The Soldier's Lotus (14 page)

In the meantime, she would send for
Aben
.
Darien would need a proper household staff, but she respected his wishes not to
purchase slaves. She had much to do before Darien returned, bringing with him
the results of his investigations on her behalf.

Chapter Eight

Darien ducked to pass beneath the shade of the sycamore
trees that dotted the royal gardens. The day’s blistering heat lay still across
the city, and the insects whirred from their hidden homes in the branches. Two
men, a tutor and his rich pupil, stared at him as he strode by, and Darien
suddenly felt out of place. Everywhere he looked he saw people walking quietly,
chatting to one another, taking casual strolls among the cool groves. Students
hung on every word of their instructors, answering questions when asked, and
rolling up their scrolls so they might recite their lessons from memory. The
Sunjaa
prized learning above almost all things, especially
for the sons of nobility. Only martial skill was held in equally high esteem.

Darien stepped from the lush green lawn onto a wide covered
walkway that connected the royal gardens to the library. Tutors and pupils
walked up and down this path, engaged in the day’s instruction. Darien watched
with fascination, for although the library was open to the public, he had never
had a reason to come here. He had grown up poor, so he lacked the education
that was so readily offered to those wealthy, privileged few; and he had spent
his adult life in the service of the nation, wielding a sword instead of a
quill. As he was clearly rich from the manner of his dress, the guards at the
gate had not denied him entrance. They had eyed him curiously, certainly, but
no one had accosted him. Still, he felt out of place, as if he might end up
breaking something delicate.

The walkway terminated at a flight of wide steps made of
fine, white stone. An artist with canvas sat three steps up beneath a large
umbrella and painted the scene before him. Darien came to stand beside him and
turned to see what the artist saw. Beyond the sycamore trees stood the high
wall that separated the gardens from the royal palace itself. The flat roof of
the central structure beyond the castle’s fortifications demonstrated its
Sunjaa
architectural design, quite different from the
library that rose up into the clear sky behind Darien. The library’s roof was
the only building in Arinport that was slanted, and Darien wondered to himself
from what people this style had been imported.
The Ausir
across the ocean, perhaps?
Or maybe the
Vadal
to the north?
He did not know, but he had a
curious mind, not content to live in ignorance. He resolved to flag down the
first official he ran across and ask.

Darien climbed the steps, and the mid-morning sun beat down
upon his dark skin. He did not have the ocean breezes to relieve him, and he
was reminded of his days sweating under the desert sun as he made forays into
Vadal
territory during the last war. He did not miss his
time in the infantry. Guards stood at the open double doors of the library and
regarded Darien silently. He had made it into the gardens, so he did not expect
anyone to bar his way now. They did not, and he passed inside.

The library held a curious concoction of smells – something
akin to oils, cleansers, and incense all mixed together. And of course the
strong odor of papyrus hung in the air. The sight before Darien compelled him
to stop and marvel at what he saw: a slanted roof held up by rows of mighty
stone columns descending on their respective levels into the depths of the
library. The structure was multi-tiered, and Darien stood at its top level.
From his vantage point, he judged that most of the library was actually
underground, and again he wondered where the architecture had come from. Rows
of tables dominated the first level, and high desks with stools occupied by
scribbling scribes stood along the north wall. The honeycombed roof of concrete
was open enough to admit sunlight inside, though the scribes wrote by
torchlight, their desks equipped with sconces. Darien strolled by, curiosity
getting the better of him. He prided himself on his ability to read
Sunjaa
– he had taught himself before entering the
military. But these books were all written in tongues he could not comprehend.
He guessed that the flowing script was Ausir, while another less graceful text
must have been
Fihdal
or
Vadal
.
The scribes copied these foreign books onto new scrolls, and Darien saw the
reed baskets at their feet full of more histories and literature to copy.

Darien descended each level, passing reading rooms, lecture
halls, and even dining rooms. Inscriptions on the walls of each section told
Darien where he was, and other plaques directed him to where he wanted to go.
ROYAL RECORDS →.
He followed the signs until he stood
before a locked door. A guard stood on duty. Darien considered offering the
soldier a bribe, but he was almost sure that the man would not have accepted
any amount of coin. Such a position as this man held was one of trust and
responsibility that was earned only through exemplary service. This man drew an
excellent salary, enjoyed the favor of the crown, and was in little to no
danger of being killed in battle. It was a dream job, and he would probably not
risk it by taking a bribe. Darien knew he would not, had he been in the man’s
position. But he needed to get inside, and he racked his brain trying to come
up with a way. He studied the man,
Had
they ever met?
In the infantry?
At sea?
Just as
Darien opened his mouth to strike up a conversation with the guard, a voice
interrupted his forming thought.

“
Captain?”

Darien spun around to find himself face to face with a man
he knew he should know but could neither place his face nor remember his name.
The not-so-stranger wore a white, knee-length
Sunjaa
skirt, and though his chest was bare, upon it lay a wide gold necklace into
which was inlaid the crest of the royal house: a serpent eating its tail,
symbolizing every loyal
Sunjaa’s
belief that the
family was eternal. Darien could safely assume that the man was not royalty
himself but some official in the palace. Not wanting to offend, he proceeded
with caution.

“
What I wouldn’t give
for a cold beer,” Darien said and then smiled widely. “It’s a scorcher today.”

The man smiled back, his dark eyes twinkling. “To taste
your fine drink again, Darien, I would give anything.”

So this man had come to the party. “And did you enjoy
yourself so entirely, then?”

