by Scott Rhine
“Charmed,” she replied, woodenly. They can’t have a clue. I disposed of all the evidence.
Ascending the stairs to bow just below her feet, he explained, “His majesty is in the middle of an investigation vital to the security of the realm. He requests your assistance in the matter.”
Nightglow’s mother could barely breathe. She turned even paler than normal. “C-concerning?”
“The matter of your apothecary, madam. As you’re legally responsible, I’ll have to ask you to accompany—”
The woman swooned. Niftkin caught her and carried her to a sofa in the office. Workers buzzed about to get a fan and a pitcher of cool water.
“She works too hard,” said Nightglow, concern in her voice. “Momma?”
When Lady Evershade’s eyes fluttered open, Pagaose himself was holding her hand. He had pressed the cool pitcher to her wrists. She said nothing, but her breathing was rapid and shallow. He was the tallest person she’d ever seen.
He stroked her hand with a small stone and the panic passed. Soon, she felt herself again. “Majesty?”
Pagaose bent his lips to the back of her hand. “I see where Nightglow gets her dazzling looks; although, the blue of your eyes is like ice.”
She turned aside from the intensity of his gaze. Does he see my crimes?
“I have no makeup. I’m not fit to be seen.”
“Nonsense. You could have entered the Dance yourself.”
“I . . . have three children, highness. I’m no maiden.”
“You were a faithful wife, a widow too young. I can tell that by your touch.”
She pulled her hand back. “You flatter, sire.”
The emperor gazed at her features and his voice deepened. “I am known to be an excellent judge of virtue and the female form. You’re educated and closer to my age than these children the aristocrats try to foist on me. We should make a provision for honored widows. I’ll send a note to the lord of the purity committee to allow this exception.”
Niftkin cleared his throat. “Medicine?”
The emperor sighed. “Lady, today, you will allow my scribe to handle your accounts while you rest. I beg you to give your daughter the key to the apothecary’s home, and she can go in your stead.”
“To what end?”
“To find a rare tree,” the emperor said, and described it.
“No such journey will be necessary,” Lady Evershade said, sitting up. “The tree you seek is eucalyptus. The leaves and bark make a disinfectant and keep away insects.”
The emperor put a hand to his chest. “You are a wonder, madam. Now that you mention it, I know you to be correct. My awe would be complete if you could tell me something unique about the nature of where it grows.”
“The best kind grows over burned wood, sire. Where the fire from the sky destroyed our forests, the hills are tinted blue with this tree.”
He bowed. “The crown is in your debt, Lady. You have solved more than a room full of sages.”
“It is nothing, my profession only.”
“I press further to my shame. Might we gather some from the apothecary’s storage room so I might smell them together with the rind of blood orange?”
“I . . . have some in my bedroom at home. I can send it on the morrow with Nightglow.”
Pagaose said, “Please bring it with you to the celebration at the palace. I can send a palanquin if you’re unable to walk.”
“Celebration?” she asked.
Nightglow bounced in place. “His friends from the north are arriving today. They snuck past the dragon!”
“I shall serve at your desire, highness,” Lady Evershade said, rising to her feet.
He helped her to stand, glimpsing her regal neck and bodice in the process. He gripped the stone figurine so hard she thought he might snap it.
“Is his majesty well?”
“I am nervous. I’m embarrassed to say that I may need some advice about the intricacies of the Dance.”
“Who is your chaperone?”
“Anna has been.”
The lady shook her head. “One cannot be both chaperone and dancer; it defeats the purpose. Since you have no relatives, if your majesty commands, I can serve as matron to the girls.”
“I meant the actual steps for the festival.”
She smiled. “Sire, the Dance is more than the event; it is a complex courtship ritual leading up to the . . . culmination. In this time, you learn about your potential wives and negotiate the structure of the very marriage. Violet can show you the general movements, but each girl will want a particular song and style to accentuate her own . . . assets. You need to practice with your candidates for the process to work.”
“Indeed. It seems I must have you, then.”
“I’ll be certain to wear an appropriate gown. Does his majesty have a favorite style?”
He stared into her eyes. “My lady, with your taste and stunning beauty, anything you wear will shame the flowers.” Kissing her wrist, the emperor departed.
She vowed to wear something conservative to the social event so she wouldn’t outshine her daughter. She picked a blue gown decorated with peacock feathers that her husband loved to tear off her. Having the royal ear couldn’t hurt her daughter’s chances.
Chapter 19 – Starday Reunion
When the bedraggled crew of the Mallard sailed into the harbor, Pinetto scouted through his eyepiece. He was shocked by the band playing on the shore. “I think that’s our berth over there,” he said, pointing.
“How do you know?” asked Karl.
“There’s a big banner reading ‘Welcome Heroes of the North’.”
“How did they know we were coming?”
Tashi laughed. “My teacher talks to the spirits and reads cloud farts. Who cares?”
When they tied off, Tashi lowered the gangplank and strode down first.
The emperor greeted him personally. The guards and courtesans stepped back from the odor, but Pagaose embraced him. “Well met, friend. You are, all of you, sorely needed.”
