“Taltos Vladimir,” she said, a smile flicking over her lips. She still looked impossibly young to be an Empress, but looks are deceiving. “What happened to your hand?”
I glanced at my left hand, missing the least finger. “A minor insect bite followed by a major infection,” I said. I forced myself to not glance at the Orb while I said it; the Orb, I’ve been told, only detects falsehood when asked to do so, and even then it can sometimes be beaten, as I’ve reason to know.
She said, “You couldn’t cure it with your arts?”
I touched the amulet hanging about my neck. “I’m not sure how much Your Majesty knows of—”
“Oh, of course,” she said. “I had forgotten.”
“It is kind of Your Majesty to remember at all.”
“Yes. I am the personification of kindness, as well as mercy and justice, which as you know always match steps. What brings you back to the City, under the circumstances?”
Okay, well, she knew about the “circumstances.” I was only surprised that she cared enough to, and I wondered why.
“Aliera is a friend of mine,” I said.
“And mine,” she snapped.
I almost jumped. It isn’t good when the Empress is mad at you—ask anyone. I said, “Well, naturally, I wanted to see her.”
She seemed to relax a little, and nodded.
“And help her if I can,” I added. “I trust you have no objections?”
“That depends,” she said carefully, “on just exactly what you mean by ‘helping’ her.”
“I had in mind hiring an advocate, to start with.”
She nodded. “I would have no objection to that, of course.”
“Perhaps Your Majesty would be willing to tell me something.”
“Perhaps.”
“It may be my imagination, but it seems that the prosecution of Aliera is, ah, being expedited. If that’s true, then—”
“It isn’t,” she said. She was terse. She was glaring. She was lying. It’s something to make an Empress lie to you, isn’t it?
I nodded. “As Your Majesty says.”
She glared and I stared at a place on the wall above and behind her right ear. The Orb had turned a sort of orangish, reddish color. I waited. This isn’t one of those situations where I need to explain why I kept my mouth shut.
At length, she gestured toward a chair. “Sit,” she said.
“I thank Your Maj—”
“Oh, shut up.”
I sat down. The chair was comfortable; I was not.
She let out a long breath. “Well,” she said. “Now we have quite the situation here.”
One thing I’d hoped to find a way to say to her was, “Look, you’ve known for years that Aliera and Morrolan dabbled in Elder Sorcery. Why is it such a big deal now all of a sudden?” I was now convinced there was going to be no way to ask it at all. The Orb circled her head, its color gradually fading back to a sick shade of green. It must be annoying to be unable to conceal your feelings.
“Was the Orb designed to display the Imperial mood, or is it a by-product of something else?”
She pretended not to hear the question. “Who have you hired as an advocate?”
“His name is Perisil.”
“I don’t know him. Will he manage to get you in to see her?”
“I hope so.”
“Let her know that if she confesses, she’ll be shown mercy.”
I started to reply, then recast it in terms I hoped more suitable for the Imperial presence: “Is Your Majesty pleased to jest?”
She sighed. “No, but I see your point.”
I was trying to imagine Aliera e’Kieron begging for mercy of anyone for any reason, and my mind just wouldn’t accept it.
She said, “I should have mentioned it before, but I’m glad you’re not—that is, I’m glad you’re still alive.”
“Me too. I mean, I thank Your Majesty.”
“Who have you seen since you’ve back in town?”
“Morrolan, that’s all.”
“Has he, ah, said anything?”
“You mean, made disloyal remarks about his sovereign? No.”
“I could put the Orb over you and make you repeat that.”
“Must be nice to be able to do that whenever you want, Majesty.”
“Not as nice as you’d think.”
I cleared my throat. “With all due respect, Your Maj—”
“Oh, stuff your respect. What is it?”
“Someone in my position is hardly likely to overflow with sympathy for someone in yours.”
“I wasn’t asking for sympathy,” said Her Majesty.
“No, I suppose not.”
“And you know whose fault your predicament is.”
“Yes. Can the same be said for yours?”
“Not without exploring metaphysics, which I haven’t the patience for just now.”
I smiled a little. “I can imagine Your Majesty in the library of Castle Black furiously arguing metaphysics with Morrolan.”
“So can I,” she said, granting me a brief smile.
It was like half the time I was being invited to talk with Zerika, and half the time to speak with the Empress. It was hard to keep up with.
I said, “It must be a difficult position.”
“I said I wasn’t asking for sympathy.”
“Sorry.”
She sighed. “Yes, it is. Between jailing a friend and violence in the—” She broke off and shook her head. “Well, I knew what I was getting into when I took the Orb.”
Neither of us mentioned that at the time she had taken the Orb there was, quite literally, no one else to do it. I said, “You know I’m still willing to serve Your Majesty.”
“Are you?”
“Yes.”
“As long as it doesn’t mean a disservice to your friends, as usual?” She sounded a little scornful.
“Yes,” I said, not letting her know that her tone had stung a bit.
“I’m afraid,” she said, “that this is an occasion when you’re going to have to choose whom to help.”
“Eh. Between my friends and the Empire? I’m sorry, that isn’t that hard a choice. Can you give me enough of an idea of what’s going on that I can at least understand why it has to be that way?”
After a moment, she said, “Do you know, Vlad, that from the best knowledge we have, it seems almost certain that at least five of the original sixteen tribes practiced human sacrifice?”
“I had not been aware—”
“There are many who assume that because we have evidence from the five, it is safe to make assumptions about the other eleven. I don’t know if they’re right, but I can’t prove them wrong.”
I cleared my throat, just as if I had something to say to that. She looked at me expectantly, so I had to come up with something. “Um, how did they choose the lucky person?”
“Different ways for different tribes. Captives in battle, selected for special honor, punishment, reward, auguries.”
“When did it stop?”
“When the Empire was formed. It was made illegal. That was the first Imperial Edict.”
“An act of kindness from your ancestor. Good way to start.”
“Not kindness, so much. She’d spoken to the gods, and knew the gods were either indifferent or hostile to the practice. So call it practicality. I bring it up because—” She stopped, and looked blank for a moment, the Orb pulsing blue over her head. “I’m sorry, it seems I must go run an Empire.”