already.'
Lakhyri met the king's hard stare with golden eyes and smiled.
'What I did with Erlaan was necessary, but extreme,' said the high priest. 'You are of much stronger basic stock. There are lesser gifts that I could give you.'
The grip tightened again, sending pain through Lakhyri's jaw and back, the sudden pressure dizzying him for a moment.
'I do not desire your gifts, you cur,' said Ullsaard. He stalked forwards, pushing Lakhyri ahead of him, the priest back-stepping quickly so as not to fall. 'You would promise me anything to save your life.'
They stopped when Lakhyri was backed up against the hewn stone of the archway leading into the depths of the building. His bony fingers scrabbled at the rough surface, seeking purchase as Ullsaard lifted the high priest to his toes.
'Yes, I would!' he managed to say between gritted teeth. 'Name your price!'
The king was taken aback, dropping Lakhyri down though not releasing his hold. Ullsaard's brow furrowed in thought, eyes never leaving the high priest's. As Lakhyri had noticed in his last encounter with the king, Ullsaard paused for a moment, distracted.
'There are many things that I might do for you, Ullsaard,' Lakhyri said, in the most soothing tone he could manage. 'Strange and many are my powers, as you have seen.'
'Leave us!' growled the king, still not turning his eyes away. The legionnaires and Brothers looked at each other before retreating through the main doors. Those Brothers that had been skulking at the other door to watch the scene disappeared back down the corridor.
Ullsaard pulled back his hand and Lakhyri flopped back against the wall, rubbing his throat. The king paced back and forth for a few steps, his lips moving as if in whispered conversation. As before, Lakhyri detected a strange double-presence around the king. With the threat of immediate violence withdrawn, the high priest's mind worked more smoothly. He wondered why Erlaan still lived; his corpse would be as much proof as his living body. Lakhyri wracked his mind for an answer but Ullsaard spoke before he came to any conclusions.
'There may be something you can do for me if I let you live,' said the king, his voice quiet. 'A problem I have that you might be able to deal with.'
Lakhyri suppressed a smile of satisfaction.
'I shall serve in any way I can,' he said, with a bow of the head.
'Stop that!' snapped Ullsaard, hand moving to the hilt of his sword. 'No mock servitude, no false praise. Last time we spoke, you said that there was no reason our goals could not be joined. You lied to me then. Tell me now, truthfully, if you could ever accept me as king.'
'I seek for the empire to cover all of the lands between the seas, and nothing else,' said Lakhyri. 'I only used Erlaan against you because I thought you were too weak. I was wrong. It matters not who wears the Crown.'
Ullsaard flinched, as if in pain. He grinned at Lakhyri when the moment had passed.
'I am told that your words are worth less than abada shit,' said the king.
'Told by whom?' said Lakhyri. 'Who dares say such things?'
Resting one hand to the wall, Ullsaard loomed over Lakhyri, eyes wide, tiny reflections of the high priest's shocked face in his pupils. He tapped the side of his head with his other hand.
'Your brother,' whispered the king. He nodded to himself. 'I know everything about you, Lakhyri. Everything!'
The high priest looked at Ullsaard with narrowed eyes, searching for a hint of deception. What he said could only mean one thing.
'Askhos.' Lakhyri barely breathed the word. 'He lives.'
'He continues,' said Ullsaard, straightening. 'That is the closest he'll get to living again if there's anything I can do about it.'
Instinctively, Lakhyri's eyes drifted over Ullsaard's shoulder at the mound of humanity still lying sprawled beyond the open doors. The king noticed his gaze and grabbed his chin, forcing Lakhyri to look at him.
'I considered it,' said Ullsaard. 'Neither I, nor Askhos, nor you really know what will happen if Erlaan dies now. Perhaps it is too late for your brother. Perhaps he is trapped between me and the Crown forever. All you need to know is that should Erlaan die, however it happens, and I remain myself, I will kill you. It is not only my future and your brother's that would hang on such a decision, it is also your own. Your grand plans for empire, you can forget all of them if anything bad happens to our young prince.'
'What would you have me do?' Lakhyri asked, conceding defeat for the time being. 'Protect Erlaan?'
Ullsaard nodded and laid a thick arm across the high priest's shoulders, dragging him away from the wall.
'And there is still the promise you made me; to help me with my problem.'
'The campaign in Salphoria?' guessed the high priest, rewarded by the look of surprise from the king. 'Come now, it is clear that something occurs to dawnwards that has held you in check. If I can remove any obstacle for you, I shall do so.'
And so came the story from the king, of Anglhan's treachery and the hostages the governor held. The tale was told with a mixture of anger, regret and embarrassment, and when he was done, Ullsaard was trembling with the indignity of it.
'You see my dilemma?' finished the king. 'I cannot prosecute the war while that venomous serpent lies coiled behind me.'
'And you value your family too highly to risk any overt attack,' added Lakhyri. His next words were directed at the spirit he now knew lurked inside Ullsaard. 'Perhaps a weakness, but one I might once have shared. We sometimes make concessions for family that more ruthless men would discard.'
'When I fought against Lutaar, or Askhos, or whoever, you visited woes upon my army to thin our numbers and sap our morale,' said Ullsaard, ignoring the high priest's last comment. 'From afar, could you strike down Anglhan?'
'The fact that you still live proves that it is not possible,' said Lakhyri with a solemn shake of the head. 'Do you think that if I could end a life in such a way, you would have lived past the moment I learned of your plans to become king? No, my powers cannot be so specifically directed, not against the living.'
Ullsaard slumped, shoulders sagging.
'There is nothing you can do to aid me?'
Lakhyri examined his options. Perhaps it was time to do more than appear as Ullsaard's ally. If Askhos dwelt within him, he knew the secrets of the Brotherhood, perhaps of the Temple and the eulanui. Such knowledge had not weakened his desire for conquest.
'Your friend, the one that fell protecting you against my puppets, he still lives?' asked the high priest.
'Noran? Yes, last I heard he still lives. But he cannot help me; he is in a sleep that will never end.'
'That is perfect,' said Lakhyri, clasping his hands together at his chest. 'That will be all I need.'
'Really?' The hope on Ullsaard's face was almost pitiful. Not half an hour since coming here to slay Lakhyri, now he was desperate for his aid.
'There are some preparations we will both need to undertake,' said Lakhyri. 'Ready your men for an assault on Magilnada. Not too obvious, but be ready to act swiftly. We too must go to the Free Country.'
'And what then?' said Ullsaard. 'What will you do and how is Noran involved?'
'That is best demonstrated than explained,' said Lakhyri. He hesitated before asking a question. 'Do you trust me, Ullsaard?'
'No.'
'You will have to learn, because if I do what you wish, you will have to place your life, your whole existence, into my hands.'
'And why would you not simply extinguish it when you have the chance?' asked the king.
Lakhyri took a deep breath and smiled.
'The empire of Greater Askhor has taken longer than you can imagine to create, far beyond the two hundred years of its written history. For the first time, it is on the brink of succeeding in uniting the whole land under one banner. You are the man that can achieve that, Ullsaard. Erlaan has proven too weak and inexperienced. Askhos let himself get killed. If I kill you, Ullsaard, I will have to start again as your death would herald the fracturing of the empire. It has barely stood the strain of your usurpation, it cannot take any more. In short, you are my best chance
