The knock at the door woke Kiva from further fitful dreams that disappeared like drifting fog as he started into consciousness. He glanced around the room. Much better than yesterday. For all the pain he’d suffered dragging himself around the room, his muscles had loosened a little and he could at least move without the irritating stiffness. It was daylight, though what time he couldn’t guess. The other bed in the room was empty and neatly made; Sarios had apparently been up for some time.
“What?” he barked at the door.
He pulled himself a little further up in the bed and reached out for the two cane-like sticks that stood next to it. Using them as a lever, he pulled himself up to a seated position and frowned as he reached for the glass of spirits he’d left on the table last night only to find it had gone. Sarios or Favio? One or the other certainly.
He nodded in greeting as Prince Ashar Parishid of Pelasia trotted lightly in, closing the door softly behind him. The prince took a seat on the edge of Sarios’ bed and crossed his legs and arms.
“Well I think this is probably the worst state I’ve ever seen you in.”
Kiva snorted. “I’m virtually risen from the fucking dead. I personally don’t think I’m too bad considering.”
Ashar let out a light chuckle and smiled. Reaching across, he took one of the canes.
“You’ve been conscious barely a day and already you’re trying to walk? My doctor told me you’d not walk for weeks.”
“I’m full of surprises,” growled Kiva. “Why are you here?”
The prince pulled a mock expression of disappointment. “You almost sound like you don’t want me around, Kiva.”
“Don’t get me wrong,” the general replied with a sigh. “I appreciate what you’ve done; for me and the others, but Quintillian’s gone and I can’t see why you’re sticking around.”
“Ha!” Ashar unfolded his body and leaned forward, prodding Kiva gently with the stick. “Sarios said you were feeling sorry for yourself, but I didn’t believe him. Where else should I go, Caerdin? Back to my own land, where cowardly murderers rule in my family’s place? Off into the wilds to lose myself in blood and self-loathing like you did? No. I’m still on the same journey as before this happened.”
“But the bloodline’s ended.” Kiva grumbled low in his throat. Why did everyone always insist on looking at a bright side that wasn’t there?
Ashar shook his head. “The family still goes on though, even if the blood gets more distant. After all you’re one of them, Caerdin. I never thought about that until the minister mentioned it, but it makes you twice as useful.”
Kiva merely narrowed his eyes and glared at the smiling prince.
“You can be a figurehead too now” laughed Ashar. “You were going to be my blade, but now you can also be the banner. Do you have any idea how many of your countrymen would follow you into battle against the Gods themselves if you asked it? No, no, no. It’s far from over yet; you just need to get well very soon.”
Kiva shook his head finally. “Don’t even think like that.” Ashar opened his mouth to speak, but the general rode roughshod over the top of him. “I’m no politician; not an Emperor and I’m not of the Imperial blood. Hell, I’m a deicide and a regicide; I boiled the Imperial blood!”
He levered himself over to one side and leaned on the other cane. “Sarios is living in the same fool’s paradise as you: that something can be done. Well it can’t. Not now; not ever. The next line‘ll be the Velutio dynasty, or maybe even the Avitus dynasty should he want to revert, but it sure as hell won’t be mine.”
Again, the prince leaned forward, waving a finger at Kiva and opening his mouth, but once more Kiva drowned him out. “I’m a realist, Ashar. My prime concern now is to help Sarios get these people safely off the island and away from here, as far away as it’s possible to go, and then into hiding somewhere they’ll never be looked for. After that, I may have a score to settle with our friend the future Emperor, but that’s personal. Don’t try and convince me of any other grand schemes, ok?”
Ashar held up both his hands defensively. “Ok, I understand. I don’t agree, but I understand, and yes the island does need to be evacuated first, but bear in mind that this isn’t over for you either. Anyway, I’d best get out of here. Your horde of loud hooligans is on its way like a mobile fish market, regardless of what your doctor recommended and I don’t want to intrude. I shall be busy making plans for the evacuation with Sarios.”
With a bow Ashar turned and made for the door, just as it burst open and Brendan and Marco poured in like a wave, crashing across the furniture of the chamber. Behind them, Athas came ambling in, grinning like a mischievous child, with Tythias and the others after him. Ashar stood patiently, smiling, until the group were in the room howling like a bunch of unruly baboons, bowed again and then left, closing the door.
The tide of people flowed forward and Brendan and Marco rolled onto Sarios’ bed coming finally to a rest as they leaned forward to examine their general.
“Ah, he’s fine!” declared Marco with a grin. Brendan leaned forward and with thumb and forefinger pulled back Kiva’s right eyelids, gazing into the pupil. “’E looks better than ‘e used ter! Bit pale ‘n mis’rable, but that’s pretty normal!”
Kiva jerked his head back out of the man’s reach and growled. “Get off me you big ape. I’m not well.”
Brendan and Marco gave him a startled glance and then collapsed against each other in fits of laughter. Athas escorted a young lady to the remaining place on the bed and then he, Mercurias, Tythias and Jorun brought up chairs and a bench from near the window. The general murmur and hubbub in the room washed over Kiva as he sat bemused. He wasn’t used to noise and activity at the moment, and the chatter was starting to make his head hurt a little. It took him a moment to realise that the young lady was leaning forward and speaking to him.
“What?” he asked as clearly as he could over the buzz.
“I said how do you feel now?”
Kiva looked perplexed. “Erm. Better than I did, and better than I should do by all accounts.” He frowned. The girl was young and pretty and he had the vague feeling he’d seen her before, but couldn’t for the life of him figure out why she was here. He smiled uncertainly at her. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but who are you?”
Tythias leaned across from the chair he’d just placed next to the bed.
“This is Sathina. She saved your life, you old goat.”
