Jonathan Moeller - The Ghosts 09 - Ghost in the Surge (16 page)

Perhaps one of his kin had perished with the western fleet of the Empire.

“This is Lord Aeolus, a count of the Emperor’s court,” said Titus, indicating the thin man. Aeolus executed a perfect bow, his cold expression never changing. “And this is Lord Corbould Maraeus.”

Kylon met the black-armored man’s eyes. According to his letters from Titus, Corbould had wanted to continue the war with the Empire, forcing the destruction of New Kyre, even if the stormsingers unleashed a drought and a famine across the western and central Empire. 

He saw the game at once. Lord Titus would offer the carrot, and Lord Corbould the stick. In case the Kyracians made too many demands.

This was indeed a delicate dance.

“A pleasure, Lord Archon,” said Corbould in a flat voice. He gestured to the Legion veteran behind him. “This man is Arcion of Caer Marist, who earned the title of Champion of Marsis for his valiant deeds during the battle for the city.” 

Kylon nodded. During the battle of Marsis, Caina had tried to find the son of her friend Ark, taken by Kyracian slavers…and that same Ark had killed the stormdancer Kleistheon in single combat. He recognized the sword at Ark’s belt. It was a stormdancer’s lightning-forged blade.

Kleistheon’s sword.

Alcios drew himself up. “You present us with a peasant wearing the blade of a stormdancer? An insult!” 

Corbould scowled. “That stormdancer attacked a city of the Empire, and the Champion slew him in fair combat! That is hardly an insult…”

Alcios sneered, and it might have gone further, but Kylon spoke.

“You are in mourning, my lord Corbould,” said Kylon. “Might I ask why? If one of your kin has fallen in battle against the Kyracian people, I grieve for his loss, but many men have fallen upon both sides.”

A ripple of surprise went through Corbould’s emotional sense. “Thank you for your kind words, my lord, but it has nothing to do with you or the Kyracian people. A message came from the Magisterium chapterhouse in Marsis. My son Aiodan was the Lord Governor there, and he was assassinated by a traitor.” His gray eyes narrowed. “She will pay for her crime.”

She?

“I agree, my lord,” said Aeolus. “Forgive us, my lords of Kyrace. War, as I am sure you know, brings out both great heroism and cruel treachery.” 

“I am sorry for the loss of your son,” said Kylon. A female assassin had killed Aiodan Maraeus? That in itself was not unusual – the Kindred assassin families recruited from both men and women. 

Yet why did Ark look so urgent?

“Thank you,” said Corbould. “Still, this is a matter for Imperial justice, and should not trouble you, my lord Archon. The perpetrator was Anna Callenius, the daughter of the master merchant Basil Callenius. It seems they were dealing with enemies of the Empire.” He looked at Aeolus. “And they, in turn, shall be dealt with.” 

Anna Callenius was the alias Caina had used in Catekharon.

Caina had assassinated Aiodan Maraeus? 

That made no sense. Aiodan had been Lord Governor of Marsis, and Caina only killed those she thought deserved it. Why would she have killed Corbould Maraeus’s son? Had he turned against the Empire? 

Or had there been some other reason?

“Indeed,” said Titus, and Kylon sensed his impatience with the entire matter. “I suggest we proceed to the Imperial Citadel, Lord Archon. The Emperor himself waits to greet you, and the Imperial Curia shall host a banquet in your honor. We hope to sail for New Kyre in three days’ time, and until then, we shall have many festivities to celebrate peace between our two nations.” 

Ark met Kylon’s eye. “Perhaps the Lord Archon would like to tour a foundry while he is here. My smiths and workers are without equal.”

Kylon gave a fractional nod.

He sensed Titus’s alarm. “That…would be a needless provocation.”

“Not at all,” said Kylon. “Peace is coming between the Emperor and the Assembly. Perhaps Kyracian merchant vessels shall bear the wares of the Champion’s foundry to the far corners of the earth.”

“Perhaps,” said Aeolus, looking at Ark with narrowed eyes.

“Still,” said Titus, clearing his throat, “the Champion’s foundry produces arms and armor for the Imperial Guard. It would be…gauche, let us say, to show that to an ambassador from another…”

“Husband,” said Thalastre. She must have sensed his urgency. “I would like to see the foundry. I grew up in Kyrant, and there were no such workshops there. I would enjoy seeing it.”

“If you do not mind, Lord Titus,” said Kylon, “I would consider it a personal favor.”

Titus shrugged. “Well…why not? Very well. If the Champion does not object, we can tour it tomorrow, after the banquet.”

“I do not,” said Ark. “I look forward to it.”

