Eskkar Saga 02 - Empire Rising

by Sam Barone

  “He reported to me that your husband was an honorable man of a respected family, and that you were reputed to be a good and decent wife, who prayed each day at Ishtar’s feet for a child. Your whole village mourned when they heard of Namtar’s death and your capture. They thought you dead as well.”

  The mention of her husband’s name sent a tremor through Lani’s body. Then she understood the full import of Trella’s words. This girl had dispatched a rider on a long and dangerous journey of nearly three hundred miles, simply to gather information. All this at the merest hint of a rival for her husband’s affections.

  For the first time Lani realized that all she had heard about Trella must be true, that the ruler of Akkad had sharp wits and would be dangerous to offend. More important, she had the power to do whatever she wished, even to send forth a man on such a difficult errand. Lani recalled how easily Alexar had turned her and her sister over to Trella’s woman.

  He had done it without question, so certain of her authority.

  “And I’ve spoken to many from Bisitun about you, Lani,” Trella went on when Lani didn’t answer. “You are important to my husband, so I needed to learn as much about you as I could.” Trella paused for a moment, giving Lani time to comprehend. “Now I have some questions for you, Lani. And let me say that Eskkar and I have spoken much about you, and he asked me to make whatever arrangements for you that I saw fit.”

  Lani nodded her head in understanding. As soon as Alexar turned her over to Trella’s woman, she knew her fate rested in Trella’s hands, not Eskkar’s. He had risked his life to rescue his wife and his newborn son. He wasn’t likely to offend her now, not over some captive, ill used by Ninazu for his amusement.

  “So, what is it you wish to do now that you are in Akkad? Would you have me find you a new husband? There are many good men in Akkad who would look with favor on you, and you could have your pick of several. Or do you want to live by yourself for a time? That, too, can be arranged. Eskkar has set aside enough gold for you to do whatever you choose.”

  Gold meant freedom, protection, even for two women alone. Lani could get a house, servants . . . she could choose her own life. It sounded too good to be true, and yet . . . Trella waited a moment, but Lani said nothing. “Or do you wish to remain as Eskkar’s concubine?”

  Lani didn’t hesitate. “Lady Trella, if I could be permitted to remain as Lord Eskkar’s concubine, I would pay anything, do anything . . .”

  “There is nothing to pay, Lani, and the gold is yours already. However, there are rules if you are to be his concubine. So you must think hard about this.”

  Trella leaned forward, and her voice took on a harder edge. “There must be no issue from your womb, Lani. If you become with child, you must take the herbs to force the child from your body. If that fails, and a boy is born, you must give it up. Sargon is to be the only heir to his father.”

  She waited for Lani to speak.

  “That is very hard, Lady Trella.” Lani felt the tears start and bit her lip to stop them. She would not cry in front of this girl. “But I do not think I will conceive . . .”

  “No, Lani, that is not what you must say,” Trella cut in, her voice firm.

  “You will not be a wife, and there will not be a son. You must agree to that. If you hope for a child of your own, then you must give up Eskkar and seek another man to father it.”

  The tears started, and this time Lani couldn’t stop them. To never have a child was a terrible curse for a woman. The only thing worse than such an evil would be to give a child away.

  She looked up at Trella, surprised to see sadness and sympathy in her eyes. Trella had just delivered her own baby, and knew what she asked. But Lani hesitated only a moment.

  “I will take the herbs, Lady Trella. If I bear a son, I will give him up.”

  “I am sorry to do this to you, Lani, but I must. Sargon needs protection, as do Eskkar and I. As will you, if you are to be his companion. We still have many enemies. You must swear to do all that you can to protect and serve all three of us.”

  “What can I do to protect you and Eskkar?” Lani heard the confusion in her voice. How could she do anything to protect anyone?

  “More than you realize, Lani. Much is at stake here, too much to tell you about now. But you know we barely survived a siege by the barbarians, and then this attempt by Korthac to kill us all and seize control of Akkad. There will be more such strife in the future, and I . . . we will need all the help we can find.”

  “I will do whatever you ask, whatever I can to protect all of you. What else must I do?”

  “As Eskkar’s concubine, you will see no other man, only him. And you will only see him once or twice a week, or when the moon does not permit me to be with him. Your role will be to share pleasure with him, to soothe and comfort his body, and ease his mind. I love him too much to give up more of his spirit.”

