Darkness Falling: Soldiers and Slaves (9 page)

“You don't seriously believe that old man's lies, do you?” the prince snapped, leaning on the desk with his hands flat. “He's only trying to frighten you and bend you to his will. And it's working!”

“What do we truly know of her, Xander?” Harn's voice rose to match his son's, “Only what Dreger was able to tell us and he was just as blind as the rest of us.”

“We don't need him or his enhanced Enforcers. If you would just give me another chance,” it wasn't a plea so much as a demand. “I could take a helicopter now and be done with it!”

“And risk you destroying buildings in a fully inhabited village? You heard what he said, the Resistance is not just a rumor. We cannot give them more reasons to act.” Ka Harn's face was dark with anger. “I'm finished with this conversation, and you will respect my decision as your Emperor!” Ka Harn bellowed.

Xander pulled himself up to his full height. “You won't be my Emperor forever,” he hissed.

“Get out!” Harn pointed toward the elevator doors with a steady hand.

Xander was tall, but the Emperor was still a head taller. The two men were still, frozen in the moment as they wrestled silently with the power between them. Treve glanced at the Imperial guards, poised to move. Xander must have calculated his odds and decided they were not in his favor. Giving up his fight he exited the room without a further comment.

When he was gone, Ka Harn sank into his chair. Many harsh realities had been laid before him in less than a single hour. His face was heavy and haggard by the experience. Remaining still in his own silent observation, Treve waited patiently until the Emperor lifted his head to see him still standing guard.

“You're free to go,” he waved his hand absently at the Enforcer, who was relieved to be freed from his post. “Stay in the Tower,” he added. “I'm assigning you to Garinsith's unit when they depart.”

Treve saluted, trying not to show his disappointment. The elevator returned empty. Thankful, he stepped inside and was glad of the solitude when the doors slid closed.

CHAPTER NINE

Gleyth was curious about the ambassador her father had called upon. Unwelcome as she was on the rooftop, she resigned herself to watching the helicopter arrive from her apartment windows on the sixty-seventh floor. Once it had arrived, she sat impatiently staring at the sky. How long would her father meet with the enigmatic old man?

She knew the rumor; Petor Garinsith had murdered her grandfather. No one ever gave a solid answer as why he would do such a thing. Although he was an outsider, Garinsith had been Ka Elta's most trusted adviser. His legendary strategies ensured the Empire victory on every front, from winning new territories to developing powerful industry. After Ka Elta's death, Garinsith did not attempt to wrest the throne from Harn's grasp. There was no motivation she knew of for such obvious treason.

Ka Harn, enraged by the death, banished Garinsith without holding a trial.

Gleyth found it difficult to have her questions answered. She would have to find out for herself. Feeling rebellious, she left her seat at the window and took the elevator down to the sixtieth floor. The doors opened, revealing an empty corridor beyond. She walked quietly, keeping her ears open for any sign of the visitors. First she wanted to get a look at them before she made a move at introduction.

When she was halfway down the corridor, a door opened to her left. A tall young man with brown hair wearing an unusual green uniform stepped out, closing the door behind him. He did not look surprise to see the princess.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, his voice heavily accented with the lilting tones of Gillinera, a country located to the east across the sea.  

Gleyth found herself gazing into the greenest eyes that she had ever seen. Her heart pounded and her mind slowed, she felt her mouth turning into a shy smile without her permission. Her face grew hot as she blushed.

“You do not have clearance to be here now. I must report you to the Emperor. What is your name and station?” His words stunned her out of her reverie.

Not wanting to have a stranger tattle on her to her father, Gleyth built up her best angry princess expression, straightened to her full height, and said, “I am Ky Gleyth Kei'Oren, High Princess of the Empire. I have come to ensure everything is in order out of being a courteous hostess.”

His eyes widened slightly and the corner of his mouth turned in a half smile. It was infuriatingly charming to behold.

“Very well, Ky Gleyth, but now is not the best time. The Master Keeper is tired from our journey and taking time to rest. He is not accepting visitors.”

“Very well,” Gleyth conceded, glad her ruse was working. She didn't want to press the issue. “Might I know your name so that I can tell your master just how competent you are?”

The young man's emerald eyes gained in intensity at his amusement. “Kevie Drost, your highness,” he said as he bowed. “Lieutenant to the Master Keeper's Mutilator army.” She frowned at the name. It conjured such violence, perhaps the rumors were not as far-fetched as she assumed. “Allow me to escort you to the elevator.” 