“Yes,” said Aeolus. “As do I.”

###

The next morning, Claudia stood with Lord Martin outside the doors of the Champion’s foundry.

“You went too far,” said Aeolus. As ever, he was calm, but he strode back and forth, three steps to the right, three steps to the left. 

Ark stood by the doors, arms folded over his chest. “If Caina has gone mad or renegade, if the magi have mind-twisted her, she’s a threat to Kylon and the Emperor…”

Aeolus leveled a finger at Ark. “You think to save her life.”

“Yes,” said Ark. The veteran Legionary did not look the least intimidated by the taller man. “Will you have me killed for it? Or expelled from the Ghosts?”

“Certainly not,” said Aeolus. “The Ghosts require men who think for themselves. This is not the Imperial Legion.” Ark snorted. “If you can prove that Caina Amalas did not kill the other Ghosts and Aiodan Maraeus, then you are welcome to do so. But I still intend to have her executed.”

Claudia shivered, and she felt Martin’s arm tighten against hers. Caina frightened her, but she did not want the woman killed. For one, she could not believe that Caina would turn against the Ghosts, no matter what method of coercion had been used. The woman simply hated sorcery too much.

And Corvalis loved Caina. When Claudia thought about losing Martin, the idea made her want to weep. What would losing Caina do to Corvalis? 

Claudia did not want to find out. 

The courtyard gate swung open, and a guard of Kyracian ashtairoi marched inside. With them came Kylon of House Kardamnos and a striking Kyracian woman a few years Claudia’s junior.

“Oh,” said Claudia, smiling. “He must have saved her.” 

Aeolus looked at her, and she swallowed.

“When we were in Caer Magia,” said Claudia, forcing herself to meet the circlemaster’s strange eyes. “Lord Kylon came there to find a cure for his betrothed Thalastre. Without his help, we would have been defeated, and Rhames would have used the bloodcrystal.”

Aeolus nodded and looked away, unconcerned. 

Kylon spoke to the ashtairoi, and they remained as the gate as he and Thalastre walked towards the Ghosts. The ashtairoi did not look pleased to remain behind, to leave their Archon unprotected.

Of course, if he wanted to, Kylon could likely kill every Ghost in the foundry without much difficulty. 

The stormdancer stopped a few paces away, as did Thalastre. Claudia made a faint gesture with her left hand, whispering under her breath. Arcane power came at her call, and she focused it into a sensing spell. She detected the presence of sorcery around the Kyracian woman. Thalastre was a stormsinger, likely a powerful and skilled one.

A faint smile passed over Thalastre’s lips. No doubt she had felt the spell. 

“Lord Martin, Claudia,” said Kylon. “It is good to see that you are well.”

“And you, Lord Archon,” said Martin. “I am glad to see you succeeded in curing your betrothed.”

“This is Thalastre, once of House Ixionos, now of House Kardamnos, and my wife,” said Kylon.

Thalastre gripped her skirts and performed a passable imitation of an Imperial curtsy. “It is good to meet you all. My husband has spoken most highly of your bravery and boldness. I owe you my life – without your aid, he would not have survived the great darkness within Caer Magia.” 

“While we are grateful for your recovery,” said Aeolus, “that is not the reason the Champion has summoned you here, is it?”

“No,” said Kylon. “Might I ask your interest in this matter, Lord Aeolus?”

“You may,” said Aeolus, “since it seems Caina Amalas has already taken you into her confidence on multiple occasion, unwise as it might be to share our secrets with a foreign lord. Suffice it to say that I have a position of authority with the Ghosts, and I have a great interest in seeing peace between our nations…and bringing to heel any renegade members of the Ghosts.”

“Renegade?” said Kylon. 

“A little over a fortnight past,” said Aeolus, “Caina Amalas murdered nearly two dozen Ghosts in Malarae, and then…”

“Or an impostor using a spell to assume her identity,” said Ark. 

“And then she reappeared in Marsis,” said Aeolus. “The magi in Marsis sent a message to the chapterhouse here in Malarae, who reported the grim news to Lord Corbould and the Emperor. A woman named Anna Callenius murdered Lord Governor Aiodan at Zorgi’s Inn, and Anna Callenius is one of the aliases Caina used while traveling with the circlemaster Halfdan…”

“I know this,” said Kylon. “She used that identity while in Catekharon. I am surprised, Lord Aeolus, that you suspect her so readily. If not for her, Mihaela would have launched a war with the glypharmor, and Rhames would have claimed the Ascendant Bloodcrystal and laid waste to the world.”