  So Lani would become a consort, a pleasure girl, little better than a hired prostitute or slave, whose only business would be to please and satisfy her lover. It would be a bittersweet role to play. Trella would be his wife, his lover, his companion, the mother of his children. Lani would be almost nothing, have nothing.

  Trella saw the struggle in Lani’s eyes and leaned forward across the table. “You do not need to accept this, Lani. I know this is very hard to bear. All I can say is that, if you do accept, you will be helping Eskkar and myself. If this role becomes too difficult, you can stop being his concubine, and we will find another place for you, another task, or a husband of your own.”

  Lani heard the words. More important, she realized that, for some unknown reason, Trella wanted Lani to agree to this, wanted her to continue as Eskkar’s concubine. It must mean a great deal to Trella, though Lani didn’t understand why. She could turn down this role, but that thought was too awful to bear. Lani remembered the pain in her breast as Eskkar sailed away from Bisitun, likely going to his death. She’d been willing to kill herself at that moment, rather than face life without him. At least this would be better than that fate. And if it helped Eskkar . . .

  “I will do whatever you ask. I will be his concubine, if he so chooses.”

  The words came out almost without volition. Lani’s love for Eskkar gave her no choice. She watched Trella lean back in her seat, a hint of fatigue in her face. Lani remembered that in the last few days, this girl had delivered a baby practically in the midst of a battle, been wounded, and then had to fight to save her own life and the life of her child.

  “Then I’m glad you’re here, Lani. I welcome you to Eskkar’s household. There will be much for you to do, and much to learn. We will speak often in the coming days. Go now and rest. Tonight, when Eskkar returns from the countryside, I will send him to you. Now, dry your eyes.”

  Lani’s tears came without stopping. She felt Tippu’s arm around her shoulders, but still Lani found it difficult to stand.

  Trella turned to Annok-sur. “Can you help her, while I attend to Sargon?”

  Annok-sur arose and took a square of linen from her dress. “Your eyes are very beautiful, Lani,” she said, her voice surprisingly gentle, the hardness gone from her face. “Your tears will spoil your eye coloring.” She dabbed gently at Lani’s cheeks. “I’ll take you back to Uvela.”

  Somehow Lani got to her feet and let herself be escorted to the door.

  Blurred by tears, her eyes refused to focus properly. She had to hold on to Annok-sur’s arm to make sure she did not fall going down the stairs, Tippu following anxiously behind them. Lani struggled to hold back most of her tears until they left the house, keeping only one thought in her mind—that Eskkar would come to her bed tonight, and that once again she would be safe in his arms.

  ——

  Trella sighed when the door closed. She regretted hurting someone like that, a good woman who had done nothing wrong, but it needed to be done. From her own sources, from Eskkar, and from what she had just seen, she realized that Lani possessed a strong mind, with wits sh
arp enough to see what the future would bring.

  Trella didn’t like sharing Eskkar’s affections, but anyone could see that Lani loved Eskkar, and Trella saw just as clearly that Eskkar possessed more than a little love for Lani, even if, as she claimed, he had never said the words.

  In the coming days, as Lani learned more about the ever-present dangers that surrounded them all, Trella knew Lani would do everything in her power to protect Eskkar, and that would soon include Trella and the child. In a few months Lani would become a firm supporter of Eskkar’s House, and she would be useful in many other ways. Eskkar had told her about Lani’s skills in running the household, and of her suggestion that he use the river to return to Akkad. And for that alone, Trella might owe Lani her own life, and the life of her child. Another few days delay in reaching Akkad, and Korthac might never have been toppled.

  After a time, Lani might even tire of being Eskkar’s concubine. Still young, she would want children of her own. When that day came, Trella would make sure the right man stood beside her, someone who could give Lani the happiness she deserved. But until that day, Lani would join with Annok-sur, Gatus, Bantor, and even Corio and Nicar, and others, all those who depended on Eskkar’s continuing reign over Akkad.

  Lani would fit in well with Trella’s plans. There were few enough Trella could trust, and she had to make the most of each of them. She searched constantly for sharp-witted women like Lani who could think for themselves. En-hedu gave promise to be another such one, and Trella had already worked out a new role for her and Tammuz.

