Oathbound: The Emperor's Conscience, Book 2

by Michael Combs

  “So that was what all the clamor was about,” he muttered. “I am still waiting on my officers to deliver their reports. I sent a runner to the Palace only to have them turned away. The Palace guards claimed there was a city-wide hunt on for the Sisters. I thought you said they were dead.”

  “I said they were no longer a threat to us,” I replied. “Unless they need to be. You will have to do something about the search for them, however. There may be stories that point to them as the Prince’s killers. You wouldn’t want conflicting stories out there, I would think?” The Jardir clenched his jaw.

  “Just take them with you when you leave,” he said. “You are leaving, aren’t you?

  “I would, but it seems you sent ships to blockade the harbor when the alarm sounded last night. If they were to stand down, however…” I watched as he made his decision, then I smiled. “I will leave you to it, then. You two need to catch up, and you have much work to do. I am certain you will accomplish great things together.” I turned and strode for the salon.

  “Evan,” Palasia said. I turned to find she had come after me. She hugged me and kissed me warmly. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “It was my pleasure, love.” I returned the kiss and smiled. “I wish you both the best.” Palasia returned to the balcony.

  I stopped by the still form of the Mata...Galateia, and knelt beside her. I brushed her hair from her pale forehead and kissed her brow.

  “Goodbye, lover,” I whispered. “I am so, so sorry.”

  I started up the gangplank of The Fairer Sex when a sailor stepped in my way.

  “I request permission to come aboard and an audience with your captain,” I exclaimed. The sailor spoke to someone behind him, and another man stepped into view.

  “Come aboard, then,” the new voice said. “Let’s have a look at ye.”

  I ascended and gave the man a curt bow. He wore light cotton trousers with short boots. His shirt was unlaced to reveal a muscular, hairy chest. Several tattoos were visible and snaked down from under each upturned sleeve. His hat was a ridiculous affair, wide brimmed with a fluffy plume that extended above and behind him. He looked me up and down and assessed me with sharp eyes.

  “You must be the man want’n to hire my ship. Mighty pressin’ business, I would think, to need us ready days ahead.” The captain spoke in a sailor’s brogue, but it was less pronounced than some I had heard. His voice was raspy, like one who had shouted orders for years. His bearing suggested he was used to those orders being followed.

  “I am,” I said.

  “Your lady friend may have told you I’m not one much for askin’ questions, but with the tune playing about the city last night, I can’t help but wonder.” He stroked his thick beard. “When the music started, Jerean ships scrambled to block the bay. Made me a bit nervous, I’ll admit. But oddly enough now, they have moved off and tied back up at their moorin’s.”

  “That is curious,” I said, my face remaining neutral. The captain smiled.

  “All right then, who are you?”

  “Evanar Hostric,” I said and produced my Magister’s Talent. He looked at my coin, then back to my face.

  “You’re a long way from the empire, Magister.”

  “That is why I am here, Captain. It’s time I headed home.”

  “I carry cargo and passengers. Often they are of dubious provenance,” he said. “I am telling you this because we are outside of your authority and I don’t want us to have any misunderstandin’ when that changes. Is this going to be a problem?”

  “So long as those passengers aren’t in chains bound for a market,” I said. “I could not care less about the rest.” The captain spat on the deck in disgust.

  “I’ll not suffer slavers,” he hissed. “I’d sooner gut them and use them for bait.”

  “Then we have an accord.” I pocketed the coin and dropped a large purse into his hand. He judged its weight and nodded. “Two more of those await you in Drada. Who is aboard?”

  “Your lady friend and two more besides. You ready to cast off?”

  “Not yet,” I said. “We’re waiting on one more.”

  “Best not take too long. The crew is getting antsy and I can’t say I blame 'em.”

  Just then, a door opened below the aft deck and Nan walked out, accompanied by Litha.

  “Did everything go well last night?” I asked Litha. Her hair was wet, and her braid left a damp spot where it rested on her shoulder. She gave me a dazzling smile.

