They flew due north. With every person’s gaze trained on the birds, no one saw that Gracchus had narrowed his eyes slightly.
The Suffragat erupted into cheering. Letting go a deep sigh of relief, Vespasian looked at Persephone. She gave him a reassuring smile. Then tears started forming in her eyes as she hoped that when they said goodbye to one another it would not be for the last time.
For Vespasian the moment was bittersweet. As he watched Persephone’s eyes well up he made a silent pact with himself that he would treat each remaining moment with her as though it were their last. He then looked at Lucius. Already eager to be in the field, the beaming First Tribune gave his emperor a rapacious wink.
And so it was that the campaign to take the Shashidan gold fields had been officially ratified and could be put into motion. It would take time to assemble the needed troops and materiel. Even so, nothing could stop the attack now.
Persephone came to join her husband and he escorted her from the Rustica. By custom, each time an auspicium decree was favorable, a great banquet was served in the royal palace to celebrate the joyous event. Tonight would be no exception, and Vespasian was looking forward to it.
As the Suffragat left the courtyard, twoPon Q’tar clerics remained behind. Gracchus looked up at the sky and he smiled. Aegaea Mithridates, one of Gracchus’ most trustedPon Q’tar confidants, came to stand beside him. She had a pleasant face and flowing gray hair. As if she could again see the sacred birds winging home, she too looked to the sky.
Only hours ago Gracchus had informed thePon Q’tar of the Oraculum’s complete vision. Unlike Vespasian, Persephone, the Priory, and the Tribunes, nothing that the lead cleric had told thePon Q’tar during today’s Aedifficium session had come as a surprise. As had been so often the case over the centuries, once again their playacting had been flawless.
“And so you have succeeded once more, Gracchus,” Aegaea said.
“Don’t I always?” he asked in return.
Taking her gaze from the sky, Aegaea looked the lead cleric in the eyes. “Tell me,” she asked, “had you not intervened, which way do you believe that the birds would have flown?”
Gracchus looked at her. “We’ll never know,” he answered. “Nor does it matter. All that matters now is that we have our war.”
“And what is to keep theJin’Sai from crossing the Azure Sea?” she asked.
Gracchus smiled. “I will address that issue shortly, my dear,” he answered. “Do not fret. Tonight our only concern is to enjoy our emperor’s renowned hospitality.”
As Gracchus escorted Aegaea from the courtyard, the late afternoon sun slipped down behind the Rustica’s western wall.
Robert Newcomb
Rise of the Blood Royal
II
TERROR AND MAGIC
CHAPTER XIII
Although revenge will taste sweet, it is not so much for myself that I do this thing as for my lost beloved.
WIPING THE SWEAT FROM HIS BROW, TRISTAN TOOK Abreak from his labors and reached down to grasp a nearby stone jug. He raised the vessel to his lips and drank greedily of the cool water before pouring some onto his head. Smiling, he ran the fingers of one hand back through his salt-and-pepper hair, then tossed the jug to Ox.
Ox caught the jug between his huge palms and drained its remaining contents in a single draught. After letting go a wet belch, he wiped his mouth with the back of one hand and dropped the jug to the ground.
“Not good as akulee, but Ox thankJin’Sai, ” the huge warrior said. “The day be hot, but work almost done. Then ships can come.” Tristan responded with a smile.
It was midafternoon on the third day following Tyranny’s return to Tammerland. The sky was hot and bright. As he stood amid the great hustle and bustle, Tristan shook his head, thinking. So much had happened in such a short time that he hardly knew what to make of it all. He wasn’t alone in his confusion, for every Conclave member felt the same.
His mystics had been secluded in the Redoubt for the last two days, trying to unravel the strange mysteries that had recently appeared. So far they had sent no word about their findings. To dispel his nervous energy, Tristan had come to help the Minion workers and engineers with the massive project that he had assigned to them several months ago. He was glad that the job was nearly done.
TheJin’Sai took another deep breath. Raising his sledge high, he brought it down squarely against an iron spike that would help seat another of the great laminated timbers into place. Hundreds of Minion workers were also pounding away in various areas on the same project. After driving six more spikes home, Tristan again stopped to catch his breath.
The huge construction area was a beehive of activity, with hundreds of male and female Minion warriors working tirelessly toward one goal. Tristan had selected a spacious field just outside the palace walls as the permanent resting place for the Black Ship fleet. Of all the Conclave mystics, only Jessamay was here to apply the craft when needed. Tristan wanted the fleet returned home as soon as possible, for his heart told him that he would soon need them.
He had seen the horrific creature and the impaled corpses that Tyranny brought back, and their surprising existence caused him great concern. He realized that many such wicked beasts would have been needed to commit the thousands of grisly atrocities that Tyranny found at Birmingham. Despite Tristan’s earlier hopes that the Vagaries had been vanquished east of the Tolenkas, another strange threat from the craft’s dark side had somehow risen. Every fiber of his being told him that the danger needed to be dealt with quickly.
Moreover, the Conclave’s confirmation of subtle matter and learning that Shashida could be reached by crossing the Azure Sea had been astounding. But Tristan had absolutely no idea how to accomplish such a daunting task. Ships would be needed to cross that strange sea, and in the depths of the caves there were no raw materials from which to build them. Nor did Tristan dare order his warriors to try to cross the sea by air, for he knew nothing about the distance involved.
Tristan shook his head again. Only three days ago he had been dead certain that he should leave for the Caves straightaway. But with the grisly impalements and the coming of the man-serpents, his next course of action became unclear. As was often the case, his mystics’ advice would figure prominently in his decision.
Even so, he had ordered that Minion phalanxes start flying over Eutracia to search out the deadly monsters. He knew that it would be akin to finding a thimble in a sneezeweed stack, as Abbey was so fond of saying, but he had to try. Because the Conclave still knew so little about the beasts, even if they were found, he had ordered that the warriors were to take no action unless citizens were again being threatened. It chafed at theJin’Sai to give his troops such cautious instructions. Not leading them himself chafed even more. But other matters commanded his duty now.
Placing one palm above his eyes to shield them from the blazing sun, he again looked out over the huge construction site. Three of the massive cradles were finished and the fourth was nearly so. Because so many warriors had been freed after building the first three, the final cradle was swiftly nearing its completion.
The cradles’ frameworks were shaped exactly like the Black Ships’ hulls, only larger, so that the vessels could fit into them. Great laminated timbers that formed the cradles’ spines lay on huge stone foundations so that the cradles wouldn’t shift in the soft earth. The cradles pointed east, ensuring that when the ships lay in them, their
