Fate of an Empire (Talurian Empire Trilogy Book 1) (9 page)

“We need to
get these fires out, now!” Rurik shouted.

The screams,
the desperate pleas and agonized cries of the civilians trapped outside the walls,
had ceased. They were all gone, dead within seconds. Such was the mercy of
fire. The flames continued to swell, gaining in height and growing in intensity.
Fingers of red and orange curled over the Keep’s walls, mischievously setting
buildings and shrubbery aflame.

“Sir, we need
to move everyone to the southern wall,” Private Galro said. His head down,
sifting through a pile of reports from the other walls. “It seems the fires are
not as bad in that direction. We may be able to wait it out if we get indoors
and away from this smoke.”

As he
finished, a loud explosion echoed through the Keep.

“That came from
the south side!” Rurik yelled back to Galro, over the screams of the crowd. “The
city’s oil reserve!”

“Damn it! The
wind must have picked up and carried something over the wall.”

A huge plume
of smoke started spreading over the southern side of the Keep. “So much for
moving everyone that way.” Rurik smashed his fist on the stone wall next to him.

“We are
finished…” Rurik’s voice trailed off. With each passing minute, the flames rose
higher, and the cries of the crowded courtyard grew louder.

“I will not let
things end this way…”
A voice whispered across the wind, dancing from
ear to ear.

Suddenly, a
loud clap of thunder echoed through the sky, deafening the masses. People
dropped to the ground, clasping their hands against their ringing ears. The air
swirled, lifting the flames higher, yet away from the walls.

Rainbows of
fire arched across the smoke filled air.

Rurik was the
only one that stood his ground, standing tall against the sudden overload of
senses. He lifted his eyes to the center of the forming vortex of fire. A man
slowly appeared through the blinding light.

The brightness
of the flames shone past his body, hiding his features, throwing a dramatic
shadow across the ground below. He floated high above the Keep, never coming
any closer, never moving further away.

The ground
trembled.

Buildings,
weakened from the fire, collapsed under the stress. The wind swirled faster and
faster, knocking down stands and carts lining the courtyard. Rurik finally
conceded to the gaining pressure and fell to his knees.

A booming
voice cracked across the sky, “People of Taluria, I am here to help. If you
wish to live, breathe deep and hold your breath. Do it now.”

The figure
started twirling in the air. His speed increased exponentially until he formed a
giant whirlwind, sucking the oxygen out of the area. The people inside the city
started to understand what was happening and held their breath as long as they
could, some fainted, knowing this was their only hope of survival.

The towers of
fire gasped for the last envelopes of their precious fuel but soon withered to
nothingness. Once the people were safe from the flames, the man in the sky
pushed out his hands, causing a gust of wind to clear the thick, smoky air.

The crowds
rose, cheering and screaming praises to their new found savior.

“I did not
waste my time sending your army back to Hillsford just to find a massacre of
charred bodies.” The rescuer sighed and, with another deafening explosion, the
featureless man and the ominous light that accompanied him, blinked out of
sight.

All was
suddenly calm. For the first time in two days, the city was at peace. Well, as
much as a scorched landscape of death and unrecognizable buildings could
muster.

Amira sat and
waited for Saris to return, mindlessly kicking a piece of fallen, displaced
masonry between her feet.

The General had
left her inside the mildew ripened washroom after hearing the fighting in the
hallway. Now, cheering and shouts of joy coming from outside the building
reached her ears.

What have I
missed?

Saris had been
leading her to a secret passage, which would have taken her to a small cabin
almost five miles south of the city. The baby needed to be safe. The passage was
cleverly hidden inside the old wash area, but now she felt there wasn’t going
to be a need for escape.

She slowly
moved from the darkened corner, discarding Saris’ order to hide and wait for
him. She stepped lightly, not making a sound. The door flew open, almost
catching her in the face.

“I told you
not to move from that spot!” Saris appeared, dusting debris from his coat. “You
could have been harmed.” He pulled her into his chest and gently cradled her, like
a scared child. “Thandril was defending us against an intruder in the hallway
and, moments after the man was subdued, rumbling from outside caused the only
hallway out of here to collapse.”

She slowly
pulled herself away from him, awkwardly moving his hand from around her. “How
are we to get out?”

He looked at
her with his steady, dark brown eyes. “That is why I am so filthy; Thandril and
I were trying to dig our way out but to no avail. Everything will be fine,
though, we just need to wait for my personal guards to gather men to remove the
fallen bricks.” His eyes carried none of the harshness that was visible when
speaking to his soldiers or when she first met him during his son’s birth.

