Chapter 8 #2
“Lord Domusho. He claims a number of the lords following His Imperial Majesty have expressed concern and he wishes to know if I believe Prince Hallu ready for the crown.” Koque’s face pinched, her fingers flexing on her delicate teacup.
“I’m sure the prince would be ready, should the worst happen to His Imperial Majesty.
It is why Emperor Tallu has such faith in his brother and, by extension, you.
” I glanced around, but the servants had carefully positioned themselves out of range of our conversation, and we had kept our tones quiet. “Has the Kennel been informed?”
“I wasn’t sure if that was the best course of action,” Koque said. “The Dogs are good at defending His Imperial Majesty, and I’m sure they would make quick work of such a threat, but a public display might be more efficient.”
In other words, quiet assassinations of Lord Domusho and whoever else agreed with him would only increase the panic in the court. Imperials needed to see blood spilled.
“We would need to know who else agreed with Lord Domusho for any action to be effective.” I considered. Between the blood mages and the birds, we would have a good idea of his supporters, but it might be time to see if the Kennelmaster was training Sagam well for his new role.
Standing, I nodded at Empress Koque, and she bowed to me, low enough to be a sign of respect, a sign of my superior rank.
She had brought the problem to me, the issue that she could have easily handled herself.
Did that mean that she was beginning to see me as her successor rather than her student for the position?
When I left the small tent, Irad?o trailed with me, my servant behind her. I gestured a polite dismissal, and the servant broke off, returning to the area of the camp that Nohe had claimed for me.
“What is it?” Irad?o asked in Northern.
“Lord Domusho,” I said. “Who’s been meeting with him?”
“The birds have only been focused on Pine Thorn Province,” Irad?o said.
“They claim that the people there fought off one of Bemishu’s scouting parties, retaining the rights to the forests and the lumber in them.
They have a good opinion of Lady Jolushi, who spends most of her time in the province rather than the capital.
I can have them start trailing Domusho.”
I shook my head. Tallu and I had been so focused on the provinces we were approaching, that we had paid too little attention to the provinces behind us.
“No.” I glanced around. The camp was busy—military might meeting imperial service. “Where is Sagam?”
Irad?o looked around, then headed toward a small tent with darkened panels. I knew that he was probably getting sleep, a few hours before he and the rest of the Dogs had to be awake during travel. It wasn’t fair, but we had to know how capable he was.
Inside, the tent was quiet, but as soon as I entered, Asahi and Sagam woke, Sagam sitting up, Asahi grabbing his sword from beside the bed. I didn’t announce myself; they were both skilled Dogs and I knew they would recognize me.
They had been sleeping back to back. In the dark, I kept my voice low, although I wasn’t sure anyone was brave enough to try eavesdropping on the Dogs’ tent.
“Lord Domusho plans to act against Tallu. We need to know who else is going to act with him. Then Tallu will cut them down. Do you have anyone that can find out quickly who is with him?”
Sagam put his feet on the ground, turning his body toward me. “Isn’t that a question for the Kennelmaster?”
“It is a challenge for you, our new Kennelmaster,” I said. “We need to know before we reach Pine Thorn Province.”
“His Imperial Majesty wishes to know?” Sagam asked.
“His Imperial Majesty needs to know.” I leaned back on my heels, wishing we had more blood mages.
But they were spread thin. The camp was too big to monitor.
One always remained in the cooking tent, carefully checking to make sure no one slipped poison into Tallu’s food.
The others were, like the birds, directed toward our next destination, busy monitoring the lords and their servants for any sign that we were headed straight into a trap.
“We will find out. The Kennel will keep His Imperial Majesty safe.” Sagam stood, the only sign of his exhaustion in the slow way he stretched.
Asahi said nothing but followed him into motion. I stood, slipping out of the tent to give them a moment of privacy, the bright light of the noon sun blinding me for a moment.
I took a deep breath, hoping it was enough, hoping we would be able to use the information Empress Koque had given us.
“Are you sure you can trust her?” Irad?o didn’t need to clarify who she meant.
“I’m not sure what other choice we have,” I said. “Either way, it will further our purpose.”
Terror fluttered down, landing heavily on my shoulder. “They’re cooking a wild boar that the soldiers caught in the forest. Why did you tell them not to give me scraps?”
“You’ll get your scraps when you bring me information,” I murmured, turning to Irad?o as though talking to her.
