A Glimmer on the Blade

by Rachel E. Baddorf

  “I am sorry, Highness. I have neither the grace nor temperament to be your empress. Besides, you don’t even know me. Please let me by,” she said, striving for politeness. Her voice wavered as she tried to conceal her heartbreak. As a young girl she had dreamed the prince would ask her this. She tried again to move around him, he blocked her.

  “But lady, I could have sworn I have known you before, not long ago, in fact,” he grinned playfully.

  “I am sorry. I must go,” Anoni said roughly. This time she succeeded in darting around him and she thought she was free.

  Behind her she heard, “Burn it all! So much for grand romantic gestures!” He grabbed her roughly by the shoulders and pulled her back against him into an embrace. She gasped, felt his breath on her ear, and tensed in position to throw him.

  “I know you, Anoni Mizrahi,” his whispered tightly.

  The tearing pain of her childhood welled up. There had been a time when all Anoni wanted was for him to love her. She had gotten past that. She had loved another, who had died. She saw his bloody and broken face again, skin gone gray from death as she dumped earth down on it. Unbidden, tears leaked down her cheek. His arms clenched where they crossed over her ribs.

  She whispered desperately in tears, “Let me go. I have a man to kill.”

  “Wait. Now is not the time.”

  “My heart...A man in this room killed...the man I loved,” she gasped in broken rage, trying to keep her voice down.

  “Your beloved lives on in a better place, lady,” he tried to mollify her but she cut him short.

  “And I will surely meet him soon, Highness. I have a dagger in my hand. Now, get out of my way so this day’s work will be done!” She glanced over her shoulder to see four of the Dragons’ uniformed backs shielding them from most of the crowd’s view. She could see Markham Shaiso still talking calmly by the punch bowl, not ten feet away. Yet Corinado wouldn’t let her go.

  “The Ordeal is done and Corin”—he paused as he felt Anoni flinch at the name—“Corin has returned from whence he came, from the soul of Corinado.” Anoni stiffened in shock. “It’s me, Anoni.” She turned slowly in his arms, almost frozen in disbelief. Searching his eyes again, she didn’t know what she saw. A cruel joke? Another twist of the Goddess’s revenge? Anoni’s face closed down and she gave him a cold, shuttered look.

  “Liar. Vansainté, what did you tell him?” She broke out of his embrace and tried to dive out of the ring of Dragons. Their circle bent but did not break, the Dragons holding her. The crowd was starting to notice the strange drama playing out in the middle of the ballroom floor. She turned on Corinado, threatening him with a long dagger. “Tell the bastards to let me out, or by the Goddess, I’ll make you wish the lords had killed you in your sleep!”

  ***

  Imperial Palace

  Corin

  Surprised, Corinado grabbed hold of her hand with the dagger. She swung at him with her left fist. His head snapped back under the blow, but he managed to catch that hand on the rebound. Gingerly moving his jaw to make sure it was not broken, he thought fast. He knew the only reason she had not seriously hurt him yet was because he was the emperor.

  “Anoni,” he said, she ignored him. “Anoni! You dared me to make a life for myself, to make a decision by my own will. I am Corin. I...” He searched for something to convince her, “I met Koseichiro with you under Tall Grasses. He had feathers down his back and he started out red...Not unlike the color of your dress, now that I think about it.” He smiled, but she wasn’t buying it. “He attacked me there, and I blacked out. Uh...” She tried to yank her hands free. “You asked me if I was willing, while we lay in the grass and those damn jellyfish things tried to take us up into the sky. Remember?” he asked hopefully.

  She stared at him, open mouthed, blinking like a stunned rabbit. “But you died. I saw it.”

  “You dared to show me who you really were,” he smiled, relaxing his hold on her wrists. “I’m returning the favor.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Knowing I am Corin and Corinado, can you forgive me for my mistake years ago when I let you be exiled?”

  ***

  Imperial Palace

  Anoni

  “I...I...” she stuttered as she studied her dagger confusedly.

  “Anoni Mizrahi, fearless Red Dragon, find a love worth living for, here.” He dropped her hands and spread his own, offering them to her.

