Heirs of the Enemy (7 page)

“General Tauman is probably the best general the empire has,” reasoned the colonel, “but I can not see him as the new Grand General. His attitude of superiority would never allow him to say he was wrong, and worse, if his views differed from yours, he would try to ignore you. General Fortella is too close to Kyrga. I would not be surprised to find out that Fortella and Kyrga have violated other orders together. No, I think Ross would be loyal to the empire, you, and the Federation, in that order.”

“He would place the empire over me?” frowned the emperor.

“I think he would, and I see that as a strength. What I mean by that is that he would not be afraid to tell you when he thought you were wrong. I see that as a good quality.”

“Would he act against my wishes?”

“I do not think so,” answered the colonel. “I think he would tell you that you were wrong and work to sway your opinion. Would you want someone to obey your every command even if that command is obviously wrong? None of us are infallible.”

“I certainly have proved that with the selection of Kyrga as Commanding General,” sighed the emperor. “Very well, send Kyrga to see me and then find General Ross. It is time for a change.”

“Might I suggest that you hold off until the celebration is over? The purpose of the celebration is to take everyone’s minds off the Dielderal. If you dismiss Kyrga the day before the celebration begins, the whole point of the festivities will be lost.”

“You are a good man, Taerin,” smiled the emperor. “I will still see them both tonight, but the change will not be official until after the celebration. Send them both up here.”

“There is one other thing we need to talk about. Captain Kent is officially dead. He came back to Despair because he was promised that he could go free when you had no further need for him. He plans to gather his family and move far away. Can I tell him that he is free to go?”

“I see no reason to keep him, but get me Kyrga and Ross first. I want to make sure that Kyrga does not have a viable explanation before we let our witness disappear.”

Colonel Taerin bowed and left the office. He moved directly to Kyrga’s office, but the Grand General was not there. He went downstairs where hundreds of guests were mingling throughout the palace. After a thorough search, he finally found the Grand General speaking to a group of nobles. He signaled Kyrga that he had important information and the Grand General detached himself from the group.

“What is it?” Kyrga asked with annoyance.

“Emperor Jaar wishes to see you immediately,” stated the colonel. Kyrga’s mouth opened to speak, but Colonel Taerin already knew what question was forthcoming. “And no, it cannot wait.”

Grand General Kyrga shook his head with displeasure and left the room. By the time he reached the emperor’s office, he was in a foul mood. Downstairs were hundreds of people waiting to fawn all over him, and the hermit emperor thought he had something important to discuss. Kyrga was admitted to the emperor’s office, but his bow was less than respectful. The emperor narrowed his eyes as he stared at the Grand General.

“What do you know about the foray into Elfwoods a while back?” asked the emperor.

“Is that what was so urgent?” scowled the Grand General. “Do you realize that there are hundreds of important people waiting downstairs to hear from us? Can’t this wait?”

“No, it cannot wait,” retorted the emperor. “I consider breaking an agreement with the Dielderal to be a serious matter.”

“How can it be a serious matter when the Dielderal no longer exist?” countered Kyrga.

“Answer the question,” the emperor commanded with a raised voice.

Grand General Kyrga sighed and his face lost the scowl it had been carrying. “I know nothing more than you. We have been through this before.”

“Indeed we have, but we are going through it again. As you have no idea how much I know, your answer is unacceptable. How much do you know about it?”

“I know nothing about it,” lied the Grand General. “As I told you before, my investigation turned up nothing of interest.”

“So you did not discover that Captain Kent let the raid into Elfwoods?”

Kyrga’s eye twitched as he realized that whoever was investigating for the emperor had managed to stumble too close to the truth. “I do not believe I know Captain Kent, whoever he is. If what you have found out is true, then question the captain and discover the answer to this riddle.”

“I have done so,” the emperor said softly.

Kyrga knew the emperor was bluffing. His investigator might have discovered Kent somehow, but Kent was dead. The investigation was at an end. “Wonderful,” he replied sarcastically. “Now you can enlighten me as to your findings.”