  “That was wonderful,” she said, taking my arm, even though I hadn’t offered it. “I really needed that, thank you.”

  “My pleasure,” I said, taking note of her hand on my arm. “You seem to have warmed up some.”

  Litha shrugged. “We have decided that we like you. Besides, if Shani says we can trust you, then you must be pretty special. She doesn’t trust anyone. Marjory agrees.”

  “Tessa doesn’t feel as you do?” I asked. Litha rolled her eyes.

  “Tessa has always been overly dramatic. I wouldn’t worry about it. She’ll come around,” she said. “Speaking of which, she’ll be here soon. She’s close. She always has to make a grand entrance.”

  Litha no sooner finished speaking than a slight figure in a ragged cloak swept up the gangplank. The sailor appointed to watch the entrance didn’t notice until she was across and striding toward us. He squawked in surprise and reached out to grab her.

  “I wouldn’t do that,” Litha warned, but it was too late. The moment he touched her shoulder, she spun, lightning fast, coming out of the cloak and wrapping his arms up in the filthy garment. He stood there, both arms bound from wrist to shoulder, mouth agape and eyes wide as he stared down a long, curved blade. Tessa was covered in bloody spatters and splotches. Her face and blonde hair were liberally splashed in gore.

  “You shouldn’t touch a lady without permission,” she said in a cold tone.

  “She really doesn’t like that,” Litha whispered to me.

  “Noted,” I replied.

  The sailor looked to me for help. I laughed.

  “Don’t look at me. I wouldn’t help you if I could. She is a member of this party and is with me, but she answers to none but herself.” I thought about that for a moment. “The same goes for all the ladies aboard, especially Nan here. Piss her off and see what happens.”

  Litha looked at Nan askance, and even Tessa shifted her eyes toward the older woman. For her part, Nan stood there, hands clasped before her in the quintessential posture of poise and grace.

  The sailor, now understanding that he would get no help, looked at Tessa, who hadn’t moved an inch. “Apologies, m’lady.”

  Tessa gave a ‘hmph’ and released the man’s binding. He nearly collapsed in relief. She spun on her heel and dismissed him entirely.

  “I would have been here sooner, but I ran into some trouble with a patrol, or three,” Tessa said.

  “Playing, more like,” Litha said in a playfully catty tone.

  “Shut it, you.”

  “Welcome aboard, Tessa,” Nan said to the newcomer. “Come with me, please, and we’ll get you cleaned up,”

  “And who do you think you are, old woman?” Tessa snapped.

  “Someone who will not take that tone from you, young lady,” Nan said sharply. “I know Shani taught you better manners than that. Now, come along and we will get you settled. Marjory should be finished by now.” Nan turned and headed into the aft cabin without looking back.

  Tessa cracked a slight smile at her back and followed her inside.

  Homecoming

  The full moon on the horizon at sea is a magic as old as time itself. It is primal and raw. It is at once comforting and confronting. She provides the rarest of opportunities: to look upon yourself in her silvery surface and see truth without judgment. She offers no censure, for she makes no accusation. She places no blame, for she has no need. She shines her gentle smile across your face and offers only peace. She breathes her salty kiss against your soul and
promises absolution, for a price: You must first forgive yourself.

  The cost is too steep, I thought. I can’t afford it. Not anymore.

  “It’s like you can walk on it,” a small, soft voice beside me said as we looked at the shimmering path laid by moonlight reflecting off the gentle waves.

  “Just cast off your cares and skip all the way home,” I said just as softly. The night held a sacred quality and enforced a solemnity we could not ignore.

  No wonder sailors and poets love her so.

  “That’s the trick, though, isn’t it?” Tessa said as she flicked a glance my way. I hadn’t heard her footsteps, but her presence didn’t surprise me. I had seen all the Sisters on deck at night, at one point or another, over the weeks we had been at sea. Sometimes we talked. At other times we were content to leave the others to their own thoughts, their own accusations, their own absolutions.

