Salute the Dark

‘First things first,’ said Stenwold. ‘Let’s go and see if anything has actually happened, then we can worry about the repercussions.’

They found Gramo Galltree, self-styled ambassador, tending the small herb garden at the back of his embassy. He bobbed and smiled a greeting at them as they approached. Their host had still been awake when Stenwold retired, so it was unclear whether he had slept at all.

‘The Mercer noblewoman?’ he said, when they asked him. ‘They came for her late last night.’

‘Came? Who came?’ Destrachis demanded.

‘A messenger from the Prince himself,’ Gramo said. ‘Apparently someone wished to speak with her.’

‘Then maybe she’s still there,’ Stenwold reasoned. Destrachis merely shook his head but said nothing.

‘You are also sent for,’ the Beetle ambassador said. ‘At your convenience.’

‘Prince Shah?’ Stenwold enquired.

Gramo chuckled indulgently. ‘Prince Felipe, you mean, but no, not him. Another at the castle requests your presence, perhaps even the same as sent for your friend. In your own time, though. When you are ready.’

‘We’re ready now,’ Destrachis decided.

Nine

‘So, we trust Thalric now, do we?’ Achaeos asked. He was looking better, genuinely better, since his own people’s doctors had started tending him. The long haul to Tharn had been worth the trouble, though now it had seemingly brought more trouble in its wake.

‘I… I think I do,’ Che said.

‘You think you do?’ He grimaced. ‘That doesn’t show much faith, Che.’

He reached his hand out and she took it, marvelling as always at how delicate his fingers were.

‘You remember Myna, Achaeos,’ she said. ‘You remember Kymene and the occupation.’

‘I do, yes.’

‘They need what I can bring them,’ she said simply. ‘Trust him or not, Thalric’s logic is sound.’

‘Only if his information is. Assuming he isn’t simply leading you into a trap.’

‘How can I know.’ She shrugged. ‘But if Thalric wanted to capture us, he’s already had his chance. He could easily hand us over to the Wasps here. He could have forced me to fly off into the Empire – Helleron’s imperial now, and only a step away. Or there’s the camp at Asta, that must be seething with them. I think he’s… lost. He’s used to having a whole Empire driving him on, and now he’s on his own, and he’s not used to that.’

‘Poor little Thalric,’ commented the Moth acidly.

‘But you see what I mean? If Myna rebels, then there will be fewer Wasp soldiers to throw at the Lowlands. If Myna and this other place rebel – and with Sten in the Commonweal trying to roust them up – we could see the whole western Empire reeling. And there must be other places who will try to throw off the yoke if they know the Empire simply doesn’t have the soldiers to spare for them.’

Achaeos closed his eyes, thinking. ‘The Ants of Maynes,’ he murmured, ‘and Sa. Great Delve. Yes, there are others.’ He opened those curious eyes again, without iris or pupil so that she could not tell whether he was looking at her or not. ‘I understand, Che, I really do. I remember Myna. Perhaps we owe them something, after all. I’m just… I don’t trust Thalric and I doubt I ever will. And I worry about you.’

‘And I worry about you too,’ she told him. ‘I’m leaving you here in their hands, after all. And, last I heard, your own people weren’t likely to step in and help you if the Wasps decided that you were a prisoner and not a guest.’

He smiled slightly. ‘It might be that things are changing a little there. It might be that the Tharen are realizing that they’re part of a greater world after all, and that someone who has at least put his nose outside once in a while is, if not much trusted, still useful.’

‘Really?’ Her eyes widened.

‘I’ve been meeting people,’ he explained. ‘They do not like me, Che. I have broken too many unwritten laws for them to like me. They need me, however. And things here are not quite what they seem, regarding the occupation. You forget that we are a cunning people, in our way.’

She pressed her lips together. ‘Well, if you trust them, then maybe I can trust Thalric.’

‘Che, that isn’t the same thing at all.’

‘I know, but…’

His smile became sharp-edged. ‘I know. It’s what Stenwold would do, in your place. And I know what Myna means to Stenwold. For him, it was the door that opened onto the Empire. I know.’ His grip on her hand increased. ‘And you want to be able to tell him how you liberated Myna. You want him to be proud of you.’

He had cut too deep with that. ‘I want to be proud of myself,’ she protested. ‘I seem to spend my whole time walking from one person’s cell to another. I haven’t done anything yet. Now I want to do my bit.’

She had brought the peoples of the Ancient League to stand alongisde Sarn, Achaeos reflected. She had retrieved the plans for the snapbow. She had found allies in Solarno and Tharn for her people. He knew that she would not be satisfied with that, though, for she was still in the shadow of her uncle and her foster-sister, Tynisa.