Crucible of Fate (12 page)

“What about your son?”

“My son is now past the imprinting stage and needs to feel a power greater than his own to soothe him, to basically make him.”

“Make him do what?”

“Submit. He’s an infant, his power rises, and he knows that whoever is holding him is weaker. He pulled Markel through his shift yesterday.”

I was stunned. “You’re serious?”

“Very.”

That was terrifying. “Markel was my sheseru.”

“I know.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I guess I’ll get on a plane and come fetch my reah and the beset of my reah.”

There was no way to hold back the huff. “And if I will not release Crane Adams?”

“You will. You must.”

He couldn’t just be allowed to tell me what—

“Please, Domin,” he sighed. “I can’t be the only one to talk sense into my reah. Jin only actually listens to me and Crane. That’s it, on the whole damn planet.”

“Come claim your mate and his annoying friend,” I said, using Logan’s own term of endearment for Crane. “I want them both out of my home, semel-netjer.”

“Thank you, my semel.”

“Knock it off.” I couldn’t help smiling, I felt too good. “You know, you can just stay there. I swear I’ll send them both home as soon as—”

“I need him
now
,” Logan said, and his voice was deep and dark. He was being strong, it was how he was, but Jin’s absence was already wearing. I understood, finally, what that was like.

“Then I’ll expect you.”

“Yes.”

“Should I tell him you’re coming?”

“He knows.”

I hung up without a good-bye because it was our way. No endearments went back and forth between us.

After I talked to Logan, I called Orso Bataar, semel of the tribe of Khertet, in Mongolia. He was very pleased to hear from me, and I was glad since I was asking him for a favor.

When I finally emerged from my room, everyone was still waiting, clustered in the main hall, every semel and his retinue visiting at the time, along with as many as could push and shove themselves within the walls. It was standing room only; I was the only one who took a seat, there on my throne.

“I will now pass sentence,” I shared with the crowd, my voice, because of the acoustics, carrying to every corner.

The silence was thundering.

“I have been called an infidel more times than I can count,” I declared to the assembled throng.  “And now I will finally act like it.”

Not a sound anywhere.

I glanced at Jin, who stood beside Crane; at Mikhail, holding hands with Samani; at the priest, sneering at me from where he stood beside my prisoners; and over at Taj as he stood with Jamal and the rest of the members of the Shu flanking him.

“I hereby banish Elham El Masry and Rahab Bahur to the tribe of Khertet, there to become khatyu of Orso Bataar. May they be blessed by Ra in their new life.”

There were gasps and whispers, shock and outrage as Rahab’s sheseru and sylvan surged to their feet. His sylvan was able to find his voice first. “My lord, you cannot believe that we will allow such a—”

“You will allow it,” I said as I stood up. “Or I will take them to the pit now, one after the other, and have my sheseru remove their heads. The choice is yours.”

“But, my lord—”

“They are traitors to my rule,” I professed. “I am the semel-aten, whether any of you like it or not. The Shu answer to me, you
all
… answer… to me. I will not have treason. By the law, I can kill them both outright. In Mongolia, they have a chance to rebuild their lives, start fresh. If they choose not to do this, if anyone attempts to interfere while they are in transit or once they are there, they will be killed at once. This is my mandate and has been agreed to by Orso Bataar.”

“My lord—”

“You are the sylvan of the tribe of Wepwawet, are you not?”

 “Yes, my lord.”

“Who is the heir to your semel?”

He seemed on the verge of hyperventilating. “His brother, Zaki.”

“Send word to him that he is now semel of the tribe of Wepwawet.”

“But, my lord, you—”

“You think I don’t know all about your tribe?” I asked him pointedly. “Maybe it’s time that your gang finally became one.”

“One what, my lord?”

“A true tribe.”

He was shaking. “You know nothing of—”

“I know all about the difference between a mob and tribe, between which one gives and which one only takes. I was the semel of a tribe once that was just like that.”

It should have been strange for me to have every eye on me, everyone silent and staring. But somewhere in the past six months, I had gotten used to it.

