Priest of crowns, p.28
Priest of Crowns, page 28
‘You preach that the Skanians killed our beloved queen, and I see why you believe that, but trust me when I say it is an utter falsehood.’
‘It can’t be,’ she protested. ‘Everything that has happened since—’
‘Was engineered by the house of law,’ I told her. ‘Who sits the throne now?’
‘Well, Crown Prince Marcus is of the royal house, and in three or four years he will—’
‘No,’ I interrupted her again. ‘Who sits the throne now?’
‘Lord Vogel,’ she whispered, and I could see her putting the pieces together in her head.
‘Aye,’ I said. ‘Lord Vogel. A man born in Skania may have held the knife that killed the queen, but he was a mercenary in the pay of our very own Lord Chief Judiciar. And then the princess’ doctor was killed, and . . .’
Fuck, I hadn’t really thought this bit through. Sister Galina was so wrapped up in religious extremism of largely her own invention that I could only lean into it and hope for the best.
‘. . . that forced her ascension,’ I finished. ‘With the princess ascended from this mortal plane, Vogel could put young Prince Marcus on the throne and assure himself of three more years of regency at least – but ask yourself this, Sister. Do you think that innocent child, that holy royal child, will be allowed to live to see his thirteenth nameday? Because I do not.’
‘Regicide?’ Sister Galina whispered. ‘Then it’s no wonder the princess had to ascend to Heaven – not to fight Skania, but to avenge her divine mother!’
I blinked at her. I supposed it made a sort of sense from her point of view. Either way, I didn’t give a fuck why she believed me, just so long as she did.
‘Exactly that,’ I said, and squeezed her hand in mine. ‘Tell me Sister, are you loyal? I don’t doubt your devotion to Our Lady, never that, but are you loyal to the Rose Throne and the true royal house?’
‘Yes!’ Sister Galina almost shouted, before she gathered herself. ‘Yes, Father, of course!’
‘And your followers, of whom there are gratifyingly many?’
‘Of course,’ she said again, although she sounded slightly less sure this time and I thought that was wise of her. She wasn’t so deluded to think that no one would be just out for what they could get.
‘You didn’t hear any of this from me,’ I reminded her. ‘My name is not to be mentioned. I am your priest and confessor and no more than that. I have to continue to operate within the house of law, for the time being at least. You understand that, don’t you, Sister?’
‘Of course, Father,’ she said.
I looked out across the vista of the city. I could see the tall spire of the Grand High Temple of All Gods, and the battlements of the castle atop its hill. Beyond that I could see the squat stone bulk of the house of law, flying its huge royal standards. I pointed, and Sister Galina followed the direction of my finger.
‘There is your queenkiller,’ I said. ‘Right there. What you choose to do with that knowledge is your business, and only Our Lady can judge you for your actions.’
Chapter 34
I left Sister Galina there on top of Cannon Hill, weeping as her world view collapsed around her. She would aid me or she wouldn’t, and that was in Our Lady’s hands. There was no more to be done here.
I met up with Beast and Sam at the foot of the hill, and for all that Sister Galina’s people gave me the hard eye, they could see she was standing on the hilltop staring out at the city, so they knew I hadn’t stabbed her, at least.
‘We’re done here,’ I told the lads, and together we started back towards the North Gate on foot.
‘Did I do all right, boss?’ Beast asked me when we were out of the hearing of Galina’s crew. ‘I mean, I’m no actor, like.’
‘You did perfectly,’ I assured him. ‘If a man sounds like an actor, then he’s failed. You sounded real, and that’s what I wanted.’
‘Still don’t know why,’ Sam muttered.
‘Wait and see, Sam lad,’ I said. ‘It might come to nothing, but I doubt it. I think we set something in motion here this afternoon.’
‘Still don’t know what,’ Sam said, and I smiled.
‘I know,’ I said. ‘Just trust me.’
‘I do, boss,’ he said, and I knew he meant it and that was good enough for me.
Sam might not have been the brightest of the Pious Men but he was loyal to his bones and that meant more to me than anything else. I trusted Simple Sam with my life, and had done repeatedly, both in the war and since.
