Destiny's Queen 15

 

Chapter 15

 

“Daze! I can’t feel Aima at all! You said Phaedros was hopeless! What have you done?”

“What do you mean, what have I done? She’s your daughter. You should have protected her.”

“I would have done, if you had not reassured me that Phaedros was not likely to hurt her; it’s your fault for your failure to neutralise him like you said you had.”

“I don’t understand it; he was nothing but a posturing, pompous fool, and Pollonis sent him as ambassador to the Alethosi, who were bound to offend him, as he would have offended them with his effete ways. It was a lovely plot, I don’t know why it went wrong.”

“My daughter is dead! Destroyed! My worshippers are in revolt! What can I do?”

“You can take on the maintenance of the blood suckers so they don’t decay,” suggested Daze.

“I... maybe. They are high maintenance tools.”

“Up to you to decide if they are worth it.  I’ll let some of my riddlers loose to try to sow some dissention.”

“I suppose that’s about all you can do.”

 

oOoOo

 

The temple to Alethos was established, the visiting Alethosi might start hunting bloodsuckers and their human initiates.

A slave walked warily into the temple.

“Please, I am to give a letter to whoever is in charge,” he said.

Harkon held out a hand.

The slave gave him the letter, and Harkon read it.

“To the rebels, greetings. This slave will confirm that he is a temple slave, and that the empress is a hostage to your behaviour. If you are not in the street kneeling in expectation of arrest and execution your empress and her daughters will be exsanguinated slowly in public.

Cruentus, priest of Aima.”

“I confess, if it was just the empress, I’d not mind so much,” said Harkon. “But as I recall, she has four daughters younger than Tallys.”

“She does,” said Tallys, who was pale. “And there’s my father as well, and I am fond of him. He’s the clever one, but he has no power in the realm.”

“I wonder if he’d rule fairly if your mother were deposed,” said Harkon.

“He wouldn’t like it,” said Tallys.

“Like it? He doesn’t have to like it,” said Harkon. “I don’t like being a god, but it’s my duty until my son is born to it and grows into the power. I’m only god of storms temporarily, my girl, because Ombros asked me to do it as he lay dying.”

“Oh!” said Tallys. “I suppose that brings home doing your duty.”

“Velg!” called Harkon.

The mining trógling ran up.

“Palace?” said Harkon.

“Not a problem, my lord,” said Velg. “Good, big drains. Much waste from a palace.”

“So, not blowing in with whirlwind and thunder, but slightly soiled Alethosi from below,” said Protasion, happily. “What you might call the turd division of water-borne infantry... well, something-borne.”

“So many toilet jokes, so little time,” murmured Ralthur. “They’ll figure it out eventually.”

“Only if we leave anyone alive to figure it out,” said Harkon. “I don’t know if you noticed, but when we went out with the virgin slaves, I left a sketchy circle with Kaz’s pretend runic array on them, mostly apparently scuffed out. The second time we left a little more noisily. Speaking of leaving noisily, any sign of Phaedros and Rynn?” he added, a little worried. He reached out mentally. Phaedros had sacrificed to him to have a worshipper’s connection.

“Phaedros? Are you and Rynn hurt?”  asked Harkon.

“No, we got hungry,” said Phaedros’s voice in his mind. “We stopped to eat, which gave us the strength to winnow through the rest of the nasty pieces of work here. One high priest, four other blood suckers, and a couple of dozen initiates or lay members aspiring to be initiates. The priests didn’t much like me glowing at them, and we sliced up the rest. Nice little fight.”

“Good man. There are children, hostages at the palace. If you and Rynn can guard Lelyn here and hold the fort, the rest of us can go in.”

“We’ll be back directly,” said Phaedros.

He and Rynn appeared in a shaft of light through the window.

“That’s beyond weird as the sun is on the other side,” said Harkon.

“It only needs to come from the sky,” shrugged Phaedros. 

“Lelyn!” said Rynn. “I need girl-time. I never killed a god before.”

“Let’s go and have a cup of tea,” said Lelyn. “And you can tell me how well Phaedros performed, glowing in his skivvies.”

“He doesn’t wear any, and he performed very well,” said Rynn, with a wicked little grin at a blushing, but grinning, Phaedros.

It was late afternoon; and though Harkon may not have cared much if the empress died, it would not be pleasant for Tallys or her sisters, however much Tallys might be at odds with her mother.

They came out of the drains in a washroom for the slaves.

Tallys led the way towards the royal apartments,  having removed the dye from her hair so she was recognisable; any palace slaves got out of the way of the armed band marching grimly through the corridors.

