Against the Empire: The Dominion and Michian (22 page)

“I’m kidding,” Cander said, realizing he had gone too far. “We all saw you passed out last night, so I meant you probably need more sleep.”

Rief looked at Alec, unaware of what Cander was discussing. Alec reluctantly gave a slight nod of his head. He reached his hand out to the side of Rief’s face in a gesture of comfort, but she jerked her head away. “I’ll wait here for your return,” she said, and turned her back to them.

Cander and Alec resumed their trip. “Women, there’s no pleasing them, eh?” Cander weakly jested, but Alec was in no mood to be agreeable with him, and they walked on in silence until they entered a room that Alec found hauntingly familiar.

Pads were on the wide open floor, and weapons were hanging from the walls. “Blades,” Cander called, and an elderly man walked out of an office. “Blades is our armorer,” Cander introduced him to Alec. “And this is the new healer, who needs a sword in time to participate in tomorrow’s tourney.”

Blades looked at Alec. “Are you good with a blade?” Alec nodded with a shrug of his shoulders. “With those scars, I’d assumed you had some experience,” he said as he indicated the marks on Alec’s face. “I can’t customize a weapon for you in just a day, but we’ll find one that fits well enough. Do you want a long blade or short?”

Alec stretched his hands apart to indicate the length he wanted. “That’s a blade of length. Do you have the strength to maneuver it?” Blades asked, and Alec nodded. The old man left abruptly and returned to his office, from which he emerged again with a long, slender blade.

Alec took the metal, and held it in his right hand, both to disguise his left-handedness, and because of the injury on his left shoulder. He held the blade out in front of him, and put it through some basic motions. Although the blade was slenderer than he wanted, he was satisfied and he nodded in approval.

“Leave it here, healer, and we’ll have a scabbard and practice padding prepared for you for tomorrow,” Cander said. “Let’s return you to that charming young lady now.”

They walked back to the hallway outside the conclave room, where Rief sat alone on the floor, waiting for Alec. He bowed to Cander, and stepped over to Rief, who led him down a hallway, then suddenly grabbed his sleeve and darted down a narrow staircase, one evidently intended for the servants to use. “What happened last night?” she hissed at Alec. “I took you at your word that you were a gentleman. What was Cander talking about when he said everyone saw me passed out?”

Alec felt a lump in the pit of his stomach, as he pondered how to explain the unfortunate situation that had occurred. He pointed at her to start. “Me? What about me?” she asked.

Alec pantomimed a person getting sick, then closed his eyes and threw his head back as if passed out. “Yes, I know about that part last night. You don’t need to remind me,” she said curtly. Alec motioned as if splashing water on her, and wiping away her mess. “You cleaned me up? Thank you. So then what?” she continued to press. Alec bent low, and pretended to lift a load over his shoulder, then proceeded to walk in an exaggerated fashion, moving as if to open a door, and looking surprised.

“You had to carry me back to the house, and you opened a door, and there you saw everyone? And they saw you, or us? Is that how it happened?” Rief asked, understanding dawning. Alec nodded vigorously, pleased with how readily Rief understood his awkward communication. “Oh healer, I’m sorry. I understand now. Leave it to Cander to make it sound worse than it was.” She led him back upstairs and to the laundry room. “We dropped off a robe for cleaning last night, and I’d like to have a nice new one prepared as well. The healer is going to be introduced at court this afternoon,” she told a girl in the laundry room who she seemed to know.

A covey of women quickly surrounded the two. “You’re going to court? How exciting!” one matronly woman gushed. “We’ll have you in the finest robes in no time. How about some silk, Rief?” she suggested, ignoring Alec for the moment. “We have some left from the clan lady’s last gown.”

Alec was quickly measured once again, and then led away by Rief. “We’ll feed you now, since you didn’t have much of your breakfast,” she told him over her shoulder, and soon they were seated at a table in the kitchen, enjoying fresh baked bread. “Should he be back here with us, or should he be out front in the dining room with the rest of the clan?” one serving man asked, but Rief assured him that Alec enjoyed being in the out-of-way places.

They finished their meal, and when they returned to Alec’s room, they found four notes on the floor, slid under the door, each asking if the healer could meet a particular clan member to address a health issue. Alec grinned at the prospect of doing something positive. “When would you like to see these people?” Rief asked. Alec responded by picking up his medicine bag and holding the door open, making her laugh. She led him out and up a flight of stairs, to a hallway that was lined with doors, where they knocked on one.

A maid answered the door, and they were soon talking to an elderly woman who was Reast’s aunt. Alec examined her with his health vision as she described the aches in her joints, then he carefully handled her fingers and bent them before pulling some supplies out of his bag. He cupped his hands, pretended to pour water in them, then made a drinking motion, looking at Rief to interpret. “Oh, I know! You did this yesterday. You want her to make a tea with this bark,” the girl said out loud, and Alec nodded. The matron thanked them for their visit, and they were on their way to the next visit.

By the time they made all four visits and returned to their rooms, three more notes were under the door asking for medical assistance, and the silk robes were delivered as well. Alec stepped behind the screen to try on the robes when Rief went to answer a knock at the door. A messenger from Reast informed them that the trip to the emperor’s court would commence in an hour’s time

“Oh healer, a day ago you weren’t even known to this clan, and now you’re about to be introduced as one of their champions at the emperor’s court! Does that seem like a dream to you?” Rief said with glowing enthusiasm.
Or a nightmare
, Alec thought to himself.