Kiva’s frown deepened and Tythias smiled, placing his hand on the young lady’s arm. “She was the one who got into the palace; the one who told us where you were.”
Now the general’s brows rose. “You infiltrated the palace when Ashar’s men couldn’t? I’m impressed. Thank you.”
He turned to Athas. “How the hell have you all remained hidden? There’s a garrison of Velutio’s men here.”
“Not so hard,” the big man chuckled, “when you have the right friends. Minister Sarios knows all sorts of things about this place that I didn’t. I’ve walked past doors and cupboards in this palace on a daily basis twenty years ago, and never even thought to look closely.”
He leaned forward conspiratorially.
“It’s quite possible to get from almost any building on the island to any other without passing through a single open space if you know how.”
Tythias leaned across to Athas’ shoulder and grinned. “Even then it’s tough with this load of conspicuous windbags. How do you try and keep Brendan quiet and hidden; or Jorun even?”
Kiva nodded. “Well we’re going to have to do something about it soon. Sarios and I both thought of drugging the garrison somehow, but I’m not sure how thorough that’ll be.”
Mercurias shuffled forward, his chair legs scraping on the floor. “Athas and I’ve had much the same conversation. I’m damn sure we can come up with something fairly potent considering how bright some of the people here are. Only problem is: what to do about the few that we’ll inevitably miss.”
Now Tythias grinned, his feral features twisting into a face of morbid satisfaction. “Then we deal with the others the best way we know. Anyway, the Wolves owe Velutio now. Let’s even the score a little.” He pulled a knife from his belt and started tapping the flat of the blade on his knee.
Athas shook his head. “The islanders like this sergeant Cialo; and his men. The garrison’s been good to them, you know? They’ve been helping them grow food, rebuilding parts of the palace, repairing the water system. Sarios won’t want them killed and I can’t say I’m fond of the idea either. I saw the sergeant with his men from a window in the Peacock palace and he’s old school; like one of us. We have to take them all at mealtime and give any guards that’re elsewhere the option to surrender before we kill them.”
Mercurias nodded, but Kiva sighed and let his head loll back. “We’re all daft. Best of intentions and noble and honourable and all that shit, but as soon as Velutio finds out the islanders have gone and his men were tricked, Cialo and every man under him’ll be strung up from the trees of the island. We’re not saving their lives, just sending them to a death sentence under Velutio.”
The general hubbub died down now as everyone contemplated the truth of what their general said. He was right. There was no forgiveness in Velutio and perhaps it would be better to die by the sword of a soldier than on a tree naked and beaten. The young girl was the one to break the silence.
“General, what are we going to do?”
Kiva blinked and lifted his head back up to look at her. She appeared so young and innocent and he was finding it hard to reconcile her presence among these others. “We’re going to get these people off the island and into safety” he stated.
The girl nodded. “I know that, general, but I meant after that… in the long run.”
“Not you too?” Kiva groaned. “Why is it everyone I speak to wants to plan for a future. The present’s dangerous and complicated enough; let’s deal with that first.”
The girl leaned forward and stared at him, a very serious look crossing her face. Kiva noted the way Tythias moved with her and tried not to smile. She spoke quietly. “I’m a nobody, general. I’m a serving girl from a small village tavern in the middle of nowhere, but in the last month I’ve been with people my dad used to talk about in wonder. My dad served in the army ‘til he lost an arm you know? Then he left and went into business as an innkeeper. He knew you, general. Oh, you won’t have known him; he was just a standard bearer, but he was proud to serve in your army.”
Kiva’s face took on an equally serious expression. “Your father must have been a good man. Standard bearers were honoured above many of the officers. Important job, that.”
Sathina nodded. “He was a good man. But that’s not my point. You were a general, in command of a quarter of the world’s army. Tythias here was a commander of a thousand on his own. I guess Athas, Brendan and Marco were all senior officers; Jorun’s the son of a chieftain in the north, and Mercurias was a chief medic. Then there’s the Pelasians: their leader’s a prince . And on top of that I’ve been trying to help save the last man with Imperial blood by sneaking around dangerous places and going up against the powerfulest lord in the Empire.”
She sat back and folded her arms. “And there’s me: a serving girl from an inn.” Her face had taken on a little colour during her diatribe. “I don’t care who you are, you’re not going to tell me I’ve left home, risked my life and helped save yours just so you can all run off with your tail between your legs. No. Not happening!”
Kiva blinked as she leaned forward once more and shook her finger in front of his nose. “The Emperor may be dead, but there’s something else we can do and you bloody well think of it. Everyone says you’re real clever, so show me!”
Tythias leaned forward and whispered something in her ear and she sat back quietly, though still glaring intently into Kiva’s face. He was starting to feel extremely uncomfortable beneath that gaze. He turned to face his second in command, trying to ignore the eyes burning into his temple.
“Athas, we need to discuss this, but when there are fewer people around. I’m finding it kind of hard to think straight with everyone in here at once.”
The burly dark man nodded and stood. “Everyone out. You can all come back later, but now the general needs his rest and I need to talk to him in private.”
With a great deal of grumbling and mumbling, like schoolchildren being punished, the rest stood and headed for the door. Brendan stopped as the rest were leaving and leaned down toward the general.
“Darius sent yer this sir.” He handed over a plain flask of bronze. As Kiva frowned curiously, the big shaven-headed man grinned. “Said ‘e couldn’t get yer flask, but ‘is own doctor ‘ad some anyway. Don’t tell Mercurias I gave y’it. He’d put laxatives in me dinner for months.”
With a last grin, he headed for the door, only to see Tythias coming back the other way. He and Athas stood to one side as the one-eyed captain appeared in the door.
“There’s a ship full of troops coming in. Should be here in about half an hour.”
