Chapter 7 #2
“You had no knowledge of the movements of Bemishu or Kacha, allowing them to take the capital. Now we must traverse my empire going north, traveling through nearly every province. I will have to see the men who have taken control of the provinces, and I will need to make the decision of whether or not to let them keep their prizes. You are slowly dying. And I may deny it, but we both know I need a Kennelmaster.” Tallu watched him, merciless when he said, “Would you prefer to die here or train your replacement?”
At that, the Kennelmaster glanced at where I stood in the shadows, my arms crossed, my weapons ready. He grimaced before he shook his head. When he spoke, his words were nearly a growl. “No, I would not prefer to die here.”
“Then who do you choose?” I asked.
“It’s not really a choice, is it?” The Kennelmaster breathed deep, the inhale rattling something in his chest. “Who do you want?”
Tallu stared at him, unblinking, his only movement the rubbing of his thumb across the underside of his golden rings. When he tilted his head, his delicate golden earrings fluttered into motion, a series of feathers spreading wide for a split second before settling.
“You won’t let me bring anyone in,” the Kennelmaster said, thinking the options through out loud. “So it has to be one of those here. Meaning Asahi or Sagam, because those are the two you have formed an unnatural attachment to.”
“Unnatural?” I asked.
“In the north, your wolves are no more than that. They are pack animals and hunters. They help you. And if one gets injured on a hunt, do you cry as though it was your brother, or do you leave it in the cold to suffer its fate?” The Kennelmaster looked away from me, as though disgusted at me for lying.
I didn’t say anything, glad to know I still had some secrets from him. We would no more leave an injured wolf to die in the frozen north than we would leave a person. He might know everything about the Imperium, but the Kennelmaster was still ignorant of the north.
“I cannot choose Asahi, although he probably has his father’s knack for strategy.
It’s too much of a risk for the son of General Kacha to take the position of Kennelmaster.
Moreover, he was recently under the thrall of an animalia.
I cannot be sure those connections have been fully severed.
” The Kennelmaster frowned down at his hands. “Sagam, then.”
“Is that who you would choose freely?” I asked.
The Kennelmaster looked at me with a raised eyebrow, tilting his head, seemingly grateful that I was acknowledging it was not actually free choice, merely choosing between the only two options Tallu offered.
“If I had my choice, I wouldn’t oppose Sagam.” The Kennelmaster glanced at the sideboard, then back at me. Shaking my head, I walked over to it, pouring two glasses of the fruit juice Tallu preferred. I added several fingers of alcohol to the Kennelmaster’s.
Walking over to the two of them, I made a point of presenting Tallu with his glass first, before giving the Kennelmaster anything.
“You need to know Sagam’s weaknesses, before you agree to the choice.” The Kennelmaster moved forward smoothly, drawing the emperor’s glass to himself. He took a drink of the liquid in Tallu’s cup, turning the glass between his fingers so that the light sparkled through it.
With a truncated bow, he placed the glass on the table and slid it back to Tallu.
Tallu considered the liquid, then took a sip for himself. “I thought your Dogs had no weaknesses.”
“Your Imperial Majesty, all men have weaknesses, even those who have been trained out of the most egregious of them.” The Kennelmaster swirled his own drink, bringing it to his lips. “Before the arrival of His Highness, I would have said you were a man without weakness.”
“We already know about Sagam and Asahi.” I returned to the corner, enjoying having the wall at my back. Just because he was weakened, the Kennelmaster was far from helpless. “What are Sagam’s weaknesses?”
“Sagam’s parents died just before I picked him up and offered him a position of Dog.
His mother was foreign, a half-blood elf or something of the like.
His father’s blood allowed them to pass as imperial citizens, but there were enough whispers in their neighborhood that they were never treated as such.
” The Kennelmaster clicked his teeth. “Sagam’s pay has been enough that he can support his three sisters and none of them had to become night flowers.
One apprenticed to a baker and married the baker’s son, another studies numbers and works for merchants in Otter Cub City.
The third he sent to one of the imperial schools in Tavornai.
