Blades of the Old Empire (14 page)

“It’s getting late,” Egey Bashi said. “We should get some sleep.”

Kyth surveyed his bed. Its roughly hewn wood was barely covered by a thin straw mattress, dry stems sticking through the holes. The blanket thrown over it resembled a thick grain sack. A small hard pillow was filled with something heavy and dense that felt like sand. All in all, the bed didn’t look too inviting, but Kyth was tired enough to try.

Alder had already stretched on top of his blanket. Kyth envied his foster brother’s capacity to fall asleep anywhere, without giving too much consideration to simple human comforts. He reached over and covered Alder with a cloak. Alder mumbled sleepily and pulled the cloak over his head.

As Kyth bent down to take off his boots, he heard a creak outside in the hallway. A thin blade slid into the gap between the door and the frame and threw the latch off the hook with a click.

Kyth quietly reached for his sword, exchanging a meaningful glance with Egey Bashi at the other side of the room. But before any of them could move, the blade disappeared and the door swung open.

A cloaked figure stepped into the room.

“Kara!” Kyth breathed out.

He was so glad to see her he was at a loss for words. He wanted to rush forward to greet her, but he noticed the paleness of her face, the feverish gleam in her eyes, and the set of grim resolve in the lines of her full mouth.

“What’s wrong?” he asked quietly.

She closed the door behind her and brushed past, flinging a bag off her shoulder onto an empty bed. “We’re leaving. Now.”

“
We
?” Alder sat up, pulling the cloak off his face.

“You and Kyth are coming with me.”

“Where?”

She ignored the question as she undid the strings of the bag and took out a bundle. After further unfolding it revealed two black outfits, similar to those many Majat wore throughout the grounds. She handed one to Kyth and threw the other one to Alder.

“Put it on,” she said. “Quick.”

“But why? Where’re we going?”

“To the Grasslands.”

Kyth looked at her in disbelief. “But we haven’t even seen your Guildmaster yet. Did you tell him about me? Did he send you to protect me?”

She averted her eyes. “No.”

“What’s going on, Aghat?” Egey Bashi demanded.

She turned to him. Again, she hesitated before answering. “There’s been a change of plans. The Guildmaster’s not going to send anyone with you. And believe me, it’s best if you don’t question me any further.”

“Best for whom?” Alder asked.

Her gaze hardened. “Get dressed.”

Alder looked at the heap of clothes in his lap. “Aren’t you going to step outside while we change?”

“No. But if you’re
that
shy, I’ll turn around and count to ten. You’d better be done by then.” She turned her back and stood still.

Kyth and Alder exchanged a glance.

“Better do what she says,” Egey Bashi suggested.

“Four,” Kara said.

Kyth and Alder rushed over to the heaps of clothes on their beds.

The Majat outfits consisted of loose shirts and tight pants. They were surprisingly comfortable. Silky cloth fell right into place, the folds fitting exactly – comfortable with no suppression of movement. When Kyth finished dressing and pulled on his boots, he felt fit and ready for action.

“Done?” Kara asked, her back still turned.

“Yes,” Kyth said.

“No!” Alder exclaimed almost at the same time.

She turned around. Alder was still struggling with his boots. She came over and picked up his gear, waiting. Alder finished and hastily straightened up.

He looked dashing in the new outfit. Gray eyes and blond hair made a striking contrast with the black cloth, whose loose folds, tucked into the wide belt, made his shoulders seem even wider and the waist even narrower than they already were. He looked graceful and fit, just like the ranked Majat they’d seen today. Even under the circumstances Kyth couldn’t help but admire his foster brother. He hoped he looked half as handsome.

He stuffed spare clothes into his pack and flung it onto his shoulder.

“Let’s go,” Kara said.

Kyth hesitated. “Aren’t you going to tell us
anything
?”

“There’s no time,” she snapped.

