“You thought right.” Becca was glad he’d had that forethought as she hadn’t until just now. It would have been hard to prove to the people observing this trial who was magical and who wasn’t without a triangle. She waggled her fingers at him and he promptly fished two out of a pocket. “Thanks. Azin called earlier and said that they need help emptying out slave pens. Go either west or south, they’ve got east and north covered.”
“Roger that.” With a slight skip, he commandeered a section of courtyard paving stone to carry him up to the wall, and from there, Garth readily picked him up and carried him off.
Becca smiled at seeing how in-tune the two had become. Her Cat had refused to leave and help the other dragons, instead lingering in a corner nearby. Becca hardly thought it was because she found human trials fascinating. Her dragon’s concern was heart-warming and Becca fully appreciated having someone watch her back while her attention was on other things.
The last minister’s trial ended with a sentencing of execution. Danyal stood and half-turned to look at her. She could read his expression and body language well enough to know what it meant. It was time to judge a warlord.
Though he had planned this, even Danyal seemed to need a moment to gather his courage. The audience in the courtyard held its collective breath as they waited for the official announcement. After listening to these words dozens of times over, even Becca understood him perfectly as he said, “I call for the trial of Warlord Sanjar Trexler!”
Nervous tension went out like a tidal wave, the words having a visible effect on the watchers. Becca held firm and unmovable, silently lending support. Danyal apparently needed it as he gave her a surreptitious look three different times as the warlord was manhandled to stand in front of the table.
Sanjar Trexler was quite the sight. Dirty from marching in the desert, lines of sweat visible on his dusty skin, clothes rumpled and obviously slept in, the back of his hair mussed. He hardly looked like a man of power. The rage in his face aged him another ten years and he leaned ominously forward as he snarled between clenched teeth, “You do not have the authority to try me!”
Becca held up a hand before Amir could translate anything. “That I got.”
It was not Danyal, but instead Rikksha Jasmina that stood to answer this challenge. “In the history of Khobunter, never has a law said that a man is above it. All are equal before it.”
Amir whispered, “That too?”
“That too.” Her vocabulary was definite improving.
“I AM THE LAW!” Trexler roared.
“You are not,” four voices announced simultaneously.
“The law existed before you,” Rikkana Shiva stated with a soft finality. “The law will continue after your death. It is beyond you. The only connection that you have with it is that it was your duty to uphold it.”
“It is a duty that you failed,” Rikkan Akbar continued, tone hard. His hands fisted on the table’s top. “For that reason, you stand before us. Commander, read us the first offense.”
Trexler growled and roared some more, but they over-rode him and continued. Becca let out a slow breath and listened intently as the trial continued.
It followed much like their conversation in Tiergan, actually. Someone at the table would read off the exact law that he had broken, list his offenses against it, and then give him a chance to respond. Since Trexler wasn’t interested in doing so, they would shrug and continue with the next. Becca felt the strangest sense of déjà vu, as if she were repeating the same conversation in a different setting with only slightly different words.
They came to the last offense, that of slavery, and she finally moved out of her spot from behind the table. After standing in place for nearly three hours, her knees stiffly protested a little. It felt good to finally walk. As she moved, she pulled out the triangles and handed Amir one.
“I don’t know how to use this, Raya!” he protested in a low whisper.
“You don’t need to do anything,” she assured him, pressing it into his hand. “It automatically lights up when placed in front of a magician. Just hold it so the crowd can see it.”
Relieved and still nervous, he went to stand on the other side of the bench. Becca stood tall and held the triangle in front of her own chest. Carefully, she phrased the words in her mind before speaking, “As you can see, the triangle glows when near a magician. It will not for a non-magical person.”
“These people,” Danyal thankfully took over at that point and gestured to the group of ex-slaves patiently waiting on his right, “are former slaves. They were with the other magicians until an hour ago. Sergeant, the triangle?”
The crowd stared intently but as Amir went slowly down the line, the triangle didn’t react. People started whispering to each other, the tone confused and escalating with each person.
“Not every person in the slave pens was a magician.” Danyal waved the sergeant to cease and Amir did so, standing at semi-attention near the judgment table. “This is against the law.”
Trexler flung an outraged finger at Becca. “She is a magician! SHE SHOULD BE IN CHAINS!”
With a flex of power, Becca casually broke the triangle. To the naked eye, it looked as if she broken it by willpower alone. She flung it at Trexler’s feet with a negligent toss of the hand. “Trexler, you are confused on a vital point.”
“And what is that?” he sneered.
“Human beings shouldn’t be slaves to begin with. Ever. Your original lawmakers understood this. The first laws written for Khobunter outlawed slavery. Period.” Becca had to switch to Solish to say all of this and was grateful Amir automatically translated for her. She paused to let him catch up before continuing, “The new conquerors of Khobunter are reversing the laws and will return to the original ones. They are more humane and uncorrupted than the laws that supposedly serve the people now.”
He stared at her with eyes burning in hatred, jaw working. “You won’t last. This reign of yours will not continue forever. I give it a week.”