Kiva almost leapt out of bed, but remembered as he swung his legs out and slowed down when the horrendous pain came flooding back. He stopped, wincing for a moment and then reached for the sticks, looking up at Tythias.
“Who are they?”
Tythias shrugged. “It was Darius who saw ‘em.”
Kiva grunted. “Get more information; I need to know who they are. And get everyone hidden away somewhere safe.”
As Tythias nodded and he and Brendan made to leave, the tall figure of Darius appeared in the doorway. “Minister Sarios wants me out of the way” he declared as he entered and crossed the room to where the chairs had been gathered.
Kiva whistled to Tythias and made a closing motion as the other captain left the room. The scarred mercenary shut the door tight, disappearing as Athas, his face full of concern came over to the general to help him move with his sticks. Just in time the burly sergeant gripped Kiva’s elbow as the general put all his weight onto the sticks and tottered dangerously. Without a moment’s thought, Darius rushed over and took the other elbow.
Kiva looked sidelong at the boy. He was maybe in his early twenties; not really a boy at all, but Kiva was used to grizzled old veterans and that perhaps coloured his perceptions at times. The young man was almost a foot taller than Kiva, who was no midget himself. He cleared his throat. “Darius, who’s on the ship?”
The three of them moved slowly and painfully toward the window that looked down over the Ibis courtyard. Darius shrugged. “I couldn’t see him, but I’ll give you good odds it’s Commander Sabian. It may be Velutio as well. The men on the deck were wearing white, and they had black cloaks and black and white crests.”
Kiva nodded sourly. “Velutio’s personal guard. Not proper soldiers, these ones, Darius. They’re thugs; overpaid, overdressed and over-loyal thugs. Not good if Velutio’s bringing them here. Isn’t Sabian supposed to be in command of them now?”
Darius nodded. “Oh yes. I saw him skewer their old commander personally. I can’t imagine he takes any crap from them now.”
They reached the window sill and Kiva leaned on it, his legs still shaking with the effort of standing. The general looked down into the courtyard. “What’s Sabian up to?” he mused. “He walked out on Velutio when the man had us crucified, then he warned Sarios of his lord’s plans. Then he wants to speak to his sergeant in secret by signal lamp and now he’s coming to the island with Velutio’s personal guard. I can’t for the life of me figure out what his fucking game is.”
Darius smiled. “Sabian’s a good man, but he works for the wrong type. He’s trying to keep all us ‘innocents’ safe while he guides his master to the throne in the least harmful way possible.”
“Then Sarios was right,” the general remarked. “He is playing a dangerous game. Maybe Velutio’s told him to bolster the garrison here.”
Kiva regarded Darius with another long, appraising glance. The lad was precocious, there was no doubt about that. He’d told Sarios that the boy was sure of himself, but perhaps it went further than that. It’d taken Kiva years working up through the ranks before he’d had either the insight or the confidence to voice it that this young man had now. Others would never achieve it in a lifetime of service. Maybe the boy had a right to be sure of himself; he certainly seemed to be yards ahead of most people in his thinking and planning. The general smiled at Darius.
“You admire Sabian?” Not really a question.
“Of course,” Darius replied. “He’s not an awful lot older than me, but he’s very like you and all your men: kind of old-fashioned.” He laughed. “Not meant in an insulting way; he’s got the old values, I mean. I like that and I think you do too, don’t you?”
Again the lad’s insight. “As a matter of fact he’s got traditional values in spades. Yes I like him, but I won’t let that get in the way if the time comes I have to deal with him. You seem to be very aware of what’s going on around you. You’re tactical and clever,” he smiled, “and you wear a sword. Not what I expected from the island at all. When we found Quintillian, he looked like a downtrodden servant and wasn’t very confident.”
Darius nodded. “Quintillian was always a thinker. I’m more of a doer, if you know what I mean. He knew his histories, his poets and ethics and all that crap. I only ever studied political history, strategy and the sword. I know, for instance, every campaign you’ve ever written about and every one that’s been written about you and you only seem to have ever made one mistake.”
Kiva’s eyebrow rose again. “Oh?”
The young man nodded. “At the battle of Regina, you knew full well the enemy had heavily armoured cavalry that could break your infantry, and yet you let them take your men without warning. You could’ve deployed your men better to resist their charge and then you wouldn’t have lost your infantry.”
Kiva grinned. A subject he knew well at last. “Ah, but why’d I do it then?”
“I don’t know. That’s what I mean.”
“Because,” Kiva explained, “I needed him to deploy his cavalry there. It was bait. Why do you think the infantry casualties were low? Because they knew what was going to happen. They broke and ran the moment the cavalry charged, so the losses were minimal. And because the cavalry were there , they didn’t have time to return to their colour party and protect their general. We had archers on the hill to the west that showered them for a good two minutes before our best men took the hill.” He smiled. “And their general’s head.”
Darius frowned. “I read about that battle in both Peoro and Rastus, and neither of them mentioned the enemy general dying. They claim your victory was due to your superior efficiency and panic in the enemy ranks.”
“Why else did you think they panicked though?” the general asked. “The loss of an absolute commander can be more critical than any number of men. The tribes in the northeast pledge to die for their leaders and would walk into the mouth of hell for them. That means that when their leader dies, they go to pieces instantly. Our military relied on a structure of ranks. If the general died, the only people who would notice would be the next highest ranks. They’d take over you see?”
Darius nodded. “I’d still not have sacrificed the men.”
“Then you’d have lost the battle” interjected Athas. “He’s actually made plenty of mistakes, though no real Empire-threatening ones. Regina wasn’t one though.”
“Thanks,” Kiva added dryly.
The three went quiet again, gazing out of the window, wishing they could see through the walls of the palace buildings on the other side of the Ibis Courtyard and across the sea beyond. Kiva glanced at Darius again and gestured to the blade at his side.