“Really, Aghat,” Egey Bashi joined in. “This seems like a major change of plans compared to the time we last saw you. You should tell us
something
.” He was also putting things into his pack.

Kara’s eyes fixed on his face. “You’re not coming.”

“Out of the question,” Egey Bashi said calmly. “Unless you give me a
really
good reason.”

She looked around the room in exasperation. “We’re out of time!”

“Why?”

She paused, her gaze wavering.

“Nimos and his men,” she said quietly, “are stationed in the room next to you. At dawn, they’re going to capture Kyth and Alder and take them away. And the Majat Guild is not going to interfere.”

Egey Bashi looked at her in disbelief. “I thought that as long as we’re here to hire the Majat services, we’re all under the protection of the Guild.”

She met his eyes. “Nimos hired
me
to help with the capture and ensure that Kyth and Alder can be safely taken to his secret stronghold. He also paid our Guildmaster to ensure that no Majat will be sent on a conflicting assignment. Which means the Guild won’t protect Kyth and Alder against Nimos’s men, here or anywhere else.”

They all gaped. What she said seemed impossible.

“Hired
you
?”

“By name. He paid three times the price of a Diamond.”

“And what do you intend to do?” Egey Bashi asked slowly.

“I’m going to take Kyth and Alder out of here and to the Grasslands, to meet with the Cha’ori.”

“Why?”

For a moment she was very still.

“Is there any other choice?” she asked quietly.

Egey Bashi looked at her, and it seemed to Kyth that there was a silent conversation going on between them.

“No,” the Keeper said.

She nodded. “At dawn, they’ll notice our absence. This is why we have so little time.”

“And why don’t you want me to come along?” Egey Bashi asked.

“Because,” she said, “there’s nothing you can do to help.”

There was another pause as their gazes held on to each other, a conversation going on within.

“What about your Guild?” Egey Bashi asked quietly. “It can’t possibly be good for you to disobey your orders.”

Her gaze became stern. “That’s none of your concern.”

“If we’re putting you in danger because of helping us,” Kyth protested, “we can’t go. I won’t. I’d rather face Nimos and his men.”

“Danger?” Her lips twitched and folded into a distant smile. “There’s only a handful of warriors who can match me, and none of them can beat me in single combat. What possible danger could there be for me?”

Kyth hesitated. Her words made sense, but he had a feeling there was something she wasn’t telling him.

“One thing doesn’t make sense,” Egey Bashi said.

“What?” Kara asked.

“Nimos’s behavior. First, he makes very sure that we all know of his bad intentions and that all of us, especially you, can’t stand his presence. Then, he pays an exorbitant sum of money to hire
you
for this mission. If I’m not mistaken, any other Diamond would do the job just fine. And any of them would certainly be more agreeable than you.”

She shrugged. “It may be so. But whatever his plan, it leaves us with very few options.” She took out three pieces of black cloth and handed two of them to Kyth and Alder. “Put these on, and get your packs. Hurry.”

“What’s this?” Alder asked. But before he could get the answer, she already unfolded hers and pulled it over her face.

“The Anonymous mask?” Alder asked in disbelief.

She turned to him, eyes gleaming through the slits in the black cloth. “I said,
move
. Or do you want me to knock you out and carry you?”

Given the difference in their size the suggestion seemed ridiculous, but Alder didn’t laugh. He pulled on the mask at double speed and flung the pack and the sheathed axe over his shoulder.

“Wait, Aghat!” Egey Bashi called out.

Kara’s shoulders stiffened.

“Are you certain there’s nothing else that could be done?” the Keeper asked quietly.

She turned around slowly, her look forcing the Keeper to take an inadvertent step back.

“Yes, there is,” she said. “I could knock
you
out and stop you from interfering with our departure.” She nodded to Kyth and Alder and put her hand on the doorknob, then paused.

“Actually, there
is
one thing you could do, Magister. I’m sure you can’t wait to run off to warn Raishan, or to attempt to talk some sense into the Guildmaster. If you want Kyth and Alder to survive, don’t do any of this until they notice our absence. We can’t have anyone raise the alarm before we’re well out of the city.”

