by Robert Brady
“You’ll get me a husband if you’re right?” she asked me.
I looked her in the eye, thirteen and a woman. Her time approached quickly. There were unmarried sons out there.
“I can probably get you a better one if it is before he dies,” I said.
She nodded, turned on her heel and walked away. Averee clung to Shela for as long as she could, then broke away to be with her sister. Family was family, after all.
I tried to tell myself that this was what War wanted. He’d given me his command, He’d told me to replace Glennen. Now Glennen was doing all the leg work, and I only had to sit back and do nothing.
So why did I feel like I was holding a bloody knife, and the whole world was looking at me?
J’her met me in the Heir’s chambers. Shela was complaining that dust had collected everywhere in the month we’d been gone, when he rapped on the polished double-doors and begged permission to come in.
I welcomed him and introduced him to Shela and Lee. Something came into his eyes as he looked down at the gurgling girl in her bassinet. He didn’t offer and I didn’t push it – in the Pack, you came in with what you had, and it was yours, no matter what.
“Where do we stand?” I asked him.
He looked down at the floor, around him, and back at me like I’d said something crazy.
“Who controls the palace?” I asked him again.
He raised his chin and eyebrows without saying, “Ahhh.” He considered himself a comic in his own way, I assumed.
“I’ve been hearing reports that tell me you’re in charge here, as much as you can be,” I added.
“I run it all now,” J’her informed me, simply. “The Eldadorian Regulars aren’t even allowed inside the palace without our permission.”
‘Our,’ not ‘his,’ I noted. Well played, J’her – make sure I’m in on it, and you’re just running it for me.
“Did they make much of a fuss?” I asked him.
“Do you remember Daharef?” J’her asked me.
“The general who replaced Sammin,” I answered him.
J’her nodded. “He’s pretty dead.”
Wow – I hadn’t seen that coming. “That must have pissed – that must have made a lot of their commanding officers upset.”
J’her shrugged. “I put him in a position where he was insulting me, and I called him on it. It was to first blood, but he didn’t survive it. That sort of thing happens.”
“So you gave them a way out from having to come after you,” I noted.
He sat down on the one hard-backed chair in the room. Couches had been added, and a table, but the chairs were either not ready or not ordered, and for whatever reason we only had one.
Pretty ballsy of him to sit in it while I still stood.
Shela caught my eye and arched an eyebrow. Subordinates could get too familiar.
“I have to ask you something, Lupus,” he said to me, looking me in the eye. “And I have to ask that you be very honest with me.”
I parked my hip on the table and kept looking in his eye. His were brown, very steady. He’d faced death about as much as I had.
“Always,” I informed him.
“You’re not going to – what’s the expression you use? – start ‘knocking off’ Eldadorians, are you?”
I wanted to laugh but just smiled. “No,” I informed him. “I didn’t even want you to take out Daharef.”
“But you realize that some of them had to die,” he said.
I didn’t, but there was no point in fighting it. He was worried that he’d signed up with a bad guy. He was going to try to get permission to leave me if he didn’t hear what he wanted to.
I’d have to back-pedal pretty fast if that happened. A lot of Wolf Soldiers liked J’her.
“I need my own people in charge here,” I informed him, “because Eldadorian Regulars can’t handle the King, and because we’ve put a lot of effort into making the rest of Fovea afraid of us. You know what Two Spears said, when he came back from here?”
J’her shook his head.
Shela chimed in, “He said that, if he were still with my people, then he’d come sack this city, because it would be so easy.”
J’her nodded again. “If not for the Wolf Soldiers, it would be,” he said.
“If not for the Wolf Soldiers,” I agreed.
“But the Eldadorians could never admit that,” he continued.
“Shame on them if they did,” I said.
“Yes, a lot of it,” he agreed. “But when they lose a fight to one of us, and then I use that as an excuse to start changing out their warriors with ours – “
“People are afraid of us for a reason,” I finished for him. “No shame in that.”
“And you’re the Heir, after all.”
We both nodded. We talked for a while. I let him know there was another promotion in his future. He didn’t ask about it.
But I was happy with him.
Over the next three days we spoke more, and I tried to catch Glennen in some period of lucidity, so that he could at least have a chance to give the kids something decent to remember him by, but Glennen was a committed drunk now, and there would be no respite for him. His Oligarchs were clearly feeding him as much as he wanted in order to keep him manageable. I didn’t know whether or not they knew that this would hasten his death.
One thing I’d noted was that, to sober him up, they’d toss him in a big, marble bath tub that sat in a room adjoining his room. Getting hot water into it involved a bucket brigade from the kitchens, and getting the water out involved another. The whole thing created a mess and it happened three times a week (and had been daily when Alekanna had been alive). These people had no concept of indoor plumbing or water heaters, so I spent an entire day with two of the Uman, Dwarf-trained engineers whom I’d brought with me from Thera and enlightened them to a world of running water.
On the third day, sitting in court, the Free Legion petitioned for my audience. I granted it to them and summoned Shela.
