by Radu Aldea
“I am the best. I was taken by surprise once. It won’t happen again.”
“You didn’t make any mistakes on that field. What do we do now?”
Kara looked through the telescope at the city in the distance. Orenburg was a fortified town, not all the cities in the empire were, and had a population of about ten thousand. Situated at a crossroad, it was where the imperial road to Essland and that to Eastern Suttland met. Every commodity to or from Veneguard to or from these provinces passed through here.
“We have to go there,” Kara pointed at the city. “I have to change my appearance. I am too recognizable. I can’t do anything about the eyes but the hair is another story.”
“Are you kidding me? That place has walls and is crawling with senators.”
“There is also a lot of traffic and nobody expects me to be here. The people are used to strangers and won’t give us a second thought. I have to do something about the hair.”
The long, auburn hair was the most distinctive thing about her. The eyes also gave her away, but not as much as the hair. She really wanted to change its color and shorten it.
“How many senators do you think live there? About a hundred?”
Probably less than that. “About that but they are weak.”
“If we go in there we are not getting out, not without burning down the city.”
That was certainly an option. Orenburg wouldn’t survive the coming war, anyway. Its strategic location was too important and everybody would want to control it.
“And are you forgetting them?” Michael pointed to the soldiers from Eastern Suttland. “We have to pass them on open terrain to get to the city. And if by some miracle we manage to get in there we have to avoid every senator, which will be extremely difficult with at least a quarter of the population under their control. The moment one of them takes control of me, we’re done. When by mistake, you take over a human under their control, we’re done.”
He was exaggerating. Probably only a tenth of the population was under senatorial control. “You’re right. You can’t go in there. I will go alone and find a way to get in. You’ll just have to get close enough and tell me there aren’t any wizards or sorceresses.”
He was vulnerable to detection, but she wasn’t. Technically, Orenburg was in Casti territory and she should’ve asked permission to enter. That didn’t worry her. She would blend in. There were enough visiting senators from Essland and Eastern Suttland and she could fake both accents. She also knew how to prevent revealing her powers by accident.
“You go in there, if you’re not recognized immediately, you’ll be discovered soon after.”
“They haven’t before. Remember those games I played. Some of them were in an urban setting. Only Julia could find me and they knew I was there. The senators in Orenburg will have no idea I’m in their city. This is how senators were meant to fight, from the shadows, by insidiously infiltrating our enemy and destroying him. I promise you, I will be fine.”
“You have to tell me more about your war-games sometime. They sound really interesting. Are you sure they won’t find you? You’ll have to take over people there.”
Senators couldn’t say for sure how powerful another senator was just by looking at him or her. Some people could guess fairly accurately, Aleyna, for example, was brilliant at that. Kara was good, too. There were few ways to be sure. You could see how many people he had under control. The senator couldn’t be weaker than that, but he could be more powerful. If you took over someone under his control or he took from you, you would have a good indicator of the level of power. Of course, for Kara, who could take from almost any senator, this method didn’t work. There was a third way. When senators took control of humans something like a mental block covered them to prevent others from doing the same. These blocks could be shattered by a more powerful senator, almost without realizing. Most senators, when they established a connection, did it with all their power. It didn’t matter if they took over one or three hundred, the same amount of power was used for every human. When the difference in power was not significant, the senator who controlled the human knew another senator was trying to take from him. If something like that happened in a house and the offending senator knew the human was under the control of someone else, it was a violation of the guest law. If this happened on the streets of a city it wasn’t a clear offense. A dispute could ensue, of course, and it would be resolved somehow, but it wasn’t against the law.
There was a way around this. Some senators called diviners, usually situated on the lower end of the power spectrum, but not always, had a very specialized skill. They could use only a small fraction of their power when they were connecting to another mind. This took a lot more focus and if the human wasn’t controlled there was nothing to gain. But if the human was taken over by a senator it presented serious advantages. The tendril of power usually didn’t give away the attempt and, more importantly, it gave the senator an image of the protective mental block. This was something a senator simply couldn’t fake. The protective block indicated the senator’s power and it was unique. To actually recognize the senator by the image of his mental block was incredibly difficult. The blocks were unique, but sometimes the differences were very subtle. To get an accurate understanding of his power was much easier. The image the diviner-senator saw was in the form of an obstacle, usually a wall. The more impregnable the wall looked or the more daunting the obstacle, the more powerful the senator.
Kara and Julia had this specialized skill. She wasn’t sure about Lucian, but she didn’t think he did. She even knew how her block looked like. Julia described it to her once and the image she had of Julia’s was similar. It was a perpetually shifting wall obscured by some sort of mist. Because of the peculiar nature of their block getting an image of it was difficult even for someone with their skill and it always betrayed the attempt. Other senators with this skill did not know when they were tested. At least she didn’t think they did.
“I know a few tricks,” Kara said, smiling wickedly.
