Sacrifice: The Queen's Blade (13 page)

After the Queen left, Blade sat on the bed and grimaced at the pain that shot through his left lung with every breath. Compared to the agony of the previous day, it was a mild discomfort, but it also served as a constant reminder of his weakness. Coughing sent fiery lances through him and brought the salty tang of blood into his mouth, yet surprisingly, he did not find himself gasping for air at the slightest exertion. He opted for one of the less garish jackets that hung in his wardrobe to keep Minna happy, and hoped that his optimism regarding his health was not unfounded.

When he arrived in the great hall, most of the lords and advisors had already assembled in a muttering throng. At his entrance, the murmuring died away a little, and dozens of hostile eyes followed his progress. Only senior lords and advisors were in attendance, less than half the usual number. A liveried attendant guided him to a place near the throne, where he assumed he was to stand. He stifled several urges to cough as he waited for the Queen to arrive, aware that the nobles would note any sign of weakness.

Queen Minna-Satu entered, followed by a bevy of attendants and two plumed officers. A handmaiden carried the Princess swathed in shimmering silk, and Minna-Satu was resplendent in the midnight-blue gown she had been wearing when she had visited him earlier. Half the assembly sank to its knees, while those who claimed nobility bowed. The Queen settled on the throne and accepted the six-foot sceptre from an attendant, bringing it down with a soft clink that signalled the beginning of the audience. She gazed at the men and women of high rank with calm, steely eyes.

"Today you will be introduced to my daughter, your future Queen. Any who do not bend their knee in homage will be guilty of high treason. That is the law. The name of your Princess is Kerra-Manu. In the tradition of Queens, she is named for her bloodline. In order of rank, the first to approach the throne will be Lord Conash, Lord Protector of Jashimari, Second Advisor to the Queen, and sacred Knight of the Veil."

Blade looked up in surprise, then walked to the throne and bowed to Minna-Satu. "My Queen."

She gestured to the silk-swathed bundle in the handmaiden's arms. "Look upon your Princess, Lord Conash."

Blade stepped up to the maiden and gazed at the pink face nestled in soft cloth, tiny fists curled next to her cheeks. He bowed again and stepped back, turning to the Queen, uncertain of the protocol.

Minna smiled. "How do you find her, My Lord?"

"A handsome child, My Queen, a worthy Princess."

"Well said, My Lord Conash." She nodded, and he retreated to his post beside the throne.

Next to be called upon was Chiana, and she had obviously seen the infant before. She made the requisite bow and murmured words of praise, and the next noble was called. His eyes widened when he looked upon the child, but he bowed and praised her before returning to the ranks. After the lords, the senior advisors were allowed to approach. When Mendal's turn came, his eyes narrowed at the sight of the Princess, and his comment about her fairness did not please Minna.

One by one the senior advisors came forward, and Blade grew bored as the time-glasses passed, shifting his weight to relieve the growing ache in his feet and stifling the urge to yawn. He almost wished that the Princess would wake and start screaming the place down, just to break the monotony. At last the High Priestess stepped up to bless the infant with sacred water before the maiden carried the Princess away.

Minna-Satu gazed at the assembly, a challenge in her eyes. "So now you have all met your future Queen. Her birth at the brightening of a Tree Moon in spring is a good omen. Rejoice, she is strong and healthy. She will rule you well."

Mendal stepped forward and cleared his throat. "My Queen, you still have not revealed the father of our Princess. She is not dark, as you are, her hair is almost white."

"Yes." Minna folded her hands, releasing the sceptre, which an attendant caught. "That is because her father is Kerrion, King of the Cotti."

A wave of muttering swept through the nobles, but Mendal did not look surprised. He cast a knowing glance at his comrades, and faced the Queen once more. A supercilious smile curled his thin lips. "Are we to understand that our Princess is a Cotti?"

"She is half Cotti. I am her mother and therefore she is half Jashimari."

"And we are to rejoice at this? To be ruled one day by a half Cotti Queen?" Mendal enquired.

Minna raised her chin. "Beware, Mendal, you tread upon dangerous ground. She is your future Queen no matter who her father is."

