“I was following him all night,” explained Fisher. “I recognized him when I saw him. I was amazed that he had become an Imperial soldier because he was not the type to care about anything. It made me wonder why he would dedicate his life to serving the Emperor. When you went up to the kitchen, he started walking back and forth while he waited for you to return. He wanted it to look like he was just happening to be walking by. I knew his plans as soon as he made his move. By the time he had slipped his gloves on, I was right behind him.”
“Well I am certainly glad that you were,” smiled Lord Marak. “You saved my life.”
“Perhaps,” shrugged Fisher. “Your Qubari armor saved you the last time. I suspect it might have again.”
“I would prefer not to test your theory,” sighed Lord Marak.
“Mirakotto will try twice as hard to kill you now,” warned Fisher. “You know that, don’t you?”
“I suppose that he will,” nodded Lord Marak. “At least he won’t have Andretti around to do it.”
“People like Andretti are easy to come by,” frowned Fisher. “Don’t let your guard down because Andretti is dead. Mirakotto will want you dead, and he seems to get what he wants.”
Chapter 28
Heart of Khadora
Lord Marak reentered the Imperial Palace after Fisher had walked away. He did not bother to return to the Torak quarters, but instead walked straight to the Assembly Chamber. He sat at his desk in the rear of the room and wove an air tunnel to take his mind off of the events of the morning. He was amazed to hear lords talking about the capture and death of Andretti. There was no mention of the assassin being a member of the Argetta clan, but everyone seemed to be aware that the assassin of Emperor Bagora had been caught. Several also spoke of the recent attack on Lord Marak.
“I heard that you captured the assassin this morning,” greeted Lord Shamino as he sat at the next desk. “Your luck seems to be blessed by the gods.”
“There is only one god,” Lord Marak replied without taking his attention away from the air tunnel, “and I do not believe in luck. How has word of this spread so quickly?”
“I imagine that anything this big is news to everyone,” shrugged the Sorgan lord. “There is a rumor that the assassin was an Imperial soldier. Is that true?”
“He wore the uniform of one,” confirmed Lord Marak, “but it takes more than a uniform to make someone a true Imperial soldier. Those men have dedicated their lives to Khadora and put their clans behind them. I hope the truth about Andretti will not sully their reputation.”
The horns sounded and the lords hurried to their seats. Emperor Mirakotto was ushered onto the stage by a score of Imperial soldiers.
“Lords of Khadora,” Emperor Mirakotto began, “thank you for assembling this day to elect a new member to the Lords’ Council. As you already know, this vacancy was necessitated by my rise to Emperor upon Bagora’s death. May it be the last time that you are called together for a while. I know the journey is upsetting for the business of your estates. I will turn this meeting over to Lord Patel who will be leading this session of the Assembly of Lords.”
“No mention of the assassin,” whispered Lord Shamino.
“I noticed that,” Lord Marak remarked as he saw the Emperor glaring at him from the throne on the stage. “I wonder if he is afraid of what I might have found out from Andretti.”
“What?” asked Lord Shamino.
Lord Marak ignored the question as Lord Patel stepped to the center of the stage.
“The only purpose of this meeting of the Assembly of Lords,” Lord Patel began, “is to elect a new member to the Lords’ Council. At this time, I will accept nominations from the assembly.”
Lord Kiamesh rose and was recognized.
“Lords of Khadora,” Lord Kiamesh said loudly, “the loss of Emperor Bagora will be felt in every corner of Khadora. He was a wonderful leader, a magnanimous lord, and a loving father. I can think of no better tribute to such a great patriot of Khadora than to nominate his son, Lord Chenowith of the Walkan clan, to the position of a member of the Lords’ Council. It is my hope that Lord Chenowith will one day follow in his father’s footsteps and become Emperor of Khadora.”
The room erupted in a flow of cheers. The shouts of backing for Lord Chenowith were so great that Emperor Mirakotto broke his eye contact with Lord Marak to gaze about the room. Lord Marak could almost feel the disgust that the Emperor felt towards the other lords’ adulation of Lord Chenowith. He knew that Mirakotto was envious of the attention that was paid to others.
Lord Patel waited until the room quieted before he asked for other nominations. There were none. He moved quickly to call for a vote without objections. Being in the rear of the room, Lord Marak was among the last to vote. Many lords had already cast their vote and left the room after doing so. Lord Marak rose after voting and walked into the grand foyer outside the Assembly Chamber. Groups of lords were scattered all over the wide-open area.
As Lord Marak walked out of the room, several of his lords immediately converged on him. Lord Rybak of the Situ, Lord Sevrin of the Ragatha, Lord Burdine of the Litari, and Lord Shamino of the Sorgan all gathered around him.
“Is it true, Lord Marak?” asked Lord Rybak. “Did you capture the assassin?”
“I had help,” admitted Lord Marak, “but there is no doubt that he is the man who killed Bagora.”
“They said you shoved a knife into his throat,” commented Lord Sevrin.
“Whoever is spreading these tales was not there to see it,” responded Lord Marak. “Do not encourage such tales. Who captured him and how it was done is not important. What is important is that Andretti will no longer pose a danger to the good people of Khadora.”
“I also heard that the Lords’ Council turned down your request for troops,” interjected Lord Burdine. “What does this mean for our troops on the eastern frontier?”
“It certainly will make their job much harder,” frowned Lord Marak, “if not impossible. If all of the Jiadin converge together, our forces are doomed.”
“Perhaps we should recall them?” suggested Lord Shamino.
“To what end?” asked Lord Marak. “If we abandon the Balomar estate, who will ever stand with us in the future? It might be better to gather all of our forces together and send them to the eastern frontier.”
“Do you mean to strip away the defenses of our own estates?” asked Lord Sevrin. “That would be suicide. There are far too many clans that would eagerly take advantage of us. You must not do that, Lord Marak.”
Lord Marak felt the hair rising on the back of his neck. He turned swiftly, but casually and gazed at a group of four lords not twenty paces away. The four lords were staring at him. Lord Marak left his group and strode towards the four lords.
“So you decided to come after all, Lord Yungis,” opened Lord Marak.
“Why not?” smirked the Glamaraldi lord. “For all your talk about the Lords’ Council coming down against me, I understand that they refused your request for more troops.”
“That leaves you rather alone, Lord Marak,” said Lord Damirath of the Pikata clan.
Lord Marak turned to face Lord Damirath and felt a chill race down his spine. The man’s eyes were black and limitless.
“Whatever you are after in Khadora, Lord Damirath,” declared Lord Marak, “you will not achieve it. I advise you to return to wherever it is you came from.”
Lord Marak was not sure where his words had come from, but they felt natural, unlike Lord Damirath. The Torak lord wished he had the Sword of Torak with him. He felt certain that its hilt would warm his hand as he stood before Lord Damirath.
“What are you talking about?” blustered Lord Samert of the Vessi clan. “Lord Damirath is the lord of the Pikata. They are an old and established Khadoran clan, unlike the Torak. How dare you suggest he leave this country of ours?”