“You are impertinent,” Livanna said.
“And ambitious,” Ankhor added. “And given the scope of my ambition, along with the benefits that you can reap from it, I am sure my impertinence is something you can tolerate.”
“To a point,” Livanna said.
Ankhor raised his eyebrows and gave her a slight bow. “Well, I shall try to keep that in mind.”
“Do,” said Livanna curtly. “Our interests happen to coincide, but that does not make you indispensable.”
“Altaruk shall one day be a defiler city, with me or without me, I know,” said Ankhor. “I have seen the writing on the wall. However, that day will come much sooner with my help than without it. And you know that very well, or else you would not be here to insure that it is Nibenay who will rule in Altaruk rather than Hamanu of Urik or the Oba of Gulg.” He smiled. “We both want an edge on the competition.”
Ankhor took a sip of wine and settled comfortably into his chair, an action that would have been an insufferable affront to the senior templar in her home city. Her nostrils flared slightly, but otherwise, she showed no reaction.
“Let us understand each other, Livanna,” Ankhor said. “I am not one of your subjects. At least, not yet. You need me now, and when Altaruk falls under the Shadow King’s domain, you are going to need me even more. With Jhamri out of the way, I will control Altaruk’s economy. The revenue Nibenay will receive from the House of Ankhor in taxes alone, to say nothing of the profits from investments, gratuities and outright bribes, will not be insignificant. No government can survive without the merchant houses. We both know that. At the same time, we both know that you could easily destroy me. I have no knowledge of magic, whereas you bear the awesome power of the Shadow King. But if anything were to happen to me, the House of Ankhor would collapse.
“Not even my minister of accounts knows all the intricacies of our dealings. My father is much too old to run the business now, and my sisters lack the necessary skills. Five of them have been profitably married off, and the remaining two are merely awaiting their turn. They have been raised to be fine ladies of distinction, not merchant traders.
So you see, Livanna, I am indispensable. I am the House of Ankhor. Stop trying to intimidate me with your powers and your lofty status as a templar and accept that we are equal partners in this venture, or else stop wasting my time. I could manage this without you. It would be inconvenient and would involve delays, but it could be done.”
Livanna gave him a hard stare. “I am sure Lord Jhamri would be happy to make time for me.”
“No doubt,” said Ankhor. “If you like, I will have Lyanus arrange an appointment for you first thing in the morning.”
For a moment, the templar said nothing, then she smiled. “No, I do not think that will be necessary,” she said. “Are you like this in all your trade negotiations?”
“No,” said Ankhor. “Sometimes, I find it necessary to be firm and uncompromising.”
Livanna chuckled. “A serpent would, indeed, be an appropriate device for your standard. I will be pleased to report to our elder council that we have the right man in Altaruk.”
“You had decided that before you arrived,” Ankhor said. “So, shall we get down to business?”
“You have arranged for suitable quarters for our recent acquisition?”
“My recent acquisition,” Ankhor corrected her. “The full amount of the purchase price came out of my pocket, as you will recall, and it was not inconsiderable.”
“But are we not partners in this enterprise, as you just said? After all, I am providing the transportation, free of charge,” Livanna responded, “and at a considerable cost in energy to myself.”
Ankhor shrugged it off. “Which you will immediately recover by defoliating a garden or two or else killing some hapless drunk wandering through the streets.”
“Nevertheless, I am saving you the time and trouble it would take to arrange for transport all the way from Balic, and in secret, too. And then there is the matter of the time and effort I shall invest in the enterprise from this point on.”
“Which will be offset by the intelligence I will provide, through contacts I have gone to great trouble and expense to develop and skilled agents I have placed in key positions.” Ankhor frowned. “What is the point of all this dickering?”
Livanna smiled. “I merely wanted to see if I could out-bargain you. Apparently not.”
Ankhor chuckled. “Not a bad effort, though. For a templar. But right now, I am more interested in seeing what you do best.”
“Well, then… prepare yourself,” Livanna said. She threw back her robe and raised her arms, shutting her eyes in concentration as she mustered her energies for the casting of the spell.
Ankhor felt a subtle change in the atmosphere of the room. It was nothing he could put his finger on, but he felt it, growing, raising goosebumps on his flesh and making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He was no stranger to magic; he had seen it used before, but never on this level. The sorcerer kings imbued their templars with power, and even at this distance, the Shadow King’s power was mighty.
Livanna had been trained since childhood, and she was now a very old woman. It was impossible to guess her age. She looked about seventy, but she was a senior templar, which meant she had to be at least twice that age or even older. She had not yet even cast her spell, and already the room was thrumming with energy.
Ankhor nervously moistened his lips and gripped the arms of his chair to keep his hands from trembling. As a trader, he had learned never to reveal uncertainty and always act as if he was in the superior position, but it was not until that moment that he truly
