Empire Of Blood

Chapter 9

The Emperor sat squarely on the black marble throne, as solid and unmoving as if he himself were part of the marble. His feet in cloth-of-silver boots with black spurs were spread slightly apart, his hands rested on the arms of the throne, and his large, dark eyes stared straight at the three men approaching him.

Kul-Nam was a good six inches shorter than Blade, but he must have been nearly as heavy. All of that weight was bone and muscle. Blade could see this clearly. The Emperor wore black trousers with a gold sash and above the waist only an embroidered red vest that left most of his massive torso visible. His olive-brown skin was tanned and weathered even darker, and seamed and corded with a warrior's muscles and a warrior's collection of scars. His head was shaved completely bare above the eyebrows, except for a long, black pigtail caught up in a silver ring. The emperor's bare skull gleamed so brightly that Blade had a moment's ludicrous thought that it might be waxed to give it that high polish.

Against one side of the throne leaned a long, curved sword in a jeweled scabbard, within easy reach of the Emperor's right hand. Against the other side leaned three short throwing spears with razor-sharp, silvered heads and red tassels on the butts. Three daggers were stuck in the Emperor's sash. He looked well equipped to deal with any armed opponent, ready to turn from emperor to warrior in the blink of an eye.

In each corner of the chamber stood four of the Corps of Eunuchs, in black tunics and red trousers. Three of each four carried two swords apiece, one long and one short. The fourth carried a crossbow slung across his chest. They stood as motionless as groups of statues, no sign of life showing in any of the sixteen except for an occasional flicker of an eyelash.

Duke Boros strode toward the throne, Tulu fell into line behind him, and Blade brought up the rear. Twenty feet from the throne they stopped, spread out, and prostrated themselves on the tiles of the floor. Blade was only seconds behind the other two men in going down on his face.

The Emperor's sharp eyes caught Blade's slight delay. A chill, harsh voice rang out, sending echoes chasing each other around the vast chamber.

«Who is this clumsy fool who knows not the proper forms of obedience to us? And why are you, Boros, so unwise as to bring him before us at a time when you should make all efforts to please us?»

The duke quivered, not in fear but in an obvious effort to restrain his anger at these lashing words. Without raising his head he spoke quickly. His words were muffled and distorted by his chin pressing against the tiles.

«This man is a stranger. He came to us in the borderlands, while we journeyed toward Your Magnificence. He told a tale of being a prince of a distant land, beyond the Steppes.»

«There is no such land. We would have known of it if there were.»

«Your Magnificence, I only repeat what this man said to us the night he came from the forest to meet us. Have I your gracious permission to continue?»

The Emperor made a fly-shooing gesture with his left hand. «Very well. We shall hear you out. It will be interesting to see how the House of Kudai has come to harbor strangers who tell monstrous lies.»

Both the duke and his son visibly winced at those last words. Blade suddenly felt a sensation like a hundred thousand ants with very cold feet marching up and down his spine. There was deadly danger in this room, danger for all three of them. Kul-Nam was not just bloodthirsty, whimsical, and tyrannical. He was mad or close enough to it to be a constant threat to those for whom his lightest word or whim meant life or death.

Duke Boros had the immense courage and coolness required to get through his whole story without stammering, hesitating, or leaving out a single detail. When he'd finished a long silence descended on the chamber like a weight. Blade could almost feel it pressing him against the floor until he began to find it hard to breathe.

The silence continued. Then suddenly the Emperor clapped both hands together. After the silence the clap sounded like a crash of thunder. Blade half expected the walls and ceiling of the great chamber to shatter and crash down on everyone inside.

Footsteps echoed around the chamber as four of the enuchs ran out from the far left-hand corner. As they approached, the Emperor picked up his sword, drew it, and laid the naked weapon across his silk-clad knees. As the eunuchs came up, he raised the sword and pointed at Blade.

«This man is a stranger come within the Empire. He says he is a prince of England, come to learn of the Empire. He lies. There can be no such land as England, therefore no princes from it. Kill him.»

