by Scott Rhine
As she returned to the kitchen, the emperor pointedly did not watch her behind sway. Instead, he asked Niftkin, “Isn’t Tashi coming this morning? He never misses a workout. Wait until you men see him. No one can beat him at Stone form. Was he up too late in the Pleasure Dome?”
“They never got there, sire. The witch and he spent all night in the throne room.”
“Bother. Something went wrong,” Pagaose said, running to the room where the Door to Eternity hung from the ceiling.
When he arrived, the emperor entered alone to maintain secrecy about the Door. Tashi was laid out on the floor in obvious pain. Sarajah was white-faced, sitting on the throne. “You succeeded.”
The seeress winced at his volume. “He’d been a troll too long.”
He handed her a waterskin, which she accepted greedily. After several gulps, she continued, “He kept healing back to troll form. I had to almost cut the armor off and then transform each limb and block the Door light. It took forever. I tried to absorb most of the pain myself.”
“Let me guess: you’ve exhausted all your mana and have a headache, like a thin blade behind the right eye socket?”
“Yes,” she moaned.
“I have a special tea mixed with willow bark and a hammock I use for just such an occasion.”
“A what?”
“One of the secrets of my Pleasure Dome. Take the medicine. Sleep in the hammock. Once you wake and eat broth, take a soak in the hottest pool we have, and have Violet give you a full-body massage. It usually takes me an entire day to recover after I’ve done a transformation.”
“Very hospitable.”
“You are the Ghost Rose. You represent hope. I can do no less”
“Thank you. It’s been a long time since I’ve spent a day in bed. You know, I’d never considered my own royal symbol. That flower might work. That’s the one that looks plain white to everyone else and beautiful to Imperials.”
“For those who have eyes to see, they are dazzled,” he said, and she blushed. “I’ll send a palanquin for you.”
“What about Tashi?”
At the mention of his name, the former troll sniffed the air. “Do I smell sausage? Gods, I’m hungry.”
Tashi limped to breakfast, leaning on his former teacher.
A dazed-looking Pinetto was already sitting at the breakfast table.
Pagaose asked, “Any energy problems while you slept?”
Tashi had a seat and started shoveling the potato pancakes onto his plate. He grabbed some applesauce and tossed some between the layers. Then, he ate it like a sandwich.
“Still eats like a freaking troll,” said Pinetto.
“At least the smell is gone,” said the emperor.
Tashi responded, “Say what you want. I’m the only one here with a woman. Tonight, I am so sleeping in the Pleasure Dome.”
“She’s going to need a day before things stop spinning and she doesn’t feel like throwing up,” explained the emperor.
“Meaning?” Tashi asked, grabbing an orange.
The young wizard translated. “Stag night. She has a headache.”
Tashi tore the orange in half with a grunt.
Pagaose changed the subject. “I’ve deeded you some land in the Scar, underneath the observatory. We’re experimenting with some new brick designs and thought your building might be the perfect chance to try them out.”
“I love experiments.”
“Did you have any sudden bursts of energy last night, being so close to the Door?”
“No. I did lose my copy of the official paperwork from last night.”
“I’ll have my scribe draft another. No problem. What happened?”
“I don’t know. I guess it was all the excitement. I sleepwalked down to the ship and slept in my bunk there.”
“This tells me two things. First, you don’t charge up with difference energy in your sleep. That means at some level, you can control it,” Pagaose said. “Second, you need to learn the Way of Water.”
The chamberlain appeared at the door to the dining chamber. “Sire, is it safe for the ladies to enter?”
He nodded. There was a pause as his selected dancing partners filtered in, smiling.
“Tashi started teaching me some of your techniques,” said Pinetto.
The emperor said, “Hah! It took him a year to learn to fall right.”
The ex-troll boasted around bites of food, “It took a year before someone was able to throw me.”
“I had to adapt my techniques to a stubborn pupil,” the emperor insisted.
“You’ll teach me?” Pinetto asked.