“You know how to use that then?”
Darius nodded. “I’d kind of like someone new to spar with, but we can’t afford to be out in the open, so I just keep practicing myself.”
“Nice sword” commented the general. “Looks a lot like mine did, until it got taken away. Northern design.”
Darius nodded and smiled. “I used to use a straight bladed standard Imperial design, but Commander Sabian made me try this to vary my training. In actual fact, now that I’m getting used to it, it does seem to feel comfortable.”
The three were still watching out of the high window above the courtyard and discussing the tools and tactics of war half an hour later when the first man entered through the Gorgon Gate. Commander Sabian strode purposefully into the courtyard, in full armour with his red cloak billowing behind him and his helmet beneath his arm. Kiva strained to see the man’s face, but it wasn’t easy at this distance. Velutio’s personal guard then entered, four abreast and in three columns. There must have been a hundred and fifty of them all told, extremely impressive in their black and white with javelins shouldered and keeping perfect time. Not so impressive in Kiva’s head: they were show; all show and no fighting spirit, he could tell from here. No Velutio though, which was a pleasant surprise.
Two of the normal island guards came stomping down the stairs from the gate house, entered the courtyard and came to attention with a salute. Sabian returned the gesture and then trotted out a couple of orders to them, not loud enough for the watchers at the high window to hear, and Kiva grumbled.
“I’d give a lot to be able to hear what he’s saying from here.”
The other two nodded, but Darius smiled. “Don’t worry. If the commander’s alone here, I’ll get to see him shortly.”
Down below, the two men left through the arch into the Great Courtyard, just as sergeant Cialo and two of his veterans entered from the rooms far below Kiva’s very window. Again there was a round of saluting and Sabian and Cialo discussed something unheard above before another order was barked and a man stepped out of the file of guards. Until then he’d been indistinguishable from the rest, but now they noticed the harness of medals on his chest and the solid black crest on his helm. An officer of some sort, then. He and Cialo talked for a moment and then the sergeant led him off through the archway and the entire guard trooped after them, leaving Sabian alone in the courtyard.
Kiva watched the man remove his gauntlet and lean down to the fountain to dip his hand and wipe his brow and face. Then he straightened, turned and looked directly up at their window. Athas pulled the other two back instinctively and with a whimper Kiva crumpled to the floor. They helped the injured general back to his feet, keeping well out of the way of the window until they reached his bed where he gratefully collapsed once more.
Darius sighed. “If you don’t need me, I ought to go see what I can find out.”
The other two nodded and watched as the tall lad left the room. Athas smiled at Kiva. “That boy’s got a lot of strength.” He frowned, unsure as to the wisdom of bringing up the subject, but shrugged and did so anyway. “Better than Quintillian was, you know? He’s what the other lad might have been like with another year among us. A natural I’d say.”
Kiva snorted but left it at that.
Rounding the corner to the top of the flight of stairs, Darius almost barged into Sabian coming the other way and the Commander rocked back and forth over the open staircase for a precarious moment before regaining his balance. He gripped the corner and caught his breath, glaring at the young man who’d nearly toppled him.
“Darius, do your elders permit you to barrel around the island with no sense of decorum?”
The young man winced but then allowed himself to relax as he saw the smile creeping over Sabian’s face. He returned the gesture.
“I was trying to find minister Sarios to tell him you were here.”
Sabian nodded. “I was just on my way to his rooms.”
“He’s not there,” Darius blurted out, hoping it didn’t sound too defensive. Sabian had caught him off guard and he tried to force the most natural smile he could, gesturing past the commander to the stairs. “Shall we go find him?”
Sabian narrowed his eyes. “Actually, I wanted to speak to you as well, Darius. You half scared the life out of me just then. Let’s use the minister’s study to wait for him. I could do with a sit down.”
Darius fought with himself, trying to find a good, plain excuse to not do exactly that, but drew a blank and merely nodded uncomfortably. This could be perilous.
The two turned and walked back along the corridor to Sarios’ door. Since it was already open, Sabian strode in. Darius followed the commander, his eyes going straight to the connecting door into the bedroom. The door was ajar by quite some way. Trying to be as nonchalant as possible despite his heart beating out a military tattoo, Darius crossed to the minister’s drinks cabinet and poured two glasses of wine, taking advantage of the positioning to peer through the door. Sarios’ bed sat in full view, fully made. There was no sign of the two rebel officers or the other bed. Damn, these men must think fast; they must’ve shifted everything out of view the moment he’d left. He sighed and willed his heart to slow a little. Surely Sabian must be able to hear it from where he sat near the window. Forcing the smile back up, Darius delivered the wine to the table.
Kiva sat as still as he could, though he wasn’t used to being out of bed and mobile for such an enforced long period, and his muscles were starting to give. Athas had a huge meaty hand on one shoulder and was keeping the general as steady as possible. They couldn’t see Sabian of course, hidden as they were round the corner and behind the door, but they could hear everything. Darius sounded nervous; if he wasn’t careful he’d give the game away. They continued to listen as the young man gradually recovered his normal confidence.
“Why the guard, commander? We’ve not done anything you didn’t advise us to do.”
A smile crossed Kiva’s face unbidden. The lad did have a way of coming to the point. No preamble. It possibly took Sabian by as much surprise, given the brief pause before his reply.
“You’ll never make a politician, Darius. No, I’m not here to chastise anyone this time. In fact, I’m about to make things a lot easier for you. In the next few weeks Velutio, along with myself and the army, will be moving out and away from the city, dealing with a number of the other lords. I think you need to carry out the bulk of your evacuation in about three weeks’ time, and be entirely gone within a month. As long as his lordship and I are away east, you’ll only have to deal with the island garrison.”