She turned and waited for his nod of acknowledgment. Then she opened the door and noiselessly slid through. Kyth and Alder followed.

They didn’t talk as they sped down the sleeping streets to the East Gate. The occasional guards they came across shied sideways as soon as they saw the masks and the gleam of the diamond in Kara’s armband. No one dared to interfere with the Anonymous, especially if one of them was of the Diamond rank.

As they saddled the horses and made their way to the gate, Kara gave a hand sign to the Jade guard captain. The Jade hastily signaled ahead to open the gate. Kara didn’t say a word as they rode past the saluting guards and out of the city. In less than ten minutes they were halfway up the hill, chilly night wind finding its way through the holes in the masks and the gaps in the travel cloaks. As they rode on, Kara never looked back.

Oden Lan unclenched his fist and looked at the broken glass in his hand. Some of the pieces went deep into the skin. Blood trickled down his wrist and onto the polished table.

He took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped his arm, keeping his eyes on the two men standing in front of his desk. The metal of their armbands glittered in the light from the window, making the suffused gleam of the jades look dull by comparison.

“She violated the Code, Guildmaster,” said the one on the left, a pale man with straight black hair and a piercing gaze.

Oden Lan gave him a heavy stare. “You don’t have to tell me about the Code, Gahang Khall. I know what must be done.”

He got up from his desk and walked over to a small cabinet on the wall. Keeping his back to the two Jades, he reached for the key hanging round his neck, moving slowly so that the tremble in his fingers wouldn’t be so obvious. In all his years at the Guild, his fingers had never trembled before. It was annoying to see that a simple matter of upholding the Code could bring this on.

Once the cabinet was unlocked, he reached inside and took out a throwing star from the stack at its back. His fingers traced the familiar rune even before he had a chance to read it, and each of its bends echoed in his soul. He didn’t have to look to know what it said.

Black.

Oden Lan took the token over to the table and put it down. It looked so different from the
other
token that he’d held in his hands yesterday afternoon.
That
token was set with a purest white diamond, whose luster was enough to bring light into the room. The diamond set into the center of this one was black. It was cut and polished exactly like the other one, but it didn’t glow. Instead, it seemed to absorb light. As Oden Lan put it on the table, it seemed for a moment as if the sun had gone behind a cloud in the clear morning sky.

The two Jades exchanged uneasy glances. Even though every ranked Majat knew about these tokens, no one among the current Guild members had ever seen one. The fact that it had to be brought out for the first time in hundreds of years because of someone Oden Lan cared for so much, made it worse.

He felt warm liquid trickle down his hand and lowered his gaze to realize he had clenched his injured fist again. He slowly unclenched it and wrapped the damp handkerchief around it.

“Choose one of your best, Gahang Khall,” he said to the Jade. “And, have someone send for Master Nimos. He must be told what has happened.”

The Jades saluted with fists to their chests and strode out of the room. When they were gone, Oden Lan stood for a moment longer, staring ahead with unseeing eyes. Then he reached for the bell on his desk and rang. A moment later a guard appeared noiselessly in the doorway.

“Have someone clean up this mess,” Oden Lan said, looking away. “And don’t disturb me until I call again.”

He took a clean sheet of parchment out of the desk, careful not to touch it with the bleeding hand. Then he walked over to a small table near the window and settled down to write.

Oden Lan had just pressed his personal seal against the wax when he heard a commotion at the door. It sounded as if somebody was trying to storm his study, and the Majat guard at the door was having trouble holding them back.

Oden Lan strode to the door and flung it open. “I
said
I was not to be disturbed.”

The man nearest to the door flipped off his hood to reveal a dark, bear-like face crossed by the ugliest scar Oden Lan had ever seen.

“Magister Egey Bashi,” he said stiffly. “What a pleasant surprise.”

