by Radu Aldea
“We already know that,” Alexandra was quick to answer. “I don’t see the relevance.”
“It’s all right, you don’t need to. But she does, don’t you, empress?”
Tamzin’s face turned ashen. She had been told of this and instead of following the consequences to their bitter conclusion she had decided it was a lie. It was easier that way. Now, confronted with the truth, she had to take her reasoning to its frightening end. Kara knew how difficult had been for her to accept it. “You know! You truly know.”
The empress had hoped until this moment. “I know why you are looking for that senator. I can tell you she’s not in Essland or Suttland. You understand now that you cannot find her if she doesn’t want to be found and if you do, you might wish you didn’t.”
“We are looking for that girl because her husband is insane,” Alexandra argued.
“I wish things were that simple, but they aren’t,” Kara answered. “And Sem’Dhar might seem insane to you, but I suspect a lot of it might be just an act.”
“How come you are not angry? I would be so much angrier if I were you.”
Tamzin didn’t understand, that’s why she asked the question. There was such a simple answer. And it was so difficult to explain. She would try. “I’m angry, so, so angry that I want to burn Veneguard down right now. But there is something that supplants the anger and it allows me to think rationally. Maybe the White Goddess has a plan.”
She had to believe that. Since the ritual and her encounter with the White Goddess Kara had been confused. Most likely she had hallucinated seeing the deity, but just in case she hadn’t, Kara had to proceed with caution. She wished the goddess had just told her what she wanted. That would’ve eliminated her confusion. Apparently things didn’t work that way. Kara didn’t even dare to tell Michael about it. He would probably think her insane. Yet whether imagined or not, the power gained from the ritual was very real.
“You think you’re chosen by the gods. That’s arrogant even for you,” Alexandra said.
Kara was not in the mood to argue about this. “Of course! She told me she was really proud of me.” Let them think whatever they liked. Technically she wasn’t lying. She just didn’t mention she had been unconscious when it happened.
“You think you are pretty clever, don’t you?” Alexandra thought she had been kidding.
“I know I’m pretty clever.” She couldn’t help it. Alexandra made it so easy to make fun of her. Besides, the sorceress’s temper might betray her into revealing something useful.
“You are a fool. You’ve come here seeking help from Lucian. What were you thinking? He wants you gone just as much as the fat one. And instead of going and helping Julia get rid of your enemies you are here helping them eliminate her. All that power is wasted on you.”
“No, it’s not,” Tamzin and Michael spoke at the same time. The empress gave the wizard a suspicious look and then turned to her sister. “She knows, Alexandra! You don’t really think she’s here because she needs help. Why would she? She has a wizard. She got close to Lucian and he had no idea, she can do the same to Julia. There’s no way she could be ambushed again while he is around and the kind of power she has translates into something. I’m not sure what and I don’t think I want to know. But unlike you, Alexandra, I’ve listened to what she said. Without Lucian, Essland would be neutral at worst, or it would join Suttland, at best. And then there would be nothing stopping her from taking control of the whole empire.”
“She can kill him anytime she wishes. She has him. Lucian won’t be able to stop her.”
“It’s not that simple,” Tamzin answered Alexandra. “If she kills him now she would be breaking the guest law and you know how fanatical senators are about it. She can’t take the chance that he has humans who will tell the others what she did.”
Kara smiled slyly. No matter what the empress thought, the reason she hadn’t killed Lucian yet was not because she feared being caught. Sure, the Order would turn against her if it found out she had broken the sacrosanct law. Yet she had a contingency if Lucian truly had humans positioned to get word to his allies as quickly as possible in case she tried something. He probably had those humans. It was a good insurance policy. He would still die, but would take her with him. There was a small chance he told them already. Kara didn’t think so, Lucian needed to keep her presence here a secret. If he was going to make a move against her, he faced the same dangers. He could not risk the hostility of the Order any more than she could.
“Believe it or not, that does not worry me. Unlike Lucian, I believe in the law.”
“You are a contradiction, aren’t you?”
Kara didn’t know how to answer Tamzin’s question. “I’ve been told I’m complex. I’m not. Nor am I a contradiction. If I were, my enemies wouldn’t read me so well.”
“That can’t be true. Lucian doesn’t seem to know what you have planned,” Alexandra offered her opinion. Kara found it amusing the sorceresses thought she did.
“He knows!” This time it was Kara’s turn to speak at the same time as Tamzin. “Trust me, if I figured it out, he did too.”
“He hasn’t figured out my trap yet. He knows there must be one. There always is with me. As I said, my enemies know me well. That’s why they call me the fox. It’s the wiliest animal they know and they figured I resemble it the most.”
“I thought it was the hair,” Michael smiled at her.
“Maybe the hair has something to do with it too. I’m surprised these two didn’t tell him what you are. Sorceresses don’t have much love for wizards either.”
“Maybe that’s true, but we won’t sell them out to senators.”