They were the same as last I had seen them. A year hadn’t changed much. Thorn scowled to break glass, and D’gattis with him. I could see Karel grinning ear-to-ear, and Arath looked shrewd and pensive. Nantar clearly wanted to grab me in a bear hug, and Ancenon just as clearly didn’t like being summoned.
Dilvesh just nodded to me, as if to say, “I know you, and you know me – and we have that no matter what else happens.”
“We come at your request, Rancor Mordetur, as citizens of Eldador,” said Ancenon, speaking for the group.
“I made no request, Ancenon Aurelias,” I said. “We are most concerned over the siege of Eldador the Port.”
“We were within our rights as mercenaries,” Thorn scowled.
“But not,” I said, “as Eldadorian citizens, which you are.”
“I am actually a Trenboni,” Ancenon said, “and a visiting representative of King Angron.”
“Angron has declared for Avek Noir,” I corrected him, looking him right in the eyes. “We are informed that it is he who represents the future of Trenbon.”
D’gattis and Ancenon looked at me with silver-on-silver eyes, which made it difficult to tell if they were looking straight ahead or at each other. Their eyebrows, however, were telling.
“We were in fact under that nation’s employ,” Ancenon said.
“Which you took instead of that offered you by Eldador,” I said.
“We received your offer too late to act,” D’gattis said.
“And yet, you found time to answer Trenbon’s offer,” I countered.
I could tell he wanted to say that he got Trenbon’s offer first, but Shela stood right there to detect the lie. At least I knew, right then, that the bounty hunters weren’t working with Conflu and the Trenboni, unless they simply knew of the plot and acted on it.
“You will note,” Ancenon said, “that when your personage presented itself, even in clear effigy, we retreated before you.”
“You’re sayin
g you knew it wasn’t me?” I pressed him.
“That horse was not Blizzard,” Thorn scoffed.
I should have known better, but there isn’t a horse like Blizzard.
“We stood away from Eldador and collaborated in the ruse against our client, because we are Eldadorian citizens,” Ancenon said, looking right at me. A lie, but a good one, and one that everyone could live with. Even when it got back to the Trenboni, they would know the truth and not feel betrayed.
If I wanted to make things hard for Ancenon, I had my shot right now. But it gained me nothing and lost me what little I had left with him.
I nodded. “We will expect you at the royal table tonight,” I said.
Ancenon looked irritated but nodded and thanked me. Throwing capes up over their shoulders with a flourish, they turned and exited, dismissed.
Well, that was new.
Waiting for the King when you knew that he’d passed out in a puddle might be a persistent pain in my ass, but protocol demanded it, and it did get me fifteen minutes every day with the Oligarchs.
“Your Free Legion is in attendance,” three told me.
“And as you requested, it is they, and us, and none of the court barons, most of whom are chagrined and vexed with you,” one added.
I smiled. “Chagrined and vexed? When does a revolution begin?”
“We need alliances for the upcoming change of crowns,” four complained. “And a court baron is a powerful ally to a duke with a city’s resources behind him.”
“No one likes how you handled Yerel,” three commented.
“Everyone expected you to raid his city, but not depose him,” one said.
“And now they’re wondering who’s next?” I said.
All four nodded.
A part of me said, “Let them wonder,” but that part needed to think about every single city in the nation trying to go its own way at the same time, which could happen.
“Invite them to meet me by twos and threes,” I said. “We can’t do anything official with the King here, but I can meet with anyone I want. Tell them I need their advice. People love to give people like me advice.”
“I know I enjoy it,” two said. The other three smiled.
“Protocol is satisfied, I think,” three said.
We entered the royal dining room, the people at the table rising to meet us.
We dined on the usual stacks of meats and cheeses, with more fish than usual, because this late in the season fish became the most plentiful food. As the next harvest grew through the summer, we would eat more things like fish and grains, until the next harvest, when we would have more fruits and vegetables.
I got that hug from Nantar, a bone-crusher to be sure, and gripped the wrists of everyone but the Uman-Chi. They showed some hesitancy around the Oligarchs at first, but it didn’t take long for them to open up.
“I was never fooled by the Theran militia, of course,” D’gattis bragged. “Much less your impersonator.”
“Those were my lancers,” I said.
“Well, the lancers,” D’gattis said, with a flick of his hand. “No match for ours, of course.”
Arath just grinned to himself.
“And our Sarandi are no different from your Wolf Soldiers,” Nantar commented.
“Except, as well, better trained,” D’gattis added.
“And what are your plans for them?” I asked.
They looked to Ancenon, who looked at them, and then at me.
“You are certain of these advisors to the King?” he asked.
The first Oligarch said, “You might remember, your Highness, that we were the ones who first recruited you.”
“They have my complete confidence,” I said.
Ancenon nodded. “We are for Sental, to invade into Volkhydro.”
“We nearly were for Volkhydro,” Arath said. “They offered more money, but we would have had to pay to billet our men.”
“So we are doing better this way,” Thorn said. “And no one ever starved in Sental.”
Shela chuckled. I didn’t get the joke.
“We wanted to make you aware as well,” Ancenon said, “that we were invited to Andurin, and to Vrek. Groff of Andurin is clearly wondering if he can break off the Andurin peninsula from your nation. Ceberro of Vrek wanted us to invade Kor on his behalf, but he wanted us to conquer it for him.”
