Markan Empire

  It always surprised Mya how difficult it could be to find someone in the castle. There were bigger fortresses back home in Trenvera, but people and sylphs could disappear for hours here if they wished. Siaba must know all the best hiding places. Nobody had seen her since that morning and repeated searches turned up nothing.

  Now Neptarik had followed her example.

  Mya tapped on the door to the male dormitory. Receiving no answer, she poked her head around the door, before the rest of her followed.

  Nobody there.

  The few beds – there were rarely many male sylphs in Castle Beren – were neatly made, spare clothes and kit boxes laid out precisely, as if for inspection. Most unlike the female dormitory which, though clean and tended, was far less exact. Typical males, she thought.

  She made her way to the sylphs' dining hall, where a couple of sylphs played games. Pedden tied weights to his cloak and floated it down, timing its descent with weights and without. He squeaked when Mya spoke.

  "Seen Neptarik?"

  Pedden shook his head, wide-eyed. "He disappeared too?"

  "Has he eaten?" she pressed.

  Pedden shook his head again. "Maybe he went to the city?" he suggested. "If so, he should be back now."

  Mya thanked him and left the dining hall. Engrossed in his experiment, Pedden had already forgotten her.

  Mya left the sylphs' tower and crossed the courtyard to the main gate. One of the guards eyed her curiously. Her earpoints slanted determinedly forward as she stopped in front of him.

  "Has Neptarik gone into the city?" she asked.

  "Not another missing sylph," groaned the guard. "They're still asking after Siaba. Who wants to know?"

  "Me. And I am only interested in Neptarik."

  "So I've heard." The guard grinned. "Ah, well then, let me see." He rubbed his nose with a finger. "There have been five carts in and four out. There were sylphs on a couple, but none was Neptarik. Or Siaba. So, no."

  Mya did not wait to hear the rest of it, but dashed away. Where was he? He had not been to eat, he was not in bed and he had not left the castle.

  Why did people desert her just as she got used to them? Where else might he be? Had Tektu given him extra chores?

  Had he upset Tektu? The Father alone knew what might happen then.

  She glanced skywards, where the setting sun turned the clouds gray, red and pink. Little time left before bed. And still her daily prayers to offer; she must get a move on. She would think things through in the sulking room.

  She returned to the sylph tower, climbed onto the curtain wall and made her way into the south tower. She climbed the spiral stair that led to her hideaway. The sulking room was not empty, as expected.

  "Neptarik!"

  He had drawn his knees up under his chin and hugged them with his arms. His head sagged, earpoints tucked away, though he was not asleep. He shook his head from side to side, but kept silent. She came closer.

  "Neptarik?"

  He looked up, eyes barely focused. His earpoints managed a small twitch upwards, but quickly wilted back. At least they did not tuck away, a good sign that he wanted company. Or needed it.

  She crouched before him and put a hand on one of his. Her earpoints slanted forward in concern. She said nothing; if he wanted to talk, he would.

  Their silence stretched.

  "I have seen many things a sylph should not," he said, eventually.

  "We all have," said Mya.

  Neptarik shook his head. "I know what weapons and battle do to people. I have seen wounds, pain and death. Things a sylph should not, ought not, see."

  Anguish crossed his face.

  "It is all right." Mya patted his hand, an attempt to soothe him.

  He looked anything but soothed. "I understand why humans fight. For good or for evil. To get something they want or need. For women, food, better land. There is a reason. Perhaps often weak, but always a reason. Some justification."

  "What has she done?"

  He shook his head again. "A prisoner was here."

  Mya's heart sank. Surely Tektu had not involved him?

  "She made me watch." Neptarik sounded on the brink of tears. "I had to know what she was; asked you, Siaba, everybody." His voice rose and he looked at her again. A curious mix of anger and terror glittered in his eyes. "Nobody told me, so I asked her. She told me she would show me... I bloody well know what she is now!"

  "Shush, shush."

  Tektu had forced Neptarik to watch her do the things she had done to Talnan.

  Neptarik screwed his eyes shut and a tear leaked free. "Mya, she enjoyed herself! How can anyone stay with that... that thing living here?"