“Perhaps Zaki Bahur can achieve what his brother could not.”

The sheseru and the sylvan of the tribe of Wepwawet both waited.

“I know that your tribe prides itself on money and power, but you must understand, that’s the world of men,” I said softly, letting my words sink into them. “And I know that we all have to live in that world, but for us there’s more. There’s always the tribe, always our family. We’re talking about that—about you as panthers, about the law and your semel. We’re speaking of your semel and Elham El Masry thinking that they were both above the law, that they would be judged as men and not as panthers and as members of the whole.”

That was the real point and what so many people missed.

“The judgment of the semel-aten will always be about what is best for the panther, not necessarily what is best for the man.”

“Yes, my lord.”

It wasn’t what they wanted to hear, but it least it made sense. I wasn’t some insane, power-mad despot; I was a semel disciplining the members of his tribe. There was a cause and effect to the panther world that was absolute, and people had just been reminded.

“I will expect Zaki Bahur to stand before me and swear his fealty within a month. Do you hear me, sheseru? Do you hear me, sylvan?”

“Yes, my lord,” they echoed.

When I checked, I saw how wild Rahab Bahur appeared. His eyes, which had been murderous and seething with hate, now projected terror. And it was all because I was making sense. His people understood—they would not try and free him. He had gambled and lost, and it was time to pay up. Just as in nature, when the leader was challenged, the defeated challenger was banished.

Jamal came forward to take control of the prisoners, but before he could issue orders, I stopped him.

“Give the job to Shahid,” I said, tipping my head toward the man who had been blackmailed into the nefarious plot to overthrow me. “He will see it done.”

Shahid’s gaze met mine a moment before he bent at the waist. “Thank you for your faith, my lord. I will never disappoint.”

“I know. And when your wife and child arrive, my sheseru, Taj Chalthoum, will receive them and protect them until your return.”

Taj hadn’t known he was on guard duty, but he moved forward fast, put his hand over his heart, and promised Shahid that he would slaughter anyone who dared hurt them.

The relief, the appreciation, the swell of emotion visibly rushed over Shahid, and he could only nod, clearly overcome.

“Go,” I commanded.

He pivoted, signaled the other members of the Shu, and they took the two men out, the crowd quickly parting for them.

“And as for you,” I said, stopping Kovo before he could say a word. “I wanted Jamal here, since I am naming him as heir to my throne, heir to be semel-aten.”

No amount of me standing there with lifted hands was going to shut everybody up. I sat down instead, as Taj called for the heralds.

As a rule, the horns gave me a headache, but there were times when I understood why we had them.

Jin walked to the side of my throne and bent down next to my ear.

“Yes, my reah?”

His eyes gleamed with worry. “Have you spoken to Logan?”

“I have.”

“And?”

“You think Logan and your son don’t need you,” I said bluntly, turning my head so I could stare into his gorgeous dark-gray eyes. “You needed to be away, and Crane’s crisis gave you the reason. You ran without notifying Logan, and now you’re here.”

He straightened up abruptly, ready to step away from me.

I grabbed hold of his wrist, keeping him close.

“Let go.”

“Logan was where, at a gathering?”

“Yes.”

“You didn’t want to go?”

Jin cleared his throat. “I’m not allowed to attend gatherings anymore. Yusuke went with him.”

I rolled my eyes. “Really? You think your maahen can take your place at his side?”

He was silent.

“Or Danny? If Logan’s sylvan went with him as well, perhaps your cousin can be switched out for you?”

He tugged, but I was stronger. In his nekhene form, Jin could eviscerate me. If he released his power, he might even be able to make me shift.

Maybe.

I had felt it before and withstood it, but it had never been directed fully at me.

“Don’t raise your power, you brat,” I said under my breath.

His gaze flicked to mine then, and his eyes were all pupil. I was seeing a wild thing, unstable because his mate was not with him.

“You are the only nekhene cat in the world, and your mate and your son need you desperately.”