Blade had only a moment to realize that he was about to die. Then he heard a cry of surprise from Duke Boros. The duke sprang up, dropping back onto his knees and reaching out both hands in a begging gesture toward the Emperor. Blade saw Kul-Nam's drawn sword swing around until its point was aimed directly at the duke. Light ran up and down the engraved steel like fire. The four eunuchs stared now at Blade, now at the duke, shifting their feet uneasily and keeping their hands on their weapons.

«Your Magnificence,» said the duke earnestly. «Can we ask of you that this man live?»

As polite as his tone was, the duke's words made the four eunuchs gasp in astonishment. Speaking to the Emperor without being spoken to first-monstrous! Blade sensed that now Duke Boros' and Tulu's lives as well as his own hung by a very thin and already frayed thread, one that the Emperor could snap for good with a word or a gesture.

The Emperor jerked his head up and down three times, in a grotesque parody of a gracious nod. «We shall hear your words, Lord of Kudai.»

«Your Magnificence is gracious beyond my poor deserts.»

«They are poor indeed. But speak, and we shall give you such attention as you may deserve.»

«This man is a stranger, true. He may or may not be telling the truth. But certainly while be has been within the borders of Saram he has done nothing against your peace, your honor, or any of your subjects. In fact, he did not kill my fighting men Tzimon and Dzhai when he could have done so. Thus he spared at least one good fighter for service against the Steppemen.»

The Emperor's eyebrows rose. «He spared a man he had defeated?»

«Yes, Your Magnificence.»

«It would seem then that this man who calls himself Prince Blade is quite mad. We are thus even more certain that he lies. If there were such a land as England, they certainly would not make madmen princes and send them to us.

«It does, however, seem to us that since he is a madman, he has small ability to do us harm. You say he is strong?»

«I have seldom seen a man so strong, Your Magnificence.»

«Good. Then it is our decree that this 'Prince Blade' be sent to the service of our galleys upon the Silver Sea. Let him use his strength there, and call himself a prince if he wishes. He will do us no injury by it.»

The Emperor pointed at Blade and the four eunuchs stepped forward to surround him and separate him from Duke Boros and Tulu. As they did so, the Emperor went on.

«We also wish to remind you, Boros of Kudai, that you have in some measure displeased us by speaking so boldly. We shall give only a light punishment, however. You shall within the next ten days give over to us for our service fifty fighting men and fifty serving men and women from your house. Those who have been free shall also be free in our service, and all shall return to you at the end of five years.» Blade had never in his life heard a more obvious lie. «Clearly, though, some will not return at all if you displease us further.»

At this point Blade was quite certain that there was indeed a madman in the chamber, and equally certain that it was not himself. He would have liked to express this opinion by walking over to the black marble throne and strangling the creature sitting on it very slowly with his bare hands.

It would in fact have been quite practical to dispose of the Emperor, although in a somewhat less stylish manner. The eunuch carrying the crossbow was standing just a little too close to Blade, and his weapon was cocked and loaded. Blade was quite sure he could snatch the bow and put the bolt through the Emperor's thick torso before anyone else could lift a finger, let alone a sword.

Then what? He would have earned himself certain death. He would also have earned it for Duke Boros and Tulu, and for how many others besides? With the Emperor dead, Saram would fall into chaos. Feuds, intrigues, plots for the throne, and the vengeance of the dead Emperor's men would take tens of thousands of lives. In that chaos the Steppemen would have a golden opportunity to strike. Their rule in Saram would probably be worse than even the rule of Emperor Kul-Nam.

No, he would not try to bring down the Emperor unless and until there was someone better to put in his place. He would go off to the galleys, looking like a good slave tamely submitting to his fate. He had been a slave before, in half a dozen different Dimensions. He was still alive, unlike most of the men who had themselves been his masters. He was reasonably sure he could do it all again.

So he stood where he was as the eunuchs closed in and drew out cords to bind his wrists behind him.