“Tallys, I’ve seen at least a dozen slaves; are your family so hated that they would not band together to at least rescue your sisters?” asked Harkon.

“But they have not been given orders,” said Tallys. “If you are a slave, you can’t get into trouble if you only follow orders, whoever ends up in charge.”

“It’s going to have to go, you know,” rumbled Harkon.

“But how will we manage without slaves?” asked Tallys.

“Pay them and learn how to stir your own precious little legs,” said Harkon.

“You can be quite offensive, you know,” said Tallys.

“Thank you,” said Harkon. “Is this your sisters’ suite?”

“Yes,” said Tallys, stiffly.

Harkon booted in the door, and the four terrified little girls discovered that the nightmarish men who were taunting them, and laying improper hands on them died very quickly at the hands of the scary man shedding thunderbolts.

Tallys ran to hug them.

“You stay put here, with Dróg and guard them,” said Harkon.

The Imperial Prince Consort joined in the fight when they found him next.

“Go to your daughters,” said Harkon.

The empress was in her bedroom with a bloodsucker; and she was giving herself to him with every apparent appearance of pleasure; and had his mark at her neck. She was very pale....

She had been inducted into the cult, and was undead. Harkon’s roared abjuration of undead was backed up not only by a lot of power, but also by his personal anger and scorn.

The bloodsucker who was servicing her turned into a leathery mummy before crumbling; Empress Auralia merely dried up to a husk. Harkon burned the bodies.

And then it was just a case of rounding everyone up.

 

Harkon went back to the sitting room of the girls.

“I’m very sorry; I was too late to save your mother,” he said, harshly.

“She accepted priesthood of Aima,” said the consort, dully.

“I wasn’t going to tell them,” said Harkon.

“We knew, my lord,” said the oldest after Tallys.

“Well, I am sorry, but I cannot permit the abomination of undead,” said Harkon.

“She was going to drain daddy and us!” said the youngest, shrilly.

“Oh. Well, then, I don’t apologise at all,” said Harkon. “Prince, er, Gordion, will you rule fairly, and work towards eliminating slavery by paying servants instead and abjuring slaving?”

“If I don’t, you’ll put someone else in,” said Gordion, shrewdly. “And what of the Blood Moon?”

“A temporary inconvenience,” said Harkon.

Gordion nodded.

“Thank you,” he said.

“Oh, thank Tallys for calling on me,” said Harkon. “Now perhaps I can go home.”

The Alethosi returned to the temple to begin sorting out putting in local incumbents to run it; and Phaedros took Rynn and Lelyn back to Mesolimnos, before going to have a difficult conversation with his father.

“You will marry me, won’t you, Rynn?” said Phaedros.

“Oh, yes, if you want me!” said Rynn. “I... I am not lovely like Aima, who affected you so.....”

“Stop right there!” said Phaedros. “I managed to show an apparent interest in Aima by imagining you in that robe.... I must get you a crimson silk robe... which was very effective. I found her overblown and... well, too much of a not very good thing.”

“Oh, Phaedros!” said Rynn.

“I was waiting to find a way to make you immortal,” said Phaedros. “I knew you’d worry about it if you weren’t.”

“You know me very well.”

“It’s one of the things marriage should be about,” said Phaedros. “Knowing each other inside and out... er....” he blushed.

“I do understand,” said Rynn, turning purple with her own flush. She hastily turned the subject. “Phaedros, as Aima had an insatiable hunger for blood, do you think she was more of a diety than a deity?”

Phaedros roared with laughter at this pun, and kissed his beloved.

 

oOoOo

 

“I am going to marry Rynn, father, and if you won’t bless our union, I’ll ask Alethos to officiate,” said Phaedros. “She’s an associate priest of yours, for goodness sake! And grandfather agreed that trógling are shadow people.”

“But she’s a mortal, and has no power base to add to yours, no political advantage to give you,” said Pollonis, confused. “Why marry her? She’ll be honoured to be your mistress for as long as she has any attractions for you – not that I can see any – and bear you a child or two, maybe, which will please the trógling, that you have honoured their race in adding light blood to the dark of the toróg.”

“You obviously miss the point of marriage, father,” said Phaedros, coldly. “According to our own book of worship it is a meeting of like souls. And Rynn is my soulmate. I could care less about politics or advantage. The advantage is that she has always been there for me, she loves me, and I love her. And I find her very attractive; I had to think of her to look on Aima in any way but disgust.”

