The Taint of Treason

Chapter One: Everyone realized traveling the roads alone after dark was akin to suicide. Yet Kai followed his master, Doctor Seeme’Ur-Moon, from the safety the walls of the capital city offered to the wild track outward and home. Kai went through life a simple doctor’s aid, ill-equipped to offer any resistance if the monsters of the countryside decided to attack and dine on them as a late-night snack. The night wasn’t the only time to fear the open road. Death might reach out any time of day or night, but the patrols ended with the daylight, and yet the good doctor decided to leave the capital well after darkness fell upon the land. Once upon a time, Kai carried a pouch with a collection of stones, all ready to be enchanted. That was long ago when Kai carried on in a more dangerous fashion. Life with Seeme should be safe. He never considered himself a mage. In his grip, he had enough control of magical energy to enchant an item for a few seconds. Little more than common japes, party tricks. Spells lasted long enough to throw the rock at a target. The longer he worried a stone under his thumb, the more power he charged the item with. The problem was the magic would leave as soon as the rock left his hand. As a mage, he remained untrained and pretty much useless. Over the years, he’d become a marginally better doctor’s assistant. The mountains inward blocked the glow of sunlight, the shadows of darkness were near-absolute. If not for the twin lanterns of the cart, the pair would have stumbled along in total darkness. The horse that pulled the cart might be able to find the path, but outside the glow of the lamps, Kai remained as good as blind. The doctor went so far as to direct Kai to the less-traveled route. Off the royal road and into the swamps that flanked the outward side of the capital of Haven. If Kai didn’t know better, he would have thought Doctor Seeme was running from something. In the darkness, every sound became amplified. The croak of the toad or the night bird song pulled at Kai’s attention. The wind rustling through the leaves held untold monsters in Kai’s vivid imagination. A nervous sweat had slicked his close-cropped dark hair to the back of his neck. The journey to the capital was completely different… this leg of the journey completed in broad daylight, with a royal escort. Every comfort the empire had to offer at their call. His land many called the motherland—Zonogon—at least to the wealthy and connected, it offered a wonderful life. For as long as Kai remembered back, it had been his goal to reach that well-fed inner circle. The whole journey, they traveled the major roads. Master Seeme had been summoned by the empress, Maa’Ca-Genke herself. Her husband, Emperor Daa’Ca-Wu, had taken ill, and Seeme remained the most renowned doctor on the island. It proved only logical they called for him. Logic dictated Kai should travel at the doctor’s side. He was his apprentice after all. Their unannounced departure from the safe inner city that housed the royal family was anything but logical. Suspicious thoughts fought for time in Kai’s mind. Thankfully, suspicions served to drive the fear to the background. Seeme muttered, “Let the animal take the lead. She knows the way better than either of us.” The old man sat next to the younger Kai. The doctor clutched a journal tightly to his chest. Kai did as instructed and let the reins go slack. He risked a question. “Master… may I ask a question?” “No.” The answer came abruptly, much harsher than Kai had ever experienced with the old man that sat next to him. An orphan, Kai had long thought of the old doctor like his father, even if the man rarely gave the indication he felt the same. At least he let Kai ride next to him. The small two-wheeled cart barely fit them side by side. Kai took the hint and closed his thoughts off to himself. The old man would speak when good and ready, never before. “It is better… the less you know, the better… if we live till morning… I promise to tell you more.” Seeme glanced behind the cart, searching from something. The doctor was famous for holding his thoughts close to his heart. It would be a miracle if Kai learned anything from the old man, but his restlessness hung heavy on Kai’s lack of nerve. If the good doctor acted afraid for their lives, Kai was terrified. The morning remained several lifetimes away, Kai was certain of that. Even the swamp either side of the trail remained silent. The animals smart enough to seek shelter when the shadows grew. Like most people of at least limited intelligence, Kai never traveled after dark. Not until now, that is. The night held only death. Kai’s anxiety gained the better of his composure. He needed words to fill the silence. “The emperor is better?” Seeme shook his head. “I’m afraid not.” The good doctor glanced over his shoulder. “I’m afraid he will not be getting better soon.” Overhead, the realm of the djinn floated. Kai believed the monsters rarely floated down to the land of the earthbound on their leathery wings, but it happened. The raids from on high near impossible to defend against, some threats defeated the highest of stone walls. The people of the clans did their best to protect themselves, but nowhere was always safe. More than likely, Kai would meet his end from one of the many creatures that hunted the places between civilization. Pouring from deep under the earth, they would kill and loot before returning to the safety of their caverns. They preferred to hunt at night. Even more likely was a band of human predators finding them alone. Men that, rather