Fragile Empire

by Christopher Mitchell

  ‘Herald,’ said one, bowing. ‘We are at your command.’

  ‘Any word from the fortress?’ she said.

  ‘They sent a soldier out bearing orders that we were to remain in barracks, ma’am. We ignored it.’

  Dyam nodded. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘What are your orders, ma’am?’

  ‘Surround the Great Fortress and blockade it,’ Dyam said, ‘then see if anyone in there is willing to talk.’

  ‘There are over a thousand soldiers in the New Town garrison,’ said Nyane. ‘Do we know if they are all inside?’

  ‘We think so, ma’am,’ said the commander.

  ‘That’s a lot of mouths to feed,’ said another officer. ‘We could starve them out in days.’

  ‘That might be too long,’ said Dyam. ‘Every moment that the Empress is in there she is at risk. I’m afraid we may have to attack if we can’t reach terms.’

  ‘Very good, ma’am,’ said the commander.

  ‘This is where you leave us,’ Dyam said to Nyane. ‘Remember what I told you.’

  Nyane nodded. ‘Good luck.’

  Dyam smiled and raised her arm, and the palace guard began marching under the gates and into the Old Town, accompanied by the other officers. Nyane stood by, close to the edge of the crowds and watched the soldiers pass. She noticed a few guards up on top of the Old Town wall, and decided to join them. She entered the gatehouse, where soldiers allowed her through to the stairs, and she sprinted up them. She emerged onto the wide walkway along the top of the wall. Directly ahead of her, the wall met with the west side of the Great Fortress, whose bulk sat in the junction between the Old and New Towns. At the end of the wall was a blocked-up doorway, that had once led to the interior of the fortress, but which had been sealed up by the old Emperor when he had gone mad.

  No, she thought, when the Creator had taken over his body.

  Every window on the west side of the fortress had also been blocked-up, and the building presented a flat, featureless surface. The only windows that remained were on the top floor, high above the Old Town, but Nyane could see no movement behind the glass. She glanced the other way, to watch as the different garrisons were gathering in the streets facing the south side of the fortress. She caught sight of Dyam, her hair golden in the morning sunlight, and her armour shining. She climbed up onto a wagon, and began hailing the fortress.

  ‘Soldiers of the New Town garrison,’ she cried, her voice carrying across the streets. ‘You have been deceived. Lady Belinda is attempting to take control of the Empire, and she’s trying to use you to do it. Do not be taken in by her lies. Look outside, and you’ll see soldiers from every other garrison in the city, from the cavalry grounds to the Old Town, and from the Kellach quarter to the peasant districts. We don’t want to fight you, but you have taken the Empress, and we are going to take her back. Lady Belinda is a liar and a fraud. Open the doors of the fortress and surrender.’

  Dyam fell silent and the soldiers before the fortress gazed up at the walls. Nyane held her breath, and for a moment it seemed like everyone in the city was doing the same.

  The front gates of the Great Fortress opened, and a woman stepped out onto the top of the stone ramp that led to the street.

  ‘Mistress Herald,’ said Lady Belinda in a clear, strong voice, ‘you are a criminal, and all authority has been removed from you.’

  Dyam shook her head. ‘I think you’ll find that the soldiers in Plateau City disagree with you. Surrender yourself and we shall be merciful. We don’t want to shed any blood here today. All we want is the Empress – and your arrest.’

  ‘Some blood will be shed today,’ Belinda said. ‘For inciting a rebellion against the lawful government of the empire, I hereby sentence you to death.’

  She raised a finger and pointed at Dyam. The herald cried out and blood burst from her eyes and nose. She toppled from the cart into the arms of the soldiers standing there.

  Nyane screamed, and the street in front of the fortress erupted into chaos and noise. Lines of soldiers charged up the stairs towards Belinda, but she waved her hand, and every one of them fell, covering the steps with their blood. Other loosed crossbows at her. She flicked her fingers in their direction and they fell like scythed wheat. As the numbers of dead increased, officers tried to call their soldiers back, yelling at them to retreat, but many more were slaughtered by Belinda before the rest began to flee.

  Lady Belinda surveyed the heaps of corpses littering the street.

