Born Of Fire And Darkness (Book 2) (6 page)

“And if he refuses, Father? Will you send imperial guardsmen?” Nassore asked.

“I think I can compose a request they will not refuse.” Jorek smiled at his son.

Chapter 5

Korbin waited half the day at the community hall in the immigrant quarter. He knew he might simply have gone to Octavia’s flat that evening, but he wanted time to think, and sitting for a while amongst the petitioners had the added benefit of giving him a place to hide from his other duties.

He hadn’t seen Octavia in a couple of weeks. The dinner she’d promised to attend at his house had been cancelled. One of her people was having a difficult birth and needed her help. Although Talmoran healers and hospitals did not turn away immigrants, Kilovians relied on their conduits. They were healers, herbalists, spiritual leaders, and so much more for their community. And now Octavia was the only one left in Vol, a huge city home to thousands of Kilovian immigrants.

Korbin believed Octavia’s excuse but grew more thoughtful about the situation when she ignored his attempts to schedule for a different night.

The minutes and hours ticked by. Korbin sat with the others. He tried to engage them in conversation, and most were polite but not friendly. The rest ignored him completely. Back when he was living as a commoner and working as a Talmor Rider, he’d had a small room off an alleyway in Chelotti Strand. He’d lived, drunk, and gambled with all kinds of people, been accepted as one of them.

As Dul Korbin Ulbrich, he wore an expensive shirt with ruffles on the sleeves, polished shoes, and a brocade tunic just as any other man of his station would do. He was too well-known to go back to his old job and to Chelotti Strand, no matter how much he wished he could erase his family name from everyone’s memories.

He was still himself, the same man who’d played stones till the wee hours of the morning, who’d sung raucous songs and tended his own horse. Now if he tried to do those things, those he’d recently called friend responded with awkward silence.

Korbin sighed. How he missed Eliam. Through it all, Eliam had been a genuine friend, the only one who’d seen him for his true self, regardless of how he dressed or the name he used.

One after another, Kilovians were called and taken to another room. He realized after a long while that only Talmorans were left. They were no more interested in conversation with him than the Kilovians had been. Finally, the young woman with golden-brown hair who had been popping in and out of the room all day returned. “Dul Korbin Ulbrich?”

He stood. “That’s me.” Every eye in the crowded room turned to him with open curiosity. How he hated that his name could hush complete strangers and draw their curious stares.

The young woman eyed him as he approached, taking in his clothes and searching his face as though hoping to learn something about him.

“This way,” she said, guiding him down a narrow corridor to a small room in the rear of the building.

He’d hoped to find Octavia within, but he was disappointed. The room was empty and contained only two chairs and the dust on the bare wood floor. The woman pointed to one. “Please sit,” she said.

“I need to see Senne Octavia.” He was tired. It had been foolish to come to her this way. Would she be annoyed with him for disturbing her work when there were clearly many demands on her time, likely from people who had legitimate need?

“Yes, Dul,” she said. “Please sit.”

Korbin did as she demanded, the rickety chair creaking beneath his weight. He was surprised when she sat opposite him rather than going to fetch Octavia.

“Now, tell me what made you seek the Senne’s help today.”

“It’s a personal matter,” he said. “I just need a few moments of her time.”

“Of course. But it would help enormously if you could give me a brief sketch of the situation so I can see that she has all the appropriate information. The Senne is quite busy, so she’s asked me to speak to everyone first, to smooth the process.”

Korbin had created a picture in his mind of what the meeting with Octavia would be like. He’d imagined she’d be happy to have a brief respite, that she’d see him walk into the community hall and smile as she came to greet him. He’d even had a silly fantasy of taking her somewhere to eat, to give her a break from her difficult day-to-day work. Surely it would be good for her to pause a moment. He’d thought, stupidly, that she’d prefer this to him coming to her house unannounced again.

Now he felt ridiculous. “If you could just tell her my name, I’m sure she’ll see me. I’ve waited all day for a quick moment of her time.”