Thandril
slowly moved through the doorway, dragging an unconscious man behind him. The
man was young.

This must be
the intruder.

“What are you
going to do with him?” she asked.

Saris looked
him over, “Once we get out of here, we will have a long talk about who sent him
here and why. After that—” He put his hands up, feigning ignorance, “who
knows?”

*
* *

They had been
silent for the better part of an hour when Amira heard a dimmed voice coming
from the hallway. She stirred Saris, who had dozed off a while earlier. He
didn’t see a point in stressing about their predicament and took the chance for
a quick rest. “I think someone is making their way through the debris.” She
pointed out into the hallway.

“Thandril!”
Saris shouted.

The druid
instantly appeared through the entryway of another room, in which he was
keeping the prisoner. “Master?”

“Check the
antechamber. Someone may be getting close to freeing us from this wretched
place.”

Thandril
nodded once and disappeared back through the door. After a moment, he poked his
head back in, “Yes, sir. They are digging us out, nearly there.”

Saris looked
at Amira, staring at her in silence for a minute, “Well, maybe now that this
situation has resolved itself, there might be some time for the two of us to
get better acquainted. I need to meet with my officers once we are free from
here, but would you accept my invitation for a drink afterward?”

Reluctantly,
she accepted his offer, as not to disrespect the powerful man. He certainly
didn’t seem that wounded from his wife’s death, only days before.

*
* *

It had now
been two days since the assault on the city ended.

The citizens
evacuated the Keep’s walls as quickly as they were allowed. Families rushed to
see if their houses or businesses still stood, or if they were one of the
hundreds that had burned. The attack was the worst suffered by a city of the
Talurian Empire in the last thirty years since the border skirmishes in the
time of Emperor Kidaris.

To help in the
cleanup of the Keep, the General and Honor Guard Captains pulled the majority
of slaves into service of the Empire. Saris took Rurik’s recommendation and
assigned Gleb as head keeper over the other slaves, and he was doing a
brilliant job of getting the place back in order.

His first job
was to clean up the General’s quarters and the great meeting hall. There was
much to be discussed, and they needed some place for the entire entourage of
officers to meet.

*
* *

Amira
stretched awake as the baby started to cry. “Shh…it’s alright, little one.” She
picked him up and cradled him in her arms.

Saris had
accommodated her in a generously-sized suite attached to the quarters he shared
with Thandril. He also appointed her a temporary guardian of the boy, since
Saris could not afford to spend every waking hour caring for his son. Saris trusted
her with Archaos more than any of his other maidservants. She found caring for
the child to be quite a relief from her normal duties.

A lowly nurse
in a city like Hillsford didn’t offer much in the way of prestige or
excitement. Maybe Saris would have her travel back with him to Talur? She
wondered if this would be a long-term position, as the baby’s primary
caretaker.

Saris had seen
her to the room over two nights ago and she had not laid eyes on him since.
From gossip with the wait staff, she learned Saris had been holding some long,
drawn-out meetings with his top officers.

“I say we get
some fresh air,” She spoke nonchalantly to the baby. He stared back aimlessly.
“It’s unbearable to stay pent up indoors for days on end!”

Amira wrapped
baby Archaos in a warm blanket and made her way to the door. She stepped out
into the entrance foyer, separating her and the General’s rooms from the rest
of the inner Keep. She moved down the hallway toward the common room, but at
the connecting passage stood one of Saris’ personal guards.

He stepped out
in front of her and held out his hand, “Sorry, m’lady, I have orders to keep
you in this part of the building.”

Her face
flushed, “Orders from whom?”

“General
Saris, m’lady,” He answered curtly.

“What am I? A
prisoner?” She began to get angry.

“No, m’lady.
It’s for your safety. We have dangerous prisoners inside the Keep and Saris
wants to take extra caution in your safety and well-being.”

She was
disinterested in his excuses and, turning away, she furiously stomped back the
way she had come.

“Oh! And
congratulations on the engagement!” The guard shouted after her.

She instantly
stopped and ran back to the young man. She stabbed her slender finger into his
chest. “Excuse me? What did you just say?”

Captain Arteus
pushed open the heavy doors that led into the great hall. “Sir, I present, Ceth,
Commander of the Kitam forces, Dageros, Captain of Merkadia, and Kaillum, also
a Captain of Merkadia.”

Arteus had
successfully chased down the retreating Kitamite forces with his lancers. They
quickly surrounded and subdued the men with minimal casualties. This had
happened only moments before the man in the sky appeared and saved the city
from what seemed to be its fiery end.