  “Yes,” I said.

  “I’ve not been truly afraid in a long time,” Tessa said. “I don’t like it. We’ll be landing tomorrow in a foreign land, and it should feel like home. I am to meet a woman whose memories hold only pain and anger for me. I thought she abandoned me. When you told me differently, I refused to believe it, and I was angry with you for challenging something I knew with such certainty. I didn’t want my view of her altered, because that would mean that I owed her something.”

  “I think she hated herself more than you ever could, Tessa,” I said.

  “Call me Merey,” she said, switching to Arulean. “It’s time I got used to it.” Her time in Trular had left her childhood language tinged with exotic inflection and accent. Nan and I had been working with the girls to help them readjust to imperial customs. They were working hard and had made excellent progress, but our time was up.

  Marjory had commented that they would likely never be free of Jerean influence. They all agreed that was acceptable to them. None of them wanted to erase their Trulari heritage fully. They had earned it, paid for it in sorrow and sacrifice. It had made them who they were. Now that they were free, they could build their own lives and create their own way into the future. I imagined it was both exciting and terrifying.

  “We want you to have these,” she said, handing me a bundle wrapped in leather. “I took them when we left, thinking to keep them as a memento, to remind me of him and the love I had for him. But I realized, now that the bond has faded fully, that what I felt wasn’t love, it was subjugation. Grateful slavery. I spoke with my sisters and we decided you should have them in thanks for freeing us.”

  I took the bundle and unwrapped it. Inside were the Prince’s ornate longknives. The razor-sharp edges gleamed brightly in contrast to the dark steel carved with stylized symbols. The hilts were wrapped in black silk and each pommel was set with a different glittering jewel. I re-wrapped the bundle.

  “This is a rich gift, but I would trade it for your friendship,” I said, looking Merey in the eye. She smiled.

  “I don’t trust easily,” she said, “but it seems Shani was right about you. You have my friendship. Take the blades, or Litha will toss them overboard.”

  I smiled and accepted the gift. We stood in comfortable silence for a time.

  “Will you give your mother a chance, or simply satisfy the conditions of your promise?” I asked. There was no pressure and no accusation in my question, merely the request for information.

  “Like I said, I owe her something, I think. I will at least determine if I do, before making my decision.”

  “You can do anything you set your will to.”

  “You said the same when you first came to confront the Prince. I couldn’t though, could I?”

  “Perhaps. Perhaps not,” I said. “You didn’t hurt Shani anymore after that. You resisted until you were told to kill me.” Merey cringed.

  “I’m sorry for that. The command he gave through our bond replaced the one to hurt Shani. I was relieved that I didn’t have to fight against it anymore. I think we all felt the same. I am sorry.”

  “Don’t be,” I said. “I am dedicated to you girls. Whatever you need from me, then I will be that for you.” Merey gave me the strangest look.

  “You mean that, don’t you?”

  “I do. Call on me and I will come.”

  Merey rushed me then, wrapping her arms around me and burying her face into my shirt as she cried. I wrapped her up and held her. Sometimes the world was just too much and the only solace was in the arms of a friend.

  “Tell Uncle Tamil I will be by to see him once I have concluded my business in Drada,” I said. We stood on the dock in the capital city of Corinthia. Sailors streamed to and from the ship carrying food, fresh water, rum, and trade goods between the various longshoremen available to move the cargo.

  “He won’t be happy about that,” Nan said. “He’s damned impatient. He’ll say that you are right here and can report, then complete your own tasks.”

  “He can wait until I am finished,” I said.

  “What do I tell him about what happened?”

  “Tell him whatever you like. I have nothing to hide from him.” I waved the concern away. “Besides, he’s been upset before and he will be again. My task for today is much more important.”

  “That’s what I’ll tell him, then,” she said with a mischievous smile.

  “I dare you.”