  She looked at his hand and back at the dagger in her red-gloved hand. Instead of putting it away, she took one of his open hands with her free one. She had just opened her mouth to speak when they were interrupted.

  “Well who is this? A fierce little lady from the south perhaps?” The voice dripped honey, and instantly Anoni tensed. Markham Shaiso had come to her.

  The golden-haired traitor himself stood just outside the ring of Dragons, holding in one hand a crystal flute of bubbling wine, with a dangerous smile playing on his sensuous lips. He probably had no idea how strange he looked doing it with the bandages. Anoni backed away from the prince, dagger quickly hidden in the folds of her skirt. At a nod from Corinado, the ring of Dragons parted.

  Markham studied her, feet to head with a stopover on her chest. He dismissed her face until she gave him a dangerous smile of her own. He frowned a little, trying to remember. Suddenly, he showed surprise before it turned into dirty relish.

  “Ah, the outlaw bitch survived the Daro, only to return years later. Dragons seize her! Return of an exile is punishable by death,” he laughed.

  “No, Markham,” Corinado said calmly. “They are my Dragons, not yours. And Miss Mizrahi is no longer an outlaw.” As Corinado spoke, Nekobashi discretely twisted the dagger out of Anoni’s hand. Violence could not disrupt the ball.

  Surprise crossed their faces. It had been Corinado’s little secret even from the Dragons. “Yesterday, when I wrote the declaration of the festival week, I added amnesty for all those citizens exiled under previous emperors. Mercy in honor of the Goddess, of course,” Corinado smiled, daring Markham to object “Meet my bride,” he said with a small bow. “You and your traitorous father should have a long life in exile. Your conspirator Delis will accompany you.”

  Markham narrowed his eyes, glancing up and back to the balcony. Stepping back, he took a sip of his drink and said, “A shame neither of you will survive that long.” Anoni saw movement from the direction of the balcony, and faster than thought her other dagger was swiping aside a crossbow bolt inches from the prince’s chest. It clacked to the floor among startled exclamations from courtiers around. Markham took a breath, stepping back again.

  “Dragons! Dragons!” Anoni shouted, turning to see Fadarin Shaiso and Lord Bacrese on the balcony. Fadarin had a rank of marines with crossbows with him, and Arjent was being held by one in an armlock. The rest of the Dragons drew their swords and faced the danger, as marines surrounded them. One marine had a sword to Vansainté’s throat. The orchestra fell silent and all eyes turned to Corinado.

  “Corinado, I have here”—Fadarin held up a roll of parchment—“the signatures of all thirty-six Highlords voting to dissolve the position of Emperor from the Terastai Government. We want no bloodshed. If you will step down, there need not be any more loss of life. We are prepared to destroy any loyalist faction with the imperial armies in our control. For six generations the Highlords have ruled in all but name. We are tired of pandering to a fool on a throne.”

  “Shaiso, been home lately? That’s what the Goddess does to traitors,” Anoni shouted back.

  Shaiso grit his teeth. “Who speaks so?”

  “Anoni Mizrahi,” she bowed, “the Red Dragon of Terastai. Nice to make your acquaintance.” She saluted him mockingly with her dagger. Another ripple went through the crowd. Anoni’s eyes caught on several familiar figures pushing through the crowd. Copelia was coming at all possible speed.

  “A woman pretending to be one of the imperial bodyguards. Interesting...Impersonating a bodyguard is punis
hable by death. Markham execute her quickly. We have other more pressing matters to attend to,” Fadarin said, turning to talk with one of the marines.

  Markham beamed then drew his sword and took a monumental swing at her head. Anoni stepped into it so she could block the blow with his sword’s hilt on her forearm. At the same time she thrust upward with her dagger, putting her whole body into it. Because she was shorter, the blade went into his lower stomach, angled upward, and the tip came out near his shoulder. Her whole left arm was numb, maybe broken from blocking his blow, and her reach put her almost as close as a lover. She looked up into his wide eyes as blood trickled from his mouth, inches from her nose. He coughed and a spatter of blood hit her neck.

  Leaning in, she whispered, “For me and everyone you ever harmed. Every life you twisted.” She twisted the dagger and he gave a sharp intake of breath. “This is for Corin, an innocent boy you strung up and played like a marionette. Your father and you manipulated him for years but he’s not yours anymore.” The blade ground against his ribs as she pulled it out. She lowered him to the ground, and Corinado knelt beside him, an expression of sorrow passed across his features and was gone.

