Blood of Empire

Chapter 42

Styke was awakened by a commotion in the Etzi Household compound. He was soon sitting on the edge of the bed, his boz knife lying across his lap as he tried to get his head around the sounds of a hushed, but angry confrontation. He couldn’t make out any words, but there were multiple voices involved.

He, Ka-poel, and Celine had been given a small room not far from the kitchens. It wasn’t a large space, and it suffered from being close to both the noise of the kitchens and the front gate, but it was private. He looked to the other bed, which lay perpendicular to his own against another wall, and listened for Celine’s quiet snores. She and Ka-poel were cuddled up together, but when he sought Ka-poel’s face, he saw the twin dots of the early-morning light reflecting off her eyes. She’d heard the ruckus, too.

He guessed by that light that it was around five or five thirty. He rubbed his eyes, then found his ring and slipped it on, followed by his pants and jacket. The voices outside continued. It might have nothing to do with him, but…

The thought ended with a gentle knock on the door. He got up to answer it, only to find Maetle waiting outside. She shifted from one foot to another. “You’re dressed?”

“Heard a commotion.”

“You’d better come,” she told him.

Styke stuck his knife in his belt and followed her out into the compound. It was just two short turns before they reached the front gate. Two groups had already gathered – one consisted of Etzi, the night watchman, and four of his Household guards. The sight of the other group almost made Styke miss a step, and he swore quietly. It was Ji-Patten, along with six of the city guard.

“You!” Ji-Patten snapped, taking two steps toward Styke.

Styke entered the courtyard, but only just, leaning against the kitchen wall and cocking his head at Ji-Patten. He didn’t have to pretend a yawn. It came naturally, and he made no gesture to stifle it. “How’s your leg?”

The dragonman’s nostrils flared, but he didn’t rise to the bait. “What did you say to your men the other day?” he demanded.

Styke raised both eyebrows. “I asked them how they’d been treated.”

“What else?”

“That’s it.”

“Liar.”

Styke sniffed and turned to Etzi. “What is this?”

Etzi frowned at the dragonman, then turned that frown on Styke. “They’re making serious accusations, Ben. I suggest you handle them respectfully.”

“From him?” Styke jerked his chin at Ji-Patten.

“From him,” Etzi confirmed, clearly reluctant to do so. “He is an agent of the emperor.”

Styke yawned again and stood up straight, dropping a half bow toward Ji-Patten. “O mighty dragonman, what are you so angry about this morning?”

“Ben!” Etzi hissed.

“I will not allow you to goad me, foreigner,” Ji-Patten growled. “If the laws didn’t prevent it, I would teach you respect.”

“You think you can do that with six men?” Styke asked, jerking his head toward the guardsmen behind Ji-Patten. He was beginning to get annoyed himself. “You want a bigger limp? Is that what you want?” He caught himself, remembering Celine’s words – remembering that he was a guest here. Gritting his teeth, he snapped his head back and forced down his own rising ire. Etzi’s scowl deepened, and Styke held up one hand to forestall whatever he was about to say.

“I apologize,” Styke growled. “Not enough sleep, you see? What can I do for the Servant of the Emperor?”

Etzi took a deep breath, nodding at Styke’s apology and then turning expectantly to the dragonman. Ji-Patten’s eyes remained narrowed, but he bit back his tone when he next spoke. “One of your men has escaped.”

“Oh?” Styke asked, trying to sound surprised.

“The Palo. During the changing of the guard at midnight. No one noticed until just an hour ago.”

“Have you bothered to look for him?”

“Of course. We’re scouring the city and widening our net. He will be found. What I want to know is what you said to him the other day.”

“I already told you,” Styke insisted. “I inquired whether they were being treated well. Nothing more. I didn’t have time to before your guards hustled me out.”

“If you had nothing to do with this, then you must help us find him,” Ji-Patten said. “He must be returned to his cell until this… suit of yours has been resolved.” His eyes darted briefly to Etzi.

“What do you expect me to do?” Styke demanded. “Ride through the city calling his name? Neither of us knows anything about this place. I don’t know why he escaped – certainly not on my orders – but he should be easy enough to find.” Styke narrowed his eyes. “How do I know that you haven’t snatched him yourself?”

Ji-Patten looked taken aback.

Styke pushed on. “You’ve already shown that you have no problem murdering an old woman in a nighttime ambush. What’s to say you didn’t snatch one of my men to take him off for questioning?” Styke feared that perhaps he was right. What if Sedial’s men had snatched Jackal before he was able to escape, and had taken him away to be questioned by bone-eyes? He’d have to check with Ka-poel to see if she was protecting Jackal.

“That’s preposterous,” Ji-Patten objected. It was clear he wasn’t used to being confronted in such a manner. As a dragonman, he probably expected everyone to bow and scrape – even the Household heads.

“It better be,” Styke said. “I protect my men. You find him – for his own safety – or you’ll have me to answer to.” Despite his fears, he grinned inwardly. Too bad Celine couldn’t see him now. Terrible actor – bah.

Ji-Patten looked from Styke to Etzi and then back at Styke. “Damn you both. There will be consequences for this.” He pointed a finger at Styke. “The first is this: As an agent of the emperor, I bar you from seeing the foreign prisoners until this suit is over.” He whirled suddenly and strode out through the open gate, heading toward the horses waiting at the other end of the long causeway. Styke noticed that his limp was less pronounced, as if it was healing quickly, and he thought of the sorcery that had kept Orz from dying due to a punctured lung. If they did end up fighting, that wound would not give Styke as much of an advantage as he wanted.

