Chapter 9

Yalet

The Empire of Nejim

The Noble District of Tijar

Zalas raised his hands and lit the oil lamps hanging throughout the empty audience hall with a sweeping gesture.  Now it felt a little less like a stone tomb.

He frowned.  In the past week, rumors had spread fast about Verahi’s return.  Most people celebrated, especially among the priests and hadirs, but many of the nobles were wary about the rumblings of change.  Even though all audiences had been suspended indefinitely, nobles in high positions had still managed to find Zalas and harass him for information that he couldn’t give.  He was only in the audience hall now because one of Anoth’s hadirs had slipped him a written summons with the appointed time and place.

Zalas slowly walked to the end of the hall and settled down on his customary cushion.  He never came here in the evening.  It didn’t help that it looked exactly the same as on the day his father was murdered by a hadir on this very spot.  Even the flames in the lamps, although better than complete darkness, seemed to hiss and mock him.

He still had no idea why Anoth had summoned him here in secret.  Verahi had made it very clear that he was to be involved in some sort of raid in Zaidna, but he had heard nothing of it since.  All he knew was that he didn’t have a choice in how or what he was going to do.

The doors of the audience hall creaked open, and Zalas looked up to see a silhouette slip into the room.  He prepared himself for Anoth’s unpleasantries, but was surprised to see that it was Davim who walked into the lamplight.

“It’s about time I found you, you son of a bitch,” Davim growled.

“What are you doing here?” Zalas asked.

“Your sister told me I’d find you here,” Davim muttered, stopping a few feet from Zalas. “You owe me a lot of gold after what you did to my slave!  Not that it matters anymore, since it looks like I’d have had to get rid of her anyway.”  He unceremoniously hurled a wad of parchment at Zalas, which bounced harmlessly off his chest and onto the tiled floor.

Zalas leaned forward and grabbed the parchment, smoothing it out and laying it flat in front of him.  “This is an official declaration of law,” he noted.  Of course he would be the last person to hear of it.  “What makes you so angry about this?  It says that women can no longer inherit property and that anything they possess now is to be titled to their husbands.  See, Davim?  You can still be my sister’s whore, but you’ll actually have something to show for it.”

“I’d let Roet keep all her property if it meant I didn’t have to follow the rest of these laws.  Go on.  Read the rest!” Davim waved his fingers in irritation.

Zalas picked up the paper and then held it up to the light.  “This is not so good.  ‘The use of bed slaves and concubines is forbidden.  All slaves used for such purposes are to be sold or executed within three days.  Those who harbor such slaves thereafter will be put to death.  Prostitution by members of any caste is hereby outlawed.  Those who break this law will be summarily fed to the hadirs.  Chastity before marriage is a moral imperative.  Those who defile themselves will be punished with death.  Adultery after marriage is also punishable by death.’”  Zalas glanced up to note Davim’s face, which was turning increasingly purple.  “I can see why you’re upset.  These laws affect every aspect of your daily life.”

“Upset doesn’t even begin to describe it,” Davim groused, pointing at a vein that visibly throbbed at his temple.  “I paid a fair fee for each of my slaves, and a huge sum has gone into their care!  Now all that time and gold goes to waste, and for what?  A monogamous relationship with your bitch sister, and all because the ‘Great Verahi’ has decreed it!  How do we know that Verahi isn’t just a figment of Anoth’s imagination?”

“Oh, Verahi is real,” Zalas assured, pressing a thumb against his chin as he scanned through the rest of the declaration.  There were now new laws regarding modesty, abstaining completely from drugs, and even limiting the consumption of alcohol, among other things.  This was all very unexpected.

“Well, I don’t give a damn if he’s real or not!  Roet hasn’t stopped bitching about these writs ever since the hadirs issued them.  The other nobles have already begun panicking and disposing of their slaves, but not Roet.  She’s rallying support among the other women in the city to keep their property from being stripped.  She’s even openly propositioned Tovam and several of the other hadirs as an act of defiance.”

Zalas scowled.  “She shouldn’t challenge Verahi.  He’s not one to be trifled with.”

“Are you telling me you can’t put a stop to this?”

Zalas shook his head.  “It would be foolish to try.”

“What am I supposed to do with my slaves, then?  Roet can keep hers and rot, for all I care, but I won’t become some hadir’s snack!  What was the point of worshiping Verahi and searching for the Orb if he’s turning out to be such a prude?  I say we should wait until Anoth isn’t looking and go smash the Orb for good!”

Zalas opened his mouth to chide Davim, but the sound of a boot heel striking the floor stopped him from moving altogether.  He knew immediately who had arrived.

Davim whirled around and issued a choking gasp as Anoth stepped into the light.

Anoth folded his hands before his chest as he slowly approached, his expression cold and calm.  “I don’t expect you to understand why Master Verahi has issued these laws, Davim, but know that these were the same laws that your ancestors obeyed, and they were rewarded for it.  Your children would have been as well.”  He extended his index finger and a crackling, continuous arc of lightning scorched into Davim’s chest.

Zalas fell back on his cushion, horrified by the flashing light and the spasms of Davim’s contracting muscles.  Only when the sickening stench of burning flesh filled the air did he stand and try to intervene.  “Anoth, stop!  He doesn’t know any better!” he shouted above the sound of Davim’s slow murder.

To Zalas’s surprise, Anoth lowered his hand and ceased the assault.

Davim fell to the floor in a smoking heap, clutching at his heart with blackened fingernails.  “Y-you could have killed me!” he shrieked.