  ‘I rule this city now,’ she said, then stepped back into the fortress, the tall gates closing behind her.

  Nyane stared at the streets. No one was moving. The soldiers who lived had all fled, and the rest lay still on the ground. She ran down the stairs and passed the panicking guards by the Old Town walls. Ignoring their cries, she sprinted through the narrow streets, leaping over the bodies of the fallen, until she reached where Dyam lay. She fell to her knees and cradled the woman’s head in her lap, tears spilling down her face.

  What had she just witnessed? How had Belinda done those things? None of it made any sense, and Dyam was dead. Nyane wept, unable to understand and uncaring about her surroundings.

  ‘Ma’am?’ a voice said ahead of her.

  She glanced up. Six soldiers wearing the insignia of the New Town garrison were standing before her, pointing crossbows in her direction.

  ‘Ma’am,’ he said again. ‘You’re under arrest. Orders of Lady Belinda. Come with us, please.’

  Chapter 29

  The Bridge

  Silverstream, Rahain Republic – 25th Day, Last Third Spring 524

  The sun had set over the mountains to the west, and the sky was darkening. A few fires had been lit to the north of the squad’s position, where they guarded the westernmost bridge over the river that ran through the town.

  ‘Lennox,’ said Carrie. ‘There’s more of them coming.’

  He turned from gazing over the town to the bridge. A group of about twenty soldiers was approaching from the south, where Logie, Libby and Cain were posted by that end of the river crossing. The soldiers were dressed in leather armour that came to below their waists, and were carrying long axes. They passed Logie and the other two without a word and stepped onto the bridge.

  ‘More killers,’ Loryn said.

  ‘Mad bastards,’ said Carrie.

  Lennox said nothing, watching the group of soldiers cross the bridge towards them. Named after their role as regimental executioners, used to dispatching large numbers of heretics and old free, the killers were hand-picked for their ability to slaughter without flinching or remorse. At camp, they had their own separate barracks and eating arrangements so that they were kept away from the general population of soldiers, who feared and despised them.

  ‘They’re only doing their job,’ said Kallek.

  They moved to the side to allow the killers to pass, then watched them stride off into the maze of streets and wooden walkways that ran through the town.

  ‘Their job?’ said Carrie. ‘Slaughtering the civilians that live here? I didn’t think we were coming here to do that.’

  ‘They’re only Rakanese,’ Kallek said. ‘They don’t count as people. Not one of them believes in the Creator, and they all work for the empire – sending spies into Rahain, and stealing our secrets. They deserve to die.’

  Lennox turned away, leaning against the great post that supported the northern end of the bridge that the squad had been guarding all day. The mace attached to his belt had seen no use – the first companies to assault the town had swept through the defences so quickly that there had been no one left to fight by the time the Fifth had reached the town’s outskirts. They had been pushed ahead to secure the bridge, which, as the only crossing in the western half of the town, was a main objective of the attack. The Fifth had been first to arrive, and had remained there all day, watching as companies went back and forth, and then the squads of killers, while an unending chorus of screams and shouts filled the air.
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br />   Headless bodies had appeared on the river not long after the first group of killers had crossed to the northern side of the town; they floated downstream or got caught up in the reedy banks. Lennox felt sick. Fighting the enemy was something he could understand, but the pointless annihilation of a town seemed absurd, something decided by important people far away, who could deliver orders they would never have to witness being carried out.

  ‘The fires are spreading,’ said Carrie. ‘Looks deliberate. I think the army are putting the town to the torch.’

  ‘That means they’ll be starting to pull back from the northern half of the town,’ Lennox said. ‘Bridge will be busy again.’

  The sound of screaming intensified as a large group of civilians were herded by soldiers towards the river a hundred yards east of where Lennox and the others stood. Orders were shouted, and the soldiers waded into the civilians, crushing them with mace blows and throwing the bodies into the muddy river. Down and down the maces fell among the defenceless civilians, until the water was thick with corpses.

  ‘Pyre above,’ whispered Loryn. ‘That could be us doing that.’

