Drakenfeld

by Mark Charan Newton

  The tip of my sword touched his throat. ‘We have your sister, Lacanta, alive and outside the city walls.’

  ‘Oh spare me any lectures.’ Blood trickled down his grazed cheek from where he had fallen. ‘I heard from your messengers, and I cannot exactly miss the army that is currently trying to gain access to my city.’

  ‘It’s only a matter of time before they get in. The gates will be opened one way or another and, very soon, they’ll march Lacanta back along the roads chanting that she’s alive and that you, Licintius, deceived the people of Tryum. Your subjects will soon learn to despise you.’

  ‘So she’s alive,’ he said, showing more calm and control. ‘That should be a time for rejoicing, surely?’

  Smiling at his audacity, I said, ‘She’s admitted everything, Licintius, so there really is no point pretending otherwise. You’ll just make yourself look even more foolish.’

  He grunted a laugh.

  ‘You really had me running about this city, didn’t you.’

  ‘I would have had you killed right at the start if I’d known how annoying you would become. The Sun Legion have come to my door anyway, so what does it matter now?’

  ‘Every move I made while still alive contributed to your deception, didn’t it?’

  Licintius shrugged, seemingly oblivious to his situation.

  ‘A man who sleeps with his own sister. The gods would be appalled.’

  He glared at me. Once I would have been nervous at such a stare, but not now. ‘When you spoke with Lacanta, did she mention a certain Drakenfeld senior?’

  ‘She did. I’ve already brought up the matter with my superiors. If the subject is aired, then so be it. It is better to have such things out in the open than burning into my guilty conscience for the rest of my life.’

  ‘What a sanctimonious bastard you are. How noble of you. How moral,’ Licintius spat. ‘What now?’

  ‘We wait it out,’ I replied. ‘The gates will open soon. The soldiers from the Sun Legion will do their business. My superiors will take over the reins. I can finally get some sleep.’

  ‘What about me? What will happen to me?’

  ‘You’ll be put before the men and women of the Senate, where the evidence will be presented. It will be up to your senators to show mercy or not.’

  I explained what was known and the process of how his crimes had been exposed. In the end it couldn’t be helped: I had to ask about Titiana.

  ‘Who?’ he asked.

  I described her in more detail, every word of it almost sticking in my throat. ‘I know that she was working for you.’

  ‘Titiana . . .’ Licintius said. ‘Oh I bet you thought she loved you? How sweet of you. Yes, I wanted someone who knew you, ideally someone who could get close to you, but to find someone like her, skilled in the arts of subterfuge – that was fortunate. Senator Veron talks so much it was easy enough to find a place to arrange a chance encounter. Your history together was perfect. She loathed you at first, but then tolerated you, so I understand. The moment she told me all I needed to know . . . Well, one must eliminate all trails. I suppose it is only fair to let you know she never actually loved you, Drakenfeld. A man needs to know such things.’

  I said nothing, simply staring at him, analysing every minute alteration in his expression to see if he might have been lying.

  ‘What a sentimental young fool you really are.’

  Leana placed her hand on my shoulder while I saw Titiana’s hanging body in my mind once again. I considered striking Licintius down, or at least smacking the hilt of my sword across his forehead.

  But dignity must be maintained.

  There were still many questions that needed answering and over the following painfully slow hours of darkness I decided to try my luck seeking explanations from the king. Tiredness might have brought out a side of him that wished to tell the truth.

  ‘I was impressed by the way you staged Maxant’s death,’ I began. ‘Quite the masterpiece – poisoning him like that, arranging it to look as if he had killed himself. I know how you did it, I just don’t understand why you did it.’

  ‘You’ve worked out this much already,’ the king sneered. ‘Are you sure you cannot work out the rest?’