I reached up to clap him on the shoulder. ‘Come on,’ I said, ‘back to the Harvest and the brandy’s on me. You’ve both done well today.’
It was Farmsday, which meant that tomorrow, Queensday, was my meeting with Lady Lan Yetrova at my sasura’s house. I wasn’t sure quite how that was going to go, and I had to admit that with that coming up and after the afternoon spent with Sister Galina, an evening of drinking with the lads felt quite appealing.
I didn’t get it, of course. No sooner had we returned to the Bountiful Harvest than I was collared by Leonov, who had been propping the bar up in the common room while he waited for me.
‘The boss wants a word,’ he said.
Leonov had been one of Grachyev’s underbosses, and I was pretty sure he was Iagin’s right-hand man in the Queen’s Men. I met his eyes. I couldn’t say I was keen on Iagin sending an underling to summon me, to put it mildly.
‘Does he now?’ I said. ‘Perhaps I’m busy.’
‘Perhaps you are,’ Leonov agreed mildly, and smiled at me. ‘Perhaps I’ll go back and tell the boss you don’t want his help, then. Perhaps you’d rather go it alone, and end up hanging.’
I sighed. He had me there, I had to admit. Iagin was obviously already set on his own path, and this was his city, not mine. He knew Dannsburg better than I ever would, and he was considerably better connected than me.
‘All right,’ I said. ‘Give me a moment.’
I turned away and gave Sam and Beast two silver marks apiece. ‘You’ve done well, both of you,’ I told them. ‘I’d love to stay and drink with you, but it appears I have more business to attend to today.’
‘Do you want us to come with you?’ Sam asked at once, and I smiled at him.
‘No lad,’ I said. ‘This is the friendly kind. You and Beast take the night off.’
I turned back to Leonov and met his eyes. The friendly kind. I hoped I was right about that.
‘Come on then,’ I said, and he turned and led the way out of the Bountiful Harvest to the street where a carriage was waiting. I climbed aboard with him and sat back against the padded leather bench as it started to move.
‘I take it we’re not going to the house of law?’ I said.
‘Gods, no,’ Leonov said. ‘I’ve never set foot in there in my fucking life and I like it that way just fine.’
‘Aye, that’s wise of you,’ I said.
The carriage picked up speed and I soon worked out that we were heading to the Horn of Plenty, which had been one of Grachyev’s favourite whorehouses.
‘Iagin turning into his old boss, then, is he?’ I asked.
Leonov snorted. ‘Grachyev was never Iagin’s boss and you know it,’ he said.
Of course I did, but I had wanted to know if he did. That meant Leonov was fully in Iagin’s pay and not just one of Grachyev’s men who had accepted the regime change. That was good to know, and I allowed myself to relax somewhat.
‘What news from the streets?’ I asked him.
‘There’s already rioting south of the river,’ Leonov told me, ‘and I’ll wager you know why. The Martyr’s Disciples seem to have got it into their heads to take against the Prince Regent.’
‘Have they now?’ I said, and he gave me a sideways look.
‘Save it for Iagin,’ he advised.
I looked out of the carriage window and said nothing. Sister Galina had apparently wasted no time and I wondered if that was truly a good thing or not. That was a gamble I had made and no mistake. In the short term, yes, I thought the cult could be used to good advantage, but after that? Our Lady only knew.
The carriage rocked to a halt outside the Horn of Plenty and Leonov and two armed footmen escorted me into the establishment. We were hastily shown through to the private suite of rooms that Grachyev had used as his office. The first time I had seen him there he had been reclining on a red velvet couch, but that was gone now and Iagin was instead seated behind a newly installed desk.
He looked up when we entered. ‘Tomas,’ he said.
‘Iagin,’ I replied, ‘thank you for the kind if unexpected invitation.’
I wasn’t sure what game we were playing here, but Iagin just lifted his chin and that was enough to send Leonov’s footmen out of the room, although Leonov himself stayed, and closed the door behind them.
‘What is this?’ I asked him.
Iagin sighed with resignation. ‘You taking over, by the fucking looks of it,’ he said. ‘Three months I’ve been trying to find a way to have a private conversation with that mad fucking nun, and you’ve done it in a day.’