The first
couple of hours, he sat with the General through a number of meetings. He
retold the story of what happened in the north, with the same man appearing
there, and the death of his friend and comrade, Barolas. When his presence was
no longer necessary at the council meetings, Saris sent him to help with the
interrogation of the enemy soldiers. Arteus had been an interrogator with the
Talurian army before he started climbing the ranks and became one of the
General’s favorite Captains.

Arteus took a
deep bow as the high-ranking men in the room applauded his findings, feigning
acceptance of their routine praise. He carried his uniform shirt under his
arm—his chest sweaty and covered with blood. “Takes a lot of hard work to get
answers down in that dungeon.”

The three
captives looked bruised and battered, but overall still in good shape—that
couldn’t be said for the poor souls that eventually gave up the guarded
information.

Seven men sat
in the room, General Saris, Thandril, and the five Honor Guard Captains.

Saris stood to
his feet and walked around from the head of the table. “This one’s name is, Kaillum?”
He looked to Arteus for confirmation, who nodded in return. Saris grabbed the
young man’s chin and tilted his face up. “He was the one who tried to kill me.”
The man’s golden eyes rolled around in his head, not able to meet the General’s
for more than an instant. Saris ran his fingers along the ridge down the middle
of his forehead, shaking his head.

“And you say
they are from Merkadia?” Saris questioned.

“Yes, Sir.
Apparently this whole assassination attempt was put together by them.”

“They do not
look like other Merkadians,” Saris commented, “And what is wrong with them?
They all seem barely conscious.”

“A special
concoction of mine. A truth serum. I used it back in the day. Mixed with a
little old fashion pain, it quickly broke the other captives, thus we were able
to learn the names and positions of these men. But, even a double dose has
proved futile with this bunch. Ceth is just too damn strong-willed and has
probably been put through some mental training against this type of
interrogation. And these two…” Arteus put a hand on each of their shoulders,
“They seem just dazed by it. I have never encountered this, the mixture needs
adjusting. I will start working on it immediately.”

Arteus
motioned for the guards to help the captives out of the room.

“Wait!”
Thandril stood from his chair, “I have seen that one.” He pointed to Dageros.
He moved to stand right in front of him. “He is the one who can duplicate
himself.”

Dageros’ head
stopped rolling around. His eyes focused on Thandril.

His lips
curled up into a smile. “Hello again,” He winked at Arteus, “Damn, Cap. That
stuff took my headache away real quick.”

Eight copies
of himself popped into being next to him, grabbing ahold of Thandril and
Arteus. The other Captains in the room jumped to their feet, waiting to attack,
all drawing their weapons. One of the copies moved to the suddenly alert, Kaillum,
and helped him out of his restraints.

The room stood
in a stalemate.

Saris stood in
the middle of the two groups of men. The calm had lasted only but a moment
before Thandril launched the two holding him across the room, sending them
crashing through a window. As quickly as the two disappeared, two more appeared
standing in defense of the three men.

“Go! Take Ceth!”
Dag shouted at Kaillum.

Kaillum
hesitated, but then grabbed the barely conscious Ceth and slowly retreated back
to the door.

“Where do you
think you will go?” Saris laughed.

“He’s right.”
Dag shouted, “Leave Ceth, he was going to abandon you anyways. Change into one
of the commoners and disappear!”

Saris’ eyes
went wide. He hadn’t thought of that. “Get him now!”

The guards in
the room and the Captains around the table charged forward. Kaillum tossed the
Kitamite captain at their feet. The Captains tumbled over Ceth’s body and fell
to the floor in a heap. Dageros’ copies grabbed onto the men, keeping them
down, giving his brother time to escape.

Saris jumped
over a fallen soldier and snaked between two duplicates, landing a heavy blow
to Dageros’ face. The punch spun him to the left, knocking him unconscious, and
causing him to fall into the copy holding Arteus. The Captain took the
opportunity and broke free from the grip, quickly unleashing a brutal uppercut
to its jaw, instantly killing the phantom.

Kaillum
disappeared out the door of the meeting hall.

Moments later,
Rurik came running into the room, followed by twenty guards. “What happened?”

“One of them
escaped! The one who can change his shape!” Saris yelled.

All of the men
in the room grouped together and ran back out the door, save for Saris and
Thandril. Arteus grabbed a couple of the soldiers, before they all ran off, and
was already on his way back to the dungeon with Dageros and Ceth.

