Necromancer Falling: Book Two of The Mukhtaar Chronicles (50 page)

Something wasn’t adding up.

“Why would she need protection from the
emperor
?” Nicolas asked. “It’s the
Barathosians
we should be worried about.”

“Toren Relig is a Barathosian puppet,” Nuuan said. “You’ll need leverage, if you’re going to make him fall in line.”

“But Emperor Relig was one of Kagan’s most fervent supporters,” Tithian said.

“Did you ever hear me say I trusted him?” Kagan asked.

“If this is true, Nicolas could be walking into a trap,” Tithian said. “I can’t allow him to do this alone. I’ll prepare—”

“You
can
, and you
will
,” Nuuan said. “You’re needed
here
. That pot you’ve been stirring with the Sodality isn’t boiling yet.”

Tithian widened his eyes.

“What’s he talking about?” Nicolas asked.

“How can you know that?” Tithian whispered.

Kagan chuckled. “Our
Prime Warlock
was always one to have his eyes set on multiple horizons.”

“It has nothing to do with either of you, so back on topic,” Nuuan said. “Toren Relig is an old emperor accustomed to conquest and crushing young men like you under his heel.”

“True,” Tithian said. “But Nicolas holds more leverage than Emperor Relig is aware of.” He faced Nicolas. “The Book of Life. Kagan’s lie made him who he is. Your truth can undo him with a single word.”

“How?” Nicolas asked.

“Have you never wondered why this place is called the
Three Kingdoms
when only one nation has a king?” Nuuan asked. “There’s a
union
, a
kingdom
, and an
empire
.”

“As a matter of fact, I asked your brother that once. He dodged my question.”

“The Shandarian Union was a result of democratic process,” Kagan said. “But a slip of my pen transformed Toren Relig from
king
to
emperor
. In one of the pages I forged in the Book of Life, I made reference to the Religarian
Empire
. King Relig assumed those words came from the god Arin as a sign of divine favor.”

“And ever since, he’s called himself
emperor
and believes he has a divine right of conquest and manifest destiny,” Nuuan said.

“Strange to hear that here,” Kaitlyn said. “It was a term used—loosely—to justify expanding the borders of a nation back on Earth.”

“That is
precisely
what Toren Relig believes, my lady,” Nuuan said.

Why is he being so formal with her?

Nuuan faced Nicolas. “Yet now you know otherwise. With a single decree from
Your Most High Holy Pen of Self-Righteousness
, the Religarian
Empire
can become the
Kingdom
of Religar once more.”

“I get it,” Nicolas said, gesturing for them to stop. “But, I’m no politician. I have
no idea
how to
actually use
this information.”

“The emperor will do anything to protect his dynasty’s status,” Tithian said. “Make it clear to him, in no uncertain terms, that failure to help will come at a price he’s unwilling to pay.”

“Exactly,” Nuuan said. “Threaten to make him a lowly
king
again and he’ll piss himself trying to assist you. But if you shrink away from the authority he believes you to have, he’ll end your life in the name of religious purification.”

“So,” Nicolas said. “If I hear this correctly, what you’re telling me—what you’re
both
telling me—is I need to march into the Religarian Empire and act like the king of all assholes?”

Tithian and Nuuan looked at each other, then back to Nicolas.

“Yes,” they said in unison.

“That’s what I would do,” Kagan said.

“Okay, then,” Nicolas said.

Nuuan faced Tithian. “Mujahid will have questions. And I can’t go where he’s going—by the hells, I shouldn’t even be
here
. But he’ll eventually come here to find me. Take this.” He opened his right hand and a rose of Shealynd materialized, pervading the room with fragrance. “Tell him to place this at the base of Shealynd’s statue.”

Whatever magic Nuuan had used to achieve that little trick, it
wasn’t
necromancy.

Tithian nodded and took the rose.

“In your chambers, Tithian,” Nuuan said. “I placed a parchment in your desk. Read it when you’re alone.”

Nuuan lowered his arm and vanished.

There’d been no warning. No change in Nuuan’s tone or demeanor. Just a disappearance.

“I’ll keep this in the vestry for Lord Mujahid’s arrival,” Tithian said, staring at the rose. “This day has been…eventful.”

“Why does Nuuan seem to think you’re involved with the Sodality?”

Tithian looked down. “I was going to discuss this with you in due time.”

“Isn’t this something I should be aware of?”

“In
general
, yes. But there are realities of running the Pinnacle you haven’t been exposed to yet. The less you know of the specifics, the more protected you’ll be…should anything go awry.”

“That sounds a lot like someone shielding a politician from illegal acts,” Kaitlyn said.

Tithian faced Nicolas. “You’re the leader of the Arinian Church now. You might not be a politician, but don’t fool yourself into thinking your position isn’t political. The people hold you in awe because of your relationship to their gods. But your work isn’t accomplished through
prayer
. It’s accomplished through
influence
. Influence requires knowledge. But knowledge comes at a price. My primary concern is guaranteeing that
price
is not the esteem in which you’re held.”

“I could be oversimplifying this, but I would think if the act is something that would tarnish
anything
, it’s something we should
avoid
.”

Tithian grinned. “You’re right, of course. But the Pinnacle is a ship built for strategy, not tactics. Come about too quickly, and we risk capsizing.”

“So you’re saying this has something to do with Kagan’s reign?” Kaitlyn asked.

“Among the various things the Sodality does, it acquires knowledge,” Tithian said. “It is one of
many
religious organizations in the Three Kingdoms, though it is among the most ancient. Kagan allowed the organization free reign.”