Because their powers were so similar there was a feeling of comradeship between the sisters and wizards. But because the wizards had more power there was also resentment. Kara knew that was the reason the Conclave hadn’t joined the wizards during the Great War, although some of them had fought. They did it on their own, without the permission of the Reverend Mother. So when the dust settled and the Order won the war, they chose to ignore the support the sorceresses had given to their enemy. It hadn’t been significant, anyway. The sisters probably hoped the wizards and senators would destroy each other and the Conclave would be the only power left. It didn’t quite work out that way. Although weakened, the Order was still strong enough to deal with them when the war ended.
“But you do help them sometimes. Tell me about Ennara!”
Kara’s request caught the sorceresses by surprise. Good. Keep people guessing about your motives and they wouldn’t be able to divine your plans. Although Tamzin and Alexandra thought they knew. They knew some, but definitely not all.
“What do you want to know? She died about twelve years ago.” Alexandra sounded harsh and Kara thought she had touched on a sensitive subject.
“Forgive Alexandra, but Ennara was her mentor. Her loss hit Alexandra hard.”
“Her loss hit all of us. We would’ve had a decent Reverend Mother if she hadn’t died.”
Alexandra didn’t even bother to hide her contempt and distaste. This sorceress didn’t like her elected leader. Neither did Tamzin, which Kara truly didn’t expect. That one just hid it better. She was well aware that the empress was Nerit’s biological daughter, so Kara was curious what provoked the antipathy. Seeing as Tamzin was ready to sacrifice herself for the Conclave she had a pretty good idea. But Alexandra had said something that set off alarms in her head. “She would’ve become Reverend Mother? Aren’t your leaders elected?”
If she remembered correctly the Conclave elected its leader for life. Apparently that was more democratic than the way senators chose their Council. It was deceptive. The Reverend Mother held more sway over the Conclave than the head of a senatorial family over its clients. Once elected, her decisions could not be questioned and she demanded absolute obedience from the sisters. Kara wished she had that kind of power over her clients. In a way the senators were more honest. If you were powerful and
competent enough you were at the top. And you could always be challenged by someone who thought he was more powerful or could do a better job. Hypocrisy was never far from the sisters. They had never elected a weak sorceress.
“Yes, but Ennara would have won. She had the support of our previous leader and she had the votes,” Alexandra explained and Tamzin was shaking her head.
“I’m not so sure. She died years before the election. Anything could’ve happened. And we had plenty elections with surprise winners. But she was the favorite,” Tamzin argued.
Kara really liked Tamzin. The empress was level-headed, cerebral and strategic. Too bad she might have to kill her. “Ennara fought with the wizards. Wasn’t that an issue?”
“It was. Ennara fought, but it was my mother who supported a more aggressive stand towards the senators and wanted us to join the war. Ennara adopted a more conciliatory attitude and wanted to negotiate a treaty with the Order.”
“Nerit was all talk. For all her rhetoric she didn’t go to fight. She only voiced this opinion to everyone willing to listen because it was popular. She was a demagogue, not a believer. Ennara was a realist. Joining the wizards wouldn’t have changed the outcome of the war, but it would’ve led to our extinction too, or worse, our enslavement. Ennara knew this. To this day I don’t know why she chose to fight. I asked, but she never told me.”
Kara knew the reason. It was standing right there besides her. Ennara must’ve managed to keep her child a secret. Apparently she didn’t trust her sisters and Kara couldn’t blame her. Michael had been born at the apex of the war, when the outcome had still been in doubt. But for a realist the signs were all there. The tide was turning and senators were showing their willingness to fight to the end. And the end turned out to be the total destruction of the wizards. A mother might do anything to protect her child and trusting another person with the knowledge of a wizard son was taking a huge risk. So she must’ve not told anyone, even her friends, like Alexandra, if they didn’t need to know.
“It seems like she didn’t trust you enough.” Kara knew she was provoking Alexandra.
“Ennara was the one who found me. She was a seeker for the Conclave when we actually had seekers.” Kara was aware what function they served. They searched all over the empire for sorceresses born of human parents, who didn’t realize which race they belonged to or were too afraid of their powers. Now the Conclave didn’t seem to use them anymore. Not even the immune dared venture in some places. Senators were not eager to let the sisters trespass on their territory looking for other sorceresses. “Do you know how it feels to see fear in your parent’s eyes when they look at you? Ennara finding and taking me to our island was the best thing that ever happened to me. And when I got there she didn’t just abandon me. Every time she returned she never forgot to visit and make sure I was fine. She was the closest thing I had to a mother.”
“What chances does a seeker have of winning the election? I’m not that familiar with sorceress politics, but I would imagine if you are always away you can’t gain the support.”
“The former Reverend Mother summoned her back and she practically hadn’t left the island after. She wasn’t at all happy about it.” Kara understood why, even though Alexandra didn’t. She had to give up her son. She couldn’t bring him to their lands because every sorceress would know what he was and she couldn’t disobey her leader. That must’ve been hard.
“She didn’t leave the island afterwards?”
“She did once. A special mission for the Reverend Mother. Ennara wouldn’t tell anyone where she had been. And then when she died.”
“How did she die?”
“The plague.” That was one of the few things wizards and sorceresses couldn’t defend against. Disease and senators. “She was really unlucky. We had no idea there was plague in the city. She had arrived just as it began and Ennara fell sick right away.”
