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Chapter 53. Sacrifice |
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iesha snapped awake at the sound of raised voices. Her chin was almost touching the rim of her soup bowl and the white porcelain spoon plunked loudly from her hand into the broth. No one seemed to have noticed she had nodded off at the dinner table “That will be enough,” Marga said as the two young assassins sitting across from Keisha pushed their chairs back with enraged roars and daggers flashed in their hands. At first glance, Marga’s delicate appearance was not at all intimidating and she rarely raised her voice. Yet everyone knew her pleasant demeanor hid the whisper of a razor. Keisha was afraid of her, and she knew what her old teacher was capable of. It sickened her to think she had actually dreamed of becoming like Marga. The longer Keisha dwelt under the same roof as her infamous mentor, the more she grew to hate her. Marga had built her opulent compound primarily with blackmail. Her lists of ministry officials and their failures could fill a small library. Her thugs were fond of saying Marga had enough dirt on the Canthan government to bury the imperial palace under a mountain. Her collection did not stop at the great city walls, but included Luxon and Kurzick affairs as well. Thus it was no surprise that discussion turned to the movements of the various ministry officials she watched and her continuing plan to destroy the Ministry of Air. Keisha was not strictly against the plan. She had her own grievances with Master Tan and wished him dead, yet it irked her to be little more than a pawn in Marga’s twisted game. And if Keisha hesitated or protested, there was the constant reminder of Mog and Lemony under threat. The two angry young men returned to their places, glowering at their soup and studiously avoiding looking at each other. Zhai Gao and Bai Bo were her occasional sparring partners under Master Chort’s tutelage. Keisha regarded all them with contempt and looked away rather than invite discussion or challenge. There would be time enough for that in the next session. Fortunately, a bigger distraction drew away their glances as the ornate doors at the end of the hall parted and Ama Svenka’s sleek pale form strode into view. A pair of her silent rangers and their majestic tigers padded silently into the room beside her and remained watchfully behind on either side of the door. “Ama darling! So glad you could make it,” Marga’s voice crooned above the low rumble of chatter. A pair of servants escorted the vile woman to the head of the table, unseating one of the flunkies who had been dining there. Keisha had not seen Ama since Mog and Lemony had been taken away. Weary though she was from the rigors of her daily training, Keisha watched and listened carefully, eager to hear news of her friends. She was scared for them, knowing now what she did about Josef. Most everyone was disgusted by him and yet no one raised a finger to stop him, which led Keisha to believe it was by design or he was out of control. “Have you succeeded in making contact with the young dragon?” Ama purred as she sat gracefully beside her old friend. “Yes, it would seem all that is need now is a child. Tan desires one. I suspect we can procure an urchin off the street.” Ama laughed cruelly. “I believe I have just the child.” For once Marga seemed taken aback. “Your own granddaughter?” Marga murmured. Ama snorted disdainfully. “She is the spawn of a whore and my bastard son. Better were she born of wolves in my eyes. I will suffer no usurper under my roof. And do you not think it fitting to sacrifice the last of her line? Perhaps there is a curse upon the Bei after all.” Keisha caught herself staring open jawed at Ama. At first she assumed she had imagined half of what was said, but there could be no doubt Ama was speaking of Master Bei. Keisha's assignment to kill him had revealed that he was, in fact, the last of his line. His father had been executed for treason. After the Bei family line fell into shame, two of his sisters who were not gifted by the gods, allied themselves with his mother’s family, the Yan. His elementalist sister sealed herself off in Nolani far across the sea only to die during the Searing. How was it possible that Josef was his son? It was impossible to imagine Ama and Zhou had been paramours but the alternative also did not bear thinking. Neither aligned with the man she had come to admire. Marga frowned thoughtfully and nodded. “Yes, it would buy Master Tan’s confidence, but I think you dismiss the value of this child’s welfare too easily." Ama laughed bitterly. “My first born is too old to appeal to Master Tan. We will have to make do.” |
