Sacrifice

by Christopher Mitchell

  ‘Then your primary duty is to protect her, even if she asks you to put her in danger. If a similar situation occurs again, Kylon, I want you to remember that duty, and say no. It’s alright to say no to her, she’s one. If I gave in to her every request, she’d eat nothing but cake and biscuits. Do you want her to eat nothing but cake and biscuits? ’

  Kylon frowned, and looked away. Daphne sighed. Compared to Kylon, Killop was an open book, and she struggled to understand what he was thinking most of the time.

  ‘You Kell,’ she muttered. ‘I miss Bedig and Bridget, they’re so straightforward in comparison. Tell me, are the Kell known for their brooding bloody-mindedness?’

  ‘Maybe if the Brig had been invaded first,’ Kylon said, ‘they’d have a greater understanding of the price we paid. Tell me, Lady Holdfast, apart from Killop, how many Kell did you see when you lived in Slateford? I’ll bet it wasn’t many.’

  Daphne paused. She remembered Kalden, but he had died. There were others, weren’t there?

  ‘Conal,’ she said. ‘He was there. He knew Killop from before.’

  Kylon smirked. ‘So, one? Among how many Brig and Domm?’

  ‘Damn,’ she said. ‘I hadn’t really thought of it that way. The Rahain attacked Kell first.’

  ‘And our folk took the brunt of it. So, forgive us if we are melancholy, for few of us remain. The haven at Domm, if it survives, will end up an amalgam of the other three clans. The Kell songs and stories, they’ll be the ones forgotten first.’

  Daphne nodded. ‘Then you know how it feels to see your country trampled underfoot, by an invader who cares nothing for the lives of your people, who burns, destroys and kills his way across the land you love. For that is now the fate of the Holdings.’

  ‘I sympathise,’ he said, ‘which is why I’m still arguing with you about strategy. This war is not lost yet. The rebels still have four high mages sheltering in Royston. If they scattered into the mountains, with supplies and soldiers to protect them, then the Emperor’s army will have to hunt them. If you take up guerrilla tactics, and harass the Rahain forces constantly, they’ll run out of supplies, and have to head back to the Plateau before winter comes along to starve them.’

  Daphne shook her head. ‘And then what? He comes back next year?’

  ‘Ultimately, we need to strike, we need to kill him. But for now, I just want the survival of those who are prepared to resist him. ’

  ‘Then our aims are aligned. You know, if the situation were different, I might offer you a place on my command.’

  ‘I have your ear,’ he said. ‘I just hope you listen to my words.’

  She glanced at him, his dark eyes hiding whatever schemes were going through his mind.

  ‘If only I could trust you,’ she said.

  He said nothing, turning his glance back to the lines of tents.

  ‘Here you are,’ said Killop, walking along the low ridge towards them. ‘A messenger’s arrived from Queen Mirren for you.’

  ‘Yeah?’ Daphne said. ‘Have I been summoned?’

  Killop sat next to them.

  ‘Aye,’ he said, ‘looks like it.’

  His gaze wandered over the tents. He shook his head.

  ‘Are you going along?’ said Kylon.

  Killop shrugged. ‘Doubt I’m invited.’

  ‘I want you to stay here,’ Daphne said, ‘but not because I care about what the other Holders think. I want you here so you’re ready.’

  He nodded.

  ‘We’ll be ready,’ said Kylon.

  Daphne glanced at the two men. ‘Don’t you want to know what for?’

  ‘We’re Kell,’ said Kylon. ‘We’re ready for anything.’

  Daphne took Commander Annifrid with her, and they accompanied the messenger into the town of Royston. The town’s wealth was based on the rich iron seams in the hills to the north, and the walled settlement lay piled up the side of a mountain. The entrance gates were on the level of the plains, while the aristocratic quarters were reached by steep paths up the hillside. Mirren Blackhold’s temporary accommodation was located in the heart of the noble district, in an old, stone mansion across a square from the town hall, where the rebel command was based.

  The streets of the town were quiet, with most shops closed, and many houses boarded up. Much of the population had already fled into the hills. Those with mining connections had journeyed up to the large communities nestled by the iron seams, while others had simply run.

