Tanal licked dry lips. ‘Such a dossier will be difficult, Master-’
‘Don’t be a fool. Work with the Chancellor’s agents. We’re not interested in factual reportage here. Invent what we need to incriminate her. That should not be difficult. Errant knows, we have had enough practice.’
‘Even so-forgive me, sir-but she is the Emperor’s only lover.’
‘You do not understand at all, do you? She is not Rhulad’s first love. No, that woman, an Edur, killed herself-oh, never mind the official version, I have witness reports of that tragic event. She was carrying the Emperor’s child. Thus, in every respect imaginable, she betrayed him. Tanal, for Rhulad the rains have just passed, and while the clay feels firm underfoot, it is in truth thin as papyrus. At the first intimation of suspicion, Rhulad will lose his mind to rage-we will be lucky to wrest the woman from his clutches. Accordingly, the arrest must take effect in the palace, in private, when the First Concubine is alone. She must then be brought here immediately.’
‘Do you not believe the Emperor will demand her return?’
‘The Chancellor will advise against it, of course. Please, Tanal Yathvanar, leave the subtle details of human-and Edur-natures to those of us who fully comprehend them. You shall have the woman, fear not. To do with as you please-once we have her confession, that is. Bloodied and bruised, is that not how you prefer them? Now, leave me. I
believe I have arrived at a solution to this contraption.’
* * *
Tanal Yathvanar stood outside the closed door for a time, struggling to slow his heart, his mind racing. Murder Janath Anar? Make her disappear like all the others? Fattening the crabs at the bottom of the river? Oh, Errant, I do not know… if… I do not know-
From behind the office door came a snarl of frustration.
Oddly enough, the sound delighted him. Yes, you tower’ ing intellect, it defeats you again. That two’headed nightmare in miniature. For all your lofty musings on your own genius, this puzzle confounds you. Perhaps, Invigilator, the world is not how you would have it, not so clear, not so perfectly designed to welcome your domination.
He forced himself forward, down the hall. No, he would not kill Janath Anar. He loved her. Karos Invictad loved only himself-it had always been so, Tanal suspected, and that was not going to change. The Invigilator understood nothing of human nature, no matter how he might delude himself. Indeed, Karos had given himself away in that careless command to kill her. Yes, Invigilator, this is my revelation. 1 am smarter than you. I am superior in all the ways that truly matter. You and your power, it is all compensation for what you do not understand about the world, for the void in your soul where compassion belongs. Compassion, and the love that one can feel for another person.
He would tell her, now. He would confess the depth of his feelings, and then he would unchain her, and they would flee. Out of Letheras. Beyond the reach of the Patriotists. Together, they would make their lives anew.
He hurried down the damp, worn stairs, beyond the sight of everyone now, down into his own private world. Where his love awaited him.
The Invigilator could not reach everywhere-as Tanal was about to prove.
Down through darkness, all so familiar now he no longer needed a lantern. Where he ruled, not Karos Invictad, no, not here. This was why the Invigilator attacked him again and again, with ever the same weapon, the implicit threat of exposure, of defamation of Tanal Yathvanar’s good name. But all these crimes, they belonged to Karos Invictad. Imagine the counter-charges Tanal could level against him, if he needed to-he had copies of records; he knew where every secret was buried. The accounts of the bloodstained wealth the Invigilator had amassed from the estates of his victims-Tanal knew where those records were kept. And as for the corpses of the ones who had disappeared…
Reaching the barred door to the torture chamber, he drew down the lantern he had left on a ledge and, after a few efforts, struck the wick alight. He lifted clear the heavy bar and pushed open the heavy door with one hand.
‘Back so soon?’ The voice was a raw croak.
Tanal stepped into the chamber. ‘You have fouled yourself again. No matter-this is the last time, Janath Anar.’
‘Come to kill me, then. So be it. You should have done that long ago. I look forward to leaving this broken flesh. You cannot chain a ghost. And so, with my death, you shall become the prisoner. You shall be the one who is tormented. For as long as you live, and I do hope it is long, I shall whisper in your ear-’ She broke into a fit of coughing.
He walked closer, feeling emptied inside, his every determination stripped away by the vehemence in her words.