Tithian was right. There was much about the politics of the Pinnacle Nicolas knew nothing about. He had no other option than to trust Tithian in this.

“Can we at least get a meal before we leave?” Nicolas asked.

“Of course,” Tithian said. “I’ll have food brought to your chambers while I’m retrieving the translocation orb…and the
mystery
parchment
Lord Nuuan spoke of. The Religarian orb will take you directly inside the palace to an imperial reception room.”

Nicolas nodded and took Kaitlyn’s hand. It would be nice to have a quiet meal, even if only for a few minutes.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

In the year 400 BCE, Tycon Mukhtaar stepped over the threshold after murdering his father, Lord Baladi, who intended to stop him. A tyrant of unmitigated evil, Tycon Mukhtaar believed himself immortal and enslaved the priesthood of Zubuxo for four centuries.

The Cult of Malvol thrived under Tycon’s reign, and Clan Mukhtaar made no concerted effort to quell the heresy.

Toward the end of his reign, in the year 20 BCE, a small group of slaves revolted, sparking what later became the Necromancer Wars. An agent of the Pinnacle, with the assistance of a newly emancipated slave, assassinated Tycon in 15 BCE.

Lords Nuuan and Mujahid Mukhtaar eventually exhumed, dismembered, and incinerated his body. His ashes were warded in a hidden place within the Mukhtaar Estate, where Zubuxo commanded he remain, impenitent, for one thousand years.

- The Mukhtaar Chronicles, Second Cycle, 10 CE

Redacted by Mujahid Lord Mukhtaar in 45 CE.

If I could make it two thousand years, I would. But Pelagon Ardirian tells us Zubuxo’s decision is final. Perhaps I should consider getting more involved in Pinnacle affairs. Maybe then I’d find some way of communicating directly with Zubuxo. In the interim, Nuuan and I have stripped Tycon of his title. We can at least take some comfort in knowing Tycon will never again be referred to as Lord.

- Mujahid Mukhtaar, Private Commentaries, 45 CE

Pelagon’s son Kagan, our new Archmage, has asked me to join him as Prime Warlock. This would grant me access to the sanctuary during the Rite of Manifestation. Perhaps this is the opportunity I’ve sought for decades? I’ll have to give it careful thought. A Mukhtaar Lord sitting as Prime Warlock is unprecedented. There may be unintended consequences I’ve yet to consider.

- Mujahid Mukhtaar, Private Commentaries, 86 CE

Mujahid and Digby emerged from the estate, underneath the statuary and past the undead guards, who stood silent in their golden armor and weapons. The guards weren’t Mujahid’s or Nuuan’s penitents. They weren’t anyone’s. They were simply here. Always. Thirteen skeletal guards. They didn’t communicate. They didn’t patrol. Mujahid couldn’t command them. They stood there with their chests heaving as invisible lungs drew breath, their glowing white eyes staring ever forward.

When Mujahid and Digby rounded the front corner of the palatial estate, Digby stopped.

“I should show you the second entrance,” Digby said.

“Is there any danger of the Barathosians stumbling on it?”

“Doubtful. Shealynd—forgive me…
Mordryn
located the other portal at her shrine at the Pinnacle. On Nuuan’s request.”

“Leave this side open for me and I’ll take care of it when I return. I wonder how I haven’t discovered it myself, by now.” He strode ahead, toward the Algidian portal.

“Lord Tycon was always one for secrets, was he not?”

Mujahid rounded on Digby. “Never utter that word again so close to Tycon’s name.”

Tycon. It was a name Mujahid hadn’t heard spoken aloud since the end of the
Necromancer Wars
more than a century ago. One of the most evil, tyrannical necromancers in history. And not only was he a Mukhtaar Lord. He also happened to be Mujahid’s and Nuuan’s thirteenth great-grandfather.

Digby nodded and Mujahid continued walking.

“Tycon Mukhtaar was a demon hardly worthy of the title
Lord
.” Mujahid said.

“He ascended every bit as much as you did, did he not?”

“He ascended for his
own
sake, not the Clan’s. He oppressed and enslaved necromancers for four centuries, my father included. Is it any wonder people feared us when we ascended? Is it any wonder people were expecting the terror to begin anew?”

“Some fought to keep him alive.”

“The people didn’t care about Tycon any more than they cared about Kagan,” Mujahid said. “They cared about the Clan. Four centuries he ruled and refused to mentor
any
on the path to ascension, because of the misguided belief he was immortal. Of
course
there were priests who fought for his life! They knew the consequences of his death. Nuuan and I
lived
the consequences. Or have you forgotten? A clan without a lord.”

“Forgive me, Lord Mujahid. It wasn’t my intention to dig in the dirt. He certainly made your job all the more difficult.”

Mujahid sniffed. “Can you imagine if the estate had remained hidden? If we hadn’t sensed the portal, I don’t know how long it would have taken to find it. What if I placed a stone somewhere on the surface of Erindor, and said you must get within ten leagues to sense it? How would you choose where to begin looking? How long might the search take?”

Digby nodded as Mujahid stopped before the Algidian portal.

“Nuuan and I pieced the clues together after we discovered Tycon’s writings,” Mujahid said. “He had a slave camp in the southern deserts of Religar. The disgusting creature had a
harem
. He forced people to worship him as a god! When we got to within a day’s ride, we both sensed it. I relocated the portal to the Algidians, and there it remains.”