by Amy Raby
“I see six horses,” he whispered. “And a man who stayed behind with them.”
That left five at her door. She pulled her shirt on. “Who do you think it is?”
“I’ve no idea,” said Justien. “The man outside isn’t wearing a uniform.”
Nalica grabbed her vest, threw it over her shoulders, and fastened the ties.
“Visitors from the Imperial Palace,” called a deep-voiced man. “Open the door.”
“Just a moment,” Justien answered him. “We’re getting dressed.”
The voices behind the door fell silent. Nalica tucked in her shirt and smoothed her clothes, hoping she looked presentable despite the wrinkles. If she’d known she’d have company this morning other than Justien, especially someone from the palace, she’d have hung up her clothes last night instead of leaving them in a sad pile on the floor.
Justien finished putting on his shirt. “Stay behind me,” he said as he went to the door.
Nalica smiled. She didn’t need protection, but it was kind of him to offer it.
Justien opened the door, and a man almost as big as he was came inside, looking alertly about the room. A second man and a woman followed him. They wore the silk syrtoses of the very rich or powerful. The men were armed with swords and pistols, and she could tell by the way they carried themselves that they were confident and experienced warriors. She had the impression they were bodyguards. She expected two more people to come in, based on the number of horses outside, but these did not materialize. Perhaps they waited downstairs.
The woman, dressed in red and gold silk, came forward and offered her arm. “My name is Kolta. I bring news from the palace and a proposition for you.”
Nalica clasped wrists with her, and Justien did the same.
“Take a seat, if you will,” said Kolta. “We need to talk.”
The woman spoke as if command came naturally to her, and while she hadn’t stated her rank or said anything about who she was aside from her name, it was clear that she was a lady of some importance. Nalica glanced around the room. Kolta had asked her to take a seat, but there weren’t any chairs. She sat on the bed, and Justien settled beside her, folding his hands on his lap.
“There aren’t any chairs in here,” remarked Kolta in a tone of mild vexation.
“I’ll fetch one,” said a bodyguard. He hurried out the door.
Kolta addressed Nalica and Justien. “I want you to know that the imperial guard took Captain Felix Hadrianus of the Riat City Guard into custody last night and interrogated him. Under the influence of a truth spell, he confessed to poisoning one of the horses slated to run in the Imperial Plate. Fortunately, the poison was not a fatal one, and the animal will recover.”
Nalica blinked. She was glad to know the fates of Felix and the horse, but she couldn’t imagine why an imperial representative would come all this way to tell her about it. “Will the race be run again?”
“In a month,” said Kolta. “The affected horse needs time to recover his condition.”
“I’m glad to hear that the horse will have a second chance,” said Justien.
The bodyguard returned, carrying a simple wooden chair. He placed it on the floor next to Kolta, and she took a seat. “I thought you’d like to know about the arrest since you were the ones who reported Felix’s presence in the racing stables,” said Kolta. “Without that tip, we wouldn’t have known to speak to him.”
“What will happen to Felix?” Nalica asked.
“He’ll face trial,” said Kolta. “I expect he’ll receive twenty lashes and be removed from his position. The emperor won’t allow a criminal to lead the city guard.”
“Who will replace him?” asked Justien.
“The mayor will choose somebody.” Kolta waved a hand, dismissing the subject. “That was quite a spectacle last night. The archery tournament, I mean.”
It had been a fiasco, but Nalica wasn’t going to say that in front of an imperial representative.
“What did you think of the outcome?” Kolta’s eyes traveled from Nalica to Justien and back again.
“Were you present?” asked Justien.
“I was,” said Kolta. “I saw everything.”
“Then I believe you have some idea how I felt about it.” Justien swallowed. There was a quaver in his voice that wasn’t typical of him. “The judges passed over Nalica, and I’m sure it was because she’s a woman. I declined their prize because I didn’t want what I hadn’t earned.”
“I’m glad you turned it down,” said Kolta. “A job in the Riat City Guard wouldn’t have suited you. Nor would it have suited Nalica. You’re too good for it.”
Nalica hoped her pique did not show. This pampered scion of the imperium clearly had no idea how hard it was for a war mage, too good or not, to find work. “Thank you. But I’d have been glad to have that job. I wish I had won it.”
“Why do you want the job?” asked Kolta. “Are you out of work? Please tell me about your backgrounds, both of you. I’m most curious.”
Nalica glanced at Justien, who gestured at her to go first.
She took a deep breath while she collected her thoughts. This was starting to sound like a job interview. Clearly Kolta had an interest in them, and it had to be a serious interest for her to have come all this way. Maybe she was looking for another bodyguard, although the two she already had seemed more than up to the task. “I’m from Clan Kelden in Vereth province. That’s mountain country, in the east.”
Kolta nodded. “I’m familiar with Vereth.”
“My people were herders,” she continued. “When meat and milk prices dropped too low, we sold off our stock and formed a mercenary troop. I became a war mage at the age of sixteen. When my father grew ill and infirm, I took over leadership of the troop and ran it for five years. But the demand for mercenaries has dried up, and last year the troop disbanded due to lack of sufficient contracts. I’ve been looking for work ever since.”