The commander went silent again and the two eavesdroppers in the next room fretted silently, unable to identify what was going on without enough sound. Finally, there was the clink of crystal on a bronze tray and Sabian spoke again.
“That’s why I brought this guard. I’m taking Cialo and his companies away with me to do battle. Every man I leave here tomorrow, the captain included, is a selfish, treacherous, greedy or hateful bastard, or any combination of these. They were all Crosus’ men through and through and the longer they stay around me the more chance there is of me having an ‘accident’ if you get my drift.”
There was a light chuckle, though Kiva couldn’t identify who had been the source. Certainly the next voice was Darius’.
“So,” the young man asked light-heartedly, “you want us to kill your enemies for you and in return we get freedom and don’t have to kill our mutual friends. That about right?”
Again, Sabian’s voice: “frankly I don’t much care whether they live or die, but it might be in your best interest to keep as many of them alive as possible. You never know what the future holds and as soon as his lordship finds out that they’ve let you escape, their careers are over anyway. And possibly their lives too. You see it’s best for all of us.”
In the next room, Kiva couldn’t help but nod. And now he had a considerably shorter timescale for getting well, he’d best make more of an effort.
“Commander,” Darius commented, “what do you intend to do once we’re gone? I mean, there’s no way Velutio’s going to let us go without a fight.”
Kiva could almost sense the commander shaking his head. “I’ve set the ball rolling. There’s momentum now and if my lord wants to sit on the Raven Throne, he can’t take his eyes off the goal or change his plan. This is the only way it can be done. But one day, when he’s ruling the land, I’ll come for you and you alone, Darius. Whether it means death or glory for you, you’ll not be able to hide from him, but by going to him you might be able to make him relent about the others.”
There was the scraping of a wooden chair being pushed back and Sabian spoke again. “Anyway, this is not a pleasant conversation and there’s much to do. I’d best go and find Sarios. I need to speak to him, but you might want to go and find Cialo. He’ll probably be in the barrack rooms in the Peacock Palace, but he’ll want to say goodbye, I’ve no doubt.”
There was the sound of footsteps leaving the room and as they echoed in the stairwell, Athas let out a sigh of relief and Kiva sagged in the chair.
“Busy little conspirator, isn’t he?” remarked Athas.
Chapter XXI.
Sabian found minister Sarios in the Ibis Courtyard as he left the Palace. The elderly man was looking sprightlier than he’d expected and greeted him with a warm smile. “Commander, it’s good to see you. Shall we adjourn to the dining hall and talk?”
Sabian shrugged. “If you’re not tired, I’d prefer to walk; particularly somewhere out of the way.”
The minister nodded and gestured towards the arch. “Let us amble then. I’ll show you what good work your sergeant has done on the baths.” With a smile he strode beside the commander through the arch and out into the Great Courtyard. A troop of twelve guards in black and white marched past with drill-hall precision, turning their heads in unison and saluting the commander. Sabian grudgingly raised his hand and nodded at them.
He waited until they were out of earshot and then grumbled. “They may look good, but they’re just greedy bastards who wouldn’t last five minutes in the field. Crosus didn’t pick proper fighting men for the guard, cos there’s no way they’d have played along with him. Give me ten of my men instead of fifty of them any day.”
Sarios regarded him curiously. “I did mean to ask about the guard, commander. Why they’re here, I mean.”
“Later” replied Sabian. “I’ve spoken at length about it to Darius, but I want to speak to everyone over dinner tonight. Everyone that you trust, that is. Cialo included.”
The minister shrugged. “I can only assume that what you’re doing has our interests at heart commander. You’ve never been anything less than honourable in that respect. Why do you need to speak to me if it’s not about them?”
Sabian glanced over his shoulder to see how far away the guard were, but they’d disappeared through the arch while the two of them were heading toward the doorway that would take them out away from the palaces and into the quieter areas. With another quick scan to make sure they were truly alone, Sabian cleared his throat.
“I don’t want officially to know about him” he said out of the blue. “I don’t want to know why he’s here or what his plans are.”
Sarios raised one eyebrow. There was no point in dissembling, but two could play the mystery game. “I’d be interested to find out how you knew?”
Without taking his eyes off the bright doorway in front that would lead them outside, Sabian shrugged. “Where else would he go? And his rescuers too. They had to be here and frankly, I had a feeling Darius and I were not alone while we talked a few minutes ago in your study. All I can say is: get him off this island as soon as you can. If his presence is discovered and reported, it’ll mean the end of my career and the death of every soul on this island.”
“You won’t take him then?” the minister probed. “I thought you might, good intentions notwithstanding.”
Sabian shook his head. “He’s done nothing wrong so far. He’s not broken any law, not attacked anyone that I deal with. In fact, I can’t see why so much effort has been bent toward him so far. Velutio is frightened of him, though; what he represents and possibly for all his blustering of the man himself. I refused to kill him before now for merely being a reminder of a different time. That’s not his fault. In fact I rather like him, but I can’t help him. I’ll turn a blind eye tonight and I’ll be gone tomorrow, but if any one of these new guard find him and manage to tell anyone, it’ll all be over. So get him off the island.”
Sarios narrowed his eyes. “You’re a strategist, Commander. Is it wise for you to do this? You can’t be sure that some day he won’t appear as your enemy, and you could avoid all that now.”
Sabian laughed. “And you test me? See how far my sense of justice stretches? Well, I won’t execute an innocent man. If he means some time to meet me on a field of battle, then that I’ll do. I might even relish the opportunity to pit my skills against his. He is, after all, one of the great tactical minds of the last few centuries. No” he said finally, “I won’t betray him now, but his very presence puts us all in danger, so deal with it. Velutio will be the next Emperor and I can’t conceive of a way anyone can stop that. I realise that there was some notion of opposition with Quintillian out there, but that’s over and rightly so. It never stood a chance anyway and I’d hate to have had to kill the Wolves. If you’re all sensible, you’ll find somewhere safe and go there. Somewhere like the northern border where Caerdin came from or maybe across the sea in Pelasia. Anywhere that keeps you all well out of Velutio’s reach forever more. He’s going to be too busy dealing with his opposing lords in the next few months to deal with any of you, I’ll see to that.”