“Indeed I can. Captain Kent said that you authorized the mission into Elfwoods. How convenient that your own investigation failed to turn up this information.”

“I dispute the captain’s lies,” declared the Grand General. “Have him restate his words to my face, and I will resign.”

“Your resignation is accepted,” replied the emperor.

Kyrga stared at the emperor in disbelief. He kept waiting for the punch line in the emperor’s little joke, but Jaar sat there defiantly. The emperor shoved a piece of paper across the desk.

“Sign it,” commanded the emperor.

Kyrga looked at the paper and saw a letter of resignation already made out before the meeting had been called. He grew furious as he read the letter.

“Enough of your games,” snapped Kyrga. “I said that I would resign if that snot-nosed captain repeated his words to my face. He hasn’t done that, has he? He isn’t going to do that, is he? Of course he isn’t. Kent is dead and you know it. Stop playing games with me. I am not resigning.”

“Then you are relieved of your command,” stated the emperor. “Kent is alive and well and here in Despair. He has repeatedly stated that you ordered him into Elfwoods during multiple interrogations. You are officially relieved of command, but I will allow you to save face by appearing as though you are still the Grand General during the celebration. The day the celebration ends, you will remove yourself from the palace grounds and never return. You are dismissed.”

Kyrga stormed out of the emperor’s office and out of the Imperial Palace. Without bothering to disguise himself or sneak through the hidden door behind the hedge, Kyrga headed for the Temple of Balmak. He strode through the front gates of the palace and marched along the city streets. When he reached the rear of the temple, he did not have his wristband to show the guards. He walked up to them and demanded to see the priest. The guards refused and Kyrga argued with them loudly, loud enough to cause the black-cloak inside to crack the door open to see what was going on. The mage ordered the guards to stand down and invited Kyrga inside. The black-cloak escorted Kyrga to K’san’s office and then left. K’san looked upon his visitor with a mixture of disappointment and anger at being disturbed.

“Why have you come here in uniform?”

“It might be the last time I am able to wear the uniform,” snapped Kyrga. “Jaar has fired me.”

“Explain,” the priest said calmly.

“Jaar discovered my authorization for the raid on Elfwoods. He claims that Captain Kent is alive in Despair. I thought he was bluffing at first, but no longer. He was too confident of his position. The only boon from him is that I will still appear as Grand General until the end of the celebration week. Something must be done before then.”

K’san did not reply. He sat staring at his desk as if the solution to the problem was imbedded in its wood. Kyrga fidgeted nervously as he waited for the priest to speak. He knew the usual punishment for failure, but that was for normal people. Surely, the Master would not kill someone who is able to control the emperor.

“Go back to the palace,” K’san eventually said. “You are to act as if nothing is wrong, so calm yourself before you meet anyone. I will discuss your problem with the Master.”

Kyrga caught the phrasing of the priest’s reply. The problem was Kyrga’s, even though it affected them all. He thought about arguing the blame for the problem, but one look at the priest’s face dissuaded him. He nodded meekly and left to return to the palace. K’san sat silently for several minutes as he contemplated the problem. When he was ready, he scribbled a note and sealed it, marking a name upon the outside of it. He then donned a long, hooded cloak. He left his office and found a cleric in the halls of the temple. He gave the cleric the note.

“See that this is delivered to the Imperial Palace immediately.”

The cleric nodded wordlessly and departed. K’san left by the rear door of the temple. He strolled casually along the city streets until he was a block away from the Imperial Palace. As he approached the palace, he slid into a dark alleyway and waited. An hour later, a noble left the front gates of the palace. Bodyguards did not flank him, nor did he leave in an ornate carriage. Uncharacteristically, he walked through the gates and onto the city streets. As he walked past the alley, K’san whispered to him. The noble slid into the alley.

“This had better be important,” the noble threatened.

“I would not disturb you otherwise,” apologized the priest. “Kyrga has been dismissed by the emperor. No one knows yet. Jaar agreed to let Kyrga keep the post until the end of the celebration, but this is going to hurt our plans greatly.”

