Lady Jhadra

  Konstanopolis had always reminded Jhadra less of a collection of buildings and people, and more of a great beast, hungry and restless. Rare was the night when the beast slept soundly, and less so of late, for changes were beginning to take effect that disturbed the rest of the beast who mostly wanted the city to remain exactly as it was. Deep down, the beast knew rot ate away at her, knew that if nothing was done, she would suffer the same fate as her sister Roma. Oh Roma, so mired in corruption that your legions were more concerned with whose general would take the crown than with the barbarian hordes surrounding you, so desperate for mana that your temples hunted down and enslaved anyone with even a shred of ability, so blind that your factions would rather spend their strength in pointless squabbles than band together. The beast knew the Empire of Etrusca was doomed.

  And yet, the beast feared change. Jhadra knew in time the beast would accept, even welcome the changes Emperor Konstan was putting forward, recognize his wisdom, and embrace the decrees he was setting forth with all its heart. In time. For now, change meant chaos, rattling the beast like a mighty storm and frightening some who gave the beast life.

  Jhadra also knew that chaos could be used to bend the will of the beast to her own. In the early hours of dawn, she sat wrapped in a silk robe upon a large cushion in an alcove of her home, the small statue of the Daemo queen she served on a pedestal in front of her. The statue, shaped like a dragon holding a purple gem between its hands, had been crafted using the queen’s own secretions by a Daemo artisan who had braved the Shadowlands bringing it to her. The statue allowed Jhadra to project the image of any person, who held the amulet linked to the statue, in front of the gem and speak to them as if they were present in the room.

  It could not, however, command them to make contact. Her agent, who had been reporting faithfully once a week, had not made contact in several days, and Jhadra had roused herself well before dawn for the past three mornings, waiting for the agent to report. Bored, she had just decided to abandon her post and rejoin the human male she was entertaining when the gem flared into life and a person’s image appeared. Relieved and annoyed in equal measure, Jhadra settled back on the cushion. “Where have you been?”

  The Chaldean Wardog with the fox tattoo dropped to her knees and pressed her forehead to the floor. “Mistress of Perilous Desires,” Fox said in the language of the Daemo, “chaos has ruled the lives of all in Bukhara, making contact of our secret nature dangerous. But your faithful, energetic servant has come bearing the gift of tidings both strange and wonderful.”

  Jhadra raised her eyebrows. “My ears are open vessels prepared to drink in your words,” she said in the same language. “Let them flow, both the honeyed and bitterest dregs.” Fox raised her forehead off the floor, continuing to speak in the Daemo tongue as she told Jhadra everything that had happened since her last report, omitting nothing. When she finished, Jhadra regarded Fox for a moment. “Expecting a meal, my faithful servant has provided a feast.” Fox smiled, bowing slightly to Jhadra, who added, “Curiosity of an idle nature would ask a question of how these barbarians taste.”

  Fox’s image made a sour face. “Gamey,” she replied in Greco, “especially Bogen. Argat tasted much better, and Prince Varsena had a more gentle flavor mixed in with the sharpness of mana.”

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Nothing like Greywolf, of course.”

  Fox shrugged, the longing on her face a mirror-bright reflection of Jhadra’s desire to taste him herself. Fox stilled her expression into neutrality as she said, “Do you wish me to report back to you in a week?”

  “Will you be at the meeting with the Great Khan later this morning?”

  “I believe so. Even if I’m not, Domina will tell us everything that happened.”

  “Then report to me tomorrow morning, if you can. I need to know what the barbarians decide before the news reaches unfriendly ears.”

  Fox bowed once more. “I remain your loyal—” Fox’s head whipped around to look over her shoulder and the image dissolved.

  Jhadra felt a pang of concern, then shrugged. She knew having one of the Chaldeans as her spy was dangerous, as Fox could not lie to her Reaver Knight even if she wanted to, but Fox could tell Amazonia little about Jhadra’s plans, other than she had them. She rose to her feet and padded silently back to her bedroom.

  The man she was entertaining was sitting up on the bed. “I heard you speaking to someone.”

  “My agent in Bukhara,” Jhadra replied, untying the sash holding her robe closed as she sat down beside him. “It seems the Crimson Horde has taken the city.”

  “What?” Terror shot out across the man’s features. “This is terrible news. All of my plans—”

  “Will take a season longer to bear fruit, that is all,” Jhadra said in a soothing voice. She put a cool hand on the man’s bare shoulder. “My contacts in the Temple of Ix-Chel heard rumblings of a plot against Muzen, and what better time to spring a trap than when he is furthest from Tesiphon? Which is why I had my Reaver Knight ingratiate herself with the Khan’s eldest son. The Storm Lord is notorious for double crossing his allies, so when his temple came up with a plan to help the Crimson Horde steal Muzen’s blood-corn, using the Shadow-walker Greywolf, and then betrayed them all, Amazonia helped forge an alliance between the Crimson Horde and Yun-Kax.”

  The man relaxed as he slowly nodded. “The enemy of my enemy is my ally.”

  “Temporary ally. Once the Storm Lord resumes his old practices of mass sacrifices, the empire will rise against him, led by the combined forces of the barbarians and the civilized people. Once the temple of Yun-Kax has regained control, the barbarians will be encouraged to continue onward with the army as they take the eastern provinces of Konstan’s empire.”

  “What if Prince Arcadia is on the throne when that happens?”

  Jhadra shrugged. “Then they will be encouraged to travel onward to Etrusca, which is ripe for plundering.”

  “And if they decide to remain and cause trouble?”

  “The Crimson Horde will be destroyed from within when the Shadow Knight leads her army of the dead against them.”

  The man quivered as he leaned forward. “Are you telling me your plot succeeded?”

  “Of course,” Jhadra purred. She gave the man a sly smile. “Ghash-Kimil was not there to administer the ritual, but one of his priestesses was, and the Shadow Knight brought us the victory.”

  “But what if she turns against us?”

  Jhadra gave him the look of a tutor lecturing a student being dim. “Give me a little more credit than that, my lord. The Rune sword knows its ultimate mission is the downfall of the Eastern Empire, and Amazonia can do nothing the spirit of the sword does not wish to happen. Now, how go your plans to insure Arcadia will be sitting on the throne when the current mess is settled?”

  “Well,” the man replied. “Very well indeed. I must commend you,” he added with a chuckle, “on insisting I meet with the conspirators at Alexina’s establishment. When the emperor is killed and Arcadia orders the conspiracy unmasked, she will be implicated as the ringleader.”

  “I am happy to hear it. What of your other plan?”

  “To kidnap Greywolf and the boy? My assassins are already approaching Bukhara, with orders to bring the demigod to me alive, and for the boy to suffer before they kill him. Alexina too,” the man quivering again. “I want her to suffer horribly before she is finally sent to the spawning pits.”

  “Everything will come about the way you want, my Lord Eurax,” Jhadra purred as she slid the robe off and let him begin to fondle her. “I will see to it that all your wishes come true.”