  ‘It should be,’ snorted Kallek. ‘Stuck on fucking guard duty all day, it’s a disgrace. Standing here like idiots while everyone else is getting their share.’

  ‘Don’t be stupid,’ said Carrie. ‘Half the regiment will be on guard duty somewhere or other – it’s a big town.’

  ‘Rubbish,’ he said. ‘We’re here because… eh, you know why.’

  ‘No, brother,’ Carrie said. ‘Please spell it out for me.’

  ‘Shut up,’ he hissed.

  ‘Let me guess,’ said Lennox to Carrie. ‘Your brother thinks that the Fifth has been singled out because me, Libby and Cain were prisoners? Well you can tell him that’s fine by me, if it’s got us out of doing that.’ He pointed at the carnage by the riverbank. ‘This is not what the Army of Pyre is supposed to be doing.’

  Kallek looked like he wanted to say something, but bit his lip and looked away.

  Carrie laughed. ‘He doesn’t know what to say when Logie’s not here to prompt him.’

  ‘Shut up, you stupid cow,’ Kallek spat at her. ‘You were quick enough to jump into bed with him when he was showing some interest in you. You only hate him cause he dumped your fat arse.’

  ‘Still using the same insults you used to say when we were children?’ Carrie said, shaking her head. ‘You should ask Logie to teach you some new ones.’

  Kallek smirked at his sister. ‘You don’t want to know what he says about you.’

  ‘And you just sit there, do you,’ Lennox said, ‘while Logie speaks about your sister like that? You’re weak, Kallek; a fucking coward.’

  Carrie shrugged. ‘Thanks Lennox, but I can deal with my brother.’ She turned to Kallek. ‘I can guess what Logie would say. He was never very original, either. It’ll probably be the same thing he says about Libby, and what he said about Darine. Loryn’s the only woman in the squad he hasn’t slept with.’ She turned to the youngest squad member. ‘Isn’t that right?’

  Loryn glanced at the ground. ‘Aye, that’s right.’

  Carrie peered at her. ‘You’d better not be lying to me. You’re much too young for that bastard.’

  ‘I’m not lying.’

  ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘Leave her be,’ said Lennox. ‘She says she’s not lying. And look, the fires are spreading.’

  He pointed over to the town, where entire streets were ablaze. The soldiers on the riverbank had finished killing the civilians there, and they were joined by more squads as the regiment began pulling out of the northern half of Silverstream. Lennox and the others stood aside as the first soldiers approached, forming queues out of the streets leading to the bridge. Officers roamed, keeping the soldiers in line as their boots thudded off the planks of the wooden bridge. For ten minutes an unceasing line of soldiers withdrew to the southern half of the town as the northern was consumed in an inferno, the flames reaching up into the dark sky.

  Lennox checked the southern end of the bridge. Logie, Libby and Cain were standing to one side, watching the lines of soldiers pass. He wondered what Logie had said to them during the long hours of the day that had passed. It had been the squad leader’s decision to post Lennox with Loryn, Carrie and Kallek on the northern end of the bridge, presumably to separate him from his two friends. From the glances Logie had given him that morning it was like the squad leader had completely forgotten their argument, but Lennox knew Logie forgot nothing.

  The crowd of soldiers began to tail off, then Lennox noticed a last group arrive. In their centre were three of shorter stature, two of them the height of Rakanese. Over a dozen soldiers surrounded them as they approached, and he noticed that the two Rakanese were hooded.

  When they reached the bridge a Holdings woman stepped forwards. She looked around to see who was in charge.

  ‘I’m the agent you were all told about,’ she said to Lennox. ‘You are to pull back once we’re across the river. The two Rakanese prisoners are under my authority and are not to be harmed under any circumstances.’

  ‘Aye, ma’am,’ said Lennox, saluting.

  The agent nodded and gestured to her escort to follow her over the bridge.

  ‘That’s Agent Sable, is it?’ said Carrie. ‘She doesn’t look like much.’

  ‘What are you talking about?’ said Kallek. ‘She’s fucking gorgeous, and she’s meant to be friends with the Lord Protector.’

  ‘Then she’s beyond your sweaty reach,’ Carrie said. ‘Lucky her.’

