Fragile Empire Read online

  He grabbed the surviving woman and threw her back towards the crowd. ‘Your lucky day,’ he muttered. ‘Right,’ he said, turning back to the squad. ‘Time to deal with you lot. Darine, you’re stripped of being my second; Kallek, you’re now in her place. Lennox, don’t think for a fucking moment that I don’t know what you were doing. Your pathetic love for that bitch has led to your undoing. I want you to take her, Libby and Cain, and re-occupy Sixth squad’s camp. You are to remain there until relieved.’

  ‘But that’s suicide, boss!’ yelled Cain.

  Logie crossed the distance to where Cain was standing in an instant, swinging his armoured fist and striking him in the face. ‘If you stay here I’ll kill you, so what’s the fucking difference?’ He shoved Cain towards Lennox. ‘Go on, get out of here. Now.’

  Lennox began to back away. He pulled Darine along with him as Libby and Cain joined them. The rest of the squad stared – some in hatred, others in confusion. Kallek kept his crossbow on them the whole time. They edged back into the darkness away from the lantern.

  ‘Run!’ Lennox muttered, and the four soldiers turned and fled from the village, their boots pounding on the track. They raced through the blackness of night, down the valley, running until the village was far behind them.

  ‘Stop, for Pyre’s sake,’ yelled Libby.

  They halted, and remained still for a moment, panting and wheezing.

  ‘Shit,’ said Cain. ‘We’ve really fucked it now. What are we going to do?’

  ‘As we were ordered,’ Lennox said.

  ‘You can’t be serious!’ Cain said. ‘The rebels will cut us to pieces.’

  ‘This is my fault,’ Darine muttered.

  ‘Too fucking right it is!’ yelled Libby. ‘What in Pyre’s name were you thinking?’

  ‘It was wrong,’ Darine said. ‘What Logie was doing. What we were doing. Wrong.’

  ‘We’re soldiers,’ Libby said. ‘Professionals. We do our job, even if we don’t like it.’

  Darine fell into silence.

  Lennox checked their kit. They were all carrying their armour, shields and weapons, but had no food or lanterns.

  ‘Anyone got any water?’ he said.

  ‘Aye,’ Libby said, pulling a canister from her belt.

  ‘Are you ready?’ Lennox asked as they passed it round.

  They nodded, and set off into the night.

  Three hours later, the four soldiers crossed the ravine where the Sixth had been ambushed. The three corpses had been stripped of their armour and weapons, and stones had been placed over the bodies. Lennox scanned the dark sides of the ravine, but saw no one. They carried on, reaching the low dell where the Sixth had made their camp. It was in silence, and empty. The ground had been cleared of the tents and supplies that the Sixth had brought with them, and only a few dark, burnt circles on the grass showed there had ever been a camp there.

  They sat on the boulders that littered the ground and drank the last of the water as the sky began to lighten in the east.

  ‘There’s a stream around here,’ Darine said, ‘but I don’t know what the fuck we’re going to eat.’

  ‘That’s if the rebels don’t get us first,’ muttered Cain.

  Lennox gazed out over the valley as the darkness retreated. The hills and mountains of the Rahain Highlands stretched out before them, mile upon mile of perfect ground where rebels could hide. He wondered if they had already been seen.

  ‘Food’s our priority,’ he said. ‘Who’s best at hunting?’

  Chapter 14

  Scratch Below

  Plateau City, Imperial Plateau – 18th Day, Second Third Spring 524

  Karalyn awoke, her head hammering. She groaned and dug her face into the pillow. It smelled funny, like it belonged to someone else. The mattress felt different too. Where was she?

  She opened her eyes a crack and saw she was in a small room, with just the bed, a table and a chair. The window was shuttered, but a thin sliver of daylight was filtering through, illuminating the scattered piles of clothes on the floor. Her clothes, she noticed. And someone else’s. She glanced over and saw a man sleeping next to her on the bed. A sheet was partly covering him, but it was clear that he was as naked as she. A feeling close to panic swept over her. What had happened? She remembered being out with employees from the Kellach Brigdomin embassy. They had drunk too much, and so had she.

