Blood of Empire

Chapter 60

Styke met with Etzi and Ka-poel on the small guard tower overlooking the causeway that connected Etzi’s compound with the rest of the city. Beyond them, smoke rose from the northwest corner of the city and a mob of commoners swept down the closest main avenue just out of musket range, waving weapons and shouting angrily. Pavers, stones, and bricks were loosened and thrown through windows as the mob passed a nearby collection of shops, and citizens fled in all directions ahead of the chaos.

At this range, it was impossible to tell whether the mob was composed of Sedial’s hired crew, an angry response to the former, or another group altogether that had formed spontaneously just to cause destruction. Whoever they were, they didn’t seem interested in the causeway or the walled compound, a fact that visibly relieved the Household guard manning the walls.

Etzi himself watched the action with a stricken expression, alternating every few moments between grief and anger. “Sedial thought he could control the mob,” he grumbled, “and instead he’s done us all in.” As if to punctuate his words, there was a sickening crash from a few streets over. A cloud of dust rose from a suddenly blank spot on the city vista, and Styke could only assume that one of the mobs had pulled down an entire city guard tower.

“Nobody can truly control a mob,” Styke said, removing his ring and scratching beneath it.

“The Great Ka is a thousand miles away. He doesn’t give a shit what’s happening here.” Etzi struck a fist against his palm. “Damned fool.” He took a few deep breaths and turned to Styke and Ka-poel, looking them up and down for several moments before addressing Styke. “Orz says he told you about our dealings?” He gestured between himself and Ka-poel.

Styke tried not to be annoyed that he’d been left out. “He just said that you’ve been trying to get Ka-poel to enter the political arena.”

“More or less.”

Styke raised an eyebrow at Ka-poel.

I haven’t decided yet, Ka-poel gestured.

“You need to decide,” Etzi said urgently. “This is quickly growing beyond anyone’s control. Mobs are crisscrossing the city, making it difficult for Households to communicate. Another couple of days and we may be cut off for weeks, left to hunker down behind the walls, where we try not to attract the attention of the rabble.”

“Where’s the city guard?” Styke asked.

“Half of them have joined the mobs.” Etzi threw his hands up. “The rest have retired to their own Households to help keep order – I called back twenty of my own to man the walls.” He fell silent, glaring at Ka-poel as if willing her to give him an answer, and then finally turning back to Styke. He set his jaw. “This is only going to get worse. Word has arrived of an army south of the city.” His eyes narrowed. “Your army.”

Styke leaned against the top of the compound wall, returning Etzi’s gaze coolly. So much for Jackal getting back to Ibana and keeping the Mad Lancers out of sight. “Oh,” he replied.

“Oh? Is that it?” Etzi clenched his fists, unclenched them, and then tried to pace. He gave up when the space atop the tower proved too small. “You’ve taken my hospitality, and I’ve done you the courtesy of asking no questions, only to find out that you’ve somehow managed to land several thousand cavalry on my shores.”

Styke drew his knife and used the tip to pick dirt from beneath his fingernails. “You said you didn’t want to know.”

“An enemy army is need-to-know amounts of urgency.”

“How much do you know?” Styke asked.

“Orz has told me everything. I know about your separation from the fleet, your deal with him, and your uncertainty over the army. I also know that you’ve come here to attempt to destroy the godstone.” His gaze flicked to Ka-poel, who returned the glance without expression.

Styke adjusted his stance casually, sweeping a quick look across the courtyard below them. Aside from the handful of guards manning the walls, no one had gathered in ambush or seemed prepared to rush him. Etzi hadn’t summoned him to some sort of trap, which meant he wasn’t about to turn on him.

Yet.

He returned his knife to its sheath and spread his hands. “So you know everything now. What are you going to do?”

“Under normal circumstances, there would already be a few dragonmen and dozens of city guard here to arrest you. The last message I got from my allies on the Quorum indicated that most everyone suspects that you have something to do with that army.”

“But?” Styke voiced the unsaid word.

