Chapter 36

It was the third evening after Janna's death.

Amanda thought it both fascinating and a little macabre that she found herself counting time from that point. In the bigger picture, the failed attempt to take out a corrupt Emperor in a single blow was the more important event. But that seemed so distant to her. Janna's death was something more personal, something she had "witnessed," if only indirectly.

It was also the first evening that Duric allowed himself to fully enjoy his slaves.

Amanda did everything in her power to bring him pleasure again. She and Tanyee had already discussed how to go about it once Duric felt up to it again. When the time came, their coordination was superb. They moved smoothly about Duric's body, each one alternately pleasuring him while the other pleasured her.

Duric seemed a bit distant at first, as if he were there in body only. But as the evening wore on, and as his slaves applied their skills, they drew him back. By the time evening had turned to night, he was moaning deeply and loudly, more so than they could remember. It was then Amanda knew that they had managed to make him forget his pain for a little while.

"Enough!" Duric finally called out in a heavy pant after they had made him climax for the fourth time. He closed his eyes and gestured for them to come to his side.

Amanda and Tanyee smiled and snuggled against his body. He slipped an arm around each, hugging them tightly and holding them for a long moment.

Amanda felt him trembling. She chose not to note it. A good slave would not, and he needed her to be a good slave that night.

Finally, Duric loosened his grip. "Tanyee," he said softly.

She lifted her head. "Yes, Master?"

"Go to your quarters. I need to speak with Amanda alone."

Tanyee nodded. "Yes, Master." She slipped out of bed, padding silently around the foot of the bed and into her quarters.

Amanda tensed a bit. Duric could feel it himself.

"Like a scroll, Amanda."

Amanda looked up. "Master?"

"The way I can read you. The way I could read you all along."

Amanda opened her mouth but closed it again without saying a word. She didn't know how to react, or whether it should concern her. "Master, have I done something wrong?"

Duric laughed. "Oh, Amanda, you are so predictable sometimes."

Amanda was more confused now than ever.

"Amanda, I have two things to say to you," said Duric. "The first is that I am grateful to you."

"You are, Master? For what?"

"For what you said to me that day. You prevented me from making a dreadful mistake. I am... not myself without Janna..." he said in a subdued voice, his eyes turning cloudy. "But... I would have been far worse had I had the blood of all those men on my hands as well."

Amanda managed a small smile, but then withdrew it. She was not sure if it was at all appropriate now. She was simply glad that her effort had been recognized, but beyond that, she did not know how she should feel.

She had agonized over whether she had done the right thing very soon after that day. She could not escape the fact that his decision had come down to the word of a fifteen-year-old girl. She wanted to think of herself as mature, that she deserved to be heard and recognized. But, ultimately, she was uneasy with the responsibility that came along with it.

She felt like she had a lot of growing up to do. It took the events of the last moon for her to fully realize that.

"The other thing I need to tell you, Amanda, is that I am ending your contract. I am sending you back to Roquan."

Amanda's thoughts dissolved. In their wake first came shock. Then a twinge of disappointment. But by far, the most powerful her emotions was the last: elation.

"Yes, I thought that would make you happy," Duric said with a sardonic smile.

"Um... Master, have I displeased you in any way... ?"

But Lord Duric was shaking his head even as she spoke. Duric gently nudged her away and sat up in bed. "You no longer need the act, Amanda. You no longer need to play the part of the good slave."

Amanda felt vaguely insulted, even though she knew it was just confirming her own feelings. She said not a word to him, as if by continuing to play the act even when she supposedly no longer needed to do so allowed her to exercise one last bit of defiance.

Duric smiled and gently stroked her hair. "Amanda, you are very, very skilled. You are at least as good as Tanyee in pleasuring a man. Or a woman for that matter. You obey. You show me loyalty. You are intelligent, which is indeed something I admire."

"Thank you, Master," Amanda said dutifully.

"And there is where it falls flat. This is a duty for you. You don't have a love for it like Tanyee does. Like any slave that I have seen does."

Amanda said nothing. Her eyes glistened.

