The Blood Empress (4 page)

For this test, the warriors faced anywhere from ten to two Benzotii prisoners who were given their own weapons to defend themselves. To make things interesting, the Benzotii were promised their freedom if they killed any of the contestants. It would be a fight to the death for all involved.

Due to the dangerous nature of this test, it was conducted on a barren steppe of the northern hinterlands. The Benzotii were told to defend long abandoned earthen hovels into which were placed the objects that the contestants had to retrieve: A nest of Verner snakes, the venom from which would kill a Votainion in seconds.

The Empress could hold court above the playing fields in a circling, heavily armed platform. She was close enough to watch the fighting but far enough away not to be killed by stray or intentional shots from the Benzotii.

The contest had been playing out for hours before any of the Votainion warriors had gotten near their objectives. Two warriors had already been killed. Both had neglected to respect their adversaries and paid the price for it. The hardened ground near the entrance to the hovels was red with their spilled blood. Body parts had been consumed by the Benzotii, who had over the years developed a taste for blue Votainion skin.

Empress Nykostra sat on her portable throne in the center of the round observation room. She had been standing against the windows looking down on the battlefield when the two men were caught by surprise and taken apart like slaughtered cattle. It was no contest and she became bored of it before the man from Khangor was completely dead.

An attendant offered her a drink as the Kwizarra Lonn entered the room from a staircase below. As his cloaked form glided over to her she took a long drought of the hot beverage. It was miserably cold and windy down below and some of the windows were open to afford her a clear view. She was dressed for the cold and it didn't bother her in the least.

"Two contestants have failed to enter the hovels and one is about to be bitten by his objective. A worthy test, don't you think, my Empress?"

She scoffed at him and watched a monitor screen that showed the warrior from Settak snatching the Verner nest.

"What makes you think this one will be bitten?" she asked.

"They don't have snakes on Settak. He has no idea what's inside that nest. Prudence can be a decent indicator of intelligence."

Almost as if on command the man was attacked by the juvenile Verner snakes and took one last step before falling dead. She nodded to the Soothsayer who flicked his gray, bony fingers to a second monitor.

"Here comes Ku'nar from Surg. He is a canny warrior and will know how to properly transport the nest."

Nykostra watched the warrior approach the dead man and stop. He looked around for a stick and found the dead man's falchion instead. Using the blade, he encourage the startled snakes back into their straw and dirt nest.

A second figure cautiously entered the room. It was Ketar. He was carrying a Benzotii rifle and pointing it behind him. There appeared to be words between them but Nykostra could not hear what was said. She imagined that they were working out how to transport the snakes together. Another part of the test no doubt. Teamwork.

A blinding flash erupted and several Benzotii soldiers seemed to have the Votainions surrounded.

"Ah, now it begins to get interesting, my Empress," the old Soothsayer said.

Ku'nar and Ketar stood shoulder to shoulder to rebuff the Benzotii attack. They might not have been aware of it, but they were beginning to sow the seeds of combat brotherhood. When Votainion men fight a common enemy together or endure a stressful or dangerous task, they can become closer than brothers. It is the warrior way and it forms bonds that can be stronger than any other relationship. The Votainions believed it was what separated them from other species and allowed them to subjugate the galaxy.

Ku'nar rolled over the dead warrior and used his body as a shield to move laterally and gain ground on the giant aliens, while Ketar shielded the nest of deadly snakes.

Eventually the fallen warrior's body was blasted apart and Ku'nar charged the startled Benzotii soldiers. In seconds the battle was over and Ku'nar stood over a severely wounded Benzotii.

More words were exchanged, this time from Ketar. How she wished she could hear them.

Ketar seemed to study the snake pit before speaking again to Ku'nar. Then Ku'nar pulled up the wounded alien and pushed him over to the snake pit. With gestures and words the alien could not understand they eventually got it to pick up the nest for them.

At least one, if not more snakes wound out of the nest and clearly bit the Benzotii's arms. It flinched but did not fall over dead.

