by John F. Carr
"Please!"
"I must, if we're to be together, Hestophes! You need to know my dishonor. Then we will see how you truly feel. During the first invasion of Sashta, a squad of Harphaxi soldiers broke down our door and shot my father right in the throat-" She stopped with tears streaming down her face.
Hestophes had to resist the urge to wrap her into his arms; this was not the time.
She gathered her composure and continued, "My brother Tylon took one of my father's pistols to shoot one soldier; he shot him good. Right in the mouth! The others didn't give him time to reload. They used their swords to hack my brother to pieces-" She paused, sobbing for a few moments. "I don't remember much after that, except their rough hands on my arms, ripping my dress."
She began to shake. "I'm soiled; I'm a throwaway."
"By Dralm, you're nothing of the kind! You lived to fight those bastards again, that's all that counts. This is a war to the death."
Lysia dried her tears. "I should have gone to work at a brothel, but I wanted to hurt someone, THEM! When I heard that the Great Queen was looking for women who wanted revenge, wanted to hurt the enemy, wanted to kill the enemy-I signed the muster rolls for Queen Rylla's Pioneers."
"None of it matters to me, Lysia. I admire you for who you are now, not what you've done or survived. I've seen and done terrible things myself."
"Let us make a vow, then."
"Yes," he said.
"Never to talk again of the past. From now on, it is as if we are born anew."
"Darling, I give you my oath."
"Fine, Hestophes. It is done. We will meet again at the Ram's Head Inn tomorrow after drills."
II
Anaxthenes, resplendent in his new scarlet robe of Primacy, sat back on his divan and enjoyed the opulence of former Styphon's Voice Sesklos' apartments at the top of the Great Temple of Balph. I must have been a fool, he thought, not to have wanted this all along!
He had always enjoyed working behind the scenes, pulling Sesklos' strings like a master puppeteer, but this was so much better. Anaxthenes, Styphon's Own Voice, sounded good even to his mind's ear. Now, for the first time, he could deal with crises and problems head-on, not from behind curtains or closed doors. And his first crisis-Holy Investigator Roxthar in full boil, fulminating and screeching-waited outside his door.
The Council of Electors had been dismissed less than half a candle ago; the Council which had elected him Styphon's Voice, over Roxthar and Dracar's protests, thirty votes to six. Roxthar had sat stunned, as if hit with an axe. Archpriest Dracar, whose dreams of Election had come to naught, had slunk from the room like the toothy little rodent he truly was, deep inside his yellow robe.
Anaxthenes' ears still rang with the congratulations of his fellow Archpriests of the Inner Circle. Even Soton had given him a bear hug. For the first time since Roxthar's arrival three days before, the pall that hung over Balph with the Investigator's appearance had lifted.
Just in case the Investigator's anger turned ugly, he had his special deputy, Yagos, hidden behind the drapes with a dart-blower, some sort of tube that spat poison darts. His deputy had bartered the device from a former Mexicotal slave, who had been rescued when one of the Styphon's House war galleys had boarded a Mexicotal slave ship and captured the flesh-eaters. A coffle of these unusual Ruthani slaves had been brought to Balph as curiosities and sold in the slave market. One of his house agents had bid on the lot, thinking they would add a sense of mystery to Anaxthenes' new mansion.
He would have used one of Thessamona's poisons but she'd left for the countryside to tend to her sister's latest birthing. It was best that she had vacated Balph at this particular time; she had no official standing but would have nagged him to attend the ceremonies involved in his elevation. It would have been difficult to refuse her without causing resentments and Thessamona was a dangerous woman to rile.
Yagos had taken a liking to one of the small brown-skinned Ruthani and through signs had learned about the dart-blowers and their special poison-curare. Yagos had brought this to his attention and it had been one of those darts that had finally ended Sesklos' interminable life. Now, Yagos was hiding with instructions to send a dart into Roxthar should the Investigator act upon his temper. He only hoped that it would be that easy to remove the Investigator. Yagos had firm instructions not to act until Roxthar had left marks upon his person so that no one could say that he'd murdered the Investigator; thus sparing him the wrath of Styphon's Own Guard.
