“He is a very conscientious young officer.”
“I understand he has a human lover. He fought a duel over her.”
“I have heard some such gossip. I can assure you it in no way impairs his efficiency.”
“He was in command of your bodyguard during your mission to Harven.”
“And before that, when I visited Deep Achenar.”
“That was a mission for which he should have been commended. As I understand it, you prevented Uran Ultar from being resurrected. The return of such a demon at this exact moment could have been very dangerous to our war effort.”
“I think it’s all part of a pattern.”
“I am inclined to agree. We sent people to Achenar. They found the bodies of the Ultari, and the Magisters detected the residual energies of the portal. I read the report. So did her majesty.”
“You have been busy.”
“Not as busy as you. We would like to know more about the disappearance of the Serpent Tower as well. Was it destroyed by sorcery?”
“Ilmarec destroyed it. He intended to use the Serpent Men’s ancient weapons against us. It was a plan that backfired to our advantage.”
“You’ve left quite a trail of devastation behind you this past year, Milady.”
“I was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Or the right place at the right time. One thing about this unfortunate train of events works in your favour. All of them have been to the advantage of Talorea. Ilmarec opposed our intervention here in Kharadrea. Uran Ultar’s followers could have tied down our army on the border. I understand there was some business with animated corpses in Halim’s main graveyard.”
Asea nodded. “There’s plenty of work for an Inquisitor here.”
“A dirty business that- done by Jaderac. Another Sardean.”
“Yes. Another Sardean.”
“That place seems infested with dark magicians,” Again there was that slight mocking note in his voice. “If you wanted to make a case for the invasion that would play well with the Temple, you could not have done better.”
“Surely you are not implying that I have fabricated all this?”
“No, dear lady, I am not, but you must understand this- we are both a long way from the Amber city, and many strange theories get thrown about there, by people who have not been on the spot, who would like to believe that you have some ulterior motive, who suspect you perhaps of being as political as themselves.”
“You are not like that, of course.”
“I am a simple servant of the Temple. I seek only to establish the truth of what is going on here.”
Asea laughed outright. “The function of the Inquisition has changed over the past few years.”
Joran joined in her mirth. “No. That is not the case. You know as well as I that the Inquisition has many levels and many functions. Some Inquisitors seek out heretics. Some correct the errors of our human subjects. Some, like myself, are concerned with the realities of politics and seeing that the Temple navigates those tricky shoals without foundering.”
“I have heard that you bear the gift of the cleansing flame.”
“That is another of my functions. In this life we are all called on to play many roles.”
“You have seen how it is here. The dead do not rest, and those that are not burned rise again.”
“You have some theory about why this is happening now?”
“Jaderac performed a dreadful ritual and unleashed strange powers. I think someone else has assayed that ritual on a far larger scale.”
“I have heard reports that the dead walk throughout Kharadrea. Surely no spell can be that powerful, not on this world at least.”
“Who can tell? All winter winds of corruption carried this plague from the East and those who die of it rise again to threaten us. I think someone there has mastered ancient necromancy. I think they are using such sorcery as the Princes of Shadow used.”
“Such magic is impossible.”
“Events have proved that to be untrue. If someone has opened a Gate there are ways of bleeding power from it. With such power, one could perform so powerful a spell.”
“That is not the only thing you could do. If you could open a Gate, you could bring the Princes of Shadow and their armies to our world.”
“I see you grasp the danger of our situation and why I am concerned and think the Queen should be too.”
“You suspect that the Sardeans may be behind this.”
There was an urgency in Joran’s voice now that was obvious even to Rik. For all his earlier questioning they seemed to have come to the point in the interview that held most interest for him. Rik shook his head. Perhaps the Inquisitor merely wanted Asea to think that, perhaps it was a feint designed to hide his true interests and intentions.
“Yes,” said Asea.
“Why do you think that?”
“Malkior was very powerful there, a former Chancellor. He was in a position to encourage the rot.”
“It always comes back to him with you, doesn’t it?”
“Perhaps because that is the way of things.”
“His death begs other questions.”
“I know. Who were his followers? Who will replace him as their leader? How great was his influence?”
“How high does the corruption go? He was the Empress Arachne’s lover.”
“I know that too.”
Rik thought he saw where this was going. If the Taloreans successfully invaded Sardea, there would be purges of all the people under discussion. This was a weapon that could be used to discredit the Queen Empress and all of Malkior’s party and be used to replace them. Tamara would not do well if the Taloreans won.
In many ways it did not really matter whether Malkior was a Shadowblood or not. He could see that it would suit the powers that be in Talorea to believe that he was. The truth was merely incidental to that. Perhaps Joran might prove a useful ally to Asea’s cause. He appeared to be all in favour of the invasion.
Unless, of course, all this talk was merely a method of making him look that way while he went about other business.
“And there’s one more thing about the undead plague,” Asea said. There was something in her tone that made Rik’s hackles rise.
“What’s that, Milady?” Joran asked.
“We must ask ourselves why someone is raising so many of the dead.”
“To tie down our forces, to demoralise us, to weaken our will.”
“I fear all of that and more.”
“More?”
“There are spells to control the risen dead as well as animate them. Imagine what would happen if we find ourselves fighting against armies of the dead.”
“That is a chilling thought,” the Inquisitor said.
Rik had to agree.
Chapter Five
The sun shone down brightly on the glasshouse gardens. So high were the walls, so dense were the plants that Rik could almost forget that there was a city starving to death outside. Corpses might be walking the streets and packs of feral dogs hunting starving children through the ruins but in the Palace gardens, peacocks strutted over a manicured lawn, dotted with specimens of plants drawn from all over the world.
Rik felt light headed and calm. Asea’s potion was doing its work. The voices were still, although he sensed their presence deep in his mind. It was difficult to keep a smile from his lips. All morning he had banged into things, and not noticed until he discovered the cuts and bruises later.
Asea walked beside him. They strolled into a maze of hedges that cut off the rest of garden from view, walked passed topiary dragons and wyrms and unicorns and bushes of sweetly smelling flowers. Overhead, a roof of crystal admitted the light.
Asea looked at him sidelong, measuring him and not liking what she saw. She glanced around and made sure no one was looking at them. “I think the dosage is too strong,” she said. “You are perhaps too susceptible.”
“You could make a fortune selling this stuff on the black market,” he said, finding the remark too funny not to giggle at.
“I already have a fortune, Rik. And the drug on which the potion is based is widely used by certain classes of Terrarch. Some prefer it to alcohol.”