‘I’m a priest,’ I said simply, and I spread my hands. ‘You remember the day the Princess Crown Royal died, and what Sister Galina said? She all but fucking worships me.’
‘She’s not reliable.’
‘Who fucking is, in this city? She has followers, Iagin, and a lot more of them than I expected. I had to seize the moment when it presented itself.’
‘Aye, well, it seems you did that all right,’ he said. ‘There’s riots all along Factory Way and six of the City Guard dead already that I know of. They’re screaming “queenkiller” at every guardsman they see, the way I hear it.’
I sucked my teeth for a moment and met his eyes. ‘They were always going to be unstable allies,’ I said, ‘but what choice do we have?’
‘This was it?’ Iagin snarled at me. ‘This was your big plan? Whip up a bunch of religious maniacs into a mob and hope for the fucking best? I thought you were cleverer than that, Tomas.’
I took the seat opposite him without being asked and met his hostile glare with one of my own. ‘You’re coming close to insulting me,’ I said. ‘They’re a fucking distraction, no more than that, but there are a lot of them and numbers always count, even if they aren’t doing anything much effective. I’m speaking to the real solution tomorrow.’
‘Oh, aye, and who’s that then, the boggart itself?’
I held my peace for a long moment, watching him.
‘We’ll see,’ I said eventually. ‘It might not work. They might say no. It’s all on a knife-edge at the moment.’
‘Lady’s blood, Tomas, do you not grasp how dangerous this is?’ Iagin whispered. ‘If we start this and can’t finish it . . .’
‘Aye,’ I said. ‘I know. My brother died, Iagin. Back in Ellinburg. My brother was killed by Skanian mercenaries, or by men in their pay, who in turn were paid by fucking Dieter Vogel. There’s never been any invasion coming – it’s all just smoke and fucking mirrors to enable that cunt to usurp the throne.’
‘I know,’ Iagin said, and sighed. ‘I didn’t know about your brother. I’m sorry to hear it, Tomas, truly I am, but you can’t let your loss and grief cloud your judgement. Galina is as mad as a shithouse rat.’
‘I know she is,’ I said, ‘and I’m of a mind to give her thirty flashstones.’
Iagin looked like he was about to have an attack of the heart. ‘You’re fucking what?’
‘We can’t fucking use them, can we? Not unless we formally declare against the house of law and then we’re going to have to defeat the entire City Guard and the army between us. That’s not going to happen, Iagin. We have to keep the Old Man thinking we’re on his side. As soon as he realises we’re not, we’ve fucking had it – you have to see that.’
‘So, what – you give military weapons to untrained lunatics and hope for the best?’
I shook my head. ‘There were veterans in that crowd,’ I said. ‘Serving guardsmen, unless I’m very much mistaken, and Sister Galina was a soldier herself. She might be deluded, but I don’t think she’s a fool. She won’t waste them in the wrong hands.’
‘And what if they fuck it up? Then we’ve got nothing.’
‘I haven’t decided yet,’ I told him. ‘It depends how tomorrow goes. If those thirty stones turn out to be all we have, then no, we’ll keep them, but if not – I’m giving them to Galina.’
‘To do what with?’
‘Whatever she fucking likes. Vogel hired mercenaries to cause violence and unrest at random, to destabilise the country. I can do that too, and better than that, I can get them to do it for free.’
Iagin looked at me for a long moment, and I knew I had him. Iagin, who had been sworn into the Queen’s Men by Sabine herself. Iagin, who had served the Queen’s Men almost his entire life. Iagin: always serving, always being told what to do.
Strong leadership, that was the lever that moved Iagin.
*
The next day was Queensday, and come the afternoon I was in my carriage on my way to Sasura’s house. The conversation of the previous night was still turning round and round in my head as the carriage rocked and jolted across the streets of Dannsburg. I was as certain as I could ever be that Iagin was on my side – but who else did we have? Had he managed to turn Ilse? I had no idea.
Konrad was a lost cause, I was sure of that, and in any case, I could never bring myself to trust that cunt, no matter what he might say. He had sent his own sister down to the cells, after all, and I knew I could never see past that. The bastard had even looked pleased to be doing it.