“
More than you know.
Your Lotus was the most enchanting creature I’ve ever seen.” The official had a
frail, woman’s frame, and his hands were thin and delicate.

“
She graces my home
with her presence.”

The official leaned in. “You complement each other well,
she being so fine, like porcelain, and you no doubt having to restrain yourself
from breaking so fragile a vessel as she.” His gaze traveled over Darien’s
muscular shoulders, swept across his broad, muscular chest, and settled on his
abs.

Darien needed no heightened sense of empathy to detect the
man’s thoughts; he had heard of the orgies held in the palace, where painted
prostitutes both male and female fucked the partygoers from evening until sunrise.
Doubtless this man indulged himself on a regular basis, so forward were his
innuendos.

“
I’m afraid I drank
too much wine that night, sir,” Darien said. “Remind me. What’s your name?”

“
Oren,
king’s chamberlain.”
He
bowed low and kept his gaze fixed on Darien’s cock, its mass visible as a bulge
inside the fabric of his skirt.

Darien would use this man’s attraction to him.
“Chamberlain, I wonder if you might do me a favor.”

Oren straightened up and spread his hands out before him.
“Anything for a mighty captain of our mighty navy.”

Darien indicated the door behind him with a thrust of his
thumb over his shoulder. “I need to get in there. I’ve forgotten some of the
details of our glorious campaigns against the
Vadal
,
and I was hoping to take a walk down memory lane.”
Sunjaa
recorded every deed of note; if it was not written down, it never happened.

Oren wasted no time in gaining Darien the access he
desired. He was a weak, delicate man who clearly admired the military and,
Darien suspected, much more about the strong men who served in it. They walked
the narrow aisles of the restricted chamber for some time, Darien making as
much small talk as he could stomach, until Oren was called away on business at
last.

“
We’ll talk again
soon,” Oren said, waving as he went.

“
Can’t
wait.”
Darien hoped soon
would never come.

Oren turned to leave, and Darien remembered.
“One more thing, Chamberlain.”

“Yes?” Oren turned back with alacrity.

“What is the origin of the architecture of this building?
Whose style is it in?”

“
It’s
Ausir design,” said Oren. “I
don’t know exactly how it
works,
of course, not being
Ausir, but it’s designed to keep the place cool.”

“Thanks.” Then Oren really did go, and finally alone,
Darien was able to set to work. The
Sunjaa
kept very
good records, the scrolls divided by date, campaign, and decree. He searched
for hours but never found any mention of the mission to the
Dimadan
,
the strike that had wiped out Saerileth’s clan. The mission did not exist.
Every other military maneuver or task was documented with meticulous detail,
but Ulen’s mission alone was missing. Darien decided to pursue a different
route then, turning his investigation to Ulen himself. Darien remembered the
date of the secret mission, and he discovered that it was from that time that
Ulen’s wealth had increased dramatically. The tax records showed this. As the
king’s cousin, Ulen had lived comfortably, but he had not enjoyed the lavish
extremes of wealth until a few months after Saerileth’s clan had been
exterminated. Darien did not know yet what it meant, but he committed the
information to memory. He thought he might stay a while longer and continue
searching for any more clues, but hunger drove him out.

The sun dipped like a large red fireball in the west, and
soon twilight would fall over the city. Darien was ravenous, and he bounded up
the steps, ready to leave the library behind and find the nearest hot-food
stall. What he found instead was Kamen.

“
What are you doing
here, Kamen?”

Kamen, who stood near the door with a sealed scroll in his
hand, jumped at the sudden address. “Darien! What are you doing here?”

“
Going
over some old military records.”

Kamen nodded and looked around. “This is the last place I
ever thought to see you.”

“
Can’t picture me
anywhere but the rolling deck of a warship?”

Kamen laughed. “The wild beauty of nature suits your
unmatched strength.”

Too much praise!
“I was just leaving. Walk with me?”

Kamen fell into step beside his captain and friend, and
though he was tall, Darien stood yet a full head taller. “I wanted to talk to
you about Saerileth.”

“
What about her?” The
image of Kamen fucking her in the ass leaped into Darien’s mind, and though
Kamen was his oldest and dearest friend, he could not help feeling irked.

If Kamen sensed Darien’s irritation, he did not give any
sign. “You might want to consider giving her back to Lord
Ahnok
.”

“
Back?
Ulen never had her.” Darien was now most
definitely irked.

“
You’ve got salvage
rights on your side, sure,” Kamen said, “but imagine what a good impression
this would make if you were so generous. You’ve had your introduction to
society. Your Lotus has lent grace and civility to your name, and the nobles
respect you. Imagine how the royal family would feel to know that you have
given one of their own a Red Lotus.”

Through the sycamore trees, Darien spied across the garden
the King and the Princess Royal walking. With them came the Crown Prince, a
sprightly lad of three summers, his nurses, and all manner of officials,
sycophants, guards, and the like. The Prince, half
Vadal
and half
Sunjaa
, shared some measure of his mother’s
coloring, and his facial features were handsome, a good blending of the races.

Darien pointed in their direction. “They don’t even like
Ulen, so why would they thank me for anything I might do for him?” There were
so many things Darien wanted to say to Kamen at that moment, but he satisfied
himself with merely hinting at his friend’s bold and unreasonable suggestion.
“I wouldn’t want to surrender Saerileth to any kind of high society if it is
peopled with fellows like you. You ask me to lay aside law and right in the
hopes of currying favor with the nobles?”