  And it would be good for Eskkar to have another woman once in a while. A strong and powerful man, her father used to say, needed more than one woman anyway. But in the future, Trella would ensure Eskkar took only women that she approved of, pliable ones that she could bend to her will. She would speak with Zenobia about supplying just the right kind of woman every few months. Empty vessels, her father called them—women with beauty but few wits, docile and easily forgotten. Men of power or wealth always found themselves sought after by every woman eager to expand her own prestige or influence. With Lani, this would never happen, because her only goal would be to make Eskkar happy, and Eskkar could be truly happy only with his wife and son.

  So even Lani would help bring about Trella’s vision of the future, the future that Trella and Eskkar would build for their son, Sargon. Five years, she decided. In five years, their position would be secure. Akkad would grow great and powerful, and everyone in these lands would attribute their wealth and safety to Eskkar. The expansion and consolidation of all the farms and villages between Akkad and Bisitun would hasten that process, and all would benefit from the new prosperity and security. With a code of laws established and honestly enforced, the people would soon forget the old and confusing days when powerful merchants ruled unchecked. More than half the city’s inhabitants had arrived within the last year, and had little connection to the old days.

  Five years from now, everyone would have forgotten about Eskkar’s barbarian origin and her own days as a slave. The people of the city would look to Sargon as their future ruler, one of their own and born in Akkad.

  When that day finally arrived, she and Sargon would be safe, surrounded by the new and still-unraised walls and hundreds, no, thousands of soldiers to protect them.

  From the other room, she heard the baby crying. She stood, stretching her back, and went into the bedroom. She took the mewing child from its cradle, ignoring the pain in her side as she bent over to lift him, and sat down on the bed. Trella slipped one arm out of her dress, wiped the tears from Sargon’s eyes, and let the boy nurse, enjoying the feel of him against her breast as the milk began to flow. She gently rocked back and forth, thinking about his future.

  Tonight she would be alone with Sargon, and she would spend the time resting and talking to her son. Tonight Eskkar would be with another woman, but he would return to her in the morning. With a certainty that she couldn’t understand, she knew he would always come back to her.

  They had been through too much together, had fought and bled together.

  The gods had interwoven their life-strands, created an alliance between them stronger than any bonds of family, friendship, or even the marriage bed. The road ahead might be perilous and uncertain, but their spirits and blood had strengthened the very walls of Akkad, and nothing could separate them, either from each other or from their fates. She and Eskkar would rule together, or not at all.

  She smiled at the suckling child and leaned down to kiss his head.

  The helpless infant in her arms would reign one day, perhaps over an even greater expanse than Trella could envision. More important, Sargon would carry their blood down through the ages yet to come. She’d seen the look in her husband’s eyes when he held their child. The boy’s birth had changed Eskkar yet again, made him stronger, even as it drew him closer to her. And that was as it should be. Eskkar had risked his life for her and their son, and she knew their love for each other remained strong. She would give up one or two nights each week to ensure her husband’s love and affections went no further.

  Thus she reasoned with herself, though she suspected that, in the darkness, she would awake alone and wish Eskkar back in her arms. But the morning would come, Eskkar would return, and the new day, and those that followed, would find them together.

  Acknowledgments

  For some inexplicable reason, I assumed that my second book would be easier to write than the first. As usual, I was wrong. In many ways, Empire Rising required more work and more revisions than Dawn of Empire. So once again I want to give thanks to all those who gave their time and effort to make sure that the book you hold in your hands would be worth the time you spent reading it.

  First thanks go to my agent, Dominick Abel, whose casual suggestions did much to improve readability. Then to my editor at HarperCollins, Sarah Durand, whose ideas forced quite a bit of soul-searching and debate about several key areas of the story. Her efforts helped tighten the book and keep the focus on the action.

  Extra thanks are due to my critique group NovelsInk, those intrepid writers who gave of their own time to polish the rough drafts and point out all the flaws and mistakes invisible to me or any author. Sharon Anderson, Martin Cox, Deb Ledford, Sally Mise, and Thelma Rea all played a big part in making the story work through the endless drafts and revisions. In 2006, we lost Jim Jasper, our biggest supporter, who succumbed to a sudden illness. We all miss him.

  Of course, it’s impossible to forget my writing felines, Gracie and Xena, who took turns sitting on my lap while I tried to type. For realism, they insisted I add a cat to the story, and naturally I had to accommodate them.

  Sam Barone

  Scottsdale, Arizona

  January 2007

  About the Author

  SAM BARONE was born and raised in New York City. He spent thirty years designing and developing software, and began writing seriously after his retirement. He lives in Scottsdale, Arizona.

  www.sambarone.com

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Epilogue