  She gazed at the still figure lying next to her. He was beardless, as was the fashion for the sons of the wealthier Kellach families in the capital, with short brown hair. A pool of saliva had formed on the pillow by his lips, and he reeked of whisky. She needed to go to the toilet, but had no idea where it might be, so sat unmoving, her head feeling like someone had bludgeoned it in the night.

  Memories of talking to a young man came back to her. They had danced, and drank together, and she recalled being alone with him in a bar, and then going back to his rooms in the embassy, where they had kissed, and then…

  She put a hand to her mouth. So that was it. Her virginity – gone, and she could barely remember how it had happened, or even the man’s name.

  She was never going to drink again, she promised herself.

  As quietly as she was able, she slipped out of bed and began gathering her clothes. They stank of smoke and were crumpled and creased. She found her knickers and pulled them on. Despite longing for a bath, she knew she would have to wait. She needed to get out of the embassy first.

  ‘Morning,’ came a voice from behind her.

  She turned. The young man was leaning up on his elbow, watching her.

  ‘Morning,’ she said, pushing her arms into the sleeves of her tunic.

  ‘That was some night, eh?’ he said.

  ‘Aye.’

  He traced a finger down her back and she shivered. Half of her wanted to stay, and find out what he was like, while the other half wanted to flee. She couldn’t even remember his name. Her face flushed.

  ‘Not leaving, are ye?’

  ‘I, eh, I don’t know.’

  He laughed. ‘You’re weird.’

  She frowned. Was he being hurtful, or attempting to be funny?

  He stretched. ‘Pyre’s arsecheeks, how much did we have to drink last night? I’m rougher than a Sanang’s armpit.’ He glanced at her. ‘If you’re going out, could you get us some breakfast? And coffee and cigarettes. I think we smoked all ours last night. There’s a bakery near the embassy.’

  She tried to think of something to say. Though she had spent most of her teenage years in the desert with Laodoc, she had often imagined this scene, of being with a man, but she had pictured this part coming after getting to know him first, and falling in love.

  ‘Breakfast?’ she said.

  He smirked. ‘Are you still drunk?’

  ‘Maybe.’

  She picked up her skirt and pulled it over her hips, standing. She caught a reflection of herself in a mirror and grimaced. She looked a state.

  ‘Have you got a bathroom?’ she said.

  ‘Aye, out in the hall. It’s communal. I share it with the rest of the junior staffers.’

  She spied her boots and sat in the chair. He continued to watch her as she laced them up.

  ‘Can you get me some of those chocolate pastries?’ he said. ‘And make sure there’s plenty of sugar in my coffee. I hate it when there’s no sugar.’

  ‘Sugar, right,’ she repeated, her mouth moving despite the fug of her thoughts. She began to feel an overwhelming urge to run, but maybe she was being foolish. Perhaps he was alright; it would be stupid to flee before discovering what he was like. He might be someone she could love, and who would love her in return. She wished she could remember his name.

  Without meaning to, she entered his head.

  Daryl, she thought. She was about to leave his mind when she caught his thoughts as he gazed at her. She knew she shouldn’t listen, but couldn’t help herself.

  I can’t wait to tell the other juniors that I fucked the half-breed niece
of Keira the fire mage.

  She slapped him across the face, and ran to the door.

  ‘What the fuck?’ he cried.

  She turned.

  You will forget you ever saw me. You will forget about last night. You do not know me. Sleep.

  His eyes closed and he collapsed onto the bed. Karalyn’s eyes passed over him for a second as he began to snore, then she left the room.

  She wandered through the corridors of the embassy, making herself invisible to any that passed, and emerged into a bright, cold, dawn, where wisps of white cloud scudded across the blue sky above. She felt terrible. Her mouth was dry, and tasted as if something had died in it, while her headache pounded away like a hammer striking a nail. The guards outside the embassy were blind to her as she walked into the busy street. She was in the heart of the embassy district, close to where the old palace had been. It was a fifteen minute walk to the Holdfast townhouse and she set off, keeping to the shadows.

  She saw a woman approach, smoking.

  Light me a cigarette.