“But… no one is in any state to do anything about it. Factionalism is the word of the day. Most of our generals and fighting men are in Fatrasta. What few we have will remain with their Households, and I have no doubt those Households will hunker behind their walls and hope that your cavalry will find it just as difficult to enter the city as the guard is finding it to restore order.”

Styke snorted. “And if my soldiers decide to enter and put down the mob at the tip of a sword?”

“You may cow us by destroying an army or two, if it comes to that,” Etzi said flatly, “but this is a city of a million people, and their blood is already up. Do you think even the best-trained cavalry in the world can tame that with a mere few thousand?”

Styke grunted a response. Etzi was probably right. He didn’t want the Mad Lancers to have anything to do with dozens – maybe hundreds – of roaming mobs. Their one advantage was that they had a clear goal. Getting into the city, securing the godstone, and giving Ka-poel time to destroy it… well, that might be within reach.

Though when he ran the thought through his head a few times, it sounded more and more absurd. “You didn’t answer my question,” Styke said. “What are you going to do?”

Etzi stared at a new column of smoke just beginning to rise from the south. He scowled at it for a few moments. “I don’t care about the godstone,” he said quietly. “Other Households might risk lives to protect it, but not me. I’m going to get you and Orz out of the city, and my responsibility for you will be finished. Then I’m going to try to help rally the Household Quorum to fight you.”

Styke knew it would go easier on both of them if they just tried to kill each other right now. But he could also see the defeated frustration in Etzi’s eyes, and he knew for himself that he wasn’t about to turn on his host in cold blood. Etzi had been too good to him. “I’m not leaving without my soldiers.”

“Orz said you’d say that.” Etzi’s scowl deepened. “As soon as the rest of my Household comes in from the city guard, I’m sending them to the prison, where they will have orders to force their way in, retrieve your soldiers, and bring them back here. After that” – he made a “go away” gesture – “I’ll turn you out.”

“Won’t that be dangerous?”

“Extremely. That short journey might take them the rest of the day. But if it gets you out of the city without bloodshed…” Etzi turned his attention back to Ka-poel, staring at her for several moments. When no answer was forthcoming, he gave a frustrated sigh and climbed down from the guard tower.

Styke watched a mob across the water to the north. They looked like they were chasing someone, but they were too far away to tell. “This dealing you’ve had with Etzi,” he said. “What does he want?” He turned back to Ka-poel and watched her hands.

She pursed her lips. I wasn’t trying to go behind your back, she gestured.

“That’s not what I asked.”

They want me to get involved.

“I picked up on that.”

Deeply involved. They want to present me to the emperor to take Ka-Sedial’s place as his highest adviser.

Just as Orz had suggested. Styke wondered what Etzi’s coalition hoped to gain from this. Did they plan on using her as a puppet? Because if so, they were about to bite off more than they could chew. He glanced at the mobs and thought of Zac’s execution. Sedial projected enough fear from a thousand miles away to put a whole city on edge and bend Households to his will. Perhaps Etzi and his friends were just so desperate that they’d cling to anything.

“They know exactly who you are?”

She nodded.

“And they believe you?”

Another nod, this time less certain. It may not matter to them. I’m a powerful bone-eye, more than strong enough to challenge Sedial. Perhaps that’s all they care about.

“But you haven’t given them an answer.”

Ka-poel hesitated.

“You’re waiting for something,” Styke realized aloud.

A nod.

“What?”

Taniel.

Styke frowned, then raised his eyebrows as he caught up mentally. She’d mentioned before that Taniel planned on catching up with him, but it had slipped his mind in the weeks since. “Taniel’s coming here. To the city?”

He’s currently on a fast ship heading toward us. I’m not going to throw myself into Dynize politics without consulting him.

Styke let out an uneasy breath. Taniel was a small army all on his own. Having him nearby would be an awfully huge relief. “Do you know how long until he arrives?”

She shook her head. Days? A week at most.

Too long for them to just sit on their thumbs for one man. Styke needed to move immediately. Once he had his soldiers back, he’d ride out of the city and join up with Ibana. They’d have to strategize from there, but he deeply suspected that they’d be riding back in within twenty-four hours, plowing through any mobs and guardsmen who got in their way. One objective. Accomplish, then pull out.