  Daphne, Annifrid and their small honour guard ascended the paths to the upper quarter. The square where the town hall lay was guarded, with militia wearing the insignia of Hold Smith, the most powerful noble house of Royston. They were waved through, the soldiers saluting her as they passed.

  The square was deserted, and they crossed to Mirren’s mansion. More guards let them enter, and a courtier escorted them to a private reception chamber, where the queen sat, drinking tea.

  ‘My dear Daphne Holdfast,’ she said, ‘thank you for coming. Tea?’

  ‘Please.’ She nodded to her guard, and they took up positions outside the chamber. She walked forward, Annifrid by her side, and they sat by the low table across from Mirren. The queen poured three hot cups of golden liquid.

  ‘Are you hungry?’

  ‘No, ma’am,’ Daphne said, opening her cigarette case and offering it to the others.

  ‘Thank you,’ said Mirren. They lit their cigarettes and drank tea.

  ‘The meeting due to be held this evening,’ Mirren said, ‘will be attended by every Hold in the rebellion. I thought it might be in our interests if we were to go over a few salient points before we attend.’

  Daphne shook her head. ‘I harbour some doubt as to whether anything we say will have any influence with what remains of the leadership.’

  ‘You and I have been frozen out by the others since the battle,’ Mirren said. ‘I trust you know why that is? We two were the only ones mentioned by name in the Emperor’s letter.’

  Annifrid looked up. ‘The Emperor sent a letter?’ she said. ‘Why? He could destroy us all if he wanted to.’

  ‘He wants our mages,’ Daphne said. ‘He knows we’re hiding them, and doesn’t want to risk killing them if he attacks. ’

  ‘Indeed,’ said Mirren. ‘However, with Faden’s death you and I have been relegated from leadership to bargaining chips.’

  ‘Do you think the others wish to trade us? For what?’

  ‘For a promise that the Emperor will spare their lands. He has already scoured Holds Cane and Clement, and he is currently employed in burning Hold Vale to the ground. Holders Terras, Wain and Smith naturally feel that their turn is next. If you’re asking if I think they would sell us out if the Emperor promised to spare them, then I would have to say yes, of course they would.’

  ‘The Emperor’s promises are worth nothing.’

  ‘I know that, you know that, but a whisper of water to a man dying of thirst can do wonders for changing his mind. Tell me, how many troopers of Hold Fast do you have battle-ready?’

  ‘Three hundred.’

  Mirren nodded.

  Daphne sat back in her chair. ‘Not tempted to go running back to Guilliam?’

  Mirren put down her teacup, and swept a stray hair from her face. Daphne smoked, watching her.

  ‘I know you don’t like me,’ Mirren said. ‘I can see why. I was having an affair with your sister’s husband after all.’ She shook her head. ‘Faden was weak. It should have been your father who led the rebellion…’

  ‘Did you want to screw him as well?’ Daphne said. ‘Two queens might have been too much, even for him.’

  Annifrid made a choking sound, and put a hand to her face.

  Mirren glanced at Daphne, raising an eyebrow.

  Daphne shrugged. ‘Probably.’

  ‘Godfrey was a good man,’ sobbed Annifrid.

  ‘I’m sure he was,’ Mirren said, offering her a hankie. ‘Now, Lady Daphne, what I meant earlier by referencing your father, wa
s that the Hold Fast name remains the only one capable of uniting any resistance to the Emperor. I am a patriot. Above all else I love this country, and will fight to my last breath to protect it. ’

  Daphne nodded, sipping her tea.

  ‘To this end,’ Mirren went on, ‘I pledge my support to you, Holder Fast. I am willing to kneel to you, as leader of whatever rabble we have to cobble together to defend this land. Do you understand? So long as you don’t submit to any notion of surrender, then I’m your woman. Lead us.’

  ‘I accept your pledge, ma’am,’ Daphne said, stubbing out her cigarette. ‘My trust is never given out lightly, but I believe you love the Holdings, and will fight for it. I have orders for you, that I want you to carry out tonight, but before I tell you them, I wanted to say that you were right all along.’

  Mirren smiled. ‘What about?’

  ‘The Emperor is not your husband.’

  Her face fell. She lit a cigarette. ‘Tell me. What do you know?’

  ‘Guilliam’s dead,’ Daphne said. ‘The man you knew has gone. He was killed by the spirit that took over his body. I’m sorry.’

