Page 25 of Queen Demon
Kai had never been much of a scholar; he learned what he needed to know, and what interested him at the moment, but he had read every scrap of paper on this section of shelves. He sat on his heels to go through the box, the imp landing on his shoulder to watch curiously. He tried to read only what he needed to find the right documents; he didn’t want to sink into these words again, that familiar writing, the warm voice. There was no whisper of surviving scent, just the odor of old paper.
Kai was biting his lip by the time he located the right folio. He tucked it away inside his coat and replaced the box, ignoring the way his hands trembled.
He dismissed the imp before he spun the lock to reseal the inner door, then slipped out to the empty corridor. He had taken four steps toward the stairwell when a familiar voice spoke and a group of people abruptly turned off the landing right in front of him, barely ten paces away. The man in the lead was Bashat.
He was speaking to the woman beside him, “It’s worth the discussion, anyway. If you could find out if the—” Two cadre soldiers trailed him, along with three other finely dressed Arike. Kai froze like a startled lizard, like a fool.
Bashat glanced up and stopped, in mid-step and mid-sentence, at the unexpected sight of a veiled figure. The guards tensed, the other Arike stared, nonplussed but not afraid.
Kai set his jaw. He could run back down the hall and to an outside window and escape. It would make him an unknown intruder who had broken into the Old Palace; that would muddy the already dirty political waters as everyone assumed Bashat had been targeted by either the Nient-arik or the Blessed. The easiest way to avert that was to play to Bashat’s ego. Kai swept his hat and veil off.
There was a moment where Kai saw Bashat wonder if he faced a lingering guest he didn’t recognize or an intruder. As their gazesmet, the moment turned sharp and still; Bashat realized who Kai was.
For one unguarded heartbeat he was shocked. In the next instant, his expression was under control. He had seen Tahren at the council and heard her report; he knew Kai was in the city, and that Kai no longer occupied his old body. But he had clearly not expected to be confronted with him, at least not here. He flicked a hand in a subtle “stand down” signal to his cadre. Still facing Kai, he said to his companions, “Forgive me. This is an honored guest.”
Kai said, “Am I?” It had always been a relief that Bashat had never had more than a familial resemblance to Bashasa. He had the classic Arike looks, the dark eyes and warm brown coloring, as Bashasa had, but his curling hair was a finer texture, and he wore it shorter and pulled back at the nape. The shape of his eyes was different, his nose narrow and straight, his lips thinner. Bashasa had been a generous man with a generous face; Bashat was not. He wore the more formal version of traditional Arike clothing, all in black silk heavily embroidered over in red and gold. “I wasn’t invited.”
Bashat said, easily, “Then you mistake me.” To the others he said, “If you would excuse me? I must speak to an old family friend.”
Kai could tell Bashat’s companions had recognized him as well. They assented readily, making polite gestures as they turned to retreat downstairs. As they left, Bashat gestured ahead down the hall. “We can talk in the salon.”
Kai turned and walked toward the family quarters. It gave him a chance to brace himself for this confrontation. If Bashat had struggled just a little more, if he had betrayed any confusion, it would have been more bearable. But after that moment of shock, he had himself under such tight control that even his tension was invisible.
Kai turned into the open doorway. It wasn’t a large room butit was a comfortable one, with a couple of long low divans, a scatter of floor cushions on the richly colored rugs. Arike-style murals covered the walls, antique ones, nothing to do with the Hierarchs’ war. They depicted old conflicts, from ages ago when Prince-heirs and the cities of the Arik fought each other with weapons instead of words and trading contracts. They weren’t very good murals, but this place hadn’t been redecorated in a long time, not when Benais House was now considered the city seat. Kai wondered if Bashat had meant to renovate this old home, to turn it into a palace meant for the Emperor of the Rising World.
Bashat followed him in, the cadre taking up guard positions outside.
Bashat took his seat on a floor cushion at the table and gestured Kai to the opposite side, so they faced each other. He must have planned to have a private conference, or maybe the people who had been with him were friends. There were wooden serving plates with cakes and other sweets and a glass drinking set with several cups on the low table. Like the politician he was, Bashat went for the first move. He smiled. “You look well.”
“Don’t test me,” Kai said. He wasn’t a politician, or a warrior, he was a killer, and he didn’t waste time. “Tahren knows the whole story, but I’ve asked her not to speak of it to the council.”
Bashat took in a breath. This was a moment when he could sayknows what?and try to put Kai on the defensive, turn this into a conversation of accusation and deflection. To forestall that, Kai said, “I’m not here to kill you, if you’re worried about that. And you should be worried about that.” With deliberate calm, he added, “It would be my turn, after all.”
He watched the flicker in Bashat’s gaze as he considered several different responses, then settled on saying mildly, “Do me the courtesy of knowing you better than that.” He lifted the carafe, filled with a clear liquor. “Would you like a drink?”
Kai tilted his head, knowing a mortal would read the motion as snakelike, but Bashat deserved it for this. It wasn’t wine, atleast. “You must be joking.” He added, “Albre was lurking in the Cloisters so I assume she made the pearl for you. I hope you’re being careful with your own wine.”
“Since we’re speaking so plainly.” Bashat poured himself a cup. The scent of distilled apricot rose in the air. It was a drink that was only served at night in Benais-arik, after business and work were done for the day. “I assume I have you to thank for the loss of Enalin’s support during the coalition renewal.”
“You’re welcome,” Kai said, and smiled, small and mean.
Lifting the drink to his lips, Bashat stilled for a moment, as if whatever response he had expected, that wasn’t it. He took a sip to recover and said, “And if you had not succeeded? Would you go to war with me?”
He kept his tone light, but Kai could smell the suppressed anger now. Kai said evenly, “I think we’ve already been at war, you just didn’t tell me about it.”
Bashat laughed a little wryly, shifting his tactics without hesitation. “I think I made you my enemy without knowing it. It must have taken some time—months? Years? To gain the cooperation of all the Enalin leaders and their people.”
He’s really angry about that,Kai thought.Good. “We aren’t Hierarchs’ puppets, Bashat, we can oppose each other politically without resorting to murder. At least I thought we could.”
“I don’t remember those times.” Bashat regarded him with just the right amount of gravity. “I did not realize we opposed each other politically.”
That was disingenuous. “Then you weren’t paying attention.” Because he really needed to hear the answer, he said, “But I know you always pay attention. You were raised in a world without empires, how can you want to create one out of what we have now?”
Bashat let a little frustration show. “I don’t understand. I never have. You never opposed me as Prince-heir. Why oppose me in taking a larger role?”
“A larger role?” Kai repeated. “Is that what you’re worriedabout?” Bashat could lose the leadership of the Benais city-state and its position as the capital city of all the Arik, if he lost the support of the other Prince-heirs, the merchants, the artisans’ guilds, the farmers guild, and enough of the population. If the news that he had used the Nient-arik conspiracy for his own advantage got out, the city might not be pleased with a Prince-heir who wanted to govern the Rising World more than he wanted to govern Benais-arik, who permitted a conspiracy to unfold in order to accomplish that goal. Even for those who didn’t remember the days before and during the Hierarch occupation, when powerful Arike families had been manipulated into assassination and infighting when they should have been uniting against the invaders, a public airing of the truth could mean a new Prince-heir taking the seat. Which made Bashat all the more dangerous right now. Fortunately, Kai had been dangerous far longer than Bashat had been alive.
“I’m worried about what is best for Benais-arik. We are the seat of the Rising World. It began here, it should be ruled from here.” Bashat’s expression was earnest, and it hurt that Kai knew it wasn’t a pretense, that Bashat really believed this.