  ‘I have my theories,’ I said. ‘That you had Maxant killed by some skilled assassin because he had done your dirty work and knew too much for your comfort. Perhaps you did the job yourself, if you could manage to escape the palace – you managed to sneak down to see those actors often enough. He was the one, after all, who probably killed the priestess in the temple – on your behalf. You could have had an argument with him; perhaps you never told him why he had to kill the priestess until then. I can imagine all sorts of scenes between the king and his favourite general.’

  ‘Vispasia is better off with him dead. He would have wanted to lead his soldiers across to Maristan if he had the chance. You come here making your theories, but you have no idea about the tide I was holding back. With Maxant among them, those in the Senate would willingly revive the Empire. They’d want us to invade any nearby nation in a heartbeat. I was keeping Detrata in the Union.’

  ‘Forgive me for thinking you not the most trustworthy person in the building. So are you admitting you killed him?’

  Licintius shrugged off the question.

  ‘Somehow,’ I continued, ‘you managed to get poison into his food or drink, and he threw it up over himself, didn’t he?’

  ‘Unreliable things, poisons,’ Licintius said. ‘Who can say how he ended up consuming such a nasty substance?’

  ‘I know he killed Drullus, too, but I don’t know why that poor actor had to be caught up in all of this.’

  ‘Young Drullus had played his final role.’

  I tried to work it out for myself from those few words. ‘I think I get it now. He was a mouthy disturbance to make people think he had something to do with Lacanta’s death. You hired him to do that, to be a clever distraction for whoever investigated the matter, to attract attention down-city. One last role to act.’

  ‘He was a delightful actor, but then I knew sooner or later you might find him. Could he keep a secret? I didn’t want to find out. How did you ascertain that Maxant killed him?’

  I explained about the fresh henbane leaf Maxant had somehow brought with him to the city. ‘And, of course, I only found that out because Maxant himself had been killed. So many deaths, Licintius. You’ve caused so much pain.’

  ‘Ah, but my hands did not kill the priestess or Drullus. And you are forgetting one rather valuable thing. There is no law against a king ensuring that people are removed if they pose a threat to him,’ Licintius muttered. ‘That is our privilege. We are immune to common murder laws, as anyone could be a threat to us. Who are you to argue whom I find to be a threat or otherwise?’

  The sun was about to break free of the rooftops when shouting could be heard, repeated constantly: ‘Lacanta is alive. Your king has deceived you! Lacanta is alive. Your king has deceived you!’

  The voice sounded a little frailer than I had hoped, possibly after having repeated the message a thousand times throughout the city. I could imagine Lacanta in her caged carriage being hauled through the streets for everyone to see. It would have been a deeply embarrassing and humbling moment for her. Now that it had all ended, I felt an overwhelming sense of exhaustion wash over me.

  Licintius was asleep in his chair; Leana stood behind him with her blade.

  ‘I’ll go out and see what’s going on,’ I said. ‘Will you be OK?’

  Leana nodded.

  ‘Try not to kill him.’

  ‘You would not mind if I did,’ she replied. ‘No, I suppose this time I wouldn’t.’

  When my name was called loudly from the corridors I ran towards the source. Sun Legion soldiers rushed in. The gates of the city had been opened before dawn and our forces marched into the city. Only a hundred people had died in the confusion: many of Tryum’s own soldiers had been bought off, but a few others foolish
ly followed the king’s word rather than coin.

  After the initial position had been secured, hundreds of soldiers filed in and escorted Lacanta’s rolling cage through the streets as the news was called out. Apparently people gaped in awe: this was the first time many of them had even seen the king’s sister, who was all the more famous since her staged death.

  Lacanta and her eunuchs were paraded like the spoils of war through the city to Optryx. She remained outside the residence while soldiers began searching the premises – and that was what brought them here, to me.

  I told them we had Licintius; they told us that Callimar and all his men had been found dead.

  Poor Callimar had done so much to help me. Was it wrong of me to feel a little relieved at the fact that their knowledge of my seizures had died with them?

