The Dead God's Due (The Eye of the Lion Saga Book 1) (24 page)

Narelki froze, considering the
point.
Score!

Ariano
looked at Narelki with disgust.
“There is no need for
precedent where there is sufficient power and will.”

Kariana didn’t like the
sound of that. “There
is
precedent for the
absence
of an emperor,” she sighed. “And it’s not good.”

“You would compare
yourself to Tasinal?” Prandil asked, shocked. “I am
amazed at your arrogance, child. Even in defeat, you preen and
strut. I think I may be in love!”

Kariana had an answer. Maralena
had prepped her with any number of clever responses, though she
hadn’t expected them to be used in quite this manner.
“’Arrogance is not merely the right, but the duty of a
ruler.' So said Amrath.” She stole a glance toward the
Matriarch of House Prosin and couldn’t help but smile at her
obvious distress.
Please, have a stroke right here in the
courtroom!

Narelki inclined her head to
stare down her nose at Kariana. “Quoting Amrath is far from
understanding
him,” she said. “And it is unseemly, considering your
recent attempt to murder his progeny.”

“’The truth does
not change, even when spoken by enemies,’” Kariana
quoted again, grinning her hate at Narelki and Maralena both, daring
either Matriarch to take some foolish action. “Amrath’s
words are for everybody. You don't own them.”

The raised platform creaked as
Olemus rose to speak.
Mei, it
is
a tent! I swear
it!
“She
is
correct,” he told them. “I care little for the politics
here, only the practical results. The youth is quite fond of her
antics, even if they hate her personally. Kariana’s appetites
and behaviors have generated whole new industries. We may not have
Meites battling in the streets, but we could certainly see economic
chaos, perhaps even riots. It would be quite destructive.”

Prandil scowled at Olemus and
declared, “You are a gutless worm.”

Olemus shrugged at this. “You
are the one who suggested putting her back on the throne.”

“That was
before
she tried to kill us, idiot! Or did you take a lunch break and miss
the exciting part?”

“Ah, I see,” Olemus
said, defiance on his face. “You’re some special kind of
Meite, one without blood on his hands?”

Sadrina put her fingers in her
mouth and let loose with a piercing whistle. “Bravo! They’re
all wicked fiends!”

Prandil cast a genuinely
murderous glare toward her. “The opinion of a mooning cow
means nothing to me.” He turned back to Olemus. “As as
for you, I succeeded at any killing I ever got up to, and that is
the crucial difference here.”

Kariana could barely contain
her elation. They were all at one another’s throats.
Maybe
they will kill each other! Wouldn’t that be something?
“I
submitted,” she said. “I bow to your will! Can I not be
forgiven like Aswan?”

Maranath sat back in his chair
and regarded her with tired eyes. “Sparing your hide is a far
cry from returning a madwoman to power.”

She had something perfectly
calm and reasonable to say, but couldn’t for the life of her
remember it now. “Who, then, old man?” she shouted.
“After your ‘demonstration’, only a madwoman would
want
the job!”

Maranath sat in silence, one
eyebrow raised in surprise, a smile flickering about his lips.

Kariana leapt to her feet.
Here
I go again. I really should make out a will some time.
“Go
on!” she shouted. “Say it! Kariana the stupid whore,
good for nothing but being a lightening rod for assassins!”
She walked to the desk and turned back to the Elders on the
platform. “My father groomed Theron for rule. I was supposed
to be a princess! I was supposed to be beautiful and have beautiful
things! I was never supposed to be anything more, and you
stole
it from me!” She swept her arm about the room, accusing them
all with the gesture. She spun and laid both hands on the judge’s
desk and stared Maranath in his stormy blue eyes. “You put
this crown upon my head, and you
never
warned me how heavy it
would be!” She stepped back, blinking against tears.
Not
now!
But they were coming, and
she swept them aside in fury and humiliation.

“You have no right to put
it all on me! You left me to sink! You never told me what to do, or
why, or what it would cost! At least have the balls to admit it!
None of you want the job. Who else besides me is stupid enough to
take it?”

