Death Dealers

Landfall

Esrea stepped from the Revenge onto the sunbleached stone of Southport. The air was hot and dry. How something could be this close to the water and dry was beyond her. She wore her healer robes, and the Kilorma crest, and the serpent of the assassins guild forged from silver climbed her left arm. She was proud to wear these symbols, despite the fact that they were counter to her calling. She hadn’t had the time to spend with her husband that she wanted, but he was hers. When they had parted she had given him a ring with the healer’s crest on it. The ring wasn’t as fancy as the gifts he had given her, but he had the advantage of planning and access to some of his family’s wealth.

“Commander.” She turned at the title. Jax stood with fifteen of the imperial marines. “Requesting permission to transfer to your guard.” He said.

“Jax, I have no guard…”

“Uh’, Madam, according to a mandate by Joseph the Fifth, the wife and paramour of each candidate will have a guard paid for from the imperial treasury. Your husband not only pointed that out to us before he left, but signed the first year’s wages over to the quartermaster.”

She nodded. “Of course, gather your things…”

“Madam, you aren’t riding with the caravan. There is a secure envoy going to the camps. We will accompany it. It will move faster and have appropriate accommodations. You are a woman of status now. You are a healer, but you have a higher calling.” She nodded. While on the ship she had regained her old sense of self, but things had changed. She was the wife of a Candidate, and while most nobles fulfilled their ten years of service as any other person, a candidate had different rules. They still had their duties, but they were expected to play a better political game. Unfortunately, politics in the empire had a high fatality rate.

The envoy was impressive. She had a carriage waiting for her. She quickly learned that it was escorting the emperor himself. She tried not to be noticed, but within moments of her joining the party, a messenger approached. “His supreme Highness wishes to speak with you, Madam.”

Jax nodded to her. She knew he could do nothing if the emperor wished to claim her life, but then, at the moment, there was no gain in anyone taking her life and one good reason not to. She was in good graces with her husband, and his position was not to be ignored.

The camp wasn’t large but was well organized. The emperor would be in the center of the camp. She was led past the Imperial Elite, a group of soldiers nearly as feared as the Death Dealers. To her surprise they saluted her, the salute wasn’t the salute of a soldier to a noble, but the salute of one soldier to another. She was confused and a voice spoke behind her. “They know of the Revenge, please enter the pavilion, I’d like to speak with my nephew’s wife, he has always had impeccable taste.”

She stepped into the pavilion to face a squad of Death Dealers. “Don’t be alarmed dear, they are a precaution, I want to see it.”

She glanced at him, understanding dawning. She was a new weapon and the Emperor wanted to view it. “I understand that for eleven years, you trained with my nephew and he with you, when the two of you weren’t fornicating. Don’t get me wrong, I’m fond of the sport myself.”

She took a breath and knelt hands fanned out. By the time her right knee touched the tent floor, it was sheathed in white spirit armor, her black blades rested, points down against the floor.

“Magnificent! Simply magnificent.” He ran his hand over his bald pate. He wasn’t old, or at least he didn’t appear old, but if she remembered correctly he had held the throne for over a hundred years. He wore the robes of a Magi and kept a shaved head as many of the order did. His pointed beard was a contrast to his white scalp, it was nearly obsidian and his eyes matched the beard. She couldn’t see any resemblance to Gareth in this man. “One thing, dear. You don’t kneel to anyone.”

She looked him in the eye.

“That’s right, to me a slight bow or a curtsy will work. I invited you here to instruct you personally. You see, of all the people I’d prefer to assassinate me, Gareth is my pick. He has honor, not normally seen in the court. In private you may blunder, but to misstep in public… that makes Gareth look bad. Stand and show me how you should greet me.”

She stood and bowed slightly, maintaining eye contact. This was the way she’d greet a master. The emperor smiled. “Good.” He stated. “Power is an illusion. Gareth knows this, I need you to understand it. Build all your skills, you are a valued member of the Empire, but your new calling as wife to my nephew, requires you to expand your skills. Note that should you lose the title of healer, you still may heal. I have death guards that are master healers. Consider your options and direct your own future. You are dismissed. Esrea, we are rivals, but some rivals may also be allies.”