  The whole process continued at breathtaking speed. Commissioner Tibus came personally to address the king and placed him under arrest. I’ll never forget seeing his expression falter just the once at the acknowledgement of what might happen to him.

  While our military personnel filled the residence, Licintius was taken to a safe room where he could be placed on suicide watch until his trial. A message went out to every senator of Tryum that by Vispasian, not Detratan, powers, an emergency session of the Senate would start within the hour. Attendance was mandatory.

  However, what Licintius had told me was already starting to haunt me. If he wasn’t bluffing and he was removed from control of the nation – with a warmongering senate taking control – just what would that mean for Vispasia? What if Detrata without Licintius then wanted to pull out of the Union, the very thing that the Sun Chamber worked so hard to bind together with its law? Ultimately, in some roundabout way, I could be responsible for that. The thought did not sit well with me.

  Bad Memories

  Many of the Sun Legion’s forces and auxiliaries were present in the upper city, maintaining order surrounding Lacanta’s carriage. There had been one crazed attempt at freeing her from a fanatic, but he had been killed on the spot and disposed of without further comment. No one else tried after that, though thousands wanted to see her in the carriage.

  I gave my statement to the men and women of the Senate, the enormous domed building situated in the heart of Regallum. Veron was sitting in the front row, and made a brief wave before he maintained his serious countenance. Several rows of benches extended back behind him, each filled with senators.

  It seemed strange to repeat all that I’d done in front of the gaze of Licintius and Lacanta, both bound and heavily guarded. Her expression was empty, her shoulders were stooped, and her skin grubby from travel across the country. In her simple dress she must have felt humbled, having previously been someone used to looking more glamorous in front of the senatorial class.

  So I told my story, from the locked temple through to Maxant’s body on the beach. My father’s role as an accomplice was discussed, much to the surprise of those gathered there. After about half an hour, Tibus took over again and proceeded with the prosecution. Knowing that the spectacle could go on for hours – for this was just as much a theatrical production as a legal debate – I decided to leave, barely caring what would happen to Lacanta and Licintius.

  My job was done, I was exhausted. I wanted to go home.

  My property was vacant and had long been cleaned of corpses, so I sat alone by the fountain in the garden, staring at the spot where Titiana had hung. Sunlight streamed in over the roof of the house, and I basked in the sultry evening warmth. This place contained so many memories for me, so many happy occasions from my youth, all the way through to that horrific departure.

  Leana stood over me.

  ‘Do you mind if I ask you something?’ I asked.

  She shrugged.

  ‘Forgive me for bringing it up, and I apologize if I offend, but how did you manage to cope with your husband’s death, all those years ago?’

  I was wary of bringing up the subject. Over the years I’d gleaned only that Leana’s husband – she never told me his name – had died while protecting a prince as the wars raged throughout Atrewe.

  ‘What makes you think I cope with it?’ Leana replied.

  ‘I can’t pretend that Titiana’s end hasn’t somehow wounded me inside,’ I whispered. ‘I don’t mean to even compare it to what you had – it’s trivial, in relation, but it still hurts.’

  ‘Of course it will,’ Leana said softly. ‘It is fine to feel pain. You want words of advice, Lucan?’ She looked at me sincerely.

  I nodded.

  ‘It will hurt you whenever you think of it. But soon you will think of other things and the hurt will not strike you as often. But it never goes and it is foolish to pretend otherwise.’ Leana placed her hand on my shoulder. ‘I am sorry for your loss. I grieve with you, my friend.’

  Senator Veron was the first to come and find us and I was glad to see another friendly face. He told me that he had ‘acquired’ my house after the king had ordered my property forfeit when I left the city. He had not done anything to it yet, except clean it up.

  ‘I was preserving it for you,’ he said, and I genuinely believed him this time. ‘But it seemed to be filled with foul spirits after what we found when we arrived. Some people tried to blame you at first – since you were the one who had gone missing. I knew better than that, and argued your case. It’s all yours if you still want it.’

