The Blood Empress (7 page)

"You are not a Goddess. You are a halfling. Part Votainion and part Soothsayer. But you are not trained in our ways and you never will be. Go back to your castle and tend to your affairs. The Empire is without an heir and as long as that remains true your future is dim."

Nykostra gripped the handle of her falchion hard, her knuckles turning white. She was ready and wiling to cut him down. He took a few steps back when she had let her guard down. He stopped.

Noises in the corridor behind her stopped her from moving. She knew who it was without looking. A dozen royal guards surrounded her, their strong arms holding sharpened falchions at the ready.

"My Empress, we thought you had been kidnapped," the lead sergeant said. She could tell he was relieved to have found her alive by the sound of his voice.

He looked at her like she had stepped out of a grave. Then she realized how horrible she must have looked.

"Did they hurt you my Empress?"

She shook her head slowly and then handed him her falchion. He took it carefully from her hands. Nykostra moved out from behind them and stood unarmed before the Kwizarra Lonn.

She lowered her head for a moment, closing her eyes again. This time nothing happened around her and she slowly raised her head to stare at the master Soothsayer. Her eyes burned with a red fire that could have melted metal. Her thoughts projected outward and pierced into the mind of the Kwizarra Lonn. It was dark and dreary and as full of hatred as her own mind was. She felt at home there in the primal darkness of his soul.

She pulled up his most secretly held fear from deep within his psyche. It was not some vile creature or a tortured death. It was not the end of the Empire itself. It was something far more interesting to her. A woman.

Nykostra studied the image of a woman whose face was turned away from her. She could feel the Soothsayer struggling to shut her out of his mind before the woman turned. But he was unable to prevent the inevitable.

The woman cocked her head and turned slowly around. It was herself. Older but not so old as to have lost her physical beauty. Her eyes burned red and her skin was gray. She was one of them!

The connection broke and Nykostra fell from the old Soothsayer's mind. When her vision returned he was still there, but his ghastly expression told her he knew what she had seen. She was his deepest, darkest fear.

Nykostra struggled to raise her arm and pointed at the Kwizarra Lonn. Her pale blue skin was tinted orange by the light of the fire pit.

"
I
am your worst fear, old man."

The Kwizarra Lonn backed away from her slowly. He folded his cloak over his head and then disappeared into the shadows of another tunnel.

Nykostra dropped her arm to her side and turned around to face her security. They had dropped to one knee and bowed their heads. It was a sign of respect and loyalty. She strode past them back the way she had come.

***

Nykostra entered her bed chamber through the secret passage and was greeted by her handmaiden, Velore. The girl's eyes were wide with relief upon seeing her mistress again. She went down on a knee immediately. Nykostra tapped Velore's head with a hand and walked into her lavatory.

The royal guards came through the entrance next a little confused as to how they had gotten to where they had began. The handmaiden chased them out and secured the Empress's door.

"Draw me a bath, I must look a fright," Nykostra said. She had come back into her bedroom, unfastening her blood soaked formal gown.

"Yes, my Empress," the handmaiden said, as she slipped away.

Nykostra pulled the tight fitting gown off her shoulders and down her arms until the effort made her collapse. Too faint to move, she lay there half undressed on the cold stone floor until the handmaid returned. Completely drained of mind and body Nykostra eventually passed out.

When she regained conspicuousness she was in her bed. She had been bathed and dressed in her nightgown. It was dark outside her stained glass window. Looking around the room she saw her handmaiden asleep on a chair. She looked as tired as Nykostra felt.

On her nightstand was a plate of cold meat and a glass of water. She sat up and took some of the thinly sliced meat in her hands and ate it. She was hungrier than she had thought and soon all the food was gone, so she drank the water.

Setting the glass down made a clicking sound against the plate. The handmaid stirred and then sat up with a jolt.

"It's okay. Thank you for the meal and..." she looked down at her nightgown.

"My Empress, I thought it best that you rest and not be disturbed."