“Well, things are
once again well out of hand,” Saris sighed. He walked back over to his chair,
motioning for Thandril to take a seat with him. “We need to sort out this mess.
The Merkadian King is going to give us more trouble than we thought. He controls
the other tribes and is obviously bold enough to attempt an assassination. We
must learn more from these captives and more about those damn magic users.”

*
* *

Kaillum had
managed to disguise himself as one of the guards and simply ran out of the main
citadel with all of the other soldiers. It was the first time he had been
outside since his failed attempt on Saris’ life. The city was afire when he
became a captive, now the sky was clear and blue, nearing sunset. The courtyard
and inner buildings of the Keep were already cleaned up and organized repairs
were already started on some of the more heavily damaged structures.

He pushed the
city from his mind.

Kaillum knew
that the executions were planned for tomorrow morning. He needed to find someplace
safe to stay for the night and work on a plan to free his brother. The energy
of holding his current appearance, combined with the effects of Arteus’ drug on
his system, were quickly tiring him. He found a relatively calm area of the
city and returned to his normal profile. Then, pulling his coat high around his
neck, he moved out into the crowd.

*
* *

The next
morning, Amira heard a steady knock on her door. She quickly put on a robe and
went to see who it was. It couldn’t be the maidservants, it was barely light
outside, and they knew to hold off until after the morning meal was served.
Again, the pounding came on the front door. “Coming!”

She lingered
at the door for a moment, checking her reflection in an ornate mirror hanging
on the wall. She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to no effect to look
more presentable. She turned the knob and swung open the door.

“General!” Amira
had caught her anger before becoming completely unhinged. “Sir, your arrival is
unexpected. You haven’t been by, nor have I heard even the slightest word from
you in days. Your son will never know his father if you continue in this way.”
She threaded her words like a dagger.

“I don’t think
my lack of parental appearances is what causes you to attack your Lord like
this. Word tells me that you have heard of our exciting announcement from
another’s mouth. I will have to see to that. I wanted to be the one who told
you.” Saris smiled. “Had I been the one to break the news, you would’ve had
more time to adjust to the idea. But, now that I have found you here, purely
outraged about the idea, I feel something must be done. How can I make you
more… agreeable to this arrangement?”

Amira was shocked
by his candidness concerning something so important. Had he any real feelings
for her? Maybe a slight fascination, but there couldn’t be much more than a
physical attraction after such a short amount of time spent together. Maybe it
was just her caring for his son. “You are absolutely mad!” Saris seemed unfazed
by the remark. “What if I don’t want any part in this?”

He moved
closer to her. “We will have to compromise, for I have already announced our
marriage and I will not be made to look a fool.” His eyes were fixed on hers. A
glint of anger hid there; ready to come out if provoked. “I need to have a wife
at my side, for my own standing and for the child’s.” As if knowing he was
being talked about, Archaos cried out from his crib in the next room over.

Amira
immediately turned and walked away from Saris.

He followed
her into the room, sighing under his breath. She already had the baby in her
arms as he rounded the corner. She stood next to a window, cradling the child.
The morning light pushed through her thin silk robe, and the shadow of her
slender, shapely body was shown to full effect.

Saris smiled,
outlining her figure with his eyes.

She was not,
however, oblivious to the primitive male drive, cinching her robe tighter with
one hand. “Basically, I have no choice in the matter of being your wife. But,
you’ll allow me a say in how our marriage will work, in which way I choose to
fulfill the role of being your wife?”

“Essentially,”
He stated, coldly.

She hesitated
to say any more to the man. She had grown scared of him.

The longer she
was around him, the more she saw through his façade, past his empty compliments
and manipulative kindness. She was now his hostage, fated to be his wife till
this harsh world took his life. Sooner than later, she hoped.

Amira changed
the subject. “Why am I not allowed to leave this wing of the Keep?”

“A precaution,
my lady,” He answered. “It is only for a little while longer. There are only a
few prisoners that survived our interrogation process. They will be dead within
the hour. One has escaped and we hope to flush him out during the execution. We
don’t think he has left the city yet, so he is bound to be close. Now, you will
dress accordingly and join me in the courtyard.” Saris said the last part like
an order to one of his soldiers. “The ordeal will start in little over half an
hour.”

As if waiting
for Saris to finish, a stream of Harmite slave women poured into the room
carrying armloads of dresses and small boxes filled with jewelry.

“I believe
these belonged to the late baron’s wife. You are slenderer than her, but I hear
one of these women is a fine seamstress. She will have to work fast, but I
doubt she will let me down,” Saris smiled.

She huffed
past him, carrying the baby in her arms. Even if forced into her new role, she
was still appalled that their first public appearance together was going to be
an execution!