  ‘I wonder what they want two Rakanese prisoners for?’ said Loryn.

  ‘Who knows?’ said Lennox, his eyes scanning the blazing streets. ‘Right, no one else is coming. Let’s get our arses to the southern bank before we roast.’

  They stepped up onto the bridge and strode across. Bodies covered the muddy water under the planks beneath their feet, and the screaming continued from the southern half of the town. Halfway across, Lennox saw the first fires appear on the southern bank, on the far eastern edge of town.

  ‘They’re razing the other side,’ he said. ‘Going east to west. Come on.’

  They picked up their pace and ran the rest of the way. Logie was waiting for them on the large wooden platform at the southern end of the bridge. A few paces away stood the Holdings woman and her prisoners. Beyond them no one was moving; the streets and walkways filled with soldiers trying to make their way back to the fields where they had landed.

  ‘Welcome back,’ Logie said. ‘Hope your day was as exciting as ours.’

  Kallek laughed while the others grunted.

  ‘Why are we not moving?’ said Carrie.

  ‘Roads are blocked, apparently,’ said Logie. ‘Should only be another five minutes. We’ve got plenty of time.’

  Ahead of them, Lennox watched as Agent Sable began shouting, urging the crowd to get out of the way, but the platform was funnelling soldiers onto a narrow walkway, where they were crammed in, and no one responded.

  Libby and Cain walked over to him as the rest of the squad stood around.

  ‘How was it with Logie?’ he said.

  ‘Weird,’ said Cain. ‘It was like he was trying to be our friend.’

  ‘Like nothing had ever happened,’ said Libby.

  ‘Maybe he’s going to let it lie,’ said Cain.

  ‘Come on,’ said Libby. ‘You don’t actually believe that, do you?’ She glanced at Lennox. ‘Don’t trust him. He’s planning something, I know it.’

  Lennox nodded.

  ‘And all this,’ Libby said, waving her hand at the town. ‘What are we doing here? This is disgusting. The Army of Pyre is not supposed to be slaughtering children and civilians. I cannot believe that the Creator would want this.’

  They sat on the low wall by the bridge platform and waited with the rest of the squad. Logie was the only one standing, and was pacing back and forward in front of them. At the far end of the line Carrie was sitting in deep conv
ersation with Loryn, their voices lowered. Loryn looked to be in tears, while Carrie’s face was grim.

  After a few minutes a soldier came squeezing through the crowds towards them and stopped in front of the Holdings agent.

  ‘Well?’ she said.

  ‘A walkway up in front of us has collapsed, ma’am,’ he said. ‘The soldiers are having to wade through an eighty-yard stretch of marsh. It’s going to take a while to get everyone through.’

  ‘Shit,’ Sable said, shaking her head. She glanced over at the fires approaching from the east. She frowned, then jumped up onto the low wall by Lennox to get a better look. She peered over the rooftops, her eyes growing hazy for a split second. ‘Shit.’

  She hopped down, rushed over to her escort and began giving them orders.

  Carrie got to her feet, her face red with rage.

  ‘Hey, you!’ she yelled at Logie. ‘You wanker. You just had to, didn’t you, even though Loryn’s practically a fucking child.’

  Logie turned to her. ‘What? Sit down, you stupid cow.’

  Carrie pointed at him. ‘You bullied her into it, didn’t you?

  ‘Kallek,’ he said, ‘control your sister before I have to.’

  The squad sat in silence. Loryn’s face was scarlet and she looked away as Logie and Carrie stared at each other. Lennox stood.

  ‘What did you do, Logie?’ he said.

  ‘None of your fucking business,’ Logie spat.

  ‘Did you hurt Loryn?’

  ‘Fuck you, Lennox.’

  ‘You’re never hurting any of us again, do you hear me?’

  Logie clenched his fists.

  ‘You lot!’ Sable shouted at them and they froze. ‘Who’s squad leader?’

  ‘That would be me,’ said Logie, keeping his eyes on Lennox.

  ‘You’re coming with us,’ she said. ‘You’ll reinforce my escort in case we run into any trouble.’

  ‘Aye, ma’am,’ Logie said. ‘Where are we…?’