Tashi presented the wrapped Defender of the Realm to the emperor. “Use this wisely. I think that only those who have passed the Doors or have the blood of the Traveler can wield it.”
The emperor accepted the blade with ceremony and continued to hold it in his right hand. “I already wear the One True Sword at my waist, but I shall keep this artifact safe as well.”
Next down the ramp came Sarajah. She stood straighter as the crowd mumbled compliments about her green eyes and form.
The emperor took her hand in his glove and kissed it. “We meet again.”
“Adoring masses,” she said, nodding toward the crowds.
“Their mood changes with the weather.”
She made a show of inspecting him. “Same face, but I barely recognized you with the new body; it looks good on you.”
“Likewise.”
She pointed her chin to the crowd of women behind him. “Harem?”
“Candidates for the Dance of Virgins. Have you been doing your exercises to keep the spirits away?”
“Every morning with Tashi.”
Next came the wizard. The ladies discussed him behind their fans. His cape was patched and he looked too young.
“Vizier Pinetto,” said the emperor. “We shall discuss the empire’s debt to you after the feast.”
Hearing his name, a rounded, shorter woman hovered off to the side. “Is Baran with you?”
Pinetto blinked. “Later. There’s going to be an invasion.”
“What?” asked the emperor, gesturing for the band to stop.
The wizard shouted over the music, “The Pretender is invading.” When he realized everyone on the dock was silent, listening to him, he said in a normal tone, “I’ve brought you his plans.” He handed the satchel over to the head guard.
Niftkin glanced at the contents and handed them to Lord Ashford, who gathered every military expert to head back to the military academy for planning.
The peasants and band fled back to their homes in panic.
“Way to ruin a parade,” grumbled Karl after he finished tying up the stolen ship.
“Back to the palace, I suppose,” said Pagaose, folding up his speech.
“Is there a bathhouse along the way?” asked Tashi.
The emperor snapped the fingers of his left hand, as his right was holding the Defender. “Ember. This is my best friend in the world. Treat him as you would me.” The nubile, tattooed girl pranced forward to take the half-troll’s arm.
Glowering, Sarajah said, “I think I need a bath, too.”
“I guess I should scrub the stench of lizard and octopus off,” mumbled Pinetto as the group wandered off.
“Anna?” suggested the emperor.
As the well-developed woman stepped forward, Pinetto said, “Um . . . they’re not far. I could just follow them.”
“Are you really Baran’s best friend?” she asked as she led him.
“Oh, gods, you’re her, the Anna.”
She smiled. “He talked about me?”
“When Kiateros offered him a reward, he asked for land in your name, with a brewery on it. You’re an official lady now.”
“So that’s where he is? Still in Kiateros?”
Pinetto stopped walking. “Um . . . he . . . in the Battle of the Falls . . . for all of us . . .” His eyes began to tear up.
“No,” she begged.
“Anything you need, we’ll take care of. We all owe him so much. He was like my brother.”
“No!” she shrieked.
The guards and emperor came running. The crowd heading to the bathhouse halted.
“He isn’t dead! Tell me he isn’t dead!”
“He fought a demon, a terrible demon who lived in a mine shaft and ate people’s . . . He killed it and saved us all. He left you everything he had. I brought his ring. He gave it to me to get engaged, but we thought you might appreciate it. Here.”
“I don’t want a ring,” she sobbed. “I want him to come back.”
Tashi picked the grieving woman up and allowed her to rage into his chest. The emperor pointed and Tashi carried her to the palace. They put her in bed, and Nightglow fetched her mother. Lady Evershade offered to take care of Anna. “I’m familiar with grief. The rest of you can go to the feast.”
She handed the emperor his eucalyptus leaves and shooed the spectators away.
****
Pagaose was the last to leave Anna’s bedside, gazing at her slumbering form as the sleeping powder took hold. “Lady Evershade, your family has done too much for me to ignore. I have no need of cosmetics, but I shall appoint you the royal formulary. For a term of seven years, all Imperial and church medicines shall come from your warehouses. That should enable you to hire a few clerks.”
She touched her head to the floor, scarcely believing her luck. Then he continued, pulling a sealed scroll from his belt. “For your daughter, I have written a promise. Whoever she decides to marry . . . if she does not choose me . . . I will promote to first tier. Her family will continue to be the noblest, for her actions have proven this.”
Lady Evershade wept, her makeup creating black streaks on her face. “What would you ask of me, sire?”
He raised an eyebrow.
She raised her head. Slowly, she attempted to clarify any unspoken request without causing offense. “Did his highness want to spend time alone with Anna in the consort chamber?”
“No. I would ask you to do nothing to compromise your high moral standing. Anna has been an excellent friend to me—that’s all. She doesn’t know it yet, but I sent her fiancé to his death so that . . . the empire could be restored. She took nothing from me but a silly title and a room while she waited for him. Now, she has nothing. I am afraid that when she learns everything, she will hate me.”
“I understand, highness. Duty often paints us in a cruel light.”
“People are going to be dying between now and the Dance. More still will be inconvenienced by the war. I’m not going to be popular.”