"Good, they are working well together," said the Kwizarra Lonn.

Nykostra looked askance at the Soothsayer.
This is what he wants. He wants Ketar to trust his man. So that Ketar will not see when Ku'nar kills him from behind.

"You are a wicked monster," she said, just loud enough for him to hear. His black wrinkled lips curled up in an evil smile.

She had to find a way to warn Ketar.

"This contest is over. They have both emerged victorious. Tomorrow we shall see who is the strongest of the them."

Nykostra let out her breath in relief. She would send for Ketar again tonight and warn him of his coming betrayal.

***

This time when the attendant came to her door, Nykostra touched her little hand and pulled her inside alone. She peered into the girl's simple little mind, looking for any signs that she had betrayed her Empress. There were no such signs. The girl had remained quiet about sneaking Ketar into the Empresses bed chambers.

Frightened beyond words, the girl trembled in Nykostra's grip.

"Shh, be quiet little one. I will not harm you. Your loyalty is above and beyond the others in my court. I shall reward you handsomely."

Her shaking subsided as the Empress stroked the back of her hand.

"You will bring Ketar to me again tonight for the last time. If you are undetected, I shall reward you. What can I grant you?"

The girl looked down at her hand inside the hands of Nykostra and smiled to herself. "You already have, my Empress."

Nykostra was confused for a moment and then quickly removed her hands. The girl backed away, shyly.

"Go and fetch him now," she commanded.

The girl slipped out the door and was gone. Nykostra rubbed her hands against her gown and started pacing again.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl for her.
What
was
taking that urchin so long?
If she had to wait much longer she would have the attendant killed. Impatience was not something an Empress was expected to control. There were too many attendants and servile members of the court to wait on her hand and foot.

As she paced by the area of the hidden entrance the Soothsayer had used she wondered what dark magic he commanded. The room remained the same temperature and she hoped that the gray monster would not return tonight to haunt her like some ancestral ghost.

Finally the door opened and Ketar stepped inside. He was still dirty and sweaty from the day's ordeal. She was not expecting him to be so filthy this late at night.

They hugged and her red gown was smeared with sweat and dirt from the northern plains. She could smell the outdoors on him, mingled with his sweat and the blood of the aliens he had killed.

"I'm so pleased you have returned victoriously, Ketar," she whispered into his ear.

"For you I would do anything, my Empress."

She pulled away to look up into his dark eyes.

"You can still call me Kaleen when we are alone."

His mouth cracked a knowing grin. She had a sudden urge to kiss him and she didn't know why. His eyes shinned and his forearms held onto her firmly.

"I... I have to warn you of something," she mumbled.

He pulled her closer to him and she sighed. Before she could draw in a breath he had closed his lips around hers. They kissed long and hard like only lovers could.

She pushed him away until their lips parted. His eyes continued to shine in the dim light and she wanted nothing more than to go on kissing him, long into the night.

"I have to warn you about Ku'nar. He's not what you think. He will betray you. Even kill you."

Ketar shrugged indifferently. "I know."

"You do?"

"We are competing for you Kaleen. He will have to kill me in order to win."

She shook her head. "No, you don't understand. He will make you think that he has your back like he did today, but then he will thrust his falchion into your ribs."

Ketar shook his head slowly.

"It's the warrior way."

She squeezed his arms tightly, her nails digging into his skin for emphasis. "Ku'nar is no ordinary warrior. He is under the control of the Kwizarra Lonn. He will not have your back when it counts. He will do his master's bidding and you will die for it. I don't want you to die, Ketar."

His heavy brow furled tighter and he pulled her close to him in a firm hug. "I won't let you down, Kaleen."

She rested her head against his chest and felt him breathe and his heart pounded sure and steady. It comforted her despite the growing fear that she was spending her final moments with her love.