“I think he is going to do that anyway,” Arath said.
“Kor isn’t actually an Eldadorian city,” I said. “Although I may someday change that. I am worried about Groff of Andurin, though.”
“You should be,” D’gattis said, delighting in my difficulty. “Andurin has 15,000 foot soldiers and could levy the coastal towns for 15,000 more if he had to.”
“Not that they could stand against Wolf Soldiers,” Nantar said. “He wanted us specifically to meet your troops with ours.”
I frowned. I thought Groff, if not a supporter, didn’t want the job of Heir for himself. His loyalty fell to Glennen, not to Eldador.
“I have a lot of contacts in that part of the world,” Karel said.
I looked him in his blue eyes. “Aren’t you going to Sental?” I asked him.
“I can’t see why,” Karel said. “There isn’t anything for me to tell them that they don’t already know. If something comes up, I could take a short boat trip there. Andurin is a port, after all.”
“I agree,” Arath said. “I don’t think it does us any good for Andurin to become an independent nation.”
“I would think otherwise,” D’gattis said. “It would create a new nation to make war for, and against.”
“I wouldn’t allow it,” I said, looking D’gattis in the eyes. “And I wouldn’t have a lot of tolerance for anyone who helped them.”
“And I don’t see what you could do about it,” D’gattis said, leaning back in his chair. “If it were me, and I were to –“
His chair exploded underneath him, and he crashed in a cloud of splinters to the ground. The look of rage that crossed his face changed to surprise as he tried to stand and flew like a doll against the wall.
“This is intolerable,” Ancenon said, standing and throwing back his robes.
“I wouldn’t do it if I were you,” Dilvesh said, quietly.
Ancenon looked at him, his brows down in a scowl.
“I was even getting sick of listening to D’gattis bait him,” Thorn said.
D’gattis stood slowly, expecting to be put back down. He faced off across the table, directly at Shela.
“I am a member of the Free Legion and a Trenboni – “
He flew back against the wall again. I saw Shela fuming. She took her position as my woman seriously in any regard, and far more seriously when she thought anything threatened me.
This time Ancenon stepped in to protect D’gattis, raising his hand in a white blaze of power. Shela raised hers up to meet his, and both surged with energy.
“Enough,” I said.
Ancenon didn’t back down, so Shela couldn’t. D’gattis stood, and I didn’t doubt that D’gattis would gang up on Shela if he thought he had a chance to put her down.
Then Dilvesh rose, and all he did was put his thumbs and index fingers on the table in front of him. He turned his head to his left and to his right, not really looking at anyone.
Ancenon’s hand suddenly became visible through his spell. The blaze of white dwindled back to nothing, and he sat back down, exhausted.
He turned his head first to Dilvesh, and then to me.
“You helped to create the Free Legion, will you now tear it apart?” he asked me.
“Are you sure you’re asking that of the right person?” I said, and looked at D’gattis.
“If you think that my rise to power in Eldador is a threat to you,” I said, “then you are entitled to your opinion. If you think you can act against me within the Fire Bond, you do so at the peril of your god.
“But act directly against me and my interests in Eldador – try to get the
Eldadorian Dukes to split off from me - and I will forget this Fire Bond and consider you my enemy. You Uman-Chi have seen before what happens to those who oppose me.”
D’gattis straightened, then turned and left the room. At the door, he looked over at Ancenon, probably to see if they were leaving together, and then stormed out without him.
“That didn’t go well,” Nantar said.
Shela just sighed next to me.
“His family and mine have lost much favor for our association with you,” Ancenon said. “When we wouldn’t stand against you in your invasion of Outpost IX, we were forced to explain the Fire Bond to Angron, and then could not explain the reason why we had stepped into it with lesser – “
He caught himself before he said, “Races,” but you would have to know nothing about the Uman-Chi not to know that they felt that way.
“Meanwhile the Hunters have made me almost a favorite son,” Thorn said.
“My people tell a story where it was me who invaded in your armor,” Nantar said, grinning through his beard.
“I wonder where they got that idea?” Karel said to him.
“Who knows how these things spread?” Nantar said, grinning wider.
“Among the Druids, we see the balance that our Lupus brings,” Dilvesh, said. “Some power some day would oppose Trenbon’s supremacy on Tren Bay. Be glad that it was not the Confluni.”
“We would have ripped the Confluni apart,” Ancenon said, a smile on his face.
“And their answer would have been to throw more bodies at you,” Dilvesh said, then looked at me. “How many did you kill in Thera?”
Why lie? “Almost 29,000.”
“And the bodies?” he asked.
“Feeding fish in the bay,” Shela said. “Maybe 500 were buried. We sent one of their commanders’ bodies back to Conflu.”
“Multiply that by a thousand,” Dilvesh said. “That is how many you would send to Water in your battle with them. Believe me when I tell you that you cannot know how you would change Fovea and the disaster it would be.”
“The Fovean High Council would not allow it,” Ancenon said, indignantly.
“We’ve all seen how effective they are,” Thorn said. “Are the Dorkans even sending emissaries anymore?”