Aeolus shrugged. “In truth, Lord Archon, I have had suspicions of her for some time.”

“Why?” said Ark, scowling. 

Aeolus began to tick off points upon his fingers. “Her hatred of the magi unbalances her judgment. She has taken a former Kindred assassin as a lover…”

“Corvalis turned his back upon the Kindred and the Magisterium at great cost!” said Claudia. 

“I long thought that Halfdan placed far too much trust in her, allowed his paternal affection for her to cloud his judgment,” said Aeolus. “We are Ghosts, Lord Archon. We must place the good of the Empire and its people before all other considerations. Even our own loves.” 

“Your devotion to duty does you credit,” said Kylon, “but are you not jumping to conclusions? Why would Caina betray the Ghosts?”

“For money, for love, for hatred,” said Aeolus. “The reasons for treachery are as many as the grains of sand upon the shore. And it is also possible that her mind was altered by the magi. They have used such tactics against us in the past.” 

“Or,” said Kylon, “someone is impersonating her.” 

“Yes,” said Ark. “That is exactly what I thought.” 

Aeolus raised his pale eyebrows. “Do you have any suspects?”

“As it happens, I do,” said Kylon. “A man called Sicarion, an assassin and a necromancer in service to the Moroaica.” 

Claudia knew Sicarion better than she would have liked. He had worked with Mihaela in Catekharon, teaching her the necromantic spells needed to create the glypharmor in her ghastly Forge. He had been at Caer Magia, and had almost killed Corvalis in the spell-haunted ruins. 

“It is exactly the sort of tactic he would use,” said Kylon. “He corrupted my sister when she was the High Seat of House Kardamnos. Taking Caina’s form, killing her friends and allies, and then standing back and watching as the Ghosts hunted her down and slew her…it would appeal to his twisted sense of humor.”

“Does he have the power to take different guises?” said Aeolus.

Kylon shrugged. “I know not. But he has survived for centuries by using his necromancy to graft organs and limbs stolen from his victims onto his corrupt frame. Surely spinning an illusion would be no great feat of sorcery for such a creature.” 

“Perhaps you are correct,” said Aeolus. “Nevertheless, my death warrant upon her stands.”

“A death warrant?” said Kylon. “Are the Ghost circlemasters all so ungrateful?”

“Gratitude has nothing to do it,” said Aeolus. “Perhaps I am right. Or perhaps you are right, and this Sicarion has indeed taken Caina’s guise. But I dare not take the risk. Do you know what will happen if the Emperor is assassinated while in New Kyre? Or if you or one of the other Archons falls to an assassin’s blade – particularly if a renegade Ghost wields it?”

“War,” said Kylon. “It will mean war to the bloody end, what both Lord Titus and I feared.”

“Yes,” said Aeolus. “Lord Archon, I have chosen to take you into the confidence of the Ghosts because you understand the stakes. The more bellicose nobles of both the Empire and New Kyre might wish the war to continue. But if it does, we know that our nations shall reap only universal ruin. And if the Emperor or one of the Archons is assassinated while in New Kyre, war is certain. So you can see my suspicions, no? That Caina Amalas would turn renegade at a time of such tension?”

“I understand your doubts, Lord Aeolus,” said Kylon, “but I fear Sicarion, and not Caina, is responsible for these deaths. And if Sicarion is involved, he is acting at the bidding of the Moroaica. Andromache started the war between our nations at her command. Sicarion imparted some of her lessons to Mihaela, and she used them to create the glypharmor. The Moroaica almost seized the Ascendant Bloodcrystal with Sicarion’s help. My lord Aeolus, if I am right, if Sicarion is involved, then the Moroaica is taking a hand in these events…and we face dangers far greater than an endless war. If she is taken an interest, then almost certainly she plans to wreak some sort of sorcerous catastrophe.” 

“I agree with Lord Kylon,” said Ark. “I’ve seen the Moroaica’s hand in events before. She almost murdered my son to free the demons below Black Angel Tower. If she is working some sort of sorcerous plot around the Emperor’s journey to New Kyre, it will be catastrophic.” 

“Then we must be on our guard against sorcery,” said Aeolus. “We shall rely upon your arcane skills, Lord Archon, and your skills, Claudia.”

Claudia managed a nod. Once the prospect would have unnerved her. But after escaping Mihaela’s Forge, after confronting Rhames in the Chamber of Ascension at Caer Magia, it did not seem so terrifying. Yet it still unsettled her. She had seen the Moroaica’s arcane strength during her duel against Rhames. If the Moroaica chose, she could crush Claudia in the space between two heartbeats, and she doubted Kylon and Thalastre would fare much better.