  Mya said nothing. This explained the large turnover of sylphs who worked with Tektu. Why they were allowed to go so easily? Why weren't they silenced? Perhaps they were silenced somehow, especially if they had seen something.

  Neptarik glanced up again. "She knows you come here."

  "Tektu knows?"

  He nodded.

  Mya felt sudden terror. Her earpoints twitched wildly. "Does she know why?"

  "She knows you want to be alone." Neptarik looked at his companion. "I will ask for release from service soon. Will you come with me?"

  A smile blossomed on Mya's face and joy overcame momentary fear. "Yes," she replied. "We can ask tomorrow."

  "There is a duty I must perform. When that is done, we will go."

  The two sylphs hugged and their noses, foreheads and earpoints met. A bond, of sorts.

  ***

  After enjoying her evening meal, Tektu returned to the dungeon. She picked at the small pieces of beef stuck between her teeth. Her sylph body could not digest red meat properly, so she would pay later for her indulgence. But the real Tektu missed proper food; she allowed herself some as a rare treat.

  She reviewed her handiwork in the dungeon.

  The traitor hung limp and blood streaked what was left of his body. Tektu freed some trapped beef and began to chew, unconcerned by what dangled before her. She wondered if she had gone too far this time.

  Not with the traitor – she never worried when one of those died – but with Neptarik.

  The boy had not been ill, he had that much to his credit. But he had certainly been sickened. His screams were almost as loud as the traitor's as he begged to be released from the duty. Tektu had refused.

  The boy wanted to know what she was; he'd had the temerity to demand she told him. So she let him learn. He knew part of the answer now and if the knowledge troubled, he should have done as all other sylphs did – pretend that Tektu was nothing out of the ordinary. What now for him?

  She had renewed herself, so he had escaped that fate. Her heart lurched as memories of her beloved Siaba intruded. It should have been Neptarik, but Siaba had failed to bring him, leaving Tektu with no choice. It should have been him.

  He might ask to be released from service but, now Siaba was gone, she needed a replacement. Tektu dared not push too far. And Neptarik had something about him she rarely saw in sylphs.

  Others would run screaming after witnessing Tektu's work, Siaba included. Neptarik had asked and begged to leave, but he had not run away. He had tried to hide his face and clearly in distress. But he stayed. It puzzled her that the sight of the dead traitor caused him no upset, but her work did.

  So it was not her, but what she did that frightened the boy. That he had stayed in place showed he had courage, but did he have the moral fiber to continue in service? Might he prove a valuable replacement for Siaba, or would he tell the others what Tektu was really like, in a way no other sylph had dared do before?

  If it came to that, she would arrange an accident, such as a suicidal leap from the walls. But she had done that already – had it only been that morning? – and she was not the only one who looked for patterns. She had overstepped herself, but she must survive.

  Nijen da Re Taura entered the cell and she blinked. He had never come here before, preferring to wait for her repo
rt. The corpse earned one dispassionate glance.

  "A word with you," he said.

  "Steppan da Kanpura is still in the city," she said quickly.

  She knew this was not what he wanted to have his word about. Had the tide betrayed her? Corpses were never easy to dispose of when thinking on the hoof and in need of secrecy in a castle stuffed full of people with eyes.

  Nijen sighed. "We already knew that. I want to talk about –"

  "He is gathering people and spreading rumors. Some true, many not."

  Nijen nodded. "Tell me what ha –"

  "He meets with a man from Marka." Tektu's eyes glittered.

  "That is new – and important."

  Tektu smiled. "Thought you might like it. And our new man from Marka has planted a spy here."

  "We've taken nobody on since the last one." Nijen frowned. "Talnan was it?"

  "Maybe a sleeper. Or more than one."

  The Mametain's frown deepened. "Identified and eliminated those years ago."

  "Only those working for Steppan. Many men are here who served him." Tektu's silver-gray eyes glittered and her earpoints twitched in anticipation.

  Nijen shook his head. "You're getting paranoid. Those men serve for one reason; they want to feed themselves and their families. That is all they care about. Defending Re Taura is part of the price, but they do not really care who they serve."