“If I were relying on my strength alone, Trexler, I wouldn’t last the day.” Becca smiled at him, not in the least insulted. “But unlike you, I don’t go out of my way to make people hate me. Perhaps, if you had shown kindness instead of greed, your people wouldn’t have been so quick to turn on you.”
He spat at her, although he was too far away to actually land anything. “You are too haughty, magician!”
“I am not the one that judged you, Trexler. It was your own people that turned against you. I just gave them the power to stand up to you.” Tired of this back and forth, she turned her back to him. “Judges, how do you rule?”
“Immediate execution,” they said, more or less in unison.
“See it done, then.” Becca turned away, heading for Cat, but she paused next to Danyal and murmured, “If I ever become as bad as that man, strike me down. Do not hesitate.”
“Warlord, I would promise to do so, but,” he grinned at her, his exhaustion disappearing for a brief moment, “I do not dare cross your dragon.”
Cat heard this (of course she did, she heard everything) and gave a rumbling chuckle. “No worry. I make her behave.”
“A dragon chaperone.” Becca snorted, amused at the idea, but knew good and well that her dragon seriously would keep her in line. Shaking her head, she went and slung herself into Cat’s saddle. “I think my work here is done for the time being, Cat. Let’s go see if the boys need help.”
“What is with this office?” Trev’nor stared around with his face screwed up in distaste. “There’s gold everywhere.”
“Gaudy doesn’t begin to describe it,” Becca agreed. She stepped into the room as if afraid that that something would explode. “Are all king’s offices like this? Well, not that he was a king, but….”
“No,” both Trev’nor and Nolan denied immediately.
“My grandfather’s office isn’t anything like this,” Nolan clarified, unable to take his eyes away from the desk dominating the center of th
e room. It had enough gold trimming on it to feed a small country for about two months. “And King Guin’s office is even plainer than Grandfather’s.”
“Garth’s and Chatta’s offices looks a lot like King Guin’s,” Trev’nor offered by way of explanation. Becca had never been to visit either king herself, but they had all semi-grown up in their mentors’ offices.
“I’m relieved to hear it.” Becca took another three tentative steps forward, staring around with a horrified look. “Gold curtains, gold furniture, gold statues, even golden armor…the man was obsessed with appearances.”
“Let’s sell the lot,” Trev’nor decided on the spot. “We’ve been spending money left and right anyway, trying to outfit the magicians and feed them. I think this will more than make up for it.”
“Splendid plan. For now, though, let’s find a different place to talk. All of this—” she waved a hand around “—is distracting me, I can’t hear myself think.”
Trev’nor glanced about but the office was a square space that had no dividing walls. At least, none he could readily see. “Outside veranda?”
Becca apparently liked this idea as she immediately bee-lined for the large glass doors.
The outside veranda, fortunately, was not covered in gold. There were several plush chairs, a few small tables, and some dormant flower beds. Sinking into one of the chairs, he asked, “How did the trials go?”
“Smoother than they should have,” Becca answered sadly. “The people here really hated their government. No one offered up any real opposition.”
“On the contrary, we had people volunteering to go and witness against him,” Nolan added, letting out a tired sigh as he sank into a plush armchair. “Ah, that feels good. Llona tells me that we rescued four hundred and twenty-one people today. She’s already matching up friends and family.”
Yes, that had been a funny sight. Trev’nor had come to drop off the last of the magicians and found people clustered around the white dragon, the younger ones actually sitting on her like she was a giant bench. Llona loved it; that was obvious from her happily twitching tail.
“And resistance?” Becca glanced between the two of them. “Commander Danyal hasn’t reported any resistance to me, but you saw some signs of it in the city, yes?”
“Some. The population is too large to be one hundred percent on our side, but—correct me if I’m wrong, Nol, you’re better with people than I am—I think they’re too used to the idea of being conquered. I don’t think this city has been fought over for decades, not like the others, but on some level they’re always mentally prepared for it. ”
“Unfortunately true.” Nolan slumped more into his chair. “They’ve adopted a ‘let’s wait and see’ attitude. I honestly think that as long as we’re good to them, we will never get any large resistance. Between cultural norm and corrupt leaders, they’re used to not resisting.”
“Well, if we don’t have to worry about any uprisings right this minute, let’s talk about what to do with all of the magicians,” Becca suggested. “We have far too many on hand and it’s going to be impossible for the three of us to teach them. Even if we didn’t have other things to do, which isn’t the case, we still wouldn’t be able to teach them.”
“There’s also the matter of a young Earth Mage to discuss,” Nolan agreed. “Alright, let’s talk about magicians first.”
“Earth Mage first, as she’ll be easier to solve. So as I see it,” Trev’nor started, “we have one of two options. We send Parisa by dragon to Q’atal or I take her by Earth Path to Q’atal.”
“Either way, drop her off in Q’atal?” Becca wasn’t really asking a question. She spun sideways in her chair to dangle her legs over the arms. “Probably the best move. You don’t have the time to go all of the way to Strae, and even if you did, once the adults lay hands on you….”
“They won’t let go,” Trev’nor agreed, wincing at the mental picture of what would happen when the adults finally did catch up. “Q’atal is neutral, very close to Strae, and they have a way of contacting Garth directly. I think it’s our best option.”
