The Omen Machine

CHAPTER 64

Ludwig was pouring himself a last glass of wine when he heard the door behind him open and then close. There had been no knock.

He glanced back over his shoulder just enough to catch a glimpse of red leather. The familiar odor of blood reached his nostrils. It reminded him of being back at the abbey, of his work at extracting prophecy.

He turned around and took a sip of the wine as he leaned a hip against the table. It was late and he was tired.

Vika stood tall and straight, hands clasped behind her back, feet spread, chin held high, not meeting his gaze.

“Was everything satisfactory, Abbot Dreier?”

He strolled across the room toward her. “Everyone was terrified. We all heard the screams. After you came out, and before they all scattered, they caught a glimpse of the body. I especially liked the glare you gave them as you wiped the blood off your boots on the carpeting. Nice touch.”

Still, she did not meet his gaze. “Thank you, Abbot Dreier.”

“Did Orneta suffer a great deal?”

“Yes, Abbot, just as you instructed, I made sure that she suffered greatly.”

“Good. With a Mord-Sith doing such a thing right in front of their eyes, I’m sure that a great many of the representatives now think that Lord Rahl is a monster who cannot be trusted.”

“I am confident that they will rush into Lord Arc’s waiting arms,” she said.

“Yes,” he drawled, “I’m sure they will.”

She hesitated, licked her lips, and then had to ask. “Is your shoulder all right, Abbot? I was afraid that I might have gone too far.”

Ludwig pressed a hand over the center of the lingering pain and rotated his arm. “You did as needed to be done. The demonstration made the impression I wanted it to make. No one will ever think to connect us. They won’t know that you are with me.”

Her blue eyes finally turned, ice coming back into her gaze as it settled on him. “I am Lord Arc’s Mord-Sith, not yours.”

He shrugged. “A fine point that I find meaningless.”

“I don’t think that Lord Arc would find it meaningless.”

Ludwig lifted his hand toward her, releasing a flow of power into her middle as he took another sip of wine.

Vika’s eyes watered as she went to one knee. Her face turned nearly as red her leather outfit. Her arms crossed over her abdomen, over the unbearable agony he was twisting mercilessly into her. She toppled over on her side, groaning in helpless pain.

Mord-Sith were well practiced at tolerating pain. But they were not well practiced in tolerating the kind he could deliver or this much of it.

Her eyes went out of focus. He knew that she was looking beyond the world of life and into the world of the dead. He knew that she would not expect to return from the terror of that dark vision.

One did not often venture this far beyond the cusp of death and return.

It was a fine line of control. He held her there, at that place near the forever point. If she did not return from that dark place, he would not really care. Lovely as she was, there were always others.

He reminded himself that Hannis Arc would care.

Ludwig released her.

Vika gasped, trying to catch her breath, as she rolled onto her back. Her arms lay spread out wide to the sides as the world of life swirled in around her again. He could see her confusion at returning unexpectedly to life. She at last blinked, looking up at him, realizing where she was.

“Don’t ever get snippy with me again. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Abbot Dreier.”

“I don’t appreciate your insolence.”

She nodded as she struggled to her feet. “Please forgive my thoughtless disrespect.”

He waited until she was able to get fully upright. A tear trailed down her cheek.

“What about the rest of it?” he asked.

With a great effort not to show the lingering pain, she stiffly clasped her hands behind her back. Her posture was not quite as straight as before.

“I’ve taken care of it all, Abbot Dreier.” Vika swallowed, still trying to regain her composure. “I was able to get into the halls where Lord Rahl’s bedchambers are located and place the symbol outside his doors. I also placed the one outside King Philippe’s room when I saw him leave and his wife was alone.”

Ludwig took another sip of wine. “And did anyone see you as you went about your business?”

“Yes, Abbot. A number of people saw me, but none of them really looked at me. As you directed, though, I was careful not to let any of the Mord-Sith get a look at me. To everyone else, I was simply another one of Lord Rahl’s Mord-Sith. Everyone is used to seeing them in the palace. Fortunately, they have all been in red leather of late. Everyone who noticed me went to great pains to not pay any attention to me. You would have thought I was invisible.”

Ludwig smiled. He knew the truth of that. He knew when he had suggested it to Hannis Arc that she would be able to walk around in broad daylight, in plain sight, and no one would pay any attention to her. Hannis Arc, as powerful as he was, as clever as he was, was too insulated, too consumed with his own narrow obsessions, to know how things in the wider world worked. He could not accomplish what he did without Ludwig’s guidance.

“Good,” he said as he nodded in satisfaction. “Good.” He set down his glass. “Now that you’ve finished with what I wanted done, you need to leave. I don’t want to risk one of Lord Rahl’s Mord-Sith getting a look at your face. The longer you’re here, the greater the risk that someone will recognize that you’re not one of Lord Rahl’s Mord-Sith.”

“I am prepared and can leave immediately, Abbot Dreier.”

Ludwig nodded. “My coach is packed and waiting for me. I will shortly be leaving as well. After I’m away from the palace and the Azrith Plain and once into the woodlands you can join me in the coach for the journey home. I’m sure that Lord Arc is eager for your return.”

“Yes, Abbot Dreier, I am sure he is.”

He glanced up, looking for any hint of insolence in her cold, blue eyes, but he saw none.

“Is what I heard true, Abbot Dreier?”

“I don’t know. What did you hear?”

Vika hesitated a moment. “That a Mord-Sith was married. That such was the reason for the big ceremony and all the guests. I was busy carrying out my orders and didn’t see for myself if it was true.”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but that’s right. It’s why we’re all here, all of us representatives. We were invited to attend the grand celebration of Cara’s wedding.”

Vika let out a noisy breath. “I just don’t understand how a Mord-Sith could do such a thing.”

Ludwig shrugged. “The Mord-Sith here, under Lord Rahl’s rule, have gotten soft.”

She nodded as she stared off in private thoughts. “It must be.”

He stepped closer, walking around her, deliberately looking her over. He stopped close in front of her, looking into her blue eyes. She didn’t meet his gaze.

“Our work here is done for now. You need to be on your way. I don’t want to risk you being seen by the wrong person.”

Vika bowed her head. “I will leave straightaway and then join you when you reach the woodlands.”

Ludwig watched her shapely form from behind as she went to the door, watched the way she swayed and her hips moved. It would be an exciting change to have such a luscious creature after Orneta. Not that Orneta was bad, it was just that she was no Vika. Few women were.

But for now, like the other Mord-Sith, she belonged to Hannis Arc. One day, though, if Ludwig had his way, Lord Arc would not be around to make demands of her. One day, Abbot Dreier would be Lord Dreier and he would make his own demands.

It would require great care, though. Hannis Arc was a profoundly dangerous man. His occult abilities were not to be taken lightly. But he was also a man obsessed.

Ludwig pulled himself back from his pleasant contemplation. He had to be on his way. All the representatives who had lost faith in Lord Rahl and sworn allegiance to Lord Arc instead were leaving, going back to various parts of the empire. He wanted to be among them.