Nykostra managed a weak smile. The girl got up and came to remove the plate. Nykostra stopped her with a hand on her arm.

"Velore. Will you stay here with me tonight? I don't want to be alone."

The girl nodded and waited for her arm to be freed before letting go of the plate. She was unsure what the Empress wanted from her and she stood there silently waiting for instructions.

"You can join me on this bed, it's big enough," Nykostra said. There was nothing flirtatious in her tone or her intent. Her eye lids were heavy as she fell back onto her pillow.

Velore went around the bed and nervously slid on top of the covers. Nykostra had already drifted back to sleep by the time the handmaid had rested her head on a pillow.

***

Lord Kasaga paced back and forth in his room at the Imperial castle. The Empress had refused to talk to him after her ordeal in the Soothsayer's den. She had commanded him to seal all entrances to the den from the castle. His men were still engaged in finding all the secret ways in and around the castle and then closing them off with stone walls.

Kastra leaders were pressing him to get her to agree to another contest. The Empire could not continue without an heir. But she had refused to even talk to him about the possibility. She had kept herself locked in her room for nearly a month and rebuffed all heads of state.

Kasaga needed to return to the front. The war with the Alliance demanded his attention. He could afford no more time away from his fleet.

His second in command, Captain Verrad was with him, watching him pace back and forth relentlessly. The man said nothing until he was addressed.

"Verrad, I'm returning to the front lines. You will stay with the Empress and ensure she is protected. Try and convince her to find a mate. All of the Kastras have offered to send new challengers. It's very important that she produce an heir soon. People are loosing their confidence in her and if that happens, we could see another attempt on her life."

Verrad nodded.

"I'm leaving tomorrow."

"Understood, sire."

Kasaga studied his second in command for a moment. He was tall, handsome and in perfect military shape. A rising star in the fleet with a promising future. It will be a shame to lose him to a petty home world assignment. But sometimes the career warrior did what had to be done.

"I know that this is not a glamorous assignment, but sometimes we have to make sacrifices for the Empire. Consider this sacrifice critical for your career."

Verrad bowed his head and crossed his chest with his right arm. "I accept it with honor, sire."

Kasaga returned the salute.

***

Nykostra sat in her warm bath and stared at the tablet resting across from her. It showed the smiling face of Ketar. She missed him so much it hurt. She missed their silly chats before they had met, she missed the smell of him when they hugged and most of all she missed his company. It was so lonely in the giant castle without him.

A single tear fell down her pale blue cheek and dropped into the water never to be seen again.

Velore entered the room with a clean towel.

"My Empress, it is time to get out of the bath."

Nykostra raised her hands out of the water and rubbed her face with wrinkled fingers. Rising up she stepped out onto the heated floor panels and waited for Velore to wipe her off. Then the handmaid slipped the white nightgown over Nykostra's head. The Empress stood before a mirror and stared blankly at herself.

"Do you think I'm pretty, Velore?"

Velore was using the wet towel to dry the floor near the bath. She stood up behind the Empress and cautiously stared at her image in the mirror.

"Yes, my Empress."

"Are you just saying what you think I want to hear or do you really mean it?"

Velore moved out from behind Nykostra and looked at her directly.

"You are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. Every Votainion male on all the Kastra worlds would kill to be with you."

Nykostra winced slightly as the compliment seemed disingenuous. As if Velore were forcing the words. She looked back at her own reflection. All that she could see was a woman so overcome with grief her face was in danger of becoming permanently fixed in sadness.

"I don't want to wed who they expect me to. I want to escape this prison and get as far away from here as I can."

The revelation seemed to startle Velore but she did not disregard it.

"You are the Empress of Voton. There is nothing that you can't do."

Nykostra smiled condescendingly and lifted her chin a bit.

"Sometimes that can be a curse. I can't even move about my realm without being escorted by an army of attendants."

Velore looked back at the reflection of Nykostra in the mirror. Nykostra noticed for the first time how similar they looked. An idea began to form deep in her dark mind.