“I don’t have time and neither do you. Go see Frond at the beach and ask him to show you the Way of Water.”
“Who’s that?” asked the young wizard.
“He’s awesome,” said Ember. “He’ll teach you things about the water in one day that will change your world.”
Tashi stared at her tattoos. “I’ll go, too. I’m his bodyguard.”
“Leave the sword here, though,” she advised.
The ex-troll looked to his side to see the new scabbard they’d chosen for the Defender. “Sorry, I don’t remember bringing it with me. I’ll take it back to the armory and bring back the Book of Dawn for you to read over.”
Pinetto leaned to whisper in Pagaose’s ear. “The Imperial girl hasn’t taken her eyes off your head guard since she arrived, even while she’s drinking her tea.”
The emperor put a finger to his lips. “I encouraged it.”
“Does he know?”
“Nobody does, and I don’t want to spoil it before it develops. I think the girl should tell him first.” Raising his voice, he said to both men, “Pick your crew this morning and plan your expedition while I find a dragon’s lair. We’ll pay for this expedition to Archanos using grant monies for expanded mapping of the south. I leave you in the capable hands of my dancers-in-waiting while I go to check on their final member, the Lady Anna.”
When Pagaose knocked on the bedroom door to see Anna, Lady Evershade said, “She just ate and fell back to sleep. She’s still very distraught. I can let you see her for a short time, sire, while I take the bowl back to the kitchen.”
After holding Anna’s hand for some time and talking to her unconscious form, he noticed a splash of blue sticking out the crack of the twin doors of the closet. Curious, he opened it to find Lady Evershade’s peacock dress. The covering for the breasts detached into fans. Heart pounding, he tugged one toward him and inhaled. He closed his eyes and reveled in the strange mix of humors her scent released in his new body. The echoes of lust locked in this dress were nearly overpowering. He could envision the entire dream over again. One of the feathers came off in his clumsy clutch. He hid it in his pouch, next to the bird statue, and closed the doors, leaving before the lady returned.
****
Seeing Pagaose with his face buried between the breasts of her dress sent a shiver of remembered pleasure through Lady Evershade. However, she stepped silently back into the hall before he could see her. Thoughts of her recent dream sent new thrills through her, stirring areas she’d thought buried with her husband.
“I need suitable clothing,” she muttered to herself.
The chamberlain, overhearing, said, “Shall I send your daughter, or do you wish to ride a palanquin to your home?” He subtly avoided mention of her current bedroom attire.
“My daughter is at the emperor’s disposal. What one gives to the emperor, one can never take back.”
“Very good, madam.”
****
From home, Lady Evershade gathered everything necessary for an extended stay at the palace, including stronger narcotics. On her way back, she stopped to visit Lord Pangborn.
“You look flush, cousin, and you’re wearing blue. Is mourning over?”
“Such dress would be an ill-omen on Pagaose’s reign. My daughter is the prime contender for the hand of the next emperor, and he has asked me to plan his coronation. Even if
Nightglow fails to win him, his entire dynasty will be tied to our family.”
“Are you certain we wish this?”
She put her hand on her chest. “He has powers beyond any other man alive. He’ll lead our race into a new era of strength. The votes are counted; we need to ensconce him before the Pretender claims the same seat. If Sandarac succeeds, Reneau is the capital and we pay tribute until our island fades away.”
“If you can keep Pagaose from making any decrees, we might have a chance.”
“I will do my utmost to restrain his majesty,” she smiled wistfully at the word choice, “and distract him with the ceremony.”
“Don’t announce your role just yet,” he said cautiously.
“But the cost will be ruinous. I need the College of Wizards to fund this.”
He raised a hand. “I need time to move certain alliances and make disclaimers. Use your shipping business to pay and the College will reimburse you.”
“If you’re certain.”
“It’s how our government operates.”
“Very well. We must weaken his detractors covertly and make your defection seem natural.”