  Finally, he turned back to face the balcony. “I think you’re going to have to do better than that.”

  Fadarin turned at the voice. He clenched his jaw at the sight of his son’s body.

  Corinado stood. “You’re going to have to do much better.”

  “I wanted this resolved without conflict,” he said. “What is your answer?”

  “Highlord Fadarin, even the Goddess gives a man three hours to pick a wife. Would you grant me a moment to consider?” Corinado asked, coldly.

  Fadarin nodded perfunctorily. “You may.” Corinado took a deep breath, thinking fast.

  “You can’t actually be considering this, can you?” Anoni whispered incredulously.

  “They’ll kill everyone,” he said quietly. “The Highlords don’t know what he’s been doing. If we can draw him out, they won’t support him. If we can get him to condemn himself...”

  “If every one of us has to die to keep you on your throne, we will gladly do so,” she said.

  “But can you do it?”

  She gave the crowd a quick scan. Copelia gave her a small nod from her position behind the marine holding Vansainté. The Sybil jerked her head to the left. Anoni followed her motion, catching sight of two small bodies in green robes scrambling to the back of the orchestra enclosure to the electrical boxes there. Anoni didn’t know what the plan was, but she trusted Copelia.

  Anoni turned her attention to the crowd. There were at least five hundred people in the ballroom; about half were male and most were armed with ceremonial swords. There were about fifty marines in total. The main doors were guarded by ten of them. The service doors for the servants to bring food and drink were now also guarded. Her eyes caught on the dais and the alcove. The armed clergy had stayed there, and the marines had ignored them. Still, with the crossbow men on the balcony, it was a very risky business.

  “Risky,” she admitted. “We can take the chance on trying to take the room and kill the traitors, a seventy-thirty chance against. Or we can retreat, and keep you alive. Once you leave, the chances get worse as to retaking the throne. But as long as you are alive, there is hope. The choice is yours. Go for the throne, or go for your life. I say fight it out. We’re here for you.”

  He studied the crossbowmen, and as he seemed to come to a decision, his gaze settled on her. He took in the details of her face for a long moment. Resolutely, he said “I know that...I can’t lose you again.”

  “Don’t give in to those bastards. There’s no guarantee they won’t kill us all like dogs once we’re out of the public eye. And you know they aren’t very good rulers already,” she protested. “My bandits have been keeping the people from revolting.”

  “But would a civil war involving imperial armies really be better for them?” he asked rhetorically. “Did you lose your sleeves?”

  Anoni had let them float off her arms. Her attack on Markham had split the small connecting seams “This is a very special dress,” she said self-consciously. “Don’t change the subject.”

  “It is a nice dress,” he said, still thinking.

  “What do you think?”

  He turned to her, running a hand down the side of her face. “You look beautiful tonight.”

  Her brows drew together as she said, “Don’t change the subject. What do you think?”

  Corinado pulled himself together and said, “Follow my lead. If needed, we get out of here in one piece, and see if the people of Terastai want their emperor or not. If they all really don’t want me, well, I wasn’t all that attached to rulership anyway.”

  “All right. Give me a moment. I need to get ready,” she said, turning away from the balcony and putting Corinado at her back. She took a deep breath and then began sobbing loudly.

  “Are you all right?” Corinado asked, startled.

  “Fine,” she whispered, and then began weeping louder. She turned and threw her arms around him, pretending to be weeping into his chest.

  “Huh?” He hugged her, the very picture of a leader with sad decisions to make. “Could you step on my hem please?” She went on her tiptoes and kissed him. He shifted, a boot coming down on her hem. At the disgruntled throat clearing coming from the balcony, they broke the kiss. Still in his embrace, Anoni looked at the sword at his belt and the dagger she held clutched between them.

  “When it comes to it, keep your sword up,” she said.

  “Don’t worry about it. You take it. I don’t need it,” he said softly, lips only inches from hers. She stepped back, leaving the sword there for the moment, and the bottom six inches of her skirt ripped away, revealing her feet.