Soon they were in a coach with Reast, Cander others, and Alec looked with amazement at the extravagance of the grounds and courtyard of the palace they were delivered to. “It’s your job to keep the healer close to me,” Reast said to Rief as they exited the coaches, and began to walk inside past a heavy contingent of guards at the palace entrance. Alec bowed many times as Reast introduced him to various people in the palace, and after a while they came to an interior courtyard. The large fountain in the center, the elegant plants, and graceful sculpture all combined to make the space formal and inviting, except for the prominent gibbets, from which four uniformed bodies hung in dismal tatters. Alec stopped in his tracks, looking at the intimidating sight.

“Those were the first leaders of the emperors’ troops who began the invasion,” Reast explained. “There was some resistance by the locals that slowed everything down, actually stopped things, for several days. The locals somehow figured out how to assassinate the restorers, and murdered several all at once,” Reast explained casually. “The restorers are such a rare race that losing even one was a heavy blow to the emperor, let along several at once. That’s why so many of the clans have had to donate their animals for the time being to help make up the loss.”

Alec considered the invasion, pleased that someone in the Dominion had put up an effective defense against this society. “Don’t look so grim, healer,” Reast said reassuringly. “When we lead the next phase of the invasion, we’ll be much more successful.”

Their next notable stop was at the entry to a huge ballroom, the largest room Alec had ever seen. He stopped inside the doorway to gape at the height of the ceiling and the great distance to the far side, beyond forests of stone columns. “You look like a yokel, standing there with your jaw hanging open,” Rief said, as she tugged on his hand and they followed Reast into the center of the huge, milling crowd. Reast stopped to talk to several people along the way, his guards standing unobtrusively nearby.

Suddenly, Alec saw Reast approaching a woman, and panic rose, his fear becoming a physical pain in his gut. The woman was Mooreen Locksfort. He foresaw trouble at the very least if he was recognized by the woman, who he had last seen escaping from Stronghold on the back of a restorer. Alec owed one of his facial scars to Mooreen, who had cruelly held him prisoner and tortured him in Stronghold when she had led the Locksfort trading family. Mooreen was wearing a dress of golden cloth, indicating to Alec that she must be part of the emperor’s own household.

Alec turned and stepped away rapidly, finding one of the massive stone columns and stepping behind it. He peered around the column where Reast was speaking with Mooreen, while Rief’s head was swiveling from side to side, presumably looking for him. He saw Reast motion to Rief, who approached him with a bowed head. After a moment his head too swiveled around, then he turned back to Mooreen and spoke further, with a shrug. She nodded sympathetically, and moved on. Alec watched Reast bow, then turn to Rief and begin to speak in an urgent manner, displeasure clearly written on his face.

Alec felt sorrow that Rief was taking the burden of blame for his disappearance, but he remained hidden for several minutes, watching the Indige contingent spread out to search for him, while Mooreen wandered out of sight through the crowd.

When he felt safe, Alec slipped though the crowd back to Rief, and slipped his hand in hers. Startled, she turned and looked at him, then hugged him impulsively. “I didn’t know what happened to you, healer! I’m so glad you’re okay. Where did you go?” her voice changed with the last question. “Reast is furious with us,” she said in a low voice.

Alec pointed in the direction of Reast and Cander, and the two walked quickly to rejoin the clan leader. “”Healer, we missed you. We’ll discuss that later,” he said in a bland tone. “Let’s go make some worthy introductions,” he said briskly, and led them towards the raised platform on the far side of the room. Along the way they met numerous people wearing gold clothes who Reast stopped to introduce to Alec, invariably saying in a modest tone that the clan would allow their healer to compete in the tournament, ever though he’d never fenced competitively before.

“Cander, Rief, you stay here,” Reast said suddenly. “One of the emperor’s nieces is just ahead, and I’d like the healer to have one introduction directly in the imperial family. They say she’s his favorite.” He pulled Alec’s sleeve as the others stayed behind, Rief giving a wan smile to Alec, while Cander looked indignant.

The crowd around the imperial niece was dense, but two Indige clan guards managed to jostle a way up to the front of the mass. “Clan leader, how kind of you to visit this afternoon,” the woman said with some breathing difficulty, recognizing Reast. Alec looked at the woman, who appeared to be about the age Leah had been back in Goldenfields, with bright red hair woven elegantly about the top of her head, and flowers deftly woven in. Her complexion was extremely pale, and looking at her Alec could tell that she was uncomfortable. He casually used his healing vision to examine her, and saw with alarm that she was suffering a heart attack.

He was astonished at her forbearance; her self-discipline was extraordinary. There was evident pain in her left arm and chest, and he expected her to drop to the ground in pain at any moment. “You’ll excuse me, clan leader, I hope. I must attend to something just at the moment,” she said with difficulty, and Alec noticed her fist clenching and unclenching. She motioned to an attendant, whispered something in the lady’s ear, and in moments the lady told two attendant guards who began to hurriedly clear a way towards the exit.

Alec tugged on Reast’s sleeve, although the man was clearly feeling snubbed by the hasty departure. As soon as Reast turned to him, Alec clutched his chest, then pointed at the niece, and clutched his chest again.

“What, healer? What?” Reast could tell that Alec was trying to urgently communicate something. Alec pointed at the niece’s back again. “The niece, Waines?” Reast asked to clarify. Alec nodded vigorously, then clutched his chest and grimaced. “You think she is having chest pain?” Reast asked again, and Alec nodded confirmation. “Can you do something for her?” Reast at last grasped the situation, beginning to follow in the wake of the ill woman with Alec right at his side.

They caught up with Waines just as she reached a door. “Princess, Princess Waines,” Reast called. “My clan healer is here with me. Would you like for him to assist you?”

The ill woman continued on through the door, but her lady-in-waiting turned. “Is this him? Come with me,” she ordered without waiting for an answer. Reast propelled Alec forward, and the door immediately closed behind him, separating him from the people he knew.