“I am open to suggestions.”
“His most vocal opponent is the ward wizard Burningsand. Convince the man that Lord Pinetto is the weak link in the emperor’s chain. Without him, there is no fifth school, and he’s the only member. Thus, without his vote, there is no coronation.”
“For a woman, your skills at logic are formidable. Whoever wins the duel, we gain.”
“Pinetto will win. I’d bet on it.”
“I think I shall. How shall I allay Burningsand’s fears of such a formidable opponent?”
“Recall that at the party, when he became emotional, he lost control of his magic and had to be doused with water.”
“Yes, I can paint him as an inexperienced oaf with no degrees. So many will agree that no one will recall that I was the first to point this direction.”
“I need to take proof to the emperor that I am winning the nobles to his cause, so that he will give me more sway in his palace.”
“As a sign of goodwill, to let Pagaose know we are secretly on his side, give him this proclamation we found pinned to my office door.”
Pangborn slid over a parchment. She read it and exclaimed, “Anna of Tamarind is already married?”
“Widowed, under suspicious circumstances, and quite rich.”
Lady Evershade slid the paper back to him, calculating. “Can it be proven?”
“Several witnesses will testify that she lived for a time at Muro.”
“Yes, I recall this.”
“With the monks, only married women are allowed, and only sharing the same bedroom as the husband.”
She smiled. “Anna had to leave Muro when he died! Oh, for Miss holier-than-thou, this is priceless. It will be sweet to see her dragged to the gutter.”
“You do not wish me to bury the claim?”
“No. Copy it and publish it everywhere tomorrow afternoon. However, before you inform your committee, honor the request from the emperor’s scribe allowing chaste and faithful widows to enter the dance. Claim you do this to open the field to . . . that Babliosian baroness, or even me.”
“This is absurd. An emperor must have young loins to bear him many children.”
She waved the comment away. “Complain about the suitability of the other choices. Offer members of other families who’d be superior.”
“Not hard to do. In mere days, I think Bablios is the only kingdom he’s yet to pick from. The guests last night joked that his highness could have escaped his wine bill for the feast if the wine merchant had a daughter.”
“This loophole harms nothing but will look to the emperor like we’re bending the rules to help his favorite. He’ll owe us.”
Lord Pangborn straightened. “You’ve always been my favorite cousin. I like this. We leak the charges a few at a time. When he thinks himself safe from the marriage charge, we let his opponents seize on the key, unfortunate word ‘chaste.’ The widow Togg will still be out of the dance, freeing the way for precious Nightglow.”
“Togg?” she said puzzled. “Baran Togg died on Emperor’s day.”
“Kirak Togg, his oldest surviving brother and heir to the Togg fortune, died on his wedding night while consummating.”
“The gods favor us, cousin. Our fortune is made.”
Chapter 21 – Surfing and Safari
Niftkin led Pinetto and Tashi to the dungeons. “Three of my guards and one of the retired generals volunteered to go with you on your mission to bring the queen’s navy.”
Pinetto snorted. “That’s underwhelming.”
“The emperor stressed that quality is more important than quantity and cited Sir Tashi as an example,” Niftkin explained.
“Good point,” agreed Tashi.
“General Conifer will bring a couple assistants.”
“Conifer,” said Pinetto. “Wait a minute. He’s related to me, a branch of my mother’s family.”
“Yes, lord wizard, sir. The general is very proud and can meet you at your convenience. The emperor signed over two men to you already. I’ll introduce you to them first for your approval. With your existing crew, that brings the total to twelve souls. I don’t recommend you take too many convicts with you, and your little courier ship won’t hold many more. The emperor suggested that each of your party leaders pick one prisoner who might fit whatever plans you have.”
“We have plans?” asked Pinetto.
Tashi said, “I do. Find out who’s currently in charge of the pirate ship we need, and then convince him to help us.”
“If the good witch can’t convince them with her charms?”
“You blow them up or I chop their head off. Repeat until someone says yes. Simple but effective.”