“Who is the likely candidate to take his place?”

“He did not say. I doubt that the emperor would confide in Kyrga to that extent. Are you saying that we should wash our hands of Kyrga? We have much time invested in him.”

“Who do you think will replace him?”

“I cannot be sure, but I would wager on Tauman or Fortella.”

“We could probably manipulate Fortella, but Tauman could be trouble.” The noble sighed in exasperation. “Why was Kyrga fired?”

“The emperor discovered his part in the raid on Elfwoods. I suspect the emperor was troubled more by Kyrga’s deceit than the actual raid, but I am not sure. Perhaps this would be an ideal time for you to seize the throne.”

“No,” the noble stated sternly. “To replace Jaar now would be a grievous error. Such a move now would only invite others to scheme against me. The war must be fought first. When both armies are totally devastated, the people will welcome me as a savior. No one will stand against me.”

“You expect both armies to be destroyed?”

“Of course,” sneered the noble. “A million tears are required for Alutar’s return. Do you think that will happen if we merely crush Alcea? Thousands upon thousands of Federation soldiers must die as well. Emperor Jaar will not be seen as the great victor, even though he will then control both Alcea and Zara. The deaths will be too much for the people to bear. No one will oppose me then. In fact, they will welcome me and cheer me when I depose Jaar.”

“No Grand General will be happy with such results,” frowned the priest.

“Kyrga must not know of our expectations,” warned the noble.

“Kyrga?” questioned K’san. “Have you decided to keep him then?”

“I think that is safest.” The noble nodded. “It is too late in the game to change horses. I want you to get back together with Kyrga and solve his problem.”

“I told him to return to the palace,” replied the priest.

“Take this.” The noble handed the priest an invitation to the celebration. “No one will question my going back there. I told the gate guards that I needed a walk to clear my mind. They will surely remember me.”

“You want me to enter the palace?” the priest asked with a puzzled expression.

“Of course I want you to enter the palace,” scowled the noble. “Did I not just tell you to take care of Kyrga’s problem? Take Kyrga to see the emperor and get our Grand General reinstated.”

“Forcefully? We cannot hold him captive for the entire celebration. It would be foolish to attempt it.”

“Do what you can for now. One thing I require from you is the secret location of Jaar’s family. Once we have them, Jaar will do anything we tell him to do.”

“It shall be as you command,” the priest replied with a bow of his head.

“There is one other item that we need to attend to,” the noble continued. “I want the war against Alcea unveiled during the celebration.”

“Is that wise? Kyrga will protest. He is most adamant about keeping that secret.”

“I do not care what Kyrga wants. He is a fool and a tool. We are dealing with what I want. The Alceans already know that we are coming. It is only our own people that Kyrga is hiding it from. I want all of the petty monarchs and generals to be in on the planning of this war. The more the merrier. Let them all sit down and decide how best to destroy the Alceans.”

“You want the portals revealed as well?”

“No,” answered the noble. “The generals will need to know of them, but not the others. I am willing to suffer tremendous losses on the battlefield, in fact, I encourage it, but the Federation must win the war in the end. The portals must remain secret from any Alcean spies, but the war itself is to become public knowledge. Let Jaar and Kyrga delight the masses with their predictions of untold wealth and conquest. The more they build it up, the easier they will fall when the time comes. Then I will step in and rule the whole world and Alutar will reign supreme once again.”

“It shall be as you wish, Master.”

“Let me return to the palace before you. Wait here for a while.”

The priest bowed, and the noble stepped out of the alley and headed for the palace. K’san waited for half an hour and then followed in his master’s footsteps. The gate guards looked surprised to see the priest with an invitation, but they passed him through without question. Once inside the palace, K’san avoided the rooms full of people. He made his way up to the Grand General’s office, although he knew that Kyrga would not be there. He asked one of the guards to summon Kyrga and waited in the corridor for him to arrive. When Kyrga did arrive, he opened the door and ushered the priest inside without saying a word.

“I thought we were not supposed to be seen together?” Kyrga asked softly once they were safely inside the office.