Warbreaker (67 page)
Authors: Brandon Sanderson
Yet there would only be one person with ultimate command of them. One person who could make them go to war. When he was done in this room, he would move on, taking utter command of Allmother’s ten thousand as well.
He would draw both armies to him. And in doing so, he would take his place at the very heart of the fate of two kingdoms.
Forty-Eight
Susebron didn’t leave in the mornings anymore.
Siri lay in the bed beside him, curled slightly, her skin against his. He slept peacefully, chest going up and down, the white bed sheets throwing out prismatic colors around him as they inevitably reacted to his presence. A few months back, who could have understood where she’d find herself? Not only married to the God King of Hallandren, but in love with him as well.
She still thought it amazing. He was the most important religious and secular figure in the whole of the Inner Sea area. He was the basis for worship of the Hallandren Iridescent Tones. He was a creature feared and hated by most people in Idris.
And he was dozing quietly at her side. A god of color and beauty, his body as perfectly sculpted as a statue. And what was Siri? Not perfect, of that she was sure. And yet, somehow, she’d brought to him something that he needed. A hint of spontaneity. A breath from the outside, untamed by his priests or his reputation.
She sighed, head resting on his chest. There would be a price to be paid for their enjoyment these last few nights.
We really are fools
, she thought idly.
We only have to avoid one thing: giving the priests a child. We’re aiming ourselves straight toward disaster.
She found it hard to berate herself too firmly. She suspected that her act wouldn’t have fooled the priests for much longer. They would grow suspicious, or at least frustrated, if she continued it without producing an heir. She could imagine them interfering if faced with more stalling.
Whatever she and Susebron did to change events, they would have to do it quickly.
He stirred beside her, and she twisted, looking at his face as he opened his eyes. He regarded her for a few minutes, stroking her hair. It was amazing how quickly they had become comfortable in their intimacy.
He reached for his writing board.
I love you.
She smiled. It was always the first thing he wrote in the mornings. “And I love you,” she said.
However
, he continued,
we are probably in trouble, aren’t we?
“Yes.”
How long?
he asked.
Until it’s obvious that you will bear a child, I mean?
“I’m not sure,” she said, frowning. “I don’t have much experience with this, obviously. I know that some of the women back in Idris complained of not being able to have children as quickly as they wanted, so maybe it doesn’t always happen immediately. I know other women who bore children almost exactly nine months after their wedding night.”
Susebron looked thoughtful.
A year from now, I could be a mother
, Siri thought. She found the concept daunting. Up until a short time ago, she hadn’t really thought of herself as an adult.
Of course
, she thought, feeling a bit sick,
according to what we’ve been told, any children I bear the God King would be stillborn anyway.
Even if that was a lie, her child would be in danger. She still suspected that the priests would spirit it away, then replace it with a Returned. In all likelihood, Siri would then be made to disappear as well.
Bluefingers tried to warn me
, she thought.
He spoke of danger, not only to Susebron, but to me.
Susebron was writing.
I’ve made a decision
, he wrote.
Siri raised an eyebrow.
I want to try making myself known to the people
, he wrote,
and the other gods. I want to take control of my kingdom for myself.
“I thought we decided that would be too dangerous.”
It will be
, he wrote.
But I’m beginning to think that it is a risk we must take.
“And your objections from before?” she asked. “You can’t shout out the truth, and your guards are likely to rush you away if you try something like escaping.”
Yes
, Susebron wrote,
but you have far fewer guards, and you can yell.
Siri paused. “Yes,” she said. “But would anyone believe me? What would they think if I just started screaming about how the God King is being held prisoner by his own priests?”
Susebron cocked his head.
“Trust me,” she said. “They’d think that I was crazy.”
What if you gained the confidence of the Returned you often speak about?
he wrote.
Lightsong the Bold.
Siri gave that some thought.
You could go to him
, Susebron wrote.
Tell him the truth. Perhaps he will lead you to other Returned he thinks might listen. The priests will not be able to silence us all.
Siri lay beside him for a moment, head still resting on his chest. “It sounds possible, Seb, but why not just run? My serving women are from Pahn Kahl now. Bluefingers has said that he will try to get us out, if I ask. We can flee to Idris.”
If we flee, Hallandren troops will follow, Siri. We would not be safe in Idris.
“We could go somewhere else, then.”
He shook his head.
Siri, I have been listening to the arguments in the court of judgment. There will soon be war between our kingdoms. If we run, we will be abandoning Idris to invasion.
“The invasion will happen if we stay, too.”
Not if I take control of my throne
, Susebron wrote.
The people of Hallandren, even the gods, are obligated to obey me. There will be no war if they know I disapprove. He erased, then continued, writing faster. I have told the priests that I don’t wish to go to war, and they appeared sympathetic. However, they have done nothing.
“They are probably worried,” Siri said. “If they let you start making policy, then you may begin to think that you don’t need them.”
They’d be right
, he wrote, smiling.
I need to become the leader of my people, Siri. That is the only way to protect your beautiful hills and the family you love so much.
Siri fell silent, offering no further objections. To do as he was saying would be to play their hand. Make a gamble for everything. If they failed, the priests would undoubtedly figure out that Siri and Susebron were in communication. That would spell the end of their time alone together.
Susebron obviously noticed her concern.
It is dangerous, but it is the best option. Fleeing would be just as risky, and it would leave us in far worse circumstances. In Idris, we would be seen as the reason the Hallandren armies had come. Other countries would be even more dangerous.
Siri slowly nodded. In another country, they’d have no money and would make perfect subjects for ransom. They’d escape the priests only to find themselves being held captive to be used against Hallandren. The Kingdom of Iridescence was still widely disliked because of the Manywar.