“You don’t plan your next meal.”
“These things take care of themselves when you follow the Way.”
“So our plan is prayer and intimidation?”
Niftkin first took them to a door with a sliding viewport. “Hindaloo the Despised.”
Tashi refused to peek. “We’re taking him regardless. We’re going to refuse him because he’s too ugly?”
Through the hole, Pinetto could see a man with dark-green eyes. His arms and neck had scars like sucker marks. “Where’d the marks come from?”
“I caught the plague and survived.”
Pinetto backed away from the door. “The brain-eating plague?”
Hindaloo looked bored. “No. The normal one from rats. I had black boils so my crew left me to drift in a dinghy. The Zanzibosian navy never would’ve caught me otherwise.”
“So you’re the man to see to get in and out of forbidden places. Why were you in the plague-lands?”
“Born there. I scavenge iron and other rare materials from the old settlements. I’m pretty good at dodging the shamblers.”
Niftkin shouted, “Listen to how brave he sounds. He used children to swim ashore and steal. If they didn’t find anything worthwhile, he left them in the death zone. If they did come back, he quarantined them below decks till the next raid.”
“It’s a better life than most of them had. If they live till they’re adults, I make them crew or send them on their way with a bit of money,” said Hindaloo.
“Why only children?” asked Pinetto.
Niftkin spat on the floor. “Because then he doesn’t get charged with plague running. It’s a loophole in the law. With slaves, serfs, or employees, he’d share the guilt equally.”
“What’s he in jail for? Green eyes?”
“One of the kids lied about his age to get adopted; claimed he was two years younger,” said Niftkin with a chuckle.
“I hate liars,” said the plague-runner. “He died the night after he testified.”
Closing the peephole, Pinetto said, “That man gives demons a bad name.”
Tashi said, “Regardless of your personal opinion, when we’re in the field,
walk where he walks and eat what he eats. The man is a survivor, and we’re going into his backyard.”
Next, Niftkin led them above ground to a less-secure area. The housing unit was more like a low-cost dormitory than a true prison. It had chickens, a garden, and an exercise area. “The emperor started this program. These are our honor prisoners, none of them much more heinous than the folks running the kingdoms right now. They’ve all cooperated with the crown in the past and earned privileges.”
Pinetto asked, “Why don’t they just run?”
An overweight man doing push-ups answered. “Where would we go? I had a bloody death sentence commuted. I can feed myself in the farm and don’t have to rely on my lazy son.”
“This is Murali Patwash, the former gamekeeper at the zoo,” noted Niftkin.
Tashi stood beside the man and watched him exercise. “You weren’t always fat, water-finder.”
Blowing out air between repetitions, he replied, “You’re a strange man. You throw insults to provoke me. Since you are probably skilled at violence, I will choose to view your statement as fact and not subject myself to embarrassment.”
“How can you tell?” asked Tashi,
“You smell of blood but have no apparent injuries. You have a sword belt but enter my cell without it. You stand like a fighting master even to examine my strawberries.”
“He’s on the expedition,” said Tashi, turning to leave.
Popping to his feet in a surprisingly dexterous move, the large man said, “Did I ask to join?”
“We’re going to the wilds of Archanos, facing savage natives and bloodthirsty pirates. Traditionally half our members die, but even the ones who do are remembered as legends.”
“Now I’m in,” said the former zookeeper. “But I have one favor to ask.”
Tashi raised an eyebrow. “Go on.”
“I raised foxes for the nobility on the side. My son isn’t feeding them. Most can be set loose or harvested for the fur and tail, but I need someone to look after my Kitten.”
Pinetto scratched his head. “I thought a young fox was called a kit.”
“’Tis, but this one’s special. I raised him myself, using a cat to help suckle when he was little. He doesn’t know he’s a wild thing. He comes when called and lets me rub his belly. He’s a fine thing, and I don’t want him suffering or worrying about me not coming home.”