"I beg to differ, My Queen. Your people have a right to demand a Jashimari Queen, not one whose father is our eternal enemy. Why, even now he invades Jashimari lands. Before the moon is out he will be at our gates with an army ten thousand strong. What must your people fight for? Whether we win or lose the Cotti will rule us."

Minna-Satu rose to her feet, pale with fury. "How dare you? You are a fool, and your words border on treason. Take this one step further and you will face the gallows."

Mendal shook his head, undaunted by her ire. "It is you who have committed treason, My Queen. You have betrayed your realm, consorted with the enemy and then set him free. Now you would set his daughter upon the Jashimari throne? I think not. You are the Queen and your people love you, but Kerrion's child will never rule this land."

Minna regarded Mendal with flinty eyes, her regal poise a marvel to behold. "You are wrong. You see no further than your hooked nose. The Cotti will indeed be at our gates within the Tree Moon, and so will the Contara. We cannot stand against their combined armies. We will be defeated.

She looked over his head at the assembly. "We have but one hope, and she resides now in her cradle. Kerrion will not make war upon his daughter. She will stop his invasion. She will prevent our defeat. Through her, the people of Jashimari will find peace and freedom at last."

Mendal glanced at his comrades, clearly unmoved by her words, even a little scornful of them, as his next words showed. "We are expected to believe that this king of savages will honour his daughter's inheritance? The Cotti treat their women worse than animals, My Queen. It is you who are living in a dream."

Minna said, "It is the prediction of Shamsara. When a child who is neither Cotti nor Jashimari sits upon the Jashimari throne, there will be peace. His words, Mendal."

"The Jashimari Queens are forbidden the consultation of seers."

"To what end? So this war may rage on for all eternity? So the Contara can invade Jashimari? Our only hope is an alliance with the desert King."

"No, our only hope is to preserve the honour of our Queen and the purity of her bloodline, so one day the Jashimari may rise again."

Minna sank back onto her throne, staring at him as if he was a slug that had just crawled over her toes. "You speak of defeat as if it is a mere stepping stone to victory. Once we have been enslaved, the Jashimari can never hope to rise again. The Contara and the Cotti will see to that. Our women will be taken as concubines and chattel, our men sent to the mines to die in the dust. The Jashimari people will be decimated."

"You underestimate your people, My Queen. Many will escape and form bands in the frozen north or deep in the woodlands. As long as they have a queen to lead them, they will grow stronger with time, and they will rise again."

"Age and senility have weakened your mind, Mendal. They will be hunted down like animals, sport for Cotti and Contara lords."

"You are wrong. You cannot put a half breed on the throne. You must bear a full blood Princess. We who represent your people demand it, as is our right."

"Do you?" Minna's eyes swept the assemblage. "Let those who demand it step forward, so I may know my enemies."

The throng shifted, ill at ease, and Mendal held up appeasing hands. "We are not your enemies, My Queen. We are your loyal subjects. The Cotti King will not halt his advance simply because you have borne his daughter. We are trying to save you from this folly. So long as you are Queen he will try to conquer this land, and by the time the Princess is old enough to ascend the throne the pride of her bloodline will be all that drives your people to victory."

"No." The Queen shook her head. "By the time Kerrion reaches the gates of this city, Kerra-Manu will be Queen."

A great shout went up from the nobles, and many stepped forward to try to be heard. Mendal paled and stepped back in shock. Chiana bowed her head and bit her lip. Minna took the sceptre from the attendant and brought it down with a clink. The nobles fell silent, many of those who had rushed forward pushing their way back into the throng as if wishing to escape their Queen's terrible announcement. Mendal stood alone in the centre of the room, a hunched, wizened figure draped in snakeskin robes. His faded eyes did not flinch from Minna-Satu's haughty gaze.

"You plan to take the Queen's Cup?"

"I do. When it is certain that this city will fall, I shall remove myself from the political arena, thereby placing Kerrion's first-born daughter on the throne. He will not make war on his own flesh and blood. He will be forced to drive out the Contara and form an alliance with the Jashimari."