***

It was unbearably hot. She adjusted her robes. They weren’t truly robes, while the male healers generally still used robes, the women had switched to more stylish attire a hundred years ago. The gown was sleeveless and made much like an evening gown except for its fabric and color. These were the same as a traditional robe, but a little thinner.

“Madam, we need to talk,” Jax said. His eyes were closed and he didn’t seem to sweat despite his thicker clothing. The infernal man! “You can’t expect Lord Gareth not to take a paramour, it’s unreasonable.”

“I don’t see that it is any of your concern.” She replied coolly.

“I was sent here as more than a bodyguard, Madam, I am your advisor and spymaster.” He reached into his uniform coat and pulled out a small leather case handing it to her. She took it and as she opened it, he continued. “I have a wife, paramour, and seven mistresses.”

Her head jerked up. “What?”

He smiled. “I’m an extreme case, each woman is in a different city and when I’m in the city we are exclusive. I send messengers ahead of me and give them a few days to prepare for my arrival. This helps me with my primary post. My point is a paramour is essential in our society, it increases the power of both individuals. While not a wife, my paramour has the ability to act in my name and I in hers.”

She was quiet for a moment. “What of love?” She asked.

“In my experience, love is more trouble than it’s worth. I value my women and enjoy their company, and I’d avenge them if someone harmed them, but love. I’ve never been saddled with that burden.” He sighed. “The world isn’t perfect, Madam, it just is. If you don’t bend some to society it will kill you. Besides, you expand your own power when you take your substitute. I don’t know why we’ve never named the male version of a paramour, we all recognize them…” He shook his head. “The point is, you’re being unreasonable”

She opened the box and looked at his credentials. She was listening to him and it made sense, but it didn’t feel right. He let her think for a moment, then continued. “Look, I think love is worth a try, but I’m a pragmatist. In my experience, love is the least successful marriage arrangement.”

“Does it ever work?” She whispered.

He smiled softly. “Anything can work, and I know of a few who made it, but it’s not like the stories. One or both slip at times, our society is designed for infidelity; our only loyalty is to the empire...but it can. If it is to work; you must be willing to forgive. Your husband may be an assassin, but he is also mortal.” A haunted look came on his face. “You’ve killed, but for you, it was a one-time event, though you did it spectacularly. Imagine knowing that you are going to do that again tomorrow or in an hour. At times you need to feel life...feel pleasure. Many warriors use w****s to forget what they did and what they will do. Wives aren’t always with us, but w****s are easy to find.”

She glanced down. “A w***e doesn’t bother me...he doesn’t feel for the w***e, but a paramour...he’d have feelings for.”

Jax smiled. “I like that you’re honest with yourself. Look, these things normally come in stages. You don’t claim all your assets at once. I had a wife three years before I chose a paramour. These things are alliances, love is for the stories, don’t expect it. If it happens, enjoy it while it lasts.”

“He brought a woman he likes to the event in which he claimed me his wife.” She whispered.

Jax grimaced. “That was unfortunate. At this stage, he must keep his apprentice with him at all times. He had to fight for the right to take an apprentice and considering his age, they would have made it difficult. He earned her and the vault must be protected,” When he said that a red soul blade appeared in his hand, and armor that looked like a burning flame encased him. “I felt the call my whole life, but couldn’t find it, so it found me.”

She leaned back. “So he gets the woman and I get the man. It would be simpler if the assignments were reversed.”

“It wasn’t a conspiracy, I honestly think he’d have preferred that, but things are as they are.” His armor vanished. “The others don’t know about either of my other abilities, let’s keep it that way. As captain of your guard, I have complete access to you. My men understand that they will likely be triage units, but I will keep rotating scouts.”

She nodded. “I’m lost, I’m the daughter of a merchant and a healer…”

Jax reached over the space between them and placed his hand on her lap. “I know. You have only allies at the moment and the Emperor wishes you to be safe, being your husband is who he is, it is unlikely that anyone will strike at you first, which means you can maneuver to protect him. I will advise you, but not guide you. I also suggest that you take a maidservant, I have a few in mind.”