"But then when you were standing there in the conference room, giving everyone a dissertation on the Battle of Selemas Keep, that was the very first time I sensed an enthusiasm from you that was based on true enjoyment of what you were doing."

"Master, I enjoy having sex with you. I enjoy doing things you tell me to do," Amanda protested, even though she knew she was speaking out of turn. She figured it did not matter anymore. She was not trying so much to make him reconsider as she was preserving her reputation. She did not want him telling Roquan that she had failed as a slave.

"Yes, you do enjoy the act. You can even show enthusiasm for it. I do not deny that, Amanda. But the motivation behind it is so different than what I saw that day before my staff. So very different."

Amanda was truly at a loss. She did not even know what she was supposed to feel at this point. Remorse for "failing" him? Happiness that her slave training had not stopped her from enjoying things she truly desired? Vindication that her intelligence had been noticed?

"I am not angry with you," said Duric softly. "Nor will I punish you. Nor will I tell Roquan you are a bad slave. On the contrary, you try very hard. And you fulfilled a need in the short term. But, in the long run, you are not the kind of slave I want."

Amanda tried not to feel upset and failed. It was still a rejection. But she struggled with the reasons why it upset her. She felt like it somehow validated the idea that she was only a slave and nothing more. In terms of Narlassi society, at least, it was all she would ever be good for despite her other abilities.

Her gaze dropped. Duric placed his fingers under her chin and gently lifted it.

"I need to contact Roquan tonight. I will inform him of my decision. If he sees fit, he will start powering his Portal in the morning and you can be back by tomorrow evening. I am truly sorry it did not work out, Amanda."

Amanda could see the sincerity in his eyes. There was a hint of sadness as well, as if he would miss her despite what he had said. "I am sorry as well, Master," she whispered, her own words holding an element of truth.

Duric stroked her cheek. "I have no doubts, Amanda, that Roquan will find the right Master or Mistress for you. He has a great knack for that. And, to be honest, he did warn me up front that you may not have been a good match for me."

That made Amanda feel a little better. At least Roquan knew from the start that it might not work out. At the same time, however, she felt some anger towards him. She thought he might have at least warned her. She would not have felt as pressured.

"Now, you are free to retire for the evening. You and Tanyee may pleasure each other if you need some time to get to sleep."

"Yes, Master, thank you."

Amanda slid off the bed and trotted into the bedchamber she shared with Tanyee for the last time.

Q'ixanna stood impassively as the Portal exploded into existence in the arrival chamber deep inside the dungeons of the Mage Guild Hall. He glowered as the form of the wayward Mage stepped through.

"And here is the Mage that showed no interest in returning to the Guild Hall!" Q'ixanna's voice boomed in the chamber. "Hah!"

His last syllable was nearly drowned out by the resounding boom of the Portal closing behind Q'yros. "Give it a rest, Q'ixanna!" Q'yros snapped. He very nearly pushed the older Mage aside as he left the chamber.

The Guild Master frowned deeply and followed alongside in the dank corridor. "You are here for only moments and now you insult me with your attitude. An attitude, I will remind you, that led to you deciding to leave the Hall for a healthy amount of time."

Q'yros spun around and confronted him. "Allow me to correct your faulty memory," he said in an icy voice. "It was you that 'suggested' I leave. You made it my decision only after the fact to save face because you were losing the only Mage that knew the difference between the opening of a potion flask and his own bodily orifices."

"Ah-ha! And now the real reason for your return!"

Q'yros sighed and rolled his eyes. "I want nothing of this."

He turned away, but Q'ixanna stopped him. He shook a finger angrily in the Mage's face. "Tell me that you are not here to influence the others! That you are not attempting to weaken my position! That you are not interested in the Guild Master position again!"

Q'yros smiled humorlessly. "Yes, I had expected this. And I am quite, quite tired of people being paranoid."

He reached into his robes and extracted a scroll which he held out to the Guild Master.

Q'ixanna took a step back, as if afraid. He looked down at the scroll and the back up at Q'yros in puzzlement.

"Take it. Read it. Now. Please."