“So you say,” he said, and then his eyelids fluttered and I was once again, that quickly, in the presence of a reah. The difference was like night and day—he could be feral one moment and the epitome of hearth and home the next. I had no idea how Logan rode that wave on a daily basis. My own mate was simply the one who wanted to keep me and love me and be my sanctuary.

“You miss Yuri.”

I didn’t answer as he straightened up and smiled down at me.

“Don’t deny it, I see it all over your face, feel it beating between us.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“What’s Koren doing here?”

“I thought he must have come with you.” I was indignant as the sound of horns filled the hall, and the silence that came afterward was instantaneous.

All eyes trained back on me as I stood once more, walked to the edge of the dais, and stared down at the priest, who started to object.

“You have lost your reason if you think I would allow a man not—”

“Silence!” I said, my voice rolling through the room. “I make the decision. Only me. You have no say, as you are no more divine than I am. And if you like, I can separate your head from your body and show everyone the color of your blood.”

The color drained from his face, and I could tell that he was smart enough to know what was about to happen.

“The temple of Satis will no longer house the priest of Chae Rophon, because from this day forward, there will no longer
be
a priest of Chae Rophon. I strip you of your title and station and banish you to the tribe of Mafdet, there to serve the semel-netjer. You will understand real power when you stand before him.”

“I—”

“Satis will become a school,” I said, my voice rising. “Where anyone may go to learn and live as they study the law. All the vaults and rooms there will be opened and the contents catalogued. No mystery will remain—all artwork and treasure found there will be shared, and any wealth hidden in Satis will be restored to the tribe of Rahotep.”

The roar of approval made the priest shudder.

“All staff at Satis will remain, as they will all report to Jamal Hassan, who will take the position of guardian of the law, or menthu, of Satis.”

I was smiling as I did a quick spin on my heel and found Jamal staring up at me like he had seen a ghost.

 “You are worthy of the title,” I proclaimed, enjoying myself, “and the Shu will guard you and no longer serve me, the semel-aten. My sheseru and my private guard will see to my protection. They perhaps both thought I have lost faith in them, which I have not.”

I didn’t even have to see Taj to know he would be struck by my faith in him and his khatyu.

Almost.

I had almost made the mistake of distancing myself from my own house, putting faith in assassins instead of those loyal to me. But now the Shu had their own commander to protect, and that would please them, as there was no longer a divided loyalty. I had reclaimed my own sheseru and my khatyu, and they would swell with pride. It took me a while sometimes, but I could make everything work.

“I will no longer be the semel-aten, but as our beloved priest, Hamid Shamon, baptized me, will now truly be akhen-aten. I will change the direction of my reign and will bring about great change. The new era for Sobek will be Harmakhet, the new dawn.”

The hall exploded with cheering.

“We will sweep away the old Sobek and create a new modern city that will rise from the ashes of the old and be a mecca of prosperity. The outside world will be allowed in Sobek, industry will thrive, and nothing will be as it has been.”

No one could hear a thing over the din of hundreds of voices raised together.

There would be resistance, I knew, but the old Sobek was over and a new one was coming. It would take me years, I knew, but the building would start immediately.

I needed werepanthers from all over the world to come and make their homes in Sobek. I wanted diversity and change, and because the city and all the land belonged to me (it was deeded to each and every semel-aten), I could make that happen. I would find the best people, the smartest, the most ingenious from every tribe in the world, and together we would build our new state.

Of course, I had just put a giant bull’s-eye on my back, but change was scary. I would just have to be careful. The Shu themselves had tried to kill me and been unsuccessful; standing against anyone or anything else would be easy. I hoped.

I descended to the floor and moved until I stood in front of Asdiel Kovo, only my khatyu and Taj keeping the crowd out of the small circle of men.

“My lord, you—”

“No.” I stepped in close so he could hear me over the joyous noise of the gathered throng. “Your time is past. We don’t need a priest of Chae Rophon anymore; we don’t need the same rules and penalties. The tribe of Rahotep is still just a tribe. It can’t function in this bubble anymore. Instead it will be like every other family headed by a semel the world over.”