The young woman sighed. A few strands of golden-brown hair had escaped from the tie that held the others tightly back. She tucked the strays behind her ear. “
Everyone
has been waiting all day, Dul.”

It struck him then that this woman was probably the only person in Vol who didn’t know his name. It surprised him because of her connection to Octavia. But that told him that his friend didn’t talk about him. Perhaps she had put him and the events of the past winter behind her and the friendliness of their last meeting had been politeness rather than heartfelt sentiment.

He wanted to leave but couldn’t. He had to speak to Octavia, and it needed to be that day. “I’ll wait if you’ll tell her I have a message for her.”

“You can leave a message with me.”

He considered whether to pen a note, but he didn’t particularly want anyone else to know their business. Instead, he reached into an inside pocket of his cloak and pulled out his identity token, not the shiny new one that marked him as a Dul and Eliam’s heir, but the old one, the Talmor Rider identity token Octavia had once soaked in her own blood to save Korbin’s life.

“Give her this, please,” Korbin said and handed it to her.

She eyed the battered disc suspiciously. “She has other people waiting. I’ll give it to her when she’s finished.”

Korbin stifled his impatience. This had been his own bloody idea, and he could hardly blame the girl for doing her job. Octavia had told him once that Talmoran merchants and Dul consulted her from time to time, and with her newfound blessing from the emperor, her popularity must have soared. Judging by this woman’s expression, she thought most Talmorans to be wasting Octavia’s precious time. He could hardly blame her.

“Very well. I’ll wait in the hall.”

The woman clucked her tongue in disapproval. “You could return tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow will be too late,” he said firmly. “I’ll wait in the hall.”

“As you prefer,
Dul
.” She said the title like an insult before jerking her head toward the door to let him know his time was up.

If the situation hadn’t been so damned inconvenient, he would have found it incredibly funny. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been treated so rudely. Despite his weariness, it tickled him. He was so weary of people either being afraid of him because of who his father was, sucking up to him, likely for the same reason, or being so unsure of how to treat him that they avoided him completely.

He stood and thanked her, his wooden chair scraping loudly against the floor. Back in the hall, he watched as, one by one, each of the other Talmorans were taken back. Some came out very quickly with thunderous looks on their faces. Likely they hadn’t been impressed with Octavia’s trainee and, as he had, refused to state their business to an underling.

A few took longer, and by the time the last person had been taken back, darkness had fallen and the dirty oil lamps fixed on the walls were barely enough to illuminate the room.

After a while, that final petitioner, an older woman who looked, judging by her clothes, like a merchant, emerged looking thoughtful but not displeased. A moment later, he heard the clacking of shoes rushing through the building. Octavia appeared at the door, her brown eyes wide in astonishment. She shook her head when she saw him. “I’m sorry. You’ve been waiting all day?”

“It’s not a problem.”

She turned a chair and sat across from him. “Why didn’t you just come to the house?”

“You haven’t been answering my letters.”

“I’m sorry.” She smoothed her long, dark hair. The dim light of the room made the circles under her eyes more pronounced. “I’d be annoyed with Liara for not telling me immediately you were here, but she’s under strict instructions to not give in to Talmoran noblemen. I’m afraid there are quite a few who think wealth or a title will give them preference over everyone else.”

“Perhaps I shouldn’t have come here, but I needed to see you.”

“I promise I will come to dinner soon. Everything’s just so—”

“It’s not about dinner. It’s about that letter from the emperor.”

She gave a puzzled frown. “I never received another message as I feared I might, so I put the incident out of my mind.”

Korbin doubted she even bothered to carry her new identity token marking her as a citizen. “You might not have heard from the emperor, but I did.”

“He wrote to you?” The lines on her forehead deepened. “About me?”

“Well, about both of us. Octavia, I don’t know how to say this, but we must go to Durjin.” He reached into a pocket and retrieved the envelope he’d received the evening before and handed it to her.

Her eyes scanned the page once, then again. He knew the words well, as he himself had read it countless times since it arrived. The tone was polite, but the intent clear.

“Am I understanding this right? If we don’t go, you’ll be made a senator?” she asked, her tone incredulous. “Is that so terrible? It sounds like a veiled threat, but I don’t understand why it should be.”