Were he free to act, Anaxthenes would have had Roxthar ambushed and murdered before he reached the Holy City. However, the Investigator had strong ties to High Marshal Xenophes, the head of Styphon's Own Guard; the Temple Guard would have taken the loss of their benefactor badly, maybe even sacking Balph in the aftermath of Roxthar's death. If Grand Master Soton had been more forthcoming with his support, this would not be an issue. Unfortunately, Soton was another true believer and refused to do anything that might cause a schism within the Temple.
However, once the Usurper Kalvan was removed, Anaxthenes would deal decisively with all of these issues: Roxthar would be stilled permanently, Xenophes would be dismissed and Soton tamed. For his peace of mind, it couldn't happen soon enough.
The shouting in the outer chamber was now loud enough to carry through stone walls and his assistant, Highpriest Valmoth, opened the door. "Your Divinity, Archpriest Roxthar demands to be admitted to your chambers at once." Valmoth, usually unruffled by any crisis, appeared shaken.
I'd better let that madman in before he demoralizes my staff!
"Valmoth, you may grant permission to Archpriest Roxthar to enter."
The Highpriest let out a sigh of relief, spun around and returned to the outer-chamber.
Within a breath, Roxthar ran into the room like a caged wolf that had just escaped from the Balph Menagerie. "How dare you take control over the Inner Circle while I was doing Styphon's Own Work in the False Kingdom of Hos-Hostigos!"
"I took nothing that was yours, Archpriest. In future, when you speak to me-my proper address is Your Divinity, not you."
Roxthar's mouth actually foamed, like a rabid opossum. He sputtered, his arms windmilling, as he tried to contain his temper. Clearly the Investigator had been among those who feared his every breath for far too long. It was time the dangerous fool learned some humility.
"Your Divinity," he sputtered. "Our agreement was that Dracar would become Styphon's Own Voice On Earth while I concentrate my Investigation on the heretics outside of Balph."
"Wrong, that was your agreement with the former Styphon's Voice Sesklos. I only abided by those terms as long as Sesklos was alive. When he died, I was surprised as anyone to learn that he had entrusted the Temple's fate in my hands." Anaxthenes who had orchestrated his own appointment as Styphon's Voice, tried to appear perplexed. The fire in Roxthar s eyes told him he probably wasn't doing a very good job.
"I would personally escort that old fraud to Hadron's caverns were he still alive!" Roxthar cried.
"Unfortunately for you, he's dead and so are any agreements he made with you and anyone else. Now, I'm Styphon's Voice and I'll make my own arrangements."
Roxthar looked as if he was about to swallow his own tongue.
"Maybe it's time the Inner Circle reviewed the success of this Holy Investigation that many in Balph are calling Roxthar's Reign of Terror." Anaxthenes did his best to keep the smile he felt inside from showing on his face. After all, he couldn't single-handedly dispense of the Holy Investigation without taking on the Temple Guardsmen. That day, however, was coming.
Roxthar snarled. "Don't you dare threaten the Holy Investigation of heathens and apostates! If you dare, the streets of Balph will flow with rivers of blood." Then he leaped, like a beast, over to the drapes and pulled them apart-revealing Yagos, with blowpipe in hand. He held up the smaller man by the front of his black robe, lifting him half a rod off his feet. Yagos face was stretched in terror.
"What does this mean?"
The look of gratitude in Yagos' eyes reminded him of his favorite hound's face after he'd removed a brace of porcupine quills from its hindquarters.
Roxthar reluctantly released Yagos, but not without a loud slap across the face.
"That was unnecessary. Archpriest, obviously you've spent far too much time amongst the helpless women and children of Hostigos. We will not tolerate such arrogance here in Balph." He made a motion of dismissal to his Deputy:
"Yagos, go and bring Archpriest Grythos and have him bring the Sephrax Guard with him. I would hate to see Archpriest Roxthar lose his self-control again."
He could hear the grinding of Roxthar's teeth.
While his Deputy scurried out of the room, he said, "In the future, I do not want to see any more of your Investigators within a hundred-march radius of Balph. If I do, I will have my Guard tie them up, fill their orifices with boiling lead and shoot their worthless bodies out of the Balph guns. Are my words clear enough, Archpriest?"