He wondered how hard it would be to kidnap or assassinate the emperor once they’d breached the palace complex. That might be their ransom back to Fatrasta.

He and Ka-poel watched the city for some time. A contingent of city guard soon approached down the causeway, were hailed by one of the watchmen, and let in. Less than an hour later, just as the afternoon began to wane, forty heavily armed and armored Household guardsmen were sent back down the causeway, heading toward the prison to retrieve Styke’s soldiers.

He knew he should be with them, but Etzi had refused the offer. Styke’s presence would just attract the attention of the mobs. And he was probably right. It didn’t make Styke feel any better, letting another man’s soldiers fight his battle for him.

Styke remained on the guard tower, watching the city, long after Ka-poel had headed back into the compound. Celine ran through the courtyard a handful of times, but he was otherwise left to his own devices.

He was about to head down to the canteen when a small group of horsemen appeared at the causeway, galloping at full speed out of the street and slowing only when they reached the gate. A flurry of words were exchanged between the couple of guards remaining in the compound and the new arrivals. Etzi was summoned and ordered the gate opened.

The group consisted of three women and two men. They were dusty, wild-eyed, and breathless from a hard ride. Four of them were dressed in Household livery and heavily armed, while the fifth carried herself with the unmistakable air of a politician. A Household head, probably. Styke noted cuts on all five of the horses, as if they’d ridden straight through the center of a mob to get here.

Styke climbed down from the guard tower to join Etzi and his guests in the courtyard.

A terse greeting was exchanged, and their leader eyeballed Styke. “We have to talk,” she said to Etzi, her voice shaky.

“Ben,” Etzi said by way of introduction, “this is Meln-Sika, one of my staunchest allies and head of the Sika Household. Would you mind giving us some privacy? Sika, we can speak in my office.”

“No.” The woman threw her hand up toward Styke. “Let the foreigner listen. We may need him.”

Styke had already begun to head toward the canteen. He stopped himself and turned back, head cocked. There was real fear in Sika’s voice. Something more than fear of the mobs. Etzi scowled between Styke and Sika, then gestured Styke to come in close.

Sika rummaged around inside her shirt for a moment and drew out a card.

“This is Ka-Sedial’s seal,” Etzi said, taking it in hand and opening it. His eyes scanned the single page. His face grew pale. He got to the bottom and then began to read it again, fingers trembling. He finally handed it back. “A purge order?” he whispered.

“From the Great Ka himself,” Sika spat.

“I don’t understand,” Styke interjected. Even as the words left his mouth, something clicked in the back of his head; these might be the mysterious orders that Ji-Patten had alluded to the night he died.

Etzi and Sika exchanged a glance. “There’s more,” Sika told Etzi, then turned toward Styke to include him in the explanation. “Last night, a mob appeared outside of the Donnolian Household – one of our allies. From what I’ve been able to gather from the survivors, the mob was better armed than most and included a few city guardsmen. They claimed to have an arrest warrant for Donnolian himself. They even had legal paperwork. Once Donnolian opened the gates, the mob flooded in and massacred his entire Household.”

“Donnolian is dead?” Etzi breathed.

“He is. The same thing has happened to two other Households, and maybe more that I haven’t been able to get word to. A mob appeared outside my own gates a few hours ago, but I’d just been warned and my soldiers were able to scatter the rabble. We grabbed this” – she shook the purge order – “off one of their leaders.”

It took Styke a few moments to catch up. “When you say that this is from Sedial…”

“Written in his own hand and sent from Fatrasta,” Sika said. “He ordered it weeks ago. I’ve wondered why his allies haven’t taken a stronger stance against Etzi’s legal wrangling, and this is why – because they knew they’d get the order to kill us all anyway.” Sika’s voice dripped with fury. “The further chaos caused by these mobs is meant to screen their purge, to prevent us from uniting.”