than seeking gainful employment, would waylay unsuspecting travelers and rob them of everything, including their lives, rather than allow the victims to turn the brigands in. This was the civilized world Kai learned to survive in. Kai understood there had to be at least a thousand ways to die this night alone on the trail. In this instance, education proved a terrible burden. His imagination was wild enough to think of each one in exacting detail if he didn’t push his mind off the subject. “Doctor… please, I’m afraid…” Kai didn’t finish the sentence. Ashamed of his feelings. He expected a verbal lashing for openly admitting his weakness. Seeme looked back up the road. “You should be terrified, but not from the monsters that lurk in the dark.” He turned his attention to the road ahead. “There is a darkness hovering over our land.” Kai risked a glance up, tempting fate. The djinn might swoop down from above and steal his soul. Such were the stories he remembered from his early childhood. If only he understood what dangers the doctor hinted at. It might give his overactive imagination something tangible to fear rather than a plethora of dangers imagined and real. Crown Princess Morgan’Ca-WuMai, first and only child of the emperor, stationed herself before the guarded doors that blocked her entrance to her father. Against the advice of each of her counselors, she had knelt before the door, waiting to be granted an audience with her father. From midday to well after dark, she had kowtowed with her forehead pressed to the stone courtyard, waiting for her petition to be heard and finally heeded. Her white robes of station flowed around her, making her look like a great white bird had roosted before the imperial compound’s formal entrance. Ready for a long wait, she had wound her long black braids tight to the back of her head. Her stomach grew hungry. While she mouthed a prayer, the grumblings would not betray her hunger. They would be deemed unladylike. Appearance remained everything. She believed it was dark now, the sound of burning torches and braziers easy to pick out in the silent courtyard. When this effort started, she’d hoped her father would take note of her effort, take pity, and reward her with a meeting. It didn’t come to pass. Only the hours crept by one after another. Positioned as she was, sleep would come easy to her if she let her weariness take over. Willpower to see her responsibility to her family and clan would sustain her while she waited. Sleep never an option. The young Princess Morgan wasn’t surprised by the man ignoring her petition. Her father, the emperor, had never been a loving man. After her mother, his consort died, and the man she called father took his current wife, he became more distant. If Morgan had been a male child, that might have all passed, but as a female and not in the normal line of succession for the throne… well, Morgan learned early on she was expendable once a male heir was born. The problem for the emperor was every woman who became pregnant with his male child died in childbirth along with the baby. Rumors ran about curses and a princess practicing black magic to kill off all competition to the throne. Of all the magic that ran through the islands, the black power of necromancy was the most feared. The thought of overcoming death, controlling the dead, forced grown men to their knees, praying to ancestors, long dead, for salvation. Other forms of magic could kill quicker, but the thought of the dead being used as weapons struck a primordial fear in humans. Unfortunately, Morgan controlled no magic, owned no magic devices, and called on no evil spirits to kill the mothers and children. The five women’s deaths, as far as Morgan was concerned, were attributed to simple incurable bad luck. The sins of her father revisited on him for past actions. The country suffered for his past transgressions more than his wives. Now with his new wife carrying a boy, it would only be a matter of time before another pair of deaths were added to her father’s long list. The doors before her opened, but Morgan refused to raise her head, rather she would keep her position with head touching the ground until the court relented and gave the young woman an audience with her father. The scent of flowers and incense washed over her. The voice of Empress Maa’Ca-Genke called out to the young woman. “Must you disrespect your family by remaining out here? Out in the sun all day, unprotected, your skin will turn like a fisher wife’s leather face.” Morgan opened her eyes but couldn’t spot the empress’s shadow lurking over her. “I only wish to see my father… to do my duty as his child… to care for him… the rumors travel fast. I know he is ill… Please let me see him.” “Look at me, child.” The empress’s voice left no doubt her words were an order. The woman’s tone grated on Morgan’s nerves. She wanted to lash out. Morgan pushed her head off the ground but remained on her knees. Her eyes lowered, looking at the empress’s feet. She held her temper. “I said, look at me,” the empress ordered once again. Out of reflex, Morgan looked at the woman who through marriage was her ruler, her father’s new wife, but never her mother. The sight turned her stomach. The girl who stood before her was at most her age, Morgan thought a year or two younger. The empress was barely old enough to give birth. She remained a child, yet her belly had grown huge in her seclusion. She looked ready to deliver at any moment. If the emperor had produced a male heir to the throne, Morgan would have been forcibly married off long ago, to