  “Are you quite finished?” Fadarin demanded.

  “Do your supporters know what you’ve been doing with your time?” Corinado said loud enough for them to hear. “Do they know you’ve been killing clergy?”

  A tremor of uncertainty went through the crowd.

  “And I really don’t think your crossbow is going to win this for you, Shaiso. You’ve tried one shot and my lovely bride knocked it out of the air. Besides, this coat has two layers of chain mail in it. You’re going to have to do much better.”

  Condescendingly, Corinado raised his hands. He could almost see the thoughts turning over in Shaiso’s head. “Do they know you’ve been digging up cursed technology from before Califf burned the world? Three mines in the mountains where you’ve been digging up the tools that brought Ozuk down on our ancestors.”

  “You have no idea what you are talking about,” Shaiso growled.

  “And Lord Bacrese, you’ve been there, digging in Ankathinos. Digging up weapons. Well, let’s see them. Because you know, those crossbows aren’t going to kill me, and I have a list ever so long of things the court will like to hear...”

  “You are delusional,” Shaiso said, but Bacrese folded under the pressure, pulling a gun from under a chair and holding it up in a shaking hand. Several marines behind him exchanged their crossbows for guns as well. They had come prepared.

  “These are our future!” Bacrese yelled, taking aim at Corinado. “All this technology will change our world!”

  Gasps came from the crowd, and an angry rumble of murmurs started to spread.

  “How do we know that’s not just an antique paperweight?” Corinado asked blithely. “You plan to redefine the Empire with those trinkets? And start more wars with them? Or don’t you have the guts to show us it’s real? I, Corinado Matthias Miliarnes, am still the Goddess’s son on Earth—”

  The split second before Bacrese pulled the trigger, Anoni saw his intention in his eyes. The sound of the shot was like thunder, and Anoni crashed into Corinado pushing him down to the floor as the courtiers screamed and stampeded the doors. A second later the hundreds of light bulbs on the chandeliers exploded in a shower of glass, plunging the ballroom into darkness. Complete pand
emonium ensued, and the marines opened fire with crossbows and guns. Something crashed into the buffet tables, and some loyalist portion of the courtiers and marines were rallying to the cry of “Emperor! Emperor!” and taking on the other faction.

  Blinking into the dark, Wix pulled Anoni off Corinado.

  “No, no, no, no,” Corinado said, mopping the blood off her chest. The bullet had caught her in the chest, on the right side.

  Vansainté pulled him away and then ripped off his sleeve to shed some light. “We need to get cover. Now. Anoni! Wake up, girl.”

  She gasped like a fish out of water, trying to catch her breath through the hot pain. She closed her eyes, rocking. Nekobashi knelt down and took out the dagger he had taken from her earlier. He held the dagger hilt to her palm until her hand closed around it and when she opened her eyes, ruby light shone from her left eye. She shook her head in a spasmodic, unsettlingly inhuman motion. She drew back her lips like a dog showing its teeth in frustration and seemed to concentrate. The blood stopped gushing from the wound.

  “Get us up,” she got out. “We’ve got to get out of here.” The Dragons helped her and Corinado back up.

  Copelia arrived beside them as they ducked through the chaos. A marine barged into them and Anoni snapped up the emperor’s sword from Corinado’s sheath and slashed him down.

  “There’s a passage behind the font. It’ll take you to the horses,” Copelia said, swiping at someone with her glaive. They ran for the alcove. The rest of the Dragons were there, some the worse for wear. Arjent was covered in wedding cake. It seemed he had gotten free on the balcony and launched himself off, swinging on a chandelier and landing on the buffet table. Nekobashi stumbled and went down, two bolts in the back.

  “I’ll take care of him,” Copelia said.

  “You’re coming with us. We need to get out of the country,” Vansainté said, punching a marine who came too close.

  “I can’t. I’m sorry, brother,” Copelia said. “I can’t leave the people alone without a Sybil. I’ll be fine.” She hugged her brother for a moment then turned to Corinado. “Know we are always with you. The Goddess has a vested interest in you two,” she said as she nodded at Anoni. “Take the right-hand passage behind the alcove. Two lefts and a right will get you where the Delkerans are stabled.”