And what of Sabine? She and Vogel were husband and wife, or at least had been, once, but they had been estranged for so long that Ailsa hadn’t even known she existed until last year. But then, Vogel trusted her enough to have her standing over the Dowager Grand Duchess, so that didn’t help me. Would it be possible to turn her against the husband she had walked away from all those years ago? I had no way of guessing, but one thing I did know was that I was following this line of thought purely to keep my mind away from the one person I really didn’t want to think about.
Ailsa.
Gods, if I couldn’t trust her then I might as well just give up. She had been the one to bring me into the Queen’s Men in the first place, after all, but I was acutely aware that Iagin hadn’t so much as mentioned her in any of our conversations. Perhaps he thought it was too delicate, to bring up the matter of my own wife. I didn’t know. She had invited me to move back into her house with her, after all.
I had to admit that I was sorely tempted on that front. I knew Ailsa and me were probably never going to lie down together as man and wife, not in that way, but I missed her, nonetheless. She was wonderful company when she wanted to be, and we had enjoyed spending time together. Hadn’t we? I thought we did, anyway. Perhaps I was wrong, but I knew Billy loved her as his ma and I wouldn’t take that away from him.
My reverie was disturbed when the carriage arrived at the gates of Sasura’s house and I heard my coachman exchanging words with the guards. I was expected, of course, and a moment later the gates opened and the carriage rolled smoothly onto the grassed area in front of the house and creaked to a halt. Sam got down to open the door and hand me down, and I was met by one of Sasura’s footmen.
‘Sir Tomas.’ He greeted me with a stiff bow.
I let him lead the way to the front door and show me into Sasura’s study.
My father-by-law looked up at me when I entered, and he smiled widely behind his impressive beard and great curling moustaches. He rose from behind the desk, waved away my bow and swept me into an embrace.
‘Ah, it is good to see you again, my son-by-law,’ he said.
The old pirate never seemed to change. He was an Alarian gentleman somewhere in his seventieth years, and he wore his longish white hair pulled back from his brow in a severe topknot. He always dressed in the Dannsburg style, in a fine doublet and coat much like my own, although I remembered his wife still favoured clothes of Alarian cut. Still, Ailsa’s mother hated me with a passion, and it was of no affair of mine what she wore.
‘Sasura, I’ve missed you,’ I said as I returned his embrace.
He clapped me on the back and took a step back. ‘Will you take brandy with me, Tomas?’ he asked.
‘Always,’ I said, and he grinned and took a bottle down from the well-stocked cupboard.
‘I know I can rely on you to drink with me,’ he said. We each took one of the large, comfortable chairs away from the desk while we waited for Lady Lan Yetrova to arrive.
‘How have you faired with our noble lady and her learned friends?’ I asked him, once I had taken a sip of my drink.
‘Oh, well enough, I think,’ Sasura said. ‘Your money, their skill and my knowledge appear to have combined to produce something quite remarkable. However, the lady has some . . . reservations, let us say.’
Considering I had effectively asked her and Archmagus Ritenkov to invent new weapons for me, I could see how she might have.
‘Your knowledge?’
‘Oh, I dabbled a little with alchemy when I was a young man, before I went to sea. It is very popular in Alaria, a hobby for gentlemen. My father had a bad heart, you see, and I stole some of his medicine to see what would happen if—’
We were interrupted by a footman’s brusque knock on the study door, and then Lady Lan Yetrova was being ushered respectfully into the room. We both rose and bowed to her, and she returned our respects with a smile.
‘Mr Shapoor, thank you for receiving me in your lovely home,’ she said. ‘Sir Tomas, an honour to see you again.’
‘The honour is mine, my Lady,’ I assured her.
‘Can I offer you refreshment?’ Sasura asked, and Lady Lan Yetrova inclined her head.
‘I find these days that I rather enjoy brandy,’ she said, and met my eyes. ‘Now that I am allowed it.’
She was still acknowledging her debt to me, then, and that was good, but there was clearly something on her mind, nonetheless. Sasura poured for her and refreshed our glasses while he was up, then once more took his seat.