seal some deal with a neighboring island. As it was, she’d been forced into a life—more of a limbo of nonexistence—until her fate was sealed by the birth of a younger brother and heir to the throne. The empress rested her hands on her pregnant belly. “Do you hate me so much? I find it difficult to walk this short distance. Do you hate your unborn brother so much you risk our health over your silly theatrics? Your father is not well. Your actions are not helping his health.” Morgan studied the woman’s eyes while she spoke. They remained lifeless, like a serpent’s before it lashed out and delivered a fatal bite. The words caused Morgan to hate the child all the more. The empress continued to speak. “You ungrateful child, your selfish actions are causing your father untold pain… Go to your quarters and stay there. He will call for you if he wants you.” The princess blurted out, “But as his daughter, I should be by his side… To care for him.” Morgan pressed her argument. Surprisingly Maa knelt down to her level. “He is with the best doctors in the land. What do you think you can do? You stupid girl. What can you do that the best healers and magicians in the empire can’t?” “But?” Morgan’s argument fell apart. The woman hissed, “If… as the only heir, you were to get sick as well, the motherland might be threatened… think of the people. Now, do not argue, go to your quarters, and remain there until you are called.” The young girl stood back up. “I will send two of my best men to see you safely… in your room.” The empress turned. The hem of her long white gown fluttered before Morgan’s hands. The princess was certain if she remained, the ruler would have her forcibly removed. Possibly even arrested. Better to leave on her own accord. The empress called her bluff, and unfortunately, Morgan didn’t win this hand. However, the game wasn’t over. Time to change tactics. That girl playing empress would never understand the duty a child held to a parent. With her options effectively removed, Morgan stood in a single fluid motion. As the crown princess, the young girl was placed in a most difficult position. Follow the rule of law as set down by Empress Maa or follow the rule of her family commitments as set down by the customs of her clan. The empress placed her in an impossible position, wrong no matter what she did. Dishonor waited for her next action. Morgan felt for the pendant around her neck. The weight of it and the obligations it carried grew heavy. A simple piece of enchanted jewelry identified her and the station she held. That woman Maa would never understand. She wasn’t of the Wu… She was an outsider from the inward Genke clan. Not long ago, the empress’s clan was the enemy, at war with the Wu. The girl from inward would never follow the ways of the outward. Actions always spoke louder than words. The sound of hooves approaching behind the cart drew Kai’s attention. Too late for a patrol, the horses might be a sign of impending doom. Fear ran deep in his soul. He glanced behind and only found shadows to the rear. His eyes turned to the doctor, unsure what to do. The old man took the reins and pushed his journal into Kai’s arms. “Take this and hide off the road. It might be your only chance. Take it home if you survive.” In a shocking move, the old doctor pushed Kai from the moving cart. Hitting the road with a roll, the impact knocked the wind from his lungs. The momentum of the tumble took him off the road and into the higher grass. The roll carried him to an embankment, where the downhill slope increased his uncontrolled somersaults. With no time to fear for his life, Kai instinctually reached out for something to stop his fall. The tall grass did little to slow him. The water of the rice field, however, did stop his descent with a splash. Flat on his back. Stunned from the trip down the slant, his bearings slowly returned to him. He lay still, the soreness in his body convincing him he remained alive. If his body had broken, his best chance at a full recovery sat in the cart, the man who just pushed him over the edge. He sucked his breath in though his teeth, doing his best to remain silent and not smell the stench of stagnant water he lay in. What he thought a rice field was instead a swamp. The horse and cart had carried them far enough away from the city. Kai had landed in the unclaimed wetlands between cities. The sound of galloping horses passed on the hard-packed earth of the trail above Kai. They never slowed. The doctor must have shoved him to safety before… Kai tried to free himself. That was when he learned the shallow water he lay in was not nearly as deep as the layer of mud hidden just under the surface. The sticky glop clung to him like a mother refusing to release a child. Each movement he made caused him to sink farther into the mire. His left hand clawed at the solid bank next to him. Near the water, the waist-high grass had been replaced by more woody brush. With roots growing deep in the muddy earth, they gave Kai something to grip and pull himself slowly to safety. The doctor’s waterlogged journal was still clutched in his right hand. The night sounds had fallen silent, in anticipation of the worse. Now he needed to find the doctor. In near-total darkness, he worked one foot in front of the other, taking his time to check every step before adding his full weight. This was going to take forever, but he didn’t dare return to the path. There was no telling what horrors waited for him atop the hill. Now he needed to move as silently as possible to not draw unwanted attention to himself. His home lay