Sarios smiled as they passed the old Imperial shines. “You’re a good man, Commander. Twenty years ago, you’d perhaps have been one of the four with Caerdin and your master. We will, of course, get away as soon as we can and he’ll go with us, but I cannot guarantee what the future holds. I am in charge solely of my own destiny.”
Sabian laughed. “I think you do yourself an injustice there, minister. There is one other thing I need to discuss, however. We need to speak about Darius.”
“We do?” The minister raised an eyebrow. “And why is that?”
“He’s important. To you. To me. Most of all to my Lord.”
Sarios stopped walking a moment and the commander turned to face him. “Velutio plans for Darius to follow him.”
The minister smiled knowingly. “I know. We’ve been training both he and Quintillian since they were babes, and we all knew what for. I won’t let Velutio take him though. He won’t be taught the ways of government by that man.”
Sabian shook his head sadly. “I don’t think you have much choice. Darius is going to have to follow him. I personally think he’s is the only logical choice, but I’ll come and find him once everything’s safe and calmed down. If he comes with me then his future’s secure and I can probably persuade Velutio that the rest of you pose no threat.”
He gestured down the slope and the two started walking again.
“There is something I want to know though. Darius doesn’t know he’s Caerdin’s son and Caerdin thinks his wife and child died twenty years ago. Right now, given they’re both here, why haven’t you told them?”
Sarios gave him an appraising glance. “I wasn’t aware that you yourself knew. The only people who did before you were myself and Velutio. I won’t ask how you found out, but I do suggest that you forget about it completely.”
“Why?” Sabian was insistent.
Sarios sighed. “Because it would cause them both a great deal of pain. Can we not leave it at that?”
Sabian shook his head. “I don’t think so. Given that I’ve risked my neck now for both of them and I already know the what, you have to tell me the why.”
Another sigh. Sarios dropped his eyes to the floor. “Have you not wondered why Darius didn’t die in the flames and how he came to be in Velutio’s hands?”
Sabian nodded. “Of course I have. Nothing short of miraculous, I’d say.”
“Nothing short of tragedy I rather think,” replied the minister. “He survived because he wasn’t in the villa that day; indeed he wasn’t in Serfium at all. Nor was his mother. The two bodies he found in the villa I fancy must have been two of the villa’s servants. No, it certainly wasn’t them. You see, I saw Livilla after the fire.”
Sabian’s eyes widened gradually as he listened. “Then they were here?”
“No.” The minister’s voice had fallen to a husky, sad whisper. “They were in Velutio; in a place that’s no longer there. Twenty years ago there was a palace on the headland opposite the Imperial one. The golden tower used for shipping warnings is the only part that still stands. That palace belonged to the Marshall of the Central Provinces, you see…”
His voice tailed off into silence. The tale was clearly causing the minister pain to relate, but he needn’t say any more. Sabian’s jaw dropped as the connection fired.
“She was with Velutio!”
Sarios nodded sadly. “Avitus as he was known then. They had been lovers for some time. Not long enough for Darius to be his, mind, but some months. She’d been left on her own with a young babe, you see, while Caerdin charged around the world unwillingly committing atrocities for the Emperor. The more Quintus’ madness began to manifest, the colder and bleaker Caerdin became. She couldn’t cope with him the way he was and I didn’t like him much myself towards the end.” He sighed. “So I can understand why she did what she did, but I can’t forgive it.”
“So what happened to Livilla?” Sabian enquired.
“She put a knife through her own throat the day after Caerdin fought Avitus. She was buried on the island here, in an unmarked grave near to her family.”
He turned to face Sabian. “You see now why this has to stay a secret. We’ve brought Darius up to think he was the son of a fairly well-to-do commander. Fulvius has no living relatives and Velutio commandeered the estate, so there’s no way to trace the truth. Unless one of us lets it slip. Bear in mind that the truth would not only destroy Caerdin, but may irreparably damage Darius. For both their sakes’ we have to keep the whole thing very secret.”
Sabian whistled. “Hell yes. It answers quite a few questions, though. I couldn’t help but wonder why his lordship was so determined to destroy all of you and any trace of the Imperial blood, but still wanted to adopt Darius. He must have actually cared for her, you know? I’ve never seen Velutio care for anything. It’s logic, whether good or bad, that decides his path, not emotion or values. Gods, I’ve got to get Darius to him after it’s all over. The lad deserves to inherit it all.”
The minister stopped as they reached the baths and raised his voice, pointing his finger at the commander. “ Never ! Caerdin and I may have had our disagreements, but he was a true servant of the Empire, loyal above all others, and it would be the worst dishonour I could do him to allow that to happen. If Darius ever inherits the throne, it will be in his own way and through his own merits. Not because of that adulterous coward.”
Sabian stood for a moment in silence. The minister’s face had taken on a high colour as they’d talked and for the first time in all his visits throughout the years, Sabian’d heard the man shout. It seemed wrong. The minister was the calmest, most stoic and moderate man the commander had ever met. He stood for a moment breathing as the minister glared at him and then turned and walked into the bath house. There was too much to absorb; too much importance here to dismiss it immediately. He’d have to think on it later. Gods damn Isera. Every time he came to the island, life became just a little bit more complicated. With an uncomfortable sigh, he entered the baths.
