After The Rabbit (Waldo Rabbit Series) (5 page)

Darius twisted about as though he had been stabbed. “What good would that do? None of their people are in our territory!”

“It seems the appropriate response,” Lilith said.

“I agree,” Gawreth sat back down. “A perfect answer.”

“It makes us look weak,” Dante said.

“Well, you would know all about that,” Lilith said, unable to resist getting in a dig.

“As would your son.”

Lilith stared at the despicable old man. That was a better retort than he usually managed.

“Closing the border is sheer stupidity!” Darius waved his arms about. “The only answer is war!”

“Your answer for everything,” Gawreth said.

“Because it is the
only
answer!”

“Give it up Darius,” Lilith said. “We all know what you are aiming for. You are just using this as an excuse.”

Baldwin nodded. “Your true agenda is a war with Avalon and the Alliance.”

“It’s not like you have ever kept it a secret,” Gawreth said.

“So what?” Darius slammed both hands on the table. “Why will none of you understand? We must go to war with them!”

“They are our enemies,” Tiberius said.

“War seems the only answer,” Dante said.

“Were this a war with Dregal alone, I think we would all support you,” Baldwin said in a calm manner. “I believe we would even agree if it meant fighting all three of the northern kingdoms. Going to war when Avalon would almost certainly intervene is another matter. There is no guarantee we could defeat the Alliance, and even if we were to triumph, they are too far away for us to occupy. The best we could hope for is a costly victory which would still leave our enemies intact.”

“We cannot avoid fighting them, and the longer we delay the stronger they become! Visit any court in a hundred different lands, and what will you find? White Mages spreading their lies, winning converts, and turning countries against us. Every day we do nothing they spread their poison. Now, Dregal is in their camp. Tomorrow it will be Lothas, then Wylef, and before too much longer we will be encircled by Alliance armies! Every day they grow stronger, and we grow weaker! War is inevitable, and for us the sooner the better!”

Tiberius and Dante nodded, while Lilith, Baldwin, and Gawreth looked on stonily.

Lilith glanced at Xilos Soulbreaker. He was the only member of the Council not to have spoken. Xilos simply sat passively. He had never been in favor of war with the Alliance. Had Darius brought Xilos into the war camp? It would be difficult; Xilos could not be easily bribed, and he was not new to the Council as was Tiberius.

Whether he had or not would soon be evident.

Darius put his shoulders back and lifted his chin. “I declare we should go to war with Dregal and punish their impertinence. Let the Council of Seven speak.” 

“I say no,” Gawreth said.

“I say yes,” Tiberius said.

“No,” Baldwin said.

“Yes,” Dante said.

“No,” Lilith said.

Six sets of eyes turned to Xilos. He leaned back and chuckled. “Well, this is a rarity. I usually don’t get so much attention.”

“Side with me,” Darius said. “Think of the spoils! All the land and slaves each of us will take.”

“Consider the cost of a defeat against the whites and if the gain is worthwhile,” Baldwin said.

Xilos held out both hands and alternately lifted and lowered them like scales. “You both make excellent points. If only there were something to tip the balance.”

Lilith scowled. House Soulbreaker was wealthy enough and could not be easily bribed, but Xilos had no issue with twisting the situation to his advantage. It was at moments like these that Lilith wondered if their system of government might be flawed.

“Five thousand gold skulls if you vote with me,” Lilith said.

“Six!” Darius said.

“Seven,” Lilith said.

“I will add a thousand, as well,” Baldwin said.

“So will I,” Gawreth said.

It was common knowledge that Corpselover was far and away the richest of the Houses. Blooddrinker was the second.

Darius glanced to his right. Tiberius pretended not to notice. He did not even bother to look to Poisondagger. With a snort of disgust he crossed his arms and sat.

“Well, then, things are made clear.” Xilos let one hand drop to the table and lifted the other past his shoulder. “I say no.”

And with that war was avoided.

For the time being.

XXX

Baldwin put forward a motion to close the border with Dregal. It was passed unanimously. Knowing he would not get his declaration of war, Darius accepted this lesser alternative.

As Lilith returned home, she knew what she would teach Hera today. Her apprentice would begin to learn just how politics and government in Alteroth worked.

Chapter 4

A Stab
in the Back

Skilled hands strummed strings and slapped drums, while lips played flutes and other instruments. No less than sixteen musicians stood in a corner of the hall, providing a pleasant background to the evening meal.

In a dozen silver lamps, myrrh was burning, filling the vast chamber with sweet, smoky fragrance. Three long tables were placed end to end, and eighty nine people were seated at them. There were ninety place settings and ninety chairs, but one was left deliberately open. Upon the table were whole roasted pigs, chickens, and sheep. Baked fish, as well as succulent beef and venison, were piled high. Fresh baked bread, fruit, nuts, and vegetables were there, with only the best wine to wash it all down. For dessert there would be cakes and pies and puddings. All of them served by elven maidens dressed in silks any woman would be happy to wear.