  The sylph's eyes narrowed. "We should question them."

  Nijen nodded. "I will arrange it, but a far... gentler questioner than you will conduct the interrogations."

  No flicker of emotion crossed Tektu's face. She would get her chance at any unmasked traitors.

  "As you wish, henyi. There is one more thing."

  "There is." Nijen's voice was grim.

  "About the traitors. I have another name."

  "I will arrange someone to investigate that, too." Nijen managed a smile. "But there is something I must discuss."

  "Yes?"

  "Siaba."

  "Not seen her since breakfast."

  "Nobody has seen her since breakfast. You have been told not to harm sylphs."

  Tektu managed to look affronted. "I asked her to bring Neptarik to me which she never did." All true. Lucky that she could lie by omission and still obey her oath to him. She would never make promises to future owners again.

  "The guard has just pulled what's left of her out of the sea. We identified her by her collar."

  Tears glittered in Tektu's eyes. Genuine tears. "You must remember, henyi, that I loved her too." This was also true. She should have taken that collar off somehow, but the rivets had held firm. Never enough time to get everything done.

  Nijen gave her a long, level look and finally relented. "Very well," he said. "Give me the name and we'll have him brought here when arrested. You can question him when we've got him."

  Tektu smiled. The danger had passed. He believed her; there would be no more awkward questions. In time, she would find a scapegoat for Siaba's death.

  ***

  The spacious great cabin managed to look half-full.

  Admiral Iklaus, Captain Naeppin and First Lieutenant Erran sat along one side of the table, opposite Lieutenant Captain Galbert of the Northern Foot Regiment, flanked by two junior officers. A regimental secretary sat at one end of the polished table and Degan sat at the other. Three members of the ship's company stood ready with alovak and wine, and one had left a jug of water in front of Degan.

  The ship's sylph kept throwing glances out of the stern windows, trying to catch a glimpse of the open water in the harbor. She wanted to be out there and not stuck in here.

  After introductions, the soldiers looked more relaxed about a sylph sharing the table with them. Degan was unsure whether to be pleased their attitude had changed, or still annoyed over their original opinion.

  They believed we were a servant, she silently told the ship.

  Not their fault, they don't understand, replied the ship.

  "We still wait for orders," said Galbert, "but expect to receive them soon."

  "Good." Iklaus smiled. "Degan is not the only one eager to be back at sea."

  All eyes turned to the sylph, who fiddled with one of her wooden buttons and tried to keep her expression neutral.

  "There will be sylph company for you when we embark," Galbert told her. "A new experience for you."

  "Hardly," replied Degan. "I see other ship sylphs all the time. Might be a new one for them, though."

  Among the soldiers, only Galbert appeared unfazed by the answer. Few Taurans were used to sylphs answering back.

  "If your sylphs are frightened of open spaces," continued Degan, "there is no space like the open sea. There is a reason why so few make good ship sylphs."

  Galbert shrugged. "They should be fine."

  Degan smiled. These sylphs probably belonged to the officers; she would be astonished if any felt even remotely comfortable when they stared at an unbroken horizon.

  Feeling that the conversation had slipped, Iklaus seized control of the meeting. "Despite onboard speculation, we still do not know our destination. Assuming we take the shortest distance to the continent, your men will be aboard for two days. And Siranva only knows what sort of reception we will get."

  Galbert gave a quick grin. "We won't be welcomed with open arms," he replied. "We know a little more than you about the destination."

  Iklaus gave an offhand gesture.

  Degan leaned forward. "Care to share?"

  The soldier's smile widened. "We have no ideas about when, but we will land in Trenvera. The Mametain means to annex the coast there."

  Degan exchanged a look with Iklaus.

  "So," said the admiral, "we are to be the wedge."

  "Forerunners," corrected Galbert. "The Mametain wants to build an empire of our own."

  Degan, who had no interest in invasions, let the words wash over her. "When do we sail? The ship has been stuck in harbor far too long."