Kolta turned to Justien. “And you?”
“I’m Polini clan, also from Vereth province,” said Justien. “When my family sold off their stock, I joined Red Eagle battalion as a prefect.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. The emperor disbanded that one,” said Kolta. “I take it you lost your position.”
“Yes,” said Justien. “Since then, I’ve been looking for steady work, but I’ve only been able to pick up short term assignments. Guarding dignitaries, escorting caravans, that sort of thing.”
“The emperor had no choice about Red Eagle,” said Kolta. “But believe me, he’s aware of the difficulties that decision caused. Did either of you fight for or against the Usurper?”
Nalica shook her head. The woman was referring to the time several years before when a rival had temporarily seized Lucien’s throne, leading to a civil war as Lucien and the Usurper raised armies and clashed. That had been a good time for her, in that there had been a lot of jobs available, but she had not been involved directly in the war.
Justien said, “I’m sure I would have fought on one side or the other if I’d still been in Red Eagle, but only the existing battalions were called up.”
Kolta shifted on her chair, straightening the pleats of her syrtos. “Let me now get to my proposition. Allow me to introduce you to a couple of people.” She gestured toward the hallway, and two more men entered the room. They folded their arms and stood in front of the open door.
One of them was a stranger, but Nalica recognized the other. “I know you!” she blurted. “You were following us at the Triferian.” Though dressed in green today, he was the man she’d seen in the brown syrtos at the festival.
He smiled sheepishly. “Indeed, I was following you.”
“Meet Lurio and Novius,” said Kolta. “They are members of an organization called the Order of the Sage, which I am intimately involved with.”
Nalica’s brow furrowed. She’d never heard of it.
“This organization set them to following us?” asked Justien.
“
I set them to following you,” said Kolta. “I assigned a tail to every competitor in the archery tournament. The Triferian is a great opportunity for my agents to practice tailing people in large crowds without being noticed. Lurio is experienced. He was Nalica’s tail, and I don’t think either of you spotted him. Novius was recruited only a few months ago; he’s still learning. I assigned him to Justien, and he told me you marked him twice.”
“Once,” said Nalica. “On Sage’s Day.”
“I marked him a second time last night,” said Justien.
“He’ll do better next time,” said Kolta. “The other reason I had you followed is that I need more agents for the Order of the Sage. I particularly need war mages, and I particularly need women.”
Nalica’s stomach fluttered. She hoped this was going to be a job offer, but she didn’t want to exclude Justien. “What exactly is the Order of the Sage?”
“You won’t have heard of it,” said Kolta. “It’s new, established only a couple of years ago. And it’s a secret organization, at least for the time being. The Order’s mission is to promote peace throughout the empire, which is why it’s named for the Sage.
“I had you tailed because I wanted to learn more about you. Obviously, I could evaluate some aspects of your battle prowess by watching the archery tournament, but combat skill isn’t all I’m looking for in my Sage recruits. I need people who are versatile and intelligent, and above all, loyal to the imperial throne.” She gave them each a penetrating look. “What can you tell me about your relationship to the imperium?”
Kolta’s eyes came to rest on Nalica, and she took that to mean she was expected to speak first. What could she say? She was an easterner. Imperial politics were so distant from her life as to be an abstraction.
“My lady,” she said, “I have spent most of my life in the east herding goats and leading a mercenary troop. From day to day, my concerns have been conflicts with rival clans and making sure my people had enough to eat. I know that for a person such as yourself, these concerns will seem trivial. I confess that in my humble life, I’ve had almost no awareness of the happenings at the imperium.”
“An honest answer. Do you have any grievances with the empire?”
“No, ma’am.”
Kolta turned to Justien. “How about you? I imagine you harbor some resentment over the disbanding of your battalion.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said. “But I understand that it was disbanded for financial reasons. I was sorry to lose my job, but I know the empire cannot pay soldiers with money it does not have.”
“At least you did not turn to banditry afterward. Some of your fellows did.”
Justien nodded.
“Kjall is a far-flung empire,” said Kolta. “I perfectly understand that most of its people are too busy living their lives to concern themselves with imperial politics, and when they do, they may have limited information, which may lead them to draw poor conclusions. I cannot evaluate your loyalty to a group of people you barely know, and it would be unfair of me to try. Therefore what I look for in my Sage candidates is honesty and general trustworthiness.
“I know that the two of you reported seeing Captain Felix in the stables when you knew that doing so could have unfortunate consequences for yourselves. I know that Justien declined the archery win he badly wanted because he knew he had not earned it. I am impressed with your character, both of you, and I would like to offer you positions as agents in the Order of the Sage.”
Nalica exchanged a glance with Justien. This was it: the job offer. But she wasn’t sure how excited she ought to be. She had no idea what it meant to be an agent in this organization. “You say your agents promote peace within the empire. What exactly do they do to accomplish that?”
“Gather intelligence,” said Kolta. “If rebellion is brewing in a distant corner of the empire, the emperor needs to know about it before violence breaks out. If an official is corrupt and treating his people cruelly, the authorities must be informed so that they can remove him from power.”