The compound gate was soon closed, and Etzi ran a hand across his face. He was clearly exhausted, his cheeks flushed, bags beneath his eyes, and hair mussed. He took several long breaths before turning to Styke. “What…,” he began, then held up a hand. “Never mind. I don’t want to know.” He stepped forward and said in a voice low enough not to be overheard by his guardsmen. “One of your horses went missing. Two hours ago. The boy watching the stables said that it just disappeared. Do you know anything about that?”

“No,” Styke answered. How Jackal had managed to slip into the stables and out again on a warhorse without waking anyone up was beyond him.

“Good.” Etzi let out a shaky breath. “I hope whatever you’re doing is worth not speaking to your men again. This will make my task more difficult.”

“I’m not doing anything,” Styke said. The words came out dull and heavy. Not very convincing.

“Of course not,” Etzi said, waving the subject off. “I’m going back to bed. I suggest you do the same.”

Styke followed Etzi’s suggestion, returning to the guest room, where he found both Ka-poel and Celine sitting up in bed. He removed his shirt and sat down on his own, yawning. “Do you have anything on that Ji-Patten?” he asked Ka-poel.

She shook her head and gestured. Dragonmen are more cautious about not leaving behind detritus for bone-eyes. Styke didn’t need Celine to translate.

“Makes sense. Well, if you get the opportunity don’t hesitate. That bastard is starting to annoy me.”

Ka-poel pressed her lips into a hard line. I am spread thin.

“So you can’t help?”

I’ll do what I can. But a dragonman is harder because of the sorcery that gives him his strength.

“How about my Lancers?” Styke asked. “If they are questioned by a bone-eye, can you keep them from being compelled to answer?”

That tight-lipped expression turned up into a wicked little smile. They’ve already tried.

“And you didn’t tell me?” Styke took in a sharp breath and swore.

They were… unsuccessful. And quite baffled as to why.

Styke frowned. “Good. Wait. Could this tip your hand to Ka-Sedial? He doesn’t know you’re here, but if he finds out…”

I understand. I’m being very cautious.

“I hope so.” Styke looked at Celine. “You should go back to sleep, little one.”

“I will,” she yawned. “Are you going to fight Ji-Patten?”

“Maybe.”

“Don’t let him kill you.”

“I don’t intend to.”

Celine got up and joined Styke, sitting on the edge of his bed and putting her head in the crook of his arm. Her expression was very serious. “I mean it. You’re not allowed to let him kill you.”

“How do you like the kids here?” Styke asked, changing the subject.

“They’re fun,” Celine said dismissively. “A lot nicer than the kids in Landfall. Jerio is my favorite, though.” Her tone became suddenly excited at the mention of his name. “He’s very clever. And very funny, too. He doesn’t let the bigger kids bully him. They’re almost as afraid of him as they are of me.”

“Why is that?”

“Because he doesn’t back down.” She scowled. “That’s not allowed here.”

“Here?”

Ka-poel’s hands flashed from across the room. Styke nodded to her to repeat herself. She means in this society.

“Ah. People here aren’t allowed to stand up for themselves?” he asked Celine.

She waggled her head from one side to the other. “Kind of? It’s not that they can’t, it’s just that they’re expected to do what they’re told by people stronger or more powerful than them. I heard one of the adults call Jerio a troublemaker because he thinks for himself.”

“He was polite to me.”

“Like I said, he’s clever.”

“Clever to be polite to the biggest man in the compound?” Styke asked, amused.

Celine nodded matter-of-factly.

“So this Jerio doesn’t bow and scrape to the kids bigger than him – only to the people he considers to be worth the subservience?”

“What does ‘subse…’ ‘subse…’ ”

“ ‘Subservience’?” Styke explained the meaning of the word.

“Exactly,” Celine said. “He won’t subserve to people who can’t actually hurt him.”

Styke tapped his ring, thinking about the confrontation with Ji-Patten and the impression that he didn’t know how to deal with a soldier who stood up to him. There were levels to the politics here that he could only sense on the edges of his awareness. Etzi was more confident with those levels, and Celine seemed to have already sussed them out. He wondered, if all of them survived this war, whether he should let Celine spend time with Lindet. They would either love or loathe each other. Celine certainly was already showing she had a mind closer to Lindet’s than his own.

He took a deep breath, thinking of Orz’s words the other day – the promise he’d requested of Styke to fight and kill Ji-Patten. “If something happens to me, I want you to keep your head down. Survive.”

Celine squeezed his hand and said in a sleepy voice, “Don’t worry, I will. But nothing is going to happen to you, Ben. You’re too strong.”

Styke looked across at Ka-poel. She wore a small smile, gazing at Celine. The moment she noticed Styke’s glance, the smile disappeared and she lay down, rolling over to put her back to him. He wondered, not for the first time, what she was up to every day. Biding her time. Making plans. Preparing for that storm he sensed on the horizon.

Probably making better use of her time than carving a wooden army for the Household kids. Styke leaned back in bed, letting Celine settle against his shoulder. She soon dozed off, filling the room with her soft snores.

Styke was awakened again by a knock on the door. He gently slid Celine off his shoulder and padded over to answer it, only to find Etzi standing outside. One of his guards was shadowing him, something that Styke hadn’t seen before.

Etzi wore a worried frown. He looked up at Styke, hesitating a moment, then said, “There is nothing you can do, but I wanted to let you know that Sedial’s counterattack has begun.”

“In what form?” Styke asked.

“Mobs,” Etzi said. “They began this morning. They’re roaming the city, posing as discontented laborers angry about the foreigners in the city. Several slaves were caught and lynched.”

“You’re sure this has to do with us?”

“I have no proof,” Etzi said, “but I am certain. Only seven Dynize were murdered by the mobs. All of them belonged to my Household.”

“Shit,” Styke breathed.

“Yes. Yes indeed. It has begun, Ben Styke. I would like to say that you are safe within the compound, but… sleep with your knife at your side.”