“I can find my own way back, thank you,” she huffed.

Beneath her haughty charade she merely wanted to flee back to her own rooms and think about what she had learned.  Gleyth began walking back the way she had come but Kevie followed on her heels.

Thankfully, the elevator doors slid open and she stepped inside. Turning to see him watching, ensuring that she left, stoked the fires of real anger. This was her home. The sixtieth floor may have been guest quarters but she had every right to pay a visit if she chose.

Holding in her anger, Gleyth smiled. Kevie returned the smile, but it gave her an uneasy feeling. The ambassador was hiding something. Why else would his guard be so quick to show her out?

* * *

“Did you get rid of her?” Garinsith asked as the door snapped shut behind Kevie.

“Yes, sir,” he could see the Mutilator's quick salute in the reflection of the window before returning to his seat.

Surveying the city below, Garinsith frowned at the desolation. The last time he had beheld this view it was a much different sight. Rau'Tesche-Awn, a bustling metropolis of hard working citizens driving the Empire into an age of prosperity the world had not known in a millennium. Naught was left of that dream but the bricks and mortar, and even they were decaying form disuse. 

“I want you to keep an eye on the princess. She's timid but she's smart. I don't want her interfering with anything important.”  The antiquated ideas about gender and intelligence may have stifled the girl, but it didn't change the fact that she was far more capable than her kin. “It's unfortunate she wasn't born male, for the sake of her people.” Garinsith sighed, if the escaped slave was who he predicted, it didn't matter in the end. “Kevie, I leave this assignment to you.”

“Yes, sir,” Kevie said, unquestioning.

It was a simple assignment, but Kevie would not balk from his task. 

“If need be, I'll take care of the prince, sir,” Lethel offered, her voice was cold but tinted with excitement at the prospect.

“That won't be necessary, at least not yet,” Garinsith smiled patiently.

“Tyn, once we've gained enough trust to walk the Tower, I want you to go out into the city. Sniff out Winifred's energy trail. I'd do it myself but I'm going to be preoccupied.”

“Yes, sir.”

Garinsith was disappointed that his cousin had fled the city so swiftly. He had been looking forward to rekindling some type of relationship. It would have been nice to have discussed what she had learned during her time living under the yoke of ignorance. He wondered if she had grown weak through the years, spurring her to flee instead of stand her ground as she would have in her youth.

“I'll find her, sir,” Tyn said firmly, reading the shift in the Master Keeper's own energy with ease.

If nothing else, the loyalty and devotion of his soldiers kept him motivated.

“Lethel,” he continued. “I want you to learn about the Enforcer who fled with the girl. We must discern if he is truly the Counter Balance or merely caught up in this by chance.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Also investigate the Enforcers who greeted us. I have a feeling Ka Harn will think he is clever and send one of them along as an escort to monitor us.”

It was an annoyance he was willing to tolerate, primarily because he would be able to observe the decline in the pure bloodline. He was curious what the effect was on the raw talent and skill the Enforcers should have possessed. 

“Yes, sir.”

“And don't kill anyone yet, please. Your talents will be utilized soon enough,” he added as an afterthought. Lethel was his most talented warrior but her temper was nearly as legendary as her aim.

“Understood, sir,” Lethel said, almost laughing with pride at her reputation.

“The Emperor's games are tiresome, but we won't be playing for much longer,” Garinsith assured them.  “All that I worked for is fallen to ruin, as I suspected when the fool declared me outcast. The seeds I planted were not in vain,” he smiled. “If the slave is the Balance, and the Enforcer is the Counter Balance, they were born into a most unfortunate situation for themselves, but fortuitous for me.” Garinsith's mouth stretched into a hungry grin.

“Do you believe they will lead us to Syerset if your suspicions are correct?” Tyn asked, his eyes wide with awe.

“They will have no choice,” Garinsith peered joyfully up at the gathering storm.

The obstacles were nearly cleared. At last his goals would be obtained. It was only a matter of time.

* * *

Xander hurtled the crystal goblet across the room. A satisfied thrill raced down his spine as it disintegrated against the Field Energy. Stone shattering into oblivion had an unearthly ring which echoed into his soul. He found it comforting.

The prince staggered from the center of his office to the black leather sofa. Hair and clothing disheveled, eyes red from lack of sleep and hours of drinking, he wrestled with rage and helplessness.