  ‘A spirit?’

  ‘The Creator.’

  Mirren narrowed her eyes, and Annifrid looked up.

  Daphne put down her tea. ‘The Creator has taken on flesh and inhabits the body of your husband. He has every power that the world’s mages possess, and he wants to ensnare every other mage that’s still alive.’

  Mirren stared at her in disbelief.

  Daphne smiled at her. ‘And he wants his queen back.’

  The town hall of Royston was a grand building on the top level of the town. It was partly dug out of the hillside, and was fronted by a solemn row of pillars. Above the main entrance were the insignia of the noble Holds that dominated the iron industry. Among them, only Hold Smith was on the side of the rebels. The others had awaited the result of the Red Hills battle before declaring, and had abandoned the town at the news of the Emperor’s victory.

  Daphne ascended the steps to the great doors, a single armed cavalryman from her company as escort. She wished Chane was by her side, but her injuries from the battle had her confined to bed.

  The guards at the entrance saluted, and Daphne entered. She went through the lobby, her escort a pace behind, and proceeded into the great hall. A dozen large chairs were arranged in a semi-circle in the middle of the floor, with rows of tiered benches to either side. Several guards had been posted at each of the doorways, and Daphne noted their numbers and positions. The doors were closed behind her, and a courtier showed Daphne to her seat among the rebel leaders. Her chair had the insignia of Hold Clearwater, a minor aristocratic house that had fled as soon as the rebels had arrived after the battle. As she sat she caught a glance from Mirren, who was seated opposite her.

  Lord Holdsmith nodded to Daphne and smiled. ‘Now that Holder Fast is present,’ he said, ‘we may commence our deliberations.’

  ‘Commence?’ Daphne said. ‘And here I thought you scamps had been plotting for hours already.’

  ‘See?’ Lord Holdwain said. ‘This is the very attitude I was talking about.’

  ‘Would you care to withdraw that statement, Lady Holdfast?’ Lord Holdsmith said.

  ‘Why? Was it factually incorrect?’

  ‘It was impertinent,’ said Mirren.

  ‘Fair enough,’ said Daphne. ‘I withdraw the part where I called you all scamps. Would conspirators be more apt? Traitors? Tell me, which word adequately describes one party that is about to betray another?’

  ‘We must act for the greater good,’ said Lord Holdwain, his eyes tight. ‘Flinging insults and accusations around helps no one.’

  ‘Of course, Holder Wain,’ Daphne said, ‘and I apologise if anyone feels insulted.’

  She smiled at him, her mask of calm confidence hiding her rage. She took a measure of the man’s mind, reading his emotions, and saw contempt for her, and fear.

  ‘We shall continue,’ said Lord Holdsmith. He took a parchment from the small table next to his chair. ‘This is the draft of a possible reply to the Emperor’s letter that arrived some days ago, acceding to his demands. In order for it to become valid, it must be voted on by we who are gathered here this evening.’

  ‘May I read it?’ Daphne said.

  ‘Certainly.’

  Lord Holdsmith passed the letter to a courtier, who bowed and carried it across the hall to Daphne. She took it, and scanned down the single sheet. It announced the unconditional surrender of the Holders’ rebellion, and denounced the late Lord Holdwick as a traitor to the imperial throne. Almost as an afterthought, at the bottom it mentioned that all mages held by the rebels would be delivered to the Emperor, along with his queen.

  ‘Interesting,’ she said, sliding a thread of vision into Lord Holdsmith’s mind. ‘By the way, where are the mages?’

  The Holder’s thoughts flashed to a heavily guarded building in the lower town near the main gates. Daphne saw four hooded figures, chained and surrounded by soldiers. She recognised the street, and pulled her vision out, and sent it flying down the hill to the tents outside the town. As quickly as she was able, she pushed the image into Annifrid’s head, then found Killop, and gave him the signal to go.

  ‘That, Lady Holdfast,’ Lord Holdsmith said, ‘is not what we are here to discuss. Have you read the letter?’

  ‘What, this letter?’ she said, ripping the parchment in two, and letting the pieces fall to the floor. ‘How about I draft you a new one? “Dear Emperor, kiss my arse.” That should do it.’

  Lady Terras laughed.