“We still have to pass them. It would be easy just to kill them, either one of us could do it. But that would defeat the purpose, wouldn’t it?”
It would because it would let a lot of people know someone powerful was near. Luckily, they didn’t need to find a solution because their problem solved itself. Hundreds of soldiers erupted through the gates of the city. Someone finally decided to stop the fifty scouts. Someone was really foolish. Kara looked at both sides through her telescope. This show of force would achieve nothing but escalate an already tense situation. And that was not the worst idea.
“Are there senators with them?” Kara asked and gave the telescope to Michael.
“Four of them, a lot less powerful than you. Look! You can see them for yourself.”
Kara wished they had two telescopes because handing it back and forth was becoming increasingly irritating. She recognized three of the senators immediately. They were wearing parade armor, all shiny, new and ostentatious. They didn’t understand yet this was war. The fourth senator was more difficult to identify. Hidden in the middle of the soldiers, wearing common armor, the girl didn’t attract any attention to herself. Because the fourth senator was a girl, looked really young and Kara guessed she couldn’t be more than sixteen. For a moment she thought the girl looked directly at her. Of course, there was no way she could see Kara.
“The girl, she’s the fourth senator?”
“Yes, she’s of medium power too, but more powerful than the rest of them.”
“And smarter. Could you be more specific about their powers?”
“The three men have about a third of your power and the girl a little less than half.”
That was actually very helpful. They were all battle-senators. Sure, they were at the bottom of that particular hierarchy – the men especially, the girl’s position was a little higher – but that didn’t mean they couldn’t create problems for her. It also meant they didn’t live there even though they burst out o
f the city. Battle-senators did not live in cities.
“I guess they were sent here to take control of the city and defend it.”
“How can you be so sure they don’t live in Orenburg?”
“Battle-senators don’t live in cities because they are dirty, smell bad and, most of all, they are a security nightmare. We don’t like to be surrounded by people we don’t control. So we prefer to live in villas, usually heavily fortified, and the reason why not all the senators do it is because they are not wealthy enough.”
“Couldn’t they just take the wealth from the humans?”
“You would think so, but no. And some of them have work that keeps them in cities.”
Property was mostly respected even by senators. It wasn’t a law, but it was very close to one. Not many would care if a senator had taken over the daughter of a human lord and made her his lover, even against her will, which was rare, since most human girls were more than willing to become lovers of senators in the hope they would get pregnant. They thought this would elevate their status and it might in Suttland, but it was less likely in the other provinces.
The two opposing armies stopped, facing each other and waiting for the hostilities to start. Kara was not sure she could call them armies, but people were going to die out there. The girl senator crossed the open space. What was she doing? Kara had thought the girl smarter than that. The attempt to negotiate with the opposing side almost changed her mind.
“That’s brave. Stupid, but brave,” Kara mouthed.
“What do you say that? If they touch her they all get slaughtered.”
“It’s not their decision. A senator, who is probably sitting comfortably in a villa in Suttland and being attended by naked girls, will give the order. Fifty soldiers might not be as important to him as eliminating an important senator of your enemy.”
“Why not a woman senator served by naked boys?”
Kara laughed. “It works in any combination. You are missing the point.”
“I don’t think I am. Is the girl that important? Do you know who she is?”
“I don’t know her. No matter what you think, we don’t all gather every year and get to know each other. Senators do not trust each other. This is the first time I’ve been in Cuttland and I have met very few senators from here. But, to answer your question, she’s not unimportant. Given her power, I think it would be a loss for Robert Castus, but not a severe one. I don’t understand why she took the risk of going to negotiate in person. It would be easier to send a human. And why is she in charge?”
“Are you sure she outranks the others?”
Kara wasn’t. The girl was too young for the others to obey her. She recognized one of them. He was one of Robert Castus' men. “It looks that way, but she’s so young. Those three are peacocks. They came out wearing parade armor. I don’t think they are going to listen to her. A senator may be more powerful, but if he or she is young and inexperienced older senators would not accept commands. It’s not just about power.”
“So, do we stop them, kill them or do nothing?”
“I don’t think we have time to do anything. I say we wait and see what happens and I might kill them later. The girl, however, I don’t think I want to get rid of her.”
The negotiation didn’t take long. Both sides returned from where they came. The crisis was avoided for now and there wasn’t going to be bloodshed.
“Kara, if you are all right on your own for a few days I have to go and meet someone.”
“Your wizard friend? You want to let him know you are all right?”
“Yes!”
“Will you return?”
“Yes!”
“Please take this gift from me.” Kara handed him a book on wizards. She had already given him all the books on wizards, but it was important that he accepted the gift from her hands. He did and she smiled.
“I will see you in seven days at the temple of the Gray Gods at the entrance to Ornulf’s gap. Is that all right?” They kissed passionately. It was answer enough for her.
