Chapter 1 #3
Gaping at me, Wituno frowned, looking between the spread of my palms. “Impossible. I checked the lieutenant before we put him in storage. The corpse was two weeks old, as long as it would take to arrive from the Krustavian border, but other than the missing head, there were no injuries. The flesh was bloated from time, but… insects that large?”
“They moved the body.” I picked off one of the pieces of insect carapace stuck to the edge of my boot, flicking it on the table. The hard outer shell slid to the doctor. “These are not normal insects.”
Carefully the doctor reached out, picking up the piece of the carapace, his expression going serious. “They may have only been eggs when I examined the body earlier. Perhaps they hatched. And grew that quickly.”
“We have long known that whatever dwells in the Krustavian Mountains is dangerous.” General Saxu laced his fingers together, his eyes fixed on his hands. “But this…”
“They crawled out of the dead man’s body. They were waiting.” I didn’t talk about the voice I had heard in my head, claiming that they wanted me personally. “Waiting for one person to be left alone with the body. They controlled it. The corpse sat up, moving under the control of these things.”
“The first time the Imperium tried to invade Krustau, the dwarves drove our forces off,” Saxu said. “The time after that, it was whatever lives in the dark under Mountain Thrown City that stopped us. Even the dwarves fear the darkest places in the mountain tunnels.”
“What else have you missed if you missed Krustau sending us a corpse filled with eggs?” Tallu asked.
Wituno paled, his throat working. He threw himself to the ground, face pressed against the wood. “I have no explanation, Your Imperial Majesty.”
“All messages and messengers passed through the Lakeshore Palace, and they noticed nothing amiss either,” Saxu said softly.
“If the guards in the Lakeshore Palace noticed nothing wrong with the bodies, perhaps what is called for is more skilled eyes on the border. More soldiers, but also more Dogs.”
“Would the Dogs see anything different from what the military does?” Tallu asked.
Saxu took his teacup into his hands and held it with only his fingertips pressing on the thin ceramic. He finally looked up, his dark eyes meeting Tallu’s. “Do your Dogs see anything different than the palace guard?”
Tallu tilted his head, the pause lengthening. He glanced over at his Dogs, and I only recognized the mask of one of them. Boro, a friend of the Dog I had killed to protect Miksha.
Toji had been assigned to guard me and then been unlucky enough to suspect Miksha and I were plotting something when I met her in the market. His death had been impossible to avoid, but it still lingered that if I’d just been more careful…
“I am sure they do,” Tallu said. “Are you suggesting the Kennelmaster’s spies see things your men do not?”
“His men are trained to blend in, as your Dogs do. The Kennelmaster is very good at what he does, and we need men who Krustau will not suspect.” General Saxu nodded his head, not quite a bow. “Your Imperial Majesty knows better than most how useful it is to be underestimated and invisible.”
“Fine. Tell the Kennelmaster to send his men now.” Tallu’s irritation was quickly stifled into nothingness, his expression mild again.
“By Your Imperial Majesty’s leave,” General Saxu said. He looked over at Commander Rede. “Let the Kennelmaster know I would speak with him.”
Commander Rede nodded and left the room, moving around the still-prostrated Wituno.
“Rise,” Tallu said.
The doctor got to his feet, his expression sick with misery. He stared down at the ground. “I—”
“Do not speak.” Tallu placed his hand flat on the table, his golden rings glinting in the light coming in from the tall window behind him. Backlit, he looked more statue than man, and his calm voice made Wituno twitch. “I should kill you. Your life is mine to take, do you understand?”
It wasn’t a real question, but Wituno nodded anyway.
“Know that I am watching you now. Know that there is nowhere you can hide if this was intentional. Know that if it was an attempt on my beloved’s life… death will not come for you. I will.” Tallu’s eyes fixed on Wituno, and the doctor paled further. “Leave us.”
Wituno bowed so low he was nearly prostrated again. He formed a triangle with his fingers and raised them above his head. Then he backed out of the room, closing the door behind him.
“General Saxu,” Tallu said, his voice quiet. “I want your men also on the border.”
“They are,” Saxu assured Tallu. “They cover the border as well as they can. Our forces are depleted. If Your Imperial Majesty prefers, attacking one of the generals will increase our numbers. Some, like General Bemishu, have men with them who are still loyal to the Imperium. If they are given the opportunity to return to your forces because we have defeated Bemishu, they will take it.”
“You are very confident.” Tallu’s long fingers curled around his teacup. “Are you in communication with them?”
“I merely offer options,” Saxu demurred. He reached over and served Tallu some of the food his people had prepared. “There is a strong chance that the Shadow King doesn’t have Prince Hallu and is, in fact, provoking you into a battle that will deplete your numbers further.”
“Perhaps.” Tallu looked down at the dishes.
“But it is not a chance I can take. If he has my brother, I must get him back. Send your men to the border. I want to know what is going to greet us before my husband and I set foot in the Lakeshore Palace. It would not do for me to suffer the same fate my father did when he stayed there.”
Saxu blinked, bowing low, and I couldn’t tell if he was shocked by Tallu’s decision to go to the fortress of a palace just across a lake from Krustau.
He straightened, and his expression was blank.
Tallu and I had discussed at length what needed to happen, what he needed to do, but this was the first time Saxu heard it from Tallu himself as a plan rather than a passing thought.
“You intend to meet the Shadow King?” Saxu asked.
“He has my heir,” Tallu repeated. His jaw clenched, Tallu stood, the motion shaking the table. He pointed at one of his Dogs, and I hid my wince at his choice. “You stay with Prince Airón.”
Tallu swept out, the remaining two Dogs with him.
When I glanced at Saxu, he stared after Tallu.
Gracefully, he poured me a fresh cup of tea.
“I wonder if, perhaps, you might speak to the emperor and discover whether his intention might be swayed. The King of the Shadow Throne isn’t known for his mercy, no more than a granite mountain might be merciful toward a man in a lightning storm. ”
“You think he’s killed Hallu?” I asked.
“Someone was entombed in the royal burial chamber. When presented with the bodies, they resembled the empress and Prince Hallu so closely that not even Emperor Tallu saw anything amiss. He recognized them as kin.” Saxu took a long drink of his tea.
“If the emperor sacrifices what’s left of his men on a rescue attempt, a dead prince serves King Inor’s purpose as well as a live one. ”
“But you believe the prince is dead.” I considered the complicated design on the teacup.
“I believe what my eyes have shown me. There is a child buried in Prince Hallu’s tomb.
” Saxu watched me carefully. “The promise given by the Dragon Seer to First Emperor Wollu was that his line would unite the continent. Prince Hallu is dead; he cannot fulfill the promise. The promise has driven our empire. If Emperor Tallu dies without an heir…”
I sipped my own cup, not tasting anything other than smoke. When I stood to leave, I tried to ignore the wave of anger coming off the Dog at the door.
“Boro,” I greeted. “It is good to see you again.”
“I am, as always, very pleased to be at your service,” Boro said. “Your Highness.”
“Of course.” I frowned and didn’t brush my hands over my weapons. Instead, I nodded at General Saxu. “I will discuss his intentions with His Imperial Majesty.”
Saxu showed me out, and I began the long walk back to Turtle House, knowing a man who wanted to kill me was at my back.