“I suppose you’re not worth the energy,” Anoth replied, sweeping his hand before him in a cutting motion.  “Now leave us, even if you have to crawl on your belly!”

Whimpering like a beaten animal, Davim struggled to his hands and knees, his body quaking, but Zalas held out a hand to stop him from leaving.  “Davim should stay.”

Anoth arched an eyebrow, creasing his forehead where he bore his row of circular tattoos.  “He has no purpose here.”

“I disagree,” Zalas replied, bolstering himself.  “I am still emperor, and I represent your mortal followers.  Davim is my brother-in-law and needs to know your plan and what is to become of us.  Even if he is a commoner by birth, my sister is still the high princess and still carries sway in my absence.”

Anoth narrowed his eyes in contemplation as he strode to Zalas, purposely stepping over Davim’s outstretched legs.  “Very well, he may stay.”

“I don’t understand,” Davim wailed.

“Zalas is traveling with me to Zaidna as punishment for committing adultery with one of your whores,” Anoth growled down at Davim.  “He will be tested to see if he deserves the mantle of emperor.  If he proves unworthy, he will be executed along with all of his close blood relatives.”  After a moment of thought, he added, “Maybe I’ll kill you, too.”

Davim looked to Zalas for confirmation, his mouth gaping in disbelief.  “He can’t mean that!  What’s he talking about?”

Zalas averted his gaze.

Anoth let loose a derisive snort.  “It means that the life you’ve grown accustomed to will end if Zalas doesn’t prove the worth of his bloodline.”

“You can’t kill the emperor!” Davim declared.

Zalas’s fists clenched at his sides but he remained silent.

“Do something, Zalas!”

“Zalas knows there is nothing more to be done!” Anoth snapped.  “Verahi has made his decision and you have been informed.”

Davim bowed his head meekly.

“Now,” Anoth continued.  “Verahi has been without his physical body for millennia and it is time to reconstruct it.”

“What do you mean ‘reconstruct it’?” Zalas inquired.  “Isn’t the Orb his body?”

“The Orb is his prison,” Anoth corrected.  “Long before you two idiots were born, Verahi was unlawfully trapped in the Orb, and his body dismantled.  There is a way to reverse the process, but it requires several ‘witnesses’ to authorize the transaction and ‘pardon’ him.  Unfortunately, the psyches of mortals in Yalet no longer conduct sufficient light matter to make them suitable as witnesses for the Orb.  That is why we will travel to Zaidna in time for their noble summit, where there will be plenty of witnesses to choose from.”

“This sounds like madness,” Zalas muttered uneasily, looking over at Davim, who was still whimpering and nursing his wounds.

“The Orb is already configured to identify worthy witnesses who are of adequate quality.  Our task is to acquire those witnesses without raising the suspicions of any of the Naltites while also avoiding any damage to the witnesses’ psyches.  Once we have returned to Yalet, I will perform the rite that will restore Verahi’s body to him.”

“Who else are you taking with you?  Surely you don’t expect me to go with you alone.”

Anoth smirked.  “What, would you miss Tovam that much if he weren’t to accompany us?  I’m sure he’d be reasonable if I told him not to consume your psyche until after the task is complete.”

The thought of being trapped with Tovam for any period of time chilled Zalas’s blood.  “Let me take Davim instead,” he quickly interjected.

“Take this fool?  I thought you wanted me to spare his life.”

“I’m in no condition to—” Davim sputtered.  “I mean, there is no reason for me to—”

“Davim was born under a higher house of ormé than most,” Zalas reasoned.  “That is why you married him to Roet in the first place.  He may look and act the fool, but who better to conceal himself among the Naltites, and who better to help protect us should the need arise?”

Anoth stared at Davim skeptically, but then shrugged with indifference.  “Fine.  Go gather supplies.  The noble summit begins in a little less than a season, so you will need enough rations to fill that time.”  He paused for a few moments, considering.  “Before we settle in Judath, however, I have an important personal matter to take care of in Chalei.”

“What are you talking about?” Zalas asked.  “Doesn’t the parting lead to Judath?  If it’s about one of your spies—”

“I have something I must obtain in Chalei first, and then we will return to Judath to infiltrate the noble summit.  You’ll accompany me.  I wouldn’t want you to be too comfortable lazing about in Judath’s capital while you await my return, after all.”

“That makes no sense.”

Anoth took one last disapproving glance at Davim.  “Clean that fool up, then be sure to meet me at the parting at sunrise tomorrow.  Be prompt.”  And with that, Anoth withdrew from the lamplight and shut the audience hall doors heavily behind him.

Zalas exhaled sharply, his mind finally beginning to process what had just happened.  The idea of going through the parting for the first time with Anoth and an army of hadirs was terrifying enough, but the actual details of this plan were far more insane.  He regretted every evil thought he had ever had about being an emperor.  He wished that he could just go back to plowing his fat wife and listening to the prattle of old men at court.  Instead, he had no choice but to follow Anoth’s orders, now with his idiot brother-in-law in tow.

“Why did you have to bring me into this?” Davim demanded, rising on shaking legs.

“You should be thanking me,” Zalas snapped back.  “You would be a smoking heap of ash if I hadn’t intervened.”  He stood and moved to open the doors of the audience hall and motioned impatiently for Davim to pass through them.  “Go make yourself useful and get packing.”

Davim continued to grumble as he hobbled out of the audience hall.  Zalas plodded wearily back to sit on his cushion, finally alone once again.