“I assure you the pleasure’s all mine.” The Keeper’s smile looked more like a scowl.

Behind him were two more shapes. One, a slim, muscular man with a ruthless look in his slanting gray eyes was the Diamond, Raishan. The other, whose long, incredibly expressive face was crossed by deep lines of age, was the old weapon keeper, Abib. They stood, shoulder to shoulder, their expressions of resolve showing the Guildmaster that they would not yield their positions even in the face of death.

“What in the hell do you want?” Oden Lan’s voice rang with steel.

Abib stepped forward. “Now, Aghat,” he said soothingly. “All we want to do is to talk. We didn’t mean to make so much noise. It’s just that the young lad here at the door wouldn’t listen to reason.”

“The ‘young lad’ had his orders.”

Abib smiled and straightened out the sleeve of his robe. “And he followed them to the letter. Very commendable indeed. Now, may we come in, Aghat?”

“No.” Oden Lan moved to shut the door, but Magister Egey Bashi slid forward with unexpected speed and put a foot in its way.

Oden Lan raised eyes full of surprise to the Magister. In all his years as the head of the Guild, he had never been confronted in this way. It was so unexpected that he couldn’t even find room for anger.

“Is this some sort of mutiny?” he asked.

“By no means.” Egey Bashi kept his foot in place to make sure that the door stayed open. “Mutiny could only be initiated by your subordinates. As it is, Aghat Raishan and Master Abib are only standing here.
I’m
the one to confront you, and I am in no way your subordinate.”

Oden Lan’s eyes narrowed. “I can see you have it all worked out.”

Abib stepped forward to the Magister’s side. “Come now, Aghat Oden Lan. We mean no disrespect. We just need to talk. Can we, please?”

Oden Lan suddenly felt very tired. He flung the door open and stood aside, letting them in.

Abib walked in first and glanced around the room. Despite his advanced years he still moved with cat-like grace and his eyes, blue and innocent, never missed a single detail. Oden Lan saw these eyes pause on a blooded chip of glass that the cleaners had missed during their hurried sweep through the Guildmaster’s study. He had an uncomfortable feeling that the man knew exactly what it was, but the old weapon keeper didn’t say anything. He crossed the room and settled in his favorite armchair at the side of the desk.

Oden Lan walked over and sat down in his own chair. He didn’t offer seats to Raishan and the Keeper.

“What do you want to talk about?” he asked dryly, careful not to look at any one of the three men.

“We’re here because of Kara,” Abib said.

Oden Lan stiffened. The sound of her name made him feel as if he had been hit in the gut.

“I have a feeling,” he said, “that after all this trouble of getting in, you’re going to say what you came to say, whether I want to hear it or not. So, say it quickly and get out.”

“If you weren’t so emotional about this, Aghat,” Abib said, “it would have been as obvious to you as it is to us that Aghat Kara has been set up by a very clever plot.”

“
Kara
,” Oden Lan said, forcing himself to pronounce it without a flinch and emphasizing by his tone the absence of a title in front of her name, “has disobeyed her orders, abandoned an assignment, and violated the Code. You know perfectly well that I have no choice in what must be done.”

Raishan stepped toward the desk so fast that his shape blurred. Oden Lan blinked. Even when he felt his worst he would never stop admiring the Diamonds’ quality of movement. Each Diamond was unique, a true piece of art. To think that Kara had been his best…

“The Magister and I,” Raishan said, “traveled here with Kara. This man – Nimos – he went to a great deal of trouble to make himself as much of an annoyance as humanly possible. He approached us multiple times trying to bribe us so that we’d hand Prince Kythar over to his men. And, he focused a great deal of attention on Kara. He spared no effort, even risked being attacked, to throw her off balance. It all looked pretty deliberate. And, it was clear all along that he was up to something.”