Brendan had never been the quietest or subtlest of the Wolves. He knew his strengths and his weaknesses and had never been the sort to scout, take point or be a runner. Front line in a fight was fine. And he’d much rather anyone else had been where he was at this time. Marco would have been able to do this so much easier, but there’d been no time to find him. He’d been at one of the ground floor rear windows of the palace when he’d seen the Captain that had arrived on the ship come out of the palace door and duck into the shadows. In a corner that was well hidden from the world in general, but clearly visible from that particular window, the captain had removed his helmet and cloak. He’d donned one of the long robes the elder scribes of the island wore before leaving the shadows again, looking to all intents and purposes like any other islander. With absolutely no time to think, Brendan had stepped out of the doorway and run as quietly as possible to the next tree. As quickly as he dared and not as quietly as he’d like, he moved from vantage point to vantage point, following the captain. Finally, as they’d rounded the ruined walls of the Golden House, he saw what the man was up to. The commander, Sabian, was walking and talking with minister Sarios. He’d no real love for Sabian. However much the others might laud him, to Brendan he was as yet an unknown quantity, still a servant of the enemy; but he did know Sarios for a good man and the two of them in private conversation would be nothing harmful to Darius or the Wolves. So by extension a man secretly following them had to be up to no good.
He’d seen the two men disappear into the doorway of the extramural bath house just as the disguised captain reached the bole of a particularly large tree. He himself skidded to an all-too-noisy halt behind a low bush, watching the captain through the upper tendrils. A moment passed as the captain waited for his quarry to move deeper inside the edifice and then he moved very quietly, but surprisingly fast to the entrance of the baths, taking up a stance by the doorway and leaning close enough to the door to hear the echoed conversation within. The man slowly pushed back the hood from the cloak to facilitate his spying and all his attention was riveted to the bath house.
Brendan smiled a smile of pure malice as he slowly moved to the huge tree the captain had last frequented, hoping his prey wouldn’t turn and notice the somewhat noisy pursuer. He paused at the huge trunk and pondered, suddenly well aware that he’d left both his sword and dagger back in his quarters. Hell, he’d only been out to answer a call of nature, otherwise he’d be safely hidden away and blissfully unaware of the events outside the walls. Grumbling quietly to himself about his lack of blades, he looked around desperately until his eyes lit on a large branch lying half buried beneath a wild, creeping bush. Crouching, he reached out and slowly teased the branch from beneath the fronds of the plant. Every time the bush shook or the branch caught on something, Brendan winced and snapped his head back to check on the captain, but each time the man was more intent on what was going on inside and his attention couldn’t be easily diverted.
Finally the bulky mercenary had the branch, which seemed to have been stripped down of its twigs and leaves almost as though designed for the very purpose, and wielded it as a club. He hefted it and spun it a couple of times to test the reach and the weight before grinning. With one more look at the captain, he checked out the lie of the land between the two of them. There was precious little cover. That hadn’t bothered the captain as his prey had been inside the baths, but the man himself was in the open. There were a few low bushes in a line that would cover part of his approach if he was quiet enough, but he would have to run the last half in the wide open space. Well there was precious little he could do about it now. He’d sort of committed himself to a course of action when he’d first left the doorway in the palace and he couldn’t go back now.
Keeping as low as he dared without overbalancing, he ducked from the tree to the first of the small bushes. For a moment he considered halting and moving slowly to the next one, but his momentum was too good. Before he’d decided what he actually wanted to do about it, he’d run the length of the row of bushes and burst out into the open. Still the captain hadn’t turned. As he ran, Brendan raised the branch to shoulder height, gripping the narrowest end as tightly as he could. At the last moment the captain turned, perhaps out of some sixth sense or perhaps Brendan was making more noise than he thought. In any case, there was nothing else for it now. As he covered the last six yards he let out a roar of anger and defiance and, pulling the branch back behind him, swung it with all his might.
It is often in anticipation that the veteran shows his skill over a green recruit. The captain was of rank and considered himself a good officer. He’d been involved in a few small engagements; enough to have achieved the level he had, but had fought as an officer, not on the front line of a unit. He smiled as he turned, watching the large, shaven-headed man closing on him, branch raised and coming for a swing at head height. In response and perfectly timed, the captain dropped to one knee, reaching into his tunic to withdraw his dagger. At the last moment however, the angle of Brendan’s branch changed and the heavy chunk of wood came forward and down at forty five degrees. The captain wasn’t even paying attention, struggling with his knife as he was, when the branch connected with the top of his skull. There was an unpleasant cracking sound and a spray of blood across the grass.
To the captain’s credit, despite the obvious agony and confusion he was suffering, he staggered back upright, his head rolling and a short blade clutched shakily in his hand. Brendan exhaled gently. The man was slowly shaking his head, coming out of the daze. The bulky mercenary pulled back his club once more and took another swing. This time he didn’t attempt to adjust the swing and just let it go at head height, allowing the widest arc he could. The end of the branch slammed into the captain’s temple and the crunch this time sounded distinctly final. The captain’s eyes rolled up into their sockets and the dagger fell from the suddenly loose fingers. Perhaps in confusion and pain, or perhaps already dead, the captain staggered and twisted twice before collapsing like an old, crumbling column. Brendan watched the legs kick once and then leaned down and pressed his fingers against the man’s neck. Nothing.
With a sigh, he stood again and wondered what to do, but never got the chance to decide as Minister Sarios and Commander Sabian both appeared in the doorway of the baths. The commander had his sword out in a threatening manner. He stared at Brendan and then at the body on the floor.
“What in the name of seven hells is going on here?”
Brendan coughed nervously. “I’m Borus the fisherman…” he began a little uncertainly.
“Absolute shit” replied the commander, sheathing his sword. “You’re one of the Wolves. I don’t know which one, but you’re one of them. What are you doing smashing the brains out of my second in command?”