Styke took the purge order from Sika’s hand. He’d only just begun attempting to learn how to read and write Dynize, so the few paragraphs were illegible to him. But the list of Household names that took up most of the page was unmistakable. Styke spotted both Sika and Etzi’s names there, including a dozen other Households that he’d heard mentioned as in opposition of Sedial.

Etzi staggered over to a nearby wall and sagged against it. Styke turned to Sika. “Why the purge order?” he asked. “Why not just send it through one of his puppets?”

“It’s the veneer of legality,” Sika sneered.

“Why does that matter?” Styke asked. “He’s murdering Dynize citizens.”

“The Ka claims that he is purging enemies of the state. Anyone with a brain can see he’s just consolidating his own power. But this list isn’t everyone, of course. There are over a hundred neutral Households. An order written in his own hand is an official government act – those neutral Households are less likely to defend us if they believe that they won’t be next.”

“And your emperor is just going to let this happen?”

“That’s the worst part.” Etzi seemed to regain control of his senses, returning to the center of the courtyard and presenting the envelope to Styke. “The signature at the bottom belongs to the emperor. He sanctioned this.”

Styke looked back and forth between the two Household heads. Sika wore a mask of anger, Etzi one of shock. But he could see the deep fear in the eyes of both of them. He realized that he was looking into the faces of two people who already considered themselves as good as dead.

That’s why Sika wanted him to hear all of this. “You want my army,” he said flatly.

“I haven’t spoken to more than a few Household heads,” Sika said quietly. “But the Great Ka has ordered our deaths. We can go quietly, or we can go fighting.”

“And you want to invite a foreign army into the city?” Etzi asked in horror.

“Damn the city!” Sika spat. “Damn Sedial, and damn the emperor! This is not just about individual honor or loyalty to a higher cause!” She snatched the purge order from Styke’s hand and thrust it into Etzi’s face. “This orders the murder of our entire Households. Men, women, and children. If I thought my death would strengthen the empire, I would walk to it gladly. But I will not sacrifice the lives of thousands of people in my care just to give that old sack of shit the control he craves. Don’t you dare tell me that you would, either.”

A flurry of emotions crossed Etzi’s face, and in the course of a few moments Styke saw him transform into the man who had ordered his soldiers to cut their way through an angry mob. His jaw tightened and he nodded at Sika. “You’re right, I won’t. But we don’t stand a chance, divided as we are. Even if we ally ourselves with this cavalry force, we are still cut off from one another.”

“I’m doing what I can,” Sika said, throwing her arms up. “You’re the third Household that I’ve managed to warn. The best we can do right now is spread information – the more of us who are able to recall our soldiers from the garrisons and close our gates, the more we may be able to weather these mobs. We get through the next few days and maybe we can rally our forces faster than Sedial.”

She sounded confident, but Styke could tell she was clutching at straws. She was right that Sedial’s allies were using the mobs to cover for their purge, but she couldn’t possibly believe that Etzi and the rest would be able to gather more strength than Sedial, even if they managed to survive the initial bloodshed. Sedial had planned for this. His allies would have soldiers set aside to eventually put down the mobs and then crush any opposition that remained. And with the Households spread out across the city…

“We’re undefended,” Styke said.

“You’re what?” Sika demanded.

Etzi took a deep breath. “I sent most of my soldiers to fetch Styke’s men from the prison. They may not be back for hours.”

“You damn well better hope that whoever is commanding the purge doesn’t decide to get around to you until tomorrow,” Sika said, throwing up her hands. “I can’t spare anyone, I can’t risk…” She trailed off helplessly.

“No need,” Etzi said confidently. “We have good walls. My soldiers will be back within a few hours. We’ll be fine.”

“You’re certain?”

“Certain. You’re right. You can’t spare anyone, and you can’t stay here. You have to warn as many of our allies as you can. I’ll send out a few runners of my own.”

Styke side-eyed Etzi. Sending out messengers would deplete the few guards they had left. He swore inwardly, willing the guardsmen to return with his Lancers. Once they were back, he’d have options – defend Etzi, flee the city, or even escort Etzi’s entire Household to a bigger compound. He tried to wrap his head around this new shift. He would use this civil strife to his advantage, of course, but he had to figure out exactly how to do it.