  An immensely pressing task lay before me, and I wasn’t certain I would survive it. I would soldier on, however. For a time, I’d thought I would much rather fight the Sisters again, no matter that they nearly killed me the last time.

  That wouldn’t be so bad, would it? I thought. A sharp pain, sudden darkness, then wake in Hessa’s arms?

  I sighed, determined to see this through, no matter the cost.

  Then I took the Sisters shopping.

  Even discounting the terror and horror that I experienced on this adventure, I had learned much. For example, I realized just how isolated the Sisters had been once I took them to a nail salon. They luxuriated in the experience. Apparently, they were not permitted such comforts in Jerea, as someone would just come to the palace to perform the task. All three cooed at the luxury of going somewhere special to have it done.

  “That was wonderful,” Merey said. “Now that I can, I will come every day and have that done.”

  “I almost stabbed that bitch in her eye when she said I had dancer’s feet,” Litha said.

  “We talked about killing people, Litha,” I said in warning. “Specifically how we should not do it.”

  “I didn’t do it,” she said with a sly grin. “I was good. I deserve a pat.” She gave me a beatific smile.

  I reached out and patted the top of her head. Litha rolled her eyes at me and pouted.

  “That will do, I suppose.”

  “You know what will make this even better?” Merey asked as we started into the shop next door. “Roles.”

  Marjory clapped her hands excitedly. “I miss doing roles with Shani. That was so much fun. What do you want to do?”

  Merey eyed me for a moment, then flashed a wicked grin. “Follow my lead.”

  I opened the door but was jostled aside when all three girls rushed around me to invade the dressmaker’s shop.

  Merey squeaked, grabbed a dress, mannequin and all, and spun clutching at the delicate fabric.

  “This one, Papa. Can I have this one?”

  “Merey?” I dragged out her name in warning, but she turned it on me and stamped her foot in a brilliant display of petulance.

  “You promised, Papa!” The staff and other patrons watched our little display from the corners of their eyes.

  “And this one!” Marjory said.

  “And these two,” Litha cried as she pulled one dress from a display and another from the hands of a customer.

  Everyone in the store was staring now. I took two quick steps and was directly in front of Merey.

  “What are you doing?” I asked in a whisper.

  “Playing roles. Mother used to play
with us when teaching lessons. We always looked forward to roles day.” Then it clicked.

  “Shani tried that shit on me,” I said. Litha slid up beside me. “Anyone can see that I am too young to be your father,” I told her. Just then, Marjory made a dramatic swoon and fell backward toward me. It was either catch her or let her fall. I caught her. She looked up at me lustily and traced one delicate, newly manicured nail along my jaw.

  “There is more than one kind of Papa.” I pushed her away, and she giggled and snatched two more dresses from the attendants, who were scrambling to either help us or prevent us from destroying the shop. She disappeared into the dressing rooms. Someone pinched my ass. I’m fairly certain it was Litha.

  Thus it went. They skipped in and out of the dressing rooms, giving the dressmaker and his staff no rest. Each girl pranced and spun to show off her latest find. At one point, I was dancing with an empty dress around the room before pulling a hapless woman into my madness. We danced and laughed, the dress forgotten and trampled beneath our feet. When I laid the woman back in a dip, Merey stuck the stem of some bloom she had plucked from a vase into her mouth.

  “Try this,” Merey cooed suggestively. “Papa loves this.”

  The poor woman blushed to her ears when her brain caught up to our whim, and when I raised her upright, she bolted for the doors, flower still clutched in her teeth.

  We burst from the dressmaker’s shop in a fit of laughter.

  “You’re fun,” Litha said. “No wonder Shani loves you.”

  Arms laden with bags, we headed back to the ship. Despite the trials in finding the Sisters, the horror in freeing them, and the terror of fleeing a hostile nation to see them home, my spirits were lifted to see them so happy. There would be more trials, more horror, and more terror aplenty. But that was for another day. Today was ours, and we would make it memorable.