Anywhere else, such a lavish spread would be reserved for a feast day or some other special occasion. In Castle Poisondagger, this was an ordinary meal.

Celton Poisondagger was seated eighth from the head of the table on the right side. He was the firstborn of Dante Poisondagger and his first wife Cecilia. Celton was a fifty-one-year-old archmage with decades of experience in helping to run the family estates. He had been entrusted to handle many delicate matters and knew how to be both subtle and forceful. Most of his time had been spent cleaning up his father’s many messes.

Celton glanced to where the musicians were playing, to the lamps giving off wisps of grayish smoke, to the elven slaves in all their beauty and splendor, and to all the delicious food weighing down the table. All he could think of was the cost of it all, the waste. After a time, the music, incense, and servants all faded into the background. Even the food and drink grew bland when every meal was a feast.

He glanced about the dining hall. More than anywhere else in the castle, this was a showplace. There were tapestries imported all the way from Trebizon, portraits and paintings commissioned from various artists, suits of armor made of silver, enchanted weapons and shields, and marble statues were to be seen all along the walls. They were all nothing more than garish displays meant to impress people with how cultured and prosperous the Poisondagger family was. It reminded Celton of a coward who bought a huge sword and then went about telling everyone about how very brave he was.

The truth was the family
should
have been doing well. They did not own any gold or silver mines, but they had plenty of land and people. In Alteroth, taxes were not paid to the central government. Each House took as much as it pleased from the slaves and serfs it controlled. The tiny fraction of free citizens were exempt. Of course it also fell on each House to maintain the roads, enforce the laws, and provide military protection in the territories they controlled. The Great Families enjoyed both the advantages and burdens that came with complete autonomy.

The Poisondaggers had as much territory as any other House. The farms and villages produced plenty of food. The towns and cities made consumer goods. All of which belonged to the family. It should have been plenty. The other families never had any financial issues.

Yet their territory was plagued by bandits, the roads were becoming unsafe, the troop levels were barely adequate, and in the last several years there had been riots. People understood what would happen to those who opposed a Great Family’s will. That so many were ready to run the risk spoke volumes about how bad things were becoming. Their slaves and serfs accepted they were going to be exploited, but they would not accept being denied the essentials. Slaves needed to be fed, given shelter, and provided at least some sense of security. Even the most dimwitted apprentice knew that much.

People were beginning to go hungry, because his father had ordered more and more of his lands to be used to grow tobacco rather than food crops. In the cities and large towns, crime was becoming increasingly common, and in some, gangs were beginning to form. The police forces and garrisons were underfunded and undermanned. The incompetence and corruption of the local authorities exacerbated these problems.

The governors and overseers were all members of the extended family, relatives who felt entitled to stuff their own pockets. Every House had to deal with a certain amount of corruption, and, in general, the problem was ignored so long as it remained manageable. Due to his father’s stupidity, though, the issue had grown worse over the years. In certain areas as much as half of the revenues that should have been raised disappeared without a trace. Celton had gone to these spots and had the worst offenders publicly executed as examples. This would improve the situation for a short time, but eventually greed would always overpower fear.

At the head of the table sat his father, Dante Poisondagger, patriarch of the Poisondagger family and member of the Council of Seven. Sitting to his immediate left was his ninth wife. Katrina was eighteen and younger than some of his father’s grandchildren. The old man looked to have not a care in the world. He was laughing at whatever nonsense Katrina was spewing out of her penis-gobbling hole. Everyone close to the head of the table laughed as well, only too eager to try and please. His father was eating some lemon pudding. With his rotten teeth, his diet consisted only of soft foods and strong wine. He cared not at all for the business of running his House and preferred to conserve his strength for his pleasures instead.

We should have killed him years ago,
Celton thought.
Then we wouldn’t be in such a mess.

Celton shifted his focus to the empty seat to his father’s immediate right. A plate, goblet, and utensils had been put there, but no one was ever allowed to sit in the chair. As his father’s first born son, Celton knew there were many countries where he would have been the legitimate heir. In Alteroth, however, it didn’t matter who was born first. What mattered was power and reputation. The head of a family was expected to choose the candidate with the greatest ability as the successor. This normally led to fierce competition among all the contenders to prove themselves. It was a wonderful system designed to weed out the weak and reward those ruthless enough to do whatever was necessary to stand above the rest.

The person who was heir was always seated to the immediate right of the family head. The proximity of where you sat at the table was a reflection of your standing within the family. Your place was never set in stone. Yesterday, he had been seated ninth on the left side. The day before, he had been sixth on the left side, and the day before that, he had been twelfth on the right side. Within the main family, there were seven candidates to replace father, himself included. They were constantly being shifted about, as if in a game of ninepins. The chairs closest to the front were always occupied by the wives and by weaklings who were no threat to the succession. The heir’s seat was always empty, and Dante made it obvious he had no intention of ever naming someone to inherit.