There was a thoughtful look on Sarios’ face as Brendan looked helplessly between the two. A thought suddenly occurred to him.
“Sabian” he addressed the commander. “You don’t seem right bothered? Why’s that, eh?” Since the commander made no reply, the mercenary grinned. “Think I jus’ saved y’a job, eh? Yer do know ‘e was spyin’ on yer, dontcha?”
Sabian sighed and turned to face away. For a moment Brendan considered taking his branch to the back of the commander’s head, but decided against it. Sabian stood for a moment and then turned back with another, deeper sigh.
“All Cialo’s hard work.” He crouched and picked up one of the captain’s arms. Dragging the body toward the baths he shook his head. “What a waste” he added as he removed the islander’s robe from the body and sheathed the captain’s knife once more.
Brendan watched, bemused, as the commander dropped the body of his captain into the passageway just inside the door and then re-emerged, rubbing his hands in distaste. He walked towards Brendan and held out his hand expectantly. The mercenary just stared blankly at him.
“The club?” suggested Sabian.
Still steeped in confusion, Brendan passed the branch over to the commander, not entirely sure why he was trusting this man. Sabian nodded slightly and then turned and walked over toward the bath house. Raising the branch to shoulder height and drawing it back in a wide arc, he swung it with great force, emitting a grunt of effort. The branch connected with several newly placed replacement blocks just below the keystone. The mortar here was new and solid, but that binding the surrounding stones was old and crumbled and the arch emitted a warning groan. Brendan grinned as he realised what the commander was doing.
He stepped forward smiling and held out his hand. “Y’may be clever, but a job like this’n needs brute force.”
The commander frowned for a moment and then returned the branch to Brendan. The mercenary dropped the point of the branch to the floor and spat in his palms, rubbing his hands together. Picking up the club once more, he pulled it back and swung it with all his might.
The arch stones gave way instantly under the severe blow and the outer few yards of the entrance corridor collapsed in a crash and a cloud of dust. Brendan leapt back out of the tunnel as stones bounced among the falling masonry, almost bowling over the commander in his haste to get away. The three stood in silence for several minutes watching as the cloud of dust slowly dissipated, leaving a scene of absolute chaos. The only sign of the captain was an arm projecting out from beneath the rubble.
Brendan grinned at Sabian. “See. Brute force an’ ignorance!”
The commander nodded with a gentle sigh. “Let’s move fast. There’ll be people here soon to investigate the noise.”
The three of them walked quickly away from the bath house toward the grassy slope away to the west between the walls and the sea. Here the trees and scrub were more tightly packed and a few trails created by the islanders in hunting for game or searching for plants were the only means of access. Sarios led them along one such track which ended abruptly at a cliff, the palace wall rising some thirty feet behind them and a drop of forty more to the sea in front. Brendan grinned and located a mound of turf to sit on. He watched Sabian and Sarios find seats of their own and then stretched his legs with a satisfied groan.
“Think you’ve just dropped yerself in the shit, Commander” he noted.
Sabian frowned. Sometimes the mercenary’s colloquial accent made him a trifle hard to follow, but this time his meaning was clear enough. “I rather think that was you,” the commander replied, “but I’ll sort it out. None of these men support me anyway and the loss of captain Flautus doesn’t wound me too closely. I just wish you’d waited until I wasn’t here.” He folded his arms and regarded the shaven-headed mercenary. “Thank you anyway though. I suppose we’re better off than if he’d gone screaming back with what he’d heard. Did you hear any of our conversation?”
“Nah” Brendan replied taking off a boot and shaking gravel and muck from it. “I’s far too far away fer that. Still I’d like t’know why yer bothering so much about these people an’ why y’didn’t just drop me in it t’get out of this?”
Sabian nodded. “You think me imprudent for allowing your presence to go undetected. You think perhaps I should report it to my Lord in return for wealth and privilege?”
Brendan shrugged and leaned back smiling. “Why not?”
Sabian stared at the mercenary. Why did he, a senior officer in the most powerful army of the modern world and an upholder of the law, feel the need to justify his actions to an outlaw mercenary?
Across the island, Darius found Kiva sitting at the desk. Were it not for the bandages it would be hard to tell that that the general was wounded at all. Certainly his demeanour was all business.
“What is it?”
Darius strode over to the desk, his sheathed sword swinging at his side.
“I’ve been listening closely to one of the new sergeants” he said, beginning to unbuckle his sword belt. “They’re not a friendly lot. They’re going to settle in tonight and sort their barracks out, but tomorrow everything’s going to change.”
“In what way” the general enquired, placing his stylus back on the desk and looking up at the tall youth.
Darius placed his sword and belt on the desk and stepped back. “They want to do a complete contraband check on the whole island. Anything they think prisoners shouldn’t have they’re going to confiscate.”
“So you’ll need to hide a lot of stuff” the general nodded to himself.
Darius leaned over the desk, his face close to Kiva’s. “I think you missed the point. A complete check of the whole island will turn up more than they bargained for” he said pointedly, gesturing at the general.
“Hmmm.” Kiva tapped his lip for a moment. “We’re going to have to do something soon then. They won’t start anything until Sabian and his other men are already on their way back to the city. I think we need to move before they do and as soon as Sabian’s left, whatever the commander’s timings are.”
Darius nodded. “Shall I ask everyone to come here for a meeting?”
Kiva shook his head. “Too dangerous. Get everyone down to the orchard near the graveyard as soon as it gets dark. That’s a long way away from the guard quarters in the Peacock Palace. Tell everyone to wear robes and move as unobtrusively as possible. Get all the off-landers and Sarios. Sabian too if you can get to him.”
The young man nodded again.
“We’re leaving tomorrow aren’t we?”
Kiva tested his weight on his stick. “There’s no other choice.”