Page 143 of A Drop of Corruption

We entered the king’s hall,smoky and bright with firelight once more. Many Yarrow women were stationed about it, all small and meager and seated before lambskins stretched out upon the floor. The soldiers lowered the chests of treasure before them, and the women opened the chests and began taking heaps of coins and placing them upon the skins, quietly but rapidly counting them out one by one. They only slowed in their counting when the wardens bore Pyktis’s corpse within the hall, and the reek of his rot filled the room.

At the far end of the hall was Prince Camak, seated atop the throne. He appeared exhausted but relieved, his silver crown on his head and his chain about his neck, his gold-painted face smiling sadly at us as we entered. As always, there was a dimness to his look that suggested he did not entirely comprehend what he was seeing. Beside him stood Prificto Kardas, clad in his bright white Treasury dress, and at the sight of us he bowed to the prince and paced over to me.

“Is all well?” Kardas murmured to me. “For the prince is ecstatic to hear that Darhi is slain and the treasure recovered—though it does mean Pavitar’s influence here is now strongest. I daresay yousaw the horrors outside? I suppose we must accept these, Kol, for the sake of stabili—” He trailed off as he spied Ana, who stood next to the body of Pyktis. “I say—is that acorpse?”

“It is, sir.”

Kardas’s face had already been quite grave, but it grew graver still as he absorbed this. “I…I knew Dolabra was coming, yes,” he said, “to explain all that had happened, but…why in hell have you brought a damned body with you?”

“To explain all that happened, sir,” I said—for that was the answer I’d been told to give.

Kardas peered at me, mystified, then leaned to Ana and said, “What scheme are you playing, Dolabra?”

“The winning one, as always, sir,” said Ana, grinning.

Kardas shook his head but said nothing.

Pavitar swept into the room behind us, his brow bristling, and bent low to whisper into the prince’s ear. The prince listened, his rather vapid features fixed in concentration, then nodded and cried, “Immunis Dolabra! How pleased I am to find your work done so quickly! You found not only Darhi, but this smuggler-killer, at last?”

“I have indeed, Your Majesty!” said Ana, grinning. “I have finally found him, at the end of all things.”

We slowly began to take up positions in the chamber. Malo, Kardas, and I stood along the wall to the prince’s right, while Pavitar and his soldiers stood along the wall on his left. Before the prince stood Ana, bent and blindfolded, and the crate containing Pyktis’s corpse; behind her were the trunks of treasures and the many counting women, quietly doing their work.

The scene was quite orderly, but I could feel nothing but overwhelming tension. I glanced at Malo and saw that she was watching Ana fixedly, a bead of sweat trapped in her greenish eyebrow. I took a breath and recalled what Ana had told us before we began:Be still, and move little. Simply let me lay the trap, and we shall see how things proceed.

To which Malo had responded:And if the trap goes poorly, ma’am?

Then we shall have to improvise,she’d said with a shrug.With sword and bow, perhaps! Be ready.

Ready I tried to be, but I could hardly imagine how this night might go.

The prince leaned forward, peering at the corpse in the crate. “This is the man who killed my father? How odd it is to finally look upon him now. For he is quite small, and all the evils he wrought so large…”

“And we still do not knowhowhe killed our king,” said Pavitar. “For all we know this might be the corpse of some unnamednaukari,or imperial indigent, and the Empire simply wishes to claim the deed is done. I still think it was Darhi who slipped that poison in.”

“Ah!” said Ana. “A fair point. It is a worthy story! And it is the exact one I wished to tell you, to explain how all this was done to your realm.”

“Yet why would we listen?” demanded Pavitar. His voice grew loud, like a canton councilman lecturing before a crowd. “It was Darhi who planned the most with the Empire, and it was he who stole our fortunes and fled! To any wise eye it would seem that you imperials are friends of schemers and knaves.”

Then Malo twitched and grasped my arm. She pulled me close—perhaps too quickly, for I nearly stumbled to the ground—and whispered into my ear: “I hear a whistling outside! Many of them, very soft!”

“Your wardens?” I asked.

“Yes. They have seen the red rocket from Yarrowdale. All proceeds as planned!”

I let out a sigh and softly muttered, “Praise Sanctum!” I stepped closer to Ana and laid a hand on her shoulder. “Thelenai has succeeded, ma’am,” I whispered in her ear. “The red rocket has taken flight.”

“Ah!” whispered Ana. “Most excellent, Din. Thank you.”

I withdrew, my whole body thrumming, and stood beside Malo to watch the meeting proceed, my hand now much closer to my sword.

Kardas bowed to the prince. “Majesty, I must protest! Satrap Darhi was no friend of the Empire, for he harmed us as well! We know now it was his wickedness that caused the harassment of ourshipments and murders of our bargefolk—for many imperial treasures were found among the litter, too.”

Prince Camak turned to Ana, surprised. “Is this so?”

“It is indeed!” Ana said brightly. “This dead fellow aided Darhi in many things, yet he was repaid with only sorrow. Allow me to regale you with his journey—and then grant you a gift that I have prepared for you.”

“Oh?” said the prince. “What gift?”