Q'ixanna frowned as he took the scroll. His eyes widened at once when he saw that Q'yros had ended it with an Oath Seal.

The scroll read: I, Vantha Q'yros, High Mage of the Guild of Magery of Oceanus, vow in perpetuity never to seek the position of 'Guild Master' so long as Wytho Q'ixanna remains in office. I also vow to do nothing, directly or indirectly, that would undermine or weaken his position, or cause others to seek to do the same. I so pledge this against an indelible and unbreakable Oath Seal.

Q'ixanna was stunned. An Oath Seal was not done likely. It bound the Mage to the agreement. To break such an agreement would lead to the painful and horrific death of the oath breaker.

"Now can we finally put inane politics and posturing to the wayside?" Q'yros demanded.

"Then why are you back at the Guild Hall, Q'yros?" Q'ixanna asked as he lowered the scroll, his voice filled more with curiosity now rather than suspicion.

"It should be obvious to you. I wish to continue research into the hostile Portals. And I am sure you have heard that I no longer have a job with the Emperor."

"Hrmph. I am sure there is much more to that than what I have heard."

"And I will tell you all of it. The entire sordid story."

The Guild Master frowned. Someone that valued secrecy as much as he never took such an open offer of information at face value. "Why?"

Q'yros' face took on a dark look. "Because, my dear Q'ixanna, I fear we will face a war on two fronts. Both our unseen enemy and the Emperor."

Q'ixanna's eyebrows shot up. "Are you serious? Just what did you do to incite his anger, Q'yros?!"

"He called it upon himself! And I will tell you everything, but later. At the moment, I am quite fatigued. It took me two days just to get the infernal Emperor to power his Portal for my travel here."

The Guild Master's eyes narrowed. "Does this have anything to do with the rumors of a civil war?"

"It is not rumor, it is fact. The fighting simply has yet to start. And we will need to decide what side we are on."

"No side!" Q'ixanna exclaimed, scandalized at the very idea. "We will remain neutral! We will provide services to either side as needed!"

"I hope to convince you otherwise on that matter. But in the morning."

He turned and continued his way out of the dungeon, occasionally glancing into other chambers where apprentices were busy practicing more dangerous magicks, or more experienced Mages were honing their skills at particular spells. This was the main reason for these levels below the earth: safety. The walls were dense in infused with minerals that helped dampen magical effects, keeping collateral damage from magical explosions to a minimum.

At the top of a set of wide stone steps at the end of the passage, Q'yros waved his staff before a heavy iron door. Magical locks disengaged, and the door swung open, allowing the two Mages into an elegant corridor.

The door swung closed with a hollow thud, the locks clacking loudly as they engaged again. Q'yros turned to the Guild Master. "Tell me, Q'ixanna. Have you discovered anything new of the artifacts?"

"You will be silent about that!" Q'ixanna hissed.

Q'yros sighed. Since the Guild Master would likely view continued mention of it where others could overhear as undermining his position, the Mage relented. "Very well. But have you discovered anything more?"

"Just some more unusual energy patterns, but nothing related to Portal energies. It must be the result of a secondary spell on the object."

Q'yros looked thoughtful. "Any more information on the Portals themselves? I have been too busy in the last quarter moon to do more of my own research."

"Just that the focus energy is definitely coming from the point of origin. It arrives mere moments before the Portal itself forms. It is being projected with pinpoint accuracy."

Q'yros nodded, his eyes dark.

"But how are they doing it, Q'yros?!" the Guild Master demanded, almost pleaded. "How?!"

Q'yros thought it ironic that, now that Q'ixanna thought his position safe, he was not above begging Q'yros for help. "I don't know. But I guarantee you, Guild Master: I intend to find out."

The Mage turned from the Guild Master and began walking to his room.

Gronnus folded his arms tightly across his chest as the Portal opened just outside his Manor gate. He frowned as the merchant stepped from it.

"So, do you come to pillage yet more slaves from me, Jollis?" Gronnus called out.

The Wanderer stepped from the Portal. He nodded to his cohort, the one holding a fake focusing pearl to continue to maintain the illusion. The Portal even closed with the typical resounding boom behind him, even though the Inonni could open and close Portals almost silently now.