Roxthar's mouth was gaping open like a deep water ocean fish just come to surface with a hook in its mouth. When he'd recovered, he spat out, "High Marshal Xenophes will have something to say about that!"
"About what?" Archpriest Grythos asked, as he entered the room-a silvered back-and-breast over his yellow robe with a red border. Four Sephrax Guardsmen wearing silvered armor chased with gold with a red Styphon's sun-wheel with sparks at all four corners enameled on their breastplates, and tall-combed morion helmets, followed behind. They were four of the biggest men Anaxthenes had ever seen.
Archpriest Grythos, who had organized and trained the Sephrax Guard, had handpicked veterans of the border wars from the Princedom of Sephrax. Sephrax was the youngest and westernmost of the Ktemnoi Princedoms and bordered the Sastragath. Many of its subjects were of Urgothi descent. They were known throughout the Five Kingdoms for their height and girth, and feared for their fierce temper and fighting prowess. There were over three hundred of the Sephrax Guard stationed around and inside the Great Temple and all the important Temple buildings, including the Temple Treasury.
With Styphon's Own Guard subject only to its own commanders and Archpriest Roxthar's orders, Anaxthenes had commissioned Archpriest Grythos to establish a new Temple guard. They were to be his own personal bodyguard and owe their loyalty to Styphon's Voice alone. He was their de facto commander and paymaster. If events had given them another year before Roxthar's return to Balph, Grythos would have had time to raise enough loyal troops to face down Styphon's Own Guard.
Roxthar's eyes darted around the lavishly furnished apartment, as though trying to find an answer or escape route. He noted the four guardsmen who stood still as statues with the studied boredom of skilled arena knife fighters. There was no doubt in anyone's mind-least of all Roxthar's-that if so ordered they would step forward with their huge halberds and carve the Investigator into beefsteaks.
"You have won this round, Your Divinity," Roxthar said, with a mocking little bow. "I have more important work to do in Hostigos and in Hos-Agrys. But, do not believe for a moment that I will fail to remember this-"
For a moment, Roxthar was at a loss for words. Anaxthenes felt as if he should fall to his knees and say a prayer to the gods; unfortunately, he didn't believe in any. Begrudgingly, he admitted to himself, they can be useful at times like these.
"But return, I will. I promise you that!" The threat in Roxthar's eyes was almost palpable. "I will be at the head of a great army and will clean the Temple from floor board to attic, starting here."
Anaxthenes, despite the chill that worked its way up his spine, nodded as if he heard these threats every day. "Just remember Archpriest I will have my own army waiting for your return."
Roxthar, his white robes flapping against his bony limbs, turned and stalked out of the room like a man-sized preying mantis.
"I don't know if it was a good idea to whip him up into such a lather," Archpriest Grythos observed.
"Maybe not, but I sure enjoyed it. Besides, this is nothing compared to how he's going to squawk when I call a State of Emergency and take dictatorial power over the Inner Circle."
Grythos grinned. "His shrieks will reach the Sky-Palaces of the Gods. If we're lucky, his head will leap right off his neck! Still, do you think it's wise to make this move before the Investigator leaves?"
"You make a good point," Anaxthenes replied. "We'll wait until Roxthar's left to re-join the Grand Host. After all, I don't need full Inner Circle approval, just a two-thirds majority with two-thirds of them in attendance. Once I've got Emergency Powers, you'll have all the funding you need to recruit and train my Sephrax Guard."
"Most excellent, Your Divinity."The look on Grythos face would have frightened any opponent. "For too long, Styphon's House has used velvet gloves on these dissidents and true believers. Now, it's time to bring out the steel gauntlets and hammers!"
III
"Hestophes, I must first apologize for not seeing you again after the victory celebration," Kalvan said, "but I've been bound up in working out a safe exit from Ulthor. I take it you bring good news beyond your success at Librox Ford?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, we brought back two thousand Styphoni prisoners, many of them Ktemnoi mercenaries. All are willing to join the Royal Army, after their current contracts expire, except for a score of holdouts. Those we will cut loose and send back to their Styphoni friends-if they survive a thousand marches back to Hos-Harphax across burned villages and stripped fields."