***

The next morning the games resumed on the castle grounds. The two remaining contestants were treated to a morning meal fit for an Empress. She had told her staff to spare no expense for the final meals. She knew it would be the last meal for one of them and she wanted to show them how much she appreciated their efforts on her behalf. It was a bit unusual to treat individual warriors in such fashion but nobody was prepared to deny her wishes.

The Kastra representatives from Surg and Vicar were also invited to the meal. There were nine guests at the Empresses long table. Nine was a sacred number to the Votainions and many of their ceremonies honored the number.

Nykostra was dressed in her finest silken gown, black with red piping and delicate lace patterns in tiny V shapes that were only visible at close range. She loved the intricate craftsmanship of the gown and only wore it on special occasions. This day, the day that would see her future mate decided at the tip of a blade, was surly the most important day of her young life.

The two guests of honor sat closest to the Empress at the end of the rectangular table. She could talk to them freely without going through their seconds or their political representatives.

Nykostra was quite impressed with how well both of her suitors cleaned up. Votainion men were not known for being fond of formal affairs. They were more comfortable on a battlefield than at a state meal, but both of these warriors were prime examples of the best that the Empire had to offer.

Ku'nar was slightly taller than Ketar, with wavy black hair that fell down just above his shoulders. His beard was trimmed and as black as his eyes. Nykostra wanted to hate the man, knowing he was the Soothsayer's pick to win. But there was nothing about his soft spoken manner or his gentle smile to hate.

Ketar was the younger of the two, just a year older than herself. His black hair was thinner and less wavy and his brown eyes seemed more personable than most men that Nykostra had known. She liked his boyish smile and that twinkle in his eyes that betrayed his secret love for her.

"I hear you are quite the swordsman, Lord Ku'nar," Nykostra said. She had been keeping the conversation as equal as she could between her suitors so as to not appear to favor one over the other.

"I have won five duels my Empress."

He said it without a hint of regret or boastfulness. His dark eyes fixed on Ketar when he looked away from her. She could tell he had said it not to impress her but to intimidate him. Ketar seemed more impressed than afraid. He held up a bone and used it like a falchion. He was being playful, she knew, but Ku'nar seemed to take it more as mockery. He stewed for a moment and then said, "And how many duels have you won, Lord Ketar?"

Ketar's smile faded quickly.

"One," he said.

Nykostra's eyes grew large. He had told her that he'd never been challenged to a duel before. Was he lying?

Ketar stared coldly across the table at Ku'nar.

"Today will be my first."

Ku'nar's stoic face slowly relaxed into a grin, followed quickly by a raised glass to Ketar. "Touché, my young friend."

Ketar's boyish grin returned as he caught her staring wide eyed at him. He winked at her and took a drink.

***

After the morning meal the contestants were treated to a tour of the royal castle grounds. Nykostra returned to her throne chamber to meet with her Chief Strategist, Lord Kasaga. He had returned to Voton to attend the games and had requested a meeting with her to discuss the Alliance front.

He brought with him his First Officer, whom Nykostra had never seen before. The FO was taller than Kasaga and had knowing eyes that seemed to look right through her. She sensed immediately that he was both smart and cunning.

"My Empress, it is good to see you in person again."

Nykostra allowed him to bend a knee and kiss the back of her hand. She was still dressed in her royal gown and he his finest dress gray uniform. While he was down she glanced at the FO and he returned her gaze, unafraid to look away.

Lord Kasaga stood and introduced his FO.

"My Empress, allow me to introduce you to my First Officer, Verrad."

She nodded to the tall warrior and he bowed at his waist.

"It's an honor to meet you my Empress," Verrad said.

It was her custom to not respond. She rarely addressed anyone below the rank of Admiral.

"What news of the front lines have you brought me on this day, Lord Kasaga?"

Kasaga's face tightened with concern.

"My Empress the war progresses, but not nearly as quickly as it should. We're having difficulty getting more ships to the line. Many of the Kastras are refusing to release resources so that more ships can be built. I'm getting resistance from multiple Kastras. Some are concerned about supplying the other fronts and some are just being indignant for no apparent reason."