Oden Lan gave him a dry smile. “Of all people, I shouldn’t have to say this to you, Aghat. But I’ll say it anyway. No matter how
annoyed
someone makes you feel, the Code of the Guild comes first. We don’t take sides because of our
personal
feelings.”

“I think,” Egey Bashi put in, “what Aghat Raishan and Master Abib are trying to tell you is that Master Nimos has been following some plan, and his behavior on the road, as well as his request to hire Kara, were both part of it. Don’t you see that he played you? He hired Kara
knowing
she would never go with him on this assignment. He
knew
what she was going to do. He practically left her no choice.”

Oden Lan measured the Keeper with his gaze. “Normally I wouldn’t discuss the affairs of the Guild with an outsider. But since you obviously know more about this than you should, and since you came here in such company, Magister, I will make an exception this time. Master Nimos paid three times the price of a Diamond to hire Kara’s services, by name. I accepted it and gave him her token. There was no possible excuse for her to refuse to go.”

“Think about it,” Egey Bashi insisted. “Why would he pay triple to hire Kara, when any other Diamond could do this job just as well?”

“My opinion about this doesn’t matter,” Oden Lan said. “But if you really want to know, I think Master Nimos may have had personal reasons to do this. He seemed… infatuated with her. This, however, is really beside the point. The Majat don’t question our employers’ motives. That’s one of the reasons our services are valued so highly.”

“And now,” Egey Bashi pressed on, “what will happen to the money that he paid you?”

“It will be returned, of course.”

“So, he actually won’t be paying you anything, would he?” A strange glow lit up in the Magister’s eyes.

“Since we are having such an honest conversation,” Oden Lan said, “and I just happen to anticipate your next question, I’ll tell you. Master Nimos also paid the price of one Diamond to ensure that no Majat could be hired to protect the boys.”

“I see.”

“Therefore,” Oden Lan went on, “while I do agree that the way Master Nimos behaved around Kara wouldn’t help to establish a good working relationship, I fail to see what he stood to gain by her actions. As of now, the boys are under her protection, which definitely makes his intentions toward them harder to fulfill. If you’re right that this was part of a plot, the plot was quite badly conceived, wasn’t it?”

“And what will you do now?” Egey Bashi asked.

The Majat Master glanced around the room. Abib and Raishan averted their eyes.

“That,” Oden Lan said, “is none of your business, Magister.”

Raishan raised his head. “Perhaps you would allow me to talk to her first, Master Oden Lan? If you send me to intercept her, maybe I could convince her to–”

Oden Lan’s short glance cut him off. Raishan lifted his chin and stood to attention.

“There’s one thing you didn’t tell me, Aghat Raishan,” the Majat Master said, “and you should have. She thinks she’s in love with the boy, doesn’t she? She betrayed her duty to protect him. You should know well that no matter what else happened,
that’s
what really makes her actions unforgivable.”

“For the Guild?” Abib asked quietly. “Or, for you?”

The silence that followed these words hit the room like a thunderbolt. Oden Lan slowly turned around to face the old man. For a moment it seemed to everyone that he was going to hit the weapon keeper, but he didn’t move. His gaze became cold.

“The deed is done,” he said. “Even if she decided to come back and resume the assignment, it won’t change anything now.” He glanced over to Raishan. The Diamond lowered his head. It suddenly seemed as if the sun had disappeared from the blazing morning sky and it had become dark and dreary in the room.

“Now, go,” Oden Lan said. “There’s nothing more to be said.”

“Actually,” Egey Bashi said, “I’m here with another business.” He stepped forward and put a heavy bag of coins on the Guildmaster’s desk. “I wish to hire a Diamond.”

Oden Lan looked at him in surprise. “For what assignment? If this has anything to do with–”

“I assure you, it’s a completely unrelated matter. I am on my way to look into certain things at the Monastery in Aknabar. I’ll need a really good bodyguard.”

Oden Lan leaned back in his chair. “There’re not many Diamonds that are currently unassigned.”