She looked too much like their mother. He pays a local family to care for her on holidays. ”
“His sisters are his weakness?” I asked.
“All three of them, spread across the Imperium. All three of them potential threats to his good sense. The eldest would survive without the allowance he sends. So would the middle, although the pay she receives allows her to live in a better quarter of the city. The youngest would likely be put on the streets, as any other elven orphan is.” The Kennelmaster raised his glass, drinking nearly half of it in one large gulp.
“Gotuye has no family. He has been with the Dogs since before I took over and sees every member of the Kennel as his brother or sister. He was loyal to your father before you, and I have not heard him say a single word against Your Imperial Majesty.”
“Are you saying that Sagam has said anything about His Imperial Majesty?” I asked.
“I’m saying that your choice of Kennelmaster has weaknesses that Gotuye does not.” The Kennelmaster finished his drink, leaning forward with a wince to set it on the table. He laced his fingers together, his eyes fixed on Tallu’s face. “So?”
“Begin training Sagam for his position.” Tallu finally took a drink of juice, the liquid wetting his lips.
“We will be traveling nearly the entire Imperium. You will have more than enough opportunity to introduce him to any remaining Dogs you have and find out why your kennel failed to predict the loss of the Imperial Capital.”
“Of course, Your Imperial Majesty.” The Kennelmaster stood, bowing low to Tallu, and after a long, hesitating second, he put his fingers into the shape of a triangle.
When he stood, I tried to see some deceit, some hint of his true feelings in his expression.
Instead, he said, “I am grateful that you offered me a chance your father did not offer my predecessor.”
Then, he strode out the door, yielding the protection of Tallu’s quarters to a pair of General Saxu’s guards.
The Imperium was divided into twenty different provinces, each ruled over by one or two families.
Before Tallu had destroyed his father’s council, each of the provinces had been under the management of one of the councilors, and those men had strictly controlled the provinces via governors and stewards.
With the loss of the council, rule had been granted to whichever members of court Emperor Millu liked. As we traveled, Empress Koque proved almost as invaluable as the blood mage ghosts did at gathering information about who was likely in charge of various provinces.
She had secured a place in Tallu’s carriage, sharing it with me, Irad?o, and Asahi. Prince Hallu curled up on her lap, watching the conversation with wide eyes. Periodically, his brow furrowed with confusion, but he made no move to interrupt the conversation.
“In River Otter Province, Lord Yiilipo shares custody of the territory with Lord Domusho.” Koque stroked her hand down Hallu’s back.
“Lord Domusho was gracious enough to travel with the military, even though they would have had to stop in River Otter Providence on their way to the Lakeshore Palace.”
The blood monks had been watching Lord Domusho carefully and said that the closer we got to his seat of power, the more nervous he became.
According to the blood monks, he had left his wife behind in the capital.
That alone was enough to make me dislike him, and on top of that, he had also begun receiving notices from his estate, and the monks could tell that most of them were regarding the taxes and what had been done on his orders to those who hadn’t been paying.
“What do you know of the Yiilipo family?” I asked.
“Lord Yiilipo’s title is mostly honorary.
His wife was a lady of a noble family, but when Emperor Millu had her father executed, her husband was granted the title ‘lord.’ Before that, he was a local tradesman and had gained enough respect and wealth that he was considered the unofficial governor of the province.
” Empress Koque looked out the window at the expansive farmland, the wide river cutting through it.
“Lord Domusho has not enjoyed sharing control of the province with Lord Yiilipo, but he has little recourse as the emperor himself bestowed Lord Yiilipo’s title. ”
So, we had our first victim, and the court was about to enjoy the sight of Tallu striking again.
They called him a viper and he would live up to the moniker.
When we reached Otter Cub City, we were taken to Lord Domusho’s expansive palace.
It was nothing in size compared to either the Lakeshore or the Mountainside Palace, but the number of servants who greeted us had to be similar.
Lord Domusho seemed relieved to have Tallu in residence and announced that he had already ordered a formal dinner prepared.