Jollis strode forward. "I am not here to take anything that is yours. Save for shelter."

Gronnus' eyebrows went up. "I beg your pardon?"

"It is as we discussed previously. I require asylum. You will give it to me."

"Oh, I will, now, will I?"

"Yes. You will regret it if you do not. And there are potentially great rewards for you if you do."

The Overlord's glower faded. He let out a gusty sigh. "Very well, Jollis. I will find some quarters for you. Fortunately you have left me with a great many empty ones!"

"As I have said, I will trouble you no further with my demands in that area. You have given me all that you can."

"It's about time," Gronnus grumbled as he led Jollis through the gate. "I have been bled dry by you. And you refuse to tell me what you have done with them!"

"It is not your concern. You sold them to me, they are for me to do as I please."

Gronnus grumbled further to himself but otherwise dropped the subject. "What is this I hear now of civil war?"

"It is true," said Jollis. "The Nobility rise up against the throne. The opening confrontation was inconclusive. This will last awhile."

Gronnus snorted. "This is no better than having my slaves taken from me! Commerce will be devastated in the empire!"

Jollis gave the Overlord a patient smile. "You do not understand. You need to read your history more, Overlord. War presents opportunity. You simply have to know where to look for it and how to exploit it. That is where our future lies."

Gronnus sighed. "I suppose I have no choice."

At the same time, his tone was not very combative anymore. In truth, he was already starting to think about what he might do with a badly-needed infusion of platinum.

Jollis' thoughts were vastly different. They instead focused on how to keep Gronnus at arm's length until he was in position to remove the wayward Overlord from the equation altogether, hopefully without killing him. Or letting someone else take care of the distasteful task for him.

Gronnus' usefulness had been limited to his slaves, and now that had dried up. Despite having received the most experienced of them, Jollis' master told him their travels had not been diverse enough. It was another reason that Jollis had gambled on sowing chaos. It would give the Inonni a means to make up for the limited number of Portal targets.

But now that he had a delay imposed upon him, he intended to take maximum advantage of it.

He needed a much more diverse set of well-traveled Oceanus people. People whose memories could be magically read, and the images of the locations of their travels used to direct Portals from the Inonni lands.

That was the leap that the Oceanus Mages had yet to make, that the mind could indeed be "read" using magic. They had gone down the wrong path a century ago and had simply dismissed it as being impractical. Even then they were so filled with ego and self-importance that they failed to see their own mistakes. They were already becoming mired in "traditional" approaches to magic a century ago.

Meanwhile, the Inonni broke out of this thinking, and this was the result: Portals that needed no focusing pearl, Portals that could be targeted by thought alone.

"Here," Gronnus said, gesturing at one of the tiny houses that normally served as slave quarters. "This is all I can give you."

Jollis nodded. "It will do well, I thank you." He gave the Overlord a respectful bow. "Now, I will retire for the night. It has been a trying day. I will speak with you in the morning, and we will begin planning how to take mutual advantage of the war."

Gronnus stood silently and watched the merchant enter the building. He stared for a few moments longer at the door after it had closed behind Jollis before finally folding his arms and heading away.

"I have failed you, Roquan. I beg forgiveness."

Roquan regarded the image of Duric silently for a few moments. He had never seen Lord Duric so utterly exhausted, or looking so defeated. He felt a strong sense of sympathy for the Noble Lord.

"You do not need to do this, Duric," said Roquan in a low voice. "You did all that you could. You did all that you were capable of doing."

Duric's jaw tightened. "And it was not good enough. Not... not for Janna."

Roquan drew in his breath and let it go as a slow sigh through his nose. "I heard. I grieve for your loss."

Duric swallowed. "It was senseless."

"I don't believe so, Lord Duric. She got your armies close to the Imperium."

"But we could do nothing once we got there! We were outmatched!"

"Just barely. And you helped unmask the Emperor's collusion with the Urisi. The other Overlords may reconsider their dealings with the Urisi after this. And I am sure that this will galvanize the other Lords as well. You will have a united front against the Emperor."