He looked over at Raishan, who stood inanimate in the way only the top gem ranks could. His slanted gray eyes were fixed impassively on the landscape outside the window.

The Magister had no way of knowing that after Oden Lan dispatched the messengers to carry the two freshly sealed packages on his desk, Raishan would be the only Diamond left who was available to go with the Keeper. At least, Oden Lan hoped that the Magister had no way of knowing it, and that this was all mere coincidence.

He paused before turning back to the Keeper.

“Aghat Raishan,” he said, “is currently between assignments. He will go with you.”

He reached into his desk drawer and took out Raishan’s token, handing it to the Magister. He took care not to look at the gleam of the diamond, closing his fingers over it and glancing at the name rune instead. It read “hawk”, but to an outsider it looked like no more than an elegant ornament at the base of the crossed blades.

“You must understand, Magister,” Oden Lan said. “If I find that Aghat Raishan has interfered with Guild business in any way, with or without your orders, it will be a violation of the Majat Code. Aghat Raishan knows what that means. If he forgets his duties, even for a moment, it would be a great loss for all of us. Please make sure it doesn’t happen.”

The Magister nodded, putting the token away into the depths of his robe.

Oden Lan turned to Raishan. “Do you have any questions about your new assignment, Aghat?”

“No, Guildmaster,” Raishan said, his eyes still fixed on the window ahead.

“You must protect the Magister,” Oden Lan said, “and only him. If you get involved in the protection of the boys, or if you interfere with other Guild members doing their duty, you will suffer the same fate as
her
.”

He walked to the door and held it open long after the footsteps of his unwanted visitors died out on the spiral stairway. Then he returned to his desk and rang the bell. His work for today was not done.

In less than ten minutes, two men came in. One was Gahang Khall, the head of the Jades who had been in the study earlier today when he and the gate captain, Gahang Amir, had brought the bad news. He was accompanied by a freckled young man with curly red hair. The man’s light blue eyes held an expression of childlike wonder, making anyone who met him feel like smiling.

“Gahang Sharrim,” Khall introduced. “He’s one of my best.”

Oden Lan nodded. It was difficult to imagine that this red-headed youngster would be good enough for the operation, but Khall knew his business.

A third figure appeared noiselessly in the doorway. The Jades hurriedly moved aside as he stepped in, smooth and graceful like a tiger.

“Come in, Aghat Han,” Oden Lan beckoned.

The newcomer approached the desk and froze, an instant change from movement to stillness. Oden Lan looked him up and down.

Han looked like a man of Cha’ori lineage. He had dark skin, black hair, and agate eyes that were slanted much more than Raishan’s, narrow slits that shot upward to the corners of his high cheekbones. Like all Diamonds, he wasn’t especially big or tall, but he seemed to occupy a lot of the room with his dark, ominous presence. He and Sharrim, standing next to each other, looked like almost exact opposites, a cheerful young man who made everyone feel like smiling, and a dark, gloomy one who seemed to suck the air out of the room just by standing quietly in its corner. They made an interesting pair.

“The King and his suite are now at Illitand Hall,” Oden Lan said. “You must travel by a relay, to reach them as quickly as you can. Take the fastest lizardbeasts from the stable. I’m sending messenger ravens to ensure you get fresh beasts every fifty leagues. I expect that with no delay you should get there in eight days. If anyone gets in your way, you may do whatever you need to remove them.”

Oden Lan leaned forward and handed the two sealed packages to Han.

“Give this package to the King,” he said, “and this one to Aghat Mai. You are to replace him as the leader of the Pentade until he completes his mission. And you, Gahang,” he turned to Sharrim, “will follow Aghat Mai’s orders until he releases you to return to the Guild. I trust that Gahang Khall has briefed you on the situation and you know what you must do?”

Sharrim nodded, his face carefully blank. Oden Lan knew Khall must have told the Jade all the necessary details, but he wasn’t worried. Mai was one of the best, and he knew what to do. Mai would not fail.