"Excellent news, although I'm not sure how we're going to feed all the new soldiers."
"If we have to, Sire, we'll take it from the Grand Host's supply trains."
Kalvan laughed. "Easier said than done, but a good answer. How many casualties did we take at Librox Ford?"
"Eighty dead and about two hundred wounded, but most will recover. Under a hundred killed. We left over three thousand dead Styphoni at the Ford; we cut the throats of all the wounded."
Two years ago Hestophes would have been appalled by the wanton murder of wounded soldiers, Kalvan observed. Now he accepted it as routine; it was truly a war to the death. Since the Siege of Tarr-Hostigos, there was no longer room for gallantry or courtesy or kindness. Like all religious wars, the war against Styphon's House was down to kill-or be killed.
"We also did as Your Majesty ordered: stripped and burned all the fields of corn and barley, razed the villages and towns and brought the survivors to Ulthor Port. The Grand Host will have to eat toasted stubble and starving rats for dinner. Nor will they find any forage since we burned the fields and meadows. Emptied the forests of game. The whole of northern Hostigos and southern Nyklos are a wasteland."
"I know. We saw the smoke from your passage even from here." A part of Kalvan felt sickened by their purposeful destruction, but the other part felt relieved. The Grand Host would have slim pickings when they followed the Nyklos Trail, and would find another surprise when they reached Ulthor Port.
"Were they fooled by our Agrysi?"
"I believe so, Your Majesty. Duke Mnestros added a convincing touch, as did his allies. Now the Host will have to look northeast as well as west for their enemies."
"You have done well, Hestophes. Now, what can I do for you?"
"Give me more Styphoni to kill!"
"That I will do, my friend, all in due time. Now, have some of Ermut's Best. I have something I want you to do for me."
"Of course, Your Majesty. What is it?" Hestophes asked.
"I will soon be leaving Ulthor Port by ship with about a third of the Army; the rest will be going with Queen Rylla and Our subjects into the Trygath. I want you and the Army of Observation to be the vanguard for Queen Rylla's Army of the Trygath. It is up to you to protect your Great Queen and Our people."
"Of course, Your Majesty. I will be honored."
"Good." Kalvan felt touched by his sincerity. He was fortunate to have subordinates
, like Hestophes and Phrames, whom he could rely on one hundred percent. "Here's our plan: the Army of the Trygath is going to march through Vesthar and Cyros and graze those Rathoni Princedoms down to the bare ground, like a herd of starving sheep. We don't want to leave anything behind for the Styphoni-no food, no wells, no fodder. We'll drive the local farmers and townspeople that we oust from their homes ahead of us, so they'll flood Rathon City and sap their supplies."
Hestophes nodded. "That should shake their resolve and leave that traitor Nestros quaking in his boots!"
"If I know Rylla, Nestros will not live long enough to betray anyone again. However, once the Army reaches the Princedoms of Vysta and Rathon, I want you to bypass the villages and towns-leave their people alone, as well. Keep living off the land, but use as much as you can from our own stores. We are coming as liberators, to save them from their False King and Styphon's House's puppet masters, not as conquerors."
"That might work. Even if it doesn't, it will sow confusion and dissension. 'Divide and conquer,' as you like to say, Your Majesty."
"Exactly. Besides, We have plans for Rathon City."
"By Dralm, those stout walls will stop the Styphoni in their tracks! Won't they stop our Army as well?"
Kalvan felt like a proud schoolmaster, one whose favorite pupil had not only mastered a difficult lesson, but learned to read between the lines as well. "Our plan is to bypass the City entirely and inflict as little damage as possible upon the Princedom of Rathon. We will provide weapons and support for those who opposed King Nestros. But we'll leave it for the Styphoni to storm Rathon City."
"That's a good plan, Your Majesty. With the fields of Rathon stripped bare and their own pantries empty, the Grand Host will have to bring in huge wagon trains of victuals to invest the City. If they leave it behind, we can cut their supply lines and attack them from the rear. But what if there is no Rathoni uprising, or it fails and does not supplant Great King Nestros?"