For long moments, there was
stunned silence among the elders. Prandil began to clap softly, and
it seemed sincere. Maranath shook his head in admiration. “Touche’,
my dear,” he conceded with a nod. He glanced about, noting
that most seemed to agree. “If there are no objections, then,
I will return this courtroom to the Empress.”

“I object,” Ariano
said, her voice almost a growl. “Her remorse is feigned, and
she has no intention of wearing our yoke for long. We should kill
her now, and deal with the consequences as they arise.”

Kariana stamped her foot and
spun toward the sorceress. “If I had
my
boot on
your
neck, would you feel any different?
”

“No,” Ariano
conceded. “But mark my words, child. Defy this council again
and I will use your skin for a canvas and your blood for paint.
Then, my dear, you’ll once again exist only to be beautiful,
and we can all be happy, hmm?”

Kariana felt a chill up her
spine at this, and barely suppressed a shiver of fear. Ariano meant
every word, and she was more than capable of delivering on the
promise.
She’s the most dangerous person in the room.
Kariana swallowed a lump in her throat and nodded quickly to the old
sorceress. “It will never come to that.”

Maranath rose from the desk and
bowed, then ascended the platform and took his seat. Kariana looked
up at them as she took the judge’s chair back, and found
herself gifted with a sudden insight.
They sit above me because
they
are
above me.
What a fool I have been.

She knew she must look quite a
fright, bloody and battered. Somehow, it still seemed a bit funny,
though. She had managed to pull through, and she had even come out
better than she had hoped. Aiul’s fate had been torn from her
hands, and for that she was grateful. “As you might imagine, I
should like to end this meeting as soon as possible. Is there
anything else we must address?”

To Kariana’s dismay,
Maralena rose, looking haggard but resolute. “There is one
remaining matter. But I propose a recess so everyone can calm
themselves before we continue. It is weighty, and we will want our
wits about us. There has been far too much emotional behavior
already.”

Kariana nodded, relieved. She
could kill for a chance to wash the blood off her face. She hammered
her gavel against her desk. “So be it. Fifteen minute recess.”

Kariana wasted no time reaching
a washbasin. She splashed water in her face until it no longer ran
pink, then examined her work in the mirror. Her lip felt enormous,
but it didn’t seem to show very much. A little makeup to cover
scratches and bruises, and things should be fine.

She saw Maralena approaching in
the mirror, and spun to face her, cursing herself for being foolish
enough not to go somewhere more private. Maralena was not someone to
whom she ever wanted to leave her back exposed again.

The Elder’s face trembled
and bubbled like water boiling in a pot. For a fleeting moment,
Kariana though the stroke she had been predicting for the last hour
had indeed come, but when had she ever been so lucky? When Maralena
finally managed to speak, her voice was breathy and trembling with
outrage. “
You
are
insane
!”

Kariana rolled her eyes, and
answered in her best bubbly-girl voice, “If you just think of
yourself as already dead, then you won’t get that shaky sound
in your voice.” She blinked innocently at the hateful harridan
for long moments, then let the pose drop. Kariana could almost feel
her eyes blazing with hatred. “The Southlander had the right
of that,” she nearly growled.

Maralena’s eyes flashed
with fury, and she clenched and unclenched her fists. “This is
no game! You’ve seen what they can do! You
must
stand with us!”

Oh,
look at her trying to restrain herself! She wants to choke me so
badly! But it would spoil her arguments.
Kariana burst
into laughter. “Stand with you to do what? We failed, in case
you didn’t notice the explosions and screams.” She
patted the towel to her swollen lip and winced. She ground her teeth
and spat, “Of course,
I
was
in a better position to appreciate the full extent of the carnage.
Was that your plan, to get me killed?”

Maralena ran a hand over her
face in dismay. “You ruined my plan quite thoroughly, and you
earned the beating they gave you.” She paused, daring Kariana
to deny it. “Now listen to me. We can salvage things somewhat.
If we cannot put Aiul to death, then we shall have his punishment
given to his wife.”