“I’m not arguing that.” Nolan tilted his head down and gave Trev’nor a look that stated he was being obtuse. “But Trev, you need to start thinking like a politician.”
“Meaning…?” Trev’nor trailed off invitingly.
“You are Q’atal’s new neighbor. It behooves you to properly introduce yourself and establish relations with them now. Before they get worried and jump to conclusions they shouldn’t.”
That…was a very good point.
“Might I also point out that instead of just taking Parisa, you should take everyone we’ve rescued?”
“Not Ehsan and Azin,” Becca blurted out, sitting bolt upright.
Nolan waved her down. “No, not them. They’re already half-trained, they’re fine. I meant everyone else.”
Trev’nor was just as relieved to hear this as having the other two mages helped tremendously with the workload. Besides, Trev’nor honestly didn’t know what they would do without Ehsan. He was the only one that could find water in the middle of the desert. Becca would have to call storms in to keep them supplied with water, which considering the state of the soil out here, wasn’t usually the best option.
He turned over the idea in his head. “Shouldn’t some of them stay though? How is the culture going to change if there are no magicians? And not everyone may want to go.”
“It’d only be temporary. They’d certainly all be free to return once their training is over, but they have to be trained. Half-trained magicians running around without suppressive amulets are a disaster in the making,” Nolan pointed out.
Trev’nor blew out a breath. “You’re not wrong. I don’t think it’s fully right, but you’re not wrong. We’ll go with it for now, but something else will have to be figured out for later on. There’s no way Strae and Hain can take all of the magicians from the other provinces as well.”
“Perhaps by that point some of the Trexler magicians will know enough to come back and teach the new ones. We’ll worry about it when it happens. For now, we need to take care of the magicians we do have,” Becca said.
“Alright, agreed. Man, an influx of over five hundred students at once. Chatta will kill us.”
“The new branch academy is supposed to be up and running by now,” Nolan pointed out, all innocence.
“She’s still going to kill us,” Becca opined. “But if it’s too much, Garth can take some of them into Hain.”
“My grandfather is not going to stand for that,” Nolan denied. “He likes having magicians around.”
“Then he better give Garth more funding and teachers; otherwise he’s not going to be able to handle it.”
A thought struck Trev’nor and he frowned. “I can hardly just drop them off in Q’atal like a litter of kittens and run. I mean, shouldn’t we write a letter or something?”
Becca and Nolan exchanged looks and then twin grimaces.
“Yes,” Nolan said with vast reluctance.
“But what can we possibly say?” Becca asked uncertainly. “I mean, give them even a hint to go off of, they’ll be able to track us down.”
“I’m not sure if it will matter what we say,” Nolan denied after a moment’s thought. “They’re going to be asking a lot of questions from their new students. They’ll learn everything eventually.”
Very true. But that meant they didn’t really have any good options. Well, no, Trev’nor could think of one. He could honestly say that this whole thing had been Becca’s idea.
“Trev, so help me, if you start off with ‘This was all Becca’s idea’ I will zap you.”
He did a double take, flinching back into his chair. “Do you read minds?!”
“That was written all over your face,” she growled, frown dark, eye twitching. “Might I remind you that conquering Khobunter was not my idea? I came up here to research weather patterns and get a dragon.”
Right. Come to think of it…his
eyes gravitated to Nolan.
“You can’t use me as a scapegoat either,” his friend informed him drolly. “You were the one adamant about conquering the country. Man up, Trev.”
“But life is so much easier when I have someone in mind to blame.”
“Man up,” Becca echoed. “In fact, I think it’s time we all man up. At our ages, Garth was doing covert operations in Chahir.”
“He had backing from a king,” Trev’nor couldn’t help but point out.
“Dilly-dally, shilly-shally. Same difference. You think if Shad knew about this situation, or Aletha, or Xiaolang, that they would react any differently? You think if Garth or Chatta knew what was going on, they would have hesitated?”
Well, no, likely not. “I suppose we are old enough to not be worried about the parents.”
“You can be.” Nolan made a face. “I can’t.”
True, his father and grandfather would not be pleased to have their heir apparent conquering another country. “I’ll help you escape before they can catch and skin you.”
“You’re a true friend, Trev.” Resigned, Nolan heaved himself to his feet and went to a nearby desk, rummaging in the drawers for a few moments before giving a soft, “Ha!” of victory. Coming back, he pulled a small table closer to his chair and laid paper and quill out. “Well, let’s write a letter. You can explain the situation as much as you need to when you’re in Q’atal, but I wouldn’t stay there long.”
It wasn’t like they could keep things in the dark forever. “What are we going for? Full confession, half-confession, bare basics?”
Becca twirled a strand of hair in between her fingers, staring absently at the floor. “Full confession.”
“Full confession,” Nolan agreed. “Because otherwise the facts will get warped by other people and who knows what they’ll think? I’d rather not have them come after us in a panic, assuming that something has gone drastically wrong.”
Trev’nor imagined Garth in full-panic. Or Shad. Or Xiaolang. Yikes, that wasn’t a good picture. “Yup, I vote we avoid that. So, full confession it is. When should we deliver our magicians? Tonight?”
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