“Dawn got scraps. Ratcatcher got the internal organs.” Terror pecked at the side of my head, although not hard enough to draw blood.
“They brought me information. It’s your own fault if you don’t get your share.” I shrugged my shoulder, and Terror shifted his weight, clinging to the bone.
“What information do you want?” But his question was too cagey.
I shook my head. “I don’t want you whispering what I want to hear into my ear. Go find me some good gossip and then we can discuss payment.”
“It’s all her doing, isn’t it?” Terror threw an annoyed look at Irad?o. “You weren’t nearly as stingy before she came along.”
I shrugged harder. “Gossip. Go.”
The bird squawked loudly in my ear, deafening me for a moment before he flapped off. I stopped, realizing I had nowhere to go. Irad?o took my pause as a lack of knowledge rather than a lack of destination.
“The emperor is this way.” She jerked her head, and I followed her to the center of the camp.
We had the information we needed by the next morning. Lord Domusho had been careful, but he hadn’t accounted for a ghost following him, nor Pito and Topi being able to finesse all of the details out of the servants in their new, secretive roles for the Kennel.
Terror had, grumpily, brought back the news that my old servant Zolle was now under Lord Domusho’s employ, and she had regularly been trailing behind Tallu’s caravan.
The other servants in Lord Domusho’s household were unhappy as they assumed Domusho was bedding her and might elevate her to the position of mistress.
When Terror followed her after we stopped in the evening, it became apparent that the only clandestine activities happening between Zolle and Domusho was information exchange.
She met a man dressed in local clothing but wearing expensive boots beyond what a local farmer could afford.
Domusho was using her to traffic information.
“One of Kacha’s men?” Tallu asked.
“Terror refused to follow him in the dark,” I said, eyeing the bird unhappily. He ignored me, feasting on his portion of pork. “Irad?o has one of the owls on it.”
The tent flap moved aside, letting in Sagam and the Kennelmaster. They both waited, until Tallu gestured at a chair with three fingers, and then the Kennelmaster sat, even though Sagam hesitated.
When Tallu gestured again, Sagam hastily sat.
“Well?” Tallu asked.
“As far as we can tell, they plan to wait until we pass beneath the Blood Mountains, specifically when we stop in Falcon Ridge Province. Lord Helli, who controls it, is sympathetic to Kacha, and plans to alert Kacha once we pass through.” The Kennelmaster spoke evenly.
“You knew this was a possibility when you insisted on dragging us across the continent.”
“He’ll kill me there, claim Prince Hallu, and have control of the Imperium in one go,” Tallu said. He leaned back, his fingers moving slowly, golden lamplight reflecting off of his rings.
“What would you like us to do, Your Imperial Majesty?” Sagam asked.
Tallu thought, his rings moving sparks of light across the walls of the tent. He glanced at me.
“The smartest move would be to avoid Falcon Ridge Province altogether,” I said. “We can take care of Domusho and his allies at Pine Thorn Province and leave Lord Helli alone. It will make you look smart, eluding a trap.”
“It will still leave Kacha with allies below the Blood Mountains,” Tallu said.
“The lord in charge of Falcon Ridge Province doesn’t have to stay in power,” I said. “But there is a difference between taking him out and risking your own life.”
“You would have me cower away from any possible threat,” Tallu said. He exhaled sharply, and I could smell something on his breath. Blood.
“I would have you live long enough to face your true enemies, rather than tangling with minor inconveniences. A true fisherman saves his hook for a fish that will fill his belly. He doesn’t waste his time on minnows.” I waited for Tallu to look at me and smile.
“Can the Dogs take care of Lord Helli?” Tallu asked. “Before we reach Pine Thorn Province? I would like to make a statement to the court.”
Sagam hesitated, glancing over at the Kennelmaster. He frowned. “We would have to use some of General Saxu’s men.”
“Bring me Lord Helli’s head,” Tallu ordered. “Use whichever men or tools you need in order to accomplish that goal.”
When they left, I crossed the room to him, kneeling in front of Tallu, pressing my hands to his knees and waiting for him to look at me.
“Are you well enough to play this game?” I asked. “We can sneak off, travel to Tavornai ourselves.”
“I have made this mess of the Imperium. My goal was to leave it broken enough that no one man could ever put the puzzle back together. Letting General Kacha keep his allies leaves him that much closer to the imperial throne.” Tallu pulled a smile, and I shook my head.
“The black throne should be unable to be claimed when we are done.”