  Iklaus and Naeppin gave the sylph tolerant smiles, but the soldiers again looked shocked.

  "We still don't know." Iklaus kept his tone gentle. "But I'm sure it will be soon."

  ***

  Sweating, Neptarik turned on his bed. He tried not to whimper as he kicked the blankets aside.

  Would he ever fully recover from the day's events? The interrogation had been bad enough, but the information the traitor had given Tektu terrified him. Names and places.

  Tektu – and presumably now the Mametain – knew an agent from Marka was in the city. The traitor did not know the Markan's name – nor, apparently, that there were two – but he did know that a Markan spy had infiltrated Castle Beren.

  Neptarik hoped that Tektu's efforts would concentrate on human spies, as the traitor knew few details. But it would not take her long to exhaust the possibilities. Then, she would either look for something else – such as a sylph – or dismiss the information given to her as useless.

  He had won some trust from Tektu, so nobody would be surprised to see him in the Mametain's tower. To succeed at his task, he must go to the Mametain's study. Everything relevant to his mission was kept there. He had caught only a small glimpse and even that had been difficult with Tektu looking over his shoulder.

  He must make his move. Soon.

  ***

  Chapter 19

  Enemy Contact

  "Impressive. Just short of seven hours."

  Hanmer wrapped a cloth around the hourglass to protect against accidental damage and tucked it away.

  Tynrasa smiled and his earpoints slanted forwards in contentment.

  Kelanus nodded. "Useful to send messages to Marka and get the reply back in so short a time. I trust your scouts maintained absolute secrecy?

  Tynrasa's earpoints wilted at the hint of doubt. "We pass on only messages we are given. So yes."

  Kelanus masked a smile. The lack of an honorific showed Tynrasa's annoyance at hearing the scouts' integrity questioned, even obliquely. "Good. And no sig
n of strain now scouts are being detailed to move further away?"

  Tynrasa shook his head.

  Kelanus had spread his net of scouts so he could react quickly to any eventuality. Even though he had brought so many, they now had to work harder. In about three hours he could have Treylfor and Indelgar on the move from Marka. In much less time, he could swing east to Trenvera and comply with his original orders. Though he doubted he would ever need to.

  "Once again, the sylphs prove their worth as scouts. Excellent." Kelanus gave Tynrasa a warm smile. "Pass on my congratulations to all concerned."

  Hanmer glanced over his shoulder. "They are still mouths we must feed, sir."

  "When they split away from us Hanmer, they are mouths who will feed themselves," countered Kelanus. "Besides, they collect most of what they eat. Unlike your good self, of course." He laughed as the yeoman turned away, muttering.

  Tynrasa also made to leave, but Kelanus stopped him. He glanced at Bascon, who moved a little further away.

  "I understand romance is blossoming between two of the scouts," said Kelanus.

  Tynrasa looked surprised. "It is between a male and female scout," he replied, defensively.

  Kelanus gave a quick smile. "I understand that. What are you doing about it?"

  Tynrasa's eyes widened a little more and his earpoints slanted forwards. "What can I do? These things happen."

  "Ensure they never patrol together. Whatever they get up to in their own time is between them, but they patrol apart. And no pregnancies."

  Tynrasa nodded. "You want me to send one of them towards Trenvera and keep the other here?"

  Kelanus allowed a shocked expression to cross his face. "What do you think I am?" he demanded. "That would give me two useless scouts. I'm merely concerned about the safety of all if they patrol together and get distracted."

  Tynrasa looked at the floor, but could not hide his smile. His earpoints twitched with barely suppressed amusement. "They already patrol apart, donenya," he assured the general.

  Kelanus gave the senior scout a level look and finally relented. "All right; that will be all."

  "Se bata." Tynrasa withdrew and Bascon came forward to take his place at Kelanus's stirrup again.

  ***

  Loran plumped herself beside Janin in the large dining tent. Sitting, instead of the more natural squat, still felt strange. She ignored the rain pattering steadily on the tent roof and dripping to the ground.

  Janin looked up from his bowl of beans and pulses to smile at her. "This is good," he said, waving his wooden spoon at the bowl.