatening shadow of enslavement was a job for a man no less than the one she knelt before.
"Your Excellency," she said in a trembling voice toward the floor. "I am at your service."
She heard a booming laugh. "Come, now, Jennsen, no need for that."
Jennsen felt her face going scarlet as she rose with Sebastian's jovial insistence and help. Neither the emperor nor Sebastian took note of her embarrassment.
"Sebastian, where did you ever find such a lovely young woman?"
Sebastian's blue eyes beheld her with pride. "It's a long story for another time, Excellency. For now, you must know that Jennsen has come to an important determination, one that will bear on us all."
Jagang's inky gaze returned to Jennsen in a way that made her heart seem to rise up into her throat. He wore the slightest smile, the smirk of an emperor looking down indulgently on a nobody.
"And what would that deten-nination be, young lady?"
Jennsen.
An image of her mother lying on the floor of their house, bleeding, dying, flashed into Jennsen's mind. She would never forget her mother's last precious moments of life. The agonizing grief of having to flee without even being able to care for and bury her mother's body still burned unabated in her soul.
Jennsen.
Rage flooded in to overwhelm any nervousness at answering an emperor's question.
"I intend to kill Lord Rahl," Jennsen said. "I have come to ask for your help."
In the dead silence, any trace of mirth evaporated from the Emperor Jagang's face. He watched her with cold, dark, merciless eyes, his brow set in warning. This was clearly a subject that tolerated no humor. Lord Rahl had invaded this man's homeland, killed untold thousands of his people, and set the whole world to war and suffering.
Emperor Jagang the Just, the muscles in his jaw flexing, waited, clearly expecting her to explain herself.
"I am Jennsen Rahl," she said in answer to his dark glare. She drew her knife, gripped the blade in her rock-steady fist, and thrust the handle up before him on his throne, showing him the ornate letter "R," the symbol of the House of Rahl.
"I am Jennsen Rahl," she repeated, "Richard Rahl's sister. I intend to kill him. Sebastian told me that you may be able to provide me some help to that end. If you can, I would be eternally in your debt. If you cannot, then tell me now, for I still intend to kill him and will need to be on my way. 19
Elbows on the arms of his red-silk-draped throne, he leaned toward
her, holding her in his nightmare gaze.
"My dear Jennsen Rahl, sister to Richard Rahl, for a task such as this, I would lay the world at your feet. You have but to ask, and anything within my power shall be yours."
CHAPTER 45
jennsen sat close to Sebastian, drawing comfort from his familiar presence, yet wishing they could instead be alone by a campfire frying up fish or cooking beans. She felt more alone at the emperor's table, with servants hovering all about, than she'd ever felt by herself in the silence of a forest. Without Sebastian there, laughing and talking, she didn't know what she would have done, how she would have behaved. She was uncomfortable enough around regular people; this was far more unnerving.
Emperor Jagang was a man who, without effort, fluidly dominated the room. Although he never broke his gracious, courtly manner with her, in some inscrutable way, he made her feel that every breath she took had been granted her only by his grace. He referenced momentous matters offhandedly, without realizing he was doing it, so common were such responsibilities, so sure his unflinching rule. He was a mountain lion at rest, sleek and poised, tail swishing lazily, licking his chops.
This was not an emperor who was content to sit safely by, back in some remote palace, and receive reports; this was an emperor who led his men into the thick of battle. This was an emperor who dug his hands down into the bloody muck of life and death and pulled out what he wanted.
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