Kariana found herself
simultaneously thrilled and repulsed at the notion. It was difficult
not to relish the thought of Lara’s death, but not so pleasant
a thing to imagine being the cause of it.
I
could get used to it, though. I think.
But doing
Maralena’s dirty work? That was a mouthful of piss. “Why?”

Maralena’s face was calm
now, with only the occasional twitch. “We cannot kill
Narelki’s son, but we can still drive a wedge between them. I
can force her to side with us. When he learns she voted to have his
wife put to death, perhaps he will kill her himself. Or perhaps
he’ll take his own life.”

Kariana’s eyes narrowed,
and she laughed in derision. “She didn’t even flinch
when I came at her with the dagger. How are you going to force her
to do
anything
?”

“The same way I will deal
with the Meites. By using her own values against her. Not everything
needs to be resolved with a sledgehammer and brute force.”

Kariana flashed the old woman a
girlish smile. “It’s much nicer with brute force,
though. Fragile things make such lovely sounds when you dash them
against the floor, don’t you think?”

Maralena stared at her in
horror. “You’re as mad as the Meites!”

“Oh, spare me the
superior act. If you weren’t dead set on causing your own
brand of destruction, you’d just expose Nerelki for what she’s
already done. You’re looking to draw some blood here, too, and
you want it dripping with irony.” She rolled her eyes again.
“I’m surprised you didn’t stand to defend her,
earlier. I almost spoiled your artful little vengeance piece, didn’t
I?”

Maralena raised an eyebrow,
impressed. “Yes, I relish the irony, but that’s hardly
the only reason to do things this way. Frankly, it will cause you
more pain, as well. I do not forget your part in Marissa’s
death. I am merely willing to overlook it to punish the party more
responsible.”

“And I have to make him
hate me just as much, for siding with you!”

Maralena nodded. “It
wouldn’t make sense for you to do otherwise. He tried to kill
you.” She smiled, gloating in her victory now. “But
there is some small chance for you. When he finds out that it was
his mother all along, he might even be able to forgive you.”

Kariana smirked back at the
Matriarch. “There’s one problem I see with your plan. I
won’t do it.”

“You’ll do it, you
little whore, or I’ll expose you for murdering Marissa!”

“And expose yourself for
treason!”

Maralena chuckled darkly. “Oh,
no, not really. Certain evidence will turn up that will implicate
you in Theron’s death. We planted it soon after the fact, for
just such a possibility. I’ll point out that we were watching
you because we knew this all along. I’ll walk away without a
scratch, and you’ll be disgraced. Perhaps they’ll give
you a cell next to Aiul so you can make cow eyes at him and suck his
cock through the bars!”

Kariana could barely restrain
herself from attacking the old woman. She could take her, she knew
that, but not now! There was one old woman in particular who she
most definitely could
not
take, one who was looking for a pretense to make good on her
threats. Killing Maralena now would be signing her own death
warrant. She reached deep within herself and found enough will to
stay her hand, but a low, bestial growl tore itself from her lips.
“Bitch! This isn’t over between us!”

Maralena snorted. “Oh, I
suppose you think that’s some great threat, but the truth is
that it’s never over, not until we’re all dead. That’s
now Nihlos works. You’ll get used to it.”

Kariana said nothing as she
tried to steady herself against the dizzying rage that she dare not
express.
Oh, I don’t
think we both need to die for it to be over. Just you being dead
should work just fine.

Once the council meeting
resumed, Maralena rose to speak. “Now that we are all calmer,
we need to discuss something rather ugly. The political
ramifications of these decisions cannot be ignored. Someone must pay
as a traitor for the assault on Tasinalta, not because she is loved,
but because the leader of Nihlos cannot be perceived as weak, or
chaos will ensue.”

Prandil laughed out loud. “Oh,
my, you’re so terribly dramatic, Maralena!”

Maralena’s gave Prandil a
sad, almost condescending look. “You may know sorcery, but you
spend your life in an ivory tower. You have the luxury of dealing
with people by swinging a sledgehammer at their heads. You know
nothing
about
human nature. The people will demand someone suffer for this.”