“My family will do nothing but praise your kindness.” Her eyes had a shine to them that made him believe this. The eucalyptus scent lingered on her hands and waist, making him slightly giddy.
“I am, again, in your debt, Lady. My chamberlain will send you food. I must greet my guests before I ask absurd and dangerous favors of them.”
****
Everyone, with the exception of Tashi, was in the feast hall when Pagaose arrived. Dignitaries were vying for the chance to meet the new celebrities. Komiko hung on Pinetto’s every word, laughing at the slightest jest. He was describing his theory to unify the fields of divine and low magic. “I’m calling it ‘Power Mechanics.’”
“Could you show me a few tricks later?” asked the witch flirtatiously.
When the chamberlain announced the emperor’s arrival, people found their seats. Sarajah, at his right hand, nodded at the empty chair beside her. “Tashi’s still at the bathhouse.”
“How are you adapting to life without your many devices?” asked the emperor with genuine concern in his voice.
“Sleepwalking. I’m drawing another tarot deck. I thought its influence would’ve ended with the Traveler being freed.”
“Hmm. I could tell with my object sense that the Traveler didn’t paint them. They predated his birth.”
The magnitude of the loss struck her like a slap, but she said politely, “That would have been nice to know before losing them forever.”
“Forgive me; I didn’t know until I held them behind the Door. By then, we’d been sealed off from each other.”
“Who crafted them?”
“A woman in a cave. The resemblance to the Traveler was strong. I’d guess it was his mother; I don’t know her name. Perhaps she didn’t die completely and some vestige of her haunts the aether.”
She chewed her nail. “Sire, I have a theory that you might not have considered. Some memories from my time possessed might complete a corner of the puzzle.”
“Go on.”
“What if the Traveler’s mother was one of Serog’s daughters?”
Pagaose nodded. “It might explain why the dragon guarded his shrine.”
“And why I respected Tashi so much.”
The emperor laid a hand on her arm. “The Traveler’s mother was also the mistress of Archanos . . . which would explain why he was guarding another shrine.”
“At least why Serog didn’t hate him as she does the other Fallen.”
She mused for a moment. “Ashterah, the wife of Archanos, had a twin, Nephirah, who was a painter. You don’t think he slept with both sisters?”
“I’ve already speculated too much. The rest is their business.”
Turning to his other side, the emperor whispered to Pinetto, “Be careful of Komiko. She can be incredibly useful but eats men alive.”
“Thank you, sire.”
“How have you fared with your new magic skills?”
Pinetto described his plans to start a wizard school using the Book of Dawn as instructional material. He related his various successes and difficulties through the first two courses.
Tashi arrived during the third course and said, “Not more math. Talk about something interesting, like the Battle of the Falls. Then everybody can listen.”
The young wizard raised his voice to recount their victory in the battle and retreat from the horrible demon. He also described how the kingdom of Kiateros was recovering from its captivity. He summed up with, “The Pretender’s rule is crumbling. His attack on Center is one of desperation.”
The emperor nodded. By now plates were being cleared for the dessert course. “The key to breaking his power will be the dragon.”
“You know about Serog and her attacks on shipping?” asked Pinetto.
“I’ve spoken with her on numerous occasions. She’s tenderhearted and lonely.”
“What?” asked Karl, incredulous.
Niftkin glared the man into silence. Only Sa
rajah nodded.
“She’s the only one of our enemies with whom I’ve been able to bargain,” asserted the emperor. “Using this, I intend to track her to her lair.” He placed the Eog carving on the table. It was shot through with threads of yellow, scarlet, and purple.
“I’ve seen this before,” said the seeress. “It’s one of her few treasures.”
“It’s supposed to be pure white,” he admitted. His excess anger had tinged it red, embarrassing him slightly. He turned the figurine, admiring the sparkling veins of color, like in an opal. The lady’s anxiety had contributed the brilliant yellows.
“Pure Eog is clear, sire. ’Twas her loneliness that turned it white,” she explained.
Is the dragon’s loneliness leaking into me as my colors replace them?
“How does this pinpoint her lair?” asked Pinetto.
“She came from one of the Inner Islands, at most half an hour’s flight from here.”
“Five hours’ sail,” Pinetto said, converting in his head.
“How do you know that?” asked the emperor.
Pinetto drew on his red, linen napkin with chalk, describing the radius of the dragon’s nightly search, and worked the equation to show she had to fly about ten times faster than the ship could sail.
The emperor nodded. “She let slip that she lives on an island with a crack in reality known as a seam, there will probably be lava or steam rising from the water in this area. Smell the carving. Note the eucalyptus, the type that grows on burned wood. The rare blood oranges tell us there are established orange groves, planted by humans.”
“And the bat guano indicates a cave,” added Pinetto. “You’re a genius, sire. I’m sure we can track her with this in the archives and the charts. Just out of curiosity, why would her treasure smell like trees?”
Sarajah answered, “The smell transfers from her body. When she gets an itch, she rubs her back scales against whatever’s handy. I used to take care of that for her.” The feast crowd buzzed at this information. When she could be heard again, she asked, “What do you plan on doing to the dragon when you find her?”