Chapter nineteen
Maya had doubts for the first time. She didn’t think executing her plans would be so difficult. They were going well, that was not the problem, and all was falling into place. What she didn’t expect was the effect people had on her and their ability to test her restraint. She was being tested right now and she wanted to do murder. Anyone would do, but she preferred the three male senators sitting at her table. Why did Cuttland male senators had to be such insufferable assholes? Apparently, they were not like that in Suttland.
“Did you see that? We made them run!”
“I still think we should’ve killed them. That would’ve sent a message.”
Yes, it did and it said they were all idiots. They thought making fifty scouts withdraw or killing them was a great victory. They went out there, paraded in their shiny armor and called it battle. Yes, she had noticed that. How could anyone miss it? The fools had no idea what was out there. She wondered what they would say when the armies of Suttland rolled over them, when thousands of their soldiers moved north. That day was not far off and it was an almost definite possibility. What would they do when Julia Mettela herself took the field? Run like scared children, most likely. That thought made her smile.
Maya didn’t want to waste time in this city and had only planned to spend the night. When she had arrived the three idiots were already here and the city was lit with rumors of the approaching Suttland armies. She could sense the panic in the streets, but was not convinced. It was unlikely the southerners ventured this far north. She had been proven right, the feared armies turned out to be fifty scouts. Somehow, that didn’t make her feel better.
“There could be more of them out there, maybe an entire army.”
There could be more, but she doubted it. It was far too early in the game for Julia to commit so many troops. She had studied carefully the young, powerful Suttland senator. Julia liked to be mysterious, not much about her filtered outside the inner circle, and Maya was sure that most of what was commonly known was misinformation. She tried to discern the truth from the lies and one of the things she was confident about was that the petite blonde was a very good strategist. Julia wouldn’t act so irrationally and throw away troops like that. Still, she didn’t want to take any chances. An early involvement of Julia in battles would ruin her plans and she liked her plans just the way they were. That’s why she stopped the massacre of the fifty scouts. Their deaths might’ve made Julia retaliate – although Maya didn’t think so and the fifty soldiers probably belonged to an overzealous minor senator and they shouldn’t have come so far north – so why take the chance. Her gamble paid off and the conflict was avoided for now.
“There aren’t more of them this far north. And if they come we’ll chase them away too.” That was idiot number one. She was told their names, but didn’t bother to remember. Why would she, when all she wanted was to forget them.
“The wine is gone. Bring more wine!” That was idiot two, who was already drunk. Senators usually didn’t drink much and certainly didn’t get drunk because it interfered with their control and power. Idiot two didn’t seem too bothered by it or the way he and his friends perverted the guest law. Yes, the host had to treat his guests well, especially guests of higher rank, but the host had to agree they were guests. The three just turned out and demanded to be boarded there because it was one of the best houses in a city. The host, one of the most important living historians, had no other choice but to agree. Power-wise, he was an under a hundred and lower in the hierarchy than these three. The Order needed the hierarchy, otherwise it would tear itself apart, but sometimes it was unfair and in this case it was really unfair. The three were nothing, when they died they would leave nothing behind, while the historian would leave his mark on the world and would be remembered by many. The three knew this and it was why they acted like bullies now.
The owner of the house and celebrated historian, Cyprian Vitalis, ordered one o
f his servants to bring more wine. Cyprian’s wife, Teresa, also a weak senator as were their son and daughter, didn’t seem too happy with the request. Most likely all the wine in the house was gone and they had to bring more from somewhere else. The honored guests were becoming quite the financial burden. Maya doubted Cyprian was rich. Yes, he had a nice house, but she didn’t think there was a serious financial incentive to being a historian.
“How goes the study of old books? This is what you do, isn’t it?”
Don’t answer that! Don’t answer that! Maya got to hope for a moment Cyprian wouldn’t take the bait and answer idiot one’s question. She saw him consider and then speak.
“Not only books, but inscriptions and oral tradition. It’s all so fascinating.”
It wasn’t. Sure, she found some parts of history interesting and others educational, but she wouldn’t go that far and call them fascinating. Maya had read some of his books and they spoke of an almost all-consuming passion. The man breathed the past.
“While we are protecting everyone you waste time and gold with something trivial nobody cares about. I don’t think you appreciate us enough.” Idiot three.
“History is not trivial. If we don’t know our past, we can’t understand who we are.”
His words fell on deaf ears. They didn’t care as Maya knew they wouldn’t. It didn’t bother her they lacked the intellect to appreciate the lessons of history, which made them not very good battle-senators. What worried her was idiot three’s implied threat.
“Yeah, you don’t show enough appreciation,” idiot number two slurred the words. “And where is that wine. We protect you from the southerners and you don’t even give us wine.”
Maya didn’t point out he was already drunk, proof he had consumed a large quantity of wine, and the three guests posed a far greater threat to Cyprian than Suttland soldiers.
“If not for us, Orenburg would be overrun by the southerners and you would have nooses around your necks. We protected you and you have not been thankful enough.”