By the time the evening came, it was clear he assumed that Tallu’s presence meant Tallu’s support.
So, when the Yiilipo family arrived, Domusho made a show of seating them with the lowest ranked of General Saxu’s officers at the dinner.
Tallu’s face might have been placid, but I could see a spark of something in his eyes. It wasn’t quite pleasure, more the knowledge that for the first time in a very long time, he was about to destroy a man who deserved it.
“Lord Domusho,” Tallu said.
The table quieted, and I could see the other courtiers looking between each other. If Tallu granted Domusho favor, then their gambit of staying with him would pay off. It would be hard to argue with the might of the imperial army in any province.
“Your Imperial Majesty, how may I serve?” Domusho asked.
“It has come to my attention that, in abandoning your wife in the capital, you have created a gap in your own line of inheritance. She was with child, was she not?” Tallu asked.
Domusho paled, coughing up the wine he had drunk. It stained his beard red. “She was not, Your Imperial Majesty.”
But already the whispers were circling the room. It was one thing to flee in desperation, but to abandon your unborn heir was entirely another.
“With the traitor generals in control of the capital, I fear we must expect the worst for her and your heir. You have the throne’s utmost sympathy for such a grievous loss.
” Tallu frowned, looking at me, as though deep in thought.
“That means, if Domusho falls, River Otter Providence would become unstable. It would be easy pickings for Kacha, a man known for his greed. Why, he even took over abandoned farmland in the Blood Mountains because he thought it might have some value.”
“Husband, what a terrible future for one of your most loyal provinces,” I said. “We must, of course, bring Domusho with us in order to keep him safe, and House Domusho with him. But, who will rule River Otter Province, then?”
“It must be someone with a firm line of succession. In these times of great uncertainty, all of the provinces could use the guarantee that the best house will rule them,” Tallu said. He looked over the room, which was suddenly very still.
“Dear husband, I did hear that Lord Yiilipo’s son recently had a child of his own by his recently married wife.
That means the Yiilipo family already has three generations living in River Otter Province.
” I frowned, as though trying to remember.
“That should be more than enough. And with his ties to the province, I’m sure Lord Yiilipo would be a good choice for the position—”
“Consort Airón,” Domusho interrupted. “I understand you often speak with servants, and I am not sure if that is where His Imperial Majesty has acquired the vast misunderstanding that my wife was with child or that she would have borne my first. No. In fact, I am happy to present any number of my bastards among the population. I have one now who is old enough to hunt.”
“Domusho,” Tallu’s voice was suddenly cold, and the expression on his face lost all of the playfulness I had been able to read into it, “are you questioning my husband?”
“Of course not, Your Imperial Majesty. I would never think to question the consort. I am just saying, that perhaps because in the north they are less flexible about such arrangements, he might not understand that here in the south, any one of my children could inherit. I’m sure it is just a cultural misunderstanding.
” Domusho reached for his napkin, finally wiping at the wine in his beard.
“I believe it is you who has a misunderstanding if you think insulting my consort is the way to keep your seat of power.” Tallu spoke quietly, and the entire room leaned in to listen.
“You have just abandoned your wife and first legitimate heir in the capital. You wish to use my forces to prove that you should have control of River Otter Province. You wave about your bastards as though a prevalence of them will not cause chaos in your line of succession when you die. Moreover, you have implied that my husband is lacking.”
Under his thick makeup, Domusho went pale, then pushed back his chair, the legs screeching against the tiled floor.
He bowed low, his fingers triangled. “Consort Airón… Prince Airón, forgive me for my implication.” He turned to Tallu, dropping heavily to his knees and prostrating himself on the ground.
He was not a man who had survived long enough in court to miss that the last person Tallu had taken a disliking to had ended up beheaded.
“Forgive me, Your Imperial Majesty, for any insult I have leveled against you or your beloved consort.”
The silence in the room was profound. Tallu gestured to the nearby seat that Domusho had vacated when he prostrated himself. His quiet words were as loud as a shout. “Lord Yiilipo, attend on me.”