“We’d be spies?” asked Justien.
Kolta’s brow furrowed. “That’s not far off the mark, but my agents don’t operate overseas. For the time being, it’s a domestic organization.”
“Can you give us some idea of what we’d be doing on a day-to-day basis?” asked Justien.
“First you’d have to spend some time in training,” said Kolta. “Do either of you know any languages besides Kjallan?”
Nalica and Justien shook their heads.
“We’d remedy that at once,” said Kolta. “My agents must be multilingual. If you join us, you’ll spend the next year or two at the imperial palace, filling in the gaps in your education and learning the skills you’ll need in order to operate successfully undercover. When you’ve completed your training, I’ll assign you a post somewhere in the empire. Ostensibly you’ll be serving as some sort of imperial representative, but that job will be a cover. Your primary task will be to gather information.”
“You want war mages,” said Justien. “Does that mean you anticipate fighting?”
“I don’t anticipate any at all,” said Kolta. “But it pays to be prepared. If my agents uncover trouble, I want them to be in a position to handle it.”
“Will we have to assassinate people?” asked Nalica.
“No,” said Kolta. “But I have the authority, which I grant to my agents, to make arrests and bring people to trial.”
“How much would we be paid?” asked Nalica.
“While you’re in training, two hundred tetrals per month. Once placed in the field as an agent, five hundred tetrals per month.”
Nalica gasped, and Justien sat up straighter.
“I pay my agents generously for a reason,” said Kolta. “I find it goes a long way toward ensuring their loyalty.”
“Are there any downsides to this job?” asked Justien.
“Many,” said Kolta. “My agents go where I want, when I want them to, without exception. You will live where I post you, and you could be moved at any time. You will swear an oath of fealty to me under truth spell, and you may be asked to renew that oath periodically. You may have to perform some duties you find unpleasant, like interrogating prisoners. And the minimum term of service is twenty years.”
Nalica swallowed. Twenty years, and no freedom of movement. She and Justien had just agreed to marry—but if they joined the Order, they could be posted to different parts of the country. If she took this job, would she have to give up Justien?
Kolta’s gaze pierced her. “What’s on your mind? You look unhappy.”
“Well...” She slipped her hand into Justien’s. “Do you ever have agents who work as a team, such that wherever one is posted, the other is posted too?”
Kolta smiled and leaned back in her chair. “I had a feeling you two were a couple; your tails ran into each other last night. Have you been together long?”
“We’re getting married,” said Justien.
“Good,” said Kolta. “Do it. Married couples are easy to place undercover and less likely than singles to arouse suspicion. Once you’re married, I’ll post you as a team.”
Nalica hated to ask for more—the offer was so generous already, and she could hardly imagine turning it down. But she might not have the opportunity to speak to this spymistress again after this morning, and she figured it was best to lay all her cards on the table. “May I have children? Or is that forbidden to your agents?”
“You certainly may have children,” said Kolta. “But I’ll require you to hire a full-time nurse to look after them, in case you’re needed in the field on short notice. Your salary should more than adequately cover that expense.”
Justien slipped an arm around Nalica and squeezed.
“Any more questions?” asked Kolta.
“What happens if we say no?” asked Justien.
“In that case, I’ll fetch a mind mage and she can use a quick forgetting spell on you,” said Kolta. “You’ll wake up here
and have no idea this meeting took place.”
A shiver ran down Nalica’s spine. She supposed it had to be that way, to keep the organization secret.
“Think it over before you decide.” Kolta rose from her seat. “Joining the Order of the Sage is no small commitment. You’d be in my service for the next twenty years. There is no changing your mind halfway. Do you understand?”
Nalica and Justien nodded.
“I’ll wait outside the door.” Kolta left the room, accompanied by Lurio and Novius and the two bodyguards. The door closed behind her, and Nalica and Justien were left alone.
A shudder ran through Justien from head to toe. “Three gods. Did you recognize that woman?”
“No. Should I have?”
Justien lowered his voice. “That was the empress.”
Nalica glanced at the closed door. The empress of Kjall? Surely not. Yes, there was a superficial resemblance. Kolta was black-haired like the empress, and of similar height and build, but lots of Kjallan women shared those traits. “I’m sure you’re wrong.”
“No, I’m right,” said Justien. “You just talked to the empress of Kjall.”
Nalica shook her head in wonder. Maybe he was right. Maybe the empress preferred to move about town undercover, without that horde of Legaciatti around her, attracting attention. It didn’t matter. The job offer was the same.
Justien grinned. “Well, what do you think? Aren’t you glad you didn’t win the archery tournament?”
She laughed, but not purely for joy; her nerves were frayed, and she was giddy, a state of mind she didn’t trust. In less than a day, she’d received both a marriage proposal and the most generous job offer of her life. She felt as if she were standing on a precipice, looking down at certain death while a voice whispered in her ear, Jump! You’ll fly.
“Shall we accept?” asked Justien.
“I don’t see how we could do anything else,” said Nalica.
“That’s how I feel about it. But don’t you find it a little bit frightening?”