"My Queen!" Mendal looked distraught, and turned to his colleagues for support before facing his monarch again. "This is madness. I beg you to reconsider. You have made this decision without the guidance of your advisors. It is a plan doomed to fail. Consider Kerrion's people, their history, their savagery. No Cotti King will allow a woman to rule any lands he can conquer.

"At worst, he will take his child back to the desert and lay waste to Jashimari. At best, he will place a Regent over us until she is old enough to wed, then marry her to one of his nobles and name him ruler of Jashimari. Either way, we will be a conquered people, firmly under Cotti rule and never allowed to raise our heads proudly again."

Minna-Satu looked pitying. "We are facing defeat now. Thousands of Jashimari warriors die every day, and all they can do is slow down the advance of the Contara and Cotti. We have no hope of winning this war. The roads to this city are awash with blood, and when the Contara get here the streets will run with it. Kerrion may spare you for the sake of his daughter. The Contara will slaughter all in their path. What else can we do but turn the two against each other? Have you a better suggestion?"

"Yes, My Queen. Let us fight and die with our pride intact. Let us take you to a safe place whence you can inspire your people to rise again. Do not destroy the purity of your bloodline, and with it the pride of your people."

Minna leant forward, her tone scathing enough to flay. "Those are the foolish words of an old man. You are too old to care, but there are thousands of children in this city who will perish if we follow your plan. They are the future of the Jashimari people. We cannot sacrifice them and survive."

"They can be taken to safety, hidden -"

"Where? In the forests, where they must skulk and hide? In the frozen wastelands to the north, where they will freeze? Or perhaps they should live in the squalor and filth of the mud people? Where is the pride in that? How will they grow up to be warriors? Who will teach them? If we lose our culture, we lose everything. Our history will be lost in time, our descendants will become illiterate savages eking a living from nuts and berries, and all that we are now will be forgotten."

"My Queen..."

Minna-Satu stood up, forcing him into silence. "I will hear no more on the subject. The decision is made and you will abide by it. Any plotting of treason will be dealt with swiftly and finally. I have no time to try traitors in the courts." She glanced at Blade, and all eyes followed her gaze. The assassin, who had been leaning against a pillar, straightened and scowled at the assembly, disliking his sudden elevation to the centre of attention.

Mendal glared at Blade before looking at the Queen again. "You intend to unleash your assassin upon your nobles?"

"Only the traitors amongst you, so be careful of what you plot."

"Be sure that your spies are well informed, My Queen."

"They always are." Minna took her sceptre from the attendant and brought it down with a clink, signalling the end of the audience. The assembly sank down in homage as she left the room, and Blade followed her, unwilling to remain amongst such hostile company.

Mendal met Lord Durlan and Javare in the gloomy study of his modest city dwelling. The advisor reasoned that to meet too often in the same place invited the unwanted attentions of spies, and after the Queen's warning, did not wish to take chances. Although Minna's spies would doubtless report the meeting, they would be unable to divine its content, since men chosen for their canine familiars guarded Mendal's house.

The two lords swapped glares as they entered the room, then Durlan headed for a couch onto which to ease his bulk, while Javare paced the floor with quick, angry strides. Mendal poured three glasses of wine and sat behind his desk, folding his hands as he watched Javare's pacing with cold eyes.

"You will wear holes in my carpet, My Lord. It is a particularly expensive one, too."

"Damn your carpet," Javare growled, his glittering eyes meeting the advisor's with equally reptilian flatness. "The Queen has betrayed her realm and shamed her people, and you worry about a stupid carpet?"

Mendal sipped his wine. "Have some wine, perhaps it will soothe you."

Durlan heaved himself from the couch and took a glass, draining it in a gulp. "What are we to do, Mendal?"

The advisor shrugged. "There is only one way to stop this folly, My Lords. We must... remove the Princess."

"Now you are talking treason," Javare said. "If the Queen gets wind of it, we will all wake with a dagger in our hearts."

"I have heard," Mendal drawled, "that the Queen's Blade is not in the best of health. My spies tell me that he is unable to perform assassinations at the moment. With only a few short tendays left to us, we must throw caution to the winds. The Princess must die before the Queen takes her life, then she will be forced to accept my plan and flee the city. Once in safety, she can bear a true Princess and save the bloodline."