“This is a notice reminding me I am beholden to the emperor and owe him obedience and loyalty. I have no choice. I must do as he asks, one way or another. The intent is so much more than me becoming a senator or not.”

“You may not have a choice, but I do,” she said and handed the letter back to him. “Unless you think he’ll have me arrested.”

“As the letter said, my father is trying to have Seba released into his custody. You
know
what that means. This doesn’t worry you?”

“It does,” she said. “Which is why you should go to Durjin and tell the emperor why allowing this would be a bad idea. He’ll listen to you. You’re a Dul.”

“And you’re a conduit. It’s your advice he wants, your words he wants to hear.”

“My people need me.”

“Talmorans are your people now too, and we need you to help protect us from Seba.”

She stood and spun, turning her back to him. Korbin thought she might walk away, but she started to pace. After a moment, she turned to him and spoke. “You don’t know what you’re asking.”

“I understand. I truly do. I know you’re afraid, but—”

“I’m not afraid.” Her tone had grown hard and she clenched her hands together in front of her. Her knuckles whitened under the pressure. Everything about her gave lie to her words.

He softened his tone. “Octavia. This is me. I saw what my father did to you. Anyone would be frightened.”

“I’m not afraid,” she repeated, but her words held little conviction. She looked around the room. “I don’t see how I can leave the city for weeks or even months, not when I’m the only conduit here.”

“What about your assistant? Can’t she help?”

“Some,” Octavia admitted. “Others can go to hospitals in an emergency. The Talmoran healers might not like our people much, but they won’t turn away someone who is dying.”

“You’ll consider going then?” Korbin asked.

She looked as though she might agree, but then shook her head. “What am I thinking? Of course not. I can’t go. Talmoran healers might be able to help with the sick, with the births and the elderly, but not with the death rites. And they can do nothing for those who need advice and meditations.”

“The emperor
won’t
listen to me without you there, backing me up. If Seba falls under the power of my father’s temple, under Braetin’s influence, because I couldn’t convince them of the dangers, I’d never forgive myself.” He hated to manipulate her, but Seba must not be allowed to be possessed by the Spirit of Shadow.

Octavia nodded in exhausted defeat, as though a weight had landed on her shoulders. “Very well. I agree that can’t happen. If you cannot do this, then I must.” Her tone was bitter and angry.

Her accusation stung. She couldn’t seem to understand that if the emperor told Korbin to bring her, he had little choice. If he showed up without her, the consequences would be worse for him than not showing up at all. Making Korbin a senator would be the least of his worries if the emperor believed Korbin showed him deliberate disrespect or ignored his commands.

“We can leave tomorrow,” Korbin said.

“Tomorrow?” she said. “That’s not enough time. I need a week to prepare Liara. A week at least. A month would be better, but I know that’s unlikely to suit this emperor of yours.”

Korbin resisted corrected her by saying
of ours
. “My father is in Durjin doing everything he can to have Seba released sooner rather than later. They’re delaying Seba’s sentencing, waiting for our testimony. We will go, give it, and come back as soon as possible. But we can’t wait a week. Even if we leave tomorrow, that’s at least another week that my father has to convince everyone to do as he wishes. He is persuasive, and I would bet anything he’s not pleased at being held at bay.”

“Very well,” Octavia said, sounding more tired by the moment. “Send someone at first light. I’ll be ready.” She turned and walked back to the rear of the hall. “Liara!” she shouted, leaving Korbin staring after her.

Chapter 6

Graiphen stepped across the temple complex, following the acolyte of Pang who had brought him the goddess’ request for him to attend her. The slow pace gave him time for reflection.

Every day, he’d petitioned to see the emperor again. Every day, he’d been turned away. He had, however, appeared before the senate. As he had suspected, they were not inclined to put a former senator to death, no matter his crimes. Many of them had known Seba personally, and they remembered him as a mild nothing of a man. They believed he must have been influenced by the corrupt magic of the One and that he hadn’t been in his right mind.