trapped so cleanly and easily, all his hopes wrecked, 'if it is true that the cousin of Farazadihosh has taken the throne, and therefore the right to be named as emperor, through victory on the field of battle, then
how comes it that a brother of that man — as you imply yourself to be — remains alive? The heir of the ruling emperor has all his brothers and half brothers killed in order that none shall contest his right to the throne.'
Captain Sharahosh made a gesture, and four of the guardsmen on the balcony raised bows with arrows nocked. 'You are imprudent in your speech,' said the captain, 'more bold than is fitting.'
'Nay, let him speak,' said his master. 'I would like to know how a man posing as a simple foreign merchant knows of the existence of the red hounds. For surely they are only known to those raised in the palace, and those who oversee the temple.'
'What is it worth to you?'
The prince's smile was brief and brutal. 'What makes you think it is worth anything to me? It might be worth something to you.' His gaze flicked to Eliar. 'These questions are meaningless, because a Ri Amrah walks beside you.'
'Ri Amarah,' said Eliar.
'Ri Amrahah? Ama-ra-ah? A-ma-rah. Ah. Is that the way your own people speak the word? It is recorded otherwise in our chronicles. Is it true you have horns? And sorcerous powers brought with you from over the seas beyond which lies your original home, from which you are now exiled? Is it true the women of your people keep your accounts books, which as you must know goes against the will of the Shining One Who Rules Alone?'
'We do not worship that god.'
'There is only Beltak, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, the Shining One Who Rules Alone.'
'So you say.'
The prince's amusement reminded Keshad startlingly of Captain Anji's way of smiling: he was not one bit flustered by those who contradicted him. 'I do not 'say so.' I am repeating the truth.'
'Why on earth,' demanded Kesh, 'would it be against the will of God for women to keep accounts? Women keep accounts as well, or as badly, as men do. How can anyone imagine otherwise?'
The prince clucked softly, still deigning to look amused. 'No wonder the Hundred is in chaos. Can it be otherwise, with the rightful order turned on its head, and what should be forward facing backward?' He turned his gaze back to Eliar. 'Unwrap your turban.'
'I will not!'
The prince gestured, and the other eight guardsmen raised their bows, targeting Eliar. 'Unwrap your turban so I may satisfy my curiosity, or I will have you killed.'
Keshad wanted to take a step away, but he feared exposing himself as a coward.
'No.' Eliar lifted his chin, jaw clenched. 'Kill me if you must. When I am dead you can assuage your curiosity, if the Hidden One allows it.'
The prince laughed, and the guardsmen lowered their bows. 'You are the ones I seek. You are Keshad, without patronymic to identify your lineage, and you are Eliar, a son of the Ri Amarah, son of Isar, son of Bethen, son of Gever. Sent as spies into the empire, which is ruled by the rightful heir, my elder brother, Farujarihosh, may his reign be blessed by the glory of the King of Kings who rules over us.'
There followed a moment of complete silence, punctuated once by a drifting lilt of some kind of stringed music, cut off as quickly as if a door had closed. The prince studied them. Eliar wiped his brow. Kesh was panting. How could it be he had come so far and risked so much, only to have it all snatched out of his hands?
Aui! Captain Anji had warned him. He'd understood the empire better than anyone, because he had spent his boyhood in the palace. He'd been willing to gamble with the lives of Keshad and Eliar, and the drovers and guardsmen, because it cost him nothing personally to make the attempt should it fail, and offered him benefit if they succeeded.
Fair enough. Kesh had accepted the bargain. No use blaming anyone now that disaster sat in a serviceable chair and stared him in the face, mulling over how best to use him.
To use him, not to kill him.
The prince nodded. 'I am not the enemy of my cousin Anjihosh. His mother made plain her intent to remove him from the battles over the throne when she smuggled him out of the palace and sent him west to his uncle, the Qin var, the year Anjihosh gained twelve years of age. But that does not mean my brother and I can pretend he does not live and breathe. He remains the son of an emperor. You may see that this presents a problem for us. Yet we are peaceable men, seeking order, not war. Our father taught us that it is better to be prosperous than to quarrel. Thus, when my brother sired a son, I accepted the place
foreordained for me, so that we could work together rather than sunder what would otherwise be strong.'
'You've been cut,' said Eliar, going pale about the mouth. 'I've read such stories, but I didn't think-'
Cut? What on earth did that mean?
The prince whitened about the mouth but spoke mildly enough that Kesh wondered if he were a man trained never to show overt anger. 'We do not use such a crude term.'
'I beg your pardon, Your Excellency,' said Eliar. 'I know no other. There is no word in the Hundred that describes…' He blushed.
'In the trade talk they might say gelded, but we have a more honorable term in our own language, which is more sophisticated than the crude jabber used in the marketplace.'
Gelded! Kesh had to actually stop his own hand from reaching down to pat his own privates, to reassure himself they were intact. 'Captain Anji isn't the kind of man to accept a knife cut so as to live.'
'We have something else in mind. And you, Keshad of no patronymic and Eliar son of Isar of the Ri Amarah, are the ones who will deliver our offer to our cousin. You will accept the assignment?'
Kesh looked at Eliar. Eliar lifted a shoulder in a half shrug.
'What choice do we have?' Kesh said.
The prince lifted both hands. 'You can be brought before the priests and accused and convicted of being spies. It is a choice. An honorable one in its own way, since an honorable man speaks truth at all times.'
'What punishment would we then face?' Kesh asked.
'A merciful one. A swift execution, rather than burning such as heretics and nonbelievers suffer. You, Keshad, in any case. I am not sure how the Ri Amarah would fare as those of his people who lived in these lands were banished from the empire one hundred and eighteen years ago because of their heretical beliefs. He might merit burning.'
'Yours is a cruel law,' said Eliar.
'Hsst!' Keshad kicked him.
'Men are cruel,' observed the prince without heat. 'The law binds them in order to mitigate their cruelty. Such is the wisdom of Beltak.' He folded his hands on his lap. He was as sleek and well groomed as any treasured gelding, a strong workhorse, and a
handsome person in his own way, better-looking than Anji if measured by symmetry alone. 'So. I have found you, and made my proposal. Do you accept? You two, to carry our offer of peace across the Kandaran Pass to our cousin in the Hundred.'
'This is no trick, no hidden poison or sorcery meant to kill him?'
'No trick, no poison or sorcery meant to kill him. It is an honest offer, the best one he will get.'
'What else can we do?' muttered Eliar.
Kesh had spent too much time as a debt slave to trust masters and merchants who, given a monopoly, did not exploit their advantage. But that didn't mean a clever man couldn't gain advantage for himself on the sidelines as the powerful wrestled. 'Very well, Your Excellency, we'll take your offer to the captain. What is it?'
The prince nodded at the captain, who gestured. The guardsmen on the balcony backed up out of sight. The captain crossed to a door set on the far side of the chamber. He opened it and went through, leaving the prince — apparently unarmed — with Kesh and Eliar and their swords.
'So do you have horns?' asked the prince in a pleasant voice. 'I've always wondered.'
Eliar flushed.
The door opened and a woman entered the room. She was veiled, perceived mostly as cloth obscuring both face and form, yet she walked with confidence and carried a short lacquered stick with a heavy iron knob weighting one end. She was short and, it seemed, a bit stout, but vital and energetic. As soon as the door was shut behind