  The woman stopped, took a cigarette from a silver case, and struck a match, her eyes unfocussed as she did so. She passed the lit cigarette to Karalyn, and walked on as if nothing had happened. Karalyn inhaled, and leant back against a building, her face in the shadows.

  She didn’t feel any different. Should she? It was because she was hungover, she thought. It would sink in once she had sobered up. A sudden fear that she might be pregnant shook her and she nearly vomited. Fate wouldn’t be so cruel, surely? Not with that arsehole Daryl.

  She ground the cigarette beneath the heel of her boot and carried on, dodging the morning crowds on the streets. Her head was spinning by the time she reached the townhouse, and she held onto the railings as she climbed the steps. Nearly home, she thought, relaxing her powers.

  ‘Miss?’

  She looked up. Gerald was opening the front door of the townhouse.

  ‘Are you alright? I saw you through the window.’

  Karalyn entered the house and Gerald closed the door behind her.

  ‘I’m fine,’ she said. ‘Was at a party.’

  ‘Why didn’t you send for a carriage, miss?’

  ‘I wanted the fresh air,’ she said, avoiding the mirrors in the hallway as she headed for the stairs.

  Golspie appeared ahead of her, her eyes wide.

  ‘You weren’t walking the streets like that, were you, miss?’ she said. ‘You look like you’ve been dragged backwards through a bush. What would your mother say if she could see you now?’

  ‘You can let me know when you tell her.’

  Golspie glared at her. ‘This is not a laughing matter, young lady. Your reputation will be in ruins if you were seen walking home looking the way you do. The heir to the Hold Fast name should not be strolling around at dawn like a…’

  Shut up.

  Golspie’s mouth clamped shut like a trap, and fear passed over her eyes. Karalyn released her, and the woman spluttered and took a step back.

  ‘You shouldn’t do that,’ she gasped. ‘I will have to inform your mother.’

  ‘What’s going on?’ said Laodoc from the stairs above.

  ‘This girl,’ Golspie said, waving a finger at her, ‘has just abused her powers. And look at the state she’s in! Coming home at this time, disgracing the family name, and then she has the impertinence to use her wicked powers to control me.’

  ‘Come now,’ Laodoc said. ‘I’m sure it can all be fixed. The young do like to go out and enjoy themselves. I don’t think we have too much to worry about.’

  ‘With all due respect, my lord,’ Golspie said, ‘this girl is under my stewardship, and if I feel she deserves an appropriate punishment, then I’m afraid you have no say in the matter.’ She turned to Karalyn. ‘You are not to leave the house for ten days, unless chaperoned, and in the performance of your duties as a representative of Hold Fast. Do you understand?’

  ‘That doesn’t sound too harsh,’ said Laodoc, smiling in Karalyn’s direction, ‘and it will give us a chance to spend some time together. We haven’t had a good, long chat since we got to Plateau City.’

  Karalyn glanced from Golspie to Laodoc. Between them, they were blocking the stairs up to her quarters, where a bath, fresh clothes and her own bed lay.

  She turned and headed for the front door.

  ‘Come back, young lady,’ cried Golspie. ‘We haven’t finished this conversation.’

  Gerald got out of her way as she opened the door and strode outside into the street.

  You do not see me.

  She gasped as her headache surged, but she needed her powers for a little longer. She walked down the steps and set off to her right.

  ‘I need a favour.’

  Nyane jumped and glanced about, dropping the book she had been holding.

  ‘Who said that?’

  Karalyn relaxed her powers, nearly staggering as the burden was lifted.

  ‘Oh my,’ Nyane gasped. ‘Sit down.’

  Karalyn sat in a comfortable chair by the window of Nyane’s study.

  ‘How did you get in?’ the Rahain woman said.

  Karalyn began to cry.

  Nyane stared at her for a second. ‘Would um, would you like some coffee?’ She put her arm on the young woman’s shoulder as Karalyn wept. ‘There, there. It’s alright.’ She passed her a hanky.

  Karalyn felt the woman’s arm on her shoulder and cursed her stupid tears. She wiped her eyes.

  ‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘Coffee would be great.’

  Nyane nodded and dashed off to the kitchen. Karalyn gazed around. In truth, she could barely remember the walk from her townhouse to the university, as all of her concentration had been on keeping her powers together. All the late nights, and the hangovers, were beginning to take their toll. She needed a few hours’ rest, and a shower. Oh, how she longed for a shower. She stood.

  ‘May I use your shower?’ she called through to the kitchen.

  ‘Of course,’ Nyane shouted back. ‘Towels and everything you need are in the bathroom.’

  Karalyn walked through to the small room that contained the apartment’s shower. It had a full-length mirror and a little cabinet packed with soaps and toiletries. She threw off her clothes and pulled the long chain. A burst of freezing cold water hit her and she grimaced under it, but after a few moments it began to warm up and she sighed, letting the water run down her, washing her tiredness away.

  ‘Feel better?’ Nyane said as Karalyn returned to the study with a dressing gown wrapped round her.

  ‘Aye,’ she said, sitting. ‘Thanks. And sorry for coming here like that.’

  Nyane passed her a cup of coffee and opened a window.

  ‘If you want to smoke,’ she said.

  ‘I don’t have any cigarettes.’

  Nyane reached for a small box by her desk.

  ‘Here,’ she said, passing a packet to Karalyn. ‘Dean sometimes has one when he’s round.’

  Nyane sat back in her chair, gazing at Karalyn as she smoked. ‘Am I right in saying that you’d like to talk about something?’

  Karalyn raised her head. ‘Aye, I would. Something happened, and I need to tell someone, and you’re the only person I could think of.’

  ‘I’ll do my best to listen.’

  Karalyn told her everything – what she could remember of the evening, and what she had seen in Daryl’s mind after they had woken that morning. She almost left out the part about her scouring his memory, but included it. After all, she could read everything the Rahain woman thought about, so it seemed only fair that she should be honest. Nyane listened throughout in silence, waiting for Karalyn to finish.

  ‘Well?’ she said. ‘What do you think?’

  Nyane poured more coffee into her cup. ‘I’m not sure,’ she said. ‘My first reaction is, well, these things happen. You’re not the first person to regret drinking too much and sleeping with a stranger, and I’m sure you won’t be the last. And he sounds horrible. You’re be
tter off without him.’

  ‘But I didn’t want my first time to be that way.’

  ‘Yes, I can see that. Having one drink too many and losing your virginity to a rather unpleasant junior staffer at the embassy might not be the most romantic thing that’ll happen in your life, but give it some time and distance. One day you’ll look back on it and, well maybe not laugh, but it’ll be alright. Of course, I’m sure that’s little comfort to the way you’re feeling right now.’

  Karalyn gazed out of the window, looking down from the tower over the university below. Nyane was probably right, but it didn’t cure the ache she felt in her chest.

  ‘The other thing, though,’ Nyane said. ‘Can we talk about that?’

  ‘What?’

  Nyane leaned forward. ‘The part where you said you’d removed his memories. This is a skill you haven’t mentioned before. In some ways it seems the most powerful of them all. Will this boy truly not recall who you are?’

  ‘I’m gone from his mind. If or when he sees me again, he won’t have a clue who I am.’

  Nyane frowned, and Karalyn could tell she was suppressing her tongue-flicker.

  ‘Taken to the extreme,’ Nyane said, ‘could you wipe all of someone’s memories?’

  ‘Easily,’ Karalyn said, ‘and not just memories. I can remove language, knowledge, and all sense of identity from someone. I tried it on my father, but I was only a baby. He was unconscious for days, but I did a much better job on my little brother when I was three.’

  Nyane’s eyes widened. ‘Your brother?’

  ‘Aye. I scoured him clean, not long before his first birthday. Set him back years. He didn’t speak or walk until long after he was supposed to. Do you remember I told you that there were some things that my mother has never forgiven me for? Well, that’s the main one. She was pregnant at the time with my little sister, and she was terrified that I’d do the same to her.’

  The Rahain woman nodded.

  ‘I should be going,’ Karalyn said. ‘I’m meeting the Empress this afternoon.’