Betrayal was not something he'd had much experience with in his life. First Impyra and then his father. He couldn't tell which was worse. Impyra was his release; his confidant. Isolated in the Tower with only his sisters and baby brother for company, she was the only one with whom he felt a true connection. Impyra was the one who truly knew him, but his love had not been enough. 

Her willfulness, her disobedience, and even her lying could have been forgiven if she would accept that she belonged at his side. Instead, she chose death. It was a painful revelation. Ka Harn calling upon an outsider to complete the task of her execution was merely twisting the knife in the prince's wound.

Her blood was his blood. The Emperor had no right to take that away.

“Didn't I give you everything?” he snarled at the hole in the window. “Shelter. Food. Love. What more does a woman want?” His head throbbed behind his eyes.

Worse still, she re-payed his years of care by running away with another man. Resting his elbows on his knees he held his head in his hands.

“Ungrateful wretch,” he sobbed, but forced himself to stop.

There was no time for pity.

He crossed the office and poured himself another glass of wine. Swirling the red liquid, he imagined it to be Impyra's blood spilling from her throat.

Impyra had abandoned him. His father had turned his back on him. He would not be a pawn. Draining the wine in one swallow, Xander stumbled his way to the elevator.

“I will win the day,” he announced, pressing the button to take him to the ballroom.

The doors opened on a flurry of activity. The house slaves worked to complete the decorating for Gleyth’s celebration. Xander took little notice of the fact that his mere presence brought everything to a halt as he passed. Ky Thella stood at the center of the room, directing every task with ease. Kei Len, the youngest prince, sat at her feet playing with a toy truck. Gleyth was there as well, her usual bored expression on her pretty face.

Xander didn't have a plan. He wasn't sure what he was doing.

The noise in the room faded to a hush, bringing the Queen's attention to her eldest son. Thella sighed in annoyance as he came to a halt before her.

“What have you done now, Xander?” she accused.

“That hurts, mother, to think that the only time I come to you is with bad news.” He glanced at the faces of his sisters. “I just wished to inform you that I want to purchase another concubine soon. I do not wish to be alone until my bride is found.”

He stared deeply into the Queen's eyes. She was mocking him, he knew. Didn't she know it was her fault that he needed a woman's love?

“I’ll inform your father.” Thella said quietly. She snapped her fingers at the nearest slave, a young woman with long brown hair. “Fetch the prince some water.”

Eyeing the slave, he reached out to grab her arm. “I'll take this one,” he said, shuffling forward.

Startled, the girl flinched away from him, eyes wide with confused fear.

Gleyth gasped, stepping forward. She grabbed her brother by the arm. “Stop,” she said. “Xander, sit down.”

Xander shook off Gleyth's grasp. “Don't touch me!” He bellowed.

“You're drunk,” Gleyth hissed, unafraid.

Xander’s eyes thinned. He grabbed her wrist and squeezed. “You can't order me around. You 
are nothing
.”

“Let me go!” Her face grew hot with anger, she pulled against his grip but he was stronger.

“Xander, stop, go back to your room,” Thella commanded, her words hollow with inaction.

Xander began to laugh. “You're just a woman. Just a slave, bought and sold. If I feel like it, I could kill you right here, and no one could do anything about it. I’m going to be Emperor. My word is law!”

“You’re not Emperor yet, Xander. Father would not allow you to take the throne if you killed me, and you know it.”

With her free hand, Gleyth dug her nails into his arm, attempting to gain release. He couldn't feel the pain through the fire of his anger.

Leaning in close to his sister he whispered, “He can't stop me if he’s already dead.”

Gleyth tensed at his words.

A hand fell on his shoulder from behind. The crown prince spun, swinging his fist blindly, but his arm was caught in midair. Xander released Gleyth as he saw it was one of Garinsith's men. Kevie Drost had come to save the day.

“You should respect the High Princess, Kei Xander. It isn’t becoming of a prince to act like an ass.” The Mutilator’s face was blank but his eyes blazed with emerald fire.

“Let me go!” Xander snarled. “How dare you touch me! Garinsith will hear about this!”

Kevie released him and gave a brief, sarcastic smile. “Go ahead, coward. My master would only laugh at such a report. He believes that women should be respected, not treated like worthless filth.”

Xander rubbed his wrist, glaring at the Mutilator. “This isn't over.” He muttered, then fled back toward the elevator, humiliated. 

“Are you all right, princess?” He heard Kevie asking.

Fools. All of them.

Ka Harn was weak. Garinsith was an outsider. Impyra would soon be dead. Xander would stand upon their corpses and laugh.