  Daphne glanced at her. ‘You think it’s funny? It’s a pity your brother Quentin isn’t Lord of Hold Terras. I knew him when he was the ambassador in Rahain. He would never betray me, or Mirren, or the four mages. ’

  The elderly woman shrugged. ‘What you call betrayal, I call survival. It’s simple, really. If we fight on, then the Emperor will obliterate us one by one, wiping out our lands, and our family names. This way, we only lose six people, instead of thousands.’

  Daphne sighed, and gazed around the room. ‘Are you really all so stupid? You actually believe the Emperor’s promises? After everything he did to the River Holdings? And Holder Vale, didn’t she surrender? Yet the Emperor still had her executed, and still destroyed her lands. What makes you think he won’t do the same to you, after you’ve handed us over?’

  ‘It’s not an easy decision,’ said Holder Elance, a young man whose father had been killed at Red Hills. He shook his head. ‘But I can see no alternative to accepting the Emperor’s demands. Sorry.’

  ‘Your father should never have instigated this rebellion,’ said Holder Wain. ‘It was a strategic error that we are all paying for. It is right and proper that Holder Fast carries some of that cost.’

  ‘My head on a stick, you mean?’ Daphne said. ‘Next to the queen’s, if she’s lucky and the Emperor hasn’t devised some other torment for her.’ She dropped her mask for a second, making plain her disgust for them. ‘Go on, then. Have your vote.’

  Lord Holdsmith signalled to a courtier, who produced a rolled up scroll from within his tunic.

  ‘I took the liberty of making a copy,’ the Holder said, glancing at Daphne. He turned to address the hall. ‘Would those in favour of the draft letter, which signals our surrender, and our acquiescence to his Imperial Majesty’s demands, please raise their hands.’

  Except for Daphne and Mirren, every Holder lifted their right hand in the air.

  ‘A clear majority,’ said Lord Holdsmith. He nodded to a nearby officer. ‘Captain, please take Holder Fast and Queen Mirren Blackhold into custody.’

  There was a scuffle by the main doors as Daphne’s cavalryman escort was disarmed and put under guard. Daphne glanced at Mirren, nodded, then turned to face the approaching troopers. She raised her right hand, and a wave of energy surged out from her, sending the troopers collapsing to the ground, their eyes vacant, their swords and crossbows clattering across the marb
le floor.

  ‘I’m assuming control of the rebellion,’ Daphne said to the lords and ladies sitting open-mouthed around her. ‘The soldiers camped outside the town walls are now under my authority, as are the four mages.’

  Lord Holdwain sprang to his feet, drawing a knife from under his cloak.

  ‘Die, Holdfast,’ he cried.

  Daphne raised a finger and scoured his mind clean. He staggered, made a choking, gargling sound, then toppled over.

  ‘Would anyone else like to comment?’ Daphne said.

  Lady Terras raised her hand.

  ‘Yes, Holder?’

  The elderly woman glanced at the troopers lying on the floor. ‘Will they be all right?’

  ‘They’ll awake in an hour or so,’ she said. ‘They’ll be fine.’

  ‘And him?’ she pointed at Lord Holdwain.

  Daphne shook her head.

  ‘Do you intend to kill us, Holder Fast?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘In that case,’ the old lady said, ‘I ask to be spared. I have two hundred loyal troopers, who will join with yours, and I have information.’

  ‘Yeah? What?’

  Lady Terras gazed round at the other Holders. ‘The deal with the Emperor,’ she said, ‘was struck before you walked into the room. Lord Holdsmith has already sent the letter announcing our surrender, and our intention to hand over those requested.’

  Daphne shrugged. ‘You’ll have to do better, my lady, I’d already guessed that.’

  Lady Terras smiled. ‘Yes, but did you guess that the Emperor is on his way to Royston at this very moment, carried through the air by winged gaien? ’

  ‘No,’ Daphne said, ‘that I didn’t know. Get up, if you want to live.’

  Lady Terras got to her feet, smoothing down her robes, as the other Holders stared at her, their hatred obvious.

  Daphne turned to Mirren. ‘Your Majesty?’

  The queen stood.

  Lord Holdsmith shook his head. ‘Betrayed by those we wished to betray?’

  ‘What did you expect, Holder Smith?’ Mirren said. ‘Did you think we would meekly fall into the Emperor’s hands?’