Did he go fetch Ibana and ride the army to the godstone, allowing the Dynize to slaughter one another? Or did he intervene on behalf of Etzi? The former was the smart thing to do. The latter was… the more honorable? The old Styke would have ridden away laughing. There was nothing better than an enemy at war with itself. But now?

Sika and her soldiers took some refreshment and ammunition, then disappeared back into the city. Once she was gone, Styke cornered Etzi. “If you can spare anyone – anyone – I need you to send them south with an update for my second-in-command. I’ll write her a message myself.”

“It’ll be done.”

“You also want to tell Ka-poel what’s going on,” he advised.

“We may already be a lost cause, unless your men can come quickly enough,” Etzi responded.

“I can’t promise that Ka-poel won’t think otherwise, but once your soldiers bring mine back from the prison, I can get them armed and on horseback. We can at least escort your Household to somewhere more defensible.”

Etzi passed a hand across his face. “I appreciate the offer, but there isn’t anywhere more defensible. We have to make a stand here.” He nodded to himself. “I will go make my case to Ka-poel.”

He hadn’t been gone more than ten minutes when Styke heard a warning shout from one of the guards. He climbed quickly to one of the towers and looked toward the city, where a mob had begun to gather at the end of the causeway. It was already fifty strong and growing quickly. He could see city guardsmen among them, and even while he watched, an officer detached from the mob and walked the length of the causeway. He stopped a few yards from the gate.

“I have an arrest warrant for Meln-Etzi!”

Etzi was summoned and climbed up beside Styke. He was ashen-faced, but steady. A single glance told Styke that Etzi knew exactly what this was. “I am Meln-Etzi,” he told the officer.

“In the name of the emperor and the Great Ka, open this gate! You are under arrest for treason!”

“If I open this gate,” Etzi whispered, “we will all die.”

“Agreed,” Styke said.

“But if I don’t, they will storm the walls and destroy us anyway.” He froze in place for several moments, then climbed down from the tower.

“Meln-Etzi!” the officer called. “Meln-Etzi, I demand you open this gate.”

“Keep it closed,” Etzi ordered. A small group had already begun to gather in the courtyard, and Etzi doled out tasks in a quick, efficient tone. “Maetle, get the youngest children and pregnant women into the smuggler hole. Send boats across the lake to our closest allies and tell them we need help. Open the armory for everyone else. We will try to stall for the return of our soldiers.”

The group scattered without questioning the orders. Within minutes people began flooding back in, wearing old, ill-fitting breastplates and morion helmets and carrying muskets from the Household armory. Styke watched them impassively, considering getting his own weapons, when he spotted Celine and Jerio.

Jerio was carrying a musket. The boy could barely lift it, but he was looking it over with the serious air of an experienced soldier. Styke could hear him arguing with Celine. “You are my guest,” Jerio said, mimicking words that Styke had heard Etzi say on more than one occasion. “Join the children in the smuggler hole!”

“I’ll man the walls,” Celine insisted, grabbing for Jerio’s musket. She put on a brave face, but Styke could see that the seriousness of the situation seemed to have struck her more deeply than it had Jerio. Her voice trembled. She was breathing hard. She was terrified.

Something inside Styke snapped. His face twisted, his gut clenching. He strode over to the arguing children and snatched the musket out of Jerio’s hands. “You’ll do no such thing,” he ordered. The idleness and suppressed fury of the last couple of weeks finally overwhelmed him. He could barely see straight.

“Ben!” Celine turned on him, her eyes tearing. “They’re going to kill my friends, Ben. We can’t let them. I’ll fight, I will!”

Styke grabbed them both by the shoulders and shoved them toward the stables. “No fighting. Take Jerio.”

“I won’t hide!” Celine yelled.

“Of course you won’t, you little shit. Jerio, I want you to load my carbines. Celine.”

Her tears were flowing freely now. “Ben?”

Styke reached out and wiped a tear away with his thumb. “Go get my armor ready.”