"Say the word, my Empress and I can help free you."

Nykostra turned to face her handmaid and stepped closer to her, so close she made the girl's eyes grow wide.

"You would do that?"

She nodded.

Nykostra put her hands on Velore's face and squeezed gently. The handmaid's bone structure was quite similar to her own and they stood eye to eye to each other.

"If you can help free me I will be yours forever."

Nykostra felt the girl tremble and knew her growing plan would succeed.

Verrad looked up from his study and saw the Empress looking down at him. He immediately got to his feet and bowed his head.

"My Empress. How may I be of service?"

Nykostra looked around the room and then back to Verrad.

"Where is Lord Kasaga?"

Verrad raised his head slowly and looked down at the Empress. His dark eyes seemed to drink her in as if she were a fine wine.

"He has returned to the front lines. He left me in charge in his absence, my Empress."

She wrinkled her face for a moment and then recovered her grace.

"You?" she said. The surprise clear in her tone.

Verrad did not respond but he kept his eyes to himself. She moved away from him and circled the Chief Strategist's office. It was spacious and filled with screens of various sizes, all displaying tactical data from around the empire.

"I understand that several Kastra are ignoring my orders to provide warships."

"Yes, my Empress. Sett and Vac One are refusing on account of the Benzotii incursions into their space. They can't defend themselves without warships."

Nykostra stopped before a screen that showed the activity around the planets in question. Benzotii attacks were infrequent at least in the past few months.

"Ready your ship, Captain. I'm going to pay them a visit."

Verrad backpedaled, not anticipating her desire to leave the safety of Voton.

"My Empress, I don't think it's wise for you to leave Voton. My forces can't guarantee your safety so close the enemy."

She turned to him slowly, her eyes meeting his, her mind entering his mind.

"We shall leave tonight. No one must know I have left, until we arrive on Sett."

Verrad nodded. "As you wish, my Empress."

She walked back to Verrad and looked up at his handsome, clean face. He wore his facial hair neatly trimmed in the traditional Votainion goatee. She liked that in a man.

"You must never tell Lord Kasaga what my plans are. He needs to focus on the front, not on me. Understood?"

Verrad bowed at his waist and saluted across his chest.

"Completely, my Empress."

She waited for him to rise again and then changed her volume and tone to a softer, more personal level. "You will address me as Kaleen, and I will assume the identity of a handmaiden until we are safely out of Voton space."

"I understand," Verrad said.

"You shall tell the court that Benzotii activity necessitates your presence. Leave the Castle security in charge of the Empress."

Verrad lifted an eyebrow. "I would not take but one warship on such a mission. This will put us at a disadvantage to Benzotii raiders."

"I understand the risks, Captain. Delay the announcement of your departure as you normally would to avoid any suspicions."

Verrad nodded approvingly. "Your knowledge of military procedures is impressive."

"You'll find I'm full of surprises, Captain," she said. Her confident grin suggesting more than just tactical awareness.

***

That evening, Velore was summoned to the Empress's bedchamber. She entered to find Nykostra dressed as herself. She immediately saw the likeness and gasped.

"My Empress, what are you doing in those rags?"

Nykostra grabbed her hands and pulled her over to the bed where her formal night gown was lain out.

"Put it on and get into my bed."

Velore's eyes widened. Nykostra started taking off the girl's simple white and gray dress.

"You will become me and I shall become you. You will stay in this room and take no visitors until you hear from me. Understood?"

Velore was stunned into silence as she was stripped naked and then dressed again in the Empress's own undergarments and night gown. She stared down at the silken undergarments and felt them with her fingers. Nykostra realized that the poor girl had probably never worn such expensive and fitted clothes before.

"Just stand still and let me dress you for once."

Velore blushed shyly, her blue skin darked. Nykostra pulled the laced gown onto her handmaid and tied the fasteners. Then she stood back and looked her up and down.