two days’ travel to the outside… But he needed to find Doctor Seeme first. The empress’s guards stopped at the bridge over the canal that separated Morgan’s quarters from the rest of the palace complex. Placed either side sat the protective totems, carved representations of her ancestors’ heads. Morgan feared, soon, her father would top the pile. The emperor’s compound was laid out according to Wu clan traditions. The clan ruler held the position of authority in the most inward location of the walled compound. Inside the walls of her father’s abode lay shrines holding the bones of her father’s ancestors plus the empress’s quarters. The entrance to the various buildings outside the leader’s compound was protected by the carved representations of long-dead ancestors rather than the real thing. When a male heir came about, Morgan would leave her apartments and move to the women’s quarters across the courtyard from her. Her demotion would be complete. Such was the ways of her people, her clan… and it chafed her greatly to be considered a second-class child. In frustration, she wanted to lash out. To hurt someone or break something. Passing through her audience hall, she moved to the training area behind. Tsu, her personal guard and fight trainer, had taken leave to visit the clan and his mother. Morgan told him to go. She needed him absent when she tried to force the empress to relent. Unfortunately, Morgan’s plan failed, and now, when she needed to blow off anger, she found herself alone. Long ago, a staff from the wall became her dearest friend and playmate. She spun the rod of ironwood three times as she strolled to the enchanted training dummy. The hunk of wood sat motionless. Arms and weapons protruded from the slam-man, waiting for action. Morgan bent her body into an en garde stance within striking distance. The slam-man sprang to life, spinning until Morgan blocked the first attack with her staff. She counterattacked with a thrust of the tip of the weapon into what would be a human’s solar plexus then quickly whipped the attack into what would be a jaw. A quick leap backward took her out of range from the dummy’s attack from the left. She spun and brought the full force of weapon alongside a headshot. The slam-man stopped to signify she won. The sound of clapping hands drew her attention. She spun around, ready to attack the intruder. Rather she found the dark eyes of Tsu watching her. In the candlelight, he proved easy to spot in his dark brown uniform. She knew the baggy fit of the clothing camouflaged a body of muscle. He had used those muscles to beat her many times during combat training. “Your skills are sharp as ever.” He bowed before adding, “My lady.” “You’re back… I thought you would be gone for several days.” Morgan relaxed and moved to the weapons rack. Replacing her staff in the holder. “That was the plan until your maid rushed to inform me of your vigil outside the emperor’s compound.” “That snitching little…” Morgan didn’t finish the sentence, the words that sprang to mind were considered unladylike. “I believe you owe her an apology… You put her in an impossible situation. Follow your orders or the emperor’s… There was no way she could win with the choice you gave her. Be angry with yourself.” Morgan didn’t think about the hard place she put the woman in. Right now, she only thought about seeing her father. “She will get over it. I must see my father. I fear the empress is… I must see my father.” Morgan wasn’t sure if she could trust her guard or not. Tsu had been her trainer as long as she could remember, but he was technically still her father’s loyal servant. “I understand your dilemma, but a great leader always considers the people who follow them and how the leader’s actions will affect them.” “And who do you follow, Tsu? If I gave you a command that conflicted with my father’s orders… who would you follow?” The guard never flinched. “As your trainer and bodyguard, I am sworn to protect you.” “I noticed you didn’t answer my question.” “On the contrary, I think I answered it perfectly.” In the darkness, Morgan couldn’t be certain, but she swore the man just winked at her. “In that case, I need you to run an errand.” “Anything, lady.” “Yesterday, Doctor Seeme’Ur-Moon was escorted into the emperor’s compound. I want you to find him and inquire about my father’s health.” The color drained from Tsu’s cheeks. “Inside the emperor’s compound? You ask too much…” “If you fail to do this, then I will need to take the risk myself. I need to learn what this man knows. It is of the utmost importance.” “Princess… Mai… if I am captured, it will mean my death.” “Then I suggest you don’t get captured. Don’t take too long. I fear the country is in terrible danger.” Rather than wait for an answer to the command, Morgan marched past her trainer. She would soon learn where his loyalties lay. “I will see what I can learn then, only to keep you safe. If I wait until the darkest hour… just before daylight returns, I might be able to slip into the palace, if I still need to.” His task would also keep the trainer occupied while she attended a meeting outside the walls of the royal compound, in the city proper. Better Tsu didn’t attend. It would only place him in an untenable position. She needed to change into proper clothing to go slumming about the city streets. Dressed as a princess, she would be too easy to spot. Lucky for her, she had gathered a large cache of commoners’ clothing over the years of sneaking about the city after dark. She dismissed her ladies. No need to involve them in her clandestine activities.