“It isn’t easy giving mortals immortality, you know,” warned Pollonis.

“That’s not a problem; she ripped it from Aima when we killed her,” said Phaedros.

“You... but you had help, of course?”

“Yes, Rynn helped me,” said Phaedros. “What, father? I’ve been training under Alethos for years.”

“And would you take any notice of my disapproval?” asked Pollonis.

“I would be saddened,” said Phaedros.

“And if I forbade it?”

“Even if you stripped me of my powers as your son, it would not make me forsake her,” said Phaedros.

“I can’t do that; they were born into you,” said Pollonis. “But why? Why a trógling?”

“Her race doesn’t matter; I love her,” said Phaedros.

“I... need to come to terms with this; leave me,” said Pollonis.

Phaedros left, and Pollonis sent for his other son, Polos, god of knowledge.

“Phaedros is making a terrible mistake,” he said. “He has become infatuated with some trógling who is doubtless making up to him, for his power.”

“Oh?” said Polos. “I thought he was enamoured of some Alethosi female warrior.”

Pollonis shrugged.

“I don’t know what she is,” he said crossly. “I know! I  will test this girl! Polos, my son, distract your brother, Phaedros by asking him all about the organisation of Aima’s temple; he will believe that you want to know every last detail.”

“I do,” said Polos. “It should be written down to preserve for history.”

Pollonis smiled, grimly. Polos could be relied upon to ask Phaedros to tell him everything in tedious detail, so he did not notice Pollonis testing Rynn.

           

oOoOo

 

Rynn went shopping in the market whilst Phaedros was requested to visit the temple of Polos to leave notes for posterity. She thought it only right that he should be remembered and honoured. More pressing to her, however, was dressing for him on their wedding day, in the traditional Solosian yellow gown, but in a yellow which suited her. Her skin was a greyer blue than Kaz’s skin tone, and some yellows made it look unhealthy. She found a deep primrose which she thought would do nicely, and purchased enough for a gown. She planned on a loose undergown, which a hip-length overgown caught with a gold cord criss-crossed at the waist, to make the most of her small bosom and neat waist.

Rynn became aware of someone beside her, and turned to see the beautiful, golden haired figure she recognised as Pollonis. He was not shining, but he was not hiding his charisma. Rynn was used enough to those in her immediate and eclectic family letting their charisma escape from time to time, and decided that she was not going to be intimidated by him, whatever reason he had for wanting to intimidate her. And especially if he had any intent of trying to stop the marriage of his half mortal son.

“My lord?” she said, with a slight frown.

“Why don’t you walk with me?” said Pollonis. “You will be lovely in that colour.” Rynn’s frown deepened slightly.

“Someone who represents the truth should be careful not to lie to a glyph-lord of a truth cult,” said Rynn, tartly. “Have you forgotten that I can sense truth? I am not so insecure that it troubles me that there are some people who find trógling unattractive. There’s only one person whose opinion counts to me.”

Pollonis turned up his charisma a trifle. This was not going according to plan.

“Maybe my tastes need education,” he said, smiling brilliantly at her. “My cousin, after all, is enamoured of his bride.” He ran a hand down her face.

Rynn stiffened, and thumped him hard in the groin.

Pollonis doubled up in shock as much as any pain.

“How dare you behave so to your son!” she yelled. “What is it, jealousy that he can find a woman to share his life with, and you cannot?  Well, tough luck! And you can send your spirits of retribution if you like, I cannot worship a philanderer who betrays his glyph of truth by acting like a knave! And be sure I will be telling Alethos about this!”

A hand touched her shoulder, and she whirled, to see Alethos.

“He knows,” said Alethos. “Your prayer was wordless, but cogent. Cousin, I suggest we take this out of the public eye, out of the market place, and waft a discreet forgetfulness aura over the common folk here.  My halls. Now. Rynn, dear one, go home. I’ll see that Phaedros knows.”

“He’s talking to Solos,” said Rynn, trying not to sob.

“No, he’s about to collect you to escort home,” said Alethos, and as he spoke, Phaedros walked out of the temple of the god of knowledge to come over to her.

“What’s happening?” he asked, entering the bubble of near god-being which Alethos had thrown up.

“Take Rynn home, and I’ll find out,” said Alethos.  “Pollonis was just coming to my halls to explain.”

 

 

Note: it is a cliffie but I am running a bit low on chapters. I am hoping to wrap 20 today but as usual I am having pacing-as-we-reach-the-denouement issues so bear with me if you call for a bonus and we end up with a day or two hiatus later.