Servitors started with refreshments and appetizers. From the state of the grove you could not tell Taglios was a nation threatened with extinction.
"You look radiant this evening."
"I don't feel it. I feel worn out."
"You should relax more. Take life easier."
"Have the Shadowmasters decided to take a holiday?"
He sampled something that looked like shrimp. Where had shrimp come from, here? Well, the sea was not that far away.
Which sparked a germ of an idea. I set it aside for later examination.
The prince swallowed, dabbed his lips with a napkin. "You seem determined to make my life difficult."
"Oh?"
"You roar ahead like the whirlwind, giving no one time to think. You rush headlong. Everyone else has to concentrate on keeping their balance."
I smiled. "If I give anyone time to do anything but run along behind me I'll be up to my ears in grief. None of you seem to understand the magnitude of your enemy. You all have your priorities inverted. Everybody wants to dance around and get the angle on everybody else. Meantime, the Shadowmasters are planning to exterminate all of you."
He nibbled and pretended to think. "You're right. But people are human. Nobody here has ever had to think in terms of external enemies. Or really deadly enemies."
"The Shadowmasters count on that, too."
"No doubt."
A new course arrived, more substantial. Some kind of bird. I was surprised. The prince's background was Gunni. The Gunni were determined vegetarians.
Watching my surroundings I spied two things I did not like. There were dozens of crows among the trees. And that priest Tal I had embarrassed earlier, with several of his cronies, was watching us.
The Prahbrindrah said, "I'm under a lot of pressure because of you. Some from close quarters. It puts me in a delicate position."
Where was his sister? Were she and Smoke riding him? Probably. I shrugged and ate.
The prince said, "It would help if I knew your plans."
I told him.
"Suppose some important people don't approve or don't feel you're the right champion?"
"It wouldn't matter. There's a contract in force. It will be fulfilled. And I don't distinguish between enemies foreign or domestic."
He understood.
Nothing got said during the next course. Then he blurted, "Did you kill Jahamaraj Jah?"
"Yes."
"My gods! Why?"
"His existence offended me."
He gulped some air.
"He deserted at Dejagore. That cost us the battle. That was reason enough. But he also planned to kill your sister and blame me. He had a wife. If Shadar women are foolish enough to kill themselves over men, you can tell her to fire her ghat. Any priest's wife who has a husband like Jah had better start collecting firewood. She'll need it."
He winced. "You'll start a civil war."
"Not if everybody behaves and minds his own business."
"You don't understand. Priests consider everything their business."
"How many men are we talking about? A few thousand? You ever watch a gardener prune? He snips a twig here, a branch there, and the plant grows stronger. I'll prune if I have to."
"But... There's only you. You can't take on..."
"I can. I will. I'm going to fulfill the contract. And so are you."
"What?"
"I've heard that you and your sister didn't negotiate in good faith. Not smart, my friend. Nobody cheats the Company."
He did not respond.
"I'm not really good at games. I'm not subtle. My solutions are forthright and final."
"Forthright and final begets forthright and final. You kill a Jah, the other Jahs will get the idea their only option is to kill you."
"Only if they ignore the option of minding their own business. And where's my risk? I have nothing to lose. That's the fate planned for me once I'm used up, anyway. Why cooperate in my own destruction?"
"You can't just keep killing people who don't agree with you."
"I won't. Only people who disagree and try to force their ideas on me. Here in Taglios, now, there's no legitimate cause for conflict."
The prince seemed surprised. "I don't follow."
"Taglios must be preserved from the Shadowmasters. The Company contracted to do that. Where's the problem? We do what we agreed, you pay up as agreed, we go away. That ought to make everyone happy."
The prince looked at me like he wondered how I could be so naive. "I'm starting to think we have no basis for communication. This dinner may have been a mistake."
"No. It's been productive. It'll keep on being productive if you listen to me. I'm not beating around the bush. I'm telling you how it is and how it's going to be. Without me the Shadowmasters will eat you alive. You think they'll be impressed by which cult got a leg up on what with a boondoggle wall construction grant? I know how those people think. If they reach Taglios they'll slaughter everybody who could possibly make trouble ever. You should understand that. You saw what they did elsewhere."
"It's impossible to argue with you."
"Because you know I'm right. I have a list of things I need right away. I have to build an encampment and prepare a training ground immediately."
This could lead to a quick confrontation. The resources would have to come from that absurd wall project. The city was too-big to surround effectively. The project could not be justified. It was a tool for transferring the wealth of the state to a few individuals.
I said, "The men and resources devoted to the wall can be more profitably employed."
He understood. I was asking for trouble. He grunted.
I said, "Why don't we just enjoy our meal?"
We tried but it never turned into a festive evening.
A few courses along, with the conversation darting between his younger years and mine, I took the offensive again. "One more thing I want. The books Smoke hid."
His eyes got big.
"I want to know why you're afraid of the past."
He smiled weakly. "I think you know. Smoke is sure you do. He believes it was the point of your coming."
"Give me a clue."
"The Year of the Skulls."
I was not entirely surprised. I feigned bewilderment. "Year of the Skulls? What's that?"
He glanced at Ram and Abda. Doubt appeared. I recalled toying with my rumel while talking to his sister. He would not doubt long.
"If you don't know you should find out. But I'm not the best authority. Talk it over with your friends."
"I have no friends if I don't have the Prahbrindrah Drah."
"A pity."
"Do you have?"
That baffled him again. He forced a smile. "Perhaps I don't. Perhaps I ought to try to make some." The smile changed.
"We all need a few. Sometimes our enemies won't let us find them. I should be getting back. My number two is inexperienced and handicapped by his place in your caste system."
A hint of disappointment? He had wanted more than a discussion of princes and warlords.
"Thank you for the dinner, Prahbrindrah. I'll treat you in kind, soon. Ram. Abda." They stepped close. Ram offered a hand up. They had stayed behind me, unseen. I was pleased that they were alert. Ram would have been if only because of where we were. A man of his station had no hope of visiting the grove ordinarily. "Have a pleasant evening, Prince. I expect to hand you the heads of Taglios' enemies within the year."
He wore a sort of sad, yearning look as he watched us go. I knew what he was feeling. I had felt it often while I was empress in the north. But I had hidden it better.
Chapter Thirty
Ram waited till he was confident we were out of earshot. "Something is going to happen, Mistress."
"Trouble?"
"We were watched by sneaking Gunni priests all the time. They acted like they were up to no good."