Unlucky indeed. “Tell me something! Did Ennara go to that city because the Reverend Mother sent her or one of your mother’s friends did?”
“Actually, one of my mother’s cronies asked her to go, although at that moment we were not aware of her allegiance. That was a very lucky guess.”
“She doesn’t guess,” Michael said. “She knows something. You think Nerit killed her because she wanted to be Reverend Mother, but I don’t see how.”
Unfortunately, Kara did see how and everything made a lot more sense.
“Nobody knew about the plague. I promise, you can’t hide something like this. The news would’ve gotten to us. Unless Nerit started the plague, and I can’t imagine how she would do it, I don’t see how she can kill someone with disease. Even if she could, the chances of success are so slim she could find something better,” Alexandra said.
“If you don’t want to be suspected of murder, it’s a very good way. And if I know someone with foresight who owes me a really, really, really big favor, I imagine it’s incredibly easy. Tell me Tamzin, did your father-in-law owe a really big favor to your mother?”
The empress’s silence was answer enough. Kara could see her surprise. Apparently she didn’t know everything about her mother, although she must’ve suspected it was true. It was Alexandra who shouted her anger. “Your witch of a mother killed Ennara and you didn’t say anything. You’re not protecting her anymore. I am going to kill her.”
“No, you’re not! She’s mine,” Michael interjected. “Kara, I know you think sorceresses killed your mother and Nerit was one of them, but you were never sure. And I know your instincts screamed at you that the emperor aided by sisters attacked you…”
“I had a gut feeling, but I just couldn’t understand why me, why now.”
“Because he thinks you, your family and some barons conspired against him. They confessed under torture,” Alexandra explained and they all laughed.
“As amusing as this has been, that’s not why he attacked me. I wasn’t sure before, but I am now. And I know why. I figured it out. There isn’t any doubt that sorceresses under the command of the former emperor attacked my mother and other senators. And now they attacked me, hoping they would keep their secret buried. They hadn’t realized yet they can’t.”
“That can’t be true. No sister is that foolish. And I heard you tell Lucian that Julia killed your father. He would know if you were lying.” Alexandra was desperate.
“He doesn’t think I can lie to him, but I can. And I didn’t say outright that Julia was responsible, I implied it. I don’t know who the senators who killed my father are, but I am pretty sure they are from Cuttland and I will rip their insides when I find them.”
“That’s why your family’s soldiers attacked us?” Alexandra asked.
It was Kara’s turn to be surprised. When the sorceresses told her the story she expressed her doubts. Thinking of the evidence they had left behind at the lake, she understood how her family might conclude sorceresses had been involved. But targeting Tamzin hinted at specific knowledge. Or maybe they went after the easiest target they could find and the two sorceresses were traveling alone. Yet she couldn’t bring herself to believe her family could be behind such an asinine attempt. She wasn’t even sure senators were responsible.
“I don’t think it’s my family. Too bad you didn’t bring one of them with you. I would’ve found out who sent them.” There was something that troubled Kara about those men.
“That’s what everyone tells us. They seem to think we’d be dead if your family came after us. Personally I don’t share their confidence.”
Kara smiled. There was only one way Alexandra could be convinced she was wrong. The Great War had not been enough of a lesson for her. And the new generation of the Arvillii was more powerful and better trained than the previous one. Any of the over two hundreds could dispose of the two sorceresses easily, but they couldn’t send enough troops north without them being intercepted. “If they had proof sorceresses were involved, and believe me, we left enough evidence to lead them to that conclusion, they would’
ve just asked Cuttland senators for help and they are very eager to get their hands on Veneguard, as you well know. The fact that my family hasn’t, tells me something else is going on.”
“The way we understood it, in the beginning there was a rumor of sorceress involvement in your death, but it was denied afterwards.”
Kara looked at Michael. “Somebody, probably Julia, knows exactly what happened.” She didn’t have to add that if that was true, the blonde suspected what she was doing. Which left one last problem to solve. “Michael, do you think children should pay for the sins of their parents?” She wanted to know what would be the wizard’s answer.
“No! That’s your kind’s way of thinking.”
“We do what is necessary to win, but in this case I agree with you. I know you want Nerit for yourself.” When Kara saw the sorceresses’ confusion, she added. “Michael is Ennara’s son and I hope that clarifies a few things for you, Alexandra. I think we should let them clean up their house, because if they don’t until my armies reach Veneguard, which they will, we will do it for them. And, Tamzin, I promise, you don’t want that to happen.”
“What do you want from me? Short of telling the sisters what I know there’s not much I can do. And something tells me you don’t want the truth to come out either.”
“Believe it or not, empress, I have no desire to eradicate another race. If Marcia or my aunt finds out about this in the wrong way I may not be able to control them.”
“You are more powerful, can’t you just order them?”
“I am not the head of the family and even if I were, I’m not sure I could, short of something extreme. And I don’t want to do that to the woman who practically raised me and my aunt, who might’ve not been the most loving aunt in the world, but is my blood.” Her father’s job as the head of the family was mostly to act as a buffer or a referee between the powerful, ambitious, strong-willed senators who were part of the family. Hers was the same.