In the Heart of Darkness

But Belisarius did not relent.

'What, then? Those were my choices. My only choices.'

Eon sighed. His shoulders slumped.

'I know. I was there. But-' He sighed more deeply. 'I'm afraid you may have given our plot away in any event, Belisarius. Or, at least, so offended the Malwa that they will no longer pursue their courtship of you.'

Belisarius began to reply, but Ousanas interrupted.

'You are quite wrong, Eon. You misread the Malwa badly.'

The dawazz rose lazily and came to stand where he could be seen.

'You were watching Venandakatra, boy. That was your mistake.'

His huge grin erupted.

'Natural mistake, of course! Such a comical sight he was, prancing around like a fat hen covered with her own broken eggs! I, myself, found it hard not to savor that delicious spectacle.'

Everyone who had been at the scene chuckled. Ousanas continued:

'But still a mistake. You should have watched the Emperor. And-most important-his other advisers. As I did.' He grinned down at Belisarius. 'The Emperor was paralyzed, of course. By Belisarius' gaze more than the bloodshed. Which is good. For the first time, now, he will fear Belisarius-just as Venandakatra does.'

'Why is that good?' demanded Eon. 'That fear will lead him-'

'To what? To avoid the Roman personally? Oh, to be sure. The Emperor has underlings to do that work. But do you think he will avoid the Roman politically? Quite the contrary, Eon. Once the Emperor settles his nerves, you can be sure he will raise suborning Belisarius to the highest priority.'

Eon frowned. 'Why?'

Garmat answered: 'It's simple, Prince. A potential traitor is attractive in direct proportion to his stature. Until now, I suspect, none of the high Malwa beyond Venandakatra have seen Belisarius as anything other than an insignificant foreigner. For all their sophistication, Indians as a rule-and Malwa in particular-are a rather provincial people. Or, it might be better to say, so taken by their own grandeur that they tend to underestimate outlanders.'

Shakuntala nodded firmly. Garmat continued:

'I cannot be sure, of course-I am hardly privy to the Malwa's high councils-but I suspect that Venandakatra has found it heavy going to convince the imperial court that this'-a contemptuous flutter of the fingers-'bizarre barbarian is worth much attention. It cannot have escaped your notice that the Emperor has kept us at a great distance ever since we arrived. To the point of gross rudeness.'

Garmat spread his arms, smiling. 'I can assure you that is no longer true. The reason for that little charade today was that the Emperor finally decided to let Venandakatra prove his argument. Which Venandakatra did, if to his own great personal chagrin.'

Another collective chuckle. Ousanas added:

'Listen to your adviser, boy. You think too much of Venandakatra, that is your mistake. Venandakatra is furious, yes, with all the lividity of an embarrassed egomaniac. But even he-once he calms himself-will realize that the debacle can serve his interests. After all, he was right, wasn't he? Is not this grotesque semisavage foreign general-impressive?' The dawazz laughed gaily. 'Oh, yes-the Emperor was quite impressed! But, what is even more important, so were his other advisers. As I said, I watched them very closely. Once they recovered from the surprise'-another laugh-'and made sure their precious slippers were safe, their eyes were riveted on Belisarius. With great interest, boy. Oh, very great. The kind of interest that a miser shows, when he discovers that a pebble is actually a nugget.'

Eon was still frowning. Garmat sighed, tried again.

'Listen to me, Eon. I speak with the experience of an Arab nomad, who was haggling over trade goods from the time I was four. If you want to get the best price for your commodity-which is treason, in the case of Belisarius-you must do more than indicate that you simply have a price. That, Belisarius had already done, in the hints he's given to Venankatra these past months, and in his acceptance of the Emperor's gold. But then-then-you must show that your price is very high. Because the higher the price, the more valuable must be the commodity.'

Still frowning.

'Fool boy!' snapped Ousanas. 'The Emperor thought to buy himself another torturer-of which he has myriads already. Belisarius showed him the truth, when he ordered that execution. If the Emperor wants him, he can have him-so long as he is prepared to pay the price for a general. Of which, judging from the evidence, he has precious few.'

Again, the beaming grin.

'Oh, yes, boy-be sure of it. This very night, even as we speak, others are speaking in the Emperor's pavilion. Urging him to pay the price.'

Chapter 8

'What did you think he would do, Venandakatra?' snarled Lord Tathagata. 'Curry the great Skandagupta's favor by carving off the nose of the Ranapur dog with his own sword? Rape the dog's bitches in public?'

The high commander of the Malwa army drew himself up in his chair. 'The man is a general, you fool. Not a mahamimamsa.' Haughtily: 'I would have done the same myself.'

From the distance of his position, seated with the lesser officials to one side, Rana Sanga examined the heavy figure of Lord Tathagata. The high commander, along with the Empire's other top officers and highest officials, was ranged in a semicircle of chairs facing the Emperor on his throne.

Stinking liar, he thought. You would have cheerfully tortured the lord of Ranapur. And raped his wife as well as his daughter. And his sons, too, for that matter. Assuming, of course, that you could have managed an erection.

Nothing of these thoughts showed on his face, but Sanga found the sight of Lord Tathagata so repugnant that he looked away. In his opinion, Tathagata was no improvement over Lord Harsha. Slightly less incompetent perhaps, as a general; but even more vile, as a man.

His gaze fell on Lord Jivita, the Malwa empire's second-ranked military officer-briefly, then slid away. Jivita was cut from the same cloth. He transferred the gaze to a man seated at the very end of that little row. Here, his eyes lingered. Of all the Malwa kshatriya who monopolized the top military positions in the Malwa Empire, Lord Damodara was the only one for whom Sanga felt genuine respect.

The Rajput looked away, sighing faintly. Unfortunately, for all his ability, Damodara was only distantly related to the Emperor. Sanga was surprised, actually, that Damodara had even managed to reach his current position- ranked sixth in the army, as Malwa reckoned such things. He would rise no further, unless unexpected casualties or military disasters overwhelmed the Malwa dynastic sensibilities.

Which they might, he mused, when we attack Persia and Rome. Especially if-

To his surprise, he heard his name spoken. By Lord Damodara.

'I would like to hear Rana Sanga's opinion on this matter. Other than Lord Venandakatra, he has had far more contact with this Belisarius than any of us. And he is a general himself, with great military accomplishments to his credit.'

Spluttering, Venandakatra began to squawk outrage at the idea of calling for the opinion of mere Rajput in such august company, but the Emperor himself called him short.

'Be silent, Venandakatra!' grumbled Skandagupta. 'I myself would like to hear Rana Sanga's opinion.'

Venandakatra, abashed, slunk back to his chair.

Rana Sanga advanced to the center of the pavilion. After prostrating himself before the Emperor, he rose and stepped back a few paces, so that he could be seen by both the Emperor and his top advisers.