  ‘Thank you, Veron.’

  ‘Don’t hang about here, Drakenfeld. The bad memories will eat at you. Stay at my place. My wife is still out of the city and I have plenty of wine for company. If you want, I’ll buy this place off you and turn it into something without such memories. It could even become a prison to go with a new batch of cohorts.’

  ‘That’s a kind offer.’

  ‘Of course it is. Look at what you’ve done, at all you’ve been through. Come back to mine. I’ll see you’re looked after well.’

  ‘What did you do with Titiana’s body?’

  His expression softened and he sat beside me on the edge of the fountain. ‘We burned her in a multi-god ceremony. We had a few priests of different temples. Her and the cohort – all of them were sent off together. It must have been a terrible sight for you to discover in your own home.’

  That statement didn’t warrant an answer. ‘How did it go today?’

  ‘He’s dead,’ Veron said. ‘Licintius is dead and it took us six hours to arrive at that conclusion – rather short by our standards. It helped that Lacanta admitted much of it. She could hardly not, given that her being alive contradicted any possible defence.’

  Veron told me that the king was not charged with the murders of the priestess, Drullus and Maxant, nor for the gods-angering relationship between brother and sister. Instead he was executed for willingly deceiving his Senate and his people.

  For treason.

  ‘He was dealt with in the same way as all those who commit such a crime, and beheaded. His execution happened in the Senate gardens, so at least he had a nice location for it. I’ll show you his head later if you want. It’s on a spike outside the Senate building.’

  ‘Thank you, but no,’ I replied. ‘I’ve had quite enough of it all. What about Lacanta?’

  ‘She has been exiled from Detrata for a period of ten years.’

  ‘Really?’ I asked.

  ‘Yes. After you left, Licintius claimed that he acted alone, that Lacanta was merely following her king’s orders. He said he’d personally banished her from the city, and that everything was his responsibility.’

  ‘I guess he really must have loved her,’ I said, ‘to spare her life like that.’

  I wondered just how much of that was true, knowing how smart Lacanta was in conversation. Her excellent mind could equally have helped in the planning. It was frustrating that Licintius could not be held to account for the actual murders because at the heart of all of this was the priestess: a young woman who had come to an exciting city for a new start, only to be held captive an
d ultimately killed so that a brother might be able to marry his own sister. Drullus and Maxant’s deaths were more pointless acts, more lives erased for the hope of a corrupt love.

  And Titiana, of course.

  ‘Come on.’ Veron stretched out his hand. ‘Let’s not linger here with our bad thoughts.’

  Veron pulled me up, and he embraced me. ‘It’s good to see you again, friend. I had run out of people with whom to get drunk, and I don’t wish to end up drinking alone like some poor drunk!’

  Getting Away

  We spent just the one night at Senator Veron’s immense house. He was kind enough – though the more cynical might say he had his own career prospects in mind – to invite the other senior Sun Chamber officials to spend the night there also, and there were more than enough rooms to go around.

  The dinner was sumptuous – big pheasants, fat fruits, exotic spices and tender rice. I suggested to Leana that this was a welcome break from being out on the road and she replied merely that I would become spoiled once again by such luxuries. Perhaps she was right, but tonight I dined heartily and didn’t feel guilty in the slightest.

  While Leana found herself a quiet spot in Veron’s residence to pray to her spirits, I was able to speak in private with Commissioner Tibus. We sat on resplendent couches in an elegant office, while more and more people filed into Veron’s house. The noise of distant chatter grew quite overwhelming. He had even brought in a pipe player to entertain his guests.

  ‘Commissioner,’ I said, ‘I don’t know if it is too soon to ask, but I would be grateful if you could help me to find a posting outside Tryum. There’s nothing here for me now.’

  She gave me a look of sympathy. ‘We thought this might be the case, and it’s just as well, Drakenfeld.’