“We’d be taken captive, as you say,” she acknowledged. “Plus, if we were in another country, I doubt we’d be able to get you a Breath every week. Without them, you’d die.”
He looked hesitant.
“What?” she asked.
I would not die without Breath
, he wrote.
But that is not an argument in favor of flight.
“You mean the stories of Returned needing Breath to live are lies?” Siri asked incredulously.
Not at all
, he wrote quickly.
We do need Breath—but you forget that I hold the wealth of Breath passed down for generations in my family. I heard my priests speak of this once. If it were necessary to move me, I could survive on the extra Breaths I hold. Those over and above the Breath that makes me Returned. My body would simply feed off those extra Breaths, absorbing one a week.
Siri sat back thoughtfully. That seemed to imply something about Breath that she couldn’t quite figure out. Unfortunately, she just didn’t have the experience to sort through it.
“All right,” she said. “So we
could
go into hiding if we needed to.”
I said this was not an argument for fleeing
, Susebron wrote.
My treasure of Breaths might keep me alive, but it would also make me a very valuable target. Everyone will want those Breaths—even if I weren’t the God King, I would be in danger.
That was very true. Siri nodded. “All right,” she said. “If we’re really going to try exposing what the priests have done, I think we make our move soon. If I display any signs of being pregnant, I bet it will take the priests all of two heartbeats to sequester me.”
Susebron nodded.
There will be a general assembly of the court in a couple of days. I have heard my priests say that this will be an important meeting—it is rare that the gods are all called together to vote. That meeting will decide whether or not we march on Idris.
Siri nodded nervously. “I could sit with Lightsong,” she said, “and plead for his help. If we go to several of the other gods, perhaps they—in front of the crowds—can demand to know whether or not I am lying.”
And I will open my mouth and reveal that I have no tongue
, he wrote.
Then let us see what the priests do. They will be forced to bow to the will of their own pantheon.
Siri nodded. “All right,” she said. “Let’s try it.”
Forty-Nine
Vasher found her practicing again.
He hovered outside the window, lowered down from the roof via an Awakened rope which gripped him about the waist. Inside, Vivenna repeatedly Awakened a strip of cloth, unaware of Vasher. She Commanded the cloth to wiggle across the room, wrap around a cup, then bring that cup back without spilling.
She’s learning so quickly
, he thought. The Commands themselves were simple to say, but providing the right mental impulse was difficult. It was like learning to control a second body. Vivenna was quick. Yes, she had a lot of Breath. That made it easier, but true Instinctive Awakening—the ability to Awaken objects without training or practice—was a gift granted only by the Sixth Heightening. That was one step beyond even what Returned had, with their single deific Breath. Vivenna was far from that stage. She learned faster than she should have, even if he knew she was frustrated by how often she got things wrong.
Even as he watched, she made a mistake. The cloth wiggled across the room, but climbed into the cup instead of wrapping around it. It shook, making the cup fall over, then the cloth finally returned, leaving a soggy trail. Vivenna cursed and walked over to refill the cup. She never noticed Vasher hanging just outside. He wasn’t surprised—he was currently a Drab, his excess Breath stored in his shirt.
She replaced the cup, and he pulled himself up as she walked back. Of course, the mechanics of how he moved about with the ropes were far more complicated than they seemed. His Command incorporated making the rope respond to taps of his finger along its length. Awakening was different from creating a Lifeless—Lifeless had brains and could interpret Commands and requests. The rope had none of that; it could only act on its original instructions.
With a few taps, he lowered himself again, Vivenna faced away from him as she picked up another colored swatch to use as fuel when she Awakened her cup-fetching ribbon.
I like her
, Nightblood said.
I’m glad we didn’t kill her.
Vasher didn’t respond.
She’s very pretty, don’t you think?
Nightblood asked.
You can’t tell
, Vasher replied.
I can tell
, Nightblood said.
I’ve decided that I can.
Vasher shook his head. Pretty or not, the woman should never have come to Hallandren. She’d given Denth a perfect tool.
Of course
, he admitted wryly,
Denth probably didn’t need that tool.
Hallandren and Idris were close to snapping. Vasher had stayed away too long. He knew that. He also knew that there was no way he would have come back earlier.
Inside the room, Vivenna successfully managed to get the cloth to bring her cup, and she drank from it with a satisfied look that Vasher could just barely see from the side. He had the rope lower him to the ground. He ordered it to let go up above, then—once it had twisted down around his arm—he recovered his Breath and climbed the external steps to the room.
~
Vivenna turned as Vasher entered. She set down the cup, hurriedly stuffing the cloth in her pocket.
What does it matter if he sees me practicing?
she thought, flushing.
It’s not like I have anything to hide.
But practicing before him was embarrassing. He was so stern, so unforgiving of faults. She didn’t like him to see her fail.
“Well?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Both the house you were using and the safe house in the slums are empty,” he said. “Denth is too clever to get caught like that. He must have figured that you would reveal his location.”
Vivenna ground her teeth in frustration, settling back against the wall. Like the other rooms they had stayed in, this one was utterly simple. Their only possessions were a pair of bedrolls and their changes of clothing, all of which Vasher carried about in his duffel.
Denth lived far more luxuriously. He could afford to—he now held all of Lemex’s money.
Clever bit, that
, she thought.
Giving me the money, making me feel like I was in charge. He knew all along that the gold was never out of his hands, just as I never was.
“I was hoping we’d be able to watch him,” she said. “Maybe get a jump on what he’s planning next.”
Vasher shrugged. “Didn’t work. No use crying about it. Come on. I think I can get us in to meet with some of the Idrian workers at one of the orchards, assuming we arrive during the lunch break.”
